Gold's Gym

Last updated

Gold's Gym International, Inc.
Company type Private [1]
Genre Fitness
FoundedAugust 25, 1965;58 years ago (1965-08-25) in
Venice Beach, California, U.S.
Founder Joe Gold
Headquarters
Dallas, Texas
,
U.S.
Number of locations
Nearly 700 worldwide (May 2020)
Area served
 United States, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Jordan, India, Czech Republic, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, Morocco, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Indonesia, Spain, Poland, Venezuela, Mongolia, Philippines, Armenia, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Kuwait
Key people
Sebastian Schoepe [2]
Parent RSG Group
Website goldsgym.com

Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as gyms) originally started by Joe Gold in Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of cardio and strength training equipment as well as group exercise programs. Gold's Gym's headquarters have relocated to Dallas.

Contents

Corporate history

Gold's Gym in Round Rock, Texas Gold's Gym North Round Rock.tif
Gold's Gym in Round Rock, Texas
The original Gold's Gym located at 1006 Pacific Ave in Venice, California Gold's Gym Los Angeles-01.jpg
The original Gold's Gym located at 1006 Pacific Ave in Venice, California

Joe Gold opened the first Gold's Gym in August 1965, in Venice Beach, California, [3] [4] long before the modern day health club existed. Featuring homemade equipment and dubbed "the Mecca of bodybuilding", it was frequented by Arnold Schwarzenegger [5] and Dave Draper. [6]

After Gold to Pumping Iron

In 1970, Gold sold the gym which was failing at the time to Bud Danits, most commonly known as an antique dealer, and Dave Saxe who was a jeweler. He and Saxe were co-owners of the gym for almost two years. They realized that running the gym was not a plausible operation; they were going to close it and reopen the location as an antiques shop. They offered to sell it to Ken Sprague, a gym member who visited frequently. Sprague purchased it in late 1971; this kept the gym running. Sprague was the first owner of Gold's to actually sponsor and hold bodybuilding competitions, and his promotional skills and film industry contacts helped build the establishment's profile.

In 1975 George Butler was going to film the docudrama Pumping Iron (1977). Sprague told Butler that he would paint the windows over to minimize back light, and let Butler mount a lighting grid to the inside ceiling, convincing Butler to use Gold's Gym as the primary location for filming Pumping Iron. This brought attention not only to the gym itself but also to bodybuilding and physique in general.

After the release of the movie, and along with the 1977 Mr. America contest and Mr. America Day parade held in Santa Monica, sponsored and conceived of by Sprague, the profile of Gold's gym grew even larger. That year's Mr. America had more press requests than the 1977 Academy Awards. By 1979, when Sprague sold Gold's Gym, [7] it was the most famous gym in the world. [8] Gold's Gym continues to be considered a landmark in bodybuilding culture [9] and has achieved cult status. [10]

Subsequent ownership, franchising, and image

From 1979 to 1999, Gold's Gym was owned by Peter Grymkowski (a Mr. World bodybuilding champion) and his partners. After two years of ownership, [11] they moved from the 5500-square-foot facility into a 60,000-square-foot building over a six-year period. Grymkowski's brother became the licensing director, which helped bring the Gold's Gym name from one location to over 534 throughout the U.S. and the world in 1999, when it was sold to private equity firm Brockway Moran & Partners. Another private equity firm, TRT Holdings, bought Gold's Gym in 2004. [12] German fitness company RSG Group acquired Gold's in August 2020. [2]

Gold's Gym was one of the first companies in the health and fitness industry to franchise, starting in 1980. [13] The company licenses its name to products such as fitness equipment and clothing. The original Gold's Gym logo, a bald weightlifter holding a barbell, was designed in 1973 by professional wrestler Ric Drasin, who was Schwarzenegger's training partner for four years. [14] Notable users of Gold's Gym have included such celebrities as Jessica Alba, Jodie Foster, Morgan Freeman, Dwayne Johnson, Jim Morrison,[ citation needed ] Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Big Show, [15] and Tiger Woods, and many others. [16] The original Gold's Gym in Venice Beach is considered a national sports landmark by ESPN and is named on its list of the 100 most important sports venues. [17]

Corporate information

Gold's Gym in Cairo along the Nile Gold's Gym and Ruby Tuesday in Cairo along Nile River.jpg
Gold's Gym in Cairo along the Nile

Gold's Gym is privately owned. It was acquired from its previous owner, private equity firm Brockway Moran & Partners, by Robert Rowling's TRT Holdings in 2004 for approximately $158 million. Brockway Moran had acquired the company in 1999 [18] for more than $50 million. [19] Corporate headquarters are in the Dallas metropolitan area. [20]

