Health and Fitness Club Industry News
Friday, April 26th, 2019
Gold’s Gym Appoints Craig Sherwood Chief Development Officer
Posted: April 2, 2019 in Chains
DALLAS, TX - Gold's Gym, a trusted fitness authority, has promoted Craig Sherwood to Chief Development Officer. Sherwood brings more than 20 years of franchise development experience across a variety of industries to this new and expanded role. As Chief Development Officer of Gold's Gym, Sherwood will maintain overarching responsibility for the brand's franchise community and licensing programs while spearheading the charge to expand the brand's international footprint through master franchising. Read More...
Anytime Fitness Announces Global Partnership With Special Olympics
Posted: April 2, 2019 in Chains
WOODBURY, MN - Avowing their shared commitment to helping all people lead healthy, happy lives, Anytime Fitness is pleased to announce a global partnership with Special Olympics. Anytime Fitness will encourage the owners and staff members at nearly 5,000 gyms to voluntarily coach, train and support Special Olympic athletes worldwide. Read More...
Planet Fitness Study Finds Fear of Judgement Prompts Majority Of Americans to Try to Get In Shape Before Ever Stepping Foot Into A Gym
Posted: April 2, 2019 in Chains
HAMPTON, N.H. - Planet Fitness, Inc., one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the U.S., reveals that fear of judgement directly impacts Americans' confidence to pursue a healthy lifestyle. A national study commissioned by Planet Fitness uncovers that 62 percent of Americans (nearly two thirds) have attempted to get into shape before ever stepping foot into a gym, noting that fear of being judged keeps them away from fitness facilities altogether (45%). Read More...
American College of Sports Medicine Announces Departure of Longtime CEO Jim Whitehead
Posted: April 2, 2019 in Suppliers
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has announced the departure of CEO Jim Whitehead, who accepted a new leadership position after 29 years of distinguished service as head of the organization. An executive search process is underway, and ACSM Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Tim Calvert, has been named interim CEO. Read More...
ClubReady Adopts a Progressive Structure to Meet the Needs of the Fitness Industry
Posted: April 2, 2019 in Suppliers
ST. LOUIS, MO - ClubReady announces a new structure and commitment to service and customer experience in the fitness industry. With rapid growth over the last 10 years, the fitness industry shows no signs of slowing down. ClubReady has kept pace with the industry and seen tremendous growth over the last few years, supporting some of the most important brands in the industry. To meet the service needs and expectations of the fitness business of the future, ClubReady is adopting a new service-oriented structure. This customer-centric operations department will focus on the entire lifecycle of a ClubReady client. Read More...
ThanksUSA Partners with Professional Pickleball Registry to Support Military Families
Posted: April 2, 2019 in Suppliers
MCLEAN, VA - People of all ages are enjoying the sport of Pickleball, making it one of America’s fastest growing sports. In coming weeks, this new army of athletes will be partnering with ThanksUSA to support military children and spouses in reaching their educational and career aspirations. Read More...
A Special Message from Augie Nieto
Posted: March 29, 2019 in Other News
14 years ago today, my life changed forever when I was diagnosed with ALS. For those of you who don’t know, ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons in otherwise healthy individuals, until you cannot walk, or talk, or move. I know my wife Lynne and I are one of the lucky ones with ALS. I am so fortunate to still have a voice to raise funds for critical research and spread awareness about this destructive disease. It is a lot harder for me to speak now, so I choose my words carefully: ALS can only be cured if all of us work together! Please consider donating $15 to support our quest to fast-track innovative ALS research that can help end ALS once and for all. Every single dollar counts! Thank you. Read More...
Centre Partners Acquires Majority Stake in One World Fitness
Posted: March 29, 2019 in Chains
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Centre Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, announced that it has acquired a majority interest in New England Fitness and affiliates, now doing business as One World Fitness PFF, LLC ("One World Fitness" or the "Company"), a leading owner and operator of fitness clubs under the Planet Fitness banner. The Company's founder, Bill Fidler, and other key members of management invested alongside Centre. Financial terms were not disclosed. Read More...
USTA Foundation Celebrates 50 Years of NJTL Network; USTA Names Recipients of Annual Awards
Posted: March 28, 2019 in Suppliers
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The USTA Foundation, the national charitable arm of the United States Tennis Association, announced that it will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network by launching an NJTL 50th Anniversary campaign. The United States Tennis Association announced the winners of its Annual Awards presented at the USTA Annual Meeting and Conference, held March 22 - 25, at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas. The honorees were recognized for their dedication to growing the game at an awards luncheon. Read More...
Latest IHRSA Data: Over 6 Billion Visits to 39,570 Health Clubs Last Year
Posted: March 27, 2019 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - More than 71.5 million consumers utilized U.S. health clubs in 2018, a record-high since IHRSA began tracking health club utilization in 1987. The number of individual members totaled 62.5 million, up 2.6% from 60.9 million in 2017. In all, consumers frequented their health clubs for more than six billion visits in 2018. Read More...
