The Monday after Thanksgiving, eight women hung upside down from fabric hammocks at Vibe Fitness in Katy. They burned off holiday calories with Intro to Aerial, one of several workouts at the boutique studio owned by Luke and Ashlie Holdorf.

“It’s always kind of been in the yoga [category] but now it’s becoming more acrobatic, and people are wanting to kind of do the tricks and the flips and get a little bit more crazy with it,” Ashlie said.

The Holdorfs opened their studio at 1800 S. Mason Road, Katy, in February 2016.

Ashlie first became passionate about fitness as a dance teacher.

“But a lot of times, if you’re new to fitness—it’s scary,” she said. “So as a personal trainer, I kind of was able to kind of learn how to help people get started on their fitness journey.”

Some of Vibe Fitness’s more specialized classes include SURFSET and POUND, the latter of which involves drumming with quarter-pound sticks while performing high-intensity movements. SURFSET entails workouts done on a stabilized, elevated surfboard.

Ashlie said getting creative with classes keeps clients interested. Vibe Fitness accepts all skill levels.

The Holdorfs moved to Texas from Colorado in 2010. When the Houston-area studio where Ashlie was working closed, she said it saddened her to lose her “tribe,” so the Holdorfs opened Vibe Fitness.

“I couldn’t imagine just like, not working out with these people anymore and just kind of having our family just kind of break up,” Ashlie said.

The Holdorfs also wanted to bring their children—the youngest of whom was born during Tropical Storm Harvey—to work. So Vibe Fitness has child care on-site as well as classes for infants through teens.

“We’ve noticed in the Katy community, there’s a lot of moms that are in the same shoes,” Luke said.

Vibe Fitness also has a massage therapist and Ashlie said they plan to offer wellness packages in the future.

The business has grown from 13 students to 200, Ashlie said. Participants in the Nov. 27 aerial class said they surprised themselves with their newfound abilities and described the studio atmosphere as encouraging.

“You think you can’t do it but you can with the family and—we call it the ‘tribe,’” Richmond resident and new mother Sarah Fornea said. “Your tribe keeps your motivated and keeps you believing in yourself when you can’t. And it’s fantastic.”

Vibe Fitness
1800 S. Mason Road, Ste. 220, Katy
832-419-5397
www.vibewithustexas.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 4:30-9:30 p.m.; Fri. 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 4:30-8:30 p.m., Sat. 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.