Reebok and Ford Team Up To Get America Fit

Learn More: 2017 NAIAS (Detroit Auto Show) Press Pass Coverage

By Maureen McDonald
Senior Editor
Michigan Bureau
The Auto Channel

Detroit January 12, 2017; One look at the sculpted biceps and triceps on Cory Gregory as he stood lifting 20-pound free weights near a Ford Transit decked in Reebok advertising made me want to learn more about his program, #FitTruck, displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. He expects to launch a new tour in spring.

"We traveled up and down the East Coast shedding light on fitness training," says Gregory, whose van is a rolling gym with abdomen trainers, barbells, medicine balls and free weights. With the right gear, he says any park becomes a gym. With a little creativity, anyone can wedge in a workout, he adds.

FitTruck, powered by Ford and Reebok, is one of the most pumped-up fitness tours ever, according to Jennifer Banovetz of Ford public relations. The journey in a Transit 250 has a high roof and 148-inch wheelbase, powered by a 3.2 liter Power Stroke 15 Turbo Diesel. It has 404 cubic inches that became a relentless fitness machine. Various fitness trainers drove 2,000 miles with pop up locations across the Eastern seaboard, culminating in Columbus, OH, for the Ohio State-University of Michigan football game in early December.

"Instead of downing Jello shots we lifted barbells at tailgate parties outside the Horseshoe," Gregory says. Fitness trainers and their charges who came to popup gyms on this tour posted their progress on social media using the hashtag, #FitTruck. Among the trainers, Gregory is creator of the Squat Every Day program, and "Silent Mike" Farr, created a popular fitness podcast called Powercast, and Jamie Eason, is an international cover model and co-creator of Lean Body For Her, a natural supplement. Farr shot a YouTube video at the Ohio game.

The FitTruck, according to Banovetz, builds on Ford Transit's tough, customizable platform with four removable rear seats so various fitness instructors could join the tour along the way. The van was outfitted with a custom floor, lighting, headliner and partition. Adrian Steel custom-designed and built storage for a variety of fitness equipment.

Displayed in the Ford corral at the auto show, it helps demonstrate the way trucks can become rolling restaurants, retail outlets and accessories, and in this case, promote a healthy lifestyle.

"When duty calls, business professionals and commercial fleets want a vehicle with the rugged reliability to get the job done and customize the vehicle to its specific needs," says Julie Ellenberger, Ford marketing manager for Transit. "Transit has a track record of taking on the toughest situations drivers can throw at it, whether navigating a construction site or an urban landscape."

Will the truck alone prompt me to adapt a more active lifestyle? Maybe if Gregory comes with the truck.