On any given Saturday at 9 a.m. on the outdoor basketball court at Hollywood Park, a group of 40 to 140 people of every shape, age and fitness level are gathering for squats, lunges and laps.
The 45-minute weekly class is organized by Claudine Cooper, an Inglewood group fitness instructor who’s made it her mission over the last 15 years to get movement to her community — for free.
“Claudine’s class is one of my favorite things I do all week,” said Leslie Wrona, 47, of Inglewood, who has been showing up every week since September with her 9-year-old daughter.
Cooper has been hosting free outdoor workout classes since around 2010. The idea manifested from a Facebook message from a woman who had been taking her classes at 24 Hour Fitness on Slauson. The woman could not afford her gym membership anymore and was asking whether Cooper knew of any free classes in the area.
That same week, Cooper was sitting in church, and the sermon seemed to speak directly to her: “We are all gifted with something, and we should be giving our gifts to people who are in need and not looking for any reward: It is selfless service.”
She left the church and called the woman with a message of her own: Come on Saturday to Darby Park to work out. It was an ideal arrangement because Cooper’s kids played sports at the park on Saturday mornings.
“I thought it might just be me and her,” Cooper said. “We stayed at Darby Park for 10 years, and the workouts grew from five people to close to 500 throughout a month’s time, especially during COVID.”
Claudine Cooper has been teaching fitness classes for free since 2010.
Cooper was born in Minneapolis, where she recalled growing up surrounded by poverty, violence and drug addiction. She said she made the decision at a young age to create a different life for herself. To deal with the trauma of her environment, she sought out a counselor who suggested that she exercise to work through and process her grief. Since the age of 18, Cooper has worked in a gym.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she felt even more passionate about sharing what she’d learned about exercise’s power to help people overcome trauma with her weekly outdoor class.
“I said if one person comes, then I showed up for a reason,” she said, “but for hundreds of people to drive from miles around to come to this workout to move their body and connect with other human beings during a time of isolation and sedentary living, it was a very powerful testimony to me not giving up.”
When Darby Park was no longer an option because the neighbors had complained about the noise, Cooper told her friends that another door would open. It turned out to be SoFi Stadium’s doors after an employee saw one of her Instagram videos. Since the pandemic had shut down much of the stadium’s operations, she was told that she could use their unused space for her free weekly workouts.
“It really took on a life of its own,” said Cooper. “I’m on a spiritual journey that just looks like a fitness journey.”
SoFi has continued to provide space for Cooper’s classes, which now carry the name Hollywood Park Moves. Colin Mack, senior manager of partnership management for SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, said Cooper’s classes have an “incredible energy.”
“Her commitment to health, fitness and the Inglewood community embodies our mission to build a true gathering place at Hollywood Park,” Mack said.
Next, as Iconix gym was breaking ground at Hollywood Park in 2023, one of its employees saw Cooper conducting her workouts and asked her to join its team. She is currently the group fitness manager, or the “chief movement officer,” as she is lovingly called.
Even with her role at Iconix, Cooper said she’s committed to continuing her free Saturday morning class because she understands not everyone can afford a gym membership.
“It’s accessible to anyone who needs to move their body or to feel connected to other human beings or to listen to good music,” she said. “I do it simply because I feel strongly about accessibility in the wellness space.”
