Knowledge of children keeps My Gym Children's Fitness Center in amazing shape
Matt Hendison, executive vice president of marketing and entertainment for My Gym Children's Fitness Center knows that a child's first seven years has a profound influence on the rest of their lives. And it's having that kind of knowledge about children's emotional and developmental needs that helps explain why My Gym Children's Fitness just been recognized as a leading franchise and No. 1 in its Children's Fitness category in Entrepreneur magazine's Annual Franchise 500 for the second straight year. "It is thrilling to be recognized as one of the most successful children's businesses in the United States," said Hendison. "Children learn to listen, to follow directions, to be independent and to cooperate by being part of a group at My Gym." Created in 1983, My Gym Children's Fitness Centers are bright and exciting facilities where children actively participate in a variety of structured, weekly physical education classes to gain social skills and self-esteem. From sports, dance and gymnastics to birthday parties and mommy-and-me programs, My Gym Children's Fitness Centers has grown from its initial 2 locations in Southern California to more than 150 locations worldwide today. "Every time we are ranked in Entrepreneur magazine, it's another ratification of our belief in what we are doing for young kids and their families," says Cory Bertisch, CEO of parent company My Gym Enterprises. "It's such an amazing thing to be able to bring such an important habit to children's lives early in life, and to know what it will do for them for their lifetime." Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese and overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, says Hendison. "Those facts about the physical needs of children are just a smattering of the information that your local My Gym Children's Fitness Center has. That knowledge is vital," said Hendison. "Besides their emotional well-being, the physical aspects of what children learn not only keep them healthy as youngsters; it sets them on the path to becoming healthy adults. And that's what My Gym Children's Fitness Centers is all about." While having all of this knowledge is imperative to working successfully with children, there is still one more piece of information that is perhaps the most essential of all. That is the knowledge that a child who feels good about him/herself has a jump-start on the path to becoming a happy, well-adjusted adult! And rest assured, that bit of knowledge is what propelled the owners and franchisees of My Gym to become involved in the first place, says Hendison. For more information about My Gym Children's Fitness Center, please visit www.my-gym.com or contact your local My Gym. About My Gym Enterprises Based in Los Angeles, California, My Gym Enterprises is the company responsible for franchising My Gym Children's Fitness Center worldwide. Since 1983, My Gym Children's Fitness Center has combined innovative, physical early learning/pre-gymnastics classes with state-of-the-art facilities to empower children - ages 3 months to 13 years - by helping them acquire the skills, confidence and positive self-image needed to become healthy young adults. My Gym's award-winning, structured, noncompetitive and age-appropriate classes enhance children's strength, balance, coordination, agility, flexibility and social skills through games, music, exercise, sports, special rides, gymnastics and fun! My Gym was recently ranked #183 overall on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 List and #1 in its category in both 2005 and 2006. There are currently 150 My Gym Children's Fitness Centers in operation with 30 new gyms scheduled to open in the next 12 months. For more information, go to www.my-gym.com.
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