Breaking News: Barry’s Newest DMV Location [5.27.24]

WellcommDC is the email newsletter bringing you the best of the DMV’s wellness community. Transform your self, transform your community, and transform your world. Join the list, and get WellcommDC sent directly to your inbox. Have a friend who would love WellcommDC? Then please forward our email or tag them on one of our IG posts. Email your tips to [email protected] or slide into our DMs.

[HIGH FIVE] We gave a High Five to Alex Trakas (@lextrax13), CEO, Owner, and Founder of BASH Boxing and “Co-CRE8TOR” of CRE8TE Wellness.

WellcommDC: Where do you work…out?

Alex Trakas: BASH (always!), SoulFire Collective Yoga, The Conditioning Room, CUT SEVEN, and the gym! This may seem like a lot of different places, but in addition to being a Founder and Studio Owner, I am a lot like our customer base here in that I love variety and I love supporting local. All the gyms I attend are locally owned and operated in the area. As a young female entrepreneur, I know just how complex and intense it is to start your own business, run your own business, and grow your own business in the most difficult time retail has seen. I love working out and working on and with my nervous system to ensure I have a well rounded regimen that supports my mind, body, spirit, and soul. Breathwork at BASH is essential for my workouts. I love to visit the sauna and cold plunge at CUT SEVEN, and yoga keeps my muscles feeling nurtured. I'm 35 now, sheeeesh! I started in this industry at 23 and founded BASH at 27. A lot has changed, and yet the most important thing has stayed the same: I work out where I feel seen, represented, taken care of, and supported.

WDC: What does “wellness” mean to you?

AT: Wellness is everything. Having and living more "well" is the greatest achievement of “wealth” we can have. Wealth is our time and how we spend it. For so long, I lived to work; now I work to live. I prioritize my health at all costs, as well as my family and my desire to support the people in my community who strive for a similar path towards being, living, and working in their gifts. Wellness means saying no to a lot so you can say yes to what's best for you and your ecosystem.

WDC: What motivates you to take care of your wellness?

AT: My people and my past. By “my people,” I mean that my surrounding community was the driving factor for creating CRE8TE Wellness with two incredible friends and the Twin Flame Retreat. We want to create spaces where people can design their life and optimize their health, surrounded by a supportive community. By “my past,” I mean that I spent a lot of my life completely dysregulated and disconnected from myself, striving for "success" based on someone else's definition of it. I worked in cycles of burn out for years, prioritizing everyone else first and myself last. It is imperative to me as a leader and as a woman in this community to flip that fucking table. It's time we stop demanding more for less, expecting hard working individuals to abandon themselves and their health to make a dollar.

WDC: What are your wellness goals over the next twelve months?

AT: Host a day retreat at BASH in July or August. Host CRE8TE Wellness Event #2 at Gateway Park on July 13th: come one, come all, it’s free! Host training for a breathwork certification by Fall of 2024. Our third Retreat NIRVANA is in Costa Rica from October 18th through 22nd (Women only) and October 22nd through 26th (Co-Ed). And that's just the next six months! Over the next twelve months, could be seeing some events in New York and Los Angeles.

WDC: What advice would you share with someone looking to change their wellness routine?

AT: Nervous system regulation first, intensity fitness goals second. I have almost always been able to muscle and hustle through all things in life. The problem with this is you will reach burnout. When your nervous system is regulated, it actually can take on and support more stress. This sounds counterintuitive at first, but your body needs a larger threshold to take on more. Also, don't go it alone! Join one of the amazing communities here in the DMV and meet people who you will take with you into all corners of your life. Wellness is not just how fit you are or completing your daily trackers. It's in your conversations, your energy exchanges, and your habits. It’s how you want to feel at the end of your days.

Know someone who deserves a High Five? Click here to submit your nomination so we can feature them in a future WellcommDC High Five profile.

[BREAKING NEWS] Barry’s has announced its third DMV location, coming soon to Navy Yard. Known for its high-intensity interval training, this workout has garnered a dedicated following locally through its locations in Dupont Circle and Arlington. We can’t wait to check out the Red Room in this new location! Get on the list for Barry’s Navy Yard here. [Get Pumped]

[FREE] Lindsay Bishop (@lindsay_bishop) and Under Armour are teaming up for a free outdoor workout class at Tysons Corner Center Plaza on Sunday, June 2nd at 11 AM. Don’t miss this opportunity for a fun workout and exclusive shopping perks: participants score a 15% off discount at the Tysons Under Armour. [Get Fit Then Get That Fit]

[COMING SOON] Join The DC Influence and 532Yoga for a Sunday Funday Flow on Sunday, July 28th from 12:30 PM to 2 PM in Alexandria, VA. Enjoy an invigorating yoga session followed by post-class champagne and mimosas, all for just $20 per person. [Yoga Flowing, Drinks Flowing]

[COMMUNITY] A special shout for sonder studios who brought their community together for a Pilates workout led by Nikita Manning (@nahimmastay_me). Fun Fact: sonder connected with Nakita after reading her High Five profile in WellcommDC last month! [Community Connections]

That’s this edition of WellcommDC. Like what you read? Join the list, and get future editions sent directly to your inbox. Have a friend who needs WellcommDC? Then please forward our email or tag them on one of our IG posts. Got tips? Drop us a line at [email protected] or slide in. Until next time, take care of yourself, and take care of each other.

Go For It,

Your WellcommDC Team (@wellcommdc)

Transform Your Self. Transform Your Community. Transform Your World.