SYLVANIA, Ohio — With the shadow of a shutdown looming in Ohio, some gym owners are banding together. Renegade Fitness and Definition Fitness in Sylvania are vowing to remain open, even if mandated to close.
The owners feel they have the courts on their side this time and that they can still keep people safe.
"There's no reason a business should suffer financially for something that is happening outside our doors," Renegade Fitness co-owner Jennifer Rhoades said.
With a possible statewide closure in the cards this week, some local gym owners are putting their feet down, saying they will remain open.
"Since we are in a legal right, we are going to remain open even if the governor says fitness centers to shut down," Rhoades added.
Rhoades is standing by a lawsuit filed by nearly three dozen Ohio gyms back in May. The courts decided the state health department overstepped its authority by closing them.
And owners say their gyms are essential for people's physical and mental health.
"This is the best thing you can do for your immune system," Definition Fitness owner Marcus Zapata said. "So the idea of taking that away, it doesn't seem to make much sense."
Zapata also vows to remain open. He said only one of his customers has gotten sick with COVID-19 but no one else was at risk from his gym because she followed the rules and didn't come in.
"We're willing to take the steps that are reasonable to keep people safe and above and beyond that, closing is not within reason," he said.
The gym owners stressed that we know a lot more now about how the virus spreads than we did earlier in the year during the first shutdown. This time around, they say they can remain open but still keep people safe.
"We are going to remain open even if the governor says fitness centers to shut down because we know we are operating with care and doing all the necessary steps," Rhoades said.