MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE 2025

We know that this time of year has a number of activites that we enjoy over the next few weeks. Thanksgiving allows us to come together either on Turkey day itself or whichever days that you tend to share with others. For us, we enjoy that while we wait for an epic dinner, we have a slate of shows to get us ready for the holiday season. For those that are interested in getting a peek on what to expect for the big day, Countdown to the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on 11.26.25 from 8 - 9pm ET on NBC as well as Peacock to enjoy live. You get to enjoy what goes into preparing for this show. Following this show, continue on to watch A Saturday Night Live Thanksgiving from 9 - 11pm ET. Of course, on Thanksgiving, it’s all about the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from 8:30am - 12pm ET (if you miss it, it plays again at 2pm and then you can catch it on Peacock). We always enjoy watching the National Dog Show Presented by Purina to our favorite breeds hit the show floor.

MACY'S 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS

PHOTO CREDIT | Macy’s

With one of the largest Summer holidays taking place next week, many of us have a number of activities that we will partake in for the 4th of July! Whether it’s a rooftop party, a backyard barbecue, or laying out on the beach - the options are endless! We tend to find ourselves taking in our local fireworks as well as those that are presented via Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks which will be live from the Brooklyn Bridge (that includes fireworks off this iconic bridge and 4 barges that are on the lower East River in the Seaport District)! If you’re watching via broadcast, you can catch them on NBC at 8pm ET (the encore presentation will air on 10pm ET) or stream it on Peacock!

For the 49th edition of this show there will be an array of acts prior to the big show in the sky which will include the Jonas Brothers, Eric Church, Lenny Kravitz, Ava Max, Keke Palmer, and Trisha Yearwood. This year’s event will be hosted by Ariana DeBose and the musical score for the fireworks is created by Ahmir Questlove Thompson and James Poyser.

This year’s show will have more than 80.000 shells, 30 vibrant colors and of course effects that will include state-of-the-art projection mapping on the Brooklyn Bridge. We all have our favorite pyrotechnic effects such as the crackling crown jellyfish, atomic rings, yellow and green sunbursts and so much more! The telecast will also celebrate the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games as well as the NBA’s return to NBC this Fall.

Clearly, this is a Summer tradition that has been enjoyed since 1976 in terms of Macy’s creating this spectacular event each year! If you are with us in the city, you’ll want to check our public viewing areas where you can see it in person as there is a sponsored lottery for free public viewing tickets. If you have yet to see it in person but are planning ahead to next year, you can begin planning now as it will be in its 50th year.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

STARCHAT WITH ZURI HALL

We've all enjoyed a number of our favorite shows that recently wrapped from their fall premiers and we're now in the Summer portion of the season with an array of shows to watch. One of those shows is NBC's America Ninja Warriors which will kick off S17 on Jun 2nd at 8pm ET. Hosted by Zuri Hall, we wanted to catch up with her to talk about her career as a journalist and host. You can see her on the network's daily celebrity show Access Hollywood, E! Live From the Red Carpet as well as Miss USA and Miss Universe competition shows. We wanted to talk with her about her work, Awards Season, and how she navigates the balance between a career and mental health.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It is so great to chat with you again as we spoke a few years ago.

ZURI HALL: Oh I remember you!

AM: Great – well I love that we’re fellow Midwest girls, attended Big Ten universities -

ZH: Big Ten all day baby – let’s go!

AM: Exactly! It’s so phenomenal to see how you continue to navigate through your career and I always love your IG feed as the outfits are always on point. What you wore recently to the Met Gala, Bishme is a genius and we had the pleasure of attending his NYFW show a few seasons back – your look was truly a moment.

ZH: He’s so good, right? He is always the sweetest soul too. He is so humble but his talent!

AM: It’s next level without question and of course, you killed it again which is never a question.

ZH: I mean, he did take it to the next level!

AM: Without a doubt, but then there is also the Zuri factor – you know how to wear a look!

ZH: Thank you!

AM: I’m glad we’re able to connect again and to talk about all the things that you have going on.

ZH: Thank you and I’m glad we get to chat again.

AM: When you look back at your career and all of the things that you have been able to do at this point, did you think that you would be in this space that you are in right now?

ZH: Honestly, yeah – it was always kind of the vision! I mean, I know that some people are always tempted to demure and say that they don’t know how they got where they are. But I kind of meticulously planned and worked towards getting here since I was a kid. Honestly, I always knew that I wanted to be in Hollywood and in entertainment and I knew that at the age of 6 or 7. In Junior High, that is when I aggressively pursued it. Every choice that I made outside of academics was to kind of lay down the foundation for the future career. All the activities I chose from theater workshops, trying to get a commercial agent from Toledo, Ohio – so this was always the plan. But I think that this is what leaves me also humbled and in awe of what God can do. Because for better or for worse and with all of the ups and downs, being this little girl from Toledo to make it to where I am and to live this life that I have always dreamed of against all odds, I am very very blessed.

AM: I enjoy Access Hollywood and watching it when I’m traveling or prepping for a project. What do you enjoy about being part of this show?

ZH: Ooo Access Hollywood what I can say that I love and appreciate most is that they are family now! I love my co-hosts, I love our team, our Executive Producer Mike is incredible, and there is a team of Supervising Producers. Everyone is just on board with the vision and we all work together not to just make the show work, but to support one another in each person’s personal endeavors and our personal ventures, as well as professionally. It feels like an environment where everyone wants to see everyone win. It feels good to wake up every day and to go to work and I know that everyone doesn’t always get that lucky and I haven’t always worked in places where I could say that. That’s a big blessing and I take a lot of pride in the fact that we center around celebrity news and entertainment news, but we very much so pride ourselves on being seen as friends to people that we speak to – so it’s very welcoming and warm – a safe space.

AM: That’s what I love about it!

ZH: That’s what I love about it too! I couldn’t do it otherwise.

AM: What is your process in terms of preparing for interviews like this? How do you make sure that you are getting out those conversations that you are looking to achieve?

ZH: You know when I am going in to do interviews like this, we have incredible producers that do research on the front end. I’m talking about that we have so many people on any given week and it’s a lot to keep up with. Our producers, they cover us. They give us the help that we need to have.

What I most pride myself on is really prioritizing thoughtful questions and thoughtful conversations. I want people to feel safe in talking with me. I said this on a podcast recently with a dear friend of mine who has a podcast called Why Not Me with Mike Jackson from Get Lifted Productions. I was saying that I have always prided myself on not being a gotcha journalist and after 10 years in Hollywood – 10 years at NBC Universal, I’ve started to feel the dividends. I have a rapport with all of these incredible actors and musicians. They know me and they see me. They come and they want to talk because they know it's a safe place where they will be able to say what they need to say and they can trust that it won’t be taken out of context. They are comfortable and funny enough, they may even share more because they are comfortable to share. Joining Live from E! as the Red Carpet host, from my first season ever, one of the biggest things has been the way that I have asked the question around fashion. Everyone has said, “oh, we notice that you ask how do you feel in this look or how are you feeling in this look,“ and I think that that just speaks to my approach. I think fashion can be feelings and it can be hard to get in touch with my feelings over the years, so I try to bring that to my interviews. That is what I try to bring in – the emotions, the heart, and I hope that whoever is speaking with me that they feel the connection with me and I trust that it will allow the viewer to connect with them so much more. I just look at myself as hopefully a safe platform or vessel as a way for them to be able to share their message or their story.

AM: I mean watching you there is always warmth and authenticity, and a genuine curiosity to your style as a journalist. Regardless of whether you’re on the red carpet doing an interview, or being on Access Hollywood, and then you have American Ninja Warrior which I love that show! It’s back for another season – how did you get attached to it and what was it about this show that you wanted to take this on within your portfolio?

ZH: I can’t believe – you know I’m getting up there when I have to say, what year is this for me on this show? We had the regular seasons and then we had the COVID years and so it throws it off because we batched 2 seasons. There was a lot going on then, okay?

AM: You made it work!

ZH: Right? I will never forget my first season, my rookie year I was over at E! News. I think that I had just turned 30 and it was a new chapter in my life. This was the biggest show that I had ever gotten to this point. When I got the call that I got the position, I knew that my life was going to change and I don’t say that to be dramatic – I just felt it and it absolutely has. The reason that I was most excited to sign on to American Ninja Warrior, the show is just fun, it’s awesome, it’s big, and it’s buzzy. These athletes are incredible with what they do and I have always watched in awe. So to now realize that I was going to be part of it, it was just really humbling and exciting. Then, when I got into the show, I fell in love with the community of ninjas so quickly and I really prioritized building friendship with them on the sidelines even when the cameras were not rolling. Interacting with them on social and on IG all year around and not just when we are filming. We built that trust with one another so quickly. The biggest compliment that any one of the ninjas can give me is when they get to the sideline and they say, “Oh my gosh, I have been dreaming of getting to the sideline when I finally get to interview you,” because it just means that they finally got to run through the course. So for me to be part of the ninja experience and for them to be just a kid at one time and now they’re old enough to compete and finally they get to compete, and then they get what they say is their “Zuri interview” that really means something to me. I’m usually the first person that they talk to after they hit a buzzer and they’re excited or go down early or their run ends in a way that they hadn’t hoped for and they’re devastated. Sometimes, there are a lot of tears. I take a lot of pride and responsibility in being able to show up for them emotionally or in whatever way they need – whether it’s a hug or a, “I hope I see you next year” so they have that encouragement and don’t quit or give up. Sometimes it’s let bring the family in ASAP because you need your mama right now. I just take pride in being that emotional support on the sideline for the ninjas. That’s my favorite part.

AM: It’s crazy because we had Jessie Graff as a cover a few years back for our AUG ISSUE #20 in 2017 and to have her styled in couture gowns and doing stunts – it’s not something that I will forget for a very long time. I mean what is life and that’s why I love this show as she was doing things I could never do, but you can see the training, athleticism, art, creativity, and pride!

ZH: Yeah! That’s incredible! I love Jessie. She’s the OG for real – for real!

AM: Exactly!

ZH: What’s so cool about the show is how it is a springboard for people’s careers! People have Ninja Gyms across the country. Jessie is in Hollywood doing all of these incredible stunts and stunt work on Wonder Woman and other big blockbuster films! Ninja really does launch people into the next chapter of their careers.

AM: It truly is special!

What can we expect from this season?

ZH: This season is S17! It’s super special because it’s premiering on my birthday! So if you want to celebrate with me, you guys need to tune in on Mon Jun 2nd on 8pm Eastern on NBC of course and you can see it the next day streaming on Peacock. I think that the biggest thing that I am excited about for this year, it’s all taking place in Vegas. Normally, you would see us in different cities across the country which is really special. But for the first time ever, we’re doing qualifiers, semi-finals and national finals all in Vegas which I

think is really interesting too because it allowed for the Ninjas to have this adult summer camp! We all descended upon Las Vegas to create this magic in this chunk of time. For all of the Ninjas, the production team, us as the hosts – we were all there together for all of that. It was really fun and beautiful and allowed us to buid this sort of momentum and spirit. We didn’t have this starting/stopping and new city cycle as in previous seasons. So that was really cool and also, the finals are nuts! We’re doing the side-by-side races and the head-to-head races and there is a new bracket style tournament for this season as well. That’s what’s going to determine the Ninja Warrior Champion right? So I think that the bracket style is really kind of like raising the stakes. It’s feeling very – Ninja Warrior is a sport and as each season progresses, you can see it coming together in a way that you could see where this has come to head to the 2028 Summer Games [Editor’s Note: For LA28, a Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course will be part of the Summer Games making their debut in the Modern Pentathlon portion of the program]. It’s true athleticism and it’s going to be fun to watch. It’s going to be a different viewing experience then what fans have seen before. The stakes are crazy high and to think that some of our Ninjas could be winning gold medals someday because of the Olympics play, it’s bigger than ever!

AM: That is amazing and then once again, you have such a medley of things that you do. I have enjoyed seeing you at the pageants as a host. That is such an amazing world and I started to know more about it when I had the opportunity to style Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin as well as Miss Ecuador Universe 2018 Virginia Limongis for projects. Seeing you on that platform was yet another level. What do you like about being involved in those shows?

ZH: That is such a great question! What do I love about being part of those shows? I love the pageantry, the poise, I love glam of it all. I love a little glam moment. I am so night and day as the Gemini that I am. What’s great, is that I can only fully appreciate hosting a show like Miss Universe of Miss USA because I get to pull up in my sneakers and my jeans and host a show like America Ninja Warrior. I need both. Because I very much so live in sneakers and jeans, but in that 15%, I’m going to give you glam ok?

Miss USA and Miss Universe has been a great opportunity for me to be able to do that! The women are just so brilliant and just so beautiful – the least beautiful thing about them is how they look which is saying a lot because those women are stunning. They are so smart, they have incredible human interests, from philanthropy, to non-profit causes, to raising awareness on Mental Health or children living in poverty. I am just so inspired by them and that competition is not easy – those competitions are a grind! I have so much respect for the pageant world and that is something that I have come to after hosting this show. I didn’t grow up in pageants and now I have such an appreciation and respect for it. So it’s really fun and it’s really fun to play dress up on a superficial level too! It’s just wearing those gowns, those sequins, more, is more and nothing is too much in a space like that. It’s a lot of fun.

AM: When you’re doing the red carpets, we just came off of Awards Season, it’s a big run and this year it was compounded with the LA fires – I can’t even imagine the navigation around that. How do you approach that hectic time of the year?

ZH: Ooo Awards Season! I approach Awards Season with a lot of intention and a lot of calm before the storm. I intentionally carve out a lot of calm leading up to Awards Season because I know after the clock hits midnight, it’s a New Year and we’re hitting the ground running with the Golden Globes and it’s not going to stop running until after the Academy Awards. That is 3 months of grind for me.

This year as I mentioned, stepping into this new position – in the main position for Live from the Red Carpet on E! and the carpet specials, I took it all the more seriously! I have always taken it seriously. It’s really about the holidays for me being about rest, it’s research, I’m celebrating Christmas, I’m celebrating New Years Eve, but I have a research packet as thick as a Bible with all of the films, the nominees, the categories, the storylines we’re following throughout the season and doing that research ahead of time allows me to step into the New Year locked and loaded - I'm ready. I make time for meditation and prayer every show day, all week long, all Awards Season. It’s important for me to have those moments so that I can recharge and I can fill my cup because you give a lot on those show days. You’re live sometimes 3 hours – 3 and a half hours straight! It’s non-stop so just taking care of my mental, spiritual, and physical health before the in between time is how I get through a season like that!

AM: Oh wow! Well you always do it so well as you always look great on the carpet and the questions and engagement that you have makes those conversations enjoyable to watch.

ZH: Thank you – I’m trying!

AM: Going back to Met Gala, I loved your outfit, Bishme is always taking it to the next level and what he created for you was something to see. What was that process like in terms of getting dressed? Were you working weeks or months in advance?

ZH: No! You know what was so crazy? He is so talented that we met probably a couple of weeks out from Met Gala.

AM: Oh wow!

ZH: Yes for the first time. I’m so busy, he is so busy, everyone just has so many things going on. I couldn’t even mentally pivot to Met Gala until the last thing was done. If Grammys is coming up, I’m like, don’t ask me about the Oscars until after I get through Grammys. Don’t ask me about Grammys until after I get through Globes. I literally have to take it a step at a time or I would go crazy.

AM: Oh yeah!

ZH: So Met Gala, I couldn’t think about mentally from a fashion perspective until probably Aprilish because I had to get through Oscars and I had a few things going on in the office. So I meet with him and he shows me these sketches and pulls out these fabric swatches and I am immediately blown away. He is crazy talented. We landed on a sketch that felt right. For me, I just can’t think about the fashion statement which I absolutely want to make, but it also has to be practical because I’m working. I’m not just going in hanging around and partying. I have to stand on a red carpet in a really tight space for up to 4 hours. For the Met Gala, I was in that dress and in those heels standing for the most part for 6 hours. We have to get there so early before the gridlock so it has to be practical and it also has to be fashionable because I love a moment.

It was kind of funny because Bishme, we had our first fitting a week and a half out. Then it was probably 2 or 3 days ahead of the Met Gala that we had a fitting and he literally brought some fabric and I was like, “ok, let’s see how this goes.” He made a dress out of thin air with a piece of fabric – I think it is called muslin.

By the end of that 15-20 mins fitting, I was low key wearing a dress. Him and my stylist were laughing because he is used to that Project Runway life. He was not stressed and we were like, Met Gala is in 2 days” and he was like, “I got this. Say less.” We had that final fitting and he finished the gown within 3 or 4 days. It was a perfect fit. It was better than anything ever and people loved it.

It was a total hit. He works so well under pressure. It was a super fast process and extremely efficient and only someone as talented as him could pull something off like that. I was just grateful to wear his design because he had great vision.

