FIBO USA • NOVEMBER 2020 • MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA
FITNESS ON THE HIGH SEAS ‘Active lifestyle cruising’ is being developed by Blue World Voyages Also inside: Zero-In On Technology + FIBO USA 2019 in Pictures
NOVEMBER 15, 2019 VOL. 2 NO. 1 WWW.FIBOUSA.COM
A REED EXHIBITIONS EVENT
FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
FIBO USA FOCUS: BLUE WORLD VOYAGES
SEA FIT
BLUE WORLD VOYAGES INTRODUCES THE WORLD TO THE CONCEPT OF ‘ACTIVE LIFESTYLE CRUISING’
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ene Meehan, a 30-year veteran of the spa/fitness industry, an entrepreneur and someone who loves cruising has combined his three passions into a bold business venture that creates an entirely new niche within the global cruise industry. Blue World Voyages is a revolutionary concept that brings together the worlds of fitness and cruising and offers a truly unique experience to its clientele. As Blue World Voyages describes it, the company is introducing “the world’s first cruise line dedicated to sports and wellness.” “I recognized the need to create an active lifestyle cruise product targeted to the 42 million conscious consumers in the U.S., plus an equal or even larger number in Europe,” Meehan explains. “Our focus on Active Lifestyle Cruising is embedded into every aspect of our company and vessel, from ship design to menu items and amenities.” 2
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are sailing away from conventional thinking regarding what a cruise ship should be.” In another break from convention, Blue World Voyages is introducing a unique hybrid-ship approach, the first in the industry. The first vessel, scheduled to launch in 2021, will have 40 private Owners Residences onboard in addition to the 200 double and 25 single passenger suites. To bring this model to life, Meehan partThe two men behind THE Blue World Voyages nered with Fredy concept: Gene Meehan (left) and Fredy Dellis. Dellis, a successful international business leader and the former CEO of The World at ResidenSea, the first and only residence ship afloat. Over their initial three years, as the product was being developed, Meehan Among those aspects are significant firsts such as one full deck for sports and another full deck for spa; new ideas like farm-to-table cuisine; and details such as vitamin-infused rainfall showers and natural bedding in every cabin. The concept extends beyond what passengers see on the surface. “There has never been a cruise line with our total focus on wellness, sports/training and personal discovery,” Meehan explains. “We
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Looking for a sea water lap pool and some ocean kayaking? Blue World Voyages is the place to find both. built a strong team of executives, each with extensive C-level experience running some of the most successful brands in the cruise, fitness and hospitality industries. Not surprisingly, he points out, they also lead active lifestyles. “We are a team of runners, bikers, hikers, kayakers, golfers, climbers, divers and squash players, and individuals who spend a lot time practicing yoga, Pilates, meditation and TRX.” Active Lifestyle Cruising Explained The concept is simple, Meehan explains. “Blue World Voyages is a cruise that makes you feel better when you get off the ship than you did when you got on.” 3
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The ship’s target market is 35-65-year-old active adults who want to stay fit, as well as those looking to become more active and more fit. Meehan expects the passenger list to be a mix of nationalities. “The sports and wellness community is very much an international crowd,” he says. “Your shipmates will be from the U.S. and also Europe, Canada, South America and parts of Asia.” It is certainly not a pina colada-drinking, sun-bathing, layingon-the-beach crowd. “People looking for that type of cruise are on the wrong ship,” Meehan is quick to point out. “Many of our passengers have already been there/done that on traditional cruises and are looking for a better, healthier
experience.” The goal of Active Lifestyle Cruising is to ensure passengers leave the ship feeling great and re-energized rather than bloated and tired from too much food and drink and too little physical activity. “Anyone who is serious about staying fit and in shape knows how bad they feel when they get out of their routine,” he adds. “On Blue World, your healthy routine travels with you. We will have everything those interested in wellness and fitness are looking for, and more.” The On-Shore Experience Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities for Blue World cruisers to enjoy the sights, activities and www.fibousa.com
FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
cultural experiences of the destinations the ship visits. Arrivals and departures in and out of ports of call are timed for maximum advantage. On some days, the ship may not arrive in port until noon, allowing time for passengers to participate in programs on-board and then go ashore to explore or engage in planned activities like sunset yoga on a beach. The ship will remain in port until midnight, or perhaps even overnight, giving passengers ample time to experience the destination. Alternately, the ship may arrive in the morning to give an early start to hiking, cycling, running, golf and other shore-side programs. “Like life, our itinerary planning will be a matter of balance,” Meehan says. Blue World will be offering sevenday voyage segments priced at $3500 per person for a standard suite. All gratuities, all meals in any of the four restaurants, house beer and wine with lunch and dinner, some shore excursions, Internet access, self-serve laundry and three Signature Events – described as “once in a lifetime” social events – both on and off the ship are included in this fee. All fitness and educational programs are included, with the exception of some one-on-one personal services. Spa services will be extra. Blue World’s first ship will sail in Europe in the summers and South America in winter. Warm weather itineraries will include destinations in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, England, Scotland and the Baltics. Winter ports of call will likely include Costa Rica, Chile and Peru. The Wellness Focus Blue World Voyages believes that a cruise can be anything a passenger wants it to be and has specifically designed a ship to fulfill that premise. It is the first cruise line to have a VP of Wellness, Di Trieste, a leader in the U.S. spa industry for more than 4
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
State-of-the art training and recovery facilities (opposite page) are part of the on-board experience, while on-shore activities ranging from mountain biking to kayaking (above) complete the Blue World Voyages experience.
