Nov 29, 2017
A few more from Sarah’s session. See more on the blog! Link in profile & HERE: www.torridboudoir.com/sarah 🖤 MUA: @unleashed_by_lauren 🖤 Hair & Wardrobe: @swoffstyle #clientfeature (at Torrid Boudoir)
seen from Malaysia
seen from Türkiye
seen from Argentina
seen from China
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seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from Singapore
seen from South Africa
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Argentina
seen from China
seen from Argentina
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seen from United States
seen from China
A few more from Sarah’s session. See more on the blog! Link in profile & HERE: www.torridboudoir.com/sarah 🖤 MUA: @unleashed_by_lauren 🖤 Hair & Wardrobe: @swoffstyle #clientfeature (at Torrid Boudoir)
#Repost @pathandcompass ・・・ #clientfeature: Style and #BrandShoots are a great way to collaborate with fellow vendors, but the real value is showcasing the kind of work you want to be known for. Create your ideal client, your dream event, and share. Catering: @dreameventsandcatering Rentals: @southerneventsonline Photography: @jenandchriscreed Venue: @thelodgefranklin (at The Lodge Franklin)
Girls with pink soles...www.6thMadison.com #boldness #bravery #style #girlpower #blackgirlmagic #clientfeature @essence @ebonymagazine @getjetmag @traceeellisross @charreah @jonesmag @bet @betmusicmatters @blackenterprise @blackgirlsrock #client #6thMadison #SamanthaLomax #iSpeakPR #iSpeakPRInfluencers (at The iSpeakPR Agency)
Client Feature | Emma Pickering
As we are waving goodbye to the first half of 2016, it is now time for a quick recap and progress-check what we all had set out to accomplish. This week, we spotlight on Emma Pickering, our RUMI lucky draw winner in Sixteenfor16 challenge back in January. This easy-going Californian has grown much love over the past 5 years residing here and dearly called Singapore her second home now. Emma and her husband got hooked on the constant excitement of dipping themselves into the Asian cultures, going to new places and meeting friends from all over the world. Much of her old lifestyle have been left behind, but not Xtend Barre. Up till now, she’s been with Upsider family for more than a year.
UM: Hi Emma, could tell us about your experience with Sixteenfor16 challenge?
Emma: This is the very first time I’ve ever done a fitness challenge, and also the longest one. It’s basicly 16 classes in the period of 4 weeks. So if you divide it out to get an equal frequency, you need to attend at least 4 times a week. Usually I attend once or twice during weekdays and once or twice during the weekend, but honestly the challenge is the huge incentive to keep you coming back because: you paid for it! *laugh*. And I like it that I can do my workout at both studios. After the challenge, I could feel that my muscles are more toned and defined. I’m definitely more fit.
UM: So after the challenge, do you come as often?
Emma: Honestly, I’ve tried to! You probably can check my attendance *laugh*. But the challenge was a helpful push!
UM: Other than attending Barre, do you do any other form of exercises?
Emma: Playing tennis and running. For a non-sport activity, I’m usually more relaxed - especially with Barre workout which requires a coordination of different muscle training techniques that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own.
UM: Do you have any friends who joined you for the challenge?
Emma: During that period, my friends were all travelling and couldn’t join. But usually after work we do barre together and head for a cup of coffee afterwards. I really hope that the next challenge fits our schedule better. I love how you track the progress of all challengers with those little blue dots on the board - look at it and I kind of remember the names and faces. Even though the challenge is mostly for yourself but it’s fun to be competitive and see who have done the most so far!
As an end note, here are some of the fun facts you will remember the next time you see her at Upside Motion and stay tuned for another exciting challenge coming your way soon!
1] Things she always get excited about:
Adventurous activities and on the road exploring new places with her husband.
2] The most memorable places:
Burma and Sri-Lanka.
3] Morning ritual:
Coffee and exercise
4] Night ritual:
Be mellow and switch-off-the-brain activities.
5] At work:
If she’s not out seeing clients, Emma is at her desk reading and working with numbers.
6] On a weekend afternoon:
Errands, friends, tennis, barre, sometimes a spa retreat.
7] Favourite local dish:
Everyday kaya toast with the soya sauce.
8] Fitness brands she wears:
Lululemon, Sweaty Betty, Nike, Athleta
Emma in her pair of RUMI pants that she won in the lucky draw.
