So, Carter and Bokat keep dragging bikes and
other equipment in and out of the gym each day.
“We do a lot of schlepping. You do what you have
to do,” Carter says.
The owners now plan a greenhouse-like structure
that has heaters but no walls that Fuel Training
Studio can use into the winter months. Clients
have already shown on 40-degree mornings that
they’re fine with working out in chill air.
“They started with a coat and hat on and within
five minutes they were in tank tops,” Carter says.
Gyms in California have been particularly hard-hit.
They’ve closed and reopened twice as the number
of cases rose and fell and repeated that pattern.
Many gyms, including those in Los Angeles
and San Francisco, are operating under severe
restrictions for indoor workouts. And smoke from
nearby wildfires hampered outdoor workouts or
forced their cancellation.
MX3 Fitness’s two small San Francisco studios
can operate at only 10% of capacity after being
allowed to reopen for indoor workouts Sept. 14.
That means instead of the usual 12 clients and 12
trainers working at a time, they gyms are down to
two and two in each.
Owners Dave Karraker and Glenn Shope have
run online and outdoor classes, which are fully
booked, but revenue is still only 20% of normal.
The two owners are fortunate to have some
help in their fight to survive. Their landlords have
reduced their rents and are allowing MX3 Fitness
to put off some of 2020’s rent until next year. And
the real saving grace is an Airbnb property they
own in nearby Sonoma County.
“We couldn’t have fed ourselves were it not for the
Airbnb,” Karraker says.