Arts & Entertainment
Giving Hula Hooping an Adult Spin
One Tarrytown resident uses hula hoops as a type of art and exercise.
Tarrytown's Sarah Preston found herself stranded in Arizona with a friend during a spontaneous road trip gone wrong about a year ago.
"We were stuck there for 10 days," Preston recalled, "and one day we were walking down the block and saw this girl hula hooping. It was just mesmorizing – it looked like it wasn't even attached to her."
She introduced herself to the girl, who gave Preston her first hoop. Since then, she said she has "became addicted to it."
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"Once I started, it was so much fun; you become really aware of your body," she said. "It's great exercise, too. I've lost like 40 pounds since March."
Also a student at Mercy College, Preston said she has met up with other hula hoopers in places like Central Park. She now practices around three times a week and has managed to master skills involving hoops smaller than the typical 40-inchers.
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"The bigger it is, the easier it is," she explained. "With smaller hoops, you're moving faster. I've seen things online that compare it to the elliptical with calorie burning, but it's always just a game for me."
She enjoys showing off her skills in public parks and performing for an audience, even if it's just her supportive fiancé, Neil Livermore.
Preston also makes her own hula hoops, as well as sells custom ones to recreational hoopers around the state. The hoops are now available at .
After looking up instructions online, she taught herself how to create hoops. Later, Preston started selling them to her friends and family, and eventually down in a Brooklyn-based shop.
"People usually tell me what colors and size they want," she revealed. "I do a lot of business by word of mouth."
According to Preston, Home Depot offers most of the materials needed to make hoops, including irrigation tubing and colorful tape.
She's only been a Tarrytown resident since July, but Preston is already looking into teaching hula hoop classes in the area.
"The season is ending now," she said. "But I want to contact the YMCA and some gyms in the area and see what I can work out."
