Body Masters Ch. 11 hearings ongoing; company says business as usual

Despite ongoing courtroom and legal negotiations in Body Masters Ch. 11 reorganization bankruptcy, the company tells SNEWS® it is moving ahead with normal business plans, product sales, and equipment development and production.

“Everything (is) where it has been,” Brian Bille, marketing director for the Rayne, La.-based, company, said, although he declined comment specifically about the bankruptcy proceedings.

In the case, filed Jan. 10, 2005, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Louisiana, in Lafayette/Opelousas, one hearing to obtain a revolving line of credit requested by Body Masters Sports Industries Inc. was rescheduled by Judge Gerald H. Schiff to May 10 at 10 a.m. in Lafayette, La. For additional information and background, see SNEWS® stories, March 7, 2005, “Bankruptcy Update,” and Jan. 17, 2005, “Body Masters quietly files for Ch. 11 reorganization.”

According to Bille, the company had a successful launch of its new Body Masters Aurora line — its first full line in 15 years. The 13-piece line of single-station machines was shown at last month’s IHRSA show in San Francisco.

“The line was very well-received at IHRSA,” he said. “It is our first new, full premium line in 15 years, and there has been a real buzz. We plan on having 25 or 26 pieces when we are all done.”

The line is slated to start shipping the first week in May, quicker than Body Masters’ and the industry’s usual time, according to Bille.

In fact, according to several dealers or trainers, the company has been performing as well or better than “business as usual” in the months following the court filing. No reason was given.

“I haven’t noticed any real difference in doing business with Body Masters,” Dean Bauer of Athletic Training Systems of Palm Harbor, Fla., told SNEWS®. “I have dealt with them since 1996, and the quality is getting better and tighter. I have no problems or concerns in continuing to do business with them.”