While hooping it up at Club 6 with Ariel and Vera, I got thirsty. Waiting at the bar with my hoop for a tall cool glass of ice water (it's important to stay hydrated!), a SF hipster approached me. "So," he said, smirking. "Do you mean to tell me that there's some sort of, like, underground hula hooping movement that I don't know about?" I smiled, and replied simply, "Yes!"

While hooping in Ghirardelli square with Vera, Wendy, and Philo, a middle-aged Asian woman with a small girl approached me. She was very interested in my hoop and wanted to know where to get one. She had bought one for her little girl, she explained, but uses it herself. "200 times every morning!" she proudly announced. "It is very good exercise, and I do it every day!" Since children's hoops are often too small and light for adults, she wanted to know where to get a larger size hoop for herself, such as the ones we had, and so I explained to her where to find the tubing in the area, and gave her a list of online resources as well.

The SF Bay Area Hoopers have been filmed and photographed countless times by curious tourists, and the word is definitely spreading about the multiple benefits and joys of hooping. No matter where you are practicing, even if it's just at your local park on a sunny afternoon, people stop, watch, and often make comments or ask questions. I've gotten several "I haven't seen one of those since the 50's!" comments from smiling senior citizens, and of course, children always LOVE to stand and gawk. Other common questions include:

"Where did you get that?"
"Do you practice a lot?"
"Does that hurt?" (often asked when hooping around the neck)
"Are you in the circus?"
"Are you a street performer?"
"Are you going to Burning Man?"
"Is this a new thing …or … and old thing?"
"Why are you doing that?"
"Where can I get one?"
and, of course "Can I try?"

This last question is always welcome, and it's wonderful to see people's faces light up when you hand over your hoop, and even if they don't quite get it the first few tries, they are always laughing and smiling afterward.

Finally, the allure of hooping has brought several hoopers unexpected invitations to perform at both public and private events. Recently, the Bay Area Hoopers were invited to hoop at a birthday party, and other hoopers have been invited to hoop at clubs and other events in the area. Some hoopers are a little nervous about "performing" (as opposed to practicing) in public places, while others love the attention. Either way, hoopers are out and about at almost any public event these days, and the allure attracts more and more every day!