Since Gold's Gym opened its first international location in Canada in 1985, the company has expanded its global franchising program to include nearly 180 international gyms including operations in Morocco, Russia, India, Australia, Costa Rica, Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Spain, Poland, Venezuela, Mongolia, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates. [16] [21]

There were 58 new Gold's Gym locations developed across the world in 2016.[ citation needed ]

In 2017, the company opened its first location in Amman, Jordan. [22]

Corporate sales and wellness program

Gold's Gym operates a national corporate wellness program which has over 3000 company partners including Home Depot, Bank of America, Whataburger, and Union Pacific. The corporate sales and wellness program offers custom health and fitness plans for employees nationwide including memberships, nutrition, and wellness programs.

Gold's is one of two official health clubs of the AARP. Through the AARP it offers month-to-month memberships, and is also the official health club of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Gold's offers online enrollment. [23] [24] [25]

2020 bankruptcy

On May 4, 2020, GGI Holdings, LLC (Gold's Gym) and 14 affiliated debtors filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The debtors have requested joint administration of the cases under Case No. 20-31318. [26] Like nearly all businesses, Gold's was required to temporarily close its US locations in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of the same year Gold's said that it would permanently close 30 of its locations. They said their filing for bankruptcy would only affect company-owned locations and set a reemergence goal for August 2020. The company owns about 10 percent of the nearly 700 worldwide locations. [27]

In August 2020, Gold's was acquired by Rainer Schaller's RSG Group GmbH, which also owns the European McFit fitness chain. [2]

Current operations

Gold's Gym has locations across six continents. In 2015 and 2016, Gold's Gym topped the J.D. Power Health and Fitness Center Satisfaction Report. [28] [29]

In 2017, Gold's Gym launched GOLD'S AMP, [30] a fitness app that is meant to serve as a digital personal trainer for people to use anytime and anywhere. It includes numerous customization workout options led by Gold's Gym coaches and thousands of music mixes.

In July 2020, new parent company RSG Group reported that Gold's Gym had 61 company-owned gyms and over 600 franchise-owned gyms. [31]

Gold's Gym Challenge

Gold's Gym holds an annual Gold's Gym Challenge, a 12-week body transformation contest available to members. In January, participants begin their Challenge journey with initial measurements and photographs. After twelve weeks additional measurements and photographs are taken to document results. Each participating Gold's Gym chooses its local winners who are then eligible for the national prize pool.

Gold's Gym Challenge winners have been featured in many publications including PopSugar, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, [32] and Women's Health.

Criticism

Numerous customers have reported that Gold's Gym franchises have acted in dishonest and unscrupulous ways. They cite advertised deals not being honored, billing irregularities, contract terms being fraudulently altered by sales staff after signing, and problems canceling accounts or relocating. [33] A Gold's Gym in Provo, Utah, was successfully sued for fraud in 2006, for changing a contract after it was signed in 1999. [34]

An accusation of the same conduct of fraud arose again in 2017: on February 10, 2017, the billing processor for the gyms, Paramount Acceptance, and 26 companies under the VASA Fitness name (including new gyms since 2014) were served with a consumer class action lawsuit with numerous causes of action including fraudulent misrepresentation, violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and violations of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act. The plaintiff published the entire complaint. [35]

After ten years of litigation involving a licensing agreement for a fitness center in St. George, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed a decision to deny attorney fees to Gold's Gym even though Gold's Gym prevailed in the underlying litigation (Gold's Gym International, Inc. v. Chambers, 2020 UT 20). [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Schwarzenegger</span> Austrian and American actor and politician (born 1947)

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, filmmaker, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder known for his roles in high-profile action movies. He served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011 and was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2004 and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodybuilding</span> Control and development of musculature

Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic purposes over functional ones, distinguishing it from similar activities such as powerlifting, which focuses solely on increasing the physical load one can exert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Olympia</span> Recurring sporting event

Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanctioned by the IFBB Professional League. Joe Weider created the contest to enable the amateur Mr. Universe winners to continue competing and to earn money. The first Mr. Olympia was held on September 18, 1965, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, with Larry Scott winning his first of two straight titles. The equivalent female title is Ms. Olympia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorian Yates</span> English retired professional bodybuilder

