Mike Katz's son opens up an "Anti-Bodybuilding Gym"

[Natural_O]

http://easthaven.patch.com/articles/...o-gym-business

[cook]

That must be the kid that was hanging off Mike`s arm in Pumping Iron....remember that?

[juiceinator3000]

Yea and... Mikes opened up a bunch of them out here. They're called planet fitness.

[MiamiMadePunk]

^^
This is Mike Katz Jr.

[ebfitness]

^ Great set of knockers on him!

[MiamiMadePunk]

^ Great set of knockers on him!

Yeah those man tits are very distracting, no homo,lol.

[scimjara]

No wonder he's anti bodybuilding.
with the high level of estrogen he has.

[Triple-H_2005]

I bet Jr.'s bike has rusty fenders...

[bigchamp89]

Wow I feel sorry for mike, I'm sorry your son is a fucking failure

[KEVDIESEL]

awww if only they were allowed to bench press

^^
This is Mike Katz Jr.

[Thefuture]

Wow I feel sorry for mike, I'm sorry your son is a fucking failure

Yeah owning and or running 5 gyms what a failure

[Barrett]

awww if only they were allowed to bench press

I always laugh when guys have enough fat on their chest to resemble pecs. Their arms and shoulders being so tiny and miniscule makes it even funnier.

[Curt James]

Mike Katz Jr. Follows Bodybuilder Father into Gym Business

The Katz's five Planet Fitness health clubs — including East Haven location — make them one of the biggest fitness gym operators in Connecticut.
By Fred Musante
February 14, 2012

Mike Katz Jr. grew up in the gym business and has been working in it for most of his life.

The five Planet Fitness health club franchises he owns with his father and their business partner — with locations in North Haven, Branford, Guilford, Hamden and East Haven — make them the biggest gym operators in the New Haven region.

Katz said he enjoys working with his customers and trainers so much, it doesn’t even feel like a job.

"I don’t come to work," he said. "It’s not a job. It’s me. It’s who I am."


Mike Katz Jr.

He and his father are both North Branford residents. Mike Katz Sr. is a former NFL player for the NY Jets and bodybuilding champion. He famously appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno in the documentary film "Pumping Iron" in 1977.


L-R: Dave Draper, Mike Katz, Arnold

Katz said his father and training partner, Jerry Mastrangelo, opened their first gym, a World Gym franchise in Hamden, in 1979 because they were dissatisfied with the shape of the gym they used in New Haven.


L-R: Mike Katz Jr., Mike Katz Sr., Jerry Mastrangelo

"The original reason was just to have a good, clean place to work out in," Mike Katz Jr. said.

Many of their friends who worked out with them at the other gym followed them to the new facility, helping to make it a success.

They opened additional gyms in Guilford, North Haven, North Branford and Branford and switched to the Planet Fitness franchise in 2004.

"I grew up in it," said Katz, 41. "My father was Mr. America when I was six months old." He started working at the gyms when he was 16 and currently is the manager of the Branford Planet Fitness.

Many readers are probably familiar with Mike Katz Sr.’s story. He took up weight training as a boy after he was bullied for being Jewish and wearing glasses. He played for the Jets in 1967 and 1968, but missed Super Bowl III after a knee injury ended his professional football career.


Mike Katz Sr., 1970 IFBB Mr. America, 1972 IFBB Mr. World

Although his father was a famous bodybuilder, Mike Katz Jr. said their Planet Fitness gyms stress fitness training for ordinary people who want to get in shape.

"This is the anti-bodybuilding gym," he said.

That reflects the evolution of the fitness gym industry, he said. Their gyms are a place to get away from stress.

"Sometimes it’s social," he said. "This is an alternative to bars. You ask 10 people, they’ll probably give you 10 different reasons."

