‘Wellness hot spot’ in DC helps people get in shape - WTOP News

When he was fired from a big box gym during the pandemic, personal trainer Joe Houston said it was time to take matters into his own hands and start a new gym that emphasizes “health equality.”

This story is part of WTOP’s Small Business September series, sponsored by EagleBank.

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‘Wellness hotspot’ in DC helps people get in shape

Joe Houston operates a gym in Southeast D.C. called WeFitDC, but to him, it represents much more than a just gym.

He calls it a “multifaceted wellness hot spot.”

“We have classes,” Houston said. “We offer personal training, group personal training sessions and things like that.”

Houston, a D.C. native who has more than a decade of professional fitness expertise, said he wanted to help address the community’s needs for accessible fitness facilities while encouraging a culture of health and wellness.

Specifically, he wanted to help reduce health disparities in the District.

Houston recalled being troubled when he saw statistics showing that people in northwestern Ward 3 live several years longer on average than people in the southwestern Ward 8.

“I was just motivated,” Houston said. “I wanted to do something for my community.”

The period of time when COVID led to gyms being shut down was a transformative experience for Houston, sparking a new understanding about the value of community-centered fitness.

For those passionate about working out, the closure of gyms meant losing not just a place to exercise, but a place to socialize and unwind.

“Everything was shut down in the world, and I didn’t know what to do,” Houston said.

The experience highlighted the importance of having a local, reliable fitness space, he said.

Houston had been working at a big box gym in downtown D.C., and he was laid off when gyms had to close.

He decided that he needed to take matters into his own hands.

Houston teamed up with other local trainers and launched his business plan, hoping that a local gym could play a role in helping people regain their fitness routines and reconnect with others safely.

“I was like, ‘I’ve just got to do something,’” said Houston. “I didn’t have a business plan or an entrepreneurship background, I just acted on it.”

“Sometimes entrepreneurship just blossoms like that,” he added.

Joe Houston opened WeFitDC in Southeast D.C. after being laid off from a big box gym in downtown D.C. during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a gym, he calls it a “multifaceted wellness hot spot.”
(WTOP/Nick Iannelli)

WTOP/Nick Iannelli