25 years. Di will be responsible with integrating all spa, sports, nutrition and educational programs into one comprehensive product that offers a full range of choices for those who are already active, as well as for those looking to change their life in this healthy direction. The Blue World Voyages concept is already receiving wide media attention with publicity from toptier media in the US and abroad, including Forbes, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Travel, The New York Times, CNN Travel, Departures and BBC News. Most of the company’s marketing outreach will be through social media. For environmental reasons, it does not plan to be “that cruise line that sends you junk mail all the time.” On the marketing side, the company is also working with key strategic partners who serve the sports and wellness communities, including Outside Magazine, Yoga Journal, Oxygen Magazine, Well+Good and Hank Haney Golf. Meehan plans to expand to three ships within five years. “You may also see a riverboat in our future,” he says, but that’s as much as he will divulge. “Our other new concepts are top secret — sorry.” n
THE BOAT BEHIND BLUE WORLD VOYAGES GENE MEEHAN UNDERSTANDS THAT A LARGE number of active adults have a negative opinion of traditional cruising, and for good reason. They envision a cruise vacation with 3000 to 4000 people they don’t know who are all eating and drinking too much. Blue World Voyages is certainly not THAT cruise ship and its clientele are not THOSE cruisers. “There is a tribal mentality amongst people who want to stay fit, regardless of their age,” he explains. “We are designing a ship to be exclusively designed for our market and not a traditional one-size-fits-all vessel. The market is already here — the product is on its way.” Ah yes, the boat. When it makes its maiden voyage in 2021 among its amenities that will appeal to the fitness crowd: • One entire deck dedicated to spa activities, including a pool, AFT
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therapy tub, solarium, salon, inside and outside treatment rooms and wet areas (steam rooms, sauna, etc.) • The ship will have the highest ratio in the cruise industry of spa amenities per passenger. • The same with sports/fitness. Another entire deck will be dedicated to functional training, medical wellness, sport-specific training and instruction and yoga/meditation. It will feature some of the hottest boutique fitness brands both in the U.S. and in Europe. • Certainly not neglecting nutrition, the ship will have four themed restaurants — Farm to Table, Asian, Italian and Comfort Food. There will also be a chef’s table in the galley and a breakfast/lunch buffet restaurant. • Rounding out the design are lecture rooms, theaters and many other public amenities. n
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
FIBO Focus on ...
ZERO-IN
Z
ero-In is an agency passionate about creating exceptional digital experiences for the real world. Its roots began about 10 years ago as an industry pioneer in what has now become the digital signage industry. A novel
idea at the time to install TVs for businesses that could be used for internal marketing and advertising has become a mature marketing concept with lower cost hardware, easier methods for data integration and more dynamic exciting content. As the industry has grown, Zero-In has earned a leadership position to offer digital display systems that allow for content such as Social Media Integration, Class Schedule and Appointment Integration, RealTime News and Entertainment and Dynamic Web-Based Templates. Zero-In over the last few years expanded services well beyond digital signage, to include interactive displays and tablets, overhead music and guest Wi-Fi marketing. FIBO Focus caught up with company founder
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What about in the year ahead? As we head into 2020, Zero-In will be expanding our breadth of video, audio and connected device solutions to continue our goal of providing our clients with one integrated seamless multimedia experience for their members. So what differentiates you from the competition? There is no shortage of great companies in disciplines such as software, design or AV. However, there really aren’t any companies in Fitness providing a complete turn-key solution from design to installation to support. Our team has the hardware/ AV chops to design and implement a solution, the in-house creative agency to create truly sensational dynamically integrated content and then a wicked smart IT team to assist with support. How are you spreading the message of Zero-In and your
Mitchell Goss to further explore Zero-In. 6
FIBO Focus: What is Zero-In’s position in the fitness market in 2019? Mitchell Goss: Clients engage with Zero-In to assist them with their complete in-club or in-studio digital experience strategy. The industry recognizes that Zero-In is the team to speak with when looking for a true enterprise end-to-end solution, including hardware engineering, installation, cloud-based content delivery, design, system integration and support.
