"Frustrated and powerless," but Local Gym Adapts to the Pandemic

With gyms and recreational fitness centers closed until the latter parts of the summer, many of them are struggling to stay open.

TVC22 Journalist Bruce de la Cruz, spoke with Jeff and Cynthia Fotti, the owners of CrossFit Rush Gym in Rockland, about how they've managed to adjust to the new frontier of online workout sessions.

It's not just "CrossFit" who have had issues. When the pandemic struck and turned so many lives and businesses upside down in March 2020, gym's and fitness centers were one of the first to be shut down and some of the last to re-open. 

With indoor classes and people working out naturally breathing heavier not were gym's considered COVID-19 hotspots, but this reputation has created a stigma around returning to classes even when the Government give them the green light to resume. 

This combined with personal investments in home gyms has left the fitness landscape with an uncertain future. 

But whilst smaller businesses closed their doors and national companies moved their business models online, surviving thanks to their greater financial capacity, others decided to be proactive in order to keep their doors open. 

Jeff and Cynthia Fotti - avid CrossFitters - saw the pandemic restrictions not as something to lament over but as an opportunity to stand out in the local market, making the most of their outdoor space and giving customers and safe, outdoor space, to remain fit. 

Although the process didn't come without it's challenges, with the pair expressing great frustration and the fact that they and other business owners have been so "powerless" in the decisions being made. 

Watch the full interview below to find out more.