Lake Sharp and Sam Rypinski, founders, Everybody

EVERYBODY walks the line between a traditional gym and a holistic wellness center. Can you speak a little bit more about the interconnectedness of physical fitness and body/mind wellness?

SHARP: Sam and I both share the experience of caring for dying parents with mental illness. This is central to our holistic approach. My father used exercise as one way to manage his bipolar disorder (along with traditional psychiatric medication). I grew up following his example and have always appreciated the importance of physical exercise in relation to mental health.

At EVERYBODY, we focus on those benefits, not outer appearance or body shape or size. Everyone deserves access to healing bodywork. A lot of gender nonconforming folks don’t have access to bodywork because practitioners generally are not trained to work with trans or non-conforming bodies. Being cis[gendered] myself, I always took it for granted that I could go get a massage safely, without invasive questions or discomfort about the expression of my gender or body. While typical gyms are very gendered spaces, what is less talked about is the gender exclusivity of the wellness world. The benefits of healing touch and acupuncture can be profound and we want everybody to have access to that.

RYPINSKI: The problem with most gyms is that they forget that people need to feel good while they are there, not only as a result of being there. The gym should be a place where you can relax, be vulnerable but know you are safe, and learn how to be comfortable in your body in a way that you never have been before. This runs totally counter to the typical gym or fitness establishment mentality which stresses a “No pain, no gain” philosophy on every level. If it’s not fun or doesn’t feel good, it isn’t really healthy or serving you, and you probably won’t keep doing it. You have to feel good to feel better. And this encompasses a wide range of activities that fall outside the traditional fitness realm including mindfulness, meditation, healing body and energy work, and learning how to surrender.

Can you elaborate on some of the ways you’ve made or are working to make EVERYBODY accessible to all bodies?

SHARP: EVERYBODY has borrowed from the non-profit model of having a board of advisors. Our board is made up of activists, organizers, healers and group exercise teachers who come from the communities we want to serve. They provide us with resources, help shape our programming and keep us on track with our mission.

RYPINSKI: We have consciously built our business to ensure that it is affordable, accessible, and that our hiring practices reflect our commitment to serving all of our diverse communities. We consciously hire trans people, people of color and women. We priced our memberships so that they were affordable to the immediate surrounding community, extending a 20% discount to those who live within a mile radius. We offer classes in Spanish. We do not tolerate any forms of discrimination or oppression, and refuse to allow any such behavior in the space.