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Similar to the original Venice Beach, Calif. location, the new Gold’s Gym design features a Legacy Wall with framed photos of iconic bodybuilders associated with the brand.
Opened in 1967, the Venice Beach Gold’s Gym has framed photos of members like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.
Photos of Gold’s Gym members like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno are on display at the original Venice Beach location.
Sebastian Schoepe, CEO of RSG Group North America CEO, in front of the Green Wall at Gold’s Gym Venice Beach.
The new Gold’s Gym design features a Legacy Wall with framed photos of iconic bodybuilders associated with the brand.
The new Gold’s Gym locations such as this one in Dallas feature upgraded equipment.
The new Gold’s Gym locations feature upgraded equipment.
Gold’s Gym is opening locations with a new design.
Gold’s Gym is opening locations with a new design.
Gold’s Gym, the legendary gym that started in 1965 in Venice Beach, Calif., is making a comeback in Houston.
RSG Group, a Berlin-based fitness company founded by Rainer Schaller 28 years ago, will open three company-owned Gold’s Gyms in the Houston area Saturday.
After buying Gold’s Gym out of bankruptcy in July 2020, RSG Group is growing the brand with a new look that incorporates the gym’s iconic history with a Legacy Wall of photos that pays tribute to the Venice Beach location where bodybuilders such as Lou Ferrigno and Franco Columbo worked out. A Green Wall recreates the effect of the peeling green mint paint seen in the backdrop of photos of fitness enthusiasts at the original gym across social media.
The Houston locations, which are going into former 24 Hour Fitnesses, are among 66 company-owned gyms, plus another 100 franchised locations in the U.S. They are the first in Houston, which previously had six franchise locations, and among 58 in Texas.
The gyms consist of Friendswood (130 W. Parkwood Ave.), Bingle (12708 Northwest Freeway) and Northchase Plaza (4425 FM 1960). Renowned fitness professional Simeon Panda, fitness trainer Ida Bergfoth and celebrity trainer Mike Ryan will make appearances at the grand openings.
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Sebastian Schoepe, president and CEO of RSG Group North America, selected the locations after touring 14 possibilities in early 2021. The company worked with NewQuest Properties on its expansion.
Schoepe said upgraded gym equipment from gym80, classes through a partnership with Les Mills, and the new design showcasing the history of the gym founded by Joe Gold as the “Mecca of Bodybuilding” are all designed to foster a community of members serious about fitness. Details, down to the brick walls and choice of a warm white lighting, were not overlooked.
“It’s a nicer lighting. It makes you look nicer in the mirror,” Schoepe said. “The nicer you look, the harder you train.”
The process to sign up has been simplified. There are no contracts or sign-up fees, and the Houston gyms cost $25 to $35 a month to join.
Schoepe is scouting additional Houston locations, which will all be company-owned.
“Prior to the pandemic, we would look into markets where people live and also where they worked,” Schoepe said. “The pandemic changed where people work. Now, we’re focusing on residential areas rather than business areas.”
Katherine Feser covers a variety of subjects for the Houston Chronicle Business section. She coordinates some of the paper’s most popular special sections, including the Chronicle 100, Home Price Survey, and Top Workplaces. She compiles many of the staples of the section, including the daily markets page, People in Business, event listings and real estate transactions.
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