As we celebrate 40 years in the fitness industry, we’re looking back at those who were there when our doors first opened. It turns out that there are more than a couple of people who have stuck with us since the beginning and we got a chance to get the inside scoop on what GoodLife was like and what they’ve been up to since.

Claus Anderson
Claus joined GoodLife in 1979 when it was still called Number One Nautilus, a tiny “Club” in a strip mall located in London, Ontario. Before joining the gym, he was involved with track and field and was eyeing a career in sports photography. He decided to take the plunge and sign up in order to stay in shape and continue doing the things he loved.

Claus did become a sports photographer—a job he loves but is physically demanding. Stressed out, he suffered a heart attack, but his cardiologist said he was able to survive it because of his fitness level.

These days, Claus is focused on maintaining his good health, as he’s a strong believer that exercise helps to prolong life and let you do the things you want to do.

“Don’t give up,” he says, “I see so many people who only come a couple of times. You have to give it a chance to work and stick with it to get results.”

Neil Grant
Neil joined GoodLife when he was a high school hockey player in the early 1980s. At the time he was lifting weights in his basement and needed a little something more

These days, he stays active playing hockey twice a week and going to the gym three times a week, which has helped him not stray far from his high school weight.

As active as he is, Neil is no stranger to injury and is working with a physiotherapist for his rotator cuff. As he’s aged, his focus at the gym has shifted slightly to include mobility and flexibility as opposed to just strength training.

His key to maintaining a high level of dedication? He doesn’t work himself too hard and tries to have fun. “Make it enjoyable,” he suggests, “don’t give yourself such a hard routine that you can’t maintain it.”

Paul Coleman
Paul joined the gym in 1981 to complement his everyday conditioning of working on his farm. He was a referee for the Ontario Hockey League and needed to keep his cardiovascular endurance in tiptop shape. GoodLife’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jane Riddell was the one who signed him up.

He preferred to work out during lunch hour and ended up being featured in an ad about people working outduring their workday.

Paul has kept his membership this whole time, never once putting it on hold, and maintains his schedule of going four to six times a week.

“It’s about going for the workout but also the social aspect,” he says. “We have our own social setting there, and I became friends with a lot of the regulars and staff.”

Ken Eady
Ken was in the Phys Ed program with Patch and ended up joining the first gym location in 1979.

Reminiscing about the facility, he recalls that the gym had a hot tub in its one change room. Men and women alternated days for the change room, so if it wasn’t your day, you weren’t showering at the Club!

At the time, Ken was working as a bouncer and had just lost the basketball and football City Championship. His lifestyle wasn’t ideal, leading his coaches to pull him aside and let him know he would have to get his life in order if he wanted to continue playing on the teams.

He started working out and continued playing sports until his orthopedic surgeon told him to stop. His key to staying motivated? Every six weeks Ken takes a week off to rest.

“You have to change it up,” he says, “you get so bored if you stay with the same thing all the time.”

With a goal to be the longest living GoodLife member, Ken is well on his way to accomplishing it.