porting so many franchisees , having open communication and sharing best practices .
In 2014 , having kept in touch with his friends in the brand around the world , Kevin had an opportunity to go back to the Middle East . He discussed it with his wife , and they both felt that it was an amazing opportunity . He accepted the offer as CEO for the Gold ’ s Gym Saudi Arabia . This time , his wife agreed to take one year maximum apart , where the family remained in the states and Kevin came home every 6-8 weeks . After one year , they would decide to either move to Saudi or Kevin would return home .
As Kevin shared , this new adventure took him out of his comfort zone again . He says he always remembers a specific quote , “ Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone .” “ I believe this to be true in my life , this belief gives me the push to do new things . To me , this is really where great things happen in our lives .”
With the support of Makarem Batterjee , Saudi Master Franchisee , and existing key leaders , Kevin put together a great workforce , bringing a couple of people from the states to complete the leadership team and to help grow the Saudi business . “ We experienced many challenges , but with a great team we were able to improve our operations and overall member experience while significantly increase company revenue and controlling expenses .” After one year , he could have continued , but felt it wasn ’ t the right move for his wife and kids .
VP of International Franchising by Craig Sherwood . Kevin took on responsibility for overseeing all International business including development . While making progress with a new strategic development plan for outside the U . S . everything changed in March 2020 with the pandemic .
Fast-forward through the global shutdown , closing of company owned gyms and bankruptcy . Kevin initially had mixed feelings . He was both nervous and excited when he heard about the acquisition through bankruptcy by our new owner RSG Group .
He had been impressed with seeing their facilities while in Germany and knew that RSG is well respected in Europe and has a great business model in their McFit gyms in Germany and other countries . “ I believe RSG ownership will be good for the future of Gold ’ s Gym . We needed change to get the brand growing again and moving in the right direction . Anyone who knows me well , knows how passionate I am for this brand and how strongly I feel about creating a more franchise friendly business model . I believed RSG would need to make significant changes , with personnel and with our business model ,” Kevin reflects . He was also concerned and wondered if he would have a chance to be part of the
The VoicE Q1
team going forward . “ I am thankful for RSG ’ s confidence in me and grateful to be part of the team to help shape Gold ’ s Gym for the future ”.
Kevin said that RSG can make changes that will strengthen the brand and help position us for growth . We need to grow more in both domestic and global franchising over the next five years and create a much more franchisee friendly business model . The brand was a licensing model in the early years , but it needs to be more clearly defined and consistent going forward . Kevin continues to develop relationships with the franchisees and is looking forward for what is to come .
“ I am extremely happy that Kevin was willing to overtake the responsibility leading the GG franchise team in the US into the future . He is a great person and a skilled expert when it comes to franchise at Gold ’ s Gym . Working successfully with the company for years he has gained all the experience needed to excel all expectations in his new role . My collaboration with Kevin in the past months has been a huge pleasure for me .”
Jörg Fockenberg Director International Expansion RSG Group
While working in Saudi Arabia , Kevin kept in touch with Ali Mahmoud . When Ali learned about Kevin ’ s decision to move on , Ali asked Kevin to come on board as President of Gold ’ s Gym Egypt to help improve their business . Kevin discussed this with his wife and says thankfully she is just as adventurous as he is . She agreed this would be another good opportunity for their family to experience another culture and create memories while the kids were still young .
At the end of 2015 , while Kevin and his wife were considering a long-term agreement to remain in Egypt or return to the states , Kevin learned about an open position with GGI in Dallas . With the kids nearing high school age , Kevin and his wife felt it was good timing to provide stability for the kids . In January 2016 , Kevin became Director of International Franchising . For the next four years he worked closely with the International Franchisees . June of 2019 , Kevin was promoted to