Wesley Watson and Anthony Cortes
Bodybuilding couple helps gay men get thicc while overcoming gym fears at the same time
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
The gym remains one of the bastions of queer culture, particularly for gay men and those who are male-presenting working on their ideal bodies and selves.
The gym can also be a place of intimidation, but not so much from the massive muscled bodies or ripped torsos, more from just being thrown into this environment after paying membership dues.
Anthony Cortes
This is where the team of JAMC Fit comes in.
Founders and trainers Anthony Cortes and Wesley Watson hone their focus in on queer male clients through JAMC Fit’s Get Thicc program.
“We talked about training [all] people, but I wasn’t focused on that niche,” Cortes said. “After we talked about it, we just decided to start doing it and focus on that [gay male and male-presenting] audience.”
Cortes and Watson are business partners and also life partners. Cortes, originally from Mexico City, has been in the fitness industry for more than 20 years and has often helped clients with nutrition in addition to training needs. Watson had been training for about a decade as well as bodybuilding for competition.
While they could relate to their clients simply as fellow gay men, Watson said he could tap into some of those same fears or concerns in his clients that he once had himself.
A competitive bodybuilder now, Watson didn’t have any interest in the gym until he was in his early 20s. The gym space wasn’t the most inviting for him, bringing up fears that stemmed from his school days.
“I never played sports, and the middle school locker room was a nervous wreck for me,” Watson said. “I was always intimidated by the gym, the culture, gym bros. I think that’s an innate fear in a lot of us, so I wanted to use those experiences to help other gay men conquer that.”
He added that the swell of emotions going into a gym can be a big obstacle.
“That’s a whole other thing. First, it’s the fear of walking into those spaces, then you don’t know what to do, and then all those emotions hit at once so you divert into cardio. That was me for a good three years.”
Watson and Cortes decided to combine their personal and professional experiences to form JAMC Fit.
Wesley Watson
The two met in 2016 when Cortes asked Watson to dinner. A year later, they were not only dating each other, they were working to train other people. Then COVID hit. And that’s where the couple hit their stride and started really finding their gay male audience.
“We didn’t see anyone doing what we wanted to do, but we did find there were a lot of guys who needed or wanted help,” Watson said.
For the record, JAMC Fit is not limited to just training one type of client, but they have found they can relate to their niche audience with a certain specificity.
The feedback they’ve received has been positive. Online testimonials run the gamut on JAMC Fit’s training:
• “This was exactly what I was looking for when I needed it.” – Brandt.
• “Since starting with JAMC Fit, I’ve lost weight, gained muscle and renewed my purposeful commitment to health.” – Larry.
• “They both made me feel that I had the power to … achieve my fitness goals.” – James.
So you’re a gay/queer man who wants to get thicc — but now what?
Watson and Cortes will schedule a consultation with you either by phone, online or in person (if you’re local). That’s basically where they interview new clients about the clients’ needs and wants. The trainers ask about what work the client has been done in the past, what goals they have for their body and more.
That’s how the trainers can determine how — or if — they can help.
“If we can’t help for some reason, we will still give tips on what to do or where to start,” Watson said. “If anything, they will leave with some next steps.”
The two follow through with questionnaires and the onboarding process to get the new client into their system and app. From there, the workouts and nutrition training begin.
While both are trainers, Cortes takes point on the nutrition side while Watson focuses on the weight training. Their most important goal, they said, is to find what clients enjoy so they can build a program the client will stay with.
“We want you to be successful and stick to it, and to do that, you have to enjoy it,” Cortes said.
The two train at the gym in their residential complex. So the one-on-one training sessions don’t have the distractions you’d get at a big-box gym. Some group and couples training programs are also available.
The signature Get Thicc program is a six-week program, and, after that, membership is month-to-month.
There’s a silver lining that comes with working with Cortes and Watson: While they would happily continue training their clients, in some ways, they are also getting clients to be comfortable going into their own gyms and taking hold of their own journeys.
“As gay men, we may feel we don’t have the confidence in whatever, but what I learned is that we need to show up and show the world who we are and who we want to be,” Cortes said.
And if a healthier outlook and maybe bigger pecs are a byproduct of showing up with Cortes and Watson by your side, then so be it.
For more information, visit JAMCFit.com.
