GYMS LOSING ‘FITNESS’
Clients staying away from gyms and withdrawing their memberships, say operators
EVEN as the country slowly gets into the swing of things one year into the Movement Control Order (MCO), the fitness industry is still finding the going tough.
Gyms and fitness centres were among the last sectors allowed to reopen when the government decided to ease restrictions meant to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Mohamed Thaufiq Ali, a gym owner in Penang, said he lost 80 per cent of his clients in a year.
He said previously, his clients would opt for annual memberships, but when gyms were finally allowed to reopen, his clients chose not to renew their memberships and asked for refunds.
“Things are slowly picking up now, but clients now prefer to pay per use when they come.”
He said he estimated his losses to be in the thousands.
“During the MCO, I still needed to pay rent and staff salary.”
He said gym operators were usually regarded as profit-making businesses, so most were not eligible for government assistance.
He said the reality was that most gym operators start small and expand the business over time.
Although happy that Covid-19 vaccines were now available, Thaufiq said he still had doubts about whether his business could return to how it was before.
Shareh Nasrullah, a fitness trainer in the Klang Valley in his 30s, said many of his clients had dropped out of personal training sessions or scheduled classes after the MCO as many preferred to avoid high-risk contact sports.
He said during last year’s MCO, he kept his business afloat by relying solely on his savings.
“I applied for the i-Sinar withdrawal facility and that helped a lot, but now I am worried about my future savings.
“We hope the government will provide some incentives or introduce moratoriums to ease our burden during this period.”