How the OUT Foundation is breaking down barriers in the fitness industry by creating inclusive, affirming spaces where LGBTQ+ individuals can access movement, wellness, and community without fear or discrimination.
The gym—especially a CrossFit gym—can be an intimidating space for many people. There are so many new movements to learn, the music is loud, and members are often in intimidatingly good shape.
This feeling can be magnified if you are part of the LGBTQ+ community and aren’t sure if the gym will be a welcoming space.
That’s where The OUT Foundation comes in.
The OUT Foundation got its start in 2011 when a small group of friends began organizing CrossFit meetups for gay athletes in New York City. These gatherings became known as “OUTWOD” (“WOD” meaning “workout of the day”). According to The OUT Foundation Executive Director Paul Salvador, these workouts were about more than exercising together.
“The gatherings were about community and visibility,” he said.
The meetups became popular, and within a year they grew into something bigger: The OUT Foundation (often referred to as “OUT”), a nonprofit dedicated to removing barriers to health and wellness for LGBTQ+ people.
Over the last 14 years the organization has grown, and now OUT partners with more than 400 inclusive gyms and fitness studios nationwide, providing thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals access to affirming movement, nutrition, and mental wellness resources every year.
“Even as we’ve grown,” Paul said, “our heartbeat remains the same: a group of queer friends who believe everyone deserves a space to move, connect, and thrive.”
Paul stepped into his role as executive director of The OUT foundation in 2025. He was eager to take on the role, he said, because the mission of OUT has personal significance for him. Ever since he came out as gay in college, Paul said he found comfort in his own body through running.
“It was the running community that welcomed me, gave me space to show up fully, and helped me connect to my authentic self. The opportunity to combine my nonprofit leadership experience with my passion for LGBTQ+ wellness felt like a calling,” he said.
OUT has expanded its mission since its early days of inclusive workouts, and they did so by reaching out to the LGBTQ+ community through surveys, focus groups, and conversations, making an effort to learn what was most needed.
Through those conversations they heard that the main barriers stopping people from regularly working out were cost, the lack of inclusive spaces, and fear of discrimination.
This led to the creation of OUTAthlete, a scholarship and mentorship program for people who don’t have the resources to pursue fitness and wellness. Participants receive free gym memberships to inclusive fitness studios, free nutrition counseling, free mental health support, and trauma-informed coaching in an affirming environment.
These scholarship and mentorship programs make a real difference in helping people feel comfortable in gyms and other fitness spaces.
“Before this program, the idea of stepping into a gym terrified me,” said an OUTAthlete.
“I worried about being misgendered,” they continued, “about not being safe. OUTAthlete gave me a safe space to show up as my full self and finally feel like I belonged in fitness. It didn’t just change my body, it changed how I see myself.”
Paul said another OUTAthlete participant reported that after working out regularly at a gym where they felt comfortable they found for the first time they weren’t simply surviving, but actually thriving.
“The mentorship and the inclusive gym community reminded me my body is not something to hide, but something to celebrate,” they said.
A recent OUTAthlete, Dhanush Sheety, said like many queer people, he felt the gym was an inaccessible space. In addition, he internalized the stereotype that Indian people are great at math, not athletics.
That all changed once he became an OUTAthlete.
“OUT helped me redefine my relationship with the gym,” Dhanush said.
“United Barbell is an inclusive environment where the key focus is just getting strong. It's given me an appreciation for building a healthier lifestyle,” he said.
Another initiative of OUT is OUTAIM, or Athletics Inclusion Movement. This part of the nonprofit advises gyms to help them become more inclusive by working with coaches and staff to create gender-neutral bathrooms and safe facility guidelines.
Rachel, one of the owners of High Voltage Fitness, said making the gym a sanctuary for queer, disabled, and neurodivergent people wasn’t easy.
“The fitness world—like so many spaces—often celebrates only one kind of body, one story, one way of moving through the world. From inaccessible equipment to unspoken biases, the barriers are everywhere,” Rachel said.
Another initiative of OUTAIM, developed to help people find inclusive fitness spaces, is a one-of-a-kind resource: the Inclusive Fitness Finder Map, which helps LGBTQ+ people find welcoming gyms and spaces for fitness.
Going forward, OUT plans to continue to help more people access fitness and wellness resources.
“My goals are to strengthen our core programs, expand equitable access to fitness and wellness resources, and continue breaking down systemic barriers in the fitness industry,” Paul said.
Pauls said he would like the organization to reach more people and build more partnerships so that every LGBTQ+ person can pursue movement and health.
“We plan to expand OUTAthlete to serve more participants, reimagine OUTAIM to make our training more accessible nationwide, and increase access to mental wellness resources alongside fitness,” he said.
Paul said they are also looking to expand the base of support to offer holistic LGBTQ+ health, including not only the physical but also the mental and social aspects of wellness.
About Author, Hilary Achauer