BodybyG Performance Lab Opens on Beach 116th

By Katie McFadden

For 20 years, Gustavo Sanchez has been training athletes to be their best, helping guide them to championships, college scholarships and even youth national teams, through working at gyms, travel soccer programs and personal training. Now Sanchez has brought his training right to his own facility, BodybyG Performance Lab on the second floor of 189 Beach 116th Street.

An athlete himself, Sanchez, at 17 years old, caught the attention of a fitness director at a gym, who asked him if he had any interest in being a trainer. But focused on trying to be a soccer pro, he didn’t think much of it until a serious hamstring injury set him back. But it didn’t hold him back. The Howard Beach resident started researching more into the training side of things. “It caught my attention, and I found my niche,” Sanchez said.

His training career would lead him to working many years at Bally Total Fitness on Queens Blvd., followed by 13 years at Retro Fitness in Forest Hills. But in his spare time, he started building clients outside of the gym. About five and half years ago, he started helping kids see their own dreams through as a coach for Kosmos FC TST, a travel soccer program for youth, which trains in Fort Tilden. And as he built clientele and confidence, he decided to follow his own dream and open his very own fitness studio. On April 1, Sanchez opened BodybyG Performance Lab.

“I have a lot of clients here and in Brooklyn and I built the courage to take a leap of faith by opening up my own training facility. I coach three teams with TST, and I work with kids that play every sport, so I built a good, steady clientele. I have a very good relationship with the clients and their parents, and the parents trust me. It feels awesome to know they support me,” Sanchez said. And it was a local business owner that inspired him to follow his dream. “I was talking to Nicole Frontera of Nicole Frontera Beauty, she’s a good friend of mine and I train her son, Drew. She’s about to open her fourth spot and I was telling her I have the skills but I don’t have my own facility so kids can come train. She said she’d look into it, and she connected me with a local real estate agent, Kelly Brunton, who helped me find the location. I went inside and loved it. It’s in a prime location on Beach 116th, so kids who live in Rockaway can walk there from their houses. I saw the vision when I went in for the first time,” Sanchez said. “I’m glad I listened to Nicole. She told me to ‘Take the leap. You’re never gonna know until you do it’ and I was able to do it.”

That vision became reality when Sanchez laid down black turf and filled the space with two squat racks, a bench press, a cable machine, two push and pull sleds, a TRX suspension system, battle ropes, resistance bands, plyometric boxes and agility ladders for strength and conditioning training. At BodybyG, Sanchez offers one on one sessions for kids and adults by appointment, as well as daily group classes for kids of all ages at 6:30 p.m. After class, he opens the gym for kids in 6th grade and up to work out, while providing guidance, making sure kids are using the right amount of weight, playing fun music, and creating a welcoming, encouraging environment. “We have a good time. They make it competitive. Growing up as an athlete, I liked competitive environments. The more competitive, I feel it brings out the best in you,” he said.

In his approach to training, Sanchez tries to reach clients at their level. “I like putting myself in my clients’ shoes. I understand the hard work it takes as an athlete with all the sacrifices. I had to stop going to parties, I couldn’t stay out late. It sucks not going out as a kid, but you have to remember to make these sacrifices if you want to get into a good school. You have to wake up early on a Saturday and train. You might not like it but I’m instilling that discipline at a young age because in my experience, you’re nothing without discipline. Discipline and respect are the highest things ever. When you walk into a room, you show people you have manners and are educated and you’re here to work,” he said. “Some kids just need confidence and I’m glad they see me like a big brother. I remember how it was not being the quickest, not being the strongest and some kids are shy so I try to bring out the best in them and show them they can do it if they really put their mind to it. They relate to me a lot.”

His approach has gotten clients to the next level. “A majority of kids I train are trying to get into a good school. I’ve helped them get scholarships. Some are going to Molloy and got recruited for baseball, another is a junior at McClancy on a scholarship. It feels good to watch these kids grow up and to be a part of their journey and get a good education. It would be amazing if they go pro, but there’s life after sports and it starts with a good education.”

And sometimes it’s just about the little wins. “I love when a client texts me saying they lost 15 pounds, saying a shirt fits better, they’re seeing improvements in their legs, or able to do 10 pull ups. It puts a smile on my face,” he said. “One parent texted me a video last week of their daughter who scored a goal. We had been working really hard on her left foot, so it was really cool to see that.”

As he helps clients, Sanchez has also been working on bettering himself. On Tuesday, May 19, he graduated from St. Francis College with an exercise science degree. “I’m super excited. It’s been a journey. I had personal issues years ago and it took a while to get my mind right after everything and I was so busy. It was a long journey, but worth it,” Sanchez said.

As school ends, Sanchez hopes to expand training hours at BodybyG Performance Lab. And in the future, as the current space can only accommodate 20 clients at a time, Sanchez hopes to grow the business. “Hopefully, knock on wood, in three years, we’ll find a bigger location. I want to stay in Rockaway. It makes my life easy and it’s easy for the clients when they don’t have to travel long distances, especially when they get out late from school. I want to continue to help the community and help the kids get into good high school and college programs. That’s my ultimate goal.”

For more information about BodyByG, follow body_by_g on Instagram or call 646-652-9655.