SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Known for its rave reviews, friendly staff, and great location, Jim Love is partnering with Iron Battalion CrossFit for a new venture with additional space in the same building.
Expansion plans began in June 2025 after Gym Love owners Ted and Amber Kennedy found the right partner who shared their vision.
“We felt the fitness industry could use more love, and we wanted to bring the level of hospitality that we were good at to restaurants, where people are welcomed by name, cared for, and truly feel like they belong,” said Kennedy, who has spent more than 20 years owning numerous businesses in Tahoe, including Basecamp Pizza Company, California Burger Company, and Fireside Pizza Company in Olympic Village.
“We’ve always focused on the 80% of people who don’t feel comfortable in a traditional gym environment – those who are scared, insecure or feel ignored. We built Gym Love to change that and create a place where everyone feels seen, supported and encouraged.”
Originally founded in Los Angeles, Iron Battalion CrossFit has had the same mission when it comes to building a fitness family for 10 years.
“It’s all about community, the fact that when you join a class or a group, it becomes your tribe,” says Sonny Grebe, owner of Iron Battalion CrossFit. “When you get in there, you get intimidated, you learn things with your coach to make sure you’re on the right track, and then your tribe keeps you coming back. The collective feeling of being in class, working, suffering, and smashing it with other people just feeds off each other’s energy.”
Grave started CrossFit in 2013, but her first experience was terrible. She found that at the gym she attended, groups were disjointed, classes were too large for coaches, there was no customer service, and there was no welcoming energy to ease the discouragement of feeling too intimidated to try something new. Grave thought, “This isn’t right,” so he took everything he didn’t like and turned it around, opening his own CrossFit gym in 2014.
“Since then, our first rule has been: Always remember the moment you walked in here and someone extended their hand, shook your hand and said, ‘Hello, welcome to the Iron Battalion!'” If that makes you feel good, you return the favor. ”
Iron Battalion CrossFit is active in LA, and in 2019, Graeb had the opportunity to acquire another gym in the area, Team CrossFit, and combined the two businesses.
Shortly after the merger, COVID-19 hit, making Mr. Greve one of the 3.3 million business owners affected by the pandemic.. With a heavy heart, she closed the door to her gym in Los Angeles.
After relocating to Tahoe and taking a job as a ski and snowboard instructor at Heavenly Mountain Resort, a chance encounter with Amber and Ted Kennedy opened a whole new door for Grave and led to her reconnecting with her passion.
“We are especially excited to partner with Sonny Gleb, who not only brings tremendous expertise and passion, but also steps into the ownership and leadership of this new chapter with her husband. Sonny’s more than 15 years of experience in the fitness world and her ability to motivate and genuinely care about people make her the perfect leader for this expansion,” said Kennedy.
The Kennedys had their eye on a luxurious, expansive space just down the hall in the same building, and after talking with Grave, they decided to pull the trigger.
“This new expansion by Iron Battalion CrossFit [our] vision. A higher level of coaching, group training, and individual fitness are all introduced in what we believe to be one of the most visually inspiring workout spaces in Tahoe, with sweeping mountain and gondola views. It’s an environment that energizes people the moment they walk in,” Kennedy said.
Scheduled to launch in mid-April, the Gym Lab and Iron Battalion CrossFit expansion will offer not only CrossFit, but also heart rate-based interval training, where you wear a heart rate monitor while tracking calories burned during your session. Group classes, one-on-one coaching, nutrition plans and weightlifting programs are just a few of the services offered, with certified coaching from experienced leaders like Todd Worden, who moved to Southlake from Los Angeles to remain a part of the community Grave started.
“CrossFit may sound like a lot, but we’re a small family and we’re passionate about what we do. It doesn’t matter if you’re 16 or 80, this is for everyone,” Gleb added. “We have rebuilt what we believe in and come together.”
For more information about Gym Love and Iron Battalion CrossFit, check in with Gym Love or visit https://gymlovetahoe.com/. Scroll down to “Group Classes.”
Gym Love and Iron Battalion CrossFit is located at 3979 Lake Tahoe Blvd, Unit 3 in South Lake Tahoe, California.
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