Zumba® Fitness Honored At 2013 IHRSA Show With Prestigious 'John McCarthy Industry Visionary Of The Year' Award And Augie's Quest 'Leadership Award'

LAS VEGAS, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zumba® Fitness—the global, multimedia brand and creator of the acclaimed Zumba "fitness party" workout—received two prestigious honors during this week's 32nd annual International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) convention in Las Vegas: IHRSA's "John McCarthy Industry Visionary Award" and Augie's Quest's "Leadership Award." The honors come on the heels of Inc. Magazine naming Zumba® Fitness its 2012 "Company of the Year."

IHRSA's "John McCarthy Industry Visionary Award" is presented to "an individual or company who has made an unprecedented or unique contribution to the advancement of the club industry as a whole." And with 14 million loyal Zumba enthusiasts in more than 180 countries taking classes each week, Zumba instructors have established an extraordinary ability to cultivate new members into fitness facilities—and the industry as a whole—by way of fitness without sacrifice.

"Zumba® Fitness' unique business model has revolutionized not only exercise and dance fitness, but how entertainment and music are conceived, produced and delivered," said Joe Moore, President and CEO of IHRSA.  "From its 'exercise in disguise' approach to fitness, to its devotion to charitable causes through its Zumbathon fundraising events, Zumba® Fitness truly embodies what the 'Industry Visionary Award' and our industry stand for: unprecedented and unique contributions."

In its continuing to support charitable causes around the world, Zumba® Fitness is in the third year of its "Together We Dance™ to Cure ALS" fundraising campaign. All proceeds benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Augie's Quest® worldwide research initiative for ALS ("Lou Gehrig's Disease"), a progressive motor neuron disease that deprives people of the ability to move. On March 21, philanthropist and fitness-industry pioneer Augie Nieto—who has been fighting the disease since 2005—presented the Augie's Quest "Leadership Award" to Zumba® Fitness for its dedication toward helping find treatments and cures for ALS, citing the nearly $1 million Zumba® instructors have raised in the campaign's three years.

"Zumba® Fitness and I share a philosophy of spreading joy throughout every aspect of life, especially when it comes to health," said Nieto, co-chair of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's ALS Division. "We are pleased to present this year's 'Leadership Award' to Zumba® Fitness. The company's industry-redefining approach and its Zumbathon events have helped spread ALS awareness to millions of Zumba® enthusiasts who raise funds to bring us closer to finding treatments and a cure."

"We are humbled and proud to be recognized by these two exceptional organizations," said Alberto Perlman, Zumba® Fitness co-founder and CEO. "To be named a 'visionary' by the global industry leaders who make up IHRSA underscores the phenomenal health and charitable contributions that our Zumba® instructors are making around the world. And to be honored with the 'Leadership Award' from a heroic friend at Augie's Quest reinforces exactly why we created the Zumba® brand: to truly make a difference in our world."

About Zumba® Fitness, LLC
Zumba^® Fitness is a global lifestyle brand that fuses fitness, entertainment and culture into an exhilarating dance-party workout. Coined "fitness-parties," Zumba classes blend upbeat world rhythms with easy-to-follow choreography, which provide effective, total-body workouts. Founded in 2001, the company is now the largest branded fitness program in the world -- reporting more than 14 million weekly class participants, in over 140,000 locations, across more than 185 countries. In addition to its original Zumba^® program, the company also offers a range of specialty classes, including Zumba Gold^® (for active older adults), Zumba^® Toning (body-sculpting class that uses maraca-like Toning Sticks), Aqua Zumba^® (the ultimate "pool party" workout), Zumbatomic^® (Zumba routines for kids), Zumba Sentao™ (chair-based Zumba class that strengthens, balances and stabilizes the core), and Zumba^® in the Circuit (a 30-minute workout that combines signature Zumba^® moves with circuit training at timed intervals). The Zumba^® fitness lifestyle is rounded out by the company's many consumer product offerings, including DVD sets, music collections, multi-seasonal apparel and footwear, video games, Fitness-Concert™ events and a lifestyle magazine. For more information about Zumba Fitness programs and products, or to find a live class, visit zumba.com and find us on Facebook and Twitter.

A quick note about the ZUMBA^® trademark
ZUMBA^® was coined by our company and is the brand name used to identify Zumba Fitness, LLC as the source of fun and effective fitness programs that combine easy-to-follow moves with invigorating world rhythms. When referring to our ZUMBA^® brand, we ask that you please help us protect the thousands of instructors worldwide who make their careers teaching ZUMBA^® classes by following these guidelines: 

Please DO: 

• Capitalize the letter "Z" in our "Zumba" trademark or write with all capital letters, "ZUMBA"; 
• Use the trademark to describe our services or products, for example "the ZUMBA® fitness program," "Zumba® class," "ZUMBA instructor," "Zumba® moves" etc.
• Use the ® symbol on the right-hand shoulder of the word Zumba® (especially in headers and titles), and on first mention in paragraphs.

Please DO NOT:

• Use Zumba as a verb--for example, do not write: "Once you Zumba, you'll be hooked."
• Use Zumba as a noun--for example, do not write: "They were doing Zumba" or "Zumba is great."
• Change the trademark--for example, do not write "Zumbamania" or "Zumbarina."

About IHRSA
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) is a not-for-profit trade association representing health and fitness facilities, gyms, spas, racquet and sports clubs, and suppliers worldwide. IHRSA and the health club industry will convene at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV, March 19-22, 2013 for IHRSA's 32nd Annual International Convention & Trade Show. IHRSA and its members are dedicated to making the world healthier and more active through regular exercise and fitness promotion. Find an IHRSA club at healthclubs.com.

About Augie's Quest
Augie's Quest (augiesquest.org), MDA's ALS research initiative, is an aggressive, cure-driven effort singularly focused on finding treatments and a cure for ALS. The devastating disease affects more than 30,000 Americans.

Fitness pioneer Augie Nieto started Augie's Quest in conjunction with MDA's ALS Division. Nieto is co-founder and former president of Life Fitness of Chicago, and chairman of Octane Fitness. He and his wife Lynne serve as co-chairs of MDA's ALS Division. Nieto received a diagnosis of ALS in March 2005.

To date, Augie's Quest has raised more than $35 million for ALS research.

SOURCE Zumba Fitness, LLC