AM: This year's theme was amazing. What were 3 looks that you enjoyed seeing on the carpet?

ZH: The theme was incredible Super Fine Tailoring Black Style and I loved that it was a celebration of Black Dandyism because I am really big on joy and I think that the Met Gala night really exemplified that. My 3 favorite looks – I loved Diana Ross’ (The Wiz, Mahogany, Lady Sings the Blues) entrance. To be there watching that happen and for her making us remember what it is like to have one of those divas in the best way possible entrance – it was like yesss – you are giving the people what they need right now!

Her look was incredible and I loved her daughter’s look – Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends, Black-ish, American Fiction). She is such a style maven and she gets it from her momma.

AM: Yup.

ZH: I love that she raids her mom’s closet and she calls it shopping. Tracee’s look was fun.

Zendaya (Euphoria, Dune franchise, Challengers) always gets it right. I loved the tailored suit and sort of the minimalist silhouette with that beautiful gorgeous fedora – that hat that she wore.

The fellas brought it too – A$AP Rocky as a Co-Chair was incredible and he has always had such awesome style and of course with Rihanna to pull up and with the baby bump as the final arrival on the Met Gala Red Carpet! She said that A$AP brought the umbrellas and she brought the +1 – the baby to the party. She looked great!

I loved Ciara, her in LaQuan Smith looked gorgeous. Her and Russell Wilson being able to walk this Red Carpet for the first time ever because he’s usually occupied at that time. So to see them walk that for the first time together was special especially since he is playing for the Giants now. There were so many really fun looks that was enjoyable to see.

AM: With all the worlds that you’re involved in – how do you make sure that you don’t have burnout? We love what we do, we’re immersed in what we do, but I mean – you need a breath. How do you get that balance?

ZH: For me, it’s something that we have heard before, but I have only recently appreciated it in the last few years in what it means and taking it to heart. My no’s are just as important if not more important than my yeses. I used to say yes to everything. You kind of have to have that chapter of grinding it out and saying yes to everything as you never know what opportunity is going to open that next door. But then you get to a point in your life hopefully where you look up and say, there is a lot going on and I need to get more intentional with my yeses. If I can’t show up with a full cup at max capacity for the things that I have said yes to, do I want to show up? I want to show up fully and I deserve to experience this thing fully and also the people who have asked me to be part of it, they deserve the best of me if I say yes. So it is less yeses but they are hell yeses! So, the ones I am really excited about that I can show up for fully means that there were no’s that had to be said. I have to be ok with potentially disappointing some one who would have hoped that I could do a thing. But I can say next time – it’s not no forever it’s just I can’t right now and I am honoring where I am at my max capacity bucket.

I think carving out slow moments is really important on the day-to-day. I like counting down to a vacation. I have been counting down by the way to a non existent vacation in my head since Jan 1st! There is no trip booked, no flights, but I’m like, “I can’t wait to get to that beach,” and my dog is looking at me like what beach?

AM: You mean beach at home haha!

ZH: Haha – the living room, basement – what are we talking about?

But, having those slow moments to look forward to on any even given day – even if I have a 20mins coffee break that I carved out for myself with my favorite Lavender Latte at 3 o’clock. That is a slow moment. It’s a gift to myself. A massage that I booked for myself after a long day. That’s a moment and that’s a gift to myself. I think it is important to give ourselves small little gifts so that we have earned small wins. It doesn’t have to be a big thing or a long weekend away. It can be 10mins to yourself with the lights off and if you have kids, your spouse is like – I got them. I will take them upstairs and lock them away for 15mins. You just sit in the dark if that is what you need.

AM: What do you want your legacy to be? You have done so much and such a beacon for people. I think about when I was growing up, I didn’t have a lot of people I could think of except for Oprah – there weren’t other people like that out there. But we live in a time where those coming up have Zuri’s and others that they can look towards.

ZH: Wow, oh man. Well first of all, thank you for saying that. To hear, we have the Zuri’s is kind of a moment. I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around fully – you kind of left me speechless with that one. That means a lot just because, what do I want my legacy to be? I want for people to feel good and I want people to be unapologetic about prioritizing feeling good. I want people to feel good at work, I want people to feel good in their home and personal lives. I think why I bring that into the legacy conversation is because I work really hard and for a long time, all I did was work. My career was everything and to be quite frank, that wasn’t healthy. I realized I needed to build up the other pillars of my life because if 1 pillar shook and it was the career and that’s the only pillar – my world was shaking, my home was shaking – there was no foundation. A part of my legacy is that I want other people to say when I watched her I felt inspired and I felt entertained. I also felt that I was given permission or really encouragement to feel good in my life to take time and to prioritize myself. Even if it is just because they see me having the career that I have and then seeing me have the kinds of conversations that I have around mental health and spiritual wellness and how important it is to make rest, to avoid burnout it’s important. Seeing me crush it in my career maybe that is what someone came to see, but then realizing how I am doing it – I very much so want to make sure that that is part of my legacy.

If I can inspire even one little girl, little boy or one kid – who looks at me and sees a trajectory that they would like to follow, that is really special. I have a mom who DM’d me a couple of months ago and I have had moms reach out to me in the last few years. She let me know that she named her daughter after me. I thought it was incredible and it was so nice to hear. But then I was like, “how old is your daughter?” She’s like 6 and I’m like, “dang, I haven’t been around that long!” I’m old now! How do I have a 6 year old Zuri running around? It’s special and at the end of the day, I hope that my legacy and the biggest part of it is that people can look and see that I really enjoyed this life that I lived and that I rode it until the wheels fell off. She wasn’t just having a career that was incredible, but I get the sneaking suspicion that she really enjoyed it fully!

IG @zurihall

PHOTOS COURTESY | PG 76 - 79 Matt Sayles | PG 80 IG/Zuri Hall |

Read the MAY ISSUE #113 of Athleisure Mag and see STARCHAT WITH Zuri Hall in mag.

HEART FELT STORIES | KIT HOOVER

This month's issue has featured a number of trailblazers in media and with it also being Women's Month, we truly enjoyed sitting down with Access Hollywood and Access Daily with Mario & Kit, Kit Hoover! We have enjoyed watching her from being in the first cast of MTV's Road Rules which was a social experiment that led to the early days of reality TV and competition shows. From there she parlayed her talents, optimisim, and energy at ESPN as a sports broadcaster and for the last 14 years has been at NBC navigating the day and night slots in entertainment. We talked about her journey, success, the show and her latest project, launching her podcast The Coop that highlights phenomenal women!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have been a fan of yours since Road Rules as you’re a ball of energy and optimistic which is always nice to see! I mean you were the first group to do that and in many ways that show paved the way for Fear Factor and Survivor!

KIT HOOVER: Can you believe? I was just telling that story the other day to someone about how fun it was!

AM: I loved that the show!

KH: Kimmie, you’re too young to know what Road Rules is!

AM: Well, I’m 44 and I remember the first season and watched a number of them!

KH: Well, you look great! I was 24 when I did it and now I’m 53. It was fantastic and I still reflect back because it was real. I mean at that time, there was no such thing as reality TV except for Real World. They had just done London and they were shooting San Francisco and it hadn’t aired yet. We had no idea what we were doing, nobody had an agenda to go on to get into TV, it was just real. Well now, everything is about trying to get your 15mins.

AM: It’s so true and what’s interesting is that we have Brooke Burke (Wild On, Dancing with the Stars, Fool Us) in this issue as well as when I first became aware of her, it was on Wild On.

KH: I loved her on Wild On!

AM: We’re really excited to have a number of trailblazers who are women in this issue so it was really great to include you as well!

You have had such an amazing career from being on MTV, sports broadcasting with ESPN, and of course being on NBC for Access Hollywood and Access Daily with Mario & Kit! When did you realize that you wanted to be on TV?

KH: So I majored in Communications and Journalism at UNC in North Carolina. I didn’t know that I wanted to be on TV, I thought that I was going to go into the advertising world or to be in something creative. It wasn’t until Road Rules that after that finished, I thought, ok I kind of got comfortable behind the camera. Let me give myself 1 year to see if I can parlay it into something on TV and if not, I want to do something totally different. Fame was never the goal, I never wanted to be on TV, it was just, after that I thought that I had a window and I just decided to try it. Literally, it was almost a year to the day that I got my first job from it and it was called American Journal and it was kind of off and running from there. It was trial by fire then! I didn’t know what the heck I was doing!

AM: Watching you in Road Roles, I felt that you were someone that we would see on TV as you just have that authentic vibe and you wanted to hear what you had to say! It was natural and the TV just loved you.

KH: First of all, were you cracking up when – you know the joke was, that I had gained about 20 pounds in the 4 months that we were doing it. But that was a lot because I’m 5’0” tall. And the joke was with the producers was that, “oh my gosh, the little one is getting heavier by the second!”

We were eating Power Bars, Taco Bell, and Mark Long (Road Rules, The Challenge, The Challenge: All Stars) and I would drink 10 Budweisers! We were in our 20s, we had a life on the road for that show, so all you’re going to do is eat bad stuff.

AM: Well Power Bars are healthy though!

KH: Well, I’d have 3 before breakfast! We had no idea, we were eating the craziest – craziest things!

AM: Ok, well maybe 3 would do that for sure!

KH: Looking back, I was like, I think that I look great! I mean I was just a little puffier.

AM: But it’s also what happens when you’re traveling.

KH: Anyone that is on a road trip knows that you’re not eating the best or taking the best care of yourself.

AM: How did Access Hollywood come about? You have been on there since 2010!

KH: First of all, for anyone and everyone reading this! I got this opportunity when I turned 40! Do you know how great that is as a woman? To be hired, it’s been 14 years, and I’m almost 54! How great? It was one of those calls that my boss who hired me, Rob Silverstein (AccessDaily, Access Hollywood, People - The TV Show!) said, “you know, what’s great about you Kit?”

I said what, thinking that it was going to be a weird compliment. He said, “you’re not hired based on your looks” and at first I looked and said is that a compliment? But then I thought, that that may be the biggest compliment and it goes back to the Road Rules days where I never cared what I looked like. You’re on the road! There’s no makeup, there’s no bathroom, there’s no shower. I have just wanted to do the best interview that I could do or to do the best job that I could do. But I thought, what a compliment to be able to go into the entertainment world business. The call came in, I took a leap of faith as I was living in Connecticut and my husband and I moved out with the 3 kids and we thought that it would last 1 year and 14 years later, we’re still here!

AM: I remember the show had been around for a few months and I started watching it when I was flying out for press trips as it would be on either in the hotel room or watching it on the plane. When I first saw it, I was like oh it’s the Road Rules girl who was on ESPN and now here!

KH: It’s the Road Rules girl, she keeps popping up!

AM: I love how your background has such a great mix of entertainment, sports, covering red carpets, etc!

KH: Well, similar to you, it’s the art of the pivot right? I kind of was naïve when Road Rules ended. I thought, what’s next? Nothing was next. They said, you’re a great person, thanks for coming in. I think that a lot of people feel like that with their jobs. You get one and you think that you’re going to stay, but things end and things change. You have got to be like musical chairs.

You have to find your next chair. So, I’m a hustler, and I like to navigate and work hard and it’s all related too! You’ve probably found that too!

AM: Oh yeah!

KH: Whoever you work with, way back then with Road Rules, I just had a meeting with Clay Newbill (The Bachelor, The Mole, Shark Tank) the producer out here. Who you are at your core matters tremendously. I feel so blessed that I have worked with so many great people.

AM: I tell people all the time I have a number of interests and things in my background from modeling, cheerleading, stylng, designing, etc - but the base of who I am as an organized person, storytelling whether through apparel or in interviews, that’s why people keep come back.

KH: That’s why people keep coming back.

AM: 100% they want your commitment, passion, integrity and those skill sets!

When you’re preparing for interviews and talking with celebs and people of interest, what’s your process? I mean you’re covering those from all over so where do you like to start?

KH: Probably the same way you do! I love the research, I’m a reader! So I research and do all the reading that I can on the people. I sort of visualize the outline I have in my head and then I let it go and I try to be present and in the moment. I like to just listen and if you have done the homework, you know where you are going. And you want to get good stuff. It’s not about following the card. It’s listening and seeing where that takes you. I think that that’s the good stuff.

AM: You also have Access Daily with Mario & Kit! How is that for you to be on 2 very different shows, different time slots – I have a lot of respect for that! That’s not easy!

KH: Thank you! I’m grinding! I’m grinding. I have a lot of tuition with 3 kids! I love it! Access Hollywood is the night time show. So that’s more glitz and glam and entertainment news and then the hour daytime show with Mario Lopez (The Golden Girls, Saved by the Bell, The Golden Boy) is so much fun because that’s our kids and marriage and talking about fun stuff! I love daytime talk. So to be able to stretch both of those muscles is so much fun for me!

AM: That must have been amazing to know that you are helming both of those shows! I can’t think of anyone else that has that kind of double time right now.

KH: It’s really great! And then I’m launching a podcast!

AM: So excited as we’re going to talk about that as well!

KH: I put that in just so that I could do the long format. So I get my daytime that I love and I get my night time and then the podcast lets me go deeper. So the kids, 2 of them are at of the house as you know and 1 is going to leave next year so I have to start because I have more time to fill.

AM: You and Mario are neighbors!

KH: Yeah, he literally lives right around the corner. We could carpool to work. It’s the best! I run by his house which is on my running route so I go by and I wave, it’s really fun! His wife is the best and I’m really good friends with Nicole!

AM: You can see your chemistry too with one another which is really nice.

KH: Yeah, I’m very fortunate.

AM: What have been some of your favorite topics that you have covered from your Access Hollywood shows?

KH: For the night time show, it’s more of a 22mins show so it’s just quick. For the daytime, we don’t really touch any zeitgeist stuff. We’re more of a wholesome, talking about family, fun, never a gotcha thing. We try to do great interviews and so I love the ones that are a feel good story. I love when we cover human interest stories of everyday people doing extraordinary things. I am so moved by their stories. So we have been doing a lot of those feel good stories and maybe it’s because it seems like we do so much celebrity things that we want to show the real heroes. Give me a teacher or a nurse, I’m all into it.

AM: Well the podcast, I’m personally excited about that! To have women in their 40s as I am of that demographic as well that are these powerhouse women! Where did the concept come from, what can we expect, and where did the name come from?

KH: You better text me after you listen as I want all of your notes! For the past 4 years, I was thinking that I wanted to do this now that I have the ability to do this and there may not be any listeners! I wanted to do it for me.

AM: There will be listeners!

KH: I get to interview these incredible women and each one, I feel like I learn a nugget from them! Do you ever feel like that the best advice you get is from your girlfriend when you’re talking? Like, “hey, you have to try this face cream.” Or for me as I’m menopausal, you need to get this patch! Try this school or get this shoe or whatever it is. So I wanted the podcast to be that feel. I like that it is 40 and over because maybe me getting the job at 40, I feel like I haven’t even hit my stride at 54 and in the old regime, women were done in their 30s which is what Halle Berry (Die Another Day, Catwoman, Moonfall) was telling me.

I just like that feeling of what are we doing now? We have all this knowledge and wisdom, let’s effen go! So it’s Cindy Crawford that I just interviewed, it’s Katie Couric, it's Gabrielle Reece, Jenny McCarthy!

AM: Love Gabby! We had her and our husband as a cover back in Oct last year.

KH: Gabby! What I loved about them was their love story! They actually filed papers for divorce and never got that far and they got it back together. The tools that they learned to do that – they’re connected now as a couple. She is the most thoughtful. Didn’t you find her so thoughtful and poignant?

AM: She’s so sweet and real –

KH: And smart!

AM: Yeah the co-founder of Athleisure Mag is also my boyfriend so when I have interviewed her, we have talked about how it is to run a business with the person you are involved with. It was interesting to hear her talk or to see how they interact with one another and to just have real responses to it. She’s like, you do the best that you can, but sometimes, things get f’d up!

KH: She is fantastic. She said this thing in an interview where she said, “I don’t talk to anybody better than I do to Laird.” I thought about that and sometimes when we talk to our spouse and partner, you’re a little nastier. She told me that she works on it like you would an athletic career and I thought, that is so awesome. I want to operate on that frequency.

With Jenny McCarthy (The View, Two and a Half Men, Masked Singer), I was asking her about her love story with Donnie Wahlberg (Wahlburgers, Saw franchise, Blue Bloods) and she felt that she was lowering her frequency and gears to get a guy. She was tired of doing it and said that she needed to be met here and that that was Donnie.

Having Cindy Crawford talking about being an empty nester. What she and Randy Gerber are doing next because maybe that's where I am in my life right now. they’re going to a different state to buy property and they’re looking at dating each other. I mean, Cindy Crawford, if she’s thinking about all this stuff- it’s real!

