“My experience in the months following The Academy’s opening was both exciting and challenging. Because we were building the business from nothing and had very little budget to work with, our efforts to promote and shape the narrative of who we are were largely done by word of mouth. This can be an amazing way to amplify, but it also can be difficult when people have their own slightly different interpretation,” Nate explained. Nate realized that some people looked at The Academy as elitist or exclusive rather than a welcoming community space. With any membership-based club, this might be a universal challenge, but it is one that they have faced head-on from the start. It’s from there, The Academy found its mission with clarity—Belongingness. Human Connection Nate expressed, “The Academy, to me, is a place to belong and feel part of a close-knit community. It represents something that we felt was missing in San Francisco, particularly [for] the LGBTQ+ community.” The Academy’s mission is to promote genuine social interaction, contributing to our society by uniting diverse people through shared experiences. A social club offers an alternative to a traditional nightclub. Instead, it allows its members to meet people from various communities and cultures in a relaxed environment. The founders of The Academy always stay true to their mission and vision and look to their values to guide
them, no matter what they are working on.
Home Away From Home
Since 2017, 2166 Market Street has been a sophisticated three-story club with beautiful design-forward interiors. You feel the artistry as you enter the premises. The originality and authenticity of its history give an enriching experience to its members. Capitalizing on the history of the Castro building— once a clock shop, a leather bar, a sex club, and a restaurant, among other businesses—The Academy branded the premises as a happy place to be, a home away from home. And it’s a place where a lot of their members have made life-long friends. Academy Daylight With the birth of their new daytime program, Academy Daylight, more memories and friendships will be created. The social club stands by its mission by delivering inclusion and diversity not only in the evening but also in broad daylight. The daytime program is currently only on soft launch right now. “It is definitely going to be exciting and cool to see how people use the space during the day. They might come in for a coffee or glass of wine, do a little bit of laptop work, or meet a friend to catch up. It’s a nice, quiet, comfortable space to get away from the office; or home office, as the case may be these days,” said Nate. Other than making its members
feel they belong, The Academy values inclusion and diversity, both of which are embedded in its mission. When choosing their members, they actively seek out a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. They recognize your race, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity, occupation, income, and even marital status are all essential parts of who you are. Still, it warms the heart more to know there will never be factors standing in the way of your membership at The Academy.
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