This month, Ed Connors, one of the original owners of the Gold’s Gym franchise, is set to release a book about his life experiences and fitness culture.

Connors, one of the former owners of the Gold’s Gym franchise, announced the release of a book examining his life experiences and fitness culture in America, with the release date being April 12.

“My claim to fame, really, is I opened up the first gym franchise in America in 1980,” Connors said in KHTS’s feature video on the gym entrepreneur.

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Set to be released on April 12, Connors’s book is entitled “The Three Muscleteers,” with a foreword by famous professional wrestler and actor John Cena.

“I think if you’re in the gym business, you should know the history,” Connors said.

After being founded in 1965 by Joe Gold, Gold’s Gym sprouted off into franchises in the early days of bodybuilding’s rise to prominence in the United States during the 1970s and 80s.

Connors became one of the major owners of Gold’s Gym franchises early on in this era, at a time when gym franchises were essentially nonexistent.

Before being drafted into the Vietnam War, Connors joined a gym to prepare for the physical hardship he predicted he would undergo, according to Connors.

Prior to founding his franchise, Connors also worked as an architect for ten years, helping to design such structures as the Fox Plaza in Century City (known for its appearance as Nakatomi Plaza in the film Die Hard).

“I think the notion of a hardcore gym was that it is dirty, it’s not friendly, it was a turnoff,” Connors said. “I mean gym memberships cost anywhere from $500 to $3,000.” The cost was something Connors said he felt he wanted to change if he was able.

Connors is also set to appear in “Driven: The Tony Pearson Story,” an upcoming film.

To purchase his new book, click here.

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