A Business Diatribe: My Problem with the Fitness Industry (How It Puts Us In Mortal Danger Every Day!)

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A Business Diatribe: My Problem with the Fitness Industry (How It Puts Us In Mortal Danger Every Day!)

Posted by yoni67 under Marketing
From http://jobshuk.com 4771 days ago
Made Hot by: hamed1 on April 4, 2011 2:00 pm

The Fitness Industry pulls in BILLIONS each year.

But who are they selling their products to?

The life and well-being of your little old granny may hinge on the answer!!!

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Comments

Written by yoni67
4769 days ago

BizSugar Webmaster: In the past 5 minutes I'm getting a VIRUS warning from Avira every time I click on any BizSugar page. It says it is a Trojan?

Yoni

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Written by m4bmarketing
4769 days ago

Have to ask Yoni, do you know of any reports that show the the benefits or otherwise of exercising with gym equipment once they are released versus those that do not?

It would be interesting to know.

Susan

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Written by m4bmarketing
4768 days ago

Thanks for doing the research Yoni

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Written by yoni67
4769 days ago

Susan,

I did do a bit of research after reading your reply. Exercise. Boxing. Vocational training. Shiatsu. Massage therapy. Accupuncture. Psychotherapy. Anger-management. All things offered to violent offenders. There are a lot of studies, but I can't find anything other than anecdotal evidence that any of these work.

I did find this sobering US statistic;

"67.5% of violent and sexual offenders released in 2004 were rearrested within 3 years."

Yoni

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Written by businessavante
4769 days ago

The current business model may be broken, but it's far better than the days of Carnegie & child labor. Ethics in those days wasn't even a consideration - they'd of laughed at the thought.

Duncan

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Written by yoni67
4769 days ago

Amen!

Yoni

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Written by moneyonlinesorg
4769 days ago

I'd tend to agree Duncan, it is better, but still has a long way to go. The irony is, there was a time earlier it seemed that they at least put customer before profit...although the child labor thing isn't the greatest I'll admit.

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Written by moneyonlinesorg
4769 days ago

Although I understand the point presented in the comment area here, once again, as I've posted on Dino Dogan's "Corporations Must Die" post, let's look at the baseline Yoni presented. Although he used gym equipment and prisoners as the basis of the message, the base message deals with ethics in business. I very much agree that such things seem to be lacking in this day and age.

It's become a situation where profits are above people, rather than profits being the side product of serving people. The present business model is broken, and I see a needed change coming, motivated by those that get back to basics remembering that business would not exist without those they serve. Therefore, they should take priority above profit. As more learn this, hopefully, and replace those that forgot, we'll eventually see the business climate change. One can at least hope.

Thanks Yoni for helping put the ideals out there. Maybe one day our efforts will help affect change. Nice read.

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Written by yoni67
4769 days ago

James,

Thanks for such a great reply. "Priority above profit" is a great way of summing it up. The weights and the ax-murderers are really only metaphors...I hope it worked.

Yoni

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Written by BusinessGuru
4770 days ago

Very nicely presented Yonatan.

BG

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Written by yoni67
4769 days ago

Thanks BG...much appreciated!

Yoni

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Written by Adam_Gottlieb
4770 days ago

Hi Yoni,

Interesting post... I never thought about it that way.

But I think the idea about providing the equipment is that these men can have some kind of release for their pent up agressions, anger, etc... better they "take it out" on the equipment then on each other and the prision staff.

Sometimes there's value to a product/service that may not be immediately apparent to those who don't use it, or who use it under different conditions. It's the job of the seller/business owner to convey that value to the appropiate people on the outside.

Adam

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Written by yoni67
4770 days ago

Adam,

Great points. Taking out their aggression is probably cathartic. I just worry about that same untreated aggression and anger when they get out. You are right about the responsibilities of the seller though I would prefer giving the prisoners a more gentle outlet like ballet.

Yoni

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Written by alinisrael
4770 days ago

Yoni,

So you know, I can't leave a message on your blog. I get 404 Server response whatever that means. It is the same message I got when your blog was down.

Alan

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Written by yoni67
4770 days ago

Magpie,

Great point! I was so much thinking about the danger to those on the outside that I completely overlooked the effect of beefed-up prisoners on the guards.

Yoni

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Written by joemagid
4770 days ago

Alan,

Job Shuk will have a new website in a matter of a month or two with a new server. Hopefully it will alleviate the problems that have been encountered recently.

Yoni, another great post! I'm not one on rehabilitating violent criminals. I do agree though that making them bigger and stronger is a bad outcome for society and the guards that have to deal with them in prison.

Joe "Magpie" Magid

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Written by alinisrael
4770 days ago

Yoni,

I can finally retrieve your article after many hours of trying. Worth waiting for!

Alan

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Written by yoni67
4770 days ago

Alan,

Those small but frustrating bumps on this road we call life. Hopefully as The Magpie points out it'll all be a distant memory soon. Thanks for reading!

Yoni

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Written by ronika
4771 days ago

It can be difficult for some business owners to disassociate themselves from unethical activities as often they come with significant profits. However, anything that makes you sleep less well at night should be examined very closely as ultimately it impacts your quality of life.

Thanks for the thought provoking post, Yoni.

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Written by yoni67
4771 days ago

Ronika,

Dissociation. Good word! I guess it's also denial. Selling fitness equipment to prisons is not illegal, only borderline unethical and pretty darn stupid. My grandmother should she get mugged has a good chance of knocking someone out with her purse...she's a feisty one. But a 250 pound brute of muscle? No chance. Prison is for paying a debt to society, not pumping iron!

Yoni

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Written by BradenM
4771 days ago

Once a week? say it aint so!

Braden

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Written by saraib820
4770 days ago

Yes Braden, once a week. He spends too much time in front of the computer.

Rivkah

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Written by yoni67
4771 days ago

Braden,

Once a week. I want to start focusing on quality rather than quantity. I also want to take some down-town from blogging to consolidate some ideas. I also want to make a mosaic mural, something I've been wanting to do for some time. I'll use the time to make something more tangible than blog articles.

Yoni

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Written by ShoshFromJobShuk
4771 days ago

Great job Yoni!

An extreme example but you made your point very strongly. Making a profit is one thing but people also have to examine themselves and see how are they making the money.

Morality and ethics have to be factored into the money. If not then the business doesn't stand for anything.

Shosh

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Written by yoni67
4771 days ago

Shosh,

It is kind of an extreme example, but one I've always contemplated. Why the hell do violent offenders get to use weights in prison????

You are right, if you want a business to stand for something it has to be a business with a ccinscience!

Yoni

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Written by businessavante
4771 days ago

It's a very scary thought, Yoni.

They're building up their bodies, have all day to hatch new schemes, are around "career" criminals all day, and then they're released to society - for us to be victimized. Then the whole cycle repeats. And we're paying for all of it.

An analogy of equally convoluted logic was Archie Bunker's plan to halt the then rampant passenger airline hijackings. Pass out pistols to all the passengers as they board, then collect 'em as they go!

Duncan

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Written by yoni67
4771 days ago

Duncan,

Yup, always thinking of wonderful things they'll do when they get out...many with their new, muscular physiques.

BTW: I have taken the advice you made in a comment a while ago on another blog...namely that sometimes posting less can be more.

I have decided to go with a once-a-week format.

Yoni

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