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Katie Woolf spoke with Next Level Gym Director Andrew Mcdevitt · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now, we know that the current situation with the lockdown
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: lifting was obviously a positive for the large majority of
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Territorians able to get back to work with some restrictions
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: in place. However, there are still quite a number of
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: businesses who are really still doing it quite tough. And
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: joining me on the line right now is Andrew from
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: next level Gym. Good morning to you. Andrew, Good morning mate.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: How are you going this week as you enter well
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: a week of not being able to open?
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Well, I mean you've got to stay positive, I guess,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: and do what you can, stay active. But it's not good.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: It's not good considering you know, this happened last time
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: with the last lockdown, and the same thing happened where
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: you know, pubs and clubs were able to open and
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: gym's were still locked down.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Andrew, I know that there has been sort of specific
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: advice given by the Chief Health Officer around, you know,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: around keeping those gyms closed. I suppose the thing that
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: is a bit disheartening for everybody is like, at this
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: stage it doesn't appear as though we've got COVID in
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: the community, so lots of us wondering while we can't
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: just get back out there and get active again.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, there's a lot of things that don't really
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: make a lot of sense. But I mean, really there's
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: a couple of things specifically, which is kind of what
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: they're using as the reason that gyms can't open, and
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: how inconsistent it is with the other things that are open.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: And for me, I mean, I'm more about getting everything open.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: I don't want pubs and clubs to be shut. But
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: I think if the science for the gyms to stay
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: locked down is what they're saying, it's very inconsistent considering that,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: you know, in a club, you got people dancing and
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: everything on top of each other drinking as well, so
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: that already weakens your immune system, and you contrast that
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: to gyms, which actually builds your immune system. Everything's spaced out,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: you wipe everything down, we check in everyone that comes in,
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: and so you know, there's there hasn't been enough scientific
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: evidence for the fitness community, specifically gym owners, to warrant
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: the decision at all, and there's been no communication on
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: top of that as well.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: So Andrew Good, what kind of impact does it have
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: on your business when you when you're not actually able
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: to operate.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Well, I really has a couple of sort of factors,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: because one is obviously we're not we're going without income,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: and so there's been the last the last lockdown was
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: two weeks, there was no income. This week it's been
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: sort of a week and a half. And then it's
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: also there's an issue for my staff, so you know
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: they've got inconsistent income. And then you've got members that
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: we're trying to find a routine and they're trying to
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: look after their health, not only physical but mental health.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: Their routine is getting broken up. So a lot of
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: people sort of just lose motivation by the end of
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: it if every second week you get shut down. And
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: so yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot of
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: factors that impact us, not only financially, but the members
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: physically and mentally. Just when you consider all the benefits
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: of going to the gym.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Now we caught up on Friday, we had the midst
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: of a sport Kate Warden on the show talking about
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: those gyms being closed. Take a listen to what she'd
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: told us on the show on Friday. We know that
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: even gyms and others at the moment waiting wishing that
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: they were able to open you know, you think about
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: those people that own gyms. Seven more days without being
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: able to operate is bloody.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: Heart o, Katie. Can I say really clearly to your
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: listeners that Jim's have been listened to. I've been on
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: the phone during lockdown talking to people and gym's. We're
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: not going to please absolutely everybody, but people from gyms
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: have been heard and we are discussing, you know what
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: is but we have to base the decisions on clinical advice,
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: and these are clinical advices.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you could hear that audio. Okay there, Andrew, it's
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: you know. I mean they're saying that it is obviously
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: based on clinical advice. It's still a tough pill to swallow,
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: isn't it.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Well? I think it's not. I mean, yeah, of course
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: you can. You can pretty much make anything clinical advice.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: But I mean, where's a consistency. How can you explain
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: that apartment and a nightclub is clinically approved and a
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: gym isn't. And that would be fantastic if someone could
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: explain that. And actually what I'd love to hear it
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: is for them to explain it in a nightclub and
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: see how that goes. But I mean there's no consistency.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: And the thing is is that once again, it's all
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: good that you know we're locking down. There's certain reasons,
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: and you're for or against that, that's mine. But there's
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: no consistency when it comes to locking down, locking down
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: gym's versus opening pubs and clubs, and I mean, you know,
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: we just have to look at what's transpired. And you've
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: got a guy that's traveled everywhere, he's got nearly one
