I've been a member of my gym (a close competitor to Fitness First) for well over 10 years and have never really considered switching to any other health club, in fact I've never even been tempted to go and have a look. 

However, the staff of Fitness First in Streatham were recently handing out bottles of water on the street and we got chatting. I had my camera with me as I had just finished a shoot so I asked if they wanted a quick photograph that I could tweet and help promote their day. The staff were very friendly and we soon got chatting and having a laugh. On this rare occasion I accepted their invite to have a look inside and I have to say it certainly opened my eyes in a positive way. 

My honest perception was that Fitness First were a very high turnover gym who were more interested in signing members up for profit than offering a nice training environment and health club for members. But I have a good friend who works in their finance team and he occasionally says to me that I should drop in and have a look. Due to significant investment and a premium re-branding the Fitness First is probably not what I perceived it to be nor what it once may have been.  I decided on this day to step inside and the facilities were great. It's far bigger than I imagined based on the outside entrance and the staff were certainly very welcoming. I've worked in the Leisure industry many years ago at a 5* venue and my degree back in the day was based on the Leisure Industry. So I have a good feel for clubs and what I think many of them lack is a genuine personality where staff and members engage and have decent conversation. 

I was shown around by Saba and as she gave me the grand tour there were a few members that she knew by name. That's not rocket science but I feel its an attention to detail that many clubs lack. 

I have attached a few pic's below including a quick team shot as I left the club. It's great to see the team vibe and by the looks of things, Fitness First have certainly changed for the better based on my limited experience.