On Saturday, Maine athletes took to the Fox Street Field in Portland for “Sweat For A Cause” with OUTAthletics.

The event is held in June, which is LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

The event was sponsored by the OUT Foundation, a group which helps LGBTQ+ athletes access resources that help better themselves through fitness and leadership experience.

Our news partners at CBS 13 spoke to Joel Acker, one of the athletes, who said his fitness journey began in Portland, and he loves supporting the Portland chapter that does so much for community.

“OUT WOD” was started as an organizational effort to get a bunch of folks of the queer community to engage in athletics together so that they could find each other. Our goal is to break down the barriers that LGBTQ+ individuals might face, such as gender or anything like that, and help them break those down when they go into the fitness world,” said Acker.