Our 187th Dad in the Limelight is Keith Camhi. I want to thank Keith for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing him with all of you.
From Keith Camhi, co-founder and CEO of Great Play, a unique kids’ gym that uses its patented Interactive Arena to bring classes to life using computer technology, image projection and directional sound.
1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)
I’m part nerd, part jock, part entrepreneur, and I’ve managed to put them all together in my work. I’ve always had an interest in a few divergent fields — technology, business and athletics — and it was always interesting that my “circle of friends” from each didn’t really overlap much and they even look at the world in very different ways. For instance, when I was at MIT for grad school, I did a dual masters in engineering (EE/CS) and management, and we happened to be studying Xerox PARC’s Alto computer (first to use the mouse-driven graphical interface) in both a computer science class and a management class. All the CS students (and the professor) concluded that the Alto was a great success story and changed the course of the PC. Over in the business school, it was considered an epic failure (as my sons would say) by Xerox to miss out on commercializing this innovation and allow Steve Jobs to do it instead. Anyway, my interests in these three areas has led me to found two fitness-tech companies, one targeting adults and now one for kids. FitLinxx is the technology leader in the adult fitness industry, for tracking workouts in and out of a gym. And more recently my wife and I founded Great Play, a unique new high tech gym for kids, that we are beginning to franchise nationally.
2) Tell me about your family
I have two sons in middle school. My wife Jyl had a very successful career as a manager at Microsoft during their explosive growth in the 90s and left the corporate world when the kids were born. She decided early on that she wasn’t going to be good at being a PTO mom, so wanted to return to work, but not to the corporate world. We began looking at franchise opportunities for her in the kids’ gym space, but quickly found that there were opportunities for some major improvements to the category, and we decided to pursue that together.
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
The biggest issue is balancing the demands of work with the desire to be present for and with the kids. That was another part of the motivation for starting Great Play. We saw it as a terrific business opportunity, but also an opportunity for it to be a family-friendly business. First, the hours are flexible. Any start-up is going to have long hours and be a lot of work, but we have the flexibility to choose the hours, so we never miss a game, play, meet, etc. Second, it’s a business that ties the kids right in. They attended when they were younger. They’re part of the marketing. Their friends’ siblings attend our classes and parties. They can coach there as they get older, etc. Many of our franchisees have been motivated by the same desire to balance work and family in a business they can feel good about.
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
Make the time to be present. It takes planning, including both short-range day to day planning, and also long-range career planning when you’re starting a family about what path you’re going to go down. Don’t miss out and regret it.
5) Seeing that you (or your position) are in the limelight, how have you come to balance parenthood and outside life? If you are currently not in the limelight per se, please still answer this in regards to how you balance parenthood and outside life.
At the big picture level, I made a conscious decision years ago that having the flexibility to be present with the family (as my parents were) would be part of my career plan. That limits certain avenues, but opens others. And then in the smaller day-to-day picture, it’s a matter of choosing to set aside time for certain things. For me, I make the time to coach the kids’ teams, to get involved with projects, etc. And I also make time to exercise, to try to keep up with my wife!
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
I can vividly remember a round table discussion I was part of about 10 years ago with about a dozen or so other presidents of small to mid-sized companies. I can’t remember the business content at all, but the moderator gave us an icebreaker exercise to each share our happiest memory of childhood with our father. I thought mine would be a little different, maybe a bit inconsequential — his taking me and some friends to Yankee Stadium each year for my birthday. As we went around, person after person recounted one of two nearly identical stories — either a story about going to a game or about their dad coaching them in some sport. It was an “ah ha” moment for me, not to take these seemingly secondary activities for granted. The day to day stuff of providing food and shelter are obviously essential. But the memories are the extras.
7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
Based on that, I have always opted in and been the parent to volunteer to coach the team or run the league or go on the field trip. I always share the story about the round table with any of my stressed-out hard-working friends, and that you can’t get this brief window of time back. They groan a bit as they get the “ah ha” and realize that yes, they have to sign up with me to coach a team that they didn’t have time for, but they always come back afterwards and say, “thanks, you were right.”
What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
It’s all the extras that we didn’t necessarily have time for, but we made the time for. Climbing Camelback as a family. Coaching the boys’ teams in baseball. The expression on my son’s face when he got a walk-off hit in the playoffs and all his teammates ran out to hug him. Doing a school science project together and taking the time to make it really creative and special. Doing a movie-a-thon and watching all the Harry Potter movies together. And having them be part of Great Play!
If you have any questions for Keith, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!
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