Gold’s Gym is considered by many to be the most popular and prominent franchise of fitness centers in the sport of bodybuilding today. This elite gym is commonly referred to as “The Mecca of Bodybuilding” and was originally established in 1965, in Venice Beach, California (Drasin). The founder of Gold’s Gym, Joe Gold, was a merchant marine and sold the gym along with his rights to the “Gold’s Gym” name in 1973 because he desired to take voyage back on the sea. While out at sea, Gold’s exponentially grew in popularity, expanded and became the main sponsor of bodybuilding events as well as being advertised in a variety of magazines.
Joe returned to the US in 1976 and realized just how popular his creation had become. Due to the fact that Joe sold his rights to the name, he was forced to open a new franchise, which he called World’s Gym (Drasin). By doing this Joe Gold created the second “Mecca of Bodybuilding” and it effectively gained success and popularity. Many of the popular bodybuilders at the time including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbo, Ken Waller, Irvin Kosvewski, etc began training at World’s Gym which attributed to its success.
The video below is taken from the show series, Ric’s Corner, and features Ric Drasin talking about the history of Gold’s Gym including its location, the daily routines of bodybuilders training there, and the logo design. He then talks about the actions of Joe Gold in developing the “Two Meccas of Bodybuilding.”
Works Cited
Drasin, Rick. "Joe Gold Gym."Ric's Corner. 19 December 2009. Online Video Clip. Youtube. 15
March 2011.
March 2011.
Drasin, Rick. The Man Behind Two Meccas. Web. 15 March 2011. <http://bodybuilding.com/>.
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