London Ray-Dykstra

Hi! I am London. I moved to Roanoke, VA in 2017 after living in Richmond, VA for 12 years. Richmond is where I fell in love with indoor rhythm cycling at BOHO Cycle Studio and vinyasa yoga at Hot Yoga Barre. As a lifelong dancer who danced in college at VCU (Go, Rams, Go!) and taught dance at a private studio until I was 27, I struggled to find a "fitness" activity that appealed to me. Dance had always been my outlet and it was difficult to find dance classes for adult dancers. After three years of no physical fitness, selling my soul to a corporate desk job and some other negative events - I was in a terrible place physically and mentally. Yoga and cycling were the perfect balance because they were fun yet challenging and improved my mental health. The mental health focus is what keeps me coming back again and again.

After teaching cycle at a large gym in Roanoke for 9 months I was really missing the experience of teaching at a boutique fitness studio and I decided to found my own business. I wanted a studio that offered Cycling and Yoga as well as an adaptogen "potion bar" with retail to showcase the alternative ways people can incorporate healthy living into their lives. I worked with the Small Business Development Center to develop a business plan from July 2018-April 2019 when I pitched  I built up excitement and a following via social media and community events from February 2019 until our opening in August of 2020. (Yes... we opened in the pandemic. Totally not planned but the way the cards were dealt.) We got our building certificate to complete buildout on our building, March 12th, the day before the country shut down. We forged ahead with construction up until the day we opened our doors. We survived through harsh restrictions and unpredictable changes in the virus and community health standards. In some ways the pandemic actually helped our mission which was to deliver a haven from your daily hustle and to focus on physical fitness for your mind over your physique. A mindset that was hard to come by before the Global Pandemic. Hustle/Haven is still alive and thriving and has changed many people's lives through our focus on mental health and feeling good as opposed to looking good. 

I have now been teaching indoor cycling for 7 years and yoga for 4. In addition to my 200 hour vinyasa training I have CEUs in yin yoga and prenatal yoga. My goal is to earn more fitness certs such as mat Pilates and other yoga specialties. In addition to cycle and yoga, I work for the United Way of Roanoke Valley as the Marketing Content Specialist. My professional experience is in Marketing, Development and Event Production and I owned an event planning company specifically focused on events for non-profits in Richmond. I am super into food and wine. I worked in the service industry for 12 years as a bartender, server and event producer. I've had the pleasure of working with some amazing chefs, wine makers, distillers and bartenders through special culinary events. One day, I would love to get back into that field as a restaurateur or the owner of a special event company focused on culinary experiences. I love bulldogs and have owned two - Mabel Mae who is tattooed on me in remembrance and Slim who is four years old and is such a goofy little roly poly. Finally, the best part of me, my two year old son, Arthur! He was a big surprise and he had a dramatic entrance and now that I know his personality, it all makes sense. He is very smart, insanely funny and has the biggest imagination I've ever seen. I birthed a business in a pandemic and a baby in less than 18 months. It was a wild ride but totally worth it.