To our Vision Prahran community,
First and foremost, massive thank you to you all. Like many, CV19 has had a massive impact on the studio and personal lives of myself and the entire Team. 2019 we had many battles with road closures, tram works, Coles/Woolies closed and Prahran square carpark redevelopment which was frustrating for us all. Come 2020 we felt like a plane on a runway about to take off for some massive success, albeit come CV19, where we grounded to a halt and have felt like the planes at Tullamarine ever since.
Wednesday 18th March I got wind of Gym closures, followed by the PM's announcement that the Australian boarders where to be closed and at 10pm that night having to convince my Dad to return to Australia immediately from Cambodia otherwise he wouldn't be back in Aus for a while. The following day, I call it my freak out day, how long can we survive if we are forced to close? I gave myself 3-4months, reality that this could be the end of VisionPT Prahran, no more community events, no more trainers and no more Visionaries (you guys and gals L).
My nickname on the football field was bulldog, where I'd never let anyone get in the way of me and the footy, I'd do whatever it takes to get my hands on the footy (probably why I was always injured). Friday 20th March 2020, it was Collingwood vs Western Bulldog, I had my laptop set up on the studio floor in front of the TV. I started at 4pm and by 11pm, I was confident I had a plan and strategy in place with my "bulldog" mentally that whatever happened CV19 was not going to get in the way of us continuing to support every person apart of VisionPT Prahran.
Sunday morning, I must thank Vision Member and dear friend Jen Seigel. Jen trained with me way back in 2013 at VisionPT Brighton, and now by Luke and Lauren here at VisionPT Prahran. Jen and I tested an online zoom PT session to see if it would work, with a gas bottle as resistance, I was able to take Jen thru a workout were I got the belief this would work, for that Jen I will be forever grateful. Sunday night the PM announced "gyms" to close Monday 12noon, myself and the team had the belief we could do online PT and by the end of week 1 we completed 87 1on1 Online PT sessions, week 2 over 150 sessions along with launching online group training and weekly health seminars with great success.
For this, I thank everyone who stuck by us and have continued with their health and fitness journey. We have many clients who have lost work due to CV19 and we hope to see them back in the future. I feared we may have to let trainers go to survive, however with your support we've been able to retain every Team member. Massive thanks to Drew Robinson who created and runs our online group training for you all and the hard work the entire team has done over the last couple months, Luke Sullivan, Makram Amin, Lauren Greaves, Laura Northage and Lewis Teale.
From the state government grants, we invested that directly back into the studio. We have removed 2 walls at the rear of studio, repainted the back of studio and finally been able to replace the carpet on the rear stairs and common walk space. We're also in the process of replacing older equipment to ensure when we reopen the facilities, it will be vibrant and fresh. We look forward to having you back in the studio to see these improvements.
We'll have strict guidelines in place that must be adhered to inside the studio. 1.5m distancing including from your PT, workout towel from now and forever moving forward will be mandatory, if you forget we'll have towels to hire, however no towel no train. Washing your hand at the beginning and end of session will be required along with your trainer taking your temperature upon arrival. As we enter flu season please be mindful that if you're not feeling 100% to reschedule your session to another date.
If you have any feedback regarding any thoughts pre CV19 or what you'd like us to keep in relation to online platforms, we'd greatly love to hear your thoughts. Sms myself 0401 075 287 or email nweidemann@visionpt.com.au
I'm extremely grateful and proud of the fast turnaround by the entire team to make our Online PT work. The feedback I've received to date has been reassuring for us to continue to move forward.
I do ask for one last favor, if you have family or friends that are in a position and potentially sitting on the fence about doing Personal Training, Online or face to face when we re-open, please do let us know as all PTs have lost clients due to CV19. All our "Be rewarded" thank you gifts are still applicable as our thanks to your ongoing support.
For myself, the last few weeks have been mentally exhausting (too many weeks being a 'Bulldog' again) I'll be cutting back to rest and recharge for when we reopen. I feel we've "fastened our seat belts" and are ready for take-off again…. when Mr Andrew's allows us.
So again, Thank you for sticking with us! Like Kintsugi Pottery (google it) we were broken but will come back better, stronger than ever before
Yours in best Health,
Nathan Weidemann
"Sometimes setbacks are just blessing in disguise. They enhance your determination and whole-hearted dedication to your purpose"
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