Coss Marte

Coss grew up in the Lower East Side with a single mother who struggled to support her family on her factory job salary. He remembers, “The guys on the block had chains and money and clothes and everything I wanted that my mom couldn’t provide for me, so as a kid, the people I looked up to were drug dealers.” He began selling drugs at 13 and was in and out of the prison system for the next 10 years on drug related charges. After his last arrest, he was inside for 4 years.

Once Coss got out, he struggled to find a job. But he had developed a workout inside prison that helped him lose 70 lbs, and this inspired him. He started a business: ConBody. ConBody is a “prison-style” bootcamp run and taught by formerly incarcerated persons. What started small has now grown into a full-scale business with fitness centers in both the lower east side and London. Coss continues to advocate for prison reform and believes that anyone can turn their live around through fitness.