How the 24 Hour Fitness Founder built a gym empire

Richard Simmons, Tony Horton, and Billy Blanks – you may know them as the larger-than-life faces of the fitness industry from the past 40 years. You know them in large part because they all came into your home through televised fitness classes and around the clock infomercials. One person from the fitness world you probably haven't heard of is Mark Mastrov, although his impact is no less than those public-facing names. Mastrov is now a 68-year-old fitness industry pioneer who co-founded 24 Hour Fitness in 1983 and transformed it from a single gym into a global powerhouse with over 420 clubs and 4.5 million members before selling it in 2005 for $1.6 billion. Born in Oakland, California, Mastrov identified a critical market gap—gyms weren't open 24/7—and revolutionized the fitness industry by opening up accessibility. After selling 24 Hour Fitness in 2005, Mastrov went on to gain control of Crunch Fitness and founded UFC Gym with the likes of Dana White. He even became an owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. In January 2026, Mastrov teamed up with LongRange Capital to repurchase 24 Hour Fitness and continue its rejuvenation campaign post-2020 bankruptcy. Mastrov joined the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast with Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi to discuss the future of fitness and how to build a successful business time and again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(292)

How Amazon is transforming your Whole Foods run: CEO

Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores Vice President and Whole Foods Market CEO Jason Buechel to discuss how Amazon's latest tech is reshaping the ...

3 Sep 31min

Why you need an AI agent workforce today: Open Machine CEO

Open Machine CEO Allie K. Miller talks to Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi about the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and the critical shift from standard chatbots to autonomous AI...

31 Aug 33min

The American lawn has a millennial problem: ScottsMiracle-Gro CEO

Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with ScottsMiracle-Gro CEO Nate Baxter to discuss why the 160-year-old brand is radically reinventing itself as a "lifestyle" company. Learn more a...

27 Aug 28min

How Olipop is beating big soda at its own game: Fmr CEO

Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Olipop co-founder and former CEO Ben Goodwin to discuss why traditional full-calorie soda might be a thing of the past, and how Olipop reclaim...

24 Aug 37min

AI bots may soon be spending your money: Mastercard CEO

Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach to discuss how the global financial network is preparing for agentic commerce and the rollout of secure "Agent ...

20 Aug 34min

Why indie games are the next big tech investment: Gaming CEO

Griffin Gaming Partners Co-Founder Peter Levin chats with Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi about managing over $1.6 billion in gaming investments, the massive untapped potential of indie spo...

17 Aug 27min

Robinhood Co-founder's plans to take over space

Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt explains to Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi his $275 million plan for Cowboy Space Corporation to build its own rockets and launch AI-powering data centers ...

13 Aug 28min

Airbnb CEO: Why AI is the best thing to happen to us

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky reveals to Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi how AI is driving the company's fastest growth in years, shares his bold predictions for the future of consumer tech, and ...

10 Aug 26min