Gayest & GreatestGayest & Greatest 2022Special Sections

Gayest and Greatest 2022: Health & Beauty Part II

The Montrose SPENGA studio offers a unique new workout option.

Christopher Lucas (Photo by Alex Rosa for OutSmart Magazine)

BEST MALE PERSONAL TRAINER
BEST GYM
BEST CYCLING STUDIO

For some, fitness is a way of life. For others, itโ€™s simply a way to combat the effects of a sedentary lifestyle. For Christopher Lucas and his team at the Montrose SPENGA fitness studio, fitness is an all-encompassing full-body experience that engages clients of all skill levels. 

Lucas was recognized as this yearโ€™s Best Male Personal Trainer by OutSmart readers, and his Montrose SPENGA studio won the Best Houston Gym and Best Cycling Studio awards. The facility was also a finalist for Best Yoga Studio. 

โ€œSPENGA is a completely unique, unrivaled fitness concept,โ€ Lucas explains. The gym specializes in a one-hour full-body workout targeting aspects of fitness that other gyms do not typically focus on.  

โ€œThere are three major components to fitness for a healthier life: cardiovascular endurance, physical strength, and the ability to move. [For the first 20 minutes] Iโ€™m going to give you engaged [spin] cardio, which is really going to open up your lungs and increase your endurance. Our spin is very specific. Thereโ€™s not a lot of choreography or [intricate] motions on the handlebars,โ€ Lucas notes. โ€œItโ€™s a resistance-based spin class, and itโ€™s really โ€˜you versus you.โ€™โ€

That spin aspect of SPENGA is unlike other studios that focus solely on that workout style. And the transitions throughout the one-hour workout keep clients from getting exhausted. โ€œJust when youโ€™re mentally done and donโ€™t want to go on, [the 20 minutes is] over. Then we go to the strength floor. The strength routine changes every single day, and is choreographed by the [trainers] about a week ahead of time,โ€ Lucas says.

โ€œThose two 20-minute segments together have raised your cortisol levels through the roof, which can negatively impact your ability to recover. So then we do breathing techniques to lower your cortisol to a level lower than when you walked through the door. No one has ever walked out of my gym saying they didnโ€™t like it. SPENGA gives you the full trifecta.โ€ 

Lucas, a retired Marine, prides himself on employing the best instructors that the fitness world has to offer. โ€œFinding instructors that can teach all three modalities successfully is very challenging,โ€ he says. โ€œWe really search relentlessly to find the right people. They need to have the personality and the character. Itโ€™s an inclusive and welcoming studio, so the staff here is handpicked and really dialed into the mission.โ€

SPENGA Studio (Photo by Alex Rosa for OutSmart Magazine)

Lucasโ€™ work is his passion, and his clients are a huge part of that. โ€œThe most gratifying part is seeing members achieve their fitness goalsโ€”especially when itโ€™s really personal to them,โ€ he says. โ€œSomeone came in one time and gave me a hug with tears in their eyes and said I changed their life. I never thought I would hear that. It made me realize that this is what I want to do forever.โ€

Houstonians can sign up for classes at multiple SPENGA locations in the Houston area, but Lucas touts his Montrose studio as โ€œa melting pot of every color, creed, and orientation you could possibly imagineโ€”with a cool, fun vibe.โ€ 

Inclusivity is what SPENGA prides itself on at the end of the day. โ€œThe exposure [that these OutSmart awards provide] for SPENGAโ€”what it is, and how it can help anybody at any fitness levelโ€”will be priceless,โ€ Lucas says. โ€œAnd knowing that my members believed in us and voted for us lets me know that Iโ€™m doing the right thing.โ€

For information, visit houstonmontrose.spenga.com.


