FITSOCIAL Studio Adapts to Social Distancing Rules
Many businesses have suffered since the pandemic, gyms especially. FITSOCIAL opened its Poughkeepsie doors back in October of 2019 and had major success. The strategically planned workout and cycling classes appealed to the younger audience. They also offer an open gym and a full-service “SocialBar” where members (referred to as “Socialites”) can grab avocado toast, a smoothie bowl, or even a beer post-workout. The modern high-vibe fitness studio is now bouncing back since being shut down for 5 months.
Located in the Queen City Lofts on Main Street in Poughkeepsie, FITSOCIAL has made a name for itself despite the closing’s setbacks. The gym has a strong social media presence, with almost 6k followers on Instagram and over a thousand likes on Facebook.
They’ve been voted best gym in the Hudson Valley twice, offering HIIT (high-intensity interval training), yoga, and cycling classes you can’t find in just any gym. “The studio was built around group classes: Spin, HIIT, and Yoga. Our Open Gym format is a bonus, and something we are happy to offer our unlimited members access to.” Says Jordyn Labriola, assistant general manager, and instructor at FITSOCIAL.
“We believe in people before profit, and consistently operate our model based on that premise. Therefore partnering with non-profit organizations to promote necessary fundraising is something we have consistently focused on.” Labriola says. In the past, the studio paired with nonprofit Walkway Over the Hudson in their event “Spin the Walkway.” This partnership with local nonprofits has strengthened their outreach in the Poughkeepsie community.
However, their business growth was halted once the pandemic hit in March of 2020. While the NYS mandated shutdown forced gyms to close for several months, Social Fit got creative with live-streamed at-home workouts via Facebook Live. They also offered to freeze memberships at no charge, as well as outdoor fitness classes.
The fitness industry has almost completely changed since COVID. Once gyms were allowed to be reopened, FITSOCIAL took new precautions to ensure safety to their Socialites. “This pandemic has minimized our class sizes and frequency of classes. We are also required to use specific cleaning supplies, and we clean the equipment after every class, per NYS mandate. Fortunately, we have not had to change our operations too much, just improve what we were already doing.” Labriola stated. The same regulations apply to the open gym portion of FITSOCIAL.
Since group workout classes are what FITSOCIAL is most known for, they had to adapt to the new social distancing rules. The typical class setup had to be tweaked. “We have broken up each room into separate “squares” that are all 6ft apart. These “squares” are for our members to have their personal space while working out. We want them to feel safe while at FITSOCIAL. Along with that, everyone is mandated to wear a mask at all times.” Labriola said.
FITSOCIAL has had quite a success in the city of Poughkeepsie. Regardless of the major setbacks, the trendy gym still remains a popular workout option. They offer specialty classes, a strong community, and even a full-service bar to their members, which is a rare commodity in most Poughkeepsie gyms. Their team is actively promoting new COVID-19 restrictions and regulations to guarantee a safe workout for all their members.
