The government needs to come up with a hard-hitting fitness campaign if it is to succeed in its bid to make Britain healthier says Mark Bremner, managing director of 3d Leisure and FitNation.

Speaking to Health Club Management magazine, Bremner said a government sponsored campaign with informative but no-nonsense messages is vital.

“It’s time we told people that if they don’t exercise, they’re not going to be able to play football with their kids when they’re 50,” he said.

“And we have to get through to the kids. If we do, two generations down the line we’ll have cracked it.”

He suggests that a pilot scheme to be launched in the north east by Sport England could be the basis for a national campaign.

‘Everyday sport: everybody feels better for it’, will highlight how people can add activity into their daily lives.

“It encourages people to stop using lifts and take the stairs, to go for a walk or to do some gardening,” said Bremner. “From there what follows is people start believing they can branch out and keep exercising. It’s exactly the kind of message we need to get across.”

Bremner aims to add five new contracts a year to the 42 hotel-based health clubs operated by 3d Leisure and grow his latest venture, FitNation – a group of independent operators working together to harness their collective power – from 195 members to 300 as soon as possible.

Bremner was also a co-founder of DC Leisure, which was sold to private equity firm Sovereign Capital last November – alongside Dave Cross, Tim Caunter and Mike Griffiths. The team is currently exploring the possibility of contract management work in Portugal. For the full interview with Mark Bremner, see Health Club Management May 2004