Neely Media

What if a yoga studio was built first for belonging, and then for everything else? We sat down at Studio Bamboo Institute of Yoga with owners Ann and Natalie to unpack how a need in Virginia Beach became a purpose-built home for practice, healing, and community. From the surprise of 40 students on opening day in 2009 to a decade of loyal faces, the story reveals why service, not hype, keeps people...

The room felt different the moment the honor song began—like the walls themselves were learning to listen. We gathered with tribal leaders, artists, council members, and neighbors to unveil Virginia Beach’s land acknowledgement plaque at City Hall, and to say out loud what the land has carried for millennia: Indigenous people are the first stewards here, and they are still here. From the Chesapeak...

A quiet room changed everything. When Eli Cologne walked into a networking event and realized he was the only attendee, he stayed anyway—and that choice sparked a wave of community action. We explore how a single conversation with Positively Beautiful led to the creation of Positively Courageous, a mentorship track designed for men who want to grow, serve, and show up for the next generation. We d...

A hometown tribute doesn’t happen by accident. We sit down with muralist Trevor Lucas to unpack the fast-moving journey from a Nashville job site to a Virginia Beach wall, where a bold portrait of Timbaland now anchors a citywide celebration. The commission came through the ViBe District’s mural festival, but the heart of the story is how sound, memory, and intuition converged to shape a piece tha...

Real community growth starts where the spotlight ends. We sit down with Al Neely of Neely Media and Councilman Cash Green from Virginia Beach’s District 7 to map a practical, people-first plan for lifting small businesses and rewriting outdated stigmas—one on-site story at a time. What begins as a simple origin story—an online outreach, a community event, and a first recording—unfolds into a bluep...