Starting a movement

Being healthy comes in many shapes and sizes, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to be healthy. The gym can be time-consuming and inconvenient for many people with full-time jobs, and eating foods that are nutritious isn’t always an option.

So instead of watching people try the healthy route solo and wellness businesses work on their own, MPower Pilates & Cycle Studio owner Emma Suttles and Eleven Eleven Clothiers owner Meredith Fuller decided to team up to create Movement Collective — a way to bring together women-owned businesses to empower each other and customers and help build a wellness-minded community. 

Suttles previously lived in Los Angeles and Fuller moved to Birmingham from New York, which are both cities that have a larger health and wellness community, Suttles said. They soon noticed that Birmingham was still lacking in that area.

Each had previously toyed with the idea of starting a similar group on their own, but neither approached it. They decided to create the group and bring people together for a day in February after realizing they had a shared vision while Fuller was hosting a pop-up shop at MPower.

“Once we realized we were very aligned, we were like, ‘Why don’t we just do this next month and see how it goes?’” Suttles said. “It was just really serendipitous that we both kind of had this same vision. And why not work together and partner on it?”

Both deemed their first event a huge success.

“It was amazing. It was bigger than I anticipated,” Fuller said.

The first and second Movement Collective gatherings were held at The Pizitz Food Hall in downtown Birmingham and highlighted health-focused small businesses and healthy living. It incorporated local businesses as vendors in a small market and a short, 45-minute workout for attendees.

Each decision was a conscious one, as the participating merchants were local and women-owned. They featured nutritious food options such as kombucha, specialty foods and juices, health-minded skin care lines, freshly cut flowers and handcrafted jewelry.

“I try to keep it as local as possible, aswomen-owned as possible,” Fuller said. “It’s been so far, so good.”

About an hour after everyone has arrived and mingled, attendees are treated to a 45-minute workout session during the event. The first workout was guided by Suttles and during the second iteration — held in April — Allie Weingarten, owner of True40 of Vestavia Hills, led the class. Fuller said they’ve talked with Three15 Studio in Homewood and other Pilates studios about leading a class, too.

“I think that being a healthy person means trying new things,” Fuller said. “And you know, just because you’ve done IronTribe or True40 or MPower or whatever, there are other things to try out there, too. Variety is good.”

Suttles said everyone brings their own workout mat and the recent classes have been for cardio Pilates or something similar.

“The energy is incredible,” Fuller said. “It makes you kind of step back and realize that yeah, I own a retail store … but it’s more about empowering all these people.”

While attendees can meet and mingle, get in a good workout or try different food options, it also serves as a networking opportunity for business and gym owners and nearby residents. That’s one of the reasons Suttles and Fuller chose The Pizitz as a location for their first two iterations: it’s more centralized.

The program, while organized by two Mountain Brook businesses, wasn’t meant to be community-specific — it’s for any and all in the Birmingham area looking for a wellness-minded group to be part of or health-oriented businesses to shop at.

“Moving your body [during the event], it’s not necessarily about getting that absolutely best workout, it’s more about getting those like-minded businesses and the general population of Birmingham together that want to be healthy and have fun,” Suttles said. 

Fuller said, too, that it allows business owners and operators to build a connection.

“They say being a woman-owned business is hard. Being any kind of business owner is hard, and having that support system and the advice that you get from each others [is great],” she said. “I just don’t feel like there’s necessarily … a strong thread [for] women in business in a way for us to network and share ideas.” 

The third gathering was held in June at Fuller’s storefront in Mountain Brook Village, which opened in May. Suttles and Fuller will be hosting their next event Sept. 20 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grand Bohemian’s art gallery,  and from there, they are looking to change up venues to incorporate outdoor spaces or a cocktail hour event.

Regardless of where they end up, Fuller and Suttles are hoping that, eventually, Movement Collective grows to be a regular area attraction with both new and familiar faces in the crowd.

“I want people to discover new places in Birmingham, new things to do, new food to eat and really kind of discover really cool parts of this city because of this and through this,” Fuller said.

“When we both close our eyes, we envision a large event,” Suttles said. “It’s like the health and wellness event that brings the community together as many people as possible.”

For more information about upcoming Movement Collective events, follow both MPower and Eleven Eleven on Instagram, @mpowerbhm and @elevenelevenclothiers, or if you are interested in being a vendor contact MPower at 518-5676 or Eleven Eleven at 423-5071. Those who want to participate in the workout class should register beforehand.