RESIST: AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST MARIA PIÑERES

RESIST by artist Maria Piñeres (2017)

If you’ve ever visited EVERYBODY Gym in Cypress Park, chances are you’ve caught a glimpse of the gorgeous mural on our outside patio. Maybe you’ve seen it from the street as you drove down San Fernando Road or during your daily workout. Maybe you’ve wondered who created this beautiful mural, what is the meaning behind it, and why do I love it so much?

We sat down with artist and creator of the RESIST mural Maria Piñeres for a radical recap…

Artist Maria Piñeres at EVERYBODY Gym in Los Angeles

V: Ok, tell me your name and your big three. I’ll go first. My name is V and I’m a Leo sun, Sag rising and Menopause Moon.

(pause for laughter)

MP: Maria Piñeres: Sun in Libra, Cancer rising and moon in Aries.

V: You’ve been an artist for a long time…

MP: A really long time. I went to high school for art and studied art and design in Manhattan, so since I was 14. I came out to LA in 2005.

V: It’s such a crazy time right now, and it's so nice to see this mural still persisting almost unscathed, maybe a little sun lifted. But to me, it still seems like as vibrant as it was in the first few months that you painted it. I have a few photos in front of it from 2017 when Sam held an artist reception. I know there's elements of camouflage and kind of different interpretations of it, like colorful adaptations of camouflage almost…

MP: Yeah, I had done a really deep dive into different types of camouflage, and I just got really into it for a while. I've always liked to play with colors, and it also alludes to militant-ness. I think it has a lot to do with landscapes. It's like when I go to the desert, I'm just looking at the colors or the patterns that stand out and why certain camouflage became what they are. It's like shadows and colors, so a lot of this was sort of landscapes juxtaposed with each other, and they could signify bodies, or they can signify elements of nature or pushing back against each other…

“I had done a really deep dive into different types of camouflage, and I just got really into it for a while. I’ve always liked to play with colors, and it also alludes to militant-ness.”

— Maria Piñeres

V: But also flowing with each other…

MP: Yeah, it was all that. That's what I found, so much fun to play with.

V: Yeah. When you hear an artist talk about their work, you kind of look at it a little differently…with more insight. But I also like having my own opinion first and then maybe knowing what the artist said as opposed to the other way around.

MP: What was your opinion, I’m curious…

V:  Instantly my head went into ‘queering camouflage’. It went into taking something and, like queers do, make it colorful, make it political, because it just already is. Make it mean more than what it traditionally means, but with a twist of camp, a little bit of joy, a little bit of fun, a little bit of resistance.

MP: Totally….

V: Mix it all up and voila! And it looks better than traditional camo, but yet, it has these elements which, for me, like maybe as an old school dyke from the 90s, I really related to. We still wear the camo, but even more back then…

MP: Oh I’m so drawn to it to this day…

V: Yes…We wore the camo because I feel like we didn't have much of a wardrobe selection as gender fluid people back then. It was either men's clothes or women's clothes. So for me the camo was like oh, there's women in the military or this makes me feel powerful. I'm kind of making a statement against gender norms and femininity, but also being ready to fight. And the irony is, I guess camo makes you blend in, but when you're in a cityscape, you stand out. Right?

MP: Yeah, and the colors are more joyful, but it's also kind of like they're saying, as queer what kind of clothing and patterns do you gravitate to?

V: Yeah, and the camouflage shapes are specifically non-uniform and contrasting.

MP: Right.

“Instantly my head went into ‘queering camouflage’. It went into taking something and, like queers do, make it colorful, make it political, because it just already is.”

— -V. Craig

V: And then for the inside of the gym, what was your inspiration for that?

MP: I talked to Sam and we talked about making a different approach, but at the same time relating to it. I thought it would be nice to have A LOT of white space, so that it's sort of like creeping into the space.

V: Yeah, it feels almost like when you go to an old apartment and the bricks are sticking out from behind the paint.

MP: Yeah, like tearing down walls and finding a little piece of wallpaper that existed before, it's something like that.

