Shiawassee Times

Fitness Coliseum owner Brianna Carroll of Owosso gave testimony before the Joint Select Committee regarding the impacts of COVID-19 closures on her gym.

COVID-19 closed Fitness Coliseum’s doors on March 16, and Carroll immediately switched to virtual fitness classes. One trainer worked from home teaching classes out of her basement while Carroll taught virtual classes from the gym, according to video posted on Michigan House Republicans. 

“We lost members, but we were able to salvage some of our revenue, which we were very lucky to be able to do. That is not the case for all gyms. Many gyms who were just equipment and facility-use gyms went down to literally no way to serve their members,” said Carroll in the video.

Carroll carried out the 100% virtual plan until June 1 when outdoor gatherings were allowed. It was then that Fitness Coliseum began parking lot classes, where members don’t share equipment and equipment is cleaned between each class. Capacity is capped at 16 people due to only having 16 parking lot spaces that are perfectly spaced at 6 feet apart.

“We are down in revenue, we are down in membership. We’re also incurring more costs in terms of having to still run virtual classes because some members are not wanting to work out in the heat in the parking lot, which is totally understandable, and we are putting wear and tear on our equipment because gravel and asphalt are not super nice to mats and kettlebells and plates and things like that. It’s working, but it’s barely working,” said Carroll in the video.

A lot of Carroll’s frustration comes from the essential vs. safety debate and why certain businesses are deemed essential and why gyms are not. Carroll struggled with understanding why people can go to a bar or a casino and get a drink and talk, but they can’t go to a gym and follow the same guidelines and precautions. The fact that gyms have the ability to follow safety measures but haven’t been given the opportunity to put that to use is difficult.

“In specifics of gyms, we are also a very low-risk population, as a general rule. The people that you have coming into gyms are generally of young to middle age range. They’re also healthier -- they’re gym people. I have the same 200 members that filter through here every single week. I don’t have new people coming in constantly, it’s a very closed group of people, which again, would be safer than, for example, a casino where maybe people are traveling from all over the state,” said Carroll in the video.

Carroll has owned Fitness Coliseum for just over two years. It is a class-based gym instructed by a certified trainer, where they run approximately six classes a day. Outdoor classes are held rain or shine, but Carroll is worried about the negative ramifications when the cold Michigan weather approaches and they are no longer able to hold classes outdoors.

State Rep. Jack O’Malley responded to Carroll’s testimony, “I gotta say I love your positive attitude, and I bet you’re one heck of a trainer.”