# the Movie Gym Rat Feature Film Thriller on Addiction VS Transformation, in the body building world ## Elevator pitch We formed this LLC to produce Gym Rat, a feature length thriller with dark comedy overtones, about fitness/body building, mental health and body image. Our goal with this production was to have the creative freedom and business agility that comes from operating totally independently and with a very modest budget. We pursue artistic excellence and also cost effectiveness in putting every cent we can "on to the screen" which maximizes our potential for commercial success too! - Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/gym.rat.films - Entity ID: wefunder:company:65630 - Last updated: 2026-06-26T05:01:18Z - Generated at: 2026-06-27T01:32:43Z ## Quick facts - Support a film project with powerful, positive cultural impact. - 80% Filmed = unusually lower risk film investment with proven production model & previews available. - Go "inside" a Hollywood production, unique behind the scenes access, on set invites, premieres etc. - Taps into under-served niche audience of 10 million+ men 18-35 in US with a gym membership, influenced by body-building. - With our goal budget, we plan to add cameo's from several fitness icons to improve appeal and connect with this market. - Speaks with universal relevance to the social media driven, body image obsession and comparison in our world today. ## Active fundraises - wefunder:fundraise:36703: 4(a)(6) successful (USD) ## Story Logline: A fitness freak just released from prison with delusions of being the next Mr. Olympia gets a job selling steroids for a maniacal gym owner and rising tensions quickly turn tragic. Summary:Think Nightcrawler meets Whiplash with a bit of I, Tonya. Some have called it a gritty version of Little Miss Sunshine with bodybuilding.  Our protagonist Lonnie Milsap navigates a world of bold and colorful characters that match his own often absurd behavior, from his reckless pursuit of a pump to his fixations with The Hulk. A budding romance offers a ray of hope and stability but Lonnie's obsession with winning and clashes with his bigoted bully of a boss, threaten to derail it. As he spirals deeper into a cycle of drugs and violence we have to wonder if he will take that hard look in the mirror before it's too late. We deal with themes of Addiction vs Transformation."If you lose yourself on the road to success, is it really success?" & "Can people really change?" We also challenge audiences to rethink how they judge others. "How far can you fall and still find redemption?"Another important topic GYM RAT delves into is in the arena of incarceration, recidivism and rehabilitation. Producer Josh Murray spent years working with inmates in prison outreach so it's an issue near to his heart. While the film is certainly a cautionary tale, it's ultimately a story of redemption and hope.   GYM RAT also goes after society's "standard" and shouts that's not fitness! Everyday social media dictates the lens we view things from and what we are seeing now is a trend, not fitness. Many folks are coming to the conclusion that these airbrushed images define what it means to be healthy and happy, to be “in shape”. We are all bombarded with these kinds of images on a daily basis and we're made to believe that what we see on IG is what our fitness identity should be. Social media dictates how we view ourselves, magazine covers suggest it, we are told through images who we should be and how we should look, this is what's happening to our character Lonnie he believes what he aspires to grants him relevance and worth. While we are pro-fitness, we push back on this misguided ideology of what it means to be "in shape" and misconceptions of what brings happiness.ProductionBeyond our unique story and compelling visuals, we are very proud of our stellar ensemble cast. Greg Orvis (Vikings, Angel Has Fallen) plays our antagonist Phillie, the manical gym owner. The lovely Lena, who captures Lonnie's heart and tries to steer him away from the dark side is portrayed by former Miss Puerto Rico, Mariana Paola Vicente (Self/less, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Get Hard). Also appearing are Gabriel Jarret (Real Genius, Poseidon, Apollo 13), Diahnna Nicole Baxter (Bosch, Scandal), Amaris Davidson (Insidious 3, Disaster Movie) and Kelly Greyson (Woodlawn, Little Boy) to name a few. We are rounding out the cast with a growing list of cameo's from the bodybuilding and fitness industry to reinforce the realism in the world of the film and boost our reach in marketing to our niche audience!We had an amazingly dedicated crew lead by John Honoré (Shooting Heroin) behind the camera and Eric Kyle Deshazo (Hobbs & Shaw, Rogue Warfare) in sound. We also had an incredible amount of good will support with some people flying across country to volunteer their assistance, which made it possible to pull off this feat! We've completed 3 weeks of production already and have 1 week left to shoot. We are budgeting for a couple a days each of pickups and reshoots just to be safe, making sure we are completely done with filming when we go back into production this time.Business StuffWe have an LOI for distribution from Veritas Films and an LOI for sales representation from veteran sales agency California Pictures as well as strong interest from several other agents and distributors pending review of the edited film. Below is a visual breakdown of our existing funds spending and different fundraising milestones. Our most pressing goal and most important hump to get over for fundraising is $85,000, with this we would have a playable film and be in a very solid position for getting the film picked up and fully funded. Our goal is to raise $135,000 to fully complete post-production and have the film ready to go. Any additional investments beyond this, up to a grand total of $185,000 will go towards bringing the film to market (including festivals) and give us additional flexibility and power in giving the film the best visibility.Fundraising StagesROIFinancial ComparisonsThe following comps are provided as examples of low-budget, high-quality indie films that have multiple overlapping elements of tone/theme with us. They were also made with mostly up and coming filmmakers/cast (1st/2nd time directors and no big name talent) and in a comparable budget range and production value as Gym Rat (both above and below us). We are intentionally avoiding the extremes of either those indie cult classic films that make massive returns (which are rare) and the flops that suffer from poor quality and/or dismal distribution strategies. These examples are NOT a claim or prediction of how Gym Rat will perform but rather to provide historical context on the kinds of profit ratios that have been earned by films with a degree of similarity to ours. [To find the return multiplier in each of these comps you would divide the third row by the first row and then multiply an investment amount by that (e.g. 1.96 x $5,000 investment = $9,800 return].Thank you for your consideration and support! ## FAQ 1. **Will previews/trailers/sneak peaks be released?