In the mid-1990s, Rainer Schaller had a business idea that would later make him a very wealthy entrepreneur. At that time, fitness had already detached itself from the image of oiled-up bodybuilding pumpers, the spartan sports studios gave way to ever more chic wellness temples with a sophisticated range of courses: Tai Chi, yoga and spinning courses with personal trainers – such offers were aimed at a wealthy clientele, the monthly fees were rising continued to grow and scared off low-income earners and occasional users for whom the fitness centers were becoming too expensive.
Rainer Schaller: the idea of discount fitness centers made him a multi-millionaire
Rainer Schaller offered people the exact opposite: a kind of McDonalds from the sports industry, standardized, affordable for everyone but without any frills or luxury. The name McFit of the chain founded by Rainer Schaller, which started in 1997 with its first fitness studio in Würzburg, is deliberately reminiscent of the US snack bar chain.
Schaller had gained commercial knowledge in his own family, he grew up in the Upper Franconian key field between Nuremberg and Bamberg. The discounter model for fitness was well received by customers: 250 studios were founded in Germany and some European countries under the McFit name, and the company also served special needs for the demanding or low-wage earners under the John Reed, High Five and other names. Schaller bought up competitors such as the Fit24 chain, which was expanding at the time, and in the middle of the 2020 pandemic year he made a 100 million investment in the insolvent US fitness chain Gold’s Gym – making him probably the most successful fitness entrepreneur in the world with an estimated private fortune of 250 million euros.
Rainer Schaller: The Loveparade tragedy in Duisburg was the biggest blow of his life
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Schaller’s darkest hour: At a press conference on July 25, 2010, he had to provide information about the course of the Love Parade in Duisburg, which ended fatally.
In addition, Schaller tried his hand at model agency business and became a protagonist himself in the show and celebrity scene. His greatest blow was the momentous idea of buying up the Berlin Loveparade under a GmbH in 2006 and moving the event to the Ruhr area. The Love Parade planned for 2009 in Bochum was canceled due to security concerns, and it was supposed to take place in Duisburg in 2010. One of the most terrible accidents in post-war history happened there: 21 people were crushed to death, trampled to death, and 652 visitors were injured. The name of the former cult event Loveparade was permanently damaged until it was founded in 2022 by the co-founder Dr. Motte was revived in Berlin.
Schaller lives with his partner Christiane Schikorsky, who has two children: Aaron and Finja. Together they boarded a private plane in Mexico on Friday afternoon, October 21, 2022, which was flying south over Central America when radio contact was suddenly lost off the coast of Costa Rica. It is believed that the machine crashed. The possible cause is still completely unclear.
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