{"id":146,"date":"2025-05-19T07:32:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T14:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/?p=146"},"modified":"2025-05-19T07:32:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T14:32:44","slug":"building-starting-strength-gyms-after-years-in-manhattan-basements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/building-starting-strength-gyms-after-years-in-manhattan-basements\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Starting Strength Gyms After Years in Manhattan Basements"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper\" title=\"Building Starting Strength Gyms After Years in Manhattan Basements\" style=\"width:640px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe hidef\" id=\"WYL_bruu-C9x-Vc\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fbruu-C9x-Vc%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bruu-C9x-Vc\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT3M49S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-05-19T14:00:57Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_bruu-C9x-Vc\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fbruu-C9x-Vc%2Fmaxresdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">Building Starting Strength Gyms After Years in Manhattan Basements<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/bruu-C9x-Vc\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fbruu-C9x-Vc%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"Building Starting Strength Gyms After Years in Manhattan Basements\" width=\"640\" height=\"340\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"Brent Carter spent years training clients in windowless Manhattan high-rise gyms until opportunity called him back to Texas. He faced a choice: start small in a garage or commit fully to the Starting Strength Gyms franchise model. Despite opening Starting Strength Dallas in 2019 and facing closure just six months later, his gyms are thriving because of the community they created. Today, Brent surrounds himself with humble, determined people tackling difficult but important work together, fulfilling his mission of building stronger communities through effective strength training. *Connect With* #startingstrengthgyms https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/startingstrengthgyms https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/startingstrengthgyms https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/starting-strength-gyms \ud83d\udd17 *Book your free 30-min session:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/free-session.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Own a Gym:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/own-a-gym.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Train at a gym:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/locations.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Coach at a gym:* https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/become-a-coach.html?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral \ud83d\udd17 *Shop for apparel:* https:\/\/store.startingstrengthgyms.com?utm_source=youtube&amp;utm_medium=video&amp;utm_campaign=ytreferral #startingstrengthgyms #startingstrength #strengthtraining #fitness\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:640px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Brent Carter spent years training clients in windowless Manhattan high-rise gyms until opportunity called him back to Texas. He faced a choice: start small in a garage or commit fully to the Starting Strength Gyms franchise model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite opening Starting Strength Dallas in 2019 and facing closure just six months later, his gyms are thriving because of the community they created. Today, Brent surrounds himself with humble, determined people tackling difficult but important work together, fulfilling his mission of building stronger communities through effective strength training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brent Carter spent years training clients in windowless Manhattan high-rise gyms until opportunity called him back to Texas. He faced a choice: start small in a garage or commit fully to the Starting Strength Gyms franchise model. Despite opening Starting Strength Dallas in 2019 and facing closure just six months later, his gyms are thriving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[19,9],"class_list":["post-146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","hentry","category-videos","tag-meet-our-owners","tag-starting-strength-gyms","post_format-post-format-video"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":288,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/the-starting-strength-gyms-franchise-whats-traditional-vs-whats-revolutionary\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":0},"title":"The Starting Strength Gyms Franchise: What\u2019s Traditional vs What\u2019s Revolutionary?","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"January 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Mandy MillerPublished: January 6, 2025 Anyone that has ever thought about starting a new franchise concept has done so because they have at least one of these things: a strong financial business that's easily replicatable, a novel concept that doesn't exist yet in the franchise world, investors already trying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Birmingham_Group-150x150.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Birmingham_Group-150x150.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Birmingham_Group-150x150.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Birmingham_Group-150x150.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Birmingham_Group-150x150.webp?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Birmingham_Group-150x150.webp?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":184,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/freedom-and-purpose-through-entrepreneurship-with-ray-gillenwater-stronger-is-better-podcast-6\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":1},"title":"Freedom and Purpose through Entrepreneurship with Ray Gillenwater | Stronger Is Better Podcast #6","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"June 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/fKlfxrVEBVk In this episode of the Stronger Is Better Podcast, Nick Delgadillo sits down with Starting Strength Gyms founder Ray Gillenwater for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, vision, and the founding story of Starting Strength Gyms. Ray shares how his experiences in tech, corporate leadership, and global markets led him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Podcast - Stronger Is Better&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Podcast - Stronger Is Better","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/category\/podcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/fKlfxrVEBVk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":280,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/strength-training-after-a-kidney-transplant\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":2},"title":"Strength Training After a Kidney Transplant","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"November 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/EMZSlmnn-cg Lee is a 77-year-old geophysicist who\u2019s spent his life working on complex projects around the world. After a series of health issues and a kidney transplant, he lost weight and muscle and needed to rebuild both. He turned to Starting Strength Houston for coaching that focused on form, safety,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Videos&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Videos","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/category\/videos\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/EMZSlmnn-cg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":156,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/from-hospital-shifts-to-deadlifts\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":3},"title":"From Hospital Shifts to Deadlifts","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"June 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/qVYUzwQ6LJw As an internal medicine physician working 12-14 hour days, Dr. Vishal Patel had developed habits that led to a diabetes diagnosis-a condition that claimed his father in his 50s. Previous attempts at big box gyms yielded no results. 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She worked back up to 70-80% of her max weights, building strength to prepare her body\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Videos&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Videos","link":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/category\/videos\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/4jOj4TUtuTU\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":222,"url":"https:\/\/www.startingstrengthgyms.com\/library\/left-my-personal-trainer-for-starting-strength\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":5},"title":"Left My Personal Trainer for Starting Strength","author":"Bre Acosta","date":"August 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/l-fB8pBI8rY Stephen had plateaued with his personal trainer after years of isolation-focused workouts that weren't delivering the progress he wanted. He knew he was capable of more than the limited exercises his trainer prescribed. 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