V:  I like how at certain places where cracks might be, or underneath every boring white wall is…

MP: …Some history…

V: Yeah, especially here, like a cool queer history or artsy one.

MP: Right. And then I also played with the edges, like one side is really organic and the other side is really rigid, and at some point they come together where both sides are rigid. But it's really, really subtle, but that was just something that I kind of planned that way when it was on paper. And I was just like oh, the sides facing each other are both soft, and then these two sides facing each other are going to be like so, just for fun. It also does feel to me a little bit graffiti. I never call myself a graffiti artist, but my approach was a little bit to be, not just because it's on a wall, but a certain kind of line…

V: Yeah, they have distinct outlines, like someone doing a piece would definitely do a thicker outline with the colors inside and the solid on the outside. It reminded me of that, too because growing up in LA, I would study the graffiti art.

“‘...I also played with the edges, like one side is really organic and the other side is really rigid, and...the sides facing each other are both soft...”

— Maria Piñeres

V: So when you do this, you draw it out first and then kind of like a mapping situation?

MP: I do a mapping, but, you know, once it goes on the wall, it takes on its own thing.

V: And how long did the RESIST mural take to to do?

MP: Actually this one took a month, but it was like that weird time of year where the day I started it, it rained and then it didn't stop raining for like a month and a half. We would have one clear day and I'd jump in and every time I would come set everything up, out of nowhere the sky would just like turn gray.

V: That’s so rare for LA. It was like trying to resist your RESIST mural! Ok wow, but usually it would take probably like two weeks or a week?

MP: I thought it was going to take like a week and a half.

V: And how do you feel when you see people take pictures in front of it?

MP: Oh, I loved it. Especially early on, I remember I scrolling through Instagram and sometimes you're not paying attention, and then I'd be like, there's my background. Yeah, it's pretty awesome.

V: I honestly love when people do that or are just filming or selfie-ing out here. The mural just makes everything pop: makes the astroturf pop, the equipment pop, it just makes everybody look great.

MP: Because it's outdoors, the lighting is always great. Even when there's shadows, it looks really fresh. The inside doesn't have that same look.

V: Yeah, the inside seems more poppy because the white and then the color are like bam, bam, whereas the outside blends in more… The medicine balls are blending in, the boxing bags, and even the orange fan. It's almost like Sam consciously works the equipment around your mural.

“We pulled a lot of colors from the EVERYBODY typeface. But obviously there are some browns and deep oranges that needed to go in there just to help it pop a little bit.”

— Maria Piñeres

V: And what do you think about it now years later?

MP: I'm so happy it's still there and sometimes when I drive down San Fernando, you see the top of it, and obviously the first thing I notice is how much it's faded, although it's still pretty bright on the bottom. But it does kind of make me chuckle that it's there and where my mind was at the time... and if I had any doubts at the time like oh, that should have been a different color... We pulled a lot of colors from the EVERYBODY typeface. But obviously there are some browns and deep oranges that needed to go in there just to help it pop a little bit. At the time some of the colors just weren't me, like I would never use that color, but now those colors ARE me.

V: Totally! So when you were painting it, what was your mind frame at the time?

MP: I mean aside from the political thing, it did feel like a big time of change, and I think I was either just starting a new relationship and had just ended a long one. I had just moved… So, some personal, some just more environmental.

“V: And the RESIST title, did you come up with that?

MP: Yes...that name didn’t strike me until it was finished. It was just kind of like, oh, it’s RESIST, that it can’t be anything else.”

— Maria Piñeres

V: And the RESIST title, did you come up with that?

MP: Yes, and I didn't name it or that name didn't strike me until it was finished. It was just kind of like, oh, it's RESIST, that it can't be anything else. It just felt whether or not it pertained to the image and what was depicted, it was just at the time how I felt, and especially because it was for this particular place at that particular time.

V: Kind of like the juxtaposition of Trump in office, and this new gym forming right at this time. The two coming together, like what a perfect time.

