Barry's Bootcamp Growing In South Florida

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Barry's Bootcamp head trainer and managing partner Derek DeGrazio, greets his clients with a friendly hello before pushing them to their limits in his class at the first Barry's South Florida location in Sunset Harbor.

Two years ago, Derek and two other business partners all living in Los Angeles decided to open Barry's in the trendy South Beach neighborhood.  Six  months ago a second location in Wynwood opened up.

Co-owner James Provencher fell in love with South Florida while attending the University of Miami.

"I always thought Miami was missing the fitness community that was in LA. We were here during Art Basel and I called Derek and said why don't we bring Barry's to Miami.  It's a sexy community, they like LA brands, and there was nothing like it here so we came and its one of the best decisions we ever made," James said.

For Derek, the road to becoming an owner and celebrity trainer started out quite randomly.

"I had one friend when I moved to LA and he said you have to try Barry's Bootcamp. It's the  best thing you've ever done. I went to class and I signed up and within five minutes Barry asked me if I was a trainer. I might have told a white lie and said I was a trainer and rest is history," said Derek.

Derek quickly became a certified trainer and before he knew it, he was a trainer to the stars, working out such celebs as Kim Kardashian, Mel B and Britney Spears.

"I was teaching a class one day and Britany's manager pulled me aside and said do you want to train Britney Spears and I said yeah whatever .. and then a week later I was training Britney Spears. That was 2011.  I went on tour with her and it was awesome," Derek said.

Soon after opening the South Beach location, it gained a loyal following from locals and celebrities alike attracting clients including Ellie Goulding, Nina Agdal and Adrianna Lima. All three were just here.

'I think these people come to Miami or they live here, it's just best workout you can get  and it's discreet.  They can come here in a class of 50 people no one will bother them and  they feel normal," James said.

It's a 60 minute full body workout split between 30 minutes of cardio , resistance and weight training. Half of the class runs the treadmill, while the other half works the floor. Classes are packed with clients of all levels but Derek says the key to Barry's success is the one-on-one.

"We, as an instructor, want the client to feel like they're in a personal training session in a group atmosphere. So that last class you were in had almost 50 people in it , but I tried to make all 50 people feel like it's just me and them. That's what we try to teach every instructor," Derek said.

Barry's Bootcamp continues to grow. It is now international and the local guys are growing it in South Florida as well. The third location in Aventura is due to open next summer. Click here for more info.