AM: But it’s like, we’re all women doing these things. To hear those nuggets whether or not you’re in that position or not, you’re going to get something from it.

KH: I hope so!

AM: You can also find ways to apply it to your own life!

KH: And it’s rowdy! I have a little naughty side, so it’s a little bit of me asking everyone what is in their bedside drawer. Katie was like, I’m not telling you! Cat Cora (Iron Chef America, Tournament of Champions, Stars on Mars), one of my favorite chefs!

AM: We had her as a cover!

KH: Unbelievable, you should have heard what’s in her bedside drawer! I said, “Cat we’re going to have to bleep that out! I was blushing the entire time!”

AM: I love me some Cat!

KH: I love me some Cat! To think that she was told that she would never break into this business and that she should be barefoot and pregnant back in Mississippi! The ceiling breaker that she is as a chef –

AM: And a dynamo!

KH: And a dynamo.

AM: Plus she’s stunning. It was a pleasure to style her for our cover shoot and we were with her for about 8 hours and she was truly sweet. I grew up watching her on Iron Chef!

KH: I love that we have had the same women! This is so great! I am having a ball doing this!

AM: How many episodes are in the first season?

KH: I have just done 6 and we’re going to promote it on Kelly Clarkson which is going to air on April 5th. So hopefully we will just keep it growing from there! I’m thinking that we will do 1 a week or 1 every 2 weeks. The women who have participated, they are my friends and they have been so gracious. I hope it builds! For me, I don’t know about you, if I take the time to listen to a podcast, I want to feel good and that I am part of something. I want a takeaway.

AM: I do want to hear things that will make me a better person or to sharpen a skill in an optimized way. How can you find the cracks in your own foundation to make it better or to just be ok with them.

KH: I’ve done the interviews and then days later, they will resonate with me and I keep thinking about it and it was something that was really cool or poignant with what they said. I want to try that or I find this interesting.

Cindy Crawford said something really interesting! I said, “have you always had the ability to laugh at yourself?” She said, “Randy wouldn’t say so.” I asked her what she meant by that and she said, “as the mom, I’ll be cooking and cleaning and Randy and the kids will gang up on me and make fun of me in a playful way, but it leaves bruises. It hurts my feelings.” So many people can relate to that.

AM: That’s so me. On the outside I’ll say whatever, but on the inside –

KH: That’s so me! It was fascinating to hear how she is navigating that and for others who are listening that is so relatable.

Ooo we also have Laila Ali (Girlfriends, Black-ish, S.W.A.T.) , she’s back in Georgia. I’m from Atlanta. Have you guys interviewed her?

AM: Yes, it was amazing to chat with her!

KH: We’ve been friends and she used to cohost with me and her art of the pivot, my friend can literally do anything and with no guidance. Everyone has been so gracious because this is longform and it’s a totally different muscle which I love! I’m growing as a person learning from all of this. What’s great is, it’s not a studio, it’s just my thing because it feeds me and I hope that other people enjoy it.

AM: It’s also a testament that people are so comfortable with you! What is the meaning behind The Coop?

KH: When you look it up in Webster’s Dictionary, it’s a gathering of hens and chickens that protect one another, that grow together, and work together. That’s what I was thinking of my women friends. Come into your Coop, it’s your safe spot! Let’s fluff our feathers, learn, and protect and shelter one another.

AM: I thought so, but then I was like maybe I’m thinking too Midwestern.

KH: You knew! Also, Gwyneth Paltrow (Great Expectations, The Talented Mr Ripley, Iron Man franchise) told me that double letters are supposed to be successful letters. Like she has Goop, but I was like, “hey, I will take any extra advice!”

AM: This is so exciting. Where do you see this brand going?

KH: I would like to see it go into a Coop Conference to share all the knowledge that you have learned and to interview a great celebrity like a book party without a book.

AM: I love the concept because women like to connect and we love partnering with one another because once you’re connected you see synergies and commonalities!

KH: Even when we’re just talking about it, it’s just so real and it makes me excited and it’s happening!

AM: And it’s yours!

KH: That’s a neat thing for me as someone who has always been under awesome companies. I have always been with great companies MTV, FOX, ESPN, and of course NBC. But this one is just me!

We start off each Coop interview with 1 word to describe your life and where you are right now. What would that be for you Kimmie?

One word where you are right now!

AM: Navigating

KH: I like that!

AM: Within our team we’re always talking about we’re riding various waves. There’s that which comes to us that we never thought, that which we want that’s on our list and then when you do whatever it is you do, how do you keep on advancing as you don’t want to lose the momentum. So I feel that navigating is where I have been for a bit. I’ve had the pleasure throughout my life to have received many opportunities, some planned, some not planned, whether it was starting off interviewing people at the age of 12, my first person was Oprah, it was such an honor, my second was Jessie Jackson. I’ve always been one that wants to take opportunities and then to figure out how they come together. We see that plan of what is needed, and can go out and draw on these waves and then we navigate it.

KH: I just love that word navigating and so we take that word and then if I’m interviewing you, the whole interview with you would be about navigating. I’d ask how you started off and you’d tell me about Oprah and then I end each interview with, "What makes you happy?"

AM: Silence.

KH: I love that.

AM: I get very little of that.

KH: So it’s a buttoned up approach for my interviews.

AM: I can’t wait to listen, I love a bookend.

KH: I love a bookend!

The what makes you happy came when my my business partner’s daughter was in therapy and they did this sort of deep breath that you did 10 times and you were supposed to say what makes you happy. We started ending with it and it’s wonderful to hear. First of all, the 1 word of where you are right know, Jenny McCarthy said, needless. I said, “what a great word.” I don’t feel needless and how do I get that still? Then to end with what makes them happy, it’s fascinating!

Then we also have a section called Let’s Get Random and then I can ask all of the fun stuff.

IG @kithoover

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Kit Hoover

Read the MAR ISSUE #99 of Athleisure Mag and see HEART FELT STORIES | Kit Hoover in mag.

AWARDS SEASON | 45TH SPORTS EMMY AWARDS NOMINATIONS

 Today, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) announced the 45th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards nominations as well as revealing the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, sports broadcaster James Brown. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 21, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City. 

“This year’s sports broadcasting nominees produced thrilling and captivating television,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO, NATAS. “We look forward to welcoming these exceptional professionals to the 45th Annual Sports Emmy Awards in May.”

“The Sports Emmy Awards are proud to recognize the outstanding work of this year’s nominees and to honor James Brown for his long and prolific career,” added Stephen Head, Head of Sports.

As we do throughout Awards Season, we share our predictions in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics. On the night of the event, we will share who we predicted correctly as well as those we didn’t that won.

OUTSTANDING LIVE SPECIAL

The Masters
        CBS

The 105th PGA Championship
        CBS

Super Bowl LVIII
        Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
        CBS

Super Bowl LVIII
        Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
        Nickelodeon
        [Nickelodeon Productions | CBS Sports | NFL Films]

The 119th World Series
        Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
        FOX

OUTSTANDING LIVE SERIES

FOX CFB
        FOX | FS1

FOX NFL
        FOX

Monday Night Football
        ABC | ESPN

Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli
        ESPN2
        [Omaha Productions]

Sunday Night Football
        NBC | Peacock

OUTSTANDING PLAYOFF COVERAGE

American League Championship Series
        Houston Astros vs. Texas Rangers
        FOX | FS1

College Football Playoff Semifinals
        Rose Bowl & Sugar Bowl
        ESPN

MLB Postseason on tbs
        tbs

NFL Championship
        Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers
        FOX

·NFL Playoffs on NBC
        NBC | Peacock

OUTSTANDING EDITED EVENT COVERAGE

All Access
        Davis vs. Garcia: Epilogue
        Showtime

·NFL Draft: The Pick Is In
        The Roku Channel
        [NFL Films | Skydance Sports]

NFL Game Day All Access
        Super Bowl LVIII
        YouTube
        [NFL Films]

Road To The Super Bowl
        CBS
        [NFL Films]

2023 Special Olympic World Games
        ABC

OUTSTANDING EDITED SPECIAL

Chasing Greatness: Coach K x LeBron
        TNT

Crown
        CBS Sports Network

E60
        The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports
        ESPN
        [ESPN Films]

GR8TNESS
        ESPN

You Are Looking Live!
        CBS
        [NFL Films]

OUTSTANDING HOSTED EDITED SERIES

E60
        ESPN

Kickin’ It
        Paramount+ | Golazo Network

The Pivot Podcast
        YouTube

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
        HBO | Max

The Shop UNINTERRUPTED
        YouTube
        [UNINTERRUPTED]

OUTSTANDING ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE

BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
        BLAST.tv
        [BLAST]

2023 Call of Duty League Championship Weekend
        New York Subliners vs. Toronto Ultra
        Twitch | YouTube
        [Esports Engine | Activision Blizzard]

Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023 Grand Finals
        ENCE vs. G2
        Twitch | YouTube
        [ESL FACEIT Group]

League of Legends Worlds 2023 Final
        T1 vs. Weibo Gaming
        LoLEsports.com | Twitch | YouTube
        [Riot Games]

VALORANT Champions 2023 Grand Final
        Paper Rex vs. Evil Geniuses
        ValorantEsports.com | Twitch | YouTube
        [Riot Games]

OUTSTANDING SHORT DOCUMENTARY

Dreamcaster
        MSG Network | MSG+
        [456 Studios | Lord + Thomas | DaHouse Audio | Citizen Music | Vicaps | Helo]

Extraordinary Stories
        One-Armed Wonder: The Extraordinary Story of Jimmy Hasty
        UEFA.tv
        [Noah Media Group]

NFL 360
        Gone
        NFL Network

NFL Films Presents
        Lahainaluna High
        FS1
        [NFL Films]

SC Featured
        Nothing Else Matters
        ESPN+

OUTSTANDING LONG DOCUMENTARY

The Deepest Breath
        Netflix
        [A24 | Motive Films | Ventureland]

Full Circle
        Vimeo On Demand
        [Level 1 Productions]

Kelce
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios | Skydance | Vera Y Productions | 9.14 Pictures]

The Saint of Second Chances
        Netflix
        [Tremolo | Stampede Ventures]

Stand
        Showtime
        [SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films | MSM]

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Catching Lightning
        Showtime
        [Bat Bridge Entertainment]

Goliath
        Showtime
        [Village Roadshow Television | Religion of Sports]

Super League: The War for Football
        Apple TV+
        [Words + Pictures | All Rise Films]

Untold
        Netflix
        [Propagate | Stardust Frames | RAW | The Players’ Tribune]

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY SERIES – SERIALIZED

Football Must Go On
        Paramount+

Formula 1: Drive to Survive
        Netflix
        [Box to Box Films]

Hard Knocks
        Training Camp With The New York Jets
        HBO | Max
        [NFL Films]

Monster Factory
        Apple TV+
        [Vox Media Studios | Public Record]

Quarterback
        Netflix
        [NFL Films | Omaha Productions | 2PM Productions]

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – WEEKLY

College GameDay
        ESPN

FOX CFB: Big Noon Kickoff
        FOX | FS1

FOX NFL Sunday
        FOX

Inside the NBA on TNT
        TNT

The NFL Today
        CBS

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – DAILY

MLB Tonight
        MLB Network

NBA Countdown
        ESPN | ESPN2

NFL Live
        ESPN | ESPN2

Pardon The Interruption
        ESPN
        [Rydholm Projects, Inc.]

SportsCenter
        ESPN

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW – LIMITED RUN

College GameDay
        College Football Playoff
        ESPN

FOX MLB: The Postseason
        FOX | FS1

Inside the NBA Playoffs on TNT
        TNT

Postseason NFL Countdown
        ESPN

Road to the Final Four
        CBS | TNT

OUTSTANDING JOURNALISM

CNN FlashDocs
        Blindsided
        CNN

E60
        Peace of Mind: Psychedelics in Sports
        ESPN

E60
        The Perfect Machine
        ESPN

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
        A Blind Eye: Switzerland and the Corruption of World Sport
        HBO | Max

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
        Call of Duty: How War is Destroying Ukrainian Sport
        HBO | Max

OUTSTANDING SHORT FEATURE

College GameDay
        The Legacy of Tyler Trent
        ESPN

NFL 360
        The Chief Who Walked The Sea
        NFL Network

NFL 360
        Heroes
        NFL Network

NFL 360
        Miracle
        NFL Network

The NFL Today: Super Bowl LVIII
        Just Win Baby!
        CBS

Sunday Night Football
        Madden & Stingley
        NBC | Peacock

Thursday Night Football
        Marshawn Lynch ‘N Yo City: Intercourse, PA (Yes, this is a real place)
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

OUTSTANDING LONG FEATURE

Outside The Lines
        Jordan McNair: The Freedom Within
        ESPN

Playing Fields
        Ornella: Knocking Down Social Prejudices Pursuing Her Olympic Dream
        Olympic Channel

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
        No Surrender: One Man’s Battle with ALS
        HBO | Max

SportsCenter
        SC Featured: Dear Mrs. Reid
        ESPN

SportsCenter
        SC Featured: Running for Martin
        ESPN

Unredeemable
        Golf Channel

OUTSTANDING OPEN/TEASE

The 149th Kentucky Derby
        Timeless
        NBC | Peacock

Monday Night Football
        In the Air Tonight
        ESPN | ABC

NHL Winter Classic on TNT
        If This Wall Could Talk
        TNT

Sunday Night Football
        Heidi
        NBC | Peacock

Super Bowl LVIII
        My Way
        CBS

OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE

College Football Playoff MegaCast
        Rose Bowl Game
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPN Deportes | ESPNU | ESPNews | SEC Network | ESPN App | ABC | LHN

Fan Controlled Racing Watch Party
        Twitch | Kick
        [Fan Controlled Sports & Entertainment]

The Magic and Mastery of US Open Champion – Carlos Alcaraz
        ESPN.com

NCAA March Madness Live
        March Madness Live

Thursday Night Football
        Black Friday Football Studio
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

Thursday Night Football
        Event Coverage Optionality/Customization
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

OUTSTANDING DIGITAL INNOVATION

Big City Greens Classic
        Fully Animated Live Sporting Event With Integrated Real-Time Animated Talent
        ESPN+ | Disney Channel | Disney XD | Disney+
        [Beyond Sports | Silver Spoon Animation | Disney Television Animation]

Dreamcaster
        MSG Network | MSG+
        [Weber Shandwick | Helo]

MLB Next
        AR App
        MLB

Red Bull Erzbergrodeo
        Cross-Platform Storytelling with Broadcast, Web Widgets and AR App.
        Red Bull TV
        [Red Bull Media House | ProteGear | TeraVolt | Girraphic]

Thursday Night Football
        Machine Learning on Prime Vision
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY/STUDIO HOST

Malika Andrews
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC | TNT

Kevin Burkhardt
        FOX | FS1

Rece Davis
        ESPN

Ernie Johnson
        TNT | tbs

Scott Van Pelt
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC

OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY/PLAY-BY-PLAY

Mike Breen
        ABC

Joe Buck
        ESPN | ABC

Ian Eagle
        CBS | TNT | tbs

Kevin Harlan
        tbs | CBS | TNT | truTV

Mike Tirico
        NBC | Peacock

OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY/STUDIO ANALYST

Charles Barkley
        TNT

Nate Burleson
        CBS

Ryan Clark
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPN+ | ABC

Kirk Herbstreit
        ESPN

Mina Kimes
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC

OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY/EVENT ANALYST

Troy Aikman
        ESPN | ABC

Cris Collinsworth
        NBC | Peacock

Greg Olsen
        FOX

Bill Raftery
        CBS | TNT

John Smoltz
        FOX | FS1

Tom Verducci
        FOX | FS1 | MLB Network

OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY/SIDELINE REPORTER

Erin Andrews
        FOX

Kaylee Hartung
        Prime Video | NBC | Peacock

Tom Rinaldi
        FOX | FS1

Holly Rowe
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC

Tracy Wolfson
        CBS | TNT

OUTSTANDING PERSONALITY/EMERGING ON-AIR

Mookie Betts
        Bleacher Report | tbs | FOX

Noah Eagle
        NBC | Peacock

Carli Lloyd
        FOX | FS1

Taylor Rooks
        TNT | NBA TV | Bleacher Report | Amazon

Jay Wright
        CBS | CBS Sports Network | TNT

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM EVENT

The Masters
        CBS

NASCAR on NBC
        Chicago Street Race
        NBC

Super Bowl LVIII
        CBS

Thursday Night Football
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

2023 US Open
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPN+ | ABC

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL TEAM STUDIO

FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023
        FOX | FS1

FOX NFL
        Stage A
        FOX

NFL Draft
        ESPN | ABC

The NFL Today
        Super Bowl LVIII
        CBS

Thursday Night Football
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

OUTSTANDING CAMERA WORK – SHORT FORM

The 155th Belmont Stakes
        31 Lengths: Secretariat
        FOX

NFL 360
        Heroes
        NFL Network

NFL Films Presents
        Optex Lens
        FS1
        [NFL Films]

