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Jahkeen Washington's dedication to making fitness accessible for all earned him the honor of being named Men's Health magazine's Next Top Trainer in 2020.
It's been said that gyms are starting to become a thing of the past, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic forced gyms all around the country to close up shop. Jahkeen Washington is proof that if you're waiting to improve your physical fitness, you don't need a membership or a fancy home setup. You just need your own body and the drive to do it. Washington and his friend, Thomas Boatswain, teamed up in 2019 to open JTW Fit, a gym that provides affordable fitness lessons for anyone that wants them. When the pandemic forced the gym's physical Harlem location to close out of precaution, the classes moved to virtual and outdoor settings and continued its mission. Washington's dedication to improving the fitness of others in a way that's both impactful and easy to access is just part of the reason he won Men's Health magazine's Next Top Trainer competition in 2020. "We're going to continue to build on that so we can promote affordable, inclusive fitness in our community," he told the magazine earlier this year.