From Mobile Mats to The Underground

Hi. I’ve been a little MIA.

Not because I disappeared.Because I’ve been building something really, really special.

The Velvet Mat officially has a home in the heart of downtown. I’m not dropping the exact location yet (dramatic pause! ), but I will tell you this,

From mobile mats… to The Underground!

And if you’ve been here since the Mahaffey Theater lawn and brewery days, you deserve the full story.

This whole thing really started when Jesse and I moved to Atlanta. I had been working at HSN since graduating from Fashion Institute of Technology. FIT in NYC was ICONIC. HSN was my comfort zone after I learned how to navigate my first big girl job, learning how to cultivate relationships and tell a story is something that will forever hold a special place and stick with me. My identity in so many ways.

Then Jesse got offered the afternoon show on Rock 100.5, top ten market in the industry here we come!

So I left the job I thought I might retire from and moved to Atlanta to start over. Totally casual.

I launched an event planning business there, and to get my yoga practice on (I had been practicing for years) I wandered into a CorePower Yoga studio in Sandy Springs GA and signed up for teacher training on a total gut feeling.

Best pseudo impulsive decision ever.

There is SO much more to that chapter (we’ll unpack it another time because it deserves its own spotlight), but that’s where yoga shifted from something I loved… to something that loved me back.

Fast forward two years, we moved home. Because radio. If you know, you know.

I joined friends to open a boutique gym in South Tampa. Then COVID happened and the world turned upside down. I went back to HSN (yes, my job was still open waiting for me....wild), but I also had my teaching certification, personal training certification, and event production brain just itching to create something.

Enter: outdoor yoga with Michelob Ultra promoting their 99-calorie beer.

Six feet apart (remember that?) Mahaffey Theater Lawn. Local radio collabs. a DJ. Wellness and beer. It was peak 2020 energy and honestly, it worked!

What started as an initiative to get people back together after the world shut down, turned into hosting 100 people on the lawn each week and breweries calling. Rooftops reaching out. Recurring events stacking up. One class a month became one a week. Then a few a week.

It was just me, a mic, and a speaker. “Crystal Kage Yoga.”

And then it wasn’t just me anymore. I brought in Nikki and Jade, two absolute powerhouses in my world. Nikki (yes, that Nikki! Realtor, connector, community queen) and Jade, our longtime chiropractor turned dear friend turned yoga sweetheart. We built this thing together. We were scrappy. We were figuring it out in real time. And it was working.

More teachers started reaching out at exactly the right moment. So “Crystal Kage Yoga” became “Namaste in Tampa Bay.” It felt bigger than me. It was becoming a collective.

Then one morning at breakfast, Jesse and I were tossing around ideas for a new event. What if we did something exclusive? Speakeasy vibes. Velvet curtains. Secret location. Moody. Swanky. Sexy. If ya know the password, you get in.

Very velvet.

After a Sunday breakfast brainstorming session name The Velvet Mat landed and I couldn’t un-hear it.

We didn’t even host that speakeasy right away. But the name and energy stuck.

I rebranded everything. Pulled in my creative friends who are insanely talented at graphics and promo and made it feel elevated. Intentional. Moody. Rock ‘n’ roll a little witchy but grounded.

The Velvet Mat had legs.

Events multiplied, private bookings came in, and partnerships expanded. We were hosting something almost every single day across different locations. Breweries. Rooftops. Wine houses. Dog bars. Charity collabs. Workshops.

It was beautiful chaos. And I loved every second of it.

Then March 2025 hit. HSN announced they were closing the campus and moving production north with QVC. The same week that happened, I got more calls for recurring event requests than ever before.

It felt like the universe saying, “Okay Crystal. You wanted this? Let's go sister!”

So instead of scrambling for another corporate role, I leaned in.

Later in the year, I started looking for workshop space. Just something small. A place to host trainings. To gather teachers. To create something deeper than pop-ups not only for students but also for teachers.

And then I found it.

A basement. In Florida. Which is basically mythical.

I walked in just before the holidays last year and I swear it felt like the full circle moment I didn’t know I was manifesting. Speakeasy vibes? Check. Moody. Intimate. A little edgy. F'ing check!

The Velvet Mat Underground.

Not just because it’s downstairs, but because it’s different. It’s for the people who want more than surface-level. It’s for conversations that feel real. For teachers who want to grow. For community that feels electric.

Signing that lease was so exciting, scary and emotional. Every single brewery class. Every rooftop. Every rebrand. Every mic check. Every 6-feet-apart mat led to that moment. (we are still doing community classes btw!)

To my teachers who stuck with me through the events, the pivots, the rebrands, the growth... this is better because of YOU. Truly. You are part of the heartbeat of this movement. Thank you for trusting me and building this with me.

And my husband Jesse… taking this next ride with you is going to be so great.

You kept telling me to just do it. Here we are!

Now here’s where it gets even more fun.

The Underground won’t just be yoga.

There’s another experience joining the movement. High energy. Empowering. A little loud. A little sparkly. Very “main character energy.” It fits the Underground vibe so perfectly it almost feels like we’ve been building toward it this whole time.

I’m not telling you what or who yet.

But trust me… you’re going to want to stay tuned.

Next up: I’ll tell you exactly where this magic lives.

The Velvet Mat isn’t just mobile anymore.

It’s rooted.

And this Underground movement? We’re just getting started. 💜

How it started....