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About us

The RSG Group is an international organization with 10,000 employees including our franchisees. Our heart beats for fitness and health and out of this passion we have developed a broad portfolio. We own global brands like McFIT, JOHN REED and Gold’s Gym.

  • 1997
    “Now also in Würzburg” – with this initial marketing slogan and a banana as a mascot, Rainer Schaller opens his first McFIT studio. The company headquarters are founded in the Franconian town of Schlüsselfeld.
  • 2000
    From Bavaria we grow in the Ruhr area, with two studio openings in Bochum and Oberhausen.
  • 2002
    McFIT conquers Berlin with a bang by opening four branches in one day.
  • 2006
    After only nine years, McFIT surges to 416,000 members and is the largest fitness center chain in Germany.
  • 2007
    McFIT opens its creative office in Berlin. From marketing strategy to our own TV channel to new training opportunities – the ideas that make McFIT so attractive come from this creative hub.
  • 2007
    McFIT takes over their biggest competitor Fit24.
  • 2008
    A win-win situation: McFIT adds Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko as ambassadors.
  • 2008
    McFIT reaches the century mark: the 100th studio opens in Munich.
  • 2009
    McFIT takes off in Austria and Spain. Three studios open in Vienna and one in Palma de Mallorca.
  • 2009
    For the record fee of 1,000,000 euros, McFIT sponsors a football match against FC Bayern Munich in aid of “A heart for children”. The game takes place on July 25, 2009 in front of 50,000 spectators in the Arena Auf Schalke.
  • 2011
    McFIT welcomes it’s 1,000,000th member and is Europe’s #1 fitness brand. The revenue surges to around 200,000,000 euros.
  • 2013
    McFIT shines with a new design. The new logo combines power, dynamism and innovation. The annual revenue of the company this year grows to around 290,000,000 euros.
  • 2013
    Qi2 Sports Nutrition is launched as a provider of high quality and efficient sports nutrition.
  • 2014
    Star designer Michael Michalsky creates the loft-style design for the Home of the Fitness studio concept and is Creative Director at McFIT MODELS, which is Europe’s largest sports model agency.
  • 2014
    McFIT opens their first Italian studio in Verona. Happy Fit and McFIT merge in Italy. With this arrangement, all 14 Happy Fit studios will become McFIT studios.
  • 2015
    High5, a new fitness concept based around retro American and collegiate design with a focus on functional training, is launched with four studio openings in Germany and Austria.
  • 2016
    CYBEROBICS, a new dimension of virtual course training with the best instructors in the USA utilizing breathtaking original locations, is launched in Berlin.
  • 2016
    JOHN REED, the world’s first Fitness Music Club, opens, combining a unique fusion of music, design and fitness.
  • 2016
    A new benchmark is reached: McFIT welcomes their 1,500,000th member.
  • 2017
    JOHN REED conquers two new countries at once, the Czech Republic and Hungary, opening its first clubs in the respective capitals of Prague and Budapest.
  • 2017
    Founding of the management agency TIGERPOOL, which promotes selected designers and artists from the fields of fashion, lifestyle and art.
  • 2017
    The JOHN REED Family is growing: The first JOHN REED Women’s Club opens in Berlin and inspires with a huge selection of classes utilizing Scandinavian feel-good design.
  • 2018
    THE REED, the new clubhouse of the JOHN REED Family, opens its doors at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz.
  • 2018
    JOHN’S BOOTCAMP, Berlin’s most effective workout, is launched, where you can burn up to 1000 kcal per sports unit in 60 minutes.
  • 2019
    The McFIT GLOBAL GROUP becomes the RSG Group. With its strong and forward-looking concepts, the RSG Group ensures that it is an essential part of the active everyday life of its customers. Their ideas and commitments always set new standards. This makes them the global innovation leader in the areas of fitness and lifestyle.
  • 2019
    As part of the Berlinale 2019, they present their new Steven Baker brand, which creates orginal cake designs with a focus on “enjoyment without regret”.
  • 2019
    With the opening of the club in Zurich JOHN REED celebrates the country entry with our neighbors in Switzerland.
  • 2019
    JOHN & JANE’S brings an international sport and lifestyle trend to Germany: Boutique Fitness. With SOULBASE (yoga, pilates and barre) and POWERBASE (boot camp, boxing), the premium line combines two different workout and studio concepts in one brand.
  • 2020
    Just in time for the Berlin Fashion Week, the RSG Group gets a second model agency: PEARL MODEL MANAGEMENT has been firmly established in the international fashion business for years and covers all areas of the industry from commercial to haute couture. The agency stands for diversity, quality over quantity and the promotion of personality. In this way, they enable their models to develop individually and provide their customers an extraordinary selection.
