I’m from Birmingham, and the ONLY powerlifting gym is Icon Performance, formerly Birmingham Barbell. It’s in Cahaba Heights, about 1/2 a mile from the Whole Foods on 280. Depending on what part of Birmingham you’re in, it can be a pretty good drive. It’s pretty small, they are closed on Sundays, and their hours can be a bit wonky, but Jeff Green (the owner) is literally the coolest guy in the world. He’s locked me in the gym just to let me work out after hours on more than one occasion. Considering most gyms in Birmingham don’t even have squat racks…
Also, the guy who owns the powerlifting gym is Tuscaloosa is a total scumbag. He used to work for Jeff before he broke a $1000 bar and then never came back to the gym. He moved down to Tuscaloosa to open a “world class power lifting gym,” which basically included him getting a bunch of dumb, rich college kids to foot the bill while he lived out of his car. People can change, but if that place is anything like it was two years ago, I wouldn’t drive a hour down to T-Town to get screwed over.