Join Team Juanatas-Bowens in Changing Lives

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Team Juanatas-Bowens (TJB) is a nonprofit organization, and in our earliest stages we intentionally removed financial barriers by providing services at no cost. Coach Bryan Bowens, Coach Michelle Bowens, and Coach Ada Guzman volunteered their time and expertise to ensure youth athletes had access to safe, structured strength-sport training and positive mentorship—regardless of their ability to pay.

A major milestone in TJB’s growth was building a partnership with Mary Ryan, the owner of Awesome Fitness LLC. Mary was willing to work with Team Juanatas-Bowens and provide training space for our youth athletes at a time when options were extremely limited. While Awesome Fitness may be a smaller facility, it offers something that is rare and invaluable: reliable access. Through this partnership, TJB athletes have access to the gym 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which allows families and athletes to train consistently around school schedules, work schedules, and transportation challenges.

This partnership is especially important because many gyms do not allow youth lifters due to age restrictions and liability concerns. When TJB was first developing, we were not yet in a position to lease our own dedicated facility. Awesome Fitness helped bridge that gap by providing a consistent home base where athletes could train, develop proper technique, and build confidence in a supportive environment.

Looking ahead, Team Juanatas-Bowens remains committed to expanding access and opportunity. As we continue to grow, TJB will pursue strategies to increase our training footprint so we can serve more athletes, run additional sessions, and meet the increasing demand in our community. Our long-term goal is to secure expanded training space that strengthens our ability to develop youth lifters, support families, and build a sustainable pathway in strength sports for Kern County and beyond.