Prohibited from opening their facilities since the economic lockdown began four months ago, the owners of South Fork gyms, yoga studios, and other fitness centers have been scrambling to create outdoor venues, online classes, and other ways to keep their businesses going.
Recreational facilities, along with movie theaters, malls, and casinos had been on track to open in the fourth phase of reopening, which began yesterday, according to the state's initial game plan. In late June, however, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo decided to change course over concerns that air-conditioning would easily spread the virus at such venues. "Gyms, theaters, malls, we are still looking at the science and the data," Governor Cuomo said at a June 26 briefing. "If anybody knows of a filter that successfully filters out the coronavirus . . . that would be very helpful."
Bruce Cotter, the managing director of the Hamptons Gym Corp., which owns the Sag Harbor, East Hampton, and Southampton Gyms, was befuddled by the delay. "We're not in phase four, and there's no phase five," he said. "And what's different between our air-conditioning systems and restaurants'?"
Soon after the pandemic began, it became clear that an alternate summer business plan would be necessary, said Mr. Cotter, so he decided to relaunch the gym's outdoor division, which, since mid-May, has been offering alfresco circuit training classes for up to 10 people at the Hampton Racquet tennis club on Buckskill Road in East Hampton. It also offers beach workouts, paddleboard outings, and trail runs around the East End.
When the gyms are finally able to reopen, he said, members will have to book appointments online, and there will be a "bouncer" at the door to ensure capacity remains under 50 percent.
At Mandala Yoga in Amagansett, yoga classes are being held via Zoom and on the lawn in Amagansett Square, and on Tuesday, Yoga Shanti in Sag Harbor began holding daily morning classes, weather permitting, on the grounds of the Topping Rose House hotel in Bridgehampton. Practitioners are asked to take their own mats and props.
The SLT (Strengthen, Lengthen, Tone) gyms in East Hampton and Southampton reopened for private one-on-one sessions on Tuesday. "Obviously we care more about holding classes, but we just want to be open and serve people," said Amanda Freeman, the founder. Getting the business back into full gear will be a struggle, she said. "It's not just the governor standing in the way, you also have to get the instructors on board," she said. Customers, on the other hand, have been eager to return. In response to an email inquiry about whether members would be interested in having one-on-one sessions, "We got 80 replies in the first five minutes," she said. "There's no problem with demand, it's about supply at this point."
In preparation for holding group classes, the SLT space in East Hampton has been redesigned to provide six feet of space between clients, and, because the Southampton branch was too small to accommodate social distancing, partitions have been erected. "I'm also desperately trying to find a place to do classes outside," she said.
For Richard Decker, the owner of AWATfit (Anywhere Any Time Fitness), a mobile gym that operates out of a pickup truck, the lockdown has been a boon. The truck, outfitted with 20 workout stations including battle ropes, bungee runs, and a pull-up bar, is designed to turn a driveway or any open-air space into a fitness center. When Mr. Decker, who previously owned the Studio 89 gym in Sag Harbor, launched his business last year, he was spending 40 hours a week working with clients. "This summer, I'm working 72 to 80 hours, business has doubled," he said.
Because of capacity limits and increased "germ-awareness" among customers, "I think gyms are going to have a hard time coming back," said Mr. Decker. "Everyone's going to have to reinvent themselves." The lockdown has given personal trainers a chance to develop their own followings on Zoom, and "some of them are going to become superstars," he said. Meanwhile, the owners of brick-and-mortar gyms are worrying about making their rent, he said.
Mr. Cotter and Ms. Freeman both expressed concern about turning a profit this summer given high rent costs. "Everyone's in conversation with their landlord," said Ms. Freeman. Gyms on the East End "have to make their money in like two and a half months, and it's already half over, it's such a shame," she said.
For Gordon Trotter, the owner of the MuvStrong gym in Springs, the prospect of operating his business in the midst of the pandemic proved too daunting. "As many of you know I have three young kids, and with no clarity with regard to their summer schedules and even the fall schooling schedule, I felt that I could no longer dedicate the amount of time I needed to reopen MuvStrong," he wrote in an email to clients announcing that he had sold the gym. "MuvStrong has been a labor of love for five-plus years," he wrote. But "under the new Covid guidelines and procedures, I was not even sure I was going to be able to devote the resources I needed to clients, to the staff, or to the business."