MP: It was a perfect time, and it just reinforced the idea of community and identity, and sort of having our little fortress of safety. I’ve been in a queer bubble for so long that I forget about the other side, and then everything is so normal until (and I don't mean to otherness people), but we're clearly in a bubble. But it's so safe and it's so nice, and I’d do anything to maintain and preserve that safe space. It would be ideal if we didn't have to, but if we have to, then we must! Ha!

V: Yes, we must! Now more than ever. The sh*t is just accelerating exponentially. Yeah, this place has always been that root, or that space for a lot of people. So it's good to see some things still standing the test of time, your mural, the space, the mission…everything.

MP: Yeah, and growing and you know… just being so positive.

“...the juxtaposition of Trump in office, and this new gym forming. The two coming together, like what a perfect time. ”

— - V. Craig

V. in front of Maria’s mural setting up for the artist’s reception. (2017)

“...it just reinforced the idea of community and identity, and sort of having our little fortress of safety...it’s so safe and it’s so nice, and I’d do anything to maintain and preserve that safe space. It would be ideal if we didn’t have to, but if we have to, then we must!”

— Maria Piñeres

You may see Maria at the gym, your local art gallery, or about town, but you can always catch her vibes in our space or at www.mariapineres.com.

‘Levity Floats’ by Maria Piñeres (2020) Walter Maciel Gallery

Maria is currently represented by Walter Maciel Gallery in Culver City. Please contact for commissions.

Needlepoint work by Maria Piñeres.

---

A reflection on the incredibly timely work of the great writer Octavia Butler.

Octavia Butler was born and raised in Pasadena. While she primarily worked in the genre of science fiction,  many have noted how her visionary writing about Los Angeles and our 2025 world has been spot-on relevant as of late. Particularly in  Parable of the Sower, Butler imagines a world where the lead character observes her neighbors rigidly clinging to old constructs that prove to be dangerous and untenable in a world devastated by climate change. The core message of the book is about tenacity and the importance of being resilient in impossible times and circumstances. “All successful life is adaptable, opportunistic, tenacious, interconnected, and fecund” she writes. “Understand this. Use it.”

📷 (L) Octavia Butler (R) ‘Parable of the Sower’ Cover art by Paul Lewin entitled “The Offering,” in which a woman gives an offering to a hummingbird. ‘This reminded me of the main character Lauren Olamina, offering what she’s learned to the world in the form of a new religion. Her rare hyper empathy syndrome makes her a “sharer”, someone who feels what other people––and, to a lesser extent, animals––feel when they’re in pleasure or pain’. 

This was a message explicitly directed at a moment like the one we are living now.  But how can we heed her advice and become “opportunistic” at a time like this, when basic survival often feels like the only possible goal? What could it mean to “adapt” at this time, without losing our core values and beliefs? “All that you touch you change”, Butler writes. “All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.” In her writing, she asks us to be mutable, adaptable, even agreeable to being changed.

While most of us feel are feeling rightfully fearful about the future and what is taking place in our government right now, change may feel more threatening than anything else. And yet some are tapping into the powerful motivation that this terrifying moment can give us to get and stay connected and to continue to strengthen our resolve not to give up hope. It can be so easy to succumb to feelings of overwhelm and despair in the face of so much destruction, and so little inspiration. Yet Butler reminds us to “forget inspiration” and that “habit is more dependable.” “Habit”, she writes, “will sustain you whether you are inspired or not. Habit is persistence in practice.”

What habits are we forming that will sustain us in these times? What practices are we learning/ have we developed that are grounding us against the relentless tyranny rising up all around us?

A routine of exercise and embodied movement is best practiced as a habit. If regularly practiced, a routine of embodied movement can ground you in your own strength and purpose in ways that nothing else can. In re-reading Butler's words, I’ve found a reminder to be in my own body every day in a new way. I’ve found a call to action to adapt to these circumstances by building more strength, more flexibility, more willingness to change, to be vulnerable, to show up for myself and for others. There is tremendous strength in habitually committing to a practice that you return to daily that challenges you in some way. The plant that grows in sandy soil is always stronger and more resilient than the one in smooth soil.

Our goal is to provide you with fertile ground of one kind or another to plant your bodies and grow your practice here. We need all of our most tenacious and fecund selves to show up for this moment and everything that is to come.

