From local roots to national impact
By Taylor Owens CONTENT MARKETING LEAD
Girl, Get After It has taken the Gallatin Valley by storm by providing a space for women in the Bozeman and Big Sky areas to gather and connect as a part of an IRL (in real life) community. Based in Bozeman, GGAI was founded by Cassidy Wendell in 2017 as a community for women to gather for monthly meetups and events, ranging from hikes to happy hours, to getting outside, to workouts at fitness studios.
“Girl, Get After It is a community helping women meet new friends and try new things in the health, fitness and outdoor space,” Wendell said. “That is my tagline.”
Since its inception seven years ago, GGAI has held over 450 events in Bozeman. Recently, members have gathered for events like a group cycle class at Cyclebar; a coffee hang and book exchange at Treeline Coffee Roasters; an intro to crosscut saws workshop with the Montana Conservation Corps; a barre class with Barre Anomaly; and a ski meetup at Big Sky Resort.
The community has grown since its first event at the Baxter Hotel in downtown Bozeman. The organization’s first-ever event was a free yoga class and a small group discussion on what work-life balance means to you.
“Everyone walked away with stickers that actually said, #girlgetafterit, that I had made specifically for that event, because I wanted people to walk away with something,” Wendell said. “That tagline is something that I used to say to my personal training clients, and it just always stuck with me.”
Today, GGAI partners with local businesses, fitness studios and wellness-focused brands to bring new experiences to members.
“I don’t even really label it as a fitness community anymore,” Wendell said. “I put it under this umbrella of wellness, because to me, wellness is all encompassing. It’s the workouts that you’re doing, it’s who you surround yourself with, it’s being creative, it’s your finances, it’s all of it.”
Originally from Cardwell, Montana, Wendell began GGAI as a way to combine her passions for health, wellness and being outside, while also making new friends and forming connections with women in this area.
“I kind of started it selfishly,” Wendell said. “I wanted new friends. I wanted a new community. I wanted to find a purpose. And then it grew to just so much more than that.”
Events and meetups with GGAI occur each month and can include learning new skills, trying new workouts, going on outdoor excursions, gathering for group walks, casual hang outs or happy hours. The intention of each event is to create a non-intimidating space for women to meet new friends and try new things.
“I think one of my greatest achievements we’ve been able to accomplish is creating a really safe and welcoming space for women to be a little vulnerable,” Wendell said. “One of my greatest achievements is leaning on why we started this in the first place was to create these real in person connections for women.”
While the movement began in Bozeman, there are now 18 GGAI chapters throughout the U.S. in cities like Boston, Massachusetts; Cody, Wyoming; Bend, Oregon; and New York City, New York.
“I just put a call out to the digital universe and said, ‘Okay, who’s interested in bringing to life a Girl, Get After It chapter near them?’ And I got so many applications, so many women who are interested in doing this,” Wendell said. “That was two years ago. Since then, we have expanded these IRL chapters in 18 cities nationwide.”
A testament to its impact, brands like Red Bull, Garmin, and Senita Athletics have begun to partner with GGAI for events and collaborations.
“These are worldwide, huge brands that you would think would never care about a little old Girl, Get After It community,” Wendell said.
These partnerships reflect the undeniable effect of this once-local initiative, proving that the national stage recognizes and values the profound community spirit that Girl, Get After It chapters foster.
