By Andrew Mason | May 28, 2018 |
Selfies were taken, chest was hit, and gains were made on Sunday as owner Bradley Martyn welcomed all to his Zoo Culture in Woodland Hills, Calif. to celebrate the gym’s one year anniversary.
The event gave Martyn, the online weight lifting sensation with 2.8 million followers on Instagram and 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, a chance to also observe his recent 29th birthday with his fans.
“When I celebrate something, I want to do it with the people that are a big part of my life,” Martyn said. “I wouldn’t have all this sh-- if it wasn’t for the people supporting me.”
All those in attendance were given day access to work out in the Zoo Culture facility, free food provided by Jennio’s On-Site Taco Bars, and the opportunity to meet and exercise alongside the six-foot three-inch, 245-pound Martyn himself.
“Everybody was doing the peace sign,” said Blair Middleton, a 21-year-old gym rat that took a photo with Martyn. “I was like, ‘no, I’m going to hit him with the flex real quick’...it was cool to see the reaction from [Martyn]. It felt good.”
Martyn is known to his fans as not only a muscled-out lifting legend and gym owner, but also a genuine person who has dealt with and helps others through mental health struggles.
“I know what it feels like to battle anxiety, panic attacks, depression,” Martyn wrote on an Instagram post earlier this month, “& until the last few years of my life I had always avoided talking about what I was dealing with.”
One fan in attendance on Sunday, 21-year-old Justin Vanhpraseuth, said it’s this side of Martyn that makes him so real.
“I remember a video he did...it kind of hit home,” Vanhpraseuth said. “I feel like he has really good intentions. He wants to help people, and he’s just one of the realest people out there, you know. That’s why I respect him a lot.”
When asked if he had exceeded the expectations he had for Zoo Culture at the one year point, Martyn responded modestly.
“No, we could always do more,” he said. “So far it’s really good, but for sure there’s more.”
Martyn is currently in the process of opening up two more Zoo Culture gyms. He says he found the cities that he plans to put the gyms in, although could not disclose the information at the time. However, Martyn did say that his team has not found the exact locations within the two prospective cities yet.
As for now, Zoo Culture is thriving, but Martyn promises this is just the beginning.
“We’re taking over the fitness industry,” Martyn said. “Remember I said it.”