Drop a Beat
CHarleston entrepreneurs Gillian Zettler and Chandler Frisbie launch the new soul-centered brand, The Drop In
by Jac Valitchka
Gillian Zettler and Chandler Frisbie know that music and movement are medicine. As the founders of The Drop In, based in Charleston, the two friends are creating spaces, events, and experiences to encourage people to go beyond their comfort zones. Through their high-energy series Happier Hours, featuring live movement and song, Here & Now sessions, which entail 50 minutes of movement with a surprise bonus in the way of location or local partner, and their domestic retreats, you might find that you don’t need to sweat the small stuff—but maybe you just need to sweat.
Co-founder of The Drop In Gillian Zettler (pictured) first met co-founder Chandler Frisbie at a cycling studio, where they discovered they shared similar values.
How did the idea of The Drop In come about?
CF: We launched The Drop In originally as experiences and events around Charleston, where we facilitated mat-based classes and hosted talent through our events. We plan to host two retreats a year and hosted our first immersive, domestic retreat in Austin, Texas, in May. Our permanent pop-up space opens this summer in North Charleston, where we will continue to facilitate mat-based classes and indoor cycling classes and will continue to host large-and-small-scale events from this space and elsewhere. So, essentially, The Drop In is all of those things.
And how did you both meet and connect?
Gz: We met about a decade ago at a cycling studio. Chandler was actually going through training, and I was a rider. I remember being so completely blown away by her focus and intensity. The class she taught on Sunday mornings was one of my favorites throughout the week. Then, one fall, a few of us who were friends at the studio threw out a random idea of heading to New York for a weekend to sweat, explore, and eat great food. None of us really knew each other very well before we left, but traveling together has a way of connecting people.
“We want The Drop In to be the third space you never knew you needed, where our events and studio experiences leave you feeling more deeply connected to the world around you.”
Much of what The Drop In intends to foster is a sense of building joy. How do you do that in your own lives?
GZ: We’ve talked a lot about how cultivating joy is about finding pleasure in really mundane moments. It’s getting out in nature; it’s spending time with people you love; it’s spending time alone; it’s finally picking up that book next to your bed for a read.
CF: For me, joy boils down to the feeling you get when you’re doing the things you love with the people you love in places that inspire you. I’m incredibly lucky I get to do all of these things with Gillian Zettler. I’m honored to create more feelings of joy with communities that we love and communities that we haven’t yet met.
Ultimately, what are you hoping to provide through your new venture?
gz: We both certainly find a lot of joy through movement and music, but the foundation is really building community. People need more places to intentionally gather. People need more places to intentionally connect. We want The Drop In to be the third space you never knew you needed, where our events and studio experiences leave you feeling more deeply connected to the world around you.
The Drop In’s creative and immersive experiences—crafted in part by Chandler Frisbie—are designed to nurture human connection.
What do you hope The Drop In brings to the landscape of self-care and self-awareness, as well as community and connection?
Cf: I hope The Drop In can begin to disrupt what the concept of “wellness” looks like in our world and provide spaces that are geared toward more holistic well-being. I hope it can help answer the question about what it actually means to be well in every aspect of our lives. I believe The Drop In will create experiences and spaces where it feels a little easier to connect to ourselves and each other through our values of diversity and hospitality, and the feeling of what it’s like to move and be moved in communities that we love.
Photography by Rusty Ross
Find The Drop In at the navy yard in NORTH charleston, 2154 Noisette Blvd; thedropin.com or on Instagram at @thedropin_.
