Our next guest in this series is Marie Kloor — Co-Founder and CEO of Hydra Studios. Discover how she gets her day started and takes on challenges during the pandemic.
What does a typical morning look like for Marie?
I’m not a morning person and usually hit snooze a couple of times, but once I’m up, I get excited to start the day. I’ll usually roll out of bed and head directly to Hydra Studios to take a morning wellness class and get ready there. I use coffee as a way to lure me into the office. After one too many spills on the L train, I stopped drinking coffee on the subway and try to wait until I’m at my desk. I really savor the time it takes to finish my first cup. It truly has become a ritual. I read the news, check emails and get settled in, so I can greet my team and be ready to take on the day.
How have your mornings changed since Covid?
I’ve been quarantining with my parents in Florida. No commute means more sleep, but if I wake up and immediately hop on a call, I’m not at my best. I try to get up an hour before my first call to do a 15 minute meditation and drink coffee on the patio. I’ve really been enjoying the quieter mornings and access to nature down here.
How do you take your coffee!
Black with a splash of almond milk. If I’m feeling fancy I’ll get a cafe misto (steamed almond milk).
What is something that has been challenging about quarantine?
I’m an extrovert and feed off the energy of others. Even with frequent calls and videochats, I find that working remotely is isolating. Our business has been fundamentally disrupted by COVID-19. We had to close down our studio in Midtown and pause construction on our flagship studio on Wall Street. We’ve had to rethink major parts of our operations and business model, without the natural idea flow that comes from being physically together. It’s been a challenging time, but I’ve been incredibly impressed by the adaptability of our team.
What are your favorite things about NYC?
The people and the energy. I love the feeling of looking around and seeing all these different people going about their daily lives. Everyone in NYC hustles. The city is home to some of the most creative, hard-working and tough friends I’ve ever met. It creates this sense of adventure and limitless discovery. I moved to NYC one month before Hurricane Sandy, and felt such a sense of community and belonging as everyone came together to help after the storm hit - whether that was restaurants giving out perishable food or bodegas setting up phone charging stations. NYC is bonding together in a similar way to weather the storm that is COVID-19, but unfortunately the recovery will be much longer.
Where did the idea for Hydra come from?
I love the energy of the city and always try to squeeze the most out of each day. I wanted to create a space that could become a second home base for people that commute, work long hours, don’t have time to go home between events or just need a few minutes to themselves in the middle of a busy day.
Part of our core offering includes places to refresh and recharge - rainfall showers, vanity stations, locker storage, a curated assortment of products and bookable nap and meditation rooms. We’ve had to rethink our business both spatially and operationally in light of COVID-19, and are incorporating more private suites that can be booked by one person at a time and cleaned between each use. Our mission is to become a clean destination for wellness that is designed and operated with COVID-19 in mind.
