Small Waltham Gym Adjusts Amid Coronavirus, Looks Ahead

WALTHAM, MA — Grace Clackson owns a small gym Blue Fusion Fitness on Winter Street. When the state allowed for the reopening of gyms indoors, she heaved a sigh of relief and flung open her doors, prepared to welcome back her members with the new precautions.

But after four months of closure, the number of people willing to step inside her gym is concerning she said. Her story is emblematic of a number of small fitness studios around Waltham and beyond.

"Many people are just scared," she said. "I've had clients who haven't left their home in months."

And speculation that small gyms may not be as safe as large gyms, something the trained scientist calls a myth, doesn't help. Clackson, who is herself high risk to catch the virus and disease, is adjusting and is hoping as more people see what she has done and continues to do to keep her gym safe and welcoming to clients.

The former molecular biologist had a feeling back in March that the business world was about to shift, so she shifted, making her classes available for those who wanted to take them live online instead of in person. That debuted March 14. On March 15, Gov. Charlie Baker ordered that non essential businesses shut down.

Throughout the first few weeks of the pandemic, Clackson's 150 to 200 clients were jazzed, enthusiastic about the online option, as many as 50 showing up virtually to take one of her group classes. A couple of weeks later, Clackson realized this was going to last longer than many realized. She reached out to her landlord in an effort to start talks about reworking her space.

>>>MA Gyms Work To Make Customers Comfortable For Reopening

In May, many came to her to tell her they were either are furloughed or lost their jobs, completely laid off and asked to put their membership on hold or end it because they couldn't afford it any more.

"I'm not talking about 5 or 10, I'm talking 20 or more," she said. "And now, in August, many still don't know when they'll get their jobs back."

To stay afloat, she's adjusted her business model, promoting more one on one personal training or more household size training to families or couples from home, in person and virtually. She's had to let go of her full time manager and sell several stationary bikes to help pay her instructors. She's considering selling more just to keep the doors open.

If the trend continues on this path, friends tell Patch they are worried she will be forced to close at the end of the year.

The gym is maintaining around 35 members, but she expects that in the next month or so to see another drop.

Part of the problem, Clackson said, is there’s a myth that small gyms are not safe compared to big gyms.

"When in actuality, they are," she said. "I've heard the argument that more space indoors means better air quality. That's not necessarily true."

When Clackson took over the 5,000 square foot space and built it out she installed she installed a fresh air exchanger. She also installed an anemometer, and indoor air quality measuring CO2. In addition she uses two 700 square foot studio spaces and will only put four to six people in them depending on what kind of intensity work outs are happening. And between them there are venal barriers.

"I'm very confident that it's safe to work out here, between my hygiene protocols and the masks [requirement]," she said.

No one takes off their masks unless it's for a quick sip of water. For those concerned about how to work out indoors with a mask, she has them try it outside - she offers classes outdoors, too.

"If someone like me, already cautious about getting sick, can go and open up my business, then people should see that as a reference to assess where they go," she said.

And then there's the matter of how keenly she knows who is coming and going.

"We know exactly who's coming in and their health history, we're contract tracing, you come in sanitization, form, then temperature," she said. "My assumption is that everyone is asymptomatic until it's proven otherwise, that's my approach to reopening."

Some hopeful news reported Friday by NPR shows gyms, at least in some states, may be doing a good job of keeping people safe.

NPR reported Friday that data gleaned from contact tracing efforts made public in Louisiana showed that gyms haven't contributed to outbreaks nearly as much as bars.

Clackson said she just wants to get word out that she's working hard to keep people safe and hopes to see people return to her gym and other small businesses and fitness studios around town.

Her business the interaction with her clients, and the effort she takes to help educate them along the way is something that she loves about her work.

But, as with many other small businesses around town, it's been a rocky road.

"If we had to go on lock down again, that's basically it," she said. "I can't sustain that."

Got a tip? Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.