Brad Belote, APR, on Teamwork and Storytelling
By Amy Jacques
June-July 2023
Name: Brad Belote, APR
Title: Senior Manager, Internal Communications, Planet Fitness
Location: Hampton, N.H.
Job highlights: Performing as emcee for centennial celebrations, launching a storytelling podcast, producing a variety show to celebrate DE&I
Favorite downtime activity: Teaching group exercise
Any 3 dinner guests — past or present: Barack Obama, Lorne Michaels, Brené Brown
Favorite books: The Bible, “Atomic Habits,” “The Alchemist,” “The Phantom Tollbooth”
Best leadership advice: “Hire the best people, then get out of the way and let them do their jobs.”
Apps you can’t live without: Tiny AI scan, Libby, Marco Polo, Duolingo
You’ve had an interesting and varied career. Talk about how you got your start in public relations, and how you recently came to work for Planet Fitness.
Life can be funny. I started working in a newsroom when I was 15 years old. The same boss I had as a teenager hired me 20 years later to work in corporate communications. I’ve also been a group fitness instructor for nearly a decade. The opportunity to bring the passion for my main hustle and my side hustle together was a very exciting proposition.
Adaptation has been the name of the game. My previous company had big plans to celebrate its centennial in 2020 and 2021. COVID sabotaged our big celebrations and required us to be creative and venture into areas we had never explored before.
We launched a podcast. We dedicated a sculpture like it was a New Year’s Eve countdown show but couldn’t have any crowds around to celebrate. Even in a post-COVID world, communicators have to be willing to fail fast, experiment and see what works.
You’re currently the 2023 PRSA District Chair. What’s top of mind among your peers and leadership right now?
Membership and volunteer leader engagement is at the top of my mind. Some chapters are back to or exceeding 2019 levels. Others are still finding their way in the new world. Identifying and delivering on the value proposition is a major challenge for PRSA at all levels.
You’ve held several leadership positions with PRSA for a decade — dating back to 2013. What inspired you to pursue these roles and what have you learned from these volunteer experiences?
If you are going to do something, then do it well. Being a volunteer leader has been deeply rewarding through the connections and relationships I’ve cultivated through PRSA. Each role presented its own unique set of challenges and opportunities and required tapping into new resources and meeting new people. There’s a lot of value in being a PRSA member and volunteer. You get out of it what you put into it.This issue focuses on health and wellness as it relates to public relations. Why do you think communicators are placing more emphasis on this now, and what does it mean for the profession?
The COVID-19 pandemic was a blunt trauma on the world and our psyches. We will not fully understand the impact of that trauma for a long time. In the meantime, we have quickly realized that there is an impact and that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to meeting people where they are and helping adjust and adapt to the new world.For communicators, it’s being mindful of the message and the medium. Attention is more fractured than it’s ever been. We must produce and optimize content for the platform.
What exciting things are you seeing in the profession right now, related to health and wellness as well as internal comms?
I’ll join the artificial intelligence chorus. You have to think beyond just writing or prompting; think about all the things you do in a given day and where AI can accelerate or amplify your work. It’s also a great opportunity for communicators to lead the discussion on the ethical implications of AI, disclosure, media literacy and helping consumers wisely navigate what they are consuming.
At Planet Fitness, how do you motivate and inspire your team, and what are some ways you are able to find work-life balance?
Every leader must recognize their team members are people, not just human capital. They have flesh and blood and emotions. The best leaders listen to and observe their team members and meet them where they are. That means not just giving them permission to have work-life harmony, but also encouraging them and modeling for them what that looks like to be successful.
You are Accredited in Public Relations. What inspired you to obtain your APR?
I love climbing mountains and pursuing ambitious goals. Once I started my career, I wanted to earn my APR. I loved the experience and have enjoyed helping others on their APR journey. Studying helped crystallize the important principles of public relations that I had only absorbed by osmosis.
Your LinkedIn profile says you love telling stories, which is key to good public relations. What do you think makes a great story?
There are three important ingredients: characters, stakes and transformation.
Amy Jacques
Amy Jacques is the managing editor of publications for PRSA. A native of Greenville, S.C., she holds a master’s degree in arts journalism from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Georgia’s Grady College and a certificate in magazine and website publishing from New York University.
