Gold's Gym vs Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Gold's Gym vs Iron Tribe Fitness including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Gold's Gym Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Investment $22,182,505,000,500$300,000 - $433,500
Franchise Fee $40,000$42,000
Royalty Fee 5%6%
Advertising Fee 2%1%
Year Founded 19652010
Year Franchised 19802012
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Gold's Gym Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • -

    Financing Options

     
    Gold's Gym Franchise
    Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
    Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
    Equipment No/Yes-/-
    Inventory No/Yes-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support

     
    Gold's Gym Franchise
    Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
    Training Available at headquarters On-The-Job Training: 20 hours Additional Training: Online pre-training course
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Field operations/evaluationsPurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Regional advertising Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
    Operations 30% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed.

    Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 5

    Expansion Plans

     
    Gold's Gym Franchise
    Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
    US Expansion -Yes
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion Yes-

    Company Overviews

    About Gold's Gym

    Bodybuilders training outside on Muscle Beach were the first customers for the original Gold's Gym when it opened in Venice, California, in 1965. With its intense, no-frills atmosphere, the gym soon became known as the 'Mecca of Bodybuilding.' Arnold Schwarznegger's movie 'Pumping Iron' focused on Gold's Gym, propelling it into the spotlight in 1975. Gold's Gym has been franchising since 1980, and franchises account for more than 90 percent of its locations. In addition to running the health club facilities, franchisees sell Gold's Gym licensed apparel through their Pro Shops.

    "franchiserankingscom"
    #61 on Franchise Rankings.com

    "Entrepreneur
    #427 in Franchise 500 for 2020.


    About Iron Tribe Fitness

    "Iron

    Iron Tribe was founded by fitness industry veteran, Forrest Walden, back in 2008 in his 400 square foot garage. Initially, it was just to have a place for Forrest to do group-based workouts with his friends because he couldn’t find anywhere locally that offered the right amount of space and equipment. There was no charge to belong, but you had to have a personal invite. "The  As more and more friends begged to come and join his garage gym, Forrest began to dream about what it would look like to start a brand-new concept that would take his team-based, group workouts to the next level and allow more lives to be impacted. The first official Iron Tribe location opened in February of 2010. The response from the community was immediate and overwhelming. In fact, the 250 membership cap was reached in under 8 months with a growing waiting list .
    That location has operated at max capacity since  September of 2010 eventually moving across the street and expanding the location to serve 300 clients.