On August 22, 2015, Orangetheory Fitness hosted the first-ever Guns & Hoses event at the Orangetheory Fitness Central Fort Lauderdale studio. Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLDP) officers competed against Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue (FLFR) members to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation was established by the Siller Family in honor of Stephen Siller, a New York City firefighter who lost his life on September 11, 2001.
“Orangetheory Fitness is constantly looking for ways to get involved with our community and with our members,” said Erica Botbol, the regional operations manager for Orangetheory Fitness. “We have participated in many races with the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and couldn’t pass up an opportunity to give back. What a better way to raise money than having two departments go head-to-head in a calorie burning, money raising challenge?”
The FLPD and FLFR split into teams to participate in a class at Orangetheory Fitness. Each team tracked their calories burned through Orangetheory’s heart-rate monitoring technology. The FLFR won the challenge, burning 19,302 calories. They received a donation to the charity of their choice and to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
The FLPD and FLFR were eager to help with a good cause. “The first people we chose to reach out to were our members. Those who eat, sleep and breathe OTF and love sharing it with their friends and family members,” said Botbol. “FLDP and FLFR were those who first expressed interest. We’re hoping this first event is a huge success and we can continue it in the future.”
Orangetheory Fitness makes it a priority to give back to the local community. “We want to show our members how much we appreciate them as we wouldn’t be where we are without them,” added Botbol. “Our involvement in the community, whether it be races or donations, has allowed us to ‘share the orange’ on a larger scale outside of the studio — they do say that orange is the happiest color.”
Hosting charity events such as Guns & Hoses allows the fitness franchise to become more involved with the community and connect with potential members. “These types of events allow us to learn more about our community and how our studio and workout impacts those who attend daily,” said Botbol. “We are always asking members to bring their friends and family. By doing this we are gaining exposure, but also allowing a larger platform for the community to get involved with us and vice versa.”
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Emily Harbourne is the former assistant editor of Club Solutions Magazine.
