Yahoo Lifestyle Prison Workouts Go From Jail Cells To Fitness Studios
It’s not just time that Coss Marte lost in jail – he walked out after four years inside 32kgs lighter as well.
Now 29, Marte began dealing drugs at 13 in lower Manhattan, and soon was in charge of his own crew. “When the neighbourhood started gentrifying in the early 2000s, I made 5,000 business cards and started handing them out to every person around that looked like they had money,” he says. “The demand got so high, I had seven cellphones. We had 10,000 [customers’] numbers.”
By age 19, Marte claims was raking in about $US2 million a year. Even after Marte was busted by the Feds at his stash house, he was still obsessed with making money.
MORE: Burn off a barbeque in 20 minutes
When Marte entered prison, he was told his cholesterol and blood pressure were so high, he’d probably be dead within five years.
“I was not going to die in prison,” he says. “I started working out, and I managed to lose 70 pounds (32kgs) in six months in my cell.”
When he was released, Marte started to hold free workouts in the park. He eventually found a way to monetise his method through the non-profit organization Defy Ventures, which works to channel the energies and ideas of formerly incarcerated people into profitable startups. Coss Athetics was born.
Marte’s approach to fitness is basic but brutal. He takes simple moves like jumping jacks and squats, and tweaks them using variations on speed, repetition, and form until they feel almost unmanageable. “I don’t make you do 1,000 push-ups, but it feels like you just did 1,000 push-ups,” he says, explaining the approach.
Our best days are our leg days and don't forgot to sip on #protein when you're thirsty! #legs #fitness #prison pic.twitter.com/TyssYyovs1
— CossAthletics (@CossAthletics) March 26, 2015
Marte says his clients (80 per cent of whom are women, because they tend to work out via classes) like the challenge. “You’re not going to get these fancy locker rooms like SoulCycle, where you can pretend to be a Barbie,” he says. “I’m like, just come, be yourself, let’s get it and have fun.”
“Every time someone new comes, they’re a little bit scared, but at the end of the day, they’re high-fiving and they feel good.”
And while previously he operated out of rented dance rehearsal spaces and city parks, he has now moved into his own studio on the Lower East Side, with the help of a recent $US100,000 investment from Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran.
This is not the first time Marte has tasted success — but it is the first time that success has been legal.