From Mike Katz Jr. Follows Bodybuilder Father into Gym Business - East Haven, CT Patch

Mike Katz Sr.'s Contest Record

1964

Teen Mr America - AAU, 4th
Teen Mr America - AAU, Most Muscular, 5th

1965

Mr New England - AAU, 4th

1969

Mr America - IFBB, Tall, 2nd

1970

Mr America - IFBB, Tall, 1st
Mr America - IFBB, Overall Winner
Mr East Coast - AAU, Tall, 1st
Mr East Coast - AAU, Overall Winner

1971

Universe - IFBB, Tall, 3rd

1972

Mr International - IFBB, Tall, 2nd
Universe - IFBB, Tall, 1st
Mr World - IFBB, Overall Winner
Mr World - IFBB, Tall, 1st

1973

Universe - IFBB, Tall, 3rd

1974

Mr International - IFBB, Tall, 2nd

1975

Universe - IFBB, Tall, 4th

1976

Olympia - IFBB, HeavyWeight, 2nd

1980

Natural Mr America - NBA, Professional, 4th
Universe - Pro - IFBB, Did not place
World Pro Championships - IFBB, Did not place

1981

Olympia - IFBB, 15th

[Curt James]

Katz and his son are both goofy looking.

...

And I know something about goofy looking, so that's not a knock against these two guys.

Thank God not everyone looks like George Clooney. I hate that bastard.

[Curt James]

^^^^ Raise your hand if you don't want to punch that guy in the face.

[bigchamp89]

wait wat am i reading this right? so mike katz owns planet fitness gyms also? WTF....

[KTTraining]

wait wat am i reading this right? so mike katz owns planet fitness gyms also? WTF....

Sounds like he does or definitely supports him . What happens when even bodybuilders and IFBB judges don't support Bodybuilders ?

[Barrett]

Sounds like he does or definitely supports him . What happens when even bodybuilders and IFBB judges don't support Bodybuilders ?

When you're a bodybuilder from a completely different era and seeing what bodybuilding is today I'm sure Mike Katz doesn't hold much loyalty anymore to bodybuilding. He looks back at his era and smiles, and looks at todays and wants to cry. He's being smart. Being a businessman and making money.

His support and loyalty doesn't lie with a tainted sport like bodybuilding.

[KTTraining]

While I agree with you about the difference's between Mikes competitive days and today, realize that, as an IFBB official, he is still a big part of Bodybuilding today .

Business is one thing but to support the discrimination of Bodybuilders and Judge them in contests is pretty outrageous . Why not either quit as an official if one feels so strongly or run the gym like any other successful health club today and allow everyone to train , as long as they follow the rules .

[Natural_O]

While I agree with you about the difference's between Mikes competitive days and today, realize that, as an IFBB official, he is still a big part of Bodybuilding today .

Business is one thing but to support the discrimination of Bodybuilders and Judge them in contests is pretty outrageous . Why not either quit as an official if one feels so strongly or run the gym like any other successful health club today and allow everyone to train , as long as they follow the rules .

Exactly! You can still have a successful gym where your members are encouraged to train hard and have serious workouts. Why do you have to advertise your gym as "anti-bodybuilding"? I'm getting so tired of all these gym chains discriminating against bodybuilders and those who want to train hard. It's like all they are interested in running is profit centers where members pay to belong to the club but, God forbid if they actually work out. No straining, no sweating, no effort. Just come in for a few minutes, use some machines, walk the treadmill and get out without making any noise. It was the bodybuilding generation that kicked off this whole fitness craze and now the bodybuilders are the ones who are being discouraged from being a part of these "gyms".

[KTTraining]

Exactly! You can still have a successful gym where your members are encouraged to train hard and have serious workouts. Why do you have to advertise your gym as "anti-bodybuilding"? I'm getting so tired of all these gym chains discriminating against bodybuilders and those who want to train hard. It's like all they are interested in running is profit centers where members pay to belong to the club but, God forbid if they actually work out. No straining, no sweating, no effort. Just come in for a few minutes, use some machines, walk the treadmill and get out without making any noise. It was the bodybuilding generation that kicked off this whole fitness craze and now the bodybuilders are the ones who are being discouraged from being a part of these "gyms".

