Dr. Paul Bedford started off as a gym instructor and personal trainer, working with members every day to help them achieve their goals.
While he was well qualified (YMCA, ACSM, NSCA), he could never understand why so many people started off full of enthusiasm but, after a short time, stopped exercising and quickly reverted back to their old behaviours.
After progressing his career to Fitness Manager and then General Manager, he continued to seek answers to the problem of exercise adherence and member retention. This led him to study academically, completing a Master’s degree in Exercise and Health Behaviour, followed by a Master’s in Social Science Research, and finally onto his PhD.
He decided to take what he had learned and apply it in real-world situations. First, he tested his theories with small independent clubs then medium size businesses, and then working with national and multinational operators. Each project built his understanding of what to do to increase retention, reduce attrition and improve member loyalty.
Now, after 20 years of focusing on one single problem, Retention Guru serves health club businesses and fitness industry operators globally. Its services are designed to guide operators out of the situation they are in now to a place where members stay longer, pay more, and are more loyal. Recognising that there is no one way to tackle this problem, they developed a framework that they guide our clients through, making the process of change and the adoption of new behaviours easy to learn and embed within their business.