Joe Gold

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Joe Gold (born Sydney Gold, March 10, 1922 in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California - July 11, 2004 in Marina del Rey, California) was the founder of Gold's Gym and World Gym. He has been credited with being the father of the recent bodybuilding and fitness craze sweeping the US.

1 Early life
2 Business life and death
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Early life

Joe Gold was the son of Max and Jennie Gold, a Russian Jewish family residing in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles [1].

Joe Gold began his interest in bodybuilding at the age of 12, when he saw his sister-in-law's design for strengthening her arms. She had attached a filled bucket to each end of a broom handle and was using them as lifts. Joe and his brother, Robert Gold, got the idea for building their own equipment from scrap obtained from Roberts scrap yard.

As a teenager he headed for Muscle Beach in Santa Monica.

A machinist, he served in the United States Merchant Marines during the Korean War and also World War II where he was injured in a torpedo attack.

As a professional bodybuilder, he auditioned for Mae West with a group of musclemen. West approved, "I'll take all of you." Joe Gold toured the country in her revue. He also appeared as an extra in two epic movies: The Ten Commandments and Around the World in 80 Days, both in 1956.

[edit] Business life and death

In 1965 Joe Gold opened the first Gold's Gym in Venice, California. It quickly became a landmark for local bodybuilders despite the dirty fixtures of its first incarnation. Joe Gold was known for the personal encouragement he gave trainers, although delivered in sarcastic jabs at their faults.

Among Joe Gold's many devotees was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who began working out at the gym in 1968 soon after arriving in the US. In a statement, the now-Governor of California called Joe Gold "a trusted friend and father figure."

Joe Gold opened new gyms and designed the equipment for them. His innovations revolutionized the sport, enabling people to exercise more easily with machines. He sold the Gold's Gym chain in 1970. In 1977 he launched World Gym in Santa Monica (later in Marina del Rey), which he owned and operated until his death at age 82.