Mike Barwis trains professional hockey players, football players, Olympians, boxers and bull riders. He's helped the paralyzed walk. His workouts have broken some of the highest caliber athletes in the world, his research has pushed the envelope of science and nutrition and his plan is to offer all of this to you and me - the general public.
Mike Barwis is ready for Southeast Michigan, but is Southeast Michigan ready for Mike Barwis?
The legend of Mike Barwis
The only thing Chuck Norris fears is Mike Barwis. Mike Barwis beats rock, paper and scissors. Ghosts sit around the campfire and tell Mike Barwis stories.
Barwis has a bit of a reputation that only grew under the national spotlight when newly-hired University of Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez brought Barwis with him from West Virginia to run the football strength and conditioning program in 2007. (Full disclosure: I worked for the University of Michigan's athletic media relations office during Rodriguez and Barwis' tenure, writing feature stories on football players, coaches and support staff. I had full access to the Michigan football program, including Barwis' weight room.)
The legend of Mike Barwis grew with each report from the weight room and the constant physical improvement from his players. Bigger, stronger, faster. Reporters banged out stories about Barwis' shadowy mixed martial arts past, his pet wolves and his vomit-inducing workouts. The bit about the wolves is true: he raised a 100% MacKenzie Valley wolf named Malaki and a 75% eastern timber wolf named Storm, bottle feeding them as pups and caring for them for 14 and 17 years. On the MMA side, Barwis is reluctant to discuss his fighting past because of his kids - two boys and two girls between five and one year-old.
Barwis attracted the best of the best, driven and motivated personalities looking to transform their bodies. Pros flocked to his weight room at Michigan to train with him and his staff and the legend of Mike Barwis grew even more. When Rich Rodriguez was fired as head coach of the Wolverines and Brady Hoke brought on board, Hoke brought along his own strength and conditioning coach and Barwis was out of a job.
"We stayed in Michigan because we love Michigan," says Barwis, two seasons removed from his stint at the University. "We still love U-M. My family and my kids love this whole area. It's a good fit for us."
Barwis was let go in January of 2011 and on June 1 he opened Barwis Methods in Plymouth - 2,100 square feet of weights, cardio equipment and a 95-yard long strip of field turf just like at the Big House.
"I'm a grinder, I make things happen," says Barwis, who opened a second location in Grand Rapids one year later and opened a third location at the Arctic Edge in Canton just last month.
"I've wanted to contribute more to the community for 20 years but I've just never had the opportunity to get the general public involved. Now we have that opportunity. It's also time to raise my kids. My wife Autumn is here too and my kids are always here. We've always done everything like it was a family. It's uplifting for people to see family and feel like part of our family."
A day in the life of the Barwis Methods
On any given day at Barwis Methods you'll see NFL players, NHL players, local college stars, current and former Olympians and any number of other ripped, sweaty athletes. He's helped Philadelphia Eagle Brandon Graham transition to a
new position, former Detroit Tiger Brandon Inge
recover after surgery and a number of Michigan Wolverines
prepare for the NFL combine.
Barwis and his staff train more than 100 professional and Olympic athletes a year, but Barwis Methods isn't just for the paid jocks. It boasts more than 1,000 members - everyone from prep athletes, weekend warriors, casual exercisers and, perhaps most unique, people with neurological disorders and spinal injuries, like
Brock Mealer. The Barwis plan is to offer some of the top training in the country to the average Jane and Joe, not just elite athletes.
"What people thought was only for the elite is now available for everyone," says Barwis. "People just looking to get into shape, others who are looking to get fit enough to play rec sports again. We had an older client who just wanted to ride his Harley again."
His "Average Joe" plans are built for someone who'd consider a health club or YMCA to get in shape. With more than 70 different pricing plans, Barwis offers programs that cover everything from workouts to nutrition and supplements, or personal consultations and training plans.
"We've all got advanced degrees and trained some of the best athletes in the world," says Barwis. "No offense to trainers at those other gyms, but you're probably working with someone who might have a degree and might have been an intern somewhere. We know what we're doing."
Barwis Methods has equipment, but a lot of it's free weights and simple contraptions. Barwis points out that a lot of gym memberships are people renting the use of equipment, which is fine, but the Barwis Methods staff offers proper personal training along with something you can't get anywhere else, maybe in the entire country.
"Atmosphere," says Barwis. "This place is like Cheers. We hug people. We love people. We put our hearts and souls into this. You'll have two professional hockey players cheering on a mother of two or high-fiving an 84 year-old guy working out. Everyone roots for each other. We bring humanity to environments that are usually seen as egotistical."
Barwis cites a statistic: 90% of people who join a gym quit working out within the first month. For Barwis Methods, his retention rate after one month is 98%.
"No one else does this," says Barwis. "In the private sector, nobody is remotely close to us."
Barwis hasn't spent a dollar on advertising. He hasn't spent a dollar on competitive research. Most of his business has come from word of mouth and articles like this offering a glimpse into what might be the most amazing fitness opportunities for the general public in all the world. Right here in Southeastern Michigan.
Elite training for the Average Joe
It's an unseasonably warm day and the garage doors in Barwis Methods are pulled open to let some of the fresh air in. Barwis is bouncing from the gym to his office and back, while his staff works with some preps, pros, prospective pros and three clients with spinal or neurological injuries. Framed jerseys line an entire wall with personal greetings written in Sharpie.
"To Mike, Thanks for kicking my ass."
"Thanks for making my off-season a living hell."
"Thanks for taking me where I couldn't take myself."
Brock Mealer, given a 1% chance to walk again, pushes a weighted sled down the 95-yard field, while his brother Elliot bench presses more than 300lbs, wearing a t-shirt soaked with sweat from neck to butt crack.
One of Barwis' clients, Chris Williams, is in his 16th week working at Barwis Methods. He suffered an L1 incomplete spinal injury more than three years ago and couldn't walk before working with Barwis. Now, he can stand and walk and is working towards being able to jog. Brock takes a breather during his workout, answering emails on his phone. Since his injury and subsequent progress, he's in high demand as a motivational, inspirational and faith-based speaker, working out with Barwis many times each week.
"It's home," he says of Barwis Methods. "Few places allow you to feel so free. You can take risks and try anything here. There's no shame in falling or not being able to do something. You can't feel bad for yourself here."
If Barwis can help NFL linebackers compete, Olympians dominate and the paralyzed walk again, imagine what he can do for the average person. That's his new mission.
"We'll take anyone who walks and talks," says Barwis. And some who don't. But they'll get there.
Richard Retyi is the social media manager at Ann Arbor digital marketing firm Fluency Media as well as a freelance writer for various publications. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichRetyi or read his blog at RichRetyi.com.
All Photos by David Lewinski Photography