WEST LOOP — West Loop resident Susan Rothman is leaving a career in the corporate world to open Pure Barre West Loop this summer.
Rothman, who has been a fan of Pure Barre before the craze hit Chicago, plans to open the studio at 1170 W. Madison St. in the Madison at Racine development by early July.
The studio space is undergoing build out now.
A 36-year-old mom of two, Rothman took her first Pure Barre class while working for Hewlett-Packard in Lexington, Ky. years ago. She soon was hooked.
Although she has trained for triathlons, was a swimmer at the University of Kentucky and performed with a dance company growing up, Pure Barre is the most effective workout she's tried to date, she said.
"It's the fastest, most effective way to get long, lean muscles and work your entire body," Rothman said.
When her husband Geoff Rothman's job transfer moved the family to Chicago, Rothman said she was shocked no Pure Barre studios existed yet in the Windy City. The family moved to the West Loop in early 2013.
"I thought, 'how is there no Pure Barre, my favorite workout ever, in fabulous, wonderful, Chicago?'" she remembered.
Since then, the popular workout influenced by ballet and Pilates has popped up at studios in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Old Town, River North and Bucktown, but the West Loop still didn't have a Pure Barre of its own. The Bucktown studio, the city's first, opened in August 2013.
Rothman said now feels like the "right time" to open the West Loop studio as a franchise owner. She left her job as a program manager with Hewlett-Packard earlier this year.
Pure Barre classes, which incorporate a ballet barre to help exercisers sculpt and tone their bodies, is a good option for all fitness levels, Rothman said. The program promises a full-body workout in 55 minutes.
"I always loved dance and fitness and to combine what I love about business development and health and fitness is a dream," she said at the studio this week.
The studio plans to offer morning, lunchtime, after work and nighttime classes.
Pure Barre West Loop is now offering a pre-opening special of five weeks of unlimited classes for $100. The one-time special can be purchased online and is only available before the studio opens. A one month unlimited class pass is normally $225.
A single class at Pure Bare West Loop is $25 and first-time visitors to the studio can try a class for $15. Classes can also be purchased in a five class pack for $110; 10 class pack for $200; and 20 class pack for $340.
For die-hard Pure Barre fans, the West Loop studio also offers monthly auto-pay options on a three, six and 12 months basis. A full list of class package options is available on the studio's website.
Pure Barre West Loop will be the city's sixth Pure Barre studio. For more information, e-mail Rothman at westloop@purebarre.com.
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