The founder of Kāma, a foldable mat for life on the go, talks about origami, Japanese campervans, and her favorite overalls.
Rachel Dobronyi isn’t the kind of person you can describe neatly in a sentence. She’s a part-time DJ, an athlete, a business owner, a free spirit. She loves doing things that are new and a little bit scary. Like, once, she sailed across the Pacific Ocean with a couple of guys she didn’t know prior to the trip. In 2021, she started a business, Kāma, which makes folding floor mats, even though she had minimal knowledge of product manufacturing. An avid mountain biker, snowboarder and friend of Flylow, Dobronyi mostly lives out of her custom-built Mitsubishi Delica, and manages an Airbnb cabin in Sierra City, California. Life as a nomad, she says, makes her feel free. We spoke to her about the downfalls of traditional yoga mats, life in a campervan, and her favorite overalls.
I studied landscape architecture in college and for my thesis, I was playing around with a portable outdoor yoga studio. I was looking into methods of portability. I got all these books on origami folds and my desk was littered with folded paper. The original mat started as an experience, being in a space, having a pop-up mat that you could drop down, connect to others, then take away when you’re done. That was the idea.
Doing yoga outside, especially on the beach or on grass, you don’t get a supportive surface on a normal yoga mat. Adding rigidity was key. So, I sewed a mat with a soft top, rigid base, and fabric cover. That was the original prototype. I took it out to practice on and it actually worked. It was mind blowing when I was like, I actually made something that works.
After college, I got a real job, but people were always asking me, ‘Where’s the mat?’ I took some time off work and sailed across the Pacific. While I was on the boat, the idea for the name of the business came in the form of a song one my crewmates played. It’s cool and geometric sounding. I got to land and looked it up and I stumbled across a description about Kāma being the feeling of feelings. That really resonated with me after being out at sea, going through wild times in life, learning more about myself. So, the name Kāma stuck.
I learned how to sail young, on a lake in Vermont, but I’d never done a big ocean crossing. I found the boat and crew through findacrew.net. The keyword I put in was “surfers.” Because surfers are safe, right? It all worked out. We hit some bad weather, saw some bioluminescence, ate peanut butter tortillas for days on end. The first crossing, from Mexico to Marquesas, was 26 days, then it took another 10 days to get to Tahiti. It was an adventure that filled all my buckets.
I started by talking to people who had experience with product design, friends with small businesses, trying to learn about fabrics and different materials. I didn’t have a background in product design, but I’m a designer by trade. I get the process of iteration, I can draw. At first, I found a manufacturer in Baja to make the mats, but they’re made out of Utah now. Running a small business is all trial and error.
One of the first events I went to was the Mammoth Yoga Festival. I thought, yoga is what this mat is for. But it was pretty slow. Then these people came up to me and they were like, 'This mat would be perfect for our van.’ That’s when it clicked. People with vans or any rig or truck camper need that place to take off their shoes, put their dog, have their kids play, organize their gear. That’s when I was like, van life. Duh. That’s when I pivoted from yoga to camping gear.
I got my van for $1,500 because the engine was blown out. I found these guys who specialize in Delicas and other Japanese vehicles and they did an engine swap. It’s been the best. It’s living on the cute side of life. I cannot go anywhere without making four new best friends at every gas station I go to. Everyone wants to talk about it. I built it out so it doubles as a pop up shop for my mats.
It’s the people you run into on the road or at random camp spots. The community that’s out there is really cool. People will be like, ‘We’re cooking tacos at our camp tonight, come join us, or we’re going on this bike ride, care to join?’ I do well nomadically. It carries on the spirit of being on the boat for me. I have a business to run, a mortgage to pay, but I can still feel that freedom in the van. At the drop of a hat, you can just get in the van and go.
I love mountain biking, snowboarding, jumping in lakes, rivers. Going on epics. That’s all enabled by my van and my business. Both give me that sense of adventure.
I wear my Flylow Life Bibs every other day. I think it’s the versatility of a lightweight fabric but also a super strong fabric. They don’t get dirty. They’re the perfect amount of stretch. I also like that there’s a zippered pocket in the front, that’s helpful at markets. You always have stuff to put in pockets.
What’s cool about being a DJ? It’s really fun to try and read a crowd and introduce people to new music and ultimately, make people dance.