Sadie Kurzban is wearing an orange leotard dancing to Madonna, Britney Spears, N’SYNC and Katy Perry. As the songs play, she teaches the choreography to thousands of people who have tuned in on YouTube Live to take her ’80s ‘90s ‘00s Throwback Cardio Workout class from their homes while social distancing.
Kurzban is the CEO and founder of the cardio dance workout 305 Fitness. Before it was government-mandated in many states, Kurzban decided to temporarily close studios nationwide in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “People in our community are generally young and healthy. They are not at risk of severe illness or of death and that’s why deciding to close ahead of any kind of formal announcement was bold and courageous,” she says. “It was really taking a stand for other people — people who are not necessarily in our community like the elderly, the immunodeficient and undocumented. It was really about keeping those people safe, appreciating that the people who were taking our class were probably using public transportation, were walking around the city and were coming into contact with people.”
Once Kurzban and her senior leadership team made the decision to close the studios, they thought of ways they could support their clients and the team. She and her COO and CFO decided to cut their salaries to pay their fitness instructors, DJs and hourly front desk managers for at least two weeks. When she made the announcement to the team, others offered to cut their salaries as well. “It’s been a sacrifice right now, but we are trying to be optimistic and keep our feet on the ground and do what we know how to do best, which is being entrepreneurial and taking care of people who have invested in us,” says Kurzban.
Kurzban is helping the fitness instructors find ways they can pivot and host fitness classes online — and she is hosting free daily 305 Fitness classes on YouTube Live. “I’m an emergency medicine resident working in New York City during this pandemic and it has been extremely stressful, heartbreaking, soul-crushing, inspiring, lonely and exhausting. I love that you made your videos public during this time. I have been doing them almost every day. I’ve told a bunch of my friends and coworkers about them and try to do them together virtually,” one woman emailed after taking classes.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone in the fitness industry from studio and gym owners to fitness influencers and instructors. Fitness instructors and influencers are taking to social media to host and promote virtual workout classes. “We know how important it is for our communities to still have their routine. From dance cardio to bodyweight workouts to barre to snatches with seltzer bottles, there is something for anyone who wants to get their fitness on,” says Amanda Katz, a fitness instructor at Equinox who is hosting classes on Instagram Live. “It is out of our comfort zones to ask our communities for money. But the truth is, we need it. The best way to support fitness instructors is to contribute what you can.” Kayla Kleinman, a fitness instructor at Bar Method and Y7 and wellness blogger at Kayla in the City, also started teaching classes on Instagram. She says the best way to support other fitness instructors is to share the content they are producing. “Teaching at these two studios is my main job. I don’t have other steady sources of income so it’s kind of scary to not know how long I’ll be out of work. As an instructor, I’ve thought about what would happen if I get injured and can’t teach. But I never really thought about this as a possibility,” she says.
Elizabeth Endres and Dale Borchiver, the founders of the fitness site Sweats and the City, used to share studio reviews with their 94,000 Instagram followers. In early March, they chose to stop going to studios and to start sharing recommendations for streaming and on-demand workouts. “This was not only for our personal safety but for the safety of others and we needed to lead by example on our platform. It was a no-brainer for us to implement social distancing and spread the word,” they say. When they saw an increase in the demand for at-home classes and noticed fitness instructors teaching classes, they made a daily calendar to promote the live classes that are taking place online. “We want to help our community in any way we can — not just those taking classes at home, but also the fitness instructors and studios whose work has been disrupted in a big way. During this time of isolation, people are craving community more than ever, and we are here as a support system for everyone affected,” they say.
Many brick-and-mortar studios and gyms are promoting their at-home workout offerings. After Sadie Lincoln, the CEO and cofounder of barre3, temporarily closed 148 of the company’s 160 studios, she’s seen an increase in the number of existing and new customers who are using their online workout program. “Clients are also graciously buying class packages to support their local studios, and they’ve been very active on our social channels, enjoying live classes taught by their local instructors across the country,” Lincoln says. “We’ve always believed in the power of community, but we’ve been blown away by how this challenging time has brought us together in a deeper and more meaningful way. Despite our physical distance, we feel more connected than ever in this shared goal of taking care of one another.” Lincoln decided to offer a free trial for barre3’s online program and is giving 10% of the proceeds from studio package purchases to No Kid Hungry.
In recent years, there has been an increase in at-home fitness companies like Peloton, Mirror and obé Fitness. Since studios have shuttered and people are staying home, an obé Fitness brand representative says that the signups have already increased ten-fold. The obé Fitness team responded to the demand by adding new workouts and wellness offerings, including a kid’s workout program with KIDZ BOP and new meditation classes as well as offering a free month for new customers. Ashley Mills, the cofounder and co-CEO, says the team is producing the workouts their customers are asking for and the ones they want themselves. As a mother of two, she is focused on increasing the workouts for multigenerational households.
Kurzban is hopeful that there will be more of an appreciation for the fitness community in the coming months. “I think that when we emerge in the long run, people are going to value community, togetherness and health more than ever. I think that we are going to see fitness and wellness, in general, have an even greater resurgence than we are seeing,” she says. Until then, she’ll be teaching upbeat dance routines in her family’s living room and broadcasting it to thousands of people who are staying active while staying at home.
I originally wrote this for Forbes.
