[Pictured below: Pay-per-click ads on Google designed to divert readers away from Franchise Pick posts and comments regarding Butterfly Life founder Mark Golob]
It appears that Butterfly Life founder Mark Golob has launched a pay-per-click Google advertising campaign designed to divert readers before they get a chance to read my posts and the hundreds of comments by Golob’s former franchisees here on Franchise Pick.
The ads appear (as of this posting) as “Sponsored Links” on the Google search engine whenever someone searches the terms “Mark Golob” “Mark Golob Franchise Pick” or related keywords.
Some of the ads contain the name of this site …read more

Two years ago, I posted the question IS BUTTERFLY LIFE A GREAT FITNESS FRANCHISE?
The answer came in a torrent of nearly 500 comments from franchise owners, mostly critical of the franchisor company and owners Mark Golob & Tom Gergely.
Our post Will the REAL Butterfly Life Franchise Please Wave Its Wings? prompted 162 comments, and Troubled Fitness Franchise Butterfly Life Lowers Franchisee Royalties garnered 40+ comments.
The woes of Butterfly Life franchisees were also covered by such publications as Fitness Business Pro (Butterfly Life’s Golob: Failed Franchise Owners Should Blame Themselves),  FORBES (Butterfly Life Franchise Lawsuit in Forbes) and FORTUNE (Fortune Article …read more

The “assets” of Butterfly Life, one of the ailing Curves women’s express fitness knock-off concepts, have been sold to Diversified Health & Fitness, Inc.

Diversified was founded by Roger Wittenberns in 2007, and has acquired a number of seemingly struggling, dying and/or comatose fitness franchise chains since then.
Diversified’s fitness holdings now include Liberty Fitness, Fit For Her, ShapeXpress, Access Fitness, Fit Zone, The Blitz, The Zoo, Sedona and others.
Here’s the company press release announcing the asset purchase:
FORT LAUDERDALE COMPANY ACQUIRES BUTTERFLY LIFE
Diversified Health & Fitness, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida announces its acquisition of Butterfly Fitness, Inc., a National Chain of …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) 
Related:  BUTTERFLY LIFE FRANCHISE: CEO Claims Fitness Chain’s Still Fluttering Along
Reacting to concerns prompted by the disappearance of the company website, disconnected phone lines and lack of response to emails, Butterfly Life CEO Mark Golob assured Club Industry Fitness Business Pro editor Stuart Goldman that all is well with the women’s fitness franchisor. 
According to Goldman’s article:
Butterfly Life President and CEO Mark Golob says that his company has moved offices and is rebranding itself.
Rumors have been swirling the past few days that Butterfly Life, a women-only express club chain, had ceased operations after its Web site was shut down …read more

According to Butterfly Life CEO Mark Golob, rumors of the women’s fitness chain’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
The rumors had been rampant in recent weeks as emails were not returned, phone lines to the corporate office had been disconnected, and the company website disappeared.
Stuart Goldman, managing editor of Club Industry’s Fitness Business Pro, managed to speak to Mark Golob today about the Butterfly Life mystery.  Golob said that the company was strong, though it had downsized and they had moved to a smaller office in San Ramon.  Golob stated that the website will be back online in the next …read more

(Franchise Pick)
Read the Full Interview:
BUTTERFLY LIFE: Interview With Franchisee Matt Wilson
After attending a well-orchestrated sales seminar, Atlanta-area franchise owner Matt Wilson and his wife joined Butterfly Life with the dream of being their own boss, helping women improve their health, and getting a good return on their investment.  Once they opened their club, they claim they received no help or support in overcoming their branding and marketing challenges.  Their club closed in less than a year.
UnhappyFranchisee.com asked Matt to share the lessons of his experience, and his advice for prospective franchise owners.
UF: Matt, what was your background prior to joining …read more

BUTTERFLY LIFE: Jeff Marks, Ex-Franchisee
Butterfly Life is a women’s 30 minute fitness franchise chain that claims to be an improvement over Curves for Women. It was founded by Mark Golob, Tom Gergley, and, supposedly, Mark Mastrov. Golob & Gergley both have checkered pasts and a history of litigation in the health club industry. Many franchisees were attracted by the highly respected Mastrov (of 24 Hour Fitness), whose involvement ceased after they joined. (Read Butterfly Life Franchisees Allege Bait & Switch… of Execs)
Jeff Marks was an early, multi-unit franchisee in GA who claims to have lost $350,000 within a year …read more

BUTTERFLY LIFE: Carol King, Former Franchise Owner
Carol King is a mother and fitness advocate with a degree in physical education from Cal State Northridge. In 2004, she and childhood friend Linda Canale pursued their dream of helping women live happier, healthier lives by opening what they thought was an innovative new fitness franchise supported by a team of dedicated, experienced, trustworthy industry experts.
According to Carol, her dream of business ownership almost immediately became a personal and financial nightmare. She now puts her energies into helping to educate potential franchise owners how to avoid the same mistakes she made, and …read more

Are you considering opening a 30 minute circuit training club like Curves for Women, Contours Express or Butterfly Life? Are you concerned about the franchisee struggles you’re reading about here… but still think you could make it work in your town?
Well there’s a way to open a new fitness club at half the cost and without the restrictions and ongoing fees of the national franchises. Simply take advantage of the bargain-priced equipment available from the franchisees of the many clubs that have closed. You don’t need to feel bad about taking advantage of their misfortune; you …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) In Butterfly Life Franchise Offer: 10 Franchises for $65K. I posted an email solicitation from a women’s fitness franchise called Butterfly Life. Butterfly Life is the same as Curves for Women, except with 9900 fewer locations and a name befitting an entomology superstore. You can tell it’s the same as Curves for Women by the amount of space on its website devoted to proving it’s not anything like Curves.
Question #1: Why is this woman frolicking so?
The email ad features a colorful and engaging photograph of a barefoot woman bounding through a field trailing long, …read more