About the Club
Built for people
who train seriously.
Forge opened in 2019 with eight founding members and a lease on a 3,200 sq ft warehouse on N High Street. The facility is larger now. The approach hasn't changed.
The reason Forge exists.
Head Coach Dana Ramirez spent ten years managing floors at commercial gyms across Columbus. She watched thousands of people walk through the door, pay their membership, and see almost no results — not because they weren't working, but because no one was actually coaching them.
Forge is the gym she wanted to exist. One where the coaching staff knows your name, your lifts, and your limiting pattern. Where the programming is periodized, not random. Where the classes are small enough that accountability is real.
Six years later, Forge has 340 members, five distinct programs, and one of the highest member retention rates in Columbus. People stay because the training works.
The Facility
- Location2847 N High Street, Columbus, OH
- Total space6,400 sq ft — dedicated lifting floor
- Platforms8 Olympic lifting platforms with bumpers
- Rack stations10 squat racks, 6 bench stations
- CardioRowers, ski ergs, assault bikes (no treadmills)
- Open sinceMarch 2019
What we stand for.
Deliberate over intense.
A hard session with no purpose is just stress. We program every block with a specific adaptation target. You know why you're doing what you're doing.
Small classes. Real coaching.
Twelve people is the cap, not the goal. Below that, coaches can move around the room and give cues that actually matter.
Results you can measure.
We track your lifts from day one. Progress is not subjective here. If your numbers aren't moving, something in the program changes.
No intimidation. No gatekeeping.
Forge members range from first-time barbell lifters to competitive athletes. The standard is high. The door is open.
The Coaching Staff
Coaches who have done the work.
Dana Ramirez
Head Coach & Co-Founder
NSCA-CSCS, USAW Lvl 1, 14 years coaching
Dana built Forge after ten years managing commercial gym floors and growing frustrated with high-volume, low-accountability fitness. Her philosophy is simple: every session should have a reason. She writes the core Strength Foundations programming and sets the standard the rest of the staff trains to.
Marcus Oyelaran
Olympic Lifting Coach
USAW Lvl 2, 3x Ohio State Masters Champion
Marcus competed nationally for eight years before transitioning to coaching. He led the Ohio State Masters weightlifting podium three times and has coached eight athletes to national qualifying totals. The Olympic Lifting program at Forge is his curriculum — built from first principles, not YouTube compilations.
Jordan Whitfield
Strength Coach
NASM-CPT, NSCA-CPT, ACE Group Fitness
Jordan came to Forge from collegiate strength and conditioning. He runs the early morning Strength Foundations sessions and coaches Conditioning Circuit. His cue library is extensive and his patience with new lifters is the reason a lot of members who came in nervous are still here.
Priya Chen
Mobility & Recovery Coach
NASM-CPT, FMS Level 2, 200hr Yoga Alliance
Priya is the most underrated person on the coaching staff — ask any member who has taken her Mobility & Recovery class. She combines functional movement screening, soft tissue protocols, and breathwork into sessions that visibly change how members move within four to six weeks.
Kevan Park
Conditioning Coach
CrossFit Lvl 2, NASM-CPT
Kevan designs the Conditioning Circuit programming blocks and brings a background in competitive fitness to every session. His sessions are structured and purposeful — no random effort, no chaos for chaos's sake. Members routinely credit his classes for the aerobic base that carries into their strength sessions.
Come meet the staff.
Your free trial week starts with an intro session where a coach assesses your baseline and places you in the right program.
Claim your free trial week