An idea that started over a year ago is now a reality in East Sacramento. The Queers And Allies Fitness Center is in operation. The idea was to create a unique and comfortable space for the LGBTQ+ community looking to get in shape. Sarah Serbiac and Hayden Glenn came up with the idea after noticing that the health and fitness industry had no place for the LGBTQ community, despite their large presence. in the region. "There's quite a bit of gym anxiety around the queer community and going to gyms, so we wanted to create a safe space for queer people to express themselves and work out in comfort," said Glenn. But for Glenn, it meant more. After going through a medical transition himself and not having the trans-specific guidance to get back to fitness, he decided it was necessary for others going through the process themselves or planning to undergo it. Glenn also has a master's degree in sports psychology and says the mental health aspect is also important in their gym, so having a location where people can meet is also one of their goals. The gym has been in existence for four weeks now and has about 50 members. "At a gym I had to ask staff if it was OK to use the men's room because I'm a trans man and they were confused. They didn't even know what that meant," said Estele Boixnoguer. Boixnoguer is not only one of the first members of the gym. He's also slowly returning to his routine as he focuses on post-surgery recovery and is thankful that Glenn has first-hand experience. Coach Hayden gave me so many tips. So many good workouts to prepare for my top surgery that I don't regret this. I think it was so helpful. My recovery is going so well," said Boixnoguer. The fitness center is open 24 hours a day and also has its own massage therapist.
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<strong class="dateline">SACRAMENTO, California —</strong> <p>An idea that started over a year ago is now a reality in East Sacramento.
Queers And Allies Fitness Center is in use. The idea was to create a unique and comfortable space for the LGBTQ+ community looking to get in shape.
Sarah Serbiac and Hayden Glenn came up with the idea after noticing that the health and fitness industry lacked places that catered to the LGBTQ community, despite their large presence in the region.
“There’s quite a bit of gym anxiety around the queer community and going to gyms, so first of all we wanted to create a safe space for queer people to express themselves and work out in comfort,” said Glenn.
But to Glenn it meant more. After going through a medical transition himself and not having the trans-specific guidance to get fit again, he decided it was necessary for others who were undergoing or planning to undergo the process themselves.
Glenn also has a master’s degree in sports psychology and says the mental health aspect is also important at their gym, so having a location where people can connect is also one of their goals.
The gym has been in existence for four weeks now and has about 50 members.
“At a gym I had to ask the staff if it was okay to use the men’s room because I’m a trans man and they were confused. They didn’t even know what that meant,” says Estele Boixnoguer.
Boixnoguer is not only one of the first members of the gym. He is also slowly returning to his routine as he focuses on recovering from major surgery and is thankful that Glenn has first-hand experience.
“Coach Hayden gave me so many tips. So many good workouts to prepare for my top surgery that I don’t regret doing this. I think it was so helpful. My recovery is going so well,” said Boixnoguer.
The fitness center is open 24 hours a day and also has an on-site massage therapist.
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