How it felt to own a gym during lockdown and why the fitness industry will change forever
The last few months will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Virtually every person from every country has been affected in some way, and will continue to be affected in the years to come.
It goes without saying that those hit hardest are the frontline workers and the people who have lost loved ones, but my little corner of the world, the fitness industry, has been absolutely decimated. Even as the virus started to take hold I don’t think we really believed things would happen the way they did.
It started sinking in for me when some of our clients stopped travelling into London. Over the next few weeks enquiries about new memberships had completely dried up and cancellations were higher than we had ever seen.
Out came the hand gel, the gloves and the disclaimers – we thought we were doing our bit, that our members would be safe and No1 Fitness would stay strong. Then the Prime Minister appeared on TV to announce that our business was shut.
My main priority was to save the company. It’s been over 10 years since we opened our first studio and in an instant we were fighting for survival. The last few months have been a constant fire-fight, but one that has actually raised some positives and changed the way we think about the business.
Adapting
Overnight we had to completely change our business model and take our entire offering online. We created a timetable that offered three classes per day, and personal training would be done virtually through the phone, a concept that was almost unheard of six months ago.
Thankfully we weren’t entirely unprepared. In a happy coincidence, my business partner had spent the last two years creating an app called Remote Coach that allowed personal trainers to work with clients whilst providing data using heart rate monitors. He had been told it would never work, that people didn’t want to train on their phone. Turns out they were wrong.
We launched it and were learning as we went along, making changes daily. The challenge was allowing personal trainers to do their work, much of which is physical, but without any human contact. It was no mean feat, but I think we pulled it off.
That’s not to say the last few months have been easy. We had – and still have – lots of problems to deal with. But I tried to remember the advice someone once gave me: that business is about solving problems and if you don’t have problems, you don’t have a business. And we were not short of problems.
Over a week, our revenue dropped by more than 60 per cent, with no new income in sight. Pay day for our staff was nearing and there was a concern that we wouldn’t be able to pay them.
I remember telling our staff to stay home and they thought they were being fired. People had to take a pay-cut, and could easily have panicked and left. But over a few weeks people started to realise the same was happening everywhere.
Next we had to call all of our customers to ask if they were staying with us. It was a tough afternoon but it showed us how important it is to stay in contact with your customers. We adapted the packages and did what we could to cater for everyone.
Like most businesses, especially those in expensive postcodes, we had to try to freeze our bills. Some companies were brilliant, others proved more difficult. One of our landlords refused to offer a rental freeze or discount, meaning we had to pay full rent without being able to use the facility. We are still battling this, so I have a huge amount of sympathy with those in the hospitality industry who have suffered through similar situations.
The government provided the emergency lending program, which kept businesses afloat, but involves taking on more debt, which isn’t ideal, especially given the huge amount of uncertainty. But in moments of uncertainty come new Ideas. My business partner and I were constantly throwing new concepts at each other.
The virtual training kept evolving. We introduced new styles of classes, some using equipment, others focusing on bodyweight and cardio. It gave us a chance to work again with members of staff who had left the UK, which was an amazing feeling.
We started to run weekly workshops for personal trainers, which helped to bring the industry together and mace people feel less isolated.
We also took our entire Personal Trainer course online, allowing us to teach students from seven countries around the world, without seeing a drop-off in quality or feedback. We never thought virtual courses would be so powerful.
Staff
Personal training is all about the connection with the trainer and client. Without the client coming into the studio, there’s a temptation for trainers to take their clients on personally, bypassing the company. So staying in touch with the team had financial as well as personal benefits. We jumped on the weekly quizzes and had regular team meetings, and thanks to the team, we continued to run the business.
Another positive was seeing how willing people are to adapt. Virtual training isn’t a preference for most of our clients, but they stuck with it and we have seen some incredible achievements.
The importance of community and belonging really was highlighted, which got us thinking about how we move forward as a company. We’re now planning regular social events for our members to build up that personal connection that we all missed so much during lockdown.
What’s next
We have now reopened one of our studios and we’re ready to start firing on all cylinders. Our job is to people back into a routine, back exercising in the gym, and start to build their confidence back up. The city is still dead at the moment, but that doesn’t stop us training the few people who are around. Where there is a negative, you can usually find a positive.
• Harry is co-founder of City gym No1 Fitness. To find out more go to no1fitness.co.uk