It takes a community to build a village
When a functional fitness athlete is asked to describe what the sport means to them, you’ll often hear the response “...it saved and changed my life”. Is this athlete talking about the changes to their physical and mental health? or are they referring to the foundations at which their experience is built upon?
An experience and atmosphere created by the gathering of like-minded people, drawn to each other from different walks of life by a common passion. The underlying feeling of belonging. I present to you the functional fitness community.
- It’s the community that celebrates your dedication & commitment to your health and well-being.
- It’s the community who cheers you on for that final rep when you thought you couldn't.
- It's the community that stays behind after class to act as your guide for handstands.
- It’s the community that encourages failure, because to fail is a sign of commitment to your journey.
- It's the community that befriends you - the new kid in the box.
- It's the soul of the community that bridges the gaps of loneliness.
- It's the community that asks you to grab a coffee after class during moments of grief.
- It's the community that notices when you don’t turn up.
- It's the community that feels the void left by your lack of presence.
Our community is the lifeline to an enjoyable existence. It, for many, is the reason functional fitness saves and changes lives. Athletes start functional fitness in the pursuit of a healthier & improved lifestyle, but we all stay for the continued support and bond we have created with our now friends.
How do we create community?
Our community is defined by the small acts each of us perform daily. It’s how we conduct ourselves in the gym, it's how we transfer the skillsets learnt at the gym to our lives outside the gym. It is how we turn up for ourselves, it’s how we turn up for others and how they treat us in return. Ultimately, it is how we leave our egos at the door.
We, the people, our people, create our gym ecosystem in which we grow and nurture each other. We are all but a by-product of the environment we immerse ourselves in. Through the shared connectivity between each ecosystem, we are able to define how our community is represented to the other sporting communities and to society as a whole. And therefore, we are each directly responsible for the direction of our community, we are responsible for our individual ecosystems. We are responsible for each other. We are responsible for the future and grassroots of the sport.
A rising tide lifts all boats. We, my friends, ARE THE TIDE.
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