Gold's Gym International, Dallas, recently held its annual franchise convention in Las Vegas, where it recognized several of its franchisees with performance-based awards, including franchisee of the year.
On Aug. 1, Gold's Gym awarded its domestic franchisee of the year award to the Garcia family of its South Texas territory. The Garcias, who also won franchisee of the year in 2013, operate seven gyms in the region: Laredo Del Mar, Laredo North Central, McAllen, Mission, Harlingen, Pharr and Edinburg. They opened their first Gold's Gym location in 2004.
"The Garcia family personifies the Gold’s Gym way in the high-quality facilities they build, their outstanding member service and the upgraded programs they run," Gold's Gym said in a statement to Club Industry. "Within the last year, they added Gold’s Burn and Gold’s Fit to several of their existing gyms while designing their new gyms with Gold’s Studio. They have been unapologetic about their membership pricing model, realizing that the high-quality amenities and services they provide are well worth a higher dollar membership."
The company's international franchisee of the year was presented to Egypt franchisee co-chairman Ali Mahmoud and Mohamed Nassif, who are noted for opening the first standalone Gold's Studio location in the world.
"These franchisees provided the first full-service health club in their country and were also the first to develop Gold’s Gym in the Middle East," Gold's Gym said in a statement. "Gold’s Gym Egypt is the perennial winner of the most-admired fitness brand in their country, and they certify more than 1,000 personal trainers through their academy every year. From a development standpoint, they focus on quality over quantity. Their 20 gyms are easily among the most impressive Gold’s Gym has anywhere in the world."
Gold's Gym also recognized the domestic and international recipients of its Vision award: Joe Harrison of Gold's Gym Maryland and Virginia, and Makarem Batterjee of Saudi Arabia, respectively.
Batterjee is the operator of the first-ever female-only Gold's Gym club in Saudi Arabia, in addition to owning 22 other locations in the country.
Harrison, CEO of the company's Maryland and Virginia clubs, is also vice president of the Gold's Gym Franchise Association and sits on the National Franchise Advisory Council and the Gold’s Gym Advertising Advisory Committee.
At the conference, Gold's Gym inducted franchisee J.K. Valecha of India into its hall of fame. Valecha is a 16-year-long franchisee who oversees more than 130 locations in his country with 350,000 members.
In other news, Gold's Gym majority shareholder TRT Holdings Inc. announced in July it is looking for a buyer for the brand.
In April, the company announced it opened 12 new clubs domestically and abroad during the first quarter of 2018. Ken Phipps, director of global franchising development, has said 2018 could be the company's strongest year to date.
Editors' Note: Gold Gym is part of Club Industry's "2018 Fitness Franchise Guide." To download a free copy of this guide, click here.