McFit founder Rainer Schaller: He calls for a clear opening perspective for the fitness industry

McFit founder Rainer Schaller is fighting for a timely opening of the fitness studios. "We filed our lawsuit."

For many fitness fans, it was a real bright spot in lockdown: McFit opened its fitness studios outdoors, but had to close them again quickly. At the weekend, the fitness chain made headlines again. On Saturday dozens of Berliners exercised outdoors on a 10,000 square meter field outside the city with equipment. "We carried out the campaign to set an example for the entire industry and to protest that the government should not forget fitness," explains McFit founder Rainer Schaller in an interview.

"I cannot understand the logic of why, for example, hairdressers and nail studios that work very close to customers are allowed to reopen and we are not," Schaller continues and now wants to take legal action against the closure of his outdoor areas. "We filed our lawsuit today in Berlin and nine other cities."

How frustrating is it for you to see that many industries such as hairdressers are allowed to open and that there is not even a concept for fitness studios?

Rainer Schaller: So far, the fitness studios have hardly been taken into account by politicians with regard to possible timely loosening – for us there is still no serious perspective as to when we can reopen. Of course, I am very disappointed and cannot understand the logic of why, for example, hairdressers and nail salons that work very close to the customer are allowed to reopen and we are not. For me, this shows that the elementary importance of physical fitness for health is unfortunately completely underestimated by those responsible, if not ignored at all – and that is very frustrating.

At the weekend you caused a stir with a protest. Dozens of Berliners exercised outdoors with equipment on Saturday. What is behind this campaign?

Schaller: We carried out the campaign to set an example for the entire industry and to protest that the government should not forget about fitness! It should show our disappointment that we had to close our ten outdoor areas despite the hygiene concept and good organization. According to the ordinance, individual outdoor sports are permitted in almost all federal states. The use of equipment in Ahrensfelde, on the other hand, is not supervised by any trainers and should therefore be considered an individual sport in the middle of a field. Even if it seems absurd, of course, that uncontrolled training is allowed more than one in our outdoor area with a sophisticated hygiene and safety concept and control by our staff.

What exactly does this hygiene concept look like?

Schaller: Together with the renowned infectiologist Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Zastrow set up a very well thought-out and well-considered hygiene and security concept, which, if observed, clearly rules out the spread of corona viruses on our outdoor areas. The training takes place in the fresh air and members have to book a time slot online in advance for the respective location. All slots are limited to a length of 45 minutes. This ensures that the maximum utilization is not exceeded, that there is no queuing in front of the site and that possible contact tracking is ensured afterwards. In addition, there is a minimum distance of two meters across the entire area, each user disinfects the devices himself after use and our staff disinfects all devices again in the 15 minutes between the time slots. Before entering the site, members have a solution to gargle with. It reduces the viral load in the throat – similar to that at the dentist. It couldn't be safer or more controlled.

Nevertheless, you had to close your outdoor space, did you expect that?

Schaller: In addition to our hygiene concept, we also had the Berlin law firm Härting draw up a legal opinion that provides us with the basic basis for the openings in the outdoor area and shows exactly in which federal states outdoor sports are not explicitly prohibited. We have therefore chosen exactly these places and adhered to all specifications. Nevertheless, we had to temporarily close all locations again – some earlier, others later. We have already considered the possibility that this could happen, but are now fighting in all ten cities to be allowed to reopen them. At first this took place through constructive discussions – now through legal channels in the form of lawsuits.

What reasons were given for the closure?

Schaller: The reasons for the closings varied from location to location. For some, these were not based on the Infection Protection Act at all, but were different.

Are the lawsuits already running?

Schaller: Yes, we filed our lawsuit today in Berlin and the nine other cities.

How optimistic are you that you will be successful with your lawsuits?

Schaller: In our outdoor areas only individual training takes place; people do not travel in groups. I very much hope that the courts will recognize our hygiene and safety precautions. Apart from that, in most federal states, sport is permitted alone and in pairs on public and private sports facilities. These include both large football facilities and the increasingly popular open-air fitness parks. We cannot understand why sports can be practiced there without supervision and without a hygiene concept, but not on our outdoor areas. There is an obvious unequal treatment here.

From next week, up to ten people should be able to exercise outdoors under the given conditions. What do you make of it?

Schaller: Allowing outdoor sports again would certainly be an important step in the right direction. To the best of my knowledge, this is only under discussion from an incidence of less than 30. Nevertheless, this project should speak in favor of the fact that we can also reopen our outdoor areas, which we are strongly fighting for.

Why are exercise and sport so important now in the pandemic?

Schaller: Scientific studies show that good physical fitness provides an important basis for successfully coping with illnesses and a decisive protective factor against serious courses of infectious diseases. Preventive endurance and strength training helps to stay in balance both physically and mentally and supports the body's ability to deal with internal and external stressors, such as Covid-19. In addition, the effects of lockdown on the mind hit many people. Studies suggest that just one training session a week can reduce the risk of a depressive mood. For all of these reasons, when people are unable to exercise, it is a serious problem.

What is the damage to health if people do not have the opportunity to go to the gym?

Schaller: In my eyes, enormously high. We won't see the long-term effects for a few months, if not years. Experts agree that we will see an increase in diseases caused by a lack of exercise.

Concerned that home workouts could replace the gym?

Schaller: There will always be gyms and a pandemic won't change that. But in the future they may not be as unchallenged as before. More and more people want to make their training more flexible: sometimes in the studio, sometimes in their own four walls, or on the go. The fitness industry has to offer digital solutions to meet this need. We have been working on this topic for years and offer our customers training courses for every situation and preference. I also firmly believe that training in the studio has to be an experience. Gastronomy is miles ahead of us in this regard. In the successful and popular restaurants it is no longer just about eating, but about offering an experience for the guests. Why shouldn't this concept also be applied to fitness studios?

How great is the economic damage from the lockdown?

Schaller: For us, the economic damage caused to us by the lockdowns is very great. It is divided into the natural loss of members and the lack of new contracts, which we cannot conclude during the entire period of the closings. We will not be able to catch up with these in the foreseeable future. Because we have credited each member for the time he or she could not train, we do not generate any accounting revenue. It is an advance payment for a future benefit. The lack of money will cause lasting damage. At the moment, we cannot say with any certainty how high the loss in sales will really be overall.

How do you see the future of the gym in the next few months?

Schaller: The statement "Too big to fail" no longer applies. The precarious situation now also affects the big players in the industry. Studios will disappear from the market due to liquidity bottlenecks. Numerous plant operators in the USA have already had this sad experience. I am sure that this wave will also affect Europe – and the longer the lockdown lasts, the more dramatic it will be.

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