Miywasin Moment: Family, faith and fancy footwork Motiv-ates local business owner

By JoLynn Parenteau on September 29, 2021.

Aaron Melanson could be Medicine Hat’s most multifaceted man. A husband, father, successful small business owner, award-winning breakdancer, a man of Indigenous descent and also of powerful faith, he is surprising at every turn.

“I’ve been breakdancing my whole life,” recalls Melanson. “I’m fully involved in the breaking, hip-hop scene in Alberta, and was blessed to live full-time dancing for quite a few years.”

In his youth, Melanson travelled internationally with a faith-based organization to share the gospel with youth through skateboarding and hip-hop dance demonstrations.

Melanson first met his wife Kendra at a dance competition where they faced off as opponents. Touring together internationally, they became engaged after only a week of dating and married five months later. The pair celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary last week. They share five children, aged 10 years to 10 months, and all are taught to dance before they can walk. The Melansons own Elementz Dance Studio inside St. Barnabas Church downtown.

When custom orders for their children’s growing dancewear collection became costly, the Melansons decided to invest in embroidery equipment at home to support the dance studio’s needs. After four years building his budding business from home, Melanson expanded with a storefront downtown on Third Street.

“The name Motiv Custom Apparel really came from ‘Motivated by God,’ and to show love,” explains Melanson of his Christian faith.

“The vision for all of this was to sponsor some b-boys to live their way. I’ve always looked at breakers as struggling for money, to practice and train correctly, and to go different places,” he explains.

Launching his business not only saved money on apparel for the dance studio, it also allowed Melanson to travel to competitions along with sponsoring other dancers.

Now Melanson helps local businesses, charities and events self-promote with custom embroidered, screen printed and vinyl heat-pressed clothing, mugs, decals and more. Business hasn’t slacked through the pandemic. Motiv continues to receive tremendous support from local businesses and as far away as Vancouver.

Melanson just fulfilled an order for two thousand custom tees.

“If I help people with their business, my business grows. It meets my character of what I like to do. If I give good gear for someone’s business, I know it will help them, and in turn they’ll come back and order more,” says Melanson.

Connecting with his Métis roots has been a boon for Melanson’s business. Leveraging opportunities through the Métis Nation of Alberta and Apeetogosan Métis Development, his workshop received a new furnace. Melanson is grateful.

“I think I might have gone bankrupt if it wasn’t for the Métis [Nation of Alberta]. It’s a community I just absolutely love. I’m proud to say I’m a Métis man.”

He’s also taken advantage of his Métis harvesting and hunting rights.

“I go moose hunting every December with my cousin,” he says. I am thrilled to be gifted moose steak and sausages at the end of our visit.

Ahead of tomorrow’s first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, Motiv Custom Apparel has sponsored orange graphic tees for sale through Miywasin Friendship Centre. The tees feature a local artist’s powerful image of a young First Nations girl gazing out from a truck’s rear window as she’s taken away to residential school.

Tees will be on hand Thursday from 5-7 p.m. at a gathering in Riverside Veterans’ Memorial Park to honour residential school survivors and to foster healing in the community.

“We try to give wherever we can and promote in the community,” says Melanson.

Located downtown at 524 Third St. SE, Motiv Custom Apparel can also be found on Instagram at @motivcustomapparel and online at http://www.motivcustomapparel.com. Next time you see me, I’ll be rocking a jacket with custom embroidered Métis flowers.

JoLynn Parenteau is a Métis writer out of Miywasin Friendship Centre. Column feedback can be sent to jolynn.parenteau@gmail.com

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