Help save Sausalito's community gym

The impact of Covid-19 on small businesses has been catastrophic and forced many of our favorite local spots to close. For nearly six months, I have been fighting to save our longest standing fitness facility - a business that has been serving the Sausalito community for over 35 years. I and the Sausalito Fitness Club team have explored every means possible, including the pursuit of personal investments, federal and local grants, loans and other relief. And while this has helped us stay afloat until now, the decision of our Governor to not allow gyms to reopen in July has put us in an impossible position. And so, we must humbly ask for your support to help save our club. We've started a fundraising campaign to keep the gym alive for the next year. This gives us a fighting chance to survive and the opportunity to build and grow once we reopen. Our goal is to raise $300,000 which will cover our rent, utilities, and operating expenses for one year without any other source of income.


This is a difficult and uncertain time for everyone and we understand that there are many individuals and organizations in need. If you are in a position to support us we will be extremely grateful for that help. Please let others know about this campaign as we need this support and would be most appreciative! This is only about covering rent and expenses in a time where we are losing members - members whose dues make it possible for us to operate and improve the facility and its equipment.  


Sharing my love for this club and why it was so important to me falls within the direct ties to the community itself. I was raised here and have had the privilege of being taken in by this amazing community. Around this same time last year, my vision was simple...do the necessary steps to upgrade the facilities and turn our club into an experience that the community deserved. To create a location where every time any human would walk in and out of our doors, they had a genuine smile on their face. It was a goal to be that force of energy that made people want to come here because it’s a second home that just so happens to have a gym upstairs. 


My sole purpose was to assemble the RIGHT team that was in it for the same reason, and who shared the same love and passion for this community that I did. With that team came achieving the goal of upgrading some parts of the facilities to change the narrative, and spruce the club up. We succeeded at that by raising over $200,000 within our team, and help from donations from our club family members. Although the Covid-19 crisis and shelter in place orders have forced us to remain closed during these tough times, the club is a vital and beloved social institution that means something to all of us. For me personally, it is terribly painful, given we were just getting started with our goals.


Prior to the crisis, each day at the club I got the luxury of being able to see the most amazing people walk through this club who all share the same purpose...to be active, to get better, to see friends and neighbors. How amazing is that? To the Sausalito and surrounding communities, our club serves as many people’s second home, and an essential key to a sense of belonging. This building has been in this community for over 35+ years - some of the same families and its generations for many of those years. Recent survey results indicated that these folks would be absolutely devastated at the thought of our beloved community gym being closed forever. 


I have had the huge privilege of spending 15 years at this club, learning the fitness industry, and the importance of fitness itself which led me to lose over 100 pounds and maintain a healthy lifestyle. From being hired as front desk, working as a janitor at night, becoming manager, starting a personal training business and now becoming owner, I have leaned in strongly to see my dream and vision come true. During all this time and hard work, I would have never imagined that it could be possible that our momentum could falter and our vision and mission would be at risk, as it is now. I have devoted so much of my personal energy and dreams into this club. You have found a home in this club. We cannot let it fail.


At Sausalito Fitness Club we are creating the world we want to share with our community. Our goal now is to find new ways to serve our community during this difficult time, and despite formidable obstacles, I am inspired. We will be starting a series of outdoor fitness classes for both members and non-members. Please follow our website and Sausalito Fitness Club on Facebook and Instagram. Most of all, please drop us a line to let us know you are out there and doing well. Messages of support and camaraderie are needed in this unprecedented time until we can reopen, reconnect, gather and celebrate with one another. Until then, please keep faith, exercise, and know that we appreciate you so much.