Who is Barry Jay? All about Barry’s Bootcamp founder amid Khloe Kardashian's fat-shaming allegations

American socialite, businesswoman, and media personality Khloe Kardashian accused Barry Jay of fat-shaming her back in the day, during her recent episode of The Kardashians, released on October 23, 2025.

Barry Jay, 62, is a writer, producer, and director of horror films, according to IMDb, best known as the founder of the Los Angeles-based fitness studio chain, Barry’s, formerly called Barry’s Bootcamp.

While supporting her sister Kourtney Kardashian, 46, at a fitness event, Khloe, 41, recalled during a car ride:

“Remember when Barry called me fat? This was years and years ago. We were running, and I stopped, and he said, ‘That is why you are fat.’ I said, ‘That is why I am here.’”

She continued that she wasn’t expecting Jay to body-shame her, adding:

“I was fatter, and we were working out. I remember taking a break because I couldn’t run, and I remember thinking, ‘That is such a weird way to encourage people.’ That was a different time. This was 2006 with The Biggest Loser, diet pills, and you were allowed to call people fat. We never spoke after that. It was literally the whole exchange.”

During the exchange, Khloe and Kourtney’s friend Simon Huck was also on the phone with them, who claimed that Barry Jay was probably dead. However, later they clarified he was “alive and with us,” with Simon adding that it was a “huge mistake” to run with the “rumor.” Meanwhile, Khloe added:

“I hope he isn’t offended.”

Barry Jay hasn’t addressed Khloe Kardashian’s fat-shaming allegations, as of writing.

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All you need to know about Barry Jay

According to IMDb, Barry Jay was born Barry Stich in Monsey, New York City and moved to Los Angeles in 1983, at the age of 20, to pursue a songwriting career.

However, he soon got addicted to cocaine and gained weight, according to his February 2021 interview with The Guardian. This is when Barry decided to join a gym, and soon became a trainer and receptionist at a local studio.

A few years later, in 1998, Jay co-founded Barry’s Bootcamp in West Hollywood, California, along with partners John Mumford and Rachel Coxton Mumford. The fitness studio chain specializes in cardio and weight training, HIIT interval training, and strength training.

Since then, Barry’s has opened 90 outlets across 15 countries, including the USA, Norway, and the UK. It offers both in-studio and online classes, Fuel Bars, and more, and is now headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its celebrity clientele includes Julia Roberts, Jake Gyllenhaal, the Kardashians, and the Spice Girls.

Now, Barry Jay is a horror movie maker. As a kid, he loved making ghost clips on his Super 8 camera and turned it into a profession in 2015 by writing his first horror film, The Chosen.

Since then, he has written, directed, and produced several horror projects, including penning the Patient Seven anthology in 2016, directing Ashes in 2019, Killer Therapy in 2020, and The Way Out in 2023.

Speaking with The Guardian, Barry discussed what inspired him to pursue a career in horror filmmaking, aka his childhood abuse and trauma.

“There was an attraction to that feeling of chills running down my spine, of seeing people in peril. I lived in a lot of fear growing up. I was under height, underweight, quite a target at school and in the neighbourhood,” he stated.

Barry Jay claimed growing up in a “really rageful household” dominated by his “very angry” father, who he claimed was physically abusive.

“I was always afraid. The therapist thought I liked horror because the horror movies actually end. And you get that feeling of relief. It’s over. I can shut it off; it’s done. I can see that: comparisons to my life where I couldn’t do that. Because I had no idea when the fear was going to end,” he added.

Before becoming a fitness entrepreneur and horror-movie maker, Jay worked at a PR management firm and was actor Jamie Foxx’s first publicist, and managed Chaka Khan for two years until 1995.

Barry Jay is openly gay and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his husband and three rescue dogs. He has 43,000 followers on Instagram, where he identifies as he/him.

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Khloe Kardashian previously spoke about facing body image issues during a 2021 reunion of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She mentioned that when she first joined the show in 2007, she was “very secure” about her body. However, after a few seasons, she became “insecure” because of the “public opinions” surrounding her.

In the same episode, she also spoke about her plastic surgery, claiming she had “one nose job,” but it was reported that it was her “third face transplant.”

She added, “I’ve done, sure, injections — not really Botox. I’ve responded horribly to Botox.”

In a 2024 episode, she opened up about wanting to try out Ozempic during her weight loss journey, but claimed it wasn’t available at the time.

“When I was bigger, if they had Ozempic, I probably would have tried it. Because I tried [every]other thing. I tried any fad weight loss trend except for the real thing that actually works. And that is a lifestyle change.”

Kardashian explained that what really helped her get in shape was circuit training with cardio intervals and working out in general. She mentioned practicing healthy eating habits, while occasionally celebrating her shoots with large cheesy pizza, adding, “Life is all about balance.”