Barbell Brigade

I’ve been going here for 2 months now. I was at 24 Hour fitness DTLA before. The staff at Barbell is super friendly. Signing up was easy and I think the price is reasonable. Joe (The tall one) gave me a detailed tour of the gym and answered all of my silly questions. I’m not a powerlifter or bodybuilder just an average girl trynna maintain her squat booty (jk)… but I’m comfortable in this enviornment for the most part. It’s waaaay different from 24hour but I don’t have a hard time keeping up with my fitness goals at Barbell. It took me a few weeks to adjust to not having all of the machines but once I learned my way around the gym everything everything got better. I find myself trying new things here. This place has everything I need and it’s CLEAN. I like Barbell… give this place some time and you will too.

The best gym around. Employees are so nice and funny. Other gym member helping you out. Belt, tension band, weight, rack and so much other equipment. The membership is sort of pricey and unbiased from what i heard of. 80 – 90 for member from last year and 100 for the new one. Yes 100 is expensive but you get no registration fee or any fee at all, gym 24/​7, and all the tools to make you stronger make it an okay price. And it amazing that people film themselves because it show progression from when they started out. I love it because it help me figure out was wrong with my form and also to show my friend and family my progression in the gym. Im officially a barbell vrigade fan.

I have been lifting here since opening and the environment feels just like family. People cheer on one another as they reach new PRs and the staff and members are very good at keeping the equipments clean and in good shape. Everyone is welcoming from members to staff, to new comers and old. Can’t beat the price and it’s 24/7…yes…24/7.

Moved to Los Angeles in July of 2015 and was at the time a bodybuilder (now powerlifter). I was struggling to find a gym that I could call a «home gym» here in Los Angeles. I tested out 24 hour fitness, LA fitness and Gold’s Gym. The same commercial gym as usual.
My little brother is a huge fan of Bart Kwan and his videos on JK Films. He told me about Barbell Brigade and that I needed to check it out. Well I did and I can honestly say it felt like home as I walked in. I was greeted by the youtube famous Lu! Lu was so down to earth and was so welcoming.
I have been lifting here for months now and it feels like a family. People cheer on one another as they reach new PR’s and all the staff are very good at keeping the equipment clean and in good shape. All the members are so welcoming and friendly. I can honestly workout for 3 hours and still want to stick around because of all the people I have become friends with.
Best gym in the Los Angeles area for its price! Definitely a ⁵⁄₅! Day passes are available! Come through and experience it yourself! «DOMINATE HUMBLY.»

This place is so pretentious and full of topless meatheads in extra tight leggings who are overly concerned about filming themselves and posting it on instagram for likes. I swear, 90% of the people here bring a tripod to set up their cameras. The gym’s slogan is «dominate humbly», but everyone is taking selfies or filming themselves… no sense of humility at all.
The frat boys here who have been lifting for a solid 2 months think they run the show with their gym bags full of creatine and nitric oxide supplements. Just last week I witnessed a couple of guys filming a girl deadlifting, and posted it on instagram making fun of her form.
The facility itself is very nice with lots of squat racks, bench presses, a few deadlift platforms, but all of that is offset by the douchey atmosphere. Trust me bro, no one cares how much you lift. Not everyone is trying to look like a human flesh cloud, so keep it in your pants.
The membership is overpriced and they keep raising it. Their sale’s pitch is that its a hassle free month to month membership, but they require a 30 day notice in order to cancel any membership… so not really.
I wouldn’t trust too many of these super detailed 5 star reviews. A lot of them are from friends or fanboys/​girls of the owners and have little to no credibility.

Great atmosphere to workout in! Talked to a few people my first time dropping in and all of them were very friendly! Will definitely drop in whenever I’m in the area.

From NYC, was visiting LA. Had to get a workout in at Bart’s gym. I was greeted by TheStrongJewish and Lu rubbing my nipples and smacking my ass. Real bro-​mance.
The gym itself? They had Jay Z Pandora on blast. Multiple squat racks, stupid amount of barbells, bands, dumbbells, you name it. Check it out when you’re in town.

