Did you know…
On the healthier side of franchising facts, Gold’s Gym was among the first companies in the fitness industry to become a franchise. But it wasn’t the original owner Joe Gold that turned it into a corporation we know today. Thanks to Ken Sprague, and later Peter Grymkowsy, the failing business turned a profit, expanding into a franchise with 500+ locations.
In 1965, former bodybuilder and US Marine, Joe Gold opened up a gym in Venice California as a place for himself and his friends to train. Charging $60 a year, Joe kept costs down by making his own gym equipment, skimping on the heating and recruiting every bodybuilder worth his salt as a member.
Unbeknownst to Joe, his simple gym would eventually become an institution in the fitness world.