Q&A with Royce Pulliam, CEO of Global Fitness Holdings
The former largest Gold’s Gym franchisee in the U.S. is set to part from Gold’s Gym. Here’s what he has to say about building a successful club from the ground up.
Royce Pulliam isn’t your average guy, so it’s not a surprise that he was not your average franchisee either. After 13 years of franchising, he was the largest franchise holder of Gold’s Gyms in the U.S. and ready for more. Pulliam and the fitness club superpower, Gold’s Gym International, decided in a mutual agreement that they will part ways. This will allow Pulliam and Global Fitness Holdings to head out on their own with their own brand – Urban Active. Royce expressed his sentiments to Gold’s Gym for all they had achieved together and said he will always have a special place in his heart for the Gold’s brand.
David Schnabel, CEO of Gold’s Gym International, states “We have enjoyed our mutually beneficial relationship with Global Fitness Holdings over the past seven years, but after extensive discussion, it became clear that we were following different business models. We wish them well in their new business endeavors.”
The former largest Gold’s Gym franchisee in the U.S. is set to part from Gold’s Gym. Here’s what he has to say about building a successful club from the ground up.Club Solutions: So, how were you able to become Gold’s Gym’s largest franchise holder?
Pulliam: “In the beginning, when I first started in 1994, I was under World Gym brand. I was looking for more in the fitness business. So in April of 2000, I purchased the Gold’s Gym franchising rights for Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio and converted my six World Gyms into Gold’s Gyms. I started a franchise holding company for the area called Global Fitness Holdings. Global Fitness Holdings is currently the largest franchise holder of Gold’s Gym in the U.S. In the beginning, I wanted to open ten to twelve clubs a year, but I was only able to open one or two a year. This is until I teamed up with Larry and Stephen Paul at Laurel Crown Partners, a Los Angelesbased private equity firm, in 2005. In the past few years, we have gotten really aggressive with opening clubs and experienced great success – thanks to Laurel Crown Partners.”
Laurence Paul, a partner in Laurel Crown Partners, with his brother, Stephen Paul, said the firm decided to invest in Global Fitness Holdings after studying the exercise business, its economics and its direction. Paul said the expansion of Global Fitness Holdings “is not capital-constrained in any way. “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to introduce our company to cities that are eager for a high-end fitness and wellness experience. With the quality of our product, our people and the experience that we provide, we look forward to playing an integral part in the lives of the members of these new communities,” added Paul.
“Another key in my success is I have surrounded myself with great people like Glenn Gordon, President of Global Fitness Holdings, who is responsible and oversees the whole fitness side of our business, and Garnett Furnish, who is COO of Global Fitness Holdings, and runs all of our operations. Bill Robinson is head of sales and membership for our organization and has been with me since my beginning days, and Brandon Johnson heads our Personal Training Operations. I cannot express enough thanks to the people that have contributed to the success of Global Fitness Holdings,” said Pulliam.
Glenn Gordon, President of Global Fitness Holdings, says “We will be continuously looking for exceptional talent, new opportunities and markets in which to grow the Urban Active brand.”
Global Fitness Holdings ranks in the top 25 Fitness Holding Companies in North America due to its reputation for building and successfully operating state-of-the-art, upscale, full-service fitness clubs, ranging in size from 45,000 to 65,000 square feet.
Club Solutions: How did you end up in the health club business in the first place?
Pulliam: “I had no background in the health club business when I got started back in 1994, but I had always been intrigued by it, and I wanted to be a part of it. My first club: I had members packed on top of each other and I wasn’t making any money. My second club: I started to figure things out a little more. I worked hard and kept my eye on the ball. Sales and retention, and that’s how I made it work.”
Club Solutions: Tell us about Urban Active.
Pulliam: “Urban Active isn’t just a gym, it’s a lifestyle center. We are spending, on average, approximately $13 million dollars per club. They are very upscale; offering all of the amenities one could want in a state-of-the-art facility. Most amenities include: an indoor swimming pool; panoramic, elevated indoor track with views inside and out; basketball court; racquetball; elaborate ultra-modern cardio areas with over 150 pieces of the newest cardio equipment, personalized flat-screen TVs, complete cardio movie cinema; innovative group exercise classes (including Yoga, Pilates, Spinning, just to name a few); plush locker rooms; dry sauna; tanning; personal training and nutrition; smoothie bar, and Pro-shop. In addition to this, there is a fully supervised area for children of all ages, equipped with: child’s basketball court, computer stations, movie viewing area with flat-screen TV and a floor-to-ceiling Play Land. Our plan is to open ten to twelve clubs a year. Our initial plan is to stay in the Central Midwest and Eastern part of the United States. We’re finding that developers are excited about our new brand. We feel like positioning ourselves as lifestyle centers instead of just gyms can be a real asset to our growth as we’re moving forward.”
Kirk Galiani, former CEO and part owner of Gold’s Gym International, and current owner of 13 Gold’s Gyms in the Mid- Atlantic states, had this to say about Royce: “As a former owner of Gold’s Gym International and current Gold’s Gym franchisee, I am sad to see Royce and Global Fitness leaving the Gold’s Gym brand. I do wish him well and believe that his organization, with its strong management team and financial backing of Laurel Crown, will become the next large fitness chain in the United States.”
Shawn McDonald, Publisher of Club Solutions Magazine has had the privilege of being a member of Global Fitness Holding’s newest health club in Louisville, KY, and said, “The facilities that Global Fitness Holdings are building are some of the finest health and fitness facilities in the United States and I expect Urban Active to be wildly successful based upon what I know about Royce Pulliam and his company.”
As of December 1, all of their 25 formerly franchised locations in the tri-state region will be renamed Urban Active. Thier mission statement is: “to create active communities through innovative fitness.” Everything will remain the same with their members and memberships, the only change will be renaming the brand to Urban Active.
Royce Pulliam’s Strategies for Success:
FIND YOUR NICHE.
Instead of trying to be all things to all people. Take the time to figure out what you really want and who your customer would be, and then stick with that.
GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
You can’t know everything, so put people in place who fill in your gaps. And, recognize talent within your organization. Our head of sales and membership, Bill Robinson, started out working the front desk at our second club, and now he’s one of our executives. Showing that you reward passion can increase passion in your staff.
SELL EVERY DAY.
What’s really important in this business is selling and retaining memberships. You have to go into work ready to sell every single day if you want to be successful.
