On a sunny Sunday morning in early May, Hotpod Yoga came to Newcastle, and I came to Hotpod Yoga Newcastle. A friend had experienced Hotpod Yoga a year before at a local pop up event and was recommending it to everyone. And this was different. This was a launch event. Hotpod Yoga was taking up residence at the Northumberland Club in Jesmond, Newcastle, as a new franchise run by Alex and Jules Hurley. For more information about Hotpod Yoga Newcastle, click here.

Hotpod Yoga classes are hot yoga sessions with roots in vinyasa flow that take place within a sealed pod heated to a constant 37 degrees. The pod is an inflatable, cocoon-like, 20-person yoga space, which guarantees a consistently immersive environment. With dimmed purple lighting, a pleasing fragrance and an urban-chill soundtrack, the ambience remains mellow and yet focused.

It worked for me. I loved it. It was a total escape. The practice was strenuous, particularly in the heat. I knew I’d worked: the colour of my face told me that. I’d found the balances challenging, more challenging than usual. But I felt refreshed and re-energised as I emerged from the pod. I’d never experienced anything like it before.

One of my friends described her experience in this way:

I’ve been doing yoga for the last year in France, attending classes and individual tuition, mainly to keep my joints going as long as possible. As a retired clinical nurse, the years of moving and handling patients has taken its toll on my body. I visit the UK about once a month for training, so keen to maintain my yoga practice, I attended Hotpod Yoga Newcastle.I was intrigued by the huge, heated blow up tent. I took my place, relaxed, and we got started. The vinyasa practice was an amazing experience. The added heat made my joints so much more flexible. I was able to achieve deeper poses to give those previously tight muscles a lovely deep stretch. Following the practice, I felt energised and knew I’d had a great workout. Maggie

Co-founder of Hotpod Yoga, entrepreneur Max Henderson told me more about the origins of Hotpod Yoga and his perspective on this new Hotpod adventure in the North East of England.

 

How did the idea of the hotpod come about?

Nick (my co-founder) and I are old friends. Both of us got into yoga pretty late (our late 20s) having had no previous interest in it. Having had a big impact on both of us, we saw it as a really interesting market to get involved in. We then looked into the yoga world and noticed a few interesting issues that we felt we could address – and these are now at the centre of what we’ve created:

1) Huge upfront investment in opening a studio (particularly a hot studio) and the lack of flexibility it offers as a business model ?- we therefore wanted to create a portable, pop-up studio. 

2) The inaccessibility of yoga ?and the lack of strong brand traction – we wanted therefore to create a strong brand with accessibility at its core – to really open yoga up to the 99% of people who don’t do yoga.

3) The lack of good career opportunities for yoga instructors – so we created our franchise model.

You describe the setting within the hotpod as otherworldly: what difference does this make to the whole experience?

We wanted to make it a truly immersive environment where you’ve no distractions at all – we wanted to make it dimly lit, multi-sensory (great smells, colours and music) and almost womb-like. We think this provides the optimum space for yoga – somewhere where you can be genuinely transported away from the world outside and focus only on the here and now.

Hotpod Yoga has grown quickly to become Europe’s largest company: what do you put that success down to?

We’ve come into the market at a time where it’s growing fast – where more awareness of health & wellbeing is fuelling greater uptake of yoga. But, critically, for us, we’ve tried to take yoga out of the tiny niche it inhabited and into the mainstream – bringing people to yoga who previously would never have thought of doing it before. ?That – and having a genuinely unique concept – seems to have set us up well.

 

What do you look for in individuals looking to start up a Hotpod franchise?

Two main things: a strong affinity to our brand and our values and a really strong work ethic – a drive and desire to succeed. 

How do you feel about Alex Hurley setting up a Hotpod franchise in the North East of England?

Fantastic. We visited Newcastle on our Roadshow last year and got a superb response, so we were confident it would be well received – and Alex matched the above two things perfectly: The brand clearly resonated with him in a really meaningful way and he had great passion and drive. That’s a winning combination.

Newcastle is the newest Hotpod home and Alex Hurley is the man behind this venture. Together with his wife Jules, already an established yoga teacher in the North East, Alex presents a timetable of Hotpod Yoga classes for every ability and is looking to expand the timetable in the near future.

