your weekly nyc fitness and wellness guide: june 15 - 21
Juneteenth run clubs, classic park activities, a Hoka shoe demo, and NYC’s rollerblading scene with beginner tips from a real talented skater.
What a time to be alive in NYC this week. I’m sure everyone had a packed weekend and is going to keep it running into the beautiful 70 to 80 degrees temps this week. (See u thurs at the parade??) Also summer solstice is on Sunday.
This Saturday before the Knicks game, I coerced a few friends to go play disc golf with me on Governor’s Island for the Populace pop-up course we included in last week’s newsletter. I had never played before, but it was such a fun way to spend the day outside + moving without overdoing it with intense exercise. Need more of that kind of thing this summer.
This week: Juneteenth run clubs, classic park activities, a Hoka shoe demo, and NYC’s rollerblading scene with beginner tips from a real-talented skater.
on the radar: this week’s fitness and wellness events
Monday June 15: Feels Like Summer: Sombra x Vital x Cold Freak Run (Williamsburg), 7PM, free
Vital Run Club (affiliated with the climbing gym) is creating quite a scene, and regularly amasses over 100 attendees for their group runs. This time they’re teaming up with Sombra for an easy five miler—with post-workout ice cream sandwiches from Cold Freak.
Tuesday June 16: Freaks of Nature x Max Jolliffe Community Run (Williamsburg), 9AM, free
Ultrarunner Max Jolliffe is a Freaks of Nature (sunscreen brand) ambassador, so this Tuesday they’re collectively heading to McCarren Park for a community AM run. Later in the evening, they’re hosting a party from 5 - 8PM, at the Freaks of Nature Pop Up. We’re stopping by. RSVP at the link above.
Tuesday June 16: Slow Girl Run Club x Momentm 2-Mile Run (West Side Highway), 7PM, free
If a speedy run club gives you anxiety, Slow Girl Run Club might be more your pace. They typically run an 11:30 min/mile, and at only a two-mile route, it’s totally do-able even if you’re relatively new to running. Stay for the free drinks, aka a specialty cocktail in collab with their partner, Momentm, a hydration company.
Friday June 19: Black Miles x Goldfinger Track Club Juneteenth Solidarity Run (Seaport), 11AM, free
Whether you’re running or walking, you can join Coach J from Goldfinger Track Club for their 6th anniversary Juneteenth run and celebration. Over 500 people pulled up to their first one in 2020, so time to bring the energy this year, too.
Friday June 19: Juneteenth Double Dutch Championship (Bed-Stuy), 3PM, free
Got double dutch skills? There's a championship going down through Bed Stuy Double Dutch Club in Herbert Von King Park this Juneteenth (team or solo). Even if you're just spectating, it’s going to be a vibe. Music, food, community programming, freestyle comp.
Friday June 19: Peak and Pace Juneteenth Cookout and World Cup Watch Party (South Slope), 6PM - 9PM, free
Run club Peak and Pace is bringing together a group for Juneteeth, down at Bear Burger’s Backyard in Brooklyn (one of my good friends works here so say hey to Jordan if you go). Cookout seems like a strong word, because I thiiink it’s just the food they have at the bar (or food trucks) but it’ll be a fun place and rowdy crew to watch the Scotland vs. Morocco game with.
Saturday June 20: Hoka Demo Shoe 5K Run (Midtown), 730AM, free
Want to test a pair of Hokas to see how they run? You can demo a pair of the Cielo X1 3.0, Rocket X3, Mach X3, Bondi 9, or Arahi 8 during this morning run out of Hoka’s flagship store in Flatiron. RSVP on Partiful! It’s sure to be a big one. (Maybe just beg them to let you test the Skyward X2 instead because it’s one of my favs from the brand right now.)
Saturday June 20: TeamWRK Juneteenth 5K Race (Brooklyn Bridge Park), 830AM, $64
TeamWRK is throwing what they describe as a “Family Reunion-style” 5K at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Everyone is invited to hang for free, but if you’re racing you’ll need to purchase an entry ticket. There will also be music, food, prizes, raffles, recovery, and a marching band.
Saturday June 20: Willo x mobius Field Day (Williamsburg), 11AM, free
A classic field day with parachute games, twister, and races, but for adults. Hell yeah. Fitness social network mobius and community event series Willo (which started as a concert series) partnered up to bring the energy with a potluck, activities, and chill time, like journaling, in McCarren Park.
Sunday June 21: Summer Solstice Ping Pong Tournament (Prospect Heights), 1PM, $20
Continuing our series of “sports you can be terrible at and still have fun playing”: This beginners ping pong tournament is hosted by a neighborhood hydroponic farm/brewery, Farm.One. They have a beginner and advanced bracket, and your entry fee includes a beer (that you should hold while playing.)
