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Powerlifting gym Black Iron Barbell opens doors in Marshalltown Mall

T-R PHOTO BY NICK BAUR Black Iron Barbell owner Jake Reynolds stands inside of his new powerlifting gym located in the Marshalltown Mall.

Local powerlifters and fitness aficionados alike may not have to travel far now after the opening of the new Marshalltown gym Black Iron Barbell this past week.

Nestled in the Marshalltown Mall in the old Footlocker storefront, Black Iron Barbell is owned by Jake Reynolds, a Marshalltown native and longtime powerlifter, whose own workout journey led to the store’s inception.

“Originally, you start working out, and for whatever reason, you go to the gym for the first time. I got a good group of guys I started lifting with and the passion just kept growing,” Reynolds said. “Then I started buying a little bit of equipment, having it in the house if I couldn’t make it into the gym, and it just kept going. What was a squat rack in the basement turned into a 1500 square foot building that I put on my property, and I had a private powerlifting, strength gym.”

Yet, as more and more lifters he knew flocked to the gym and he accrued more and more equipment, Reynolds decided to take the leap and open up to the greater community.

“We wanted to bring something to Marshalltown,” Reynolds said. “Something a little different.”

Though it functions largely similar to other gyms in the area, Black Iron Barbell boasts equipment specifically featured in powerlifting competitions and more niche, specialized weightlifting apparatuses.

“My equipment is different and geared more towards strictly strength, powerlifting and strongman,” Reynolds said. “It can be used for anything, but if someone wants to go do a competition, I have the equipment here compared to other places.”

While the gym partially caters to powerlifters and seasoned weightlifters, Reynolds says anyone looking to get in better shape shouldn’t be intimidated by the unique equipment or competitive atmospheres often felt in other gym environments.

“It’s one thing I am going to try and grow, is a community of people to help other people out,” he said. “I want a group of people, like-minded individuals, that have the same goal. And it doesn’t matter if you can bench press 10 pounds, or 410 pounds, everybody gets the same respect. That’s the ultimate goal, and if someone that’s not involved in powerlifting [or] strongman, once they get involved, they’ll see that that’s what it is.”

“Everybody’s here to help everybody, and there’s no, ‘I’m better than you,'” he added. “It’s ‘Help each other out.'”

Looking ahead to the future, Reynolds says he hopes to expand weightlifting training and coaching offered at the new gym and eventually host powerlifting competitions in the Marshalltown area for lifters across Iowa to compete in.

For now though, it’s one step at a time for the fledgling business owner, who is hoping to eventually grow into the 3,500 square foot location.

“There’s some nerves, for sure, opening your own business and trying to still have a full time job on top of that. It’s been crazy,” Reynolds said, who juggles his new business alongside his job at UPS and a family of three at home. “It’s exciting. That’s probably the biggest thing.”

For up-to-date information about Black Iron Barbell and membership details, see their website: www.black-iron-barbell.com, their Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086635965294, or their Instagram page @black_iron_barbell.

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Contact Nick Baur at 641-753-6611 or

nbaur@timesrepublican.com.

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