SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — After recently changing hands, The Cage Strength and Conditioning LLC continues to thrive as a versatile community gym, offering an array of fitness and strength training options for people of all ages.
The Cage, at 100 W. Penn St., is touted as a one-stop shop for all fitness needs, and contains a massive selection of workout equipment.
“We offer weight training, free weights, machines, cardio,” co-owner Jared Menne said. “Sports teams come here in the offseason to do trainings. We have just about every piece of equipment known to man here.”
Established by Kristy Touchinsky in 2015, the gym was recently sold off to Jared and Cassandra Menne, a Fountain Springs couple with backgrounds in fitness and health treatments.
The gym, open from 4 a.m. to 12 a.m. daily, has around 120 members and is constantly expanding, the owners said.
Renee Covell walks on a treadmill at The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, pictured Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Gym owners Cassandra and Jared Menne along with Renee Covell, center, at The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, pictured Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Renne Covell poses for the camera at The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
A rack of weights at The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, pictured Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, pictured Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Gym owners Jared and Cassandra Menne talk about running The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Renee Covell walks on a treadmill at The Cage Strength and Conditioning in Schuylkill Haven, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Jared Menne, a former professional wrestler and power lifter from Ashland, is a lifelong fitness enthusiast. He’s been working out in gyms since he was 12, when he developed aspirations of becoming a pro wrestler.
Menne recently retired from a 25-year career as a federal correctional officer and immediately set out to realize his dream of owning a gym.
Menne, who competed as an independent pro wrestler for about 20 years, got a chance to work with future star wrestlers such as Gene Snitsky, Dave Bautista and Big Vito LoGrasso.
As a student at the former Cardinal Brennan School, Menne’s first love was the gym.
“It taught me discipline, got me ready for sports,” he said.
At some point in his young life, he knew he wanted one day to operate his own gym.
“I’ve always said the gym was my wife, wrestling was my girlfriend,” Menne said. “I could do without wrestling, but I could never do without the gym.”
He and Touchinsky had talked about the venture earlier this year, and Touchinsky graciously agreed to cede ownership of The Cage to the Mennes.
“She gave us free rein to get equipment we wanted, and do whatever we needed to do in here,” said Menne, who has frequented the gym since its early days.
The Mennes officially took over on Oct. 1.
“The former owner laid a very good groundwork for us here,” Menne said, “so we’re trying to build off that. … She was ready to pass it on to someone else.”
Menne said The Cage is a welcoming community with a diverse clientele.
“We have bodybuilders here, we have powerlifters, we have strongmen, weightlifters, and we have normal people who want to get healthier,” he said. “That’s the main thing — we’re trying to get the community more healthy.”
Since taking over, the Mennes have added several pieces of weight training and cardio equipment, and started renovating the floors.
While there’s no shortage of quality local gyms, The Cage’s calling card is its ability to offer an accessible “one-stop shop” for everyone’s fitness goals, Menne said.
“We have everything,” he said. “We’re open 20 hours a day. This is probably the biggest gym in the area.”
The Cage is very friendly to both veteran gym rats and newbies, Menne said, with a variety of support staff and trainers on hand.
“If you don’t know what you’re doing here, we have somebody that can help you,” he said. “So we have a lot of resources here for new people who have never been to the gym, and we have all the equipment here that you need to get whatever your goals are.”
“We have a very friendly atmosphere,” Cassandra Menne added.
In contrast to her husband’s physical fitness experience, Cassandra has a holistic medicine background. Trained in holistic healing, she specializes in treatment for women.
Cassandra also works as an anesthesia technician at a local hospital.
The Cage currently has two monthly membership rates: Gold ($40), for the general public; and Bronze ($30) for current and former military members, first responders and law enforcement.
Renee Covell, a IFBB Pro bodybuilder from Lake Wynonah, said she likes The Cage’s welcoming atmosphere and family-like culture.
“It’s so different from other gyms,” she said Monday, while training for an upcoming show.
The Mennes lease the property from the local Miller family.
For more information, contact The Cage Strength & Conditioning at (570) 933-0815 or visit its website, thecagestrengthandconditioning.com.