Are You Going To Boycott Equinox / SoulCycle?

by Christie Grimm · August 8, 2019

How much money would you pay for a photo with your favorite person in the world? Would you pay $100,000? How about $250,000 for the pleasure of listening in on a roundtable discussion with them? Even in a world where it'd be tax deductible, it's a hard sell.

But alas, rich people do dumb things. So dumb, they'd even pay that money to line up for a snap with Donald Trump. 

Real estate developer Stephen Ross isn't exactly a household name, but he's been making his fair share of headlines over the past day, since news was first reported of his exclusive, expensive Hamptons fundraiser for Trump. An event he is clearly free to plan of his own volition and personal political motivation. However, just so has it that Ross is Chairman and majority owner of the Related Companies, which oversees Equinox Fitness. Meaning most simply, Ross profits from Equinox, PURE Yoga, Blink Fitness, and SoulCycle.

Having not had something to seriously tweet about boycotting since that unfortunate Uber moment at JFK during the muslim ban, obviously everybody's got some feistiness to let loose. 

So what will you do? God knows that SoulCycle is an addictive cult and you'll need to get your ride fix in somewhere. Flywheel unfortunately happens to be one of Ivanka's favorite pastimes, so there goes that. And what about the real reason people join Equinox? What about the Kiehls products? Will they even be able to keep their Creme de Corps on the shelves? Not to mention cancelling your Equinox membership is notoriously one of the most difficult things a person can accomplish in their life. Like, it's not just sending in an email being like "I'm over it." Everyone will have to come up with proof they've suddenly relocated more than 25 miles away from an Equinox location, or get a doctor to say they medically can't be anywhere near an elliptical.

And what about the poor employees caught in-between? The ones who make their livelihood from these gyms, might not agree with Trump's politics, but who's jobs are now being potentially compromised by this backlash. Meanwhile, the company itself is doing the most to distance itself from Ross and politics completely.

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Also, side note, Ross is also an owner of the Miami Dolphins. But obviously no one's in a tizzy about boycotting them..

Either way you cut it, it's a tough call. Unless you're like me and you're just dying for an excuse not to go to the gym.

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