FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #51 Finding Your Strength: The Magic of Pure Barre of Stafford
Strength isn't just physical—it's a powerful connection between body, mind, and soul. Chelsea Cameron from Pure Barre Stafford joins the FXBG Neighbors Podcast to reveal how this unique fitness studio is transforming lives through accessible, full-body workouts.
Chelsea shares her personal journey of how fitness "saved her life" during a difficult period living overseas with her four young children. What began as tearful spin classes evolved into a passion for helping others discover their own strength. When she moved to the area during COVID, Chelsea found Pure Barre and quickly went from curious potential client to certified instructor in all four workout formats.
But what exactly is Pure Barre? Chelsea dispels common misconceptions (no, it's not ballet or dancing!) while explaining how the studio offers 50-minute full-body workouts using a ballet-style barre as just one of many tools. The magic lies in how each session is tailored to individual needs, making it accessible to everyone regardless of fitness level, limitations, or injuries. As Chelsea emphasizes, "You don't need to do anything or be anything other than exactly what you are and where you are right now."
What makes Pure Barre truly special is the expert instruction that feels like "personal training in a group fitness setting." The well-trained teachers are master multitaskers who create an environment where everyone can thrive while building a supportive community. Whether you're a fitness novice or experienced athlete, Pure Barre offers a "dialable" approach that meets you exactly where you are.
Ready to experience the magic yourself? Pure Barre Stafford offers a free 30-minute introductory class. Find them online, follow @purebarrestafford on social media, or call 540-699-0793 to begin your own transformation journey.
Chelsea Cameron
Pure Barre of Stafford
purebarre.com
stafford@purebarre.com
+1 540-699-0793
1630 Publix Way, Suite 120, Stafford, VA
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I'm excited to introduce you to my guest. Today we have Chelsea Cameron joining us. She is with Pure Barre of Stafford. Chelsea, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:Hi Dori, Thanks so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here with you today.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Well, I'm looking forward to learning more about Pure Barre. So let's start there. Tell us a little bit about the business.
Speaker 3:The business is magical, honestly. I mean I love that you started off by saying we're talking about our favorite local things, because it's my favorite local thing. I've been with Pure Barre for almost five years now and it completely changed my life in all the best ways. It's a fitness avenue, so we offer full body workouts for people coming in and four different formats available. You're doing full body every time you come in 50 minutes start to finish, and it's so transformative and it's a really unique way of strengthening your body, your mind, your soul and building community all at the same time. So it's just a wonderful avenue for finding out how strong you really can be.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that does sound magical, you are right. So tell me about barre. So walk me through as someone who has never been in a studio. What would I expect coming in?
Speaker 3:I love that question and I get asked that often. Sometimes people coming off the street wonder if we're just a retail space, because there is retail offered in the front of the space, so that's what you see when you come in. But in the back of the room is where all that magic happens. And so if you're coming in saying, what is this, what are we doing here, what do I expect? Truly, it's a way where I want all your expectations to go away. You need to come in and just let go of anything you think you might know about bar, you think you might know about working out, and come in hoping to learn about you. Like, the goal is for every teacher in the studio to guide someone through a workout in a way that you're learning about your mind body connection, you're learning about your muscles in a new way, and those are really the things that we focus on in the room is teaching, not just instructing.
Speaker 2:I love that Very interesting, so tell me about you. I want to know what your journey is and how you got into this.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, fitness saved my life, honestly, and this was before Pure Barre started for me. Pure Barre has been in my life for about five years, like I mentioned, but before that I was a spin instructor and I was living overseas and I really struggled when we moved overseas. It was a tough move for me. I have four kids and I'm a mom of four, and so they were on the younger side back then. They're older now and it just was a tough spot for me to be in emotionally and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do or be or how to navigate that big, big move that we had made as a family.
Speaker 3:And I started taking these fitness classes, these spin classes, and the instructor at the front of the room was breathing life into me day after day after day, without even really trying. It was something that she just was naturally doing because it was her joy to guide people through these fin classes. So as I sat there with tears streaming down my face through all these classes, I started to finally reawaken and rediscover joy and figure out like I really like this and there was so much value in what I was doing, and that was when I decided I wanted to pursue that and be that force and that light in another person's life. So I became certified as a fitness instructor, fell in love with it completely, became strong for the first time in my life, in truth and moved here in the middle of COVID and nobody was there and I was going oh no, I just found this thing. That is awesome and I really I don't want to lose momentum and enter Pure Barre, the Stafford studio was being advertised online.