Jules comes from a physiotherapy background and came to yoga from a physical and anatomical perspective to start with. The psychological benefits of yoga came later and the philosophy behind it continues to draw her in.

Working as a yoga teacher is a dream come true. My work is flexible enough to fit around the kids and I’m passionate about what I do. I’m so fortunate. Jules Hurley

You can find out more about Jules’ classes on her Facebook page YogaBellies Newcastle and Coast.

Until recently, Alex worked as a contract worker in the military, focused on building up the body. Pilates-trained, physio-based, he ignored the Yoga DVD in the training box set, until Jules challenged him to have a go and yes, he found it a real challenge! Three years ago, the couple oved back to Jules’ roots, to the North East and when the twins were born, Alex was travelling the country for his work, only seeing his children at the weekends.

I didn’t want to be that kind of dad. Kids put everything in perspective. For me, success is not all about being ambitious, materialistic and being able to travel, but it’s about the happiness of my family. We are wealthy in other ways. I’m so happy now that I’m seeing more of the kids. This is why I did this. Alex Hurley

When Hotpod Yoga visited the North East last year, Jules went along, intrigued to see what all the fuss was about, and loved it. She loved how refreshed she felt, how the whole experience takes you away from everything. She went along to the franchise talk and then infected Alex with her enthusiasm. After an initial interview and time developing an in-depth business plan, Alex was accepted to bring a Hotpod franchise to Newcastle.

It’s so exciting. There’s nothing like this past Birmingham. We’re one of 30 established Hotpods worldwide and we know that Newcastle is ready for this. The launch weekend was totally oversubscribed with a long waiting list and those that did come loved it. We had some great feedback. Alex Hurley

Alex and Jules are convinced that the pod encourages people who’ve never done yoga before to give it a go. The fact that it’s semi-dark and there are no mirrors is great for those with any body issues. It’s such a relaxing environment too, even though the body is working. It’s a great way to tune out completely. They’ve seen a whole range of ages and abilities and backgrounds enter the pod.

It’s a great introduction to yoga. There’s minimal Sanskrit and no philosophy or chanting that may put new people off. But we are happy to encourage, suggest and signpost those interested in deepening their practice through the exploration of the philosophy and history of yoga, which is essential for a well-rounded practice. And there’s a real sense of community – we’re beginning to feel that already. For those who practise yoga already, it’s good too. I love it. The heat gives me a confidence and flexibility to get into poses more easily. Jules Hurley

Alex describes the Hotpod Yoga model as a ‘template with freedom’. The vinyasa is always the same but there is a flexibility within the sequences and the teachers are free to teach within their own personality. The music is selected from a Hotpod setlist ‘Open Ears’ that is specifically designed for the Hotpod Flow and is exclusive to Hotpod Yoga. The sequence starts relaxing, becomes more upbeat and then winds down, but the order of tracks is never the same twice.

The pod itself elicits a response. Even when Alex is showing people the pod, he loves how they take their shoes off, as if in recognition that this is a sacred space, even though the ground beneath their feet is still actually the same surface as the badminton court that the pod is placed on! He feels immensely fortunate to be able to bring this experience to the North East. Running a franchise is not an easy ride, however. Alex has to be really motivated and disciplined. He structures his day and chunks his time. When he works, he focuses on work; when he plays with the kids, he focuses on playing with the kids. He has big dreams of establishing other pods and collaborating with other businesses and local sports groups. He wants to put on workshops and more classes of all levels. The Northumberland Club is a great setting, bridging coast and town and already appealing to people who are into sport and health. But for now, Alex is concentrating on what is already in place and making that the best it can possibly be.

To run a franchise, you have to have a real passion for the work and the determination to get on with it and make a go of it. You need to be able to wear a lot of hats, I’m not just a yoga teacher, I’m customer service, social media, stock, logistics, recruiter, admin, the list could go on. You have to ask yourself the question ‘Will this fit with me and my life?’ If not, don’t do it. Alex Hurley

I admire Alex’s vision to step out into this new venture with his wife and young twins. And I’m grateful that he’s offering all of us in the North East the opportunity to experience Hotpod Yoga for ourselves. I’m planning to take my husband along soon. Will you come too?