Northwest Portland Fitness Studio Instructor Suspended for Alleged Charity Donation Scam

The top instructor at a Northwest Portland fitness studio, known as “Coach RyRy,” has been suspended amid allegations of pocketing money meant for local charities. Ryan Tong, who has been leading charity classes at Orangetheory Fitness Slabtown, has raised over $500,000 for nonprofits since 2018, but several organizations have come forward saying they never received the donations.

Tong solicited donations through Venmo during special charity classes, promising that the funds would be matched by local companies like Nike and Adidas. However, executives from organizations such as Rose Haven and PERIOD have confirmed that they did not receive any money from Tong for events held at Orangetheory.

Studio members who participated in the charity events often sent money directly to Tong via Venmo, trusting that it would be passed on to the nonprofits with a corporate match. A board member of Cascade AIDS Project, one of the selected charities, raised concerns after discovering that the nonprofit had not received any donations from Tong or Orangetheory.

After confronting Tong, it was revealed that the donations were supposed to come through Nike for matching, but Nike stated that they only match donations from employees. The missing money was reported to the police in April, and Tong has since been suspended without pay.

Executives at the fitness studio are cooperating with law enforcement and conducting their own investigation into the matter. It remains unclear where the missing funds are and how much money is unaccounted for. Nonprofits like Rose Haven and PERIOD are left feeling betrayed, with one executive stating that it feels like the money was stolen.

This is not the first time Tong has been involved in financial wrongdoing, as he was convicted of first-degree theft in 2005. Despite his suspension, the community is left wondering how such a trusted instructor could have been involved in such deception with donations meant to help those in need. The investigation continues to uncover the full extent of the situation and ensure that impacted members are taken care of.