Ish Cheyne's guest appearances

Ish Cheyne

The Fitness Industry Podcast

The PT Graduate

Frontline Magic Podcast

Dean Karnazes

Turia Pitt

Ryan Hurst

Horst Schulze

Michelle Segar

Todd Durkin

Dan Cockerell

Joe Thornton

Emma Barry

Erin Brown

Andrew Wilson

Sean Greeley

Brian St

Mike Fitch

Luke Carlson

OwlTail

Seeing mistakes as opportunityThe story: Ish started his career with Les Mills by mistake, ending up with a sales role after heading into the wrong door for his first chef’s job. He could have turned around and walked out - yet this serendipitous event introduced Ish to a new, exciting industry and 27 years later, he’s never looked back. “I'd never been to a gym before but went on to retrain as a fitness instructor – it was a big change!”The lesson:  We need to start reframing ‘mistakes’ as opportunities. When we do that, our greatest successes just might follow. Thriving through new normalsThe story: “When it feels like you have a handle on life and everything it throws at you… there’s often one more thing you have to learn how to cope with…” For Ish, during lockdown, this was open heart surgery for a loved one in the middle of an epidemic.  “I went into a space where I thought ‘this isn't fair.’ I didn’t see it differently until a friend asked ‘when did you ever think life was fair?’ And isn’t that the same with business? This is the best time to work together – look at the problems and work things out as a team. These are the times that show us how strong we are. Some things will be out of our control, but we can still control how we react.”The lesson: While we’re looking out for the unexpected and new normals, it’s critical to ask: what can we stay in control of and adapt to?The power of reinventionThe story: Les Mills prides itself on personal connection, but during Covid, that connection was abruptly taken away. “For us, that meant a re-think of ‘the way we’ve always done it’. We landed on creating a great experience no matter where the customer wants to work out - including in the privacy of their home. The key for us was to make that experience as consistent as possible.”The lesson: There is always opportunity to rethink; to reangle. Awesome customer experience comes down to exceeding customer expectations - and there isn’t only one way to do that.Leveraging the human touch The story: “Unlike many businesses, our NPS improved through lockdown and it comes down to the connection between clubs and their members. Many of our club’s managers took it upon themselves to ring up each and every club member personally to simply ‘check-in’. Some of the members were older members who told us we were the only ones to have rung them over that time just to ask: ‘Are you ok?’ There’s power in connection.”The lesson: Customer experience comes down to the teams operating at the frontline - this is where success is created and where customers will quickly suss out whether ‘head office vision’ has made its way down to every member of staff.As Ish concludes our interview, he tells us that “We can figure things out through life experience, resilience and connection.“ Wise words from a man who has truly lived them. 

Seeing mistakes as opportunityThe story: Ish started his career with Les Mills by mistake, ending up with a sales role after heading into the wrong door for his first chef’s job. He could have turned around and walked out - yet this serendipitous event introduced Ish to a new, exciting industry and 27 years later, he’s never looked back. “I'd never been to a gym before but went on to retrain as a fitness instructor – it was a big change!”The lesson: We need to start reframing ‘mistakes’ as opportunities. When we do that, our greatest successes just might follow. Thriving through new normalsThe story: “When it feels like you have a handle on life and everything it throws at you… there’s often one more thing you have to learn how to cope with…” For Ish, during lockdown, this was open heart surgery for a loved one in the middle of an epidemic. “I went into a space where I thought ‘this isn't fair.’ I didn’t see it differently until a friend asked ‘when did you ever think life was fair?’ And isn’t that the same with business? This is the best time to work together – look at the problems and work things out as a team. These are the times that show us how strong we are. Some things will be out of our control, but we can still control how we react.”The lesson: While we’re looking out for the unexpected and new normals, it’s critical to ask: what can we stay in control of and adapt to?The power of reinventionThe story: Les Mills prides itself on personal connection, but during Covid, that connection was abruptly taken away. “For us, that meant a re-think of ‘the way we’ve always done it’. We landed on creating a great experience no matter where the customer wants to work out - including in the privacy of their home. The key for us was to make that experience as consistent as possible.”The lesson: There is always opportunity to rethink; to reangle. Awesome customer experience comes down to exceeding customer expectations - and there isn’t only one way to do that.Leveraging the human touch The story: “Unlike many businesses, our NPS improved through lockdown and it comes down to the connection between clubs and their members. Many of our club’s managers took it upon themselves to ring up each and every club member personally to simply ‘check-in’. Some of the members were older members who told us we were the only ones to have rung them over that time just to ask: ‘Are you ok?’ There’s power in connection.”The lesson: Customer experience comes down to the teams operating at the frontline - this is where success is created and where customers will quickly suss out whether ‘head office vision’ has made its way down to every member of staff.As Ish concludes our interview, he tells us that “We can figure things out through life experience, resilience and connection.“ Wise words from a man who has truly lived them.

13. Leading yourself and business through change with Ish Cheyne, Head of Fitness for Les Mills New Zealand

This week I talk to the head of fitness at Les Mills and ask him all about how Les Mills do fitness. He talks about the Les Mills induction programme for new trainers and how they have changed the paradigm at Les Mills to benefit both the PT's and their businesses but also the LM brand and each of their facilities.   How to build a business within a business How that's OK long term too - you don't have to do your own thing The 'Not so Breakfast Podcast' show he runs with Sacha Coburn And much more...   Others: Join Rich's newsletter list at The PT Mentor: http://bit.ly/PTMNewslet

This week I talk to the head of fitness at Les Mills and ask him all about how Les Mills do fitness. He talks about the Les Mills induction programme for new trainers and how they have changed the paradigm at Les Mills to benefit both the PT's and their businesses but also the LM brand and each of their facilities.  <ul> <li>How to build a business within a business</li> <li>How that's OK long term too - you don't have to do your own thing</li> <li>The 'Not so Breakfast Podcast' show he runs with Sacha Coburn</li> <li>And much more...</li> </ul> Others: Join Rich's newsletter list at The PT Mentor: <a href="http://bit.ly/PTMNewslet" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/PTMNewslet</a>

#6 Ish Cheyne

Head of Fitness for Les Mills New Zealand, Ish Cheyne, talks specialisation, contracting and cashflow, and why trainers should stop trying to get married in a Tinder world, with Network’s Oliver Kitchingman.

How PTs can survive and thrive, with Ish Cheyne