BURR'S BAR METHOD BLOG

THE 2010 BAR METHOD CONVENTION AND THE RELEASE OF THE NEW EXERCISE DVDs

  

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

Last Friday and Saturday we held our third annual Bar Method franchisee convention at our San Francisco Marina studio. Forty-seven studio owners attended from our 35 Bar Method studios in the U.S. and Canada. In 2011, the number of Bar Method studios will reach around 50. The more of them there are, the more noticeable it becomes that the Bar Method studio owners tend to be cut out of the same cloth. All of them are superb teachers, strong leaders and as one studio owner likes to put it “have drunk the cool aid” and are happily addicted to the Bar Method’s humanistic approach to exercise. In many cases they are close friends with each other.

Every year I like to watch the explosion of excitement when franchisees first walk though the door of our studio and see their friends or meet new fellow studio owners for the first time. Though it was clear to everyone that we’ve grown since last year, the buzz at this convention wasn’t about how big we’re become. People were more interested in another change that’s been taking place. Since last spring, we’ve been working to set up a new organizational framework that will enable the Bar Method to maintain the quality of its classes, and even increase that quality, as it adds new studios. Getting organized might not seem like a particularly electrifying news item, but to me it’s exciting because I know that it will mean you can take a great class in Chicago, then go in Miami and take a class there that will be just a great. Your teachers will have different personalities and styles, but the Bar Method technique will be consistent wherever you go. The exercises will be involving, interesting, fast moving, clearly presented. The music will be dynamic and inspiring, and you will wake up the next day with a stronger, leaner feeling in your muscles. 

The driving force behind the idea to build a
more effective organizational framework is our dynamic new COO Michael Doud who joined our company last spring. Michael has three decades of experience building successful companies and running operational systems for large corporations. He left his management position at a large corporation to join the Bar Method because he believes in it. He takes three classes a week (all at 6 am), works a 12-hour corporate-style day, and has given wings to the Bar Method’s idea that enhancing its capacity to change bodies and lives for the better, not increasing its size, is ultimately the most satisfying goal we can aim for.

To those of you who have been asking about our new DVDs, “The Bar Method Beginner’s Workout,” “The Bar Method Dancer’s Body,” and “The Bar Method Pregnancy Workout,” they are now available! If you don’t see them on the home page, simply refresh your browser. Our intention in creating these DVDs was to make them as closely as possible resemble the feel, spirit and effectiveness of our studio classes, and I think we succeeded. All three classes are fun and fast-moving and include a bonus section taught by me on how to do the basic exercises in good form. Enjoy!