“Strategically, if you were trying to enforce an unjust measure anywhere, Liverpool should have been the last place to do it,” added Mr. Whitcombe, a former stuntman and body builder who can make his case like a seasoned politician.
“Anyone who’s from Liverpool will tell you they are proud of the city. Historically, we have shown that we are not going to lie down when something is unfair,” said Nick Whitcombe, 29, the owner of the gym in Moreton, about six miles from the city center, as he celebrated a victory achieved through concerted lobbying of politicians and slick outreach to the media.
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Nick Whitcombe has become a fitness industry campaigner of international renown, since refusing to shut his gym in the October tier 3 restrictions in Liverpool. Whitcombe’s campaign has made him something of a media sensation: featuring on the BBC’s Panorama, (9 November), with a page of coverage in The New York Times, and his reach has stretched as far as Russia Today. He’s receiving up to 15,000 social media messages a day from people in the industry and well wishers supporting his cause. As a result, pinning him down for an interview was a bit of a challenge, but he managed to squeeze in a quick chat between talking to industry captains and MPs. “It’s a crazy situation,”
Whitcombe refused to close his bodybuilding gym – Body Tech Fitness – when Liverpool was placed under tier 3 restrictions, despite multiple visits from police and being issued fines. Using scientific data to back up his decision, he countered that he needed to stay open for his members’ physical and mental wellbeing. “With 62 million gym visits across Europe with only 487 confirmed cases, we’re not adding to the problem, we are part of the solution,” he says. Whitcombe’s campaign quickly gathered momentum, with industry heavyweights getting behind it, as well as receiving support from local MPs. A petition reached 600,000 signatures in less than a week, and a gofundme page to pay fines and legal costs raised £55,000 in six days.
Essential service Whitcombe says that rather than focus on getting the decision to close gyms overturned, he is putting his energies into the campaign to have the health and fitness industry classified as an Essential Service which supports the NHS. Long-term this would be a phenomenal accomplishment and have a far reaching impact. He wants to see a Work Out to Help Out scheme, to help avoid the deterioration in mental and physical health the second lockdown is sure to bring. “Prevention is better – and more cost-effective – than cure,” he says. “The government doesn’t always listen to logic, but they will listen to budgets. So if we can show them how we can stem the drain which lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes, put on the NHS, they may comprehend how our industry can genuinely protect the NHS.
