If you were to merge the airy ambiance of coastal Australia and the luxury of urban New York City, with the stylish wellness culture of Los Angeles, what would you get? Something akin to Alexandra Hesse’s san studio and boutique in Downtown Bentonville.
The Aussie-native found herself launching Bentonville’s premier XFormer Pilates studio and lifestyle boutique rather organically. A career in branding brought Hesse to the states where she met her husband, Matt, while working in New York City.
“I was working at a global communications agency in Sydney running the brand marketing team,” Hesse shared. “My side-hustle was a meditation retreat business, however, I always knew I wanted to live and work overseas and gain international work experience.”
When the agency she worked for transferred Hesse to its New York City office, the intention was to spend a few years in the States before returning home, but fate had other plans.
“After meeting my husband and having two children in NYC, we decided to head to Los Angeles during the pandemic,” she shared. “It was during this time I was freelancing and thinking about my next chapter. I’d always built other people’s brands but I knew I wanted to do it for myself one day.”
According to the san studio founder, it was her husband’s entrepreneurial and military background that connected the Hesse family to Bentonville, and ultimately watered the seeds of her business idea. “My husband is an incredible entrepreneur and served in the US Army. He knew of Bentonville because of his work with Walmart and he had run his research pilots at War Eagle. While doing that, he happened to find an incredible property outside of town, and before I knew it, we packed up the family and moved to Bentonville!”
It wasn’t until after settling into the Bentonville community that Hesse recognized the opportunity for a brand like san. “When we moved here three years ago, the first thing I did was try and find an XFormer studio, having done it for the last ten years in NYC and LA. The closest one I could find was in Tulsa, then a light bulb went off! I saw an opportunity to bring something I loved to this community.”
With her branding experience and wellness background, Hesse had a great foundation for launching san. She set out to create something that would be more than just an innovative workout experience, but also a space for building community. In contrast to the typically cold and masculine studios many are used to, Hesse opted for a Scandinavian-inspired design that is both beautiful and serene.
“Probably the biggest innovation at san is its unique methodology with three key elements: Sculptural, Spacial and Soulful, which represent the integration of body, mind, and spirit,” she explains. “When it came to naming the studio I wanted a name that wasn’t prescriptive; that encouraged curiosity about its meaning.”
The name “san” and its logo come from the Chinese word for three.
In addition to specializing in XFormer Pilates, Hesse wanted to offer an upscale boutique experience where Pilates lovers [like her] could shop the seasonal, active apparel and loungewear brands they live in like Varley, Bandier, and Beyond Yoga.
Vibrant and cool are great words to describe what you feel when you leave san studio. Every aspect of the experience has been mindfully curated for maximum wellness. The tone for each class is set with breath work and binaural beats to reduce stress, and sync mind and body for focused stretching and strengthening. These holistic elements, in addition to professional staffing and premier equipment, are what distinguish san from other local Pilates offerings.
“I wasn’t sure how people would react but they absolutely love these elements, and they notice how they leave feeling energized and grounded as opposed to depleted and fatigued,” Alex said. “What I love about the XFormer, is you can always continue to challenge yourself and never plateau. With the springs adding resistance, it truly is a full body, low impact workout that will build strength, core stability, balance and flexibility.”
So how does an XFormer Pilates instructor, business owner, wife, and mother of two set herself up for success each day? It starts with a lot of water and a flat white coffee.
“My husband and I take turns doing school drop off – the mornings I’m not doing the school run, I like to start my day with some form of movement,” she shares. “I take that time to set my day up for success, whether it’s on the treadmill at Blake St responding to emails and prioritizing my must-do’s for the day, or switching off and making that mind-body connection in a san class.”
Before family dinner and quality time, Hesse’s days are a mixture of teaching classes, merchandising and managing apparel for her san boutique, meeting with brand partners, and optimizing business operations including work on a second san studio location.
“Currently, I’m looking at Fayetteville – I have clients who drive from there just to visit san,” she said. “I also have many clients who visit from out of town who tell me san is better than their local studio, so my long term vision is to create a franchise so other people who are just as passionate about my methodology can open their own san studio.”
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For those interested in XFormer Pilates, san studio offers an introductory three-pack, which is perfect for trying each of their class formats: sculpt, strength, and stretch classes. Class packages and monthly memberships are also available.
BOOK A CLASS:
www.sanstudios.com/book
VISIT & SHOP:
216 NW A St Suite 106
Bentonville, AR 72712
FOLLOW:
Instagram: @s.a.n.studio
"Probably the biggest innovation at san is its unique methodology."
"I saw an opportunity to bring something I loved to the community."