Occasionally you hear people joke about a runner’s high or a love for endorphins, but for some, the gym really does serve as therapy. It provides an emotional outlet that can’t be found elsewhere.
This was certainly the case for Carter Davis, the founder for Lift For The 22. Davis joined the Navy to be a Corpsman during his senior year of high school. He served for over five years. Davis medically retired from the military after severely injuring his leg in a pick-up soccer game, resulting in several surgeries and lasting nerve damage.
Having difficulty dealing with his injury and transitioning from the military, Davis battled with depression and anxiety, even contemplating suicide. He checked himself into the VA system to seek help, but received little to no assistance. Upon checking himself out, Davis reached out to two friends.
“I told them the situation I was in and they drove to Los Angeles, where I was living and took me to the gym,” said Davis. “I realized after I went to the gym, I felt better. I was able to reconcile in my mind some of the anxiety I had. It provided an outlet for me that was positive.”
Exercise quickly became a large part of Davis’ life. After going to the gym for a year, he noticed his mental health symptoms started to subside. As Davis explained, it gave him a new identity and purpose.
After seeing the impact going to the gym had on his own life, Davis started a hashtag movement, #LiftForThe22. “I wanted to get the word out there to other vets that if they workout together and are part of a community in the gym, that we could potentially forge a new transitional opportunity for veterans across the country,” he explained. “I realized the system was broken and I thought this could be a great way for people to fix it.”
Davis encouraged veterans to start using #LiftForThe22 after each workout. As the movement started to gain momentum, Davis launched a Facebook page. “Overnight it had 2,000 people on the page, posting about what the program could potentially mean for veterans across the country,” said Davis.
As #LiftForThe22 began to spread, Davis was contacted by Rick Hascall, the owner of WORKOUT ANYTIME in Beaverton, Oregon. Hascall suggested Davis expand Lift For The 22 beyond a hashtag and into a non-profit. “Our goal is to end the veteran suicide epidemic,” said Davis. “The idea is that 22 veterans commit suicide a day and we are trying to lower that number by providing transitional tools for veterans across the country.”
Davis and Lift For The 22 co-founder Wade Luethi developed a website and began to sell apparel in order to pay for memberships at WORKOUT ANYTIME for veterans. And now the executive team at WORKOUT ANYTIME is getting involved.
For the month of November WORKOUT ANYTIME is providing 22 free memberships at each location across the country. Veterans can visit either the WORKOUT ANYTIME or Lift For The 22 website to fill out an online application, which verifies their military service. Throughout the month, the fitness franchise will also host a variety of other fundraising opportunities for the organization.
As Veterans Day approaches, many people ask what they can do to give back to those who serve our country, and Lift For The 22 is an option. According to Davis, they hope to expand to more and more gyms across the country.
“In order for us to be accessible to the entire veteran community, we have to be everywhere, so our goal is to speak with executives at LA Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, Anytime Fitness and also partner with private gym owners everywhere in the country in order to have easy access points for our veterans.”
According to Davis, Lift For The 22 has seen such great success due to its comprehensive support model. “Lift For The 22 is much more than a gym membership,” he said. “We provide five different areas of support for our veterans.”
These five areas include:
- Emotional Support.
- Brotherhood Trust – where veterans meet one another and develop a trusting relationship.
- Friendship Support – once trusting relationships are developed within the fitness facility, they will notice behavioral changes within one another.
- Fitness Support.
- Professional Development – as veterans connect with one another they can discuss job opportunities in the area and tips for finding a job.
“When you return home everything is different and you have to find that support system of people who can help you transition and help you achieve the goals you set for yourself, and our program does that,” said Davis.
For those interested in participating, there is an application for veterans, volunteers and gym owners at www.liftforthe22.com.
Thank you so much