Barry’s, formerly Barry’s Bootcamp, the fitness studio offering daily classes and memberships, opened its doors in Roslyn on July 24.
The branch at 385 Willis Ave. marks the first expansion into Nassau County after the business established local roots in New York City and the Hamptons.
The move comes as a result of COVID-19 shifting city clientele to the suburbs. According to Matt Nolan, founding instructor and chief of curriculum for Barry’s, it was about finding opportunity within the yearlong adjustment.
“It always starts with listening to our clientele, listening to where they think we should continue to expand, and we got an outpouring of requests for Nassau County,” Nolan said in an interview.
After the expansion was confirmed and Roslyn was announced as a new home for the business, Nolan said there was more excitement than he can recall for previous openings.
“Once we announced it I don’t think we’ve ever received so many constant emails saying ‘when is the opening? I just drove by and saw the construction, when is it coming?’” said Nolan. “The constant requests and intrigue in when it was going to start we’ve never seen before in another studio; that was really exciting to hear about.”
Barry’s offers classes from morning to night, or a membership in the form of monthly or class packages. The company now offers “Barry’s X,” an online service that came to fruition after a businesswide adjustment during the pandemic.
“When everything was shut down last year, obviously we had to figure out a way to continue so we moved into the online platform,” Nolan said. “We thought at first it was maybe just going to be a temporary thing, a way that we can survive until we can open studios and be in person again, but then we quickly found our clientele loved it and they were interested.”
Clients who attend Barry’s can expect a high-energy, high-intensity workout led by Nolan, who grew up in Rockville Centre and played soccer at Binghamton University. Each day in the week focuses on different muscle groups, which Nolan describes as keeping your body wanting more.
“You’re not going to run into being overworked or being too sore because when your arms get tired the next day that’s when we’ll do legs for example,” said Nolan. “Each week we will have different music too so the client will never get tired of the sessions, it will always be a different challenge.”
Barry’s was started as Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood, California, in 1998 by Barry Jay and other partners. The business has expanded to over 80 studios in the U.S. and abroad, offering interval workouts that have been in the company’s model for three decades.
Nolan, who has been with Barry’s for eight years, said he believes it’s an experience that not only made him train as if he were still a Division I athlete, but surrounded him with people of various exercising backgrounds.
“It really works for everyone, whether you’re brand new or not,” he said. “It’s really interesting to see how many different levels of people are in the room with you and that’s something I have always enjoyed.”
