The Universal Language of Fitness
Co-Owner Joey Gonzalez
is Taking the Barry’s Bootcamp Brand Around World
We’ve all been there. It’s March and it is still cold outside, but spring and summer are right around the corner. The winter months saw you put on about 5-10 pounds of unwanted adipose tissue, mostly around the holidays, and you’re having a helluva time taking it off. You hit the gym five times a week, but your workouts are mundane, repetitive, non-challenging and uninspired. Every time you look in the mirror you get pissed, because the belly fat and love handles are still lingering. In your heart of hearts, you know it’s time to change your workout but don’t know where to start. There are a ton of new boutique fitness shops that have recently popped up, everything from cycling to CrossFit to rowing. But there is one workout you consider to be the “original” within the boutique fitness concept that has scaled to another level in America and now internationally. And reportedly celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Katie Holmes, Jessica Biel, Sandra Bullock, Carrie Underwood, Amanda Seyfried, Christina Applegate, and Katie Couric are all fans of this workout.
It’s called Barry’s Bootcamp and was started 20 years ago in Los Angeles. One of their co-owner’s, Joey Gonzalez, initially took classes, then taught and eventually worked his way up to become CEO in 2015. His journey has been admirable and the work that he and his team are doing is incredible. Once you step inside a Barry’s red room, magic begins to happen. Music is blasting, treadmills are rolling and people are sweating. The vibe can be equated to a team like environment, where instructors are pushing and coaching you to do your best, but also demonstrating how to hold a plank or complete a leg lift properly. At the end of a Barry’s workout, high fives are flowing through the room like a champagne fountain, but the best thing about this original workout are the results.
We were excited to learn more about Gonzalez’s journey from being a Barry’s Bootcamp “superfan” to becoming the face of and CEO of the brand. We also discovered how his personal life has helped to shape his professional career as he and his husband Jon recently celebrated the birth of their second child.
By D.C. Crenshaw