HEALTH & BEAUTY

BEST COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES PROVIDER
Legacy Community Health
Finalists: AIDS Foundation Houston, Avenue 360, Ronald R. Buescher, Gordon E. Crofoot, The Montrose Center, Wellness Bar by Legacy

BEST MENโ€™S HEALTH CLINIC
Gordon E. Crofoot
Finalists: AHF Healthcare Center – Binz, Avenue 360 Health and Wellness – Heights, Ronald R. Buescher, Village Medical, Wellness Bar by Legacy

BEST WOMENโ€™S HEALTH CLINIC
Planned Parenthood
Finalists: Avenue 360, Legacy Community Health

BEST URGENT OR EMERGENCY CARE CENTER
Montrose 24 Hour ER (tie)
SignatureCare (tie)
Finalists: Concentra Urgent Care, Houston Methodist Emergency Care Center, Next Level Urgent Care

BEST PHARMACY
Legacy Community Health Pharmacy
Finalists: AHF Pharmacy, Avenue 360 Health and Wellness Pharmacy – Heights, Avita Pharmacy – Bellaire, H-E-B Pharmacy, Scott Read Pharmacy, Walgreens Pharmacy at CrofootMD

BEST FEMALE PHYSICIAN
Jeannie Banh
Finalists: Elizabeth Horvath, Julia Kovacs, Jessica Pearce, Patricia Salvato, M. Sandra Scurria, Natalie Vanek

BEST MALE PHYSICIAN
Gordon Crofoot
Finalists: Ronald Buescher, James Carroll, Terence Chang, Abel Flores, Ronald Lopez-Cepero

BEST FEMALE PHYSICIANโ€™S ASSISTANT (PA)/NURSE PRACTITIONER
Maggie White
Finalists: Michelle DeSalvo, Elizabeth Horvath, Kelli Krisp, Jessie Pawvelek, Mary Shepard

BEST MALE PHYSICIANโ€™S ASSISTANT (PA)/NURSE PRACTITIONER
Derek Smith
Finalists: Daniel Arellano, John Chapman, Kendrick Clack, Greg Cupit, Paul Simmons

FAVORITE FEMALE NURSE
Christina Wells
Finalists: Tamra Bradley, Kimberly Hase, Priscilla Presson, Christine R. Raby, Nina Saltzman

FAVORITE MALE NURSE
Adam Sirico
Finalists: Ryan Balbas, Buddy Bell, Carlos Contreras, Robert Couchman, Morgan Guillory

BEST MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE
Ajana Therapy & Clinical Services
Finalists: The Montrose Center, Pinkerton Psychotherapy, Southwest Psychotherapy Associates

BEST MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST/PSYCHIATRIST
Chad Lemaire (tie)
Dan Garza (tie)
Finalists: Michael Barber, Robert Scott, Daryl Shorter

BEST FEMALE MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST/PSYCHOLOGIST
Leah Singer
Finalists: Megan Mooney, Betsy Vasquez

BEST MALE MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST/PSYCHOLOGIST
Denis โ€œWoodjaโ€ Flanigan
Finalist: Hiram Rivera Mercado

BEST FEMALE MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST
Jessica Eiseman
Finalists: Tara Bates, Candice Holloway, Denise Oโ€™Doherty, Andrea Washington

BEST MALE MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST
Ty David Lerman
Finalists: Shane Hennesey, Robert Snellgrove, Andrew Tessmer

BEST NONBINARY MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST
Thomas Owsley
Finalists: Nakita Bowman, Noel Gonzalez, ks Stanley

BEST MALE DENTIST
Marcus De Guzman (tie)
Sam Carrell (tie)
Finalists: Alex Barrera, John Dioquino, Austin Faulk, Randy Mitchmore

BEST FEMALE DENTIST
Cynthia Corral
Finalists: Daniella Farias, Melicia Tjoa

FAVORITE FEMALE DENTAL HYGIENIST
Hifa Taha/Montrose DDS
Chriszelda/Bayou City Smiles, Karla/Bayou City Smiles, Kate/Bayou City Smiles, Magda/Bayou City Smiles, Jennifer McCrary/Avenue 360 Health & Wellness

FAVORITE MALE DENTAL HYGIENIST
Tu ___/Bayou City Smiles

BEST FEMALE EYE DOCTOR
Nancy Lo
Finalists: Juliet Farmer, Rosa Kim, April Oliver/Todayโ€™s Vision

BEST MALE EYE DOCTOR
Paul Lovero
Finalists: Bimal Patel, Marc Sanders,
Scott Sawyer, Stewart Zuckerbrod

BEST CHIROPRACTOR
Alexia McClerkin
Finalists: Matt Arnold/Airrosti – Heights, Fernando Franco, NuSpine Chiropractic

