TJ's Gym Weekly News 6/8/2020
MESSAGE FROM TJ And Allison
We’ve been thinking a lot about how to best express ourselves during these extraordinarily challenging times. We’ve had various versions of this blog post written; it never feels like quite enough. We had actually landed on something last night, before a very busy day today of preparations for, and early celebrations of, our older daughter’s upcoming graduation from high school. As many of you know, we’ve been trying to navigate the ever-changing landscape of how/if/when our business will return to various aspects of operations, and have all the while been deeply saddened by the suffering of so many in our world right now. The barrage of texts we received this afternoon was unsettling. The founder of CrossFit had made extremely insensitive and inexcusable remarks, and people wondered what we were going to do about it. As we sit here exhausted from the months of SIP—navigating our own personal, economic, and parenting challenges and more recently feeling heavy with the responsibility that we know falls upon us to do more to show our support for, and solidarity with, black people and to forge change in our world—we know we must take a formal stand.
What follows are more thoughts from earlier this week…
Let me (TJ) start by saying that I am very confident in using my platform to speak about things "in my lane." Fitness, nutrition, human behavior, etc.
Questions I get from people are typically the catalyst for starting a post like this. "You know what would be interesting to get your perspective on....?" or, "I'd like to know about...." I usually take that nugget and run with it, trying to match it up to a story I remember or an experience I've had.
I love to listen to experts in other fields speak with intelligence and from experience. When I do, I’m encouraged to think, reflect, and increase my lifelong quest for education. I love the data, analysis, and discourse, usually when the orator knows what he knows and admits that he knows what he doesn't know.
We are helpers. Our drive is always to use our skills and our platform to help. We've thought long and hard this past week about what we could say to add to the discourse and raise our voices, and the best way I believe we can do this is with a story....my story.
Most of you who have known me for longer than five years know where I'm from and know a little of my story. I was raised in New Jersey—divorced parents, plenty of incredible childhood memories mixed with some very dark, dark moments.
I have experience with the following as a child and teen.
-Food stamps
-Free school lunch programs
-Welfare
-Social Services
-Government Assistance
-Court-mandated visitation from social workers
-Police intervention
Not surprisingly, this all led to some poor behavior during my teen years. I had some brushes with the law for being destructive and disorderly. I was never charged but certainly could have been.
Arriving at college, I hadn’t fully learned my lesson or gotten the support I needed, and during my first two years I acted out enough to get the “double secret probation deal,” or something like that. I was also a really great kid—a hard worker who’d do anything for pretty much anyone, with lots of empathy, positivity, and other redeeming qualities, and somehow people looked out for me. I was never suspended or expelled, despite some flare-ups. I am also white.
Bearded and skull-cap wearing, in my 6’3” frame, I was once pulled over while driving my rust bucket 1964 Oldsmobile in the great state of Maryland. The four state troopers used a bullhorn to told me to get out of my car. They had guns drawn as I lay on I-95 south with my hands up. I was handcuffed and moved to the shoulder, where I knelt down and got frisked. I was then hammered with questions from two troopers at the same time, for something like 20 minutes. Where was I going? Where did I come from? Who was I? What was my driver’s license, social security, and phone number? A police tow truck showed up, and two more guys proceeded to remove the front and rear bench seats from my car. My trunk was completely emptied and scattered into the weeds. After 90 minutes, they stopped, tossed the seats back in the car unsecured, removed my cuffs, handed me back my license and registration, and said, "Have a nice day."
Let me be crystal clear: I have absolute respect and gratitude for the people in law enforcement uniforms who lay their lives on the line day in and day out to protect me, my family, my business, and my community. I put police officers in the same category as all first responders and military personnel who make great sacrifices that dwarf my own efforts to help others. We have many LEO in our extended family, and I personally feel we owe them all a debt of gratitude.
I am in a unique position to have lived a life that a small percentage of people I know have experienced in similar form. From some early insults, to piss-poor decision making, to profiling, to just plain bad luck, I’ve seen some tough stuff, like in the movies tough stuff, but I somehow pulled my shit together and ended up alright. Better than alright.
And yet I believe that if the color of my skin were different, there is no chance in hell I end up where I am today.
