Meet the Mytime Active team!

Steve May has recently stepped into the role of CEO at Mytime Active. With this appointment, his career has come full circle from a teenage lifeguard at Mytime Active's Walnuts Leisure Centre to leading the entire organisation.

“Becoming Chief Executive is a personal milestone in my career, but what really excites me is the difference that Mytime Active can make to its various communities across the UK,” says Steve. “This is a tremendous opportunity for me to take the charity, where I first began working as just a teenager, to the next level.”

A Vision for Modern Leisure Services

With more than 27 years of experience in the leisure and wellbeing sector, Steve brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. His vision for Mytime Active reflects the evolving nature of the industry.

“Mytime Active has a broad and diverse range of facilities reaching across many regions, and I want to ensure that what we offer people is something compelling, competitive, and constructive from birth to old age.

“Leisure touches so many aspects of our lives. It isn't what it used to be; people expect the sector to focus much more on wellbeing as a whole. I'm proud of how Mytime Active continues to be a trailblazer, with initiatives such as the Wellbeing Hub in The Glades shopping mall in Bromley offering the Vital 5 health checks for our communities, to its volunteer-led buddy programme, ensuring everyone feels welcome at the leisure centre and the golf course.”

Investing in People and Partnerships

At the heart of Steve's leadership philosophy is a commitment to both staff and community.

He explains: “Working with our local communities is centric to everything we do; not just serving our customers, but also valuing our team. The Mytime Active team isn't just our backbone; they're part of the very communities we serve. This connection drives our commitment to being an exceptional employer. By creating a cohesive workforce where staff feel respected and have opportunities to develop their skills, we ensure they deliver the highest quality services to our customers. When our team thrives, our communities benefit.”

Steve believes in developing people for success, whether within Mytime Active or beyond, and has been instrumental in developing closer relationships with local partners, including third sector organisations and local government, to create valuable career pathways.

He says: “The leisure industry has always been accessible, there are few barriers to entry. We're an industry where we'll train you, help you and provide everything you need to do the job. All you need to bring is an open mind and willingness, and we can develop internal pathways to progress you to a duty manager, an operations manager or even a chief executives, just as I’ve done.

“Ultimately, Mytime Active is part of a wider system that supports professional development, providing valuable life skills that benefit people whether they remain in leisure or move to other sectors. Many people begin as lifeguards or fitness instructors before changing tack and following careers into roles such as paramedics, firefighters or police officers. Rather than seeing this as a loss, we should embrace our role in this ecosystem."

A Unique Professional Background

Steve's journey to CEO has equipped him with valuable perspectives and experience. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as Operations Director at Mytime Active. Before that, he worked for Woking Council as the Head of Service responsible for leisure centres, museums and theatres, helping to make Woking a great place to work and live.

“I think it's really important that my background includes working for a council,” Steve explains. “Some people see councils as slow and not responsive enough to residents. However, after almost five years with Woking Council, I understand that politics means sometimes things have to move more slowly as you have so many more hurdles to overcome to get a decision through. Understanding how that process works is a valuable skill set for working with our council partners going forward.”

Steve’s experience also extends to the commercial sector, where he was an Area Manager for Freedom Leisure looking after its Guildford and Woking contracts, including a 560-capacity swimming pool in Guildford, as well as an Olympic sized ice rink, bowling alleys, football pitches and national athletics facilities.

Passion for Sport and Community

Steve has always been passionate about sports. He says: “I played rugby for the county and did a lot of judo growing up. Walnuts Leisure Centre was where I learned to swim, and as a teenager I completed my work experience there and went on to get my RLSS lifeguard qualification, which led to my first job!"

In his personal life Steve is the chairman of a local charity that runs the Ashington Youth Club for children in Ashington and its surrounding villages two nights a week. He also coaches the under-13s at Horsham Rugby Club and serves as a British Cycling Leader for Horsham's mountain cycling club, which includes taking kids out cycling every Saturday into the hills.

With his unique combination of industry experience, community focus and personal passion, Steve May is well-positioned to lead Mytime Active into its next chapter of growth and community impact.