CLIENT FEATURE :: Outside Of Her Comfort Zone Link to her blog in profile. HMUA: @unleashed_by_lauren. Photographer: @ezimzam of @torridboudoir All images © Torrid Boudoir. #atxboudoir #boudoiratx #hellolovely #sexyinthecity #sexyinthecityaustin #foryoureyesonly #beautiful #gorgeousness #clientfeature #inlove #hotmama
Client Feature | Avryl Lee
It has been a week since Avryl has left the sunny homeland to move on with her new journey in Queensland. Utterly fresh out of her NUH training at the age of 23, she possesses the strength and clear vision of how to live a good and meaningful life. As we wave our goodbye to this cheerful and lovely Upsider, here are 10 amazing facts about her in our 30-minute conversation:
No.01 // Avryl decided to be a nurse when she was fourteen! One day, she made up her mind: “I think it’s my calling. I want to be a nurse.” When asked why not the other professions and whether she was sure about the tough career of being a nurse, Avril said she knew about the hardship and enjoyed the challenge.
No.02 //Joining our Private Reformer routine was actually...by mistake. Avryl was randomly looking at Instagram and wanted to try our Xtend Barre class. She came in thinking she needed to have some Pilates experience to join the Barre. After her first Pilates experience on the reformer, Avryl got hooked!
No.03 //Her Upsider weekly routine: one private Pilates session on the reformer and two Xtend Barre!
No.04 // Avryl practiced her Pilates routine everyday for a month when she was on holiday oversea trip visiting her aunt. She simply couldn’t stop doing it: “I was afraid that I’d lose the momentum and my body wouldn’t be able to get used to the movement anymore.”
No.05 // On the experience of being with Upside Motion over a year, Avryl said: “As a nurse, I tend to bend my back a lot and my lower back used to hurt after work. After learning how to protect your back using your own body mechanics with Pilates and Barre, I don’t feel that pain anymore. My legs were like jelly before and now, I can feel that there’s more muscle definition!”. Yay!
No.06 //Avryl is fondly known as “The Pancake Queen” by her friends. She loves cooking and baking even though she doesn’t have a sweet tooth.
No.07 // Avryl’s tips on baking healthy goodness: Cut down on sugar and instead, use agave nectar. She also experiments with different kinds of organic products and flours. “Organic products create a wholesome and rich taste that is very different from what you normally get outside.”
No.08 // Her night ritual: Forward roll and backward roll. Finished by a spinal twist to stretch your back muscle. Avryl feels that it’s important to release all the tension in your body before you sleep.
No.9 // Favorite magazines: Kinfolk and Frankie
No.10 // Avryl practices her Calligraphy on her off-days. Here’s a lovely little note she wrote specially for our instructor, Beatriz before she jetting off to Australia.
Client Feature | Mitchell and Kelly
Mitchell Haney and Tian Kelly are a recently relocated Australian couple who have been attending Upside Motion for just upwards of a year. While the man is the advisory manager from Ernst and Young, the woman is the loyalty marketing manager of Intercontinental Hotels Group. They are a goal-driven couple with a lot of ambition and determination. To celebrate Valentine’s day, let’s get to know about this power couple’s fitness routine and how they manage a healthy lifestyle together in Singapore.
UM: Hi Tian and Mitchell, thanks for taking the time to do this profile, so to start with, how did you guys met?
M: We met about 10 years ago? We grew up around the same area in Australia
T: Wow that seems like a long time ago (laughs)
UM: When did you start working out at Upside Motion?
T: I started only 2 months after I moved here. I wanted to try the Xtend Barre classes in Sydney. But I was doing a lot of travelling for work so when I moved over here, I tried to look for a few studios that did it. That’s how I found Upside Motion. I've been doing since about June last year. After about 3 months I started bringing him along.
M: Since I got here for 12 months, without playing any sport, I've sort of been trying to find something though I didn't know what it was. I’ve been whinging about how I can't find something. I've taken up boxing, which has been great. But Upside Motion is another thing altogether. I'm literally back to basics, from the lowest of low sort of starts. It's really been challenging me. She doesn't have to drag me out here very much anymore, I'm pretty keen about it.
UM: (To Tian) Have you tried our Xtend Barre classes?
T: I actually started doing Xtend Barre this year in January. I grew up doing Ballet. I did Ballet for 18 years. I wanted to try the Xtend Barre class to compare what it's like to actual Ballet.
UM: How do you feel about the difference?
T: I think there's a lot of repetition in Xtend Barre. Most exercises tend to go on for about 5, 10, 15 mins. Whereas in Ballet you would do 30 secs of one exercise, then break. I find that endurance in Xtend Barre matters a lot more. The class is tough, it's definitely a good workout.
UM: How is your experience with Private Reformer at Upside Motion?
T: We had never done it before. It's a good full-body workout. I think when you first see the machines for the first time, you think there will only be a few exercises you could do with it. But actually the machine is really versatile.
M: It's different for me, I didn't know what to expect. I used to play football back in Australia, so when I first went I told her not to worry, I'll be fine. Then I was really surprised with the control. I struggled big time with some very simple exercises. It was a bit of a rude awakening to some potentially some gaps in my fitness. But no, it was good, I think it's the slow-controlled movements and techniques that I'm getting benefit out of. Originally I thought, I was doing core, but after the first lesson I felt like my whole body was nice and strong. I'm really enjoying it.
UM: Do you guys keep track of your fitness trends?
M: Yeah we're now caught up with activity trackers, the little fitbits. We really got hooked in all these tech tools. I keep an eye on the crossfit or HIIT training.
UM: So you guys started using wristbands.
M: It's addictive! We both have a Polar A360.
T: I've had heart rate monitors before, when I exercised, that was like 2-3 years ago, and then I had just a fitness tracker, and it just counted my steps and calories, but this kind of combines everything in one, and I love the fact that it actually vibrates, because we both have office jobs, so it's quite easy to sit down 4 hours at a time, but it actually buzzes and tells u it's time to move, get up and start moving. So I like that aspect of it.
UM: Great, so since it’s valentine’s day, we want to find more about you guys as a couple: here’s a couple of fun questions.
Describe each other in three words?
M: Organized, Motivated, and Fun.
T: I'd say Funny, Loyal, Driven!
UM: What inspires your partner?
M: I think it's achievement, quite driven, motivation and ticking things off and getting things done. Achievement in work, fitness, health.
T: I think we're really similar in that regard, very driven to excel, I think we're very understanding that regard. Mitch has to travel a lot for work, and I've always been supportive of that case, and then I actually left him for 18 months and then moved away for work, he was very supportive of that as well.
UM: Do you guys cook together?
M: We take turns, it depends who's in the right mood? It also depends who gets home from work first as well.
UM: The superstar ingredients and cuisines you guys go for?
M: We use carrots, celery, mixed peppers, capcicum. Chilli not so much but we're getting better. I think everything we cook generally has those base vegetables in there. I'm into a bit of Thai cooking at the moment, so different sorts of stir fry, things with coriander, all sorts of different flavours. Just trying different things.
T: We eat a lot of Mexican, which is good.
UM: What was the most exciting thing that happened last year?
Both: We moved to Singapore!
Client Feature | Pim Rakchaiwan
Having patroned Upside Motion for the past one year, Pim Rakchaiwan now graced the Barre poses with ease by her sculpted and lean body. Upon first glance, little could one guess that this elegant Thai is actually in charge of the Technology and Customer Experience department in banking. Let’s get behind the curtain and get Pim’s tips on fitness and holistic living.
UM: Could you tell us how did you start your love affair with Xtend Barre?
P: I’ve done yoga for 8 years but Xtend Barre is a total different love. I had always wanted to be a ballerina when I was little! Xtend Barre targets a different group of muscles and has the dance element in it. So now, I would balance my schedule and do barre twice or thrice a week during weekdays and yoga is in the weekends.
UM: How did you see the changes in your body and mind?
P: I could see and feel vivid results within the first four months. My body got more toned and I have much leaner arms and legs. And it always feels good! After work, I would feel really run-down but then I come out of the class feeling pumped up and happy.
UM: Do you remember the very first experience with your Xtend Barre class?
P: It was a brand new concept to me. With no barre background, I had fun learning the postures and terminology, even though Xtend Barre only uses some of the basic ones. It also surprised me with how challenging it was. I had experience with yoga for many years and thus, was pretty confident with my core strength. However, I was defeated after the first class. With barre, you get to train the cores and muscles of the areas you barely touch with other types of work-out. I feel that barre is a nice ad-on to my yoga practices.
UM: What do you wish to see more in an Xtend Barre class?
P: Perhaps, a theme barre class or play around with the playlists and dance element? Having a 70s or 80s music would be fun! I would love to join if we have a halloween dress-up class too!
UM: What are some of your favourite fitness fashion brands?
P: One of the things that got me hooked into barre is the fitness wear. I feel really motivated to dress the best for my barre sessions. My latest obsessions are Michi & Sweatybetty!
UM: How do you feel about the styles of instructors?
P: Beatriz is the hardcore one (in a fanstatic way) whereas Jabi’s class is a pleasant and more lighthearted! I think that Xtend Barre is the science to work on your body but it’s the different approaches from different instructors that give the class the extra edge: the personality and the kind of engagement that make you want to come for class.
UM: What’s the secret here to get fit and live healthy?
P: I have a rather simple philosophy: I truly believe that happiness grows from inside. When your body feels right, your mind will feel right and you can do anything!