After Ireland’s first lockdown, Carrick-on-Suir man Aj Cronin was left with a huge battle to save his gym.
Now, new level five restrictions mean gyms around the country are being instructed to close their doors once again – but Cronin isn’t budging.
The Tipperary native is “taking a stand” by keeping his doors open – in a safe and sanitised manner – for as long as he possibly can.
“Financially, it’s crippling,” he tells the Irish Mirror.
“From the last lockdown I only barely got through it – dragged myself out of a hole.”
But for Cronin, the decision to defy Ireland’s new restrictions – and keep his Strength and Fitness gym open – doesn’t come down to cash.
“It's not about money – it's the morals of the whole thing,” he says.
Carrick-on-Suir is a small town, with a “high suicide and drug epidemic”.
For many people in the town, the gym has been a salvation when it comes to their mental health.
“It feels sometimes like you're a counsellor,” Cronin says of his business.
“People are coming in and they're in a dark place.
“My biggest fear is that if I open back up in December, that some people might not be here anymore.”
After the first lockdown, Cronin went to great lengths to make sure he could run a safe gym – he says he’s followed “every guideline".
“It's not as if we don't take it seriously – we spent €500 a month getting the gym cleaned down and sanitised.
“I have nearly 100 square foot and we keep numbers very very low – six or seven at a time. It's never more than that amount.”
But irrespective of the safety measures he’s put in place, Cronin – along with gyms around the country – has been told to shut his doors.
He’s not doing it.
“I just want to take some sort of stand,” he says. “All I can do is try. If it doesn't work out and I get fined, so be it.
“If it doesn't work, for my own morals, and my own pride, I can say that I tried.
“If it does work, I don't want any credit for it. I don't care about that. It's a win-win for me if I can help people in the local town.”
Cronin isn’t in it for the drama, or looking for attention, he says.
“I’m not trying to be a rebel, or bring any hassle.
“I know the guards have a job to do – I actually have friends who are guards.
“But I want to make some kind of stand and stay functioning for as long as I possibly can.”
