Breaking Health Club News: Georgia and Texas Introduce Latest Personal Trainer Licensing Bills

Bills in Georgia and Texas are the latest legislation that have been introduced relating to personal trainer licensing. Another bill introduced in Massachusetts does not have the licensure requirement.Introduced in March, Georgia Senate Bill 204 would impose professional and continuing education requirements of personal trainers and require them to pass an exam to obtain a license to practice in that state. The bill also would establish an 11-member Georgia Board of Fitness Trainers, which would determine the specific requirements for licensing. If passed, the bill would go into effect March 31, 2012. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) says similar legislation in Georgia was defeated in 2010.Also in March, Texas introduced House Bill 3800, which relates to the licensing and regulation of professional fitness trainers administered by the Department of State Health Services. If passed, that bill would go into effect Sept. 1, 2011.Earlier this year, Massachusetts introduced House Bill 1005 in which personal trainers would be required to have either a current certification by a national independent organization accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or a credential or certification in either personal training, exercise science or a similar field from an educational institution recognized by either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education.
Minus a licensure requirement, House Bill 1005, according to IHRSA, is the most industry-friendly personal trainer bill proposed in the country. Legislation that did include a licensure requirement was defeated during the 2009-2010 Massachusetts legislative session.

Breaking Health Club News: Georgia and Texas Introduce Latest Personal Trainer Licensing Bills

Bills in Georgia and Texas are the latest legislation that have been introduced relating to personal trainer licensing. Another bill introduced in Massachusetts does not have the licensure requirement.Introduced in March, Georgia Senate Bill 204 would impose professional and continuing education requirements of personal trainers and require them to pass an exam to obtain a license to practice in that state. The bill also would establish an 11-member Georgia Board of Fitness Trainers, which would determine the specific requirements for licensing. If passed, the bill would go into effect March 31, 2012. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) says similar legislation in Georgia was defeated in 2010.Also in March, Texas introduced House Bill 3800, which relates to the licensing and regulation of professional fitness trainers administered by the Department of State Health Services. If passed, that bill would go into effect Sept. 1, 2011.Earlier this year, Massachusetts introduced House Bill 1005 in which personal trainers would be required to have either a current certification by a national independent organization accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or a credential or certification in either personal training, exercise science or a similar field from an educational institution recognized by either the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education.
Minus a licensure requirement, House Bill 1005, according to IHRSA, is the most industry-friendly personal trainer bill proposed in the country. Legislation that did include a licensure requirement was defeated during the 2009-2010 Massachusetts legislative session.

Anytime Fitness Terminates India Franchisee Agreement

After Anytime Fitness clubs closed unexpectedly in India, the Hastings, MN-based company cut ties with the master franchisee in that country.
The decision to end the agreement with Chandan Lunawat, chairman and managing director of Anytime India Fitness Private Limited, was made at the beginning of May, according to Anytime Fitness President and Co-Founder Dave Mortensen.
“We are extremely disappointed to learn of the recent closings of Anytime Fitness clubs in India,” Mortensen said in a statement. “This is an unfortunate development for the Indian fitness industry and for Anytime Fitness.”
All four Anytime Fitness clubs in India have closed, but the company considers them temporarily closed as it seeks alternatives to reopen them. Those alternatives include an acquisition by another club company or the assumption of the leases by a new master franchisee, says Mark Daly, company spokesperson.
According to an article from an Indian website, Lunawat closed his club in Kalyaninagar, India, on May 1. A notice posted at the club said the club would be closed for a week due to maintenance, but it has not reopened.
Lunawat announced his franchisee agreement with Anytime Fitness in December 2009. Since that time, however, Lunawat took liberties with the Anytime Fitness model and deviated from the company’s systems despite Anytime’s warnings, Mortensen said.
“As a result of these breaches, we delivered a notice of termination of our agreement to our master franchisee,” Mortensen said. “Regrettably, we were unable to apply resources from overseas to protect the numerous individuals that have been affected by this problem, including club members, staff, landlords, vendors, respected financial institutions and a prominent Bollywood celebrity.”
Any new Anytime Fitness clubs that open in India will be jointly owned and operated by Anytime Fitness and the new master franchisee, Daly says.
“We’re operating very successfully in 10 different countries currently using the standard master franchisee agreement,” Daly says. “This is the first time anything like this has ever happened where a master franchisee has not used the Anytime Fitness business model. We’re convinced that the Anytime Fitness business model can work in India.”

