November Project San Diego

To prevent routinely hitting the snooze button and rocking “dad bods” after graduating from Northeastern University, Brogan Graham and Bojan Mandaric made a pact.

The college crew teammates met every weekday morning in November at 6:30 a.m. to do some sort of workout, no matter what. Winter in Boston did not stop them from running stairs at Harvard Stadium weekly that month. Accountability was key.

By the end of the month, about 30 people consistently joined them and November Project was born. It is now a year-round worldwide free grassroots fitness movement in 49 cities throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, including San Diego.

One hundred fifty to 200 people now follow the slogan “just show up” to work up a sweat with November Project San Diego every Monday and Wednesday morning at 6:29 a.m.

It took a while, however, to get such a big group.

Five years ago, Ashleigh Voychick, Lauren Padula and Jessica MacDonald graduated from Northeastern’s physical therapy program, moved to San Diego and decided to start up November Project in their new home.

“We texted every person we knew, put out a million Facebook things, left flyers on cars and we show up and there’s three of us leaders and two participants,” Vochick said. “One which was Jess’s boyfriend and the other one was one of our good guy friends.”

The ladies did not let low attendance discourage them and kept promoting until they officially became a November Project tribe. 

“Growth for every tribe back then was steady and slow because nobody knew what November Project was,” Padula said. “You really were getting people based on the people who were already coming and word of mouth.”

Some of NPSD’s first members still attend, including Tom Dorio who joined in February 2014.

“It’s like adult recess with tons of people and it lasts an hour,” Dorio said. “You get to work and you glow. No one looks like you when you get to work because they just woke up and rolled into work.”

NPSD member Gezell Custodio said the group is about more than just staying fit.

“Working out is just a fraction of the overall goals of November Project,” Custodio said. “What matters is having fun, making connections with other tribe members and being plain silly.”

Typically followed by giving out hugs, current co-leaders Eugene Kim and Shira Klane start every workout with a pre-workout bounce where the group yells “Be happy. Be Strong. Be bright. NPSD.”

“There’s something about being outside your comfort zone that kind of disarms you and allows you to open up to new connections to meeting new people and see something new within yourself,” Kim said. “That’s where we can really change lives.”

Another original NPSD attendee, Tina Soebbing, said she joined in 2013 to find friends after moving to San Diego from Germany.

“I didn’t know if everyone was going to be more fit than me or if I would fit in,” Soebbing said. “Lauren saw me, walked towards me and hugged me. Ashleigh and Jessica did the same thing. I was taken back I have to admit, but everyone introduced themselves with so much kindness and enthusiasm, I was sucked in.”

People of all ages and backgrounds push each other to work as hard as they can and have fun doing it. Shelsea Hodge even brings her son and pushes him in a stroller while working out. She said she brought him at first because she did not have childcare, but then saw how it impacted him.

“He started getting out of the stroller, climbing stairs and trying to do push-ups with everyone else,” Hodge said. “The way they’ve taken my son and me in like family is incredible. It’s really become a big, happy, badass family.”

Joining this family costs absolutely nothing and requires nothing. All you have to do is show up and be ready to put in some work.

NPSD rotates locations Mondays and announces their whereabouts on their Facebook page and Instagram @novemberprojectsd. Wednesday mornings they are always at the heart of San Diego, Bea Evenson fountain at Balboa Park at 6:29 a.m. Just show up!