Underground Fitness opens second south Asheville gym in Arden

Underground Fitness opened a second south Asheville location in Arden, giving longtime members a closer place to train and reducing the need for cross-town drives to the company’s downtown gym on Coxe Avenue.

The move is aimed squarely at people living along the south side of Buncombe County, where residents often have to travel farther for specialized fitness classes than people in the downtown core. Co-owner Mark Desin said the company kept hearing from south Asheville customers who wanted a location closer to home, and the new site was built to meet that demand. The gym’s schedule is already live at the Arden location, showing the second site has moved beyond plans and into daily operations.

Underground Fitness has operated in downtown Asheville for about 10 years, building a presence as a boutique fitness center focused on small-group strength and conditioning. Its primary program is TRAIN, a 50-minute class offered in four formats: Intervals, Strength, Endurance and Intensity. The south Asheville site is reservation-only, a setup that suggests the studio is trying to keep class sizes organized while expanding access to more members.

The new location also extends a business that has served more than one kind of fitness need in Asheville. WLOS previously reported that Underground Fitness housed an Adaptive CrossFit program designed to help participants build strength and everyday movement skills, a sign the gym has long been part of the local wellness scene rather than a recent arrival.

The expansion comes as Buncombe County continues to balance growth, recovery and consumer demand. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the county’s population at 279,210 on July 1, 2024, and 277,417 on July 1, 2025, numbers that underscore the size of the market for neighborhood-based services. Buncombe County Planning and Development says it works to support orderly and responsible growth, a reminder that new businesses are still finding room to invest in the county’s changing landscape.

For south Asheville residents, the practical benefit is immediate: less driving, easier scheduling and a workout option that is no longer tied to a trip into downtown Asheville. The opening also signals that a local gym with a decade of experience believes the market can support two locations, not just one, in a corridor where daily traffic and travel time can shape whether a class fits into the day at all.