As we sit down to write our weekly email to you all we find it hard focus on regular fitness topics like Food & Mood or Foam Rolling for Myofascial Release, as our world is grappling with the impact of a global health pandemic and our nation is suffering under a racism pandemic that has gone on for centuries and has shaped a culture that allows the incidents we’ve seen unfold over the last month.

This is nothing new. This type of terror and systemic racism has been woven into the fabric of our nation since its inception.

We are not writing this today because it has suddenly become politically correct to do so. We are writing this from our hearts. We are writing this because as a business one of our core values is and always has been to value diversity, inclusivity and EQUITY. Without it, who are we? We are writing because we have a voice and we want to amplify the voices of the black members of our team and community.  We are writing to share resources. We are writing as a way to take action . . . and if any of you are so moved, we hope you write too, or call, or read, or speak out  . . . and even if you can’t fully understand (because you and your family haven't experienced racism first hand), we hope you will at least STAND UP with us against racism and white supremacy.

We truly believe that deconstructing racism starts within each one of us as individuals. We can’t simply point blame at a “few bad apples.”  We all have the personal responsibility to educate ourselves about the history and present impact of racism, learn and unlearn what racism really is and listen to the lived experiences of people of color, unpack our own implicit biases and get uncomfortable with our feelings of guilt, and  become aware of how our white privilege comes at the expense of other's basic civil rights.