Fitness providers and beauty salons work to assure clients during coronavirus outbreak

For personal trainer Aaron Boike, March was supposed to be the start of his fitness firm's busy season.

Instead, he is bracing himself and the team of trainers he manages for a potential drop in customers. Already one client this week had to cancel a training session because of possible exposure to someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

"There's just a lot of fear all of a sudden and it's gone from something that we really didn't think that we had to worry about in Minnesota to, OK, it's definitely going to be something we have to worry about," said Boike, head of 3Click Mobile Fitness. "It's just a matter of time."

Twin Cities fitness workers and beauticians find themselves in an up-close battle to keep their clients and themselves safe amid rapidly shifting public health advice.

Many salons and gyms have ramped up cleaning efforts, added extra sanitation supplies for guests and reached out to reassure customers their establishments are safe.

On Friday morning, Morgan Luzier, co-founder of Balance Fitness Studio in south Minneapolis, e-mailed clients telling them that if they didn't feel comfortable attending group classes she could travel to them or they could go to the studio for private training sessions.

"I think it's important for people to keep their routine and keep working out when they are in a stressful situation," Luzier said.

Jen Hunt-Dickson, co-owner of Salon Ori in the Union Park area of St. Paul, said the salon has seen a slight drop in appointments this week.

"We've had people with just little colds call in and cancel and we appreciate it," Hunt-Dickson said. "Better safe than sorry."

In addition to staff disinfecting surfaces once an hour, Hunt-Dickson is also considering suspending facial-waxing services because of how close beauticians have to get to clients. After she completed a lip-waxing appointment Friday, she shared, "I think this might be the last one."

Manuel Villarreal, manager and stylist at Denny Kemp Salon Spa in northeast Minneapolis, said his salon is doing extra cleaning of surfaces and high-traffic areas.

"I don't want to alarm anybody more than they are," Villarreal said, noting salons already follow strict cleanliness regulations. "It's serious stuff so you just got to be smart and follow those rules [and recommendations]."

Business at the shop has been normal, though the salon has told clients not to come in if they feel sick.

"We'll see you in a couple weeks. It's not the end of the world," Villarreal joked.

Worry over the spread of the coronavirus reached new heights after the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic earlier this week and President Donald Trump delivered a rare prime-time address to the nation in an attempt to assuage fears.

In the battle to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested "social distancing," which it defined as staying out of places where people gather, avoiding local public transportation and maintaining a distance of about 6 feet from others.

"I think it is safe to go to the gym, and people need to carry on that part of their life," said Dr. Mark Sannes, an infectious disease physician at Park Nicollet Clinic and Specialty Center, in an interview Thursday. "That said, one of the things that has come up consistently over the last couple of days is how do you do things like that with this concept of social distancing being a part of how you go about your business."

Sannes said gym clients should try to avoid group sessions that don't allow for 6 feet between each person. For people who want to go to the gym, Sannes suggested to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, space yourself further from people who are coughing or sneezing, and stay home if you feel sick. Gym owners could also consider encouraging distancing for instance by spacing out people or machines in classes, he said. At spas, Sannes suggested making sure surfaces like massage tables are wiped down before you are serviced. Sannes said he thought hair salons were low-risk settings other than the potential risk associated with the proximity to people.

Many larger fitness and beauty chains and centers have instituted rigorous cleaning protocols in the wake of the virus outbreak.

Chanhassen-based Life Time, with more than 150 health clubs across the United States and Canada and close to 30 locations in the metro area, has added up to eight hours of cleaning a day at some of their busiest clubs, sanitizing items like finger scanners and dumbbells to water fountain push bars and hair dryer handles.

Natalie Bushaw, a spokeswoman for Life Time, said as of Friday the company was seeing "minimal impact in our clubs" in terms of visits.

Caitlin Tvrdik, a spokeswoman for Lift Brands Inc., the Chanhassen parent company of Snap Fitness and Steele Fitness, also said her company had not seen membership cancellations or a drop in gym usage "outside the norm at this time," but the firm was recommending that franchisees disinfect equipment and surfaces more regularly.

In a blog post that was also sent to customers, Juut Salon Spa said it has intensified cleaning and sanitizing of "high-traffic areas" and shared spaces and offers hand sanitizer at check-in and throughout salons.

Long term, it's yet to be seen how the outbreak will impact business.

Hayley Saccomano, founder of Fly Freak Studio in St. Paul, which provides aerial fitness classes, said business has begun to slow over the past few weeks, but clients have been reassuring and supportive so things feel more manageable.

"I definitely had a few a moments where I have been worried, like, 'What if we close for six months?' " she said.

Boike said he is hopeful that 3Click Mobile Fitness will be able to weather the storm since his personal trainers often do one-on-one sessions with people at their homes or condo or apartment gyms.

"The next challenge is going to be figuring out how do I keep my employees paid and happy, because that is going to be a huge challenge as the volume of business goes down because people are avoiding their sessions altogether, which I think is a real possibility," he said.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @nicolenorfleet