San Francisco Area Gold’s Gym Plan To Leave Brand Following Disclosure That Owner Robert Rowling Donated To Anti-Gay Karl Rove Headed Political Committee

An update on a previous post, Salon.com reporting that four Gold’s Gym franchises in the San Francisco/Bay Area intends to leave the Gold’s brand after 22 years following the revelation that the owner of Gold’s Gym, Robert Rowling, donated $2 million to the American Crossroad, the political committee founded by Karl Rove that in turn funded anti-gay candidates. Don Dickerson, the director of operations for Gold’s Gym in the Bay Area, said that “Our contracts started 22 years ago. We’re one of the first franchisees for Gold’s Gym. We can’t get out overnight, but we will be out of it.” He added that the leaving the brand may cause financial hardship for the Bay Area gyms since being a part of the Gold’s national network allows members to work out at Gold’s franchises around the country. But Dickenson says that once the Bay Area gym’s contract expires with Gold’s in September, 2012, they will be leaving the brand. In the meantime, Dickerson says all four gyms will donate a sum that is equivalent to their Gold’s franchise fees to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender charities. A spokesperson for Gold’s Gym International, Dave Riesman, released a statement that in part underlined its commitment to diversity, distancing itself from Robert Rowling, stating in part that “our sole purpose as an organization is to help people reach their fitness goals.”