Meet George Jackson | Co-founder TG The Gym

We had the good fortune of connecting with George Jackson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi George, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Our roots and foundation are grounded in two of the most famous brands in the world of serious fitness – Gold’s Gym and World Gym, which were both founded by Joe Gold. My first gym membership was at the World Gym on Main Street, Santa Monica, CA in 1982. Watching Arnold, Franco, Lou Ferrigno, Frank Zane workout was a great introduction to the world of bodybuilding and one that still resonates with me after all these years. The community vibe that was created then is the same feel we work to create in our gyms every day. Fortunate enough to be the CFO of Gold’s Gym in the 80’s and with different partners opened up Gold’s Gyms starting in 1983 and sold most of them in 1998/1999 when Gold’s Gym was purchased by a private equity group. We changed the two gyms we still owned in San Diego to World Gym since we had a great relationship with Joe Gold and he welcomed us to be part of his brand. Unfortunately, when Joe Gold passed away, World Gym was sold and we now had no connection to that past foundation, so we started our own brand based on the old school foundation of Joe Gold and Gold’s and World Gym.
The success of brand is focused on serving our community of serious lifters, having excellent old and new school equipment that is well maintained and a welcoming environment that starts at the front desk and continues throughout the gym.

What should our readers know about your business?
Super fortunate and blessed to have partners and owned gyms since 1983. So grateful to be able serve our members every day with 9 TG locations, I still wake up every day excited to support and serve our community of serious lifters and fitness enthusiasts. The challenges will continue due to the fact that change is constant and learning, adapting and growing will always be necessary. Our gym in San Diego opened in 1986, Rick and I had no savings and used credit cards to purchase new and used equipment initially. The struggles, challenges and obstacles that occurred only strengthen our resolve to make it work. Our story is very much like all our current gyms and members who train at them, it is about hard work, discipline, consistency and never ever giving up no matter how hard it gets or is. For me personally the big mistakes are always the best learning opportunities, mainly because they are the most hurtful. Over the past 40 years there have been lots of those and it provides a ton of experience to draw from moving forward as we grow the TG brand.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Wow, love this question, mainly because I enjoy traveling so much. Side note – One of the reasons we opened a few gyms in Singapore from 1996 – 1999 and in Taiwan in 2000 and 2001. During surf trips to Bali, Indonesia in 1980, 1982, 1985 and 1987, we had layovers in Singapore and could not understand why this western styled island nation did not have easy access to any great gyms. So, after years trying to get investors, finally in 1996 we opened our own gym, and it was as successful as I imagined it would be. This question is a bit hard for me to answer because there are so many places that come to mind, so if it is OK, my top four list on places to stay for one week:

Pacific Beach – stay near the beach and spend time on the beach, lots of places to eat, hang out and have fun.  Rent a bike and ride on the boardwalk.  Go to TG San Diego, in Pacific Beach, 2949 Garnet Avenue.

Chula Vista – stay at the new Gaylord hotel on the bay, go to 3^rd Avenue, Downtown Chula Vista.  Have world famous tacos on 3^rd Avenue and workout at TG Chula Vista, 320 3^rd Avenue, try one of their famous protein shakes at TG Cafe.

North County San Diego – Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside – stay near the ocean and enjoy the awesome beaches and coastline.  So many great places to eat, be entertained and hangout.  Don’t forget to get your workout in at TG Vista, 2128 Thibodo Court.

For a whole different vibe visit Ramona east up the 78 freeway and enjoy a great small town away from all the traffic and noise.  While you are there you have to stop by TG Ramona, part of the community for over 30 years.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The key person and team behind the foundation of TG The Gym is Rick Stephenson, the owner/operator of TG San Diego, 2949 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109. Rick is one of my original partners and we opened Gold’s Gym San Diego at 4615 Mission Bay Drive in 1986 and moved to our current location in 1992. Rick and his core team, which includes Brad Rutherford and Ed Schoenborn, who have been part of the crew for over 30 years and Nick Cox has been with the team for over 5 years, have created a world renown community and reputation as one of the best gyms in the World. All the top bodybuilders and powerlifters have trained at this gym, along with top professional athletes along with celebrities like John Cena and The Rock. Rick Stephenson and his crew are simply the best in the gym business. Rick believed from day one that we had to earn our members trust and their business every day through hard work and keeping the community together and focused on serious fitness and training. We keep our prices fair, the gym super clean and have the greatest variety of equipment possible. For those reading this article and interested in training in a serious gym I highly recommend a trip to TG San Diego near Pacific Beach. Our brand is based on the heritage and continued legacy that Rick Stephenson and his crew create every day..

Website: https://the-gym.com/locations

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