Bucking pandemic trend, Tucson trainer Bobby 'Jet' Rodriguez opens sprawling south-side gym

A south-side athletics training center founded by Tucson native and Sunnyside High School grad Bobby “Jet” Rodriguez has made a major upgrade following months of uncertainty because of the pandemic.

Earlier this month, Jet Sports Training moved into its new 6,300-square-foot home, located at 4221 S. Santa Rita Ave. #103.

Nestled among a La-Z-Boy Service and Pick-Up Center and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in the area of South Park Avenue and East Ajo Way, the new gym is down the street from Jet’s original location. The previous gym on Pennsylvania Street was roughly one-fourth the size, at 1,700-square-feet.

“I didn’t want to go far. We’ve built such a loyal clientele,” Rodriguez, 32, said. “But our clientele has grown and our coaches are growing as well. We outgrew the spot.”

Rodriguez employs five other coaches and offers classes six days a week. The gym has built itself back up since the shutdown last March. Jet Sports Training eventually reopened, but the closure had hurt. By the time summer arrived, there were only three trainers on staff. All workouts were held outdoors due to county guidelines.

“People’s true character comes out during tough times,” Rodriguez said. “We locked arms and said, ‘Let’s do this.’”

One of the trainers who stuck with it is 23-year-old Becca Rodriguez, who has been working at Jet for about a year.

A 2018 Sunnyside High School grad who played softball at Ball State, Becca Rodriguez — no relation to Bobby Rodriguez — started “Becca’s Booty Boot Camp” more than two years ago, renting out locations around Tucson to hold the class.

She met Bobby Rodriguez last year while she was working for a radio station, and he recruited her to join Jet. Becca Rodriguez stuck it out through the tough months, and says she’s excited about the gym’s new location. She’s especially looking forward to holding her boot camp at Jet instead of renting other spaces.

Becca Rodriguez will be entering the fire academy next month, but wants to continue to teach classes during her three months of fire training.

Once she’s out of the academy, Becca Rodriguez will have more than enough time to train clients. She’ll only be working 11 days a month with the fire department.

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Bobby Rodriguez has been training Becca Rodriguez hard in the weeks leading up to the fire academy, which she’s confident will give her an edge both while she’s at the academy and when she starts as a firefighter.

“I feel like this type of training prepares people for life, not just being an athlete,” Becca Rodriguez said. “We always say, ‘Train like an athlete until you can’t anymore.’”

Bobby Rodriguez said that while he’s been looking for a larger space for about 18 months, the upgrade wouldn’t have happened without his trainers — old and new.

“Probably one of the smartest moves I could have done, was form an alliance with other coaches who have the same vision and goals,” Rodriguez said.

Jose Felix, who’s been with Jet since 2017, specializes in training high school athletes and offers varsity training three days a week and a daily youth power hour.

Becca Rodriguez and Carla Vargas teach the “Jet 55” classes, training clients for 55 minutes on weekday nights and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

Jet’s “speed program” is run by Sam Medina, an NAU grad who spent some time training at Athletix in Miami before returning to his hometown. Trevelle Hill, a recent grad of UT Rio Grande Valley, runs one-on-one sessions with athletes. Hill’s clients include minor-league pitcher Jose Dicochea and NFL wide receiver Jeff Cotton. Cotton still makes the trip down to Tucson from his Phoenix home to train with Rodriguez and company.

Bobby Rodriguez said that Jet’s growth under trying circumstances shows that it takes teamwork to accomplish great things. His ultimate goal is to run a training facility where parents and kids can come and work out at the same time. For now, that’s not possible, due to social distancing caps and other safety guidelines.

Rodriguez feels blessed, but knows others are not as lucky.

“I feel almost bad. I have friends who own and manage gyms that are going under. Meanwhile, we’re coming up,” Rodriguez said.

“But the community built this thing. We gradually kept climbing and we’re still climbing.”