Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Bernier.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started co-leading Punk Rock Aerobics a few years ago, when PRA returned from hiatus to do a fundraiser for GRCB. I’d been getting back into working out, and a bandmate encouraged me to be a back-up dancer for the event. I had heard about PRA in college and was excited to be part of it, so at the next practice, I was there.
The next time PRA did a fundraiser, most of the other back-up dancers couldn’t make it. The bricks, which are used for weights, went missing and Hilken was worried about what to do for an arm workout. I offered to lead the arm exercises using moves that rely on body weight instead of hand weights. It went fine! Hilken was like, “You saved my ass!”
Sometime after that event, we met up and talked about making PRA more of a regular thing. She invited me to be her partner – obviously, I said yes.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our biggest challenge is making time. Hilken and I both have active creative projects outside of PRA, and we’re both Executive Directors of non-profits. Hilken owns a vintage store and I make labor-intensive visual art. We play in bands. It can be a struggle to make time for PRA, especially if we want every event to be big and exciting, maintaining specific standards regarding props, music, and choreography.
We’ve been trying for years to get a workout video made! If money and time weren’t an issue, we’d be free to make the freakiest workout video of all time. Like any other passion project, you need to balance the work that doesn’t pay your rent with the work that does. It sucks, especially for fans who want more workouts and videos for home, but that’s just how it is right now.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Punk Rock Aerobics – what should we know?
Punk Rock Aerobics is a workout for freaks like us. We aim to create a fun, welcoming environment for people to get a little exercise and a lot of self-confidence. Punk Rock Aerobics is about rejecting mainstream standards of “beauty” and “fitness,” opening it up to people who don’t see themselves reflected in the fitness industry. Our classes attract all kinds of people who want to work out but hate going to a gym. They’re people who want to wear fishnets and leather gloves when they work out. People who think they’re too fat or too old or too strange to work out while others watch on. People who wanna get sweaty to some punk music!
PRA can help people lose weight or tone if that’s what they want, but it’s completely besides that point. PRA is about a community of weirdos getting together and having fun. We think moving around can help a person feel their own agency in a way that’s empowering. And generally, it works – people leave our workouts smiling, and a lot of people tell me they’re sore the next day. I am, at least.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The most essential quality of PRA is the PUNK. I go to a lot of group exercise classes, but what sets this one apart is that it centers on a specific subculture of music. But punk is about much more than just songs – it’s about an attitude, a feeling, being able to puff out your chest and let loose. It has its own aesthetic expression, way of moving, and politics. Punk creates a community for people who don’t relate with the mainstream, people who are creative and maybe cynical as well. Tapping into this community in an authentic way is what makes PRA successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.punkrockaerobics.com
- Email: contact@punkrockaerobics.com
Image Credit:
Photos: Peach S. Goodrich
Flyers: Hilken Mancini
Newspaper clipping: Rolling Stone Magazine
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