I’ve been struggling to go to the gym recently.
It’s not the pull up bar, cardio machines, or free weights that get me.
It’s the fact that they are all the same.
If you go to any gym in most of America, chances are you’ll see the same thing. “Sleek”, “modern” machines, turf grass, bright lighting, motivational posters, a water fountain that half works. Almost everything is white, black, or gray.
Maybe when you go to the gym, you’ll feel the same thing I feel:
Nothing.
The influencer taking a video of themself is perhaps the gray cherry on top.
When it comes to gyms, the virtual projections of reality we see on our phones have projected back outward, crawling out of our screens to fill three dimensional space around us.
With nothing.
And it’s not just gyms. Look at a newer Starbucks, or McDonald's and think about the colors. Wait for a plane or train and observe how everyone is doing the same thing:
Scrolling.
How dare we expect sameness.
Gyms are like anything else in the new world around us where information and ideas are abundant: a blank canvas.
A gym could be a new center for communities to form. You could go for a workout group, cook with the same people, and eat a meal together, embracing health throughout the entire experience.
A gym could be an area where we invite back creativity into our lives, with dedicated walls for local artists and muralists. They could be a place where we choose to embrace color; their varying shades, all beautiful, are a part of our existence and our perception of the universe.
A gym could integrate seamlessly with health trackers and technologies, allowing you to truly understand where your health is at and to live longer.
A gym could make you feel alive.
And it should make you feel like I do, after I lie in bed and go on my phone after coming back from the gym.
It should make you feel everything.