Business

The man who founded a South African fitness empire with no money

Kirsten Minnaar • 22 May 2025

Manny Rivera started Planet Fitness, one of South Africa’s biggest gym brands, with no capital, no credit history, and no university degree.

Even though Rivera’s rise to the top is far from conventional, he has always had an entrepreneurial streak. He didn’t come from wealth, and growing up in the Bronx in New York, he used to sell lemonade to make some extra money.

When he was a bit older, he got a part-time job selling massage machines to put himself through university. He soon found that studying wasn’t for him, and he dropped out.

“I walked into one of the Bally Total Fitness gyms (which at the time was the biggest health centre group globally) trying to sell my massage machines and was offered a job selling gym contracts,” he told News24.

Within two years, he ran the entire Manhattan region for the company, the youngest person ever to do so. It was at this very company that he also met his South African wife here.

It wasn’t long before the pair decided to leave New York behind and head for South Africa. Rivera realised that the corporate environment simply wasn’t for him.

So, he traded his cushy job in the Big Apple for a chance to forge ahead in a foreign country without any capital or credit history.

“I can’t work for someone,” Rivera said on CEOwise with Dan Newman. “That’s not my personality. “I’m an entrepreneur, and I love building.”

“I like building the brand. I like building the business and seeing it from the first brick to fruition.” Once in South Africa, he started consulting.

He approached gym owners and asked how much money they were making. They gave him a figure, which he said was likely inflated.

Rivera proposed the following: He would do their marketing and sales, and they would split anything that they made above their current earnings. “I consulted in South Africa and all over the world and made a lot of money doing that.”

Planet Fitness

One of his clients was the Sports Connection Group, which became part of the Health and Racquet Club, owned by the listed LeisureNet Group.

At this time, Rivera realised how little competition existed in the South African fitness market since the Health and Racquet Club entirely dominated it.

When LeisureNet was provisionally liquidated in October 2000, it had 85 Health and Racquet Clubs in South Africa and over 900,000 members.

That same year, Virgin Active acquired the fitness club chain and later went on to rebrand the clubs and expand its footprint across South Africa.

Rivera decided to start his own venture, founding Planet Fitness in October 1995 in Johannesburg. However, there were some major challenges.

While he wanted to take on the Health and Racquet Club, their dominance made it challenging to raise capital and enter the market.

“In the beginning, no one knew us at all. So knocking on doors was impossible. They only wanted to do business with our competitor, which was a listed company at that time, and they were huge.”

“They had the market in the palm of their hands; they really did, and they were very dominant.” However, Rivera wasn’t deterred.

The brand grows

By the time they had opened three clubs, Discovery had just launched their Vitality program. Rivera went knocking on their door, only to be met with silence.

“I was walking around telling people we’re taking on Health and Racquet, and people were saying, ‘Whatever happy pills you’re on, give me some because you’re delusional’.”

“But that’s called passion. I believed in it. I really did. I really truly, truly believed, and we did it.” Because people thought Rivera was in over his head, they wouldn’t meet with him.

So, he decided to write a handwritten letter to Discovery, which ended up in the hands of Neville Koopwitz, the CEO of Vitality Health.

“He actually called me, and I think he got a good chuckle out of it because I said, ‘If you don’t see us, I’m taking you to the competition board’.”

Koopwitz agreed to have a meeting with Rivera and Mannee de Wet, the co-founder of Planet Fitness. Somehow, Rivera convinced Koopwitz to have Discovery visit his three clubs.

They agreed to work together, and the Vitality and Planet Fitness loyalty program was born – marking a massive victory for Rivera’s small gym business.

“It would’ve been a very difficult space to compete against a Goliath,” he said. “So, that was a profound moment in the history of the brand.”

“Eventually, the banks started looking at us seriously, and today, they chase us.” Landlords, too, eventually started coming to the table, begging to have Planet Fitness consider their locations.

Today, Planet Fitness has 49 clubs across South Africa, making it the second-biggest gym brand in the country after Virgin Active.

It is still regarded as a more affordable alternative to its competitor. Prices range from R1,400 per month for access to all gyms. However, various discounts are on offer. For example, students can train for R199 per month.

The Planet Fitness and Vitality partnership is still strong, frequently offering offers that help members save on their gym memberships.

Before the Cavendish Planet Fitness opened in 2024, Brian Scott, the company’s former head of marketing, commented that they have plans to keep growing the business in the future.

“Within the next five years, the plan is to have 75 clubs in the right areas, offering excellent customer service and world-class facilities within South Africa.”