This trend but my designs evolve as I evolve
TBH I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD HAPPEN. Not when I decided to defy my parents and apply for a job in fashion instead of applying to med school. Not when I recorded one Pilates video intended for a small group of my students and put it on YouTube. Not when I started selling motivational tanks out of my parents’ garage.
I had a dream I couldn’t ignore, and I followed it! The journey along the way was messy at times, but it allowed me to evolve and allowed my designs to evolve.
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2012
My merch begins with motivational tanks. The “Train like a beast look like a beauty” design gets so popular that the exact graphic gets ripped off by a large dept store which directly impacts my small biz. I stop making tanks altogether.
2016
I decide to go after my childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer and launch POPFLEX. Everyone’s excited and it starts off pretty well at first!
2017
I drop my third collection “Dark Bloom” and it FLOPS. The fit is terrible and customers lose trust. The orders nearly come to a halt.
2018
The worst year of my life. Between the internet tearing me down for how I looked, intense toxicity on my own tiny team, and the biz falling apart, I nearly give up. Not just POPFLEX but Blogilates the channel too. I am barely hanging on but Sam tells me to try one last time. “Give it 30 more days” he says.
2019 (not pictured)
I refocus my energy on who I want to be, instead of being who others tell me to be. I rediscover myself, I rebuild my confidence, and as a result, completely transform my business too.
2021
I have an emotional breakdown. I realize that after 13 years of posting fitness videos and getting body shamed every single day, I had to take a break for my own mental health. During my break, I start showing a side of myself that no one’s ever seen before. Fashion designer Cassey emerges and my content shifts from teaching home workouts to sharing the creative process behind how I design my products.
2024
From Taylor Swift wearing the Pirouette Skort to hitting ✨10 MILLION✨ subscribers on YouTube in the same year (WHAT!?), I am SO LUCKY to be living this life and doing what I love Every. Single. Day.
WHAT A JOURNEY.
Looking back at every time I wanted to give up, every learning opportunity, every time I worked myself to exhaustion, and every single person who supported (and STILL supports me!) along the way, I’m so overwhelmed with emotions. I really never thought I’d get here, and I’m so grateful.
Can’t wait to see what’s next!
4 thoughts on “This trend but my designs evolve as I evolve”
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That’s funny, the ‘dark bloom’ collection is the only one that fits me ^^’ The bra especially is the absolute killer in terms of high impact. I bought multiple Popflex bras after this one, and my b00bs bounce like crazy, and/or just spill out… I wish this collection could come back!!
I’m so glad you didn’t give up! Your clothes are like all I wear now. I have Audrey Tanks and Twirl Skorts for WEEKS.
… and THIS is why you need someone who cheers you on, right there by your side, like Sam. Love this journey, looking backwards it is pretty stunning!
I literally bought something from every era! I still have a lot of what I bought! Lifetime customer and popster here!