MOUNT GREENWOOD — Chris Brown said he's an equal opportunity butt-kicker when it comes to physical fitness.
Brown opened The Boot Camp Guy in 2008. His gym has been at 3037 W. 111th St. in Mount Greenwood for the last two years.
"I'm a former Marine. I don't care about your color. I am here to thrash you," the Morgan Park resident said. "I am going to make you better than you were."
Brown's gym is a short distance from where a fatal police shooting of a 25-year-old black man occurred Nov. 5. He wasn't in the gym that day but closed early on Election Night as the second of two protests occurred nearby.
Chris Brown of Morgan Park opened The Boot Camp Guy in 2008. His gym has been located at 3037 West 111th St. in Mount Greenwood for the last two years. [DNAinfo/Supplied Photo]
Bown had mostly kept quiet about the incident until this week. He said he felt obligated to speak up after rampant accusations surfaced pointing to Mount Greenwood as a haven for racists.
"The good people in the area don't have a voice," Brown said. "Racism does exist here; I am just saying it is not everyone."
The Boot Camp Guy's monthly clientele reaches 300 to 400 people during his busy season. The group is 90 percent women. Of those customers, Brown estimates about 65 percent are white, and 25 percent are black.
About a third of Brown's customers are Mount Greenwood residents, with nearly half coming from within the 19th Ward, which also includes Beverly and portions of Morgan Park, he said.
"Word of mouth in the neighborhood has been supporting me here," said Brown, who was born on the West Side.
He compared those pointing to all Mount Greenwood residents as racist to others who might point to his childhood neighborhood as being made up entirely of criminals. Neither of the stereotypes are true, Brown said.
"No one can paint that neighborhood where I came from with that broad paintbrush," he said. "When it is all said and done, there are going to be good people with their views and bad people with their views."
Brown said another reason for his speaking up is his background. His mother married a white man when he was 3 years old. As an interracial family, they traveled extensively, spending time in Africa, India and even on a Native American reservation.
"My mentality has been one of a diverse background," he said. "At every spot there were still good people. I chose to help people."
That help is physical fitness and encouragement in Mount Greenwood, and Brown has been able to use the proceeds from The Boot Camp Guy to start both The Tee Shirt Store Inc. and Catered Cruises, a boat rental service in Chicago.
Brown also was one of about 50 people invited to a meeting Wednesday night at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Mount Greenwood. Residents, activists, business owners and others gathered to talk about the racial unrest in community.
"It seemed to make progress in conversation," Brown said. "Both sides want peace."
He hopes that peace holds up, he said. Meanwhile, he'll be busy shouting marching orders and encouragement to those looking to shape up in his modest gym.
"Honestly, I feel like I was put into that position in Mount Greenwood for a reason," he said.
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