Owner of Gym That Received Multiple Citations Defends Reopening in CNN Interview: ‘Our Decision Came from the People’

The owner of a Pennsylvania gym that received four citations in two days for reopening appeared on CNN Wednesday to defend the decision.

They have since closed down again, but Dan Cronauer defended the initial decision as one made after listening to mental health concerns of the community and wanting to “be an outlet for people”:

“I myself suffer from anxiety, depression, panic attack disorder — I know how bad that feels for a lot of people. And it got to the point where others were expressing to me, ‘I need the gym. I need the gym.’ Like it was their medication. They needed to get back in the gym, so our decision came from the people, and to your comment about closing, it got really hard for us to close the doors because people look at us like, ‘I’m so glad you’re doing this for me,’ and they’re thrilled.”

Keilar asked about people working out from home and why they felt reopening the gym was important right now.

“Ask everyone with kids how working with home has been going for the past 60 days,” he responded.

Cronauer elaborated:

“There’s something about a good gym environment. Whether we’re ten feet or 15 feet away, seeing your friend or buddy, a recognizable face, you’re waving to them hello. That comes with the gym. It’s not just lifting things up and putting them down, right? It’s about the social interaction as well, the mental clarity, and when you’re in your house, there’s always this other thing that can be done, right? You’re doing your push-ups, and then, ‘oh, crap, I’ve got to do the laundry.’ There’s always something else in the back of your head running. But when you enter the gym, your mind gets to shut off. You get to put that music on and really just decompress for that hour that we’re limiting people to.”

He said they were taking precautions and made everyone wash their hands and wipe down the equipment because “no one wanted to ruin a good thing.”

Keilar asked if people were wearing masks.

“We had some people wearing masks. Others weren’t. It was really up their requirement — or up to their preference if they wanted to or not,” he responded.

When Keilar asked what he wants to hear from the president when he visits the state, Cronauer said, “I don’t know if it’s necessarily the president I want to hear from. It’s the other business owners in the area. The other gym owners who have the same amount of care for their patrons that we do and understand what they’re going through. The president is just one guy. Small businesses and the gym owners of America are a way bigger population.”

You can watch above, via CNN.