Cover Boy
As I listened to how much time Inc. magazine writer Bo Burlingham spent with Gainesville Health and Fitness Centers owner Joe Cirulli for this month’s Inc. cover story, I wanted to start drooling. (You can read our story about the story here.)
Cirulli told me how much time and effort the Inc. writer invested in what became a 5,000-word story. That’s about twice as long as our longest piece in our magazine. I wish we had the time to spend on a story like Bo had with Joe, whom we featured in a “Who’s Who in Fitness” story three years ago.
One of the many interesting aspects of the Inc. piece, titled “The Believer,” was how Cirulli came to Gainesville, FL, from his home in Elmira, NY. He went down there to visit his girlfriend, who was attending a local community college at the time. In fact, Cirulli remembered the first day he stepped foot in Gainesville—Oct. 27, 1973—which is pretty close to the day I was born. So it appears Joe and I have something in common. Reading about his great wealth and fortune, it also appears it’s the only thing we have in common.
A health club owner on the cover of a major business magazine is another solid shot in the arm for our industry. A couple of days ago, I blogged about 24 Hour Fitness’ presence at the Olympics in Beijing. After all the talk of declining memberships and fighting to stay afloat in a struggling economy, I’d say we’re having a pretty good week. –Stuart
August 6th, 2008 at 9:06 am
You’ve got a great industry, Stuart, and it was a real pleasure to get to know it through the eyes of Joe Cirulli. He’s an extraordinary guy, and GHFC is an extraordinary company. If I’d only known about it five years ago, I would have included it in my book, Small Giants. GHFC is a Small Giant if ever there was one.
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