At the age of 20, pre-med student Gary Heavin had taken over a failing fitness center in Houston, turning the business around and, within five years, opened six more centers. After 10 years and 17 centers, Heavin's business went under. Not wanting to give up, Heavin took lessons from the strengths and weaknesses of his first chain and decided to open a second. In 1992, Heavin opened Curves for Women, a women-only fitness center, in Harlingen, Texas. The company began franchising in 1995. 

A unique and proven concept

Curves is so much more than just a fitness club. Curves is a service provider in the health industry. We provide women with what they need to feel great and build a healthier future.

Our mission is to change the world by empowering women with our 30-minute full body workout with one-on-one coaching. Our unique and proven workout specifically designed for women combines Strength Training, cardio and stretching to create lean muscles, raise the metabolism and burn more fat.

Curves has helped 10 million women get fit, gain strength and lose weight but also regain self-esteem and confidence. Exercising regularly at Curves helps prevent chronic disease and illness, our members enjoy happier and healthier life.

A 30-minute full body workout designed for women

The Curves workout is a 30-minute circuit made of machines manufactured specifically for Curves and designed for safety, simplicity and effectiveness. It adjusts automatically for every woman and every fitness level. Curves equipment provides the benefits of cardiovascular exercise and strength training with the safe movement of hydraulic resistance providing an effective workout whilst protecting joints and increasing bone density.

Specifically designed for women, every low-impact machine works at least two muscle groups and as many as four at one time because you push and pull rather than lift and lower weights. With the Curves circuit the upper body, lower body and core muscles are being provided a full body workout in just 30 minutes. It’s designed to ensure the right form and the right resistance is achieved with maximum results for every workout. The inclusion of ‘next generation’ sensors allows instant feedback on the individual workout. With 13 pieces of equipment in the Curves circuit it’s the perfect combination for a total body workout that provides strength training, cardio and stretching.

A passion for service

Our mission is to empower women by strength training. We are committed to improving the quality of women’s lives at Curves as it also improves the lives of their children and families.

Our caring support increases the health of our members and it is our belief that, if we deliver our programmes and products with the highest level of excellence, we can change their lives.

We provide fitness as a service to millions of women worldwide every day in a personal, motivating and stimulating way. We care for our members, their loved ones and we care for the community. We take care of our people, we develop professional programmes to support them and train them to perform skilled, positive and energized so that they too can share their great personalities with our members!

We understand that empowering our staff is the key to empower women by getting stronger.

The first of its kind

The innovators of the first 30-minute circuit workout, Gary and Diane Heavin, share a passion for fitness and a commitment to women’s health which led them to open the original Curves in 1992 in Harlingen, Texas. The first club became a success, because it gave women a supportive and comfortable atmosphere in which to work out.

When their second club also turned into an immediate success, they knew they had tapped into a market that wasn’t being served by traditional gyms and that they could help millions of women worldwide. To achieve this, they needed to find passionate people who wanted to help these women in their communities and teach them how to run a Curves. Gary and Diane turned the business into a franchise and the first independently owned and operated Curves opened in Paris, Texas, in 1995. Curves has been expanding ever since and you’ll find it in over 80 countries with more than 6000 clubs.

Curves International is owned by North Castle Partners, a leading private equity firm focused in the Health, Wellness & Active Living Sector.