VANDALIA - Outside, the air was frigid; the sky bore the flat gray tones of a typically bleak Ohio winter.
Inside, the atmosphere was tropical, the mood was energized, and the beat was decidedly Latin.
Enthusiasts of the Zumba fitness craze lined the lobby, halls and entryway of Studio Zumba in Vandalia. They were eagerly waiting for their master class with Zumba creator Alberto "Beto" Perez to get underway.
These exercise devotees are all part of what has been dubbed the "Ohio phenomenon," a groundswell of interest in a relatively new style of workout that combines aerobics and muscle toning with Latin influenced dance moves.
The popularity of Zumba has grown exponentially in the Dayton area, due in large part to the efforts of Englewood residents Doug and Joan Jones, Zumba master trainers and owners of Studio Zumba on National Road.
"Zumba tricks you into working out," said Joan Jones. "The music is so infectious and so contagious; it makes you want to move. When a class ends, people look at the clock as if it can't possibly be over. The hour flies."
Part of Zumba's appeal is that it's less regimented than other types of exercise. According to Jones, Zumba is 50 percent dance, 50 percent fitness. The combination is potent, burning between 500 and 700 calories in a 50 minute workout.
Something for Everyone
One of Zumba's main selling points is its adaptability to any fitness level.
"You can come into any of our classes and there are young people, old people, fat people, skinny people, pretty people, ugly people, it doesn't matter," explained Joan. "I always tell people at the beginning of a class, nobody's watching you...everybody is focused on what the instructor is doing. You don't have to be perfect at this."
Class attendance at Studio Zumba ranges from as few as 10 to as many as 50 students per class. Participants come from all over the Miami Valley, with some coming from as far away as Columbus or Trenton, and one group that travels from Lexington, Ky.
Growing Popularity
In the past year, hits on Studio Zumba's web site, ZumbaOhio.com, have skyrocketed from 1,600 hits per month to over 10,000.
The Jones' enthusiasm for Zumba has been attracting a lot of media attention. In addition to several newspaper articles, representatives of the Ellen Degeneres television show have contacted the couple for a possible segment.
Zumba Fitness is based in Miami, Fla. There are currently over 2000 Zumba instructors and 25 master trainers world wide. In 2006, television producer Mark Burnett and music producer Emilio Estefan, husband of singer Gloria Estefan, became major investors in Zumba Fitness.
On March 2, representatives of Zumba Fitness, including creator Beto Perez, traveled to Vandalia to film a commercial at Studio Zumba featuring Perez as instructor.
Social Connections
Zumba classes have a reputation for building friendships among participants.
"I've never seen anything affect people like this program," said Joan. "People who do Zumba become friends, they become family. It's something I can't even describe to you...It happens everywhere you go. There's something about the soul with Zumba, there's no other way to describe it."
Simple Beginnings
Zumba originated in Columbia when Perez, a fitness instructor and celebrity choreographer, showed up to teach an exercise class minus his music. Perez improvised using CDs that he happened to have in his car. The combination of Latin music and dance moves were a hit and a new fitness movement was born.
Perez brought Zumba to Miami in 1999, teaming up with entrepreneurs Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion.
The Joneses came on board when Joan stumbled upon a Zumba infomercial in 2002. Her first Zumba class consisted of herself, her youngest son and a friend in the Jones living room. Before long the class had grown to 15.
"I thought, we've got to get this out of my living room, we were destroying the carpet," smiled Joan.
A Growing Following
When the class moved to the Kleptz YMCA in Englewood, Doug teamed up with his wife and the couple saw their Zumba class quickly grow from 30 to 160 people.
Six months into their involvement with Zumba, the Joneses got his-and-hers Zumba tattoos.
"Now we look at that and we wonder what we were thinking," said Joan. "We did not know that it was going to explode, but it did."
The couple pursued further training under Perez and became two of only 25 master trainers in the world.
"The woman who couldn't do the Electric Slide is now a Zumba master trainer!" said Joan.
A Place to Call Home
For the next few years, the Joneses taught Zumba in a variety of facilities. Tired of wandering from place to place, the couple wanted to create a location that Zumba could call home, and that was constructed in a way that was good for both the body and the soul. This meant wood floors as opposed to tile or concrete, and a welcoming atmosphere with a South Beach flair.
"We thought, if we're going to bump it up a notch, we wanted to design it in a way that would be the perfect situation for a Zumba class," Joan explained. "I wanted people from this area to walk in the door and say, where am I? There's nothing like this around here."
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Transforming the long vacant space into a state of the art fitness center proved to be a major challenge.
Friends as well as fellow Zumba instructors rolled up their shirtsleeves, providing ample supplies of sweat equity.
"We had 15 helpers going through 42 gallons of paint on a weekend," Joan explained. "People ask what we paid for this; it was blood, sweat and tears."
Doug, a FedEx route driver by day and a former Mr. Ohio, would work on the space until 2 a. m. only to rise at 5 a. m. to start his work day.
The Joneses compared the transformation to the television show "Flip This House." Six weeks and a lot of hard work later, Studio Zumba was ready for its grand opening on Jan. 28.
A Prototype
As the world's first all-Zumba fitness center, Studio Zumba will serve as a prototype for future Zumba facilities. The center offers massage therapy and will eventually feature a tanning bed, juice bar and weight training room. Zumba classes are held in a 1,500 square foot exercise room complete with wood floors, a state of the art sound system, and a stage for instructors, allowing students better see the trainer's footwork.
Zumba Gold classes for beginners and older adults desiring lower impact exercise are offered and plans are in the works for a Zumba class geared toward children.
The Joneses also coordinated a Zumba training workshop at Hara Arena this past weekend with over 200 participants coming in from across the country.
Studio Zumba does not charge a membership fee. An $8 drop-in fee is charged per class, or students can purchase $50 punch cards entitling them to attend 10 classes.
"Everybody said, build it and they will come, and they were right," said Joan. "It didn't really hit us until about a year ago. We didn't realize the impact we were having on people's lives. We're just Doug and Joan, the FedEx guy and the mom!"
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