Speaker 3:It wasn't open yet and it was just a coming soon ad that I saw and I clicked it and the next day the general manager reached out and I barely even remembered that I had asked for information, to be honest, like who are you? Why are you calling me? And then I'm like oh yeah, I did ask you about that and through our conversation, you know, I just was asking you about taking classes and what is Pure Barre? I had the same question as you. I didn't know what it was, I'd never heard of it. And then in our conversation I went if you're coming soon, you might still need teachers. Do you need staff members? What's that process look like? And then it was a very quick snowball from that point on, from just that initial conversation, to being hired as a teacher, to going to training and now being certified in all four formats and teaching as many classes as possible because I absolutely love it. So that's sort of how I got into it and I really am so passionate about what I do with them.
Speaker 2:Amazing, amazing. It's a story of a true transformation and life-changing. Yes, that's amazing. I love that. I love that and I imagine that it rubs off on all of the students that you teach.
Speaker 3:I hope so. You know you always have people come in the room and leave feeling empowered better than when they came in the door. Yeah, yeah, door on the way out.
Speaker 2:So tell me, are there any misconceptions that you find that people have about Pure Barre?
Speaker 3:so tell me, are there any misconceptions that you find that people have about pure barre gosh? Yes, oh, do you tell me? Oh yeah, so one of the first things people go is are we dancing? Is this ballet?
Speaker 3:that's the thing that we get because it's barre with two r's. Right, we do have a bar around the edges of the studio and it's a tool, much like a weight would be or any piece of workout equipment. That's what that bar is there for. But a lot of times people will peek in and go so are we doing ballet? We are not doing ballet. At no point will you find me. No plies, no plies. For me, the technique is sort of based off of a lot of the setups and the technique that you might find from a dance background. So there is that but. But no, we are not dancing and no dance involved in what we do through the workouts. But that's probably the most common misconception that and, as I mentioned, folks wondering if we're just selling retail.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for clearing that up for us because I thought that too when I saw the bar is there something there dance, related to this?
Speaker 3:We like to have parties before and after class every now and then when we're feeling really fun, but not fun.
Speaker 2:Okay. So, speaking of fun, when you are not working, what are you doing for fun?
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, anytime someone says, when you're not working and I go, what's that mean? The beauty of what I do is that I go to work and do the thing that I love. I have the joy of it being my fun thing. So I go to work for fun. But I do also love being outside. If you're can ever get me on the water, if I have a chance to be on the water, that's where I'm going to want to go, on a sub board laying by the pool. I really love to just be. I'm solar powered, I tell people, so if you can put me outside, I will choose that all day, every day, um, and I do sing professionally and so again, I get to work in the space. That is fun for me. So singing a huge piece of my heart in my life that I find a lot of joy in.
Speaker 2:Very cool.
Speaker 3:Well, you're making a lot of people jealous that you have so much fun while you work.
Speaker 2:Come talk to me. We are hiring. I love it, so tell me what is something that you wish the listeners knew about? Pure Barre how?
Speaker 3:accessible it is. That is something that I really want it to be so crystal clear, and it's hard to get that messaging across when you just don't know what to expect it can feel. Boutique fitness, I think, can be a little bit scary and, looking from the outside, in going, I have to be stronger before I can try that, or I have to do something before I can come and try this, and it's such a lie. You don't need to do anything or be anything other than exactly what you are and where you are right now, because it is so accessible and dialable. Our lead teacher, Hannah, says that often and I love the way she phrases it that it is dialable for your needs, no matter where you are. You can have an injury or a limitation or need modifications and know that that's an option throughout every single class, and the teachers are so well-trained to come and actually meet you where you are and offer something for you, and so that's really the thing I want people to walk away from knowing that Pure Barre is accessible for everyone.
Speaker 2:Amazing, amazing. So you clearly have very skilled instructors that you can have multiple levels and be able to navigate a beginner and someone advanced in the same.
Speaker 3:These teachers have so much on their minds at all times and are navigating so many different things. They are expert multitaskers and it's like coming in and getting personal training in a group fitness setting and it's a very cool. It's a very cool thing to experience. Like I said, unique and I've never really come across anything quite like it Interesting.
Speaker 2:Well, if the listeners are interested in learning more or connecting with you, where can they find you?
Speaker 3:You can find us online. We do have a website. You can search out Pure Barre Stafford. Our full schedule is online, as well as the option to book a free class. We do offer a free class for everyone wanting to come try it, and so, if you're listening and thinking, is it really accessible? Yeah, come try. Come give it a shot. It's free for you. It's 30 minutes to just try out what we do and come experience what it's like inside of Pure Barre Studio. So online is there. We're on social media Instagram, facebook at Pure Barre Stafford or you can call the studio 540-699-0793. Talk to any one of our associates there and they would love to give information.
Speaker 2:Amazing Chelsea. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Pure Barre with us. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to fxbgneighborspodcast. com.