Cheetah Gym, a popular place for LGBT Chicagoans to work out, recently and suddenly closed all three of its locations Sept. 5, and the owner is citing alleged in-house theft as the reason.
The closing of all three locations in Bucktown, Edgewater and Andersonville came as a surprise to many who came up to the doors of their gym after having worked out the previous day, only to find them permanently closed. Calls to all three facilities went unanswered, and the company's Web site had been taken down. Owner David Wilshire, in a recent letter to members, stated that alleged 'theft and graft' forced him to permanently close shop.
'The degree of corruption was enormous,' Wilshire stated in the letter. 'I was left in a position where I could trust no-one [sic] or anything.'
Wilshire spoke to Windy City Times shortly after the letter was sent out.
'It's been very recent, and pretty much every day another development of a scam that was being played,' Wilshire said. 'They were only stealing from me, it looks like.'
A few members have stated that money has already been deducted from their bank accounts for September dues. (If members had electronic fund transfer [EFT] memberships, monthly dues were billed automatically to a credit card or checking account.)
The letter also included that the alleged theft mainly took place in the Bucktown facility. Wilshire included that he felt that many of his employees were 'good and honest people.' Also in the letter, Wilshire added that he tried hard to take control of the situation and save the gyms; claimed that the regional general manager quit, leaving him understaffed and with the task of taking care of payroll; and that he was 'forced to employ people I thought should be fired.'
'I had hoped to be able to run them long enough to reinstate the infrastructure. But the task was too great,' the letter stated.
Wilshire said to Windy City times, 'You can't employ thieves. It became clear who was involved and I had to fire more and more people—it was just impossible to remain open.'
He also told Windy City Times that he is considering taking legal action.