He Bought His Gym Before It Closed

Brandon Andres Green, host of Good Neighbor Podcast Tulsa, sits down with Andy Smith of Body Masters to talk about fitness, community, entrepreneurship, and how a Tulsa resistance training gym became much more than a place to work out.

Andy shares how he went from construction to buying Body Masters just as the gym was about to close. What started as a personal connection to a local gym became a full rebuild, including an updated facility near 103rd and Memorial with quality resistance training equipment, cardio options, infrared saunas, upgraded locker rooms, and a culture that feels different the moment you walk in.

This conversation gets into what separates Body Masters from the average big-box gym. Andy talks about keeping fitness simple, avoiding trends that come and go, and focusing on consistency, strength, and a welcoming environment where members actually know each other.

You’ll also hear Andy’s bigger view of business and purpose, including why he believes small businesses carry real responsibility in the community. From supporting Project Orphans to his work with Tulsa Girls Home, Andy shares how local ownership, steady effort, and real relationships can make an impact far beyond the workout floor.

If you are looking for a Tulsa gym, a resistance training facility, a fitness community, or a reminder that local businesses can still feel personal, this conversation is worth your time.

Sometimes the strongest thing a gym can build is community.

Transcript

Welcome And Why Culture Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Brandon Andris Green.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast Live. You know what? There are plenty of places where someone can walk in, use equipment, and simply leave. Building a place where people actually feel known, challenged, and supported is a very different job. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Andy Smith with Body Masters. Andy, how's it going?

SPEAKER_01 0:35

I'm doing great, man. I always say it's a great day when you're upright and breathing, right?

SPEAKER_02 0:39

So today is a great day. That's so true. We're excited to have you on. We're excited to hear a little bit about you and Body Masters. So maybe for someone who's driven past Body Masters, maybe just simply heard the name, but never stepped inside. What is it really?

Simple Strength Training Done Right

SPEAKER_01 0:58

We are just a local resistance training gym or fitness center. We tried to keep our recipe uh very simple. You know, I believe that, you know, there's a lot of, there's, there's always a lot of um, I'm gonna call them uh fads, if you will, uh in uh the fitness world, right? Um, you know, CrossFit is one may get thrown stones thrown at me for saying that. But you know, obviously 15 years ago, CrossFit, nobody had ever heard of it, right? And not to say that it's going away, but what you'll see with a lot of things, uh, you know, different things, Zumba, you know, they'll kind of uh they they have peaks and valleys, if you will. But one of the things that remains constant, I believe, in the fitness industry is just good old-fashioned uh resistance training style facilities, right? Where you can show up. They've got uh a good, like a stretching area, if you will, somewhere that you can go in, do a little uh warm-up or cool down. They're gonna have some good cardio equipment, right? Obviously, that helps with everything from hard health to losing weight. And then they've got plenty of resistance training equipment, which gives you whether you're looking to actually build muscle, tone, or just be in good shape, right? You can you can hit all of those things, if you will, at a place like Body Masters.

From Construction To Gym Owner

SPEAKER_02 2:07

And how did you even get started in owning a gym?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

It was crazy. I uh I was in construction for a very long time. Um, I sold the construction business at the end of 2023. Um, thought that at the age of 40, I guess, that I could slow down a little bit. Uh, I've since then discovered that I'm a bit of a workaholic and I love the grind. I love working very hard. That it makes me obviously I feel like I have a sense of accomplishment with that. And um, I actually went to Body Masters for several years. I was a member, just like all of my members today. Um, and so found out that it was um like October ish, November-ish of uh 24 that Body Masters was going to be closing down. Um they didn't really have any um prospective suitors, if you will, at that time, people that were uh had the ability to be able to step in and buy the business. There were some complications with the lease at the current location that it was at. Um there were complications, uh the equipment there was good, but um dated. It kind of had, if you will, what I would say a lot of people would say, if you say when I tell them I bought Body Masters, they go, Oh, I remember that place is kind of like the grungy bodybuilding place, right? And so it had a little bit of a stigma attached to it. But I loved it. I mean, the idea behind it, like I just described, of having top quality resistance training equipment to me is uh how I've always trained. I loved it, and so I went to the owner who was going to just shut it down as of December 31st, 2024, and said, hey man, I'm interested in buying this thing. And he had had a lot of tire kickers, so he was a little resistive, but um I had essentially uh gave him a uh letter of interest or letter of intent, um, probably second week of December, and then I closed on it, believe it or not, two weeks later, uh bought the gym, and then since then uh we've taken it from the old space, which was basically on the west side of the complex here at 103rd Memorial, and we've moved it to the east side of the complex. But that move, what it brought was a completely updated facility. Um, you can see the pictures online. I'm sure you've seen them, I'm sure people have showed you, man, it is top-notch. I have no qualms about saying that it is the absolute nicest facility in the state of Oklahoma, period. Um, it's great. I mean, not only from an aesthetic perspective, like how we actually designed it, everything from tile to paint and everything in between, uh, but also the equipment that we have, uh, the infrared saunas, the locker rooms, we have amenities like you would find at your house versus what you typically see in commercial gyms.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

