Only the “real OG’s” at Barre Yo know that “Barre Youngstown” originally started as “Bootybarre by Laura”. Back in the spring of 2013 and fresh off of baby #2, I went out on a limb and got trained in bootybarre when they came to Pittsburgh for a teacher training.
Back then, nobody knew what bootybarre was! “Barre… like where you get a beer??” That’s what I said too! But one day that spring, my hairdresser Anna (like they tend to do) listens to my dismay at being bored at the gym, missing dance, wanting to lose my baby weight…and all of sudden says, Hey I saw this on Facebook! You should do this! (shows me an ad for bootybarre on her phone).
NO BRAINER.
My background in dance, love for fitness, it was perfect. And so I signed up for the bootybarre training that very day.
The bootybarre training was super intense, very thorough, and kicked my postpartum butt. I was HOOKED instantly. Luckily (and perhaps, coincidentally), it required a video test out to be certified. I had 3 months to find people to teach on and a place to teach at. I approached a local Pilates studio, “can I teach and tape my video here?” NOPE. I approached the local YMCA, “can I teach and tape my video here?” NOPE. Barre what?? Um no thanks…, they said.
This process was proving to be dreadful, discouraging and had me thinking what a waste of time and money this was.
Finally, I approached my longtime friend and dance studio owner, “can I teach and tape my video here?” Yes, of course, do whatever you need to do.
(YES!!!)
I’ll never be more grateful to Jamie for that very day. (Well that, and many more years to follow actually…)
They had barres! Mirrors! Music! Yes. Yes. Yes.
I even practiced on their senior dancers getting my video prepared. My friends (and some old friends, now, ahem, competitors) came then too as my guinea pigs.
And so the story began!
I started teaching 1 class a week, then 2, then 5…my friends, family, dance studio moms, neighbors, all were loving bootybarre! Meanwhile, my video was taped and thankfully, I passed!
I ended up with baby #3 on the way a couple of years later (all thanks to barre, according to my husband 😉 ) and needed help. More training came into our area and I recruited my friends and clients to get trained so I can have a baby and not have to teach in between pushes.
No. Really, at 40 weeks pregnant I was up to 12-15 classes a week (my doc wasn’t too happy with me).
Thankfully these new instructors all worked out amazingly…and so the name changed to BARRE YOUNGSTOWN in 2015. It wasn’t all about Laura anymore. I had an amazing group of barre-tenders now!!
How could I survive without them!?
We’ve since grown to add in more classes like a TRX/barre fusion: Erica and I’s own creation that then became BarreX. We added in dance cardio (with the help of Cassie and her love of dance), pilates, yoga (thanks to Doretta), barreless and bootybarre bounce (both of which were created by Tracey Mallett, the one and only bootybarre creator, too!). Many of our instructors got trained in these various methods too, which helped round out of the schedule. Our schedule was full of awesome classes, great instructors, and we’ve obtained some amazing hard working clients!!!
THEN…
It was a quick, impromptu trip to New York City in August 2018 that changed the path of Barre Youngstown forever. Erica and I went to the city to take random fitness classes (because that’s what we do for fun, of course!) and it was then we realized we could grow Barre Youngstown WAY BEYOND what we are doing now. That we could bring something new to our fitness community…to our clients, our area, ourselves.
Something that complimented what we had already established in the past 6 years. That can take our clients to the next level. Something that was completely unheard of, and to be honest, a bit risky for a small town.
We felt an immediate “meeting of the minds” kind of connection that we felt would foster a successful business. After a lot of meetings and research (months later and lots of wine too!), we are finally getting to see this dream of having sister companies come to life!
I’m NOW proud to announce the transition of Barre Youngstown to Mega Barre Youngstown!
MEGA having a two fold meaning:
- MEGA –as we are taking Barre Youngstown to another level…and a brand new location! We’ve outgrown our dance studio space and coming this summer, our new studio location will be a reality! Barre Yo 2.0, if you will.
- MEGA –meaning Megaformer. The Megaformer classes by Lagree Fitness (™) in our new space will take your body to (seriously) the next level. Your mind/body connection will never be stronger. You can’t even begin to understand what I mean until you get on these machines and take some classes. Erica is proudly taking the lead in this studio and she will not disappoint! IN THE MEANTIME, get excited and patiently wait until we’ve got our ducks in a row…!!
I truly feel that together Erica and I and now, “Mega Barre Youngstown” will be the most unique fitness boutique in Youngstown, if not anywhere else! We are dedicated to offering our clients unique, safe, and effective classes; training our instructors that are well versed, passionate and educated; and providing results they just can’t get anywhere else. Nor will want to.
Our staff share a strong passion for fitness, wellness, teaching, longevity and community that we hope you’ll feel when you come to our studio!
Now we ” Begin Boldly” bringing you the best of the best!
Welcome to Mega Barre Youngstown.
