Mountain Brook, AL Health and Fitness

Pole Spin Secrets owner Darcel began teaching the art of pole dancing out of her apartment in 2009. Once she realized the high demand for this sensual body-toning workout, she expanded her enterprise into a studio. Here she helms a range of classes, which she believes teach women more than just physical movements, but tap into innate reserves of confidence and empowering energy. Whether she is demonstrating upside-down inversions, hip-popping choreography, or aerobic boot-camp exercises, Darcel creates a judgment-free zone. She and her team of instructors also host private pole-lesson parties for any occasion, from bachelorette outings to top-secret congressional summits.

After graduating dental school, Dr. Stuart Curry joined the U.S. Air Force, where he honed his oral expertise at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base. After three years, however, he yearned to apply his skills at his own practice on familiar ground. So he traveled back to his hometown of Birmingham and opened Stuart Curry Dentistry, where he now tends to teeth with general and cosmetic treatments—including tooth-colored fillings, crowns, whitening, and Invisalign orthodontics.

To help patients have positive associations with the dentist office, Dr. Curry has tried to emulate the calming ambiance of a spa with the center's decor and amenities. Dr. Curry also allays qualms with a host of advanced technological tools: he utilizes digital x-rays, which expose patients to less radiation than traditional x-rays, and he ups the efficiency of procedures with the help of an in-house lab.

At Homewood Family Medicine, promoting patients' health and well-being truly is a family affair. Board-certified family physician Scott Weisberg follows in the footsteps of his father—who also practiced medicine—and is assisted in his mission to engage and empower patients by his wife and office manager, Sari Weisberg. Dr. Weisberg is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and is licensed to practice in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. He attends and teaches at least 50 hours of continuing medical education each year.

Dr. Weisberg uses his diversified background—including training in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry—to perform a wide variety of primary-care services. He also offers specialized treatments for shedding excess weight, diminishing varicose veins, and relieving rigid thumbs injured during intense Street Fighter tournaments.

Alabama Vision Center doesn’t have one single sight specialist on staff. They have six. The team of ODs, MDs, and an Au.D. draws upon varying skill sets and a staff of 32 technicians and office professionals to provide services ranging from LASIK vision correction to bifocal implants recommended for those with presbyopia or very tiny books. The technology on hand is unparalleled as well, with lasers that help with everything from blade-free corneal surgery to cataract removal to treatment for wet macular degeneration.

Of course, keeping eyesight healthy and strong from the get-go is the staff's number-one priority, and so they offer comprehensive exams that begin with an external inspection of the eyes and surrounding tissue, and end with a tonometry test to identify signs of glaucoma. In between, doctors take note of tracking abilities, visual field, refractive abilities, and colorblindness, and also perform an ophthalmoscopy test, where they inspect the retina to check for any detachment or sudden changes in its mood. A free hearing screening is also included with each patient's first visit, keeping jealous ears from feeling like eyes get all the attention.

Dr. Justin Fogo's life has taken him from farms to clinics. Born and raised in the rural community of Superior, Nebraska, his natural drive inspired him to pursue higher studies. He supplemented his bachelor's degree by becoming a doctor of chiropractic, earning service awards, scholarships, and several high-fives in the process. Dr. Fogo continued his education by studying treatments for neuromusculoskeletal disorders and becoming a certified acupuncturist.

Today, Dr. Fogo brings his multifaceted experience to Chelsea Chiropractic. Inside private treatment rooms, he blends clinical chiropractic techniques with holistic medicinal principles to strengthen clients' nervous systems and foster natural healing. Dr. Fogo also teaches anatomy at Jefferson State Community College, where he shares information about the human body and expertly explains the lyrics to "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."