Jake Garcia was a star athlete in high school, embracing basketball after ditching baseball as his first love.
Growing up in Texas, sports were everything. As he found his talent dribbling and scoring points on the court, he built in his mind a future for himself in sports and fitness.
“I thought playing basketball was what I was going to do for the rest of my life,” he said. In high school, he got some sniffs from a couple colleges, but a college roster spot and an athletic scholarship never materialized.
Instead, he leaned into theater. Drama. Acting. After graduating with performing-arts degrees from the University of North Texas, he headed — as aspiring actors do — to Los Angeles.
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Yet while many actors in L.A. gravitate toward service jobs like bartender or waiter, Garcia found himself enthralled with the business side of fitness. He followed a connection through his boyfriend, and he’s not looked back since.
“Most people fall into the trainer side, but I fell more into sales and operations,” he said. “I’ve been doing that since 2015.”
Now at Body Fit Training in West Hollywood — opening soon — Garcia is taking his business expertise in the fitness world, partnering with trainer Zach Engel, and hoping to empower people of every age, shape, size and physical fitness to engage.
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“We are about welcoming, encouraging and celebrating people in a bright, airy and refreshing environment,” said Engel, general manager of BFT.
The new gym is focused on welcoming people of all different fitness levels, embracing people who might feel out of shape to those looking for that extra added advantage.
For Garcia, watching people progress — even as a businessman away from the weight room — is special. Helping people who don’t feel comfortable in a gym is dear to his heart.
“What I’m good at is building community,” Garcia said. “In high school I was intimidated by the weight room. Other guys were playing football, and while I was playing basketball, I wasn’t nearly as strong as they were.”
A personal relationship is important to both of these guys.
“They’re not just coming into the gym and checking in,” Garcia said. “That’s a really big thing because in L.A. it can be very intimidating. It’s a very fitness-driven city. And when you don’t fit into that and you want to, to find a place to try to achieve those goals, it’s really important to have that community feel.
“We try to give you a good workout, but also have someone you can be friends and talk to.”
For Garcia, the best feeling is watching clients progress. Many of them come into his gym for the first time unsure. As they trust in him and work with Engel, they all see results.
“It’s such a great feeling and such a cool thing to see,” Garcia said. “They come in and they’re unsure. They’ve tried different things, but when you see someone really stick to it, and we’re making sure the workouts are working out for them, and we see them walk in months later with confidence, to see them carry themselves in public after that, it’s such a good feeling.”
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