LEWISTON, Maine — A dark basement studio is pretty much all Kelli Gilzow could find in an old mill town like Lewiston, but it's kind of the perfect place for her teaching which she jokes, are the "after 5 o'clock workouts."
Her studio is called SPRQ, pronounced "spark" - something she hopes to instill once again into the women who come to her classes.
"Our average client is between the ages of 27 and 47 so you're seeing a vast variety of women who are at different points of their lives, who are really looking to find themselves," explains Gilzow. "Sometimes it's a hot mess, but most of the time you see personality."
At first, the ladies want to hide in the back. That's step one of this workout: exercising confidence.
It's easy to see why the women keep coming back for this class. Aside from the actual sore muscles, Gilzow is all about the laughs through her original choreography. She's also serious when she needs to be, because a lot of the women in this class have experienced tough things in their lives; divorce, homelessness, abuse. Which is why, at the end of class, the group performs for family and friends as a massive fundraiser for organizations that help women, including Safe Voices, which helps domestic violence victims.
"In my journey Safe Voices has been there to support me, so for me that's our biggest and every year lately between $500-$700 is what we donate back," says Gilzow. Happy to help organizations that have helped her, and help other women find their sexy and their confidence.