Ron Kruse, Haydens Athletic; Augie Nieto, Life Fitness and Octane
Fitness; the late Kihachiro Onitsuka, Asics Corp.; and the late Randy
Renfrow, Fitness Resource, were elected the NSGA's Sporting Goods
Industry Hall of Fame.
The four will be honored in ceremonies Tuesday evening, May 6, during
the 44th Annual NSGA Management Conference & 10th Annual Team
Dealer Summit. The Conference & Summit will be held May 4-7, 2008,
at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs in Phoenix, The ceremony is
co-sponsored by Messe München GmbH (ISPO); Mizuno USA; New Balance
Athletic Shoe, Inc.; and W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
NSGA initially formed the Hall of Fame in 1956. The four new members
brings the total number of Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Famers to
138.
, the sporting goods industry has honored its pioneers, innovators and
leaders, and the election of the Class of 2007 brings the total number
of Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Famers to 138
The following are bios of the new members:
Ron Kruse
Ron Kruse began his career as a team dealer as the third employee hired
at Hayden and Sweasy Sporting Goods in Aurora , Ill. , in 1959.
During the 60s, Ron was involved in every aspect of the business,
including retail, road sales, purchasing, billing and personnel.
In 1972, he became a stockholder in Haydens and was named general
manager in 1974. Ron helped grow the business from $300,000 in the
mid-1960s to more than $10 million in sales today.
Ron was a founding member of the Team Athletic Goods (TAG) buying group
in the late 1970s and is currently an ownership partner. He served on
the NSGA Board of Directors for eight years, including a two-year term
as Chairman. He is the current Past-Chairman of the Association.
Ron and his wife Carole have three children, including son David, who
is active in the business. Ron has been involved in many civic
activities, including Boy Scouts of America, his local high school
boosters club, and the Aurora Sunrise Rotary Club. He served on the
advisory board of a local bank and is active in school fund-raising
activities.
Augie Nieto
Augustine L. Nieto II is one of the most successful innovators in the
history of the U.S. fitness industry. In 1977, at the age of 19,
Nieto bought the marketing rights to the Lifecycle exercise bike.
In 1980, he co-founded Lifecycle, Inc., and over the next 20 years, the
company, now called Life Fitness, Inc., repeatedly multiplied in size
under his leadership and grew to be the largest commercial manufacturer
of fitness equipment in the world.
Nieto currently serves as chairman of Octane Fitness, an Andover,
Minn.-based designer and distributor of premium elliptical
cross-trainers in the high-end, consumer specialty fitness equipment
market.
He also is an operating advisor of North Castle Partners, a leading
private equity investor headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., that focuses
on consumer businesses that address healthy living and aging trends,
and he is on the boards of several companies, including Grand
Expeditions, Boca Raton, Fla., and Quest Software, Irvine , Calif.
An active member of the Young Presidents Organization, Nieto is a 1995
recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in
Illinois .
He earned a degree in economics with an emphasis in financial
accounting from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont , Calif. He
resides in southern California with his wife and four children.
More recently, he has devoted much of his time and effort raising funds
for research to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more
commonly known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, with which he was
diagnosed in February 2005.
Kihachiro Onitsuka – 1918-2007
Kihachiro Onitsuka was born on May 29, 1918, in Tottori Prefecture in
western Japan . Concerned at the sight of the nations youth after
World War II, he made it his mission to inspire young people and chose
the world of sports as a means to fulfill his goal.
In 1949, he started Onitsuka Co. Ltd., the first sports shoe company in
Japan . Using many creative ideas, he released innovative and
groundbreaking products. In 1977, ASICS Corporation was formed through
a merger of Onitsuka Co. Ltd, G.T.O. Co., an equipment manufacturer,
and Jelenk Co., a sports apparel manufacturer. Onitsuka became the
president and aimed to diversify the business to be more competitive on
the global sporting goods market.
The name Asics comes from the Latin phrase, ” A nima
S ana I n C
orpore S ano” a sound mind in a sound body.
In 1992, he became chairman of ASICS Corporation, a position he held
until his death. Today ASICS is the fifth largest sports goods
manufacturer, making products not only for Olympic Gold medal winners,
but also ordinary people who participate in sports as part of a healthy
lifestyle.
Over the years, Onitsuka also held a number of public offices. He was
president of the Japan Basketball Association and was the lifetime
honorary president of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods
Industry. He received the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1988), Medal
with Blue Ribbon (1974), and Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon (1978, 1983).
In 2001, he received the Olympic Order.
Onitsuka also wrote a number of books, including “My Personal History”
(1992), and “All You Need To Do After Falling Down Is To Stand Up
Again” (2000).
Randy Renfrow – 1956-2002
August 9, 2002 saw an unconventional end to a life that affected the
course of the specialty fitness industry. Randall Paul (Randy) Renfrow,
a driven but quiet voice in the fitness industry died in a home
accident, ironic for a man who lived much of his life on the edge as a
national champion motorcycle racer.
Randy brought a unique vision for a retailer to an industry in its
infancy, helping many manufacturers develop, build and refine their
products to be successful in the marketplace.
His straightforward demeanor, combined with his grassroots knowledge of
the fitness industry, his native engineering ability, and genuine
affection for people enabled him to develop lasting relationships in
the industry. His competitive nature, honed on the racing circuit, was
also present in his dealings in the fitness industry and commanded
respect and admiration from those who worked with him.
Randy took over the Fitness Resource division of his parent company in
1986 while still competing as a racer and winning three national
championships during the 80s. Under Randys guidance, Fitness Resource
grew from a single store to 21 stores covering markets from Maryland to
Georgia.
Randy focused on what made the specialty side of the fitness industry
different and shaped the company to focus on those elements critical
for success. He always took the customers point of view in giving
advice to manufacturers on product issues.
He understood the need for improved quality control and respectable
margins for dealers and fought long and hard for those issues to the
benefit of the industry as a whole.
