Two childhood friends from El Paso, Texas, found their calling in Los Angeles fitness, spending over a decade mastering their workouts before opening their own location. Damon Dayoub and Jason Spradlin started at Training Mate’s West Hollywood flagship 13 years ago, where they met Luke Milton and formed a friendship that eventually turned into a partnership, leading them to open their location in Encino. The gym is the culmination of years spent learning what makes a training facility work and building relationships that last.

Training Mate Encino opened its doors in October with a clear vision to create a space where personal attention and professional expertise rule. With workouts that push members and challenge them, the community aspect is the cherry on top of the Valley’s Hottest Gym. 

The Training Mate Story

As an athlete through high school and college, and later as an actor maintaining peak physical condition, Damon discovered Training Mate when the West Hollywood location first opened 13 years ago. The community and workout style resonated immediately, becoming a central part of his routine. After all those years of taking Training Mate classes across Los Angeles, Damon tagged his buddy of over three decades, Jason, and started to build the vision. 

Spradlin’s athletic background runs deep as well; he competed in 110M High Hurdles track at UCLA. He and Dayoub have been friends since fifth grade, and they discovered Training Mate together all those years ago. The decision to open their own franchise was a natural one after they had conquered the rest of their lives side by side. The next step was to co-own a business. They’re both dedicated to helping others reach their goals and to providing a safe, fun, and challenging environment to do so. 

Their combined experience taking classes at Training Mate and their close relationship with Milts gave them a thorough understanding of what works in a training environment and what clients respond to. That knowledge base now informs how they run their Encino facility, from programming decisions to the culture they’ve built among trainers and members.

Creating Joy Through Fitness

Training Mate Encino prioritizes making workouts enjoyable and providing a strong community to improve accountability and tackle the loneliness epidemic. When I spoke to Damon, he shared that some studios’ focus skews too heavily toward intensity without balancing it with genuine fun. Jason and Damon are building a strong community where members feel supported and encouraged. They take the time to get to know the people in their classes, ask them individually what their goals are, and help push them in class and cheer them on in their lives outside the gym. 

The real joy comes from watching members accomplish goals they didn’t think possible. Dayoub describes the profound sense of gratitude he experiences when clients progress through their health journeys. Whether it’s someone landing their first box jumps and the joy on their face afterward, or another working toward pull-ups, these moments of achievement fuel the owners’ commitment to the business.

I know the joy Damon describes is genuine, as I have had the pleasure of working under Damon and Jason at the Encino location. They both show up each day with a smile on their face, whether it’s at 5:30 am, teaching their fifth class of the day, working alongside members in smaller classes, or genuinely connecting with each person who walks through the door. It’s a profound pleasure to assist them in accomplishing all of their goals. They’re incredible leaders who are kind, compassionate, and easy-going. 

When asked about the greatest challenge of opening up a fitness business, Damon said dealing with permits and construction regulations tested their patience. Still, the process taught them valuable lessons about bringing a vision to physical reality. Outside of those logistical hurdles, the business has operated smoothly. 

Final Thoughts

Dayoub and Spradlin make it look easy. Three decades of friendship mean they already know how the other thinks, what they value, and where they’ll compromise. That history shows up everywhere at Training Mate Encino—in how they run classes, hire, and treat the people walking through their doors. Members pick up on that consistency. So do the trainers working alongside them.

The real measure of their success is the moments when someone nails a movement they thought was out of reach, and Damon or Jason is right there to witness it. Those breakthroughs—the box jump, the pull-up, the confidence that comes from doing something new and challenging—justify every permit headache and construction delay. They’re the reason these two friends decided to do this together, and they’re what keep them showing up at 5:30 am with the same enthusiasm they bring to their last class of the day.

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About Elisa Edelstein
Elisa is a curious and versatile writer, carving her niche in the health and wellness industry since 2015. Her lens is rooted in real world experience as a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder and extended out of the gym and on to the page as a writer where she is able to combine her passions for empowering others, promoting wellness, and the power of the written word.