Kellams: Pilates works your core, your strength and your flexibility. Saturday morning, Posh Pilates in Fort Smith will also bring the cute. The Fort Smith-based Pilates studio will go on the farm, Red Roof Farms, to be exact, for Pilates next to mini Highland cows. Yesterday Ella Fawcett, founder of Posh Pilates, was pretty busy, but she let me ask her a few questions about Saturday morning’s Minis + Moos event.
Fawcett: So we reached out to, here in Fort Smith, there’s Red Roof Farms, and they have the cutest mini Highland cows. And so we thought it would be a really fun experience. It’s fall. The weather is so much better. And so we thought it would be fun to go to the farm and to do Pilates with the mini Highland cows and all of Red Roof Farm’s animals.
Kellams: All right. For those who might not be able to conjure up immediately an image of a mini Highland cow, what does the animal look like? How big is it? What can you tell us about it?
Fawcett: Oh, they’re probably maybe 3 foot tall. They have the cutest hair and horns. But they just look a very cuddly little cow. It almost looks like a calf, but it’s actually a cow. And they’re docile, they’re mild, they’re calm.
Yeah, we went to the farm yesterday to kind of scope everything out, where we would set up. And there’s not just the mini Highland cows. They have alpacas. They have different kinds of sheep. They have pigs and goats, and it’s a really cute little petting farm. They actually opened last weekend.
Kellams: Oh, OK. So what does that mean for a Pilates instructor? I mean, the animals might be moving in between you and the others.
Fawcett: So what we’re going to do is we’re going to be out kind of in the pasture where the barn is. And so they will be next to us, and they’re actually going to be in their own area, so they won’t be in with us. It’s not like, I know you’ve heard of goat yoga, and they kind of let them, the little mini goats, like, we’re not gonna be doing anything like that. But they’ll be right there where they can see them. And then after, they’ll actually get a whole experience at the petting zoo. So they’ll get to stay, and they have all-day access to Red Roof Farm.
Kellams: So it sounds like Posh Pilates tries to think a little bit differently, not always having what might be a standard Pilates class or session.
Fawcett: Yes. Yes, sir. We want to do it differently. We want it to be fun and really just focused on movement and our overall health, from physical to mental. And how good is it for your mental health to get out in the open air and to pet animals? So I think it’ll be a very good experience tomorrow.
Kellams: What else does Posh Pilates do?
Fawcett: So we actually are a growing concept. We do community events, of course, just like this. We do open studio events. We really try to foster a community feel. But 24/7 access for people who can’t go the typical 11 or 1 p.m. class.
But we are looking to make our mark on Arkansas and our region. So we have Rogers location, actually up by you guys. It has just opened, and it is Evosh Pilates. We did rebrand those studios. And Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is getting one, as well as Fayetteville, Arkansas, is about to be under construction as a franchise. Russellville, Arkansas, is a franchise, and they are under construction. Collierville, Tennessee, is a franchise and about to be under construction. And then we have a few others in the line.
So this is a growing concept for the digitally guided 24/7 access of Pilates. So you’ll probably be hearing about us soon. We are trying to shake things up in our industry.
Kellams: Well, that’s excellent, and I wish you, it looks like the forecast Saturday morning is going to be wonderful. So I hope you and the other humans and the other animals all have a good, well, time.
Fawcett: Yes, we’re so excited. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, this post went so viral. I don’t know if you actually saw the post, but it went so viral that Red Bull reached out and asked to sponsor. So Red Bull is going to be there with mini Red Bulls to match the mats, minis and moos. So they will be there as well. And so I thought that was really, really cool that Red Bull was going to be sponsoring.
Kellams: All right. So maybe I’m wrong, but when I think Pilates, I think relaxed. When I think Red Bull, I think energetic. So there’s kind of a meeting in the middle.
Fawcett: Oh, yeah. So Pilates is a little bit more intense than your typical yoga, which yoga can be strenuous, too. But yeah, so they’re going to get a good workout. We’re doing a holiday mat series from Your Reformer, which is our Pilates partner for our digitally guided workouts. And so they’ll get a really good workout, and they can drink a little Red Bull mini if they want one.
Kellams: Ella Fawcett with Posh Pilates, thank you so much. Have a great Saturday morning.
Fawcett: Thank you so much, Kyle.
Kellams: Ella Fawcett is founder of Fort Smith-based Posh Pilates. And tomorrow morning, beginning at 9, Posh Pilates is hosting the Minis + Moos event at Red Roof Farms, combining Pilates and mini Highland cows and some other animals. You can find the original Posh Pilates post about tomorrow’s event that’s gone viral on Instagram. Handle is @poshpilates.fs. Ella Fawcett talked with me late yesterday afternoon.
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