Revo Fitness founder Andrew Holder has outlined a series of proactive measures government could explore in a bid to help more Australians stay fit and healthy.
Revo Fitness founder and managing director Andrew Holder has encouraged levels of government to consider proactively incentivising the health and fitness industry.
Speaking at Business News’ Success and Leadership breakfast on Tuesday morning at Crown Perth, Mr Holder passionately spoke to the issues impacting his industry and floated the idea of health and fitness tax deductions.
“I think there’s a great opportunity in terms of our government to be able to assist,” he told the room.
“I was at parliament house with other industry leaders a couple of weeks ago... talking to ministers about how they can assist in the future of health and fitness for Australia.
“And I think one of the stats which was really damning for us to even share is the fact that we need 375 beds per month for 15 years to keep up with the need in our hospital system.
“And there’s no way our infrastructure can be able to keep up with that.
“So rather than being reactive, how can we be proactive? We tax the things we don’t like (such as) cigarettes and alcohol, so why don’t we incentivise the things we actually want to change?
“Whether that’s health and fitness wellness being tax deductible… whether there’s FET exemption…whether private health insurance includes us in extras.
“Things that can incentivise people to get fit and healthy, and take pressure off our healthcare system.”
It was fitting that while Mr Holder spoke to the packed room, Revo’s 66th and newest location in Woodbridge was officially opened.
When asked about his ultimate goal for the business – established in 2012 out of a 200 square metre facility in Shenton Park – a humbly spoken Mr Holder said the company had never placed a ceiling on its potential.
“If I spoke to my 21-year-old self… to think I’d be up here talking about the future of Revo? I’d be pinching myself,” he said.
“And so it’s unfair for me.
“I think the beauty of Revo is that there’s been no ceiling that we’ve ever actually said that we couldn’t achieve.
“So pretty much when we come together, and just being better than we were yesterday has gotten us here – so we are continuously going to do that.
“In terms of what I believe what we can achieve? We are well on track for 100 locations by 2027.
“And if you look at the scale we’ve currently got in Western Australia – and the impact we’re creating in the community – we’ve got 33 locations here in a three million person state.
“You’ve got eight million people in Victoria and we’ve got 18 locations there. You’ve got nine million people in NSW and we’ve got three locations there.
“There’s no reason why we can’t get to that 300-350 club mark.”
In a wide-ranging conversation with Business News senior editor Mark Pownall, Mr Holder touched on several aspects of his journey with the company.
(On how he believed Revo grew into the brand it is today)
“I’ve always said that I didn’t choose to grow Revo – the members decided for me,” Mr Holder said.
“And my mentality has always been if the members want us to improve the business and give us feedback, my responsibility is to listen and find consistency with that message to get across to our group.
“Because I’ve always had that continuously driven mindset, I don’t think there was one specific period of time when I thought ‘OK, Revo’s now my priority’ or that cricket was priority. I just lived in a flow state where both were.”
(On scaling the business during the early years)
“Our first location was in Shenton Park and we were really deliberate in the way we scaled our business,” Mr Holder said.
“We wanted to make sure that we had a really strong foundation in order to be a long-term business.
“Our industry is synonymous for churn and burn franchises – getting high evaluations, scaling and getting re-sold to the founder.
“My mentality was that I want to be here for a good time and a long time.
“So making sure I built it the right way from the ground up was super important to me. And so, we opened six locations in eight years.
“That was because I wanted to make sure the culture was strong, the brand equity within the market and our team was there.”
(On determining gym locations during the early years)
“It sounds naïve, but I just asked our members where they wanted us to open,” Mr Holder said.
“There was no ambition to go into South Australia or Victoria – it was, if our member is leaving, (it was about) asking them where they were going, and if there was a common trend, to go there.
“We started in Shenton Park and saw there was an influx of people going to Northbridge. So we went to Northbridge.
“I grew up in Scarborough and knew Scarborough would be a great location. I saw so many of our existing members at Shenton Park driving from Floreat, City Beach and Scarborough and Doubleview.
“All of that data that we were able to collect over that journey helped us refine our model.
“Now, we’ve got a really strong network strategy, that has been deemed successful because of our footprint in South Australia and now in Victoria, that is servicing us incredibly well.”
(On deciding to expand interstate)
“We took 10 years at that point in time before we entered into a new market, built up the brand equity and trust within the community,” Mr Holder said.
“Our responsibility was to try and find a strategy, find a way, to be able to do that in a short period of time, to be able to be within the hearts and minds of a new market.
“And South Australia is a great example.
“Coincidently, the only reason why we started in South Australia – and I’m so grateful and so happy we did, because it’s an incredible state with incredible people – is that we had an open border with them in 2021, so I could actually go there and visit some sites.”
(On extra capital growth for the business)
“In 2021, we decided to run a dual-track investment process, to be able to either list the business on the ASX or find private investment.
“And that was really fruitful for my own personal development because it just made me understand the business at a whole deeper level.
“When you get to an ASX listing, the intricacies of understanding how the numbers work is incredibly important.
“It was a very interesting time because you’re living in a financial world but you’re driving a people-focused business and a member-first mentality.
“So that was a really great moment for me to be able to understand my purpose and what drives me every single day.
“At the same point in time, we were still talking to other investors to see if we could get some capital injection – because we were really happy with scaling the business in Western Australia.
“We love Western Australia. I love being Western Australian. But the opportunity to be able to scale was too good to refuse.
“And after a couple of roadshows that we’d done, a friend of mine who I had a business with earlier on in my journey – I had an equipment distribution business to be able to minimise the cost of a fit out.
“The guy who owned the other portion of the business in Sydney called me up and said ‘there’s this guy looking to scale in Australia and open gyms, would you like to have a chat’ – and I thought, what’s another meeting?
“And that’s where I met ‘Patch’ (David Patchell-Evans), my second investor.
“Not since George (Gelavis) had I met somebody who was passionate about helping people, had the experience and was willing to support me not in getting my way.
“That was incredibly powerful meeting him. And the three of us, sitting together, being able to solidify that relationship.
“It is incredibly difficult stepping back from a listing process – purely because we were so far in.”
