Gymguyz LLC, the in-home mobile personal training and fitness franchise concept, hired business development veteran Ed Ruane as its new chief growth officer.
Ruane joins Gymguyz with an extensive background in multi-unit scaling and strategic planning with over 25 years in the health and fitness industry. From New York, where Gymguyz is headquartered, Ruane started his career early on in the airline industry servicing jets after earning his FAA licenses. Ruane left the airline industry for his passion of personal training and went on to be certified by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Council on Exercise (ACE).
Within the personal fitness industry, becoming a trainer more than 25 years ago was just the start for Ruane. He would later find himself in many roles, including serving as the Co-Founder of The New York Metropolitan Club Association (NYMCA), a sub-chapter of IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association). He even worked with owners of fitness clubs across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to lobby against the state of New York for taxation on health club dues—and won.
One of the bigger opportunities in Ruane’s career came when he was brought on by Equinox Holdings to help grow the company’s footprint. Within one year, he received the award of “General Manager of the Year” and became Equinox’s first Regional Director, ultimately growing with the chain from four locations to over 50 clubs. After 10 years on the management team, Ruane moved on to his next venture, taking over the former Hollywood Atrium Club and turning it into Life Clubs of Lawrence. Under Ruane’s leadership he reversed losses, spearheaded a complete renovation and positioned Life Clubs as the number one fitness choice of The Five Towns in New York.
“Assembling a leadership team with strong knowledge of the challenges and opportunities involved in rapid growth is critical to the long-term success we have as a brand,” said CEO and Founder Josh York. “Ed has a proven reputation for being able to grow businesses and bring them to the next level. We know that he will bring this same passion to Gymguyz and are excited to have him on board as we look toward our most successful year yet.”
As the newest member of the Gymguyz leadership team, Ruane will be responsible for similar roles in growing the company, creating universal efficiencies and expanding the Gymguyz franchise presence internationally.
“It’s clear that Gymguyz, as a franchise system, has grown quickly over the years,” said Ruane. “My main goal is to work closely with the team to make Gymguyz the best possible version of itself that it can be—all with our number one priority in mind, which is putting franchisees first. Without franchisees, we simply do not exist. My passion lies with creating those new relationships as well as building on current ones across the network.”
Founded in 2008 by fitness specialist Josh York, the mobile brand began franchising in 2014 with a fleet of franchise vans that bring state-of-the-art fitness equipment and expert coaches to their customers’ doors. The company has near 200 locations.
