Sportscenter Athletic Club, Greensboro

After leaving his career as a player in the NFL, Sammy Johnson set out to build a fitness center that fused the upscale comfort of a country club with the approachability and wealth of amenities of a gym. He broke ground with his first center in 1982, in his wife’s hometown of Concord, NC, before collaborating with his high-school buddies to bring his business model to High Point, eventually creating a world-class gym with 12.5 acres of space, a European-style day spa, and plenty of happy members. Today, Sammy’s eldest son Sam manages the family business. The family oversees one of the largest fitness complexes on the East Coast, with a 75,000-square-foot flagship campus in High Point and a shiny new location in Greensboro. Each facility builds bodies into lithe, athletic forms with mountains of weight-training and cardio machinery, training and recreation pools, and classes in Zumba, BodyPump, yoga, and spin.