Will New York’s Fitness Scene Stay Home?
Merger talks between ClassPass and Mindbody are a bet on a gym revival, but Peloton’s continued strength suggests many won’t return.
Gyms are reopening. But will people come back?
Photographer: ClassPass
Rewind to February 2020: Fitness studios are booming in New York City. As the workday winds down, young professionals, largely women, are scurrying out of office buildings with yoga-mat sacks or gym bags slung over their shoulders. Many of them have booked their workouts on ClassPass, a subscription service that allows members to take classes at gyms and boutique studios all over the city (and elsewhere in the world). ClassPass Inc. had just joined the $1 billion unicorn startup club, and it created a way of life — until, of course, Covid-19 shut everything down and life became confined to one’s living space.
More than a year later, some ClassPassers may have forgotten they were still signed up. The reminder came this week when the company notified New York customers by email that it would “unpause” membership plans on May 10 as the city reopens. In other words, you’ll be charged soon unless you cancel. It raises the question, what happens to ClassPass now? As some customers took to social media to say they can’t wait to get back to their favorite spin or Pilates studio, another set expressed hesitancy about the safety of doing so just yet. Others dismissed the idea of paying for ClassPass in this new normal. The prospect of continued work from home for some people, along with Peloton Interactive Inc.’s surging sales, perhaps points to why.