Firefighter gym support breast cancer initiatives (includes video story)

As the month of October comes to an end, Legendary Fitness owner and Miami-Dade County firefighter Lazaro Gonzalez and his team are supporting breast cancer research by throwing their third annual workout event.

This year’s event took place in A Love Story Winery, where women danced while raising money for breast cancer.

“This affects the community in a very positive way because you realize it doesn’t matter your color, it doesn’t matter your race or where you come from,” said Sol Solanch, manager of Legendary Fitness. “You can join a beautiful cause and help many people around you.”

Dancing wasn’t the only thing happening in this event. There were raffle contests and prized winners would go home with wine from A Love Story Winery.

“This is a grain of salt so that people can be informed of what breast cancer is and how we can help and also to show that this place. A Love story Winery can be an amplifier or their voice,” said Bruno Barbato, the winery’s director of operations.

Legendary Fitness gym member Aurora Pacheco started the cause three years ago to help women like her in their toughest time.

“In the moment I was diagnosed I was impacted, as I imagine it is for all women, but I found myself exercising at Legendary Fitness and they motivated me and helped me in the moments when I felt down,” said Pacheco. “It got me very emotional to think that a group of strangers could be my family in the hardest moment.”

One in eight women develop breast cancer in their lifetime, which is why it’s important to know and recognize the signs. All funds from the event are being donated to The Breasties, a non-profit organization.

Lauren Wurts is a Latina Junior at FIU majoring in Journalism/ Communications. She hopes to work as a news reporter and work her way up to Producing. She is bilingual and enjoys covering entertainment, sports and activism stories.

Samantha Gutierrez is a student journalist majoring in Digital Communication and Media. As a bilingual reporter, she enjoys covering stories about her diverse Miami community. With a strong passion for broadcasting, she aspires to pursue a career as a multimedia journalist in South Florida.