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Delray Beach gym starts ‘fitness challenge’ to support neighboring businesses

From jogging in the living room to squats outside. The trainers at SLASH Fitness say nothing is off-limits.
Posted at 6:19 PM, Apr 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-07 21:51:34-04

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Getting fit while giving back. The owners of SLASH Fitness in Delray Beach are paying it forward to neighboring businesses struggling due to COVID-19.

From jogging in the living room to squats outside. The trainers at SLASH Fitness say nothing is off-limits.

“What we’ve seen is that the fitness industry really had to make a pivot quick,” Joe Ardagna, co-owner of SLASH Fitness said.

The spread of COVID-19 caused gyms and fitness centers to close. Ardagna says having to temporarily close their gym opened his eyes to a growing need.

“Hashtag “Better Delray Initiative” and what that is a chance for us to pump a little extra into the local business at this hard time right now,” he said.

The gym announced the 21-day challenge on what used to be their private membership Facebook page. Now, it’s open to the public with the hope of collecting donations for around a dozen neighboring businesses.

“Don’t forget about that accountability baby that’s where the whole donation portion of this project comes in,” co-owner Austin Brock said in a Facebook video.

“You support our local businesses we get a gift card based on that donation for you, but we hold it right here in SLASH until you finish that Delray fitness challenge.”

In two days they raised $2,000. The owners of Fleet Feet, Nick and Makenzie Stump say right now every dollar counts.

“This will be by far the hardest thing we’ve ever had to deal with since we opened,” Nick Stump said.

“We just want to also say we’re really thankful for SLASH for doing this,” Makenzie Stump said.