Our Team
The Coaches
Carrying The Work.
Westside Barbell was founded by the late Louie Simmons, whose legacy continues to guide every rep, every program, and every athlete who trains under our roof. Today, the gym is owned by Doris Simmons and led by a team Louie personally trusted to carry the work forward.
Read about Louie's legacy →
Tom Barry
Tom Barry is a strength and conditioning coach with 18 years of experience developing elite athletes across combat sports, professional team sports, and individual athletics. He holds an Honors Degree in Exercise and Health Studies from South East Technological University — though the defining piece of his education was a ten-plus year mentorship under Louie Simmons on the floor at Westside Barbell. Louie personally handpicked Tom to carry the work forward under Doris Simmons's ownership.
Tom's approach is built on adapting and interpreting the Conjugate System for the specific athletes in front of him. The method was never meant to live in one sport. His work focuses on translating the principles Louie developed — max effort, dynamic effort, accommodating resistance, rotating special exercises, and deliberate manipulation of volume and density — into training that serves fighters, grapplers, lacrosse players, and golfers with the same precision it has always served powerlifters.
He is equally committed to showing coaches how aspects of the Westside system can be universally adopted into any athlete's program, regardless of the sport.
Tom also leads Westside-Barbell.com, where he and his team publish the training methodologies, programming breakdowns, and coaching philosophy that have made Westside the most referenced strength gym in the world.
Burley Hawk
Burley Hawk is the Lead Powerlifting Coach at Westside Barbell and a Conjugate Method strength coach with over a decade of direct training and study under Louie Simmons. As a longtime member of the Westside team and a loyal student of Louie's, Burley has developed a deep, working mastery of the Conjugate Method and how it is applied to competitive powerlifting.
Burley runs Conjugate Club, the home of our powerlifting community. Conjugate Club is where lifters from around the world train under monthly programming written by our coaching staff, access Louie's archived material that has never been released anywhere else, and get direct communication with real coaches. It is the closest thing to training at Westside without being in Columbus.
Per Louie's plan, Westside no longer fields an in-house powerlifting team. But the work with lifters continues. Burley coaches competitive powerlifters online through Conjugate Club, works one-on-one with visiting lifters who come to Columbus to train, and also coaches athletes in the gym at Westside HQ. His experience spans beginner lifters building their first meet total to advanced competitors chasing elite numbers.
Burley is also the primary voice behind the written content at Westside-Barbell.com. If you have read our programming breakdowns, methodology articles, or athlete spotlights in recent years, there is a good chance Burley wrote them.
- Conjugate Club — Monthly programming and direct coach access for lifters worldwide.
- In-Person Powerlifting Coaching — 1-on-1 work with visiting lifters at Westside HQ.
- Online Powerlifting Coaching — Competitive lifters at every level, beginner to elite.
- Written Content — Programming breakdowns, methodology articles, and athlete spotlights at Westside-Barbell.com.
Mac McFarland
Mac McFarland is the Lead Wrestling Strength Coach at Westside Barbell. He works with high-level high school and middle school wrestlers, including state champions, top-ranked competitors, and athletes who have represented the United States at the world level. Mac also coaches athletes from a range of other sports who train at Westside HQ.
Beyond the gym floor, Mac is a key part of our education work. He helps develop and manage the Conjugate Coach Certification Pathway alongside our seminars, in-person courses, and online educational content. When coaches, athletes, or visitors come to Westside Barbell to tour the facility, Mac is typically the one showing them through and walking them through what they are seeing.
Mac served eight years in the United States Marine Corps Infantry before transitioning into strength and conditioning. He holds a Master of Science from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and was recognized as an Academic All-American during his athletic career. He joined the Westside Barbell team in 2022.
Work With The Team
Train. Learn. Visit.
Whether you want to work 1-on-1 with Burley in Conjugate Club, certify under the pathway Mac helps run, or visit the original gym — here's where to start.