Equinox member Justin Tarquinio opens up about finding positivity, community, and meaning through the fundraising program as his husband battled cancer.
Come February each year, the hype around Cycle for Survival — a series of cycling events in partnership with Equinox and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) — reaches new heights in Clubs across the country. It’s fanfare that Justin Tarquinio has seen take off time and time again since he first joined Equinox Greenwich Avenue in 2007. In fact, Tarquinio says it’s impossible to be a Club member, especially in New York City, and not be aware of the high-energy fundraising program supporting rare cancer research and clinical trials at MSK.
But it took 15 years for Tarquinio to become actively involved in the fundraiser. In February 2022, Tarquinio’s husband, George Kolasa, was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer called glioblastoma.
Shortly thereafter, Kolasa began posting about his diagnosis, disease, and treatment on social media. He amassed a large following — not just from cancer patients and folks struggling with other issues who connected with his message of positivity, but also the social media team at MSK, where he was receiving treatment. By May, Kolasa was spearheading a takeover of the hospital's social media in honor of Brain Cancer Awareness Month. Just weeks later, Tarquinio and Kolasa were participating on a Cycle for Survival team captained by the wife of a chief researcher at MSK, Tarquinio recalls.
At that point, Tarquinio says he was living as Kolasa’s full-time caretaker and holding down a full-time job. It was hectic, to say the least. “I remember showing up at the ride — it was a Saturday, it was really hot outside, and it was very busy,” he remembers. “We met Natanya Stryhas [MSK’s Cycle for Survival event manager] right away, and just from our immediate connection with her, there was nothing but just pure positivity and joy and gratitude. And when you go to a Cycle for Survival event, just the energy in the space is overwhelmingly positive.”
It was the same culture found throughout the halls of MSK, says Tarquinio. Everyone — from the security officers and the receptionists to the doctors — permeates kindness, he adds. “No one's ever there for a very good reason, but they really make you forget why you're there,” he says. “It's [the same] with Cycle for Survival — it's an important organization that raises a lot of money for something so personal and painful, but [the volunteers] make everything feel very positive and optimistic.”
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That first year, the duo raised “a lot of money very quickly,” and Kolasa spoke at the opening and closing rides in New York City. They fell in love with the cause, enough that the couple decided to make Cycle for Survival an ongoing project in their lives, says Tarquinio.
They’d meet monthly with Stryhas to prep for the 2023 events and spend their days mapping out their content strategy and creating assets. Looking back, “we probably didn't need to meet as frequently as we did, but it really gave my husband a purpose,” says Tarquinio. “There wasn't a lot that he was able to do from a cognitive point of view at that point, so it really gave him purpose and it gave him meaning. We made it a really big focus of his. We made it his job, and he was very passionate about it.”
By the time the 2023 programming kicked off, Tarquinio and Kolasa had friends in Palo Alto, Los Angeles, and New York joining their Cycle for Survival team. They had held private dinners at a friend’s restaurant to raise donations in between rides and participated in interviews to create awareness for Cycle for Survival and glioblastoma, Tarquinio recalls. Race weekend, Kolasa once again had the chance to share his message of perseverance and gratitude with participants in New York City. And he even joined in on a ride with 50 teammates, a feat he wasn’t able to do the year prior, when he had just finished six weeks of chemo and radiation, Tarquinio adds.
“He jumped on the bike for, you know, a good 15 minutes, which at that point was a big effort for him,” says Tarquinio. “The following month, he was, at that point, not able to walk. He was then in a wheelchair, so I'm happy that he got the opportunity to get on the bike — he was always a really big spinner.”
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In August, Kolasa passed away from the disease at 57 years old. But Taquinio isn’t letting Cycle for Survival become a distant memory. He’s pushing to reach the $1 million fundraising goal the couple had previously set, such as by hosting a private ride synced with Kolasa’s favorite cycling songs for team members in April.
And he’s well on his way: Team George Kolasa has already raised a total of $713,000 and counting, all of which directly supports glioblastoma research and trial funding at MSK, says Tarquinio. “Why I'm so passionate about [our Cycle for Survival team] is not only because it's in my husband's honor, but if I could do one thing to prevent anybody else from having to experience this, I would do it anytime,” he adds.
With the 2024 ride on the horizon, Tarquinio is embracing a mindset of optimism, excitement, and gratitude for the folks who continue to support the team after Kolasa’s passing. The event won’t feel somber, he says, but rather like a moment of appreciation.
“Of course, there's a big piece that is missing without him being there,” says Tarquinio. "But I know that he'll be present with me, just in a new way.”
