Mission

We are the original hot yoga exercise movement.

Our mission is to enable members to experience the best hot yoga exercise lifestyle environment through our curation of studios, acclaimed teachers and engaging content.

We believe there is more to bring to the practice both on and off the mat. Our goal is to offer a one-of-a-kind experience through an exclusive lifestyle and socially conscious approach. We foster a culture of innovation in hot exercise by continuously exploring new frontiers of body and mind flow.

SweatNGlow is first and foremost a community that celebrates and encourages personal transformation within and without. We stand for each other as individuals and as a community to explore and grow to be our best most whole selves.

 

SweatNGlow
No Sweat,
No Glow

What do you sweat for ?

Petra Starke

Founder & Chief Idealist

SweatNGlow was born out of the vision of Petra Starke in collaboration with leading hot yoga studios, teachers and yogis.

Petra, the President and CEO of Bikram Yoga during tumultuous times, dreamed of creating a new and modern hot yoga community where all would be welcome and hot yoga studios would flourish with the right support.

That dream became the mission of SweatNGlow: to empower every yoga practitioner, studio owner and teacher to discover the best versions of themselves.

Petra has always had a passion for yoga and fitness, including while previously serving in the Obama White House and practicing law at a large law firm in Washington, DC.

Rather than have lunch at her desk, she taught spinning and yoga at the White House gym and at the Nation’s Capital YMCA. Petra is a certified hot yoga, hot yoga barre and spinning instructor, and former triathlete & marathon runner.

“I do not sweat, I sparkle.”

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Avanulas “Vann” Smiley

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Vann has over 31 years of public, military and private sector leadership and management experience.

His background includes serving as the Executive Director for a large State Government program, Vice President for Business Development and Marketing for a private company, and Chief of Staff/Deputy Secretary for a large State Human Services Agency.

He also spent time as a Program Manager with a small defense technology firm, as well as 24 years serving in the US Army reaching the rank of Colonel. He worked primarily in Light Infantry and Special Operations Units, was the equivalent of a Chief Operating Officer for a very large globally dispersed organization and commanded a Garrison which is equivalent to a being a City Manager/Mayor for a medium sized city.

He earned numerous awards to include a Bronze Star with a Valorous “V” device for actions in combat. Vann enjoys staying fit, riding his motorcycle, cooking, is an avid Seattle Seahawk fan, and excited to have embarked on his hot yoga journey with SweatNGlow.

“I Sweat for SweatNGlow”

Jeff Chen

Studio Owner Adviser | Founder and co-director of Pure Yoga Yoga Texas

Jeff Chen is the founder and co-director of Pure Yoga Yoga Texas, 4 hot yoga studios in Austin, Texas and 1 in Dallas, Texas. Jeff is also the founder, executive director and board member of PURE Action, Inc., a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between western medicine and hatha yoga through scientific research, global education and community yoga programs. Jeff is a certified Bikram Yoga instructor. Jeff’s specialty is putting numbers and action plans around strategy and vision. His passions are yoga, kendo and wake surfing.

“We sweat, we stretch, we glow.”

Sharon Clerkin

Director of Operations

Sharon is a passionate yoga practitioner and excellent yoga teacher who previously was the Teacher Training Registrar and Operations Manager for Bikram Yoga.
Sharon scaled that teacher training from 300 to nearly 500 trainees. She also has proven experience in scaling start-ups, including as co-founder of
BFree Hot Yoga Teacher Training and YogaTalk Retreats, and in growing an e-commerce platform for hostels in Ireland.
Sharon holds a degree in marketing and management from Dublin’s Institute of Technology (DIT), has worked in 8 countries, and is an avid traveler all over
the world.

“Sweat, Stretch, Glow and Go”

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