From Gold to Iron: Why this gym chain was muscled out of Myrtle Beach after four decades
After 37 years, Gold’s Gym has been muscled out of Myrtle Beach.
The owners of the longstanding workout facility dropped their affiliation with the iconic chain on Oct. 1 and became the independent Iron Legacy Gym.
Gold’s Gym opened in 1982 on 48th Avenue North. The husband-wife team of Ted and Nancy Capp purchased it from a friend in 1985 and moved to its current location at 951 Jason Blvd. in 1988.
The Gold’s Gym brand, which has long been associated with bodybuilders including Arnold Schwarzenegger, is going through a transformation to appeal more to the masses, and in the Capps’ estimation, it is getting a little too soft for them.
“We like to attract people who like to get a little blood flowing and feel a little pain and work hard, and enjoy it as much as we do,” said Ted Capp, who won the bodybuilding titles of Mr. South Carolina in 1978 and Mr. Coastal USA in 1986.
Capp said the corporate Gold’s wanted him to make changes, including expanding his location to at least 40,000 square feet and cutting back considerably on the weights of dumbbells, which currently go to 150 pounds.
He prefers to maintain the identity of a hardcore lifting gym that also offers machines, cardio and classes that can appeal to anyone.
“It was just time,” said Capp, who said some professional bodybuilders regularly train at Iron Legacy. “We’ve seen gyms come and go. We’ve seen gym chains come and go. The Gold’s Gym name has been around a long time, and it has had a good run. Just like I think bodybuilding is going through some hard times right now with some growing stages, I think Gold’s Gym is too. I think they’re trying to find themselves. I think they kind of lost their niche and their association with bodybuilders, and it’s almost like they’re trying to.
“… If you go into a newer Gold’s, like a brand new one, it’s going to look more like Planet Fitness than a Gold’s Gym that you would recognize.”
Capp said the Myrtle Beach location was the second-longest operating Gold’s in the world on Sept. 30, behind only the original in Venice, California, and for several years was among the top sellers of Gold’s merchandise in the country.
Gold’s Gym has more than 700 locations in 29 states and 29 countries, according to its website. TRT Holdings, a private holding company based in Texas that counts the Omni hotel chain among its several businesses, has owned Gold’s since 2004.
The Capp family brainstormed for a new name, and Iron Legacy was chosen by Nancy and their adult children, who have all worked at the business.
“It’s got that kind of serious connotation, serious sound to it, and we kept the legacy name because we were a legacy Gold’s Gym as one of the first 20, so we feel like we’ve still got a part of our legacy by using that,” Capp said.
Iron Legacy continues to offer the same numerous group fitness classes in the series created by Les Mills of New Zealand including Body Pump, RPM cycling, Body Combat and the yoga-based Body Flow.
The gym’s locker rooms and restrooms were renovated over the past couple years and the exterior of the building was recently painted.
Iron Legacy will essentially be the same gym it has been for years as Gold’s, with a new name and savings from “not sharing the excessive amount of money we were giving to Gold’s every month, not feeling the warmth and love from them like you should after so many years with them,” Capp said. “It was a great run. But it’s OK. It was a great move and I’m really glad we did it, and I like the name a lot.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 3:07 PM.