-Sam/ EVERYBODY GM & Co-Founder

---

a brief history of octavia butler and altadena

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) was a highly celebrated and influential writer in the genre of science fiction, known for thought-provoking works that explored themes of race, gender, power, and ecological destruction. As an African American woman in a predominantly white and male genre, she brought new perspectives to the forefront. Butler was born in Pasadena and grew up in predominately Black neighborhoods in Pasadena and Altadena.

Butler’s most well-known novel is Parable of the Sower, published in 1993; in it she envisions a dystopian future ravaged by climate change, economic instability, and social unrest. The book, along with its sequel, Parables of the Talents, won several  major awards and established Butler as a visionary writer adept at predicting and dissecting societal trends. Her success gave her the means to purchase a home in Altadena.

- Kathleen McDonnell via altadenaheritage.org

📷 (L) Octavia Butler (R) Nikki High, owner of Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena

Altadena (an unincorporated city north of Pasadena) holds a significant history as a haven for Black families seeking refuge from redlining and systemic oppression. Most notably, Altadena became a place where Black families could build generational wealth through homeownership, with a high percentage of Black residents owning their homes and building thriving communities. 

Below are a few resources for folks impacted by the Altadena fire (via Afropunk and Walk Good LA) and a few local Black-owned businesses we love, including Octavia’s Bookshelf, ‘an independent bookstore in Pasadena where readers of all ages and backgrounds will have a wonderful time exploring our store of books written by BIPOC writers.’ Owner Nikki High has temporarily transformed her store into a refuge for those displaced by the California fires. You can visit and support Octavia’s Bookshelf here.

---

RESOURCES FOR THOSE IMPACTED BY THE ALTADENA FIRE

Resources for those impacted by the Altadena fire (via Afropunk and Walk Good LA). Click images for direct links.

FROM THE ‘GRAM: local black & poc-owned businesses we love 💕

Click images for more. See our full post here.

From top left: Black Being LA Yoga & Wellness Studio, Yvette Bell Personal Trainer EVERYBODY Gym, Little Los Angeles Pop Up Restaurant, POT LA Ceramics Studio, Jessica Jade Yoga, Auntie’s Coffee, Pansy Esthetics, Stuzo Clothing, Deeper Genius Acupuncture, Sapphic LA Nightlife, INFLORESCENCE Floral Studio, Terrell Brooke of TheyHouseLA. ♥

RESISTANCE & RESILIENCE

We have felt an overwhelming outpouring of love and gratitude for and from our community these past two weeks. So many members have shared how important it is for them to have a truly safe and welcoming space at this time where they can connect with their bodies and work through the rage, despair, fear and even hopelessness that so many in our community are feeling right now.

📷 Pro Trans sign in our window circa 2018, filming Zumba with Camila during the 2020 shutdown, EVERYBODY Trainer and AIDS activist Sabel Samone Loreca, TGENBY Project on the patio.

In the wake of this week’s news cycle, we are more passionate than ever about finding ways to connect with community between the brick walls of real time and space. This is and always has been where the real revolution happens.

📷 Author and poet June Jordan, LGBTQ/ AIDS activist Cleve Jones

I hope among the networks you are building offline, EVERYBODY can play a part in connecting you with community, support, resources and resilience. We have always (and always will) protect and prioritize the needs of the most marginalized in our communities, including immigrants, LGBTQIA+ folks, disabled folks and people most targeted by this hateful administration that seeks to erase our safety, wellbeing and even our basic existence. 

📷 Yoga Instructors mxpujasingh and Naima Merella on HOMEBODY VOD.

The concept of “safe space” might feel as elusive as ever right now. There are many who do not trust that such a space is possible, especially now. The truth is we can never ensure safety, no matter how much we would like to. But we can keep building a culture that understands that the safety of our community is not predicated on perfection or some kind of utopic haven set apart from the flaws of humanity.

📷 Good Damage group strength class with Sonny & our Community Board.

