What is BRT Studio?

BRT Studio is where the Breathe, Rise + Thrive (BRT) community gathers to play, flow, heal, dance, recover, release, explore, breathe, rise and thrive. 

Founded during the height of the pandemic and just days after the murder of George Floyd, BRT came into existence as a response to the pain, shame, fear, anger, guilt and sadness felt by our planet and her people.

The initial invitation? To pause, reflect and fully experience the weight of our collective humanity, together, so that we could process emotions, release stress, mend wounds, find wholeness and celebrate our collective humanity - together (picking up on a theme yet?).

We fulfilled this intention through weekly virtual breathwork classes over Zoom for 12 months. Along the way, we've connected with fitness communities, nonprofits, corporations, addiction recovery groups, people recovery from various forms of trauma and every day people simply curious about the power of breathwork. 

This led to beautiful relationships with friends (new and familiar) from different parts of the planet.

Today? The initial invitation remains, but the mission and the offering have evolved. BRT Studio is part of that evolution. Keep reading to find out how we got to where we are today...unless you're ready to hop in and experience the space yourself. If that's the case, choose a membership plan so we can rock!

Here's a snippet of one of our weekly Groove & Reconciliation parties:

Who created BRT Studio?

BRT was created by Tom Williamson & Jaleel Mackey, two friends who met as freshmen at the University of Southern California in 2008. You might recognize Tom from film and television. Yes, he's a Hollywood actor, and yes, he played AJ from the Fosters. Jaleel hails from silicon valley where he spent his time acquiring and servicing customers for companies like Looker and Google.

Their stories are different, but their belief in the power of community is the same.

Tom Williamson

Tom is an actor, producer, breathworker and entrepreneur living between Washington, DC and Los Angeles, California. He's passionate about storytelling and the power it has to clarify direction in the lives of every day people, not just actors. That's why he worked so hard to cultivate his craft as an artist, earning himself an MFA from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Looking for a way to share the lessons he learned from elite acting teachers with people searching for meaning, he created Rise + Thrive, a course on personal transformation. The course became a keystone to the creation of BRT (see Jaleel's story for more on how... we'll give you a hint... Jaleel's student #1). Today, Tom combines his training as an actor and a personal transformation expert within BRT Studio to create unique movement experiences for community members to find themselves at home in their own body. 

Jaleel Mackey

Jaleel is a writer, mindfulness teacher, breathworker and entrepreneur with background in software sales living in the redwood forest of Aptos, California. He's passionate about community and optimizing mental and emotional wellbeing in himself and those he serves. That's why he's dedicated the last thirteen years of his life to exploring, learning, integrating and teaching a variety of practices including Insight Meditation, yoga and trauma recovery to name a few. This is how he became student #1 for Tom's Rise + Thrive course.

After months of supporting Tom's process in birthing the course, it became clear to Jaleel that he'd benefit from surrendering the role of teacher to experience what is now know as RTL1 - a Course that is available in the BRT Studio. Soon after completion of the course, Jaleel checked himself into a residential trauma facility to continue his journey to wholeness. This is where he was introduced to breathwork. The experience was so life-changing that Jaleel found a teacher, got certified and encouraged Tom to do the same, thus Breathe, Rise + Thrive was born. Today, Jaleel combines mindfulness, breathwork and trauma-informed modalities within BRT Studio to facilitate the personal journey toward mental freedom for community members.

• Members-only live virtual breathwork, movement and mindfulness classes and dance parties!
• Discounts for in-person experiences for folks in the Washington DC, Los Angeles and Santa Cruz, California areas
• Weekly How can I serve? podcast episodes and the option to participate in live recordings
• Meet people like you who are interested in breathwork, movement and mindfulness as tools to live a fulfilled life
• Belong to a brave and safe container where you're always at choice and able to share freely without fear of judgement

• Closed mindedness
• Judgment
• Those who feel like their opinion is more valuable than another's
• Those uninterested in trying new things
• A fixed mindset

For you! Thank you for considering joining BRT Studio and for spending your time and energy with us. We know there are plenty of other places on the internet where you could spend your time, but here you are. We don't take that lightly 🙏🏽

Our pledge: 10% of your membership will go to the Adopt a Reef program with our partners over at Coral Vita.

Your membership will also enable us to continue to provide programs at no cost to communities of color where wellness practices are less readily available.

If these membership options are not accessible, please contact us. We have a limited amount of sliding scale spots available in addition to our scholarships.