Bret Contreras, PhD, CSCS,*D, is known in the strength and conditioning industry as the Glute Guy for his expertise in helping clients develop strong, shapely glutes. Contreras is best known for inventing the barbell hip thrust exercise in 2006. In 2015, he earned his PhD in sport science from the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, where he studied under biomechanics expert John Cronin.

As the owner of Glute Lab in San Diego, Las Vegas, and Fort Lauderdale, Contreras has worked closely with thousands of clients ranging from sedentary people to elite athletes, and he invented glute-strengthening machines, including the Thruster 3.0 and Thruster Pro. He sells these through his company BC Strength. He is the author of the bestselling books Glute Lab (Victory Belt, 2019) and Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy (Human Kinetics, 2014), and the coauthor of Strong Curves (Victory Belt, 2013).

He is the founder of Booty by Bret, an online subscription service featuring his monthly, cutting-edge training programs. He is a peer-reviewed author with over 50 published studies and an international lecturer for over 80 invited conferences. His areas of interest include biomechanics, hypertrophy training, gluteus maximus training, and transfer of training to performance.