Meet Iris & Zoe | Co founders of Island Beats

We had the good fortune of connecting with Iris & Zoe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Iris and Zoe, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When the pandemic hit, we wanted to keep teaching our unique style, so we launched a virtualZumba® class to bring a little joy and excitement into the world. And because our classes promoted the importance of physical movement, we knew that it would be an incredible way to get women to practice radical self-care during very uncertain times. That’s when we decided that Island Beats was more than a hobby. The engagement we had with our students over the pandemic helped us realize that we had a solution to gaps in their self-care. Our mission is to inspire women to feel joyful, energetic, and confident about moving their bodies.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Island Beats, LLP is a Zumba movement platform specializing in group fitness with an Island flare and so much more. Our mission is to inspire women to feel joyful, energized, and confident about moving their bodies to authentic Latin and island rhythms. We value fun, good vibes, honesty, ageless energy, self-love, and community. Our vision is to become the premier Zumba studio in Northeast Ohio for women to gather and receive support to meet their fitness and personal goals.

Our virtual and in-person classes make up the core of our business model. Our exclusive membership program, Get Your Shine On, helps women prioritize themselves by making movement a regular part of their self-care routine. Based on our pillars of joy, energy, and confidence, we provide ongoing support to challenge and improve their mindset practices as well. Membership includes access to unlimited Zumba and fitness classes each month; 9 Glow Up virtual group gatherings each month; a member online portal that includes challenges, journaling prompts, video routines, and access to our Zumba Wear store; inclusion in a private WhatsApp group for support and accountability; free admission to designated Island Beats events; 2 – 60 minute, private sessions per year (fashion styling or rhythm); an Island Beats t-shirt; and exclusive discounts on Zumba Wear apparel.

Island Beats is also known to host some of the hottest fitness events around, including Island Beats Summer Jam, Reset Zumba Master Class, Spring Fling Master Class. In the summer of 2021, we hosted our first instructor-only event, a ZIN Jam (Zumba Instructor Network) where we paid a Zumba Jammer (an international Zumba celebrity) to teach new choreography to local instructors. Our specialty workshops, Body and Soul Bachata©, and Basic Rhythms continue to be one of our popular offerings because they introduce women to Latin dance styles and Zumba.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We don’t live in Miami but we can share a Cleveland itinerary.

Of course, we want our best friend to take a class with Island Beats, the hottest Zumba duo in Cleveland. We can check out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The Cleveland Art Museum is open late on Fridays and would make a great place to visit. There are several great neighborhoods with our favorite restaurants – Summer House, Heck’s Cafe, Blue Habanero, Mofongo, and The Fairmount Martini Bar,

We love to shop at the Westside Market, Crocker Park, and Asia Town Market.

We have several places to view Lake Erie, including our favorites, Edgewater Park and the Solstice Steps at Lakewood Park.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our membership group – Get Your Shine On Island Beats students in area codes 516, 772, 216, 440, 330, 734, 240
Nike Olabisi-Green of Nola Movement
Brandon Cunningham @apex_boxing_clinic – a Boxing Coach, Personal Trainer wh0 works our students once a week!
The Heart of Chat Podcast
Rafiki Beecher, our favorite Zumba instructor in West Palm Beach FLA
Our friends in Cleveland OH, West Palm Beach FL, Miami FL, Atlanta GA, and the DMV!

Website: www.islandbeatstudio.com

Instagram: @islandbeats_cle

Facebook: islandbeat-cle

Image Credits
Maria Sharp