Pretty much since the first Orangetheory location opened in Los Angeles in Brentwood, there have been social events for members. They want to make the studio feel like a community and I love that about Orangetheory. They have done hikes, beach days, yoga classes, and other fun things. I’ve only made it to the yoga class though.
A lot of the social events happen on Saturdays. The beach days and hikes have almost always been on a Saturday. While I could go after I’m done with work to the beach days (especially if I skip my workout that day), I could never make the hikes because I have to work. I guess I could use some of my banked hours to miss a shift, but since Saturdays are one of our busiest days I feel bad when I do that. And some of the other social events have been on a Friday evening. For me those were tough to go to because of my schedule and drive time. If I went after a workout on a Friday evening, I had 2 options. One would be to shower at Orangetheory, wait a few hours, and then be a part of whatever event was happening. The other would be to drive home (which sometimes took over 90 minutes), shower, drive back to where I was, and then be late for the event. Neither of those were good options for me so I never went.
But once the Culver City location opened, I knew that I’d have a better chance of going to one of the fun things they would be planning. Some of the events are the same ones that the Brentwood one does because they are regional events (like the hikes and beach days), so I had missed those. And they did do a wine tasting event at a bar near the studio, but since I’m not drinking right now I didn’t feel like paying for an event that I couldn’t really participate in.
But this past Friday, there was finally an event I could go to! It was hanging out at Rush St (where I seem to go all the time) and while that is a bar it wasn’t necessarily an alcohol event like a wine tasting. We had the back patio area reserved for Orangetheory for a few hours that evening and we could hang out, order food and drinks if we wanted to, and just have a fun time. And since I work out in the mornings, it was super easy to go to something that night!
I’ve joked to people that when someone from my workouts sees me in normal clothes, a lot of times they are shocked. I have long hair but since I have it in a top knot during a workout most people don’t realize that. Plus since my hair is so thin, the top knot doesn’t look like it’s holding a lot of hair. The first time people from the Brentwood studio saw me with my hair down, many of them couldn’t stop saying that I have long hair. I guess they weren’t expecting that. So I thought I might have the same situation with this event.
When I got there a couple of coaches as well as front desk staff were there. But I didn’t recognize anyone from class. I knew that there was a chance that even if I was next to someone who usually is in class with me, I might not recognize them. People do look different in normal clothes and I’m usually in my head and focusing on myself during workouts. I don’t really pay attention to others, but I think a lot of people are the same way. I tried to not be shy when I didn’t really know anyone there, and fortunately there were people who brought me into their conversations so I wasn’t there alone and looking awkward.
I had gotten there toward the beginning of the event and it wasn’t that packed when I arrived. But people were quickly showing up and before I knew it the patio area was packed and there were so many people hanging out! I still didn’t recognize anyone from class, but I didn’t mind it after a bit. Several of us said we should have written what class times we take on the name tags we had so we could tell who might have been in class with us. But since everyone was in the same situation with wondering who they have seen in class before, it wasn’t that weird. We all were joking about it whenever we were meeting someone knew.
Since I didn’t see anyone I knew from class (or if we had been in class before, it was only a few times), nobody was shocked by how I looked out of workout clothes. But when one of my coaches arrived an hour after it started, she took a look at me and couldn’t believe that I had long hair. It was funny seeing her shocked at my appearance, but I also think that it’s a good thing that I look very different in a workout compared to when I’m in normal clothes. I never look good during a workout because I don’t really care how I look, so I would hate it if I still looked the same when I make an effort.
I was at the bar for longer than I was planning on being there. I work on Saturday mornings so I usually am not out that late on a Friday night. But I was having such a great time meeting new people and getting to hang out with my coaches in a social setting that time just flew by. I met so many new people who go to Orangetheory, but many of them work out super early or in the afternoon or evenings so I won’t be seeing them in class. But many of us did exchange numbers so we can hang out another time. And many of them have never done Hell Week before so they wanted my advice on how I have done it in the past. I’m always happy to help out people who have questions about the workouts so I was just glad I could help a little bit.
So many people talk about how hard it is to make friends as an adult. I agree completely with that idea because it really isn’t easy. I work from home by myself so I don’t make friends at work. I have made friends from workouts, but those friendships usually take months to happen because most people there aren’t looking around to chat before or after a workout. I do make friends at parties or union events, but that’s not always the case. So to have a night out with people that I know have one big thing in common with me was such a great opportunity to make new friends. And I’m so glad that’s exactly what happened.
You Might Also Like
Being Social and Nauseous (or Taking Some Inspiration From My Workouts)
An Evening Out With Friends (or An Excuse To Dress Up)
Another OTF Hangout (or Discovering A New Local Wine Bar)
Another OTF Hangout (or Having Fun Being Social In Normal Clothes)
Friends and Rowing (or More Records In My Workouts)
Friends and Family Workouts (or Getting Pushed To Do Better)
