About Strength Haven Athletics

We are dedicated to having fun while changing lives through fitness and community. We are committed to our core values of integrity, inclusivity, community, growth, virtuosity, and staying humble.

Strength Haven Athletic’s story technically begins in August of 2023, but our story really starts all the way back in 2010 when a group of people got tired of doing CrossFit workouts in their garage with makeshift equipment and decided to open their own garage gym. This gym, called CrossFit New Haven quickly gained new members and was very well known within the New Haven community. And while it was the allure of those crazy CrossFit workouts (back in its heyday) that initially brought people in the door, it was the people that kept them coming back. When you joined CrossFit New Haven, you were joining a family - a family that enjoyed spending time together, that supported each other through grueling workouts, that teased and peer-pressured you into making it to the gym even when you didn’t feel like it, a family that was there when you needed support; whether it was a bench press rep, or a tough time in your personal life - and ultimately a family that helped each other stay consistent in their pursuit of a better life through fitness and community.

In 2017 an opportunity presented itself to combine CrossFit New Haven with a larger gym concept, and thus, the District Athletic Club was created. Our community continued to thrive in our new space, adding new members along the way. Many smaller gyms really struggled, or closed down, during COVID, but we found a way. Starting with virtual Zoom workouts that served as a great outlet for people who were feeling isolated, then moving to social distanced workouts at the gym when we were allowed (it took a LONG time in Connecticut).

Now fast forward again to 2023 when a new gym purchased the District Athletic Club and was planning to turn the main garage space into a climbing gym. Our community needed a new home. What started off as “haha wouldn’t it be funny if” type conversations quickly morphed into something of a task force comprised of 4 part-time coaches and 1 full-time employee/coach (Torrie) in search of a new home.

A string of lucky breaks (the biggest being finding the right place, in the right location, in the right time-frame, with minimal build-out required) lead us to 310 Winchester Ave. We coordinated with the new gym owners to keep classes going to provide our members a space to continue working out while we got the new space up and running. We had members reach out to offer to help both in manual labor and financially. We somehow managed to keep a hap-hazard gym operation going at the DAC while preparing and completing all that needed to be done to open up a brand new gym (it’s a LOT, by the way). If we called this feat a small miracle, that wouldn’t be incorrect, but it would be misplacing what the true miracle was - and that was that little community garage gym that started way back in 2010. The bonds fostered within those walls lasted 13+ years, through 2 separate locations (soon to be 3) and created the foundation that allowed us to create Strength Haven Athletics. Being able to continue carrying this torch into the future is an honor that we are lucky to have, and something that we do with great pride.