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Hoop, hoop, hooray

Women do it; kids do it; even some men do it. Moving with a hoop frees your creativity and sensuality, a passionate hooper says.

By LINDSAY MICHEL
Published August 16, 2006

TREASURE ISLAND - For many people the Hula Hoop is a symbol of childhood. The playful colors, the swirling and the twirling conjure up memories of school recess and summer nights.

But for Alexis Nikitopoulos, hooping is much more than a kid thing. It is a mature, spiritual and sensual activity that unlocks creativity and expression.

"It's like being in this swirling vortex that connects you with all the energy in the universe," Nikitopoulos, 26, said.

Her life, she says, is split into two parts: the time before she became a hooper and her life as a hooper.

This past Sunday, Nikitopoulos organized her third "Get Your Hoop On" event at Treasure Island Beach. People of all shapes and sizes, children and adults, moved their hoops to the beat of a drum circle as the sun set over the water.

"I can't tell you how much fun this is," said Jacqui Frehling of Treasure Island.

Frehling, who brought her daughters, Kaitlin, 14, and Kelly, 9, to the event, uses plastic hoops in the classes she teaches at the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg, where she is an assistant fitness director.

She said Nikitopoulos' hand-made hoops move better than the professional ones the YMCA provides.

"This is the best one I've ever tried," said Frehling, who plans to order a hoop.

Her daughter Kelly said her multicolored hoop was better than those at toy stores. "They're a little heavier so they can move a lot better," she said.

Even guys are catching on.

Jay Shinn got into hooping after his girlfriend brought home a couple of Nikitopoulos' hoops. "It's like a time warp," Shinn said, because time flies while you're doing it.

Most men hesitate to try the hoops because they are seen as feminine, Shinn, 25, said. But that hasn't stopped him from experimenting with new tricks. "It's not something I'm going to put down," he said.

Through team-building exercises, Nikitopolous has brought her hoops into office buildings, turning board meetings into an afternoon recess.

Emily Callaway met Nikitopolous at an arts and crafts fair in Dunedin and invited her to do a workshop at Morton Plant Mease Primary Care in Clearwater, where she is the director of operations.

Co-workers thought they were going to watch a video on new hospital safety guidelines before Nikitopoulos walked in.

"It was a lot of fun and it was something so out of the ordinary that people were kind of stunned," Callaway said.

Nikitopoulos has done four of these workshops, which are meant to catalyze creative expression and relieve stress.

The hoops helped Callaway and her colleagues to open up in a different kind of environment, she said.

"It reminded them all that we're here to have fun as much as we are to work like crazy," she said.

After the session of an hour and a half, about three-quarters of the group ordered hoops, including Callaway.

Nikitopoulos fashions her hoops out of tubing and uses people's body measurements to determine the size. Then she uses special tape to add color and personality.

She began selling them to friends and through her MySpace page, but she soon will have her own Web site, where people can order hoops.

The site, www.hiphoophooray.com, will launch within the week, she said. The hoops range from $25 to $40, depending on the size and design.

Nikitopoulos is a pool supervisor at the Don CeSar Beach Resort, where she has worked for about a year, but she hopes to make hooping her sole source of income.

Although she has performed with bands and other groups for money, she said she wants to focus on making hoops, teaching and doing the team-building workshops.

"I like performing just for my own joy," she said.

Nikitopoulos first began hooping at the March 2005 Langerado Music Festival, in Sunrise. During a set by the String Cheese Incident, a jam band known for tossing hoops into the crowd, she picked up a hoop and gave it a whirl.

"I thought, 'Wow, I am not leaving this festival without a hoop,' " she said.

That weekend she figured out how to make the hoops and began doing everything she could to get more people in the loop.

"I just want everybody to understand how fabulous it feels," she said.

Lindsay Michel can be reached at lmichel@sptimes.com or at 727 893-8333.

[Last modified August 15, 2006, 21:38:21]