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45SCOTUSCongressFacts First2020 ElectionLIVE TVEditionSTART THE DAY HERERamadan begins. House looks to set up stimulus oversight committee. Chevron ordered to halt Venezuela oil production. With lobbying push, gyms get on Phase One of Trump's reopening planBy Michael Warren, Ellie Kaufman, Jasmine Wright and Caroline Kenny, CNN
Updated 7:04 AM ET, Thu April 23, 2020
Georgia governor: I don't give a damn about politics right now 02:00Washington (CNN)When President Donald Trump revealed his guidelines for "opening up America again" last week, among the bolded names of businesses and institutions that could reopen were restaurants, movie theaters and places of worship -- so long as they adhered to strict social distancing protocols. Tucked near the bottom of the list, right above a warning that bars should stay closed, was a curious inclusion: gyms.
While an integral part of many Americans' routines, gyms and fitness clubs would seem to present a particular risk for contact spread of a contagious virus. Filled with people sweating and breathing hard, sharing equipment and spaces, gyms are in many ways the last kind of business to prioritize during a deadly pandemic.Their inclusion follows a last-minute lobbying push by an industry not known for flexing its muscles in Washington. While not every major company was part of the effort, conversations with 10 leaders in the fitness-club business reveal an influential network of relationships that kicked into gear over the past few weeks and helped move gyms to the front of the line -- even to the surprise of many in the industry.Steve RossNoteworthy figures in the effort include a Trump-loving fitness-center owner in Pennsylvania, Rudy Giuliani's son Andrew, billionaire real-estate mogul Steve Ross and the US Surgeon General.Among the most influential advocates is an Iranian-born founder of one of the country's largest fitness club chains, Bahram Akradi of Life Time Fitness. Akradi has been pitching governors and the Trump administration on what he calls a "comprehensive, multifaceted tactical plan" to fight the coronavirus and rebuild the economy. He now finds himself on one of Trump's economic recovery working groups and in conference calls with the President himself, including on the day before Trump released his new guidelines.Multiple people at fitness-center companies -- from executives at giants like Gold's Gym to independent health clubs -- told CNN they did not expect gyms to be mentioned in reopening plans from either the Trump administration or Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who announced Monday fitness centers were included in several public-space business that could begin reopening by the end of the week."We just really lucked out and were able to get our message into a couple of the right people's hands," said Meredith Poppler, a top official at the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, the industry's main trade group.Poppler told CNN that in recent weeks IHRSA, which receives funding from many of the brand-name gym companies, began a full-court press to deal with the economic fallout hitting gyms and fitness clubs. That included hiring more lobbyists and aggressively pressing its message about the importance of physical fitness during a pandemic to lawmakers in Washington as well as officials in the Trump administration.The messaging worked even better than they'd hoped."We were as surprised as anyone when we saw President Trump announce the three phases and that gyms were in the first phase," said Poppler.Connections in the White House