A COMMUNITY’S STRENGTH

Gina Kaiser isn’t one to believe in coincidences. She believes wholeheartedly that things happen for a reason.

Kaiser opened It Gym inside Hoffman Estate’s Bell Works Chicagoland in September After years spent in marketing and advertising, she felt compelled to open a gym that was geared toward people at all fitness levels.

“I was a CrossFit trainer for more than five years, and at the start of COVID in March of 2020, I started programming workouts and hosting Zoom workout classes to help support those in my fitness community,” says Kaiser. “From there, my business grew from people I had known and trained to people in the community. Once we were ‘allowed’ to meet in person, I hosted daily workout classes at my home. Eventually, I converted our garage into a gym, and I trained people there for a few years.

“I was then finally able to open It Gym. We meet people where they are and tailor our classes to their needs,” Kaiser explains. “It Gym’s group classes are carefully designed to be safe and challenging for all levels of fitness. Class sizes are limited, so you get the best of both worlds: the attention of personal training and the energy of group fitness.”

Shortly after the gym opened, Jacob Ross, one of Kaiser’s trainers, shared the remarkable story of his friend, Zimbabwe- born Tobias Mupfeti, with her.

In Zimbabwe, some parents who suffer from extreme poverty believe the only choice they have is to abandon their children. Mupfeti was one of these children. Abandoned as a boy, he learned to fight as a means of survival. As a young man, he fell in love with boxing and his dedication to the sport led him to become a successful boxing coach and owner of the Victoria Falls Boxing Academy. Despite his success, or maybe because of it, his past was never far from his thoughts.

Today, Mupfeti’s goal is to save Zimbabwe’s youth from enduring a childhood like his. He and his wife, Shuvai, take in the homeless children of Victoria Falls and care for them as their own. Their small home in the back of the Boxing Academy is hardly large enough for the couple’s family, so the kids sleep on worn mattresses in the only space available—under the boxing ring.

Mupfeti recently partnered with a U.S. nonprofit organization, MATTER, to rebuild the Victoria Falls Boxing Academy and construct a new orphanage. “When Jacob said he was working with Tobias on this incredible project, I knew that we had to be a part of it,” Kaiser says. “Fitness is so empowering. Tobius is teaching those kids to be strong, to overcome adversity, and to do things they never thought they could do. It made sense for my gym to partner with this Zimbabwean gym. I just had to figure out how.”

So, Kaiser went to work planning a fundraiser. In less than six weeks, It Gym partnered with MATTER, to host the Heart of Gold Fundraiser benefiting the Boxing Academy and its orphanage.

“I’m not someone who really loves fundraisers, but this event was so special, so intimate,” she says. “We had about 90 people attend and everyone who came wanted to be there to help support what Tobias is building. We raised $50,000. I still can’t believe it. Everything was donated— the venue, the food, and the entertainment. All the money we raised went directly to Tobias’s project. The Boxing Academy reopened officially for business in July. Business is going so well that there are plans for a second phase of this project that includes a bigger orphanage. The current one has enough space for 12 children, and the plans for the expansion would house up to 40 children.”

Buoyed by the success of the Heart of Gold fundraiser, on February 17 Kaiser will host an “erg-a-thon” at It Gym (an erg-athon is a marathon on rowers, bikes, and ski machines). The event is completed individually or in groups of three or six, with a half or full erg-a-thon option. All proceeds will be donated to the Boxing Academy of Victoria Falls.

“I feel so lucky that It Gym has given me a platform to make a difference in the Barrington community and in the world,” she says. “There are no coincidences in this world. We are exactly where we are for a reason, and my goal is to make the most of that.”

To learn more about It Gym and the Victoria Falls Boxing Academy, please visit it-gym.com/zim.