Community Highlights: Meet Charlie Fuller of Rhizome Roots Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Fuller.

Hi Charlie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Rhizome Roots Studio is a feeling more than it is a place. Whether you are in the woods foraging for mushrooms, grooving on the dance floor, or flowing on your yoga mat, you are exactly where you want to be. I began Rhizome Roots Studio with that simple idea in mind: There are a million things you have to do in a day and so many places you are obligated to be. I wanted to create an environment where people want to be.

I myself have definitely felt that there weren’t enough hours in the day to finish my to-do list. I started working at 14 in a local greenhouse, and haven’t slowed down since. I received my BA and BS from Calvin University while working on ecological research and public health outreach, and my MS and MPH from the University of Michigan while working for NSF-International and then The City of Ann Arbor. I am currently working as a Safety and Wellness Director in higher education, and am a recent homeowner in Ypsilanti Township.

With a robust resume in the health, safety, and wellbeing profession, I adapted the analytical eight aspects of wellness of the SAMHA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Administration), to outline wellness classes, content, and events. While I have goals of offering opportunities to engage in wellbeing events in all 8 areas, since I am just starting out we are exploring the areas I know best: the woods, the kitchen table, and the studio floor. For 2023 RRS is hosting affordable or free classes on Foraging & Forest Bathing, Cooking Classes, and Dance Classes & Socials, Yoga & Qigong Flow, and Wellness Series on ‘Creating Your Own Calm’.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth roads are overrated, and unrealistic in Michigan! Building a business, especially one that is focused on people instead of profit, is never easy, and I still have a long way to go, to reach my goals. The high cost of buying land and constructing a building, means that Rhizome Roots Studio events are held at local or rented venues, which is a real limitation. But, I am grateful for support of friends, family, and clients, and I have big ambitions to create a space where the local community can come to participate in events, host their own events, and interact with nature by hiking, gardening, or petting some alpacas! (I have been truly enamored with these fluffy friends ever since living in Peru years ago.) And while I plan to strategically develop curriculums and courses which can benchmark the 8 dimensions of wellness on pen and paper, I think my main motivation isn’t logical or analytical at all. I want to create a space where people feel they belong; where they can let go of all expectations of the neverending to-do lists and ‘who they ought to be’, and just experience genuine connection with themselves, nature, and their community.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Rhizome Roots Studio?
Rhizome Roots Studio (RRS) embodies community, and is committed to cultivating experiences around wellbeing; because everyone deserves to live well.

We are known for being an inclusive and welcoming space, and have dedicated dance class series for members of LGBTQAI+ community, and we aim to offer a Spanish-Speaking dance series soon! While there are many talented local dance, yoga, and wellness instructors in Michigan, they tend to offer classes and content in only 1 or 2 areas of wellbeing. The full scope of RRS classes and events integrate the 8 dimensions of wellbeing, and our 2023 offerings focus on physical health, social and emotional wellbeing, and the environment around us. A quick list of our offerings includes, but is not limited to:

Dance Classes & Socials:
Fusion Class and Social 1st Friday/Month
Bachata and Zouk Dance Series
Fusion Connection Dance Weekender Sept 22-24, 2023
Private Dance Lessons in the Styles of:
Bachata, Zouk, Fusion, Blues, Contact Improv, Ballroom/Wedding, and more.

Foraging & Forest Bathing
Foraging series
Intro to Shinrin Yoku
Fresh Air & Yoga

Wellness/Behavioral Health
Creating Your Own Calm (Series on Anxiety/Stress Management)

We are also affordable and collaborative, allowing patrons to sign up to volunteer to mitigate cost concerns. We believe that wellness should be as boundary-free as possible, and encourage anyone and everyone to participate, regardless of your age, race, gender, ethnicity, finances, or mobility; all are welcome here. Rhizome Roots Studio has a robust Safer Spaces Policy and Procedures, which we implement to ensure all participants feel safe at our events.

For anyone who is not an avid gardener or armature botanist, I should probably explain the name. Rhizome Roots Studio is named after, you guessed it, roots; rhizome roots to be exact! This root system continuously grows horizontally underground, from which interdependent shoots emerge. Picture a strawberry or ginger plant as it creeps across your garden bed. This contiguous root system embodies our community; while on the surface it may look like many different parts, underground, they are all connected. The word rhizome comes from the Greek rhizōma, and is recognizable in almost any language, which is lovely when you want your brand to be accessible from people of all different languages and backgrounds. Even though it is just starting to bloom, I believe that Rhizome Roots Studio will become synonymous with inclusion, innovation, and wellbeing. Thanks to Voyage Michigan for building a platform where local businesses and entrepreneurs can share their stories and talents!

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am a bit of an adrenaline seeker. I sometimes practice yoga on precarious cliffs, ride a motorcycle, and love to travel.

Pricing:

• Dance Class + Social on Sliding Scale for Drop-In $10-$20
• 4-8 Week Dance Class Series (Prices Vary- Pre-pay Discounts)
• Foraging & Forest Bathing: Guided Hikes $Free. Donations are Appreciated
• Private Dance Lessons (Wedding/Style-Specific) $40/hour
• Yoga & QiGong Flow (Prices Vary – Prepay Discount)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.facebook.com/Rhizomerootsstudio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhizome_roots_studio/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rhizomerootsstudio/about
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/user/efuller08

Image Credits
Eduardo Marcelo
Charlie Fuller
Josh Savalli