Built from loss. Driven by purpose.
This isn't charity. It's what I wished existed.
“When I lost my grandmother to preventable lifestyle disease, my fitness career became something different. It became a mission.”
My journey in fitness started over 30 years ago with a concrete weight set my mother bought to channel my energy as a kid. What started as an outlet became a foundation — for discipline, confidence, and eventually, purpose.
That foundation carried me through track and field, boxing, football, and collegiate athletics. I knew what fitness could do for a person's life. I believed in it completely.
During my senior year of college, I lost my grandmother, the matriarch of our family, to complications from unhealthy lifestyle choices. In that moment, something shifted. My passion for fitness became a lifelong commitment.
That commitment birthed Chicago Body Shop. Through training clients, I saw a recurring problem: young athletes getting hurt, sitting out, and never fully recovering. Not because their injuries were untreatable, but because their resources were limited.
Restoring Hope Athletics exists to close that gap.
Dionis Harvey
Master Trainer · Founder, Chicago Body Shop & Restoring Hope Athletics
- Certified Personal Trainer
- Athletic Coach
- Athletic Director
How we approach this work.
Meet people where they are
We don't require athletes to have insurance, prior rehabilitation experience, or any resources other than the desire to recover.
Strength-based recovery
Every program prioritizes rebuilding the body's foundation — mobility, stability, and power — before returning to competition.
Long-term health over short-term return
We don't rush return-to-play. Our goal is athletes who are healthier at 30 than they were at 16.
Community is the program
Recovery happens in the presence of others. Our athletes train, recover, and rebuild confidence together.
Rooted in Chicago Body Shop.
Restoring Hope Athletics grew directly out of Chicago Body Shop, a community-centered training gym in Chicago. CBS has been meeting people where they are for years. RHA extends that commitment specifically to injured student-athletes who can't access the care they need.
CBS handles for-profit personal training and community fitness. RHA is a separate 501(c)(3), governed by its own board, ensuring that every dollar donated goes directly to athlete recovery.
Ready to support the work?
Every donation directly funds a student-athlete's recovery program.