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October 07, 2022

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Cassey's Blog, Feelings, Body Image, Dear Cassey

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Dear Cassey: Why does everyone look better than me?

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Ok I’m nervous. This is my first foray into des

Ok I’m nervous.

This is my first foray into designing something outside of the activewear space. Look I’m a fitness girl always, but I’m also a major fashion girl and I love love love clothes. I feel like I don’t just buy clothes, I collect them! I look at clothes like art, and I see the thought and detail that goes into a piece…beyond just the pretty but the engineering that had to go into construction to make it a real, wearable product.

Today is the launch of my first ever, official Outerwear. Meet the @popflex_active ✨Cocoon Coat✨

She’s the softest, fluffiest, WARMEST, most luxurious piece I’ve ever created. With thumbholes, pockets, and the most enchanted hood everrrrrr, I mean, even though it’s fashion, it’s still got that POPFLEX functional touch.

It would be my dream and absolute honor to dress you not just at the gym but to and from the gym as well. If this goes well (deep breath), I’m hoping I can design more things for you outside of the activewear space.

What do you think!??

♥️Cassey

Ps: The Cocoon Coat comes is xxs/xs, s/m, l/xl, and 1x/3x. I’m wearing the s/m! Popflexactive.com bio link

Started working on this a year ago and now we’re

Started working on this a year ago and now we’re finally here! My first @popflex_active windbreaker!

I grew up watching Disney movies. Yes, the love stories and adventures were fun but I was really in it for the clothes. Ballgowns, capes, and corsets? Umm yes.

Weirdly (but maybe not so weird) my choice of entertainment these days is watching, reading or listening to historical non-fiction…specifically centered around royal women in history. I think I have a odd affinity for European history around the 1500-1700s because of how the fashion then was used to inspire the Disney princess costumes.

(Side note: You know, when I was a kid I used to think I wanted to be a princess, but after learning about court politics and how women were just pawns and child bearing vehicles, I think being as far away from the castle would be best 😅)

Anyway, I digress.

Even though Disney princess are just a fantasy, the fairytales still inspire me to this day. I love all things romantic, feminine, and enchanted. You can see it in almost all of my designs.

I think the really cool thing about being a fashion designer, specifically an activewear designer is that I have to create things that not only make me feel beautiful but have to make me perform better too. It’s like this constant push and pull between art and science. It’s a challenge but I LOVE IT.

The ✨Whimsical Breeze Windbreaker✨ is my latest creation and I loooove wearing it on my outdoor runs!

✔️adjustable hem so you can wear it loose, cinched or cropped
✔️ enchanted hood that’s adjustable
✔️ double ruched sleeves for extra dramatic sleeves
✔️ princess seams
✔️ high collar to keep your neck warm
✔️ lightweight and compact

Hope you love! I’m wearing the s/m! This design comes in xxs all the way to 3x!

♥️Cassey

Ps: you can get this now on popflexactive.com bio link @popflex_active

It’s true. I haven’t posted a workout video in

It’s true. I haven’t posted a workout video in a long time. And you know what? It’s been nice. Nice because it’s the first time in 13 years of being online that no one has said something mean about my body.

Posting that first video in 2009, I was so scared that someone would comment on my form. But it wasn’t my technique they were after, it was the way I looked. It’s sad that what started out as me very simply teaching Pilates to my students turned into an open forum for body shaming.

Why don’t you have abs?
Why is your butt flat?
Why do you have hip dips?
You’re getting fat.
You’re too skinny.
You don’t look like other trainers.
Where’s your muscle?
Now you look like a man.
Your workouts must not work if you look like that.
If you cared about your career, you’d lose weight.

Stepping away momentarily from the fitness industry has made me realize what a toxic environment I had been living in daily. No more people pushing their ideologies down my throat and telling me how I should look or how I should eat or how stupid I am for not listening to them. In fact, this hiatus has given me the space and breathing room to renurture my relationship with food, fitness, and my body. With the negative chatter silenced, I can now focus on what my body is telling me I need. Not what other people are yelling at me about.

I’ve been having so much fun spending my time driving the product development forward as both @popflex_active and Blogilates brands are growing rapidly. I’m in a major design groove and feel so in alignment. These days, it feels weird to not be afraid to open my comments. Before I’d have to take a deep breath and brace my body for the hurtful and sometimes hateful comments.

