Tom Campanaro, the CEO of Total Gym®, has been inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame.
The National Fitness Hall of Fame & Museum was founded in 2004, with the purpose of recognizing top industry professionals who have dedicated at least 25 years of their careers to helping others become healthy. Among the most notable inductees include Joseph Pilates, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the late Joe Weider.
Campanaro has been involved in the health and fitness industry since 1964, first as a bodybuilder and then as the co-founder of the Total Gym® Company. He and his business partners Dale McMurray, Doug Marino and Larry Westfall developed the Total Gym incline bodyweight trainer in 1974.
In 1996, Campanaro’s partnership with American Telecast catapulted Total Gym into the spotlight — its infomercial became the longest running broadcast infomercial in history. Total Gym now has commercial partners in 23 countries, and can be found in thousands of homes, rehab centers and fitness facilities worldwide.
Tom Campanaro spoke with Club Solutions about his induction into the National Fitness Hall of Fame, his long career in the health and fitness industry and Total Gym’s transition into health clubs.
CS: How does it feel to be inducted in the Fitness Hall of Fame?
TC: It is a blessing from above to have your product and passion recognized.
CS: Tell me how you got involved with the fitness industry.
TC: I have been an avid exerciser since I was 12 years old. If it [were] not for my weight lifting at 16, I would not have survived a critical motorcycle accident. This spurred my interest in bodybuilding, which led to my career in the fitness industry.
CS: How did Total Gym get its start?
TC: In 1974 a friend and I saw a very cool incline plane device and it sparked an idea — the idea of training using your own bodyweight. That’s how Total Gym started. As a past bodybuilder it was a “no brainer” to me, but the market did not fully buy into the concept of bodyweight training until the mid 1990s.
CS: How did the partnership with American Telecast come about? How did you know this would be a good marketing strategy?
TC: At the time (from 1974 to 1996), we had over 20 years in the physical rehabilitation and athletic training market so we knew the success of our product and knew that if we could tell our story, show our concept and share the great results from customers like Olympic athletes Jackie Joiner Kersey and Chuck Norris, Herm Schneider of the Chicago White socks and many more, Total Gym would be a great success.
We recognized the potential reach of TV, and more specifically, infomercials, so we licensed the Total Gym brand in the direct response and retail markets to American Telecast Products, LLC, in 1996. Now 17 years on TV, it is the longest-running and most successful program ever.
CS: After the partnership with American Telecast especially, Total Gym began gaining traction in health clubs. What did you think of Total Gym’s switch to the gym market?
TC: We didn’t switch to the gym market — we added it to our portfolio of already existing rehabilitation and consumer fitness.
I’ve been working in the fitness industry since the mid-60s, and as a trainer back then, I knew the Total Gym concept would not fit into the culture of the “gym scene,” but would be ideal as an at-home piece of fitness equipment. When we discovered a large number of our units were being purchased by physical therapists because of Total Gym’s ability to allow for partial weight-bearing or ‘unloaded’ training for their patients, we realized we had another market in the physical therapy and wellness industry.
It wasn’t until the late ’90s, with the explosion of both personal training and group fitness that we recognized an opportunity to enter into the gym market. That’s when we developed and launched GRAVITY. This rounded out our approach where we now service customers in all areas of their life — medical rehabilitation, home fitness and wellness and in a health club or training studio.
CS: The Total Gym GRAVITY program teaches personal trainers how to use Total Gym in a small group setting. What’s unique about the program?
TC: Total Gym GRAVITY programming has been generating excitement and increased member retention and revenue in commercial facilities around the world. With Total Gym GRAVITY classes, fitness and wellness professionals can offer individual, multi-client and Pilates sessions incorporating the versatility of exercise disciplines available with the Total Gym.
Some of our customers have reported that by implementing GRAVITY programs in their facilities, they’ve increased their revenue by an extra $6,800 a month. That comes down to the simple fact that working out on Total Gym is fun, effective and can be tailored to multiple member demographics.
CS: Where do you want Total Gym to go as far as fitness clubs are concerned?
TC: Our mission is “helping millions of people get healthier!” Our goal is to further that mission by creating products and services that make functional training solutions available to every type of fitness club in the world.
As the industry is moving towards a more functional approach to working out, we see opportunity to address the functional training concept on the gym floor.
By Rachel Zabonick
