Gold's Gym

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]

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, 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]

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]

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]

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.