Health & Fitness Business ’10: New products and events, SNEWS TV episodes, and more

The first Health & Fitness Business Show outside of Denver – and the first co-located with the Interbike show– pulls back the curtains Sept. 22 – it’s first and seemingly last year in Las Vegas.

SNEWS® has confirmed that the Interbike show is set to move to Anaheim, Calif., for a show to run Aug. 10-12. If this year’s fitness event is successful – and that’s up to the industry – it could also run Aug. 10-12, 2010, again along with the Interbike show and perhaps growing back to three days.

Click here to see a special story, dates confirmed and sent live by SNEWS on Saturday, Sept. 18, with the breaking news, “Interbike/HFB date change confirmed: mid-August as of 2011; no Outdoor Retailer conflict.”

Show director Andy Tompkins told SNEWS that this year’s show has surpassed the square footage of the 2009 show after the show had to expand the floor to accommodate additional interested exhibitors.

“We think attendance will be very strong,” he said. “We appreciate the support of the fitness community.”

If you haven’t had a chance to peek at the new SNEWS digital Product Zone of hot products, don’t miss it. Get a jump on new equipment not to miss at the Health & Fitness Business Expo — whether you’re at the show or not. Featuring products in the SNEWS HFB Product Zone are from: Accufitness, Body-Solid, Diamondback Fitness, Fitness Master, PaceMaster, Spirit Fitness, SportsArt Fitness, SPRI Products and Vision Fitness.

The new digital format allows you to zoom in and out to look closer at product details, as well as click directly through to the company’s website. Get this: One click on the booth number in the Product Zone and you’ll be taken to the show’s website so you can immediately locate the company’s booth.

Meanwhile at the coming show:

>> Don’t miss the first “town hall” informational meeting of the new Fitness Industry Dealers Association run by NSGA and supported by SNEWS. Find out more about the benefits and support an industry association can offer from its founding board members. Founding board members include David Burrus, Fitness Gallery, Merriam, Kan.; Mark Jeffrey, Fitness Depot, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Kessler; David Kutler, Body Basics Fitness Equipment, Omaha, Neb.; Rodney Rice Jr., Fitness Expo, Metairie, La.; Dave Sheriff, HealthStyles Exercise Equipment, Glenwood Springs, Colo.; and Ron Wilkins, Wilkins Fitness, Charleston, S.C.

The meeting will be held on the second show day, Thursday, Sept. 23, at 12 noon, in the SNEWS Community Hub (booth #335). Come ready to talk to your colleagues and ask questions. Light refreshments will be served, courtesy of the Health & Fitness Business show and SNEWS. Click here to read more in a Sept. 13 SNEWS story.

>> ProSpot Fitness, returning after a long absence will give away a gym, according to new distributor Carlos Vazquez, co-owner of Busy Body/Gyms To Go. “All anyone has to do is come by the booth and demo the product,” he said. Then just fill out a coupon and leave it with the staff at the booth (#924). ProSpot will draw a random winner at the close of the show Thursday, Sept. 23. Click here to see a Sept. 8 SNEWS story about the new distributor arrangement.



>> GoFit will announce its alliance with The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper www.mytrainerbob.com . The company will launch a Bob Harper product line at the show (Booth #520), with its first product being a patent-pending Contoured Kettlebell. Others will be announced soon, we were told. The Contoured Kettlebell will be available at retail in November.

>> Although dates and times remain unconfirmed, SNEWS has learned that Tour de France three-time winner Greg LeMond will appear at the LeMond Fitness booth (#105) during the HFB show.

>> Don’t miss celebrity appearances, parties and events on the Interbike show floor, also all open to HFB attendees. This is a rockin’ show full of all kinds of things to take advantage of. For more details while there, watch our SNEWS TV segments (see below) and be sure to pick up copies of the daily Interbike newspaper at the door for listings of the events.

SNEWS TV

Watch for the camera team with editors Therese Iknoian and Michael Hodgson floating around the show floor to catch new products and do interviews. Already SNEWS TV – launched in August at the Outdoor Retailer show — is raking in views and fans with its dynamic, fun production and interview style. Go to www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/snewstv to get a look at past episodes.

During the HFB and Interbike shows, the SNEWS TV team will be sending episodes live starting Sept. 22, so go back daily to www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/snewstv to catch the latest.

SNEWS Community Hub

As always, SNEWS will host a Community Hub with an Online Lounge, meeting tables and couches. Free free to use the space for meetings and hanging out, and don’t forget to drop in to say hello to the SNEWS team. Plus, you can pick up your printed copy of the SNEWS Product Zone at the Hub (booth #335).

–Therese Iknoian