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About me
Current Hoop Dance Credentials and Resume:
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Melissa McLaughlin (formerly Stockwell)
1. Sponsored by:
Citiva Creationz LED Hoops / Indika Creationz Clothing
2. Former content Manager for hooptricks.org / www.thespinsterz.com
3. 180,617 YouTube Views and 1,420+ Subscribers www.youtube.com/user/melissastockwell4372
4. Over 5 years hoop dance performance experience (many videos on my YouTube channel)
www.facebook.com/melissa.transcendance
5. Teaching classes, workshops, and private lessons since August 2013 www.facebook.com/HoopFitnessPlus
6. Over 8 years of hooping and hoop dance experience
7. Masters Degree in Nonprofit Management obtained in December 2018 - heavy focus on hoop dance and flow arts programs within my studies. Masters thesis addressed using the arts for social change.
​How it all began
As a child, I never liked hula hoops. I tried to do it and I never could. I actually refused play with them or to learn how to do it and gave up. Then, I found myself face to face with hula hoops again at age 25 on New Year’s Eve, 2011. My friend and I decided to goof around with some children’s hula hoops and I was not good at it. I tried it again with a group of friends about a month later and failed pretty badly once again. I had lost interest at that point. I had no motivation or reason to keep trying. Then, one day I went to Walmart and ended up purchasing a $5 hula hoop. I got it for my dogs to jump through for exercise and stimulation. When I got home, I put together an elaborate obstacle course for them. I tried picking them up and passing them through it. I tried throwing tennis balls through it, in hopes they would follow. They didn’t want anything to do with it. They were actually scared of it.
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A few weeks later on April 1st, I decided to pick it up and try it out. I had a determination about me that I never had before. As I was still struggling, I looked up “how to hula hoop” on YouTube. That is where I realized that the world of hooping was more than just rotating around the waist. I quickly found tutorials on many different moves and techniques. After finally keeping it up on my waist, I moved on to my first trick, called the “lift-up”. I worked on that one for weeks. I had read that a heavy hula hoop was easier, so I went on to cover it in two layers of duct tape. The hoop was starting to dent, bend, and kink throughout learning. Shortly after, I discovered that I was using the wrong hoop. I found out that my hoop needed to be about 40 inches in diameter, with thicker tubing and a heavier weight. I was going to purchase one but my creative side took over and I decided to make my own instead. My husband and I went to the local hardware store and bought 50 feet of irrigation tubing, connectors, vinyl tape, and colored duct tape. We made one for each of us and found it much easier to learn.
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At this point, I was discovering just how huge the hooping community was, spanning across the entire world. I knew I had found what I loved to do. For the first time in my life, I knew the group of people I fit in with. I began taking pictures and videos of myself hooping to share my experiences. I got a good response right away. I began finding other “hoopers” on facebook and building friendships. The first set of hooper friends I found were great at first, but ended up treating me badly. I went through a really hard time from this but I did not give up. This group of people motivated me to be better than I ever imagined I could be.
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I have struggled with severe depression and anxiety since I was about 15 years old. I had tried everything to get it under control. It ruined many of my days I could have spent functioning and happy. I mostly lived my life in a negative, sad, tired and pathetic way. I didn’t care to connect with other people or make friends. I was angry at and jealous of all people that were able to function normally on a day to day basis. That was before I discovered hooping.
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I quickly began to realize that this hula hoop discovery was MUCH more than just something to keep me busy. It became the one and only thing that has made my depression and anxiety tolerable. Exercise is great for depression and anxiety, but this was much more than that. It was my exercise, hobby, escape, positivity, confidence, happiness, belonging, relaxation, challenge, health, motivation, inspiration, and my ambition. I am now turning this amazing part of my life into a career. I am now performing, teaching hooping and hoop dance classes 3 days per week, and managing content for www.hooptricks.org. I am going to live the dream and get paid to do what I love in any way I can.