I agree , John .. It's a softening up of society all around.. Some kids sports leagues don't even hold try outs for fear of upsetting a child . In the 80's woman started coming to the gyms and by the 90's they were packed . It didn't matter if Bodybuilders, Powerlifters or Athletes were in the gyms .. they were all packed . Intimidation didn't seem to hurt business then. Members simply found their way and , for the most part, even the most intense trainers followed the rules and there weren't many problems .

[Natural_O]

I agree , John .. It's a softening up of society all around.. Some kids sports leagues don't even hold try outs for fear of upsetting a child . In the 80's woman started coming to the gyms and by the 90's they were packed . It didn't matter if Bodybuilders, Powerlifters or Athletes were in the gyms .. they were all packed . Intimidation didn't seem to hurt business then. Members simply found their way and , for the most part, even the most intense trainers followed the rules and there weren't many problems .

I feel sorry for the young guys coming up in the sport because chances are that they will never get to experience what's it's like to train at a truly hardcore gym. Most of the gyms are for families and they discourage really hard training. How can you learn to train hard when no one is training hard around you? The gym's in the '80's were very intimidating to walk into but it was a great atmosphere. If you trained hard and were serious, you earned the respect of everyone in the gym. Now, people who train hard are looked at as trouble makers and disruptive and are discouraged from even being a part of the gym. Really sad!

[swingslammer]

^ Great set of knockers on him!

DAMN......You BEAT me to it.....now what else witty can I come up with?

[bigchamp89]

man thats pathetic... to see these guys give up their dignity just for some extra $$$, what good is it if you have no pride?

[beefyfan]

Yeah owning and or running 5 gyms what a failure

I'd rather live in the gutter than have tits the size of Mike Katz Jr. Not to mention he's an ugly motherfucker. Nevermind the suggestion that his dad was a prominent player in the G4P industry. So I guess if he runs 5 gyms, it nullifies having DD tits.

[HanSoLo]

I feel sorry for the young guys coming up in the sport because chances are that they will never get to experience what's it's like to train at a truly hardcore gym. Most of the gyms are for families and they discourage really hard training. How can you learn to train hard when no one is training hard around you? The gym's in the '80's were very intimidating to walk into but it was a great atmosphere. If you trained hard and were serious, you earned the respect of everyone in the gym. Now, people who train hard are looked at as trouble makers and disruptive and are discouraged from even being a part of the gym. Really sad!

When I first started going to the gym I was 12. Fortunately my first gym was a real gym. When I walked in, there were guys that were huge, lifting some crazy weights. I did not fear them, I admired the, wanted to be like them. Seeing guy's bigger than me pushed me to want to be better. I wanted to lift like them, look like them. With all these "anti bodybuilding" gyms now, who do younger people have to look up to? Who can they learn from to make better themselves better?

I live in China now and my training partner and I train for free. They want us in the gym to help bring more members in, and to help teach the younger guys how its done. I just dont understand what is happening to the business on the other side of the world....

[gabe_peterson]

His Dad got into bodybuilding because he was being essentially discriminated against...........

Anti-bodybuilding?????

Oooooookkkkkkkk..........

[OneWideBack]

His Dad got into bodybuilding because he was being essentially discriminated against...........

Anti-bodybuilding?????

Oooooookkkkkkkk..........

/Thread!

Have reps!

[gabe_peterson]

I'm training at a gym that started out as anti-bodybuilding. The guy got in a pinch when a "fitness trainer" walked out with a thousand plus dollars of up front training money. Suddenly he wanted my help. Numbers went up shortly after. I was busy with my other job so I went away for a while with work. I came back and thing had gone backwards thanks to the little guy who was a "fitness trainer" had rumors about him and members wives. He would put down on younger guys in front of their girlfriends, spread rumors about everyone. He got fired and I'm helping a little here and there.

Muscle doesnt hurt gyms. Bad attitudes and shitty people do.

The owner does not charge me and tries to pay me for new members. I don't want his money. However I believe I've altered his opinion about "hardcore" people.

[Sandpig]

It's Mike Sr. we should have a beef with, not Jr.

