Berwyn welcomes The Alley Fitness Boxing Gym in time for new year

BERWYN – What's most important to 28-year-old Berwyn resident Taylor Lazzara is helping her fitness clients feel better both physically and mentally.

On Dec. 22, Lazzara hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate the grand opening of her new business, The Alley Fitness Boxing Gym, at 6711 W. 26th St., across from Berwyn City Hall. The gym will offer both group training and private lessons in kickboxing, cardio boxing and Tabata – a high-intensity boot camp. Lazzara said she'll serve children ages 6 to 14 years old, adults and seniors, as well as beginner athletes to experienced boxers.

Lazzara, who holds double master's degrees in clinical counseling and art therapy from Chicago's Adler School of Professional Psychology, said the inspiration for the boxing business stems from her work and training in psychology and her lifelong interest in martial arts and physical fitness.

"I believe 100-percent in art therapy, but I also believe the connection between mental well-being and physical fitness is so much stronger," she said. "I believe really strongly in that."

Lazzara left a job as a mental health therapist at Riveredge Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Forest Park, to open her own fitness business. If art therapy wasn't working for clients at the hospital, she said she'd often try to incorporate some form of physical fitness into their treatment, but psychiatric hospitals generally lack the funding and the facilities needed for those kinds of activities.

She said she felt she could have a stronger and more positive impact on her clients' mental health while also blending all of her passions into one job by starting her own business geared toward physical fitness.

It's supremely important, she said, that she offer classes for all demographics, including children and seniors. One of the most heartbreaking things working in psychology was seeing children who were suicidal because someone had bullied them or because they felt a strong pressure to appear a certain way, she said.

Lazzara said she hopes to mitigate that kind of stress through fitness classes aimed at helping children build "confidence and self-efficacy." She said she also plans to tailor workouts to serve the health needs of older adults.

"My goal is to be a place that is very family-oriented where people can come and feel comfortable and be open and honest about their feelings working out, and they can bring friends and family and encourage them to work out," she said.

Affordability is also a concern for Lazzara. Adult class packages start at $75 per month for a year commitment, and senior and children's class packages are priced at $50. The gym also is running a New Year's Resolution special with 10-percent off the $75 per month package if clients sign up between Jan. 2 and 6.

Berwyn Development Corporation Director of Chamber Services Amy Crowther said she expects Lazzara's business to stand out in Berwyn and beyond.

"Most gyms have repeat workouts or can be impersonal in their approach to simply offering space or fitness equipment. [Lazzara's] unique in that she plans to meld the cost-effectiveness of the group setting with individual attention and regularly updated workouts that feel more like personal training," Crowther said.

Lazzara also has deep familial ties to the Berwyn community; her maternal grandfather, Joseph Lanzillotti, served as mayor from 1981 until 1993, and her father, Charles Lazzara, currently serves as building director for the city.

"Once I graduated from undergrad [at Columbia College in Chicago], I moved to Berwyn, and I've been here ever since," she said. "I love the location, to be honest. It's centrally located."

When asked about the inspiration for the name of her business, Lazzara, who also works as a freelance artist, said she's always been attracted to the aesthetics found inside "old-school boxing gyms," which usually entail a lot of exposed brick walls and aluminum decor.

She said she and her father came up with the name and outfitted the facility to "look like things you might find in an alley," including galvanized metal, aluminum street signs and brick walls.

Lazzara, who received her certifications in personal training, boot camp, boxing and kickboxing at the Academy of Self Defense in Evergreen Park, said the transition from psychology work to owning her own fitness-oriented business has been challenging, but she's certain she made the right decision.

"I had to balance fitness and work at the hospital," she said of her old job. "There were all sorts of areas of my life that wouldn't come together for me. Now I selfishly get to work out all day every day."

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Know more

Classes begin at The Alley Fitness Boxing Gym on Jan. 9. Learn more about the gym at thealleyfitness.com.