Who are you?

Gary McNairn, Managing Director at Get Me Active.

What does your business do?

Get Me Active provides the general public with the information they need to get active. In today's world finding fitness activities can be overwhelming with the vast amount of choice available on the market. Get Me Active has been designed to allow all UK fitness professionals to promote their timetables to the people of their own communities. We believe by providing people with as much information as possible about specific fitness activities, they can make informed choices about the activities they want to take part in.

Where are you based?

Get Me Active is based in Entrepreneurial Spark’s Glasgow Hatchery.

How did you get started?

We started at the kitchen table. After becoming highly involved in the fitness industry through participation I realised that many people were struggling to find out what was available to them within their own communities. Speaking to self-employed fitness instructors I realised that they were struggling to promote themselves. Putting the two together I teamed up with Walter Craig and we got to planning on paper, before identifying our web development agency Digital Impact.

What is your background?

I originally started my career off as a graphic designer with no interest in the fitness industry at all. This came much later when I began my own weight loss journey. At almost 20 stone I knew I had to do something about it, I struggled to find classes within my area and within my budget, holding me back for many years. 6.5 stone later I had a new found passion for the fitness industry and consumed myself in all things active. This lead to the discovery of Get Me Active.

What is your top tip?

Accept all the support you can.

How long has your business been running?

The business has been running since September 2015. The researching, developing and relationship building began in March 2014.

Has anyone helped you get started and how?

There have been a number of people and organisations help with Get Me Active. We have business mentors in Entrepreneurial Spark, Royal Bank of Scotland, Business Gateway and Princes Trust.

What was your first deal?

Our first deal came from Dianne Teo founder of Fatburn Extreme. Also a new start up, Fatburn Extreme encouraged the majority of their 400 instructors to use Get Me Active. As a result this has raised the profile of Fatburn Extreme dramatically and helped Get Me Active attract attention from other fitness concepts and gym chains like Fit4Less.

What was your biggest mistake/or what would you do differently?

I would involve my customers more in the design and planning stage.

Who was/is your mentor/or inspiration?

We have several mentors involved in the business and must give credit to every one. We have been working closely with our mentor from Entrepreneurial Spark, Amy Burnett, who keeps me motivated and inspires me to push through any barriers that we may come across. Charles Robertson from RBS keeps us on track with our finances, and we also have Mark Houston from Business Gateway providing us with support and mentorship as we develop the business.

Where do you plan your business to be in five years time?

In five years Get Me Active is forecasted to be the hub of the UK fitness industry, providing a booking management system for fitness instructors and a search engine for the general public.

Useful contacts

Organisations such as Entrepreneurial Spark, Business Gateway and RBS have provided outstanding support and mentorship.

Contact Details:

gary@getmeactive.co.uk

www.getmeactive.co.uk

facebook.com/getmeactive

Twitter @getmeactive