and grandfather also owned various business franchises in Maryland.
It was near there, in Homewood, Alabama, that the couple got their first exposure to Pure Barre, a fitness studio franchise that uses the ballet bar (or “barre” in French) to perform small isometric movements set to music. Its method targets the arms, abs, seat, and thighs and provides a fullbody workout to create long, lean muscles and burn calories. “I’d never seen that approach or combination before,” Marshall commented. “It seemed to offer movement patterns and training of different muscle groups in ways that are atypical of group gyms’ fitness workouts. It was more holistic in its approach to teacher, client interaction as well.” The more Moana and Marshall concentrated on their future path, the more they wanted to prioritize spending quality time with each other and their son. So they began researching the possibility of opening a Pure Barre franchise together somewhere in the southeastern US, where most of their extended family lives. Marshall had the added advantage of having grown up in a family with entrepreneurial experience, as his father 64 | WELLNESS
“The deeper we explored Gainesville, the more we discovered the qualities we were seeking: an active, volunteer-oriented area, with lots of young families, where people were physically, emotionally, and spiritually connected to the community,” Marshall noted. “I had coached at a local private school here eight years earlier, and this community seemed to have the positive environment we wanted to raise our kids in as well.” Located in the Millhopper area of town, Pure Barre opened in January 2016 and offers classes seven days a week, each a fifty-five minute low-impact session composed of warm-up stretching, pushing off and against the barre workout, and cool-down stretching. All exercises are done with light weights and accompanied by high-energy, theme-based music designed to provide an energetic impulse and “fuel” during the workout. The latest addition to the studio’s class lineup is the Pure Barre Platform workout that claims to double the calories burned, providing a higher intensity exercise and better cardiovascular results. Moana teaches a majority of the classes, while