True safety is born of courage; the courage to admit when we are uncertain, to take accountability when we are wrong. The courage to come together even when we sometimes disagree. The courage to show up and be part of something greater than ourselves. The courage not to numb but to feel everything deeply. The courage not to isolate, even when everyone and everything feels stacked against us. The courage to get offline and to find our people. 

We must find that courage again right now, and we will be open and ready to create space for building the kind of resistance training we have always been most interested in: the strength to rise up and refuse to allow fascism and dictatorship to eclipse our lives. 

We are here for all of it. We are here for all of you.

- Sam/ EVERYBODY

---

📷 Group Classes, Personal Training and monthly Self-Defense workshops with Vanessa Carlisle, PhD are just a few ways members can build community, confidence, and skills.

PHYSICAL FITNESS AS RESISTANCE

The only people that benefit from us being weak, tired, and unable to fend for ourselves are our oppressors. Become physically fit not just for yourself, but for the people around you that desperately need you here!

EVERYBODY Personal Trainer Paulo shares the importance of physical fitness as resistance. Read more here.

When you start letting go of daily stress through movement and physical activity, you might find that focusing on one thing at a time, and the extra energy and positivity that come with it, helps you stay calm, clear, and focused in everything you do.

Consistency and progression are going to be the most important aspects of whatever fitness route you choose! Keep track of what you do every week and attempt to make each week a little bit more difficult. Our bodies are great at adapting and will need to be challenged constantly.

I believe in you, I believe in us, let's be ready so we never have to get ready. - Paulo Diaz

---

OUR STANCE ON DEI

The principles of diversity equity and inclusion have always been foundational to our business and shared community values, and that is not about to change now. As DEI programs are being cancelled and those in power seek to erase our queer history and deny our lived experience altogether, we will continue to divest from companies that do not support Black, Brown, Queer, immigrant and other marginalized communities.

We will continue to honor Black History Month, Pride Month and to always uplift our Trans and immigrant communities and support businesses that recognize the inherent worth and dignity of all marginalized communities whenever and however they can.

Now more than ever, it is important to SHOP SMALL and to support Small Business, especially Black and minority owned businesses, many of which have also been severely impacted by the recent devastating Altadena fires. Collectively we have the power to effect change with our dollars and we will continue to do so amidst the onslaught of attempts at rolling back basic human rights by this Administration.

Many Black and other minority-owned products stocked at Target, Walmart, Amazon (and other companies that have prematurely cancelled their DEI programs in the wake of the new Administration’s federal slashing of DEI initiatives) can also be purchased directly from the businesses themselves. Visit @strikeforall for links to Black-owned and other minority owned businesses to support directly.

We hope you can find some time to connect with your body and community this week. We are always stronger when we come together.

📷 ‘RESIST’ - Our outdoor mural by artist Maria Pineres

Stay tuned for a spotlight on artist Maria E. Piñeres, creator of our gorgeous outdoor mural, appropriately named ‘RESIST’ in response to the 2016 election. Maria recently carried the RESIST theme into the interior of the gym in a recent revamp.

TBT// Our ACLU Pancake Brunch Fundraiser💔in 2017 featuring Ponysweat, Pancakes by sponsored member Sol Alvarez of L.A. Habana, and Sound Bath. We’ve been resisting ever since our very first week of opening and will continue to seek ways for folks to MOVE, BUILD or just BE in community.

WHY YOUR MEMBERSHIP MATTERS.

One of the ways we have always departed from mainstream gym culture is by supporting our community members who need it most. We know a lot of folks simply can't afford gym membership who would most benefit from our services, and that's why we have created sponsored memberships and opportunities for those in need.

In January 2025 we continue our commitment to building an inclusive community by offering 10 sponsored (free) local all-inclusive and 10 online (HOMEBODY VOD) memberships. These memberships are for both locals and folks who reside outside the LA metro area.

If you are in need of our services, including access to a fully equipped gym, classes led by and for our diverse community, and HOMEBODY online programming (see below), we invite you to fill out our online form by 12/31/24 to be considered. Recipients will be notified early January.

Transgender, BIPOC, and disabled folks highly encouraged to apply! (Even if you reside out of state!)

