Home is where the heart is, and for Kelly Hutt and Heather Heatherly, it’s in Chattanooga.
Hutt and Heatherly are the co-owners of Ember Movement Studio, where fitness blends artistic expression, and signature classes like pole, lyra and hammock are offered alongside more traditional cardio workouts. It is also where community makes the biggest difference in reaching fitness goals with a support system built by the special bond Hutt and Heatherly share.
Before it was Ember, the fitness studio was operational under Kyle House Fitness with interim ownership after it had been sold by the original owners. Hutt and Heatherly initially worked together as instructors with similar backgrounds in performing arts and fitness.
Now, as business partners, “we have a wonderful business relationship,” said Hutt. “We are very fortunate that even though we are in different parts of our lives, we came together for the love of this business.”
Neither were born or grew up in the Chattanooga area, but the miles of distance that once separated them closed in when they came here looking for a fresh start.
“I’m originally from Nashville, born and raised,” Heatherly, whose love of movement and talent as a classically trained ballet dancer landed her in New York City, shared. “In my mid-20s, I just kind of lost my passion for ballet and moved back to Nashville.” There, she discovered yoga, and in her own words, “never looked back.”
Until her passion and skill as an instructor evolved and she desired a space of her own.
“I had been to Chattanooga throughout my life and had always said, ‘if there’s anywhere else I would be besides Nashville that was in Tennessee, it would hands-down be Chattanooga,’” recalled Heatherly.
Further away in Los Angeles, Hutt, too, was ready for a new landscape and inspiration. “I went to college in Boston, where I studied acting very intensely and from there, I moved to Los Angeles for a number of years.”
After receiving her certification in personal training, Hutt faced health challenges and knew a slower pace of life was calling for her. Chattanooga answered.
“I decided to slow down, move towards the mountains and water,” she explained. “I wanted to come into myself more and immerse myself in a community that really spoke to me.”
While their professional journey has kept them in motion, both love the escape the Chattanooga terrain offers–the opportunity to slow down and appreciate the beauty around them.
Heatherly has a preteen son who often accompanies her on hiking trips. “If I’m not working, [planning] ‘what waterfall or hike can we get to within an hour or two hours?’ There’s just options that hit each one of those points that are equally amazing.”
Among their favorites? The Gorge. “He’s my little adventure buddy,” Heatherly, who treasures the memories made on these trips, said.
Much like movement and creativity nourishes her soul (she’s a big fan of DIY projects), nature is also Hutt’s happy place–sharing it with her fiance, a massage therapist at Ember.
“[We] have an apartment that’s on the state line of Georgia and Tennessee, and there’s a lot of nature,” she shared. “I’m very fortunate.”