After college, I moved to San Francisco and into an apartment with some friends, one of whom is black. One night, he was jumped and beat up outside of the Final Final, a dive bar in the Presidio. I’d been jumped before. It sucked.
My roommate may or may not have done something stupid. The difference is that he was showered with racial slurs while it happened.
I was given second, tenth, thirtieth chances to get my shit together. I was pulled back from the brink so many times I can't count them all.
If I were black, there is no way I would be where I am today. That’s not right. Not even close.
As always, I’m trying to do my part by expressing my true story and using my platform to inspire change. At the same time, I realize the advantage and immunity my whiteness offers me, so that I can’t possibly be as informed as I need to be. I simply don’t have the experience and never can.
But we can try. We can learn. We can listen. We can be partners in change.
Our goal with TJ’s Gyms first and foremost is community and connection. Some of the most magical moments that happen inside our walls and within our community happen when people from completely different backgrounds and experiences become lifelong friends. We’ve seen it happen over and over for years. And yet, the reality is that our community is lacking in the kind of diversity we want to have. We tried in the past to put together scholarships to attract young black people in the area, but the effort was stalled by forces that felt beyond our control. It’s time for us to pursue ideas with a renewed vigor and intent, and we will do just that. But that’s just one tiny effort in a landscape needing far more.
While we aren’t 100% sure how we can help create change on a larger scale or what we can do to best support our black family in their fight for equality and the full measure of freedoms and safety that we enjoy as white people, we can say that we are committed to learning, to supporting, to standing up as allies, and to hearing and telling stories. We are open to ideas and want to help in this critical and historic fight. We stand against racism and always will.
In solidarity and from our hearts,
Allison and TJ
*If you have questions for us on this topic, please email us rather than texting. Thank you!
There’s really no good transition here, so we won’t pretend to create one. We know there is information you need to have, and you can find it below. Thank you for your patience as we continue to sort through our membership offerings, based on the services we can provide now and anticipate providing again soon. We had hoped to be able to lay out our new pricing structures by tonight, but we’ve been taken away from that focus. We will get you new membership options in the next week and will continue to field emails with questions as they arise. For now, please refer to our MEMBERSHIP EMAIL for information regarding our current outdoor offerings. FOR THIS WEEK ONLY, outdoor classes are add-ons to virtual memberships.
NEW WAIVERS FOR ALL!
Please fill out our NEW WAIVER ASAP. EVERYONE using our services needs to have an updated waiver. Thank you for your help as manage yet another important change due to COVID-19.
WE ARE NOW OFFERING OUTDOOR GROUP CLASSES, PERSONAL TRAINING, AND SMALL-GROUP SESSIONS!
Please see our OUTDOOR WORKOUTS PAGE for details on protocols and procedures, of which there are many! You MUST pre-register for all classes!
We also have a roster of coaches available for in-person private training and small-group sessions outdoors. Find out more HERE and email allison@tjsgym.com for rates, to schedule, and get the details about our safety protocols!
ACCESS TO WEEKLY WORKOUTS
We are no longer posting weekly workout images on our website. If you are an active TJ’s member and would like access to our gym programming for the week ahead, please email allison@tjsgym.com to be added to our member access document.
RE-ENTRY / BEGINNER-ACCESSIBLE
BODYWEIGHT PROGRAM
Lost your mojo and want to get moving again safely and without equipment? New to strength-training and conditioning work and want an easy-access program you can do at home? Need some coaching and accountability but don’t want to commit to a long-term program? This is for you! Please help us spread the word by telling friends and family. It’s the perfect gift for someone you care about who is struggling to care for themselves while sheltering in place!
AT-HOME GYM DESIGN AND EXECUTION
From inspiration, to ordering, to installation of your at-home setup, TJ can help! Email tj@tjsgym.com for your free consultation and proposal.
TJ’s MEMBERS FACEBOOK GROUP
PLEASE JOIN OUR TJ’s GYM MEMBERS GROUP ON FACEBOOK!
We understand that not everyone is on FB, and we will continue to email you with important updates, but please request to join our private members group if you’re on FB and are an active member. It’s also a place where we can support each other via our online community!