Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Candace Cantu . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Candace, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Since I was a little girl, I always enjoyed gymnastics and pushing myself. As I came into adulthood, I left that space for a while, but it never left my mind. So when an opportunity arose to get back into it, and I found friends that felt the same, it was awesome! I am so priviledged to have a business at Aerial Candy that can provide a fun, safe, effective but magical workout for people of all ages and fitness levels. Seeing people try things they didn’t think they could do and seeing all of the students support them in acheiving their goals — it’s really a dream come true. We all found home.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Candace Cantu. I was born in Santa Barbara California, as a little girl I always loved gymnastics. As I got older, I discovered circus arts. I started seriously training at about 25 years old and I started performing around 26 with Zhantra entertainment and at Sax Restaurant and Lounge in Washington D.C. A few years later I decided it was time to share this gift and I started Aerial Candy.

Aerial Candy is a cirque style workout/aerial program for people of all ages! We teach adults and children how to do aerial silks, aerial hoop, and various other fun aerial circus apparatuses. It’s a fun community and we all support each other and celebrate our wins together.

What sets Aerial Candy apart from others is really that it’s a unique style and community on its own. The aerial community itself is small so bringing that magic to more people is very exciting. Also, all of our instructors are multi award winning competition aerialists and performers for decades. I try to continue educating myself by taking as many classes related to my field as possible such as: personal training certifications, anatomy and physiology classes and even a multitude of yoga certifications. This helps to keep my programs and curriculum current and fun for students.

This year we did our first fundraiser showcase! I would say I am most proud of that. We rented out a chapel in a church and put together our student showcase/fundraiser on our 20 ft aerial rig. The tickets were sold virtually and in person. All the proceeds were raised for House of Ruth in Washington D.C., and we were able to raise 5,000 dollars! The fundraiser showcase was a wonderful way for students to show the skills they learned and help with a great cause.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The best advice I have is to be kind and make your team an actual team that is working together towards a common goal. Even if you set the vision, you need your team to be the backbone of that vision so it’s helpful if they have a similar passion. For example, for my instructors and teachers at the studio, I know that they are invested in the experience the customers have and that as teachers they feel a feedback loop of happiness when teaching students. They are interested in the growth of the students, the growth of the business. I listen to my instructors and my customers suggestions all the time. We are a community. It is not “my” business, it would be nothing without the people who believe in what I do and support it. Maintaining a high morale is easy to do when you realize that because you are appreciating the work others do for you. I don’t feel like people work for me, they work with me, we work together. It’s not mine, it’s ours, a communal vision between like-minded people, I just steer the boat.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

I didn’t think we would make it through Covid. Being an aerial dance studio there really wasn’t much we could offer virtually. We did offer flexibly classes through a Patreon account, and we offered various other weekly at home classes such as intense abs, floorwork, and other strength based virtual classes to help keep our regulars in shape for aerial. We were very lucky to have a devoted group of students that enjoyed these classes, and the virtual classes and regular students kept us afloat during covid. That’s why building a community is so vital to a small business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aerialcandyfit.com
• Instagram: @aerial.candy

Image Credits
Kevin Brookes. Instagram @studiobrookes_aerials