BEST FOOT DOCTOR
Vanessa Barrow
Finalists: Paul Gee, Gian Steinhauser/Caring Foot and Ankle Specialists

BEST YOGA STUDIO
Black Swan Yoga Houston (tie)
BIG Power Yoga – Montrose (tie)
Finalists: SPENGA Houston Montrose, STRETCH Studio of Houston, Tamikaโ€™s Ranch

BEST FERTILITY CLINIC/SURROGACY SERVICES
Aspire Houston Fertility Institute
Finalists: CCRM Fertility of Houston, The Family Fertility Center at Texas Childrenโ€™s Pavilion for Women, SGF Houston – Texas Medical Center

BEST PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Roy Rivera
Finalists: Jon Koborsi, Huzefa Tayabali-Wilson

BEST FEMALE MASSAGE THERAPIST
Afton Macione/Cruz Family Chiropractic
Finalists: Tamia Anderson, Kim Stacy/Integrated Massage Services

BEST MALE MASSAGE THERAPIST
Ryan Fugate
Finalists: Chris Tognetti/Life Time Fitness, John Aaron Villarreal, Tom Zeppelin

BEST NONBINARY MASSAGE THERAPIST
Robin Mack

BEST FEMALE PERSONAL TRAINER
Monique Freeman
Finalists: Melanie Jackson, Felicia Lee-Sexton, Kimberly Marler, Danielle Sampey

BEST MALE PERSONAL TRAINER
Christopher Lucas
Finalists: Layn Chess, Oscar Gutierrez, Andrew Hayes, Eliot Perez, Gian Quiteno, John Aaron Villarreal

BEST NONBINARY PERSONAL TRAINER
Bree Turner

BEST GYM
SPENGA Houston Montrose
Finalists: Body3 Personal Fitness, Facet Seven, FIT Athletic Club, Houston Gym, TC Jester Fitness, Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA, Life Time Fitness

BEST CYCLING STUDIO
SPENGA Houston Montrose
Finalists: Cyclebar – Sawyer Heights, For The People, RYDE Montrose, Soul Cycle

BEST FEMALE HAIR STYLIST
Isabel Ferry
Finalists: Lana Blake, Celina Carcamo, Elizabeth Carlile/Studio A Salon, Jacky Madrid, Sylvia Perez

BEST MALE HAIR STYLIST
Adrian Santos
Finalists: JT Heath, Raven Montano, Reza Nouri, David Ramirez, Kenny Slack

BEST NONBINARY HAIR STYLIST
J. Bookie
Finalist: Shannon Moore

BEST MAKEUP ARTIST
Shoshuna Akerman
Finalists: Lana Blake, Sylvia Perez, Edward Sanchez

BEST NAIL SALON
Hollywood Hair & Nails Salon
Finalists: Aura Nails, Masonโ€™s Nails

BEST NAIL TECHNICIAN
Adam Gutierrez
Finalists: Liz Brooks, Roxsann Lavan,
William Medrano

BEST TATTOO ARTIST
Stephanie Purnell
Finalists: Dan Martin, Megan Medina, Nadia Munoz

BEST TATTOO PARLOR
The Electric Chair Tattoo & Body Piercing
Finalists: Corazones Tattoo+Beauty Studio, Scorpion Studios Tattoo, Shawโ€™s Tattoo Studio

BEST COSMETIC SKIN CARE CENTER
SkinCeuticals Skinlab at West Ave.
Finalists: Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center Houston – River Oaks, Heights Dermatology & Aesthetic Center, The Skin Renewal Center

BEST COSMETIC SURGEON
Forrest S. Roth
Finalists: Bonnie Baldwin, Regina Rodman, Angela Sturm

BEST AESTHETIC PHYSICIAN
Patrick McNamara
Finalist: Octavio Barrios


For a full list of winners, go here.

This article appears in the October 2022 edition of OutSmart magazine. 

 

Zach McKenzie

Zachary McKenzie is a marketing professional and freelance writer in Houston, TX. He received his bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 2014 and has lived in Houston since. Zachary is a volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters and enjoys spending his free time with friends, exploring the richness and diversity of Houston.
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