Racing to a milestone: Human Kinetics celebrates 50 years

May 16—CHAMPAIGN — Human Kinetics CEO Skip Maier works at a standing desk — as you might expect of someone constantly surrounded by information about physical fitness.

His office is part of the publishing company's headquarters on Market Street, just south of Interstate 74, with the building featuring an indoor gym for employees as well as an outdoor courtyard with athletic courts.

The company's first headquarters, on the other hand, was much more humble.

"I can't believe it has been 50 years since HK was founded on our ping-pong table in the basement," said Rainer Martens, who founded the business with his first wife, Marilyn.

The couple created the business, which specializes in publishing content related to physical activity and sports, in 1974.

Current and former staff plan to gather Friday to commemorate the business's 50th anniversary, though the company's official anniversary was April 1.

"It feels really satisfying," he said. "Not many companies make it to a 50th anniversary, let alone independent companies headquartered in the same place where they were founded with the same mission."

According to company officials, the story of Human Kinetics began in 1973, when Martens — then a kinesiology professor at the University of Illinois — hosted the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity conference.

Martens recalls that the gathering was "a huge success," with 150 people filling up the mansion at Allerton Park.

"The academic papers presented about this emerging subject beckoned for them to be published," he said. "I submitted the papers to several publishers, but they were rejected because of an ill-defined market. So my late wife Marilyn typed up all the papers and we self-published it, which was the start (and we thought the end) of Human Kinetics."

At the time, the couple planned to publish just the one title — "Psychology of Motor Behavior and Sport" — as a service to their colleagues, Martens said. However, they were asked to publish the conference proceedings for the next several years and eventually started the "Journal of Sport Psychology" in 1979.

According to Maier, Human Kinetics published its first book, "Physiology of Fitness", in 1977. Company officials said the title, later renamed "Fitness & Health", is still a "leading professional fitness book" and is now in its seventh edition.

The year 1977 also marked the business's first hire, Julie Simon, who had completed her doctorate under Martens.

In time, Simon "grew into about every position at the company," Martens said.

"In 1984, the company began publishing educational resources for the YMCA, doubling the company's sales," Human Kinetics officials said. "The following year, Dr. Martens left the university to dedicate his time fully to growing Human Kinetics. That same year, Human Kinetics acquired Leisure Press, a sport and fitness trade publisher, expanding the business beyond academic and professional markets."

Martens said that when he decided to resign from the university to focus on Human Kinetics full-time in 1986, many of his colleagues both locally and around the country thought he had gone crazy.

Some attributed the career change to being "corrupted" by money, but Martens said that was not the case at all, as he had to borrow heavily during Human Kinetics' early years.

"I pursued HK because I saw the need for the distribution of knowledge coming forth from the bountiful work being done in the sport sciences and all the practical applications derived therefrom," he said. "As HK blossomed in the 1980s and 1990s, the attitude of colleagues changed from bewilderment to gratitude, which meant a great deal to me."

Marilyn Martens, who suffered from type 1 diabetes, continued to help with the business as much as she could even as her health deteriorated.

"Marilyn passed away in 1991, and Julie became Julie Martens in 1992," Rainer Martens said. "I'm proud to tell people I've had two fantastic, committed wives that have played an enormous role in the development of HK, and in my personal happiness."

According to Human Kinetics, Brian Holding took over as CEO in 1997. It was around this time that Rainer and Julie Martens began reducing their time commitment to the business.

The couple moved to Ormond Beach, Fla., in 2005, and Rainer Martens resigned from the board of Human Kinetics in 2018.

Maier began working for Human Kinetics in 2013, and took over as CEO in 2016 after Holding stepped down.

He was attracted to the company's culture, as well as the fact that its subject matter was something he had a personal interest in.

"It's very satisfying to know that we're publishing materials that are helping people lead happier, healthier lives," he said. "So I think just knowing that I play some part in that is very fulfilling."

While Human Kinetics may have only gone through three CEOs over the past 50 years, it has seen a number of other changes during that time, company officials said. In the 1990s, the business expanded to publish video, software and online education products.

"Like many industries, technology has revolutionized the publishing industry," Martens said. "The digitization of content has greatly facilitated the preparation of original content, making it easier and less costly to prepare a manuscript for production."

Another company milestone came in 2005, when the business was sold to workers as part of an employee stock-ownership plan.

"Today, Human Kinetics has 170 employees in the United States and Canada and boasts annual sales of $25 million, with over 2,000 different products currently available," company officials said.

Like Martens, Maier said that the world of publishing has become "much more digital."

"The biggest challenge is the belief that, because of the advent of the internet, information should be free," he said. "That includes educational information and general information. And so we're consistently battling against free information on YouTube and social media. So it's a challenge for us to be able to set apart the information that we and our authors create, specifically ensuring that it's at a higher level of vetted information."

Senior acquisitions editor Michelle Earle, who has been with Human Kinetics for 20 years, said that one of the ways in which the company has evolved is how it uses social media to connect with potential readers and authors.

Marketing and social-media content manager Aaron Patterson said that his work includes producing a variety of videos. Some focus on workouts or exercise techniques, while others feature interviews with authors.

Patterson, who stepped into the role in 2022, said that the position was a new one.

"I think the pandemic kind of helped start this position with the need for video content just so that we can get even more information out to our audiences," he said.

Maier said the company and the publishing industry both did fairly well during the pandemic, though working from home was an adjustment.

The long-term impact is that many Human Kinetics employees have opted to continue working remotely or in a hybrid format — including Patterson, who lives in Bloomington and works from home two days per week.

When asked where he sees the company going in the future, Maier replied, "We're going to continue going in the direction in which we always have. I think we just need to continue to change and adapt to the needs of the marketplace — expectations of students, expectations of coaches, expectations of athletes and professionals. As long as we're willing to adapt and change and meet their needs, I think we'll continue to be successful for many years to come."