Family Fitness Centers, La Mesa, CA

Ray Wilson's Family Fitness Centers were still going strong in the early 1990s. An October 1991 issue of Club Industry reported that the chain was opening its 54th club, spending $2 million on the 15,000-square-foot facility.

At that time, the chain was the largest health club chain in California. The company grossed $45 million in revenue in 1990, and Wilson indicated to the magazine at the time that the company would gross more than $60 million in 1991.

Wilson had separate owners for each of his clubs — local managers and Wilson. General managers and district managers owned 10 percent of an individual club, and regional management owned 29 percent. Wilson and affiliated corporations held the remaining 51 percent.

Wilson noted that employee ownership was one reason for his success because it gave employees incentive to grow.

By 1995, Wilson had grown his company to 72 clubs. Some of those clubs were in Northern California where Mark Mastrov had been growing his 24 Hour Fitness empire. The new competition caused Mastrov to call Wilson to discuss a deal, Wilson says.

"He said, 'You don't know me, but I know you. I don't want to have to compete with you,'" Wilson recalls about the conversation with Mastrov. Initially, Wilson wasn't interested in selling, but then Mastrov received $100 million from McCowen Deleuw.

"I was stronger than him, but with that much money now, we would have had a real war, so it made real sense to sell," Wilson says. Later that year, he accepted Mastrov's offer for $95 million, and his clubs were merged into the 24 Hour Fitness brand.

Return to "Clubs of the 1990s"

Jump to:

• 24 Hour Fitness
• Bally Total Fitness
• Club Sports International (Wellbridge)
• Family Fitness Centers

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2012 Penton Media Inc.