There have been a few gym owners that have defied their state rules and announced they will be opening their gyms today.

One of them happens to be one of my clients, Kyle Newell.

Kyle has done coaching with me for 8 years and is someone I consider a friend.

He was on Fox News this past Saturday announcing he will open his New Jersey gym no matter the consequences. 

I want to give my opinion here as I also did in a private address to my Mastermind over the weekend. 

My job is to help gym owners succeed in business…because of this I would not advise any gym owner to do this…nor did I advise Kyle to. 

I think it’s a bad business decision and for most people, the risks outweigh the reward by a landslide. 

But in my conversations with Kyle, I found out the deeper reason of why he was doing this and it had nothing to do with opening his gym so he could resume his business.

It had everything to do with his expression of freedom, standing up for something he felt very strongly about and putting a strong notch on his legacy. 

While I still advised Kyle about the potential harm to him and his business, I completely 100% respected him for the courage and bravery he showed to stand up for something he felt so strongly about…even if I didn’t share the same opinion. 

I want to write this email as there are many gym owners that follow me and know that Kyle has been my clients for many years. 

If you are thinking about opening your gym early, just to get started again and make up for some lost cash, my view, it’s a very bad business decision. 

Here are the possible risks you take: 

• Fines
• Jail time
• Members feeling you’re not taking this serious
• You could get your business license taken away

Here is a mantra I have lived by when making big decisions:

1. What’s the upside?
2. What’s the downside?
3. Can you live with the downside?

Is opening your gym early worth the above risks? 

Is the reason you decide to open early so strong that you can live with these consequences?

For Kyle, it is…and I respect the heck out him for it. 

For me personally, it’s not. 

And quite frankly, I doubt it is for most of you. 

Kyle is a very special guy and had a burning call to do this and I’m proud of him for it.

But I urge any of you following the lead of gym owners opening early to tread very carefully and have strong legal counsel if you decide to walk this path. 

We’re close to the end, push through this with all you’ve got.

I’m here to help if you need anything.

Vince Gabriele