So wow.

The Culture That Keeps People Showing Up

SPEAKER_02 4:36

And what do you think? How would you kind of describe the culture at Body Masters? And how is that maybe a little different from the average large anonymous gym where people just kind of show up?

SPEAKER_01 4:49

It's way different. I mean, you know, I would say even at your big box gyms, we won't name any uh in particular, but you've always got a group of people that are there at approximately the same time you are that are working out right. And at some of those places, I'm sure they have some camaraderie and some things that are similar to what we have at Body Masters, but they're not at the scale that we have. And if you come in, uh, I typically work out in the morning. Uh, some of my morning people, if they watch this podcast, they're gonna be like, ah, he only shows up four days a week. And yeah, you're probably right. Uh, you know what I mean? I've got a lot going on. But my normal workout time is about somewhere between 5 and 5:30 a.m. Um, that group of people there, they know each other, uh, you know, if they need help with something, anything from you know, a spot at the bench, you know, all the way to a machine may not be working properly, all the way to how is your 4th of July, right? Um, we've got several of those groups in cadence throughout the day. So it's like your 5:30 group, they work out till 6:30, 7 o'clock. Then rolling in right after them, you've got your 8:30, your 10:30, your 4:30, your 6:30. So where we're different is you could come in at any one point during the day, and although the faces will change, the breath of fresh air inside the facility will not. Everyone is still kind, everyone is respectful, everyone is lifting each other up. The community here and the culture here, it's really hard to describe. And I talk about it a lot, you know, in um in some of the other uh publications that we do. But when people come in and they actually get to experience it for the first time, they're like, man, this absolutely is different.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Or do you attract a different group?

SPEAKER_01 6:38

So we definitely have what I call my OGs, right? The uh the original gangsters that have been around and been body masters members, some of them for you know, 10 to 15 years, uh, even before it was called Body Masters, right? So you definitely have those people. Those people are your religious, they come five to seven days a week at the same time, no matter what. You know, uh even if they're on vacation, sometimes I catch them in here sneaking in and out, right? Um, so you definitely do have those. Um, but one of the things that I do pride ourselves on is all gyms are gonna have some small amount of turn, like you said, turnover, right? And those are the people that are gonna come in like a whirlwind, they're gonna work out, you know, four or five days, maybe even six, seven days a week, and they're gonna do that for two weeks to 30 days, right? Because they've made a dedication of themselves, whether it's a New Year's resolution, whether they're trying to get into uh you know a bikini or a bathing suit body, um, whether it's their sister's wedding, it doesn't matter, right? Whatever the cause behind it, and then you're right, you know, once they start to feel a little better, once they hit um one piece of their goal, if you will, or even on the way, then they jump out. You know, one of the things I think that is is different, certainly at Body Masters, is when you have that community that we just talked about a minute ago, and you have that sense of welcome, and you don't feel off when you walk in the gym. You know, one of the worst things in the world, I'm sure you know, I've experienced it myself when I'm out of town. You walk into a gym, it's a brand new place, you don't know where the bench press is, you don't know where the cable machine is, you don't know where anything is. You can barely even locate a treadmill because you're just like a deer in headlights, right? That's one of the worst feelings in the world. And when you simply walk in and you can tell that everyone here is just, man, they're just like your neighbor, if you will, not to be too cheesy here on your podcast, right? But it's like they are. And so, you know, they walk in, there's a smiling face. Hey, is this your first time here? You know what I mean? Hey, did you just sign up? Hey, do you need me to help find anything? And I'm not talking about employees or trainers because I've got the best employees, and we have hands down the best trainers in the state of Oklahoma. There's nobody, nobody that can challenge me on that. I would love to see them try. Um, but even outside of my my employees and my actual trainers, right? Um, I'm talking about members that say, hey, how you doing? How's your day going? You know what I mean? Do you need help finding something? Is this your first time here? Those kind of questions are relatively unprecedented, right? Coming from members in the big box gym.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Yeah,

