‘I refused to shut the doors’: Wilmington gym cited for opening early remains open

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Muscleworx Fitness opened its doors on Thursday, and on Friday it appeared they could be closing again.

After an anonymous complaint, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office gave the owner the option to close immediately without citation or remain open and be cited.

“I refused to shut the doors, voluntarily. And we’re just going to take it through the legal system at this point,” owner Jason Morgan said.

Morgan was issued a citation with a class 2 misdemeanor for violating Executive Order 121.

The sheriff said they would return later to padlock the doors of the building.

Morgan says he is worried about caring for his family if his doors close.

“This very well could be the end of my business of 25 years just because somebody who decided to remain anonymous felt like I shouldn’t be open,” Morgan said.

Gym-goers say they would be disappointed to see the doors close.

“I feel really bad because health and fitness is essential,”Christine Cruss said.

Cruss says everyone at the gym is there by their own free will.

“No one said hey come in here now! No, we said okay great what can we do so we can do this?” she said.

She says she is happy to take extra precautions like signing waivers, extra cleaning, and having her temperature taken to keep everyone safe.

“If they say our temperatures up, we know we gotta go. We don’t want to contaminate anyone and we don’t want to hurt anyone. Everyone here, like I said, we’re here because we want to be. We all care about each other and the environment. We don’t want to jeopardize that.”

She says being at the gym is a lot more than just working out.

“We encourage each other to lift and keep going. And you know what? This is good for you. Come on let’s get stronger,” Cruss said. “And stronger isn’t just the muscle. It’s inside. It’s in your heart, it’s in your soul, it’s in your mind.”

As of 6pm when the business closed, the sheriff’s office had not returned to place any additional locks on the door.