Nathalie Huerta’s Queer Gym Is Honoring (and Transforming) LGBTQ+ Bodies
7 years ago Scarlett Newton
On a bright Friday morning in May, I walk up to The Perfect Sidekick Queer Gym in Oakland, CA. Outside, a garage door proclaims "You know you're curious . . ." and a rainbow flag hangs on the door. Owner Nathalie Huerta, an NASM-certified personal trainer and self-described "CEO of Making Sh*t Happen," and her wife, MJ, are waiting for me under the pull-up bars between clients.
A heavy tire rests in front of the closed garage door near the weight benches and battle ropes. Black floor mats absorb the sound of my steps, and not a single mirror reflects back at me. In the back room, a few early attendees stretch and bob along to the playlist blaring through the spartan space — even the music is on beat with the exercise reps. In a half hour, I'll have my ass thoroughly kicked in that room by trainer James Cooley during a strength-training class called Hard Core Homo.
"Our first location was previously a therapist's office . . . I thought, "If I do push-ups here, now it&..