Icea Pettigrew and Sharde Bullard opened the doors of the Trap Lab in 2023. Located at 1646 SW Dash Point Road, Suite A, Federal Way, the boutique fitness studio is a physical representation of the two sisters’ search for a place to build positive physical and mental health habits in a welcoming and culturally relevant environment.

When they couldn’t find it, they created it.

The studio offers classes like kickboxing, yoga and dance fitness as well as mental health events. “Trap” refers to the type of music that brings the energy to their classes, but has a deep double meaning for the sisters.

At the Trap Lab, they ask: “Are you ready to switch up the formula?” Pettigrew said. “When we talk about the formula, we talk about escaping the mindset of being trapped in a routine and not prioritizing your self care.”

Together, participants and instructors work to help each other break out of this trapped mindset.

“Switching up the formula entails pushing someone to a place where they feel uncomfortable, but then also that we’re giving them the tools and resources to break any barriers that they may have,” Pettigrew said.

The journey to creating the space started with a diagnosis three years ago.

Pettigrew received a diagnosis of diabetes from her doctor and was prescribed insulin with “no conversation about health and wellness,” or any discussion of how to manage the condition aside from the drug.

That appointment left her “feeling trapped, feeling defeated,” Pettigrew said. She made an appointment with a different provider who gave her information and resources to try to manage the condition through adding more movement and changing her nutrition.

This brought her to the doors of a large chain gym, but she didn’t feel welcome there, and found it overwhelming and without any elements of fun.

“I wanted a space where not only did they focus on weight loss, but they focused on body positivity, where I felt like I was joining a sisterhood,” Pettigrew said.

Bullard had a similar experience of struggling to find welcoming spaces on her own journey when she started exploring yoga and meditation. She had a background in dance and fitness, but after going through some personal losses in her family, she got out of her fitness routine and needed to find something more.

“Once I recognized that my body was changing, and most importantly, my mental health was changing, I needed to change all of that,” Bullard said. Getting back into working out, she said, “I really wanted to make sure I wasn’t trying to strive to just like look like anybody else. I really just wanted to be the best me and as most healthy me that I could be. And I had to start mentally.”

Pettigrew asked her sister for help with her fitness journey and the two began working out, then renting spaces and offering classes to invite others to join them.

“We thought, well let’s just hold the class and let’s just bring in our culture, let’s bring in the music that everyone likes to listen to. And let’s just have fun,” Pettigrew said.

Instead of focusing on goals around weight or a certain level of activity, they focused on the need “to come together and just have a reflection of ourselves and be our authentic self” because “healthy looks different on everyone.”

When it comes to fitness and personal growth in general, Pettigrew and Bullard say a supportive community can create a safe space to push through the discomfort that change requires. When people train there, “we’re in it with you, we’re pushing just as hard as you are,” Bullard said.

Generational wellness

Pettigrew and Bullard were also part of founding local nonprofit Phenomenal She, whose headquarters are in the same complex in Federal Way. That organization focuses on supporting young women and girls through mentorship and activities, specifically young women of color.

While they provide space for the Phenomenal She dance team to practice and have offered youth classes, the Trap Lab is also specifically a space where the family of the girls who participate in Phenomenal She can have their own wellness.

One of these holistic offerings includes activities with culturally relevant licensed therapists and mental wellness events, partially because seeking therapy in her community is often “taboo,” Pettigrew said.

“The first thing they think about therapy is of having to go inside a closed door, go into an office where it’s cold and no one understands what they’re talking about. So being able to bring our therapists into play has opened so many doors from our girls and the women in our community,” she said.

“We’re able to create that space for their moms for their grandma and for their aunties, because it all trickles down,” Pettigrew said, noting how important it is for the girls at Phenomenal She to be able to have a home that is “grounded.”

The sisters are interested in finding more community partners in health and holistic wellness in Federal Way, with the goal of creating space for education and community conversations around everything from nutrition to mental health.

“We want to come together and, and build and build a healthier Federal Way,” Pettigrew said.

The first class is free and guests can also drop in for $20. Class packages and three-month subscriptions are also an option.

The space is also used as a practice and meeting area for the Phenomenal She dance team. They will be performing at the upcoming Seattle Majestics Women’s Football game against the Los Angeles Legends at 7 p.m. May 11 at French Field, Kent-Meridian High School, 10020 SE 256th St., Kent.

The Tuesday night class after a high energy work out at the Trap Lab. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror

The Tuesday night class at the Trap Lab is a cardio class that uses fun and energizing music and instruction to keep the energy up. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror.

Co-founder Icea Pettigrew cheers the class on and hypes them up from the front of the room during the Tuesday night class at the Trap Lab. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror.

Class participants at the Tuesday night class at the Trap Lab in Federal Way cheer each other on. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Sisterhood in action at the Trap Lab in Federal Way.

Co-founder Icea Pettigrew cheers the class on and hypes them up from the front of the room during the Tuesday night class at the Trap Lab. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / the Mirror.

Jaden Bullard fixes Rohna Grant-Giles’ hat during a break at the Tuesday night class at the Trap Lab. The boutique fitness studio was created to be a place of support and sisterhood, according to founders Icea Pettigrew and Sharde Bullard.