The multi-hyphenate creator discusses her Beyond Yoga collaboration, how movement fuels her creativity, and her advice for Black women in business.
Issa Rae has discovered that running helps her slow down. The creator of "Insecure" and "Rap Sh!t" wants other women to permit themselves the same pause.
"It's about feeling good and feeling your best. It's not about being perfect," she said in a Zoom interview. "That movement, and running especially has just felt like such a great release. It makes me happy." She noted this surprised her younger self, since she never considered herself athletic or a dancer. "But this is mine."
Her physical practice now powers her creative work, wellness priorities, and moments of reconnection amid her busy life. Rae's latest partnership with Beyond Yoga promotes exactly this philosophy. The Seek Beyond collection, which launched July 25, celebrates the journey rather than fixating on results or appearance. Rae wrote the campaign's mantra herself.
"Not a single second has ever been wasted on joy," the mantra reads. "And here's the thing: you can have as much as you want. Take a second, a minute, an hour, a whole day and breathe."
With television and film projects, her Viarae prosecco brand, Los Angeles businesses, and an upcoming book, Rae must be deliberate about decelerating. She has made movement a ritual while building her empire.
How the collaboration took shape
Rae described the Beyond Yoga partnership as arriving at an ideal moment. "I've been focused on myself, how I feel in my body and how I want to present and feel in this next phase of my life," she explained. She already wore the brand frequently and had committed seriously to running. When invited to join and write the mantra, she considered what she needed to hear and what would resonate with friends and her wellness community.
Her running practice evolved gradually. She began as an early morning walker, protecting that time as "the least I can do for myself." After being recognized looking disheveled on a neighborhood trail, she bought a treadmill for privacy. Walking became running, then outdoor long-distance attempts. "It just became kind of a fun test of what I could do."
She also found that dressing well for workouts mattered. "Now I want to kind of dress up and take care of myself," she said. The Beyond Yoga pieces became her uniform, particularly the wide leg pants, bridging "showing up any kind of way and showing up for myself."
Movement directly supports her creative process. When facing writer's block, she walks without deliberately thinking about the work. "You inevitably think about it, and then something comes," she said. "There's something about just sitting in the misery of a [writer's] block and then actually walking off and literally getting your creative juices flowing."
Rae also discussed her role as part-owner of San Diego Football Club. She expressed excitement about women's sports, particularly how WNBA players have reclaimed their image. "This new generation of players has just completely taken ownership of the image of what a female athlete looks like," she observed. She recently spoke with the Washington Mystics about showing up fully beyond athletics.
Looking ahead, she mentioned working on several shows including a sequel to "One of Them Days," plus her August book release, "I Should Be Smarter Now."
Her best business advice for Black women in 2025: "Try to find what your niche is in this particular marketplace." She cautioned against imitation in content creation culture. "Find what nobody else is doing and what space you're filling. And to also think about yourself because it really does start with you."