Judi Sheppard Missett
Founder and CEO of Jazzercise - Show #47

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Jazzercise, Inc. (www.jazzercise.com ), Judi Sheppard Missett, has turned her love of jazz dance into a worldwide dance exercise phenomenon.

A fitness advocate and aerobic dance pioneer for more than 36 years, she continues to break new ground in the industry through innovative class formats, exciting customer/instructor conventions, and broad-reaching community service programs.

Judi also serves as President and CEO of her international franchise business, with more than 6,300 instructors and employs 150 support personnel from its Carlsbad, CA headquarters.

A native of Iowa, Judi attended Northwestern University in Illinois and earned her degree in theater and radio/television in 1966. She worked as a professional dancer throughout college and after graduation. While teaching traditional jazz dance classes in Chicago, Judi turned her students away from the mirror and created a special “just for fun” class which marked the beginning of Jazzercise.

In 1972, Judi and her family moved to Southern California. Five years later, Judi began training new instructors, which led to the rapid spread of Jazzercise around the globe. Over the years, Jazzercise has acted upon Judi’s philosophy of “giving back to the community.” Judi and her legion of instructors have raised more than $26 million for a wide range of charities by leading special large-scale workout classes, performances at major sporting events, and local benefits.

Other benefits include “Kids Get Fit,” a free workout program designed to help school districts promote fitness as a way of life to children; and the “CyberStretch School Giveaway Program,” featuring free innovative software that guides users through energizing stretch breaks in an easy-to-use interactive screensaver format. CyberStretch by Jazzercise can help reduce tension and the risk of repetitive stress injuries. The screensaver format reminds users to do CyberStretch before starting work on a computer, as well as throughout the day.

Jazzercise has spawned several other successful businesses, including JM DigitalWorks, an award-winning fullservice, video and multimedia production company and Jazzertogs, a multi-million dollar fitness apparel mail-order catalog business.

The Jazzercise philosophy states: “We believe fitness is an important aspect of well-being and enhances the overall quality of people’s lives; therefore, Jazzercise is committed to helping people understand and value the importance of health and fitness.” Judi remains focused on this philosophy, and continues to forge ahead on the industry’s cutting edge to promote fitness for all.

Judi answered the following questions:

How did you come up with the Jazzercise concept?

Discuss the evolution of Jazzercise since its inception to date?

What have you done to keep it fresh and new?

When was Jazzercise at its peak, or is that still yet to come?

What do you see for the future of Jazzercise?

What trends have you seen and do you see for the future of the fitness industry?

How can fitness professionals and health clubs implement Jazzercise?

Discuss how the Jazzercise franchisee system works?

How many franchisees are there?

Do you have to be an instructor to own a Jazzercise franchise?

You have several different class formats – what is the most popular and why?

Do you use any equipment in Jazzercise classes?

Is Jazzercise a women-only workout?

Are there different levels of Jazzercise – beginner, intermediate, advanced?

To listen now click here: Fitness Business Radio (41:32 minutes 9.51 MB)