Marlowe and Malena Valdeabella purchased their first HOTWORX studio in January 2023. In December 2024, the couple purchased a second franchise a block away from their alma mater. The Valdeabellas are committed to giving back to the SLU community and believe HOTWORX is an effective way to do it.
HOTWORX combines yoga with infrared sauna heat for a unique and effective workout. Founded in 2017, the company differs from traditional hot yoga by using dry heat via infrared heating as opposed to the traditional humidity commonly found in hot yoga saunas. The Valdeabellas explained that the added heat encourages sweat, helps remove toxins and aids in calorie burning.
The Valdeabellas have set up shop only a block away from SLU, across the street from the student-favorite, Alamo Drafthouse, and have been using their business’ proximity to campus to stay involved in the community.
Before graduating in 1995, Marlowe was a member of SLU’s Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) fraternity as well as the Filipino Student Association (FSA). He now acts as Pike’s Chapter Advisor and hosted their 24-hour Pike on a Bike Cycle-a-thon for their philanthropy week. He has also donated a gift basket and a free month-long HOTWORX membership, which would normally cost about $80, to the FSA’s upcoming showcase raffle.
Marlowe spoke on how he felt about using his business to give back to the organizations he was a part of as a student.
“It was fantastic. I call it the serendipitous collision,” Marlowe said. “Supporting a chapter I had grown up in and had a good affiliation with at a university both my wife and I graduated from. It really was putting all these things together that really was the right place and the right time and the right moment.”
Malena graduated from SLU in 2001 and shares Marlowe’s ideal of giving back to the SLU community. She was a member of SLU’s Kappa Delta sorority and is hosting a sisterhood event for the sorority in the HOTWORX studio this weekend.
HOTWORX St. Louis currently serves over 160 members of all ages, with membership expected to rise in the coming months.
