NJ Gym Championed on Fox News is Now Offering Free Memberships to Anti-Vaxxers

Marisa SarnoffMar 26th, 2021, 5:06 pm
 

The Atilis Gym, the law-defying New Jersey workout spot that Fox News enthusiastically praised in the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, is offering free memberships to people who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine.

“In light of @krispykreme giving free donuts for receiving the CVD shot, here at @TheAtilisGym we are giving out free memberships to all who don’t get vaccinated. We believe in health – the real way – exercise, good diet, plenty of Vitamin D, Zinc, and an environment to destress,” gym owner Ian Smith posted on Twitter.

Atilis Gym was featured on Fox News multiple times in May 2020 for refusing to abide by state orders to close gyms, as they were considered high-risk settings for the spread of Covid. Among other supportive voices on the network, Fox’s Pete Hegseth praised the gym’s owners as being “a voice for millions.”

In August, Brian Kilmeade interviewed Atilis co-owner Frank Trumbetti, who claimed, without evidence, that the government was deliberately keeping gyms closed in order to intentionally cause a spike in cases, by not allowing people to “build their immune system[s].”

On Tuesday, donut giant Krispy Kreme announced that it would give a free donut a day through the end of 2021 for anyone who could prove they got the coronavirus vaccine. The offer sparked a social media backlash among both the anti-donut and anti-vaccination crowds, and Krispy Kreme eventually amended its offer to include the non-vaccinated, offering a free donut and coffee on Mondays to those who “have made the personal decision to not receive the COVID vaccine.”

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