Naughty Gym is open for everyone
The global gym industry was worth $96.7 billion in 2020, with more than 184 million gym members in total. The total industry revenue was estimated to be $54.2bn in 2021, which represents a 44% decrease in the overall industry thanks to COVID.
However, online training, home gym equipment, and personalized training have taken off due to people not being able to go to gyms during the pandemic. An increase in people buying systems like Peleton, Bowflex, NordicTrack, and others are making up for the downturn in the gym industry.
During the pandemic, a couple of things happened to our friends, who owned a popular gym not far from New Orleans:
Their gym membership decreased significantly, as COVID kept people from going out to public places, especially indoors and especially gyms.
They were outed as “swingers” which saw even more of their clients leave, but not that many because it was just a rumor.
They went on a sex-positive podcast to discuss their story and the podcast turned their rumor, into a real-life, small-town scandal. More people stopped going to their gym and some of their families started to pull away.
Some of us had harder times during COVID, this couple certainly had a difficult time. How could they teach people during a pandemic? How could they explain being outed as “swingers”? Who would accept them for who they were?
Instead of sulking and getting depressed, they tightened their strings and they spent every minute they weren’t working at the gym to create a new online fitness program designed for lifestyle people. Especially those who wanted to look better when they went to Desire or Hedo or to Naughty N’awlins.
It was designed so that people could do the exercises at home, with minimal equipment. It was a big project for one couple to take on. Still, they were motivated by all of the negativity they were going through and this gave them hope and a positive project that helped focus them away from the problems facing their personal gym and the issues brought on by being outed.
That is how “Naughty Gym” started. We have known this couple for a while and consider them friends When we heard about the project, I wanted to get involved because it was at a time when I too was looking for a program that didn’t require me to go to a gym.
I always wanted to see a therapist, but I always had an excuse. I travel too much, it is too hard to keep up with the schedule. I wanted to learn Spanish but never signed up for classes for the same reasons. COVID has changed everything.
I am now seeing a therapist once a week, I am learning Spanish with three classes per week and I am working out with Naughty Gym and all of this is remote, from Mexico, or wherever I happen to be in the world.
People are working from home more and more and it is giving them (and me) the time to do more in our free time. Online services and classes are changing the way people work and play and learn.
The Naughty Gym program is similar to a Crossfit program with creative uses of titles and workouts to make them more fun (and sexier). While I have used many different programs in the past, from my rigid military workout days, hiring a personal trainer, and doing yoga on the beach, I have found that the number one reason for success is the same no matter what program I used.
Accountability.
When I was in the military, I had guys who pushed me. Who cheered me on and who didn’t let me fail. I ended up in the best shape of my life. My personal trainer and yoga instructor also encouraged me and held me accountable. Without them, I never would have succeeded.
Naughty Gym has the same solution, but it is different from what I have ever experienced before. There is a newsfeed that is full of pictures from people during and after workouts. It is a place to show everyone your progress (or lack thereof). It is the ultimate motivator. Pictures don’t lie.
Kenneth Play is a friend of mine, who also happens to be in incredible shape. One day I told him that he looked incredible and he told me that the biggest secret when trying to get into shape is to be public about it. Having people see your progress, cheer you on, and hold you accountable is more important than the type of program you choose to follow.
He is correct. My motivation is simply to look better. Being thinner, stronger, more flexible, and having more stamina are side effects of looking better. One usually comes with the other.
Anyone can put together a workout plan. You can google a million different options, but accountability is the key. Having an online community to share your journey with, cheer you on and pick you up when you are finding it difficult to continue. This is why Naughty Gym is working. THIS is why we are supporting this platform.
I saw a post from my friend’s gym the other day and it was truly inspiring. They posted the following excerpt on their social media pages:
FOR EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH US, WE CELEBRATE YOU!
And for everyone who agrees, we also celebrate you.
At our gym, we have made it our mission to be a safe home for anyone, regardless of differences.
We do not love you despite the fact that you are LGBTQ. We love you because of it.
We do not love you despite the fact that you disagree with us politically. We love you because of it.
We do not love you despite being of a different color or race. We love you because of it.
We don't love you despite your different beliefs about God. We love you because of them.
If you are republican or democrat, gay or straight, married or single, black/brown/white/plaid, male or female, old or young, theist or atheist, trans or cis, country or citified, redneck or yankee... it matters at our gym. It matters because we relish and celebrate the vibrant tapestry made up by all our differences.
If you've ever felt ostracized by your community, family, job, church, or gym for that matter, we promise you have a home at our gym. Always.
And to all our current members...
Please know that you mean the world to us. We wake up every day trying to figure out how to do health and community better. We fail often. But hopefully, as we age we learn from those failures and use them as building blocks to improve. Thank you for all you do for this incredibly warm and inviting space we call our gym.
Love,
Scott & April
This is why we decided to work with these guys. They get it. The world is changing and while it hasn’t been ok to discriminate based on race, religion, age, disability, and national origin, it is finally being joined by sexual orientation.
Who cares if LGBT people go to a gym? Who cares if the owners are swingers? Is it a good gym? Are the services good? Do they provide a program that you can succeed with? Then stop discriminating and simply allow people to be themselves.
I felt bad when they told me how many people left their business when they were outed (especially the 2nd time), but they told me not to worry, that they were better off without those members. That these members were only holding them back. They were not allowing their diverse membership to gel into a family. Today, their gym is almost back to pre-COVID numbers and the membership is closer and happier than ever.
The Naughty Gym membership is giving busy professionals, stay-at-home moms, digital nomads, and lots of other people the opportunity to work out at home (or on the road). They have scheduled their first Naughty Gym field trip to Glacier National Park to do a Spartan Race and spend time getting to know other Naughty Gym members from around the country.
They are planning more Naughty Gym road trips to exotic places like a river cruise on the Amazon River. How exciting is a story like this? Talk about taking lemons and making lemonade. This couple took their lemons and made some excellent lemon drop martinis and are not looking back.
I hope you will check out Naughty Gym. It is a great place to collectively get in shape and now, it is a place with Meet & Greets so you can connect with other Naughty Gym members.
Here are just a few of the other sex-positive influencers that are using Naughty Gym
