{"id":9916,"date":"2026-04-14T15:35:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coachescongress.com\/london\/?post_type=speakers&p=9916"},"modified":"2026-04-14T20:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:37:08","slug":"lou-atkinson","status":"publish","type":"speakers","link":"https:\/\/coachescongress.com\/london\/speakers\/lou-atkinson\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Lou Atkinson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“The GLP-1 Gold Rush: How Smart Gym Owners Are Turning the Weight Loss Revolution into Revenue”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you will learn:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. GLP-1 users are already walking into your gym \u2014 and many are walking back out. This isn’t a future trend. Millions of people are already on medication-assisted weight loss, and they’re joining gyms. But they’re not like traditional members: their motivations, barriers, and expectations are different, and most gym environments are unintentionally repelling them. Attendees will leave knowing exactly what’s driving this, what to look for and how to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Medication changes biology \u2014 only you can change behaviour. The drugs suppress appetite and trigger weight loss, but they can’t build fitness, develop movement skills, or create the psychological safety that keeps people coming back. That’s the coach’s role. Gyms that understand this aren’t competing with GLP-1 medications \u2014 they’re positioned as the essential partner on the journey. Attendees will understand the specific support gap they can fill and how to articulate that commercially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Strategy beats tactics \u2014 here’s how to assess and act. Knowing there’s an opportunity isn’t enough. You need to know whether your space, your staff conversations, and your programming are structured to attract and retain this segment \u2014 or whether you’re losing them before they even book in. Attendees will get a clear, practical framework to assess their readiness and the highest-impact changes to make first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Lou Atkinson is a behavioural scientist, exercise professional, and industry strategist with 25+ years spanning public health, fitness, academia, and MedTech. She is one of the UK’s leading voices on GLP-1 medications and the fitness industry, having advised gym operators, spoken at international health conferences, and authored widely-read industry guides on the topic. As Founder of Veasta and partner at The Collective, Lou helps gym owners and fitness businesses build the strategies, environments, and programmes needed to attract and retain the fastest-growing client segment in health and fitness today. She speaks and writes with rare authority \u2014 bridging clinical evidence, behavioural science, and hard commercial reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more here:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.wearethecollective.world\/glp-1 https:\/\/www.wearethecollective.world\/glp-1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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