Rainer Schaller Global Group (RSG Group) has opened a huge flagship Gold's Gym club in the German capital city Berlin.

Marketed as the “gym of the future,” RSG said the company-owned, 55,000sq ft "campus" is the group's proof of concept, meeting point and "inspiration for all future Gold’s Gym locations".

The club was designed with insight gained from a Gold’s Gym social media partnership with fitness veteran Lou Ferrigno, which surveyed the public for what they wanted in the “perfect gym.”

It features a huge gym floor with CV and resistance areas, group training zones and a functional fitness space.

Among the club's special features are a carbon and climate neutral design, including sustainable construction materials, real plants and trees throughout the interior of the gym and a “Green Power” area featuring spin bikes that generate clean energy.

The environmentally-friendly solutions make the Berlin flagship the world’s first commercial gym with a LEED Platinum certification.

Other features include a Performance Center reserved exclusively for top athletes, sports clubs, partners and "friends of the brand" and a Gold’s Gym Academy – a training and education institute for fitness trainers and head coaches of the Gold’s Gym brand.

RSG acquired the iconic franchised chain in July 2020 for US$100m after being selected as the winning bidder in a court-approved auction process.

Established in 1965, the US-based Gold’s Gym had been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and filed for Chapter 11 protection on 4 May, 2020, in an effort to facilitate the financial restructuring of the company.

Rainer Schaller, founder and CEO of RSG Group, said: "When we acquired Gold’s Gym through the Chapter 11 process nine months ago, we were driven to invest in a way that honored the brand’s iconic legacy while returning a pioneering leader to its rightful place – once again ahead of its time with the very best fitness amenities on the planet.

“Our Berlin flagship represents the contemporary redefinition of the brand and product concept to the highest degree of perfection, and it sets the stage for a whole new ‘golden era’ for Gold’s Gym.”

Gold’s Gym CEO, Sebastian Schoepe, added: "While many fitness brands spent the past year pivoting away from brick-and-mortar gyms as a result of the pandemic, RSG Group spent time and resources designing the perfect gym for a post-COVID world.

“It’s only fitting that the iconic Gold’s Gym brand would be the one to bring this vision to life, and we anticipate more big things to come in this next chapter of Gold’s Gym’s global fitness legacy.”

The Berlin club will be followed by the opening of Gold's Gym clubs in Herne – in the Ruhr area in West Germany – and Munich, as RSG begins to build a portfolio across the country.

As well as Gold's Gym, RSG Group owns and operates a number of other fitness chains – McFIT, John Reed and High5 – and lifestyle and digital fitness brands. It currently operates more than 900 locations across six continents.

Watch out for HCM's interview with Rainer Schaller in the next issue of the magazine (issue 7 2021).