Gary Heavin on ABC Secret Millionaire: What do CURVES Franchisees Think?

View Comments

• Gary and Diane are corporate thieves. They have used their fake spiritual message to con so many gullible franchisees that they are no better than Madoff. Only more evil. They have always known that their model was destined to ruin franchisees and make Curves gloriously wealthy. Yet they just became increasingly greedy, using franchise $$ to enrich themselves without spending anything on effective marketing strategies.

  From the moment my partner and I arrived at Club Camp in Waco for training, I could feel my partner had wasted his money. This is why I was not afraid to air my deep misgivings among all new franchisees present. Since I am an ADA-certified nutritionist & certified personal trainer, I loved the idea of supporting women in their quest for better health. However, to maintain interest and excitement, I had to make significant changes to the original Curves concept because the routine had grown stale and the machines, cheap and unchallenging. These were among the complaints I had already made during training in Waco.

  However hard I tried, I could not save our 2 clubs because the support and creative, strategic planning and marketing just were not there. All Gary and his henchmen ever wanted to do was take, rape and squeeze.

  Two years after we opened, I could already see my predictions coming to pass. Having wasted all this money, it was very frightening, so I wrote Gary a letter filled with suggestions for more creative marketing. Curves' response was condescending and dismissive. They knew it all so they did not need any help. At that time, they were still the #1 franchise in the world.

  Curves was foolish enough to disregard my advice. However, 6 years later, this same advice has become standard at all self-respecting gyms. Moreover, weight loss/management is more popular and more profitable than ever before.

  So if the franchise had been properly managed, all boats would now be afloat and Gary and Diane would not now be resorting to Zumba and other lesser, latterday gimmicks to revive their brand and absolve themselves.

  By 2007, they had plummeted to #371. Problem is, their franchisees suffered the brunt of the financial losses. Most of them will never recover because the recession hit soon afterwards.

  So if they had any conscience at all, Gary and Diane would make an effort to compensate franchisees for the staggering losses they sustained as a result of thier avarice. If they don't, God himself will deal with them.

• Took me a long time to accept the fact that some folks are just amoral and are perfectly comfortable with performing and benefiting from evil deeds.
  Insult does not even begin to describe it.

• My first thought:
  Both, You used the word percieve.
  There will be franchisees: newbies, Gary Heavin groupies and the few clubs doing well that will "perceive" this as a positive.
  The rest will percieve it as an insult as well as fuel for his gigantic ego.

• I tried for 2 years to sell my Curves and finally basically gave it away when I was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. I suffered a $100,000 loss on the venture, but I'm glad it's over. Don't think I'll tune in to watch.

• Maybe he should visit some former franchisees now living in poverty because of his desire to fill the world with an unsustainable 10,000 Curves. I bet someone on the show says there are STILL 10,000 Curves in the world, too, instead of the actual 4,500-5,000 surviving clubs.

• I've tried posting warnings to potential owners at Curves videos on YouTube, but my messages are blocked.

• Texans like George Bush and Howie Heavin do business over the barrel of a gun.
  Howie has never accounted for the hundreds of Millions of Dollars in advertising
  money that he has taken from his Franchisee business partners.

  We opened 4 Curves in 2002, sold two which subsequently closed, closed one
  and have one very profitable one left, its success due to a very competent and savy owner/operator.

  Howie would sell a franchise to anybody who held out a hand full of money. The fact that many of the franchisees were inexperienced, and inadequate business
  people led to their demise with the help of a grasping, greedy, incompetent,and amoral franchisor.

  A sucessful Franchise operation cannot be properly managed without a strong competent Field Group. Curves area reps. are a very bad joke at the expense
  of the sucess of the Francisees.

  The tiny lean and mean operation that is Curves International could never run an operation with 1000 locations with any sucess. Their operatives are low paid clerks that haven't a clue about management of a Cuves Franchise.

  The whole sad story is one of unfettered ambition, runaway greed, over inflated ego and complete lack of concience and christian morals by Howie Heavin.

• no one cares to see what they have that we don't and what our money goes towards. Whatever money they do donate is duh tax deductible.

• First thing, if one truly wanted to be a Secret Millionaire, they would not choose to be on this show.

  Now to the Gary Heavins portion of the question, I find his giving complete strangers money totally hypocritical.  His family (franchisees) have had to close their doors & declared bankruptcy before fulfilling their contract with Curves and Curves has sued them for the remainder of the royalty & advertising fees (figured at the maximum amount).  Since we all know that nothing is done at Curves without Gary’s blessing, he is responsible for kicking a former family member while he/she is down.  If he truly wished to be benevolent, he would have Christian compassion for his fellow man and at least let the franchisee die in peace.  The reason I threw in the Christian part is because he wears it as a badge to explain to anyone who will listen that he is to be trusted.  I should have recognized this before I bought, but I got hung up with drinking his Koolaide.

  For the first 2 years of my contract I did what he asked, bought what he told me to buy.  Only later did I find out that he was only exploiting me for personal gain.  He has made claims that Curves initiated the Curves Smart equipment, only to find out after I bought it that it is used in many gyms.  His lies and misleading to franchisees are too numerous to bore you with.

  I have asked many times for an accounting of the Advertising Fund that I pay in monthly.  I have been told that they do not have to release that information.  I find out now that Curves is requesting that people, who are not renewing their contract, return to Curves  things that the contract does not specify.  One of the scariest thing they request is all information on all of our members.  Curves has no business to that information and I further believe that to turn it over to Curves would be illegally distributing information that the member entrusted to the franchisee.  (note-I am not a lawyer)

  I believe that Curves has gotten away with such bullying tactics because those of us who purchase a Curves did so because of its low entry cost and the people who own franchises have no left over money for lawyers.

  Gary Heavin is evil self-serving leach and does not care for his fellow man.  He has agreed to this TV show to advance his image to others and feed his ego.  I am totally repulsed with the airing of this episode.

   
  Anonymous

• my wifes shut her curves down i jan 2010 we finally started getting calls from some bottom feeder in il. then a report from the credit bureau that a collection agency is trying to collect. my credit score dropped 80 points. i have ha ve a lawyer since she shut down an was looking foward to going to court these sob's don't have the b!!!! to face anyone. curves will never get a dime out of me or my wife. i paid cash for the franchise and gave them notice after the membership dropped to 15 members no support from curves at that time. i hope he burns in hell for all the people he has ruined