“And he’s spending that money to throw a fabulous fundraiser for the Trump administration,” Burgio says. While Equinox and the related brands are trying to distance themselves from Ross, Burgio says he can’t shake the concern that the work he does for the company will wind up generating money for the billionaire. “Thank you for standing up and making personal sacrifices for what is right and just for all.” “You are courageous and I support you,” reads one comment. As of Thursday afternoon, the post has received more than 4,300 likes, along with supportive comments from others in the fitness community - and no shortage of rainbow and heart emojis. “My gut instinct right away was like, ‘I just have to quit Equinox.'”īurgio announced his departure from Equinox with an Instagram post on Wednesday. “As a queer person of color - I’m a Mexican-American, my mom is from Mexico - I feel like there is often so little I actually can do,” Burgio tells TIME. He says he was so upset by Ross’ relationship with Trump, who he views as anti-LGBTQ, that he quit his current position at a Chicago-area Equinox. “We want to let you know that Equinox and SoulCycle have nothing to do with the event and do not support it.” In a separate statement, SoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan said that the company believes in “diversity, inclusion, and equality.”Ī post shared by SoulCycle instructors like Jimmy Burgio, who has taught yoga classes at both Equinox and Pure Yoga in different cities over the last five years, are having none of it. In statements released Wednesday, Equinox and SoulCycle attempted to quell the controversy by calling Ross a “passive investor.” “Many members raised their concerns about a political fundraiser taking place later this week,” reads Equinox’s statement. As Axios notes, “there is no publicly-available indication that Equinox or SoulCycle pay dividends or other profit cuts to Ross, although obviously he’d benefit financially were either company to be sold.” Other companies have also faced boycott threats over their involvement with Trump and his associates luxury retailer Nordstrom dropped Ivanka Trump’s clothing line following a similar movement in 2017.Įquinox is a privately held company, making it difficult to fully assess its financial relationship with Ross, who is also principal owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Major celebrities, including Chrissy Teigen and Billy Eichner, are also urging their followers to reconsider their memberships over the fundraiser. Those involved in the boycott calls are critical of Trump’s record on LGBTQ issues, his anti-immigrant rhetoric, and racist comments. Guests will include Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, according to invitations obtained by the Post.įitness influencers are now among the loudest voices in a growing social media movement urging people to boycott Equinox and its subsidiaries, including SoulCycle, Pure Yoga and Blink Fitness, following the fundraiser revelation. A $250,000 ticket includes a “roundtable discussion,” the Washington Post reports. Tickets to the event cost $100,000 for lunch and a photo-op with President Trump. Ross, chairman and founder of The Related Companies, which acquired Equinox in 2005 and is now a minority shareholder, is planning to host a Trump campaign fundraiser at his Hamptons home on Friday. “This is not okay,” she wrote.ĭonlan was one of several Equinox employees and fitness influencers taken aback when news broke Wednesday that Stephen M. She immediately shared the news with her more-than-57,000 Instagram followers. “As an immigrant myself, who is loving living here and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, it just kind of irks me and makes my stomach turn,” Donlan, who moved to the United States from Australia in 2012, tells TIME. When Bec Donlan, an Instagram fitness influencer who teaches a strength training class at a New York Equinox, learned about a Trump campaign fundraiser being held by a billionaire with ties to the gym, she felt “disgusted.”
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