We both thought it was going to be another “one and done type of date” when we met back in 2019 after sparking up conversation on Hinge, but after a couple drinks and realizing that the other wasn’t a complete weirdo, we started warming up to each other.
The topic of workouts came into play and I (Lauren) had begrudgingly mentioned that I had signed up for my first Shred415 class with a friend, as I was highly running adverse at the time. Joe lit up and asked me the specific time and place of my Shred class which he just so “coincidentally” was signed up for as well (peculiar indeed). Joe excitedly pointed out that Shred would be our second date and at the time I shrugged it off and thought “why not?” If I can survive running on a treadmill for 30 minutes I could pretty much deal with anything.
Fast forward to that Friday’s class and I was all nerves as we walked in. I purposely positioned my friend in-between Joe and myself, said a small prayer and let Carson take it away. HOLY SMOKES. We ran, we sputtered, and we swore, but it was MAGICAL. We were hooked on the class, and pretty soon thereafter became hooked on each other. Saturday 11am classes at Old Town became our new norm and we felt empowered, motivated and always had a cheerleader in one another.
When the pandemic hit it was a struggle to have our routine taken away from us, but as soon as those doors opened again, we were there front and center. Shred has actually made running a part of our relationship and truly was a building block to where we are today, which happily enough ended in a proposal and engagement this year (to each other). Now we get to go to Shred and run out our frustrations when wedding planning gets too insane, complete with Joe dancing on the treadmill and singing along to Todd’s killer playlists.
I’m not sure if we would be where we are today without Shred, but it’s safe to say that two loves were established that day in 2019 and to that we owe a lot to the Shred family.
