Gyms struggle under weight of pandemic Impact Performance Centre, closing after 18 years, would ‘still be going strong’ if COVID hadn’t hit By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, May. 24, 2023

Brittany Fulton lowered herself to the ground.

She’d completed her warm-up — banded side steps and air squats — and was preparing for hip thrusts, the next exercise of the circuit.

Her routine was predetermined, written on a whiteboard. She’s among hundreds of others, from professional hockey players to high school athletes, who’ve followed circuits at Impact Performance Centre.

The well-established gym, near FortWhyte Alive, will shutter at the end of June. The pandemic killed the business, according to its owner.

“We’re upset that it’s closing,” Fulton said.

“We’re upset that it’s closing.”–Brittany Fulton

There’s a family atmosphere where people support one another, she noted — after all, they’re undertaking the same gruelling routines.

Pre-pandemic, Impact Performance Centre saw 80 to 90 people daily. Now, the average day might draw 40 to 50 members, said Sean Brown, the company’s founder.

It follows years of decreased revenue and outright closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brown estimates Impact was physically closed for nine months during lockdown periods. During other stretches, Brown created outdoor workouts for members and booked personal training sessions to abide by public health measures.

“If COVID didn’t hit… I don’t think there’s a doubt in my mind that we would still be going strong and have that room filled,” Brown said.

There are a number of reasons contributing to Brown’s decision to close, but the pandemic takes top spot, he noted.

He began Impact Performance Centre 18 years ago off Waverley Street “on a whim” and moved to Oak Bluff, which housed a larger facility, around eight years ago.

“Best move I ever did,” Brown said. “It was going really, really well.”

He’d create daily circuits and yell at members to push them harder. Mike Mason would yell back.

“It was kind of a fun environment,” Mason said. “I loved my time there. It put me in the best shape I’d ever been in.”

He said he vividly remembers his introduction, back on Waverley Street. The warm-up involved 100 burpees — he went “so hard” that he needed to stop halfway through the actual workout.

Mason, too, called the atmosphere familial. When Impact announced its closure on social media Monday, several members took to the comments to share how Impact felt like community.

“It breaks my heart,” Brown said of closing, adding he didn’t realize what the gym meant to members until he read the comments.

He’d debated closing last year. Impact hasn’t had a long-term lease for three years — Brown wouldn’t re-sign one when COVID struck, he said.

A physiotherapist and athletic therapist used to rent space in Impact. Both left in recent years, leading to revenue loss, Brown said.

Pandemic-era government loans need payment, membership isn’t to pre-COVID levels, and Brown, 48, doesn’t have the energy he once did, he added.

“There’s a little bit of an out right now, and I think it’s just my time. I’m exhausted fighting the fight,” he said. “Nobody gets into business to lose money.”

“There’s a little bit of an out right now, and I think it’s just my time. I’m exhausted fighting the fight.”–Sean Brown

He likely charges too little for services, he quipped.

Come June, Brown will auction off Impact’s equipment. He’s throwing a barbecue for past and current members. He’s unsure what will become of Impact’s space.

Meantime, Brown is transforming his Richmond West garage into a gym. He’s not done coaching — athletes are coming to him.

“I have these pool-specific weights,” he said, grinning. “I put (clients) through pool workouts, and it’s just incredible.”

He’s open to partnering on a new fitness business, but for now, he’s taking family time.

“Would I change any of this, even though we’re losing money?” Brown asked himself. “Not a chance… It’s been 18 years, but I know I’ve made so many friends for life.”

It seems many people have stuck with home workouts since the pandemic, he added.

The past three years have been “super challenging” for Ignite Cycle & Strength, said co-owner Denis Camracosky.

The south Winnipeg facility opened less than two months before Manitoba’s first pandemic-era lockdown. It’s still struggling to grow its customer base, Camracosky said.

“We invested, and we’re still investing lots of money,” he added. “We believe that, at the end of the day, the product will be… successful.”

Aime Seier feels years behind schedule at The Community Gym.

“The last three years have just been tremendously difficult,” she said. “It is a grind, and it is hard work.”

She opened the Main Street gym less than a year before the pandemic erupted. Now, Community Gym’s membership is on the incline — a slow build without signs of stopping, Seier said.

“I think people really recognize the value of coming together,” she added. “The vast majority of our clients… definitely do it for their mental health.”

It’s been more than a year since Manitoba began phasing out its final pandemic-era public health restrictions. Paul Taylor said Brickhouse Gym is still paying for that period, financially, but the company is in growth mode.

It gained members during the pandemic, and now, it’s opening its biggest facility yet, Taylor said.

He’s pegged June 1 as the opening date for Brickhouse Gym’s 13,000-square-foot location at 1146 Waverley St.

“We lost a lot of time… we’ve been trying to make up for that,” Taylor said. “It’s just a matter of scheduling things with your creditors.”

More details about the new site will be released soon, he added.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabby is a big fan of people, writing and learning. She graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in the spring of 2020.

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