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On September 5th, CrossFit Martell opened its doors for a different kind of Saturday workout.
We hosted Pride FitFest, a charity fitness event created around a simple idea: fitness should be for everyone.
Different backgrounds. Different identities. Different fitness levels. Some people with CrossFit experience and others stepping into a CrossFit gym for the very first time.
For one very sweaty morning, none of that mattered. We came together to move, laugh, meet new people and support a cause that matters to our community.
One of the things we love most about CrossFit has never been just the workouts. It's what happens around them.
You walk into a room with people you might never otherwise have met. You're given a challenge to complete together. You struggle a little, laugh a lot, encourage someone you've only just met and, somewhere along the way, strangers start feeling like teammates.
That's exactly what we wanted Pride FitFest to be.
The event was built around a fun team workout that could be adapted to every fitness level. Nobody needed to be "fit enough" to participate, and no previous CrossFit experience was required.
Some people arrived with their own partners. Others arrived alone and met their teammate on the day.
Once the workout started, everyone was simply part of the same room, doing the same thing together.
The morning wasn't only about bringing people together. Pride FitFest was also a charity event supporting Allied Rainbow Communities (ARC) and the work they do for Malta's LGBTQ+ community.
Every participant contributed a €20 entry donation, with the opportunity to donate more during the event. We're incredibly happy to confirm that 100% of the money raised through Pride FitFest has been donated to Allied Rainbow Communities.
Everyone who participated wasn't simply completing a workout. Together, they were helping support an organisation working within the community here in Malta. And that made every wall ball shot slightly more worthwhile.
Only slightly. Wall balls are still wall balls.
The biggest thank you goes to every single person who walked through our doors and took part.
To the experienced athletes, the complete beginners, the people who came with friends and the people brave enough to arrive without knowing anyone — thank you.
You created the atmosphere. You cheered for people you'd just met, helped your teammates through the workout and showed exactly what can happen when fitness becomes a way of bringing people together rather than separating them.
We'd also like to give a huge thank you to Red Bull Malta, GSD and Fuel & Co for supporting Pride FitFest and helping us make the experience even better for everyone who attended.
Community events like this become possible when local businesses choose to get behind them, and we're extremely grateful for their support.
We started Pride FitFest with an idea. Bring people together. Make fitness accessible. Create an environment where people can simply show up as themselves. Have a ridiculous amount of fun. And use the opportunity to do some good at the same time.
Looking around CrossFit Martell at the end of the workout — sweaty faces, people laughing, talking and taking photos with teammates they may not even have known that morning — it felt like we'd achieved exactly that.