Sunday June 21: Father’s Day at Othership x Culture of Bathe-ing (Williamsburg), 8AM - 11AM, $69 (parent + child)
Othership is opening up its space to kids aged 7 to 17 (alongside a parent) for Father’s Day weekend in partnership with Culture of Bathe-ing, which believes kids belong in bathing culture. They’ll be changing the temps—warmer cold plunge, cooler sauna—to make it a safer (and more fun) experience for the young ones.
we think you should know…
I recently met Ari Bortz, a rollerblader and creator who lives in the UWS, at a friend’s industry dinner, and Ari’s dizzying videos of carving through traffic or careening down the subway steps are mesmerizing and enough to make anyone want to strap on a pair of inline skates. Maybe it’s the frequency illusion but it seems I’ve been hearing about skate-based sports nonstop since: My girl Rae Witte has been roller blading on the Rockaway Boardwalk for as long as I’ve known her, and just this week I talked to a few people who have picked up roller-skating as a hobby. Xanadu, a trippy roller rink with hand-painted floors in Bushwick which just had its second anniversary last week, has become a go-to spot for a casual night out. But Ari says that the streets of New York are one of the most interesting places to skate.
One of Ari’s videos that caught my attention and looks like a total blast was of Wednesday Night Skate: a weekly event that’s been going on since 1996 and draws hundreds of skaters to the streets of Manhattan. It's open to all levels, but he says you should be comfortable hopping curbs, dodging potholes, and controlling your speed in a crowd before you show up.
Wednesday Night Skate is a goal for many, but for beginners, Ari suggests Pier 76 at Hudson River Park, which is a wide open area with smooth pavement. “Skaters have been kind of mad that Hyrox has been happening over the last few weeks because it's been closed, but that's where everyone goes pretty much every nice night,” he says. “It’s a dream.” If you’re looking for a social atmosphere, Friday evenings are the busiest, with around 100+ people hanging out and skating.
happenings around town
Chelsea Piers Fitness has a free weekly outdoor workout series that is open to members and non-members. The schedule includes yoga in Hudson River Park on Thursdays, and a HIIT-style class called AMP’d weekly at Fort Greene Park (Mondays), Hudson River Park (Tuesdays), and Brooklyn Bridge Park (Wednesdays.)
After ATEAM’s Date Night workout class at Soulcycle this week, the party went to the street, where they set up a DJ booth and founder pulled up his old Mercedes and popped the trunk to reveal a bucket of champagne on ice. The whole event didn’t feel especially dating-forward, but instead, an environment to meet people who treat fitness/wellness as community, not optimization. (We’re pro some alcohol at wellness events. They’re not mutually exclusive.)
David’s (the controversial protein bar company) pop-up ice cream shop in the West Village opened last week at 109 Leroy St. A small scoop has 10 grams of protein and runs you $6. We tried the vanilla and I’m ashamed to admit how much I liked it. I don’t think it’s worth $15 a pint (Protein Pints is only $8 and has so many delish flavors to choose from), but by the scoop it’s pretty reasonable and was a nice treat on a hot day. There was also no line when I passed by around 7PM on a steamy Thursday.
The Class, a somatic workout that Maddie loves, is returning to Montauk for their annual summer residency. It will run from July 15 through August 16, and you can sign up to be in the know when their schedule drops. If you’ve never been to their studio in Tribeca, it’s also worth a visit to if you like a mind-body workout. I haven’t been in a while but its my go-to when I want to release pent-up energy and emotions and be taken on a journey with the music. Highly recommend going to Taryn, the founder, who teaches an intense class, always has interesting moves and music, and just has this hard-to-describe ethereal energy.
Kove Studio, a sauna and cold plunge spot in Williamsburg, has been plastering stickers with QR codes for a $10 plunge on Citibikes. In general their prices seem more affordable than most, but you book by the protocol you want (like 20 min sauna + 1-5 min cold plunge), not a time slot. Would you scan a QR sticker?
For better or worse (or both), The World Cup has turned NYC into a giant brand activation, and the latest example is Rexona’s “New York Sweat Club,” an invite-only creators pop-up designed to produce content opps through meet and greets and soccer matches on an LED pitch. It’s an interesting contrast to adidas’ massive public-facing Home of Soccer, which is essentially a giant, open-to-the-public fan zone. Rexona, like many brands nowadays, is leaning into exclusivity and access: Invite the '“right” people, give others FOMO, and hope to look buzzy and cool on social. But at what point do people get tired of being marketed a “community” they can’t actually join? Adidas’ open-door approach feels a bit more aligned with the spirit of the moment (sports fandom as a shared experience), while Rexona is betting on exclusivity. Brands hosting influencer/media events isn’t new and has its place, but I haven’t seen a multi-day pop-up with a schedule blasted online, an invitation to apply, and no public access before. Curious to hear any thoughts on this.
From June 10 to August 2, the Park Ave Armory is home to a new sound exhibition: clinamen. Ceramic bowls float in a series of water-filled basins, and as they collide, produce chiming sounds, like a giant (slightly more chaotic) sound bath. It looks like everyone’s just grabbing a seat for a meditation-style experience.
That’s all for this week. If you make it to any of these events, we want to hear about it. Let us know in the comments. And if you come across something worth featuring, send it our way or drop it in the community chat!
PR and brands, our inboxes are always open for news and events we need to know. New studios: We’d love to come join a class and write about it.
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See you next Monday.