Women-Owned Business: Karis from Brooklyn House of Movement

Welcome back to our Women-Owned Business Series! Today we’re shining a light on Karis, co-founder of Brooklyn House of Movement a fitness and movement studio built on a radical idea: that working out should feel like coming home. Together with her business partner Becca, Karis has created a space rooted in joy, belonging, and the belief that movement is for every body. Read more about their journey below!

First, tell us about your business and anything special we should know about it or you.

Becca and I created Brooklyn House of Movement because we wanted to build the kind of space we were always searching for but never quite found one that feels welcoming, human, and rooted in care. After years in the fitness world, we knew movement could be powerful without being intimidating, and strong without being exclusive.

Brooklyn House of Movement was born from a shared belief that everyone deserves a place to move, breathe, sweat, rest, and feel at home in their body. This is our love letter to community, to joyful movement, and to creating a space where people don’t just work out they belong. We’ve built our little sanctuary with a lot of love and intention. We have small, intimate classes and incredible instructors who work with us and share our values and mission.

Why do you feel a connection to your work?

This is truly the manifestation of my life’s work. After spending years in the fitness industry, I realized the message most used to market fitness is more toxic than it is helpful. It creates an environment of grit and grind and doesn’t hold space for the joy and pleasure that can come from simply moving your body and connecting with it. I feel deeply connected to what we’ve created because it has genuinely come out of a loving place in our hearts and our souls.

As a business owner, community is everything. In what ways do you serve your community and how has your community served you?

We serve our community by showing up with love, honor, kindness, and respect. We create a true sense of belonging and we make fitness accessible. We show up as real humans with heart — not just a faceless brand.

And the community we’ve built has given us everything. They’ve shown up as powerfully as we’ve shown up for them. We’ve watched friendships blossom and people connect in classes, and that has given us, as owners, a deep sense that we’ve done something right that the space we’ve created is everything we hoped it could be.

What advice would you give to others who want to start a small business?

Take your time. The more you rush or force yourself, the harder your path will be. Write your vision down and sit with it. Be careful of desperate feelings — always come back to your intention and the whys behind why you’re starting a business. Allow yourself space to fail and grow and learn, and please remember to breathe.

What women inspire you and why?

Women who have a vision and hold space for others to connect. Strong women who can navigate the world of business but are also rooted in their feminine energy business owners, artists, entrepreneurs. And honestly, my business partner inspires me every single day.

What do you think are the most significant challenges for small business owners or women in leadership positions?

Navigating the space between masculine and feminine energy. Being firm without being called mean. Being in ownership without having it downplayed by men and simply being taken seriously. It’s a wild patriarchy out there.

We are eight months old and thriving! Come find us at brooklynhom.com and come take a class we’d love to have you.

Eight months in and Brooklyn House of Movement is already doing exactly what it set out to do creating a space where people feel seen, supported, and at home in their bodies. Karis and Becca have built something truly special here in Brooklyn, and we have a feeling this is just the beginning. Check them out at brooklynhom.com and go experience it for yourself.