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
State -of-the-art digital display systems are just the beginning of what Zero-In is offering to health clubs in 2020. technology to health clubs? Zero-In is extremely vested in the industry. We are very active with leading industry events such as FIBO, which includes speaking at conferences, advertising in publications and exhibiting at trade events. How can club owners and trainers – most of whom are more knowledgeable about equipment and workout routines – benefit from your products? Our clients are experts at operating fitness facilities. They rely on us to deliver digital engagement solutions to help them build brand loyalty and sell more solutions and services. Our clients have different needs and we therefore listen to their goals and develop a strategy that is unique to their business. What kind of merchandising or product support do you offer clubs? 7
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We provide support to multiple client stakeholders, including IT, construction/facilities, marketing and end users. What type of social media effort do you have and how does it relate to your overall marketing? Social media is synonymous with marketing in 2019. Any marketing initiative, even analog, non-digital activities like direct mail or tradeshows, always have an element of social media. Each channel for us serves a different purpose. For example, we’ll use LinkedIn to post a new article, Twitter for an announcement and Instagram really just to have fun and show off our team’s true personality and culture. With that in mind, how can club owners and trainers do a better job for their clients – and make more money – through using Zero-In technology in 2020?
Our solutions are designed to build brand loyalty, enhance the visitor experience and ultimately sell more services. Again, we listen to our clients to understand their unique business needs and then design a system and content that helps achieve these goals. Any examples of that you can share? Sure, on a new project our engineering team works with the construction/facilities teams to provide them everything they need relating to power, data and physical installation. Our design team works hand-in-hand with marketing teams to help build beautifully integrated content. Our digital account team has regular contact with end users to assist with daily needs with our system. And our support desk is working with IT on any remote and on-site field support items. n www.fibousa.com
FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
FIBO USA 2019 ROUNDUP
Hot Time in Miami Beach
SPECIAL EVENTS, WORKOUTS, PERSONALITIES AND SEMINARS LED TO SUCCESSFUL EVENT FIBO USA 2019 in Miami Beach, FL, last month brought in 4000-plus people from 34 states in the U.S. and 35 countries. We received such a warm welcome and it was amazing to see the fitness industry come together for this great event. The three days were packed from all the networking, education and certification opportunities to fitness competitions, workouts and the newest fitness equipment/technology right on the show floor. We’re looking forward to growing in Miami Beach and we can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store!
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Exercise ...
FIBO USA was the place to be to break a sweat and participate in popular group fitness workouts. 9
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Exhibitors ...
FIBO USA welcomed men and women of all ages to enjoy a fitness-filled event in Miami Beach last month.
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Education ...
The American Health + Fitness Forum kicked off our education program with well-known fitness industry guests that included Herman Rutgers, Philip Mills and Beto Perez.
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Events and Competitions ...
You could feel the energy from the first HYROX competition in the US to NINJA, NPC’s Ultimate Grand Prix, USA Powerlifting and much more during the time in Miami Beach.
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Events and Competitions ...
COMPETITION WINNERS HYROX – Pro Women 1st Place - Imke Salander (1:09:48) 2nd Place – Lauren Weeks (1:11:50) 3rd Place - Faye Stenning (1:12:25) HYROX – Pro Men 1st Place - Hunter McIntyre (1:00:27) 2nd Place - Isaiah Vidal (1:03:41) 3rd Place - Lukas Storath (1:04:00) America’s Strongest Man and Woman Welsey Claborn and Brooke Sousa Ultimate Freestyle Calisthenics League Champions 1st Place - Lucas (@brazilian.blue) 2nd Place - Xavier (@calisthenixpro) 3rd Place - Nicky (@nicky.makes) Ninja 1st Place - Cameron Drake
Thank you and congratulations to all the athletes who participated in the many competitions that took place at FIBO USA.
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FIBO FOCUS • November 15, 2019
Personalities ...
Attendees got to work out and learn fitness tips and tricks from the fitness personalities such as Billy Blanks, Kelsey Wells, Mat Fraser and Sadik Hadzovic. 14
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