CBI AUGUST 01 Cover A 1/TOC.QK
Transcription
CBI AUGUST 01 Cover A 1/TOC.QK
CBI Feb 06 Cover 1/9/06 2:02 PM Page C1 Club Business February 2006 > > > The magazine of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association www.ihrsa.org $7 International Star Entrepreneur Jackie Chan is the Augie’s Quest Augie Nieto, leading man in the founder of ›52 Life Fitness, is applying 24 Hour Fitness’ his skills to finding a newest club production cure for ALS in Asia ›44 Certified Safe! ›62 CBI’s annual guide to the industry’s personal-training issues and certifying organizations IHRSA 2006 ›69 Colin Waggett and Nerio Alessandri prep IHRSA’s 25th International Convention and Trade Show Augie’s The founder of Life Fitness is applying his skills and time to finding a cure for ALS A ³7 5 +-) 9 %5 )78 %9 thin, mid-morning fog clings tenaciously to loose, easy strides of an athlete. There is an aura Balboa Island. Silhouetted shoppers cruise about him, a feeling of peace and purpose, like the tidy sidewalks of this quaint coastal town he’s traveling somewhere at the speed of light but nestled between the massive urban sprawls of taking his time along the way. He talks about his four Los Angeles and San Diego. This is where Augie children, three of whom are in college, and one Nieto, the founder and retired chief executive who is a junior in high school. They are of Life Fitness, lives these days, in a clearly a source of deep pride and inspitwo-story rental on the Grand Canal. ration in his life. “It’s all about passion,” His own five-story home, perched on he says of their varied interests, which a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, range from social justice, to pre-med, is being remodeled. “Five stories,” he to elementary school education, to says, smiling at the irony. “Not the crew and football. “Passion is the right place for someone like me.” engine that drives success.” “Someone like me” refers to his diagAnd those two words—passion ' and success—epitomize the journey of nosis, in February 2005, of amyotroph7 96 ) %0 Augie Nieto. ic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known Born in Anaheim, California, in 1958, as ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. In preparation for the inevitable advance of this disease, which Augie, one of five children, spent much of his childhood weakens and eventually destroys motor neurons, in the “overweight” category. “I was 5'7" and 250 his family home is being outfitted with a five-story pounds,” he remembers. As he sought a weight-loss elevator. It’s not the sort of feature one would expect solution, he discovered the transformative power to find in the house of a man who has dedicated of exercise, which ignited his passion and fired his his life to practicing and preaching the gospel of commitment to fitness. “I was a contrarian,” he recalls. “When everyone regular exercise—but it’s a symbol of where his life is headed, a change of course that he faces with else was going right, I went left.” His willingness to do the unexpected and to take risks, along with his characteristic energy, determination, and grace. Augie’s energy is legendary in the fitness industry, extraordinary vision, energy, and drive, propelled and it’s evident as we walk toward breakfast. Lean, him on a career trajectory that helped transform muscular, and deeply tanned, he moves with the an industry. © Quest Latest w w w. i h r s a 2 5 . o r g n FEBRUARY 2006 n By Stephen Wallenfels Celebrating Silver. Going For Gold. n CBI 53 Augie’s Quest continued He is generally credited with starting the cardio-equipment revolution in health clubs. Norm Cates, a long-time club owner and publisher of the Club Insider, a trade newspaper, describes Augie as “the Henry Ford of the fitness industry.” “Just as Henry Ford revolutionized the world with his ModelT,” says Cates, “Augie forever changed our industry by moving clubs from being nearly exclusively a weight-lifting environment to the impressive cardio-fitness facilities that they are today.” In a remarkable story that spans two decades, starting in 1977, Augie went from traveling the country in a motor home selling Lifecycles (he purchased the marketing rights at age 19), to cofounding Lifecycle, Inc., in 1980, with partner Ray Wilson. From there, he went on to develop what eventually became the largest manufacturer of commercial fitness equipment in the world, Life Fitness—which he sold to the Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), for $310 million, in 1997. HOW YOU CAN HELP 800-572-1717 The toll-free contact number for Augie’s Quest. www.augiesquest.org The Augie’s Quest Website. “MDA professional event managers can provide everything clubs need to put together a fantastic special event as part of Augie’s Quest to cure ALS.” —Shannon Shryne, Divisional Field Representative, MDA 54 CBI n Celebrating Silver. Going For Gold. n FEBRUARY 2006 n “ There is no known cause, cure, or treatment for ALS. We can’t stop it. We can’t even slow it down. ” But all of his accomplishments, including receiving the National Fitness Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award, were, it turns out, mere stages that have prepared him for his latest, most formidable challenge—and, in a profound sense, his greatest opportunity. We sit down for breakfast in the open-air section of a small, neighborhood café. The atmosphere is warm and friendly— comfortable is a good word—and that also describes Augie to a T. His face is handsome, sun-drenched, youthful, prone to explosive smiles and long, thoughtful pauses, but his eyes are at once his most striking, and subtle, feature. They are steady and wise, and often flash with sudden intensity. But there are moments when it feels as though you are peering into liquid brown pools that hint at his passion and inner strength. He converses easily about his years with Life Fitness and his current roles on the boards of Octane Fitness, which manufactures high-end commercial elliptical machines, and North Castle Partners, a private equity investment firm. His devotion to, and confidence in, an industry that has given him so much is unequivocal, absolute. “I can’t imagine a better time to be in this industry,” he says. But his eyes burn brightest when the conversation turns to two topics that are inexorably linked: his family and Augie’s Quest. w w w. i h r s a 2 5 . o r g Augie’s album From far left, Nieto with legendary bodybuilder Bill Pearl; fishing in Mexico; with wife, Lynne, in Monaco; and with family, from r., Lindsay, Nicole, Lynne, Austin, and Danielle, en route to Santa Barbara, California He prefaces his discourse on Augie’s Quest, a campaign he started to raise funds for ALS research, by stating some cold, hard facts. “There is no known cause, cure, or treatment for ALS,” he says. “We can’t stop it. We can’t even slow it down. Five thousand people in the U.S. are diagnosed annually. The life expectancy is 2-5 years, but nearly half will die within two years of diagnosis.” He pauses for a moment to let those somber words sink in, then describes how he finally moved past his initial emotions of “Why me?” and “What did I do to deserve this?” “Time was my friend,” he says. “Probably the first and only time with this disease.” But rather then dwell on memories of those gray days, he brightens and says, “It’s all about the future now.” And the future, in large part, is consumed—and enriched—by Augie’s Quest. “When I heard that I was going to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in September,” recalls Augie, “my wife, Lynne, who has been my partner through all of this, suggested we start Augie’s Quest and use the Lifetime Achievement award as an opportunity to raise funds for ALS research.” Although the awards ceremony hadn’t been used as a fundraiser in the past, that didn’t stop Augie from making the suggestion. The program’s organizers gladly picked up and ran with the idea. “We raised more than $1 million in a single night, and set an MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) record for a first-time event.” But that impressive result is just a preview of what lies ahead. “Mark Mastrov (the founder, CEO, and chairman of 24 Hour Fitness) invited me to lunch the following day,” says Augie, smiling at the memory. “He told me, ‘Nice start. Now let’s go out and raise some money!’ ” The two are already deep into the planning stages of another fund-raising event. “We call it ‘The Bash,’ ” says Augie. “It’s going THE BASH The Bash, the “signature event” of Augie’s Quest, will be a highlight of the concluding celebrations next month at IHRSA’s 25th anniversary International Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas. The gala, which will take place on March 22 at the Las Vegas Hilton, will feature guest appearances by, among others, the Doobie Brothers and Lance Armstrong. Also: an auction of high-end items, including a Trek bike autographed by Armstrong, and a one-on-one session with Magic Johnson. Tickets are $300; VIP tickets, $500. The goal: to raise $2 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Augie Nieto’s mother- and father-in-law, Kathy and Jack Bransford, have volunteered to match all donations up to a total of $1 million. For more information, call 858-277-8206 or log on to www.augiesquest.org. w w w. i h r s a 2 5 . o r g n FEBRUARY 2006 n Celebrating Silver. Going For Gold. n CBI 55 Augie’s friends Nieto with Arnold Schwarzenegger, President George Bush, and participants in $1-million ALS fundraiser Augie’s Quest continued to be part of the closing ceremonies at the 2006 IHRSA convention in Las Vegas next month. Lance Armstrong will kick off the show, and we fully expect to have the Doobie Brothers as headliners. Our mission,” he adds, “is to raise another $1 million, and I’m confident that, with the support of club owners and the vendor community, we’ll do it.” As Augie’s Quest continues to build momentum, his goal— which is shared by Robert Ross, the president and CEO of the MDA—is to make a difference by slicing through the red tape, speeding up the grant process, and quickly getting funds to those conducting critical research. “Saving lives by saving time,” explains Augie, quoting a phrase from the Quest’s marketing campaign. “That’s what this is about.” ALS FACTS 1869 The disease was officially named amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. 30,000 Number of people in the U.S. with ALS 5,000-6,000 Number of cases of ALS diagnosed in the U. S. each year 1–2 per 100,000 people The annual incidence rate in U.S. of new (diagnosed) cases 5,000-6,000 Number of people in the U.S. who die of ALS each year 1.84 per 100,000 Annual U.S. mortality rate for ALS 2-5 years Life span after diagnosis $172 million Annual public donations to the MDA in 2004-05 $170 million MDA’s spending on ALS research and services to date $5.9 million MDA research spending on ALS in 2005 $9.6 million MDA spending on ALS healthcare services in 2005 [All information provided by the MDA] 56 CBI n Celebrating Silver. Going For Gold. The goal of making a difference has been an overriding theme in Augie’s life. Shannon Shryne, a divisional field representative for the MDA, is thrilled to have someone of his stature, and with his demonstrated entrepreneurial skills, helping to advance their cause. “Augie’s a great guy dealing courageously with a difficult situation,” she observes. “His vision and drive inspire us to work even harder.” But now Augie feels the press of time, is touched by an “intensity” that adds another layer of meaning, of importance, to everything he does. The progression of the disease is steady. Although he continues to exercise for an hour every day, he is experiencing weakness in his upper body, especially his hands, where he’s lost 50% of his strength. “What I have learned from all of this,” he says introspectively, “is the difference between being successful and being significant. I want to be significant to my family by spending more time with them, and I want to be significant to the MDA by doing my part to help identify the cause of, and find a cure for, this disease.” Breakfast is over and we’re walking back to the car. The fog has released its grip on Balboa Island, promising an afternoon of blue skies and warm California sun. Augie talks about some trips he has planned with his family: a couple of relaxing weeks in Mexico on their boat, a ski trip to Vail, Colorado, with close family friends, and a two-week journey to South Africa. But for the moment, his day is simple: there’s a conference call with the MDA. After that, there are more phone calls and some emails to attend to. “Then later,” he says with the hint of a smile, “I have a big date with my lovely wife.” And in Augie’s world, where empires are built from a single innovative idea and million-dollar deals are closed with nothing more than a handshake—“Never sell your integrity,” he says. “You’ll never make enough money to buy it back”— the spark of light in his dark eyes says it all. Augie is still making a difference by helping those who need him most. He is focused and determined, and it’s full speed ahead. But that final appointment—the one with his wife, Lynne—will be the most significant thing he does all day. n S TEPHEN WALLENFELS is a contributing editor for CBI and can be reached at stevewall@charter.net. n FEBRUARY 2006 n w w w. i h r s a 2 5 . o r g