Free Republic

Rainer Schaller -- who owns Gold's Gym, among other brands -- is missing alongside his family after their plane disappeared overnight ... with officials all but confirming they're dead. A private plane carrying Schaller, his partner Christiane Schikorsky, their children and a reported fitness trainer are listed as the five passengers who have gone unaccounted for since their aircraft vanished off the Costa Rican coast while traveling from Mexico Friday. Reports say the plane lost all communication with a control tower while it was flying near Barra del Parismina in the Caribbean Sea -- and now, the Costa Rican Coast...

Washington, D.C.’s deputy mayor for "public safety and justice" was charged in connection to a caught-on-camera alleged assault in the parking lot of a gym he belongs to in nearby Arlington, Virginia. Christopher Geldart, 53, has been charged with assault after allegedly grabbing the neck of Dustin Woodward, a trainer at the Gold’s Gym, during an altercation in the parking lot on Oct. 1. According to Arlington Police, an argument ensued after Geldart allegedly opened his car door, hitting the parked car of Woodward’s girlfriend. Geldart, appointed by Bowser to serve as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice on...

"While the COVID-19-related closures have caused us to reassess the viability of some company-owned locations and make the difficult decision to permanently close about 30 gyms, we know that we will emerge from this stronger and ready to grow," the company said in a statement on its Facebook page.

'Stop being a baby - this isn't a baby gym!' Moustachioed Arnold Schwarzenegger goes undercover as a personal trainer... but his disguise doesn't soften his critiquesHe's one of the most famous bodybuilders in the world.But when Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by a gym in Venice, California, this week, he went completely unrecognised - thanks to a nifty disguise.The 66-year-old muscle man-turned-actor-turned-politician sported a moustache and heavy dark hair in a ponytail under a baseball cap as he completed a day at Gold's Gym as Howard Kleiner - a fitness trainer and regional manager.

Pumping money, for sure, but one doesn't normally associate Karl Rove with pumping iron. That was before the owner of Gold's Gym International Inc. kicked in $2 million to a Rove operation very much involved in Tuesday's election.That the operation is financing candidates avowedly opposed to all manner of gay rights issues - adoption, marriage, job discrimination, serving in the military - has proved too much for the chain's Bay Area franchise. "Our member base made us aware of this, and we decided on a course of action," Don Dickerson, the franchise's director of operations, said in an interview. After...

Four Gold's Gym franchises in the San Francisco Bay Area are abandoning their brand after learning that their parent company's owner made a large, private donation to American Crossroads, the conservative political group that backs candidates opposed to expanding gay rights. Billionaire Robert Rowling, CEO of TRT Holdings, which owns Gold's, has given more than $2 million this election cycle to American Crossroads, the third party organization with ties to former Bush strategist Karl Rove. Reports of Rowling's significant donations to American Crossroads angered some franchise owners, who said the donations betrayed Gold's strong ties to the gay community. "Gold's...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Drive around this capital known for its modesty, and the massive homemade billboards of a shirtless Arnold Schwarzenegger are impossible to miss. Ditto for the waxed chests of young Afghan men sweating inside makeshift gyms. Six years ago, the simple act of flying a kite here was illegal and the soccer stadium was an execution venue. Today, the seeds of democracy are turning up in some funny places -- places that seem oblivious to a reconstruction hamstrung by official corruption and a resurgent Taliban. Welcome to Gold's Gym, Kabul style, where Afghans are getting pumped. "Bodybuilding is...