A Note From the Founder: Why I Built Swankymat
I started working out seriously after my hip surgeries. I was seventeen when I found out my hip sockets had never fully developed. I had them surgically reconstructed and later replaced. I lost a year to recovery, most of it without walking, and when I came back to movement, it became something I held onto.
Years later, after I had my first son, I ran into a problem that did not have a good answer. I could not consistently get to the gym between feeds and naps, so I started working out at home. The yoga mats I had were too small for the floor sessions I needed, and the only large option was foam puzzle tiles, which felt wrong in a home I had spent time making feel like mine. The grime that collected in the seams, the way they looked underfoot — none of it fit.
I wanted a single piece of floor that was beautiful enough to leave out, big enough for an adult workout, and safe for my son to be on at the same time. Nothing on the market did all three.
So at 3 a.m. with a newborn in my arms, I started emailing factories around the world. It took over a year to find one with equipment large enough to make what I had in mind. I tested countless prototypes. I designed the packaging. I built the Shopify store myself. The whole process took about two years from that first email.
The Swankymat I have now lives in my home. My kids play on it. I train on it. It was the product I could not find, so I made it.
If you are curious about it before committing to a mat, the swatch pack ships three real material samples for $25 off your first mat. More of the founding story is on the About page.
— Emilie