Please note: Our 2025 application has been closed and our recipients have been updated.

We encourage folks to also share our sponsored membership application with friends, family, and any LGBTQIA+ orgs in ‘red states’ or more deeply affected areas who may greatly benefit from our online programming (more info below).

Thank you for your support and membership, which helps us subsidize and support these sponsorship opportunities.

We also want to make it abundantly clear that your body is the BOSS, and we’re here to listen to what you need to help you connect with your own body, just as you are. Our shared goal is for folks to feel better in their bodies, to love their bodies, and for movement to be a form of pleasure, not punishment. Unlike most gyms, we don’t tell you what you need to do or look like to be “fit” or “healthy.” Our mission is clear and guided by a fundamental goal of making health and wellness accessible, inclusive, and affordable for all people.

We understand that services and healthcare access are particularly at risk for our queer and transgender community members at this moment, and we would love to reach those in regions outside California where safe and guaranteed access to LGBTQIA+ affirming healthcare and services are being restricted and banned by the incoming Administration. To address these needs, we are currently producing our own Video on Demand programming, created by and for the community we serve, and viewable online 24/7.

WHAT IS HOMEBODY?

HOMEBODY VOD has evolved from ZOOM classes created overnight in the wake of the pandemic as a means for our own survival as a small business when our brick and mortar location was forced to close for 6 months in 2020. During this time, we had to go exclusively online, growing our audience overnight to people across the US and the world.

Most importantly, we developed HOMEBODY to show that people who have historically been excluded from fitness spaces and leadership are the most important people to feature at this critical time when representation matters most. We also recognize that there are many people who either require or prefer the ability to work out from home for their own comfort and safety.

Along with our core MOVE/BUILD classes, we deliberately celebrate movement in non-traditional forms that include restorative and non-aerobic modalities. Centering rest and restoration with our RISE/HEAL classes is just as important to health and wellness.

HOMEBODY offers a wide range of movement practices that give you a variety of options for home workout: Yoga, Pilates, Boxing, Barre, Dance, Aerobics, Tai Chi, Meditation, Self-Defense, Weightlifting tips for top surgery, Mobility, Core & more!

VOD is also included in our membership models or available as a separate subscription for non-local folks. (Or anyone who requires/ prefers an online only workout option.)

More info here.

Thank you for your membership and helping us support our Sponsored Members both IRL and online!

TRANS AWARENESS MONTH

November is Trans Awareness Month and Nov. 20th is Transgender Day of Remembrance.

On these days where we remember and honor those who have come before us, we pause to acknowledge how far their lives have taken ours. Especially at a time when their very existence was discouraged and denied. We honor their legacy by recognizing all the services and access and language and visibility that we enjoy today as beautiful gifts they have given us. May we honor the privileges we enjoy of being and becoming who we are even as we face forces that continue in vain to try and dim and extinguish our beautiful and eternal light. 

brief HISTORY

Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by a small group, including Gwendolyn Ann Smith, Nancy Nangeroni, and Jahaira DeAlto, to memorialize the murders of Black transgender women Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts, and Chanelle Pickett in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Remembering Rita Hester and Chanelle Pickett

VIA Transremembrance.org: What began a quarter century ago continues today. Activists and organizations around the world work collectively and independently to honor and remember our dead. We share names and stories, talk to loved ones, scour news and police reports, and build networks in our communities. Still, the work is never done, and the list is never complete.

Black trans women are more than the victims of anti-trans violence; they have always been at the forefront of the movement – building community, advocating for policy change, and organizing to protect our rights. Read more here.

90’ TRANSITIONING TBT

A note from Sam, EVERYBODY Co-Founder: In 1998 I remember standing in a line and then sitting in a row of chairs for up to five hours or more to be seen in a clinic on “Transgender Tuesdays” at the Tom Waddell Clinic in San Francisco.  This room was a sanctuary for people like me seeking care that was not yet available anywhere else. 

