When the Prime Minister announced in March that gyms were among the businesses that had to close, Jenna Marshall said they were hoping it would just be for a couple of weeks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jenna works at Feel Good Gym, which was able to finally to reopen its doors on Monday for the first time in three months.
The gym had closed immediately in March when the Prime Minister stood before the television cameras in Canberra and announced which businesses had to cease trading during the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE:
"It was pretty sudden. We knew as much information as our members and the general public, so we actually got told nothing," Jenna said.
"We put it on social media that we were going to close, but we didn't know how long for.
"We were hoping it was just going to be a couple of weeks."
But as members returned to the gym this week, and their classes resumed, Jenna said the local business was extremely grateful to the loyalty shown by their members.
"They were really understanding. I thought they might be annoyed it had to close down, but everyone was pretty supportive."
Some members were even willing to keep paying their fees to help the business.
Jenna has worked at the gym for three years, which has been run by her brother Damien for about 18 years.
She said they tried to keep in touch with their clients - some who have been coming to the gym for the 18 years since it opened - via social media, including some videos. And one of the trainers held a Zoom class online for her personal clients.
Now it's back to the real thing, with a class last Saturday morning being the first one back, before the staff returned and the gym opened its doors on Monday.
It ends a difficult time for the gym and its staff.
While Jenna said she dipped into her savings to get by, other staff had relied on conducting personal training sessions and other casual jobs.
"It's been really tough because we've got rent to pay and electricity bills," she said.