Attendees of FLX Move\u2019s classes, who contributed to the approximately 100 nominations the business received for the annual prize, attributed the studios\u2019 success to the intimate, community-focused ethos Metcalf has cultivated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never dread getting up at 5 a.m. to teach a class because I know I\u2019m going to see these people that are just so excited to be here and always happier after they\u2019re done,\u201d Metcalf said of her work. \u201cLike there\u2019s no other job that gives you the opportunity to feel good every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Metcalf recalled she was first drawn to the world of professional fitness after she graduated high school and saw the going rate for a part-time jazzercise instructor was $8 an hour \u2014 much better than the state\u2019s $2.75-an-hour minimum wage at the time.<\/p>\n
Already a regular athlete (gymnastics, diving and track), it wasn\u2019t too difficult to memorize the routines and teach, she said. Soon after, she helped start the aerobics program at DePaul University and opened her own boutique fitness studio in 1999.<\/p>\n
Noticing other fitness instructors on television, a friend connected Metcalf with a producer at NBC and Metcalf leveraged the introduction into a monthly segment alongside news correspondent Robin Meade.<\/p>\n
But Metcalf didn\u2019t stop there. She cold-called NBC\u2019s then-president Larry Wert to land a meeting and urge him to hire her full time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought him a pizza from Lou Malnati\u2019s and he turned around and I said, \u2018Larry you have Flat Butt Syndrome. I bet you have a lot of neck or back pain,\u2019\u201d Metcalf said. \u201cHe looked at me and said, \u2018How do you know that?\u2019 \u2018Just by the way you walk.\u2019 I was really good at what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
What ensued was a wide-ranging media career in which Metcalf went on to work with Oprah.com and the \u201cToday\u201d show. She met celebrities, traveled the world, contributed to health magazines, wrote a best-selling book<\/a> and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n So it was a big pivot when Metcalf decided to pursue Studio Fuse, the athletic multiplex she sold her house and ultimately sunk $250,000 to create.\u00a0<\/p>\n No bank would give her a loan as no similar project had been attempted before, Metcalf said, and when the pandemic struck, she was not eligible for federal assistance as most of her staff were on contractor status. Amid financial trouble, Studio Fuse\u2019s lease was broken and the development was torn up.<\/p>\n Metcalf eventually moved to Skokie to be closer to family. While she thought she wouldn\u2019t work in fitness again, she decided to move forward in 2024, opening FLX move Pilates Experience Studio.<\/p>\n For those uninitiated, Pilates is a workout system named after Joseph Pilates, the inventor of the \u201creformer,\u201d a sliding apparatus utilized for a low-impact, full-body exercise.<\/p>\n Metcalf said she loves Pilates because it is relaxing and challenging, subtle but precise, and fosters both flexibility and strength. While the system can focus on a kind of fluid movement like yoga, there\u2019s no spiritual element that allows it to be more accessible, Metcalf said.<\/p>\n Metcalf\u2019s FLX brand has already expanded to three more locations, now offering 80 classes a week from 10 different instructors via \u201creformers,\u201d exercise bikes, barre and mat exercises.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica Spencer, one of the Skokie studio managers, said she was working in property management when she met Metcalf. After taking some classes, she left her job and became certified via Metcalf\u2019s original training program to become an instructor for FLX.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been to a lot of different studios, gyms. I\u2019ve also been a class girl. But I really liked the community (here),\u201d Spencer said. \u201cI really wanted to be around somebody who\u2019s a really smart business woman but who\u2019s also really supportive and works a lot in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Catherine Lick, a 77-year-old FLX member, said after a recent mobility Pilates class that she loves Metcalf\u2019s system because it helps with her strength and balance, something that\u2019s really important once you start becoming older.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I look for in an exercise place is that they watch what you\u2019re doing and if you\u2019re doing it wrong then they correct you \u2014 that\u2019s very important and also the effort they make in helping the participants get to know each other, you know it really becomes like a family,\u201d Lick said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Biju Krishnan, chair of Skokie\u2019s Consumer Affairs Commission, said the village has been handing out its Business of the Year award for over 15 years to emphasize Skokie is business friendly.<\/p>\n Among the hundreds of nominations it receives every year, the commission weighs the finalists\u2019 quality of its service, their business reputation, how much economic or community-service value they provide to Skokie, and their innovation or sustainability.<\/p>\n FLX stood out this year because of its so many reports of \u201coutstanding\u201d customer service, how it\u2019s drawn in so much traffic from outside Skokie, and its event partnerships with other local groups, Krishnan said. <\/p>\n Runnerups this year included Orange Pediatric Therapy and Don Julio Cafe.<\/p>\n Metcalf said she felt honored to receive the commission\u2019s award especially after seeing the names of others who have won it in the past, like Soul Good Coffee and Sketchbook Brewing. Moving forward, she hopes to keep expanding and is already looking at opening two more studios.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was told we were finalists I was just really honored because you look at some of the names of the businesses on there and they\u2019re just such staples in the community,\u201d Metcalf said.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing relatively new to the community, I know those businesses, I know the goodness of those people and it\u2019s just \u2014 they\u2019re normal people who seem to have a dream to make it happen and they did it. So that\u2019s really inspiring to me.\u201d<\/p>\n The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.<\/p>\n Become a member<\/a>\u00a0of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/P1090602_optimized_2000-1024x769.jpg\")
Andrea Metcalf (center, holding the trophy) posed with various staff and members of her FLX Move fitness studio at Skokie Village Hall on Dec. 1 after accepting an award from the village. | SAMUEL LISEC \/ THE RECORD NORTH SHORE<\/p>\n