WHAT

A designated day focused on harnessing your inner strength to face life’s challenges while raising funds for Usher syndrome.

Connecting Orangetheory Fitness studios around the country to learn the power of using your inner strength to face life’s challenges. Rebecca Alexander, a Director at the USH Society, is an award-winning Author, Psychotherapist, Keynote Speaker, Extreme Athlete, and Disability Rights Advocate who is almost completely blind and deaf will join forces with Orangetheory Fitness coaches to push the boundaries of your senses and abilities with a goal of bringing awareness and funding to the rare disease Usher syndrome to find treatments and a cure.

WHY

Working Out with OTF for Mental Health & accessibility awareness: Rebecca Alexander shares that “Inner strength is rooted in our ability to develop tolerance with discomfort. When we shift our mindset from trying to overcome obstacles and adversity to learning to live with it, we can become more compassionate, determined, and energized to live a deeply meaningful, self-confident, and authentic life.”

Funding: Usher syndrome is an invisible rare disease that needs to be visible. Researchers are hard at work but we need funding to stop the progression by finding a treatment now.

The Plan

About The Athlete: Rebecca Alexander

Breathe in Peace, Breathe Out Fear

Rebecca Alexander greets every day as if it were a gift, with her boundless energy, innate curiosity, and strength of spirit leading her to places most of us can’t begin to imagine.   

Rebecca has been simultaneously losing both her sight and hearing since she was a teenager. She was told that by age 30, she’d be completely blind. Then, at 19, one year after a fall from a second-story window left her athletic body completely shattered, she discovered she would lose her hearing as well. Despite these difficulties, Rebecca refused to lose her drive and zest for life and rose above and beyond every challenge she faced.

Some of Rebecca’s athletic feats has been participating in the 600-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles AIDS Lifecycle ride, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, swimming from Alcatraz to shore in the San Francisco Bay, competing regularly in the Civilian Military Combine (CMC) races and teaching on the New York City fitness club circuit.

Rebecca’s personal experience and professional commitment to improving accessibility in fitness has empowered people of all different abilities to push past limiting beliefs and set higher goals.

Rebecca’s Awareness & Accessible Training:

OTF x USH Day June 3, 2023

Raise Awareness & Funds for Usher Syndrome

Our plan is to get as many Orangetheory Fitness studios to join in an Usher syndrome charity day called OTF X USH Day. Prior to the day, all studio Coaches would have an initial Awareness and Accessible Training class with Rebecca to receive a full understanding of Usher syndrome. Each OTF Coach will be equipped with accessible terminology to teach an impactful class. All classes on the OTF X USH Day will be considered a charity class and members can attend the class with a suggestion of matching the number of earned splats as a donation dollar amount to the Usher Syndrome Society. A QR Code will be available to make all donations. Two videos will be provided to play during each class at the beginning and end featuring Rebecca addressing all attendees. We will have several copies of Rebecca’s book available for purchase in each studio and if requested, some swag for attending the class.

There will be one live class happening on June 3 at the Orangetheory Fitness Potomac MD. Which will be taught by Rebecca Alexander and Rebecca Burow in tandem to celebrate this momentous day. All participants for the live class will purchase special tickets separately to attend which will include a DJ, refreshments, and more.

This is an individual studio opt-in and not an event coordinated by Orangetheory corporate. 

For any questions please email: nancy@ushersyndromesociety.org