Gainesville, Fl — Joe Cirulli, owner of Gainesville (FL) Health and Fitness Centers (GHFC), was featured on the cover of last month's issue of Inc. magazine.
A 5,000-word feature on Cirulli and the company accompanied the cover appearance. Cirulli says he has become good friends with the writer, Bo Burlingham, who interviewed Cirulli in Gainesville in May.
“I spent 17 1/2 hours with him — 12 1/2 hours one day and five another day,” Cirulli says. “And then he met with my staff. I e-mailed him back and I said, ‘Bo, I don't think a writer has ever put a story together more factual than what you did.’ It was exactly like I told him.”
Inc. sent a photographer to shoot pictures of Cirulli this summer. It wasn't until the photo shoot that Cirulli was told he was going to be on the cover. Joining Cirulli on the cover are GHFC members Rashah Davis and Amy Murad, both of whom started exercising through GHFC's Well Workplace initiatives.
The article, titled “The Believer,” touches on Cirulli's rags-to-riches story, from the time he was living in his car and didn't have enough money to buy a soft drink at a fast-food restaurant to owning three health clubs and four rehabilitation centers. GHFC attracts 10,000 new members a year, has a retention rate of 77 percent and has gross revenues of $16.7 million a year, according to the article. The heart of the article focuses on Cirulli's ability to set personal and business goals, then accomplish those goals.