Diva Den Studio Owner, Kristin Nelson

I have always felt inspired being around women. I appreciate all the different personalities and stories we all have. I crave the support that women provide each other and feel blessed to have a space that does just that. I opened Diva Den Studio almost 10 years ago, and it has been everything I wanted and more. 

I saw a need for a safe space for women to come and feel good and sexy without judgement. To dance and move for themselves and to have the freedom to get outside their heads and let loose. Over the years DDS has evolved and we now offer over 40 different weekly formats with classes from Bootcamp, Pilates, Zumba, Dance, Hip Hop, Chair, Pole, Barre, etc, but one thing has always stayed constant. The support of women to each other. All these years later, I am still moved to tears seeing it on a daily basis. Whether it's in class or hanging in the lobby, there is so much support. 

I grew up around fitness. My mother taught aerobics in our school's gym and even sewed our own fancy 80's style leotards. I played sports, and I always loved to dance. As a young mom of 3, I spent a lot of time at our local gym doing the same thing everyday. I craved something more and when my friend Kili Marti brought her hip hop class to the club, I had found it. She was amazing and unpredicable. Her class was always fun and exciting, and I looked forward to that one hour every week. 

When she left to pursue other things, I went on the lookout to find something else but had no luck. I had seen pole dancing on Oprah and decided that looked fun, so I gave it a try. One class and I was hooked. I started teaching right away and carried my pole to various places to teach small groups of women. 

What I loved the most was the support women had for each other in these small classes. I quickly saw a need to create a space for them and wanted to add every type of class I could. It started with just classes I personally wanted to take. I wanted to try Burlesque so why not add it to the schedule? Then came Barre and Bootcamp, Hip Hop and Chair. Some worked and some didn't, but we kept adding. Now we offer over 40 different formats weekly. 

I've been blessed to have the most amazing members and staff over the years and it's exactly what I dreamed. Women supporting women without judgement.