Arrive’s Origins in Independence and Inclusion: Celebrating Pride

This month there’s one decision I’m grateful I made in 2010.  

Out of my love of wordplay and puns I thought it would be cute to have an opening party for “Studio 26” (named for our location on 26th Street) on the 26th of June.  6/26 - so easy to remember!  The stars aligned and it fell on a Saturday, so our launch party was lit!.  It also just so happened to be Pride weekend…cue confetti, glitter, and 1-2 steps to DJ beats. 

One year later, on June 24 2011, that decision proved to be a fortuitous one: as we celebrated one year of surviving as a small business with big hopes and dreams, in the middle of our anniversary party I got to cut the music and announce that Gay Marriage had just been legalized in New York State! 

It’s with these fond memories - and growing national attention on the history of social justice movements -  that I’m proud to recognize a trend in this month’s holidays. We celebrate Juneteenth, Pride  AND Independence Day in rapid succession.  In just over two week there’s excitement in the focus these holidays place on Freedom and Independence  (sorry, Passover, you peaked too soon?!).  Though each holiday means different things to different demographics (and as a cis white gay jewish able-bodied male new yorker etc I cannot speak for anyone else), the heady ideals of liberation we celebrate are accompanied by a somber gratitude in recognizing what had to be changed in the first place, and how far we may or may not have come.

Arrive was created to fill a void: there were no professional, inspiring spaces for diverse clients and pros to work privately together within a broader community of peers. With a small business designed to serve independent fitness + wellness pros, I love the coincidence and serendipity of this time of year. My personal connection to these now national celebrations fuels the integrity of our specific business mission here at Arrive, which in turn spurs us to celebrate freedom for those we serve, in a virtuous cycle. We love our Pros and the impact they have, and relish problem solving all the ways in which we can make your work life better, easier, more enjoyable. 

Post-pandemic, nearly every independent pro we know is juggling how to preserve the feelings of independence that work-from-home engendered while reaping the benefits of 3D IRL connections. From staying home in PJs on the couch all day while still getting paid, saving money and time on commute/expenses and more, to simultaneously working to recapture the connections, communities, and joys of living in exciting urban jungles like NYC….Can freedom and structure co-exist?  At Arrive, we strive to provide the best of both worlds.  We’ve known first-hand the struggles of being a miserable employee to a horrible boss, as well as the oft-unstated realities of the sullen solo-preneur trying to handle every aspect of a complex business while dreaming their vision of “success” into reality. Arrive exists at the intersection of independence and community, the crossroads of freedom and responsibility, the junction of….you get the idea. 

We’re here to change how wellness works. 

We proudly acknowledge how far we’ve all come.

We celebrate today’s unique, powerful, fierce expression of independence

We fight for a more equitable, liberated future for all of us, in business and in life.

We’re just getting started, psyched to see what we can build,  together.