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TRAP YOGA BAE: Britteny Floyd-Mayo on The Power of Confidence and Healing

January 15, 2024

TRAP YOGA BAE: Britteny Floyd-Mayo on The Power of Confidence and Healing

Step onto the mat and prepare to embark on a transformative journey as we sit down with the visionary behind the movement that's fusing trap music and yoga into a soul-stirring experience – Trap Yoga Bae. In this exclusive interview,  we delve into the empowering fusion of beats and poses that is redefining wellness. Britteny Floyd-Mayo, the dynamic force behind Trap Yoga Bae, shares insights into the profound connection between confidence, healing, and the unapologetic expression of self. Join us as we explore the harmonious intersection of trap vibes and mindfulness, unraveling the story of a woman who's not just leading a fitness revolution but sparking a powerful movement of self-love and authenticity. Get ready to be inspired by the rhythmic flow that transcends the traditional boundaries of yoga and elevates it to a whole new level of empowerment.


 Mimi: Who  is  Britteny?  What’s your  background?  What  were  you  doing  before  Trap  Yoga Bae?

 trap yoga bae

 Britteny: Before  Trap  Yoga  Bay,  baby,  I  say  like,  I  was  one  of  the  people  who  had  it  together  on  the  surface,  but  was  so  deeply  lost  on  the  inside.  I'd  spent  so  much  of  my  life  living  to  what  I  now call  the  bullsh*t  rules  of  society.  Got  married,  got  a college  education, got  a  job, ( a  government  job  at  that),  then  you  know  you're  making  everybody  happy  and  pleased  with  you.  And  that's  really  just  what  I  was  doing,  and  I  think  I  was  doing  everything  that  I  was  “supposed”  to  do  and  nothing  that  brought  me  true  joy. So that  was  my  life  before  the  brand.  


Mimi:  What  was  the  “aha”  moment  that  led  you  to  where you are?  Were  you  a  yogi  before? Explain  how  you  got  to  have  a  passion  for  yoga.


Britteny: Yeah,  I  think  that  when  I  do  these  sorts  of  interviews,  Mimi,  people  are  looking  for  this  like a super  straightforward  "Secretary  Story"  like  A,  B,  C,  D  happened.  And  I  think  that's really  doing  people  a  disservice  because  life  isn't  that  linear.  It  isn't  that  clean.  It's  actually,  you  know,  quite  sloppy.  But  when  I  think  about  pivotal  moments  of  transformation, I've  kind  of  narrowed  down  to  a  few,  that  I'll  bullet  point  out.  One,  I'm  from  the  hood  and  I  used  to  like  to  fight.  Which  I  say  with  a  giggle, which  tells  you  I  actually  was  crazy.  I  even went  to  college  and  I  got  into  a  fight!  But  I  was  always  bright  and  smart  and  a  leader.   I  had  someone  who  said, “Hey,  that  anger  is  going  to  get  you  hurt.  You  need  anger  management  if  you're  going  to  stay  at  this  college.”  And  part  of  that  anger  management  was  for  me  to  go  to  yoga.  And  it  wasn't  the  first, fourth  or  fifth  yoga  class. It  was  maybe  the  sixth  or  the  seventh  where  I  really  was  like,  “damn.  I  love  yoga  and  it  is  transformative  for  me.“  And  I  did  exactly  what  anyone  does  when  you  find  something  that's  amazing  and  life-changing. You  take  it  for  granted.  And  so  I  met  a  boy,  I  got  married,  we  had  two  kids  and  I  didn't  practice  yoga  for  at  least  six  years. It  really  was  nothing,  it  was  in  the  back  of  my  mind. 


The  next  pivotal  moment  was  me  getting  knocked  upside  my  head  the  50 /11  times  and  really  realizing  that  I  was  in  a  physically  and  emotionally  abusive  marriage  and  this  was  going  to  kill  me.  And  I  realized  that  I  was  just  so  lost  and  I  needed  to  go.  And  I  asked  myself  the annoying question that  people ask you when you lose something. It's  such  an  annoying  question,  but  it's  really  a  good  question.   I  asked myself,  “where  was  the  last  place  you  saw  you?”  Because  I  was  so  lost  and  so  broken  after  realizing  how  far  in  the  depths  of  self -isolation  and  self -despair  had  allowed  myself  to  be  in  nine  years  of  that  marriage  and  relationship.


