Gym Bar WeHo Owners Talk Parenthood with WEHOonline

Erik Braverman helped build the Los Angeles Dodgers into a World Series organization. Jonathan Cottrell helped build Gym Bar WeHo into West Hollywood’s go-to sports bar. In July, the married couple will add a new project to the list.

The two are expecting a baby. They confirmed the news to Outsports on Thursday and spoke with WEHOonline about what it means to be starting a family here.

“It means everything,” Cottrell said. “I moved to West Hollywood for love and found my forever home, and now Erik and I get to become parents right here in the middle of it.”

He told Outsports the emotions heading into July are running in every direction at once.

“All of them, all at once,” Cottrell said. “Love. Over the moon. Excitement. Joy. And yes — trepidation, even a little terror. Anyone who tells you they’re only feeling one thing about becoming a parent is likely not telling you the whole truth. I’m feeling everything, and I wouldn’t trade a second of it.”

The support system is already in place. Erik’s sister has claimed her spot. So has what Cottrell called a whole crew of Aunties and Uncles in West Hollywood.

“Erik’s sister has already made it clear she cannot be stopped from coming to help, and thank goodness for that,” Cottrell said. “We have family close enough to lean on, and a whole crew of Aunties and Uncles right here in West Hollywood who have already volunteered their services.”

Cottrell told us that community is exactly what he had in mind.

“Our kid is going to grow up surrounded by chosen family, neighbors who’ve known Erik for thirty years, and a whole community that shows up for each other,” Cottrell said. “West Hollywood is basically one big village. That’s the gift.”

We asked him what the first West Hollywood experience they want their baby to have will be. He already knows.

“A morning walk down Santa Monica Boulevard, saying hi to every person we know along the way,” Cottrell said. “Which, in this neighborhood, is going to take a while. Maybe we end up at Gym Bar, where one of their daddies has a power tool in hand assembling a new table. I want them to feel, before they can even say the word, that this whole city is home and these are their people.”

We also couldn’t resist asking one for fun: Dodgers onesie or Gym Bar onesie first.

“Both. Obviously,” Cottrell said. “But come on, we got married at Dodger Stadium. The baby was basically pre-registered in Blue.”

Braverman and Cottrell married at Dodger Stadium in 2022. Braverman is Senior Vice President of Marketing, Community Relations, and Broadcasting for the Dodgers. The couple purchased Gym Bar WeHo in 2024.

Cottrell said the worldview he wants to pass on is not complicated.

“Everyone has value,” Cottrell said. “That’s the worldview I want to pass on to our little one. I want the young ones in our lives to grow up knowing they belong to something bigger than themselves, and that the people around them — every single one — matter.”