The NFL Today: Super Bowl LVIII
        Just Win Baby!
        CBS

Super Bowl LVIII
        My Way
        CBS

OUTSTANDING CAMERA WORK – LONG FORM

E60
        Sacred Dog
        ESPN

Freeride Skiing
        Descendance
        YouTube
        [Legs of Steel]

Hard Knocks
        Training Camp With The New York Jets
        HBO | Max
        [NFL Films]

Unredeemable
        Golf Channel

Vamos Vegas
        YouTube

OUTSTANDING EDITING – SHORT FORM

The 149th Kentucky Derby
        Timeless
        NBC | Peacock

NFL 360
        The Chief Who Walked The Sea
        NFL Network

NFL 360
        Heroes
        NFL Network

NHL on TNT
        Show and Tell
        TNT

Super Bowl LVIII
        My Way
        CBS

OUTSTANDING EDITING – LONG FORM

Freeride Skiing
        Descendance
        YouTube
        [Legs of Steel]

Hard Knocks
        Training Camp With The New York Jets
        HBO | Max
        [NFL Films]

Kelce
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios | Skydance | Vera Y Productions | 9.14 Pictures]

Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team
        Netflix
        [Words + Pictures | FIFA | Time Studios]

Unredeemable
        Golf Channel

THE DICK SCHAAP OUTSTANDING WRITING AWARD – SHORT FORM

FOX CFB: Big Noon Kickoff
        J.J. McCarthy “47”
        FOX

NFL 360
        The Chief Who Walked The Sea
        NFL Network

NFL 360
        Still Here
        NFL Network

The NFL Today
        Kyle Brandt Series
        CBS

Sunday Night Football
        NBC | Peacock

OUTSTANDING WRITING – LONG FORM

All Access
        Showtime

Chasing Gold
        Farebersviller
        NBC

E60
        The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports
        ESPN
        [ESPN Films]

Hard Knocks
        Training Camp With The New York Jets
        HBO | Max
        [NFL Films]

The World According to Football
        Showtime
        [SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films | Religion of Sports |
        Day Zero Productions | Mainstay Entertainment]

OUTSTANDING MUSIC DIRECTION

E60
        The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports
        ESPN
        [ESPN Films]

E60
        Sacred Dog
        ESPN | ESPN+
        [Showtime Singers]

The Golden Boy
        HBO | Max
        [Unrealistic Ideas | ViaMar Productions]

NBA on TNT
        50 Years of Hip Hop
        TNT

Super Bowl LVIII
        My Way
        CBS

OUTSTANDING AUDIO/SOUND – LIVE EVENT

FOX MLB
        FOX | FS1

FOX NASCAR
        FOX | FS1

Little League World Series
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC

NASCAR on NBC
        NBC | USA

Sunday Night Baseball
        ESPN | ESPN2

Sunday Night Football
        NBC | Peacock

Super Bowl LVIII
        CBS

OUTSTANDING AUDIO/SOUND – POST-PRODUCED

Formula 1: Drive to Survive
        Netflix
        [Box to Box Films | Netflix]

FOX NASCAR: RACE HUB
        The Championship: Radioactive
        FS1
        [NASCAR Studios]

2023 IRONMAN World Championship
        Outside TV
        [The IRONMAN Group Productions]

McGregor Forever
        Netflix
        [Religion of Sports]

NFL 360
        Heroes
        NFL Network

Quarterback
        Netflix
        [NFL Films | Omaha Productions | 2PM Productions]

Vamos Vegas
        YouTube
        [TORQ]

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC DESIGN – EVENT/SHOW

FOX NFL
        FOX

Monday Night Football
        ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPN+ | ABC
        [Elastic Creative]

NBA Finals
        ESPN | ABC
        [Two Fresh Creative | Panoply]

Super Bowl LVIII
        CBS

Toy Story Funday Football
        DISNEY+ | ESPN+
        [BIG Studios | Beyond Sports | Silver Spoon Animation | PIXAR]

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC DESIGN – SPECIALTY

MLB Network Showcase
        This Is What I Live For
        MLB Network
        [Perception]

NFL 360
        The Chief Who Walked The Sea
        NFL Network

Super League: The War for Football
        Apple TV+
        [Words + Pictures | All Rise Films]

Thursday Night Football
        TNF Show Open / Black Friday Football: Robert Randolph
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

Toy Story Funday Football
        Duke Caboom Daredevil Spectacular
        DISNEY+ | ESPN+

OUTSTANDING STUDIO OR PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION

The 155th Belmont Stakes
        31 Lengths: Secretariat
        FOX

FOX NFL
        Stage A
        FOX

Super Bowl LVIII
        My Way
        CBS

Thursday Night Football
        Black Friday Football Tradition Tease; TNF Show
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios]

Toy Story Funday Football
        DISNEY+ | ESPN+
        [BIG Studios | Beyond Sports | Silver Spoon Animation | PIXAR]

THE GEORGE WENSEL TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Masters
        TFC Compound Connect
        CBS

2023 MLB Home Run Derby
        StatCast Edition: Live Virtual 3D Event Coverage
        ESPN2

Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli
        Peyton Manning’s AR Table
        ESPN2
        [Omaha Productions]

Thursday Night Football
        TNF Table Talk
        Prime Video
        [Amazon MGM Studios | Girraphic]

Toy Story Funday Football
        DragonFly Tech
        DISNEY+ | ESPN+
        [NFL | Next Gen Stats | Beyond Sports | Hawk-Eye]

OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT

FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023
        USA vs The World
        FOX

The Golden Boy
        Who Am I?
        HBO | Max
        [Zealot UK]

2023 NBA Finals
        We Are All in the Finals
        NBA Social

Stanley Cup
        First Kiss
        NHL Network

Top Rank Boxing on ESPN
        Battle of the Baddest | Rumble
        ESPN | ESPN+
        [Park Pictures]

OUTSTANDING PUBLIC SERVICE CONTENT

FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023
        Common Goal
        FOX | FS1

Hometown Hopefuls
        NBC | NBCSports.com

NFL on CBS
        Football for Everyone
        CBS | CBS Sports Network

Notre Dame Football
        What Would You Fight For?
        NBC

Youth Flag Football
        Let’s Play
        NFL Network

OUTSTANDING STUDIO SHOW IN SPANISH

Ahora o Nunca
        ESPN Deportes

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
        Telemundo

Fuera de Juego
        ESPN+

Futbol Central
        Verano de Campeones
        Univision | TUDN

Republica Deportiva
        Univision | TUDN

Sunday Night Football
        Telemundo

OUTSTANDING FEATURE STORY IN SPANISH

Balon de Oro de la Liga MX
        Tigres – Powerchair
        Univision | TUDN

E60
        Mayra
        ESPN | ESPN+

Mundo NFL Originals
        El Sueño de Cieneguitas
        Mundo NFL
        [Sway | Mundo NFL]

SportsCenter
        In Her Shoes: Wang Shuang
        ESPN Deportes

SportsCenter
        SC Reportajes: Do Bronx – Charles Oliveira
        ESPN Deportes

OUTSTANDING ON-AIR PERSONALITY IN SPANISH

Alejandro Berry
        Univision | TUDN

Andrés Cantor
        Telemundo

Carolina Guillén
        ESPN Deportes

Miguel Gurwitz
        Telemundo

Rebeca Landa
        ESPN Deportes

Valeria Marin
        Univision | TUDN

AWARDS SEASON | PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS WINNERS

The People's Choice Awards announced this year’s winners on NBC, E!, and Peacock. This awards show allowed fans to cast a vote for their favorites and celebrate the best in movies, TV, music and pop culture. The show will be hosted by Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Simulant, Barbie) who is a Movie Performance of The Year Nominee for his role in Barbie. Our predictions are in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics.

MOVIES

THE MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Barbie
Fast X
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR FILM
The Little Mermaid
The Super Mario Bros. Movie

THE ACTION MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Fast X
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The Marvels
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

THE COMEDY MOVIE OF THE YEAR

80 for Brady
Anyone but You
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Asteroid City
Barbie
Cocaine Bear
No Hard Feelings
Wonka

THE DRAMA MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Creed III
Five Nights at Freddy's
Killers of the Flower Moon
Leave the World Behind
M3GAN
Oppenheimer
Scream VI
The Color Purple

THE MALE MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Keanu Reeves, John Wick: Chapter 4
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Creed III
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Timothée Chalamet, Wonka
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

THE FEMALE MOVIE STAR OF 2023

Florence Pugh, Oppenheimer
Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid
Jenna Ortega, Scream VI
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Julia Roberts, Leave the World Behind
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Rachel Zegler, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Viola Davis, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

THE ACTION MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Brie Larson, The Marvels
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Gal Gadot, Heart of Stone
Jason Momoa, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Keanu Reeves, John Wick: Chapter 4
Rachel Zegler, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Viola Davis, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

THE COMEDY MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Adam Sandler, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
Glen Powell, Anyone but You
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Scarlett Johansson, Asteroid City
Sydney Sweeney, Anyone but You
Timothée Chalamet, Wonka

THE DRAMA MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Julia Roberts, Leave the World Behind
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Florence Pugh, Oppenheimer
Jacob Elordi, Priscilla
Jenna Ortega, Scream VI
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Creed III

THE MOVIE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

America Ferrera, Barbie
Charles Melton, May December
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Jacob Elordi, Saltburn
Melissa McCarthy, The Little Mermaid
Natalie Portman, May December
Simu Liu, Barbie
Viola Davis, Air

TV

THE SHOW OF THE YEAR

Grey's Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Only Murders in the Building
Saturday Night Live
Ted Lasso
The Bear
The Last of Us
Vanderpump Rules

THE COMEDY SHOW OF THE YEAR

Abbott Elementary
And Just Like That...
Never Have I Ever
Only Murders in the Building
Saturday Night Live
Ted Lasso
The Bear
Young Sheldon

THE DRAMA SHOW OF THE YEAR

Chicago Fire
Ginny & Georgia
Grey's Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Outer Banks
Succession
The Last of Us
The Morning Show

THE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW OF THE YEAR

Ahsoka
American Horror Story: Delicate
Black Mirror
Ghosts
Loki
Secret Invasion
The Mandalorian
The Witcher

THE REALITY SHOW OF THE YEAR

90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?
Below Deck
Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Selling Sunset
The Kardashians
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Vanderpump Rules

THE COMPETITION SHOW OF THE YEAR

America's Got Talent
American Idol
Big Brother
Dancing with the Stars
RuPaul's Drag Race
Survivor
Squid Game: The Challenge
The Voice

THE BINGEWORTHY SHOW OF THE YEAR

Beef
Citadel
Jury Duty
Love Is Blind
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
The Crown
The Night Agent
The Summer I Turned Pretty

THE MALE TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Samuel L. Jackson, Secret Invasion
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Tom Hiddleston, Loki

THE FEMALE TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Ali Wong, Beef
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Rosario Dawson, Ahsoka
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building

THE COMEDY TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Ali Wong, Beef
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building

THE DRAMA TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
Ice-T, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show

THE TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Adjoa Andoh, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Billie Eilish, Swarm
Jon Hamm, The Morning Show
Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers
Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building
Steven Yuen, Beef
Storm Reid, The Last of Us

THE REALITY TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Ariana Madix, Vanderpump Rules
Chrishell Stause, Selling Sunset
Garcelle Beauvais, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Kandi Burruss, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Khloé Kardashian, The Kardashians
Kim Kardashian, The Kardashians
Kyle Richards, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Jersey Shore Family Vacation

THE COMPETITION CONTESTANT OF THE YEAR

Anetra, RuPaul's Drag Race
Ariana Madix, Dancing with the Stars
Charity Lawson, The Bachelorette
Theresa Nist, The Golden Bachelor
Iam Tongi, American Idol
Keke Palmer, That's My Jam
Sasha Colby, RuPaul's Drag Race
Xochitl Gomez, Dancing with the Stars

THE DAYTIME TALK SHOW OF THE YEAR

Good Morning America
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Sherri
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Jennifer Hudson Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
The View
Today

THE NIGHTTIME TALK SHOW OF THE YEAR

Hart to Heart
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Daily Show
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

THE HOST OF THE YEAR

Gordon Ramsay, Hell's Kitchen
Jimmy Fallon, That's My Jam
Nick Cannon, The Masked Singer
Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef
RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud
Terry Crews, America's Got Talent

MUSIC

THE MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Bad Bunny
Drake
Jack Harlow
Jungkook
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Post Malone
The Weeknd

THE FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Karol G
Lainey Wilson
Miley Cyrus
Nicki Minaj
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

THE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Chris Stapleton
Cody Johnson
HARDY
Jelly Roll
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Zach Bryan

THE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Carrie Underwood
Gabby Barrett
Kelsea Ballerini
Lainey Wilson
Megan Moroney
Shania Twain

THE MALE LATIN ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Bad Bunny
Bizarrap
Feid
Manuel Turizo
Maluma
Peso Pluma
Rauw Alejandro
Ozuna

THE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Ángela Aguilar
Anitta
Becky G
Kali Uchis
Karol G
Rosalía
Shakira
Young Miko

THE POP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Billie Eilish
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Jung Kook
Miley Cyrus
Olivia Rodrigo
Tate McRae
Taylor Swift

THE HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Cardi B
Drake
Future
Jack Harlow
Latto
Nicki Minaj
Post Malone
Travis Scott

THE R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Beyoncé
Brent Faiyaz
Janelle Monáe
SZA
Tems
The Weeknd
Usher
Victoria Monét

THE NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Coi Leray
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Jung Kook
Noah Kahan
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Stephen Sanchez

THE GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR

Dan + Shay
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Jonas Brothers
Old Dominion
Paramore
Stray Kids
TOMORROW X TOGETHER

THE SONG OF THE YEAR

"Dance The Night," Dua Lipa
"Fast Car," Luke Combs
"Flowers," Miley Cyrus
"Fukumean," Gunna
"greedy," Tate McRae
"Last Night," Morgan Wallen
"Paint The Town Red," Doja Cat
"Vampire," Olivia Rodrigo

THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus
For All The Dogs, Drake
Gettin' Old, Luke Combs
Guts, Olivia Rodrigo
Mañana Será Bonito, Karol G
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana, Bad Bunny
One Thing At A Time, Morgan Wallen
Pink Friday 2, Nicki Minaj

THE COLLABORATION SONG OF THE YEAR

"All My Life," Lil Durk Feat. J. Cole
"Barbie World," Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice With Aqua
"Ella Baila Sola," Eslabon Armado X Peso Pluma
"First Person Shooter," Drake Feat. J. Cole
"I Remember Everything," Zach Bryan Feat. Kasey Musgraves
"Seven," Jung Kook Feat. Latto
"TQG," Karol G, Shakira
"Un x100to," Grupo Frontera X Bad Bunny

THE CONCERT TOUR OF THE YEAR

+–=÷x Tour, Ed Sheeran
COLDPLAY MUSIC of the SPHERES WORLD TOUR
Love On Tour, Harry Styles
Luke Combs World Tour
Morgan Wallen One Night At A Time World Tour
P!nk Summer Carnival Tour
Renaissance World Tour, Beyoncé
TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR

POP CULTURE

THE SOCIAL CELEBRITY OF THE YEAR

Britney Spears
Dwayne Johnson
Kim Kardashian
Kylie Jenner
Megan Thee Stallion
Nicki Minaj
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift

THE COMEDY ACT OF THE YEAR

Baby J, John Mulaney
Emergency Contact, Amy Schumer
God Loves Me, Marlon Wayans
I'm An Entertainer, Wanda Sykes
Off The Record, Trevor Noah
Reality Check, Kevin Hart
Selective Outrage, Chris Rock
Someone You Love, Sarah Silverman

THE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Coco Gauff
Giannis Antetokounmpo
LeBron James
Lionel Messi
Sabrina Ionescu
Simone Biles
Stephen Curry
Travis Kelce

PEOPLE’S ICON | ADAM SANDLER

MUSIC ICON | LENNY KRAVITZ

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

AWARDS SEASON | PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS

Earlier today, the People's Choice Awards announced their nominees which will be revealed on Feb 18th at 8pm ET which you can see on NBC, E!, and Peacock. This awards show allows you to cast a vote for your favorites and celebrate the best in movies, TV, music and pop culture. You have until Jan 19th to cast your vote. This show will be hosted by Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Simulant, Barbie) who is a Movie Performance of The Year Nominee for his role in Barbie. Our predictions are in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics.

