Since Hurricane Sandy left millions without power, Manhattan locations of Equinox have been “overrun” with people, mostly there just to charge their phones and take hot showers, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
There are lines fifteen people deep to get into the women’s locker room, while Spin classes are half-empty. (The same is not true out here in relatively unscathed Brooklyn, where residents are treating the Manhattan shutdown like a bonus weekend, taking daytime jogs in the park and forming lines outside popular brunch spots.) Equinox spokespeople say the gym is as busy as during the first few post–New Year’s resolution weeks in January, and as a result, the gyms stopped accommodating non-member guests, which is too bad, because if you can afford an Equinox membership, it’s not likely that the gym is your only option for running water and electricity. (Equinox CEO Harvey Spevak told the Observer it was important for them to stay open as “an outlet for people to eat relax and relieve stress during a time when everywhere else has closed their doors.” How considerate.) Members are logging longer hours at the gym, because why leave? There’s a smoothie bar, a hundred tiny TVs, and massive piles of warm towels to nap in.
Now that I think about it, we should convert all gym chains into emergency shelters. Just tell me what number to text to donate a few days of working out (or not-working-out guilt) to someone who would like a shower. Redistribute the complimentary Kiehl’s.
