(Washington, DC) -- In 2020, personal trainer Joe Houston, Jr. was stuck at home along with everyone else during the pandemic.
"I just give glory to God because I could not do this without Him."
Check out Joe's story here:
"I had lost my job working at a big box gym and I didn't know what to do. Being from an underserved community--Washington, DC, Ward 8--with a lot of health disaparities. God blessed me with a vision...I wanted to do something for the community since all the gyms shut down. I reached out to other trainers...and we started doing fitness workouts in our community. And that's how WeFitDC was born," Joe Houston, Jr. explains.
Joe didn't wait for the government shut down to end.
"We had our first fitness activation back in June, 2020. Still peak pandemic. We had 100 people come out to work out and you know we were social distancing. It was just impactful. We were just going every weekend."
WeFitDC is described as a "multifaceted wellness hotspot with an emphasis on whole body health and community wellness," serving people of all ages--from young children to senior citizens and everyone in between.
WeFitDC is also hub for things like food drives, backpack giveaways and wellness checks.
"The gym was never a goal of mine. When I started WeFitDC, I didn't think business. I just wanted to do something for my community because we didn't have these resources in this underserved community...It's not just a gym, it's a space in regards to community."
WeFitDC has special programs for youth.
Joe explains, "I love youth. Me having a troubled upcoming (Joe was incarcerated as a teenager), you know from an underserved community, I've always had a passion in regards to giving back. I was once like these youth that I'm dealing with now...and I feel like it's my duty to motivate, mentor and inspire these up-and-coming youth."
In addition to providing physical training to a group of young men (aged 12-17) from the underserved Ward 8, Joe has taken some of the young men to their first Washington Commanders game, paintballing, and other outings. He has even started an entrepreneur program for youth, WeFitPrenuer.
"The basis of my curriculum is about physical activity. Teaching them about the body, nutrition, mindfulness, the whole holistic approach..."
Joe says the response has been great from the kids.
"It's allowed them to burn out their frustrations no matter what's going on. Dad's not in their life or the household is really not well. They have somewhere they can come and have just a safe space and they know 'hey, Coach Joe will be there and we're gonna work out and have fun, but he's always gonna keep us tight'. The response has been out of this world."
And the cost for these young men to participate? Absolutely free.
"I just give glory to God because I could not do this without Him."
Joe Houston Jr.'s goals for the future?
In addition to scaling WeFitDC to possibly serve other underserved communities throughout the United States, he also loves speaking engagements.
Joe wants to let people, especially youth, know "they don't have to go to prison. You can be from a tough environment and be triumphant. It's just exposure and staying focused."
