Salt Lake City gym uses fitness and community to promote substance abuse and recovery.

Fit to Recover, which began 10 years ago as a small exercise group of friends in recovery, has expanded into an ambitious program serving more than 1,000 people each week.

Known primarily as a “sober gym” at its former location in Glendale, Fit to Recover moved to its current premises nearly three years ago as it expanded its services. It now occupies two buildings near Smith Ballpark, hosting a plethora of programs. Fit to Recover has another physical location in Provo and also offers classes in Park City and the Summit County jail.

“What I think is really special about that place is that doing hard things is a way that we can become proud of ourselves,” said nursing student Vince Minutello, who has started exercising at the gym in Salt Lake City as a requirement for one of his courses.

“It just builds the community,” Minutello said. “It’s really easy to connect with people when you’re both struggling together, and growing together and getting stronger.”

That community aspect is a key part of Fit to Recover’s mission, according to Executive Director Vickie Shaw.

“The underlying thing is, how do we get people to connect? How do we get people to feel safe? How do we help them build community so that they can recover?” Shaw said.

For Sara Armantrout, whose partner is in recovery, that community aspect has been invaluable for her family. Not only does her partner have a place to come and work out with people dealing with the same struggles, participating has allowed her to understand what her partner is dealing with.

“A huge part of this place is sitting in the circles that we do at the beginning of the end of each class and just listening to people, and just letting them express things that they’re going through,” Armantrout said.

These programs have also helped her daughter, who, at seven years old, understand the recovery process as well, according to Armantrout.

“It’s not the easiest thing to explain to a five or six year old,” she said. “This is a way to bring her in and get her involved in a recovery community that she can relate to.”

The programs at Fit to Recover are designed around what Shaw calls the “four pillars.” These are: fitness, nutrition, creative arts, and community services.

The Salt Lake City location features a working kitchen where cooking and nutrition classes are taught and meals are prepared and sold. The program offers five meals for $45. The dishes change seasonally and are designed to be flavorfully seasoned and featuring a variety of ingredients, according to staff member Michael Stout.

“We’ll try to balance between red meat, having chicken, with beef or pork, or even a grain bowl that doesn’t really have any animal protein in it,” he said.

For an additional fee, meals can be made to reflect dietary preferences such as vegetarianism, veganism, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, etc.

The meals are designed to feature high protein, complex carbohydrates, lower sugar and lower salts, according to staff dietician Jessica Woodland. These meals offer the vitamins and minerals that address deficiencies that may be needed by those in recovery, she explained.

“They’re also building those habits in the kitchen of how to prepare simple, yet delicious and effective meals,” she said.

For the creative arts pillar, Fit to Recover hosts a number of events including open mic nights as well as music, art and dance classes. There’s even a recording space that can be rented.

As part of the service pillar, members have led neighborhood cleanups and volunteered at local shelters. For members with court-ordered volunteer hours, it’s a mechanism to fulfill their obligations. Volunteers contributed 1,400 hours of service in 2024, according to the organization’s most recent annual report.

Currently, the organization has 12 full-time employees and 30 part-timers. Shaw estimates the organization serves 1,500-1,700 people a week.

Fit to Recover first opened its doors at its original brick and mortar location in 2015. It was founded by Ian Acker, who began jogging with friends around the hills of Sugar House Park as a way for them to focus on sobriety. Since 2014, when the organization showed revenues of nearly $74,000, Fit to Recover grew to more than $1.5 million in revenue in 2024.

About a third of Fit to Recover’s revenue comes from foundation, corporate and public grants and state funding. Another $400,000 is derived through partnerships with treatment centers. The rest is raised through donations and membership fees.

Shaw took over the reins of the organization about a-year-and-half-ago, after the amicable departure of its charismatic founder. Family obligations lured Acker away to another city, according to Shaw.

For Shaw, who has worked in the recovery and health field for more than 25 years, joining the organization seven years ago was a way to merge her interests in fitness and healthcare. It was also a welcome departure from the red tape that surrounded her previous work.

“We just get to watch people grow and support them, and it’s just been amazing,” she said.

Feature Image: Vince Minutello. Photos by Marco Leavitt.