We did it! With your help, we met our goal of raising $5,000 for the victims of the Pulse
 shooting in Orlando. Donations went to Equality Florida, which has collected nearly $8 Million to ensure the ongoing medial care, therapy, and burial expenses for victims and their families. In the midst of tremendous tragedy and loss, we have helped to shine a little light. Thanks so much for your support.
Birthday blessings to Cynthia Ramos, our 72nd Street Studios Manager, as well as CSR Tony Ramon and cafe diva Jasmaine Johnson! And a very happy 9-year anniversary to the indomitable Jerry Over, our assistant cafe manager! We can hardly remember you not being here, and frankly, we wouldn't want to! Also, a fond farewell to Tyler, who helped us out for the summer. Tyler, you are totally nuts. You fit right in. Oh, and I've included a picture from our summer staff dinner cruise, so you can be insanely jealous! Was it awesome? Yes. Yes it was.
-John
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Spotlight:
Robert Hillard -
Kuno Academy
 New Yorkers are a practical group of people. We like our music loud, our cabbies fast, and our self-defense no-nonsense and street-savvy. Enter the Kuno Academy of Indonesian martial arts, which head New York instructor Robert Hillard refers to as "something you could use on the street". This is not meditation and wooden swords, this is full-tilt defensive combat training. Employing forms adopted from the 200 year old Serak practice, Semangat Baru was pared down to 8 practical forms from the original 18, to make it accessible for us short-attention-span Americans. Training includes both hand-to-hand combat and work with personal weapons, and doesn't require a lifetime of practice to be useful. If you are interested in knowing more, you can contact Robert through the Academy website: KunoSilat.com
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Patricia Ripley
Feng Shui and Fitness
Greetings Summer friends.
The summer is moving forward and our beach is wonderful as usual! We have showers at all the beach entrances now and the lifeguards are staying til 7pm on weekends. I have been in the water body boarding as often as possible. I always feel that going into any natural water system is a blessing. I always recommend anyone who visits a lake, river, or ocean/sea go in and again view it as a blessing. We came from the ocean and have mostly salt water in our systems so we are connected to all that life from the beginning of time.
Take some time to reflect on the beauty of the seasons and enjoy trips to mountains, forests and the ocean, when you can. Prepare for the fall season in September, but please enjoy the rest of the summer. Try kayaking, rowing, paddleboarding and if you are really adventurous surfing.
We have been walking, swimming, biking and body boarding as well as traveling. We did a three week trip driving up the West Coast to Vancouver from Santa Monica a couple of weeks ago. The best ever!
Also this is a good time to think about your end of summer and fall fitness plans. Eat light in the summer heat. Fresh veggies are available as well as local fruit. Use sunscreen and hydrate. Get outside when the weather is accommodating.
I want to personally thank all the members of my staff for stepping up and helping Ripley-Grier Studios raise $5,000 to help the victims and their families of the Orlando Pulse Massacre. We have sent our final check this week. Special thanks to the Cafe, Rose, Jerry, Jasmaine for their sales and supplies efforts. Shakira, Jorge, Cynthia and Venus who coordinated collections at the three locations.. A heart-felt thanks to all the bakers and the buyers of our baked goods. Thanks to Jeannie, Nakeya, Veronica, Emi and everyone who sat at the bake sale table and helped with the t-shirt sales. Thanks to Michael Garcia for his efforts in keeping our t-shirts printed and accounted for. Especially want to thank my partner in the effort, Graham, who coordinated the collections and made the posters and signs, (as well as cupcakes). Lots of love and caring went into our efforts. Thank you everyone who donated to our campaign.
See you in September. Sending all the best intentions. Patricia
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16FG gets a face-lift!
16FG was the orginal "big" studio, when we opened in 1999 here at the 520 8th ave location. We've learned a lot since then, and have continuously upgraded the space with new sound systems, AC, lighting, ect. I think this is her 3rd floor, and naturally her best yet! We also gave her new trim and a fresh coat of paint. Big props to Eddie and the crew for another job well done.
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Drop it Low
Total Body 30 minute workout with
Shakira Moran
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Mondays and Wednesdays 6:15-6:45 at RG520. Get ready to sweat and burn calories RSVP at
Bring water, a towel,
and a yoga mat!
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Get your improv on with RG's own Graham McCarty!
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From the middle of July to the beginning of August, I went on a three week road trip from Los Angeles to Vancouver with my parents and my friend Valentina from Italy. The day before we left we went to a Coldplay concert at Metlife stadium in New Jersey. Super! We didn't get home until 3am and we had to leave for the plane at 5am. But it was worth it. It was one of the best concerts I've been to. The next day we flew into Los Angeles where we started our vacation trip. We stayed in Santa Monica for 4 days and I went to a USC and UCLA campus tour. We went to Universal Studios and 6 Flags. We began our driving trip up the California coast staying in Morro Bay, Santa Cruz (the best), Mendocino (horseback riding) and Trinidad. We stopped at the Redwoods. Off to Oregon and then Washington. Stayed over in Portland and Seattle. We went on the "Ducks" tour in Seattle. We drove up to Canada and spent three days in Vancouver where we flew over Vancouver on a seaplane tour. The next day we drove up to Whistler/Blackcomb ski resort. We drove back to Seattle and flew to Sacramento. We visited relatives in Sacramento and Napa. Another 6 Flags park and then to San Francisco. We took a Big Bus tour of San Francisco and then flew home. My dad did all the driving and we sang songs the whole trip. It went really well.
I really like road trips and I hope to do something like that again soon.
A couple of days after we returned home from the trip, I went to a Twenty One Pilots concert with another friend Rosalia. It was also one of the best concerts I've been to. It's hard to choose whether it was better than Coldplay or not, but they were both amazing. I am very excited to see Twenty One Pilots again in January 2017.
I have been working at the studios this summer at the Cafe front desk and having fun with Graham doing graphics and tie-dyeing t-shirts. I will work at the studios next summer as well.
See you next time, Jeannie
Jeannie Ripley-Grier is the daughter of RG founders Butch Grier and Patricia Ripley.
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