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A few months into the Covid pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy continued to keep fitness centers, movie theaters, and casinos shuttered. The owners of many small businesses were looking at the possibility of losing everything they had spent their lives creating. After two months of remaining closed, gym owners Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti made the difficult decision to defy the governor’s executive order and reopen their gym. Upon reopening Attilis Gym in Bellmawr, NJ, the police arrived to serve notice that they were in violation of the order. They remained open.
Over the following days, pressure increased, and news media coverage multiplied. National attention began showering down on the gym as a divided country cheered them on, and others disagreed with their decision. The gym had to take extreme measures to keep the gym functioning each day. They put in safety measures to assist in the comfort of their customer’s safety and experience. Largely ignored by those critical of the gym, was the fact that there were sincere measures to keep people safe, and patrons were exercising their personal freedom to attend. They made an informed consent to be in the gym.
The battle continued for months, with fines of over $3 million levied against Attilis owners. During this time, gym co-owner Ian Smith began doing more interviews on news media. His social media multiplied, and he began to give voice to national issues of other shuttered businesses around the country. His social media influence grew to over 1 million, tuning in to what he was sharing. He became the poster image for the fight against mandates and executive orders.
He found his hill to climb or die on. Whether you agree with his politics or not, one can easily admire the fortitude of Ian on behalf of his gym and all Americans. Many have painted him as Alt-Right, but he identifies as a libertarian. This characterization is intriguing to those paying attention to the misalignment of views in modern politics. Ian and I spoke for over an hour to better get to know him and his cause. He has a book coming out in a few weeks, “Find Your Hill.” www.findyourhill.com
Ian Smith was willing to die on his hill. Are you willing to die on yours?
Image: AP