Downtown Cincinnati has added a new strength and conditioning gym -
Queen City CrossFit - which offers a unique blend between gymnastics, Olympic lifting, and sprinting. No ordinary gym, CrossFit, which is headquartered in Washington D.C., promotes a small gym atmosphere that focuses on building community in order to promote health, fitness, and wellness. Although CrossFit is nationwide, the fitness center allows passionate followers like owners Siu Ping Lau and Chad Wieldishofer to open CrossFit's in their area, running the gym their own way without any certain requirements or hindering management rules.
"What we inspire to do is develop a family here. You can't do that when you're sitting in an office 1000 miles away affiliated with a franchise," Lau explained. "We've been following CrossFit for years now, and we have evolved as people due to our CrossFit experience."
Situated at the corner of Sycamore and Reading, Queen City CrossFit brings a new and unique opportunity to downtown residents and workers. Lau and Wieldishofer spent months researching various neighborhoods, walking the streets of downtown, meeting new people, and looking at vacant spaces, before setting up shop downtown.
"During the time that we've spent integrating into the community, we found a group of people that love downtown and want to see it grow and invest their personal time to see it prosper. It's been incredibly energizing," Lau said. "We've learned and seen a different side of downtown that we've never seen before. Going downtown used to be more of an occasion, but now we know the people, places, and our way around. It's a transformation in progress and very few people are exposed to that."
Both Lau and Wieldishofer work at Procter & Gamble. Lau moved to Cincinnati seven years ago from Rochester, New York and found her sense of community through fitness. Wieldishofer grew up in Southeastern Indiana, attended University of Cincinnati, and loves what Cincinnati has to offer as his new hometown.
"It's a great time to be in Cincinnati and watch it grow," Wieldishofer said. "I hope our gym adds a positive perception to this growth."
Writer: Lisa Ensminger
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.