Scientology's Newly Purchased "Ideal Org" Building in Phoenix Will Become a Recruiting Tool -- Once the Last of Its Tenants Gets Kicked Out

Scott Ruth has heard the stories about Xenu the Galactic Overlord and the ghost-like "body thetans" that supposedly infest human souls. But all he knows for sure about the Church of Scientology is that it's invaded his life.

Jamie Peachey

The new Ideal Org main building, pictured above, is down the road from L. Ron Hubbard's restored Phoenix home at 5501 North 44th Street.

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L. Ron Hubbard House

5501 N. 44th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85018

Category: Attractions/Amusement Parks

Region: East Phoenix

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More About

• Scott Ruth
• Phoenix (Arizona)
• David Miscavige
• Scientology
• Religion

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The church, which plans to turn its newly acquired property at 3845 and 3875 North 44th Street into its temple-like "Phoenix Ideal Org," is booting out his business and livelihood, FitLife, from its current location. He was the final holdout as of early October; the other tenants already had been kicked out by then.

The fitness trainer and former professional athlete, a solidly built 40-year-old, isn't used to getting muscled, and his voice rises in anger as he talks about the situation.

"They're hurting people," Ruth insists. "They have zero compassion or concern about what's going on. It's brutal."

His business has been at this address for more than a year, and Ruth — who signed a five-year lease with the property's previous owner — had expected to be there at least another three years.

Ruth has nothing personal against the church's belief system — the problem he faces is all about money. He maintains that the church, which bought the property in a foreclosure sale on July 27, broke its promise to compensate his business for the unplanned expense of moving.

He's dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and running shoes. Evening is approaching on this summer afternoon, and there's only one client in the gym, a woman doing stomach crunches on a padded mat. Ruth's two dogs, rust-colored Vizslas, emerge occasionally from an office in the back.

Ruth is a former professional motocross rider. The fourth-generation Arizona native grew up in the sport, competing in races from ages 7 to 27. He tried his hand as a Rural/Metro firefighter in Scottsdale for four years, saying he left the profession after getting spooked by the danger. He doesn't ride motorcycles anymore, either: "I can't afford to get hurt."

He's into running his small business now. Besides being a fitness expert through experience, he's got a bachelor's degree in exercise science from Arizona State University. With an infusion of cash from local orthopedic surgeons who wanted to see more work done with athletic patients following prescribed physical therapy, Ruth and his partners launched the business in 1996. The partners, who include Dan Wright, an assistant athletic trainer for the Milwaukee Brewers, now own two independent facilities with the same name in Scottsdale and Peoria.

Ruth tells how his East Phoenix location was on the upswing in 2010, following a move from a smaller facility a few blocks away. On signing the five-year lease with the property's previous owner, John Wilmot of Fairmount Square LLC, he borrowed and spent tens of thousands of dollars for improvements to the place.

Tenant leases were wiped out with the change in ownership, and the upcoming relocation will put Ruth further into debt — not that he's found a comparable, suitable new place yet. He estimates his losses because of the debacle will be more than $150,000.

The church has plenty of money, he figures. He asked for $175,000 when Bob Adams, a Scientology spokesman and former National Football League player, came to visit Ruth and other tenants. Ruth says Adams offered him a chance to do business with the church, with Ruth referring his clients to the religious center's "spa treatments" and the church's sending members to his gym. The church also offered him a paltry $5,000, he says.

FitLife inhabits about 2,000 square feet on the first floor of the ivy-draped, two-story red-brick building on the corner of 44th Street and Indianola, not far from Camelback Mountain and some of the most expensive real estate in metropolitan Phoenix. It shares about a half-acre of property with a larger, three-story office building.

A tall, pitched ceiling in the fitness facility allows for full-size weight-lifting machines and activities such as bouncing on mini-trampolines, while rows of high windows let in plenty of light. The athletic field for Arcadia High School, from which Ruth's business has drawn more than a few clients, borders on the parking lot.

From the gym's main room, it's easy to see why this is also the perfect location for a modestly sized church. The pointed arches of the windows give it away — this used to be a different kind of church. But it hasn't attended to anyone's spiritual needs for about 13 years, since it was the Living Water of the Valley Church.

The two-building compound now is destined to become the Phoenix Ideal Org — part of the Church of Scientology's efforts since 2004 to build premier orgs (orgs being Scientology's churches) in major cities. Scientologists believe that each Ideal Org will become, in the words of L. Ron Hubbard, the church's imaginative founder, "an island of friendliness, decency, and succor in the sea of a violent world."

The idea of the Phoenix Ideal Org, though, has — at least in Ruth's opinion — generated a distinct lack of succor.

The church wanted the tenants out by September 15, but this didn't happen. One business, an accounting firm, moved the weekend of September 17 and 18. The Arizona-New Mexico Cable Communications Association, of which former Scottsdale City Council member and congressional candidate Susan Bitter Smith is executive director, was out as of the end of September.