Podcast Ep 348: Martina Calvey, founder of Hello Good Life Ireland, on power-assisted exercise, Ireland’s ageing population and why community is central to healthy ageing.
For a long time boasting one of Europe’s youngest populations, Ireland is now ageing fast. By 2030 close to half of the population will be over 50.
For Mayo-based entrepreneur Martina Calvey, there is a gap in the market that Irish gyms have mostly left unfilled: exercise for people who feel conventional gym floors were never built for them.
“Everybody should have access to power-assisted exercise if they want, because it’s a life changer and it’s a life extender for people”
Calvey is the founder of Hello Good Life Ireland, a Mayo-founded social enterprise that has opened four health and wellbeing hubs in the west of the country and wants to eventually have a presence in every county of Ireland. Her pitch rests on a specific technology – power assisted exercise machines – and a demographic that she believes Irish policy has yet to catch up with.
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“By 2030, somewhere around 45% of the population will be over 50. According to the Irish Health Monitor, just 4% of the Irish population are doing weekly strength training, for example, whereas the national guidelines are recommending twice a week. So there’s a massive shortfall, and that was backed up by a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, and it found the lowest risks of dying early were when people did a decent amount of aerobic exercise and strength training every week, and combined that with social connection.”
The idea for Hello Good Life came out of personal experience. Calvey suffered a health setback in her 50s and found the exercise equipment available to her in Ireland unsuitable. She travelled to England, where she found power-assisted machines built for people in her position.
“I found this power-assisted exercise equipment, and what I found there was just absolutely amazing,” she said. There, the machines had already been rolled out across more than 100 centres, part of a wider industry serving older adults in Norway, Austria and Germany.
Calvey and her partner Seamus designed an Irish version of the concept, the Hello Good Life Hub, covering branding, equipment, training and marketing. Four hubs are now operating, in Roscommon Town, Bunninadden in County Sligo, and Castlebar and Newport in County Mayo. Each runs a circuit of 12 power-assisted machines delivering a full body workout in under 40 minutes.
The model is membership based, close to a conventional gym. “We generally find there’s over 500 members in these hubs,” Calvey said, with members paying monthly, six-month or annual fees. In Castlebar, annual membership runs to €720, covering hub access and classes. “People see it as a real investment in their health,” she said.
Hello Good Life is growing through gyms and through community groups. Existing gym owners can install a hub and pay an annual licence fee, either under the Hello Good Life brand or as a white label fitted to their own colours. Community groups, particularly in rural areas, can apply for LEADER funding to install a hub themselves, as happened in County Sligo.
“LEADER funding is very important for Ireland and for rural communities in particular,” Calvey said, adding that she hopes the funding line is protected amid current uncertainty over its future.
Nationwide fitness revolution
Hello Good Life Ireland founders Seamus Davitt and Martina Calvey
Calvey wants at least one hub in every county within a few years.
“Our plans for around the country, if we can connect with partners and operators, whether it is community groups, GAA clubs, gyms, whatever it is, we work with them, as I said, with the Hello Good Life Hub, or they can create their own white label. If it’s a GAA club, they could do it in their county colours or their club colours.
“If we could start one in every county, two maybe, after a couple of years grow it, and have a network for people. The truth is everybody should have access to power-assisted exercise if they want, because it’s a life changer and it’s a life extender for people.”
Calvey, who has no institutional backing or state affiliation, frames the business in personal terms. “I’m just a person that had a personal experience along with my partner Seamus,” she said. “We went to four and five of these places in England, and we were just gobsmacked. This has to be in Ireland.”
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Listen to the ThinkBusiness Podcast for business insights and inspiration. All episodes are here. You can also listen to the Podcast on:
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Spotify
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SoundCloud
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