About Ed

Edward Krueger Connors, Jr. was born on May 6, 1945, in Omaha, Nebraska. After graduating from Creighton Preparatory School in that city, he went on to the University of California, Berkeley where he received a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1968. After college, Ed was drafted into the Army for the war in Vietnam where he served twenty-one months, earning a Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters.

Upon returning to the U.S. after his military service, Ed began his architecture career with Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates where he was involved in the design of major projects on the east coast. In 1975 he left for Los Angeles to be the senior designer of the new Neiman Marcus store in Beverly Hills. During the next ten years, Ed worked for a number of prominent L.A. architecture and design firms, such as the office of Charles Eames. During this time he was the senior designer of a half dozen major structures, including California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles (with John Arthur Erickson & Associates) , the Headquarters for the Port of L.A. in San Pedro (with John Carl Warnecke & Associates), and Fox Plaza in Century City (with William Pereira & Associates).

On February 28, 1979, Ed, along with two partners purchased the single Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica, California. While Gold’s Gym had been in existence since 1965, it was not until Ed and his partners took over that specific plans and programs were developed and implemented that the company grew from a single gym operation to a multi-faceted company engaged in product distribution and licensing. On June 16, 1980, Ed opened up the first gym franchise ever with a Gold’s Gym in San Francisco and was later personally involved with thirty-six other Gold’s Gym locations. After selling the company in 1999 to Brockway Moran & Partners, a private equity company based in Boca, Raton, Florida, Ed stayed on as a shareholder and member of the board. Before exiting the company in 2004, Ed would see the chain grow to 704 locations in 26 countries and 46 states.

While building the Gold’s Gym brand, Ed was involved in helping shape the careers of hundreds of individuals, including Ms. Olympia Cory Everson and Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler. He got several dozen athletes into professional wrestling, including Sting, the Ultimate Warrior, and John Cena, along with a number of TV personalities like Evan Marriott (Joe Millionaire), Jessie Godderz (BIG BROTHER), Jessie Pavelka (DIETRIBE), and Joey Gloor ( MTV’s I USED TO BE FAT ).

Ed is currently involved with his memoir entitled THE THREE MUSCLETEERS and is actively pursuing the creation of a new gym model suited for the post-pandemic world.