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: hundred close contact cases, and no one's tested positives for that.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: People still walking around wearing masks everywhere they go in fear,
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: and you know, at twelve o'clock Thursday, the musk will
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: disappear like nothing happened, you know. So there's a lot
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: of inconsistencies going around. I think, you know, you're not
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: going to please everyone, for sure, but you're not going
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: to make you're really not doing yourself any favors when
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: you're not revisiting that discussion because no one's revisited with us.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: And we've I've got formed a group of gym owners,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: personal trainers, studio owners on Facebook and we're all in
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: discussions about what's happening, what we're trying to do. Who
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: we're contacting, and no one has mentioned anything from them.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: And not only that, we're all pretty much on the
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: same page in regards to if the pubs and the
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: clubs are open, and the gyms should also be open
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: based on the reasons that they're giving because they're the
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: things that aren't consistent. If there was another reason which
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: was specific to gyms, we'd love to hear that, but
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: we haven't. And that's probably what's worse is because it's
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: kind of you've got the you've got the gym, which
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: is designed to keep you healthy physically and mentally. Then
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: you've got that close. But meanwhile, you have a pub
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: and a nightclub open. Alcohol weakens your immune system. You
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: could actually do that from home too, right, if there
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: was an essential thing versus a gym, I think anything,
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: you know, if you compare the pub in the gym,
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: the gym should be essential.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Well, I mean I kind of just think, sure, yeah,
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: and look, I get that, and I kind of just think,
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: like you pointed out earlier, it's more about that, you know,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: it is about that consistency. If one can open, then
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: why not the other? But Andro I'm keen to ask you.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: You mentioned then that you want that that really you
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: just want that discussion revisited. I mean, is that your
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: message for the government this morning place, just have another
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: look at it?
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, I mean I'll have That's one of the messages,
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: definitely to have a look at it. If we've been
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: sending a lot of emails to people that we think
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: need to get the emails. Nothing's come of that so
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: far than an email to the cheap medical health officer
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: and also hughe heggy lot from the last lockdown. I
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: still haven't got to apply from that. And you know,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: so there's a lot of they're saying they're they're talking
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: to us, but they're not. As far as I know,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: they haven't spoken to me. And I've emailed, I've gone
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: through the proper channels. The next channel we have to
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: take has to be a bit more, you know, into
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: our own hands, where you know, we have a group
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: here with all of the gym owners in Darwin and
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: where you know we're thinking about other avenues, either legal
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: avenues or we just we just stayed. Look, the next
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: time in lockdown, we're not We're not going to meet
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: that expectation because you haven't provided us any information and
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: know any reason why. And you haven't been consistent, you
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: haven't spoken to us, and it's almost in the form
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: of a protest. But we want to do everything the
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: right way from me, and that you know you're really
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: leaving people no choice considering the pubs and the clubs
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: are open.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Andrew, I tell you what I reckon. There will be
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: a lot of people out there who support you this morning.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: I know that I've got a lot of messages towards
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: the end of last week saying why can't we get
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: back to the gym, So I know there'll be plenty
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: of people out there listening this morning who will be
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: supporting you. I really appreciate you taking the time to
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: have a chat with me and all the best. Let
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: us know whether you sort of whether you do get
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: any response from any of those emails and letters that
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: you've seen. Would be really keen to hear from you again.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: If you have, Yeah, thank you, And I really appreciate
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: just the opportunity really to just share those thoughts.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: Around them anytime.
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: Mate.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's so important for us, you know, whether
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: we agree or disagree. I think it's so important that
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: people actually know the ram of vacations on business when
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: we talk about these lockdowns.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, good on you mate, Thank you for having a
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: chat with me this morning. Andrew, no worries to and
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: well it is just twenty seven minutes after eleven o'clock.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: That's Andrew there from Next Level Gym. And I know,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: like I said, there was a lot of people who
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: messaged towards the end of last week who were concerned
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: that they weren't going to be able to go back
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: to the gym and questioning why. I know that some
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: gyms had even said, look, we can hold sessions sort
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: of you know in areas that are more open, or
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: modify the way that they're doing things as well, in
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: an effort to try their best to really ensure that
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: they are able to open. But it hasn't happened. So
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: again I will say, I know there are plenty of
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: people who would like to see those gyms reopen.