“Why I Show Up: Pride, DTSC, and the OUT Foundation”

By Jessica Bergman, Owner — Downtown Strength & Conditioning 

Some things you carry with you your whole life without fully understanding why until one day, they all connect.

I grew up in Brooklyn. And if you grew up in New York in the late ‘80s and early ’90s, especially with someone in your family or close circle who was gay, you were shaped by that era in ways you don’t fully appreciate until much later. I lost someone close to me, a family member to AIDS in the early ’90s. The climate then was brutal. The stigma was deafening. But what I was also exposed to, as a kid trying to make sense of it all, were organizations fighting back with everything they had. GMHC, the legacy of Stonewall, communities that chose love when the rest of the world was choosing fear. I took all of that in. I didn’t realize at the time how much it was shaping me.

I took it for granted, honestly. That was just life in New York. Love and acceptance felt like the obvious choice. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood how lucky I was to have been raised inside that perspective  and how much work still remains.

We have a memorial workout in Alan’s honor. You can find it here: “Allan Morrow” WOD on Wodwell. Every time we do it, it means something.

When I opened DTSC in 2018, I had a space. And the moment I had a space, I realized I had something more.  I had the ability to create a place.

Not just a gym. A community. A safe one.

I knew pretty quickly that DTSC could be powerful in ways that had nothing to do with PRs or programming. It could be a third space. A place where people felt seen. Where they could just show up and sweat and belong. Keeping Alan’s memory alive while forging my own path as an ally  that became the quiet mission underneath everything we do here.

Our LGBTQIA+ community has been part of the fabric of DTSC since day one. But I think the moment I truly understood what that meant was when one of our earliest members, Ari Torralba, shared his story with us. Ari had moved to Miami from Texas, and after over a year of being a member, he opened up about his journey how his gym back home was actually the place where he came out, where he shared his deepest self. And then he told us that DTSC had become his third space here in Miami.

He probably doesn’t know how much that moment changed me. But it did. It crystallized everything.

That same year in 2018, I first encountered The OUT Foundation at Wodapalooza. I had already connected with Will Lanier, and then I spotted Chloëe Jönsson in the crowd, stopped her, and she welcomed the conversation immediately. We had also hosted a Pride workout at DTSC that year, so when everything came together it felt like the beginning of something real because it was.

From that point on, DTSC’s involvement with the OUT Foundation grew into something I’m truly proud of. We’ve hosted workouts, participated in athlete scholarship (OUTAthlete) programs, and continued to build a gym culture where everyone regardless of who they love or how they identify, can walk through our doors and feel like this place was built for them too. Because it was.

I may wear a lot of hats as a gym owner, coach, and tech exec BUT this is the work that reminds me why all of it matters. It’s personal. It always has been.

South Florida and Miami Pride, the events we host, the community we’re part of all reinforce why this matters. 

But showing up during Pride month isn’t the whole job. The whole job is building something year-round that doesn’t need a rainbow flag to signal safety. Our LGBTQIA+ members know this is home because we’ve shown them not just told them.

We still have so much work to do. I believe that deeply. But I also believe that gyms; real community gyms  have a role to play that goes far beyond fitness.

DTSC is my way of giving back. Of honoring Alan. Of carrying forward everything I was taught about love and acceptance, and making sure the next generation doesn’t have to fight as hard for the right to just be themselves.

If you want to be part of what we’re building  come sweat with us. You belong here. 

If you would like to reach out to the DTSC team, please follow them on Instagram: @dtscmia.