I make the drive down from the valley when I have some extra cash and time. The staff here are dope, they remember your name and go out of their way to really make sure you’re having a good time. The members here are some of the most supportive individuals I’ve met in a gym. They offer spots, advice, and encouragement in an ego free manner. Other than that, I just wished they stocked up on shirts more often.

BLUF: If you are looking for a no nonsense, powerlifting gym look no further. Awesome layout with plenty of squat racks, benches, platforms and a great patronage but be prepared to shell out major cash compared to your average commercial gym.
I recently have seen several of Barbell Brigade’s videos on YouTube and since I was in the area, thought I’d check it out.
Although I did not spot any additional parking around back, there was adequate street room to park out front. When I walked in, I was greeted at the front desk by Renn who asked if it was my first time and gave me a quick tour. The gym has about ten squat racks, five benches, six platforms and a dumbbell rack (don’t take my word as fact as I’m going off the top of my head). The only cardio machine they have is a rower and a prowler which was ideal since that created extra room for activities. You have two legs. Go for a run if you need cardio!
I was able to get 10% off on my day pass making it $ 18 with my Unilocal check in. In comparison to commercial gyms, I was paying almost two months worth for a day at BB!
As soon as I started warming up, you could tell that the patronage is great just by all the accessory equipment they have out since they’re not afraid of people stealing and then greeting people by name. They have trash bins with PVC pipes and rollers as well as bands, chains, slingshots, ect on racks for people to use. Most gyms don’t go this far to help meet the needs of customers who don’t come prepared with their own equipment. This was my case as I was in LA on vacation. Everyone seemed to take accountability for the equipment and putting it back.
There were a few people who seemed to have extensive knowledge of powerlifting that I asked for a spot and critique but if you’re new, don’t be intimidated, everyone I encountered were friendly. There were a few beginners as well.
If you want clamp collars, you can go to the front desk and they’ll give you a pair.
I love what this gym has done and would be willing to make the long commute but the thought of what it would cost annually makes me shudder. Guess you get what you pay for and my meager salary isn’t on that level yet. Especially since the gym I go to is free. Haha. Keep it up BB and I’ll be back.

Best gym in LA. I felt welcomed from day 1 and the staff treat you like family. The environment is great and the equipment is top notch. They have all of the free weights you’ll ever need and the staff will be happy to teach you how to use any of the equipment. Shout out to Mike for helping me fix my deadlift form. I highly recommend this gym. #dominatehumbly

If you like a gym that’s full of kids filming themselves and each other you can stop looking. Social media is the best. They’ve been lifting for a whole 6 months so ofcourse they must post they’re amazing strength gains. They’ll be posting they are trainers now and accepting clients on their Instagram accounts. Place is nice. Could have been a nice place to train. Empire lifts back.

Best gym ever. The staff is friendly and help you how to do the proper lifting technique, I even meant the owners of the gym Bart and Geo, really awesome people. Even thought it’s a far drive from where I’m from (Rancho Cucamonga) it totally worth it, the only thing bad about the gym is there is no ac. So expect to sweat a lot, and also membership is pretty expensive $ 65 a month, but its worth it considering the gym has competition grade equipment. It maybe intimidating at first because people there at lifting heavy weights, but everyone is really friendly. Heck it was for me at first. And definitely recommend this gym to your friends.

My friend and I are visiting from England. We’ve always wanted to train at Barbell Brigade and that’s just what we did.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by an extremely friendly young man named Joe who had recently started working there. All of the staff were extremely helpful, friendly and made us feel right at home. A young woman named Renn very kindly allowed us to use her phone to log into Über and get a taxi home. We don’t get this kind of customer service in England, so we were a bit taken back by how kind and welcoming everybody was.
The gym itself is amazing, for anybody no matter what their goals are. Our initial introduction included the man behind the desk saying something along the lines of «Anything goes. This is your gym and everybody in here respects you».
Not often have I entered a new gym and felt so comfortable and so welcome. The atmosphere was indescribable and I truly cannot recommend this place enough.
We’ll be returning again this week, without a doubt!
Harry & Jason.

