California-based Spectrum Athletic Club raised nearly $40,000 recently to fight ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), in the name of one of the city’s top fitness instructors, Toni Brown.
Brown is a popular group cycling instructor who was diagnosed with ALS in 2010, forcing her to trade in her cycling bike for a wheel chair. “It was really successful,” said Nikki Czech, a PR representative for Spectrum. “We’re really proud.”
Members of the southern California fitness community gathered at the “Gettin’ Down with Toni Brown” event, which was held at all 12 Spectrum locations. Open to both members and non-members of Spectrum Athletic Club, “[the event] was open to anyone for the weekend,” said Czech. “People donated a minimum of $25 to participate in the event.” The goal was to raise funds as well as public awareness for the cause.
Preceding the two-day fundraiser, the Group X studio at Spectrum’s South Bay location was also renamed the “Toni Brown Studio,” the very workout room where she taught cycling classes for more than a decade.
“Toni devoted her life to helping people get in shape, so what better way to honor her than dedicate the very spin room that she called home for so much of her professional life,” said Bud Rockhill, the president and CEO of Spectrum Athletic Clubs, in a statement. “She has become a hero and an inspiration to so many people due to her courage and perseverance, and this is our way of honoring her in perpetuity.”
Every 60 minutes, an American is diagnosed with ALS. What begins with flu-like symptoms later leads to a loss of balance. Eventually, the nerve cells that control the body’s movement shut down. While the body is completely paralyzed, the mind remains fully intact.
Of the event’s proceeds, 100 percent were donated to Augie’s Quest, the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s ALS research initiative. “In general, it’s a really debilitating disease,” Czech said. “But it was personal [for us] because Toni was diagnosed.”
By Sam Rogers
