Working out with Pride. Baldwin’s Blink Fitness raised money for the Out Foundation

Blink Fitness, in Baldwin, celebrated Pride Month by hosting a free workout class, raising money for the OUT Foundation — a group that removes barriers blocking the LGBTQ+ community from participating in fitness, health and wellness.

Blink Fitness, on Grand Avenue, offered the free class on June 10, and for every participant who attended, the gym donated $1 to the foundation. In addition, for each green membership sold, Blink donated $10 to the foundation.

The exercises consisted of calisthenics, upper body, lower body and full body workouts. For the June 10 fundraiser, Blink Fitness tried to cater to the experience of its members, so the personal trainer asked participants what they wanted to work on and customized workouts around their responses.

The workout also involved strength training, and although that may be intimidating to some, Blink Fitness wanted this free workout session to serve as a trial run just in case the participants did or did not enjoy the exercises.

“We’ve never done this before,” Carissa Ganelli, Blink Fitness’ chief marketing officer, said. “Blink has a very long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community.”

Ganelli explained that in 2018, Blink Fitness donated money to the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. In 2017, the gym conducted a campaign to use members and not models because, according to Ganelli, “Blink’s whole point of differentiation” is that it’s a “gym for every body.”

“Straight, ally, tall, short, thin, fuller figure, we don’t care — we want to welcome everybody,” Ganelli said.

Ganelli said that Blink Fitness is “an incredibly welcoming place,” adding that the gym’s employees are referred to as “mood lifters” because Blink Fitness cares more about how the exercise makes one feel than about how it makes one look.

“We put mood above muscle,” Ganelli said.

Olivia Jacovini, senior marketing manager of Blink Fitness, spearheaded this year’s Pride event. She came up with the concept of holding the free workout class and decided to collaborate with The OUT Foundation. After Jacovini discussed this idea with the rest of Blink Fitness’ staff, Ganelli said that everyone was on board.

“Blink is a partner that we’re ecstatic to get started with,” Tina Weaver, executive director of the OUT Foundation, said. “This is something that is going to propel Blink in our eyes, but also like the work that we do on a greater scale so we’re very grateful to Blink.”

Weaver explained that the OUT Foundation was created in 2011 on the concept of WOD, which stands for workout of the day. The foundation started in New York City, where Weaver said she worked to “create a safe space for the (LGBTQ+) community to come together and to have a workout.”

Since then, Weaver explained that the foundation evolved to serve thousands of people with programs and services that are designated for the LGBTQ+ community, along with its allies.

“Over the course of the past five years, we’ve probably raised close to $1.75 million,” Weaver said.

This funds the operations of the foundation as well as supports young LGBTQ+ athletes. Weaver said that the foundation gives them scholarships for yearlong memberships to gyms, nutritional guidance and mentorship, totaling about $10,000 a year for each athlete.

“We also provide services in helping gender affirming care,” Weaver said. “We support them with pre-body preparation. Before you have a gender affirming surgery, you have to meet certain metrics like a BMI (body mass index) and things like that. And because we’re health and fitness based, we help those individuals on that path.”

Weaver said that the Out Foundation has partnered with gyms in 41 states, as well as Brazil, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom.