By Gary Barlow

Staff writer

Cheetah Gyms staff and patrons went on a wild ride last week that began when owner David Wilshire abruptly closed the gyms under mysterious circumstances Sept. 5 and ended when loan holder MB Financial re-opened the gyms—minus Wilshire—Sept. 9.

The public drama—hashed and rehashed on Chicago blogs all week—began after staff and patrons of the gyms showed up Sept. 5 and found the gyms closed. The only explanation was a brief letter Wilshire posted on the gyms’ windows alleging that he was closing shop because of “employee graft and theft” that was “enormous.”

“The scams run the gamut but it looks like I was the sole victim of theft,” Wilshire wrote. “I tried my hardest to save it and take back control but it was clear I would not be allowed that opportunity.”

Wilshire went on to assert that had he stayed open he would have been forced to “employ people who were probably bad.” He said he could not complete the gyms’ payroll and blamed it on general manager Angie Frank, saying she “should have been the first to be fired.”

He also had little good news for patrons who had paid months in advance or were having credit cards debited for membership fees every month.

“You will have to do what you need to do to assert your individual interests,” Wilshire stated.

Late that afternoon, patrons—many of them gay—gathered outside Cheetah’s Andersonville location at 5248 N. Clark St. Wilshire could be seen inside for a while, giving a lengthy TV news interview and conversing with staff. Other staff members periodically showed up and were allowed in to get paychecks.

Wilshire again gave vague reasons, hinting at major fraud by employees, for closing.

“It just started to get to a point where it was ridiculous,” Wilshire said, adding that he discovered the problems and wanted to alleviate them but “the demands were too great.”

He also alluded to fears about “managing people’s information, keeping their numbers safe.”

Wilshire said he didn’t know how much money he was missing.

“There isn’t really a number I could trust,” he said.

But there would have been no financial burden to keeping the business open, he said—the problem was having enough staff who he trusted.

“Money was not so much the issue,” Wilshire said. “The business was sound.”

Those actions launched several days of very active blogging on Chicago websites, with patrons discussing their options—from getting their money back from Wilshire to stopping future debits and finding new gyms. Interspersed with those postings were others from people claiming to be former and current staff members, friends of Wilshire, people with beefs against him and spectators.

Some of the rumors were clearly untrue. The three Cheetah Gyms—Andersonville, Edgewater (5838 N. Broadway) and Bucktown (1934 W. North Ave.) were not bought by Bally, for example, as one cleverly forged press release stated. Rumors also circulated widely about Wilshire having health-related problems. Frank would not comment on those.

Meanwhile, events were taking place behind the scene to take management of the gyms out of Wilshire’s hands. By the end of the week, signs were posted to let patrons know that the Andersonville and Bucktown gyms were re-opening Sept. 9, while the Edgewater gym would re-open Sept. 12.

“Through the cooperation of Cheetah Gym’s lender, MB Financial, it was decided it is in the best interest of our members, staff and communities to reopen as soon as possible,” a Cheetah press release stated.

In charge when the gyms re-opened was Frank, who said every staff member returned to work with her. Frank, now the chain’s chief operating officer, said MB Financial simply moved to protect its investment.

“That’s exactly why they did that,” she said.

She added that the bank was “working with us to take care of” paying every employee what they were owed, addressing concerns that the checks Wilshire had issued earlier in the week couldn’t be cashed because MB Financial had already moved to freeze those accounts. Frank also reaffirmed statements in the press release assuring patrons that their credit and debit card information had never been “compromised in any way.”

“All this information is secure and safeguarded,” the release stated.

Patrons streamed into the Andersonville gym Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve had more people in here on a Sunday afternoon than ever before,” Frank said. “It’s been great. People have really welcomed us back.”

Frank said MB Financial is committed to keeping the gyms open, but that they would eventually be sold to a new owner. Plans for a new Logan Square location have been shelved, she said.

“This is such a huge part of the community, and for the bank and the staff it was just important to get things back up and running,” Frank said.