A group of Minnesota studio owners and our clients are interested in having our voices heard to get studios open June 1st. We are sending this to all small fitness boutique owners in Minnesota and asking them to forward it to their clients that utilize these businesses. We also know friends and families of these small fitness boutiques want to support them by signing this petition. We want our voices to be heard in the media and we want answers from Governor Walz and Commissioner Grove. Minnesota Government is placing boutique studios in the same category as 200,000 sq. ft health clubs/gyms. They referenced gyms in the last conference as being in phase 4 with no exact open date, that could be July or August or who knows when. We need the Governor understand studios can’t wait until mid-summer to open and we can safely open June 1st.

Fitness Boutique studios are by appointment only and can implement all COVID and CDC guidelines. Examples of these would be Pilates studios, Personal Training Studios and Yoga Studios. If hair, nails salons and massage therapy businesses can open June 1st, small fitness studios should be allowed to as well. A Small group of studio owners have been writing and calling DEED and the Governor asking for studios to be categorized differently since March and have gotten no response which is why we are now creating this petition. Studios should be allowed to open June 1st and this is our platform. Here is what we want to emphasize:

• As small business owners, our boutique fitness studio employs numerous team members and supports clients to become healthy, a need more important now than ever.
• We have become increasingly concerned that our boutique fitness studios have been classified as a gym or health club, alongside cinemas, amusement parks, etc. with a 250+ person capacities.
• We are “by appointment only”, which allows studios to control the exact number of people in the facility while following social distancing recommendations.
• Boutique Fitness Studios do not have basketball courts, pools, or huge locker rooms all of which were referenced as characteristics placing gyms in phase 4
• Unlike gyms, boutique fitness studios could open with 25-50% of our capacity as the Governor and DEED stated they want salons to do.
• Clients are pre-scheduled for sessions or small group classes and would be limited to specific capacities allowing for proper social distancing guidelines.
• While boutique fitness studios serve few clients at a time, together we employ thousands of team members across Minnesota. For each week we are closed, it increases the risk of closing our doors permanently. We do not have big investor pockets like the large health clubs do.
• In addition, this industry is one of the few female-led and powered industries in existence. We estimate 75% of the owners and workers impacted by this crisis are women. We want to get our staff off unemployment and back to work, which helps our Minnesota economy.

We ask the Governor and DEED to exclude boutique fitness studios from the definition of “fitness centers and gyms,” and create our own category independent directives applicable for the reduced footprint of the unique business models used by boutique fitness studios with a targeted open date of June 1st. Healthcare was divided up into lots and lots of categories when they re-opened but yet fitness is all in one category. We respectfully request they allow boutique fitness studios to operate under strict guidelines, such as:

• Allowing a ratio of 1 client to 1 trainer. This is no different than a single salon operator and client, and it is potentially even more benign in that distance can be more easily maintained by a fitness trainer.
• Allowing operation of our small group classes, with participants 6 feet apart. This is no different than a small salon with 4 stylists, or a very small boutique retail store, and potentially even more benign in that distance can be easily maintained by a fitness trainer.
• Studio activities would take place under the guidelines requiring intensive hygiene and radical cleaning measures.
• The studio industry has collaborated on best practice COVID 19 preparedness plans and have them ready to implement.
• Like Salons, requiring staff and clients to wear masks when we open is a primary protective measure.

Our industry has, and always will be committed to the health and well-being of others. Studios want to reopen responsibly and have a fighting chance of saving our businesses. Commissioner Grove and Governor Walz stated that gyms aren’t allowed to open as they are unpredictable, and we agree 500 people could show up to workout at a large health club. But what they need to see and distinguish is that small fitness boutique studios are predictable, controllable, and have our staff and client’s health as our primary concern. We are prepared to open June 1st and we want to do it legally and with the ok from DEED and the Governor, thank you taking the time to read this and sign our petition.