Rick Berks
Rick Berks is the founder of Planet Fitness and YouFit Health Clubs.[1]
History
Rick Berks was born December 25th, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Florida State University and majored in criminology and business. Rick has two daughters and one son. He is married to Melinda (Mindy) Clarke Berks and currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
Career
Rick worked as a detective for the Broward Sheriff’s Office Organized Crime Division.[2] After five years, Berks left law enforcement to pursue a career in fitness.
In 1991, Berks licensed a Gold’s Gym franchise. After catering to the bodybuilding culture in his Gold’s Gym, Berks decided, “I didn’t want to deal with that crowd, so that’s when I opened the original Planet Fitness club in Sunrise, Florida, in 1993.”[3] The new model was an effort to provide a fitness hub for everyday people. The name came from his daughter’s school project, “Fitness Planet.”[4]
After growing Planet Fitness to three clubs[5], Berks sold the Planet Fitness trademark to Mike Grondhal in 2002. He maintained ownership in three Planet Fitness franchises. The three gyms grew to seven.[5]
On April 1, 2008, Rick opened the first Youfit Health Club in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rick’s existing Planet Fitness clubs were turned into Youfit Health Clubs. Similar to the Planet Fitness concept, YouFit focuses on everyday people with low gym prices. [6] Berks and his team opened over 100 gyms.[7]
In 2020, the national Covid-19 pandemic created stress within the gym industry.[8] Citing philosophical differences with the company’s financial partner group, Berks retired in May.[9]
Berks is also known for harness racing.[10][11]His colt, Boston Red Rocks, won the 2015 Breeder's Crown.[12][13]
References
- ↑ "Pump it Up | Business Observer". Business Observer. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
- ↑ Appeals, United States Court of; Circuit, Ninth (1981). "674 F2d 1327 United States v. Beale". F2d (674): 1327.
- ↑ "Budget gyms offer no-sweat pitch". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ↑ Youniverse, YouFit (2016-02-24). "Meet Youfit's CEO Rick Berks". Youfit Youniverse. Retrieved 2020-06-30. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 Herald, Miami. "YouFit Health Club expanding across South Florida, around nation | The Starting Gate". miamiherald.typepad.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ↑ "New gym in town hopes it's a good fit". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2020-07-17. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Youfit Health Clubs | Find Gyms & Fitness Clubs Near Me". www.youfit.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ↑ Randles, Jonathan (2020-06-25). "Fitness Industry Works to Rebound From Covid-19". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ↑ "Youfit Founder Rick Berks Resigns". ClubIndustry. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ↑ "Million-Dollar Field Set". Harness Racing Update. 2016-06-12. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ↑ link, Harness. "Trainer Mike Deters' first Crown trip is 'Ideal'". www.harnesslink.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ↑ "Veteran horseman Peter Blood is enjoying the ride with Boston Red Rocks – U.S. Trotting News". Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ↑ "Harness: Boston Red Rocks coming to Winbak Farm of New York". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
External links
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