Gold’s Gym, which began in 1965 as a modest gym in Venice Beach, California, is now the most recognizable fitness company in the world.
Gold’s Gym has become a global brand with over 600 sites on six continents over the past 55 years.
At the first Gold’s Gym, bodybuilding legends such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and Franco Columbu worked out. Gold’s Gym went on to become the most legendary gym in history.
The current owner, Ranier Schaller of RSG Group, purchased the fitness center in August 2020, after the former owners declared bankruptcy during the Covid-19 outbreak and California was placed on near-total lockdown.
Schaller, 53, his girlfriend Christiane Schikorsky, 44, and their children Aaron Schaller and Finja Sghikorsky are missing following the crash of their twin-engine turboprop off the coast of Costa Rica.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has been exercising at Gold’s Gym since 1968, shortly after his arrival from Austria in the United States.
Rainer Schaller is recognized as the ‘Founder, Owner, and Chief Executive Officer’ of the RSG Group, a conglomerate of 21 fitness, lifestyle, and fashion companies that operates in 48 countries and has 41,000 direct and franchise employees.
Arnold Schwarzenegger left Golds Gym in Venice Beach in 2021 following his morning workout routine. The Terminator actor prefers to exercise in the morning at the gym and at home in the evening.
During the 1970s, the heyday of bodybuilding, Gold’s in Venice Beach became known as the “mecca of bodybuilding.”
When Gold’s Gym first opened, founder Joe Gold charged $40 for an annual membership. A founding member told Men’s Journal: ‘However, if you didn’t have the cash – and many of them didn’t – Joe would let you slip. In fact, at some point he supported the majority of these men. They were paid to show there and do nothing.
According to an article in LA Magazine, Gold was a resident of Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights and had been “eye candy” in Mae West’s nightclub act. The New York Times credited Gold with “creating the modern gym” in 1992.
Gold sold the company in 1973 and later regretted his decision as physical fitness became increasingly popular. There were only three other gyms in the Los Angeles area when he originally opened his doors.
More than 5,000 Gold’s Gyms existed in the United States by 1981. In 1985, the franchise expanded to Canada.
In reaction to the growth, Gold established World Gym in close proximity to his original facility, and even lured Arnold Schwarzenegger away from Gold’s Gym. In 1968, shortly after arriving in the United States from Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger began working at Gold’s.
In 2004, Gold died at the age of 82. Since he sold the gym, it has been owned by different individuals.
In a 2019 Men’s Health article, Schwarzenegger stated that he still frequented Gold’s Gym, particularly for his morning workouts. However, he opted to complete his nighttime exercises at home.
The current location of the gym in Venice, on Hampton Drive, is just around the corner from its original home on Pacific Avenue.
In addition to bodybuilders, hundreds of Hollywood celebrities, including Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis, Pierce Brosnan, and Bruce Springsteen, have made the gym their exercise home.
Gold’s has been featured in films and television shows such as “The Longest Yard,” “The Dr. Phil Show,” “Wheel of Fortune,” and “Hogan Knows Best.”
According to a former trainer, the gym began working with non-bodybuilding celebrities in November 1981, when legendary Tonight Show host Johnny Carson began using fitness to recover from a difficult breakup.
Lou Ferrigno appears fit and trim as he cycles through the streets of Santa Monica, California on his way to Gold’s Gym.
Josh Brolin is another familiar sight at the Gold’s Gym in Venice.
In 1996, trainer Ray Kybartas told Sports Illustrated, “One of Johnny Carson’s attorneys approached me. He had ended his relationship with his girlfriend and was depressed. He desired to return to physical fitness. He offered me $25 per hour for my assistance. It appeared to be a decent deal.
He continued, ‘He was the ideal client because he was so depressed that he had nothing to do but exercise. Within six weeks, he was attending business meetings with his shirt pulled up to reveal his washboard stomach.
Kybartas added, ‘He asked other attorneys to feel his muscles. Soon I was working with roughly half of Hollywood’s entertainment attorneys.
In 2014, when WWE superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin resumed training after a period of inactivity, he worked with bodybuilding great Ric Drasin at Gold’s. Drasin was responsible for creating the gym’s famous logo.
Jim Ross, the former head of talent relations for WWE, stated in his blog at the time that Austin warned him that working out at Gold’s in Venice was not for everyone.
John Cena stated on Twitter in 2015 that a friend pushed him to join professional wrestling school in 1999 while he was working at Gold’s.
John Cena, another professional wrestler, stated on Twitter in 2015 that a friend pushed him to join professional wrestling school in 1999 while he was working at Gold’s.
A-List Hollywood Actor Jessica Alba attributes her post-pregnancy weight loss to the time she spent training with personal trainer Ramona Braganza.
Braganza stated that the feared lunge was the key to weight loss.
Prior to becoming Bennifer again, J-Lo was spotted with her then-fiancé Alex Rodriguez working out at Gold’s in Venice Beach, California, in 2018.
The girlfriend of Scaller posted a photo of herself aboard a flight to social media. It is unclear whether this is the same aircraft that crashed.
At the time of writing, Rainer Scaller, the current proprietor of the gym, is still missing. His jet was being piloted by a 66-year-old Swiss pilot when it mysteriously vanished Friday afternoon; fragments of the aircraft were later discovered in the ocean Saturday.
Since then, authorities have recovered the bodies of one adult and one child near the crash site, which is approximately 20 miles from the airport where the plane was scheduled to land.
The identity of the fatalities have not yet been disclosed, as four additional passengers are still missing and presumed dead.
According to Costa Rican Security Minister Jorge Torres, the aircraft lost contact with air traffic around Barra de Parismina, which is close to Limon. Shortly thereafter, Costa Rican authorities were notified that the aircraft had vanished.
“Around six in the afternoon, we received an alert concerning a flight conveying five German travelers from Mexico to the airport in Limon,” Torres explained.
When communication was lost, the aircraft was traveling at approximately 275 mph and 230 feet in the air.
Unknown is the cause of the plane’s crash.
It was due to land soon before 7pm at Juan Santamaria International Airport.
The search was initiated immediately but halted temporarily owing to poor weather conditions; it resumed on Saturday.
Pieces of the missing twin-engine turboprop aircraft were discovered in the water on Saturday, according to Costa Rican police.
The aircraft was an Italian Piaggio P180 Avanti with nine seats and a striking design.