You may not be able to swing your arms, do a sassy finger wag or—more importantly—swim like Michael Phelps. But there is one thing you can do to be like the 23-time Olympic gold medal winner: get those mysterious dark circles all over your skin. You don’t even have to travel far—the process, known as “cupping,” is offered right here in Denver, at a newly expanded center that has helped sports stars from the World’s Strongest Man to multiple Denver Broncos.

A word to the wise, though: If you drop in at Denver Sports Recovery’s newly expanded location on 29th Avenue, don’t limit yourself to cupping.

A drop-in athletic recovery center that offers services from acupuncture and laser therapy to stretching and muscle activation, DSR offers services to help both average joes and elite athletes—including the former Bronco Malik Jackson and local UFC fighter Brandon “Rukus” Thatch—recharge their bodies. The expansion, finished in July, nearly doubles DSR’s space to 3,600 square feet and includes additional machines—really cool machines—as well as treatment rooms, training tables, and a reception area with retail space.

Among the new high-tech gizmos is a cryosauna (still awaiting city permit approval), which safely exposes the body to temparatures as low as –256 degrees to encourage an anti-inflammatory and toxin-flushing response. The new building will also house an infrared sauna, which uses infrared light to penetrate tissue for skin rejuvenation and blood pressure reduction.

The reason for the expansion was simple—with more clientele coming in for drop-in therapy, the space started to feel like a “sardine box,” says DSR therapist Andria Hassler. “It’s not by appointment only when it comes to the recovery center, so we were kind of getting the point where we were maxing out in the space,” Hassler says. “We were having people wait for equipment. We were having people kind of stand around. It started feeling a little bit crowded.”

Not only does DSR itself have more space now, but the building also houses three of their partner therapy businesses, all of which have moved in with DSR during the past year. NeuraPerformance (concussion and brain therapy), Onus iV Hydration (IV treatment), and Invincible LLC (physical therapy) each share a portion of the building.

If you’re still set on cupping, DSR offers the therapy with silicone and plastic cups, as well as through—stay with us—fire-based methods.

“[Cupping is] a small piece of what we do,” Hassler says. “But it’s a great modality.” The world’s greatest Olympian seems to agree.

Cupping at Denver Sports Recovery. —All photos courtesy of John Payne Studios
The cryosauna
The hyperbaric chamber