We recently connected with Brittany Wisniewski + Kate Cook Hands On HIIT and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany Wisniewski + Kate Cook , appreciate you joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

Over the past 3 years we have removed over 9,000 lbs of trash from Baltimore city streets, parks and waterways. One moment in particular that we will never forget was during a city wide cleanup, April of this year. Hands On HIIT’s designated area was in Brooklyn Park, and we asked Junk King to bring their trash truck so we’d be able to remove the larger more impactful items we’d normally have to leave behind including mattresses, tv stands, tires etc.

During our cleanup we unexpectedly met a man named Carlos that told us he recently purchased his home with old furniture, tires, and bulk items left behind by the previous owner that we’re cluttering the back yard. He wasn’t in a financial position to have them removed so it felt like fate that we showed up in his back yard with a truck and cleanup crew fully equipped to help remove them. We collected 1,000 lbs of junk from his yard that day bringing him and us to tears. That moment showed us that Hands On HIIT is not only making a difference in the environment but also significantly impacting individuals in our community.

Brittany Wisniewski + Kate Cook , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

During the global pandemic, trash and recycling services stopped and we noticed litter collecting on the streets and in local parks. Kate was hosting outdoor fitness classes and Brittany was hosting cleanups so we decided to come together to host a fun and purposeful event to bring the community together. Hands On HIIT consists of a 30 minute workout, 1 hour cleanup and happy hour after to encourage the community to stay active, get involved and connect with one another. We wanted to make it an experience so we hired a DJ and partnered with Morning Mugs Coffee to add value to the event. This event is kid friendly and open to all ages and all fitness levels.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think what shows our resilience was our desire to create Hands On HIIT and take action when there was problem within our community. Both of us are solution oriented people and we found a way to solve a local problem in a fun way during an unprecedented time. Since then, it has become a monthly event we host April- November for the last 3 years.

Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?

We were lucky to have supportive members of the community and local businesses that were willing to donate essential items and funds for trash pickers, gloves, tents, trash bags and everything that keeps our event running monthly.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @handsonhiit
• Facebook: Facebook.com/handsonhiit
• Other: Tik Tok: @handsonhiit