Hanging from the ceiling wrapped in 25 feet of hot pink silk, Kippy Hoene takes a deep breath and tumbles through the air.
In 2012, Hoene struggled to say her own name.
Her doctor diagnosed her with muscular dystrophy, the same diagnosis that stole her father’s strength at the same age.
“He told me I’d probably be in a walker within about three to four years,” said Hoene. “When I was in the womb, if you said, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a great life, but at 50 you’re going to get a bad illness. Do you want to be born or not?’ I would’ve said, ‘Heck yeah! Let’s go!’”
Five years later, she opened the school, where she teaches people trapeze, silks, tightrope and more.
Floating and spinning like a spider in a web, Hoene credits the workout with keeping her muscles strong.
“Using these apparatuses, you use core muscles, and arm muscles, and leg muscles, and just minute muscles that you never even knew you had. And I just feel that using those is building up my strength and keeping me at a plateau,” said Hoene.
SaltAer has a free class for newcomers every Saturday from 3-4 p.m. You can learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/SaltAerJAX/.
Cox Media Group
