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New year, new you, right? Not if you were looking forward to training at Equinox gyms, which has come in for criticism for its anti-new year’s resolution campaign.
On January 1st, the gym chain, which boasts locations in London, Toronto, Vancouver as well as 105 gyms in the United States, announced that it wouldn’t be accepting new members on the first day of the new year.
On its website Equinox explained: ‘January is a fantasy, delivered to your door in a pastel-coloured box. It talks about change. It needs a new outfit before it can begin. Short-cutting, giving up just a few weeks later.
‘You are not a New Year’s resolution. Your life doesn’t start at the beginning of the year. And it’s not what being part of Equinox is about.
‘We go beyond what’s possible. We defy expectations. We are not in moderation. We want it all, every day. And you deserve it all.
‘At Equinox, we don’t speak January – and neither do you.’
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It’s fair to say that reaction to Equinox’s decision was mixed. While some argued that the real motive was to stop people obsessing over new year’s resolutions and encourage them to make positive changes that last a lifetime, others labelled it ‘exclusionary’ and questioned why a health and fitness brand would stop people from joining just because it was January 1st.
‘This makes no room for folks who do want come in [and are] hoping to change their lifestyle, be it on January 1st or on August 22nd. But y’all clearly know that,’ wrote one Instagram user.
