It was never in Kara and Andrew Magistri’s plan to own a kids gym. This all changed in late 2022 when We Rock the Spectrum, an inclusive indoor playground for kids of all abilities in Fenton, was up for sale.

The Magistri family were frequent patrons of the gym as their young son, Jonas, particularly enjoyed it. After the couple found out that the gym was up for sale, the two “joked” about the idea of taking it over and keeping it going, “but candidly, we didn’t really have any desire to do so as neither of us are really business owner kind of people out of the gate,” Andrew Magistri said.

As time went on, however, the two realized that no one was putting offers on the facility. This made them nervous.

“We have a little guy that is on the spectrum, and that was one of the only places in the St. Louis surrounding area that we could reliably bring him where we wouldn’t just suffer from going through meltdowns,” Magistri said. “It was the perfect amount of sensory input.”

The couple couldn’t face the idea of this inclusive environment being taken away from their son, so they decided to buy the business.

“He could act however he wanted to act, and no one was going to act any different about him being there,” Magistri said. “At a place like We Rock the Spectrum, folks come into the gym expecting to see kiddos that are going to act a little bit different… it’s about acceptance above all else.”

We Rock the Spectrum is not only for neurodivergent children, rather a place where all children can be free to be themselves and have fun.

“Folks’ usual immediate knee- jerk reaction is ‘okay, so that means that it’s a gym designed for kiddos that have some type of neurological or physical disability. While that’s true – we certainly are here to serve that niche, about 30% of our audience actually falls into that niche – the (other) 70% is your neurotypical kiddo, your average little guy or girl that’s just looking for a fun indoor playground to burn off some sensory needs,” Magistri said. “And that’s really what we are – we’re an indoor playground for the purpose of meeting kiddos with sensory needs, and really, all kiddos have sensory needs.”

Above all, Magistri wants We Rock the Spectrum to be seen as a community resource. The gym has held many fundraisers for a variety of nonprofit organizations and schools, and the Magistris want to continue to do so.

“We bought this place not because there’s money in it, but because it’s so important for the community,” Magistri said.