March 14, 2017

Meet Sasha Lopez of BML Gym in Van Nuys

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Lopez.

Sasha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As an athlete all my life I recognized early on the importance of a fitness regimen. I then entered the Air Force shortly after high school where it became even more apparent that fitness needed to be more of a priority for our society. When I completed my time in the Air Force I learned shortly after that my dad was diagnosed with diabetes so I created a workout and nutrition plan for him. After just one month he returned to the doctor only to be notified that he was cured of his diagnosis. If something as simple as working out and eating right could cure my dad imagining what it could do for so many other people. I was working out at a local gym during that time when the manager approached me and asked if I had ever been interested in becoming a personal trainer or perhaps a class exercise instructor. A week later I was face to face with a 9am class of 3 people teaching Zumba which in a months’ time grew into 30 and shortly thereafter became sold out classes throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. In 2010 I decided to leave the corporate gym scene and try my luck at boot camp classes. The love for creative workouts and the outdoors were a perfect fit and apparently many people thought so too. My boot camps grew so large that the obvious next step would be to open a location that could withstand the “winter” in LA and keep up with my class sizes. I opened the doors of BML Gym in hopes of not just having members but creating a ‘fitness family’ which is exactly what we’ve become. There aren’t many gyms where everyone knows each other by name and sometimes as the owner you have to force them to go home but that’s what BML Gym is and I’m so grateful for the opportunity and all of our members.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Just like the beginning stages of any business there are road bumps that you have to conquer on a daily but as long as you stay true to the purpose it’s all worth it in the end. The best part is when someone comes and tells you that you have changed their life. Fitness is an obstacle in itself, so if people can overcome that there’s no reason I can’t overcome the journey of being a business owner.

Please tell us about BML Gym.
BML Gym stand for “Beast Mode Life” Gym and it’s something that embodies every class. Our boot camp classes are what we’re known for. Unlike the conventional boot camp none of or classes are the same. We include everything from high intensity interval training to powerlifting. Most of our classes are women but when we do get the occasional gentlemen they are blown away by the sheer strength and endurance these women have. What makes me the most proud is that I have been able to single handedly change the perception of what strong looks like. Many of our members would have never dreamed of doing a “boot camp class” now those same members can back squat over 200lbs and can walk into a corporate gym and not be afraid or intimidated.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I grew up in an area of Los Angeles that wasn’t the greatest but sports were always my outlet and kept me out of trouble. I joined the track team as a freshman in high school and decided to try out for shotput. Until then I knew little about the sport except for the fact that women 2 and 3x my size dominated the sport. My junior year I made All-City League which proved that with hard work anything was possible.

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