October Member of the Month

Brittany Garlepied

In Her Words…

I joined Vitality during a transformative time in my life. It was soon after COVID lockdown was lifted, I had recently come out as queer and was recovering from a serious back injury. I was looking for a community that made fitness feel safe and fun again. I walked into a class at Vitality and the atmosphere was low pressure and non-competatiave, there was body diversity amongst members + coaches, folks were sharing pro-nouns and there was no indication that diet culture was a corner stone; I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of this community.

Through this last year-ish with Vitality I have found joy in fitness again and have been able to further detach from making my progress based on aesthetics or weight loss. I workout because it decreases my anxiety and stress levels, and feeling strong is empowering.

I am most proud of all these PRs in Powerlifting are pretty rad! I joined Vitality with a strong weightlifting background, but had recently gone through a serious back injury. I had no expectation of being able to lift like I did before my injury and now I’m the strongest I have ever been.

Vitality is a queer-owned, diverse, non-judgmental, low pressure, safe space were community is truly cultivated. Functional fitness and weightlifting can be intimidating and cliquey, but Vitality makes it accessible and fun for everyone.

In Coach K’s Words

Brittany started Vitality over a year ago in the summer of 2021. She came as a powerhouse and never lost that fire. At first she comes off pretty shy and to herself. I, as well as the rest of the crew, were very interested in the silent badass who came out of nowhere. She opened up to the community and started making friends with her fellow jocks. Brittany told me about her past fitness experience and injuries. As her coach, I encouraged her to trust her body and not push her limits until she felt that it was right to do so. Approaching our workouts in a slow, steady manner benefitted her. She’s breaking her own records and is stronger than ever. She's made her way from an Olympic lifting background to powerlifting. She recently just hit a PB in her deadlift, which I was lucky enough to witness. Brittany is not only a member but a friend of mine that I have gotten close to over the past year. She is someone I am so grateful to have in my corner and know that I can rely on. She is such a core part of our community- we are very lucky to have her.

I'm proud of how far you've come, Brittany.