New owners take over Albuquerque’s Iron Soul Gym

Cassi Niemann first walked into Iron Soul Gym to grow strength and community. Four years later, she’s walking in as an owner.

Iron Soul Gym, a 13,000-square-foot strength facility at 2400 Menaul NE in Midtown, first opened in 2015. It’s a black iron gym, a space typically oriented toward weightlifting, intense training and an industrial aesthetic. Niemann, along with co-owners Ezra Newell and Amanda Lopez, acquired the local gym in mid-August.

“Iron Soul has been my second home for years,” said Lopez, who is handling the gym’s administrative and financial operations. “It’s where I found my people, where I grew as an athlete and where I’ve built lifelong friendships. Stepping into this role is about making sure the gym continues to be that kind of place for others.”

Lopez, Newell and Niemann all met at Iron Soul. Lopez had been a member of the gym for nearly eight years. Newell and Niemann started coaching at the gym around the same time and co-founded The Barbell Club at Iron Soul.

“We’re all competitive powerlifters, so we kind of bonded over the sport,” said Niemann, who will serve as the gym’s managing partner.

Niemann moved to New Mexico in 2021 after her husband got a job at Sandia National Laboratories. Fresh to town and looking for a place to plant roots, she kept hearing the same advice: go to Iron Soul Gym.

“That was ultimately what led me here, but what kept me here is the community,” Niemann said, adding the gym’s around-the-clock accessibility was also a draw.

Eric Nussbickel, the gym’s original owner, approached Niemann a few months ago, looking to move on from the gym and find someone who could “carry the torch,” Niemann said. She quickly consulted Newell and Lopez to see if they were interested, and it all fell into place from there, Niemann said.

“For me, this is about giving back,” said Newell, who is overseeing gym operations and coach development at Iron Soul. “This community has given me so much, and now we get to create opportunities for others.”

The group’s vision for the gym going forward is to expand coaching development, community engagement and accessibility, Niemann said. They plan to establish Iron Soul as a teaching gym where aspiring coaches can learn the trade. The gym currently partners with eight coaches who are contracted to operate their business in the space.

The gym will expand programming and community engagement through new beginner groups and events such as competitions, seminars and partnerships with other local gyms and businesses.

Despite some changes and new paint, Niemann said the gym’s black iron spirit will remain.

“We are a very proud black iron gym,” Niemann said. “We’re not slick and shiny and fancy and new. We’re focused on people doing the things that they’re doing — lifting really heavy, being loud, being strong, maybe making a little bit of a mess. We welcome those things.”

While Iron Soul is often categorized as a powerlifting gym, which Niemann says the gym embraces and supports, she also said it is “ultimately an open gym that’s (open) 24 hours for anyone who’s looking to get stronger at any point in their life.”

The gym is barbell-heavy, but it does have a treadmill, Niemann joked, adding people don’t have to do powerlifting to join.

“We don’t want to lose that black iron culture,” Niemann said. “We’re just saying iron culture is for everybody.”