Franchise Investing Ft. Ed Connors of Gold’s Gym Franchising
In this episode of Billionaire Brain Trust, host Steve Woodruff interviews Ed Connors, the entrepreneur who bought the first Gold’s Gym in 1979 and built it into a global franchise of over 700 locations. Ed reflects on the timing and market trends that enabled the brand’s rapid expansion in the 1970s‑90s, including the rise of weightlifting, co‑ed fitness, and the growth of large retail spaces. He emphasizes the role of luck and persistence, sharing anecdotes about mentoring John Cena (who wrote a foreword for Ed’s audiobook) and helping aspiring wrestlers. Ed discusses his philosophy on learning—favoring biographies over self‑help books—and outlines his daily health and reading habits. The conversation moves to his exit from Gold’s Gym: a 1999 sale to private‑equity firm Brockway Moran, subsequent board service, and the brand’s growth under new ownership. Post‑exit, Ed invested in desert real‑estate, pursued architecture projects, and is now developing a virtual‑reality gym concept, while also supporting the Healthy Longevity Clinic. He comments on the changing nature of networking, noting that modern digital communication can hinder genuine connection compared to the “guru house” environment of his earlier years. Finally, Ed shares personal lifestyle choices—living car‑free, using public transit, maintaining a rigorous health routine, and reading multiple books weekly—illustrating his continued focus on personal discipline and curiosity.
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Welcome to Billionaire Brain Trust, our newest YouTube series that will take you behind the scenes into candid conversations with billionaires and those who work with them, hosted by Steve Woodruff, who brings a unique perspective as a family office advisor. Billionaire Brain Trust will feature exclusive interviews with billionaires and the key players in their organizations, offering viewers a rare glimpse into their stories, decision-making frameworks, and what they are excited about right now. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned investor, or simply curious about the world of the ultra-wealthy, Billionaire Brain Trust will help you think bigger and achieve more.
I'm very excited to interview, uh, Ed Connors. Ed purchased the very first Gold's Gym in 1979 and made it an incredibly popular brand through the '80s and '90s, uh, franchised it, grew to over through the franchise network, over 700 locations worldwide.
Right.
And Ed recently wrote a book about his experience and his journey, which I've read.
Right.
And yeah, just very excited to be with you right now. So thank you so much for taking this time.
Well, thank you for talking to us. Thank you for reading or listening to my story. That's great.
Yeah. And you narrated the audiobook as well, right? And John Cena did the foreword.
Actually, he wrote the foreword, but I had someone else read it. Someone else, right? A younger voice. I didn't— yeah, I didn't feel like I should read his foreword. Yeah, but a lot of people think it's him. But no, he was in London filming, I think, Barbie.
Okay.
He plays a merman in Barbie.
Yeah. Great.
Yeah.
So, and he gives you a lot of credit for—
Yeah.
Really at the right time, being an integral person in his life that dramatically changed the trajectory of his life. I thought that was cool.
I talked last night about fate in your life. I mean, life is half fate and half what you do with it. And I find nowadays, for instance, if I had approached someone like that in the Gold's Gym parking lot, which I just left. Yeah, they'd probably blow me off. I mean, I would say 3 out of 4 people, you know, who is this crazy old man approaching me?
Yeah.
What does he want? And John, when I said, have you ever thought about professional wrestling? He said, would be my dream. Yeah. Then he said, oh, there's just no way I could ever do it. I'm, you know, he gave me all excuses and then I just said, well, I could, I could show you how. And 18 months later he had a contract. Yeah. Obviously he had to work hard to get there. Yeah. He went to wrestling school, but, but he was on a mission and I opened a door. I tell people I open a door, I can't walk through it. But, you know, for many it's been a great opportunity. But it's harder now. It's sad. People, you think with the internet and all the information, people would be more open to connecting. But in fact, it seems they're more resistant. Yeah, more heads a little off. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Secluded.
Yeah.
Yeah. You're absolutely right.
So that was part of my speech last night was to try and connect with one person every day.
Yeah. I like that. Yeah. You mentioned last night that you hate self-improvement books.
I don't hate them, but I just— I don't learn anything from them. I would say read a biography instead.
Yeah.
I read so many and they're just— the stories are incredible. Shoe Dog with Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, is probably my favorite. I just learned it actually. He didn't write that. He had a ghostwriter who also wrote Fearless Bear, the story of Prince Harry. That's another story. But yeah, incredibly well-written books, I think.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I think you're also a main point, which I really appreciated, was the credit that you give to luck in your story. Share with us what—
Well, the timing was right. And back people don't I mean, you know, there are these trends or waves. For instance, you know, back in the '70s, you know, weightlifting was considered bad. None of the major sports did— baseball, basketball, football— none of them use weights. Suddenly, at the end of the '70s, ironically, from Nebraska, where I'm from, the strength coach, who was also a friend of mine and a bodybuilder, actually Mr. Nebraska, started using weights to train the University of Nebraska football team. And there were even steroids on the training tables and for the athletes, they were legal back then. So that, that was a huge transformation that was occurring. And then my two partners helped the NPC, National Physique Committee, break away from the AAU. So bodybuilding contests now started to become a thing. And so as the Gold Gyms were popping up across the country, there were contests for people to compete in, men and women. And, uh, we were pioneering co-ed fitness when women were allowed in the gym, which was new. And this coincided with the women's lib boom. And then in real estate— and I know I've met a lot of people here at this conference involved in real estate— yeah, there were some big trends happening back there where the grocery stores, which had typically been 40,000 feet, were now expanding to 60 to 100 feet with Walmart.
