Czech couple launch Atomya, a design brand for dumbbells

Czech entrepreneurs Josefína Dlouhá and Adam Rypl took just a year to turn everyday annoyance at ugly dumbbells into a full-fledged design brand, Atomya — handmade cast dumbbells and kettlebells already furnish the Prague gym Next.Move, the Chateau Perouc hotel and even Italian interiors, and a pair of dumbbells sells for almost 9,000 crowns.

The story began with a small domestic irritation: Rypl gave his partner dumbbells for working out at home, but they clashed completely with the dark, stylishly decorated interior of their flat. Dlouhá looked for an attractive option that wouldn’t need hiding after a workout — and couldn’t find one. So the couple decided to create their own line.

Both are from Chomutov and studied together back in school before their paths diverged: Dlouhá studied entrepreneurship in Dubai, while Rypl studied innovative entrepreneurship at the Czech University of Life Sciences. They later reconnected and are now studying together for a master’s degree in marketing. Both had already tried, though not finished, projects of their own: Dlouhá had attempted to build a bracelet brand, and Rypl a line of toothpastes.

In January 2025 they took on the dumbbell idea. “I always have lots of ideas, and Adam is the one who makes them happen,” is how Dlouhá describes their partnership. With no experience in physical products, they used university connections to find product designer Marek Hanák. After going through options ranging from brutal black shapes to silhouettes with dog motifs, a minimalist, rounded design in solid cast iron won out.

Before launching sales, the couple tested the prototypes’ durability quite literally to breaking point — banging them against each other and dropping them on the ground — while searching for a coating that wouldn’t chip. Atomya showed its first pieces at Czech Design Week, and the entire production chain is Czech: moulding and casting are done at a workshop in Moravia, grinding in Radotín, and painting at a studio in Prague. The most striking version, Signature Glazed, is created by thermally firing the metal, which makes each piece slightly unique in colour.

A pair of 1.5-kilogram dumbbells costs around 8,900 crowns, and a 7-kilogram kettlebell is 9,900 crowns. The founders explain the price by the complexity of Czech manufacturing: “For products like this, a hundred-percent markup is standard. We don’t come anywhere close to that,” says Dlouhá.

The couple financed the brand’s launch from their own savings, without loans, investing hundreds of thousands of crowns — development ultimately cost more than planned. In the first year they produced around a hundred pieces, more than half of which have already sold, with some used in collaborations. The initial investment hasn’t yet paid off, and all profit goes straight back into development — the business can’t yet support them, so both partners continue working in marketing.

Interest from businesses came as a surprise: Atomya was originally conceived for home use, but today fitness studios, hotels and design spaces order the dumbbells. A separate collection was created for the Prague club Next.Move on Churchill Square, and the pieces can also be found at Chateau Perouc, the Prague hairdresser’s The Trim, and the concept stores Via Concept Store and So Far Store. A collaboration with the tón. pilates studio in Smíchov is also in the works.