What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Life Fitness, Augie Nieto, and the Gun Tower

The FedEx envelope was delivered while he was at lunch. He was at Shanghai Garden in Brookline with his partner and sales director, Marc Onigman, fondly known as “The Big O,” and Steve Luca, their comptroller. They ate there most days. Steve liked to say Shanghai’s all-you-can-eat buffet was the best value proposition in town.

Perhaps, on that December day in 1988, they were still basking in the glow of their biggest trade show, Club Industry ‘88. They deserved the bask. They knew hard times. Just three years before, they were $175,000 in debt.

If the bank that supplied their 150k line of credit had actually looked at their books, they would have seen what Steve saw. They were insolvent, and the bank could call the loan. Oh that Steve. He seemed pretty damned happy rushing into his office the day he discovered their insolvency. For a comptroller, that was akin to seeing Halley’s Comet.

Or perhaps they spent that lunch grousing about some of the employees at Sportscape, Inc. Employee grousing was an enjoyable pasttime for them. That day, they might have been talking about Vicki, who, the day before, managed to achieve the dubious distinction of having sold the same advertiser the same quarter-page ad for the December issue twice.

Yes, that feat was worthy of conversation. Probably talked about Bob too, their director of special events, who spent, so it seemed, most of the day draping his long lanky body over Vicki’s cubicle shamelessly flirting with her. Perhaps that’s the reason Vicki made the same sale to the same company in one day; she was distracted by Bob.

Their bookkeeper, Myrna, was disappointed with the raise she had recently received. She did try to negotiate for more and concluded at the end of the conversation, “I guess no matter how much you make, it’s never enough.” Profound. Thus they nicknamed her, “the Milton Friedman of bookkeepers.” They often talked about her at lunch. Probably did that day as well.

After they left Shanghai Garden, The Big O and Steve headed straight to the office where, per usual, The Big O commandeered the second floor john and Steve the third floor john. As for him, he ambled over to Store 24 for a Snickers bar.

Yes, he was and still is a world class ambler. He’s often surprised when he's passed on the sidewalk by folks who have no business walking faster than he does. W, she of the firm handshake that makes grown men pay attention, is a strider. She has very little patience for his ambling.

For the sake of drama, let’s agree the three of them arrived inside the office at the same time and opened up the FedEx envelope together. It was from Augie Nieto, the founder and owner of Life Fitness, their biggest advertiser and exhibitor at their national and regional trade shows. Estimated total revenue $150,000.

Augie’s letter was brief. The upshot was that Life Fitness was no longer advertising in their magazine, Club Industry, nor exhibiting at the Club Industry trade shows.

You didn’t need to be the Milton Friedman of bookkeepers to know this was bad news. Very bad news. The color drained from their faces. If Vicki and Bob had stopped flirting and looked their way, for sure they would have thought the three of them were going to throw up.

Allan Tofias, his accountant and mentor, was, perhaps, the wisest man he knew. Among the many sage pieces of advice Allan had given him through the years was, “You don’t want to become a ‘what-have-you-done-for-me-lately’ kind of guy.”

Allan was right, as always. You really don’t want to be that person. That ensuing wave of nausea was the realization that that was exactly who they had become. Three what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of guys, and they were paying a very steep price - the loss of the Life Fitness business.

To make sense of it, let’s go back to the fall of 1983, when he and The Big O hit the road to begin selling ads for the inaugural issue of Club Industry magazine. Their first stop was the old APFC show, which stood for American Physical Fitness Centers.

The exhibitors were the fitness equipment manufacturers. The ones you would expect: Nautilus, Paramount, Universal, Keiser, Trotter. Then there was the new kid on the block. Life Fitness. Life Fitness had a relatively small space. Enough to fit four or five Lifecycles.

That’s when they first saw Augustine L. “Augie” Nieto, the founder, inventor and owner of the Lifecycle. Augie was sitting atop one of his bikes leisurely pedaling as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Augie’s relaxed demeanor reflected his steadfast confidence that his innovation, the Lifecycle, with its electronic gear-changing and readouts, would become the single most dominant piece of exercise equipment in both the home and commercial market.

