Coronavirus: Hong Kong gym owners ‘losing hope’ as tough Covid-19 restrictions threaten more than 150 fitness outlets across the city
- ‘Every time I hear of another gym closing, my heart sinks,’ Primal Fitness trainer Sarah Millson says
- ‘Hong Kong fitness industry needs rental relief now’, industry group Save HK Fitness insists
Two years of Covid-19 restrictions have left more than 150 Hong Kong gyms facing the grim reality of closing their doors for good, with calls for “rental relief now” from industry group Save HK Fitness.
On Tuesday, Fitness First was the second major gym franchise after Goji Fitness to wind up, leaving some 10,000 members without a gym and more than 100 employees without work.
But it’s not just forced closures that are biting hard. With expats leaving Hong Kong in record numbers, rebuilding a client base is becoming harder. Gym owners say they are helpless and left at the mercy of confusing, knee-jerk policy decisions.
“I don’t understand why it’s still like this,” Marc Guyon, founder at MGK Fight Club in Discovery Bay, said. “Singapore has been able to keep their gyms open. ‘Zero Covid’ is killing Hong Kong. It’s a big mistake. Gym owners are losing hope.”
All gyms across the city have been closed since early January. Insiders admit the industry is now “scrambling” to maintain some sort of income.
“We are not like restaurants, we can’t do takeaways or open for lunch,” Guyon added. “We can’t do anything. Some gym owners I know have been doing outdoor classes, but they are now being shut down by police.
“I’m lucky I have two to three people who kept personal training classes, that helps to pay my staff, but it’s not enough to pay the rent.”
