The almost 13-year journey of Chuze Fitness has been a labor of love; love draped in credibility, cleanliness and massive doses of kindness. Our family has striven to create a safe space for folks to work on their mind, body and spirit. A place where people felt not only welcomed but truly celebrated for simply walking through our doors.
The work of diversity, equity and inclusion began at the birth of the organization itself. But because we know it simply isn’t enough to be welcoming and provide affordable top-tier experiences, we assembled a dedicated and focused team in 2020 to quantify how we were doing by both our internal family and the communities we serve. The Chuze Fitness Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alliance is made up of people who are members of underrepresented communities within our organization and the communities that we serve. The alliance meets monthly to discuss ways that we can understand each other better, learn from each other's lived experiences, and — by hearing from every voice at the table — create awareness and practices to do better moving forward.
The first step, and one we commit to at each meeting, is to create a safe space to be honest and respectful. We know that many of these conversations can be difficult, and an agreed-upon set of expectations is established at each meeting. Our conversations explore a range of shared stories to better connect to each other’s hearts. We then talk about ways we can create awareness and education for our teams internally. We share ways to move from knowing better to then doing better. Our initiatives have been about celebrations of each other’s communities and transparency around individual and collective biases that may get in the way of creating true equity and inclusivity.
Examples of our celebrations have been:
1. Black History Month: The elevation and amplification of Black voices on our teams and through history.
- Free workouts on our online platform, www.ichuze.com, by some of our talented Black instructors and coaches
- Commissioned artwork by a talented artist in the San Bernardino community that one of our clubs serves.
- Themed workouts celebrating Black innovators, authors, athletes and musicians throughout the month.
2. Women’s History Month: Weekly celebrations with Day in the Life video tributes to some of the female leaders at Chuze.
3. PRIDE: Offering education and elevating awareness about the LGBTQ+ community within our organization and beyond, including the creation of our Chuze Love merchandise with proceeds going to LGBTQ organizations
Additional initiatives include:
- A mentorship program for young Black males in California led by one of our team training coaches, Devon Carter
- Kids Backpack and School Supply Giveaway for the start of school.
- Integration of DEI into our leadership trainings for our district leaders in all regions (California, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico), which has increased collaboration and discussion about how we can improve our equity and inclusion as a company across departments and ranks.
BIOS
Corey McCloskey started his career with Chuze Fitness as a team member and worked his way through the ranks of leadership to become district operations training manager. Happily married and the father of two amazing boys, he hopes to create a more inclusive world for his children by normalizing conversations around racism and the lived experiences of people in Black communities.
Chelsia Janise is a social justice activist and assistant general manager at Chuze Fitness, Janise has an anthropological background and is passionate about sharing her own unique experience as a woman and BIPOC. She plays an integral role in Chuze Fitness' internal DEI alliance in order to further conversations and action when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion within the fitness industry.
Farel Hruska is director of education and culture at Chuze Fitness. Having worked in the fitness industry for over two decades, she is passionate about paving the way toward positive change within the health and wellness space when it comes to diversity, education and inclusion.