How the years fly by when you’re having fun! It was quite a double-take for the HCM team when we realised we were approaching 300 editions of the magazine and I hope you enjoy our special feature on page 62, celebrating this milestone.

When we set off on this journey, the fitness industry as we know it today was still in its infancy, with just a handful of trailblazing independent clubs such as Holmes Place (1980) the Hogarth Club (1981) and David Lloyd (1982) in existence.

Over the years, we’ve been privileged to write about the launch of the major industry players that followed, including such legends as The Barbican Health and Fitness Centre in 1988 (now owned by Nuffield), Dragons (1991), Fitness First (1993), Bannatyne (1997), Vardon/Cannons (1998) Virgin Active (1999) and so the list goes on.

It’s almost impossible now to imagine a time when there were no health clubs, gyms and studios and the only way to exercise was to play sport or go for a run in your fairly terrible training shoes (Nike UK, 1982) or do some press-ups (Technogym, 1983). Perhaps one of your best options was to do a Jane Fonda workout (1982).

Writing in this issue on page 71, Dave Stalker celebrates this era and the characters who shaped the emerging sector, saying “Our industry was blessed to have a generation of entrepreneurs...and a great market has been built on their shoulders...”

This is an important thing to celebrate, as the industry was forged by individuals of huge energy and passion, such as John Treharne, Harm Tegelaars, Fred Turock, Mark Mastrov and David Giampaolo.

The sector that’s emerged is now one of the most visible parts of the global economy, intertwined with the lives of millions of people, with millions of employees and an army of suppliers driving innovation at a breathtaking speed.

From our small start, HCM has grown to be read by people in 14,000 cities around the world, something I would not have believed possible at the outset.

We embraced the internet very early on and now publish in seven formats, including a raft of digital, online, social, ezine and – still – print, for those who prefer it.

This is more than a job for most in the industry – me included. It’s an industry that changes lives, that saves lives and that creates quality of life, which makes our work rewarding and meaningful.

Thank you to everyone who makes what we do possible – especially our clients, authors and the HCM teams, past and present – with a special shout out to publisher, Jan Williams, who is the beating heart of HCM.