The history of Gold’s Gym, as told by Arthur Peacock

Posted July 22, 2011 1:01 pm by

The history of Gold’s Gym, as told by Arthur Peacock

 

Like many famous places, the origins of the first Gold’s Gym are clouded in myth and legend. In this column, I will try to clear up some of the misinformation and give some background on Joe Gold, the creator of what would eventually become a national phenomenon.Joe (Sydney) Gold was born March 10, 1922, in Boyle Heights, in Los Angeles, and he lived until July, 2004. Gold served in the United States Merchant Marines during both World War II and the Korean Conflict, and later auditioned for Mae West and toured in her revue.The first Gold’s Gym opened in 1965, with much of the equipment fabricated by Gold, himself, using machinist’s skills he had acquired along his way.The facility itself was rather crude, compared with today’s gleaming franchise gyms, and Gold was no “Mr. Personality.” He could be rather sarcastic to those who trained there. It sometimes seemed to me that he ran the vacuum cleaner only during my workouts.Gold’s manager in those early days was Zabo, another laconic individual, known as, “The Chief,” who would do a prodigious amount of abdominal work, literally by the hour. As rough as the place may have seemed, it had all one needed to train hard and heavy, and it dominated the bodybuilding world, producing more winners nationally than similar establishments. The only other serious competitors trained at Vince Gironda’s Gym.It certainly worked for me, in that I won six titles during the few short years I trained at Gold’s Gym.In a brief period of time, Gold’s became the Mecca of bodybuilding. Up-and-coming competitors flocked to be where the action was and where the winners trained. This, of course, included Arnold Schwarzenegger, who arrived on the scene in 1968.Joe Gold didn’t keep the original gym very long. In 1970, he sold out to Bud Danitz, Dave Saxe and Tom — an investor whose last name escapes me. Those three, in turn, sold the gym, in 1977, to Ken Sprague, who only held on to it for two years, selling it again, this time to Pete Grymkowski, Edward Connors and Tim Kimber.In 1980, Connors opened a Gold’s Gym in San Francisco, and the rest, as they say, is history. In the meantime, Gold opened World Gym in Santa Monica and, later, in Marina del Rey. He owned and operated that gym until his death at age 82.As a footnote, and if my memory is correct, the original building that housed Gold’s Gym was converted into a residence in the late 70s,  but I have not been able to confirm this. http://healthclubnews-org.knockoutweightlosscoaching.com/2011/07/22/the-history-of-gold%e2%80%99s-gym-as-told-by-arthur-peacock/ ‘Til next time, remember, “You are what you eat.”

 

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