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Former NFL Kicker, Bulls Dancer Open Second Fitness Studio

By Paul Biasco | January 23, 2013 9:29am

LINCOLN PARK — A former NFL player and a professional dancer have opened their second Dailey Method fitness studio.

Three years after opening their first studio in Bucktown, Brett Conway, who was a placekicker for eight years in the National Football League, and his wife, Tami, who danced professionally for the Chicago Bulls, decided Lincoln Park was the right fit for a second studio.

The new location opened last weekend at the intersection of Clark Street and Belden Avenue.

Tami Conway, who was a fitness instructor at another gym, convinced her husband to open the first Bucktown studio about three and a half years ago. Brett continued to work a full-time suit-and-tie job in the Loop, but with the opening of the new location, he has jumped in full time with the fitness studio.

"I wear many hats," he said. "I sweep the floors and then I reconcile the profit and loss statements."

The Dailey Method workout is a combination of ballet barre work, core conditioning, muscle strengthening, yoga and orthopedic exercises crammed into a full body one-hour class.

Conway, who holds the Penn State University record for 119 consecutive extra points, bounced around the NFL, playing for six teams after being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1997. He was plagued by a nagging leg injury.

The Lincoln Park couple now work side by side almost every morning. Tami Conway teachers a number of classes at the gym. Brett Conway, meanwhile, said he tries to take a few classes a week.

During its opening weekend, the gym offered free classes, which were all filled, according to Tami Conway.

The completely remodeled, 2,400-square-foot space features radiant heated tile floors, a kids room and a parking garage attached to the building

The couple's Bucktown location at 1714 N. Damen Ave. was the first Dailey Method to open in Chicago. Since that opening, only one instructor has left to start her own studio, according to Brett Conway.

"I work six days a week and I do love it," Tami Conway said. "I love doing it. It's no work when you love what you do."

While the demographic of the gym remains about 99 percent female, The Dailey Method gets guys into the gym by hosting a "date night."

"The women all want their boyfriends or significant others to come in and see what they do," Brett Conway said.

The men, he said, "are getting their butts kicked."