“Put your head down, work hard, and let the facts speak for themselves.” – Cassey Ho, Bloglaites Founder and CEO (For Shape Magazine).Â
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” You may recall this classic childhood question being asked by your elementary school teacher or friends. For Cassey Ho, her dream was to become a fashion designer. Cassey is a first generation Chinese-Vietnamese American along with her younger sister, Jackelyn. In an article with We Work she states, “My parents came to this country, didn’t know the language and worked in the face of discrimination.” There was significant pressure to bring honor to her family, such as pursuing law or medicine, and her dream of becoming a fashion designer was quickly diminished. Between the dismay of her parents and expectations of adulthood, she pursued biology with a minor in business at Whittier College in Southern California.Â
In an interview with Shape Magazine in 2022, Cassey said, “My heart felt hollow. I was doing something I had no passion for and I would just find myself doodling all over the sides of my notebook.” Although academics were not bringing her joy, outside the classroom she found happiness through attending pilates classes and teaching her friends in her dorm room. During this time, Cassey also struggled to find the perfect yoga mat bag, so she began her entrepreneurial journey by making her own. She even sent these homemade bags to media outlets, including Shape Magazine, hoping to land a spread or interview. Little did Cassey know that her determination would put her on the path of her dreams: CEO and founder of two activewear lines.Â
Cassey pursued her love of pilates by becoming a certified pilates instructor at a 24 Hour Fitness gym. Upon graduation, she was offered a position in the fashion buying industry on the East Coast. Her dream in fashion was finally coming true, but it meant that she would have to leave her pilates students behind. Cassey says in a YouTube video, “I was the only one teaching [Pop Pilaties®] at the time, so I thought you know, I’ll just film a little routine and upload to this site called Youtube.” She named her channel Blogilates, combining two of her favorite things: Pilates and blogging. Since this video was uploaded back in 2009, Blogilates has become one of the top female fitness channels, currently with 10.5 million subscribers.Â
Cassey did not stop with just a YouTube channel; she has licensed out her specialty type of workout and instructor certification program called Pop Pilaties®, which features her unique choreography, mixed with pop music, to 24 Hour Fitness and 1,000+ venues worldwide. In 2017, she also launched her activewear company called Popflex. Her mission was to create the cutest and most comfortable clothing and accessories. You can find water bottles, gym bags, and weights that will make you feel as stylish as any fitness influencer.Â
In 2020, Popflex gained significant traction by being able to test launch a Target exclusive brand of workout equipment through the brand name “Bloglaties.” It sold out immediately. Flash forward to 2024, Target executives were impressed by the company’s growth and popularity. You may have seen Popflex’s viral lavender skort that Taylor Swift wore in her #ForAFortnightChallenge social media video (check out Cassey’s blog about it here). If Taylor wears your clothes, you know you’ve made it. Cassey and her team received the opportunity to pitch a Target exclusive clothing collection. Their idea was to offer an affordable activewear line under the same “Bloglaties” brand, which features products as low as $15. After a successful call back, Bloglaties has taken over Targets far and wide since December 2024. Bloglaties became Cassey’s second activewear company, generating an estimated $8.4 million in yearly revenue. Popflex also generates an estimated $9 million in yearly revenue. She did all of this before she was 40 years old; talk about an icon!
Overall, Bloglaties has become more than just an affordable activewear line. It is a brand that sees all customers and subscribers as a part of a family, and most importantly one that puts the fun in fitness! During her 10 year anniversary video of Bloglaties, Cassey addressed her 4.7 million followers at the time (who she calls “Popsters”) “The really special thing about [our] community is that we’re not focused on vanity. We’re focused on feeling good, on feeling strong. I see you guys enjoying the sweat! The burn, the pain and the suffering!” She laughs and says, “We’re pretty weird for liking that stuff, but that is what makes us, us.”Â
Cassey Ho has transformed not only the activewear world, but her own personal world; we should all look to her as inspiration that following your dreams will pay off (with the right amount of elbow grease, of course). Run to your nearest Target to shop Cassey’s Blogilates collection because supplies are flying off the shelves. Continue following Cassey’s journey by checking out her YouTube channel or follow her other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok: @blogilates.Â