MEET CORY FERRIS
Musician turned trainer. Founder of Ferris Fitness. On a mission to help people take control of their health, because he knows what it feels like to lose it.
My
Story
I grew up active: baseball in California and Texas, then skateboarding and BMX after my family moved to Georgia. When an injury ended baseball, I picked up a guitar, and music took over.
By my early twenties I’d dropped out of college to chase it full-time. Some of the best players from our local scene formed a band called Woe Is Me, and we signed with Rise Records. For the next few years we toured 10 to 11 months a year, twelve guys in a 15-passenger van. Around the same time, I opened a music venue back home called The Boneyard and became one of the youngest business owners in Gwinnett County. That’s where I fell in love with building something of my own.
Somewhere along the way, I traded activity for fast food, late nights, and unhealthy habits. By 2018, I didn’t recognize the person in the mirror. I was tired, I was unhappy, and simple things had gotten hard. That was my turning point.
I started training in my apartment complex’s gym and fell in love with the discipline of it. In 2019, I enrolled with the National Academy of Sports Medicine and earned my personal training certification on my birthday that December. When COVID hit, I was laid off within a day. I went back and earned my CES, and I trained people for free, because a lot of us had lost our jobs and needed something that helped.
Built With
My Own Hands
In January 2021, Ferris Fitness was born. It was the first time I ever charged for training, and that first year I had maybe five clients. I put out road signs at 5 a.m., handed out flyers in downtown Duluth, and asked everyone I trained for referrals.
In 2023, with about fifteen clients and not much money, I decided to open a real gym anyway. I signed the lease that November. The space had sat empty since 2020, and I spent my first week there alone, killing spiders and cleaning. I trained clients all day, worked on the space until midnight, and came back at 4 a.m. to keep going. I built every piece of equipment in the gym myself. We opened our doors in January 2024.
Today, Ferris Fitness has a full team and over 100 clients, and I’m also the strength and conditioning coach for the Atlanta Gladiators. When I think back to building this place alone at midnight, it’s still hard to believe. But it’s real, and it’s ours.
Why I do This
I’ve seen what happens when people stop taking care of themselves. I lived it. The low energy, the frustration, the feeling like you’ve lost control of your own body.
I’ve also seen what happens when someone decides to take it back. That moment when the work starts clicking, the confidence comes back, and they realize they’re capable of more than they thought.
That’s why Ferris Fitness exists. Every member gets a custom program, structured nutrition, and someone in their corner every single day. Not because it’s a nice selling point – because it’s the only way that actually works.
NASM Certified Personal Trainer · Corrective Exercise Specialist · Certified Nutrition Coach · Strength & Conditioning Coach, Atlanta Gladiators