On Thursday morning, the Austin City Council will honor physical therapist and founder of the Best of Austin-winning OutWellness Dr. Syd Young for their work building affirming wellness spaces for LGBTQIA+ Austinites.
“I think it’s a really cool opportunity,” Young says. “I’m queer and trans, and being recognized by the city of Austin is a really cool opportunity to bring my community together and show that there are some folks who do support us. It’s a good opportunity for me to be able to talk about some of the hardships that our community has had throughout this Texas legislative process.”
The honor also spotlights OutWellness, the holistic health and fitness center Young launched four years ago in their garage gym. Today, the center operates out of a larger space in East Austin and offers physical therapy, community classes, open gym access, massage, acupuncture, and educational workshops. Its focus remains responsive care designed by and for the queer community.
“I’m a physical therapist [and] graduated with my doctorate in physical therapy in 2020,” Young says. “Straight from there, I did a residency and a fellowship in sports orthopedics and manual therapy, and I just saw this glaring gap in care between my community and their non-queer counterparts. … I think I can serve these communities better.”
OutWellness also functions as a community hub. When Young was sick for a week, their clients coordinated a meal train. When a member’s U-Haul was stolen, others raised $5,000 to help. The center also hosts mutual-aid events, clothing swaps, queer sex education classes, and financial literacy workshops taught by members of the community.
“We really aim to create a safe space,” Young says. “I do a lot of pre- and post-op gender-affirming surgery care. All of our practitioners are queer and/or queer affirming.There’s no other physical therapy clinic that has a community like we do.”
In the midst of intensifying anti-trans legislation in Texas, Young says, “a lot of folks are scared. A lot of people are moving away, but then again, a lot of people don’t have the means to move away, right? And so we are seeing a big uptick in people who are afraid to leave the house, are afraid to go to the bathroom in public or things like that, just because of the bills that have come up.”
Young points to the recently introduced House Bill 239 as one example. Known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, the bill would require public facilities to restrict restrooms and locker rooms by biological sex as listed on original birth certificates, allowing few exceptions. Cities and districts in violation could face civil penalties. This isn’t the first time Young has encountered Lege-related strife. In 2023, as new anti-trans bills resurfaced at the Texas Capitol, a queer lawyer contacted Young and urged them to remove the phrase “gender affirming care” from all their materials. Young didn’t take the lawyer’s advice: “We haven’t actually been targeted, but I am proud to offer gender affirming care here.”
José Velásquez, who will read the proclamation, is a council member who Young says has been an ally to the Austin queer community for years. “While the overwhelming majority of the Texas legislators are not supportive because of all the anti-trans bills that come up,” they say, “it’s nice to know that we have somebody who is supportive. It is really meaningful that he’s the one that’s presenting the award.”
“This is my first time being recognized like this,” Young says. “And I’m really proud that it’s happening in Austin, and with a council member who gets it.”
The proclamation will be read between 9 and 10am on April 24 at Austin City Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
This article appears in April 18 • 2025.