Black History Month

Your guide to 10 Black-owned fitness studios in the Dallas-Fort Worth area

Vive Personal Training co-founder Jon McDowell.

Vive Personal Training/Facebook

In honor of Black History month, we're shining a light on Black-owned gyms and fitness studios. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it will hopefully introduce you to some new Dallas-Fort Worth-area trainers and classes.

Grit Fitness, Design District and SMU area
Of course we have to begin this list with Brit Rettig Wold's game-changing brand, which she founded in 2015. Devotees show up and show out at the Design District and SMU-area locations for the music-driven group fitness classes that provide an intense workout and a fun experience. She also hand-selects instructors who demonstrate the core values of passion, fun, positive energy, and perseverance.

Raw Fitness
Former Army vet Destiny Nicole Monroe, who's also a certified strength and conditioning specialist, approaches fitness from all angles. Her popular app includes meal plans and personalized workout programs, all for just $36 a month. Did we mention she's also a software engineer, and a former high school track and field star?

The Lab
Got 28 minutes? Then you've got time for these small-group HIIT classes at this Fort Worth gym, which is also open 24/7 for members. Enjoy a free week trial then decide if you want to pursue the eight-person group classes, one-on-one personal training, or both.

Vive Personal Training
Private, semi-private, and youth training sessions are combined with DNA testing, fascial stretch therapy, and 3-D body scanning for focused results. Co-founders Jon McDowell and Brock Travis opened the Oak Lawn business in 2016 and have since built up a roster of certified and highly educated trainers who are determined to help their clients meet their fitness goals.

V12 Yoga
Husband-and-wife team Veronica Torres Hazley and Adé Hazley are behind this inclusive studio, which operates on the second floor of the historic Liberty Bank building in the Dallas Farmers Market. Besides vinyasa flow, they also offer restorative and deep stretch yoga, meditation, and high-intensity FIT classes. Ade' also founded Rock Star Fitness Camps in 2005, which was one of the first fitness boot camps in Dallas.

Sanders Fit Performance Center
Everyone from professional, college, and high school athletes to weekend warriors and everyday people work out here, where personal training, rehab and recovery, and nutrition go hand in hand. Owner Melvin Sanders, a biomechanics specialist who played pro basketball for 13 years, runs this program in the basement of the SouthSide on Lamar Building.

Savage Fitness
Unleash your inner beast with circuit training, HIIT, Xtreem Step, Savage Boxing, and Twerk and Work at this gym near Lake Arlington, right outside Fort Worth. You can get 12 months of unlimited classes, or drop in as your schedule allows.

JourneyFit
Looking for a lifestyle change instead of a quick fix? Coach Victoria Thomas is ready to help. The former volleyball phenom (who still offers training camps) was the first Black woman to own a gym in Richardson, and today takes on pro and amateur athletes as well as those just looking to improve their fitness.

JamBox Fitness Lounge
With three locations — Galleria, Frisco, and Design District — plus livestreamed classes, there's always a way to join the Jam Fam Nation. Choose from fun classes like Fit-lettos, Trap Sculpt, AfroFit, Get Ta Steppin', and Booty Fit Dance Cardio.

Burn Dallas
At this Preston Hollow HIIT studio, you'll quickly learn you can do almost anything for 35 seconds. The trainers safely push, encourage, and motivate you to new heights while providing a safe, comprehensive environment. Owners Juanita and David Thompson have more than 20 years of fitness experience between them, with David being a former NFL and collegiate running back.

fitness health holidays promoted

Hottest Headlines of 2025

The top 10 stories that defined city life in Dallas in 2025

Southern Methodist University class of 2029

SMU/Facebook

Southern Methodist University is the 103rd best college nationwide, and it ranked No. 5 in Texas, Forbes says.

Editor's note: Stories about city life were some of our most-read headlines of the year in Dallas. Readers devoured stories about suburbs, schools, and transportation, curious to see what made the best-of cut for scores of rankings. And, of course, we all needed to check in with the world's richest people and see which ones live in Texas.

Here's a look back at the most-read Dallas city life stories of 2025:

1. 5 Dallas high schools rank among America's best in 2025, per U.S. News. Five prestigious Dallas-area high schools are living up to their reputations for top-tier education after being ranked among the best high schools in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings.

2. 27 Dallas billionaires land on new Forbes list of world's richest people. More billionaires have made it onto the 2025 World's Billionaires List than ever before, according to Forbes. This year, 27 Dallas billionaires are among the richest people in the world, including Elaine Marshall, Lyndal Stephens Greth, and Jerry Jones.

3. Techy Dallas suburb is No. 1 hot spot for remote workers in U.S. A SmartAsset survey of cities with the biggest remote workforces has revealed Frisco is the No. 1 city with the highest share of remote workers in the nation. The study found over 40,000 Frisco residents work from home, which is more than a third of all of the city's workers aged 16 and older (117,193 total workers).

Person working from home Working from home comes with its own challenges, like picking which part of the couch to work from. Photo by Jodie Cook on Unsplash

4. 3 affluent Dallas neighbors dominate new list of wealthiest U.S. suburbs. Three well-to-do Dallas-area communities — University Park, Southlake, and Colleyville — are among the wealthiest suburbs in America in 2025, a report confirmed. The three affluent Dallas neighbors were lauded in GoBankingRates ranking of the 50 wealthiest U.S. suburbs, based on 2022 and 2023 average household income data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau.

5. 4 Dallas-area universities make 2026 list of world’s best schools. The University of Texas at Dallas, University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, and University of Texas at Arlington are among the top 1,200 schools included in the QS World University Rankings 2026. The Princeton Review agreed, also naming SMU, UTD, TCU, and University of Dallas to its best-in-the-U.S. list, while Forbes named six DFW universities to its list of America's top colleges.

6. 11 cities around Dallas make list of best places to live in the U.S. Nearly a dozen Dallas suburbs, including perennial favorite Flower Mound, have landed among the best places to live in 2025, according to U.S. News & World Report.

7. Dallas middle school ranks No. 1 in Texas for 2026, per U.S. News. More than a dozen Dallas-Fort Worth elementary and middle schools have excelled on U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of the best K-8 schools in Texas for 2026, with one that's first in class: The No. 1 best middle school in Texas is Dallas ISD's William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted.

8. North Dallas suburb lauded as 5th best U.S. city for working parents. Frisco already has a reputation as a great place for families and a top spot for remote workers, so it's no surprise that the city has clocked in as one of the best places in the country for working parents, too.

Frisco Frisco ranked No. 5 nationwide in a 2025 study. Visit Frisco/Facebook

9. City of Dallas to put a pause on curbside trash collection issue. In October, the city of Dallas put the curbside trash collection debate on hold. According to a release, the Sanitation Department temporarily paused implementation of an alley-to-curb program that was approved, in order to evaluate additional options for continuing alley service where residents strongly prefer it.

10. Dallas suburb proclaimed 8th best U.S. city to drive in, per report. Dallas roadways are no picnic, but in one neighboring town, it's easy street: A report by WalletHub puts none other than Plano on its list of the top 10 best U.S. cities to drive in for 2025.