Today we’re talking to Coss Marte, the founder and CEO of CONBODY, a prison fitness-style boot camp offering in-person and virtual classes based out of NYC. Coss developed the idea of CONBODY based on his own experiences in prison, where he turned to fitness after becoming overweight and at a high risk for cardiac problems. Since founding CONBODY, Coss has hired over 40 formerly incarcerated individuals as trainers, and he’s also become an advocate for prison reform and former inmates looking to build new lives. We talk about Coss’ inspiration for CONBODY while in solitary confinement, what to expect from their high-intensity workouts, and much, much more.
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On this episode of The BarBend Podcast, host David Thomas Tao talks to Coss Marte about:
- The inspiration for Coss’ fitness journey in prison (2:40)
- Working out with other prisoners in the yard (5:20)
- Access to fitness equipment in the prison system (9:05)
- How CONBODY’s prison-style workouts are taking off during quarantine (11:50)
- Doing 1,200 burpees a day (14:15)
- How CONBODY recruits former inmates and trains them to teach classes (17:03)
- The reactions after taking a first CONBODY class (20:15)
- The prison-style fitness challenge you can try today (22:45)
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