Let’s take a look at a topic of perennial importance to independent gyms and the fitness industry. That topic is, of course, generational appeal. Specifically through this series of articles we will be deep-diving into different ‘target’ generations, looking at how to appeal to each in various ways, including marketing, social media, branding, and gym equipment.

While all of the generations the fitness industry currently wants to appeal to (and not just the ‘younger generations’) feel close to one another, their differences could not be more pronounced. 

This is an important topic to revisit, especially in our current cultural, media, and technology landscape. The 18-year-old gym members of today are much more distinct from the 18-year-old gym members of even five years ago, let alone ten or twenty. It is our job in the fitness industry to understand how demographic expectations shift. And with each generation more and more defined by the technology that was available to them in their childhood, these expectations are shifting in unusual ways.

The 18-year-old gym-member of twelve years ago most likely didn’t have a smartphone in school. The 18-year-old gym-member now has never known a world without one. 

So our articles are going to look at both sides of this divide, looking at what can be done to appeal to both the current ‘younger’ generation, 18-28, and the generation above. Together these two generations represent a sizable portion of the current gym-going population, some studies estimate they represent as much as 80%. As such, it is a market that few independent gym owners can’t afford to ignore.