Legends Barbell

Known as the “Biggest, Baddest Gym on the Planet,” Legends Barbell blends health, fitness and a community-focused mindset to help members find their inner “legend.” After relocating to a 69,000 sq. ft. facility, Legends Barbell partnered with Freemotion to offer the perfect balance of brand awareness and unmatched cardio and strength experiences to reach their goals.

Transforming the Gym Experience One “Legend” at a Time

Legends Barbell is known as the “Biggest, Baddest Gym on the Planet” and is on a mission to help its members improve themselves while also serving as a beacon of positivity in their community.

“I feel like gyms are the modern church, Marty Scarberry, owner of Legends Barbell, said. “People are looking for support, for a community, for somewhere to go and other people to connect to.”

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, stress, fear and isolation have severely impacted the physical and mental health of millions around the world. Last year, a study conducted by the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation— which analyzed 1,000 scientific studies published over the previous 30 years— showed that exercise positively affects mental health and well-being. Overall, approximately 89 percent of all published peer-reviewed research reported a statistically significant relationship between physical activity and mental health.

“People are going to the gym to improve themselves, have ‘me time,’ and also work on their mental health,” Marty noted. “We feel like gyms are a positive place, where you can meet like-minded people who are trying to better themselves, and where you can come to get away from the negativity in your life.”

Located in Victorville, CA, Legends Barbell has been operating for less than a decade. Yet, in that relatively short time, Legends Barbell has embraced the shift toward attitudes about health and fitness. That combined with its community-focused mindset has resulted in its growth and success across Southern California.

Explaining how Legends Barbell began, Marty said, “We grinded hard when we started. We would rent out a building at a local fairgrounds on weekends. So, we would have to move all of our equipment every Friday night and move it out at 4 a.m. every Monday.”

But bigger, better things were on the horizon, and soon after, Legends Barbell moved to a commercial location full-time. Last May, Legends Barbell secured a mammoth 69,000 sq. ft. facility, formerly a Target, to expand its vision and goals even further.

BECOMING A “BIGGER BRAND”

At its core, Legends Barbell strives to create an environment that focuses on self-improvement and inspires members to improve themselves with high-quality fitness experiences. But after moving to its new location, Scarberry says he and his team came to a fork in the road.

“We capped out as a hardcore boutique gym,” he said. “So we had to make a choice. Do we want to remain a small, niche gym, or do we want to grow into being that community pillar and being that bigger brand that we want to be?”

Being that “bigger brand” meant offering complete, industry-leading cardio and strength experiences alongside its popular CrossFit and boot camp training. Partnering with Freemotion provided the perfect balance of brand awareness, product reliability and personalized customer service to help Legends Barbell reach their goals.

“The big thing for us with working with a brand like Freemotion is the legitimacy,” Marty explained. “And people feel comfortable using the gym equipment. They feel confident. They feel safe because Freemotion is a brand with name recognition and a great reputation, which really helps us a lot. We felt like if we put another brand into our facility, it would downgrade us.”

Working with Freemotion also offered Legends Barbell the peace of mind that, despite the pandemic and its impact across the entire global fitness industry, their business needs and members’ expectations would be met.

“The communication and the problem-solving Freemotion provided us with through one of the most challenging years in manufacturing history was extremely impressive to us,” Marty said of the Freemotion service experience.

Reaping the Rewards

Less than a year after installing interactive, iFIT-enabled Freemotion cardio machines and inclusive strength training equipment, Legends Barbell is reaping the rewards— and so are their members.

“When I retired from the military, I was searching for a place to keep my fitness up,” said Legends Barbell member Michael Croy, “Legends [Barbell] makes me really feel like I am home.”

Echoing that sentiment, member Robyn Bell described the difference between Legends Barbell and other gyms she’s joined in the past. “I was over 200 pounds, and I needed something to help me change that,” she said. “As soon as you walk in, people greet you, and coming here can definitely can make your day. I feel like everyone’s here for the same reason, to get better and be better.”

Exercisers are more tech-savvy than ever before, and they can choose from endless offerings. Whether walking, jogging, running or cycling on Freemotion cardio machines, iFIT technology transports users to the most breathtaking destinations on Earth as world-class trainers adjust their speed, incline, decline, and resistance. For Legends Barbell members, the combination of Freemotion and iFIT has opened up new possibilities they can add to their fitness routines.

“I hate cardio,” Michael explained. “But the Freemotion incline trainers with the use of iFIT, actually makes me forget that I'm doing cardio. And it turns it into a fun experience. Before I know it, 30 minutes is gone by and I've done my cardio for the day.”

“My favorite machine is the GENESIS™ Lat,” said Legends Barbell member Karina Mosqueda. “The contraction and the different hand motions you can do. The free motion you get is what makes the machine amazing.”

With membership doubling in just six months since introducing Freemotion cardio experiences and strength training machines, the sky’s the limit for Legends Barbell and 2022 is shaping up to be another great year for Marty, his team and their members.

“With Freemotion, we feel like our members see the difference in their lives,” Marty said. “They’re growing as people, and we’re excited that we’re inspiring them to do that. We feel an obligation to bring that experience to more communities and allow more people to become ‘legends’ in their lives.”