50+ Year Industry Veteran, Chuck Leve, Passes Away
Posted: November 23, 2021 in IHRSA, Other News
Chuck Leve
FBA – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – It’s with great sorrow we inform you that on Thursday, November 11th at 1:11 am Chuck Leve, devoted husband, father, papa, and fitness industry veteran passed away in his home surrounded by his family. Chuck’s contributions to the fitness industry span over 50 years.
Prior to his time in the Fitness Industry
Chuck helped lead his high school alma mater (Glenbrook North High School – the same school both his son’s Josh and Michael would attend) to the state championship in baseball back in 1966. That success then turned into a baseball scholarship to attend the University of Miami, Florida.
There at the Beginning, Helping to Create IHRSA
As Executive Director of NCCA, one of IHRSA’s predecessors, and over the next 28 years Chuck helped usher in a new era in the fitness industry. His many accomplishments include:
- Creating the infrastructure and overseeing the meteoric growth of Racquetball from 1970-1980, leading to his 1997 induction into the Racquetball Hall of Fame;
- Creator of the IHRSA Tradeshow. It was Chuck’s forward-thinking to have a trade show at the first – and subsequent – IHRSA Conventions; it quickly became more of an attendance draw than the seminars; With help, he grew it into 1800 10x10s in 2008 – the largest commercial fitness show in North America;
- Through significant resistance, Chuck’s success selling advertising in IHRSA’s monthly newsletter led to the creation of CBI Magazine;
- Developing the entire sponsorship program – not only at the IHRSA Convention but for all events which made the European Congress and other events financially viable;
- Creation of a lucrative sampling program at IHRSA to give away free samples via major brands through the member clubs;
- Co-creation and growth of the Association of Fitness Studios (now FBA) and its SUCCEED! event brand from 2012 to the present.
Chuck’s Battle with Cancer
What many probably don’t know, however, is that Chuck had been fighting a battle with cancer for eight years. First diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in late 2013 Chuck never EVER let his diagnosis impact his work. Whether it was taking sales calls from a hospital bed, drafting contracts during chemotherapy treatments, or jumping on internal team calls, he simply loved to work…it was his passion.
Always the eternal optimist, Chuck battled bravely through countless scans, chemotherapy treatments, a stem-cell transplant and CAR-T procedure. His cancer morphed several times from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma to Non-Hodgkins Follicular Lymphoma, to Non-Hodgkins Large Diffuse B Cell Lymphoma, then MDS (a rare bone marrow cancer) then finally Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Truth be told, the family didn’t expect Chuck to be taken as quickly as anticipated. Just weeks ago Chuck and his eldest son Josh were talking about his transition into retirement following a press release into the fitness industry.
But cancer had other plans. We never truly know when it’s going to be our time, but Chuck’s legacy will live on through his work and now through what he helped build with his son Josh at the Fitness Business Association (FBA).
In the words of his son Josh…
“When it comes down to it, the truth of the matter is my father’s legacy within the fitness industry goes deeper than integrity and dependability,” says his son and FBA founder & CEO, Josh Leve. “Without Chuck, there’s no FBA and without Chuck, there are countless business owners, entrepreneurs, fitness professionals, executives, and many others that aren’t where they are today because of the path this man paved.”
“My dad was a mentor and friend to many, including myself. He was the person I always turned to for an honest and direct response. And while we also butted heads on many occasions, our bond and mutual respect only grew stronger. The truth of the matter is what he did for this industry can never be summed up in a paragraph or press release, because the impact he made on this industry is so much greater than that. He will be missed greatly but his mark on the fitness industry will live on forever.”