Agree, major fuckin hypocrite.

[juiceinator3000]

It's Mike Sr. we should have a beef with, not Jr.

Agree, major fuckin hypocrite.

True. If you're from my area you know Katz is right there with his son in this business.

[ebfitness]

I feel sorry for the young guys coming up in the sport because chances are that they will never get to experience what's it's like to train at a truly hardcore gym. Most of the gyms are for families and they discourage really hard training. How can you learn to train hard when no one is training hard around you? The gym's in the '80's were very intimidating to walk into but it was a great atmosphere. If you trained hard and were serious, you earned the respect of everyone in the gym. Now, people who train hard are looked at as trouble makers and disruptive and are discouraged from even being a part of the gym. Really sad!

"The pussification of America" ~ George Carlin

[Kaotic]

traitor

[Young Gotti]

i just don't understand why you would discriminate against bodybuilders? are there really that many out there.....i go to a regular gym with regular members who train hard who aren't bodybuilders....

for example a college baseball player trains at my gym....he trains really hard but the last thing on the kids mind is to become a bodybuilder...however if he did his workout at planet fitness.....he's kicked out

[Ryan Bracewell]

I doubt any of the people complaining about PF have ever worked for a gym. If you did you would realize how pathetic the average gym goer is. I'm not saying that to be mean, but many of them have such a low self esteem / self image that they are very easily intimidate. Men see bodybuilders working out and think, I'm not ready to train at a gym like this, it's too hardcore for me. Women see the bodybuilders and simply get intimidated. To most of the people on this site that may sound ludicrous but it's true. The reality is bodybuilder types are bad for business. Even though I personally don't like PF's principals they have figured out the best way to make your average mom and dad feel comfortable with coming to the gym......or atleast make them come to sign up

[Natural_O]

I doubt any of the people complaining about PF have ever worked for a gym. If you did you would realize how pathetic the average gym goer is. I'm not saying that to be mean, but many of them have such a low self esteem / self image that they are very easily intimidate. Men see bodybuilders working out and think, I'm not ready to train at a gym like this, it's too hardcore for me. Women see the bodybuilders and simply get intimidated. To most of the people on this site that may sound ludicrous but it's true. The reality is bodybuilder types are bad for business. Even though I personally don't like PF's principals they have figured out the best way to make your average mom and dad feel comfortable with coming to the gym......or atleast make them come to sign up

Very true Ryan. That's why it's so hard to find a gym that is still hardcore. I am training at a great gym in Tampa, Florida, the Powerhouse Gym in downtown Tampa. It's a beautiful 40,000 sq. ft. gym but it's still very serious and hardcore. About 80-90% of the members are in awesome shape and they train really hard. It's not a dump like so many other hardcore gyms are. It has all the latest up to date training equipment and training methods but it's still a serious atmosphere. There aren't too many gyms like this around though.

[xXJohnnyJuiceXx]

Sadly my gym is on the verge of being a PF type gym. It's called dolphins. I know they're in NY, not sure where else. Used to be almost considered hardcore, women were welcome, but there werent too many of them. The gym had a lot of old equipment and it wasn't huge, but it was always good for working out. Now they've moved to a building next to the old one to try and make it "nicer". They said it would be better, yet it's smaller now!! Half of the equipment is used and they are crap machines!! it's also about 40% women now. When the gym opened I had no problems, but a few months down the road, me and my friend we're squatting and did some grunting here and there. When the owner came over to tell us not to do that, we were in shock and started a small argument. We weren't going for it and we were not going to abide by rules that weren't even in our contracts. For a year or so on every deadlift or squat day, we would either get hassled for grunting or banging weight when deadlifting. We were persistent, even though he said he would kick us out multiple times and give our money back. He gave up and now we go on with out hardcore workouts, even while the women in the gym complain about us. We have to be maybe 2 of only a handful that push ourselves to the max in that gym, which is sad. He's actually on these forums. Let's see if he reads this post haha. Maybe I'll just tell him about it.

