March 14, 2017

Meet Stacey Beaman of PlyoJam in Westside

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Beaman.

Stacey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
From 2006 to 2014 I spent my time teaching public school in Thousand Oaks. I taught 6th, 5th and 3rd grades, and although I felt I was good at my job, I always felt like something was missing. Before getting my teaching credential I went to USC and studied Communication and Business, and there was always something nagging me in the back of my mind that I wanted to use that degree in my career. During the eight years I was teaching, my lifestyle became less and less about health and wellness, and more and more about trudging along in a career that did not make me happy. I was nearly 100 pounds overweight and just miserable. Finally, in 2014 I decided to change things. I took a leave of absence from teaching and decided I was going to spend some time traveling. In early summer of 2014, before going off to Europe, I met Jason Layden at a party. Jason was the creator of a very new dance fitness concept called PlyoJam. Jason asked me what I was doing for the summer, until I left for Europe, and urged me to come try the class in my free time. I was so scared and intimidated to do so, but I made myself go and it was love at first grapevine. I had eight weeks until I was leaving for Europe and I spent the entire time PlyoJamming away my first 24 pounds. I lived and breathed the PlyoJam life and fell in love with it. I had finally found a form of fitness that I loved AND delivered results.

I went off to Europe for five months, had an amazing time, and when I returned to Los Angeles I picked right back up with PlyoJam where I had left off. This time, however, I approached Jason about helping him with social media. I noticed Jason was trying to do quite a bit on his own and his social media platforms weren’t getting much love. So it started with me just creating an Instagram post here and there, a video for Facebook, and rapidly evolved and exploded into a full blown partnership. Jason and I were extremely symbiotic when it came to our vision for PlyoJam’s future and we worked extremely well together. Jason had the creative chops, but needed someone with the knack for execution. I started working full time with PlyoJam in the spring of 2015 and have never looked back. I resigned my position as an educator and have immersed myself in the PlyoJam and dance fitness world. I am now 65 pounds into my weight loss, and in August of 2016 was named Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of PlyoJam. When I’m not up to my ears in social media, PR, event planning, financials, product development, and teacher recruitment and education, I even choreograph routines and teach a PlyoJam class or two a week. I am also thrilled to co-teach PlyoJam privates with Jason to celebrities in Los Angeles. It is a dream come true and I feel like a real lady boss. I learn something new every single day, which is extremely gratifying.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been many times that I was working for very little financial return, which can be stressful and disheartening. There have also been times that I look around and think that there is SO much competition…and we are competing with huge conglomerates. But then I remember the magic we have, the magic of PlyoJam, and what keeps our students happily coming back for more week after week. We’ve experienced much of our growth organically and have worked hard to spread the word grassroots style. This means we often reach out to people and get no response. This means we get shut down because our name isn’t household recognizable just yet. But here is what I know. I just need to get you through the door….the class will take care of the rest.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about PlyoJam – what should we know?
PlyoJam is a dance fitness brand that was created right here in Los Angeles. PlyoJam’s innovative workout combines cutting-edge dance moves with short, intense plyometric exercises that tone, shape and transform the body. PlyoJam is not your average follow along dance class like Zumba or Hip Hop Cardio. It’s the first dance fitness format to create the perfect hybrid of dance and athleticism by incorporating the plyometric training of elite athletes into modern dance routines. The ever-changing catalogue of easy to follow routines makes PlyoJam completely addictive. By combining an interval training inspired workout with carefully crafted choreography set to today’s hottest new music, students will leave feeling energized, confident, and drenched, while craving more! Not a dancer? Not a problem. Beginners will feel like superstars as they tear it up with our sexy and surprisingly easy routines. With each class, students strengthen and sculpt their body and leave feeling invigorated, with a renewed sense of confidence. Plyometrics, are strategically placed in each routine to keep heart rates up and allow students to burn a scorching 800-1,000 calories per session. Some fitness formats use plyometrics as a repetitious training tool, which often feels torturous for students. PlyoJam, on the other hand, takes this extremely effective training tool and combines it with dance, which makes the training so much more fun and effective. Ridding your workout of the torturous element guarantees students who actually look forward to coming to class. PlyoJam is a favorite among celebrities such as James Corden, Kate Hudson and Reese Witherspoon because unlike other workouts it’s actually fun and it gets serious results. Let’s be honest, no one gets amped up for a tortuous ride on the treadmill, so if you want excitement combined with a kick ass workout, PlyoJam is your jam.

I am extremely proud that we now have 55 teachers certified to teach PlyoJam across the nation, and we have even gone global with an instructor in Germany! Most of all, I am continually proud of the response we get when people take this class. Whether it puts a smile on their face, has helped them through menopause, or has helped them achieve weight loss goals, knowing it is helping others means everything to me. PlyoJam saved me, and I want to extend that gift to as many people as possible.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Jason Layden, who originally created the concept, and is my business partner and dear friend, deserves so much credit. He has tirelessly committed himself to PlyoJam and he is my endless cheerleader and support system. We rely on each other and could not do this without each other. Also, the incredible community of instructors and students we have mean everything to us. They continually show up and show so much love for our brand. We would be nothing without them. Finally, we are extremely grateful to the various studios and gyms that hold PlyoJam classes at their locations. They took a chance on a brand that is not as well-known as some other workouts, and we’d like to think that the risk they took is paying off!

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