“Use your body to get where it needs to go!” Head Trainer Alyssa Dick shouts over Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.” Both women’s voices blast through mounted speakers during a Saturday morning class at Title Boxing Club in downtown Evanston as more than 30 people strike one-two combos against their boxing bags.

One woman glances over her shoulder at her two kids playing in the corner. A teenage girl adjusts her bright pink boxing wraps before throwing another punch. Behind the group class space, a pride flag waves in the window.

This gym is more than an exercise facility – it represents community, says Isa Arciniegas, a lead coach and the director of product at Title’s Evanston location. Arciniegas says she’s worked at numerous boxing and UFC gyms and often felt like they were full of toxic energy.

“It was a bunch of male egos and seeing who can hit someone the hardest, and I was like, ‘Oh, this really sucks,’” Arciniegas says. “When I became head coach here, I wanted to change that. I want people to walk into these doors and feel like boxing isn’t an aggressive masculine sport. Boxing is freedom.”

One participant, Jennifer Bluestein, first punched a boxing bag five years ago. She attended a class with her husband for her birthday and was shocked by the tremendous neck and back soreness she felt afterward.

The pain was her turning point. Bluestein started working out at home to get stronger.

“After COVID, I tried again. I came back here, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can do this without getting injured!’” Bluestein says. “I’ve been coming here three or four times a week ever since. All my friends have noticed I look stronger.”

Bluestein has detected clear improvements in her strength since Title classes became part of her weekly routine, but she says they have done more than grow her muscles. She sees classes as a mental escape and feels lighter when she walks into the packed gym.

A few feet away from my conversation with Bluestein, a young female front desk worker helps a man pack his bag, patiently offering a hand as he struggles to arrange his boxing wraps and snack bars. 22-year-old Skye Swann has worked at the front desk of Title for almost a year.

Swann says she admires Title’s supportive atmosphere, and she encourages everyone to find a form of fitness that builds connections along with strength. She found that sense of belonging at Title.

“I’ll walk from here to my apartment, and I’ll see people that go to the gym and I’ll say hi,” Swann says. “After graduating I was like, ‘Oh, how do I continue to build community and make friends?’ And I definitely have found that here.”