LEWISTON: Shift to online models helps with shuttered doors.

Article Credit:  LINK to Niagara Gazette (article below)
Photo Credit:  Embody Health and Wellness 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have either shifted to new methods of maintaining business by using online platforms or have seen growth in their pre-existing online shops. Lewiston’s Viva Nostalgia is one such business.

Though they have a storefront, which has been closed for some time, Roger Passero, owner of Viva Nostalgia, said he has always sold movies online. He said that since more people are home, they have more opportunities to buy things online as well as watch movies.

“It’s two different things,” Passero said. “We don’t sell the same things online that we do in the store. We sell thousands of movies online that we don’t have in the store. It’s kind of like a different branch of the business. Some of the stuff we have in the store we sell online, but a lot of it, we don’t because a lot of things you’d have to take pictures. It’s tough to sell all the different kinds of things we do online.”

Another area that has swiftly transitioned online is fitness.

Gyms and fitness centers have been developing websites to keep people active and develop a sanctuary of normalcy. Embody Health and Wellness has developed a new website to house fitness videos and live stream workout sessions. Ami Patrick of Embody Health and Wellness said the transition from physical classes to online recordings was easier than expected.

“We had always wanted to do an online studio so we had some good ideas about different platforms and how we wanted to put it into reality,” Patrick said. “However, the week before the governor’s mandate came out. We started meeting that Friday and the governor’s mandate came out on Monday. We were like, ‘Okay, game on’ and we stated filming some videos. We got our platform ready, we created a whole look and feel for our site and we were mandated by the governor to shut down on Monday, March 16. We had the online platform up and running by Thursday, the 19th.”

It was important to Patrick that the transition be as seamless as possible since fitness is important as it can impact stress levels and mood. Patrick is working with her team day and night to get these videos prepared for users. 

She said it’s not as much of a challenge as much as something missed. The studio is based around the sense of community and connection. For the time being, they have developed two new membership options. The first is a live stream class which, according to Patrick, offers access to a regular schedule of ten live stream classes per week and replays of the recordings for each class. Members will have the energy of a live class in their own home which gives them a routine to get into.

The other option is an online studio membership. This comes with a library of recorded fitness workouts. It also includes yoga practice videos, meditation recordings, whole foods recipes and other self-care resources. New content is being released on a weekly basis, Patrick said. Instructors have been replicating the environment of a live workout through these videos. However, Patrick said she and her team have been taking things just a step further.  

“We know how the times are challenging for everybody as far as food, sleep, energy and being out of routine,” Patrick said. “All of those things that impact our health and our wellness are not just fitness and yoga. It’s also how you’re sleeping, how you’re relaxing, so we put up tools in our online studio like whole foods recipes with foods that are targeted to help with stress, and food that are targeted to help with sleep. We have meditation recordings. We try to make it well rounded, I call it a self-care sanctuary.”

Patrick wants the program to support the community even after the pandemic is over. Hers is not the only gym that has been working this way. Gleason’s School of Gymnastics in North Tonawanda has been doing the same thing as well. Owner Larry Goldsmith is doing work similar to Patrick’s but in a different fashion.

Each week, they have been providing workouts over Zoom, in which workouts have been working well for athletes. Goldsmith has said the workouts are essential for the physical and mental health of the athletes who work out at Gleason’s. He has found these workouts have been essential for the athletes since it helps increase their strength and flexibility, improves body shapes and allows them to connect with their teammates and coaches regularly.

Patrick has heard a lot of positive feedback to the online sessions, mostly about the transition and how people are maintaining a sense of normalcy. She has been connecting with plenty of people over social media. Once the pandemic is over, she said, there will be continuous uploads and videos made.

Hopefully, these posts give business owners who read this some ideas to help sustain their business during this time. 

Best, 
Eric J. Gall
[email protected]
239-738-6227