Founder John Figarelli Official language English | Region United States President John Figarelli | |
Formation December 2, 2004 (2004-12-02) Purpose Honor individuals and organizations involved in fitness | ||
National Fitness Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame for notable fitness personalities. It includes bodybuilders, fitness athletes and pioneers, and notable figures involved in fitness management and development. Over 175,000 people vote for the inductees.
History
John Figarelli founded the National Fitness Hall of Fame on December 2, 2004 to honor individuals and organizations who had made a lifetime contribution to heath and fitness. Inductees are classed as pioneers, educators, instructors, sports medicine, celebrity spokespeople, and organizations. One of the criteria for membership is at least twenty-five years of service as a full-time Health & Fitness industry professional. Figarelli formed the National Fitness Organization, a corporation, in December 2004, with his wife, mother and father. They rented a small location in Sycamore, Illinois, to hold Figarelli's collection of fitness memorablia, which would form the nucleus of the museum.
The first class of 2005 had twelve members, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack LaLanne and Charles Atlas. Other inductees included Joe Weider, Vic Tanny, Arthur Jones, Paul Bragg and Kenneth H. Cooper. There was no ceremony, and certificates were simply mailed to the new members. The fourth class of ten members was inducted in 2008 with a dinner, silent auction and ceremony, and was attended by many of the inductees. The ceremony was held at the Oak Meadows Golf Club in Addison, Illinois, and was hosted by Gilad Janklowicz of the TV show Bodies in Motion and Bob Goldman, chairman of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. There were about 250 attendees. Inductees included Cory Everson, Tamilee Webb, Dr James Stoxen DC, FSSEMM (Hon), and Michael Thurmond.
In 2011 it was reported that the Hall of Fame was thinking of expelling Arnold Schwarzenegger after he had admitted to having fathered a child with the housekeeper of his family over ten years before. Figarelli said there had been many negative emails from the public in favor of expulsion, but the majority had said Schwarzenegger's personal life should not be raised against him, so he would stay. Inductees in 2011 included bodybuilder Doris Barrilleaux, Mr, Olympic Lee Haney, rope jumper Mark Rothstein, fitness guru Cathe Friedrich and the pioneer of floor exercises Joseph Pilates. As of 2014 inductees included Charles Atlas, Jane Fonda, Jack LaLanne, Tony Little, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Simmons, Kathy Smith, Tamilee Webb and Joe Weider. In November 2014 it was announced that Bill Crawford, a fitness trainer and owner of a gym in Scottsdale, Arizona, had been appointed chairman of the Fitness Hall of Fame.