Barbells, Bad Bunny, and Big Energy: Latina-Owned Fitness Studios You’ll Actually Want to Show Up To
Forget sterile gyms that smell like protein powder and sadness. Across the U.S., Latina-owned fitness spaces are rewriting the rules of wellness. And they’re doing so with perreo playlists, community vibes, and enough corazón to power a Zumba class for days.
From New York to Houston to Compton, these jefas are turning fitness into a cultural celebration, one squat, shimmy, and stretch at a time. So grab your water bottle (or your agua de jamaica), because we’re sweating con estilo. Welcome to the Fierce Wellness Tour. Next stop: Latina-owned fitness studios bringing cultura, confidence, and community to every rep.
Drip Sweat
New York, NY
IG: @dripsweatnyc
If therapy, Bad Bunny, and bootcamp had a baby raised in Washington Heights, it’d be Drip Sweat. Founded by Janice Rodriguez, this uptown sanctuary is a full-blown wellness playground with equal parts fitness studio, healing circle, and neighborhood hangout.
Janice opened Drip Sweat in 2019 after ditching her corporate gig to chase purpose. Then, of course, the pandemic hit. “Timing? Wild,” she laughs. “But that moment made me double down on why I started Drip Sweat in the first place. I wanted women, especially Latinas, to feel seen, strong, and part of something bigger. Uptown deserved a space that felt like us: loud, proud, and full of corazón.”
And trust us, the vibe delivers. Imagine dembow fading into Drake, bachata mid-set, and affirmations flying louder than the bass. “La cultura is in everything,” Janice says. “You’ll be dripping sweat and dancing mid-set without realizing it.” Classes range from kickboxing to yoga to total-body burnouts, all led by trainers who also serve as hype crews. “Energy is our love language,” Janice says. “No treadmill zombies here.”
Drip Sweat has collaborated with everyone from Nike to Citibike and even the NYC Department of Education. But the real flex? The community: moms, students, abuelas, and first-timers who leave every class feeling like that girl. If Drip Sweat were a song, it’d obviously be “Drip” by Cardi B because at this studio, “the glow-up is earned.”
O’Hare Fuerza & Conditioning
Franklin Park, IL
IG: @oharefuerza
In the heart of Chicagoland, Susie Castro turned her own fitness journey into a movement, literally. A young mom who started from zero (her words: “I couldn’t even do a kettlebell swing properly, lol”), Susie fell in love with the process. By 2020, she bought the gym she started in and transformed it into O’Hare Fuerza & Conditioning, a bilingual, Spanglish-speaking, cumbia-bumping fitness haven. “I saw the need for Latinos in my area to find a safe space where they could learn how to exercise,” Susie says. “Now 93% of our members are Latinos or people of color.”
Her classes are pure vibe with teens, moms, and abuelitas all working out side by side. “We’ve got families and multiple generations training together,” she says. “Fitness has no age limit — hasta el más viejón!” Every class starts with a little doubt and ends with a whole lot of pride. “We humble you with cariño,” Susie jokes. “And we celebrate your growth every time.”
Signature class? Peachy Cheeks, a women-only strength class where lifting weights and lifting each other up go hand in hand. And because Susie believes in growing more than muscles, the gym also has its own garden. “At the end of the summer, I share herbs and plantitas with our members,” she says. “If you want to change the world, start in your backyard.”
Her community motto: fuerte, sin prejuicios. Strong, without judgment.
10th Fitness
Houston, TX
At 10th Fitness, empowerment has an architectural framework. Founder Itzel Solano, aka The Body Architect, swapped blueprints for barbells after realizing her dream job wasn’t in design firms, it was in designing lives.
Born in Mexico City and raised in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant, Itzel knows what it means to build from the ground up. “When Covid hit, I was laid off,” she says. “But I realized I was made to shine, not to fit in someone else’s box. I wanted to uplift my community, especially Latinos who were disproportionately affected during the pandemic.”
From a 1,400-square-foot starter studio to a 5,000-square-foot warehouse, Itzel built 10th Fitness as a home for strength, pride, and privacy. “When you live a purposeful life, your energy is on fire,” she says. The gym’s name and logo featuring Aztec pyramids are a nod to her roots. “It’s a reminder that we come from builders and warriors,” she says. The motto? Fall down 9, get up 10.
You’ll find her members crushing lifts, laughing between sets, and celebrating little wins like family. “It’s like a meet-up with friends where we lift heavy things and talk goals,” she says. Between brand collabs with C4, Ryderwear, and even Marvel (yes, she hosted a The Marvels bootcamp), Itzel’s making Houston sweat and shine. If 10th Fitness were a vibe, it’d be an ancestral energy with trap beats; proud, powerful, and unbreakable.
Babes of Wellness
Compton, CA
IG: @babesofwellness
If healing and heavy lifting had a baby in hoop earrings, her name would be Babes of Wellness. Founder Katalina Novoa turned her Compton roots and queer Latina identity into a fitness sanctuary that’s part gym, part movement for liberation. “I grew up in South LA, where wellness spaces didn’t exist,” she says. “As a queer Latina, I rarely saw myself represented in gyms. They felt intimidating, exclusive, and disconnected. I built Babes of Wellness to change that.” And she did. The studio radiates fierce feminine energy, empowering, inclusive, and straight-up healing. Picture a ’90s backyard party with ’90s R&B, reggaetón, and banda all in one playlist.
“We lift heavy, laugh loud, and dance our butts off like it’s a party at abuela’s,” Katalina says. Here, every class is trauma-informed, every member is family, and every rep is resistance. “We train the body, heal the mind, and uplift the spirit,” she says.
Signature class? Their breathwork and mobility sessions, which end hand-over-heart with a reminder: You are strong, worthy, and home. Babes of Wellness has worked with everyone from Nike to Kaiser Permanente, and they’re just getting started, expanding digital training, launching a countywide 10K, and teasing a new location for 2026.
If Babes were a song, it’d be “Wassup” by Young Miko, bold, self-loving, and ready to change the game.
Power Plus Wellness
New York, NY
IG: @powerpluswellness | @curveswithmoves
Jessie Diaz-Herrera and co-founder Maddy Jones didn’t just start a gym; they started a revolution. Power Plus Wellness is a traveling collective across NYC offering joyful, body-positive classes for plus-size folks and allies. It all began with Jessie’s viral dance class, Free the Jiggle, a safe space for movement without judgment. “People would tell me how they wished there were more spaces like that,” she says. “So we built one.” Now, Power Plus Wellness partners with over 15 studios, hosting everything from barre to Pilates to kitten yoga. “Our focus isn’t on getting smaller,” Jessie says. “It’s on getting stronger, sleeping better, and reconnecting with your body.”
Cultura is everywhere, from Bad Bunny beats to the joy-filled energy of community. “We move for pleasure, not punishment,” Jessie says. “Our members are plus-size Pilates princesses and they own it.”
Brand partners include Nike, Dove, and Lane Bryant because this is what inclusivity looks like, baby. If Power Plus Wellness were a vibe, it’d be Spice Up Your Life by the Spice Girls: nostalgic, joyful, and unapologetically body-liberated.
The Cool Down
These Latina-owned fitness studios are proving that wellness isn’t one-size-fits-all, it’s one corazón fits all. Whether it’s in Compton, Houston, or uptown NYC, they’re creating spaces that feel like home; sweaty, loud, affirming homes where cultura leads the workout and confidence is the end goal. Because in these gyms, you don’t just build muscle, you build comunidad.
So next time you hit the mat, the weights, or the dance floor, channel your inner jefa, blast the reggaetón, and remember: this is what strength con sazón looks like.