Building Businesses Beyond The Gym

SPEAKER_02 9:10

that's that's truly unique. And um I understand you all when you said good neighbor, it it made me laugh because um you also have an ace rack company called is it good neighbor um heat and air?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

That's correct. Yeah, we just started back in February. Um we have we have taken off, we're in full flight. Uh, not quite the cruising altitude yet, but we're on our way. It's uh it's been a been a fun and exciting couple months.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Yeah, it sounds like you're an entrepreneur through and through. What other entrepreneurial interests do you have cooking right now?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Man, I love uh I love nonprofit stuff. My heart is huge. Um uh that's not quite entrepreneurial, but I I uh I truly believe that part of the reason you know why I've been so successful is because you know, one of the principles that I live by, it's a biblical principle for me, but you know, hey, it doesn't have to be for everybody. I believe it's just a good life principle in general, is when you do have an abundance, you know what I mean? I feel like it's our job as brothers and sisters, you know, to help help people, period, hands down. And so um, you know, one of the things that I love is uh we we're a sponsor of Project Orphans, which is a believe it or not, it's a local uh nonprofit here in Tulsa, started and founded right here by Britney Stokes, um, phenomenal woman, phenomenal organization. She has also uh started Tulsa Girls Home, which I'm the president of the board there. Uh my TGH is really where my heart is. The work that we're doing there um in foster care um is absolutely amazing. Um, and then believe it or not, I just started um, you know, my lifelong dream. My dream has always been to have a custom automotive shop. And um my uh the my daughter, if you will, that we're going to adopt um is the the shop is named after her, and so it is gonna be up and running uh here in the next 60 days, but I'm really excited about that one. That one's more of a passion project, um, you know, but I just I love small business. I believe small business is the lifeblood of America, right? We are the ones that are out there ground pounding, we are the ones that are out there actually turning and burning every day. We're the ones that, and I always joke and I say that look, there's nothing wrong with shopping at Amazon. I I love Amazon. I shop at Amazon myself, but you're not helping Jeff Bezos, right? You're you're he's taking trips to the moon and back, okay? When you shop small business, when you shop local, you're not buying some CEO, another plane or another Mercedes-Benz. You're buying a pair of ballet shoes, right? For that owner's daughter is what you're doing. So I believe, again, it's the lifeblood of America. And, you know, any way that you know I can help small business owners myself, I do some small business coaching on the side as well. Um, but you know, just having operating good small businesses where I have excellent people that work for me, we have very competitive pay, we make sure take care of and love on our people. Man, that's just part of that whole almost like community, like what we talked about a minute ago with body masters, right?

The Entrepreneur Mindset And Risk

SPEAKER_02 12:08

So have you found that these uh skill sets are transferable? As in um what you're doing with body masters, you also kind of do with uh good neighbor and with your auto body shop and with the nonprofits, or are they all very unique?

