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Couple returns home from New York to launch fitness business.
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S amantha Kelman and her
fiance, Jeff Friedman, were
the quintessential New
York City young couple.
They had great jobs, enjoyed a wide
circle of friends, never wanted for
entertainment or cultural offerings and
that age-old question "Where should
we eat tonight?" never crossed their
lips with the Big Apple's dining scene.
So when they decamped from
Manhattan to West Bloomfield last fall
to open a business with Samantha's
mother, Karen Kelman, and Karen's
husband, Paul Chaben, the news raised
more than a few eyebrows among
their friends in New York and Detroit,
as well as from Jeff's family; he's a
New Jersey native, after all.
Samantha, 27, was always athletic
and entrepreneurial-minded, and for
many years wanted to open a fitness-
related business with her mother, a
longtime personal trainer and fitness
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instructor. She was doing quite well
in corporate marketing and enjoying
all that New York has to offer, moving
there after graduating from University
of Michigan's Ross School of Business;
but the pull of business ownership was
hard to resist, as was a curiosity about
a resurgent Metro Detroit, where an
influx of young Jewish expats were
returning to help shape the area's
future much as their parents and
grandparents did a generation ago.
Jeff, 33, an investment banker
with an undergraduate degree from
Georgetown University and an
M.B.A. from Yale University's School
of Management, shared Samantha's
enterprising spirit and confidence that
the timing was right to trade business
suits and neckties for workout wear
and Nikes. And to do so in Metro
Detroit.
Fast forward to last fall when
Samantha and Karen finalized their
concept, created a proprietary group
fitness regimen and ticked days off
the calendar until they unveiled Cycle
& Row, their boutique fitness studio
in Orchard Mall, a 2,000-square-foot
space offering group indoor cycling
and rowing classes.
These aren't ordinary indoor
cycling classes — think
cardio bursts and upper
body strength training —
and few, if any, gyms or health
clubs in town offer classes
dedicated to rowing.
"We realized there was
a niche to fill by creating
a complete workout in a
motivational and clean
environment,"
Samantha says.
"Our mission is to
demonstrate that a
full body workout
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36
March 12 • 2015
Samantha
Kelman and
E
Jeff Friedman
does not have to be a chore or hard
on the joints and muscles, but rather
an opportunity to relieve stress, build
self-esteem, find balance and realize
superior results."
In addition to five other instructors,
Samantha and Karen also teach
classes. The cycling studio features 20
Schwinn A.C. Performance Plus bikes
with Carbon Blue drive train for a true
outdoor ride feel and ergonomically
designed handlebars and seats for
refined positioning. Wall-mounted
display monitors and consoles on
each bike are synced to let cyclists
keep track of their stats. They call it
"Connected Cycling."
Across the lobby, Cycle & Row's
50-minute rowing workouts include
time on and off Concept 2's Model
D rowing machines and SkiErgs to
build core strength, balance and body
weight resistance training combined
with cardio blasts to boost metabolism
and increase energy.
Beyond the studio, Samantha and
Jeff are connecting in the Metro Detroit
business community. Jeff, especially,
is impressed by the motivated and
innovate business owners he's met.
"It's been a great move," he says,
"one that I couldn't have imagined
years ago but am so fortunate to
have made. Personally, of course, but
professionally the area is rich with
opportunity."
They're also finding a rich Jewish life
here. "Jeff and I were very active at
Soho Synagogue in New York ... and
have maintained our involvement in
Jewish cultural and religious life since
moving home," Samantha says.
The couple participates in NEXTGen
Detroit events and attends Southfield-
based Congregation Shaarey Zedek
for the High Holidays, and have found
connecting to the greater Jewish
community so welcoming.
Although the company is in its
infancy, Samantha and Jeff envision
Cycle & Row studios across the country.
"Detroit has historically been a great
nurturer of small businesses ... and not
all health and fitness trends begin on
the [East and West] coasts," says Jeff.
"Plus there's that cool factor that comes
with being from Detroit." ❑