For most of us, January is a season of new beginnings. From resolutions to routines, we have a renewed focus on making decisions that are better for our health and fitness.
For Oscar and Xavier at RevBody, that sense of refocusing is not just a season. It’s a way of life.
The RevBody Story
Like many small business owners, Xavier and Oscar have humble beginnings. Both born and raised in Chula Vista, they were eager to make a splash in their home community.
In 2019, they saw a need in the gym they were working at and asked if they could rent some space to host classes during after hours. They worked out a deal with the owner, and began crafting trainer-led fitness classes for anyone interested. With energy and vigor, they built something new from the ground up. Their classes were a quick success.
Soon, once a week classes became three times a week, and before they knew it they had more people signing up than they could handle at the gym. They moved into a new gym down the street, and jumped into developing new online workout programs for their growing community. Then, Covid hit. Like countless gyms around the world, Xavier and Oscar had to shut down their classes.
While some would see this time as an impossible barrier, Xavier says it’s actually what sparked the flame for RevBody as it exists today. The down time allowed them to complete the legal paperwork for their business name and LLC. They chose the name “RevBody” as a combination of two concepts—revolutionizing fitness, and the word ‘body.’ ‘If you have a body, you can work out,” says Xavier. ”We didn’t want to limit ourselves to just men or women. Our workouts are for everyone.”
To make ends meet, the founder duo began running social distanced personal training sessions in Oscar’s garage. Whatever they were doing struck a chord, because it wasn’t long before they were seeing over 50 regular clients and putting in 12 hour days on rotation to keep things running.
Post-pandemic, they purchased a facility and began offering group classes in addition to their personal training. Their most consistent problem? Too many people signing up. Through their daily commitment and belief in what they were building, their success skyrocketed.
Fast forward to today, and RevBody is a thriving gym community. They’ve expanded to include two rooms for classes: a strength room for upper body, lower body, full body, and TRX classes and a sculpt room for lower impact classes like heated pilates, yoga, body sculpt, barre, and cardio kickboxing. They only offer group classes and personal training, rather than open gym. This is because they want to remove any barriers—all people have to do is show up, ready to work.
Training with RevBody is unique because all of their workouts are developed individually by a trainer on staff. These tailored workouts mean that not only do people get to take classes with a personalized touch, but they rarely do the same workout twice, keeping things interesting and motivating as time goes on.
A Gym for the Community
Community building is a core pillar of everything that RevBody stands for, which is clear in the ways they gather people together and give back to worthy causes. Constantly, it seems, there is something going on at RevBody that community members want to be a part of.
Whether it’s handing out flowers to gym-goers on Valentine's Day, posting important history on the walls during Black History Month, hosting “Rev Games” complete with cash prizes, or organizing events to raise money for great causes, Xavier and Oscar really have community building figured out.
This past October, they hosted a breast cancer fundraising event, filling the gym with people interested in raising money. In 2024, they hosted a Fall Festival and Turkey Trot that doubled as a food donation for an orphanage in Tijuana for children rescued from human trafficking, followed by a toy drive for the holidays.
If joining a gym with purpose, friendship, and focused commitment is important to you, RevBody might be it.
New Year, Better You.
Rather than scrapping your old self and becoming something different each new year, Xavier offers an alternative goal this season: To show up as your authentic self, just a little bit better.
“Fitness and life go hand in hand,” says Xavier. “We’re on a lifelong journey of improvement. And I think the saying ‘new year, better you’ reflects that.”
What does this look like in practice? Well, if you want to reach new fitness goals this year, start by taking small steps in areas you want to see improvement.
“As coaches we like to focus on momentum over motivation. Motivation is a feeling, meaning it can be temporary. Momentum, on the other hand, is about consistently stacking small wins.” The idea is that once you've built the habit of showing up, RevBody coaches hold you accountable so that even when your motivation fades, your momentum continues.
When working toward new goals, it’s important to remember that every expert was a beginner at first. Never let doubt or early failures get in the way of your health and fitness success—it’s all part of the journey.
Xavier experienced this firsthand when he started running two years ago. At first, he really wanted to keep up with Oscar, but it was challenging. Oscar had been running his entire life, and Xavier’s body wasn’t used to that type of exercise. His recovery needs were totally different. Rather than be discouraged, Xavier took his own advice and started celebrating the small wins.
“If it was easy, everyone would do it,” he told himself. He slowed down and started noticing each time he saw improvement. Today, running is a regular part of his fitness routine. “I believe doubt kills more dreams than failure,” he reflects. ‘You just have to keep believing in yourself.”
At the end of the day, the RevBody journey can be summed up by yet another quote that Xavier and Oscar live by: “First, people will ask you why you are doing something. Then, they will ask you how you did it.” If you ever need motivation to keep believing in yourself and working toward your dreams—let Xavier and Oscar’s journey be your sign.
“As coaches we like to focus on momentum over motivation. Motivation is a feeling, meaning it can be temporary. Momentum, on the other hand, is about consistently stacking small wins.”
Sidebar:
Tips for a Great Workout:
- Choose the right warmup. Warm up with intention and purpose based on your goals. Focus on where you feel it in your body.
- Find a buddy. Community is everything. If you surround yourself with people who want to be better, you will be better, too.
- Track wins not workouts. It doesn’t always have to be about whether or not you lifted the most weight. Sometimes it’s, “did I drink water today?" or “Did I sleep enough?” Celebrating small wins is what keeps motivation high.
- It’s bigger than the gym. There is only so much you can do in an hour. The real success is when you start to feel it in your everyday life.
If you're ready to revolutionize your life mentally and physically, Xavier has two words for you, “Let's start.”