Bio
Odd Haugen is a business executive with passion for strength and fitness. Prior to his role as President and Chief Operating Officer for dotFIT Worldwide he had various roles within 24 Hour Fitness. He was the CEO of the 24 Hour Fitness operating entities in Europe with nearly 140 clubs before joining Neal Spruce as COO of the Apex Fitness Group. Haugen joined 24 Hour Fitness via the merger with Gym Masters, Inc. (GMI) in early 1996. As the CEO and founder of GMI, Mr. Haugen grew the company from its one 6,000 square foot club beginning in Richmond, California, to a chain of clubs with gross revenue of $10M plus per year. Prior to merging with 24 Hour Fitness, Inc. GMI was honored three years in a row as one of Inc. 500’s fastest growing company’s in the nation. Mr. Haugen was featured on the cover of Club Industry’s June, 1993 issue. Mr. Haugen is a graduate of McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College) with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and the University of California at Berkeley with a MBA in Finance. He parlayed his skills and education into a successful career as the owner of a real estate brokerage and investment firm in California. In 1985, Mr. Haugen joined his passion with his avocation to open his first Gold’s Gym in Richmond, California. One gym led to the next, and he was soon to open others in San Francisco, Berkeley,
Oakland and Marin County. In 1989 Mr. Haugen requested and was granted franchise rights to open at least three Gold’s Gym sites in Hawaii, and the rest, as they say, is history. As a side note, Mr. Haugen was crowned the Strongest Man in America at the 1999 A.F.S.A. U.S.A. Full Strength Championship in Las Vegas in August, 1999 and Hawaii’s Strongest Man in 2000, 2001 and 2002. As the senior member of most Strongmen Competitions, Mr. Haugen has not only held his own, but he has more often than not outpaced competitors half his age. This sport requires not only superior
strength and conditioning but also incredible speed, power, technique, mental alacrity and the ability to concentrate on the task at hand. These traits have served him well in his professional life as well. Apparently, Mr. Haugen has what it takes as he continues his quest to meld his career and his avocation!
