VOLUME 24 #1

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Giving back all he got

Mike Epstein with actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Mike Epstein with actor and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

ALUMNI & FRIENDS | For Mike Epstein, BE85, the impact of the UD experience still resonates strongly, both personally and professionally: It was here that he met the friend—Art Carril, EG84—who would become his business partner in the Gold’s Gym franchise they have operated in Paramus, New Jersey, for 23 years.

From that friendship would come so much, for so many: Each year, Epstein, Carril and the gym sponsor a seemingly endless lineup of charity efforts, ranging from a weight-loss challenge for the entire town, to holiday food-and-toy drives, to a bicycle-team diabetes fundraiser that has been embraced nationally by Gold’s Gym as part of the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure. Last fall, Gold’s Gym formally inducted Epstein (and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger) into the company’s Hall of Fame for their contributions to the brand.

“We have raised close to $4 million since we started raising funds for diabetes a couple of years after we opened,” he says. “I’m a big believer in giving back.”

He’s also a big believer in keeping the connections to his alma mater strong. Once a year, the River Vale, New Jersey, resident heads south to Newark to golf and gab with his old fraternity brothers. Every September, he and his former teammates from the Blue Hen Tennis team head out together to catch the U.S. Open. And he serves as a Volunteer Admissions Support Team ambassador for UD, gently nudging prospective New Jersey students toward the campus he loves. “Over the years I’ve definitely spoken to hundreds of kids and their parents,’’ Epstein says. ‘’And I tell them all the same thing: It’s the perfect school.”

And he hopes that after they graduate, they end up finding what he and Carril found—no matter how far you go, or how long you’ve been gone, you never really leave.

Article by Eric Ruth, AS93

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