PHOTOS BY KRISTY GRAVER

Zak Bellante spent a month finding his zen in a remote village in India. Now he’s back to kick ass in Allentown. 

On Feb.4, the 29-year-old opened Death Comes Lifting, a gym and yoga studio at 636 E. Warrington Ave. 

“We’re a tribe up here,” he says of the Allentown business district. “We have something people connect with; a punk rock ethos and work ethic. I hope to improve the health and wellness of all the freaks and weirdos.”

As a fellow misfit who’s spent the last few months writing a Best New Restaurants round-up, I need to lift something other than a fork.

Death Comes Lifting once housed a dog grooming business (I bet there’s a hellhound lurking in the basement). Since taking over the space on Nov. 1, 2023, Bellante and his Lifting Dead Army have changed the color scheme from sky blue to black and set up all kinds of old-school get-in-shape gear, including free weights, bands, kettlebells, medicine balls and power racks. 

It’s the kind of equipment you see in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilding documentary “Pumping Iron” and Freddy Krueger’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.”

There’s a lounge area in the back called the Black Sabbath Room where Bellante will offer Grim Wizard coffee, record the Death Comes Lifting podcast, screen VHS horror movies and spin albums. Mt. Lebanon record shop Vinyl Remains donated the ’70s-era turntable and sound system.

Artist Dan Holoubek painted a mural on the side of the building that makes every day feel like Halloween.

Horror and heavy metal of all kinds collide at Death Comes Lifting, which Bellante launched in 2016 as a diehard lifestyle brand. (The gym’s grand opening celebration fell on the birthday of the late “Night of the Living Dead” director George A. Romero.)

Bellante, a certified personal trainer, has 500 hours of yoga instruction under his studded belt. Inspired by hardcore musician Ray Cappo’s memoir “From Punk to Monk,” he logged 300 of those hours during his spiritual journey in India.

“I needed to refine my teaching and reconnect with what I do,” he says. “I’m re-invigorated to do a good job.”

Personal trainer John Simmons, a below-the-knee amputee who calls himself The Phantom Limb Powerlifter, will help tailor workouts to each member. Nutrition services also are available and daytime, kid-friendly yoga classes are part of the plan. 

When Bellante was an asthmatic teen with anorexia, he joined a gym to strengthen his mind, body and soul. But the sterile environment, pop song playlists and colorful activewear didn’t suit his dark side. He was more comfortable pumping iron to Motörhead in an Evil Dead T-shirt.

He figured there had to be other yogis and gym rats in the world who wanted to rock so he started selling apparel printed with monster movie puns such as “The Flexorcist,” “The Evil Shred” and “Nosfersquatu.” Unable to find workout gear that suited his personal style, he started his own company, complete with online personal services.

His business was bolstered by the pandemic, a time when many people realized that working out was a good way to pass the time under quarantine. Others started baking sourdough bread, a blessing to all of us carb-lovers! 

Bellante wants to build a community along with muscle. 

“Our gym is not just about lifting weights; it’s about embracing the power of music, community, and the relentless pursuit of strength,” he says. “We believe that fitness should be a thrilling, empowering journey, and we can’t wait to share that journey with people in our new space.”