OUR COMMUNITY
Radically Fit is first and foremost a community. We create a space that centers folx who have been historically excluded from mainstream society, particularly in the fitness industry. We foster an environment to connect with others and build bonds of friendship and community beyond the gym. Here are just some of the marginalized communities we aim to serve.
QUEER FOLKS
Gyms are often a breeding ground for toxic masculinity, spreading an unhealthy culture of competitiveness, exhibitionism, and objectification. Radically Fit is a space for everyone who has ever felt alienated in a traditional gym environment for how they were born, how they present, or who they are. We foster an inclusive culture with our strict code of conduct that aims to disrupt toxic masculinity or misogyny, including all varieties of lateral oppression in the gym. Radically Fit is first and foremost a community space dedicated to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for all folks that experience marginalization in other areas of life.
TRANS FOLKS
Gender based body dysphoria can make exercise challenging. While fitness can be a tool for building a positive relationship with our body, our body's predispositions can also create an experience of misalignment between mind and body based on how we identify and want to express our gender. In our classes, our trainers partner with our trans and gender non-conforming members to create a workout regimen that supports their fitness goals in a gender affirming way. Radically Fit’s trans/GNC-specific sessions focus on mind-body alignment as it relates to being trans or gender non-conforming. The weekly GQ Baddies creates a space to build community and connect with others navigating similar gender affirming journeys. Whether you are preparing for surgery, recovering from surgery, or simply looking to develop a more positive relationship with your body, our trainers will work with you to develop a personalized regimen tailored to your specific needs and desires.
BLACK & BROWN FOLKS
Most fitness marketing centers white individuals. As a person of color, Luca has had first hand experience with the complete lack of representation and inclusion of people of color in the fitness industry. Finding spaces which do not inherently alienate Black & brown folks, is nearly impossible. As a result, at Radically Fit we strive to center Black & brown needs, safety and health. Our community welcomes all peoples ready to work on their personal fitness and strength goals but will continue to center Black & brown experiences and needs. We strive to ensure that members of the most marginalized communities have a space that is not trauma inducing.
BIG BODIED / FAT IDENTIFIED FOLKS
Fit is not a body type. Healthy bodies come in every size and shape, but in today's world "thinness" often gets conflated with "fitness." Most mainstream gyms and fitness centers perpetuate certain beauty and fitness standards. Much of the fitness industry is designed to uphold specific body types and stereotypes, while simultaneously shaming those that do not fall within it's accepted "norms". This can lead to a lot of trauma for bigger bodied people and generally folx that do not fit within these molds. At Radically Fit, we believe that gyms should be places to build a positive relationship with your body. As such, body positivity is central to our mission. There are not enough dedicated fitness spaces that equally value all bodies and the incredible things they can do. We welcome and accept bodies of all shapes and sizes and we are proud to call ourselves a radical space that aims to be a safer alternative for various marginalized communities; including plus-sized, big bodied and fat identified individuals.
LOW-INCOME FOLKS
We believe that all folks, regardless of socio-economic status should have equal access to health and fitness services. It is for this reason that we developed our Community Care’s program to offer sliding scale pricing to folks that can’t afford the full cost of membership and introduced our Unlimited Plus membership tier to allow folks who can afford a little extra to subsidize those who can’t. To learn more about our sliding scale membership option, check out our memberships information.
DISABLED FOLKS
Exercise is not just for the able bodied, yet very few fitness spaces cater to the needs of folks with different abilities. Whether its physical accessibility, having trainers with experience working with differently abled folks, or an organizational ableist culture, traditional gyms lack the ability to serve a wide range of folks with different experiences and abilities. However, there are solutions to almost every challenge, and there is no one prescribed way that fitness must look or feel. Whether it’s folks born with different abilities or mobility, recovering from an injury, or navigating chronic pain or illness, our trainers are committed to understanding the individual needs of each client and devising individually appropriate training to match their personal needs.
YOUTH
Having a safe and inclusive space like Radically Fit is an invaluable asset to our community. But having access to this safe and inclusive space as a young, queer, youth of color, can be life-affirming. Currently we offer youth programs and partnerships. Contact us at info@radicallyfitoakland.com to learn more!
FOLKS WITH MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES
We recognize that many members of our community suffer from mental health challenges. Although exercise can ameliorate many of the mental and physical effects of mental illness, overcoming the negative reinforcing feedback loop that keeps us sedentary can sometimes feel insurmountable. That’s why we’ve implemented a number of creative ways to combat the forces, whatever they may be, that keep us from getting and staying motivated. We created a gym buddy system- an acountabilibuddy- pairing folks in similar geographies to work out together, carpool together, and just check in with each other. We work with each member to set personalized S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound) goals to keep ourselves appropriately challenged and motivated.
CO-CONSPIRATORS
Commonly known as “allies”, we invite respectful co-conspirators who center the needs of our queer, BIPOC, fat identified, differently abled members to be a part of our community. After all, we can’t smash the cis-hetero-white-supremacist-patriarchy all on our own.