Who

Barton is the beefy founder of the David Barton Gym chain, and the husband of Susanne Bartsch. He can bench 405 pounds, in case you're wondering.

Backstory

David Barton started bodybuilding as a teen and picked up the coveted title of "Mr. Northeast U.S.A" after graduating Cornell. A career as a private trainer followed and in the '80s Barton worked at a handful of gyms around town, including Chelsea Gym, Better Bodies, and Pumping Iron. His plan to save up enough money to go out on his own came to fruition in 1992, when he opened the first branch of David Barton on 15th Street. The gym achieved instant buzz thanks to its hip space, hip crowd (Sandra Bernhard, Patrick McCarthy, Linda Wells, Thierry Mugler) and Barton's fondness for cheeky marketing. (The gym's tag line: "Look Better Naked.")

Barton expanded the franchise a few years later when he opened a Thomas O'Brien-designed branch on the Upper East Side in 1995. These days Barton has outposts in Chicago and at Miami's Delano Hotel. In addition to his 25,000-square-foot Chelsea flagship, Barton also has a 32,000-square-foot gym at Astor Place, which opened in 2009.

Soundbite

"I wake up and bounce out of bed and look in the mirror and I'm so happy to be David Barton!" he once told Michael Musto.

Legal file

Barton's gyms have long had the reputation as major gay pick-up spots, but apparently some straight men never got the memo. In 2005, Barton was slapped with a lawsuit for emotional distress from a member who was hit on by another man in the locker room.

Personal

Barton is married to veteran nightlife promoter Susanne Bartsch. They have a teenage son named Bailey and live in a three-bedroom apartment in the Chelsea Hotel decorated with crimson walls and gothic candelabras. They also have a country house in Milford, Penn.

No joke

Do be sure not to confuse this David Barton with noted Christian evangelical David Barton, one of the most outspoken opponents of the separation of church and state. Not only is the gym impresario partial to frosted tips and spray-on tanner, he's also Jewish.