Anytime Fitness Terminates India Franchisee Agreement

After Anytime Fitness clubs closed unexpectedly in India, the Hastings, MN-based company cut ties with the master franchisee in that country.
The decision to end the agreement with Chandan Lunawat, chairman and managing director of Anytime India Fitness Private Limited, was made at the beginning of May, according to Anytime Fitness President and Co-Founder Dave Mortensen.
“We are extremely disappointed to learn of the recent closings of Anytime Fitness clubs in India,” Mortensen said in a statement. “This is an unfortunate development for the Indian fitness industry and for Anytime Fitness.”
All four Anytime Fitness clubs in India have closed, but the company considers them temporarily closed as it seeks alternatives to reopen them. Those alternatives include an acquisition by another club company or the assumption of the leases by a new master franchisee, says Mark Daly, company spokesperson.
According to an article from an Indian website, Lunawat closed his club in Kalyaninagar, India, on May 1. A notice posted at the club said the club would be closed for a week due to maintenance, but it has not reopened.
Lunawat announced his franchisee agreement with Anytime Fitness in December 2009. Since that time, however, Lunawat took liberties with the Anytime Fitness model and deviated from the company’s systems despite Anytime’s warnings, Mortensen said.
“As a result of these breaches, we delivered a notice of termination of our agreement to our master franchisee,” Mortensen said. “Regrettably, we were unable to apply resources from overseas to protect the numerous individuals that have been affected by this problem, including club members, staff, landlords, vendors, respected financial institutions and a prominent Bollywood celebrity.”
Any new Anytime Fitness clubs that open in India will be jointly owned and operated by Anytime Fitness and the new master franchisee, Daly says.
“We’re operating very successfully in 10 different countries currently using the standard master franchisee agreement,” Daly says. “This is the first time anything like this has ever happened where a master franchisee has not used the Anytime Fitness business model. We’re convinced that the Anytime Fitness business model can work in India.”

Health Club News: Synergy Fitness Clubs Owner Convicted of Two Murders

Christian Tarantino, co-owner of Synergy Fitness Clubs, New York, has been convicted by a federal jury of two 1994 murders.
The verdict, announced May 23, followed eight weeks of trial. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third murder charge in the case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York. Tarantino, who was arrested Sept. 24, 2008, after an FBI raid at his mansion in Dix Hills, NY, faces a mandatory life imprisonment sentence on each of the murder convictions.“We hope that [the] convictions bring a measure of closure to the family and friends of the victims,” U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. “As this case clearly demonstrates, we will not rest until those who engage in such murderous violence are brought to justice.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office, citing trial evidence, said that on June 23, 1994, Tarantino and co-conspirators, including a man named Louis Dorval, carried out an armed robbery of a Mid-Island Check Cashing armored van in Syosset, NY. During the robbery, Dorval shot and killed Julius Baumgardt, one of the van guards.
After the Baumgardt murder, Tarantino learned that Dorval told at least one other person that he and Tarantino had committed the armored van robbery and murder. On Aug. 10, 1994, Dorval and others were charged in New Jersey with various racketeering offenses unrelated to the armored van robbery. Two days later, after Dorval stated that he would flee rather than face incarceration, Tarantino and others murdered Dorval, put his body in a plastic tool trunk and dumped the trunk into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Dorval’s body was found four days later by U.S. Coast Guard personnel.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Tarantino murdered Dorval to prevent him from disclosing to federal authorities information relating to various crimes, including Tarantino’s role in the armored van robbery and Baumgardt murder.
The jury did not return a verdict on two charges stemming from the Aug. 18, 2003, murder of Vincent Gargiulo, the brother-in-law of Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider. Tarantino will be re-tried on those charges on Aug. 1.
Some of Tarantino’s friends have created a blog in his support.
Tarantino is part-owner of five Synergy Fitness Clubs in Long Island, NY, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. However, in 2008, an employee at the Synergy Fitness Club in Farmingdale, NY, told Club Industry that another part-owner took over the club after Tarantino’s arrest. A recent request for more information about the current ownership structure of Synergy Fitness Clubs was denied by the company’s corporate office.
Synergy Fitness has 16 locations in the New York City metro area, according to the company’s website. In 2010, one of the Synergy Fitness Clubs in Manhattan filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Health Club News: Synergy Fitness Clubs Owner Convicted of Two Murders