Sure.
And they were taking those 40,000 square foot boxes, cutting them in half, making it 20,000 to 20,000 spaces to lease. That became a perfect Gold's Gym.
Yeah, sure.
The Gold's Gym Venice had evolved to about 21,000 square feet. So all they seen in Reagan's economy— Reagan started his entrance into the White House, started the first boom really of 25 years of significant— the recessions were rather— were mild during that time. So we had all these factors.
Yeah, I agree with you that the timing of it really helps propel you forward. But I also think I'll share this. So I've only known you for 2 days, right? Yesterday we did some texting prior to that, but we met in person yesterday, right? And I saw you on stage last night and we talked a little after. And there is something about you that feels like an old friend. Oh, really quickly. And I think there's other characteristics that play into your success and I I do think that you would have been successful doing something completely different. Maybe it wasn't Gold's Gym and franchising that, but you probably would have, uh, understood people and seen potential in them and taken risks.
Yeah.
And tried to help people in whatever venture it was. Yeah. And I think you would have been wildly successful in almost any endeavor. And, and what do you say to that? Because that's—
well, actually, what we may see I mean, I do think I try and find the potential in people, at least for areas I know. And I'm right now working with Healthy Longevity Clinic, and I see potential there. And I like— I like some of the people I've worked with.
Yeah.
I'm also trying to start a new gym chain, which is using virtual reality. I've met some people there that I like working with. So I'm Yeah, I'm still seeing, but I still see things that a lot of people can't seem to see.
Yeah, sure.
I, you know, it's still athletes that there just aren't as many in that world anymore. But no, it's, it's true. I think if you get a good group of people together, you could do a lot of different things. Obviously, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs on a grand scale are doing it. Did it?
Yeah, sure.
And I think Silicon Valley has proved it takes a good team of people. I mean, I just finished, you know, the Isaacson book on Steve, Steve, uh, Elon Musk. And of course, apparently people, uh, tried to avoid even running into him. It worked for him because they really could fire the same person, you know, that day, that morning, and then see them in the afternoon, not realize what he'd done. Steve Jobs was the same way. Yeah, sure. So I'm not like that. Yeah, but they do, they do realize it takes more than themselves to do everything. Yeah.
Are there any main takeaways from the book that you want people to walk away with?
Well, again, it's that idea of reaching out to people, communicating, you know, be nice to people. Yeah. I think the takeaway is luck in making something out of it. Luck and persistence. I just passed a billboard coming up La Cienega that talked about— it had Abe Lincoln up there and said, you know, fail, fail, fail, you know, persistence. 'Cause Abe Lincoln must have had a horrible time, you know, keeping this country together or avoiding the Civil War and then at least handling it. So yeah, people like that, the real leaders, you know, that's, I think people are too, they're too down on themselves. You gotta be more positive. 'Cause somebody, each one of us has something great that could be. Could be valuable and make that person happy and make it a better world.
You took that time with a lot of the individuals who—
Yeah.
You gave them a place to stay.
Yeah.
Or help them get a plane ticket to California. And you really believed in them and helped them strive to do something better.
I was working 10 hours a day or 12 hours, and I'd come— I'd leave the house at 7, come back at 7, and I'd say, you know, who's hungry? It might be 2 or 3 people staying there. And, you know, it's cheaper. By the time I bought groceries, cooked dinner, and cleaned up, it was a $1,000 dinner for my time.
Yeah.
So I would take them to a restaurant in the West Side of LA, and back then it was pretty inexpensive. So I'd spend an hour, hour and a half. I tell them about my day and they tell me about theirs. I think I knew more about what was going on in the gym than my partners because I had this feedback. Like, I just left Gold's Gym Venice now. People were coming up to me like the old days, telling me what's wrong or what. Yeah. So you get all this really grassroots feedback or, you know, real-life feedback. And John Cena says he learned more from me than at those dinners than I'll ever imagine.
Wow.
Yeah, that's great. Just about life, how I, how I handle people, how I treat people. Yeah, like he mentions that in his foreword. He says how I basically, how I treated people is how he likes to treat people. Yeah.
Oh, I know he does a lot with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
He's actually— I set a new record for them.
Yeah.
He's given the most wishes of anybody. Make-A-Wish. Yeah.
Great. Great to see.
Really. But I saw that immediately in him. I had no doubt he'd be an incredible success.
Yeah. Because what was it about him when you saw him?
