HOUSOTN – Maybe you’ve been in this situation: you’re working out or taking a fitness class when a trainer comes over and says “give me 10 burpees” and you want to say “no, you give ME 10 burpees.” Now you have that opportunity and it’s for a good cause.
“Some of those workouts are really tough and they do give me that look like ‘alright, you’re going to pay for this,’” says John Cantu.
As a head trainer with Orangetheory Fitness, Cantu experiences those “I hate you moments” by his clients on a daily basis. That’s why he started "Torture the Trainer" last year.
“I was, like, ‘What’s a good way to give back to the community and have the members give back to us on how we torture them,’” Cantu recalled. “Every dollar you donate will go towards the trainer you choose so you donate a dollar, that trainer has to do burpees or pop jacks,” or push-ups, jump squats or palms to elbows.
The 2017 torture event kicked off Thursday morning and every dollar donated will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star.
“Our mentoring programs happen in the community. They happen at the table next to you at the restaurant. They happen at the gym here at Orangetheory, for example. They happen all over the place,” says Pierce Bush, a big brother himself and CEO of Houston’s branch.
Pierce knows how life-changing a mentor can be for a child. This year alone, more than 2,000 kids will have that experience through his chapter but there are more than 800 on the waiting list.
“To start a new match and to support that match for the first year is about $1,300 dollars here in Houston,” Pierce says. “Opportunities like this not only raise that money but they give us exposure. They give us to exposure to people who could sign up and become bigs.”
Torture the Trainer is going on through the Dec. 12 at all nine Houston Orangetheory fitness locations. Not a member? You don’t have to be! If you would like to see a fitness professional get what he or she “deserves,” and a child get a mentor, simply pop into one of their gyms and donate.
Gym locator: www.orangetheoryhouston.com