Summer 2025
By Lauren Hurwitz
Last year, Lindsay Gerspach did a complete 180 in her work life by opening The Lark in Irvington where modern fitness studio meets social sanctuary where women come to gather. The Lark defines itself as part social club, part workout spot, part cafe and curated retail shop – not necessarily what you would expect from a former Chief Marketing Officer in the startup world. After being laid off in 2023, Gerspach began working out more consistently, listening to podcasts, reading books, thinking about mindfulness and getting her head in a better place. “I wanted to learn more about my mental health and being in a more positive space so I could be a better partner and parent because I was always tired…and that’s how The Lark came about,” the entrepreneur says. She was interviewing for lots of jobs that were more entry level, not offering great salaries and wanted her to do two or three jobs in one so she could fit into their budgets. With 20 years of dance under her belt, Gerspach couldn’t find a place to marry her love of fitness with her work, along with the need for social connections and an overall sense of having somewhere to belong. Through the Lark, Gerspach says, “it turns out you can feel better and make an impact while feeling better physically, but also feeling better about how you spend your time. I knew I still wanted to work, but I wished there was a place or space that could bring all of these things together.” The Lark has built a sense of community by offering a modern fitness studio and social club for women who stay-at-home, are on break, or maternity leave, are working corporate jobs and need an early morning or late night class – and every woman in between.
Gerspach still works long hours, but now that she’s working for herself never feels like she just spent 12 hours staring at a computer screen for someone else’s benefit. “Instead, I feel good about my long days because I’m doing something that’s important for my community that I can see, and it feels and hits differently,” Gerspach says. “If you’re thinking of making a change, just do it. You’re never going to know everything so just go for it and learn as you go. You’re going to learn on your feet, no matter what,” she advises.
Michelle Gross is another local entrepreneur who came to her current career from a totally different background. Before founding Studio50 Fitness and Studio 50 Wellness and Aesthetics in Mamaroneck, she was working full-time as a nurse, mostly in the operating room. Once she started having children, work-life balance became hard because she never knew what time she was getting out of the OR. It became increasingly more challenging to take care of her family, and she knew she needed to make a change. “I started dialing it back to part-time, and then eventually it got to a point where I wanted to be working more again. I said, if I could reimagine everything and start over, what would I do with my life? I realized I loved wellness, learning about nutrition, fitness classes, and yoga. What if I could take all these things and put them together in one house so you don’t need a membership all over the place? There is value to that – and so we built Studio50.” Within six months, Gross’ studio was up and running and she quickly leaned in full time to her new space…and new life.
Gross describes Studio50 as an efficient and fun boutique fitness studio where they offer group classes, Lagree which is similar to the work done on a Pilates reformer machine, hot barre and hot yoga sculpt, and more. While it’s a co-ed studio, they typically attract, “women anywhere from their teens through their 60s. Everything we do here is low impact and designed to be very safe. I want people to have a workout to do for the long term without getting injured. Everything is science-based, and all our workouts are curated with science behind them so they can be the most efficient and appropriate,” Gross says.
“If I had known how much I had to learn to start my studio, I probably would have been too scared to do it. The naivety served me well. There was a two-year period when every day I was learning something new. I had no business background, but I made it work, I love that my life is exactly what I want it to be. I’m able to balance family and work and I’m super passionate about my studio. I’m constantly learning, reading and growing. The people here are amazing. Not just our staff, but our clients are also like family. It’s a joyful place to be and I can’t imagine working anywhere else after working here,” Gross concludes.
https://www.thelark.club/
@thelarkclub (Instagram)
www.studio50fitness.com
@studio50fitness (Instagram)