Will Lanier

LGBTQ Health & Fitness Guru

Will Lanier

(He, Him) is 32

As a member of the LGBTQ community, Will Lanier finds it necessary to use his voice and his platform to advocate and speak truth to power and resist any forces trying to keep the community down.

Will founded a small social group of CrossFitters almost a decade ago, mostly to create a safe space for the 8-10 LGBTQ folks at his gym. Fast forward a year and he had 100 people showing up for the monthly meetups. At that moment he decided to do more with the niche community he had created and the group started raising money for local LGBTQ charities. Branded OUTWOD, chapters of the workout group expanded to NYC, LA, Miami and Chicago and became much larger than Will ever anticipated.

After five or so years of being solely philanthropic, Will decided to start a nonprofit organization to help the community directly – the health/fitness/ wellness part of the LGBTQ community. He has seen firsthand how young adults meet a fork in the road and can go down a path of self-destruction or a path of health – The Out Foundation’s goal is to help forge the path of health and wellness for the LGBTQ community. The foundation funds scholarships for LGBTQ young adults to pay their gym memberships, provide counseling in fitness and diet and create a plan for success for them.

The Out Foundation recently partnered with NYU Langone Health as their official transgender services partner. Will knows how self-conscious being new to a gym can be – it is even harder for a transgender person – and wants to help this part of our community feel safe, comfortable and be successful in their health and fitness. Additionally, The Out Foundation has programming for all facets of the LGBTQ community including a new youth program set to launch in 2019, sex education, transgender education and more.