Donahue Wildman and Ron Thompson, Health and Fitness Club Industry Giants, Pass Away!
Posted: September 18, 2018 in Other News
Donahue Wildman and Ron Thompson
By: Norm Cates
Publisher’s Note: This writing was done expressly for our September 19th Edition of Club Insider Weekly. Complete obituaries for Donahue Wildman and Ron Thompson will be published in our printed October 2018 Edition of Club Insider, to be released on October 17, 2018.
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Donahue Wildman and Ron Thompson, both truly health and fitness club industry giants in their own realms, passed away within two days of each other with Wildman departing this earth on September 16th and Thompson departing on September 17th.
Donahue Wildman, 85
Donahue Wildman, 85, lived an amazing and success-filled life, and as part of that life, he helped hundreds of thousands of people across the United States improve the quality of their lives by exercising in the health and fitness clubs that he built and operated during his amazing career that went back to the 1950s. Beyond that, he helped hundreds of health club business entrepreneurs create, launch and profitably operate hundreds of clubs across America. Reportedly, Mr. Wildman died from brain cancer after battling it for several years.
Jerry Kahn, a long-time industry veteran, a dear friend and partner of Wildman’s for 60 years, wrote this to me about Wildman the afternoon of Wildman’s passing:
“Donahue was a brilliant pioneer of the fitness industry. He started with Vic Tanny Gyms in Burbank, California. In the late 1950s, Don and company expanded to over 300 locations coast to coast, and he was an investor and board member of Las Vegas Athletic Clubs. He will always be remembered and missed by many loving friends!!!”
Ray Wilson, age 91, is now living in Mexico and he’s still developing health clubs. Ray Wilson, arguably, is the single greatest contributor to the growth and development of the health club industry with his club career dating back to the 1950s. That’s not even to mention Ray’s contribution to the equipment side of the industry with his acquisition and perfection of the Lifecycle before he hired a college student named Augie Nieto to get involved in Lifecycle sales, ultimately acquiring Lifecycle from Ray and growing it to become the gigantic Life Fitness Corporation. Ray said this about the passing of his friend, Donahue Wildman:
“Don Wildman did many great things during his lifetime, but I think that his most important achievement for our industry was his role in starting ‘The Worldwide Cardio Exercise Movement.’ He was as important to that movement as were Augie Nieto, Captain James Lovell, Bill Hubner, Dan Holton and me. Don also arranged the sale of Lifecycle to Bally at the price my partner, Bill Hubner, and I required. In the early days of Lifecycle, I knew that, to be successful, Lifecycle had to be problem free and in ‘mass production.’ On Augie’s famous coast-to-coast road trip, he managed to get an order from Donahue Wildman for 500 machines at $1,995 each. That purchase helped us a great deal, and the cardio movement was on its way!”
Bill Hubner, another true industry giant who’s built, operated and sold hundreds of clubs and owned and operated the Paramount Fitness Equipment Company, commented:
“Don was one of the best overall gentlemen I have ever known. He was a competitor of mine for years. Then, he was in the health industry’s takeover. Don and Ray Wilson were the two best partners I had in my 60+ years in the fitness business. Don will be missed. May he Rest In Peace.”
Kevin Steele, friend and protégé of Wildman, commented:
“We have lost one of our ‘founding fathers of the modern fitness industry’ this past weekend when Don Wildman passed away. He brought me into the health club business and changed so many people’s lives over the years. He and I have had an incredible relationship these past 35 years; I Love him and will miss him more than words can describe.”
Ron Thompson, 62
Ron Thompson, 62, died suddenly, reportedly from a heart attack as he left Cecil Spearman’s Laguna Niguel Racquet and Sports Club, Laguna Niguel, California on Monday morning, September 17th. Thompson had just finished attending a spinning class at Spearman’s club.
Cecil Spearman commented:
“Norm, I want you to be one of the first to know that Ron Thompson, an industry pioneer and GREAT, passed away an hour ago in the Emergency Room at Mission Hospital, Laguna Beach. Ron had just completed a spin class, and as he walked out of our club, he fell. All of our immediate CPR efforts and the EMTs efforts did not help Ron, and he died in the hospital emergency room. Ron enjoyed an amazing career in the fitness club industry. He started working for Ray Wilson when he launched Family Fitness Centers, and then, he worked with the clubs when 24 Hour Fitness acquired Family Fitness. Ron has been a member of our Laguna Niguel Spearman Club for many years. He routinely worked out five days a week, and he would rotate between spin classes and weights and machines. He experienced some heart problems some time ago. We are not sure what caused his death, but we believe it might have been heart related, and the valiant efforts of our staff and the EMTs, whom arrived quickly, did not help. I’m sure many of your readers would like to know about the passing of this industry legend, Ron Thompson. I’m sharing this information within an hour of Ron’s passing. May Ron Thompson Rest In Peace.”
Trudy Wilson commented:
“This is a sobering and devastatingly sad day as I’m processing the tragic news that Ron Thompson passed away this morning. If you knew him, you knew him as one of the most generous and honest people in the fitness business. I met him in October of 1995, shortly after arriving in California from my east coast roots. He’s the guy who interviewed me and initially hired me at Family Fitness, which is where my career got its start. He jumpstarted my career several times after that as I moved up the proverbial ladder at 24 Hour Fitness. He was always a positive and encouraging source of leadership and one of the most ‘people first’ leaders I ever worked for.
Always kind. Always people-motivated. Always generous with his time, Ron had a knack for remembering names and faces and would even remember what you had talked about the last time you had a conversation with him. I used to send him my quarterly goals as an operations manager, and when he came into my club, he always made time to talk to me about how I was progressing. Ron provided true leadership that left an impression beyond words. His desire to see people succeed was unrivaled while he was at 24 Hour Fitness. It was a sad day for many of us when he left. But, I had the opportunity to meet and work with him again at TruFit in Colorado a few years back. He was even more impressive to me, as he remarked about how he wanted to learn more about how the industry was changing, this coming from the guy who helped put the industry on the map. Ever humble and teachable that was only matched by his ability to process business quickly and creatively. Ron, thank you for all you taught me and so, so, so many others. I am so grateful to have known you and worked with you. You inspired and helped so many people; your legacy will never burn out. Rest In Peace.”
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Ray Wilson’s comments about his friend and protégé, Ron Thompson, arrived after our press time for this Club Insider Weekly Eblast, and they will be included in our printed October 2018 Edition of Club Insider. Also, anybody with comments about Ron Thompson or Donahue Wildman, please send them to me at Norm@clubinsideronline.com.
We want to express our sincere sorrow and condolences to the families of Donahue Wildman and Ron Thompson. May Donahue Wildman and Ron Thompson Rest In Peace. Thank you for reading Club Insider.
Norm Cates
Publisher and Tribal Leader Since 1993
Club Insider
