You're invited to "Sweat Together" 😅
Sweat. Connect. Reflect with us. We're teaming up with ANCKOR to co-host a workout ... that's more than just a workout.
Kevin here from People & Company. 👋
This Thursday, we’re teaming up with our friends at ANCKOR for an experiment in bringing folks together—join us for a live, social workout experience on the theme of “Community.”
A key part of our work is shining a spotlight on leaders who bridge gaps in inspiring ways. That was a guiding light for our book and is the ethos behind the Get Together podcast. With his budding workout community ANCKOR, our bud Brian Von Ancken is doing just that (more on his story below). Brian and the ANCKOR team facilitate a workout that’s more than just a workout.
Plus, Kai, Bailey and I have always pushed each other to keep up with our health (aka we turn into sad, robot humans when we’re not fed regular fitness.) 🤖
So we thought, “Wouldn’t it be rad to co-host a workout with Brian around the theme of Community?” We hope you’ll join us as we sweat, connect, and reflect together later this week.
Read the back story behind this collabo and get more event details below!
The Back Story
When I started hosting P&C office hours early last year, I was introduced to Brian Von Ancken. Brian’s a lawyer whose interests span a mashup of facilitation, fitness, and support groups. I raised my hand when he was looking for friends to run the track on Saturday mornings. And I latched on to him when he made the leap to start version 1.0 of ANCKOR—an in-person circuit workout class he ran in NYC a few times per week.
The workout was as if interval training entered a committed relationship with facilitated discussion. 💑 It felt like a true community activity. A welcome change of pace from my isolated hours at the gym with earbuds locked in.
When stay-at-home orders put a pause on NYC two months ago, I wondered what Brian would do. Would ANCKOR’s budding workout community press pause too?
Nope. (Thank goodness 🙌.)
Brian stepped up as a leader in a moment when I felt isolated from my teammates and anxious about how daily life would change. The day I canceled my wedding (don’t worry, love prevails!) I distinctly remember my urge for an exercise-induced release valve while in quarantine.
Low and behold, there was an invite in my inbox from Brian to an online iteration of ANCKOR workouts. Since that day, hundreds of people have participated in these reflective, social, challenging sessions from their homes. I’m writing this email after just completing one myself. 💪
Top left: Saturday morning workouts when I first met Brian.
Top right: Kevin, grimacing.
Bottom: a budding, global ANCKOR community that’s sprouted in the past two months.
Recently, communities have been forced to halt, remix, and adapt their shared activities. Dance classes are moving to Instagram Live, conferences resuming on Zoom, neighborhood groups convening on Slack.
What stands out to me about ANCKOR’s virtual revival isn’t what we’ve lost from moving online but what the community has gained with the new format. For instance, we now connect in breakout rooms with folks across the world—no longer just that early crew in NYC. Brian has started passing the torch to instructors in different cities. And in this discombobulating time, reflecting on themes each week like Gratitude and Resilience feels even more significant.
The purpose of ANCKOR has remained the same: to help participants connect with themselves and each other through fitness. But new circumstances led the ANCKOR community to realize that purpose through a new activity. And in my opinion, an even more successful activity.
My brain and my body have been grateful for Brian since our casual meetups last summer and especially now that his team has shepherded ANCKOR into this next chapter. Thanks for keeping us moving.
Join us on Thursday
Sweat Together: ANCKOR presented by People & Company
What: 1 hour full-body circuit workout designed to help you check-in with yourself and connect with others. Facilitated by ANCKOR, special guesting by team P&C. This week’s theme: Community!
When: Thursday, May 21, 2020, 6-7pm ET
Who: All fitness levels welcome! Come workout and meet someone new.
Where: Zoooooooooom