David Patchell-Evans

David 'Patch' Patchell-Evans is a Canadian entrepreneur and business executive. He is the CEO of GoodLife Fitness, a position he has held since founding the gym chain in April 1979.

Early life and education
After losing his father when he was eight, and as the eldest of three brothers, Patch developed a strong work-ethic from a young age. He attended high school in Toronto, ON, and supplemented his family's income by working multiple jobs, including life guarding and newspaper delivery.

Patch began studying at the University of Western Ontario in 1973, where he would start a small snow plowing business to fund his tuition. He graduated in 1977 with an Honours degree in physical education and a minor in Business. While at Western, he began rowing with the Western Rowing Club, leading to a competitive career in rowing that took him to five Canadian Rowing Championships.

Early career and GoodLife Fitness
Two weeks after beginning his university studies, Patch was involved in a serious motorcycle accident which would cause multiple injuries to his upper body. During the following eight-month rehabilitation process, he would become increasingly interested in the role physical fitness plays in injury recovery and prevention.

Following his interest and appreciation for physical fitness, Patch decided to start his own gym. Using funds from his snow plowing business, he purchased a small fitness club in London, ON in 1979. This 200-square-meter facility would go on to become the first-ever GoodLife Fitness Club.

As of 2023, GoodLife Fitness is the largest fitness club chain in Canada and the fourth largest in the world.

Expansion and partnerships
Under Patch's leadership as CEO, the GoodLife group of clubs would grow to include GoodLife Fitness, Fit4Less, Éconofitness and Oxygen Yoga & Fitness, encompassing nearly 500 locations, 1.2 million members, and more than 10,000 employees across Canada.

In 1993, Patch established canfitpro, an organization dedicated to providing learning and development opportunities for fitness professionals. The company services over 24,000 members, including fitness professionals, health club operators, industry suppliers, and fitness consumers. As of 2023, canfitpro is the largest provider of fitness education in Canada.

Patch also owns CityFitness – the largest fitness club chain in New Zealand. He is also a significant partner in REVO Fitness in Australia, and AyrFit in Alberta, Canada.

Patch has partnered with George Foreman III to bring Craft Boxing studios to Canada and expand its presence across the United States.

Leadership during COVID-19
The fitness industry was hit particularly hard by pandemic restrictions and closures, especially in Ontario where fitness facilities were closed for 410 days between March 2020 and March 2022. As a result, Patch took an active and vocal role in steering his companies through the COVID-19 pandemic, even calling out Premier Doug Ford for "failing to prioritize the right to safely access fitness in Ontario" when gyms were excluded from the province's Stage 2 Reopening Plan in June 2021.

Throughout the pandemic, Patch would continue to align with fitness advocacy groups like Fitness Industry Council of Canada (FIC) and The Global Health & Fitness Association (IHRSA) in calling for fitness to be recognized as healthcare and given higher regard by governing and regulatory bodies.

GoodLife Kids Foundation
In 1998, Patch founded the GoodLife Kids Foundation to help give Canadian kids with special needs the opportunity to live fit and healthy lives. GoodLife Kids Foundation has reached more than 260,000 kids and youth across Canada with supports for physical activity. Since 2018, the organization has focused on providing physical activity opportunities for kids and youth with autism and intellectual disabilities.

Today, the MOVE by GoodLife Kids Program delivers regular virtual workouts to kids and youth with autism and intellectual disabilities, as well as their families. As of 2023, the program is also offered in person at Janus Academy in Calgary, Alberta, and more recently at high schools in Brampton and Mississauga, Ontario, with plans to introduce in-person options at GoodLife Fitness Clubs.

Supporting autism research
Patch's daughter Kilee was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when she was 2-years old. Very little was known about autism at the time, and Patch wanted to take steps to advance research in the field.

He invested to start the Kilee Patchell-Evans Autism Research Group which would be led by Dr. Derrick MacFabe, a renowned neuroscientist studying the effects of gut bacteria on brain development. The group continues to investigate this connection and is considered one of Canada's leading group of experts on the subject. Published work from the group concerning the possible role of gut bacterial metabolites in autism has been listed among the top 50 scientific discoveries in Canada by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Patch has donated more than $11 million to autism research leading to important strides and collaborations, most notably with the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

In 2016, Patch pledged $5 million to help build the GoodLife Fitness Autism Hub in Richmond, BC. The knowledge centre incorporates state of the art resources for research, information, learning, assessment, treatment and support addressing the lifespan needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their families.

In 2007, Patch was recognized with the Canadian Medical Association Medal of Honour (now called the Owen Adams Medal of Honour) – the highest honour given outside the medical profession in Canada – for his support of autism research and education.

Promoting exercise as a healthcare solution
In 2012, Patch pledged $5 million through GoodLife Fitness to the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at University Health Network (UHN), establishing the first-of-its-kind private/public collaboration to deliver cardiac rehabilitation using exercise to help the estimated 1.3 million Canadians suffering from heart disease. More recently, GoodLife Fitness donated over $330,000 to upgrade the fitness equipment at two UHN cardiac rehab facilities.

Awards and recognition

 * In 2012, Patch was awarded with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario. This degree acknowledged his achievements as a fitness entrepreneur, as well as a community leader and supporter of autism research.
 * Patch has been recognized as Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association's Entrepreneur of the Year, as well as Canadian Business Magazine's Most Innovative CEO, and Ernst & Yonge's Entrepreneur of the Year.
 * In 2015, GoodLife Fitness was recognized as one of Canada's Top 10 Corporate Cultures. In the same year, Patch was named Canada's Most Admired CEO – the first and only time a CEO and his company have received the award in the same year.
 * Patch was selected for the 2019 Ontario Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award, which is given to a proven achiever and strong contributor to Ontario's economy.
 * In 2021, Patch was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, joining 200 other notable and accomplished business leaders in Canada.