Rainer Schaller’s fitness empire (53)

McFit isn’t just any fitness studio, it’s the world’s largest fitness chain! Even in Switzerland, where there are no McFit gyms, the brand is a familiar name. It was founded in the late 1990s by German entrepreneur Rainer Schaller (53), who died in an accident this weekend with his wife and two children.

The small plane of the Schaller family, which included a total of six people, crashed into the sea off the coast of Costa Rica. The occupants of the building are unlikely to survive – two bodies have been found so far.

Art on the walls and live DJs

According to estimates, Schaller has assets of CHF 245 million. Early leaving started very young: in 1997 he founded the first gym in Würzburg (D). McFit currently operates more than 250 studios across Europe. In addition to Germany, it also has branches in Austria, Italy, Spain and Poland.

In addition to McFit, Schaller operates dozens of other gyms under the names High5 and John Reed. While High5 studios have a vintage style and supposedly focus on functional training, John Reed is the epitome of an Instagrammable gym: art hangs on the walls and DJs spin live music. “Experience fitness, music and design in the best club atmosphere,” the website says. Along with John Reed, Schaller is also based in Switzerland and runs a studio in Zurich.

big purchase in america

During the corona pandemic that brought many fitness studios to the brink of collapse, Schaller plunged into the lake with his fitness empire: he acquired Gold’s Gym, the US fitness chain with nearly 700 studios worldwide, for $100 million. Gold’s Gyms are operated with a franchise system. With the takeover, Rainer Schaller Group, officially called the fitness empire, became the largest fitness company in the world, according to its own statements.

In addition to gyms, Schaller also runs two of her own modeling agencies, the online fitness magazine Loox, and sells nutritional supplements. It directly employs more than 5,000 people, and there are 10,000 more in the Gold’s Gym franchise system. Schaller’s fitness empire recently had a total turnover of 355 million euros and a profit of 30 million.

His business partners include Spanish football player Sergio Ramos (36), a defender for French football club Paris Saint-Germain. Brothers Vitali (51) and Wladimir (46) Klitschko have also worked with Schaller in the past and are among his personal friends.

Trained in the world’s largest gym

However, things didn’t always run smoothly at the successful German company: In 2010, he made headlines as the organizer and sponsor of the (D) Loveparade in Duisburg. At that time, in the mass panic, 21 people lost their lives and 652 people were injured.

Recently, Schaller had grandiose plans: He built what he called “the world’s largest gymnasium” in Oberhausen, Germany. On an area of ​​50,000 square meters (seven football fields), a whole world of fitness adventures would be created there under the name “Mirai”. The giant gym will open this year. Schaller will not see the opening.