Andre Agassi revisits former glory days with fitness trainer Gil Reyes
Andre Agassi recently revisited former glory days with fitness trainer Gil Reyes. He shared an old photo in which he could be seen beaming at the camera on a sunny day.
Agassi and Reyes joined hands in the year 1989, only three years after the former turned pro. Agassi was 19 at the time.
"He was so ready to train hard. The kid was so willing to work," Reyes told The Post Game about his first impression of a young Agassi.
The two remained together until Agassi retired in 2006 after having won eight grand slam titles, an Olympic gold, and spent 101 weeks as the World No. 1 on the men's singles circuit.
Agassi recently took to Instagram and posted an old photograph with Reyes. The two could be spotted wearing fashionable long coats. He must have been in his early 20s and Reyes in his 40s at the time the picture was clicked.
In the caption of the photograph, Agassi dropped the 'oncoming fist emoji'.
Before partnering up with Agassi, Reyes looked after the basketball collegiates of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The university's team is called the UNLV Runnin' Rebels.
In his new role as the eight-time Grand Slam champion's fitness coach, Reyes had a difficult task on his hands as Andre Agassi was short-statured, at 5'11, compared to his competitors at the time and suffered from spondylolisthesis.
Hence, the duo decided to produce custom workout equipment suitable for the tennis player's needs. They innovated and developed the training machines until launching an exclusive line of equipment in 2012. They named their company 'BILT' by Agassi and Reyes'.
Gil Reyes on making equipment for Andre Agassi - "I'm not a trained welder or designer, I just did it because I wanted to make sure the kid was training on right stuff"
In the same interview with The Post Game, Gil Reyes recalled talking to Andre Agassi about his decision to design fitness equipment catering to his requirements as he struggled with conventional gym gear.
"I told Andre I would build the machines for him and he said, 'Do you know how to weld?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'Well, how are you going to do it?' I said, 'I have no idea.' I told him I would figure it out and get them built for him," Reyes said.
Gil Reyes continued:
"I'm not a trained welder or designer, I just did it because I wanted to make sure the kid was training on the right stuff."
Notably, Reyes operates the Gil Reyes Fitness Center in the city of Las Vegas. He has helped the likes of Fernando Verdasco, Sorana Cirstea, Sam Querrey, and Eugenie Bouchard in collaboration with Adidas since Andre Agassi quit professional tennis.