[cook]

I guess I don`t get it.I train in a gym that has three power racks a lifting platform and probably a dozen flat and incline benches a bunch of bars and dumbells and then it has probably thirty weight machines and the same amount of cardio machines.Now I can train as hard as I want and sweat buckets if I want.I could scream if I wanted to but I don`t.Now we also have 65 to 75 year old men and women lifting on machines and doing a lot of walking and I have nevar had a problem with any of them.Often one of them will come by and pat one of us on the back and ask how we are doing or maybe jokingly tell us not to work too hard.We also have younger people who choose to workout but just don`t push theirselves very hard.I have never had a problem with any of them either.Maybe I am just lucky but I don`t see why it causes such a problem to mix these people together at some gyms.

[xXJohnnyJuiceXx]

I guess I don`t get it.I train in a gym that has three power racks a lifting platform and probably a dozen flat and incline benches a bunch of bars and dumbells and then it has probably thirty weight machines and the same amount of cardio machines.Now I can train as hard as I want and sweat buckets if I want.I could scream if I wanted to but I don`t.Now we also have 65 to 75 year old men and women lifting on machines and doing a lot of walking and I have nevar had a problem with any of them.Often one of them will come by and pat one of us on the back and ask how we are doing or maybe jokingly tell us not to work too hard.We also have younger people who choose to workout but just don`t push theirselves very hard.I have never had a problem with any of them either.Maybe I am just lucky but I don`t see why it causes such a problem to mix these people together at some gyms.

It may be the area I live in. People in Staten Island all feel the need to think they're something special. There are guys at my gym who I'm really cool with and then there are the dickheads who feel the need to judge me just because they don't train hard. Though, usually the guys in the gym aren;t a problem. A lot of the women in my gym feel the need to actually complain to the owners and talk about people that lift hard or people that they feel like they get intimidated by. It's happened to me and a couple of other people. I was squatting once recently. Keep in mind I'm depleted, barely any carbs, below 10% bf squatting 405. Am I gonna grunt? Am I gonna do everything possible to get that weight up, but still in good form? Of course I am, so I grunted pretty loud, but it was only for a rep or two. My bro comes over to tell me two women on the cardio machines talking amongst each other felt the need to say something in disgust about me. Only reason I knew was because they didn't know he was my brother. It's people like that that are ignorant of everyone around them and cause the downfall of the real bodybuilder gyms that we wish we still had. Women have even complained to the owner, therefore causing the owner to complain and annoy us during our workouts. It's ridiculous. I paid my dues. My contract says nothing about this. It's kinda like, just leave me f**k alone and let me work out. I put my weights back. I don't bother anybody. Let me do my thing.

[capps]

Unfortunately it is just how society has become. Everyone wants to look good but nobody wants to train hard and eat well. The younger generation is being taught that being average is ok and to not be competitive. I mean both my kids sports teams were not allowed to keep score cause it would hurt feelings and it is only supposed to be for fun! Why is everyone so against being competitive and wanting to be the best they can be? No wonder the work force nowadays is so lazy, they don't have to work for their job its "owed" to them! The problem is there is a small percentage of bodybuilders that ruin it for the rest of people that train hard. They grunt and scream and slam weights not just cause they are training hard but cause they want the attention. They want people to notice how much they are lifting or how big they think they are. I have been bodybuilding for many years and I have never been a loud obnoxious trainer cause it is just not classy. That type of behaviour is bad for businesses and makes others feel uncomfortable. People go to the gym to socialize and to be able to tell others they go now, so I can see why gyms are catering to people like that cause that is where the money is. Gyms used to be owned by people that loved the fitness industry but now most gyms are owned by business people that have hardly worked out a day in their lives so they do not understand old school gym mentality.It is what it is now and luckily I have a great gym to go to that is a mix of both kinds of people.

