Apr. 7—DICKINSON — When a person is anticipating a vacation or a wedding, hoping to build their body for summer or fit into those old clothes, regular exercise is essential. Many people have clung onto gym memberships as a way to stay consistent in those pursuits — even after the initial goals have been attained — and they seek out places with more individualized instruction methods to be consistent with their energies and efforts.
“A gym is a place where you can get not only physically stronger and all that, but it’s a big mental-health boost because you can’t go outside and there’s not a lot of sun and people are fighting anxiety and depression,” said co-owner Daniel Kerr. “I think that’s a big part of it, too.”
The gym is co-owned by Kerr and his friend, Colby Wartman — with Josh Karney and Kim Braun also serving as co-owners — and the group has run the gym since 2020. They managed to make it through the covid pandemic and now they are foreseeing a day when they might outgrow their comfortable downtown location and have to expand.
At the beginning of the winter season, gymnasiums like Iron Chapel will see almost an immediate influx of people, but by the tail-end, Kerr said they can’t keep up and their phones are ringing off the hook.
“Our classes are bigger than they ever have been, and I don’t know if it’s a residual from COVID or what. Once the weather starts getting nicer, too, they want to come out and get after it and that’s both on the athlete’s side and the general-population side,” Wartman said. “Plus, this winter has been the most-brutal one we’ve ever had. But it’s been the busiest one, too.”
The two have been in business for the past six years, having begun in a 25 x 25-square foot space above Bell Chiropractic, “super-humble beginnings,” as Wartman described them, and they’ve grown into a powerhouse operation that encourages people like Haley Hargrave all the time.
“They have great trainers here, and it’s great to have a place to come and there’s not a ton of people here; you can just get it done and go home,” Hargrave said.
With word-of-mouth being the best advertising, Kerr and Wartman have experienced the best possible improvements and taken things slowly, but deliberately. “People were liking what we were doing and we had more requests, so we moved here and we got to the point where we didn’t have room,” Kerr said.
“This new location is perfect, it’s worked out well,” Wartman said. “It’s been very good for us — the location’s great — but in the future, sometime, we’re going to need more room. It would be hard leaving here, but we are going to need a bigger facility at some point.”
Members of the staff include trainers Wyatt Hegler and Karen Boswell, and both say they enjoy the personal style that The Iron Chapel offers.
“It’s not crowded here and it’s more of a one-on-one environment with true personal training as opposed to group training where everybody does the same kinds of things,” said Boswell, who has been a trainer and involved with fitness for 35 years. “We work with people for what they want and the stage they’re at in fitness and program something to fit them and their lifestyle.”
Hegler agreed, saying, “I like it a lot here, I’m a big fan. I like the vibe here and it’s a fun environment that everybody enjoys.”
It’s the personal, one-on-one instruction and attention that people enjoy, however, and Kerr works with Wartman to provide a level of mentorship to the gym members, along with Boswell and Karey. They have a solid rapport with the membership, and appreciate all their customers.
“I think it’s multifaceted,” Kerr said. “And while I’m biased, I think the hard skills — like the actual training part — we’re very good at that, and knowledgeable about movement and getting people fit; and we get permanent results.
Kerr added, “But I think what sets us apart from everybody else is maybe how we connect with the clients. Our retention is good and if they come through that door they generally stay, and we have awesome clients.”
Wartman seconded that motion, saying, “Our retention is better than maybe 90-percent of gyms, I think these people become friends, and we go out on the town with them … we do big things that connect with people on a friendly level rather than just a transactional level.
“And we train these athletes and the mostly athletic training is just connecting with kids and, honestly, from my upbringing is being the mentor I needed when I was that age.”
For more information about the Iron Chapel, located at 121 1st Street E. in Dickinson, please visit
or call 701-290-2064 or e-mail ironchapel2020@gmail.com.