  • 2020
    Tamer Trasoglu is the Master of Enthusiasm! As a new brand, the licensed fitness coach is an example of the innovative strength of the RSG Group. Sport is his lifestyle, entertainment his passion. He combines both in his workouts. With his ability to inspire, Tamer creates a whole new level of motivation and willingness to achieve.
  • 2020
    THE MIRAI, the digital research and development center for fitness and health, is launched. For the first time, the platform unites trainers, science and the fitness industry in a unique ecosystem. Using data analysis supported by artificial intelligence, THE MIRAI drives the further development of technologies that improve people’s health and quality of life.
  • 2020
    In the middle of the pandemic, JOHN REED opens a club in Istanbul, the first ever in Turkey.
  • 2020
    The RSG Group takes over the best known and most iconic fitness company in the world: Gold’s Gym. This makes the group, previously mainly active in Europe, the world’s number one company in the field of fitness and is now represented on all six continents. With the acquisition of Gold’s Gym and its three million members, the RSG Group secures global brand rights and enters the franchise business.
  • 2021
    In March, JOHN REED ventures across the pond and opens its first U.S. club in downtown Los Angeles. This is followed in the same year by two more country entries, in London and Rotterdam, in the UK and the Netherlands. This means that Music Fitness Clubs are now represented in 11 countries worldwide.
  • 2021
    Ten months after the Gold’s Gym acquisition, the RSG Group opens their first flagship location in Berlin and brings a new Mecca for fitness and bodybuilding to Europe. The world’s greenest gym, it’s a contemporary redefinition of the iconic brand. The 5,200 square meter campus serves both as a lighthouse project with global appeal and as a proof of concept and inspiration for franchisees.
  • 2021
    With SERGIO RAMOS by JOHN REED, the RSG Group presents the group’s first celebrity fitness concept. Here classic boutique fitness elements are combined with a gym space curated by the professional athlete and soccer world champion, including a design based on his personality. In January 2022, the first and so far only fitness lifestyle club by and with Sergio Ramos, opened in the Spanish capital of Madrid and the “TRAIN LIKE SERGIO” era began.
  • 2022
    With Holmes Place Spain, RSG Group acquires one of the most important brands in the premium fitness segment. The chain’s five clubs are centrally located in Madrid and Barcelona.
  • 2022
    With the launch of HEIMAT in L.A., the RSG Group creates a new premium segment in the industry. The world’s first concept fitness club offers all the amenities of a private members’ club with an area of ​​around 7,000m². These include an innovative fitness offering, spa, rooftop pool and the Mother Tongue restaurant in partnership with star chef Michael Mina. Under one roof, HEIMAT redefines the fitness lifestyle and what it means to live well.
  • 2022
    On October 21st, our founder, owner and CEO Rainer Schaller tragically perished along with his family and two colleagues in a plane crash off the coast of Costa Rica. This comes as a deep shock and unbelievable loss for the RSG Group and all relatives.
  • 2022
    Mid-December: Hagen Wingertszahn and Dr. Jobst Müller-Trimbusch take over the management of the RSG Group in a new dual leadership capacity. After the tragic death of Rainer Schaller, the company remains family-owned.
  • 2023
    At the beginning of 2023, HEIMAT by Waris Dirie opens, an innovative boutique gym concept in the heart of Paris aimed exclusively at women with the brand maxim PROUD FEMALE FITNESS. Together with Waris Dirie – supermodel, bestselling author, human rights activist and artist – the first HEIMAT Studio in Europe offers programming that focuses on a strong private community and goes far beyond that of a pure fitness studio.

Spirit

Our corporate culture is shaped by the spirit of our company founder Rainer Schaller, whose passion for fitness and idea of ​​team spirit are firmly anchored in us. We want to continue his legacy and preserve his values ​​by living a culture of cooperation and shared success. We believe that by sharing knowledge and ideas, we achieve the best results in order to unleash the full potential of our people. Therefore, we value open and transparent communication in which every employee feels seen and heard. Within this framework, we continuously develop our individual brands and do not stand still. It is important for us to grow steadily as a company, but also as a team. This spirit forms the foundation of the RSG Group and has made us what we are today: one of the world’s leading companies in the field of fitness.