FEATURE STORY
the early morning shifts. Given his
knowledge and experience on the
business side of things, Ben soon
moved into management and up
through the ranks. Ben shared, “I
could not have asked to work with
a better family than the Masons.
I really grew up with them and
became close with Dusty and
his wife, Lauren, as well as Sharon
and Gordon.” Sharon actually
hired Ben and instilled in him the
principles that they embrace in
their clubs. He learned a lot from
her and has a ton of praise for her!
“Dusty really helped me to
transition from management
to ownership. He exposed me
to things at the operational
level and gave me insight to
the bigger decisions, so my
progression to ownership
was a steady path”
Ben also has a genuine sense
of admiration for Dusty. “Dusty
really helped me to transition from
management to ownership. He
exposed me to things at the
operational level and gave me
insight to the bigger decisions, so
my progression to ownership was
a steady path,” says Ben. A pivotal
moment for Ben came in 2013
when Dusty’s Epicentre location
in Charlotte, NC was a finalist for
Best New Gym – U.S. Dusty took
a group of staff members to the
Gold’s Gym Convention that year.
On Awards Night, Ben watched as
Dusty’s club was named Best New
Gym, and Dusty had Ben go up on
the stage with him to receive the
award. The experience made a
huge impression on Ben. Dusty
was a visionary and Ben was so
inspired and felt really connected
to him and the organization. Later
in the hotel elevator, Ben shared
with Dusty that at 23 years old, he
had no expectation of working for
Gold’s Gym long term. He went on
to tell him that he had reached the
realization that he wanted to be a
bigger part of the business. Ben
could see himself becoming an
owner in the future.
Ben had seen all the hard work that
Dusty put into building his business.
Having opened Albemarle several
years previously, when it was a
small community, a lot of people in
town at the time did not necessarily
think that Gold’s Gym would be
built for the long term. But through
hard work and dedication, people
came to embrace the club and all
that it did to support their neighbor-
hoods. Ben shared that Dusty
had a vision for Albemarle from
the beginning. He had a plan and
was prepared and took the right
steps to be successful. It became
a place where families wanted to
be, and it now is a staple in the
Albemarle community. “I feel like
what sets us apart is the brand,”
says Ben. “Gold’s is the community
of Albemarle. We have a wide variety
of options to help everyone, and
people identify with that.” In addition
to the various programs and workout
areas in the gym, they offer youth
group and personal training and
coaching youth sports. They involve
the kids by teaching them how to
be smart and safe in their fitness
and sports activities. They are
working with the local school system
in building a tutoring program. Giving
the kids a place to study and be
active is a key initiative for them.
With five high schools, 3 middle
schools and 10 elementary schools
in their area, they continue to be a
positive influence and supporter of
Albemarle.
“I feel like what sets
us apart is the brand,”
says Ben. “Gold’s is the
community of Albemarle.
We have a wide variety of
options to help everyone,
and people identify
with that.”
All of this was built over time
through Dusty’s leadership. Now
with Ben as the new owner, he is
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