Elevating the Customer Experience with the Power of Intentions

Discover how being intentional can transform every customer interaction into a meaningful and memorable experience. In this engaging keynote, you will learn how aligning purpose, mindset and behaviour empowers teams to go beyond simple transactions and create lasting impact.

Whether you work directly with customers or lead from a strategic level, this session will explore how clarity, presence and purposeful action can raise the standard of service and turn everyday moments into exceptional ones.

Pete Cohen is a leading performance coach and speaker who helps people live with purpose, confidence and clarity. With decades of experience coaching elite athletes, business leaders and individuals seeking change, Pete empowers others to overcome fear and create meaningful lives through mindset, intention and action.

His journey has taught him that success is not about proving yourself, but about understanding who you are and living with purpose. Through his talks, coaching, books and podcast, Pete shares practical tools for personal growth and resilience.

Whether working with teams or individuals, Pete’s approach is grounded, insightful and transformative. His message is simple: be present, be real and choose to live intentionally.

Beyond the Gym: Building Real Communities That Move

Tony will share how a personal challenge transformed his perspective on movement and why the sports and fitness industry is looking at growth all wrong. With only 16% of UK adults holding gym memberships, the real opportunity lies in reaching the other 84%, those who aren’t stepping through your doors. He’ll reveal why true inclusivity isn’t about more classes but about understanding everyday movement. Discover how shifting your focus from products to people and building genuine communities can unlock untapped markets, drive meaningful engagement and create lasting impact. This is your chance to learn how to move beyond the expected and build something that truly brings people together.

Tony Eames, Founder of Total Active Hub

Tony Eames is the founder of Total Active Hub, a UK health-tech company on a mission to build more active, inclusive communities through everyday movement. Inspired by his own health journey living with sudden death syndrome and a pacemaker, Tony completed a personal challenge in 2017 to row 1,000,000 metres on a Concept2 machine, an experience that sparked the creation of Total Active Hub.

With over 20 years in senior roles at Samsung and HP Inc., Tony saw how sedentary work habits affect employee wellbeing. He launched Total Active Hub to help integrate movement into daily routines, both at home and at work. Its initiatives, including “Active Charity,” reward physical activity with donations to good causes, linking personal wellbeing with social impact.

Tony is also passionate about education and community, having helped establish Evendons Primary School as its founding Chair of Governors, leading it to an ‘Outstanding’ OFSTED rating.

He believes in the power of consistent, inclusive movement to transform lives and workplaces.

What Non-Members Really Think: The Expectation Gap in Fitness

Brand new research revealed for the first time! Dr Melvyn Hillsdon uncovers what non-members really think about gyms — their motivations, doubts, and why so many never join or quickly drop out. Packed with surprising insights to help you rethink how to attract and keep more members.

Melvyn started his fitness industry career as a fitness instructor at the Hogarth Health Club in 1986, followed by management roles at LivingWell and Virgin Fitness. After this he moved to academia but retained links with the fitness industry.

In 2001, he was commissioned by the Fitness Industry Association (now UK Active) to establish a standard measure of membership retention and a benchmark figure for the industry. The results of the research were published in a series of six reports entitled Winning the Retention Battle.

Melvyn’s research into retention and attrition has led to the development of appropriate measures of retention, attrition and longevity that provide data for operators that can directly inform business decisions. The research has been presented at numerous conferences in the UK and abroad including the IHRSA annual conference in the US and Europe. Multiple club operators and industry bodies have benefitted from Melvyn’s expertise in identifying the determinants of retention. In 2006, Melvyn partnered with Fitronics to provide retention insights to customers and to continue industry research.

In 2013, in partnership with The Retention People (TRP), Melvyn undertook the TRP 10,000™ study, the biggest and most comprehensive survey of member behaviour and retention ever carried out in the health and fitness industry. Results of the research have been released in a series of features in Health Club Management and via numerous industry conferences. Melvyn has produced retention reports for multiple clubs all over the world.

In parallel, Melvyn has over 30 years’ experience training leisure industry staff in Motivational Interviewing with the intention of improving staff-member interactions and therefore membership retention.

From an Operator’s Viewpoint: Technology, AI and the Future of Fitness

• The opportunity to improve service standards in health and fitness through technology and AI.
• “Longevity” — the buzzword of the day. What does it really mean for operators and members?
• Changing demographics — are you ready for a more diverse, tech-confident generation of members?

Experienced CEO and proven leader with a track record of success across private and listed companies in the fitness, wellness, spa, and hospitality sectors. Senior experience includes Center Parcs, Bannatyne Group, Leejam Sports Co., Kun Sports, and Fitness First UK.

Recognised for driving growth through strong operational management, commercial strategy, coaching, sales, and e-commerce leadership. A “make it happen” leader who builds high-performing teams, leads transformation with purpose, and consistently delivers results that create lasting impact.

Sarah is a global leadership and client experience specialist who helps leaders and teams unlock their full potential through energy, emotion, and human connection.

With over 20 years of leadership experience across both the health and luxury industries, Sarah blends deep expertise in psychology with practical tools that drive lasting transformation. Her approach is rooted in the belief that you can’t give what you don’t feel, to inspire others, you must begin with the energy and emotion you bring to every moment.

In 2024 alone, Sarah delivered high-impact training programs across China, Japan, the US, the Middle East, France, Italy, and the UK—empowering luxury retail leaders at brands such as Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Tiffany, and Ferrari.

Her career began in the health and fitness industry, where she held commercial roles including UK Sales & Marketing Director at LivingWell and Holmes Place. She transitioned into the world of luxury over a decade ago, leading global training and retail excellence initiatives.

Today, through her consultancy Luxury Intelligence, Sarah helps businesses design unforgettable client experiences by turning emotion into their greatest competitive edge.

David Connell is CEO of Hertfordshire Sports Village, a leading single-site leisure facility with an average Net Promoter Score of 79. Inspired by his relentless pursuit of excellence and continuous improvement, David has led the team at the Sports Village on a good to great journey over the past 10 years, achieving incredible results in this time. 

David has an unfaltering belief that by focussing on two key priorities – staff engagement and customer satisfaction (which he knows are inextricably linked) you will always create highly successful businesses that can grow, develop and respond to any challenges they face. 

Highlights include taking a laser-focussed approach to increasing employee engagement, with the Sports Village being rated outstanding in this area and being recognised as one of the best companies to work for in the UK and growing NPS from an average of 26 in 2016 to an impressive 79 in 2025 (up from 69 in 2024). These improvements have been driven by David ensuring staff focus relentlessly on small but powerful interactions, that leave a lasting impression on users and lead to huge improvements in income, retention and length of stay.  

None of this success would be achieved without his passion for questioning the norm, being an early adopter of new technology, listening to the data and using this to really understand what is going on in his business to improve staff engagement, customer satisfaction and retention.