Augie had presence. He was six-feet-two and constructed like a linebacker. He and The Big O guessed Augie was in his mid-thirties. Years later, they learned he was only 25. Augie was charismatic and charming and exuded an easy self-confidence that belied his years. And that grin. World class. It dazzled. It could make you feel like a million bucks. It could also make you feel like you didn’t exist.

Augie was intrigued by him and The Big O. Perhaps it was their difference in size as evidenced in the photo. Perhaps their intelligence as evidenced by The Big O’s glasses. Maybe they just had a good idea. A business magazine for the burgeoning club industry with a circulation that would be defined by the meta question, “If one were to parachute into a room filled with fitness equipment, where were they? A fitness club? YMCA? Corporate fitness center? Hotel workout room? Physical rehab facility?” They told Augie and all prospective advertisers that their new magazine would be mailed to all of them - 20,000 in total.

That impressed Augie. He asked if the back cover was available. It was. He asked the price. They told him. He said he wanted to buy the back cover for the entire year.

That’s how it began. With that single ad buy, he and The Big O had the answer to the question that every other potential advertiser they approached asked that weekend - “Who’s in?” When they said Life Fitness, the gates opened.

Augie had to know his ad buy was giving them the keys to the kingdom. In return, he was getting the most precious and prized piece of magazine real estate. The back cover.

For the next five years, Augie owned the back cover. He bought the most booths at their trade shows. Of course, he was given the primo trade show floor location. And he wasn’t philanthropic enterprises. Club Industry had become the dominant industry publication, and attendance at their trade shows tripled their rivals. 

Don’t become a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of guy.

Here’s what they had done. Three weeks before that FedEx package arrived at their office, The Big O told Life Fitness’ ad director that Life Fitness could only have the back cover for six issues. In the other issues, they would get the inside front cover. Why? Because he and The Big O got greedy. They were convinced they could leverage the freed-up back covers into larger ad buys from other advertisers. Most of whom were Life Fitness competitors.

Life Fitness’ advertising director accepted the new terms. The paperwork came in several days later. He and The Big O high-fived. Yes, they were masters of their teeny tiny universe. Perhaps they basked about that at lunch that day.

There in the office, as the nausea abated and the color returned to their faces, he and The Big O looked at each other with anguish.

What to do?

That night, he and The Big O took the last flight out of Boston to Los Angeles. They were at Life Fitness’ Irvine headquarters at 8:30 a.m. They waited for Augie in Lee Guthrie’s office. Lee was the national sales director. Then the call came. Lee looked at them and said “Ok, I’ll take you to the Gun Tower.”

Why “Gun Tower”? Augie’s office overlooked the employee parking lot so he could monitor the comings and goings of all his employees. Guthrie escorted them into the Gun Tower, and there was Augie with that magnificent enigmatic grin. He was leaning against his desk, arms folded across his chest. He didn’t say hello. Just a nod.

Did he tell The Big O what he was going to do? He can’t remember. This is what he did. He walked straight to Augie. Dropped to his knees and said, “Augie, we’re only here to say, ‘We fucked up.’ You were the first person to believe in us. We wouldn’t be where we are today if hadn’t been for you. We’re incredibly sorry.”

That was it. He stood up. Looked at The Big O. Looked at Augie. Augie looked at them and shook his head ever so slightly. Then they left. How long were they in the Gun Tower? Less than a minute.

Were they dead or alive?

A few weeks later, while they were enjoying the best value proposition in town, a FedEx envelope from Life Fitness arrived. They were alive.

That was 35 years ago. He’s tried hard to live by those words, “don’t be a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of guy.” He believes he’s done alright. As Allan Tofias had done with him, he has shared that advice with many others, and when he does, he always tells them about Life Fitness and Augie Nieto.

After he sold the business in 1993, he never saw Augie Nieto again. Many years later he learned that Augie had ALS. While Augie may have invented the Lifecycle, his legacy today is Augie’s Quest, the foundation Augie created for innovative ALS research.

Augie died on February 24th, 2023, eighteen years after being diagnosed. Look up Augie Nieto. His story will inspire and bring tears. No one is bigger than life. Augie came close.

You can read this piece about Augie’s life and legacy written by Mitch Albom (pictured above, left).

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