It would be, at best, a lack of empathy to say that gym owners clamoring to reopen shouldn’t have that right. Obviously, there is a lack of any certainty as to what reopening looks like and whether it will be a panacea for all the businesses who have faced extraordinary hardship these last weeks and months.
We’re not going to debate whether, if, how, or what reopening means. It’s subjective and emotional, and we don’t believe that there is a simple answer that everyone can buy into.
In a conversation with Meredith Poppler, VP of Communications and Leadership Engagement, International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), we asked what her organization was recommending to gym owners looking to protect their livelihoods. Poppler told us in an email exchange:
"We were, of course, thrilled when the President’s guidelines suggested clubs could open in Phase 1. Though of course, and rightly so, the decision of when clubs open and in which phase is up to the individual states. It’s been exciting this past week as many states have allowed clubs to open, and so far the reports we’re getting from these open clubs are very positive. We are urging each state’s governor to include gyms in their Phase 1, or once it is fully safe to do so. We have created some guidance to help gyms and clubs work together with their states to create reopening plans.
“They should be working on their reopening plans, they should be forming coalitions with the other gyms in the state to create plans that show their state’s health boards that they are taking safety and cleanliness precautions seriously, and they should be doing everything they can to understand and perhaps take advantage of the SBA PPP, Main Street Lending plans and other relief programs. To stay up to date on what is happening with federal relief, they can sign up for IHRSA’s Coronavirus Alerts.”
The IHRSA is probably the closest thing we have to an industry-wide lobbying organization in the United States. Unfortunately, the fitness industry is a massive archipelago of competing islands scattered over a large expanse. Cooperation and coming together isn’t something that we are very sanguine about. Nevertheless, we’re happy to use the IHRSA as a basis for some recommendations here for those who can, or have, or will reopen.
We can, however, find some consensus on general approaches to reopening that are based on being pragmatic about expectations for the future. We are going into an era called the new normal.
Integrity
Let’s agree that integrity means “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” Why is that important to your business success in the new normal? Well, we are in the middle of a Great Pandemic and, you are going to be responsible for the well-being of your members and clients. Your integrity will matter.
There are plenty of social media posts from coaches and trainers that have shown a surprising lack of integrity in the present situation. We are talking about the ones that blow off the implications of the circumstances we find ourselves in, score cheap points over legitimate concerns and generally seem to be more about the individual’s personal preferences, belief in conspiracy theories, politics, and biases than the notion of providing a value proposition to returning members.
If you want to open up because you worry about losing your business, feeding your family, keeping a roof over your head then, that’s the truth. That is a valid reason for wanting things to be over.
If you want to reopen because you think you have the answer to the Great Pandemic or are somehow removed from the social consequences then say that, too.
Neither will make any difference to the paying customer. Why? Because, they may support you, like you, love you even, and want to be there for you but a business relationship is a business relationship, and you’re better off setting up a GoFundMe page than pushing for a normal that isn’t there.
The interesting thing about your integrity in reopening is that it will be subject to the whims of liability and also, the comfort level of your customers with your approach to reopening.
It has nothing to do with your politics, your needs, or your fears. Your integrity will be the key factor in determining the support that you find in a reopen.
No integrity; no trust.
Overhead
A reopen will also mean a new normal financially, which will get to be the only normal you know for some time. You can be optimistic but that’s not smart because you probably were optimistic before and didn’t even know that a Great Pandemic was going to fall on you.
The new normal is going to be whatever it wants to be, and you have one key component of your business that you need to deal with sooner rather than later: overhead.
Your new normal means a whole lot of cost-cutting and a serious reevaluation of your expenses. We expect insurance costs will go up for gyms. We expect that cleaning costs will go up. We expect that memberships will drop off. We expect a financial impact on all businesses.
This image is from a NY Times piece, Is It Safer to Visit a Coffee Shop or a Gym? It’s worth a bookmark.
We have seen a lot of facile commentary about gyms being essential because of their impact on people’s health and well-being. It all sounds great, but that doesn’t address the issue of why they don’t get to open before a fast-food drive-through restaurant: its the risk factor. It’s also a pointless argument because, the country suffers from obesity and morbidity because people weren’t going to gyms when they were open and, they’re not likely to make it a habit in an uncertain phased-in opening.
The one comment that we’d like to highlight is this one from Matthew Levy of Fitness Cubed in Cleveland, Ohio on his Facebook business page:
We will not reopen until we are absolutely confident that we can do so in a safe manner, whether that is on May 26 or at some later date. If we need to continue with Zoom training sessions for some period of time after May 26, that's what we will do.
That’s all we needed to hear. Tell people you understand their point of view and have some empathy. Other than seeing a very detailed guide on how you will manage your gym or practice with social distancing guidelines, your politics, epidemiology 101s, and rants about vaccines just make us feel like you want everyone to subscribe to the cult of you, the head of the class.
Therefore, knowing all this, you should also know that you are in no position to open up with the expectation that everyone will just bounce back in and it was all just a bad dream. The new normal looks pretty much like the old normal. We’ve said it, you can doubt it, and time will tell who is right, but ultimately, if you don’t act prudently, you won’t have anywhere to go but down. Even if only 30% of the population remains skeptical in reopening, that’s a major hit for any industry, and while society will recover, you may not.
People who have businesses in densely populated areas or, areas that will suffer a longer-term economic impact, will feel the overhead more than most places, but if you don’t, you should consider yourself very fortunate.
The Cup is Half Full
Let’s move on to something a bit more positive. Do the work and you have a good chance of coming out of the Great Pandemic in a very strong position.
The people who don’t do the work, the ones who are hung up on their own insecurities or prejudices, they will probably not be there at the other end of this thing.
Some will not be there through no fault of their own. Gyms open and close all of the time. We will probably see more closings than openings, much more. We will also see many trainers who were used to working gigs at multiple gyms rethink their careers. The economy will not support everyone. The economy will not bounce back as quickly as some people desperately need. And, let’s face it, a lot of people will rethink their memberships, their private training, and cut overheads.
So, you survive, you thrive. It happens in every recession. You’ll see.
The new normal also means unheard of opportunities, uncharted territory, and innovation. Those of you who find news ways of doing business, create new sales channels, open up new markets for yourselves, whether through intention or necessity, will be rewarded.
Those of you that dare to embrace the change will be rewarded. And we know who you are. You are not swayed by the day’s news. You are not looking back. You are open to change. You will have learnt that nothing ever goes the way you expect but that doesn’t phase you. It excites you.
So, yeah, we’re excited to see what that means. We’re going to change Breaking Muscle. Sure. It has to change. It probably needed to change years ago. Don’t know how or what, but we know it’s definitely time. Change is an opportunity for reinvention. That can be a great experience if you let it be.
We don’t want to be the only voice on here. If you are a fitness pro who can provide experiences and perspectives that can help others in the industry succeed then, share them through Breaking Muscle’s Submission Portal. We’ll vet and publish legitimate articles if it can help others. People on the frontlines of the industry, the ones facing the reality of the issues, the ones who suffer the consequences, they are the ones who can provide the best information for their fellow pros.