24 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JUNE 2021
PANDEMIC ENTREPRENEURS BUILD BIZ FROM PICKS TO PERSONAL TRAINING
Julie Dermer, a Manhattan and East
Hampton resident, started her own
virtual workout company known as
Pulse by Julie D amid the pandemic after
SoulCycle, where she is an instructor,
temporarily closed down.
“I didn’t intend for it to be a business,”
said Dermer, known as Julie D to those
who take her personal training classes.
“I wanted a way to stay connected to my
community. I got onto Instagram and
sprang into action.”
Dermer initially taught half-hour exercise
classes with a dish towel and bottles for
weights, but her virtual workouts have
taken off with about 200 members in
addition to classes for companies, she says.
“I’m doing it for a few corporations
through their HR departments as health
and wellness for their employees,” said
Dermer, who offers classes four days a
week on Zoom as well as private, in-person
lessons and classes for special occasions.
Entrepreneurs have been starting up
and expanding through franchises,
seeking to start their own businesses
by tapping into existing brands.
Josh York, CEO of GYMGUYZ, an in-home
personal training company, said his company
has been growing rapidly during
the pandemic as franchisees start up and
clients seek training in their homes.
“In the last eight months, it’s been pretty
crazy,” York, based in Plainview, said.
“We are a mobile operation. There’s no
brick and mortar.”
York said he recently got 45 franchise
leads from an appearance on CNBC
for his company, which specializes in
virtual training and in-home training
sessions.
“People sampled our service throughout
the pandemic,” York said. “The pandemic
created new consumer behavior. The
whole world is based on convenience.”
While many startups provide online services,
Acoustik Attak used technology to
get started, like a high-tech version of a
garage band. Labbe made the first picks
with a 3D printer, before they refined
designs and found a manufacturer.
Acoustik Attak, DePietro said, remains
a “100 percent virtual company” with 12
employees in home offices.
“The guitar market grew 17 percent
during Covid,” DePietro said, explaining
one reason this may be the right time for
his company to launch and grow. “People
were staying home and picking up a new
instrument.”
Companies are expanding online and via
brick and mortar. GYMGUYZ recently
got into Costco, which sells its virtual
training sessions.
“It’s not easy to get into Costco,” York said.
“Persistence, that’s it.”
Brick-and-mortar businesses are launching
as well now that the economy is
reopening. High Score Pinball Arcade
opened in April at the Westfield South
Shore mall in Bay Shore with more than
40 pinball machines.
And MagicBox by SHOWFIELDS, a revolving
retail experience with brands and
communities which bills itself as “the most
interesting store in the world,” opened at
the Roosevelt Field mall, in March.
Traditional retail is beginning to
rebound, but Dermer believes virtual
services such as physical training, which
lets people work out at home, will remain
in fashion long after the pandemic abates.
“I think people like the ease of virtual,
the energy that comes from me seeing
Pulsers,” Dermer said. “We’re on Zoom
with each other. It’s not just doing a workout
on YouTube.”
The pandemic, she believes, has given
health-related businesses such as
personal trainers a shot in the arm. “I
think especially right now if you have
your health, you don’t take that lightly,”
Dermer said. “You want to take care of
yourself.”
DePietro believes that the pandemic has
gotten people playing musical instruments
more, as they spend more time at home.
He said his company sells about $1,000 in
product a day and spends $10,000 a month
on advertising. He’s happy to continue
Acoustik Attak as a virtual business focusing
more on picks than on bricks.
“We’re planning on remaining virtual
as a company,” DePietro said. “We don’t
really feel we need an office.”
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