FBC


Happenings UPFRONT


8 Happenings | 16 Q & A 18 Club Management | 20 What’s New


firm, was coincidently doing the books for European Health Spas. Over these early years, Angie’s


boundless enthusiasm and skill at sell- ing memberships combined with Ed’s business expertise proved to be an un- stoppable combination. The pair soon packed up their house and one-year- old son, moved west and acquired a handful of run-down women’s clubs in Calgary and Edmonton. Angie’s zest for life and positive outlook made up for the lack of fancy equipment and amenities. With creativity and a talent for deal making, Ed made up for every- thing else. The goal of selling 10 member-


ships per day at each club seemed impossible to the sluggish staff they had inherited, so they had to go. And thus began Ed and Angie’s career- long quest to encourage and empower women to perform at their highest lev- el. The result was a winning team that believed in Spa Lady as much as the company’s owners.


Ed and Angie Forrest win FIC’s 2015 Canadian Fitness Industry Leadership Award


E


d Forrest and Angie Cholakis met in 1955 in kindergarten at Lynwood Elementary School in


Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ed thought Angie was the prettiest


girl in school and Angie thought Ed was funny. But strict parents kept them from dating until after high school, teaching the young couple that if you want some- thing badly enough you have to be pa- tient and work for it. This attitude paid off, and they married in 1976.


8 Fitness Business Canada May/June 2015 While working at a local depart-


ment store, Angie made a sale that would forever change her life. After selling some expensive cosmetics to a wealthy woman, her exasperated hus- band showed up looking for a refund. Angie took control of the conversa- tion and sold him just as she had his wife. The husband was the owner of European Health Spas, and he offered her a job on the spot. Meanwhile, Ed, who was articling at an accounting


Canada with more than 200 staff


Lady operated 12 clubs in Western


At its peak, Spa


and over 100,000 members.


After more than three decades of


inspiring tens of thousands of women of all ages, shapes and abilities to em- brace healthy living, Ed and Angie re- tired in 2014, one month shy of their 34th year. And while they have “hung up their running shoes,” both Ed and Angie remain strong supporters of the Canadian fitness industry and men- tors to the staff members who worked alongside them for all those years. Congratulations to Ed and Angie


Forrest on receiving the Fitness Industry Council of Canada’s 2015 Canadian Fitness Industry Leadership Award!


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