Toronto fitness community devastated after popular gym closes permanently
Toronto gym Bolo has announced that it's closed its physical space for good.
The Richmond Street boxing gym and fitness hub released a statement over the weekend announcing its closure, prompting thousands of heartbreaking reactions from class-goers.
"It is with broken hearts that we announce that our Richmond St. location will be closing permanently," wrote owner Caleigh Rykiss and the team.
Bolo, short for BodyLove, opened its 7,000-square-foot studio in 2018 following nearly a year of pop-ups in collaboration with Knix Wear.
Parts gym, coffee shop, salon, and lounge, the hybrid space was forced to close down in March due to the pandemic.
At the onset of the lockdown, the gym tried to raise $30,000 to keep the business afloat and hire back staff. It only managed to raise just over $9,000 of that goal.
"This is not a decision that happened over night; we held on with an iron grip as long as we could... to the very last second," said Bolo.
"The reality is, these circumstances make it nearly impossible for an operation of our size, in this industry, to survive. We, a team of FIGHTERS, have fallen victim to the pandemic - clear and simple."
Bolo's space on Richmond Street included a coffee bar, salon, lounge. and gym. Photo by Hector Vasquez.
Bolo has been running virtual classes since then, and will continue to hold online bootcamps and other workouts over Zoom.
"To the community - to every single person who trusted us to have your backs and to lead your wellness journey, thank you," wrote Rykiss in a personal post. "I will never ever forget the love we shared between those walls. And... I’m sorry. I’m just so damn sorry."
"For now, we will be a bit sad. We will read every comment and shed some tears. We will take a few mins to feel sorry for ourselves and then we will come back as strong as ever."
Hector Vasquez