MOVIES

THE MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Barbie
Fast X
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR FILM
The Little Mermaid
The Super Mario Bros. Movie

THE ACTION MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Fast X
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
The Marvels
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

THE COMEDY MOVIE OF THE YEAR

80 for Brady
Anyone but You
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Asteroid City
Barbie
Cocaine Bear
No Hard Feelings
Wonka

THE DRAMA MOVIE OF THE YEAR

Creed III
Five Nights at Freddy's
Killers of the Flower Moon
Leave the World Behind
M3GAN
Oppenheimer
Scream VI
The Color Purple

THE MALE MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Keanu Reeves, John Wick: Chapter 4
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Creed III
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Timothée Chalamet, Wonka
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

THE FEMALE MOVIE STAR OF 2023

Florence Pugh, Oppenheimer
Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid
Jenna Ortega, Scream VI
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Julia Roberts, Leave the World Behind
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Rachel Zegler, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Viola Davis, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

THE ACTION MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Brie Larson, The Marvels
Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Gal Gadot, Heart of Stone
Jason Momoa, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Keanu Reeves, John Wick: Chapter 4
Rachel Zegler, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Viola Davis, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

THE COMEDY MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Adam Sandler, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
Glen Powell, Anyone but You
Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
Margot Robbie, Barbie
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Scarlett Johansson, Asteroid City
Sydney Sweeney, Anyone but You
Timothée Chalamet, Wonka

THE DRAMA MOVIE STAR OF THE YEAR

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Julia Roberts, Leave the World Behind
Fantasia Barrino, The Color Purple
Florence Pugh, Oppenheimer
Jacob Elordi, Priscilla
Jenna Ortega, Scream VI
Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Creed III

THE MOVIE PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

America Ferrera, Barbie
Charles Melton, May December
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Jacob Elordi, Saltburn
Melissa McCarthy, The Little Mermaid
Natalie Portman, May December
Simu Liu, Barbie
Viola Davis, Air

TV

THE SHOW OF THE YEAR

Grey's Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Only Murders in the Building
Saturday Night Live
Ted Lasso
The Bear
The Last of Us
Vanderpump Rules

THE COMEDY SHOW OF THE YEAR

Abbott Elementary
And Just Like That...
Never Have I Ever
Only Murders in the Building
Saturday Night Live
Ted Lasso
The Bear
Young Sheldon

THE DRAMA SHOW OF THE YEAR

Chicago Fire
Ginny & Georgia
Grey's Anatomy
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Outer Banks
Succession
The Last of Us
The Morning Show

THE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW OF THE YEAR

Ahsoka
American Horror Story: Delicate
Black Mirror
Ghosts
Loki
Secret Invasion
The Mandalorian
The Witcher

THE REALITY SHOW OF THE YEAR

90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?
Below Deck
Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Selling Sunset
The Kardashians
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Vanderpump Rules

THE COMPETITION SHOW OF THE YEAR

America's Got Talent
American Idol
Big Brother
Dancing with the Stars
RuPaul's Drag Race
Survivor
Squid Game: The Challenge
The Voice

THE BINGEWORTHY SHOW OF THE YEAR

Beef
Citadel
Jury Duty
Love Is Blind
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
The Crown
The Night Agent
The Summer I Turned Pretty

THE MALE TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Samuel L. Jackson, Secret Invasion
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Tom Hiddleston, Loki

THE FEMALE TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Ali Wong, Beef
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Rosario Dawson, Ahsoka
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building

THE COMEDY TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Ali Wong, Beef
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building

THE DRAMA TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
Ice-T, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show

THE TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Adjoa Andoh, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Billie Eilish, Swarm
Jon Hamm, The Morning Show
Matt Bomer, Fellow Travelers
Meryl Streep, Only Murders in the Building
Steven Yuen, Beef
Storm Reid, The Last of Us

THE REALITY TV STAR OF THE YEAR

Ariana Madix, Vanderpump Rules
Chrishell Stause, Selling Sunset
Garcelle Beauvais, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Kandi Burruss, The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Khloé Kardashian, The Kardashians
Kim Kardashian, The Kardashians
Kyle Richards, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Jersey Shore Family Vacation

THE COMPETITION CONTESTANT OF THE YEAR

Anetra, RuPaul's Drag Race
Ariana Madix, Dancing with the Stars
Charity Lawson, The Bachelorette
Theresa Nist, The Golden Bachelor
Iam Tongi, American Idol
Keke Palmer, That's My Jam
Sasha Colby, RuPaul's Drag Race
Xochitl Gomez, Dancing with the Stars

THE DAYTIME TALK SHOW OF THE YEAR

Good Morning America
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Sherri
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Jennifer Hudson Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
The View
Today

THE NIGHTTIME TALK SHOW OF THE YEAR

Hart to Heart
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Daily Show
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

THE HOST OF THE YEAR

Gordon Ramsay, Hell's Kitchen
Jimmy Fallon, That's My Jam
Nick Cannon, The Masked Singer
Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef
RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Steve Harvey, Celebrity Family Feud
Terry Crews, America's Got Talent

MUSIC

THE MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Bad Bunny
Drake
Jack Harlow
Jung Kook
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Post Malone
The Weeknd

THE FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Beyoncé
Doja Cat
Karol G
Lainey Wilson
Miley Cyrus
Nicki Minaj
Olivia Rodrigo
Taylor Swift

THE MALE COUNTRY ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Chris Stapleton
Cody Johnson
HARDY
Jelly Roll
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Zach Bryan

THE FEMALE COUNTRY ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Carrie Underwood
Gabby Barrett
Kelsea Ballerini
Lainey Wilson
Megan Moroney
Shania Twain

THE MALE LATIN ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Bad Bunny
Bizarrap
Feid
Manuel Turizo
Maluma
Peso Pluma
Rauw Alejandro
Ozuna

THE FEMALE LATIN ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Ángela Aguilar
Anitta
Becky G
Kali Uchis
Karol G
Rosalía
Shakira
Young Miko

THE POP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Billie Eilish
Doja Cat
Dua Lipa
Jung Kook
Miley Cyrus
Olivia Rodrigo
Tate McRae
Taylor Swift

THE HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Cardi B
Drake
Future
Jack Harlow
Latto
Nicki Minaj
Post Malone
Travis Scott

THE R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Beyoncé
Brent Faiyaz
Janelle Monáe
SZA
Tems
The Weeknd
Usher
Victoria Monét

THE NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Coi Leray
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Jung Kook
Noah Kahan
Peso Pluma
PinkPantheress
Stephen Sanchez

THE GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR

Dan + Shay
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Jonas Brothers
Old Dominion
Paramore
Stray Kids
TOMORROW X TOGETHER

THE SONG OF THE YEAR

"Dance The Night," Dua Lipa
"Fast Car," Luke Combs
"Flowers," Miley Cyrus
"Fukumean," Gunna
"greedy," Tate McRae
"Last Night," Morgan Wallen
"Paint The Town Red," Doja Cat
"Vampire," Olivia Rodrigo

THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Endless Summer Vacation, Miley Cyrus
For All The Dogs, Drake
Gettin' Old, Luke Combs
Guts, Olivia Rodrigo
Mañana Será Bonito, Karol G
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Mañana, Bad Bunny
One Thing At A Time, Morgan Wallen
Pink Friday 2, Nicki Minaj

THE COLLABORATION SONG OF THE YEAR

"All My Life," Lil Durk Feat. J. Cole
"Barbie World," Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice With Aqua
"Ella Baila Sola," Eslabon Armado X Peso Pluma
"First Person Shooter," Drake Feat. J. Cole
"I Remember Everything," Zach Bryan Feat. Kasey Musgraves
"Seven," Jung Kook Feat. Latto
"TQG," Karol G, Shakira
"Un x100to," Grupo Frontera X Bad Bunny

THE CONCERT TOUR OF THE YEAR

+–=÷x Tour, Ed Sheeran
COLDPLAY MUSIC of the SPHERES WORLD TOUR
Love On Tour, Harry Styles
Luke Combs World Tour
Morgan Wallen One Night At A Time World Tour
P!nk Summer Carnival Tour
Renaissance World Tour, Beyoncé
TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR

POP CULTURE

THE SOCIAL CELEBRITY OF THE YEAR

Britney Spears
Dwayne Johnson
Kim Kardashian
Kylie Jenner
Megan Thee Stallion
Nicki Minaj
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift

THE COMEDY ACT OF THE YEAR

Baby J, John Mulaney
Emergency Contact, Amy Schumer
God Loves Me, Marlon Wayans
I'm An Entertainer, Wanda Sykes
Off The Record, Trevor Noah
Reality Check, Kevin Hart
Selective Outrage, Chris Rock
Someone You Love, Sarah Silverman

THE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Coco Gauff
Giannis Antetokounmpo
LeBron James
Lionel Messi
Sabrina Ionescu
Simone Biles
Stephen Curry
Travis Kelce

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

THE SKILL OF IT ALL | ELIZABETH BEISEL

As we're less than a year away from Paris 2024, avid readers know that we enjoy chatting with Olympic athletes whether they're still competing or have retired from competing, but are still in the community. We caught up with 3X Olympian (Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016), 2X Team USA Swimming Medalist, and Team US Olympic Team Captain, Elizabeth Beisel. Known for the individual medley as well as the backstroke, we wanted to find out about her Olympic experience, the importance that surfing has as a sport as well as a skill that has served her, how she works with USA Swimming Foundation to ensure that the next generation is able to swim and potentially be able to become athletes in the sport as well! She also talks about the importance of representation and inclusivity in the sport. In addition, we find out what she has been up to, her partnership with Dermasport, embracing her second passion as a violinist, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I’m so excited to be able to talk to you as I enjoyed watching you during your Olympic journey and watching you compete and I know our readers are going to love to know more about your passion for the sport, competing, and what you’re up to now!

ELIZABETH BEISEL: Thank you for having me and I just want to say that it’s an honor to talk with you as you’re a bad ass!

AM: Amazing and thank you!

When did you first fall in love with the water?

EB: Honestly, 6 months old! I went to the Mommy and Me classes at the YMCA. I grew up in Rhode Island which is the Ocean State. So luckily, my mom and dad had the means to put me into the YMCA Mommy and Me classes and introduced me to the water at an early age. I swear that I was the only baby there that wasn’t screaming bloody murder! I love the water! I would only sleep if I was in the water that day. Like it became a thing. I think from the beginning, I was in love with the water and that never left me. I did other sports and other activities growing up, but I think that stuff happening in the water was where I was most comfortable and passionate. So, that was pretty much my entire life!

AM: I love hearing that!

EB: It’s great!

AM: You specialized in the backstroke and are known for your individual medley. What was it about these specialties that you wanted to compete in them?

EB: So, a lot of swimming, you don’t necessarily get to choose the event, the event chooses you. What you're good at is what you morph into. For me, I was one of those swimmers with the individual medley which is all 4 strokes in one race (Editors Note: the medley includes the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle). So I had pretty solid strokes across the board. But backstroke is definitely the one that I excelled in the most. So, since a young age, I kind of always swam all 4 strokes and then I really of honed in on the middle distances which is where my body thrives. I’m not necessarily a long distance swimmer, but I definitely have no sprint fibers in me. Like, I cannot run fast in a sprint, I can’t swim fast, it’s just who I am. I really found that happy medium in the 400m races and it really was just a matter of, “oh wow, I’m really good at these strokes,” in these events compared to everybody else. Why don’t I start focusing on these in practice and swimming on them more in meets. It’s kind of a snowball effect.

AM: I love hearing that as we have interviewed a number of Olympic swimmers and I have never asked how they chose that particular one. But I like that you’re saying that it kind of finds you.

EB: Yeah, trust me, if I had my choice, I’d be swimming a 50 free and be done in 20 seconds, but my body is not made for that!

AM: You’re a 3X Olympian, you have 2 Olympic medals, you’ve served as the Olympic Swimming Captain. What was your Olympic experience like for you and what did you love so much about it?

EB: I think that each Olympic experience was super different and for many different reasons. You know, my first one I was 15 and my last one I was 23. So that’s a completely different human! It was such an honor to be able to reach the pinnacle of the sport that I loved so much and be able to compete in it at that highest level for our country. I remember watching the Olympics when I was 7 years old on TV and having that be the first moment where I really grasped what the Olympics were and how monumental they were in my sport. I knew that I wanted to do that one day. That was my goal and I knew that I was going to make it happen. I’m just a small town kid from Rhode Island, I didn’t grow up in a family of Olympians and swimmers. I’m just like a lot of us where you have a dream. Maybe the fact that I was 7 years old and that kids have that beautiful way of just thinking nothing is impossible, I kind of went for it. I was like, “yeah, why not me? Of course!” It ended up being such an incredible experience and standing up on the podium, winning Olympic medals for your country and doing it alongside your teammates is so special. I have met the best people through my life in the sport of swimming. I think we’re forced to be pretty humble because, well, swimming is not an A-list sport. It’s not football, it’s not soccer, it’s not baseball. So we have once every 4 years to kind of shine at the Olympics and then nobody really cares about what we’re doing. We don’t make any money so it’s really a group of people that do it because they love it. I think that breeds a certain type of person and archetype. It’s just like the blue collar hardworking type of people that are really in it because you love it, not for the money, or the fame, or any thing like that. It’s just, “yeah, we love to swim.” Longwinded answer – Olympics are amazing!

AM: So, we always love knowing how athletes stay fit and obviously, you’re in the water which is a huge part of it. What are the workouts that you do in and out of the water when you’re training or even now when you’re doing what you do?

EB: I try to lift weights twice a week. I know that that doesn’t sound like much. When I was swimming, I was lifting 2-3-4 times a week depending on where we were at in the season. Towards the end of my competitive swimming career, I started implementing yoga and I’m now a certified yoga instructor, I love it that much. What I found while I was an athlete and now, and I still consider myself an athlete even though I am not actively competing, is that I leave yoga feeling so calm and like it’s almost like it’s opened up my body obviously, and my mind as well. I see things clearer, I think clearer, and it’s super relaxing. I’m kind of a 1 million miles a minute type of person so I need an outlet and something to force me. Because I’m not going to do it at home. I know myself. I’m not going to put on the meditation and do it at home. I wish I could. But I need to go somewhere and have somebody leading me and once I discovered yoga, not only did it help me athletically because you need to be stretching and you need to be opening your body and your muscle tissue. It helps with recovery a lot, but my mind too. It helps me slow down and shut off and just give myself that parasympathetic nervous system a break. So I would say yoga, lifting, and then I try to walk. It sounds simple, but I think that walking is good and I like to multitask and if I have calls, I will do it when I’m walking. So just nothing crazy to be honest and I think that’s the thing about Olympians, people probably think that we’re doing this out of the box really fancy stuff and it’s like, “no, we do the exact same thing that you guys do, we just do it 40 hours a week.” Instead of you doing it on the weekend or an hour here or there. But yeah, it’s just taking care of my body or anybody’s body is when you’re going to feel better. So that’s why I move now, because it makes me feel good.

AM: It’s so funny because I have probably been doing yoga for the last 15/20 years or so and once I went to my 40’s I went from a love/hate relationship to desperately needing it because like you said, it’s calming your mind down and having someone else stopping me and forcing me to do the things that I do. Hot yoga is my jam!

EB: Same! Oh my God! Give me a hot power vinyasa and I’m good!

AM: Same! I get so happy with it, it breaks me down, and I can quiet everything around me and I so appreciate it now versus in my 20’s I was like this is something to do for my mobility and flexibility. Now it’s like, no I need it.

EB: Exactly, this is like water and I need it.

AM: So you partnered with Dermasport. Can you tell me about the brand and why it was synergistic with you to work for them?

EB: Ok. So Dermasport is a skincare brand so it’s face wash, moisturizer, eye cream, and SPF. It’s designed by swimmers for swimmers. Right off the bat, synergy. Throughout my entire swimming career, I was always struggling to find – especially sunscreen, I was swimming at the University of Florida and I ended up swimming there for 8 years.

That’s 8 years of swimming under the sun outside and I really struggled finding a sunscreen that wouldn’t smudge my goggles and I know that that sounds crazy, that would stay on during the entire practice, would protect my skin, and on top of that, the chlorine itself is so bad for your skin. It strips away every good oil and thing that you have on your face. So I was struggling to find a post swim face wash that really felt like it got everything off. Not only the residue of the sunscreen, but also the chlorine that had seeped into my skin. Once Dermasport came out and approached me, and sent me samples for me to try out, I tried it out for a good 2 months indoor and outdoor swimming. I knew that this was the stuff. It was like I was the one going to them asking them that if they wanted me to do anything, to let me know. I think another thing is that element of protecting your skin. I lost my dad to cancer 2 years ago, although it wasn’t skin cancer, it was a huge wake up call for me being like, you’re healthy until you’re not. You’re cancer free until you’re not so what am I actively doing that’s preventative and ways that I can alleviate the possibility that I don’t ever end up having cancer. So sunscreen has been like, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cloudy day, if it’s the dead of winter, it’s part of my morning routine now. So it just really hit a lot of the elements that I am really passionate about in my life and so it was kind of one of those things where I was like the universe just bestowed this upon me and I thought it was beautiful.

