From “you’re on fire” to “we’re closed”

2020 began as our strongest year yet. To meet record demand from our clients we agreed a deal to double our space in Lausanne. A few weeks later, we were closed by the government.

A health crisis that shut down health

COVID was a health crisis, and pretty quickly it became clear that obesity was the number one co-morbidity. The political reality is that no one wanted to say that out loud. So instead of making exercise part of the solution, fitness centres like ours were shut down.
What was supposed to be a short closure of a few weeks stretched into months, then years. Our revenues fell to zero, and even when support arrived, it covered only a fraction of our costs. That “free COVID loan”? It’s the same one we now pay interest on.

The final insult was that despite the federal government approving further aid in 2022 to counter the impact of the much-hated “COVID Pass”, the Vaud Conseil d’État ended all support retroactively as of 31.12.2021, claiming that because there were “no bankruptcies, everything was fine.” Today, the bankruptcy courts are overwhelmed.

Rebuilding through consistency and community

We did everything we could to rebuild, changing our business model to create memberships that reward consistency and long-term health. Our community came back. Today our members are thriving, stronger, fitter and more committed than ever.
But the truth is we are still paying the price of decisions made five years ago. COVID debts remain, and each month it’s a struggle to meet rising costs, pay the team and repay those debts. They make it impossible to reinvest in our facilities or to build for the future.

The future of fitness looks brighter

And yet, the future of fitness has never looked brighter. The boutique fitness movement that inspired BEAT also inspired many of our clients to start their fitness journey. But we now know that fitness as entertainment is not enough. Real fitness comes from lifting weights and getting out of breath a minimum of three to five times a week.

We have an incredible team, and we hope as many as possible will continue coaching and inspiring others to become stronger and fitter for life.

A lasting legacy

We hope that you, as clients, have seen what working out regularly has done for you. We hope that we’ve helped you move beyond fitness as entertainment and shown you that real, lasting fitness comes from training with both strength and cardio: lifting weights and getting out of breath consistently.

We hope we are leaving a lasting legacy of healthy habits that continue after the music stops.

Help us finish strong

We do not want the damage caused by COVID to continue to affect our team or the many small local suppliers our business depends on.

We want to pay our team. We want to pay our bills. We want to finish strong.

The biggest thing you can do to help is simple:

• Show up to class and use your credits.
• Share your credits with friends and help make Lausanne healthier.
• Buy our Solidarity Packs to help us close in a way that reflects everything we have stood for in integrity, community and consistency.

Help us do the right thing by our clients, our team and our suppliers and leave a positive legacy behind.

Buy your solidarity credit(s) here and help us finish strong :

Read on for more details on practical questions you may have about the final weeks.