SPEAKER_01 12:29

So they definitely represent their own unique set of challenges. Um I thought that they would blindly transfer uh in skill set, uh, obviously, because I had a construction company that was very successful. Um, so I thought running and operating a gym, no problem. I got this, I can do it with my eyes closed. Um it is really um the challenges are similar, but also very different. I would say the best analogy I could make, it's almost like a hitter in baseball, right? You've got certain things that are your strengths. You might be a fastball hitter, you know what I'm saying? You might be an uh an off-speed hitter, whatever that is. You can certainly hit anything, right? I mean, that's the idea behind being a good hitter is you take whatever comes at you and you and you run with it. But there's certainly things that you do better than others. I think that there is a lot of uh, you know, transposing from one to another. They do represent their own different set of challenges. But I think for small business owners and people that have entrepreneurial mindsets like myself, I think one of the factors that a lot of people don't necessarily take into consideration, there are certain people that really, when they get uh introduced to a challenge, that that either fires them up, right? Because they're like, I want to figure that, and that's me, right? I want to figure it out. Like when people say that can't be done, all I heard is is Andy, find a way, right? And so that's one of the things that I love to do. And so, but not everybody is like that. Some people, because there's a lot of inherent risk, right? There's a lot of inherent stress. Um, there's a lot of uh inherent, it's very problematic. And so if looking at that on the surface, you know, something like that scares you, then man, uh, a nine to five or working for somebody else is definitely probably more in your wheelhouse. But when you hear things like that, if you hear the things like, you know, uh man, I had to, you know, I before I got on this podcast, I had a trailer, I was unloading the trailer of lumber, right, over uh at my custom auto shop because I got a guy on vacation. So I went and hooked up, dragged it, unloaded it, did it all myself, ran in here. Good thing you don't have to smell me, right? And now we're doing this podcast. And so I think that entrepreneurial mindset of just conquering anything and everything to get stone at you, right, in a positive manner, and really not allowing it to affect your attitude and or your tenacity, how excited you are to tackle the next project is man, it's it is something I think that's probably talked about a lot, right? But I think that that's one of the intangibles that is it's really hard to describe. But when you meet people that are like that, right, you you kind of know you're like, man, that guy just he's just full of it. You know, he's always got energy and he's always smiling from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, you know. And so that that style, if you will, of rise and grind is gods imperative, you know. So it's similar challenges, but when you meet the day with the uh with the face or the voice of I'm gonna win the day, doesn't always mean I'm gonna win every second of it, but I'm gonna win the day overall. Then I think that, you know, whether we're talking about I've always joked around and said whether I'm selling scaffold, which was my previous business, selling Tidley Wings or gym memberships, right? Uh, you know, I'll be good at it, and and even if I'm not great at it, then I'll certainly be the hardest worker in the room.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

So and what's the best way for our listeners to maybe follow along with your story, maybe visit Body Masters, explore what all you have going on, or just simply connect with the team.

How To Try Body Masters

SPEAKER_01 16:02

For Body Masters for sure, we've got a great website. Uh we've got a contact form on there that you can jump on. Uh one of our slogans do, you know, that sorry, we've got construction going on in the background. I don't know if you can hear that a little bit or not. Uh, but one of the things that we always say is, you know, our first workout is always free. I definitely want people to uh, you know, if you will, dip their toe in the water to make sure it's a good fit for them. You know, people work out typically within three miles of their work or their home, right? Because it's convenience, it's hugely convenience related. And so I tell people, hey man, jump online, fill out the waiver, uh, you know, come in and see us, have a tour set up so we can show you 100% of the facilities and all the amenities. Um, and then if it's the right fit for you, we're simple, man. We're no contracts, no signups, no anything like that. We can sign you up on the spot. You can, you know, you got to uh your login on your phone, if you will, your scan on your phone. And we're a 24-7 facility. So if you're interested in Body Masters, man, then absolutely, you know, go to our website. It's BM Tulsa, like body masterstulsa.com. You can uh, you know, take a you can even sign up on there if you want to instantly. As far as Andy Smith is concerned, man, I don't do a lot, believe it or not, on social media. Um, I kind of walk, I always joke jokingly say I walk uh very quietly, you know what I mean, behind scenes and love to make big ripples in the world. But man, any of the organizations that I just spoke about, if you have a heart for the nonprofit world, um, whether that's uh, you know, local, which would be Tulsa Girls Home, um, you know, hey, I will give us a small plug there. People always ask, what can I do? And I tell them, hey, you know, our trucks don't run on love. They take gas and PSO, they want that electric bill every month. You know what I mean? So monetary donations are always welcome there. Um, but you know, whether it's a local mission like uh Tulsa Girls Home or John 316 or any of these other organizations, or whether it's something that you feel more uh compelled about, it's an overseas like uh Project Orphans. One of the things I always recommend to people is, man, just jump out there and do it. You don't have to be perfect, right? You don't, you know, find it, find an organization that you're passionate about, volunteer and go. Um when it came to anything else with Andy Smith and uh small business related. Certainly, if your HBAC breaks and you think you're good neighbor, I'm not gonna be mad at you there. Um, but man, I love the entrepreneurial mindset. I do a lot of coaching for young men, especially, uh, you know, that have questions and things for me. I mean, don't be afraid to reach out on social media. Again, I'm not huge on Facebook and Instagram, but if you shoot me a message, I will respond and see if I can't help, you know, guide or give any wisdom that I may or may not have.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

So Andy, I so appreciate you being on the show, and I appreciate you giving Tulsa a place where fitness can feel personal instead of transactional, and just pouring back into the community. You're the type of story that I love to feature. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Well, hey man, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it uh very much.

Closing And Nominate A Local Business

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmptulsa.com. That's gmptulsa.com or call 918 301 6356.