This past August, Gold’s Gym leadership, franchisees and vendors from around the world gathered in Las Vegas for the 2019 Gold’s Gym Global Convention.
According to Adam Zeitsiff, the president and CEO of Gold’s Gym, the convention was a celebration of the brand’s global success, and set the tone for future growth plans and exciting things to come.
“It’s so fun when the whole brand from around the world can get together in one venue and just be there and learn and collaborate,” said Zeitsiff. “Because we’re in almost 30 countries, you get a real mixture of folks, whether it’s from Australia, the Middle East or Japan. People are just really excited about the future and that came across nicely at the convention.”
As Zeitsiff explained, domestic and international growth will be a key focus for Gold’s Gym over the next few months, on the cusp of recent announcements that the brand has signed agreements in Australia, New Zealand and Latin America.
“For me, the most exciting thing is the growth opportunity,” added Zeitsiff. “Even though we’re growing like crazy outside the U.S., the most exciting thing is where we’re not yet, because it just gives us that greenfield opportunity. So we’re looking at expanding all over the globe. And, we’ve got a variety of things that we’ll be announcing soon that will allow us to grow and see more Gold’s Gyms in the U.S. We have a full omnichannel approach to growth and I think that’s what we’re really excited to see — very focused heavily on the franchise side.”
Outside of the power of the Gold’s Gym brand, Zeitsiff feels the franchise has a number of other key differentiators, including its focus on fitness. This is exemplified in two key areas: Gold’s Gym Academy and Gold’s Gym AMP.
Gold’s Gym Academy serves as the education and training arm for the franchise, as a source for continuing education opportunities for trainers and instructors.
“We have what we call the Gold’s Gym Academy, where we certify trainers and we teach them on the latest approaches to fitness,” explained Zeitsiff. “We really focus on not just bringing in people off the street who want to be a cheerleader to our members; we actually want people to help teach them the science behind exercise. You don’t just come in and train — you come in, you learn, you continually get educated and certified.”
In addition, Gold’s Gym AMP — a training app that gives members access to personal coaching at their fingertips — provides another example of ways in which the brand is emphasizing fitness.
“Gold’s Gym AMP is certainly a differentiator,” said Zeitsiff. “We are really the only brick and mortar global brand that has taken its 50-plus years of coaching and expertise and put it in people’s pockets. It’s a big differentiator for our members. Even if you’re not in our clubs or you don’t have a Gold’s Gym near you, you could still have a Gold’s Gym coach in your pocket.”
With the exploration of a potential sale of Gold’s Gym by majority shareholder TRT Holdings now completely behind the fitness brand, Zeitsiff said leadership and franchisees are excited for what’s to come.
“The big message for us is that we’re here to stay,” added Zeitsiff. “We helped form this industry in 1965 and we’ve got a lot of firsts coming over the next six months that we’ll be innovating on. Innovation is always something that’s been important to us. Some of it’s technology, but some of it’s how we support people in our studio environment, in our coaching, and how we look at fitness as it’s not just fitness — it’s fitness, it’s coaching, it’s community, it’s people, it’s all those things. Those are all important, and are all things we’re looking at in terms of how we’re innovating moving forward.”
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
