September 5, 2007
Cheetah Gym Asserts It Is a Victim of Fraud!
Well, now we have the answer to our previous question. This is just in from Cheetah Gym owner David Wilshire:
Dear Members:Cheetah Gym has been closed due to employee theft and graft. The degree of corruption was enormous. I was left in a position where I could trust no-one or anything. Most of the problems were at the Bucktown facility. Edgewater, I believe, was relatively free of graft. The scams ran the gamut but it looks like I was the sole victim of theft. However, I urge you to get fraud protection as a precaution.
Read the rest of the letter after the jump.
I do not mean to implicate the entire staff. There were many good and honest people that worked at Cheetah.Some will herald this news as good while others will be sad. Others will be very angry. I tried my hardest to save it and take back control but it was clear I would not be allowed that opportunity. I was forced to employ people I thought should be fired and that placed me in a Catch 22. The final straw came yesterday when the RGM left payroll incomplete and I was left to try and finish it as best I could. Many new employees could not be paid because I was not given their information. The RGM should have been the first to be fired. When she quit we were left with many shifts not covered and no-one to cover them. I had hoped to be able to run them long enough to reinstate the infrastructure. But the task was too great.
You will have to do what you need to do to assert your individual interests. I hope to prosecute the guilty people or at least sue them. But I am likely in the same boat the rest of my staff is in. I am unemployed.
It was an honor to serve you.
David Wilshire
Um, can anyone recommend a good gym in the area? We're looking for a new place to work out.
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Wow, that letter raises more questions than it answers.
Good luck on finding a new gym.
Yes, like "Is this guy nuts?"
Wow! What a sensational headline! Journalism 101: deal in fact, not rumor. None of this has been proven. It's merely hearsay.
What does this even mean? What kind of graft are we talking about? And what kind of employer is forced to employ people he thinks should be fired? And we really need fraud protection? This raises more questions than it answers.
"Others will be very angry." Um, you think?
David Wilshire is a complete and total idiot and has finally gone off the deep end. I wouldn't believe one word of that letter (well, since it is barely English that probably isn't a problem). More likely he ran the business into the ground and couldn't meet his payroll. Crystal meth is expensive you know.
Guest #3, good point, I've changed it.
Try Bucktown Fitness at North and Hoyne. It's not nearly as fancy as Cheetah, but it's dirt cheap and not very busy if you go sometime other than 5 p.m.
This is why we can't have nice things.
That is probably the most unprofessional letter I have ever read.
A better one would have been "due to circumstances beyond our control, Cheetah Gym will be closing immediately. Please contact our staff for your membership refunds asap."
Oh man. This guy is NUTS! I disagreed with how he handled situation with an employee years ago - wherein he pulled something similar to this, which is to say, aired out his dirty laundry in public - and then I blogged about it. He wrote me the most disjointed email I've ever received. Totally unhinged.
I think most people who are familiar with Cheetah, and how David Wilshire has run them, are not surprised by this. This excuse seems relatively shady and I'm more inclined to believe he screwed things up as much as he was screwed.
I just called my bank (Chase) to see if I could stop any further debits from Cheetah. They said that because Cheetah debits the card (as opposed to the checking account) there is no way to stop them from making further debits. However, if they do, I can dispute it at that point.
Regarding the other gym question: when I moved to Wicker Park the gym options were either Cheetah or Bucktown. I picked Cheetah because it was much nicer in quality of equipment and also because it felt cleaner. Bucktown gym seems to cater more to the hardcore body builder crowd and accordingly has more free weights. Also, their aerobic rooms were depressing in my opinion.
So in short, I have no idea where I'm going to go now.
DAVID BARTON GYM.
Nuff Said.
I love the fact that he charged all the members their fees (mothly members were charged in Aug for Sept use) and then closed the doors. Nice scam!
Guest #11, I just spoke to Chase as well and got pretty much the same advice, although they said you can cancel your debit card and get a new one issued to insure they don't try to extract any more charges. However at this point I'm wondering if Wilshire is just a victim of embezzlement and is overreacting as far as trying to freak everyone else out. Either way, it's better to be safe and just get a new debit card.
As for Bucktown Fitness, I have the same read on the place you do. Ick.
Tankboy, didn't mean to sound like a dick about the headline, but this guy is opening the floodgates to a libel/slander suit with his claims of fraud/graft without providing evidence. I think his RGM would be especially interested in seeing this now-public letter. Anybody who is crazy enough to say they were "forced" to employ people they think should be fired has no business running their own business. #3.
Wamu took the complaint as "fraud investigation" and will be trying to get the money back into our account.
I filed another complaint with the FTC. Here is the online form to do that:
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup
I used "Cheetah Gym / Wild Kingdom Fitness" as the company name.
Is that fish I smell cooking? Something stinks.
I suggest Crunch on North and Halsted. Though it's not in wicker park, it's probably the closest.
Blog posts counts don't really tell a solid story, but it is interesting that posts about a gym are outpacing posts about the CTA decay.
I hate Crunch and North/Halsted is a clusterfuck. There's West Loop Gym just south of Grand, but their website left me less than impressed. Anyone know how much David Barton is?
