Getting physical

Westchester County Business Journal, Mar 17, 2008 by Fallon, Bill

It's heartening to walk into Altheus Health and Sport in Rye to find three principals who aren't just talking the talk of fitness.

CEO Marc Tascher is a runner.

Rocco Greco, vice president of operations, is a former Marine and current power lifter.

Kyle Tucker, who runs sales and marketing, plays hockey.

Tucker came on board five and a half years ago, or as he put it, "About two months after they built the building."

Tascher came to Altheus' 8,200-square-foot facility one year ago with 30 years as a health club executive behind him. He was CEO for 22 years of TSI, the company that owns the New York (and Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston) Sports Club.

Greco is a 17-year veteran of the industry; he has been with Altheus a month aid a half.

Greco and Tascher represent Altheus's step, perhaps leap, to the next level: exporting the Altheus philosophy - complete with home-trained staff - to other facilities.

The first contract - with 18 Healthtrax clubs in eight states - is under way and said Tasher, "There has been alot of interest. We're turning clubs away. There's a demand for high-quality, successfully managed personal training."

The program is slated to begin in Stamford, Conn., later this year, Tascher said, which affirms his mission: "I came here to take this athletic concept and grow it. We'll be taking over fitness staffing and personal training with the Altheus system at Healthtrax. Altheus employees will be on-site."

"A typical health club trainer has taken a course and gotten a certificate after two or three weeks," Tucker said. "Ours typically has two to three years training."

The Altheus system also incorporates a bond between client and trainer, designed to counter a health club phenomenon that afflicts many joiners after six months and no Charles Atlas physique and causes them to leave.

At its 2 Clinton Ave. facility, the core clientele involved in one-on-one training is between 100 and 200, according to Tucker. "Double that for all the services, like spinning classes, physical therapy, massage, and, the golf and tennis programs. Once our client is here, we do everything we can to make them succeed."

Tascher called the tennis program, "Without peer."

The vision boils down to service of the sort familiar to high-end athletes, what Tascher identified as "superior, specialized, fully integrated personal coaching. There's a lot of communication with clients as far as their goals areconcerned."

Altheus' staff monitors progress, or, perhaps, lack thereof (the Twinkle not forgotten). "We're in tune with the clients," Tucker said. "They have a head coach. We always know their status."

Said Tascher: "The industry is realizing you have to provide support. It's about education."

The Rye High School football team employed Altheus methodology during its 2007 march to the class B state gridiron championship.

A rack of sturdy iron weights complement high-tech machinery; a lounge with television allows for a meeting for perhaps a solitary moment reading) free of the gym.

Training begins with a cardio-vascular test involving 25 minutes running, walking or biking. "A full health check is first where we're looking for any red flags," Tascher said. "It gives us a really good overview on the cardiovascular health of a client."

Altheus stresses the whole body working as a well-oiled machine, including the need for proper nutrition. The company's programs, plus personal goals like running a marathon, walking a mile or driving the green, lead to a customized plan for managing the human physical plant. And that, in turn, leads to what Tascher called "a three- to four-month training program designed to really get them rolling."