A new club in downtown St. Petersburg wants to give at-risk youth a way to stay out of trouble.

Ryan White created Ryan’s Club earlier this year. It’s a part of CrossFit 727. The program is the first of its kind in the Tampa Bay area.

“We were trying to think about a way we could help St. Pete kids in the area, especially south St. Pete, at-risk kids,” White said. “There’s a national program, a nonprofit, that helps inner city boys and we reached out to them. They’re part of the CrossFit community. We reached out to them and we started our own nonprofit.”

The program has been around for the past four months. Boys enrolled in the club work out at CrossFit 727 twice a week, free of charge. White provides healthy snacks, trips to Rays games and dinner and movie trips.

The group’s co-founder and coach, Frank Wilder, says it’s all about fostering opportunities.

“If we can just give them some opportunities to grow, to push themselves, work for things, to achieve, to have success, to improve their athleticism,” Wilder said. “Just trying to be another voice in their life that’s positive.”

CrossFit 727 is set in the basement of a downtown office building, but there are plans to expand that would double the gym’s size. White says community leaders will also be invited to come speak.

“I’m very humbled by it, the experience of it all. This program has risen really fast in the last four months, and I’m really excited to see where it goes,” White said.