The story below is from our May/June 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Co-lead teacher Melissa Newman brings heart, energy and motivation to every class, making fitness both fun and empowering.
Courtesy of Pure Barre Roanoke
Pure Barre Roanoke’s Melissa Newman remembers the moment she found out our readers had named her the Platinum winner for “Best Personal Trainer” like it was yesterday. She’d just gotten home from a fun evening workshop with her coworkers when Kara Hartman, the owner of the studio, reached out to let the team know that Pure Barre and some of its instructors had won multiple awards in this year’s poll. “I just feel so honored that our community thought enough of me to put my name forward,” says Newman. “It’s just such an incredible feeling, [and] it’s truly an honor to be recognized in this way in the fitness community — for our studio to be recognized in this way. It was hard to go to sleep that night, for sure!”
Courtesy of Pure Barre Roanoke
Newman got her start with Pure Barre back in 2013 when the Roanoke studio first opened. Having grown up swimming and playing soccer, she wasn’t familiar with barre but decided to give it a shot after hearing good things from friends in larger cities who had attended classes. The experience was life-changing. She’d “never found a workout [she] enjoyed doing so much,” so she kept going back and hasn’t stopped since.
In June 2020, Newman took her passion for Pure Barre to the next level by becoming an instructor. She completed over 100 hours of intense in-studio and virtual training — during the pandemic, making this feat even more impressive — and, in 2023, became co-lead teacher. In this role, she serves as a guide for both studio members and other trainers alongside Christine Thompson, her fellow lead teacher and this year’s Gold winner for “Best Personal Trainer” (tie) and “Best Yoga/Pilates Instructor.”
Aside from classes focused on low-impact exercises and functional fitness — movements that improve a person’s ability to perform daily tasks like lugging groceries up a flight of stairs — Pure Barre’s welcoming environment and the growth mindset of every employee sets it apart from other boutique fitness studios. “Our teaching team is really great, [and] we’ve all been together for such a long time,” says Newman. “All of us are always trying to continue to grow and improve our classes.” Almost all of the instructors are trained in all four class formats — Classic, Empower, Align and Define — ensuring a well-rounded and consistent fitness experience for members.
Another standout feature is the sense of community. There are clients currently at the studio who have taken classes since the year it opened. One member recently finished her 2,000th Pure Barre workout. “We count every class and celebrate those big milestones. That’s a huge part of our culture — you get celebrated for putting in the work.” That sense of support also extends to first-timers. “We wrap our arms around new people who walk in the door.”
These qualities won Newman over more than a decade ago and have inspired her own teaching style. Whether she’s explaining the format of a class to someone new, demonstrating a modification for a particular exercise or cheering a group on toward the end of a tough session, her main goal is to be a motivator. “I know what it feels like to be in an unfamiliar territory. I did not have a dance background coming into Pure Barre, so it can feel really intimidating,” she admits. “My approach is to put myself in everyone else’s shoes [and] support them, wherever they are in their fitness journey.”
Courtesy of Pure Barre Roanoke
Newman says there’s nothing better than watching clients grow stronger, more confident and find the joy in Pure Barre workouts that she and her teammates do. “It’s so rewarding to see people reach milestones, like when someone couldn’t do a full-range push-up at first and then one day, you just see them rocking out push-ups. … When we have given someone the same experience we get in this space, that’s the best.”
For those taking their first steps toward a more active lifestyle, Newman’s advice is simple: “You just have to show up. Make an appointment with yourself that you cannot break. It’s like a doctor’s appointment you’ve waited six months for — it’s that important.” She also encourages people to ask questions. “Never feel like any question is stupid. All of [our instructors] are such Pure Barre nerds — we love talking about it — so ask us anything!”
When she’s not teaching early morning classes at the studio, Newman and her husband, daughter and son love exploring the local dining scene and some of the region’s festivals, including GO Fest, Community School’s Strawberry Festival and Roanoke Greek Festival. She and her best friend also run a travel itinerary business called Travel Like a Type A.
Interested in giving a Pure Barre class a go? Newman suggests signing up for Engage, a free, 30-minute session offered three times a week that gives new clients a taste of each of the different class formats. To learn more, visit purebarre.com/location/roanoke-va.
The story above is from our May/June 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!