The Beauty of Belonging: The TRILLFIT Experience

Written by our friends at TRILLFIT

TRILLFIT is a one-of-a-kind boutique fitness studio in the heart of Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. Black woman owned and operated, we at TRILLFIT are on a mission to decolonize wellness, one hip-hop dance party at a time. With class formats that include Cardio Dance, Sculpt, Restore, Cardio Boxing, and Family classes, TRILLFIT is an award-winning brand that’s poised for growth. After opening our studio in 2018 and seeing over 50 days of sold out classes before mid-March’s COVID studio closure this year, TRILLFIT has pivoted to virtual, building our inclusive and revolutionary brand to one that spans the globe. 

How did TRILLFIT begin?

Our founder and CEO, Heather White, tells the story of getting to a place in her career where she could finally purchase a high-end gym membership, but noticing that she barely took advantage of it once she’d bought it.  She realized that it was because she rarely ever saw any People of Color in the space. She was almost always the only one, with the exception of the occasional Black or Brown person who was a member of the facilities crew, cleaning the floors.

She didn’t feel like she belonged in these spaces, and she didn’t see instructors or people enjoying the gym who looked like her. She felt like the studio wasn’t created for her, so she decided to make the change she wanted to see and create the type of space where women like her would belong. Enter — TRILLFIT. She incorporated the business more than 6 years ago, and opened a brick and mortar studio in November 2018. We are all seeing and experiencing the beauty of what a wellness space can look and feel like when you lead with an intention of inclusivity, access, community, and connection.

Can you tell us about your mission?

TRILLFIT is a purpose-driven wellness business changing the face of boutique fitness. Mission TRILL is our pledge to promote health outcomes in communities of color by providing increased access to our programming, supporting the initiatives of local organizations that focus on achieving health equity, and fostering collaboration with public and private sectors to redefine what wellness experiences look like and feel like.

Why did you choose The Greenway as a location for your fitness offerings?

We chose The Greenway for our classes, SCULPT, “FIGHT THE POWER” Boxing Bootcamp, and CARDIO DANCE, because accessibility is at the core of what we do. Having free classes that folks can access across the city is important to ensuring we are creating opportunity to participate in our wellness experience to as many folks as possible. Plus, The Greenway is beautiful. What a better way to spend a Saturday than a hip hop party in the park?

What is your favorite/most unique class that you offer?

It is so hard to choose just one! I love the diversity of our offerings and think that when paired together throughout the week it really gives me the different things my body craves. Every class is a hip hop workout party. We believe that fitness should be fun, inclusive, and set to the illest soundtrack — that’s what you get with every class. I am a cardio dance instructor, so I love that it provides you with movement and sweat but makes it fun. Our signature Sculpt class incorporates more strength and Cardio boxing builds strength, endurance, and speed with a 10-round program that adds that one-two punch. I love that during the week we turn up and then on Sunday we restore. I lead a meditation every Sunday at 4pm which is free and is followed by Restore which gives your body some love muscle group by muscle group with slow-flow sequences designed to provide a deep stretch. We really have something for everyone. We even have a TRILLFIT family class that we launched during quarantine to allow the whole family, even the kids, to participate.

Besides TRILLFIT, what are some of your favorite Greenway Fitness classes?

We love B/SPOKE and have an exciting collaboration coming up with them so we can’t wait to check out their classes!

Do you have any tips for staying healthy this summer?

Do the things that make you feel good and get outside! Make sure you are staying safe by social distancing and wearing a mask, but the outdoors is the perfect place for social distanced wellness. Whether it is a walk, run, bike, or meditation, spend some time in nature and soak up the sun. We know that winter is coming, so take advantage of the beautiful weather and access to nature we have in New England. Being outside in the sunshine is great for your mental health, and to couple that with some sort of activity that gets your body moving is a double benefit. At TRILLFIT, we have been taking advantage of one of the many beautiful parks in our neighborhood to hold classes four times a week. Sign up for one of our outdoor classes at Evans Way Park across from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

What are your plans for the future?

We have some exciting things in the works and are continuing to focus on how our offerings can continue to be more accessible, equity focused, and collaborative.  We are growing our digital platform which offers all of our signature classes from the comfort of your home. Since the pandemic began in March, we have loved watching the reach and access that our digital classes have allowed us to have. We are developing classes that are lower impact for recovery, mobility, and Seniors. We recently launched a 30 Day Guide to Getting Well that we LOVE — this is not your average fitness guide. It’s not about losing weight. It’s not about looking a certain way. It’s about feeling good in our own skin. It’s about forming new, healthy habits. It’s about challenging ourselves, each other, and building strength together. It’s 134 pages of curated wellness; fitness, nutrition, skin care and self-care by our team and local black wellness entrepreneurs. So, it is about holistic wellness at a time when we all can be showing ourselves a little more mental, emotional, and physical love.

Lastly, I will mention as we continue to hold ourselves accountable to our mission, we thought it important to try and bring that accountability into our industry as a whole. In the wake of the growing tensions around racial injustice in this country, as a Black led organization, we wanted to collaborate with other industry leaders to build our collective power and move together toward change. We call on our fellow leaders in the wellness community to accompany their statements on the Black Lives Matter movement with a pledge to invest in the future of the Black community’s health and to create a culture of inclusivity. Our Pledge for Racial Justice, Anti-Racism and Equality in the Wellness Industry calls for us to commit to ourselves and what we want to do as individuals as well as how, as business leaders, we want to push our organizations. You can learn more about these initiatives and more on our website! 

There are TRILLFIT classes coming up on The Greenway at Rowes Wharf every Saturday in September at 11:00am ; thank you TRILLFIT for a memorable first summer on The Greenway; remember to check out The Greenway’s full fitness schedule on our calendar!

Our 2020 Greenway Fitness Season, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, includes both in person and virtual offerings. In person classes began on The Greenway on July 5, 2020. For those unable to safely visit the park, we invite you to #BringTheGreenwayHome by exploring virtual fitness opportunities from our partners.