Anyway, here’s my first workout video in a looooong time. Let’s see how this goes.

♥️Cassey

Ps: My sliders are the new Blogilates ones at Target! You can get ‘em online at target.com or in store! If you don’t have sliders, use towels on hardwood or paper plates on carpet!

Middle school PE. Ugh I can vividly remember how m

Middle school PE. Ugh I can vividly remember how much anxiety I got when it was time for the “captains” (aka the fastest, most athletic boys in class) to pick teams. I prayed so hard that I wouldn’t be picked last, but it didn’t help. No one wanted me. I know it’s just PE, but being last pick made me feel ashamed, unworthy and like I didn’t belong.

Then mile days. I dreaded “The Mile” so much. Again, the competitive nature of the activity (which honestly was a race) gave me so much anxiety. You know, it’s all fun for the ones who are naturally fast, but for me - I can still remember struggling to finish my mile while feeling like hot soup was boiling in my lungs as my classmates were looking on and judging.

And of course, we can’t forget to talk about PE clothes. Eeewwwww. I do not like being told what to wear, especially when the thing I’m forced to wear I’m also being forced to pay for ANDDDD it looks so bad because it’s not made with my (female) body in mind.

All of this combined made me hate PE and associate all exercise in general with negative feelings.

It wasn’t until high school that I discovered Pilates through an informercial (who remembers Mari Windsor Pilates DVDs!?) and had the realization that fitness wasn’t about competing with others, it was about being better than who you were yesterday. The competition was only between you and yourself!

From there, I decided to get certified as a Pilates instructor in college, I began teaching at gyms, and then started a YT channel all based around making fitness fun!

You know, I strongly believe that if PE could offer group exercise and allow students to wear whatever made them feel confident to move, a lot more girls would have a healthier, more positive relationship with exercise earlier on in life. I know for me it would have made all the difference.

♥️Cassey

Ps: I’m wearing the @popflex_active shruggie, peekaboo shortsie, and that’s the Belladonna gym bag!

Looks like I need to go back to the drawing board

Looks like I need to go back to the drawing board and dial up the motivation 🫠

I dragged @samlivits out from his meetings and forced him to do this TikTok with me. Luckily he obliged. We redid that last shot like 20 times and I’m proud to report he was a trooper and kept going until I was happy 🙂

Do you guys wanna see more of Sam and how we work together as business partners but also as husband and wife? What are you interested in knowing?

♥️Cassey

Ps: This is the new Ready Set Glow Gallon Timer Bottle from @popflex_active! It comes in 3 colors and is avail now on popflexactive.com (bio link)

Wait til the end… For those of you who have bee

Wait til the end…

For those of you who have been following me since 2013, you know that I’ve been designing water bottles for almost a decade. I am obsessed with hydration, and I drink a lot of water because it helps my digestion and also keeps my skin looking healthy.

I know drinking water can be hard because it can taste “boring“. To make it easier for myself, I love adding fruit to give it some flavor. But also what I find really helpful is turning drinking water into a game!

ARE YOU READY TO EXPERIENCE THE BIGGEST FRUIT INFUSER GIANT GALLON BOTTLE OF YOUR LIFE!??

✨Ready Set Glow Gallon Timer Bottle✨ @popflex_active

✔️ motivational time stamps from 7am to 9pm
✔️ fruit infuser
✔️1 gallon (128 fl oz) capacity
✔️ flip top cap
✔️ silicone terrazzo bumper that also TRANSFORMS into a dog water bowl!? 🐾 🐶

But honestly what I’m even more excited about…is it’s matching bottle bag! YOU KNOW I LOVE BAGS! 😭😭😭

Guys it fits the gallon bottle perfectly and it has a:

✔️ phone pocket
✔️ zip pocket
✔️ key ring clip
✔️ wear crossbody or as a mini backpack

Omggggg I can’t even handle myself right now. I think my entire identity is this. THIS IS ME. So specific and SO INTENSE!!!

What do you think!??

♥️Cassey

Ps: You can get this bottle (3 colors) and bag right now at popflexactive.com (bio link) @popflex_active