Great gym. Free parking around the gym. Its close to chinatown and the arts district.
Staff is friendly and helpful. Most of them are swole so if u need help/​advice, theyll give it to ya.
Plenty of spaces for you to do any big 3 lifts + crossfit type lifts + oly + some bodybuilding exercises. There is one cable machine you can use for isolation workouts. Plenty of dumbbells and barbells, kettlebells. They also have a prowler for you to push.
Apparently u can put ur phone/​ipod into the aux cord so everyone can enjoy your workout music.
If you visit, its 20 per visit. If you come more than twice, might as well sign up for membership. No contract, no cancellation fees, etc.

I’m not a crazy powerlifter and even I know this is the best powerlifting gym in LA. I never thought I would get into it enough to write a review, but here I am doing the impossible. I can’t I lift a lot of weight, so I guess you can say I’m a beginner. So if you’re also a fellow beginner, read on!
A little personal background:
If you know me personally, I absolutely hate working out. I hate cardio. I hate running. I hate walking. I hate moving. With minor health issues, I can’t do cardio anyway so I felt kind of stuck, as I did want to be healthy and active. Craig P. brought me here back in November and it wasn’t what I expected at all. I expected a commercial gym with treadmills and machines, and there are none of those here. I’d never seen any of the things in there before, and everyone was super huge, strong, and intimidating. Being in such an unfamiliar environment, I froze up and refused to do anything. When Craig finally got me to try squatting a 45 lb. bar, the minute that bar hit my shoulders, I looked at him like he was insane. There was no way I was able to do squats with that thing on my shoulders. I refused to come back for a long time since I had such a miserable first visit. But alas I did, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this review. The next time, we started with 20 lb. cowbells and focused on me trying to get used to the squatting movement. Since then, I’ve come back regularly and can proudly say that I can squat 95 lbs! It’s so crazy to me that a 45 lb. bar feels like nothing to me now.
Onto the actual gym:
This is a powerlifter’s dream gym. If you do any sort of serious lifting, body building, Olympic training, this is the gym for you. There are 12 squat racks, six deadlift platforms, and sledding. Everything is kept in great to new condition, and the gym is very clean.
My favorite thing about Barbell Brigade is the community and overflowing love & support for all their members and one another. It’s not uncommon to see a guy tackle a 500 lb. bench and the rest of the gym stop what they’re doing to aggressively cheer him on. You definitely won’t find that anywhere else. The staff is super friendly, supportive, and helpful, so anytime you need someone to spot you or record your progress, they’ll help you out. Everyone just wants to help everyone else do better. Other members will always help you if you ask and no one is ever snooty or condescending.
The music is always on full blast (I love it because I can’t hear myself think) and you get to DJ if that tickles your fancy and you’re not afraid of people silently judging you based on your musical preferences. I personally like lifting to deathcore. Don’t judge me.
It’s expensive as f*ck, but you really get what you pay for. When I first started in November, membership was $ 60 per month and day passes were $ 10. Now it’s $ 65 and $ 20 respectively. In January, old members will be grandfathered in and their rates will go up to $ 85, whereas new members will have to fork over $ 100. It’s really overcrowded now, so I get why they’re increasing the prices.
A note for management — please do something about the ventilation and/​or air conditioning. It’s hot as balls inside. The two giant fans unfortunately don’t do much. Also, please offer lotion inside the restrooms! Rock climbing gyms offer lotion for after climbing, and it’s a really nice detail that’s missing.
Barbell Brigade is a really scary gym if you don’t know anything about lifting, but I wouldn’t let that deter you. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.

