| News & Know How | News Madonna Joins Industry Pros


Pop star introduces Hard Candy Fitness, a new upscale multinational chain


of Hard Candy Fitness, an upscale 30,000- square-foot health club in Mexico City, the first in a series of at least 11 that she and her partners intend to open worldwide. In addition to her musical credits—she


I


has sold more than 300 million records and staged numerous sold-out tours, worldwide—Madonna is also known as an actress, entrepreneur, and fitness enthusiast, and for her unique ability to periodically reinvent her public persona. Hard Candy seems the latest step in her ongoing transformation. Her partners in the new business


venture, which reprises Hard Candy, the name of a 2008 album, are her manager, Guy Oseary, and New Evolution Ventures (NEV), the Lafayette, California-based venture-capital firm led by Mark Mastrov and Jim Rowley. Mastrov founded and formerly headed 24 Hour Fitness International, Inc. “Madonna’s world tours have taken us


to many of our favorite cities around the world,” notes Oseary. “We’re looking forward to opening Hard Candy Fitness with NEV in many of these same places.” Working with Mastrov, Rowley, and


Craig Pepin-Donat, NEV’s vice president of marketing and development,


>


“fitness, fashion, and entertainment” to create a unique member experience. “Our goal is to create an environment


inspired by Madonna’s vision and high standards of what the ideal gym would be,” explains Mastrov. “Hard Candy Fitness will be a reflection of Madonna’s point of view, and will reflect her input on every detail, including music, space, light, and other design cues. Madonna’s touch will be everywhere.” The Mexico City facility, located in


Fitness role model: Madonna


Madonna and Oseary are looking into opening additional facilities in Europe, Russia, Asia, Brazil, and Argentina. They’re also exploring opportunities and considering local partnerships to facilitate the launching of other clubs. Like the premier Mexico City site, all of the Hard Candy Fitness clubs will fuse


Short Takes | Nutrition Counseling Becoming Trendy


In October, we made the point that more and more clubs were offering nutrition programs (see “The Nutrition and Wellness Play,” October CBI, pg. 46). Apparently, providing such services is now becoming something of a trend. “Combining nutritional counseling with traditional fitness programs has helped the health club industry weather the recession,” according to fitness guru Jaime Brenkus, creator of the 8 Minute Abs workout, the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Post-Gazette reported recently. “As people lose their jobs and their health benefits, they’re realizing that it’s much less expensive


to invest in their wellness than to pay for doctor visits when they get sick,” Brenkus told the paper. “If people are fit and healthy, they are far less likely to succumb to whatever bug is going around. That’s money in the bank for a lot of people.” The newspaper noted that a number of clubs in the Pittsburgh area—including Club One Fitness,


the Oxford Athletic Club, and the Gold’s Gym at Market Square—now employ nutritionists and offer nutrition programs. “Club One Fitness strongly believes in the total-health concept,” explained Renee Sarracino, the club’s health and fitness director. “Our goal is to keep our members active and functional in their routines… Nutritional habits are just as important as exercise habits.”—|


www. ihrsa.org | JANUARY 2011 | Club Business Internat ional 23


the exclusive Bosques de las Lomas neighborhood, will offer: state-of-the- art cardiovascular equipment with personal viewing screens; more than 60 pieces of strength-training equip- ment; private, group, and dynamic training studios; a group-cycling studio; a mind/body studio; and a healthy- alternative juice bar/café. Among the brands of equipment offered: HOIST, Precor, Star Trac, FreeMotion, Ab Coaster, Nautilus, Hammer Strength, and TRX Suspension Trainers. —|


n November, Madonna, the world’s best-selling female recording artist of all time, presided over the opening


PRNewsFoto/Hard Candy Fitness


Agencia el Universal/Newscom


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130