When founders Gary and Diane Heavin opened their first Curves for Women gym in Harlingen, Texas 17 years ago, they didn’t do it to get rich; they did it because they had a real passion for helping people.

More than four million members later, in over 10,000 gyms in 50 U.S. states and 69 countries, the two are happy about helping women find their inner beauty and health through one of the fastest-growing franchise industries in history.

“It’s extremely rewarding to know that every day our owners are helping the women in their communities get fit, fight disease, and perhaps even saving their lives,” said Diane, a veteran of the fitness and advertising industries with her husband.
Gary, author of the New York Times bestseller Curves, laments over the fact that his mother’s doctor failed to see the importance of exercise and healthy eating. It’s also what planted the seed in him for helping others.

“Undoubtedly my commitment to improving the quality of women’s lives relates directly to my mother’s untimely passing at age 40, when I was just 13 years old,” said Gary. “I believe that if her doctors had prescribed exercise and proper nutrition instead of pills, she may not have struggled with weight issues, depression, high blood pressure, and the blood clot that eventually took her life.”

Curves for Women isn’t your conventional gym, Gary and Diane created an environment void of barriers that keep women from working out.

“Those barriers were time, intimidation, lack of support and convenience,” said Gary. “With our 30-minute total workout – no men, no make-up and no mirrors – the support of other women and convenience, we became the largest fitness franchise in the world.”

Designed for women ages 35 years on up, what sets Curves apart from all the rest is their “express fitness” with their efficient 90 minute workout in 30 minutes by combining strength-training, sustained cardio activity, warm-up, cool-down and stretching.

Another stand out component is their support systems.

“No other fitness center has the Curves community, which is both local and global,” said Diane, who works out in the Curves gym her sister owns. “At Curves, women are welcomed ‘as they are’ and then encouraged and supported to become, realistically, what they want to be.”

“The goal is not to become pencil-thin, which is unrealistic in most cases, and certainly unhealthy,” added Diane. “The goal is to maintain a healthy weight and a level of fitness that enables women to live long, active, fulfilled lives.”
Gary said there’s been a shift between the medical and fitness world, a recent change he’s been waiting for years to see.

“It’s a change from a medical model – prescribe medication to cover up the symptoms of a disease, to a wellness model – prevent the disease in the first place,” said Gary. “Insurance companies and third party health insurance providers are seeing the huge financial benefits of encouraging their members to exercise regularly, eat right and maintain a healthy weight by providing incentives and rebates to make joining a health club more affordable.”

Diane recalls a woman they recently met in Australia who weighed over 800 pounds when she became a Curves member.

“She’s now lost over 500 pounds. That takes an amazing commitment,” said Diane. “It also radiates out from women, who are generally the caretakers of their families. If Mom is getting fit and eating better, chances are Dad and the kids are, too.”
With their successful business model, it took Curves less than 10 years to open 6,000 franchises, while it took McDonald’s 25 years, and Subway 26. Gary is not surprised with their success.

“We weren’t cannibalizing from conventional gyms; we were serving an entirely new segment of the fitness market,” he said. “The business book Blue Ocean Strategy compares us to Microsoft and Southwest Airlines, in that we went where no one had gone before.”