Warhouse Barbell

About Us

Dimitrios (DJ) and Anthony Yatos began strength training at commercial gyms about 6 years ago. However, those gyms didn’t fit the type of atmosphere they were looking for. They found used and free equipment for sale and began working out in their home basement with a few friends. Yatos Basement was established on social media in 2016; creating posts about their progress. Over time, this group trained to compete as “Team Yatos Basement” in Powerlifting competitions smashing record, after record, winning Overall Best Team in Illinois. Inquiries for membership poured in. A waitlist had to be generated to secure a spot to come workout. As members left off for college, new members joined. Running out of space in the basement, Dj and Anthony began looking for a bigger location. During COVID, we rented out equipment to train from their own homes. While school and sports were not an option during this time, area high school students, friends, and social media followers were in need of an outlet and to get that team feeling again. With most restrictions lifted, we limited access throughout the day to allow them to come in during block times to lift. This is when we realized we were more than just a “basement gym”, moreover we are a much-needed outlet for strength training, mentoring, confidence building and belonging for our community. Fall of 2021, a location became available right in Huntley! Here we are today from 800 sqft of space to 6,000 sqft!
Warhouse Barbell– Just two guys that started working out in our basement with a few friends!