Lealyn's Hooper Survey
How old are you? 24
When did you first start hooping? Summer 2009
Would you call yourself a beginner, intermediate or advanced hooper? Intermediate
How often do you hoop? Three/Four times a week, aiming for more though
Do you have an indoor hoop space? Not much, I have to rearrange some things in my apartment. I find opening the blinds makes the space feel bigger… and that helps somehow.
Is there a hoop group where you live? Yes
Did you start it? No
Would you say that you are obsessed with or addicted to hooping? Just a tad less than those… I know hooked is basically a synonym, but that seems more appropriate for my relationship with my hoop
Have you posted hooping videos? How many? Definitely not confident enough to be sharing with the world yet!
Do you have friends nearby to hoop with? Yes, but we’ve never actually made plans to hoop outside of Hooprama  …something needs to be done about that!
Do you teach hooping? If so, how many people have you taught? No, quite possibly soon though.
What kind of songs do you listen to while hooping? Everything and anything, I like putting my Ipod on shuffle – the random factor is nice. I also use Pandora for a specific mood. Pandora stations I’ve recently hooped to – Major Lazer, The Black Keys, Bassnectar
What is your favorite song right now? For hooping? – 311’s “Amber” came on the Major Lazer station, and it felt particularly amazing hooping to that.
Do you buy hoops or make your own? Buy currently, though I'd like to start making my own… just need to get moving!
Have you lost weight since starting to hoop? Initially, while training to hoop-walk a half marathon, but that didn’t last :P
What size is your favorite hoop? I have 2 that I switch on and off with one is 38” the other is 40”, I really liked the kid’s hoops at the studio, about 35”?
Are you comfortable hooping by yourself in a public place? Meh, not really. Hopefully soon!
How did you learn the majority of the tricks you know today? Hooprama
Who is your favorite hoop teacher? Sunny at Hooprama, because she can completely “dissect” a move to help me figure out what is going wrong, when I’m stuck on a certain move/trick
What advice would you give to to beginner hoopers? Remember that even the best hoopers you come across were, at one point starting out like you. Keep with it and find some music that really inspires you.
Do you fire hoop? If not, do you want to? Definitely, yes.
Do you own an LED hoop? Where did you get it? I will be getting the “budget friendly” LED hoop from Trick Concepts for my birthday… 2 weeks away! When I feel I’ve reached that kick ass level of hooping, I’ll invest in a PSI.
How much time do you spend on safiredance.ning? None, I was not aware of it until just now
What was the first trick you learned (besides waist hooping)? The Limbo and booty bump …they still irritate me - they’ve never really clicked!
What is the last trick you mastered? Truly mastered? Hrm. Corkscrew I think.
What trick so far was the hardest for you to learn? Still struggling with knee-hooping, and chest-hooping in the non-dominant
Which one are you finding is almost impossible to get? Knee hooping… I’m always beating my shins up, that’s where my hoop likes to hang, though strangely, I’ve had more success with the non-dominant direction.
How many hoopers would you say live in your town/city? A lot. I’m impressed with the amount of Nashville hoopers… and we’re still growing!
Have you performed hooping in front of an audience? Haa, it was embarrassing, the security guards at the airport insisted. My earring got hooked to my sweater.
Has anyone told you were too old to be playing with a hula hoop? Nope
What’s the worst injury you’ve acquired from the hoop? I whack myself in the head more often than I’d prefer, and then there’s bruising… but no true injuries
Have you ever hooped naked? That, or with minimal garments on!
Have you been to a hoop camp/retreat? Which one? No, though in the future that would be nice!