This gym is fucking awesome.
I first found out about this gym through Instagram, surprisingly. I don’t live in LA anymore, so it’s not worth getting a membership here. I stopped by sometime last year to pick up a tank top — do check out their apparel, it’s pretty bitchin!
Today I actually lifted iron. About time! However I wasn’t too pleased with the $ 20 day pass. For some reason I thought it used to be $ 10/​a day but I guess I was mistaken. My visit today was here since I was helping my boyfriend film this product video. So most commercial gyms (actually most gyms in general) don’t allow cameras of any kind in the gym. Bart’s really really cool, & he let us film at Barbell Brigade for only a price of a day pass. This is awesome, considering Metroflex in Long Beach wants $ 400 for a day & Golds Venice wants $ 500 or something ridiculous.
The inside isn’t too big in my opinion. All of the deadlifting platforms are kinda jammed together & the layout is kinda awkward — lets say all the platforms are full & when you are getting out of the hole you’re looking at someones ass going up. Yea they could rearrange the equipment so it’s not so classroom like.
Another awesome feature here: NO COMMERCIAL GYM MUSIC. You can plug in your iPhone/​iPod & jam out to what you actually wanna hear.
If I were to go here again, the main reason would be for leg day. Squat racks for days!!! you won’t be fighting for a squat rack here. There’s also a GLUTE HAM DEVELOPER & a HYPER EXTENSION machine (aka ass burning machines!). Oh & don’t forget about the chainzzz.
This gym also doesn’t have air conditioning, so be prepared to sweat. Not too big of a deal, but it makes lifting that much more difficult & intense. But if you’re really dying of heat, you can always just run to the bathroom (which is immaculately clean I might add) to cool off.

I went for the mark bell and silent mike seminar/​bench press. It was awesome to see a bunch of fitness you tubers come together.
The location wasn’t ideal for me as a visitor I felt like the area was not safe, but I had to see the location.
The gym was hot and stuffy. Training would be intense I imagine. Everyone is very encouraging. The hype is real there. Haven’t trained there, but cool set up.

Powerlifters dream gym. It’s in a sort of obscure area so I am not sure about the convenience of travel. I dropped in from SD since I was visitting someone in LA. Met Bart and Geo briefly (apparently also saw Bart showing his dad around) and got a pic.
Because of its online popularity, it becomes an attraction of sorts, and they probably get a lot of drop ins (including myself). That’s fine… but I felt $ 20 was a bit steep, when other places are half that. Also, while the community is good, good luck getting workouts in a timely manner during prime time… I love the equipment but the place is still fairly small.

I haven’t been in to the gym for a couple months, and I’ve been on recurring monthly payment for my membership. Since I haven’t been going to the gym lately, I wanted to save money and go month to month. Today is the June 8^th. My next payment should be on June 13^th. 5 days away. I was told they have to charge my card on June 13^th because their «policy» is that they need a 30 day notice in order to cancel my membership. A 5 day notice should be plenty of time to cancel a gym membership.
I will not go back to the gym after this. I will not recommend this gym to my friends.

I’ve been going here for a while now, I can truly say this is the best gym I’ve ever been too. The staff is super friendly, and actually want to take the time to know your name.
As for the equipment in the gym, you’ll never have to wait for a squat rack, bench press or deadlift platform. That is what makes this place amazing.
I recommend this place if you have been seriously training for at least a year. It’s not a place for beginners, as most guys (and girls) are swoll out of their minds. However, I’m sure the members would be willing to help you if you ever needed advice.
Note: there’s a lot of different types of bars, chains, resistance bands, sleds etc. Barbell Brigade offers a variety of items to add to your weight training. I highly recommend this place.

I was traveling from NYC and wanted to check out the infamous gym run by some of my favorite YouTubers. I was greeted by Sero who gave me a tour of the gym and the various equipment. The vibes in this gym are really special; everyone is friendly and just into lifting and having a good workout.
It was a $ 20 day fee and it was definitely worth it. There were dead lift platforms, benches, and seemingly endless Squat Racks. There was a monkey bar section and turf strip. They provide belts, resistance bands, chains, chalk, you name it!
Sero even gave me a list of places to check out while in town. It was a great experience, if only there was one in NYC.

I visited my family in LA for Christmas and was searching for a gym to take my little brother to to workout and teach him the big lifts. The drop in price was super reasonable, and after the first ten minutes, I felt right at home.
Great selection of equipment you won’t find at regular gyms, surrounded by strong people who are very friendly and really live up to the gym’s motto, Dominate Humbly. This GREAT culture is missing in too many other gyms.
My only issue is that I don’t live in LA anymore and so can’t buy a membership!!!