Company: Life Time Fitness, Inc.
Headquarters: Eden Prairie
Founded: 1992
Employees: 9,500
Web: www.lifetimefitness.com
Revenues (2005): $390.1 million
Background: Akradi entered the health club business while
attending the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, selling memberships
for a local facility. In 1982, Akradi left Colorado for Minnesota, where he led
U.S. Swim & Fitness Corporation as cofounder and executive vice president.
He left U.S. Swim & Fitness in 1989 to create what he terms the “perfect
club.” After three years of unsuccessfully searching for investors, he used his
personal funds to build a 27,000-square-foot club in a location where three
health clubs had previously failed. Life Time Fitness now has 49 fitness
facilities in 10 states, with the 50th opening in early August.
In
His Own Words: “It’s not one or two things that differentiate us as a company;
it’s hundreds of things. The difference between good, better, and best is the
difference between hitting 100, 200, or 500 targets. At Life Time Fitness, we
apply the focus, clarity, and discipline to execute upon all 500.”
