If there's a place that represents ground zero for competitive fitness, it's Gold's Gym Venice Beach.

Known worldwide as the Mecca of bodybuilding, this legendary gym is more than just a place to work out—it's a cultural institution. For nearly 60 years, Gold's Gym has welcomed elite athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and everyday lifters, all training in a space where history is literally built into the walls. Murals, framed photos, and memorabilia—from Olympic champions to Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic Terminator jacket—make every workout a connection to the gym's historic past.

When RSG Group, one of the world's leading fitness companies, acquired Gold's Gym in 2020, it took on the responsibility of modernizing an icon while preserving its soul. One of the biggest challenges? The audio system. The existing setup was outdated and couldn’t keep up with the energetic intensity of the space. But replacing it wasn’t going to be easy. Gold's Gym Venice Beach isn't just an icon—it's the busiest gym in the world, with nearly 7,000 members. Shutting down for renovations wasn’t an option. And with every wall covered in irreplaceable memorabilia, they needed a flawless solution that wouldn’t interfere with the gym's visual and cultural identity.

For Tom Breu, Director of Music Programming and AV Integration at RSG Group, the goal was more than just upgrading speakers—it was about redefining the sound experience at Gold's Gym.

In gyms, sound is an essential component. You want to get fired up. You want to be motivated. Music drives the workout experience. That’s why we took a unique approach that required the best technology available, says Breu.

With this in mind, the RSG team established three key objectives for the new system:

• Immersive yet discreet sound: clear audio that enhances workouts without overwhelming the space or causing distractions.
• Seamless aesthetic integration: a design that blends into the gym’s historic environment, avoiding intrusive speakers or visible wiring.
• Even and consistent coverage: no dead zones. Whether indoors or outdoors, members should experience the same motivating energy.

The Bose Professional solution

For a project as important as Gold's Gym Venice Beach, RSG Group turned to a trusted partner: Mountain Media, a veteran Bose Professional distributor with over 40 years of AV integration experience.

Patrick Carrigan, President of Mountain Media, had worked on numerous RSG Group projects, but Venice Beach was something special. He described it as "the prize." "It’s the most iconic gym in the world," he says. "When we had the chance to design the audio system here, it was an immediate yes."

Mountain Media had a clear vision: to create a seamless and immersive audio experience using Bose Professional EdgeMax loudspeakers as the foundation.

The EdgeMax series was the ideal solution for Gold's Gym’s high-energy, intense environment. Designed to deliver the clarity of surface-mounted speakers in a compact ceiling-mounted design, EdgeMax met both aesthetic and acoustic needs. Carrigan explained: "EdgeMax is impressive for many applications, especially if you know how to tune it correctly. Ceiling speakers used to be about convenience, not great sound. EdgeMax changes that."

Another advantage of EdgeMax is its directional sound projection, which allowed Mountain Media to tailor the audio experience to the gym's layout and member flow. Tom Breu emphasized the importance of this:

We found that the best experience happens when the sound comes from in front of you, not behind. If you're running on a treadmill, you don’t want the music behind you like someone is chasing you. You want it in front, leading the way.

By designing the system so that every machine and corridor had even, immersive coverage, the team ensured that music flowed naturally with movement throughout the space.But there was a major challenge. EdgeMax was designed for drop ceilings, and Gold's Gym Venice Beach had open industrial ceilings with no easy mounting options. "The Mountain Media guys love challenges," recalls Breu. "They're very creative problem-solvers. They designed a custom housing that allowed us to hang EdgeMax like pendant speakers."

By suspending the EdgeMax speakers, Mountain Media successfully adapted the technology to an environment it wasn’t originally built for—and the results exceeded expectations. Carrigan shared how they took the idea even further: "We designed a lightweight, compact, and portable housing for EdgeMax. Now, this solution isn’t just for Venice Beach—we can ship it to Gold's and other RSG gyms worldwide."

Gold's Gym Venice Beach isn’t just famous for its indoor workout areas; it also features a large outdoor training space where members can lift weights under the California sun in front of the iconic "green wall," creating an experience few gyms in the world can offer.

For the outdoor areas, Mountain Media used Bose Professional AMU series speakers, designed to deliver full-range background music with exceptional clarity and durability. But the outdoor setting presented another challenge: volume control at different times of day.

