Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynne Officer.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Our story of becoming a full-fledged yoga business happened somewhat unintentionally. Our original Hoppy Yoga class was held in February 2013 at Mission Brewery in the East Village and was led by our founder Mia (Sabatino) DeGroot. We hosted class at Mission Brewery monthly for almost a year before we expanded to other breweries.
In the beginning, people mostly found out about our sessions through word of mouth, as well as our personal social media channels. It wasn’t until later that we created social media channels specifically for Hoppy Yoga. This was back when things were much less sophisticated with Facebook and Instagram than they are now for marketing your business.
As classes continued, more and more people started coming to check us out. We were happy that many of the people coming were trying yoga for the first time. They said they were more willing to give yoga a shot because it seemed less intimidating being in a brewery. Plus, they got beer at the end of the session. This is what really gave us the motivation to grow and expand to other breweries. As a result, we set forth on becoming a legitimate business.
In 2014, we increased partnerships with breweries and started to host classes multiple times a week throughout the county. This included sessions at Green Flash Brewing Company and Culture Brewing Company every Sunday. We would rotate to other breweries on Saturdays and occasionally add in an extra brewery on Sundays. Our social media following started to grow and more people were participating.
Today, we hold classes in over a dozen local craft breweries in San Diego. We also host sessions on the east coast at Green Flash Brewing Company Virginia Beach. Occasionally we ventured over the border to hold classes at breweries in Tijuana in collaboration with Let’s Go Clandestino. Our hope for the future is to continue to build partnerships with more breweries and get as many people as possible rolling out a yoga mat in them.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road hasn’t always been smooth. San Diego is saturated with yoga businesses just like it is saturated with craft breweries. Everyone is fighting to gain and maintain customers. Since we don’t have a brick and mortar studio or classes during the week, it has been more of a struggle to attract everyday yogis. People who do yoga regularly tend to be loyal to the studios where they are members. They may come to one of our sessions occasionally just to do something different or for the novelty.
Additional struggles we’ve faced along the way are learning the basics of running a business, jumping through the hoops to obtain our federal trademark, and keeping up with ever changing and expanding marketing trends. As yoga instructors, we may know how to stand on our heads, but we lack training on building and maintaining a successful business. Sometimes we are shooting from the hip.
Hoppy Yoga – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Our company partners with craft breweries to offer yoga sessions in the brewery’s tasting room when they are not open to the public. A craft beer social follows the yoga session. The price of class includes the first pint or flight.
We are most proud of bringing yoga to people who might otherwise not participate in it. We also feel happy about building partnerships with local craft breweries and giving people opportunities to explore all of these unique spots.
What sets us apart is that we are focused on building relationships through yoga and craft beer. Because people tend to stick around after class and enjoy a flight or a pint, they are able to interact with one another and bond. Over the years, our participants have been known to develop new friendships, meet mates, network for jobs, etc. These opportunities don’t happen as much in yoga studios where people roll up their mats and go home at the end of class. The other thing that sets us apart is our yoga instructors. We value instructors who bring their own unique teaching style, are focused on keeping people safe, and encourage fun as a key to success.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We are grateful to find a niche where we get to combine our two favorite pastimes, yoga and socializing. Success to us is people having fun while practicing yoga. It’s rewarding to look out at the crowd during a hard pose, make a comment about being in a brewery while doing it, and watch the smiles spread across faces.
Success is when people come back again and again. Our vision is to connect people through yoga and craft beer. If people are coming back, it tells us that they are connecting and we are on the way to meeting our vision.
Pricing:
- Single Class Drop In-$20* (*cost includes first pint or flight)
- Bomber (2 Class Package)-$35*
- 6 Pack (6 Class Package)-$90*
- 12 Pack (12 Class Package)-$160*
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hoppyyoga.com
- Email: info@hoppyyoga.com
- Instagram: @hoppyyoga.
- Facebook: hoppyyogasd
Image Credit:
Gordy Adsit
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
