Meet the 2026 HFA Hall of Fame Inductees

Joe Cirulli, Founder and CEO, Gainesville Health & Fitness Center

A mentor to many and a strong advocate for HFA, Cirulli owns three Gainesville Health & Fitness Center clubs, two boutique Xforce Body studios in Tampa and Palm Harbor, and two ReQuest Physical Therapy locations. His dedication to his community and support for his peers for decades made him a popular choice to enter the HFA Hall of Fame.

Annbeth Eschbach, Co-founder and CEO, ResetOne

Eschbach was elected the first female chair of the HFA Board of Directors after serving on the board from 1998-2002. In her 40-year history as a successful entrepreneur and executive, she has elevated brands such as health club management company Wellbridge and well-being brand Exhale. She stepped away from wellness and fitness in 2019 to help build Kindbody, a national fertility clinic network and benefits provider for employers. Today, she serves as co-founder and CEO of ResetOne, a longevity company that integrates longevity medicine with personalized nutrition, targeted fitness, and optimized sleep strategies.

Jack and Elaine LaLanne, Legendary Fitness Champions

The influence of Jack LaLanne and his wife, Elaine, has been immeasurable in bringing fitness to the masses for more than 60 years. While Jack passed away at 96 years old in 2011, Elaine, who will turn 100 years old in March, continues to spread the fitness gospel through her books and podcast. Jack’s eponymous television show, which often featured Elaine, ran for 34 years, and his contributions to the industry are best summed up by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who said, “It doesn’t matter where you go, there’s a health club, and it all started with Jack LaLanne.”

Gale Landers, Founder and CEO, Fitness Formula Clubs

Landers’ chain of 10 Chicago-area premium health and wellness clubs regularly wins awards from mainstream media outlets in Chicago. The brand, founded in 1984, has become such a part of the Windy City landscape that Landers was named to the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. The founding chair of the National Health & Fitness Alliance, Landers remains front and center in supporting industry interests in his state of Illinois and is a tireless supporter of HFA advocacy. A former HFA board member, Landers served as chair in 2000.

Philip Mills, Founder, Les Mills International

Mills is the visionary behind Les Mills International, the world’s most successful group exercise class system. Based in New Zealand, the brand was named after his father—Olympic athlete Les Mills—who founded a gym in Auckland, New Zealand. Today, the Les Mills empire spans 29 class formats, taught by over 100,000 instructors in 22,000 gyms across 120 countries. A former world-class athlete himself, Mills continues to shape the industry. He was the keynote speaker at the 2025 HFA European Congress in Amsterdam and was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2022.

Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen, Co-founders and Co-chairs, Purpose Brands (formerly Self Esteem Brands)

In 2002, these two Minnesota entrepreneurs launched Anytime Fitness, and that business has evolved today to be Purpose Brands, which now includes Orangetheory Fitness (after a 2024 merger), The Bar Method, Base-camp Fitness, and Waxing the City. Anytime Fitness is the company’s largest brand with more than 5,200 locations and operations on every continent, including Antarctica. Runyon and Mortensen are strong proponents of HFA advocacy and have invested time and money for the cause.