Tiffany Jones’ Athena Fitness and Wellness is on a mission to redefine feminine fitness. The Olympia gym is where women go to get strong in mind and body in a space that gathers as a community to support one another in their journeys and practices of whole-body health.
Participants run through a series of exercise circuits during a lunchtime class at Athena Fitness and Wellness in Olympia. The women-owned business opened right before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and survival was never certain. But with the help of grants, loans, a GoFundMe campaign and assistance from their landlord, the owners managed to keep their doors open. Credit: Austin Jenkins / Northwest News Network
From freaking pissed to big things : How a women-owned gym survived the pandemic By
In August of last year, Tiffany Krueger feared her dream of owning and operating a fitness center would be crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally published on July 12, 2021 3:58 pm
In August of last year, Tiffany Krueger feared her dream of owning and operating a fitness center would be crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
That month, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee imposed new restrictions on gyms that nearly tripled the required space between class participants. For Krueger’s small gym, Athena Fitness and Wellness in Olympia, that meant further reducing class sizes.
In anger and frustration, Krueger took to social media to decry the changes.
“I have to say that I am freaking pissed,” she said in a video posted to Instagram at the time. “We’re unable to pay our bills with these mandates; that is the reality.”