Beyond Yoga's Jodi Guber Brufsky on Inclusivity in Athleisure and Entrepreneurship
Beyond Yoga makes the softest, most durable yoga and loungewear, but it is the inclusive, spiritual focus that founder, Jodi Guber Brufsky, brings to her business that we find most inspiring. In Episode 2 of The Seam podcast, Beyond Yoga’s founder sits down with The Seam’s Amy Cohen Epstein to talk inclusivity, entrepreneurship and keeping calm in a pandemic.
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Amy Cohen: Jodi, will you give me the two-to-five-minute version of how you got to start this business and your career trajectory?
Jodi Guber: I have had many careers prior to founding Beyond Yoga. But one day I sat down and thought, what do I love? I love fashion. I love fitness. I was a big body positivity advocate before that was really a thing. When I sat down and really thought about what it was that I wanted to do, this is what came to me. And so I launched Beyond Yoga.
What I loved about it was my desire to do it was real and authentic. And I know I keep using those words, but that's such a critical part of what I'm attracted to. I didn't start a line of yoga clothing or activewear because that's what was trending. I started it because I felt something deep inside of me that spoke to me that called for it.
Amy Cohen: Why did you call it Beyond Yoga?
Jodi Guber: Well, what's in a name? Sometimes I'll say to people, "Oh, Beyond Yoga" and they're like, "I don't do yoga." That's why it's called beyond yoga because it's for more than just yoga. And yoga, the practice itself is so much more than a physical practice on the mat. Yoga is how we're talking to each other right now. Yoga is how you live your life, how you breathe, how you move. And so Beyond Yoga represented so much to me.
Amy Cohen: One of the things that has been so important to me in the foundation that I've run for the last two decades is inclusivity. And the way that I've been able to incorporate that into the Lynne Cohen Preventive Care clinics is that we serve women who come from all different backgrounds. So we have four preventative care clinics, two in New York and two in LA. One of the clinics in LA and one of the clinics in New York are each dedicated to women who are underserved, uninsured, and mostly from minority at-risk communities. And that's been really important to me because that was really important to my mom who obviously inspired the foundation. It was named in her honor and memory.
And one thing I've always been drawn to about you socially, personally, spiritually, is you embody inclusivity. You are one of those individuals who people gravitate towards. And Beyond Yoga is known as this incredibly inclusive brand, which I have to imagine was difficult at times in the fashion world.
Was that a conscious thing from the beginning, 15 years ago when you started? Did that come in later?
Jodi Guber: Good question. An important question in terms of the way I see my business. When launching Beyond Yoga with all the things I told you before, a big part of it was my personal history and my background. I struggled with my weight and my self-esteem, and my body for many years of my life. I think it's something that we as a culture are always working on because we are bombarded by messages from the media that we're not good enough. So, for me, the body positivity aspect of it was critical. When we launched the line, we went up to extra large. Now, we go all the way up to XXXL.
“We acknowledge that there's an ever-evolving self and want to meet you where you are on the journey.”
It definitely took a while to build that part of the business. Now it's awesome. We go from extra-small to 3XL, and we really are about radical comfort and self-love. We acknowledge that there's an ever-evolving self and want to meet you where you are on the journey. And I think what differentiates us from a lot of the brands that are out there.
Amy Cohen: 100% and the way that you market and your advertising shows that. What was the feedback like at first? Has it always been positive or did you experience negativity?
Jodi Guber: Well, in the very beginning, I saw where it was going. I had a vision and I held to that vision. So I guess one of the things I would say to the listeners is: Listen to your instincts. Chances are, if something comes to you, there's a reason and you won't be the only person that gets this message.
There are two people who've inspired me in this area. One's Deepak Chopra and one's Elizabeth Gilbert. Elizabeth Gilbert, in one of her books, talks about an idea that came to her and she wrote the idea down and then never ended up doing the book. Then somebody else basically wrote the book and she couldn't believe it. So she believes that there are these ideas and if you don't act on them, they move on to other people. Deepak Chopra believes in synchrodestiny, which is the idea that that’s not a coincidence. You are open and you're tuned into what's going on above you. When you're in that space, you receive certain things. That's why when somebody calls you at the same time and you're like, "Oh my God, what a coincidence." It really isn't, but it feels like it.
And so I believe that this idea came to me, I acted on it, and it felt right. It felt totally in sync with where I was in life. I said to Michelle, who's my partner now, in the very beginning when I first met her, I said, “Beyond Yoga's going places. I know that's going to sound corny and you're going to think I'm crazy, but I promise you it is." And 15 years later, she is like, "You never lied."
Amy Cohen: How did you get inspired to be in the wellness space? I mean, obviously you say you had a real interest in fashion and wellness and fitness, but where did the wellness piece come from?
Jodi Guber: My parents have always been forward thinkers. I mean yoga existed, but nobody was really doing yoga on any regular basis back then. It was more hippy-dippy. They were really big advocates of yoga.
I was exposed to it at a young age and in my adult life continued to be exposed to it from them. When I left my last job, I decided to be a yoga teacher and life coach. I started doing that and I really loved it, but I felt like something was missing. That's when I ended up launching Beyond Yoga. So the wellness comes from my childhood, my family and then just my own personal desire for it.
I have a hunger for taking care of myself, whether it's nutrition, skin, or wellness in the more functional medicine area, and it just fascinates me. I tell people I'm going to live to 150 and they laugh. They're like, "Why would you want to do that?" I love it here and if I'm going to look and feel like this, why wouldn't I want to?
My theory is if it doesn't happen, I'll deal with that at that point, but why not live positively?
Amy Cohen: Have you had any real mentors during your career or in your life?
Jodi Guber: There are different people that I was fortunate enough to be able to call and ask for advice. So I feel really lucky for that. Pam Levy of Juicy Couture was somebody who I was able to turn to and ask questions. James Perse was somebody who I was able to turn to and ask questions. Norma Kamali.
A lot of people were very supportive and very willing to help me and guide me. Even people that I didn't really know. I'd call someone and say, "Do you know anyone that can help me with this?" And they would connect me. And I felt really, really supported.
Like I said, when I met Michelle, I said, "The universe supports Beyond Yoga." And at every turn it really did. I had so many celebrities wearing Beyond Yoga from the very beginning and even I would say, "Oh, let me send you some things." And they’d tell me, "No, I'll buy them. I want to support you." And I remember, one time, there was a picture of Reese Witherspoon, I think it was in People Magazine. And it said spotted at Jill Roberts in Beyond Yoga. So I called her and I was like, "That is the sweetest thing." And she said, "Of course. I want to support you." And that happened a lot. I remember when we first started with PR and marketing years ago, one of the things I said was "I am not comfortable paying somebody to wear the clothes." That just didn't feel right. That doesn't mean there aren't times where you don't do certain marketing things. But as a rule, I didn't want to pay anyone to wear the clothes.
Amy Cohen: I think that a huge part of why the company has been so successful is because it stems out of a place of honesty and realness, and people feel that, literally. I love the positivity that you radiate. It's just uplifting and really needed — especially now.
Jodi Guber: I mean, it's a strange time. As corny as it sounds, whenever you're feeling down, my advice to anyone listening is to try to sit up straight, take a deep breath and put a smile on your face even if it's for a minute. Because when you are smiling, it's actually hard to feel down. So that's my little ending advice.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To listen to the full version, please visit The Seam Podcast.