Evisa Personal Fitness Club in Swadlincote has been standing up to lockdown by getting pro-active - and is on course to emerge from the Coronavirus crisis as strong as ever.

The club closed its doors at the Astron Business Park before the Government officially closed down gyms and other similar organisations in March.

But Evisa never really went away.

Their premises might have been off limits to its 700 members - they have held on to 75 per cent of those during lockdown - but they stayed in touch with their clients and went online in the first instance.

Now, with restrictions easing, the club, which marked its 10th anniversary last month, is able to use its car park for sessions.

And Evisa owner and founder Scott Taylor says the premises could be open for business again - with safety measures in place - next month.

It means the club will have been rewarded for their approach during lockdown - and at a time when some gyms across the country may be forced to close due to the effects of the Covid-19 crisis.

Scott told Swadlincote Nub News: "We were forced to close in March, but we were expecting it and had planned for it.

"We could have thought 'How are we going to survive without the revenue? What will we do we do with our staff?'

"But straight away, literally in a flip, we got our heads together, pen and paper, let's do it right now. We were prepared, it's about being pro-active and not dwelling on the situation.

"We were ready to go when lockdown came.

"It's about mindset. We told our members not to focus on the problems, but focus on the solution. We needed to do the same.

"We transitioned our personal training services online.

"We built an extensive pre-recorded workout and education website where members would have a log-in where they can watch videos and workouts which they can follow from home.

"For the members who wanted personal training and coaching, which is the majority and mainly what we do, we had Zoom workouts every day, seven days a week, and we've been doing that for three months now.

"So as soon as the Government announced that one to one personal training was returning, but we waited for small groups to be announced.

"Now we can do one to one and groups as long as we have safety measures in place.

"We're four days in now and it's been very successful. We're doing five sessions a day but we're still running the online service.

"But while there is a benefit to online workouts, nothing will ever replace face-to-face.

"We are a physical facility that offers one to one training and we are community based. It's all about being different, being a personal club and not just a gym.

"We know everyone by name and what they want."

Scott knows this has been a tough time for the leisure industry and that tackling the lockdown in this way has been crucial to the business' survival.

He added: "There are gyms that are being shut down and we were open and honest with our clients.

"We wanted them, wherever possible, to continue to support us and we'll return to normal when we get back.

"And we've managed to retain about 75 per cent of our members which is brilliant.

"That's down to us going online and still giving them a service.

"We also have five closed Facebook groups that only members see - we email them every day, send them messages, make phone calls. We're doing all we possibly can to keep them engaged and there's a lot of support.

"But we're also telling them that when we come out of lockdown, we're going to do what we did best before.

"And we've had such a lot of good feedback."

But Scott says it is not just about the members - he has a family to support and his own staff to look after.

He added: "I'm a family man, I have a one-year-old, a seven-year-old, a 10-year-old and my partner's also self-employed.

"We're human as well, not just business owners. We have empathy for members and it works both ways.

"But I also employ eight people, it's about them and their families as well.

"And it's about the members, this is part of their lives. We have held on to 75 per cent of our members because we offer that personality and coaching.

"it's been difficult, but it shows that with persistence, drive and determination, we can make it work.

"We feel we'll be open again in four weeks' time, around mid-July.

"Hardy Signs in Burton are providing me with all my social distancing equipment which will be arriving on Friday and there'll be a promotional video to show what safety measures are being put in place.

"There will be no cross-contamination between members. It'll be very difficult to get it wrong, people will know exactly what to do."