Christian Tarantino, co-owner of Synergy Fitness Clubs, New York, has been convicted by a federal jury of two 1994 murders.
The verdict, announced May 23, followed eight weeks of trial. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third murder charge in the case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York. Tarantino, who was arrested Sept. 24, 2008, after an FBI raid at his mansion in Dix Hills, NY, faces a mandatory life imprisonment sentence on each of the murder convictions.“We hope that [the] convictions bring a measure of closure to the family and friends of the victims,” U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. “As this case clearly demonstrates, we will not rest until those who engage in such murderous violence are brought to justice.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office, citing trial evidence, said that on June 23, 1994, Tarantino and co-conspirators, including a man named Louis Dorval, carried out an armed robbery of a Mid-Island Check Cashing armored van in Syosset, NY. During the robbery, Dorval shot and killed Julius Baumgardt, one of the van guards.
After the Baumgardt murder, Tarantino learned that Dorval told at least one other person that he and Tarantino had committed the armored van robbery and murder. On Aug. 10, 1994, Dorval and others were charged in New Jersey with various racketeering offenses unrelated to the armored van robbery. Two days later, after Dorval stated that he would flee rather than face incarceration, Tarantino and others murdered Dorval, put his body in a plastic tool trunk and dumped the trunk into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Dorval’s body was found four days later by U.S. Coast Guard personnel.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that Tarantino murdered Dorval to prevent him from disclosing to federal authorities information relating to various crimes, including Tarantino’s role in the armored van robbery and Baumgardt murder.
The jury did not return a verdict on two charges stemming from the Aug. 18, 2003, murder of Vincent Gargiulo, the brother-in-law of Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider. Tarantino will be re-tried on those charges on Aug. 1.
Some of Tarantino’s friends have created a blog in his support.
Tarantino is part-owner of five Synergy Fitness Clubs in Long Island, NY, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. However, in 2008, an employee at the Synergy Fitness Club in Farmingdale, NY, told Club Industry that another part-owner took over the club after Tarantino’s arrest. A recent request for more information about the current ownership structure of Synergy Fitness Clubs was denied by the company’s corporate office.
Synergy Fitness has 16 locations in the New York City metro area, according to the company’s website. In 2010, one of the Synergy Fitness Clubs in Manhattan filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Breaking Health Club News: Personal Trainer Sues Life Time Fitness for Sexual Harassment

A former Life Time Fitness trainer is suing the Chanhassen, MN-based company on the grounds of sexual harassment and retaliation.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lisa Ryan Flores of Cypress, TX, on May 19 in Harris County (TX) District Court against Life Time and Todd Buckland, a Life Time employee who was Flores’s team leader. Flores accuses Buckland of inappropriate and unwanted sexual behavior.In July 2009, Flores was transferred from Life Time’s Cinco Ranch location to its Houston City Centre location, where the alleged behavior took place, according to the complaint. Among other accusations, Flores claims Buckland put his hand down her pants and would send her unwanted text messages outside of work late at night.After reporting the alleged sexual advances around Sept. 1, 2009, Flores claims Life Time led a campaign of retaliation against her, and that led to her wrongful termination. The tactics, Flores claims, included demoting her, which reduced her income. She claims Life Time’s corporate human resources department scolded her because she asked club managers about Buckland’s status at the club.On Oct. 21, 2009, Flores filed claims of harassment and subsequent retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission. During mediation, Flores was fired by Leslie Simoneau, general counsel for Life Time Fitness, according to the complaint.In addition to sexual harassment and retaliation, Flores is suing on the grounds of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking damages that include back pay, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.Fife Time says it does not comment on legal matters.

