Who

Spevak is the CEO of Equinox, the increasingly omnipresent chain of high-tech-looking gyms that Danny Errico founded in 1991.

Backstory

An accountant by training, Spevak started his career toiling in the audit department of Touche Ross (now Deloitte Touche). In 1988, at all of 24, he started a sporting goods retail chain, Manhattan Sports. Six years later, he spotted Chelsea Piers chairman Roland Betts while jogging and took the opportunity to pitch him on the idea of a health club for the pier. Betts didn't bite. But after a barrage of follow-up phone calls, he finally went along with Spevak's proposal and hired him to launch the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers, which quickly impressed New Yorkers when it opened thanks to its unusual amenities, including rock climbing walls and an indoor beach volleyball court. Spevak left in 1999 to take the reins at Equinox Fitness Clubs.

Of note

In 2000, two venture capital firms acquired a majority share in Equinox in a deal worth $100 million. In 2005, the company changed hands once again when it was purchased by Steve Ross's Related Companies for more than $500 million. Spevak stayed on as Equinox CEO after the company was sold to Related and he's now be working with Ross—and his chief lieutenant Jeff Blau—to use the gym brand to Related's advantage. Although Equinox now has 41 outposts in the U.S.—most are concentrated in the New York, LA, and Chicago metro areas—many more on the way. In a real estate market where buyers are increasingly picky about amenities—and insist on luxurious gyms—Related is hoping that installing Equinox's facilities in its upscale buildings may draw new tenants. The first Equinox gym in a new Related property—a sprawling, 35,000-square-foot facility—will debut shortly in one of Related's new buildings on the Upper West Side.) In another moved intended to lock down the high-end fitness market, Equinox announced in December 2007 that it was planning to launch a chain of Pure Yoga centers in the U.S., starting with a location on East 86th Street.

Personal

Spevak and his wife, Rhonda, paid $2.5 million for a condo at the Park Imperial on West 56th Street in 2008. They spend weekends in Pound Ridge.