From Nashville to Rocky River — how OG Strength & Conditioning was born.
Back in 2016, I was living in Nashville with two buddies. We had a big-box gym down the street, and I’d tag along mostly when my roommate Bill went. We’d start with a jog on the treadmill, lift a little, get a sweat in. I liked it, but it always felt like a chore. It wasn’t something I looked forward to — it was just something I did.
Then one of our neighbors got me to try Title Boxing. I’d done OrangeTheory before and liked the sweat, but it always felt like too much cardio and not enough purpose. Title was different — high energy, fun, social. I loved showing up. The problem was, I kept getting hurt. My hands, shoulders — something was always tweaked. It wasn’t sustainable.
A few years later, I bought a house in Nashville. One of my roommates worked for a country radio show, and one day two guys came in promoting a new gym called Boothcamp, owned by Shawn Booth, who’d just come off The Bachelorette. My roommate got gifted a 90-day challenge, and I told him, “I’ll join you for the last 30.”
That was over 1,100 classes ago.
Boothcamp changed everything for me. It gave me structure, community, and confidence. I was going three, four times a week, but it didn’t really become part of my identity until 2019, after a breakup that rocked me. I was dealing with anxiety for the first time in my life. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t think straight. The gym became my safe space. I knew I wouldn’t run into her there, and it became my outlet — physically, mentally, emotionally.
I started going six days a week, sometimes twice a day. It gave me purpose when I didn’t have much else. The harder the workout, the quieter my mind got. And before long, I wasn’t going to escape anything anymore — I was going because I loved it. The workouts, the music, the people. I made friends who were CEOs, athletes, moms, college kids. It was more than a gym — it was a family.
Boothcamp genuinely changed my life. It made me stronger inside and out. And when I decided to move home to Cleveland to be closer to family, I honestly almost didn’t go. I couldn’t imagine leaving that community. It was my favorite place in the world.
Then one night, March 11, 2023, at 11 p.m., it hit me:
What if I built my own version of that in Cleveland?
That idea turned into a full year of research, planning, brand-building, and learning everything I could about opening a gym. I talked to every major fitness franchise in the country. I even came close to signing with one until I realized that what made Boothcamp special couldn’t be franchised. It wasn’t about logos or heart rate monitors or trendy programming. It was about people. It was about connection, structure, and purpose.
If I was going to spend my life building something, it had to be mine.
Something that was Cleveland born and bred.
That’s how OG Strength & Conditioning was born.
It’s old-school training with a new-school feel — real strength, real conditioning, real community. From dynamic warmups to guided cool-downs, every class is built to help people feel better, move better, and live better.
Construction wraps in December. Doors open January 3rd.
From Nashville to Rocky River, it’s time to raise the standard for fitness in Cleveland.
Ready to learn more? Check out our memberships or visit our home page.