Of course, since retiring from competitive swimming, I really started to surf a lot now that I have time in my life to do things. It’s mineral based, the packaging is either recyclable aluminum or post consumer recycled bottles so I feel good about it across the board. It’s the best!

AM: That’s amazing!

What’s your discipline in surfing? What are you doing in surfing? Are you doing wake boarding or looking for the ultimate big wave?

EB: Well, I interviewed Carissa Moore once so you and I have that in common!

AM: Yup!

EB: I’m sure you had the same experience, she was the nicest person in the world!

AM: She was our FEB ISSUE #85 this year and it was on Super Bowl Sunday and we had a huge tie zone difference and she was the loveliest person.

EB: Exactly and I was in Tokyo for the Olympics 2 summers ago and I was working with NBC and of course it was surfing’s first time in the Olympics. Carissa wins and part of my job was interviewing the athletes after they won. Carissa was not in a rush, she never made me feel like I was annoying her and trust me, the amount of press that she did on that day, like she did not need to talk to me. She was just phenomenal and she was beautiful and lovely as a human!

I have been doing it for a few years now and it’s been really awesome because I love learning new things. I took to surfing easily because of my paddle strength and my arms. So I’m getting better I did a surf trip in the Maldives for a month in April and the thing is with anything, if you’re not doing it consistently, you’re not going to be better. Here where I am in Rhode Island, we get Hurricane Season waves in the fall and then nothing for 10 months. So, I’m trying to go on more trips to get better, but the camaraderie, the culture, I just love it! It’s amazing.

AM: Do you think that you’ll go to Nazaré?

EB: Ha! I’ll watch! Listen, I love to live my life and be alive! Like you know what’s even crazier Kimmie? The tow people with the jet ski! They have to be equally trained, if not more! You know, it’s unreal!

AM: HBO's 100 Foot Wave, but you see it and you’re like, holy shit!

EB: I know right?

AM: What does your partnership look like with Dermasport? Are there events coming up or is it just organic integration?

EB: A lot of it is organic. Obviously I have been sent the product as I need to use it in order to talk about it. We’re going to do some appearances at a lot of Masters meets so that is basically older swimmers just because I feel that those are really the people that are tuned into taking care of their skin and their health whereas kids may be a little harder. Mom says use your sunscreen and the kids are like, “but I’m invincible, why do I need that?” And then, just like genuinely and organically posting about it. I’m at the point in my life that if something doesn’t align with me, I don’t give it my time. We have too many things going on in our lives and so this is one of those things like I said earlier where it just hits every pain point in my life that I am genuinely passionate about – swimming, being in the ocean, surfing, and being in the sun. I’m a lifeguard too and I sit in the sun for hours throughout the day. My connection to cancer and so it’s a really genuine partnership. I’m so excited to be involved.

AM: So tell me about Block Cancer. Why did you want to launch this, what is this lifestyle brand, and what can we expect to see from it?

EB: I’m so excited! It launched July 19th. So I’ll give a quick backstory. When my dad was going through his diagnosis and treatment, I was going through all of the books and cancer had never touched my family. I didn’t know what to do and I was super green in that world and all the things I read said to give something to your loved ones to look forward to. So I thought that I had this amazing swimming platform and there’s an island off the coast of Rhode Island, that only 2 people have ever swum to and no female had ever done it. So I was like, “this could be something cool.” I could share my updates with dad and we called it Block Cancer because the island is called Block Island. It’s like a play on words.

Unfortunately, I did the swim, but my dad passed away before I could complete the swim. I know that he knows that I did it because I fully believe that he was there that day. But after the swim, we were like we had this modest and humble goal of raising $5,000-$10,000 and we raised $665,000 all going to in lab cancer research. That was my thing.

I didn’t want to be funding the renaming of a hospital wing, that’s not my jam. If there's no funding there's no research, no research, there’s no cure. So how can I bridge the gap between the oncologist and the researchers and actually making some progress. So after completing the swim, sitting on it for a little bit, digesting what had happened with my dad and all that stuff – I was really looking to relaunch it and I didn’t really know what that looked like. What it turned into being organically was this collaboration of creatives all designing really cool designs for Block Cancer and selling the merch and donating 90% of the net profits to a non-profit that I have worked with my entire life that funds lab research. It is 100% going to in lab research and I get to be apart of the vetting process and the grant writing process so it’s really really awesome. It’s not just hoodies, hats, and bracelets, but it’s also chemo hats, scarves, port shirts, and cancer care packages. I wanted to do something that really put the cancer patient first. I have also compiled resources like cancer diagnosis resources, grief resources, and when you get a cancer diagnosis, what the hell do you do? What questions do you ask, who do you go to and what do you do when you lose somebody?

For the past year and a half, I’ve been compiling all of that, putting it together and it’s just been this real passion project. It’s never felt like work. It’s a way for me to stay connected to my dad. Actually, Dermasport to bring it back in, we’ve been in talks to have the sunscreen be sold on Block Cancer and maybe a portion of the net-profits go to the Block Cancer Fund. It makes sense right? You use sunscreen and it protects you in skin cancer. Again, Dermasport fit in seamlessly to this beautiful passion project that I am working on and it felt like this beautiful symbiotic relationship. It’s all good stuff and I’m so excited! I have literally, my eyes are all over the place the place – I’m not a website builder, but I have done all this work myself because I don’t have an investor. I don’t have 15 grand to pay for a website developer. So it’s been actually great because I have learned a ton. I've learned skills that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

AM: That’s great, because when you do all of the stuff, as you bring people on, you know exactly how long it takes, what it is – because when you can do it yourself, the person who you bring on who definitely has the skills to be able to do that should be above and beyond what you can do.

EB: Of course! Yes, absolutely. I think that the website came along great.

AM: What other projects are you working on beyond Dermasport and Block Cancer? Are there other things that we should keep an eye out for?

EB: Actually, super exciting news! So I mentioned earlier that I did other activities growing up. So I grew up playing the violin. That was actually my equal love to swimming. But it always had to take a backseat to swimming because I would always choose swimming. So violin is beautiful because it is something that you can always do for the rest of your life. So I’m in a band called Laden Valley and we’re developmental, super early in our stages. But we got asked to play Newport Folk Fest – we’re a folk band.

AM: That’s huge!

EB: Yeah! Huge like Brandi Carlile, Paul Simon, we’re the opener on Fri of Newport Folk Fest and this is like – if this goes well, in the folk world if you’re playing Folk Fest in Newport, you’re doing well!

AM: Oh I’m well aware, that’s why I perked up!

EB: Yeah and we’re very excited, I got all of my outfits planned and I’m like, what are we wearing? So it’s me and 3 other guys and so I’m picking the outfits and the color scheme and they all have can match me.

AM: That is so exciting congratulations!

EB: Yeah and it’s one of those things where this – I don’t want to jinx it. But I truly believe that maybe it could be something, but we will see! It’s by far the biggest crowd that anyone of us have performed in front of. I think it’s 8,000-10,000 people, but for us, it’s like huge and it’s so exciting!

AM: That’s exciting! The Newport Folk Festival is amazing and I knew what it was as soon as you said it as they don’t let just anyone play it. This year it’s Lana Del Rey, Jon Batiste, Maggie Rogers, that’s amazing.

You do so much! How do you give back to the sport that you originated in and how do you give back to the youth that is coming up?

EB: Yeah, so I’m an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation and that’s the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming so what we are trying to do is save lives and impact communities. Saving lives is – ok we know that swimming is a fun sport and we get to win Olympic medals and stuff, but at the end of the day, nobody gets into the sport of swimming to become an Olympian. They get into the sport because it’s purely a skill. It’s a life saving skill, but if you come from a socioeconomic background, culture, or city where swimming isn’t really a part of your life or the people that you’re surrounded with – you’re not going to learn. Formal swimming lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%.

So it’s like, I don’t know if you heard the story of the quarterback a couple of weeks ago that drowned in the NFL. But what I try to tell people is listen, the water does not discriminate, it doesn’t care if you’re an Olympian, it doesn’t care if you’re an NFL quarterback, it doesn’t care if you’re a 5-year-old. You can drown. So what we do is basically go around the country on a tour and it’s every May. We provide grants to local Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA’s and we’re like, “here’s $15,000. We ask that in the next year you provide transportation to kids that cannot afford swimming lessons. You bring them from school to the YMCA or the Boys & Girls Club whatever it is and you get them in the water and you teach them how to swim.” I kind of call myself the out of town hero right? We go there and it’s inner city kids in Detroit or in Chicago. They have never seen a pool before, we make it all shiny and fun for them, but it’s like there’s some follow up here. We’re kind of the catalyst and you just have to continue it. So that’s been really rewarding to give back to the sport. At the end of the day, those Mommy and Me Classes that I took with my mom, they’re weren’t about me winning medals. Not at all! They were for me to learn how to swim and to be safer around the water.

That's been the way that I have given back in the past few years since being done.

It’s awesome because it’s also a diversity thing. You watch the Olympics, there is 1 Black person on the Olympic Swim Team. There’s 1.

AM: Yup.

EB: Like, what a microcosm of society right? Because that is what swimming looks like. So, it’s like, we’re trying to come in and we have Cullen Jones – have you ever met Cullen Jones (2G, 2S)?

AM: No, I have not, but I want to!

EB: He was literally my first friend on the National Team. He’s my big brother. I cannot say enough good things about him. Cullen, the first Black person to win an Olympic Gold medal in swimming, to break a world record, the first of everything! He’s kind of like the face of this tour. To be able to do this on the road with him and to watch, because I can say something, but I’m white. It’s not going to resonate as much as when he does it. Watching I get chills, watching him talk to an entire auditorium of kids who honestly may not even know what the Olympics are, but he gets through to them because he can relate to them and they go into a pool and they’re inspired to learn how to swim. That’s what it’s all about. It’s so incredible! So, I mean that this is a 100 year project!

AM: Oh yeah! That’s why representation is so important you have to have what needs to be reflected and if you have 1 maybe you get 4 and then 10. Like you said, it’s going to be 100 years for sure.

EB: Yeah, it’s always safer around the water. It’s never completely safe as I said earlier, you, me – no one is completely safe. Being around and having that impact on the sport and who it is accessible to is like – that is way more than any Olympic medal – it’s saving lives.

AM: Can you tell me about the Lead Sports Summit and what your involvement is with them?

EB: So Lead Sports Summit was founded by one of my best friends on the Olympic Swim Team, Kara Lynn Joyce (4S). She saw a need for a summit for just women and female young teenage athletes. So 13-18 and she gets the all-star team from the Olympic Team. The heavy hitter names that you watch on NBC at the Olympics come to Lead Sport Summit and we have breakout groups, we have panels, we have really open and honest discussions and we give these teenage girls a safe place to talk about stuff that maybe they are dealing with on their team, in school, with relationships at home, it’s a judgement free zone. It’s cool because I think there is an element of humanizing Olympians and what we do. Maybe it’s inspiring because of what we do. It’s like, “oh wow, I was putting Katie Ledecky (7G, 3S) on this pedestal and I thought that she was untouchable, but now that I have met her, spent time with her, and I know she has dealt with the same issues that I have dealt with – now this scary thing that felt impossible is possible! It is something that I say to Kara all the time that she needs to have one just for adults because I would go. I tell her too that by the end of the weekend, I have cried 48 times and I feel that I have gotten more out of it then the actual teenage girls did! Also, I’m not in the social media world that they are in. You and I did not grow up with those same pressures.

AM: Exactly.

EB: So it’s super eye opening to hear them talk openly about the pressures that they feel from social media and society. It gives me chills and makes me say, how can we help? It’s an incredible event and it’s over Labor Day Weekend every single year. Kara is opening it up to other sports now and it’s taking on a life of its own which is really beautiful and I will be at the one in DC which is over Labor Day Weekend this year.

AM: That's fantastic!

EB: Yeah and I think that it’s sold out. Which doesn’t surprise me as it’s done that every single year. It really is worth every single penny. It’s the best!

AM: I love that when people empower and infuse people. Even if something is for a lower age group, I always say that I feel like we’re adulting while we are dealing with our own traumas that are unresolved.

EB: Yes! There’s some stuff that happened to me 15 years ago that I should probably figure out!

AM: Without a doubt!

IG @ebeisel34

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Elizabeth Beisel

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see THE SKILL OF IT ALL | Elizabeth Beisel in mag.

A DECADE OF INTRIGUE | HISHAM TAWFIQ

For the last 10 years, we have enjoyed NBC's The Blacklist where we are introduced to Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) a former ex-US Naval Intelligence officer who became a prominent criminal and has evaded the FBI and been on their Most Wanted fugitive list for decades. He voluntarily gives himself up to FBI and lets them know that he has created a list known as the Blacklist. In his exchange to inform on their operations, he wants to receive immunity from prosecution as long as he works exclusively with FBI Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone).

We learned about their relationship with this rookie agent, Blacklisters and Dembe Zuma, played by Hisham Tawfiq who is his number 2. We have seen him be his confidant and navigate his way to joining the FBI himself! We caught up with him to talk about his service in the military, being a first responder, how he got into the industry and his role in the series.

If you have yet to watch The Blacklist, this interview will include discussions about plot points about the show and specifically Season 9 and the current and final season, Season 10 which is airing now.

ATHLEISURE MAG: In doing the research into your backstory, you have always fostered your work in the arts as well as being a literal super hero with your time in the Marines and being a firefighter in the FDNY for 20 years while still focusing on being an entertainer, when you were growing up, what did you want to be?

HASHIM TAWFIQ: When I was growing up, I had dreams of becoming a pilot! And I think that at the time, to be a pilot, you had to have 20/20 vision so that quickly left my vision. But I was always an outdoors type of person. I was always into physical activity and I think my dream was to be a football player, but then I got injured. I took a dance class and I fell in love with dance and that was my introduction into theater and that allowed me to make that transition. But, my ultimate dream was to be a pilot.

AM: Tell us about your earliest memory as an actor and what was the path for you to decide that this was also something that you wanted to do?

HT: In the 90’s I started to dance and theater and I was doing this intensive acting and I went to this workshop which also had students that included Denzel Washington and Debbie Allen. It was at that moment what I took that class that I realized that I really liked this and I could see myself doing this as a career. But at the same time, I was already a firefighter, so there was already this struggle between being a firefighter and pursuing this career as an actor.

AM: How did you end up being a firefighter as you were Station Chief for the FDNY in Harlem?

HT: So when I was in the Marines, I already started thinking about what I would do when I came out. I took all of the tests, I took police exams, corrections, and I knew nothing about the fire department. There was a flyer in my home from this organization called the Vulcan Society which is an organization of Black Firefighters (editors note: the Vulcan Society was founded in 1940 and is a fraternal organization of black firefighters in NYC). At the time I was coming out of the Marines, out of 10,000 NYC firefighters, less than 2% were African American. The Vulcan Society was active in the inner-city high schools to recruit people of color to the fire department. I came home and I saw that postcard and I filled it out. Like I said, I knew nothing about the fire department, but I filled it out and I started learning about the job and the hours. I was a physical person and I like to get dirty and dusty and all of those type of things. I found out that it was an exciting job and that it was something that I would love to do. At the time, I was a Correction Officer at Sing Sing when they called me and I left that and went to the fire department and never looked back.

AM: Wow! A lot of people talk about the training or you see it when you’re watching shows like FOX’s 9-1-1, its spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star and ABC’s Station 19 which are my favorite first responder shows. Did you find training to be a firefighter difficult?

HT: No ha ha! I guess because I was just out of the Marine Corp and I think that that was the most toughest thing that I had ever experienced physically! So when I went into the firefighter training, it was kind of easy for me. I was a squad leader and I stood out. There was nothing really about the Firefighter Academy that was challenging for me. Like I said, I had just gotten out of the Marine Corps and that was the most challenging thing that I had done. I remember taking the physical and it was a breeze for me and I remember blowing through that. People were like, “oh man, this guy is moving through it!” Being fast, being physical and being strong is part of my attributes and that’s what led me to go towards those kind of jobs.

AM: Were you still acting while you were being a firefighter?

HT: By this time, I was dancing with a dance company ha! So, when I was a correctional officer and a firefighter, I would spend my weekends going to rehearsals for dance and I slowly transitioned that into the theater. So I started doing plays, but I always had my firefighter job and it was one of the reasons that I took it. Not only because of the adrenaline rush, but I knew that as a firefighter, I had a lot of time off and I used that time off to do all of the things that I was passionate about.

