Portland gym is free, just ‘pay it forward’

Gym memberships can be prohibitively expensive.

At Beast Fit Nation, a gym in Portland, the workouts are free — as long as you promise to "pay it forward."

"(It's) the world’s first free gym. Everything is free you don’t have to pay me a dollar," Sergio Jones, founder of Beast Fit Nation, told KGW News. "All you have to do is promise me you’ll do three random acts of kindness after you leave. You will help out somebody else."

Gym members take that commitment to kindness seriously.

"After coming here, I do as many random acts of kindness as possible throughout the day," said Brandon Stevens, a student at Portland State University.

Instead of charging its gym-goers, Beast Fit Nation operates on donations and sponsorships from local businesses and community members, and hosts 24 volunteer fundraising events a year.

Since the gym opened in March 2012, 2,500 people have benefited from free workouts at Beast Fit Nation, Halfstack Magazine reported.