Pan Idræt is now launching weekly fitness classes with a special focus on transmasculine and non-binary people. Nevan Solagna and Lai Christian Balsig want to create a safe environment for participants to work on their bodies and minds.
The dream of a fitness team anchored in Pan Idræt has been a long time coming, but now the premises and leaders are finally in place:
From Monday, September 27th, 6:15 PM-7:15 PM, anyone interested, but especially masculine transgender and non-binary people, can come to a weekly fitness class at Idrætsfabrikken, Valdemarsgade 12 in Vesterbro.
At the forefront are the partner couple Nevan Solagna and Lai Christian Balsig, who are looking forward to opening the doors to the weekly fitness class:
“Pan TransFitness is for everyone, regardless of level, experience and body/gender,” says Nevan Solagna, who works independently as a personal trainer and nutritionist with a focus on LGBTQ+ people. “It’s not always easy, especially for transgender people, to go to a regular gym. There can be challenges with changing rooms, having difficulty with your body or concerns about having to cover your body. Often we spend a lot of energy on what others think, rather than on the training itself. With us, we want you to have a positive experience, where you can come as you are, and not have to hide anything.”
A place where you connect with your body
Extra effort has been put into the framework of Pan TransFitness, so that the facilities in particular make the experience safe and good for the participants. This is explained by Lai Christian Balsig, who is associated with Pan Idræt as a sports ambassador:
"We have been allocated a discreet room where you cannot look in from the outside, and which is located in an undisturbed part of the Sports Factory. Therefore, we will have the changing rooms to ourselves. Shower curtains will also be installed, and we have made it free to participate for the first six months (in addition to the membership of Pan Idræt, ed.)," explains Lai Christian Balsig.
In addition, he and Nevan Solagna place great emphasis on ensuring that training is conducted in a way that no one is pressured into exercises they don't like. There will also be safer space rules to ensure a warm welcome and that everyone knows how to be a good buddy who gives space to others.
“We try to create freedom to concentrate on training,” says Lai Christian Balsig.
And Nevan Solagna adds: "Fitness can be a liberating space where you connect with your body! Transgender people have many issues, not least in connection with the transition, which we are there to help them with. I will be available to the participants and hopefully give them an insight into how they can work with their bodies and achieve certain goals. So we work somewhat holistically with the person, both body and mental health, by having personal relationships in a safe space."
The two leaders are ready to welcome everyone interested in the Sports Factory from September 27th, but transgender and non-binary people in particular will be able to meet like-minded people who have the same challenges with training, body and health.