AM: In your acting career, you have done a lot of things on the stage and a number of TV shows from NBC's Law & Order to The Blacklist, do you find when you’re preparing for a role for the stage vs. on TV that it is a different process for you?

HT: Yes! I love the theater because you get time to really rehearse, practice and to really live in these spaces. When you're with the people that you’re working with, you get to create and work through the costumes. It’s just a different process that goes into theater that I really love! I love being being on TV too! There is a different way that you have to create and prepare for theater then you do with TV or film. I love that process in theater.

AM: I remember when The Blacklist started that it would be a show that I was going to enjoy. I’m a huge fan of James Spader (Stargate, Secretary, Boston Legal) as well as Amir Arison (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Billions, The Dropout) and Harry Lennix (The Matrix Reloaded, Ray, Billions) that are core and original castmembers with you. There have been so many people that have been guest stars with the show from Stacy Keach (Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Blue Bloods), David Costabile (Breaking Bad, Suits, Billions), Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, The Goldbergs) the late Lance Reddick (Oz, The Wire, BOSCH), etc. You play Dembe Zuma. How did you find out about the show and what did you know about your character when you read for the part?

HT: I knew nothing! My character wasn’t in the pilot, but that was the only episode that I missed. After the pilot, James requested that he should have a team around him. So initially, I was this Muslim African Freedom Fighter who was rescued by Red from human trafficking as a child. So my audition was all improv. I had no lines so I just made up a backstory that came from my life and experience. It was only supposed to be for 1 episode, so there wasn’t really any pressure or angst about it. Then, it turned into something different than what I had anticipated or even expected! But that was that journey of that process. But it wasn’t like I was initially being brought into a series regular role! But this is where we are after 10 years!

AM: You’re character has such a presence whether it was when he wasn’t talking, or he was a man of few words and now having more evolved storylines, how do you approach your character?

HT: I really draw a lot from personal experiences! I take a lot from my personal life and I put it onto this character. I wouldn’t say that it was easy, but what I have learned especially in not taking the traditional route in acting – the hard thing for me was getting the training and learning how as well as what tools need to be used in order to tell a story. I pull from these experiences that I have had from getting into character and doing all of that, that’s the easy part because I have had such a colorful life. So it was just getting the training and learning about pulling the different emotions and experiences so I could put them into Dembe.

AM: Up until Season 9, we see Dembe and Red and their dynamic and you really create a sense of humanity and a bit of a moral compass for him. What was it like to play off of James Spader?

HT: The interesting thing was, I didn’t know anything about James Spader! Luckily for me I didn’t come in with all of these notions about him so it worked out great. As I started to work with him, that’s when it really became evident to me. He is so intense and that’s when I was like, “oh My God, this guy!” It’s not even that I’m working with James Spader – it was that I am working with this extremely talented human being. You know, our chemistry – we just have it! Anytime we got into a scene, it was like these sparks just flew whether we were improving certain things or reading off the page, we have always had this amazing chemistry. It’s an amazing thing to have and to play off of and I am greatly appreciative of!

AM: In Season 9, your character joins the FBI! What do you think about this twist in the storyline and being able to work in a different way with other members of the cast? We’re assuming that you played off of things in your own life to bring these nuances to life as well for the switch in his character.

HT: Absolutely, it was definitely different especially going from not really speaking that much to downloading the Task Force on who the next Blacklister is so it was definitely a shift. I went out and got myself an acting coach to make sure that I was approaching it right and putting on a whole other layer of Dembe which was challenging but also exciting. I welcomed it and also enjoyed it. A lot of people disagree and say that I should go back with Red! I think that as an actor, it was something that I definitely welcomed and I had fun playing with even though I missed the chemistry that I had with James.

AM: Before we delve into the final season, how do you describe Dembe and what are the similarities between you and the character? Have you been able to give back feedback to the writer’s room in terms of how Dembe develops?

HT: Oh absolutely! I think that in the beginning, because Dembe wasn’t scripted, there was just so much that we didn’t know. It wasn’t until Season 3, 4 or even 5 that I started having conversations with John Bokenkamp (The Call, The Blacklist, The Blacklist: Redemption), the creator of the show and we talked about who is Dembe and what did he look like? We knew he was Muslim and we didn’t get to see any of that so it was really important to me especially since I am Muslim that we make sure that we are authentic about that and that we show that. They agreed. We talked a lot and we had a lot of conversations and we see him praying and doing these things which meant a lot to me. That’s also hard to let go because I’ve been part of building this character and flushing him out as opposed to this character being presented to me. I enjoyed all of that!

Who is Dembe? Dembe because of the evolution of how he came to be, Dembe is kind of me! I kind of consider myself a quiet guy and I think that the only thing that you won’t see Dembe do is that I’m a funny/silly guy! Sometimes we see Red and Dembe have these card games and to play like kids. We see a little bit of that. A lot of Dembe is really me minus the violence.

AM: What can you tell us about the final season or what should we be looking for?

HT: I think that we all know that all The Blacklisters are coming after Red. We also know that because they’re coming after Red and because of Dembe’s affiliation with him, now he is also in danger. It just sets the stakes really really high. I think that what it also does is that Dembe has dealt with conflict, but now he’s really conflicted because of not being with Red in this most dangerous time since he is on the Task Force. I think that what we’re going to see play out in Season 10 is this back and forth of being able to choose a side. At the same time, being this moral compass and what that conflict looks like.

AM: You have been in this cast for the past 10 seasons. What are some of your favorite moments from the show?

HT: I loved when I got to play with Mr. Solomon, Edi Gathegi (Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, X-Men: First Class) character – I love that episode with the pool balls and getting tortured and going after him. That one stands out. There are so many, but I also loved just because of how I came into acting and all of these people that I looked up to. I loved the time that I got to play with Benga who was in Season 9 – being my daughter and being kidnapped that was an amazing episode for me. I loved the episode where we got to explore my religion and faith not only personally, but also with Dembe. Then there are some amazing episodes in Season 10 that I can’t speak on, but I’m really excited about that. There’s one episode where we have never seen about Dembe. I’m excited to see how that played out. Out of 10 years, there have been so many beautiful moments as you know. But those are some of the moments that I really enjoyed.

AM: What will be your biggest takeaway from being part of this production?

HT: That’s hard, I learned so much watching James and how he works and how specific he is. Just how he approaches everything – that’s something that I will take away from it. Being prepared for the unexpected because this was definitely unexpected. In 10 years, I’ve grown so much, I’m a whole different person and there’s so much growth that I have had. Not just professionally, but also personally. The biggest takeaway in terms of the craft is just seeing how dedicated James was and learning how he approaches it and putting those tools in my pocket as I’m moving forward.

AM: What will we see you doing next? Are there any projects that you’re able to share with us or things on your bucket list whether it’s in front of or behind the camera?

HT: I’m a Sci-Fi geek, so I’d definitely like to do anything Sci-Fi! I love westerns so I would love to be a cowboy, but after a show like this, I’m also in love with doing something that doesn’t have fun and just a drama between me and my son, me and my wife or something like that. Anything and everything! I’ve also been working on a documentary about my life so all of those things, I would love to tackle. That’s the scary thing about not knowing what’s next up for me professionally. Like I said, I would love to be an astronaut in space or riding around on a horse!

IG @hishamtawfiq

PHOTGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 104, 106, + 113 Will Hart/NBC | PG 109 Virginia Sherwood/NBC | PG 110 Scott Gries/NBC |

Read the MAR ISSUE #87 of Athleisure Mag and see A DECADE OF INTRIGUE | Hisham Tawfiq in mag.

STORING SEEDS | JB SMOOVE

We're all about big energy while keeping it real and J.B. Smoove is both of these! You know when you see him on the stage or on your screen that he's going to make you laugh, think and give you his philosphy on life and how to approach it - all while rocking great style. We've enjoyed seeing him in a number of films from Pootie Tang, Barbershop: The Next Cut, the Spider-Man franchise and more. He's also been in numerous TV series from The Last O.G., Woke and of course Curb Your Enthusiasm. He's someone that you see everywhere and yet he aligns perfectly with the projects that we see him in.

We had to check in with him to find out about his journey from being a standup comedian, SNL writer and performer, actor and more. He talked about how he honed his skills, how he navigates his career and what he has coming up.

ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be an entertainer?

J.B. SMOOVE: You know, I’ve always been the one – some people have a high threshold for pain, I think that that’s what it is. In simple terms, I think that I have this thing and feel for people when I know that people need laughter and they need communication. They need all these fun things that make life easier.

I remember one time that I missed my flight because somebody stopped me and I could tell that this dude needed somebody to talk to about his dreams and I missed my damn flight! I felt like, damn I’ll get the next one. In that moment, it just felt like something was - like sometimes you just have to talk people off the ledge in some sense you know? It’s their life, it’s their everything, but sometimes what you provide for people is something that you can’t buy. I think that shows that you’re a real person and it shows you that you can reach out and touch that person. What I promote is real!

You know how fans get, sometimes they don’t believe that you are who you are or who they think you are, or who they perceive you to be by what you do on camera. You know how it is. Nowadays, the world is faster, people promote certain things, but that’s not who they are. They do things to be accepted, to be liked, to be all these things and it’s not real and it doesn’t come from a real place. I think for me and my upbringing from where I started from is something that I can appreciate more. I’m talking about the days from pulling over and having to make a phone call at the phone booth! Those days, it was more hands on – you know what I mean? There’s automatic transmission and then there’s manual – I’m a manual dude! I got to switch gears for myself. I need to know when to slow down and when to hit the brake! Sometimes I don’t brake at all! Most of the time, I’m just changing gears because brake means that I’m going to stop. When you’re changing gears, I’m just navigating through it! You know what I mean? It’s different!

AM: And it is different!

I think that you have such an authenticity about you and that’s why people love being able to see you. It’s great to see you popping on screen in your shows or starting up my Mon with your podcast. I know that when I hear you, I’m going to get you as an authentic full experience!

JBS: Yes indeed! And that, you know to answer the question – that is something that I do from the heart and for the love of what I do! For the love of being in the moment, for the love of something to hold onto that knowledge and to hold onto that laughter! Holding onto things that makes me happy – it’s the ability to benefit the world or the people who also want to do what I do or just want to be inspired. I do think that it applies to every walk of life no matter what your occupation is or what your dreams are, the same process applies. Come early, stay late, be courteous to people, respect their dreams and what they're trying to do – don’t waste their time, don’t waste your time. There are certain things that will apply always. I think that is the core of growth and the core of achieving your dreams. What I want to do is to be consistent. I want to give this laughter away whether you’re paying me or if you’re not paying for it. I don’t get paid if I stop and talk to someone for half an hour and miss my flight. I can’t say, “oh I got paid for that so it’s ok I missed the flight.” No, I’m doing that because I felt something for this person in that moment that they needed this quick little talk and it’s free.

AM: How did you hone your craft?

JBS: You know, being in real situations. Real situations are a comedian's food. That’s our food. Real situations, you can elaborate on real situations and make them funny. You can take pain and make it funny. You can take funny and make it funnier. So you know, it’s all in the construction of the joke, the construction of the situation, the construction of the scene – you know? That is where it comes from. I always say that anyone can tell a joke if I have to use what I do for a living. Anybody can tell a joke, but not everyone can sell a joke. Everybody can’t sell it – you can tell it – but everybody can’t sell it!

AM: I am the worst joke teller because I forget the parts, I have to stop and reset it – so I definitely can’t sell it.

JBS: Oh yeah, that’s true!

AM: I remember when I first saw you for Def Comedy Jam as a standup comedian and then you went onto SNL as a writer and a performer! What was that experience like?

JBS: To me it was great. But again, you gotta make decisions on your movement because when I started on Def Comedy Jam and I was on BET and did all of these TV shows, guest-starring, touring in colleges, those road gigs, tours and all of the things that I have done, making the decision to move to LA, doing all of that stuff and making the decision to go on Cedric the Entertainer Presents, getting on Lyricists Lounge Show – doing guest spots on TV shows, doing my first CBS deal – all those things I’ve done.

Then to sit there and say, “ok I have this audition for SNL.” My second time auditioning for SNL actually. I did it twice. I was going for cast member. For me, you sit there and you say, I’m going in for cast member and I didn’t make the show as a performer but I ended up making the show as a writer. Even when I got the offer for a writer, I was in the middle of a deal for a host of stuff of my own so I had to say do I put myself on hold to work on Saturday Night Live? So I sat and thought about it and decided that it would look great on my resume so I said, as more of a business move. I know that the percentage of shows that actually air are so small and back then it was REALLY hard! Back then we didn’t have streaming services. We didn’t have Netflix and Hulu and Amazon. We didn’t have any of this stuff. It was just regular TV, HBO and Showtime. We had the premium channels but those opportunities, we didn’t have as big of a chance to get someone to air. I had to sit there and say, “ok. If I put this to the side and do this, how can I make this work for me?” I said, I will do this and then figure it out later. But this is going to look great on my resume – SNL.

So I came to SNL and when I got here, I ended up doing sketches, I ended up being a writer on the show, I ended up doing monologues on the show and ended up doing all these amazing things for the show and doing warmups for my 3 seasons. So I ended up doing a lot of stuff and that was 4 different checks – that’s a NY hustle right there! But that’s also being someone who has different skills – who can be a utility person – 4 things at the same time. That helps me and shows how I can be versatile. I can do 4 jobs at once.

For me, it worked out perfect. I had the chance to be JB, I had a chance to be someone who's able to do all of these amazing things and at the same time, it allowed me to work and build my resume and network with these amazing guest stars of the show. So it was definitely a process. I can’t say that it was easy – it was hard work because you’re talking about someone going from being a standup comedian to being a writer. I wasn’t a traditional writer. I improvise a lot in my standup so for me it made more sense to take it, do all of my skills under one roof. I did 3 seasons over there and it looks great on my resume, so it served its purpose doing it that way.

None of those other opportunities went away, the opportunities for TV shows were still there, the opportunities for movies were still there and I was still able to leave there and do a bunch of movies – The Sitter, Hall Pass, Date Night all in a row. I got a chance to do all of that stuff and when I was working over at SNL, I did Conan O’Brien. Conan O’Brien’s show, he was still at NBC at that time and I did his show as a sketch artist 10 times. So I had a chance to get from behind the desk typing jokes, go downstairs on the elevator and do a sketch with Conan and then get back in the elevator upstairs to finish working. I got a chance to do so many things while I was over there. Again, it wasn’t easy and it was humbling in some sense. You’re in control on stage but you’re not in control on this show which is live TV. Everything is just fast. You have to sit there and write all night long for these sketches and it’s humbling because it’s like your trying out for the cheerleading team or the football team and you go in the hallway and they put the list up of who made the team. There was a piece of paper in the hallway that said whose sketch made it and you had to read that list on the wall and you’d say, "damn, I didn’t get it."

AM: Oh wow that happened every week!

JBS: It was an amazing experience and I wouldn't change that for anything in the world. I would have rather taken this process that I have already completed rather than this fast and quick process that these young people are doing now. I had more time to smell the roses.

AM: I’m a huge fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you joined it in the 6th season and I know that the 12th season is coming back, how did you get attached to the show and how involved are you in creating and evolving the character of Leon Black?

JBS: Oh man! My wife told me that I was going to be on the show. We would watch the show, we loved the show and even when I was on SNL, we would talk about the show on our writing days. One day I said, that I would love to be on the show and man I got the opportunity. I always say that one thing has to step out of the way in order for something else to come through. I didn’t get renewed for my 4th season of SNL and I literally went from coming to LA for a friend’s memorial – my friend Oji Pierce who composed and produced This is How We Do It and I was there for his memorial service. I make moves because I trust my process and I trust my talent. I know I always bounce back from things. I had actually fired my agent – I fired every damn body! I knew that once I fired them, I wasn’t going back to SNL.

The agents are the ones that fight for you and keep you hired. They are the ones that call and make it go. I said, well if I fire my agent who I am not happy with, I know for a fact, that I will not get spoken about and they’re not going to push to keep me on the show if they’re not getting paid to do what they do. So I said, “well, I’m going to see what happens.” I fired them and I knew I wasn’t going back and for a fact that with no one there to speak for me, there was no way that I was going to be able to stay at SNL.

So I took that chance, I rolled the dice and I took that chance. Low and behold, I didn’t get renewed. I was out on the road for a month doing standup. Oji passed away, my wife already told me that I was going to be on Curb Your Enthusiasm and I got a phone call of my friend passing and I went to LA for one day. I signed with a new agent before I went to LA, went to meet them when I got to LA and one of the agents said, “man, I have an audition for you – how long are you in town?” I told them that I had come into town for 1 day to pay respects to my buddy and I was going back tomorrow.

