Exercise of Inclusion

As part of my continued exploration I took a Zumba class for the first time. As someone who enjoys exercise, enjoys music, dancing and was a former cardio kickboxing junkie  people were surprised to hear that I had never attended a class before. Zumba, founded in 2001, has become one of the largest exercise classes in the world. Zumba's boasts over 15 million users in 180 countries. As part of my continued research project in the evolution of the concept I am creating, I thought it would be important to learn what all buzz was about.

I was able to locate a class using the official Zumba websites class locator. Studio offerings ranged from health clubs such as the Equinox and Sports Club LA to dance companies located in VFW halls. I selected a class 3 miles from my office located at an American Legion in Newton.  While it was simple to find the building it was challenging to find the class location as a Bingo game was playing in the large hall and it was difficult to determine who was a Zumba attendee and who was there for Bingo. Really, I chased down some 20 something girls in sweatpants hoping to follow them to Zumba class only to find out that they were attending Bingo.  I was able to finally find the room once the music started for class. I was able to enter the class late and only required to pay my $5 cash fee, no pesky waivers or health forms to contend with. Out on the dance floor I tried my best to follow along with the instructor to the beat of the songs. My group ranged in ages from 8 years old (the teachers daughter) to about 60. Size and athleticism range was also on as large a scale. The one common denominator was that everyone was there to have fun. The class lasted an hour for a total of about 12 different songs and routines. I was wearing a fitbit during the class and tracked walking 3 miles over the duration of the class. At the end there was a cool down period where slowed down salsa and meringue moves were used to stretch us out. I found the class to be a great experience and I plan to incorporate into my routine.

Zumba exploded on the scene in 2001 and was created by a Columbian celebrity fitness instructor who had forgot his aerobics soundtracks and used a music from his car and incorporated dance moves from  hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue, mambo and martial arts to teach an aerobics class.  (wikipedia) Zumba sells DVD's, video game programs, clothing and accessories. It also offer certified training to become an instructor. Zumba does not charge a licensing fee to gyms and individual looking to teach Zumba classes. Zumba derives its revenues from the products for sale through its website. http://www.zumba.com/en-US  This is pretty important for a few reasons. First off, Zumba makes it very easy and accessible for consumers to consumer their core product of exercise. By doing this they have broadened the scope of consumers introduced to the Zumba JTBD which is "ditch the workout and join the party". Zumba has also done an excellent job of building a loyal fan base where each participant feels like they belong. Lastly, Zumba makes it very simple to consume their product on a number of different levels. Attending a Zumba class and studying their revenue streams was very helpful for me in working on my concept.