The couple behind a popular Elgin gym has expanded their claim to fame with a new location in DeKalb.

The establishment, located at 2350 Sycamore Road, is run and operated by Hampshire residents Ron Richardson and Yemina Torres.

Iron Lab Gym first opened in town in October.

Richardson said business is going well.

“So far, we’re doing amazing,” Richardson said. “We’ve been open ... five and a half, going on six weeks and already have over 450 members.”

Richardson said he and his wife believe in their business and what it has to offer the community.

Richardson and Torres took to searching for a spot to run a second location after seeing the success of their Elgin gym.

“We really didn’t choose DeKalb, [it] kind of chose us,” Richardson said. “We’re big in our faith. ... We had our people do a little looking into the area. We thought at the end of the day it was going to be a good fit.”

Once inside the gym, patrons will find the space is blacked out by black paint and LED lighting over black equipment, with chrome weights and dumbbells.

Sprawled across one of the walls is the Iron Lab Gym logo in graffiti art.

“That was more of a vision that, to me, God gave to me for the look of the gym,” Richardson said.

Having a gym in Elgin has taught Richardson and Torres a thing or two about running their own business.

“A lot of the work that we did, we did ourselves – like the remodeling, the flooring, the turf, the painting," Richardson said, referring to their Elgin location. “Luckily, with this one, we’re able to hire contractors to do it more professionally.”

Iron Lab Gym is currently running a promotion to help draw in new members.

For a limited time, the pre-membership price will be $55 a month at the new DeKalb location.

At 11,000 square feet in space, Iron Lab Gym has a lot to offer athletes and health-conscious individuals, with more than 80 pieces of equipment and another 20 to 25 on the way.

Iron Lab Gym has a partnership with HitFit to outfit a special section of the gym for high-intensity interval training workouts on a 24/7 basis.

“It’s a really cool room,” Richardson said. “Again, it’s a 1,000-square-foot room that combines 10 different stations. Each station has two TVs. And you can pick. It comes with 700 pre-programmed workouts, so you pick between a HIIT-style workout or a strength training workout.”

Richardson described the experience in the HitFit room as a bit of Orange Theory meets a Hotworx workout.

Other offerings on-site include personal training and semi-private classes.

A recovery room is in the process of being built. Once complete, it will feature a cold plunge, infrared sauna, massage chairs, zero-gravity chairs and compression therapy, all of which are available to patrons if they choose to upgrade their membership.

At Iron Lab Gym, members are encouraged to take part in special gym-wide events, which will be held throughout the year.

Richardson said he hopes people will check out the new gym.

“What really [makes] us different than most gyms and commercial gyms [is] one, we are very big on community, so it’s a different vibe where the people aren’t just ... a number,” Richardson said. “We really care about our members.”

The gym is open to members 24/7 but is staffed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

For information, visit theironlabgym.com.