For all the cheetah folks in andersonville ... there is a great little gym just down the street on Clark (south of Foster) called Know No Limits. I have been working out there for a while and they have no initiation fee or contract, have great classes and you can also do day passes or ten packs.
Its a pretty great place and has been there for years. So definitely worth checking out.
Sorry bucktown folks - I dont know a good option down by you :(
This fucking sucks. I have been going there for a year as a guest and punchcard member. But just TWO days ago, joined as a full member, paid the initiation fee, etc.
No charges have shown up at all on my CC yet. I'll dispute them if/when they do.
What sucks the most is that there is no good gym close by. I was looking forward to the Logan Square location to finally opening, but now I guess that won't happen either.
I spoke to Chase as well this morning, and while I was also told they can't stop the debits to my card, they said that the August 27th charge can be disputed if it is a charge for services to come (for September services), rather than a charge in arrears (i.e., August services). I believe Cheetah charged for services to come, so if that's the case, I'm absolutely going to dispute the August charge as well as any future charges.
And yes, David Wilshire just sounds nuts.
I went to the one in Bucktown for about a year. The staff was surly and although the place was nice, it was also over-priced. I remember in one instance where, after going month-to-month for the duration of the year, they wanted to charge me $20 more - something like $119 or something? When I questioned this, the person I spoke with said that they did not increase rates. If you're looking for a cheap alternative - SEE: REALLY CHEAP - try Cardinal Fitness in the West Loop. It's under $20 a month, you don't have to go up and down four flights of stairs, and they have all of the equipment you could possibly need, no matter what you're working. Sure, it's bland (white walls, red carpet) and they don't have plasmas on each and every piece of cardio equipment, but it is cheaper than anything around and they have about 20 of them in Chicago, so when all of you suburbanites go home for things like Thanksgiving, Hannukah and Christmas, chances are, you can burn off your holiday fat while staying at your parents'. Oh, and, before anyone accuses me of being affiliated with the place, do know that I am no longer a member there. I changed my surroundings a bit and there wasnt one near me. The place I have no is a lot like Cheetah - all glitz and no substance.
The truth of the matter is, David Wilsher wanted his business to run into the ground. He would like to pose himself as a 'victim' because it is better to be a victim then an idiot. He is self destructive and has never been able to do anything successful for himself. He knows that his RGM was the only one that kept his business running, and when she stood up to him he crumbled. He knows that the reason all that has happened is due to his own ignorance and naivety. No professional who owns three major gyms shuts down over-night because of a supposed flaw in payroll (and why is that any of the public's business anyway?) He shut down because he is frightened, inadequate, and has no idea how to run his own business. He needs to seek professional mental help, and run far far away. He should have just sold the gyms.
Tankboy, per your last post:
"you went for the gentrification joke? That would have been Urbis Orbis. UO was gentrified out the hood, old boy. You also spelled Orbis wrong. There is no H."
Let's face it he couldn't make payroll end of story and probably owes back payroll/sales tax.
A lot of gyms are scam businesses.
"he should have sold the gyms"
totally.
i've lived in andersonville for the last seven years two blocks away from the first cheetah (the neighborhood was way different when i moved there) and the word on the street from the beginning was that this cat was batshit crazy with a HUGE drug problem. there's a lot of crazy whispering that has gone through the hood over the years - i won't get into it, but sufficient to say, from this letter, it's pretty obvious to me that the whispers were spot-fucking-on. you don't lose three gyms overnight, right? i think he has huge problems behind the scenes......
Yeah, this gym ran a scam contest a few years ago where they were allegedly "giving away" a scooter as a promotion to get customers. It turned out to be a total fraud--they failed to follow the most basic sweepstakes laws and there was no evidence to suggest that they ever held the drawing.
This is not a surprise at all.
My boyfriend and I joined the Andersonville location YESTERDAY EVENING and they took my credit card and charged us. Showed up this morning to work out and saw the letter posted above. My credit card company says the charge can't be disputed until it clears the bank (still pending) but I canceled my card number and am going to put a fraud alert on my credit reports. They take your social when you sign up so all former members should check those credit reports and put a fraud alert on.
So annoying.
Hi All,
I just spoke with both Jeff and Derek at Edgewater Athletic & Swim Club. Derek was a trainer at Cheetah for 4 years before opening his own gym.
They are willing to waive the initiation fee for all Cheetah Gym members. Monthly fees are $54/month, for a couple it is $98/month. There is a one year contract. If you pay in full, it is $50 off instead.
Derek stated that they have started expanding their current location. They have the permits and will start work shortly. They also may be looking at opening other locations as well.
In speaking with both of these gentleman, they were very understanding and yes I know they are trying to get business however their attitude matched the rave reviews I have read on this gym.
As to your bank card, you can cancel your current one and have your Bank reissue another new one with a new card number.
Best.
David Wilshire has a reputation of being rather nutty and volatile. I'm guessing he is bipolar and went off his meds (or the Meth idea isn't bad either).
I'm hoping a national (or local) chain comes in and buys up his membership lists and equipment. The Andersonville Cheetah is the only gym in the area -- so there are a lot of folks that don't have any obvious alternative.
