In celebration of Juneteenth, Retro Fitness is offering free entry into their gyms through June 23 across all their locations, including the five in Queens.
Anyone in the borough looking to work out or check out their facilities can go to any of the locations listed below:
113-5 Springfield Blvd. in Queens Village
89-89 Union Tpke. in Glendale
65-45 Otto Rd. in Flushing
92-73 Queens Blvd. in Rego Park
32-32 49th St. in Long Island City
Members and non-members alike will be allowed entry.
While this Juneteenth celebration is limited, Retro Fitness works year-round to help uplift Black and Brown communities through their Project LIFT initiative. Through Project LIFT, Retro Fitness has set a goal to establish 500 health clubs across 50 Black and Brown communities over the next five years. Other parts of Project LIFT include waived franchise fees and 50% off year-one royalties for Project LIFT investors, royalties reinvested into local community organizations for the life of the business and a year-round commitment to marginalized communities.
James Collins, the first franchisee to invest in Retro Fitness through Project LIFT, has benefitted immensely from this. His company, Eastwood Capital Associates LLC, signed a deal to open up 70 clubs across Dallas, Houston and Southeast Florida communities of color.
In 2024, he has been able to open 12 clubs, with up to five more slated to open by the end of the year.
“It has benefitted us tremendously working with Retro,” Collins said. “I’ve been an investor with many different franchisers, and [Retro Fitness] is right at the top in terms of providing services for the franchisees.”
Collins encourages other potential franchisees to get involved in Project LIFT and help give back to Black and Brown communities.
In addition to the five Queens Retro Fitness locations currently available, Collins said there are plans to add more in the borough in the near future. He also noted that each existing Queens location is partnered with the not-for-profit United Way to give back a portion of the royalties they make to this organization.
