Evolution of The Gray Matter Lab
The Gray Matter Lab is my garage gym. I picked up the name Gray Matter during my masters education classes. I found myself always writing about things being somewhere not quite left, and not quite right, but in the middle. This Yin and Yang, give and take concept matched perfectly with my last name – Gray. So you take my last name of Gray, pair it with a Yin and Yang MINDSET, and you get the concepts behind the Gray Matter logo.
My gym picked up the tag “the Lab” for three reasons. I have a healthy respect for the basics, but love experimentation in the gym. This is where I do all of my product testing and reviews. And, a buddy of mine once told me I would have made a good scientist based on my love affair with putting people who step into my gym through some crazy stuff. So, plenty of science going on in the gym, made sense to grab the name Lab. Hence, the Gray Matter Lab was born!
Who Is Joe Gray?
I’m born and raised in Northern California. I have a Bachelors degree in Business with a focus in Human Resources. I have a Masters degree in Instructional Design. I spent over a decade in corporate HR working on projects, managing data analytics, developing learning, administering systems, and more.
My immediate family includes my wife Jamie (Nurse), daughter Audrey, and my mom Betty. We currently have a Cane Corso named Jax, some fish, and a robust garden. I spend most of my time in my garage gym, thinking about garage gyms, or writing about garage gyms. When I’m not, I’m probably coaching one of my daughters sports teams, cooking up some food, watching TV with my wife, or chatting about politics with my Mom.
A Garage Gym Is Never Complete
I have said for years that the best part of a garage gym is that you can make it your own. Your own equipment, music, aesthetics, everything. You control everything in there, including what you do and how you chase your goals.
Each Garage Gym takes on a different form which reflects the owner. Whether the space is organized and clean, dirty and cluttered, filled with the best equipment money can buy, or bare bones and budget. The home gym depicts that person. Maybe not forever, but who they are and what they value, right now.
My gym is as much a pursuit of strength and size, as it is a way to demonstrate creativity in organization, design, and delivery. My gym will continue to evolve as my life takes on different forms. So expect it to continue to mold and adapt to my training styles, my family, my goals, and my abilities. As I pick up new skills and tools, you’ll see them displayed as I try to turn my gym into a functional art form.
Building your own gym? Take advantage of the resources in my Garage Gym Basics. And you can get day to day updates on my Instagram.
To follow the path of my gym as it has evolved, follow these in order.