Vixen Workout is taking the female fitness industry by storm. Created by former professional dancer, Janet Jones-Veloso, the Vixen Workout is presented in a dance format that uses commercial choreography, music remixes and stage lighting so you can experience yourself as a performer. According to Jones-Veloso, “you get to pretend you're opening for the VMAs and perform the moves you see by your favorite artists.”

Vixen Workout’s mission is to give a new edge to pop culture by merging dance, fashion, music and fitness. The uniquely formed classes create an environment where you can experience an emotional release, mind-body connection and a sense of community — key factors that drove the design of the company’s first permanent studio and headquarters in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, FL.

“I worked closely with Janet to be able to capture her vision and implement it into the design,” said Alena Capra, owner of Alena Capra Designs, LLC, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. “She wanted to create a space that encompassed the entire feel of the Vixen Workout and its mantra, ‘Stay Hungry, Live Fierce.’”

Jones-Veloso wanted the studio to be edgy, yet chic, according to Capra. “The ‘backstage at your own concert’ vibe was present throughout the design — from the repurposed theater chairs in the check in area to the ‘microphone’ pendant lights hanging over the front desk,” the designer explained. “Janet wanted a large marquee sign outside of the interior entrance into the dance studio, so it is as if you are heading in to perform in your own concert as you walk through the doors.”

The 3,100-square-foot open space features several areas, which are separated by different artistic elements rather than walls. Along with the main dance studio, there is also retail space for the VXN apparel branded merchandise, a “glam station” complete with a Hollywood makeup mirror and directors chairs emblazoned with the Vixen Workout logo, locker rooms with showers and bathrooms, and a headquarters area where the staff members work.

Tile is featured extensively in the entrance area on the marquee wall, as well as on the floors and walls of the locker room and bathrooms. “We clad the entry wall with large 12- x 24-inch porcelain tile that looked like cement blocks in order to add a mix of edginess,” said Capra. “We set the tile with larger grout joints, so it really looked more like a cement block, rather than an actual tile. The same tile was carried into the locker room areas on the shower walls and main floors.”

To complement the larger cement-like tiles, a gunmetal mosaic from Alttoglass USA’s Volcano collection was used on the bathroom walls behind the sinks and mirrors. The glossy 1/2- x 1/2-inch mosaic was also used to create two accent strips in the showers, with a complementary 1- x 1-inch mosaic from MiR Mosaic employed on the shower floors.

“Countertops from Silestone's Platinum Series were used in the bathrooms and in the glam area,” Capra added. “The retail area was created with a mix of road cases to truly give the ‘backstage-at-a-concert’ feel. I spray painted the #vixenarmy hastag, as the members are called, on the cases to give them an authentic feel. The VXN Apparel merchandise is displayed on there and also hung on wall display racks made of industrial metal piping and fencing.”

During the construction phase, a third shower was added to the design, which the architect was able to seamlessly adapt to the original layout. “We were able to change out an area slated for a storage closet to a third shower in the employee restroom,” Capra explained of her collaboration with the local architect, Efren A. Izquierdo. “The construction team made it happen; we ordered more tile keeping with the theme and then we were good to go.”

The design of the Vixen Workout studio began in the fall of 2016, with a grand opening a little more than a year later in August 2017.

An avid fitness enthusiast and member of the Vixen Army herself, Capra boasts the high intensity workouts, which are now offered nationwide. “Every time I walk in the studio to take a class, it makes me happy to be in a place that I contributed to the design,” she said. “And it's such an amazing and fun workout.”