An Arlington woman began her entrepreneurial journey earlier this year with the opening of a new fitness studio in Falls Church.
Hope Wheeler opened a barre3 this winter at 450 N. Washington Street, making a career shift after two decades in professional communications. Since February, the new boutique fitness studio has brought dozens of people together for classes in strength, cardio and mindfulness.
Leading barre3 is Wheeler’s full-time job today, from teaching classes to coordinating social media, restocking merchandise and processing payroll.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Wheeler told ARLnow. “It took me almost two years to get to this point … it was a really big, big milestone, big celebration, when I finally got to open.”
The studio offers between four and five group classes each day, which can take up to 24 people each. Workouts combine cardio, strength training and breath exercises, “all packaged in a really welcoming environment,” Wheeler said.
“You don’t have to be, like, the skinniest or the strongest or the prettiest or the richest,” she added. “You can just completely be yourself.”
Wheeler said she felt compelled to open a new barre3 after the franchise’s Clarendon studio shut down in 2022.
Going to that location had become an important part of her life after the pandemic, helping her to socialize and hold herself accountable. But after Clarendon’s studio closed, driving to other D.C.-area barre3 studios every day just wasn’t feasible for her schedule.
“It was something that I needed every day, truly,” Wheeler said. “I was like, ‘well, I guess I have to open my own studio,’ and the franchise was available in this area. It just means so much to me.”
This is Wheeler’s first entrepreneurial endeavor. Although she’s never been “a traditional gym girl,” she said she was drawn to work with barre3 because it provided an environment where she didn’t feel intimidated.
“When you believe in something so strongly, it removes a lot of the worry,” she said.
The woman-founded franchise has over 200 women-operated studios nationwide. In Falls Church, each customer’s first class is free.
Aside from classes, Wheeler’s studio offers a child-care area, locker room amenities and jewelry for sale by the Northern Virginia-based designer The Pink Reef.
Looking ahead, Wheeler said she hopes to do more community partnerships. She is currently scheduled to teach a free fitness class on April 26 at Mr. Brown’s Park for the City of Falls Church Fitness Challenge, and barre3 will also participate in the city’s Memorial Day Festival.
She looks forward to meeting more of her Falls Church neighbors and becoming embedded in the city’s community.
“I have been welcomed so warmly by the Falls Church community and other business owners, and it’s just a really, really amazing group of people here,” Wheeler said. “That, especially, has really exceeded my expectations.”
