With professional experience across creative strategy for Fortune 500 companies, placemaking for architectural icons, and real estate branding for global players, Lara Richli seeks to humanize the built environment.
Having lived all over the world, she is now bringing her goal to fruition in Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction with a unique culmination of physical movement, physical nourishment, and physical space.
She calls it HOT BONES.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA STOEVER
HOT BONES brings a distinct approach to yoga and pilates using infrared heating technology and along with that, the first bone broth bar in Detroit. In fact, this is one of the most unique hybrid fitness-culinary concepts in the country.
Detroitisit sat down with Richli to hear more.
DII: What is the concept for HOT BONES – What can we expect?
Richli: The concept is about simplifying wellness and breaking down what health and well-being really means. It is a hybrid involving an infrared heat studio for movement and a bone broth bar for nutrition, that together, nourish the body from the inside out.
The concept also places an emphasis on physical space with a focus on Detroit’s hot architectural bones to celebrate the organic fabric of the city.
DII: Where did the concept come from?
Richli: I moved to Detroit 18 months ago from New York and discovered what I think is a gap in the wellness market. I could not find a studio that used infrared heat and offered challenging and fully guided power yoga classes. At the same time, I found that there was no place to buy homemade bone broth to go. These are two things I loved in New York and it’s been missing from my life in Detroit. Since yoga and bone broth truly complement each other, I decided to develop a space that has both under one roof.
DII: Why Detroit for this concept?
Richli:
There is an interesting phenomenon in the Detroit wellness space, where many incredibly talented yoga and pilates practitioners offer livestream classes, pop-ups, and one-on-one instruction from their home studios. As a result, these offerings aren’t consistent, convenient, and accessible, especially for someone new to the city. Perhaps this is a byproduct of the pandemic. Wellness offerings in Detroit felt dispersed and almost behind hidden walls.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA STOEVER
So I decided to build a platform and a destination that caters to Detroit wellness practitioners and allows them to do what they do best. I’m looking to bring Detroit’s diverse wellness community together in this space. HOT BONES will offer signature yoga and pilates classes in the main studio and has a private studio available for rent to yoga teachers, pilates teachers, massage therapists, reiki practitioners, and more to bring their services to the community beyond the walls of their home.
DII: You mentioned driving culture and community. Elaborate on this for us.
Richli: With Detroit being a UNESCO-designated city of design, and really the design capital of North America, there are so many talented individuals here who value interior spaces and design, how spaces feel, and how we behave in them. HOT BONES caters to this creative community with thoughtful interiors that evoke emotion and tap into the Detroit aesthetic.
The bone broth bar invites community to gather, stay, and connect for nourishment and physical movement.
I’m hopeful to create an inclusive space for the entire wellness community that otherwise is hosting classes from their homes like I talked about. I want to offer this community a great space to grow their own wellness businesses.
DII: You mentioned a style you have not seen in the city that you will offer. What is that?
Richli: It is a combination of elements.
First, we will offer 50% yoga and 50% pilates classes under one roof and one membership. Second, all power yoga and vinyasa classes will be fully guided. And lastly, we will focus on movement over spirituality. Many yoga classes chant, om, and end the practice with namaste, but our yoga classes will not. I believe spirituality should be individually observed. I especially don’t want to bring spirituality into classes in a city that is so religiously diverse. I want it to be accessible and appropriate for everyone.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA STOEVER
DII: How is HOT BONES different than other studios?
Richli: The infrared heat is different. All classes will be infrared heated ranging from 75F – 95F.
We will also provide all equipment and accessories for classes – such as mats, towels, yoga blocks – free of charge. This is intended to remove possible distractions and create as a space that is neutral and minimal. I want it to be relaxing by nature and avoid all potential distractions.
The thoughtfully curated interior design is also different. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my interior designer to ensure that every detail is intentional and serves a purpose.
The rentable private studio intended for the wellness community is also unique. The more people who are introduced to wellness the better. I want to support Detroit’s existing wellness community as a whole.
DII: Why Bone Broth?
Richli: For centuries cultures across the world have used bone broth for its nutrients and healing properties.
It’s packed with vitamins and minerals. It boosts the immune system. It promotes muscle repair and growth. The collagen improves mobility. It’s great for weight management. It improves sleep and makes skin and hair glow. It is truly the original superfood.
We are bombarded with drinks, vitamins, shakes, detox methods … the list goes on. So this idea of simplifying wellness and going back to the basics that generations have relied on is what I’m looking to exemplify. Bone broth is the most natural version of vitamins and supplements.
When I began thinking about all of the benefits of bone broth, it became more and more clear that the benefits of infrared heat are incredibly complimentary to each other. Together, it’s a way to nourish the body from the inside out. That’s how the idea of HOT BONES took shape.
DII: How does the bone broth bar fit into the studio?
Richli: It is akin to a coffee shop where you grab a coffee to go, only it’s bone broth. I will also offer a monthly subscription service for the broth to be shipped or delivered, to make bone broth more accessible to expecting mamas and senior citizens.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINA STOEVER
DII: Why Milwaukee Junction?
Richli: Milwaukee Junction is this microcosm of a neighborhood. Every business has an interesting edge and is slightly unconventional, which makes it a perfect spot for HOT BONES.
DII: Do you think bringing this concept to Detroit might trigger others to think outside the box in terms of developing unique and different concepts here?
Richli: I hope so. More importantly, I hope that HOT BONES will shine a light on Detroit as an innovative city with cross-industry collaboration in its DNA, a place to test concepts and ideas, and a destination for entrepreneurs to launch and grow businesses. Detroit has a long history of reinventing itself, and I think this next phase is primed for creatives and entrepreneurs to lead that charge.
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