Local fitness instructor opens first Barre studio on the Island

Kaelyn Adams opened her own Barre studio after years of fitness instruction and massage therapy.

By Kailan Manandic • February 28, 2019 6:30 am
The Barre Rev studio took over a location that was previously occupied by The Dailey Method, a franchise fitness studio. Kaelyn Adams, owner of Barre Rev, had only two weeks to convert the space to her own studio. Photo courtesy of Kaelyn Adams
The Barre Rev studio took over a location that was previously occupied by The Dailey Method, a franchise fitness studio. Kaelyn Adams, owner of Barre Rev, had only two weeks to convert the space to her own studio. Photo courtesy of Kaelyn Adams

The Mercer Island community recently welcomed a new local massage therapy and fitness studio that replaced The Dailey Method at 2441 76th Ave. Southeast.

Barre Rev is a studio that focuses primarily on barre fitness, a hybrid workout incorporating a ballet barre with ballet-style moves combined with pilates, dance, yoga and strength training. Kaelyn Adams owns the new studio and was a former instructor at The Dailey Method.

Adams wanted to start this studio as a combination of her love for fitness and passion for helping people. She is a professionally trained massage therapist and has a master’s degree in sports psychology. Her experience, combined with her history of coaching running, basketball and instructing at The Dailey Method, has led Adams to create a business for the betterment of her community.

“I really like fixing people,” Adams said. “I like to work with people who have injuries or some sort of ailment they can’t fix. It’s almost like problem solving for me, or like a puzzle… I also just like helping people find the fitness that works for them. ”

Barre Rev will host an open house for any curious locals on March 16. A VIP founders party will follow where Adams plans to celebrate her new business with the community members who supported her in the first weeks of her opening.

Adams had the opportunity to take over The Dailey Method franchise location after the previous owners were set to close, but she chose to start her own business instead. She took over the space after the franchise expired and has since enjoyed the freedom to do exactly what she wants with her business.

“As I started thinking more about it, I realized I wanted a little more flexibility than a franchise would allow,” Adams said. “No matter what franchise you’re in, they’re particular about what you do.”

After months of planning, Adams had a two week window to completely reinvent the location’s interior, transforming it from the previous franchise into her own space.

“It was kind of like planning a wedding,” Adams said with a laugh. “I didn’t want to be closed any longer than [two weeks] because that’s a long time for people who are used to coming in and exercising regularly. It was really exhausting but I really enjoyed it. I got to take a space that already existed and make it my own and it was kind of surreal opening the doors.”

Barre Rev officially opened on Jan. 14 and is currently offering workshops, classes and massage therapy options. Adams aims to stand out from other fitness studios on the Island but also wants to avoid competing with her neighbors.

Adams added she wants to add more options for her members by including five different Barre formats and offering child care as a service for those who can’t normally attend the classes.

“I am focusing specifically on Barre because there is no Barre studio on Mercer Island,” Adams said. “There’s a lot of fitness in the areas so in order to make my mark and brand for myself, I wanted to stick mostly to Barre so that I’m not competing with all the other amazing studios. I have a good relationship with a couple of them because I used to teach at them.”

Many members from The Dailey Method carried over to Barre Rev and have supported Adams in the first weeks of the business opening and spreading the word to new potential members.

In an effort to grow her community, Adams plans on getting men involved in Barre Rev by offering monthly men-only classes. Inherently, many of the movements in Barre workouts are more difficult for men than for women, simply because of their different body types.

However, Adams said this shouldn’t be a deterrent and she hopes the men-only classes will make the studio less intimidating and more inclusive for locals.

“I want to make a class for them to feel welcome,” Adams said. “I want to get men in the studio — it’s not a class that’s just beneficial for women, it’s really great for everybody.”

Adams added she hopes her venue becomes a community hub where locals can come together to workout and stay afterwards for some social time.

“I just love that community atmosphere,” Adams said. “My goal is that people want to stay and hang out. This is where people go to feel great and make friends with people they’ve never met before.”

Adams noted she’s looking forward to giving back to her community through donations and philanthropy events.

“I just really enjoy giving back and I think adding that community peice is what I felt was missing before,” Adams said.