The following will most likely be too much information for most GetBiggers who have no interest regarding the somewhat rapid growth of the modern day gym/spa business ....
SO YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THIS PART ....
The following came up because I was once a fully paid member of AMERICAN HEALTH STUDIOS which I still believe was owned or operated by a few of the better known (at that time) Northern California bodybuilders.
One day without notice of any kind, the west Portal location in san Francisco and the Golden Gate Avenue locations were closed down.
Steve Reeves was employed by AHS and was not an owner nor a partner as he mentions in a 1994 interview for The Perfect Vision Magazine.... part of which is included as follows ...
"At the time (after appearing in 1954's MGM production of ATHENA) I (Steve Reeves) was working for American Health Studios in public relations.
I'd go to Riverside and open up a fitness studio with the mayor and Miss Riverside, then wait another two weeks or so and open another one someplace else.
I had a good job with them, it didn't use too much of my time, and the owner made me promise I'd forget about show business if I worked with him.
So when the Hercules offer came, I just ignored it.
Then Francisci wrote me another letter and said 'Look, this is serious. Here's an airplane ticket.' There was also an advance of $5000, which in those days was quite an advance.
I realized the guy was serious. I started growing a moustache and goatee on my job. This way I didn't have to have something glued on, which is terrible.
My boss asked me what I was doing it for, and I said I wanted to look more distinguished.
I was only paid $10,000 for Hercules and I had no percentage. The film cost a half million to make, and it earned $40 million in the United States alone. It was the box office champion of 1959.
I outgrossed John Wayne, Rock Hudson, and Doris Day, who were the big money makers at the time. And I was the biggest box office star, not only in the United States, but around the world.
"
END OF REEVES INTERVIEW .... The above is a small part of Reeve's interview that day. If you want to read the entirety of this very interesting talk with Steve ....
Go here >>>>>>
http://www.drkrm.com/reeves.htmlAccording to the internet (cut and paste) .... The chain of American Health Studios was founded by Ray Wilson. Years later Ray Wilson would buy out Chuck Norris's studios.
Ray Wilson was one of the original driving forces behind the entire Health Spa industry.
Few individuals have had as much influence on the modern era of the health and fitness facility industry as Ray Wilson. From owning and operating ten distinct chains of clubs, to bringing our industry its first high-tech piece of equipment, the Lifecycle™ exercise bike, Ray Wilson has had a significant hand in shaping the fitness club industry we know today.
During the 1950s, Ray brought to market four club chains, the most prominent being AMERICAN HEALTH STUDIOS and Silhouette Figure Salons. He also opened European Health Spas, which became one of the leading chains in the U.S., many of which later were purchased by Health and Tennis Corporation, or as we know them today, Bally Total Fitness.
In the 1970s Ray opened what might just have been his most successful group of clubs: Family Fitness Centers. He later sold the chain to Mark Mastrov and his group, forming the launching pad for 24 Hour Fitness.
Over the course of 60 years owning and operating clubs, Ray was the first to introduce concepts like monthly dues and alternating usage days for men and women in gyms. He even brought the first recreational pools and whirlpools into the club industry. A true legend in fitness, Ray was honored in 2004 with the International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association's (IHRSA) Dale Dibble Lifetime Achievement Award.
While owning and operating clubs was his bread and butter, Ray’s most significant contribution to the industry may have been his creation of Lifecycle Inc. with co-founder Augie Nieto, which later evolved into Life Fitness. In the early 1970s Ray purchased the rights to an electronic bike invented by Dr. Keene Dimmick, seeing in it the future for cardiovascular exercise in the club environment. Under Ray’s vision and that of his partner, they took Dimmick’s creation and made it into the most recognized and most used piece of cardiovascular exercise equipment in the history of the fitness club industry.
The Lifecycle is celebrating its 40th year in 2014, with over 1 million sold, making it the number one selling piece of cardio equipment in the world. It has served as the template for every bike that has been introduced to the market since. Lifecycle, like Ford did for U.S. automobile industry, has created an entire industry devoted to technology driven cardiovascular equipment.
Spreading his influence around the world, Ray continues to stay at the forefront of the club industry with the opening of California Fitness in Southeast Asia – the first club opening in Hong Kong at the turn of the century. Ray is truly an industry legend and pioneer, not only to the Life Fitness family, but to the entire fitness community.
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SURE DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THE TYPE OF INDIVIDUAL WHO WOULD CLOSE A CLUB WITHOUT NOTICE, SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE TWO SAN FRANCISCO CLUBS COULD HAVE BEEN UNDER THE OWNERSHIP OF INDIVIDUALS OTHER THAT MR. WILSON WHO MAY STILL BE UNKNOWN.
Any other GetBiggers get locked out under similar circumstances?
