Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an American chain of international co-ed fitness centers (commonly referred to as gyms) originally started by Joe Gold in Venice Beach, California. Each gym offers a variety of cardio and strength training equipment as well as group exercise programs. Gold's Gym's headquarters have relocated to Dallas. Corporate history Joe Gold opened the first Gold's Gym in August 1965, in Venice Beach, California, long before the modern day health club existed. Featuring homemade equipment and dubbed "the Mecca of bodybuilding", it was frequented by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dave Draper. After Gold to Pumping Iron In 1970, Gold sold the gym which was failing at the time to Bud Danits, most commonly known as an antique dealer, and Dave Saxe who was a jeweler. He and Saxe were co-owners of the gym for almost two years. They realized that running the gym was not a plausible operation; they were going to close it and reopen the location as an antiques shop. They offered to sell it to Ken Sprague, a gym member who visited frequently. Sprague purchased it in late 1971; this kept the gym running. Sprague was the first owner of Gold's to actually sponsor and hold bodybuilding competitions, and his promotional skills and film industry contacts helped build the establishment's profile. By 1975, when George Butler was going to film the docudrama Pumping Iron (1977), it was Sprague's savvy, telling Butler that he would paint the windows over to minimize back light, and let Butler mount a lighting grid to the inside ceiling that made Gold's Gym the primary location for filming Pumping Iron, which brought attention not only to the gym itself but also to bodybuilding and physique in general. After the release of the movie, and along with the 1977 Mr. America contest and Mr. America Day parade held in Santa Monica, sponsored and conceived of by Sprague, the profile of Gold's gym grew even larger. That year's Mr. America had more press requests than the 1977 Academy Awards. By 1979, when Sprague had sold Gold's Gym, it was the most famous gym in the world. Gold's Gym continues to be considered a landmark in bodybuilding culture and has achieved cult status. Subsequent ownership, franchising, and image From 1979 to 1999, Gold's Gym was owned by Peter Grymkowski (a Mr. World bodybuilding champion) and his partners. After two years of ownership, they moved