How Cassey Ho Built Blogilates and Popflex into Multi-Million Dollar Brands Without Ads

When Taylor Swift wore a Popflex skort, Cassey Ho didn’t scream. She went numb. “I couldn’t even feel anything because I was feeling everything,” she recalls. It was the kind of moment founders dream about — a viral spike, 16,000 preorders, and industry validation in a single breath.

But for Ho, that viral win was just one scene in a decade-long journey building Blogilates and Popflex, her now multi-million dollar activewear brands. What most fans don’t see are the nine-hour video edits on her couch, the hundreds of copycat listings on TikTok Shop, or the deeply personal battles with online hate and parental rejection.

In a raw and revealing interview on Silicon Valley Girl, Cassey Ho shares what it really takes to build a viral brand that lasts — and what nearly broke her along the way.

From Pilates Videos to Popflex: A Brand Born from Pain and Passion

In 2009, Ho uploaded her first YouTube video — not to start a brand, but to stay connected to 40 Pilates students after moving across the country. “You couldn’t even make money on YouTube back then,” she said. But her no-frills fitness content gained traction fast.

Then came the hate.

“I was expecting critiques on my form. What I got instead was: ‘Why is she so fat? Why is her butt so flat?’” Growing up chubby, those comments hit hard. “I was barely healing from it inside, and now I had to deal with it in front of millions.”

That emotional pain eventually gave rise to a viral video, The Perfect Body, in which Ho photoshopped herself in real time to match hateful comments. It exploded — landing her on Good Morning America and establishing her as a body-positive pioneer.

But the emotional toll lingered. By 2021, she stopped making long-form fitness content altogether.

Reinventing as a Designer: “I Needed a New Kind of Challenge”

Stepping away from fitness content was a reinvention. “I was no longer feeling emotionally or mentally challenged,” Ho explained. Her creative energy now poured into designing apparel for her direct-to-consumer brand, Popflex, and for Blogilates, her exclusive line with Target.

The shift brought surprising clarity. “Not one person has said anything negative about my body since I started making fashion content,” she revealed. “It made me realize I was in the wrong industry all along.”

The Target Launch that Defied Business Logic

Launching Blogilates apparel in 1,800 Target stores in early 2025 felt like “winning the retail Super Bowl,” Ho said. Her team manufactured 1.1 million units, a massive lift for a small operation of just 30 people.

She feared the lower-priced Target line might cannibalize Popflex. Instead, it boosted both. “Being in stores gave us legitimacy. It drove new traffic to Popflex.”

The secret? Storytelling across every channel.

The 70% Strategy: Organic Content Over Paid Ads

Unlike most DTC brands, Ho doesn’t rely on ads. Over 70% of her revenue comes from organic videos — many filmed, edited, and voiced by her alone.

“One 60-second video takes me nine hours,” she admitted. “I still do it all myself because I love it. It brings joy back into the process.”

Her content is deeply personal: sketches, design rationale, behind-the-scenes fittings. Customers connect with the why, not just the what. “People don’t just want a skort. They want to be part of the journey.”

AI, Copycats, and the Fight to Protect Her Work

As a designer and entrepreneur, Ho is at the bleeding edge of digital theft. From Shein to Amazon to major U.S. retailers like Nordstrom Rack and Victoria’s Secret Pink, her patented designs have been repeatedly knocked off.

“The USPTO gives me a design patent. But enforcing it? It’s me versus billion-dollar corporations,” she said. “I’m paying thousands of dollars an hour for my lawyers to talk to their lawyers.”

The impact isn’t just financial — it’s personal. “Some vendors copy our product photos, our marketing angles, even hire models with my body type and skin tone. Customers get duped — and then blame me.”

AI has only made things worse. Her face has been manipulated. Her videos stolen. “As a principle, I will never stop fighting,” Ho said. “I can’t work for free for someone else.”

On Burnout, Boundaries, and Why She Still Hasn’t Slowed Down

Today, Ho leads a team of 30 — still lean for the scale of her brands — and still deeply hands-on. She designs, edits, writes, directs. “I'm part content creator, part CEO, part head designer,” she said. “I’m exhausted, but I can’t stop. It's the way my parents raised me.”

Even her dad, once critical of her dreams to design, remains distant. “I think he still holds a grudge. I was the obedient daughter until I wasn’t.”

Advice for Entrepreneurs in 2025: Solve a Problem, Share the Journey

If there’s one thread that runs through Ho’s story, it’s this: grit guided by joy.

Her advice to early-stage founders?

“If you can solve a problem, you’ve got a business. But more than that… take people on the journey. Let them see the process. Let them see you.”

And when things get hard? Ho puts it simply:

“You’re going to figure it out. Because you have to.”