Gym users said they were furious after receiving a marketing email referencing the Titan sub tragedy. The message noted the "unsettling news" and told recipients: 'navigating your fitness journey is like exploring these uncharted waters'.
The email newsletter from Universal Fitness was headed ‘Titanic Sub Lessons’. The gym, based in Fenton in Staffordshire, offered its “thoughts and prayers” to all involved before moving on to explain how the “stark reminder of the risks involved in venturing into the unknown … underscore the importance of relying on experienced, qualified professionals".
It then added: “Navigating your fitness journey is like exploring these uncharted waters". It went on to say: "There can be unexpected twists and turns, but with a skilled crew like the team at Universal Fitness, you can meet these challenges head-on. We are committed to guiding you safely through your fitness journey, with qualified professionals who prioritise your health and wellbeing.”
Two recipients of the email contacted StokeonTrentLive to express their disgust at what one said was the gym’s “abhorrent” use of the disaster to “sell its business”.
One said: "If this isn't poor taste and poor judgement, and showing a total lack of regard, then I don't know what is. What an abhorrent email to send on the day these people have probably lost their lives. We should be hoping that by some miracle they are found alive, not using it as a springboard to sell your business to prospective customers."
The other added they felt “companies should not be trying to profit from this situation".
Five people died in the implosion of the Titanic tourist sub last week. They were Stockton Rush, the boss of the company that operated the vessel, Brit billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani-born billionaire Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old Strathclyde University student son Suleman, as well as French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Universal Fitness declined to comment when approached by Stoke-on-Trent Live.
