Bally Total Fitness

Bally's is considered one of the original pioneers and innovators of the "box gym" approach. They were considered a leader in the world of group fitness classes and new trends in physical fitness. Their culture and direction has changed quite drastically in the last few years. In November of 2011 they sold 171 of their locations to L.A. fitness, one of their largest competitors. And then again in April of 2012 they sold an additional 39 gyms to another competitor, Blast Fitness. Prior to their filing of the first of two chapter 11 bankruptcies, at their peak in 2007 they were operating nearly 440 facilities. Again on December 3, 2008 they filed for bankruptcy because of problems with the global credit crisis. At that time Bally had mentioned that they were open to exploring other options, and had mentioned possibilities of a sell-off, but that overall they hoped to emerge from the bankruptcy as soon as possible. With all of the changes and confusion surrounding their gym, their culture and community have been up and down over the last few years, and it is currently in a downward spiral, possibly headed towards a major sell-off sometime in the future.