Iron Culture - North Bergen — Attraction in North Bergen

Are you thinking of signing up to this gym but not sure? Just DON'T.

PART 1: THEY TRY TO SQUEEZE EVERY LAST DOLLAR OUT OF YOU

Very very shady practices with their payment plans. Let's say you go for 3 days and then decide to cancel. You still need to pay an extra $150 on top of the $260 you just paid even if you bought the month to month flexible payment plan. Not only that but I have been harassed multiple times a day with phone calls by different numbers trying to get me to pay $150. They are illegally adding $150 more to my payment every month even though I wish to cancel. And No you cannot go into the gym to cancel you MUST either send an email or send a letter and wait over a week for their response.

PART 2: WHY THE ACTUAL GYM ITSELF SUCKS

Now if you're fine with all of that let's get into the actual gym itself and why I wanted to cancel in the first place. When I first toured this gym in 2022 the machines were nice and new, coming back to it in 2024 it was obvious that there had been no maintenance done on any of them. Some of them were out of order as well. The worst part about this gym is honestly how hard they tried to cram every little thing possible into it making it feel claustrophobic. Not to mention it's just as crowded as an LA fitness or even a Planet Fitness. Sure they have a cool little room for recovery but you can only access that by paying $300 a month 😂😂😂. Only other amenities they have is a small sauna room in the men's locker room. Another key thing I've noticed that doesn't bother me but others have said is that the music is annoyingly loud, very true but not bad if you wear headphones.

PART 3: THE PEOPLE IN THE GYM

And guess what, no matter if you come at 5am or 9pm the gym will always consistently be crowded because a bunch of hardcore gym people love to attend during every hour of the day and night. It's not exactly pleasant trying to do a mere 3 sets on a machine and constantly have people asking if you're almost done. Not to mention most people don't clean up after themselves so lots of machines are usually covered in sweat. Can't complain too much more than that though.

PART 4: THE WORKERS

With so many people you'd expect there to be more workers to accommodate everyone but I'm sure these cheapskates can only afford 1-2 people maximum at a time working the front. Lots of times there aren't even people at the front desk. They're nice enough but there just aren't enough people in the front, especially if they're in charge of making shakes while simultaneously trying to sign people up / hand out towels. Greedy owners for sure.

Now watch them respond trying to defend themselves saying I'm wrong with "false accusations" but you know what drove me to this point? All the B.S I had to endure constantly being called by their debt collectors while I'm in the middle of working. And no responses or communication or help of any sort from their gym while I was struggling to cancel.

As a final note, notice how they DON'T have any terms and conditions contract on their site? First red flag that I failed to notice. It's also illegal for them to give out my card information to a 3rd party...

Iron Culture is a luxury priced gym minus the luxury. They have all the ingredients of a high-end gym but the execution consistently falls short. It is a surprisingly small space. They fill it with really nice cybex equipment but you really just feel cramped. I visited in the late morning but I can only imagine it's a nightmare in the busy evening hours. The locker room is clean but lackluster. There's a sauna but no stream room. I guess I was expecting more of an equinox locker room for the price point. There's a powerlifting room.... and it's just a room. Large enough for two people and covered in chalk, I guess it's useful on off hours but I would feel extremely awkward in there with an actual crowd. Tiny turf area in the back. The spin room is tiny (are you seeing the pattern) but really nice with built in Bluetooth.

Price points are somewhere around $120, $180, and $230 a month depending on if you want to include classes (middle tier is 8 classes a month and top is unlimited). These come down about 15% if you do an annual contract. There's a diverse range of classes but they don't really accommodate a 9-5 work schedule. As others mentioned, there is no day pass. You can work out for $40 and they'll apply it towards your initiation fee if you sign up within a week of your visit. Then there's an annual maintenance fee as well.

I don't get the impression this is a cash grab. I think the owner has good intentions and did the best they could with the space. But the math doesn't add up. This is not equinox. It's not even LA Fitness if we're being honest. At least they have a basketball court and way more equipment and size and only $35/mo. But Iron Culture IS new and it does have nice equipment and it did appear clean during my visit. The machines aren't broken and you don't see the members behaving obnoxiously. Everyone working was extremely nice and professional. But it's like living in the studio apartment of a luxury building. What's the point? You can get way more for way less money...

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction with the recent situation regarding the payment for the gym services. As a member for one month and two weeks, I expected to have a satisfactory experience, yet I have encountered significant problems that have negatively impacted my ability to access the facilities.

On the 8th of last month, I noticed a charge on my card corresponding to the gym membership fee, which was duly processed and confirmed. However, to my surprise and frustration, I realized that the gym attempted to make another debit from my account personally, disregarding the fact that the payment had already been made. This second debit, which was not authorized by me, resulted in a blockage of access to the gym facilities three days ago.

After presenting the proof of payment for the original debit, which was confirmed and accepted by the system, to the gym manager, the situation has still not been resolved. I was informed that I must wait for their system to resolve the issue, which prevents me from utilizing the services for which I have already paid.

Furthermore, I was informed that the days during which I was unable to access the gym due to this problem will not be refunded, which I consider unfair and disappointing.

I would like to resolve this matter promptly and fairly. I hope that you can investigate and address this issue immediately so that I can resume my training at the gym without further interruptions.

And I joined this gym, because my man told me they had the #1 Trainer in all of New Jersey Joe Taggart and now they lost him.

I would advise anyone joining this gym to be cautious as the customer service and care, just is not there. I do hope someone looks into my situation although I...