Dorian Andrew Mientjez Yates is an English retired professional bodybuilder. He won the Mr. Olympia title six consecutive times from 1992 to 1997 and has the fifth-highest number of Mr. Olympia wins in history, ranking behind Ronnie Coleman (8), Lee Haney (8), Arnold Schwarzenegger (7), and Phil Heath (7). He is widely considered to be one of the top pro bodybuilders in history, and was well known for his high intensity training, top-level conditioning, and his wide, thick back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Gold</span> American bodybuilder and businessman

Joe Gold was an American bodybuilder and businessman. He was the founder of Gold's Gym and World Gym. He has been credited with being the father of the bodybuilding and the fitness craze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Cutler (bodybuilder)</span> American bodybuilder (born 1973)

Jason Isaac Cutler known professionally as Jay Cutler is an American retired professional bodybuilder. An IFBB Pro League bodybuilder, Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010; and a six-time runner-up, the most in history.

World Gym International LLC is an American fitness center founded in 1976 by Joe Gold during the glory days of "Muscle Beach" in Venice Beach, California. Joe Gold is also the founder of Gold's Gym, another gym chain, which he sold in 1973. The gym was often frequented by celebrities and famous bodybuilders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Dave Draper and Franco Columbu.

<i>Muscle & Fitness</i> American fitness magazine

Muscle & Fitness is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title Your Physique, before being renamed to Muscle Builder in 1954, and acquiring its current name in 1980. There is also a companion magazine called Muscle and Fitness Hers, oriented toward women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planet Fitness</span> American fitness center franchise

Planet Fitness, Inc. is an American franchisor and operator of fitness centers based in Hampton, New Hampshire. The company reports that it has around 2,500+ clubs, making it one of the largest fitness club franchises by number of members and locations. The franchise has locations in the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, and Australia. It markets itself as a "Judgement Free Zone" that caters to novice and casual gym users, and has faced both praise and criticism for its atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vic Tanny</span> American bodybuilder (1912–1985)

Victor "Vic" Tanny was an American bodybuilder, entrepreneur and physical culture advocate. He is considered a pioneer of the modern health club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crunch Fitness</span> Membership-based fitness and training gym

Crunch Fitness is a U.S.-based brand of over 400 franchised and corporate owned fitness clubs located in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, and Australia. Founded by Doug Levine in 1989, its current Worldwide CEO is Jim Rowley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anytime Fitness</span> American multinational fitness center chain

Anytime Fitness is an American franchise of 24 hour health and fitness clubs that is based in Woodbury, Minnesota, United States. The company operates over 5,000 franchised locations in 50 countries. In 2014, Anytime Fitness was named the top franchise of 2014 by Entrepreneur magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainer Schaller</span> German entrepreneur (1969–2022)

Rainer Schaller was a German entrepreneur. He was the Founder CEO of the RSG Group, which includes the McFit, John Reed Fitness and Gold's Gym fitness studios. He hit headlines as a result of the disaster at the 2010 Love Parade in Duisburg, which he organized. On 21 October 2022, Schaller and his son Aaron died in a private plane crash in Costa Rica.

TRT Holdings is a private holding company based in Dallas, Texas, that owns hotel chain Omni Hotels, Origins Behavioral Healthcare, and many investments in other companies. It was founded in 1989.

Peter Paul is a former American actor, producer, television personality and bodybuilder. He and his twin brother David Paul usually acted together in films and were together called "The Barbarian Brothers". They both appeared in supporting parts including the two-hour Season 3 premiere episode of Knight Rider, "Knight of the Drones" before starring in several films including the 1987 flick The Barbarians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Tinerino</span> American bodybuilder.

Dennis Tinerino was an American bodybuilder, most prominent in the late 1960s and 1970s. He won the Mr. Universe title four times in 1968, 1975, 1980 and 1981 and Mr. World in 1971 in the tall man's category, and Mr. America in 1978. After becoming involved in a life of crime, running one of the biggest escort services in California, he became an international evangelist. The 1983 edition of The Gold's Gym book of bodybuilding cited him as "one of the most successful bodybuilders of the past decade or two". He is an inductee of the National Fitness Hall of Fame, IFBB Hall of Fame and National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.

David Paul was an American actor and bodybuilder. He and his twin brother Peter were born in Hartford, Connecticut and grew up in Rhode Island. The death of David was confirmed by his twin brother Peter. David died just two days before the twins' 63rd birthday.

