Today we’d like to introduce you to Marla Stewart.
Marla, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started when I was in the second grade. My mom was teaching me sex education because she didn’t want me to become a teenage mother like herself and go through what she went through. I never thought anything of it, especially because she talked about it every year.
When I started my period at 13, the pressure was turning up and she often said, “If you need to go to the doctor about anything, I will take you; no questions asked.” Although it was comforting, I knew it wasn’t true. My mom is nosy enough, but I was just happy that she wasn’t overbearing. Then, I turned 16.
With my first boyfriend in tow, again, she gave me a life lesson that I will never forget: “When you’re old enough to go buy condoms yourself, then you are old enough to have sex.” After 5 months of being together, I felt that I was ready, so I went over to the local grocery store and bought some condoms. And although, I had fun when I had sex, it was just that. Just fun. It was fun faking an orgasm. You know what kind of orgasm I’m talking about – the ones you see/hear from the better porn collection. For him, it was great and for me, it was fun faking it (I wanted to be an actress at the time).
Flash forward to college. More and more, I started to get involved with the sexuality courses at my school and for some reason, my persona emanated sex, so naturally everyone (friends and strangers) would talk to me about their sex lives and I would ask them tons of questions regarding their sex lives. Everyone was so willing to answer, so naturally I believed that this was my calling. I wasn’t getting famous from my acting skills anytime soon, so I started changing directions.
One day, Dr. Ruth came into our Variations in Human Sexuality class. That’s the moment where I knew that, it is what I wanted to do. I figured that I could do the things that she’s doing but I can make it sexier. I wanted to project free sexuality like Josephine Baker with the intelligence of a famous Black Sex Therapist. I wanted to draw people in like moths. That, and when I asked my friends if they were having orgasms, they looked at me as if “orgasm” was a foreign word. From then on, I decided that I wanted to empower women to have more orgasms and to be free with their sexual wants, needs and desires. If women aren’t happy, the world isn’t happy and I’m on a mission to make the world a better place.
My mom (the best mom in the world) said something that resonates with me every day. She said, “If you want something bad enough, you make the time for it.” And it’s true. When I’m up at 3 o’clock in the morning working on Velvet Lips stuff, it’s because I’m determined to get something finished.
I started my company, Velvet Lips, in March 2010. Now, here I am in 2018 and my business is better than ever. People aren’t teaching what I teach and I’m so ecstatic that I can fill that gap for folks. Velvet Lips is seduction, communication, education, wrapped up in sexy.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a slow build up. What I’ve realized is that I am ahead of my time sometimes and I have to allow people to catch up with me. That is what it has been like to conduct my workshops. When no one was coming, I’d get frustrated or when people would follow me for years and then finally come to see me, it would be frustrating because I could have helped them a long time ago before everything began to fester. However, I have been able to be patient and now that the world is catching up, I’m glimmering in the light!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Velvet Lips – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Velvet Lips is Atlanta’s first sex-positive sex education venue offering workshops and Seduction Learning Style intensive coaching. We combine effective academic learning techniques with somatic sex techniques, sexological bodywork and other techniques to foster personal discovery, open dialogue, and increase sexual awareness, as well as improving your mental and physical sexuality arsenal. Whether you are a survivor of sexual trauma or looking for ideas to rev up your sex life, we are here to provide safe and sound advice for your sexual future.
Our vision is simple: We are here to educate and empower people of all ages to take control of their sex lives and fulfill their sexual wants, needs and desires. Our sex-positive methods encourage people to be open with their sexuality and foster dialogue that will help them to continually grow in all realms of sexuality. In addition to using somatic sex education and sexological bodywork, we use our well-known Seduction Learning Approach© to guide people in the right direction.
The Seduction Learning Approach© is the method where we combine academic learning with intentional erotic techniques to provide the best quality experience when effectively communicating with people. We use a combination of somatic sex education and sexological bodywork for additional ways to provoke erotic intention.
Somatic Sex Education is using hands-on teaching techniques to help individuals, couples and groups with discovering their sexual power, overcoming trauma with sexual healing and revealing their hidden pleasures.
Sexological Bodywork combines breathing techniques, touching, erotic sensing and masturbation coaching to increase sexual awareness and tantric embodiment.
I’m most proud of the fact that when you look up sex workshops, I’m one of the top people that come up in searches. I’ve been featured on many radio shows, podcasts, magazines and even had my first appearance on TV, with Love & Hip Hop Atlanta helping Mama Dee and her husband get back together.
What sets me apart from other folks is the fact that, not only do I have the experiences that I can draw from, but I have a strong academic and interdisciplinary background, which makes me able to make connections across many different realms.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future include opening a store in Atlanta and expanding my business to Fort Lauderdale and Miami. I will be expanding my business this year to South Florida and I’m currently in the plans for looking for space in Atlanta to fulfill that goal.
Contact Info:
- (by appointment only)
- Website: velvetlipsllc.com
- Phone: 401-365-4448
- Email: marla@velvetlipsllc.com
- Instagram: @velvetlipsatl
- Facebook: @velvetlipsatl
- Twitter: @velvetlipsatl
- Other: @sexdownsouthatl
Image Credit:
Crystal Monds, Jerome Hambrick, Roan Coughtry, CapturedbyTabia, Harold Noe
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