It's hard to believe that we've been at this for 5 years! Every time we reminisce on this journey we can't believe how many amazing humans we've met along the way and the impact that we've made in the community. Over the years you have all shared your stories with us and how being a part of the Elevate commUNITY has impacted your own journey and if we haven't told you, those stories are what has truly been the highlight of our journey!
As we close out 2021 and look forward, we wanted to share a little more on our journey so far, share some pictures of our journey these past 5+ years and a special recap of how we celebrated our 5 year anniversary (yes, read all the way to the bottom for a special video recapping it all). Take a look...
Where it all began...
It's hard to believe that the journey actually began nearly 7 years ago (long before we could ever imagine being where we are today). It all started with discovering aerial yoga in a small donation based studio that was located in the warehouse district. Pictured here at the VERY beginning of this journey are yours truly, co-founders, Brandi and Amber, and a dear friend of ours, Adam.
Like many of you, we fell in LOVE with aerial yoga! After not too long we decided to get certified to teach this amazing practice. And, shortly after starting that journey, we learned that the studio owner where we were learning from was relocating out of state. We knew without question we had to keep this practice going for the community so we set out on a mission to make that happen.
The MonOrchid Days...
Fast forward... Elevate was officially born in 2016 and we started as a pop up, donation based studio inside of the north studio of The MonOrchid - what is now Pedal Haus Brewery - and what used to be a multi-use and co-working space that housed everything from offices, to photo shoots, weddings, an art gallery and yes, an aerial yoga studio! We were often surrounded by the art work of locals Randy Slack and Peter Deise, seen pictured below, which was one of our favorite features of the space!
And, if you've ever wondered where our sense and commitment to commUNITY comes from, you can look within our roots at The MonOrchid. The owner of this building at the time, Wayne Rainey, really had created something special and it was an absolute blessing to have crossed paths with the humans that helped make this space what it was, which ultimately has driven us to build what we did!
Within just 9 months we outgrew this space and set out to find our permanent home and just a year and a half into Elevate's journey we officially opened our first brick and mortar location on, just up the street, officially becoming a neighborhood staple on RoRo.
Elevate today...
After building this commUNITY from the ground up into what it is these past 5+ years, we couldn't be more proud to be a part of the Downtown Phoenix and Roosevelt Row community and to have created this space. A commUNITY - not just a studio, but truly a safe and inclusive space for all humans to come and be themselves in, to move, meditate and elevate their practice in their own unique way. An homage to all of this is the mural that adorns our studio wall by local artist, Taylor Victoria.
And, despite overcoming the adversities tossed in our path (insert a worldwide pandemic right in the middle of this journey), we couldn't be happier to be on this path, this journey, serving each of you. Because without YOU, our commUNITY, our chosen family - including our members, our fellow local business owners, our incredible team and our families, we couldn't do what we do.
Photo Credit: NVS Photography
Mural Credit: Taylor Victoria Art
Celebrating 5 Years...
When we started thinking about our 5 year celebration we knew we wanted it to be special. Not only because 5 years is a big deal, but with what we as humans have ALL overcome and lived through these last couple of years, we knew we wanted to bring this commUNITY together as one. A day we could just celebrate each other. Hands down, celebrating this commUNITY in this way, at Greenwood Brewing (a fellow locally woman-owned business) was the single most memorable experience we've created so far. Words can't describe how amazing this day was.
To each of you that made it possible, THANK YOU!
Live Music: Dru West
Henna: Taylor Victoria
Local Brews: Greenwood Brewing
Cause Support: Only Human
We'd love to hear your memories and gratitude for the last 5 years, too! Members new and old, we invite you to share in the comments of this post.
Video Credit: Full Swing Video
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