Brooklyn's Only All-Women Fitness Bootcamp Fights To Stay Open

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — When Danielle Edward's gym in Park Slope closed their doors a little over a year ago, she didn't just find a new place to work out — she started a business.

The mother of two, who was both a client and employee at the gym, raised $3,000 and set up The New Body Project, a "family-style" fitness studio that is Brooklyn's only all-women bootcamp. The new business gave dozens of women who had belonged to the now-closed New Body Bootcamp and Wellness a place to go, she said.

But now, a year later, Edwards finds herself back where she started — raising money to keep the fitness community alive for her 37 clients.

The New Body Project, which currently shares space in the Brooklyn Fencing Center, will have to close its doors in April if the business can't raise $60,000 and move into a permanent space of its own, Edwards said. She hopes an online crowd-funding campaign will be the key to keeping things going.

"While we are in a temporary space now, we can't be here forever," she said. "We have gone through some very trying times in the business development stages of The New Body Project but I am so, so hopeful that 2019 will be an amazing year for us. If we can spread our story and share our services I'm certain we can make it happen."

The Fencing Center agreed to house The New Body Project women for a few months after they were forced out by a previous landlord, where they had shared gym space since October 2017, Edwards said.

The $60,000 will help Edwards continue to pay her employees, begin to give herself a salary and afford the high rent prices for commercial space, she said. It will also ensure The New Body Project can continue to raise money for underserved children in Liberia, where Edwards' family is from.

If she gets the funding, Edwards plans to open the gym in Gowanus to honor those such as the Fencing Center and her clients that helped keep the business afloat. Her goal is to find a place where she can train 200 clients.

"I plan to stay right in Gowanus because these are the people who believed in me and gave me a chance," she said. "I went from being a client of the gym, to an employee, to the CEO all within two years and it's all because I was backed by the women of Gowanus/Park Slope community. "

Keeping the company open is especially personal, she added, given that the fitness community was responsible for her own transformation.

Edwards, who lives in Bushwick, started her career in gyms after joining a fitness challenge during a particularly hard time in her life. Laid off from her job at a bank on Wall Street and a new mom of two children, joining the original Park Slope gym helped her "take control of her life," Edwards said.

The company helps her do that for other women, too, she said. Edwards' crowdfunding page can be found here.

"We are seeking to raise money to finally secure our permanent space to continue to build women up, physically, mentally and spiritually," she said. "My ladies and I cannot wait to get past this last hurdle."

Photos provided by Danielle Edwards.