How Gold’s Gym Is Transforming Under A Shift In Leadership

More than a year after Gold’s Gym’s successful grand opening of its flagship location in Austin off Burnet Road, Brad Reynolds says there were some obvious lessons to be learned.

“We are the original home of serious fitness, and by leaning back into the love that people have for Gold’s Gym’s brand, and by pairing that with great gyms, I think we win,” Reynolds told Austin Fit Magazine recently.

Interestingly enough, though, he wasn’t even in a position back then to see that success take flight. Reynolds became the co-CEO of RSG Group USA Inc., the American arm of the global fitness group that owns Gold’s Gym, back in September.

Only 10 months later, however, he’s been repositioned as its sole CEO, working alongside Danny Waggoner, who’s shifted from his co-CEO chair to Chief Operating Officer. The move has been labeled less as a restructure and more as a “transformation,” Reynolds told The Franchise Times.

The organizational shift is part of a larger effort to continue building on the momentum Gold’s Gym has earned over the last year, Reynolds said.

“I think the energy, the sense of urgency we have in getting Gold’s Gym to the seat of the table, and where we believe our brand deserves to be in terms of being a best-in-class, multi-unit gym brand again,” he said.

How Gold’s Gym Is Moving Forward

Depending on how you look at it, Gold’s Gym is still rebuilding following RSG Group’s acquisition of the brand in 2020 following Chapter 11 bankruptcy. What once was a global organization of 700-plus gyms is now just under 600 across 30 countries and six continents, with 68-company owned and operated outlets worldwide. There are just under 200 gyms here in the United States.

The gym’s average Annual Unit Volume (AUV), a measure averaging a business’ annual gross sales revenue by a single franchise, is $1.9 million against initial franchise investments of roughly $1.7-$4.5 million (including a $40,000 franchisee fee).

Often, that means the path to profitability is a patient one for franchisees.

But Reynolds said the most recent Austin location bucked that trend. “One of the things they (franchisees) care about most,” Reynolds said, “is speed to break even—the speed to profitability when it comes to building that membership base. This was a perfect example where we built the membership base quicker than we thought.”

Growth feels like it’s not far behind.

Reynold’s says the company—its U.S. home is headquartered in Dallas—is leaning hard into franchising, and that its chasing down opportunities in areas that need it, including the city where the company first began in Venice Beach in 1965. “We’re developing back into Los Angeles,” he said.

Internationally, new gyms have been developed in Brazil and Argentina and Germany, including a flagship site in Berlin that is home to the greenest gym in the world—it operates in a CO2 and climate-neutral space and uses recycled materials for its equipment.

Brad Reynolds was named as Gold’s Gym’s new CEO in July. Reynolds says the company’s focus will look toward innovation and a greater emphasis on franchising in the years to come.

How Texas Factors into Gold’s Gym’s Plans

There’s no doubt Central Texas has taken hold as one of Gold’s Gym’s greatest development opportunities in the U.S.

The greater Austin area makes up for 16 of the company’s locations.

Reynolds said at least one more gym is coming to town over the next six months. “This is a huge priority for us from a development standpoint going forward,” he said, while Dallas will be opening an important location that will be “a test kitchen for all sorts of research and development.”

The company’s Burnet Road opening a year ago, when it re-billed itself “The Mecca of Bodybuilding,” is a core example of its newly built identity.

Performance and strength are at the heart of the company’s ethos. So are strength and performance. But the 30,000-square foot location wasn’t even the area’s biggest outright gym.

How it stood apart was through its design: best-in-class features, from posing rooms to recovery and fitness areas, to new equipment and broad free weight selection. Those features also encompassed an elevated premium experience registering in the “upper mid-tier price point,” as Reynolds put it.

Going forward, he said, Gold’s Gym is aiming to build dedicated communities where membership is in the 5,500-6,500 ranger with slightly higher pricing, as opposed to a 10,000-13,000-membership base—currently, memberships at the Burnet Road location are $59.99 per month, while a Gold’s Gym off South Congress and Slaughter Lane starts at $29.99.

Elsewhere, Reynolds said two other legacy locations in Austin are receiving “full-scale retrofits” to “bring the same look and feel and member experience.”

In the years to come, Gold’s Gym will use the example of its Burnet Road success as a blueprint for future growth.

The organization’s overarching objectives are to reach members with experiences that meet the current needs of the fitness industry. And right now, with a fast-growing region, the market opportunity is huge.

“The fitness industry is on fire right now,” Reynolds said. “And so is Texas. We’re not a Texas brand. We’re a global brand, and we will always be that. But you have to give people what they want where they are.”