 And  the  last  time  that  I  could  remember  feeling  like  myself  was  in  that  yoga  class  six  years  before.  I  applied  for  several  schools  in  India  to  become  a  certified  yoga  instructor.  And  I  got  into a yoga school in  Rishikesh,  India, and  I  stayed  there.  I  declared  that  I  wasn't  gonna  come  home  until  I  figured  out  who  I  was.  And  that  landed  me  all  over  the  globe, honestly.  China,  India,  Brazil,  Antigua,  India.  Antigua,  like  every  chance  I  got,  I  was  out  trying  to  understand  the  world  and  trying  to  understand  people. And  so  that  next  pivotal  thing  after  traveling  and  learning  yoga  in  India  was  practicing  my  identity  and  getting  strong  and  solidified  in  that.  So  that  I  can  be  strong  enough  to  come  back  to  my  life  and  be  like,  you  don't  know  me.  You  got  to  meet  me  again. Those are my  pivotal points: realizing  that  I  had  anger  issues  and  finding  yoga,  being  in  that  abusive  marriage  and  then  leaving, traveling  to  India  and  then  the  world  and  finding  myself  and  then  coming  back.  It's  all  fluid  and  not  really  that  clean.


Mimi:  I  love  the  marriage  of  “Knuck  If  You  Buck”  to  Yoga. (laughs)


Britteny: You  know,  that's  the  thing,  right?  Healing  doesn't  mean  that  you  absorb  yourself of  your  humanity.  It  means  you  integrate  it.  So,  you  know,  I  always  joke  and  I'm  like,

 no,  no,  no,  baby.  Trap  comes  before  yoga.   I  still practice  non -violence  in  every  form  of  my  life,  but  I'm  still  from  the  hood.  I  still  got  those  feelings.  I'm  still  not  somebody  who  wants  to  be  played  with.  I  am still  connected  to  my  roots.  And  I  think  that's  really  important  to  say.  as  a  yogi, specifically  a  black  woman  as  an  entrepreneur  because  a  lot  of  times  we  feel  like  in  order  to  become  the  quote  unquote  higher  version  of  ourselves  means  that  we  have  to  disown  every  other  iteration  of  us. And  so  that  “knuck,  if  you  buck”  energy  is  still  with  me.  I'm  still ratchet, but  I  found  more  self  sustaining  and  elegant  ways  to  express  that  and  not  let  go  of  my  roots.


Mimi: So  it’s safe  to  say  that  yoga  is  definitely  a  tool  of  empowerment  for  your  personal  journey  and now you’ve incorporated it into your platform  to  help  other  women. Walk us through the experience.

I  feel  like  yoga,  the  practice  in  and  of  itself,  specifically  for  women  who  relate  to  my  story  in  some  sort  of  way,  is  the  biggest  act  of  rebellion,  is  the  biggest  grind,  is  the  biggest  f*ck  you  to  people. Because the world wants us to be angry and encumbered  and  weighed  down  and  yoga  does  the  exact  opposite  of  that. And  whereas  people  are  taking  delight  in  our  suffering,  yoga  is  my  way  of  saying,  but  I  refuse  to  suffer.  I'm  sorry  that  I  can't  make  you  proud. And  so  it's  not  just  carving  out  that  space  to  do  something  that  really  only  benefits  you.   Like  you're  a  mom  and  you  cook  food  for  your  kids. Yes,  hopefully  there's  enough  for  you  to  eat.  too,  but  you're  still  nourishing  other  people.  Yoga  is  one  of  those  things  that  it's  like  I'm  cooking  this  meal  and  this  meal  is  for  me  and  this  is  for  mine  and  I  want  to  feel  better.........

Want to read the rest of the story? Head over to the January/February 2024 issueof Grind Pretty Magazine!

Written by Mimi Johnson

Photographer: ShotBySham



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