Life Time Fitness


Life Time, Inc. is a chain of health clubs in the United States and Canada.

History

The company was founded by chairman and chief executive officer, Bahram Akradi. The company was incorporated in 1990 as FCA, Ltd., a Minnesota corporation, and registered the name Life Time Fitness in 1992. The first club opened in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Several locations were added to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area before the chain expanded to suburban communities in other states. Most Life Time Fitness centers are located in exurban or fringe suburban areas in medium to large-sized metropolitan areas, with some locations in central city or inner suburban areas. The oldest facility is in Eagan, Minnesota. In 2017 they announced plans for a new facility inside of the Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota, replacing the former tenant J.C. Penney.
Clubs in more populated affluent metropolitan areas fall under the "Life Time Athletic" name while others in smaller metropolitan regions are known as "Life Time Fitness" clubs.
In addition to its health clubs, the company has created or acquired, as of 2012, more than 200 annual races in the United States. These include the Life Time Tri Series, the Leadville Race Series, the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in Hayward, Wisconsin, the Dirty Kanza gravel bicycle race, and the Miami Marathon.
In August 2014, Life Time Fitness, a publicly traded company, considered becoming a Real Estate Investment Trust in response to pressure from its largest shareholder, Marcato Capital Management. In March 2015, Life Time was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners in a leveraged buyout.

Lawsuit

Several employees of Life Time Fitness took the firm to court for withholding wages in 2004. In 2009, a court ruled in favor of employees in the case of Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness Inc., with a judgment that employees must be paid in accordance with federal and state wage-and-hour laws which require overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek.