TRANSFORMATION
Reluctant at first, Ramiro Villarreal embraces judgment-free atmosphere of friend’s gym to get fit
Houston DJ embraces judgment-free gym.
EaDo resident Ramiro “Kirby” Villarreal wanted to check out his friend’s gym, but he had trouble getting motivated.
“I kept thinking, ‘I’m going Monday, I’m going Monday.’ But I never went,” Villarreal recalled.
There were a couple of reasons for his hesitancy, he explained. “I’m not a shy person, but when it comes to fitness, I was.”
Though he had no trouble taking the stage as DJ Kirby, he felt like an outsider when he’d gone to big, crowded gyms in the past.
Villarreal says he has always been a large person. And at the gym, he often thought other people were judging him.
At the same time, he wanted to be fit. “I’ve always wanted to lose weight,” he said. “My goal was not to become a gym freak. My goal was to be healthier.”
A week after his 26th birthday, Villarreal was climbing some stairs at a cinema and got winded.
“I need to go to that gym and check it out,” he thought.
He finally made his way to The League: Elite Training Facility, where owner Terry Williams had been training Villarreal’s friend, MMA fighter Steve Garcia. Villarreal signed up.
The League offers a unique format called “PACK Training.” Instead of sessions of cardio and weights, a group workout combines aerobic, circuit and power training.
Each day, the drills are combined in new ways — so no two sessions are the same.
Williams aims to make the workouts creative and fun as well as challenging. Each activity can be modified to an individual to keep the exercises safe.
When Villarreal walked into the gym, Williams was eager to help.
Williams said that Villarreal was overweight and seemed reluctant to be there. He did not talk a lot.
Since his first workout, however, things have changed.
“It was like a light switch went off for him,” Williams said.
In the beginning, Villarreal said, he would hide behind his friend during the classes. He wasn’t sure what to expect.
“But I liked the environment,” he said. “Everyone was friendly, and no one was judging. I felt like I was at home.”
It didn’t take long for Villarreal to make friends at the League. “I ended up jumping in,” he said.
Now he has worked out at the League for a year and a half, losing 40 pounds. He went from working out, at most, three days a week to consistently going five days a week.
“I feel more energetic,” he said. “I feel stronger.”
The change is evident. “He feels a new confidence,” Williams said. “Everyone can see his excitement, his enthusiasm, his commitment to it all.”
The League often appeals to individuals who don’t feel at home in the usual gyms, Williams said.
Part of the attraction is the smaller, more intimate setting — and another part is the guidance, the interaction with trainers who know which workouts suit an individual and are able to walk them through the process.
There is also a community feel. Members become friends and hold each other accountable to keep exercising.
Williams earned his degree in communications at the University of Texas at Austin but found himself hanging out with athletes whenever he had a chance. After he graduated, he saw one of those athletes from school whom he had helped in the gym win an Olympic gold medal in track and field.
“That was an ah-ha moment,” Williams said. “I saw that something I was passionate about could help people.”
He went on to earn his master’s degree in health and human performance at the University of Houston. After working at other facilities, he decided to open his own with his wife, Ashley Williams.
Williams works with both professional athletes and the more common exercise enthusiast, applying what he has learned at the elite level.
“I love when I can help an average person find something unique, special and incredible inside of them,” he said. “It’s fun to work with pro athletes, but it’s even more fun to help a regular person grow in selfesteem and lose those 20 pounds. I love seeing people reach new levels in their lives.”
Villarreal often posts his exercise experiences on Instagram.
“Some of my friends have said, ‘I feel motivated when you post something,’ and that makes me feel good,” Villarreal said. “Some of them have actually started working out, and that’s awesome.”
Lindsay Peyton is ReNew Houston’s Transformation columnist. Have you made a healthy transformation? If you or someone you know should be featured, email us at health@chron.com.