He's already huge in the States. Now Gary Heavin is bringing his fitness and weight loss business to the North-East. Julia Breen reports.

IN a few weeks time, America's latest fitness guru will tell Oprah Winfrey how he has helped hundreds of thousands of women across the continent lose weight.

Gary Heavin will tell America's Queen of Chat that he heads up the largest fitness franchise in the world, with more than 5,000 centres in Canada, Mexico and the States.

He will tell millions of people in America - not that they don't already know - about his ideas to attract women into his "Curves" clubs and, more importantly, keep them going three times a week.

But what he might not mention is that the latest fitness craze to sweep America has now rooted itself in a small town in County Durham, England.

Mr Heavin's first fitness club in the North of England has opened in Bishop Auckland. Clubs are due to open soon in Peterlee and Ashington, Northumberland, and there are plans for 30 to 40 clubs across the North-East, including two in Darlington.

Curves for Women is spreading itself around the world faster even than McDonald's fast food outlets.

Small-town America has already grasped the concept of Curves with open arms, with its promise of a slim figure with just a 30-minute workout three times a week.

But the Curves club in Bishop Auckland bears no resemblance to the giant Fitness First, David Lloyd, Virgin and Bannatynes fitness centre craze, which is sweeping the country.

There are no treadmills, cross trainers or weight-lifting machines. Three rounds of the hydraulic circuit machines alternate 30 seconds of strength training exercise with 30 seconds of aerobic activity.

The program aims to target all major muscle groups at a pace that keeps the heart rate up. There are no weights to stack - instead, the faster the repetitions on the machines, the more resistance is caused, allowing members to target their own needs.

The claim is that a full workout can be achieved in just 30 minutes.

Lawrence Lewis, who owns the franchise on the Bishop Auckland club, says: "Curves is completely different to the conventional health clubs.

"Instead of going into a huge club, where no-one knows you and you are just left to get on with it, the staff at Curves know everyone's name and are always with the women on the machines, helping them. We don't want people to pay up for the year and then disappear, we want them to come back three times a week and become another success story.

"The staff in every Curves centre are trained to make the women feel more comfortable - they know exactly what they joined for and will help the women achieve those results."

Sandy Hamilton, who owns four Curves clubs in California, was sent over to help the Bishop Auckland club get started. "In my clubs there is great interaction between the members because we have group sessions. It is a real social thing," she says. "We dress up on holidays, play games, and several times a year have challenges with prizes for the people who have lost the most weight."

Curves was founded by Heavin, from Texas, whose mother died at the age of 40 from high blood pressure. He became interested in keeping women fit and set up the Curves business about ten years ago.

"He could have retired by now 100 times over," says Lawrence, "but it is not just about money to him. The guy has this motivation where he just wants to see the women of the world learning how to look after themselves. In America, they are running articles every month about Gary, and he's due to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show soon."

All franchise owners are invited to meet Heavin in person in Waco, Texas, to learn about the Curves philosophy. Staff also undergo intensive training to be able to answer questions members may have about their diet and fitness.

"If the staff don't know, they just pick up the phone to the head office and there is someone there who can answer any questions," says Lawrence. "We want to make Curves a fun place to go, where people feel part of something."

For more information about Curves, log on to the website www.curvesinternational.com.