GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- As weeks turned into months, a plan didn't work out for one Green Bay gym.
"We were closed down," former Titletown Fitness co-owner Mike Moran said. "We did what everybody did that two weeks to flatten the curve. That was the original plan. ... We had to cancel all the memberships, the collection of the memberships. So literally no money coming in, but still having to pay."
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For over 30 years, Titletown Fitness was a popular place for Northeast Wisconsinites to get a workout. But when the pandemic hit in 2020, Moran had no choice but to close his doors.
"People didn't come back because the fear was so high," he said. "And even though we turned the membership on, many of the members just shut off their automatic withdraws."
After temporarily closing in March, Moran's business reopened in May of last year. Though he set Titletown Fitness up with Covid safety protocols in mind, the customer base Moran gained over 31 years nearly vanished.
"We just could not sustain the overhead and everything so we set a closing date and then we had to liquidate our entire facility," he said.
In July 2020, Titletown Fitness closed for good. And as we know, it wasn't the only company to close. Whether it was gyms, restaurants or retail, some of our local businesses never recovered from the pandemic. But when a new opportunity came knocking for Moran, he opened the door.
"It was extremely stressful, but it was seamless," he said. "And within two weeks after closing, I was up and running with the personal training business."
With a new chance to pursue a lifetime goal, Moran opened MyoRx down the streetwithin a month.
It's a private training business that tasks members to work out for just 30 minutes a week.
"It's a blessing in disguise because even though I've been in the fitness industry, my real passion was personal training and evidence-based training," Moran said.
Though he misses the people at Titletown Fitness, Moran says his new endeavor is so enjoyable, it feels a little like retirement.
"Now that I'm here, it's everything I expected and more," he said. "I love it. It's almost like not working at all."
It's a new business, a fresh start and a recovery that others are still hoping to find.
