As Hurricane Sandy’s landfall continued to pulverize the East Coast, major names in the health and fitness industry have opened their doors to those in need.
Planet Fitness, in areas affected by the storm, extended invitations to members and non-members without power, to use the club’s showers and locker rooms free of charge.
Many of Planet Fitness’ Facebook fans expressed their support of the club’s decision.
“A statement like this makes me proud to workout at Planet Fitness,” said Matt Harrison, in a comment on Planet Fitness’ Timeline.
“How kind and thoughtful of you all! Keep up the good work,” said Tami Sams, a Planet Fitness fan.
Chris Rondeau, the COO for Planet Fitness, commented —“The franchise owners in this organization are some of the most community minded and generous individuals you’ll meet. They simply felt like this was the right thing to do.”
According to The Huffington Post, the Equinox in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. will remain open during the continuation of the storm as well, and is offering free “Hurricane Sandy Workouts” to local residents, non-members included.
Equinox announced its commitment to operate during normal business hours, despite the storm, on Facebook. “All Equinox locations are operating on normal business hours. If anything should change, we will update you here,” said Equinox on its Facebook Timeline.
According to The New York Times, Hurricane Sandy has been downgraded from “hurricane” status to storm, and is expected to leave the East Coast and head north towards Canada Tuesday evening.
By Rachel Zabonick
Stay ahead in the fitness industry with exclusive updates!
Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
I called a couple of Planet Fitness including the one in Trevose, PA: they are not participating in this generous event. Mr. Chris Rondeau: complete participation for affected areas would be very helpful and not just a publicity stunt 🙁