** - Hi Chloe! The teaser trailer is in the middle of our pitch video, as you probably saw. We will be releasing the first sneak peek of a scene this Friday! 2. **Hi, as of this post it shows the Early Bird terms are still in effect, but it's not clear what the Early Bird perk is? (on the Right hand side) Is it better terms in the investment, a perk, etc... Thanks** - Hi Amit! We are not doing different terms, the early bird perk is a private Zoom party with members of the cast and crew where we will be showing exclusive sneak peeks of the film and hanging out directly with you later this month. That said there are only 20 days left in the campaign so if you're attracted to the project, now's the time to join us! 3. **Hello, I'm a little confused about your budget/stages of your raise. Is $85K what you can shoot the film for? You said that $135K is for post. Is that an additional $135K for post or an additional $50K, which would bring you to $135K total? Thanks.** - Hi Brad! 135 is the total for finishing filming and post. So an additional 50k from what we have already raised now would finish post-production. Does that make sense? 4. **Hey Joshua, yes that makes sense - thank you. $85K isn't a whole lot of money for production. How are you able to make that work?** - Hi Brad we have already filmed 80% of the movie, we are on WeFunder to raise the finishing funds! 5. **Hello... I invested but I was wondering when will the movie be released and will it be a global release as well. Thank you in advance** - Hello Jeffrey welcome aboard! Our goal is to have it finished and get it distributed within the year. We will be keeping you updated every step of the way! ## Team - Joshua Murray (Manager, Producer, Actor) - Korstiaan Vandiver (Producer, Director, Writer) - Ron Newcomb (Associate Producer, UPM) - Mike Zhu (Executive Producer) - Travis Brown (Associate Producer) - Wesley Brown (Executive Producer) - Chris Gilbert (Media Relations - Coproducer) ## Recent posts - Josh gets a chance to talk Gym Rat with Digital Journal! (2021-10-24T15:55:18Z) - Legion-M Interview with Josh Murray (2021-03-27T17:50:34Z) ## Q&A - Q: Hello... I invested but I was wondering when will the movie be released and will it be a global release as well. Thank you in advance - A: Hello Jeffrey welcome aboard! Our goal is to have it finished and get it distributed within the year. We will be keeping you updated every step of the way! - Q: When is the plan to release this Film, or any progress info where we stand. - A: Hey there Satish, thanks for your patience we just posted a big update with some good news! Let me know if you didn't get it... - Q: Hey Joshua, yes that makes sense - thank you. $85K isn't a whole lot of money for production. How are you able to make that work? - A: Hi Brad we have already filmed 80% of the movie, we are on WeFunder to raise the finishing funds! - Q: Will previews/trailers/sneak peaks be released? - A: Hi Chloe! The teaser trailer is in the middle of our pitch video, as you probably saw. We will be releasing the first sneak peek of a scene this Friday! - Q: Hello, I'm a little confused about your budget/stages of your raise. Is $85K what you can shoot the film for? You said that $135K is for post. Is that an additional $135K for post or an additional $50K, which would bring you to $135K total? Thanks. - A: Hi Brad! 135 is the total for finishing filming and post. So an additional 50k from what we have already raised now would finish post-production. Does that make sense? - Q: Hi, as of this post it shows the Early Bird terms are still in effect, but it's not clear what the Early Bird perk is? (on the Right hand side) Is it better terms in the investment, a perk, etc... Thanks - A: Hi Amit! We are not doing different terms, the early bird perk is a private Zoom party with members of the cast and crew where we will be showing exclusive sneak peeks of the film and hanging out directly with you later this month. That said there are only 20 days left in the campaign so if you're attracted to the project, now's the time to join us! - Q: In your April 30, 2021 update, you mentioned that the film was approximately 80% complete and expected to have a worldwide release within a year. It is now Jun 2026, and I understand that the project may still require additional time before release. Could you please provide an update on: • Why the remaining production has taken significantly longer than originally expected • The outcomes of the March 16, 2026 “Gym Rat” L.A. premiere and poster release, and what progress followed that event • The updated timeline for completion and worldwide release • How investor funds have been utilized during this extended period - A: Hi Satish thank you for your questions. Please refer to our latest investor update post today and the history of investor updates we've been sharing quarterly as they will answer your questions for the most part. Reasons why the timeline has been so long are many and varied but also include making the film significantly better and more marketable through the addition of things like Lou Ferrigno and his story line we ended up filming after the first version of the film was edited. October is the targeted release window but will have to wait on the distributor to secure a confirmed release date once QC is finished. Let us know if you have specific questions after reviewing everything. We plan to release more frequent updates as we're approaching the film release so stay tuned as we ramp up for marketing the film.