People are flocking back to gyms as the CDC lifts mask restrictions, exec of gym chain Equinox says
- Equinox says the CDC's relaxed mask advice for vaccinated people has encouraged customers to return.
- The gym chain said Tuesday was its busiest day of the pandemic.
- New-membership sales in New York were up 55% this week versus the week before, it said.
The New York-headquartered luxury gym chain Equinox says it is starting to return to pre-pandemic levels of busyness.
In an interview with CNBC's Frank Holland, Equinox's executive chairman, Harvey Spevak, said that on Tuesday the chain, which has gyms around the US, recorded its busiest day of the pandemic and that it was on track to beat that Wednesday.
"This is a big day, but this is also an exciting day," he said. "We have been waiting for this day for 14 months."
The news of customers returning to its gyms in a bigger way comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its guidelines around fully vaccinated people wearing masks both indoors and outdoors.
The CDC's recommendations are only guidelines, and it's up to individual states to determine whether they want to follow them - but nearly every state has. As of Thursday, New Jersey was the only state with no plans to lift such restrictions.
Spevak said that since New York state announced it would drop masking requirements for fully vaccinated people in most spaces, Equinox had seen a 55% spike in new membership sales.
Spevak also addressed the pandemic-driven home-fitness boom, which has boosted the likes of Peloton and Tonal, saying he thought customers would still want a mix of in-person classes and workouts at home.
"We think we are the only company in the Equinox group to bring that to the members and to our community," he said. Equinox Group, which owns Equinox, also owns Blink Fitness, SoulCycle, and other chains.
"As great as digital can be, there is no replacement for in real-life experience," he added.