Did he actually own the company or was he the manager/front man? I remember rumors that with the Sweat Shop on Broadway, he was not a majority owner. There was a falling out over the juice bar they opened around the corner and the investor sold the gym.
I went to Chase and already got the money Cheetah took out for September refunded to me. So do what I did, go to your bank and change your debit card number, and dispute this month's membership fee ... but do it NOW. The only thing that worries me now is that I'm afraid I gave my SS# when I joined up as well.
Also, this craigslist posting raises a few good questions.
The fact that Wilshire's letter has disappeared from the Cheetah website leads me to believe there is much more to this story, and I'm doing my best to find out what's really going on.
I'm hoping, with many others on this thread, that someone else swoops in and just buys the space and equipment outright ...
And Guest #26, thanks for catching that misspelling ... it's been a long time since I was at Urbis Orbis, so I forgot whether there was an "h" in there or not.
If you call your bank (mine is Chase) and tell them what happend (FRAUD!), they will refund the charge from last month.
I was really pissed off this morning when I couldn't workout. I had been meaning to check out David Barton Gym anyway, so this gave me good reason. They were very cool, and the gym is incredible. Best of all, they heard the news, and put together a special membership for Cheetah members. I didn't have to pay any enrollment fee, and now I belong to a gym that is so much better than the Bucktown Cheetah. I hope to see some of you there.
I'm a member at David Barton Gym & just talked to the staff there. They are offering all former Cheetah members $0 enrollment.
Did any of you know Andrea, the former training manager at Cheetah? She moved over to DBG last year, and she's phenomenal!
David Wilshire is at the Andersonville location right now - I just saw him at the door talking to a cop. 773-728-7777. I am sure he won't answer, but you could knock on the front door.
oh balls. i go to the Cheetah in Andersonville. maybe i'll just buy a bowflex and treadmill and call it a day.
Compare David's open letter to members to what he wrote on his MySpace profile:
David's MySpace
Particularly, check out what he writes in his "About Me" section.
ha ha
773-851-2676 this is his cell.
I find it sad and pathetic that he chose to attack the RGM of all of his gyms. Anyone who knows who he is talking about knows the truth of the matter is she is a wonderful person who loved her job, it's too bad he had to go and ruin this experience for members and employees alike.
Karma's a bitch..
Hey, I think the RGM was Angie...who TOTALLY STOOD UP FOR HIM a million times when she shouldn't have.
Loyalty is not one of David's strengths.
Neither is spelling. Or running a company!!
To anyone in Logan Square who signed up with them, I bet you can still get a good deal on the new X-Sport that's opening up soon. We signed up for like $33/month with no reg fee. As to whether health clubs are good for the neighborhood - as someone who utilizes the parks a bit, we're lacking for exercise options compared to neighborhoods with the huge parks. And the YMCA is kind of a hike for people up in the north part of the area.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do since I paid my membership in full last May? Can I get that money back?
yes Karmas a bitch, and he got what he deserved. I am a former employee and one of the MANY MANY people who experienced his wrath first-hand as well as his psychotic behaviours and bi-polar issues. He should be ashamed of himself for the way he has treated people and "runs a business". He needs serious professional help. The RGM was the best, most loyal employee he had. She was truly a good soul. Anyone who knows her at all knows what a liar he is. Not in a million years would she have taken a DIME from anyone. I genuiniely hope that she sues him for slander and negligence for the public humilation he has most likely caused her. How dare he blame HIS problems on her.
As far as another gym, I'd check out Equinox. They have 3 chicago locations are expanding rapidly. It is a bit pricey, but worth the extra bucks. Great staff, PTs and the best GF classes/ program around. They are also offering ZERO initiation to all former Cheetah members. The clubs are so immaculate you could eat off the floors.
I have heard that most employees probably do not even know that the gym has closed. Maybe we should should all go to Hollywood Beach and break the news to them. DRAMA!!!!
How come Guest comments are gray and hard to read?
It pisses me off.
Also, FYI David Barton Gym is opening a new location downtown in the new 108 State/Block 37 development..
Guest #49, there's a simple solution to your problem: register!
Tankboy: Why, if I'm logged in do all guest comments not appear gray anymore?
mdrich26: Yeah, good luck with that. I would review the fine print on your membership contract, I'm guessing you're going to find something you don't like.
If you are looking for a new gym you should get in contact with david and lane from that gym. they were some of the best trainers i've seen
i heard that some people from the comm. were going to open their own gym
I like the fact that all these competitors of Cheetah are running to the site as guest posters and writing thinly veiled ads for Cheetah members to join up elsewhere...I've been a member of Cheetah for a long ass time, and thought that the desk staff was nice, but the management seedy. My friend just walked by Cheetah and there are reps from all the gyms handing out fliers in front of the building RIGHT NOW!
Staff, trainers and instructors are being told they can come to the
Andersonville site tonight between 5-8 pm to pick up their checks.
Also - some guy named Robert Broom will be at A'ville Starbucks during
the same time to answer questions ( I am assuming questions that staff
have - not sure if he is expecting clients to stop by or not.)