Precision Run founder David Siik is encouraging members to reach out to older LGBTQ+ adults this Pride month and beyond.
The latest Precision Run class to drop — Equinox+ Features: Sam Smith — is more than just a 30-minute cardio workout with a Pride theme and pop music. As with other on-demand runs, founder David Siik will lead you through a gentle warm-up, heart-pumping intervals, and incline work. But as the final sprint of the workout transitions into a cool-down, Siik also transforms from coach to companion, sharing a simple request: Throughout Pride month, as well as the days and weeks ahead, show some love, kindness, and compassion toward senior folks in the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s a matter that hits close to home for Siik, who first visited the Los Angeles LGBT Center (which offers affordable housing and services for seniors, among other programs) just over 10 years ago. There, he realized just how much those individuals have fought for the community — without much recognition. “We are quick to forget that many of these people lost everything to exist as they are,” Siik shares in the run. “They lost their jobs, their friends, often their families — they sacrificed a lot.”
Due to a lifetime of stress related to being a minority, LGBTQ+ seniors may be disproportionately impacted by poverty and health conditions, according to the American Psychological Association. More than half of older LGBTQ+ adults live alone, and more than a third are socially isolated, the latter of which has been linked with a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline, among other conditions, per the National Institutes of Health.
Despite the exhausting battles they’ve lived through, older LGBTQ+ adults are filled with optimism and wisdom that simply can’t be found elsewhere, says Siik. “My personal observation is they happen to have the most epic, incredible personalities,” he adds. “I honestly have never met a single one that didn't light up my life, was so fun and so interesting, and had such a sense of humor about life. Then all of a sudden, they can tell you something that just breaks your heart and puts everything in life into perspective.”
For Siik, these interactions have helped him truly understand what “pride” means. Some younger adults in the community may view pride as a time to celebrate their identities and freedom, which, for the record, is a reasonable perspective. But Siik has come to realize that, personally, he feels pride because of the bravery of others who fought so hard in the past, he’s now able to live his life to its fullest. And that includes marrying his husband, whom he tied the knot with last November.
“I'll never forget getting married,” he says. “It wasn't because we weren't allowed or because we protested — it was because there were a bunch of 70-, 80-, and 90-year-olds out there who were beat up, dragged out of bars, went through some of the most horrific things, and didn't even know what they were setting me up for. My pride comes from their sacrifices. The first time I ever felt proud to be gay was because of their stories.”
That’s why Siik encourages members to spend time this Pride month showing older LGBTQ+ adults, whom he calls “seasoned spirits,” that they’re not forgotten. Send flowers to an LGBTQ+ senior in your community, visit the living center they reside in, or donate to organizations supporting them. You might even make a friend along the way, as was the case for Siik, who has become best friends with a few 80-year-olds over the years.
Even though his call-to-action at the end of the Sam Smith run is brief, Siik hopes his remarks spark introspection among Equinox members. “If you get 10 people to think and engage differently in the conversation, that changes their conversations with their friends, family, and spouses, and then maybe they think about it more, too,” he says. “It’s a waterfall effect.”