YouFit Gyms is a national chain of fitness clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Sprague</span> American film producer

Kenneth Ray Sprague is an American bodybuilder, businessman, author and school teacher. He is best known as the owner of the original Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, which he purchased and managed between the years 1972 and 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RSG Group</span> International fitness center chain

RSG Group LLC is a German, internationally active fitness group founded in 1996 by Rainer Schaller. The registered office is in Schlüsselfeld, Germany, and the administrative headquarters are in Berlin, Germany. The group's best-known brands are the Gold's Gym, McFit and John Reed studio chains. In the United States, the company operates under RSG Group North America LP and RSG Group USA Inc.

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Erika (August 7, 2003). "Investing In Obesity". Forbes . Retrieved September 24, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Kufahl, Pamela (August 26, 2020). "Gold's Gym CEO, Others Gone After RSG Group Finalizes Purchase Of Company". Club Industry. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  3. ↑ "About Gold's". Gold's Gym. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Gold's Gym Celebrates 50th Anniversary; Inducts Arnold Schwarzenegger Into The Gold's Gym Hall... -- DALLAS, Aug. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --". PRNewswire. August 26, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Seeing Stars: Where the Stars Work Out". seeing-stars.com. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Joe Gold's Dungeon". davedraper.com. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ Lombardi, John (October 1991). "Little Miss Dangerous". Spy . Sussex Publishers (1): 45. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  8. ↑ Interviews with Bill Grant, Ken Waller, Dave Du Pre, Pete Samra, Tony Pearson, Ken Sprague, Wayne Gallasch; October/November 2015; by Marc Martinez for an upcoming documentary, for which trailers are available
  9. ↑ Emery, Mike (January 2003). "Men's Bodybuilding: A Short History" . Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  10. ↑ "The cult of the gym: The new puritans". The Economist. December 19, 2002. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  11. ↑ Stoughton, Stephanie (August 27, 1999). "Brothers Stake Their Claim to Gold's Gym". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ Goldman, Stuart, ed. (August 1, 2008). "Tension Builds Between Gold's Gym International and Gold's Franchisees". Club Industry. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Gold's Gym". Entrepreneur Media, Inc. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  14. ↑ Perine, Shawn (December 1, 2005). "Gold's goes bald.(HARD TIMES)". Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  15. ↑ Carra, Chris (July 6, 2020). "Gold's Gym America: My Epic Visit! (Updated 2023)". Chris Carra. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Smith, Stephen P. (2005). "America's Greatest Brands, Volume IV".
  17. ↑ Caple, Jim (September 19, 2008), "America's 100 Most Important Sports Venues", espn.com
  18. ↑ "TRT Holdings Inc. is new owner of Gold's Gym". Dallas Business Journal. June 15, 2004. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
  19. ↑ Goldman, Stuart (August 1, 2008). "Tension Builds Between Gold's Gym International and Gold's Franchisees". Club Industry. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  20. ↑ TRT Holdings (January 25, 2012). "TRT Holdings Announces Plans to Build New Headquarters". prnewswire.com. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  21. ↑ "About Gold's Gym". Gold's Gym Philippines. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Gold's Gym Amman". Gold's Gym. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Gold's Gym – AARP". regsignup.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Smarttrainingsystems.com". Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Axiom". bcidaho.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Bankruptcy of GGI Holdings, LLC" . Bloomberg. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  27. ↑ Stone, Madeline (May 4, 2020). "Gold's Gym has filed for bankruptcy protection after closing locations amid the coronavirus outbreak". Business Insider. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  28. ↑ kristi.white (June 29, 2015). "2015 Health and Fitness Center Satisfaction Report". J.D. Power. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  29. ↑ Robin (June 23, 2016). "2016 Health and Fitness Center Satisfaction Report". J.D. Power. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  30. ↑ GmbH, finanzen.net. "Gold's Gym Delivers An Audio Fitness Experience Anytime, Anywhere With New GOLD'S AMP™ App". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  31. ↑ Saul, Josh (July 14, 2020). "Gold's Gym to Be Bought Out of Bankruptcy by German McFit Owner". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  32. ↑ Brooks, Michelle C. "Todd McFarland, 49, of Hoschton, Ga. lost 39 pounds". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  33. ↑ Gargulinski, Ryn (January 13, 2009). "Complaints against local gyms triple since 2005". Tucson Citizen . Retrieved March 2, 2009.
  34. ↑ Andreason vs. Felsted, Viertel, Peterson and Gold's Gym of Provo(May 11, 2006), Text .
  35. ↑ "Class Action Lawsuit Against VASA Fitness and Paramount Acceptance". Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
  36. ↑ "No attorney fee award for Gold's Gym as prevailing party". Brian Craig Law. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.