Some Valley Gyms Stay Open, Defying County Orders

NORTHRIDGE, CA — Two gyms in Northridge and Chatsworth have either shut down or moved outdoors since an investigative report showed that many gyms around LA County continue to stay open.

Even though Los Angeles County ordered its gyms to close on July 13, NBC News I-Team found that a number of gyms around the San Fernando Valley were defying the order and remaining open.

Former gym-goer Sherri Box recently peered through the window of Crunch Fitness at the Northridge Shopping Center on Reseda Boulevard, and told NBC News that she saw dozens of people working out, many not wearing masks.

“I couldn’t believe it! I looked inside the window and it looked like a big party in Miami or South Beach,” she said.

The party was recently shut down. Initially, a membership advisor at Crunch Northridge told NBC News that they had no plans to close down, but on Monday an employee told Patch that the facility was closed indefinitely.

On Thursday at 4 p.m., just an hour after NBC documented people working out at Crunch Fitness at Nordhoff Street, officials came and closed the facility down.

An employee at Crunch Chatsworth told Patch that the gym was closed for 24 hours, during which Crunch employees transported all the equipment outside. The employee said that while the Northridge facility’s layout did not give it this option, the Chatsworth location joined two other Crunch gyms in Simi Valley and Van Nuys in moving outdoors.

Now, fitness buffs willing to brave the Valley summer heat can go to nearby a parking lot towork out. Masks are required, and employees continually disinfect the equipment. Nearby canopies are set up for shade.

The Zoo Culture gym in Woodland Hills remains open as of Monday, despite an order saying that gyms could not operate indoors. An employee told Patch that masks remain optional, and declined to say whether they had been visited by the Health Department.

The LA Public Health Department was unavailable for comment.