Equinox Launches Equinox Hotels At 35 Hudson Yards; Defines New Genre of Luxury Travel
Posted: March 27, 2019 in Chains
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Equinox Hotels announced the opening of the first Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards, New York and launched their online booking platform for room reservations. In addition to bookings going live, Equinox Hotels has also released the first wave of details for the property, including design partners, room features and guest amenities. Read More...
$2 Million in Sight for St. Jude and Life Time Foundation Via 2019 Nationwide Ride for a Reason
Posted: March 26, 2019 in Chains
CHANHASSEN, MN - More than 11,000 people participated in Ride for a Reason, a national indoor cycle event benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Life Time Foundation, raising more than $1.81 million to date. Across the nation, 116 Life Time athletic resorts hosted the fourth annual event, raising more money than ever. Since its inception in 2016, Ride for a Reason has raised more than $4.2 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Life Time Foundation. The annual event has gone from raising $500,000 in its debut year to nearly $2 million. Read More...
More Than 12,000 Convene in San Diego for IHRSA 2019
Posted: March 21, 2019 in IHRSA
BOSTON, MA - Fitness industry professionals from nearly 80 countries were in San Diego, CA for IHRSA 2019, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association’s 38th Annual International Convention & Trade Show, held March 13 - 16, 2019. IHRSA attendees experienced the cutting edge of fitness industry equipment and technology during the two-day Trade Show and early morning workouts, attended education sessions given by industry experts, worked out and power walked, networked and socialized. Read More...
L Catterton Sells CorePower Yoga to TSG Consumer Partners
Posted: March 20, 2019 in Suppliers
DENVER, CO and GREENWICH, CT - L Catterton, the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell CorePower Yoga (the "Company" or "CPY"), the fastest growing and largest yoga fitness studio operator in the U.S., to TSG Consumer Partners ("TSG"). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read More...
Life Fitness Partners With Functional Solutions to Provide Digital Programming Solutions
Posted: March 20, 2019 in Suppliers
NEWPORT NEWS, VA - As part of a strategy to offer digital fitness solutions for small group training experiences, Life Fitness, a global leader in commercial fitness equipment, has chosen Functional Solutions as its digital programming partner. Life Fitness will use the Functional Solutions platform to offer exercise visualization on TV display for small group training, equipment education and to support individual member training when small group space is not being used. Read More...
USTA Texas to Move Headquarters to New Facility with 46+ Courts
Posted: March 20, 2019 in Suppliers
CEDAR PARK, TX - The USTA Texas Section intends to bring its headquarters and facilities to the Indigo Ridge Mixed Use Development in the City of Cedar Park, north of Austin, Texas. A resolution to authorize the agreement was approved by the City of Cedar Park City Council on March 14. The planned Tennis Campus will include approximately 40 outdoor tennis courts, 6 to 8 indoor tennis courts, a stadium court, and related amenities for training, development and competition. Read More...
PickTEN Program to Benefit Pickleball and Tennis
Posted: March 20, 2019 in Suppliers
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) and Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) is pleased to announce the creation of PickTEN, a revolutionary program aimed at growing both pickleball and tennis. PickTEN gives clubs a resource for attracting new players to their facilities by providing a fun, social and engaging program, and it creates an environment that allows players to learn two sports by using pickleball as an introduction of basic skills (striking and tracking the ball) and tennis to further develop those skills. Read More...
Five Tips For Improving Email Effectiveness
Posted: March 19, 2019 in Suppliers
Email is a low cost, easy to use and highly personalized form of marketing communication, and if it isn’t already an essential piece of your club’s marketing mix, it should be. In fact, according to research, most people (72% to be exact), prefer to be contacted by companies through email. BUT, before you run off and start sending out emails left and right, you need to formulate a game plan to make sure your emails are not only engaging, but also effective. A successful campaign takes a healthy balance of strategy, creativity, and most importantly data. With these five tips, you’ll learn how to get your open rates up, unsubscribes down, and your club flooded with new members. Read More...
Blink Fitness Partners with MSX by Michael Strahan–Bringing an Exclusive Activewear Collection to Every Body
Posted: March 18, 2019 in Chains
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Blink Fitness, a premium quality, value-based gym, announces its expanded partnership with MSX by Michael Strahan (Pro Football Hall of Famer, broadcaster, and entrepreneur). MSX by Michael Strahan x Blink Fitness line will be exclusively available across all Blink locations nationwide beginning March 19th, 2019. The original collaboration first launched in 10 Manhattan, New York, Blink locations in April 2018. Read More...
Life Fitness Debuts Innovative Approach to Small Group Training Design at IHRSA
Posted: March 16, 2019 in Suppliers
ROSEMONT, IL - Life Fitness, a global leader in commercial fitness equipment, debuted new small group training modules at the 38th Annual IHRSA International Convention & Trade Show, the world's largest fitness trade show. These modules allow any fitness facility to create a robust and versatile small group training offering with tools provided by Life Fitness brands. To complement the small group training module system, Life Fitness is also announcing a partnership with innovative custom content platform, Functional Solutions. This on-demand, visual instruction can be used to guide individual exercisers or as a supplement to trainer-led small group training. Read More...