Tom Waddell Health Clinic in San Francisco

I remember how it felt like such a gift that the only cost was the endless wait. This was only made bearable by the gorgeous array of people in the room. Everyone shared their beauty tips and pointers for how to pass, where to get surgery and who to avoid. The jokes were nonstop, the comments searing and riotous. The stories were heartbreaking and hilarious in equal turn. The range of lived experiences in the room was vast and there were huge chasms of privilege between so many of us and yet there we were together, all in desperate need of the same free services the City of San Francisco was openly providing us. What a time to live through. I’m so grateful for this experience.

‘Transgender Tuesdays’ highlights the personal stories from and services provided to the Trans Community during the 1990’s at the Tom Waddell Clinic in San Francisco.

Today I want to honor those people who shared that room with me, 25 years ago as I know so many of them are no longer with us. We have lost too many of our elders far before we should have. Too many have been victims of mental illness and  forces of violence beyond their control.  And some of us live on, still fighting, still pushing forward and insisting on a more inclusive world. Sabel Simone Loreca (pictured below) was there with me in that room then, and I’m so grateful to still share space with my beautiful sister today.

Trans Community Advocate and Personal Trainer Sabel Samone Loreca

Thank you to Trans Advocate, Activist, and EVERYBODY Personal Trainer Sabel Samone Loreca for continuing to build and fight for safer communities, access to gender affirming health care, and resources for our Transgender community since the ‘The Bad Old Days’ of the early 90’s . Please follow Minority Aids Project and G.L.A.M.O.R. MAP for more.

TRANS AWARENESS MONTH & BEYOND

We are Trans and Woman owned and actively hire within the wide spectrum of our Queer and Trans communities. We are currently connecting with local orgs in ‘Red States’ to offer free online programming to Trans youth in need while locally continuing our sponsorship program for Trans folks at the Gym. We will also continue to support LGBTQ founded and focused orgs including Pink Haven Coalition: community defense, mutual-aid, and alternative systems of care for gender diverse people, Border Butterflies Project: an arm of the Trans Law Center assisting LGBTQ+ asylum seekers at the U.S. Border, and Miry’s List: assisting new arrival refugee families.

Border Butterflies Project

When we first opened our doors in 2017, we faced similar circumstances to the ones we find ourselves in today- a government taking power that openly opposes and blocks access to care for so many in our marginalized communities that are in struggle and need: the trans community, the immigrant community, BIPOC folks, disabled folks, survivors of sexual abuse, the elderly, the list goes on...

We will continue to show up for all our communities in need, to provide safe harbor and access to resources for hope, strength and resilience. We will continue to offer opportunities for our community to explore and expand relationships with our own bodies as sacred, inspired, whole, and a source of connection to all beings everywhere. May our movement practices deepen our compassion for ourselves, for each other, and provide a gateway to our own refuge and recovery.

May we continue to shine for our ancestors, transcestors and for each other, always.🏳️‍⚧️

MONSTER BASH wRESTLING RECAP!

The Reviews are IN! And so is Queer Wrestling! Thank you for making MONSTER BASH a SMASH!!

SHE-E-O goes for a flying clothesline against the Riot Ghoul’s! 📷 Anna Gustafson

Happy Halloween🎃and thank you to everyone who came out to MONSTER BASH queer wrestling match last week! It was our first ever LIVE Wrestling Match featuring EVERYBODY Instructors Candy Pain, American Oni and featured students from our highly popular Wrestling 101 classes at the gym. Plus a few other folks from the community, some of whom also wrestled at Trans Dudes of LA T-Boy Wrestling earlier in September!

 ICYMI: Here is a BRILLIANT write up on that historic night in the LA Times by Jireh Deng!

🔗www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2024-10-11/t-boy-wrestling-trans-dudes-la

L.A. Times T-Boy Wrestling feat. EVERYBODY Personal Trainer Paulo Diaz. 📷 Carlin Stiehl

Planting the seeds at Wrestling 101.

We went full nelson for this one and rented a full size 18x18 professional wrestling ring, which was constructed on site at our sister space: SIBLING Studio with the help of our wrestlers and local community volunteers. Kids, adults and even a few doggos got in the spirit by dressing up, holding signs, and cheering on their favorite wrestler. We fueled up on empanadas, hot chocolate, ice cold Modelos, had our cards read by Jessica Jensen, faces painted by Paint On Your Face , and played cornhole provided by local queer league Fun Bags LA. It was giving all ages FALL FAIR FUN!