[Natural_O]

Unfortunately it is just how society has become. Everyone wants to look good but nobody wants to train hard and eat well. The younger generation is being taught that being average is ok and to not be competitive. I mean both my kids sports teams were not allowed to keep score cause it would hurt feelings and it is only supposed to be for fun! Why is everyone so against being competitive and wanting to be the best they can be? No wonder the work force nowadays is so lazy, they don't have to work for their job its "owed" to them! The problem is there is a small percentage of bodybuilders that ruin it for the rest of people that train hard. They grunt and scream and slam weights not just cause they are training hard but cause they want the attention. They want people to notice how much they are lifting or how big they think they are. I have been bodybuilding for many years and I have never been a loud obnoxious trainer cause it is just not classy. That type of behaviour is bad for businesses and makes others feel uncomfortable. People go to the gym to socialize and to be able to tell others they go now, so I can see why gyms are catering to people like that cause that is where the money is. Gyms used to be owned by people that loved the fitness industry but now most gyms are owned by business people that have hardly worked out a day in their lives so they do not understand old school gym mentality.It is what it is now and luckily I have a great gym to go to that is a mix of both kinds of people.

Right on the money! I just read an article in the paper yesterday that talked about how younger people who work in the service industry don't give much attention or try to please their customers because they have this "entitlement" mentality where they feel they are "owed" a good job and don't have to work for it. We need to go back to the way it used to be and have these kids compete and work hard to be winners.

[xXJohnnyJuiceXx]

Sadly it's true, people will always ask what exercises I do when I train, but when I tell them it's 80% diet, they just don't want to believe that it's actually hard to attain a good physical condition and it's more complicated than just lifting some weights. There's always a good side to it. If it we're that easy to attain good body, then guys like us wouldn't be any different than the rest. We want to be different and strive away from the norm. That's why we do what we do.

[KTTraining]

[QUOTE=Ryan Bracewell;1633993]I doubt any of the people complaining about PF have ever worked for a gym. If you did you would realize how pathetic the average gym goer is. I'm not saying that to be mean, but many of them have such a low self esteem / self image that they are very easily intimidate. Men see bodybuilders working out and think, I'm not ready to train at a gym like this, it's too hardcore for me. Women see the bodybuilders and simply get intimidated. To most of the people on this site that may sound ludicrous but it's true. The reality is bodybuilder types are bad for business. Even though I personally don't like PF's principals they have figured out the best way to make your average mom and dad feel comfortable with coming to the gym......or atleast make them come to sign up[/QUOte

Ive worked for a couple of gyms in ny.... Pumping iron 2 was filmed in one and both were successful . We had no problems that couldnt be handled quickly and easily or that interfered with others business in the gym.

[retwa]

I doubt any of the people complaining about PF have ever worked for a gym. If you did you would realize how pathetic the average gym goer is. I'm not saying that to be mean, but many of them have such a low self esteem / self image that they are very easily intimidate. Men see bodybuilders working out and think, I'm not ready to train at a gym like this, it's too hardcore for me. Women see the bodybuilders and simply get intimidated. To most of the people on this site that may sound ludicrous but it's true. The reality is bodybuilder types are bad for business. Even though I personally don't like PF's principals they have figured out the best way to make your average mom and dad feel comfortable with coming to the gym......or atleast make them come to sign up

Basically true, although in the end this isn't a problem with bodybuilding/hardcore gyms, it's indicative of a larger societal problem (pussification of America as people said).

If you're a gym owner paying for maintenance and selling training packages etc., who would you rather have as a member...the bodybuilder who is in there 5x/week, drinking water, breaking down equipment, showering, etc, and never buying a training package? Or the lazy guy who shows up once a week for his 80$/hr. training session?

[Triple-H_2005]

You guys have really hit on some good points, and I really do think that it all comes back to a general pussification of our society.

Kids don't even compete, as was said before, in pee-wee and little league sports these days. Sports and competition are invaluable tools for teaching kids just how "unfair" the real world can be. There are winners and losers in life, just as there SHOULD be in sport.

I don't know...I see it every day. Even in business...people looking for the easy way to do a job, starting work late, finishing early...it's all a societal disease called laziness.

It was only a matter of time before it invaded our world, too.