Gold's Gym International "Sees" the Future of Fitness Franchising in Titan Fitness

By: Gold's Gym | 1,014 Shares 600 Reads

Titan Fitness Named Visionary Award Winner at Annual Gold's Gym Convention; Also Earns Bravo Award from the Gold's Gym Franchise Association as Franchisee of the Year

August 14, 2008 // Franchising.com // McLean, VA – Honored for its creativity and leadership in obtaining private equity financing for the acquisition and construction of new Gold's Gyms as well as the conversion of existing independent gyms to the Gold's Gym brand, Gold's Gym International named Titan Fitness the winner of its Visionary Award during the company's annual franchise convention in late-July in Las Vegas.

In January, Jeff Skeen, President and CEO of Titan Fitness, and his partners, A.J. Mushtaq, Chief Financial Officer; Dal Clayton, Chief Operating Officer; Aaron Lieberman, Chief Development Officer; and Josh Harwood, Senior Vice President of Operations secured the backing of a $200 million private equity fund to purchase and develop Gold's Gyms nationwide. As a result, Titan Fitness became one of the largest Gold's Gym franchisees in the United States and is using the private equity funding to grow its Gold's Gym portfolio to more than 60 open locations nationwide during the next five years.

"It is an honor to be recognized as a group that has a strategy for the future that others can follow," said Dal Clayton, Chief Operating Officer of Titan Fitness. "We are leveraging our team's expertise and the premier fitness brand to attract professional investment to the fitness sector and the Gold's Gym brand."

With private equity financing secured, the Titan Fitness team is purchasing health club chains with strong management teams in place that have a focus on growth. Two such chains have already been acquired in Raleigh, North Carolina and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Titan provides regional teams with strategic direction, processes, systems and tools necessary for each region to effectively operate as a top-tier fitness franchise in their respective markets.

In addition to acquiring existing fitness chains, Titan plans to construct new Gold's Gyms in attractive growth markets throughout the country to support its acquisitions.

"Gold's Gym is attracting the finest in franchise partners with investors such as Titan Fitness growing our brand. They understand what it takes to stay atop the fitness industry," said Keith Albright, Senior Vice President of Franchising for Gold's Gym Franchising, LLC. "Titan Fitness has raised the bar and other private equity funded groups are now looking at Gold's Gym with a new perspective."

Titan Fitness Earns Top Honors from Peers at Annual Convention

Also at the Gold's Gym convention, the Gold's Gym Franchise Association honored Titan Fitness with the Bravo Award for making the most significant contribution to the Gold's Gym brand and its franchisees. Known as the Franchisee of the Year Award, the Bravo honors Skeen and his partners for routinely advising franchisees on operations and other business matters.

About Titan Fitness

Established by former Gold's Gym International executives, franchisees and a former PricewaterhouseCoopers director, Titan was founded to build one of the largest fitness chains in North America under the Gold's Gym brand. The Titan executives have more than 50 years of direct experience in the fitness industry, including the private equity backed acquisition and expansion of Gold's Gym International in 1999 with, then owner, Brockway Moran and Partners. Titan is backed by WestView Capital Partners, a $200 million dollar equity fund located in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Gold's Gym

Established in Venice, Calif. in 1965, Gold's Gym is the largest co-ed gym chain in the world with over 675 locations in 43 states and 27 countries. Gold's Gym offers state of the art exercise equipment and industry leading fitness programs, including group exercise, personal training, cardiovascular equipment, spinning, Pilates, yoga and Cardio Cinema, while maintaining its core weight lifting tradition. With over 3 million members worldwide, Gold's Gym continues to positively change people's lives every day by helping each member identify and achieve his or her individual fitness goals.

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