CLAYTON — Moxie Pilates & Barre has arrived downtown to fill the community’s demand for Pilates.
“There were so many people coming to Garner from Clayton,” said Melissa Hinton, owner of Moxie Pilates & Barre in Garner and now Clayton. “That’s when we thought, ‘How can we better serve these people?’ How can we better support this community?”
The answer was to offer classes in Johnston County’s fastest growing town. “We started looking at Creighton because there was a real need,” Hinton said. “People were already driving 25 minutes to get to us.”
Moxie was born from Hinton’s fitness journey. “I actually started my own weight loss journey,” she said, noting that she has lost about 140 pounds. She said, “I really started to like all kinds of high-intensity work, like running and kickboxing.”
Her first foray into the world of coaching was kickboxing. “I was teaching one night a week, and then the demand increased and suddenly I was teaching six nights a week,” Hinton said.
The high-intensity classes were starting to have an impact, she said. “I was really just complaining to her friend that my knees hurt, my hips hurt, my shoulders hurt, everything hurt,” Hinton said.
The friend convinced her to try Pilates.
“I found a teacher and took classes with her,” Hinton said.
However, she was not sold on the idea as she believed that Pilates was not as hardcore as she would have liked. Hinton said the instructor proved her wrong. “She brought me in with a really nice smile and I started kicking her ass, so I think she realized I had a scar on my shoulder,” she said.
As Hinton prepared to move into her home in Garner, she looked for Pilates classes there. “I took a quick look at a map, and there wasn’t anything in the Garner area or Clayton area or the whole east side of Raleigh that offered Reformer Pilates,” the type of Pilates that uses strength-building machines. she said about. called a reformer.
And that’s when Moxie Pilates & Barre started to take shape.
“Pilates develops both strength and flexibility at the same time,” Hinton says, adding that the workout focuses on the shoulders, midsection, and back.
On March 16, Moxie opened at 218 E. Main St. in downtown Clayton. The studio is on his second floor in the building that now houses Fare Game, a new restaurant and arcade.
Hinton offers Pilates classes for a variety of levels.
“We have a Pilates 101 class for people who have never done Pilates before,” she said. “It’s actually a basic class where you come in and learn how to use the machines in a way that doesn’t feel intimidating.”
After learning the basics, you can move on to higher level classes.
“Our highest level is Pilates 2-3 classes, which we currently have in Garner,” Hinton said. “People want a challenge. Some people are really committed to wanting to get to the highest level. So we teach that 101 to the highest level.”
No class has more than eight students, Hinton said. “The nice thing about having eight people is that you get individual attention,” she says.
Clients can also take private classes.
“Some people come to private sessions when their body has specific needs,” Hinton said, using the example of someone who needs rehabilitation due to an injury.
Hinton said Moxy has received positive feedback. “Clayton welcomed us with her open arms,” she said, explaining that people were excited to see her bring Reform Pilates to the city.
Hinton added that people have been very cooperative. “When we had our grand opening, people from Garner came out to support us, because not only did they see the difference in their bodies, but they also saw the difference in their lifestyle and community. ” she said.