Since the gym is located in a residential neighborhood, blasting music at 5 a.m. wasn’t an option. At the same time, some Gold’s members enjoy early morning workouts in a peaceful setting, surrounded by birds, crickets, and the clanking of weights, so the music had to be introduced gradually as the day progressed.Breu, who began his music programming career at MTV and later at Europe’s largest radio station, approached this need mindfully, using Bose Professional ControlSpace design software and the ControlSpace EX-1280 digital signal processor to find a solution. "In most gyms, the music just turns on and off," he explained. "But here, we created an automation system that gradually raises the volume throughout the morning and adjusts it during the day. This way, we keep the neighbors happy and meet the needs of different member groups."

With multiple zones and distinct indoor and outdoor audio environments, the ability to adjust and control the system remotely was essential. Bose Professional ControlSpace "provided the perfect solution. It strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and functionality," said Breu. "In my opinion, it's still one of the best tools in the industry."

To ensure seamless integration and precise control, Gold's Gym Venice Beach’s audio system is powered by a Bose Professional ControlSpace EX-1280C processor with Dante Red. The setup includes an extensive wiring system leading to an air-conditioned amp room housing eight PowerMatch PM8500N amplifiers.With direct Dante wiring and interfaces, the system minimizes additional connections while ensuring reliable and optimized operation. Additional inputs are strategically placed for flexibility: a mic input on the ground floor, an outdoor DJ input in the back, and an indoor DJ input near the front for portable setups—all seamlessly connected through Dante for efficient signal distribution and control.

Mountain Media was able to balance individual speakers based on their location, ensuring the best possible audio experience throughout the gym. Robert Cacciatore, AV systems programmer at Mountain Media, described the method.

With nearly every speaker on its own line, we have incredible control over the system. We can walk through the gym and fine-tune the balance for different areas: hallways, training spaces, etc., he says.

The cloud control system also enables remote troubleshooting and adjustments, reducing downtime. Breu highlighted the value of this feature: "I can be anywhere and, if something needs adjusting, log in remotely and fix it. No need to be there physically—everything is custom-tuned."

To ensure optimal speaker placement before installation, the team used Bose Modeler software to virtually design the entire system. Cacciatore explained: "As a systems designer, you usually rely on walls, ceilings, and floors to determine speaker placement. But at Gold's Gym, the walls are covered in memorabilia, so we couldn’t just put speakers wherever we wanted. Modeler helped us find solutions without disrupting the space."Using Modeler, the team could also predict how the sound would behave in the space, avoiding issues like bass buildup and ensuring uniform coverage across all zones. This significantly reduced the time needed for system tuning on site. "For Tom, the first and foremost priority is that the sound is musical and dynamic," Cacciatore said. "His top concerns are clear, high-quality sound and seamless coverage that doesn’t require high volume. With Modeler, he can see how speakers interact and make adjustments before installing anything."

Modeler also helped the team make real-time adjustments without affecting the gym’s aesthetics. "Using Bose Professional software, between ControlSpace Designer and Modeler, we can design anything," said Cacciatore. "We just had to dial down the power a bit and angle the speaker in a certain direction, and we made it work without blocking the gym's iconic wall elements."

"With Modeler, we can literally show the client how their space will sound before installing a single speaker," added Carrigan. "It's a game changer."

Beyond the technology, the project’s success was also the result of strong collaboration between RSG Group, Mountain Media, and Bose Professional. "The Gold's Gym project exceeded our expectations," said Carrigan. "We wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing now if it weren’t for the people at Bose Professional," he continued. "The Bose Professional team works hard to keep our partnership thriving."

Cacciatore added that Bose Professional’s openness to collaboration made a big impact. "Working with Bose Professional over the years, we’ve taken the product to places they didn’t expect. Even when we use Bose products in unconventional ways, their engineering team is always happy to work with us. We’ve shared some innovative ideas. There’s always a Bose technician on the phone, and things work great. I’m very happy with the service we get. That’s been huge."Because Gold's Gym operates from 5 a.m. to midnight, the entire installation had to be completed after hours, requiring precise execution. "We had to keep the old system in place and running, and work around all the existing equipment," recalled Cacciatore. "Once the new setup was ready, we had to switch over in a matter of hours, and the sound had to be better immediately." And it was. "The sound was perfect from the very first moment," Cacciatore said.

With a new state-of-the-art Bose Professional system based on EdgeMax, the legendary Gold's Gym Venice Beach now offers an audio experience as powerful as the athletes who train there.

After renovating the entire space with Bose Professional products, we don't just have the strongest people—we also have the strongest sound, concludes Breu.