Neil Curran empowers the patrons of his gym and provides a safe space after lockdowns have been lifted.
Written by: Martin French
Edited by: Olivia Covey and Faith Malinowski
On a normal weekday, Neil Curran would have a packed schedule of personal training, running classes at his gym in West Town and all the other little things that go into keeping a business afloat. Curran’s swagger and confidence in the space of his gym, paired with his appearance (kind of a more easy-going Jason Statham vibe), make him a dead ringer in any room for a gym owner.
But over the last year, Curran’s gym, Competitive Edge has not seen the crowded classes it had in the past. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down Chicago and CE for months. Faced with a tough year as a small business, Curran did the only logical thing: expand.
Now, as people in Chicago are loosening their quarantines, the new Competitive Edge CrossFit is entering its toddlerdom in West Town.
“Everybody is coming out of a hole,” Curran says. “I think you've got so many feelings and so many emotions and so much anxiety at this point in time.”
But coming out of a year of isolation, fear and anxiety Curran knows where people will want to go.
“CrossFit gyms or boutique fitness facilities are the new church. People are starting to want to come out of their house, be around people more,” Curran says.
His experience with health does not end at physical health: he has a doctorate in clinical psychology.
“Personal training-- working one on one with somebody-- is a really intimate experience. And it's like professional therapy,” Curran says.
Curran is acutely aware of how people walk into his gyms. The psychological baggage and expectations the clients bring in can come out in training.
“There are clients that would come to me and would say, ‘I want to get back to my high school weight, and that's my goal,’” Curran says. “And many personal trainers would put them on some semblance of a diet and say, ‘Yeah, you can do this,’ versus, ‘Let's set incremental goals.’”
Curran began developing this philosophy of setting small, attainable goals while doing personal training in college at DePaul University.
“I was probably one of the only personal trainers that was doing this at the time, accepting them for where they are,” Curran says.
But it’s not only in personal training and membership classes that Curran works to express this philosophy; he also opens the gym up to groups looking for charity fitness spaces.
The Phoenix, which describes itself as a national sober community, encourages active lifestyles for people recovering from addiction through exercise classes and group events. Curran has hosted a weekly class for Phoenix the last three years at his West Town location. The class went on hiatus during the pandemic, but has since restarted in the new Uptown spot in the last month.
Drew Yurasek, a volunteer for The Phoenix, was one of the first regular members in Chicago. Yurasek was all in after he found out that Curran was offering free workouts and training for those in recovery.
“Fitness in a safe and productive environment was the key to me staying sober, and Neil runs a mindful training program,” Yurasek says. “You don't have to fight this battle alone and without guidance and support.”
Curran also offers work-outs for adolescent transgender people through the Be Strong Program, which describes itself as an exercise and nutrition program for transgender and gender diverse teens ages 13 to 18. Coaches at Competitive Edge undergo training to develop specific workout programs and plans for adolescent transgender people. Curran even shuts the gym down completely for one to two hours a week so that they can workout in a safe space.
“It allows them and helps them really experience their body for the first time and in a healthy manner,” Curran says.
Erik Castro, a trainer at the Uptown CE says he uses a lot of Curran’s philosophy in the gym.
“We want to kill hyper masculinity,” Castro says. “A great gym is a place where people get to feel safe coming every day. People have to come and see.”
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