There’s a refocus on health in the United States, with a recent “2025 US Health & Fitness Consumer Report” highlighting a record rise of fitness facilities memberships that occurred last year.
Unfortunately, the owner of one popular gym franchise seems to have experienced some struggles despite this rise.
According to Men’s Journal, the owner of two Gold’s Gym locations — which was founded in 1965 and which touts itself as “The Original Home of Serious Strength Training” — filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 30. This particular type of filing allows for “‘liquidation’ — the sale of a debtor’s nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors,” according to the U.S. Courts website.
Said owner — RCJ2 Enterprises, LLC — filed the bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of Texas (El Paso). Men’s Journal notes, however, that this bankruptcy is more reflective of monetary issues of RCJ2 Enterprises rather than bigger filing on behalf of Gold’s Gym itself.
Additionally, ABC 7 reports that those Gold’s Gym locations in El Paso, Texas — the last remaining Gold’s Gyms in the city — abruptly closed on the same day of the filing. Gym members expressed feeling caught off guard at this, as both locations had just opened.
“We were actually pretty shocked because since it’s a new location, you know, we actually thought that it was going to have more continuous traffic,” told one such member, Xochitl Juarez, to the news station.
Further information regarding this case remains pending.
