“I finally got the right size and the right amount of water, then I made it pretty,” Latshaw explained.
According to Latshaw, the water inside the hoop adds inertia that helps keep the hoop spinning, and the tape adds friction that helps keep the hoop up. She said that one of her favorite experiences is to see the excitement of people who tell her “I can’t hoop.”
“I can’t tell you how cool it is to see the expression on their faces,” enthused Latshaw. “They light up!”
Latshaw first demonstrated her hoops at a holiday craft show at her personal bank, and it “ran from there.” In 2011 the Clark County Fair Grounds contacted her, and she donated 15 hoops for their hoop contest. Now, she runs the ten-day contest. Latshaw also donates hoops to and teaches a one-week class for Young Women in Action, a nine-week health and fitness program for fifth grade girls in the Vancouver school district. She said the first year she participated at one school, then three, and this year six. Latshaw also said that several local chiropractors have given hoops to patients, because hooping is low-impact and utilizes muscles you don’t normally use.
“I had no idea that it would branch out in all these directions,” said Latshaw, whose full-time job is director of marketing for Squires Electric.
According to Latshaw, the business is growing steadily, with 150 Phat Hoops sold in 2011, more than 600 sold in 2012, and 568 sold year-to-date. The inventor envisions maintaining that slow, steady growth, adding that she isn’t in a “giant hurry.” Most customers are local, because shipping the hoops is expensive. Potential customers can contact Latshaw directly, or can find Phat Hoops at Coconut Hut Tanning and Boutique on Broadway in downtown Vancouver.
Instead of using growth statistics as the sole indicator of success, Latshaw said, she puts more emphasis on the fact that Phat Hoops is a good way to give back to the community (she donated 312 hoops in 2012), provides an opportunity for her and her teenaged daughters to work and bond together, and enables her to educate the girls about small business.
“It’s a great way to teach them that if you put your mind to something, you can do it,” she said.
Latshaw is considering bringing on another person, working on commission, and would eventually like to have an employee on the payroll.
“We’re not quite ready for that, but we’re getting there,” she said.
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