Help Friends of the Gym Stay Open

Hi FROGs,

In the spirit of transparency, I am writing this message from a sad place. Friends of the Gym is not in a good place financially.

As some of you may know, Friends of the Gym (formerly Strive & Uplift) went through a lot of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The former team of folks put in a lot of work to pivot and adjust things to keep coaches connected to resources, and this had a pretty big impact on the gym’s finances. Ever since I took over ownership in 2022, it has been an uphill battle to stay afloat. Now that business operations are my sole responsibility, it is even harder to continue to keep going while being so under-resourced.

During the busier months of 2024, I was able to pay myself an average of $3,700 per month before taxes. My monthly cost of living is $6,000 per month after taxes. In December and January, I wasn’t able to pay myself at all, and I prioritized taking care of our team of 5 dedicated trainers.

The harsh reality is that if we don’t have more profit and help by the end of February, Friends of the Gym will need to heavily consider closing its doors. Running this business by myself with very little help just isn’t doable for me, and I don’t have enough hours in the day to do it all.

Since I took over, I’ve worked hard to make sure Friends of the Gym is a more accessible place for queer, trans, and disabled people — all identities that I hold and communities I’m part of. We welcome people of all body types and ages. We also welcome allies who support us and our causes.

It’s been incredible to be a trans personal trainer who works with other trans folks, watching them experience gender euphoria from our work together — especially in the scary times we live in right now.

This is a really tough financial position to be in, but I don’t want to give up just yet. I’ll end this email with a few asks:

I started a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $15,000. I’ll use this money to pay myself $3,000 per month for the next 3 or 4 months. The rest of the money will be used for business expenses. Please donate if you can.

If you can’t donate at this time, please share our GoFundMe link with your community, friends, family, whoever. Every little bit counts, and exposure goes a long way.

If you know an accountant, tax preparer or bookkeeper who can help us navigate paying taxes to the State of Washington, please connect us. We need help creating a realistic payment plan so we don’t get eaten alive by our monthly tax bill.

If you have any desire or capacity to become more involved in ongoing business tasks to keep the gym up and running, please consider volunteering your time. Contact me if you have any questions about this.

It has been an honor and a privilege to cultivate the Friends of the Gym community with you all. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

~ Olli