1) Who is Acro Mel? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc) My name is Mel and I was born and raised in Whistler, Canada and currently living in Saudi Arabia. I am an aerialist and acrobat performing and teaching around the world! As a globe trotter, I absolutely enjoying travelling and connecting with other artists and studios. As an artist I love creating and choreographing acts that bring a very human element, with a story or emotion through movement. As a teacher, my goal is inspire students to develop their own style, and build confidence in their bodies and capabilities. I’m also pretty active and enjoy various non-acrobatic sports like hiking, snowboarding, and water skiing. And song with that I’m an avid reader and knitter!
2) How many years have you been training? (Including how you got started, etc)
I’ve always been a monkey, so naturally I enrolled as a gymnast and dancer around the age of six, competing shortly after. From there I found acting, directing, and cheerleading while attending performing arts school. Following this I began coaching and teaching, and through this I found pole dance and aerial. And from aerial I was introduced to the greater aerial circus community and the partner acrobatic community. Although aerial is my primary profession, I still teach dance and train partner acro, alongside yoga, and continue to maintain my connection to various forms of training. So in total many many years!
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
As a performer coming from a wide background where I have choreographed and performed multiple pieces simultaneously, keeping my creativity flowing is very important to me. As a solo artist relying on my own business acumen, keeping up with marketing, trends, performing and teaching demands, and managing travel and contracts has definitely been a challenge. Very rewarding, but also not very grounding and consistent. I’ve had to really work to find balance to prioritize the areas that are important to me, and at the same time let go of some of things that I enjoy but that make life a bit more tricky. For example, I have opened up my studios and spent more time teaching and choreographing and building a community over travelling and performing as much in recent years. It has been hard to let go of performing as much, but at the same time I feel more as ease with stability.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like? (With any particular protocols you rate).
I’m very flexible - in more ways than one! At home I primarily cook vegan and make all my own meals. A favourite hobby, but I also feel so much more healthy physically preparing my own food. That being said I do travel quite a bit and it’s important for me to be flexible when needed, so I don’t restrict myself. I think this is incredibly important because I don’t always travel where vegan or “healthy” options are available. While doing the best I can, I feel it’s better for me to eat flexibly than restrict myself, especially while my work is physically demanding. I also believe it’s important to listen to my body’s changes and needs as much as possible and find balance to maximize both my physical and mental health. So overall I don’t count calories, I eat plenty of yummy veggies, and balance my training and eating habits appropriately.
Due to travelling, teaching, and life, my training schedule can change drastically. My goal is to maintain at least two hours five days a week of quality training for myself. However, this can sometimes range from seven days a week, six hours a day to absolutely nothing sometimes for a couple weeks at a time. I do try and find some semblance of balance though!
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition? (And How has it changed your focus for the future)
A couple of my circus friends have been educating me more on various supplements and I have been researching more on nutrition to make sure my body is getting what it needs. So I am experimenting with changes and seeing how it goes!
This past year with Covid, I found myself in lockdown, as did nearly everyone else. With so much uncertainty, my creativity suffered initially. In addition, as my social life is extremely linked to work, it became apparent I needed to change some of my social habits by broadening my social opportunities. Once I settled into a routine (I function better with stability) and made an effort to connect (through non circus networks), I actually had quite a healthy year! I made amazing efforts on training and physically I had never been better! My creativity came back and although my stress levels remained higher than I would have liked, I do felt like I thrived and took advantage of the opportunities presented to me.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
I don’t think I have one favourite cheat meal. I have a terrible sweet tooth so sugar is a natural. One of the reasons I love cooking is that I can bake food low in sugar yet still sweet, with good nutrition, and not overloaded with extras you cannot pronounce. I am also Italian, so I will never say no to bread and pasta!
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
Protein! Keeping those muscles happy and healthy! However, as I travel quite a bit and am on the move, being able to maintain flexibility with my eating habits is very important to me. So though I prefer to keep my protein shakes going, I do try and take as much protein intake from my food as well.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with both your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
With any journey you live and learn. How I feel now is less a product of my training and lifestyle, and more a product of paying attention to my body, what my body responds well to, when and why I feel lethargic or energetic, and my overall body’s changes and needs. I do wish I knew more about nutrition earlier on and that my focus was less look over feel. I wish I had also made more effort to be consistent with training and recognizing and balancing the demands I put on my body. But it’s still an ongoing journey!
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
One of my greatest inspirations is Kat Clark or @kat_cirq. Kat introduced me to the greater aerial and partner acro circus scene before Instagram was really a thing, and I will be forever grateful. She planted the idea of going to circus school where we attended together, and from there I feel like I put on my big girl shoes! Kat inspires me like no one else due to her incredible and unwavering dedication to her art, students, and health. Personally, having come from a dance and gymnastics background, I do feel the jump to circus was natural, and because of this I will admit I didn't have to work as hard for the gains that those without my background had to endure. Kat’s focus on training and development for both herself and her students invigorates me everyday. I am always amazed by her knowledge on nutrition, training practices, and overall health, in addition to her openness with her own journey.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Learn and absorb as much as you can! Train everywhere with everyone, and spend as much time as you can researching your own movements and style. You’ll be amazed at how much you can learn just by playing around, and by the elation you feel when you “find something!”
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
For 2022 I am plan to move my pole studio into a new and bigger space and expand on my aerial programs, including offering retreats and performing opportunities for my students. In addition, I hope to develop the first Arabian gulf aerial/acro/pole convention between multiple countries and to host it in Saudi!
Personally, I hope to develop many more new acts which I’ll have the opportunity to perform now that we are slowly opening again. I also hope to find a balance between pre and post-Covid life, settling back into a routine and focusing on a few new skills that have been nagging at me.
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
