Black Dog Yoga, a yoga studio located in the San Fernando Valley will celebrate its 10th anniversary this Saturday, May 12. The studio has maintained its role as a cornerstone in the community since its inception, working as a place for members to practice yoga and better their community. “The key to our success — we’ve always had great teachers [and] we’ve had this great community that has grown around the studio. We love our customers and they love us,” said Rose Gresch, the general manager of Black Dog Yoga.
The brainchild of Steve and Shirley O’Connor, Black Dog was founded in May of 2002. Peter Barnett, the current owner and a former Black Dog instructor, took over after the couple asked him to step in. “One day the folks at Black Dog Yoga asked if I’d be interested in taking over. I’d always liked the idea of owning a business,” said Barnett.
Building off of the resources the O’Connor’s had left behind, he took an already successful studio and made it even better. “We’ve managed to really grow the business — my mandate was really to take it to the next level,” said Barnett. “We continuously expanded and grew over the course of three years. It’s a combination of having a very loyal clientele and running a professional environment that has made us successful.” According to Gresch, on average 300 members walk through their door a day to practice yoga.
“Ten years is a long time for a business,” said Barnett. To stay successful, Black Dog continuously offers great service, friendly staff and a clean facility, he said. However, the number one factor that influences their success is the quality of their instructors. “Having great teachers teaching great classes is really what it’s all about,” he explained. “We don’t pigeon-hole our instructors. We allow them to be themselves.”
Barnett has used Black Dog Yoga’s influence in the community to positively impact it. In 2011, it named the Downtown Women’s Center its preferred charity. The center’s purpose is to serve homeless women in the Los Angeles area, and to work towards putting an end to homelessness altogether. “Some people do benefits for places overseas — we wanted to do something local for Los Angeles. Homelessness is a big problem and we can help to do something about that by donating to the center,” explained Barnett.
Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Barnett moved to the U.S. in 1980. “When I moved to L.A. in 1996 my friend took me to a Bikram yoga class and I said, ‘Wow, this is amazing stuff,’ and I was hooked.” Since then, his passion for yoga has remained unaltered, and it shows in his commitment to the success of the facility. According to Black Dog Yoga — after 10 years, it is the largest, independently owned yoga studio in the San Fernando Valley area.
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By Rachel Zabonick
