Movement Mecca | Sweat in Style — my place our place

Author // Shannon Edwards, Place New Farm

It all started with a girl, her passion for business and love for fitness.

Monique Purcell left her office job and followed her heart which lead to the creation of Movement Mecca.

With an obsession for active wear, Monique brings funky fresh pieces from Australian labels to the streets of Newstead.

“I want my customers to not only look good, but to feel great”

And heck, if we’re going to sweat, we at least want to do it in style!

Monique shared the story of Movement Mecca and her hopes for the company in the near future.

**How did Movement Mecca come about?**

I have a background as a HR professional, always having plans for progression so I’ve always been very career focussed.

I have always wanted to have my own business and be my own boss.

My parents were small business owners so it was always around me when growing up, so I always knew that was going to be my path.

I took a big risk and left my career to create something of my own.

Movement Mecca came out of my love for CrossFit.

I began to realise that when following a strict exercise routine, exercising every day, you really go through a lot of active wear.

It became boring wearing the same stuff every day, and the same things as other people so I started searching for more exciting styles.

That search opened my eyes to all the amazing stuff that was being made locally.

I found myself buying from a heap of different websites which got a little overwhelming and time consuming, so I thought, “wouldn’t it be great if there was a single site where you could buy all this awesome stuff!”

From that, Movement Mecca was born, designed as a one stop CrossFit shop.

**How has Movement Mecca grown?**

My taste and preferences have changed as I’ve matured and with that the business has matured.

Originally the business was focussed on providing great, fun gear purely for CrossFit.

These days, I am less focussed on CrossFit and more just on living a healthy, active lifestyle and that is translated through Movement Mecca.

Movement Mecca is a platform for small, local boutique activewear brands - we’re here to get their stuff out there and share it with people who love living an active life.

**What makes Movement Mecca unique?**

We’re not only about providing awesome activewear for our customers, but a big focus of ours is supporting local businesses.

Our point of difference is that we stock Australian boutique brands, they may not necessarily be well known so we’re helping get their name out there.

Everything is tried and tested out before selling as we want to ensure it fits well, feels great and can withstand the normal elements of exercise.

Our price point is also an important aspect to our business – we want our active wear to be affordable and reasonable for all our customers.

**What is your vision for Movement Mecca in the future?**

My goal for 2017 was to open up a physical store, which I was lucky enough to do in February, into our small space in Newstead.

Although I love online shopping and how accessible it is, I feel that as women we want to feel really good in what we buy and sometimes it can be tricky to build trust in new brands through online shopping.

I’ve found that when people are buying online they tend to go back to the products they know well, rather than trying a new label.

As we’re all about supporting smaller, local labels, it’s really important that we can introduce these products to our customers.

This is the reason why it’s important to have storefronts where women can come in, get advice, try on and be educated on the amazing products.

I definitely see more stores opening as the business grows and we bring more brands on board.

I plan to have a large physical presence in Brisbane then slowly open up around Australia.