Today we’d like to introduce you to Preston Wilson.
Preston , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I actually started building gyms on accident. I went to a physical for a job that I didn’t really want. Those physicals are just to make sure you won’t die on the job and that you are not using drugs. After the physical was done and I was leaving, the doctor came back in. He told me he doesn’t usually do that but he was concerned. I was 32 years old and nearly 300lbs. I had the lungs of a 55 year old and was just not healthy by any measure. Of course I was appalled! So I went home and ate a pizza to think it over. That was an eye opener for me.
I wasn’t sure where to start so I just did what came from common sense. I stopped drinking beer, made some easy changes to diet. I mean it wasn’t hard to avoid Taco Bell at 2am once I stopped drinking beer. I joined the neighborhood bootcamp. It was a lot of very fit moms and then…me. The first day we did push ups, sit ups, burpees, ran, jumping jacks and all of the things. I was dying. Then the coach said “Ok, we are done with the warm up! Let’s get to the workout!” I almost collapsed. Luckily my fellow bootcampers were so encouraging and helpful I stuck with it. After a while I wanted to start lifting weights and expand my workout disciplines but was too scared to go to a public gym. The machines! The super fit men and women! The inescapable memberships!
I have always been a builder. I grew up in North East Texas and learning trades is just part of life there. So started with building a plyobox out of the 12 year old piece of plywood in my garage that I wouldn’t get rid of “just in case” I needed it. Friends asked me to build them one. Then I started selling them on Craigslist and Marketplace. I got requests to build other things like stall bars, lifting platforms, spotter boxes, and some other really creative things that trainers thought up. I started welding things like dumbbell storage shelves, sleds, and even building squat racks. I drilled every single hole by hand.
In February of 2020 I got my first commercial space. Then in March, Covid hit. I was terrified of being shut down. I had just rented a commercial space and hired my first helper, Dominique Vela. But the phone started ringing immediately with orders. Not only did people need equipment, they needed it delivered and installed. We could barely keep up with demand. Half of the shop was woodworking and the other half was welding. At one point we had built over 100 plyoboxes in a single week. This is when I started working with manufacturers to expand my offerings into things we could not fabricate in the shop. But when supply ran low for these manufacturers, we kept going. We just needed raw material and we could build you what you wanted. At one point the shop went from just myself and Niki (Dominique) to having other people come in that had lost their jobs due to Covid. Niki and I were teaching people to do woodworking and welding and sales and anything else that needed to be done. We are proud of the fact that at one point our entire operation was mostly women.
Business boomed in 2020. Investors and would be partners came knocking. Inexperienced in the business side of things we had some times that we were taken advantage of but being crafty and agile were able to move on. I say this just to point out that a business journey is never linear. There will always be the typical obstacles and people out there making things harder. Niki and I have been a great team and through hard work and loyalty have weathered some pretty fierce storms. In 2022 Niki became my business partner because the minute she showed up she had a knack for catching on to things and just making things better. It was kismet!
Over the years we have been able to expand what we offer including services that include full remodels, commercial gyms, and travel all over the country to do it. We have installed a gym in second floor walk up in Hoboken New Jersey and put equipment in a basement in Denver Colorado.
We have stuck to our personal approach and it has served us well. I still like to visit a home and meet my clients for a consultation. I don’t make it weird with a cheesy sales pitch or high pressure. We take measurements to see what will fit then day dream a little together about what we can do in the space. We have customers from 6 years ago still calling us for things and that is the best endorsement we can think of.
We do a lot to serve our community by offering special pricing for schools and educators, first responders and military. We participate in volunteer efforts where ever we can like Meals On Wheels Central Texas.
Sometimes it is hard to imagine when I was just in my garage building the 2 or 3 plyoboxes that people ordered online to building full beautiful gyms for people, and celebrities and in all over the country. We are really grateful to have found our niche in an amazing place like Austin TX.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely been a bumpy ride. We were the first to offer what we offer in this area. We are more than buying equipment then just showing up to drop it off. We do full build outs. In the beginning our strong suit was the work but we were still learning the business side of things. We have had people come along and try to take advantage of us even to the point that we had to start over. The market has changed and we have had to be agile to change with it. Doing something as long as I have, 10 years now, you also just face things like burn out. Juggling personal life and struggles with business can be a tough road to navigate.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Lonestar Gym Builders?
Lonestar Gym Builders is a remodel company but with gyms and health/wellness spaces as our primary offering. The fitness space is what we are passionate about. We specialize in taking an empty space or a space used for another purpose and making it a place that people can go build themselves physically and mentally. What really sets us apart from other companies that have tried to copy the model is that we don’t “streamline” your experience for efficiency. We take a personal approach. I am the business owner and I call every single new lead that comes in. I schedule a time to go out to their home and talk through ideas. Sometimes I will measure and put tape on the floor just to show the footprint of certain items. We understand fitness so a lot of times we have even talked people OUT OF buying things that are trendy and they don’t need instead of just trying to maximize the revenue. People can trust us and they continue to refer us business and return to us when they need something. We aren’t perfect but when we mess up, we own it, learn from it, fix it, and hopefully don’t make the same mistake again. I think we are most proud of the fact that so far we have just bootstrapped our way to success. We are proud of the fact that we offer consistent good products and service. We just want everyone to know that we are hear to build your gym but we will work hard to also build a good relationship with you so you can always reach out to us when you need something. We make a connection with our clients and aren’t just showing up to sell them something.
Any big plans?
Our plans for the future are a little secret right now. We have a lot of imitators (and it’s adorable) but we have to play our cards close to our chest. However, you may be seeing us a little further out than just Texas and some bigger beautiful build outs. We are always keeping our ear to the ground on what people are looking for and making sure we can offer them what will make their ideas come to life.
Pricing:
- Every gym is custom, so pricing varies.
- New construction is the perfect time to start planning that gym!
- We offer financing!
- Home Gyms are like tattoos, as long as you have room, we can always add more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lonestargymbuilders.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lonestargymbuilders
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lonestargymbuilders
