atilis gym smith trumbetti covid lockdown masks
© Richard Harbus
A Bellmawr police officer serves co-owners Ian Smith (left) and Frank Trumbetti a summons for keeping their fitness club open on May 18, 2020.
A New Jersey gym owner is riffing on Krispy Kreme's popular offer of free donuts for vaccinated customers — by handing out free memberships to people who don't get vaccinated.

Ian Smith, co-owner of The Atilis Gym, located in Bellmawr, NJ, tweeted out the provocative offer earlier this week, kicking up a storm of controversy in the process.

The tweet stirred up anger online, with many users slamming it.


"Yeah thanks for supporting Bellmawar's most famous killer...Ian claims he doesn't run from his mistakes but he's causing more deaths by discouraging vaccinations. Believe in science. You use a cell phones for Gods sake," one Twitter user replied.

Another shot back: "VITAMIN D CANNOT GET RID OF COVID. THIS IS AN EXTREMLY IRRESPONSIBLE THING YOU'RE DOING."
Atilis gym covid lockdown interior
© Richard Harbus
The Atilis Fitness Club in Bellmawr, New Jersey, on May 18, 2020, defied the orders of Gov. Phil Murphy and opened their gym and signed up new members.
Some users, however, defended Smith and his detractors.

"Why all the hatred??? Everyone is welcome to have their own opinions," one user wrote.

"God bless you. Good health comes from NATURE, not from science experiments," another said.

It is unclear whether Smith will actually honor his offer, but the gym owner is infamous for thwarting pandemic-related policies.

Smith, who made headlines when he defied New Jersey's stay-at-home order last May, recently got banned from American Airlines after refusing to wear a mask on his trip back from the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February.
atilis covid lockdown masks gym open
© Richard Harbus
Inside the Atilis Fitness Club in Bellmawr, NJ on May 18, 2020.
At CPAC, the gym owner blasted the Garden State's lockdown rules as "unconstitutional" after he was hit with more than $1.2 million in fines for keeping his gym open during the pandemic.

After being arrested several times for defying the rules, Smith sued New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy over his administration's decision to close non-essential businesses and enforce a quarantine. A judge ultimately sided with New Jersey, and shuttered Atilis Gym last July. It reopened after Murphy lifted the shutdown order for gyms on Sept. 1.