THE BIRTH OF RENEGADE

You want science and studies? Fuck you. I've got scars, blood and vomit.

-Jim Wendler

It's how we lived.

It's what we did.

It's who we were.

1998-

In between 24-hour benders and many early mornings at the impound yard, I was lucky enough to have landed one of the best internship any aspiring strength coach could ever ask for. What would soon become world-renowned Renegade Gym would now be my home for the next decade with my older brother at the helm.

Blurred vision, stinking of booze and no sleep. My last meal, a piece of pepperoni pizza six hours prior. Jump in the shower, change my clothes, vomit, brush my teeth and off to work.

A dark, dingy basement with no windows, torn-up carpet and just the right smell of mold. Typical life at street level but below, a little secret that someone had to tell you about. There was no other way to find it - a closed door between a yoga studio and an accounting firm.

The minute you opened that door, you knew you weren’t in Kansas anymore. The sweet sounds of Rebel Without a Pause by Public Enemy and Raining Blood by Slayer made any metal or old-school hip-hop head feel right at home. Power racks, dumbbells, Olympic bars, reverse hypers, glute ham raises, chains, bands and stones covered every square inch. Everything you could possibly need to build a bad-ass, strong, athletic physique.

We began with a handful of local high school athletes who wanted to get bigger and stronger. Soon word spread like wildfire and every serious athlete and weekend warrior in the area heard what we were doing and the weights that were being moved.

High school records were soon being shattered and colleges were starting to seek out our athletes.

We based our training system around the big four, the squat, deadlift, bench and military and supplemented with assistance work.

We went hard, used chalk and listened to loud music. We never made excuses and nobody ever missed a workout. We were there for one reason and one reason only, to get fucking strong. There was no small talk or bullshitting between sets. We were reminded of that every time we walked through the door by the very explicit and slightly offensive gym rules on the wall.

You also couldn’t help but notice the chalk-filled leader board listing the top dogs and you were pissed if you were not leading the pack.

We knew what worked, we knew how we wanted to train, and we knew who we wanted to train with. We didn't let just anyone into our family. There was an interview process to determine if you were cut out for what we were doing. We demanded excellence and instilled that in every one of our members. Soon, they were demanding that of themselves.

Four, five and six hundred on the squat and deadlift became a weekly occurrence and it was a rare occasion if anyone pressed with less than 110’s.

I wondered to myself why this thing was growing so fast and why people were coming to train in this tiny basement with no amenities. They weren’t just athletes, they were guys in their 30s and 40s who wanted to find out who they were under the suits they wore every day.

Like a transformation out of a scene in Superman. A sport coat was traded out for a cut-off Slayer t-shirt, a tie for a ripped-up black beanie, and a pair of Italian loafers for black Chuck Taylor’s. They became the alpha male they didn’t get to be the eight hours before.

I was incredibly motivated by this group of individuals as I watched them grow mentally and physically stronger each and every week. The unbelievable level of commitment and desire to get better these individuals showed was awe inspiring. It highly drove me to push myself to personal records I never thought were even possible, and for that, I will be forever indebted to them.

The camaraderie was like nothing else in the world, and the brotherhood we formed can never be duplicated.

So heres a question for ya...

Where the fuck has the red blooded alpha male gone too these days?

Consumed by social media and the fucking bachelor.

Drinking caramel macchiatos and doing fucking burpees.

Fuck you.

Drink beer, eat red meat and lift heavy shit.

Do yourself a favor, strip yourself of everything. Get rid of your excess shit. All of it.

Leave yourself with nothing.

Live for something and be very afraid of mediocrity.

VERY

Jared Ferruggia

www. thestrengthexperimenttc.com