Paris
Alexandra
A storyteller who has always believed that seeing yourself reflected changes everything. Founder of The Brooklyn Wellness Club, a space built to make that possible for everyone.
"When we share our stories, we are able to see our reflections in one another. Our reflections affirm our reality and the world we want to see."— Paris Alexandra
She started with a pen,
a stage, and a vision.
Paris Alexandra has always been a storyteller. Before the studio, before the certifications, before the Nike campaign, there was poetry. There was the belief that stories are how we find each other, how we heal, and how we dare to imagine something different for ourselves.
Growing up, Paris attended over 16 schools, moving from city to city, always searching for a sense of belonging. As a teenager, she navigated homelessness and housing instability. It was through yoga, meditation, community, and the power of creative expression that she found her footing and began to transform her life from the inside out. As Audre Lorde writes, she learned to "define myself for myself" and that act of self-definition became the foundation of everything she would go on to build.
Her journey in the arts began early, facilitating poetry and creative wellness workshops in schools, shelters, and community centers, and eventually sitting on a policy council in Washington D.C. advocating for young people impacted by homelessness. The through line was always the same: use creativity to help people see themselves, and they will start to believe what's possible.
As a plus-size Black woman, Paris moved through a wellness world that rarely reflected her, spaces that didn't make room for her body, her culture, or her story. Rather than shrink, she built. She co-founded the first Black woman-owned body-positive yoga studio in the United States, became Nike's first global plus-size yoga athlete, and centered her poem "A Thousand Black Women" in their global campaign. She wasn't waiting for an invitation. She was writing her own.
On Juneteenth 2023, she opened The Brooklyn Wellness Club, a deliberate act of creation rooted in everything she had lived, learned, and refused to let go of. A space where the community she had always been building could finally have a permanent home.
Where It Began
Transformed her life through yoga, meditation, and community after navigating teen homelessness and over 16 schools. Went on to facilitate poetry and wellness workshops in schools, shelters, and community centers, and advocated for youth on a policy council in Washington D.C.
Rooted in Brooklyn
Arrived in Bed-Stuy and launched "Poets Lounge" within a week, a community arts series celebrating Brooklyn artists that drew 100+ people to its anniversary.
Brooklyn Arts Council Grant
2× recipient for co-producing "The Blue Nile", a music and poetry showcase in Crown Heights centered on community arts and cultural celebration.
Historic First in US Wellness
Co-founded the first Black woman-owned body-positive yoga studio in the United States, a 500+ member community built on belonging and inclusivity.
Nike's First Global Plus-Size Yoga Athlete
Her poem "A Thousand Black Women" was featured at the heart of Nike's global yoga campaign, representation as a form of revolution.
MFA · Goddard College
Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts, with a focus on creative writing, Black womanism, and social entrepreneurship.
Founded The Brooklyn Wellness Club
Opened on Juneteenth 2023, a wellness, creativity, and entrepreneurship hub in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. A permanent space for community to land.
MBA Candidate · Global Leaders Institute
Earning her MBA in Arts & Impact, building the business acumen to scale BWC and launch her nonprofit focused on retreats for young women.
Everything we do grows from
these three roots.
Storytelling as a Tool for Transformation
Paris has always believed that the stories we tell, and the ones we finally get to see reflected back at us, have the power to change what we think is possible. BWC was built to be a space where those stories are centered, celebrated, and given room to grow.
Wellness as a Creative Practice
Yoga, mindfulness, movement, and art are not separate disciplines at BWC, they are one practice. Paris's work lives at the intersection of all of them, because she knows that to be well is to be creative, and to be creative is to be well. One cannot exist without the other.
Belonging as the Point
Paris has spent her career creating rooms where people who have spent too long on the outside can finally walk in and see themselves. BWC exists because representation in wellness, creativity, and entrepreneurship is not a bonus, it is the entire foundation.
"I'm talking about everyday people who need a place to relax, that mom who doesn't have the luxury of going away for a 10-day retreat but can go in her neighborhood to a yoga class where she feels seen and heard."— Paris Alexandra
Depth of practice.
Breadth of expertise.
Paris's credentials aren't a list of accomplishments, they're evidence of a decades-long commitment to showing up fully prepared for every room she enters. Her training weaves together yoga therapy, mindfulness, conflict mediation, nutrition, creative writing, and business, because the communities she serves deserve nothing less than the whole picture.
Her work has been recognized across wellness, arts, and media:
MBA in Arts & Impact
Global Leaders Institute
MFA, Creative Writing & Community Impact
Goddard College
Advanced Teacher of Therapeutic Yoga · RYT-500
Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training
SoundsTrue & UC Berkeley
Wellness Coaching Certification
Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Conflict Mediation Certification
The Peace Institute
Recognition & Impact
A few highlights, though the real work always happens in the room.
First Global Plus-Size Yoga Athlete
Her poem "A Thousand Black Women" was the centerpiece of Nike's global yoga campaign, representation and artistry as one.
Everyday Athlete Feature
Featured representing inclusivity and size diversity in wellness, telling the truth about what it means to be well in every body.
2× Community Arts Grant Recipient
Grants to produce a Crown Heights arts series that supported local artists and created economic opportunity throughout Brooklyn.
National Media Recognition
Featured across national and cultural media for her work at the intersection of wellness, creativity, and community in Brooklyn.
Self Magazine · Well+Good · MSN
Published wellness writing and poetry across leading platforms, storytelling woven inseparably into her practice as a facilitator and founder.
A Permanent Home for Community
Founded The Brooklyn Wellness Club, one of the only Black woman-owned wellness and creative hubs of its kind in New York City.
A space where everyone
gets to see themselves.
The Brooklyn Wellness Club is not just a studio. It is a declaration, that wellness, creativity, and entrepreneurship belong to everyone. That you should be able to walk into a room and find your story already there, waiting for you.
Paris has spent her career building those rooms. BWC is the most permanent one yet, a landmark in the heart of Bed-Stuy for Black, Brown, and everyone who wants to get down, to rest, to grow, to be well, and to build something that didn't exist before they showed up.
The next chapter: a nonprofit offering retreats for young women and girls building lives they can be proud of, because Paris knows what it means to need that kind of space, and she knows what it means to find it.
- A hub where wellness, creativity, and entrepreneurship intersect
- Accessible programming for everyday people, not just those with luxury budgets
- Retreats for young women building the lives they want
- A space where you can walk in and see yourself reflected
- A permanent, thriving, Black woman-owned landmark in New York City
Ready to work
with Paris?
Whether you're a school, corporation, community organization, or individual, Paris brings her full self, her expertise, and her community to every collaboration.
704 Dekalb Avenue, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, NY