User:MStyles/Anytime Fitness

Anytime Fitness, Inc. is an international chain of co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as "gyms") originally started in Minnesotta by Jeff Klinger and Chuck Runyon. Each gym features basic fitness equipment and 24 hour access.

Corporate history
The first Gold's Gym opened in fall 1965 in Venice Beach, California. Dubbed "the Mecca of bodybuilding", it was frequented by Arnold Schwarzenegger and featured in the 1977 movie Pumping Iron. The movie brought attention not only to the gym itself, but also to the world of bodybuilding and physique in general. Jim Morrison of The Doors was also a frequent visitor to the Gold's Gym in Venice. To this day, it is considered a landmark in the bodybuilding subculture and has even achieved cult status In 1970, Joe Gold sold the chain.



Today, Gold's Gym claims to be the largest chain of co-ed gyms in the world, with more than 600 locations in 25 countries. It also licenses its name to products such as fitness equipment and clothing. The famous original Gold’s Gym logo, a bald-headed weightlifter holding a barbell, was designed in 1973 by Ric Drasin, who was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s training partner for four years.

Corporate information
Gold's Gym is privately owned. It was acquired from its previous owner, private equity firm Brockway Moran & Partners, by Robert Rowling's TRT Holdings in 2004 for approximately $158 million. Brockway Moran had acquired the company in 1999. The current chief corporate officers include President and CEO James Weaver, David Fowler as senior divisional vice president, and Aaron Watkins as senior vice president of finance and accounting. Corporate headquarters are in Irving, Texas which is in the Dallas metropolitan area.

Gold's is one of two official health clubs of the AARP, where it offers month-to-month memberships, and is the official health club of the American Diabetes Association and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Gold's has begun offering online enrollment.

Criticism
Most Anytime Fitness franchisees require a minimum mebership term of one year. Those who sell shorter term memberships do so at a higher rate.