He just totally focused on his career and doing anything that His training, you know, it's just machine-like, just very, very unusual. And that's part of the, I think, why I was successful in finding it, is if someone lives in your home, like people would tell me, well, Ed, you know, he's doing this and not doing this or whatever. But if someone stays with you, you know what they're doing pretty much. I mean, I wasn't home a lot, but enough to know. You know, if this person is eating, getting his meals or trying to sleep. Yeah, I just— what kind of life are they living? You can't fool somebody. Yeah. So you've got 2 or 3 guys living together and this is before, again, all the phones, etc. So they're sitting around the table sharing stories about how they eat and work and live and whatever. It's valuable. It doesn't happen easily nowadays. Uh, you can do texting back and forth. Sure, you're going to lose a lot and you don't want to bother people in the gym. So yeah, the term people use now is guru. You know, they all have— all these fitness people have gurus. There was no— there were no gurus back then. But I think my house is kind of a guru house where you learn from other people in it. Yeah. Um, so it was, it was a very special time at, uh, I knew it was— I knew it was an amazing time. How amazing? I don't think I fully appreciate.
So you ultimately sold your company 2004, right? So to a private equity group.
Well, to— I sold initially in '99.
Okay.
Private equity group, Brockway Moran out of Florida. And then they kept it for 5 years, which was their plan. I stayed on the board.
Oh, I see.
I was— and they sold it.
So your timing of '99 was probably Perfect.
I had hoped to go public, but the recession— yeah, they actually had a very good ride. They— when I saw, we had 535 gyms and they took it to 704.
Okay.
I was head of franchise.
I see.
But yeah, they sold. It was sort of perfect timing. I would love for them to go public. Yeah, they had a multibillion-dollar fund and they actually took a couple of their companies public.
Wow.
One is involved in helicopter hospital rescue service. That was one of their more successful— we were in their top 5, I think, in terms of 35% return. Okay. That's a whole new world that, of course, is very attractive for people to put money in compared to, you know, getting interest rates at a bank. Yeah, that, that's transformed this country was private equity.
Yeah, it really has.
Yeah.
So you mentioned that Vince McMahon, I believe, had an offer in, right, earlier because of how much publicity Gold's Gym was getting through the—
Yeah, you know, clever clothing and clever Vince McMahon. He says, well, why am I giving them all this publicity? Why don't I own it? Yeah, but then he found out we don't own all our gyms or franchises. And then he got more interested in that football league with Bob. He lost $100 million in that. So we were asking even back then $40 million for the business. Okay. Which he called ridiculous. But in hindsight, yeah, he paid more than that. He would have had something real.
Yeah, sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He's a great guy. He's my age. He's a great guy. I mean, he's had his, you know, little, you know, you know, he's got his foibles, I guess. But, you know, he's a brilliant— I don't know how he does what he does. I mean, to— yeah, to corral that many talents or egos and get them to perform in the ring like he does.
Yeah.
I mean, I couldn't sleep. Yeah.
So after you exit your company, you have a lump sum of cash. Yeah. I mean, we would love to hear our network of investors. How do you invest that?
Well, I, I invested in houses in the desert, really, in the Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert area.
Okay.
I'm an architect.
Yeah.
I know how to, you know, remodel a home. So I got a crew together and started. I went through maybe 11 homes in 8 years, 8 or 9 years. Okay. And then that kind of got that out of my system. You know, I, I always wanted to do, you know, my own custom home and whatever and see what I could do. And I love design still a lot. And no, I— but, you know, I'm at 80 years old. I'm kind of beyond all that stuff now. I don't— I don't need to have a big home or, you know, a fancy home or car. Sure. I haven't owned a car in 5 years.
Really? You just Uber everywhere?
I Uber, Lyft, take public transit. You know, there's a whole world out there.
Yeah.
People are missing that. The light rail in LA is amazing. I've lost 15 pounds walking more.
Really?
Yeah. And it's been great for me. I don't miss the car at all. I feel liberated. Yeah, I realize some people have to have one, but I have not missed it. Yeah, I love New York City. I'm I may be moving there permanently, so we'll see. It's all about my new— my new gym project. I may cause me to go— go back to Austin to live. Actually, I've got a plan for something in Vegas. Yeah, I don't really care anymore where I live as long as I can see this next phase of my life.
Yeah, great.
My home is my two suitcases. All right. Yeah.
You seem like you keep your— your body moving well.
Yeah.
And sharp.
Yeah, I try to read. Yeah, I try to eat two meals a day. I eat breakfast and I'll have lunch here or early dinner. 8 hours sleep at least. Try to get a power nap in the afternoon. 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day. Swimming, light exercise when I can.
Yeah.
I read 2 or 3 books a week. Yeah. Yeah. I'd love to learn a language, but I think that ship has sailed.
Yeah. It's challenging.
Yeah. Yeah. I had a knack for languages. I still do. But I think it's memorizing all of the vocabulary that would— it hurts me. Yeah.
Yeah. And yeah, great. Well, I appreciate this. This is wonderful. It's been— I'm so glad we got to sit down. I'm so glad I got to talk with you over this past week.
Thank you.
