| News & Know How | News Industry Mourns Roy Zurkowski


A cofounder of the company that became Bally Total Fitness dies at 81


T


he health and fitness club industry mourns the loss of Roy Zurkowski, a former champion bodybuilder and club marketing expert who’s best known for his role as one of


the cofounders of the club chain that eventually became Bally Total Fitness. He died in late November in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, less than a month after having celebrated his 81st birthday. In 1953, Zurkowski won the Mr. Chicago and Mr. Illinois body-


building titles, and, shortly thereafter, he and his partners, including Don Wildman, bought the club business created by champion bodybuilder and entrepreneur Vic Tanny. After Zurkowski moved to Detroit, Michigan, in the 1960s, the company retained Tanny’s New York Health Club brand, but renamed its Illinois facilities as Chicago Health Clubs. Eventually, he and Wildman formed a holding company, the Health and Tennis Corpora- tion of America (HTCA), which, following additional openings and acquisitions, became the nation’s largest health and fitness opera- tion, with more than 380 locations. Zurkowski’s unique marketing model was


Roy Zurkowski


based on recruiting Hollywood celebrities who were on the brink of super-stardom to promote HTCA’s clubs in print ads and on national tele- vision. Among those he made use of were Cher, Lynda Carter, Farrah Fawcett, Raquel Welch, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. “I would sign them before they went galactic,” Zurkowski once explained. “I couldn’t afford them later.”


In 1983, the Bally Entertainment Corporation, a manufacturing


concern based in Chicago, purchased HTCA, and, the following year, acquired the business that would eventually become Life Fitness. All of the clubs in Bally’s portfolio were subsequently rebranded Bally Total Fitness. Zurkowski and Wildman continued to hold executive positions with


Bally, but, in 1990, Zurkowski finally retired. Residing in Bloomfield Hills, he continued to serve on several charitable boards, including those of Best Buddies, in Washington D.C., the National Special Olympics, the Detroit Institute of Arts, The Beaumont Foundation, and the Michigan Cancer Foundation. Today, Bally Total Fitness has some 270 facilities in the U.S. and overseas that serve some 3.5 million members. —|


> Short Takes | A Gold’s Gym Holiday


The holidays have come and gone, but the pounds gained have lingered on. That is, unless you took part in “Trim The Fat,” a campaign launched by Gold’s Gym International, Inc. Before Thanksgiving, the chain introduced six downloadable exercise routines: “The Turkey Workout,” ideal for getting your “wings” in top form; “The Cranberry Jelly Workout,” a series of moves for combating a “jelly belly”; and “The Slice of Pumpkin Pie Workout,” for developing a physique that’s “cut like pie.” —|


26 Club Business Internat ional | FEBRUARY 2011 | www. ihrsa.org Hardcore Drills


and Portable Thrills Industry experts weigh in on top fitness trends


Boot camps on the rise


> Recent reports about up-and-coming fitness trends for 2011 highlight changes across the board, from personal training, to group exercise, to fitness accessories, according to analysts from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the IDEA Health and Fitness Association (IDEA). ACSM’s poll, conducted across six continents


and reaching 2,000 health and fitness experts, revealed that boot-camp-style workouts are mak- ing a comeback, while Pilates training is declining. Dr. Walter Thompson, the lead author of the annual poll, hesitates to call this fitness staple a “fad,” but the survey did show a drop. “Pilates has been very strong since 2008, but, for 2011, it fell off the list completely,” he reports. According to IDEA’s survey, the top-three program trends are senior fitness, weight-management exercise, and small-group and partner training. ACSM’s poll also reflected a diminished


interest in stability balls and balance training, which contradicts IDEA’s findings. In its survey, balance training placed third on a list of 12 popular session-equipment options offered by at least 50% of the respondents. IDEA trainers reported that they devote 53% of personal sessions to resistance training, using strength and functional resistance training. Most claimed to use body-weight-leveraging devices, such as the TRX Suspension Trainer, Total Gym GTS, climbing ladders, ropes, and push-up and pull-up devices. Kettlebells, a fitness accessory, are a new


addition to IDEA’s list, while treadmills and elliptical units continue to be mainstays. —|


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