📷 All photos by Jocelyn Perich and Anna Gustafson

Best of all, we were able to donate $500 to the Border Butterflies Project after expenses! The Border Butterflies Project is an arm of the Transgender Law Center providing resources to LGBTQIA+ Asylum seekers at the U.S. Southern Border. Please follow, share and support if you are able!

MONSTER BASH featured 6 rounds of queer and campy WWE-inspired wrestling featuring Riot Ghoul’s vs. SHE-E-O, Toxic Femme vs. Feminist Killjoy, Gender Cop vs. Gender Goblin, Malady Practice vs. Creature, Leather Daddy, Macho Mummy, and more! There was even an on-site Medic from the Professional Wrestling circuit. (You know, JIC!) Thank goodness he didn’t have to move a muscle.

But you know who did? Our brilliant Halftime Show cast & crew! Thank you to our PUMP THE JAM instructor MK Lordz for a soul stirring singalong to Yeah Yeah Yeahs Heads Will Roll and Halloween by Aqua featuring haute moves from some of our members. Even our REF, Oldie Hawn jumped in! PS, You can join MK’s Pump the Jam every Tuesday & Thursday at 8p @ EVERYBODY!

AMANDITA gave us G.L.O.W. wreslting match vibes with the tunes, while our HOMEBODY VOD producer ANNA handled the 80’s inspired tones. Shout out to our Ring Daddy Abby, Yay/ Boo Applause crew LGBTQ Studies professor Julian Sanchez and local poetry night producer Karla Lamb! Thank you again to all of our volunteers, wrestlers, and wranglers!

Will we rumble for a good cause again? YESSSS!! Stay tuned on @everybodylosangeles social for our upcoming weekend Wrestling 101 classes if you’d like to get more involved.

Riot Ghouls vs SHE-E-O 📷 by Jocelyn Perich

A note from our Co-Founder Sam:

Thank you to our entire crew for all your hard work and dedication-- I know there were a lot of hours put in to make this happen. I appreciate everyone's commitment to this, and I personally think this does more than just generate income for the benefit-- it builds our community, it allows time for folks to meet and socialize, and it serves an even greater purpose beyond that.

I spoke to a lot of people after the show who had such a great time and who also couldn't even put into words why they had so much fun. I think the scripted characters everyone put together achieved exactly the tone and message that I had hoped for in our initial meeting.

📷 by Jocelyn Perich

What I think this kind of spectacle of "sport" creates is really an opportunity that we rarely get to have in our community or world. It allows us to channel some of our more animal instincts and abandon the rules a bit... of course that requires a lot of careful planning and intonation which I felt was done exceptionally well.

Watching performative wrestling like this is kind of akin to what comedy clubs can do when people are given permission to laugh at things that are forbidden, unspoken or taboo in our culture-- except the bodies do the talking with big, exaggerated movements instead of words, and they are not simply laughing but also booing, cheering and loudly reacting to what is happening in the ring (almost as another character of the show).  The showdown between “Toxic Femme” and “Feminist Killjoy” really nailed (ha) some of the more subtle tensions in our communities with true comic genius!

📷 by Jocelyn Perich

I love how the "match" gives us permission to root for the one we want to win (the pairings were sublime), and I noticed an interesting tension between some of the characters where people were not sure whether to boo or cheer... That has so much potential to mine and explore!

Macho Mummy vs. Leather Daddy 📷 by Jocelyn Perich

I thought everyone did such a great job of both playing their characters and either slightly or overtly subverting them- turning them into complications for us to reflect on even at some of their most  memorably campy moments. It was working on so many levels, really. really was blown away with what folks brought to the stage, as well as behind the scenes!

Thank you all for showing up the way you did. It means so much to me and to our incredible, diverse, weird & wonderful community.

 -SAM / Co-Founder EVERYBODY

📷 by Jocelyn Perich