High performance athletes experience the conditions in the fitness world first-hand. Based on his own experiences as an athlete and working in the sports industry for years, Nerio Ganotti saw the need for change.
Nerio is an Italian former lightweight rower. His most successful moments of his athletic career were winning gold medals at the World Rowing Championships in 1986 and in 1988 with the Lightweight Men’s Four. In addition, he won a number of medals in Junior and Senior World Championship between 1983 and 1989.
After his athletic career, Nerio acquired a Bachelor degree in Sports Science while taking over the female Italian rowing national team in the early 90s. After graduating his studies, he first worked in the fitness industry for many years. However, he grew increasingly frustrated and felt dissatisfied with the level of competences and professionalism in the gyms that he had worked in. He knew that he wanted to overcome this dissatisfaction which is where the idea for his own innovative gym concept was born.
360 Human Natural Fitness
In collaboration with a small group of friends, he created the fitness center 360 Human Natural Fitness. His aim was to provide a high quality fitness service that takes into account the whole fitness of a person and not only focuses on physical fitness. The fitness center has developed into a popular and innovative gym located in Torino (Italy) where people can focus on different aspects of health to achieve an overall high level of fitness. The center is accessible to both, regular fitness customers and high performance fitness customers (professional athletes).
Influence of athlete background
Nerio recognizes, due to his own athletic background, that while high-level athletes are very determined and able to channel their energies into a single activity or goal, they often lack flexibility. This tunnel vision potentially leads to drawbacks when the athlete is unable to see the bigger picture and focus on different areas of their life or health.
“It is essential for athletes to be aware of all areas of fitness, not focus on singular activities and always strive for a broad understanding of any obstacle they might face.”
From his experience working with a large variety of athletes, this would then provide them with the needed flexibility in approaching any circumstances they encounter.
In the current difficult situation in relation to the COVID-19 measures and restrictions, Nerio and his colleagues are working on expanding their offer of outdoor activities to keep people moving. Therefore the goal for the near future is creating a safe environment for their clients and flexibly adapting to this ever-changing situation.
It has been insightful to hear about Nerio’s experience with athlete entrepreneurship and we wish him the best on his fitness journey.