Breaking Health Club News: Personal Trainer Sues Life Time Fitness for Sexual Harassment

A former Life Time Fitness trainer is suing the Chanhassen, MN-based company on the grounds of sexual harassment and retaliation.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Lisa Ryan Flores of Cypress, TX, on May 19 in Harris County (TX) District Court against Life Time and Todd Buckland, a Life Time employee who was Flores’s team leader. Flores accuses Buckland of inappropriate and unwanted sexual behavior.In July 2009, Flores was transferred from Life Time’s Cinco Ranch location to its Houston City Centre location, where the alleged behavior took place, according to the complaint. Among other accusations, Flores claims Buckland put his hand down her pants and would send her unwanted text messages outside of work late at night.After reporting the alleged sexual advances around Sept. 1, 2009, Flores claims Life Time led a campaign of retaliation against her, and that led to her wrongful termination. The tactics, Flores claims, included demoting her, which reduced her income. She claims Life Time’s corporate human resources department scolded her because she asked club managers about Buckland’s status at the club.On Oct. 21, 2009, Flores filed claims of harassment and subsequent retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission. During mediation, Flores was fired by Leslie Simoneau, general counsel for Life Time Fitness, according to the complaint.In addition to sexual harassment and retaliation, Flores is suing on the grounds of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking damages that include back pay, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.Fife Time says it does not comment on legal matters.

Are Weight-Loss TV Shows Too Extreme?

On the heels of “The Biggest Loser” season finale, a new weight-loss reality TV show premiered Monday night: “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.”
The new show (10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central on ABC) chronicles eight morbidly obese people as they lose weight over the span of a year. The star of the show is trainer Chris Powell, who guides one individual per show through his or her struggles, both physically and emotionally.We touched on the topic of weight-loss reality TV shows last month in our praise of the fitness industry’s ties to TV, which included Anytime Fitness’ work on A&E’s “Heavy” as well as a note on one of Anytime’s trainers, Kelli Calabrese, who auditioned to replace Jillian Michaels as the head trainer on “The Biggest Loser.” (As you may know by now, that job went to Anna Kournikova, a curious choice given that her fame came as a tennis player.)
We were planning to address the recent wave of weight-loss reality shows until we saw this story written by Sandy Cohen of the Associated Press, which blew our idea out of the water. Cohen successfully lists all of the weight-loss reality shows currently on TV and presents a case study of the pros and cons of the genre.
This article and this topic raise a ton of questions: Do these shows paint the fitness industry in a positive light? Is this the best way to represent what personal trainers can do? Are these shows focusing too much on the morbidly obese? Are those individuals losing too much weight in too short of time? In short, are these shows too extreme?

Are Weight-Loss TV Shows Too Extreme?

On the heels of “The Biggest Loser” season finale, a new weight-loss reality TV show premiered Monday night: “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.”
The new show (10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central on ABC) chronicles eight morbidly obese people as they lose weight over the span of a year. The star of the show is trainer Chris Powell, who guides one individual per show through his or her struggles, both physically and emotionally.We touched on the topic of weight-loss reality TV shows last month in our praise of the fitness industry’s ties to TV, which included Anytime Fitness’ work on A&E’s “Heavy” as well as a note on one of Anytime’s trainers, Kelli Calabrese, who auditioned to replace Jillian Michaels as the head trainer on “The Biggest Loser.” (As you may know by now, that job went to Anna Kournikova, a curious choice given that her fame came as a tennis player.)
We were planning to address the recent wave of weight-loss reality shows until we saw this story written by Sandy Cohen of the Associated Press, which blew our idea out of the water. Cohen successfully lists all of the weight-loss reality shows currently on TV and presents a case study of the pros and cons of the genre.
This article and this topic raise a ton of questions: Do these shows paint the fitness industry in a positive light? Is this the best way to represent what personal trainers can do? Are these shows focusing too much on the morbidly obese? Are those individuals losing too much weight in too short of time? In short, are these shows too extreme?

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