24 Hour Fitness is scheduled to open the first Chicago area (and first Illinois) 24 Hour Fitness location at 560 South Schmale Road in Carol Stream with a grand opening event scheduled for 9 AM- 1 PM March 7, 2020. The free celebration includes club tours, prize drawings, group training demonstrations and innovative GX24 studio classes, according to 24 Hour Fitness. Classes include calorie-torching cardio, strength, dance or restorative yoga that are included free with gym memberships, according to the 24 Hour Fitness website.
Amenities at the Super-Sport Gym category gym include …
Cardio Equipment
Free Weights
Group Cycling
Group Exercise
Indoor Lap Pool
Olympic Training Rig
Personal Training (extra cost)
Personal Training Area
Pro Shop
Sauna
Steam Room
Strength Machines
TRX Suspension Training
Turf Zone
Whirlpool
24 Hour Fitness offers four categories of club experiences: Active, Sport, Super-Sport, and Ultra-Sport, apparently based on amenities available. The categories are not clearly explained on the official website.
24 Hour Fitness, with headquarters in San Ramon, California, plans to open five Chicago area clubs in 2020 and additional locations in 2021. The next Chicagoland location is scheduled to open in Schaumburg at 141 North Barrington Road on April 4, 2020. Currently there are 430 24 Hour Fitness locations in the United States.
24 Hour Fitness is taking advantage of acquiring the spaces where big box retailers have closed. The Carol Stream location is a former Dominick’s Finer Foods location. A Buffalo Grove location is also planned at a former Dominick’s at 45 East Dundee Road near Buffalo Grove Road. The Buffalo Grove location is not yet listed in the “Coming Soon” listings.
Originally known as Nautilus Health Spa, Mark Mastrov was a manager and then a partner that developed what would become 24 Hour Fitness. With the help of a loan from his grandmother, Mastrov was able to purchase a 10 percent stake in Nautilus Health Spa. Mastrov felt it was easier to keep the club open around the clock rather than close, wait for patrons to leave, and reopen just a few hours later. Nautilus Health Spa became “24 Hour Nautilus” and was founded in 1983 by Mark Mastrov and Leonard Schlemm.
Mastrov eventually left 24-Hour Fitness at age 47 in 2005. He received the majority of the $1.68 billion buyout for 24 Hour Fitness in 2005 by New York private investment firm Forstman Little & Co. Mastrov remained as Chairman and CEO, but left in 2008 with ideas for news concepts of sports technology in the fitness business to start, along with Jim Rowley, his own private equity firm known as New Evolution Fitness Co. Jim Rowley became CEO; Mark Mastrov is Chairman. New Evolution Fitness Company’s global investment portfolio has included Crunch Fitness, UFC GYM (US and worldwide), Hard Candy (defunct worldwide locations, connected with Madonna), YogaWorks (mostly east coast, west coast U.S.), Crunch Australia, Steve Nash Fitness World (British Columbia), Chile’s Energy Fitness, Alex Rodriguez’s Energy Fitness (Mexico City) and others, spanning over 20 countries worldwide and hundreds of facilities. Mastrov is also involved with NFL-branded fitness businesses, such as 49ers Fit and a personal training app known as FitPlan. Alex Rodriguez, whose namesake business is part of the New Evolution Fitness portfolio, is a $4.5 million investor in Fitplan. Mastrov also participated in the investment round of FitPlan.
Meanwhile 24 Hour Fitness continues to be one of the largest fitness chains in the United States. On May 30, 2014, Forstmann Little & Co. sold 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. to a group of investors led by AEA Investors LP, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and Fitness Capital Partners for $1.85 billion. Mark Smith was named CEO in May 2014, follow by CEO Chris Roussos in March 2017. Tony Ueber is currently Chief Executive Officer of 24 Hour Fitness. Tony Ueber became CEO of 24 Hour Fitness on January 15, 2019.
For more information or to get a free guest pass, visit www.24hourfitness.com/CarolStream
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