Business Spotlight: Stunt Gym

Dance has always been Ashley Moorefield’s passion.

Moorefield studied dance at Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) and took additional dance classes at Point Park University, eventually touring with multiple African dance troupes. She’s also a mother to a young daughter who expressed interest in the similar avenue of competitive cheerleading. Once she entered the cheer world, however, Moorefield had a realization that soon took her down a new path.

“My daughter joined a competitive cheer team, and I started noticing that it wasn’t very diverse,” Moorefield said. “Although we found a great team with children and coaches that look like her, the industry as a whole didn’t have a lot of that.”

As a result of this, Moorefield set her sights on providing marginalized communities with opportunities and experiences that are usually limited to more affluent neighborhoods.

“I noticed that kids in the area were great at tumbling but didn’t have access to the necessary equipment that’s available in more suburban neighborhoods,” Moorefield said. “I thought it would be great if these underserved communities could be exposed to that high level of training and facilities.”

After endlessly searching for studio spaces, Moorefield realized she’d have to think outside the box to find the perfect space for her concept. By chance, she came across a former auto shop on Washington Boulevard in Larimer. Although it needed a significant cleaning job, it was the perfect fit. Moorefield purchased the property and, with some elbow grease, transformed it into Stunt Gym.