When Joey Gonzalez walked into a Barry’s Bootcamp class at age 26, he thought he was just signing up for a good workout. He loved it so much that he became an instructor. In 2015, a decade later, he was leading the company as CEO. His advice for Generation Z and young millennials who want to advance their careers at a similar pace? Start sending cold emails.
He would know. Last year, the self-made millionaire became executive chairman of the high-end fitness brand. But despite his busy schedule, Gonzalez still takes time to read the unsolicited messages sent to him by ambitious young people – and he even found his successor that way.
“I used to, and still do, dedicate most of my Friday to anyone who wants to have a conversation about careers, even random people. LinkedInwho contacted me,” says Gonzalez exclusively Fortune.
“I would set aside this day to meet with an MBA student who has questions about my career and how I got here. Or an instructor who works somewhere and wants to open their own place.”
Even if you’re not considering leaving your current company, Gonzalez says reaching out and building relationships is invaluable to getting that promotion.
“Look around you and notice what qualities are in the people around you who are growing with the company? What do you see? Ask them: Can I have a coffee?”
Instead of finding your attitude cold and annoying, Gonzalez insists that most bosses want to help the next generation of workers learn the ropes and move up the ladder. Rather, he says that confidently raising your arm to ask for help is a red flag.
“People are generally very good and want to help, and you have so much to learn, especially from other people who work in the same company, and they will appreciate that you have that kind of ambition and dialogue.”
Job Seekers: Here’s How to Make Your Cold Email (or LinkedIn DM) Stand Out
Gonzalez isn’t just pretending when he says leaders want to help: He literally appointed someone to a leadership position following a cold email.
“It’s funny because my current CEO cold emailed me. And that’s how I hired him as first CFO, then president and now CEO,” recalls the 47-year-old president and father of two. “You never know. You should always take that risk.”
What makes a cold email stand out? Passion.
“What really resonated with me was his passion for the brand,” says Gonzalez, adding that young people should take note of the brands they already wear and consume, the hobbies they engage in, and try to align their careers with those.
“If you cold email someone and you can’t be passionate about the product’s service or anything, it’s not going to be a compelling email,” he explains. “But if you send someone an email like, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know that I’ve been doing Barry’s for a year and it’s changed my life. This is my resume, and maybe one day you’ll have something for me,’ that goes a long way.”
Take JJ Gantt, the CFO-turned-CEO of the boutique gym. That’s exactly how he caught Gonzalez’s attention: “He was ready for change and was a great brand evangelist. Most of the management team were customers and fans first and foremost.”
And this is a win-win tip for young people. The worst that can happen is that you stay in the same position you’re already in, so there’s nothing to lose.
“Just be authentic,” advises Gonzalez. “I truly believe that honesty can take you anywhere.”
“And it’s a flawless system, because if you send an email and you’re honest about how you feel, and the recipient thinks it’s corny, that’s not the job for you. And that’s just not the right person for you to work for.”
Billionaire Figma CEO Dylan Field, Skims self-made entrepreneur Emma Grede and Nespresso boss say cold emails are the secret to success
Gonzalez’s story is not a one-off oddity. Many high-level executives, across various industries, have admitted that their big break was due to a cold email, or a cold letter, or a cold call, for that matter.
For example, you’ve probably heard of British entrepreneur Emma Grede because of Skims, the $4 billion shapewear company she runs with Kim Kardashian. She’s also invested in other brands with the family, like cleaning products company Safely and Kylie Jenner’s clothing line, Khy.
But what you might not know is that the growing empire dates back to a phone call she made to Kris Jenner in 2015 that changed everything.
“I had an idea and formed the partnership in my mind,” said the self-made millionaire. Fortune in a exclusive interview. “The difference between me and anyone else is I made the phone call, I took the meeting and I made it happen.”
Grede had never run a fashion company before and had never worked with the Kardashian-Jenners, but she didn’t wait for the stars to align. She picked up the phone, introduced “mom” to Good American Denim, and the rest is history.
Likewise, when Figma billionaire CEO Dylan Field was 19 and looking to get his design tool off the ground, co-founder Millennial cold emailed his tech “heroes” to invite them for coffee. He also checked the inboxes of former fellow interns and peers at LinkedIn, Flipboard, and O’Reilly Media, and it worked.
And then there’s Anna Lundstrom, CEO of Nespresso in the UK, who managed to get in the door to the notoriously difficult luxury industry to break into thanks to a cold email to an LVMH boss. He immediately offered her an internship, which turned into a 5-year career at Louis Vuitton, Chaneland Gucci.