Tenacious Irina Razumova

CBE: Please remind us how and why you got into the health club business.

Irina Razumova: After living in Sweden for many years, in 1989, I started a joint Soviet-Swedish venture in fitness. In 1990, we opened the first club under the World Class trademark in Leningrad, now St Petersburg. We opened three more clubs in Leningrad, and in 1993, the first in Moscow. I ran these clubs until 1997 when they were sold. It was a challenging time. The fitness industry was new. We could not trade in any foreign currency, and the purchase of equipment or any other imported goods was allowed only through government-owned foreign trade organisations, which was a complicated process. As a result, I spent much of my time acquiring what we needed for our clubs.

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CBE Interview: Gerhard Span celebrates 20 years of success at his two upscale Manhattan Fitness Clubs in Vienna

CBE: Congratulations on your 20th anniversary. How was Manhattan Fitness started? Do you have plans to build more clubs?

Gerhard Span: I had been a member of the national junior ski team until I was injured at the age of 19. After that, I became a skiing and tennis coach, and organised training camps in Vienna. As an athlete I understood the value of multi-functional training and wanted to open clubs where people could “train like the pros,” as in America.

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CBE Interview: Kilian Fisher

CBE: You are marking the 30th Anniversary of ILAM, the Leisure Industry Body for Sport, Fitness, Aquatics Facilities, Spa & Wellness, in 2009. What are you doing new this year?

KIlIAN FISHER: Of course, we are proud to have the 9th Annual IHRSA European Congress here in Dublin, as it puts a positive focus on our industry.

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