2025 Podcast Roundup

Shorts With Liz Clark

A year of compelling guests.

HFA’s podcast Shorts With Liz Clark debuted in 2024 and immediately made an impact. Featuring insightful conversations between HFA President and CEO Liz Clark and a series of industry leaders and innovators, the production continued its strong run in 2025 with nearly two dozen episodes and a growing audience. Here are highlights of some of our favorites. All episodes of the podcast are available on-demand.

Shorts With Liz Clark is sponsored by

Emmett Williams, Chair of AUSactive, and Barrie Elvish, Former CEO of AUSactive

(AIR DATE: OCTOBER 2)

AUSactive Chair Emmett Williams and former CEO Barrie Elvish shared insights from their Leaders Forum in Canberra, Australia, revealing a sophisticated advocacy strategy that is making significant strides in positioning exercise as a cornerstone of preventive healthcare in that country.

The Leaders Forum brought together approximately 90 industry leaders, allied health professionals, and politicians in Australia’s Parliament House. The event featured presentations from about 10 politicians focusing on health and physical activity policy. Speakers also included the new president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and specialists discussing topics like GLP-1 medications and mental health.

The approach of the two Australian fitness leaders parallels HFA’s own advocacy work in the United States. Williams credits the event’s inspiration to HFA’s congressional Fly-In event, launched in 2023.

Eyes on 2032

With Brisbane, Queensland, hosting the 2032 Olympic Games, AUSactive sees a seven-year opportunity to create the first Olympics legacy that meaningfully increases population-level physical activity. Previous Olympics have failed to change general population behavior, but Australia is positioning itself differently.

Australia ranked 144th out of 148 countries for adolescent physical activity adherence. “We want Brisbane 2032 to be the first [Olympics] that leaves a true legacy of increased physical activity,” Williams says.

Martin Seibold, CEO, LifeFit Group

(AIR DATE: SEPTEMBER 18)

On the podcast, Seibold revealed that his path to becoming CEO of LifeFit Group began with an HFA internship in Boston during the 1990s—an experience that launched a 20-year career journey culminating in leadership of one of Europe’s fastest-growing fitness companies.

Today, LifeFit Group operates 170 clubs across Germany under premium brands including Fitness First, SmileX, and Elbgym, alongside franchise operations Barry’s and Club Pilates. Under new ownership by Waterland Private Equity, Seibold has set an ambitious target to reach 250 locations by 2028.

Seibold shared a memorable anecdote about a time he took an unconventional approach to making a first impression. When joining Fitness First Germany as marketing manager in 1998, he showed up to his first meeting dressed as an Easter Bunny when he was unable to find suitable Christmas attire for a promotional campaign. “I still have that bunny outfit, and I bring it out each Easter,” Seibold shared, noting he conducts Easter week meetings in the costume to this day.

Beyond his creative marketing tactics, Seibold emphasized the critical importance of empowering general managers at the club level. “A club can be successful without a good general manager, but it will be definitely more successful when you have [one],” he explained, noting that service-led operations require the right people on-site to create welcoming atmospheres.

Comparing European and US fitness markets, Seibold highlighted significant differences in membership contracts and financing leverage ratios. While German operators can still sell 24-month contracts for over 70% of memberships, US markets have shifted mostly to month-to-month models.

For the next generation entering the fitness industry, Seibold’s advice is simple: “It’s a fantastic time to start in the industry ... it will be an amazing journey.”

Annbeth Eschbach, CEO and Co-founder, ResetOne

(AIR DATE: AUGUST 21)

Eschbach shared insights from her trailblazing journey with Clark, explaining how she built wellness company Exhale into a leading mind-body brand, then redefined women’s healthcare at Kindbody, and now is pioneering the future of longevity with ResetOne. Eschbach was also the first woman to serve as chair of the HFA Board.

Eschbach reflected on her early years launching Exhale in the early 2000s, long before “wellness” became mainstream. Her mission then was simple yet revolutionary: to unite spa, fitness, and mindfulness under one holistic experience. That fusion, she explained, “set the tone for what wellness would become—a complete lifestyle.”

After selling Exhale, Eschbach turned her focus to Kindbody, where she helped scale the women’s health startup into a major force in fertility care. The move, she says, deepened her understanding of how women approach their health. “Women want access, transparency, and personalization,” she notes—principles that continue to guide her leadership.

Now at ResetOne, Eschbach is leading a movement toward personalized longevity—a health model that’s “preventative, data-driven, and deeply personal.” The company uses precision diagnostics and integrative coaching to help individuals extend their health span, not just their life-span. “The future of health,” she says, “is about being proactive before problems start.”

Eschbach also offers guidance for founders, especially women, aiming to innovate in health and wellness: embrace reinvention and lead with authenticity. “Each chapter builds on the last,” she says. “Your experience is your edge.”