Six Degrees strives to make fitness, wellness, and community accessible and welcoming to all people and to all bodies. That’s a big job to take on, because most of the world isn’t hospitable to all people and all bodies. Size, shape, color, and decoration—our bodies’ appearance can make a lot of the world feel unsafe, insecure, and unwelcoming.

So, to borrow language from our friends at the Babes in Bikeland race, we want to make it clear that we consider our studio a “safer space.” That means we welcome everyone, taking particular care to be sure that our facilities, classes, education, friendship, and compassion are extended to people of all genders, abilities, skin tones, ages, etc. In the FAQ section on their website, the organizers of Babes in Bikeland, the largest WTF (woman, trans, and femme) bike race in the country, write:

A Safer Space means that we’re working hard to make the space feel safe and welcoming for everybody, regardless of their gender/race/ability/orientation, etc.

They go on to say that things like sexual advances; homophobic, racist, and transphobic “jokes” and language; and disparaging comments about ability and even humanity can make public events and spaces “hostile, stressful, and dangerous for some people.” The only people who aren’t welcome in a safer space are those who would use language grounded in hate or discrimination, touch others’ without their enthusiastic consent, or otherwise close doors to honest human connection. Six Degrees is about connections, not divisions. Welcome!