He said he had an audition for me and I asked him what it was for and he said, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I said, “get out of here, you have to be kidding me!” I went on the audition and you know, I did what I did well which is improvise which takes these scenes and make them my own. Let me do what I do because I’m going to do what I do! Me and Larry hit it off in the audition. We hit it off to the point where we were in there laughing our butts off and having a good time. We became friends that day. I left there and said to myself, if someone gets that job, God bless them, but me and that man had a great time! That leads to me being on the greatest improvised show to me in TV history.

So, my process is, I’m an improv guy. I have been improvising my entire life and I think that that’s a life choice too. Improvising gives you the ability to change your mind in the moment where no one will ever know that you changed your mind! Improvising will give you the ability to sway someone in a different direction. Improvising gives you a way of reading energy and reading their body language – all of these great things that you can do by knowing the process and being able to improvise. It pays off in life, it pays off in acting, it pays off in real estate sales if you’re a realtor. You can be anyone you want, but if you improvise just a little bit, it allows you to pick up little nuances about people that you can use to your advantage.

I think that that’s what helps me so much having to improvise in my standup career so much. It really allowed me to take that skill and to use that 1 little improv class that I took that summer before I started doing standup. I would tell anyone that they should take improv – I don’t care what you do. That allowed me to really hone in on my acting skills and to get in the moment which makes my standup shows so different. I’m literally listening to what this particular audience is laughing at which is what I apply to Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Whatever is working for my character and sometimes, I don’t know what I will do with my character. Sometimes I don’t know. Sometimes I just go with what the scene is and I take that. Sometimes what I do is, I will decide in the moment if I want to have Larry’s back or if I want to go against Larry. I decide right there, do I want to be on Larry’s side or will I go against him – what is the better argument here? I really decide in the moment and it gives me the upper hand and let’s me drive that. It also lets me give him something new that he doesn’t know about the character every time I work with him. That way, I create these forks in the road – these branches to the character. My character has never been defined. We still don’t know where the hell he came from – so for me to be able to make that up over the 6 seasons that I have been there is great! I can still tell people a little more that they need to know about Leon which makes it fun!

AM: You have been in so many series and films from Spider-Man movies, co-hosting – what do you look for when you’re sent projects and what goes into your decision on whether you’re going to participate in something?

JBS: I go by this, which works for me: I read the script of course. If they specifically call for me, I’m kind of past the audition process at this point because I am established all these years. I get offers for things and I can say yay or nay to the offer. Once in a while, I have to read for something – once in a while. It could be something very specific or something that is outside of my lane and it’s to show that I can do something if it’s a drama or something like that. If I meet a director or a producer and they ask for me specifically and they say that they want me to make my character my own, that is the most precious words that I can hear for an improv guy or a guy that they can trust to do that character. When they say, “make the character your own JB. We love your voice and your sensibilities and we love what you do and we want you to be that character and vice versa.” So I’m like cool, let me make it my own and I take that character and I make them my own. This happens in movies, in TV, in commercials, in animations – it doesn’t matter. They let me do me and if it’s animations, I say let me see the character so I can see who it is and then I can take that character and then I can make that character my own.

AM: You also have Four Courses with JB Smoove, why did you want to do this?

JBS: You know what. I love talk shows and I love talking to friends and I’m good at it. I love to sit there and kick it and have a convo with people and that is what makes interviewing people so fun. I’m curious of the process. I’m curious about your path and I’m really engaged. I love to laugh and I love the stories. I love to tell stories and I love to be interviewed while I’m interviewing – you know what I’m saying? I think that’s fun. I love to be interviewed while I’m interviewing.

AM: Last year when May I Elaborate? first came out, I knew I would be obsessed with it. I love hearing you and Miles Grose talking back and forth about various topics and it was a great way to start my day. Why did you want to create this podcast show?

JBS: You know what? It was one of those things where everybody was doing podcasts. I knew that if everyone was doing podcasts, I had to do something that was funny, insightful and I like to give what I call, broken wisdom sometimes! I feel like there’s more than 1 way for you to be able to get it. For some people, you have to shake it out of their ass and then you have to shake it into them and then shake whatever the issue is out of them at the same time. I think of that tough hard love in a funny way and in a way that makes sense to people. I’m giving it to you in a way that is like a friend. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know it all, I know a lot about everything and a little bit about nothing. You need that balance! You have to tell people sometimes that, “I’m not sure but God damn, I know you got to give it to them like that and here’s what I would do.” I can’t say it’s going to work, but this is what I would do and this is how to get the process started. You sometimes have to get out of your own fucking head. If I can get you out of your own head, I’m halfway there! That’s the block right there. You’re like a controlled schizophrenic – you are battling yourself in your own head. Different versions of you don’t know how to handle certain things. So you’re stuck in a certain place and you just need to find some kind of way to talk to the right person in your head to get it moving in the right direction.

AM: With the 2nd season dropping last month, what can we expect for the season going forward? Last season was really long as it was everyday which was great. This season, the format is a little different with it being on Mon and you guys have more personalities that are joining you each week like Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Nealon and Randall Park. What can we look forward to?

JBS: In the 1st season, we did almost 190 episodes! Which is crazy! So, we will more than likely maybe transition this amazing podcast into possibly an animated version – we’re not sure yet. We think that the wisdom is funny enough and the visuals that I give Miles and that Miles gives me, you always want to see it and I think that there is a funny way to present this show.

It’s so funny, we got nominated for a podcast award but guess what? We didn’t get nominated in the comedy category. We got nominated in the inspirational and religious category which is crazy! We got nominated with all the gurus and people who are speaking real shit. We’re taking real things and just elaborating on them in a funny way and we get put in that category instead of a comedy one which is nutso! It’s a little bit flattering in some ways to be nominated with all of these amazing people who are really speaking truth to the world. But it’s also like, damn, is what we’re saying not funny or are we ambidextrous - we’re left and right-handed? Can we do both? We have found a way to do both!

Without Miles, Miles is the glue. He is the voice of reason. He is the funniest dude ever. He does the research, I elaborate and he pulls me back. So, we have something that works well and yes, we’re not sure what we’re going to do with the show yet. We have so many ideas on our slate that it’s unlimited amount of ideas that we have that we can do and we haven't locked in what we’re going to do with May I Elaborate?, but we’re not locked out of it either. So, we’ve done a lot of episodes. For this type of show, we’re not just turning it on and talking. You have to do a little research and it takes a lot of time and looking at the perfect quote and affirmation and using it to our advantage.

AM: For last season, it was just the perfect show especially in the midst of the pandemic. To be able to have those lighter moments that would come in and to start the day off with that, it allowed us to have some laughs before we delved into the work here at Athleisure Mag whether it was booking, virtual shoots, meetings etc and it created a part of the day that we looked forward to. That was definitely special but in general. I’m always excited to hear what you will elaborate on?

JBS: Yes and we’re looking forward to doing in some capacity – anything that we can do to help people and to keep things fresh and fun. As little work as possible, but as much of a reward as possible.

AM: You have also had amazing partnerships whether it’s with Crown Royale, Caesars or JUST Egg to name a few. What do you look for when it comes to brand alignment that wants to connect with you? How do you decide what you want to lend your brand to?

JBS: I kind of go with the notion of to talk about what I know about – that way I’m not ever in a weird position. I’m a vegan so I love the JUST Egg relationship that we have. I entertain a lot so I did love my Crown Royale campaign. Every campaign I have ever done, I have always found a way to make it something that I love and that I can put a lot of energy into it and I use it. We were doing this branded entertainment with these companies for years before anybody was really doing it. I did a Mountain Dew campaign years ago – Mountain Dew White Out campaign – you name it. This Caesars one is just another one that I love. I love taking on characters. I like characters. I grew up in the age where commercials were about the characters – the “Where’s the Beef” lady, I love commercials man –

AM: The “Time to Make the Donuts” man.

JBS: Oh yes – time to make the donuts! I love that stuff! I always loved characters and reoccurring cool characters.

AM: We love your Caesars Sportsbook one. Like you said the fact that it’s characters, but also – we love football. We’re in NY, but also – I love football. We’re in NY, but I’m originally from Indiana so when you had the Mannings – that was exciting and then of course, Halle Berry in the commercial! How did this come back with you partnering with them and what will you do with them in terms of ongoing work?

JBS: Well, I actually did a commercial years ago a with a director. The commercial never made it to air, but what happened was, the director remembered me and he loved the commercial even though it never aired and he reached out. He said he was doing a campaign with Caesars and he didn’t see anyone else being Caesar but me! He liked my voice, my delivery and he knew it would be fun. He said he couldn’t imagine anyone else embodying this emperor than me. He said that he thought that it would be amazing and wanted to know if I wanted to do it and I thought it sounded hilarious. He said if we were going to do it, we were going to start the campaign and he had already sold me to Caesars and let them know that they would be blown away by me and that I was his guy. He told them that no one would be able to do this better than JB.

Now that goes back to what we were talking about – coming early, staying late, being courteous, not being a diva – all those things. I’m a seed planter. This is another version of planting seeds for later. I’m the squirrel who has those acorns and buries them for winter. That’s why my phone rings constantly. I’m always planting seeds and I have tons of seeds still planted. My phone rings and it keeps going and that’s why it keeps ringing because I have already planted these seeds and relationships that I have built already. That’s how I keep busy. People say all the time, “man, you’re everywhere – but you don't see everything at one time.” Everything is spread out over time because I have planted seeds and projects and it’s going to come out at this time and then this project over here will come out after this project at this time. My visibility is always up there and that’s the fun part.

AM: You’re an Emmy award winner, author, comedian, actor, producer, podcast host - you do so many things. What else do you want to add to your portfolio that you have yet to do?

JBS: I know at some point, I will get behind the camera and direct something. We started a brand new company called Alternate Side Productions, we’re going to build an amazing brand, an amazing company which will be off the hook. We’re going to do some amazing projects under the JB Smoove banner with brand and style and the things that we love to do. We’re going to build that and I’m going to put a lot of people to work. I think that that’s what needs to be done to build a production company. I want to drop some amazing products in the vegan lane. I’m a vegan. That’s going to be another thing. I have been doing the vegan thing for a long time. A lot of people are just jumping on the bandwagon, but you know, I let them do what they do. I’ve been vegan for awhile and I have been harping on this for awhile now and linking myself with other vegan products. A lot of people are just getting onto it and you know, it’s all good. I’m already established in this lane so it’s another thing and extension of what I do. It’s also another extension of caring about people’s health and my own health.

AM: What led you to want to become a vegan?

JBS: Well my wife has been a vegan for forever. My wife is a musical artist and has been a vegan forever and hasn’t had meat in something like 27 years. So, she was a vegetarian for awhile, then a vegan and now she is a raw vegan which is a whole other level. She’s doing that now, but I’m a straight vegan. I’ve been part-time/full-time for a long time. I was part-time vegan and full-time carnivore for awhile. Now, for the past 4 years, I have been a straight vegan and it’s been great.

AM: As you say, you’re always planting seeds. Do you have upcoming projects that you are able to share that we should keep an eye out for?

JBS: Not right now. The main thing I’m working on right now is of course, you know that Curbed got greenlit for season 12, I have a bunch of animated shows coming out, I have the new season of Woke out right now and I’m recording something right now for a video game. I’m also recording 2 other animated shows at the same time. I’m also building this company. I’m resuming my standup tour and I’m also doing a special and hoping that I can get it done by the top of the year. There’s a bunch of cool things that I am working on and I’m very happy with my process. I like to be the steady tortoise sometimes – I don’t need everything at one time, I still love my private time so that I can RV. I still love to do all the fun things that I love to do. As I said, my wife is also out there doing her thing with her new studio. We’re doing so many cool things and also we’re building some companies outside of entertainment. Yeah we’re just doing cool stuff and things that are off our interest list.

AM: You have great style that's well accessorized. As a stylist in addition to my role as a Co-Founder and Style Director at Athleisure Mag, how do you define your style and would you ever create your own clothing/accessory line?

JBS: I love style! I grew up in an era where you build your outfits from the shoes up. You get a nice pair of reliable comfortable shoes because the first thing people do is look down at your feet and then they work their way up to your eyes.

I do have some amazing things coming out. I’m working on a watch, I’m working on a hat line and some amazing bracelets. I’m working on a few amazing things. Yes, all of these things I plan on dropping before the new year and this is going to be some amazing accessories. Apparel is a little hard, but accessories are something that I love and I love things that I consider conversation pieces. A conversation piece will get you in the door and you can meet your new boss. It just takes the interview and this changes the meeting and the relationship and takes it to something different. It gets you in differently.

I tell young people all the time, create a conversation piece whether it's a rose or a flower in your lapel – something that people look at and think, “wow, I like his style. I like what he represents.” That is the #1 thing – a shiny pair of shoes, a pocket square – something amazing on you to create and allow people to keep their eyes on you. It creates that question of, what kind of rose is that, what kind of pocket square – who made that tie? All these things are things that people look at and allows them to reaffirm who you are!

AM: I couldn’t agree more – statement pieces are so essential!

With everything that you have done, what do you want your legacy to be?

JBS: I just want to be known as a chance taker. I believe in getting as many at bats as possible. Get as many swings at the ball as possible. I have always been one where I have had some stumbles, but I have a bad memory of those stumbles. I tell people all the time that life keeps going – it keeps moving. To be free of mind and to be free to take as many swings as possible and to know that you can change your mind. Take as many swings of the things that you want to do in this life as possible. The more swings you get, the more hits you get. If you’re sitting on your hands, you can’t get the swings! I always say, get those swings in, figure out your progress, figure out what you want to do and keep swinging at it. I want to be known as chance taker, a guy that always walks on a tightrope with no net. I always feel like I got good balance. With good balance, you never worry about falling - you know what I mean? If you worry about falling, you worry about standing up.

IG @ohsnapjbsmoove

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 30 - 31 Harrison O'Brien | PG 33 + 43 Noemad | PG 34, 50 + PG 73 - 75 9DRIP Storm Santo | PG 36 - 40 Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO/John P Johnson | PG 44 - 47 Luis Ruiz | PG 49 The Last O.G. TBS/Cara Howe |

Read the MAY ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see STORING SEEDS | JB Smoove in mag.

IN BALANCE WITH LAURIE HERNANDEZ

We fell in love with Laurie Hernandez's personality and energy when she competed in her inaugural debut at the Summer Games 2016 in Rio! She showcased her skill and commitment to the sport of gymnastics with the Final Five and left with a team gold medal and a silver as an individual.

We wanted to know what she has been up to since we last saw her on the global stage, how she maintained her training during the pandemic as well as a number of projects she has taken on - including, winning ABC's Dancing with the Stars in season 23 with her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy. We're also looking forward to seeing her in Golden, a docuseries on Peacock that takes us behind the scenes on what it takes to make the Team USA Women's Olympic Gymnastic team as she prepares for the Summer Games in Tokyo.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with gymnastics and what was the moment that you realized that you wanted to go professional?

LAURIE HERNANDEZ: I fell in love with the sport when I was watching it on TV as a little girl. The gymnasts were such an amazing mix of power and grace that I looked at my mom and told her “I want to do that!” and not long afterwards my parents started me in gymnastics.

AM: What is a normal day or week like for you when you’re in training mode and do you have go to movements that you enjoy incorporating into your fitness routine?

LH: I practice Monday-Friday around 5 hours a day and Saturdays for about 3 hours. I also have physical therapy twice a week to help with any aches and pains. Before training I use Hyperice tools like a Hypervolt gun to help with warming up my muscles and at home Normatec leg compression for recovery.

AM: Did you always feel that the Olympics would be part of your journey as an athlete and what does it mean to you to represent the nation on such a global stage?

LH: It was always a dream to go to the Olympics but of course when I first started I had no idea where it was going to lead.

AM: In terms of the sport of gymnastics, we’re familiar with the activities that take place; however, do each of you have your specialties that you take on and if so, what are yours and why do you gravitate to them?

LH: Absolutely! Every gymnast has their own strengths that they bring to the sport and that’s what makes it so fun to watch. I love to perform and get the crowd involved so floor exercise is one of my favorites!

AM: At the Summer Games in Rio in 2016, you received a gold medal as the Final Five team and silver individually for beam. What was it like to be there for your first Olympics and competing with your team?

LH: It was such an honor to represent the USA and I will never forget the feeling of standing on the podium, listening to the National Anthem with USA on our uniform. What hit me even more once I got home was the impact it had on the young Latinx generation. I had parents come up to me and tell them that their child had started gymnastics because they saw me at the Olympics and I looked like them which gave them the confidence to start the sport. That has really stuck with me and something I will forever cherish.

AM: Last year at this time, the Olympics was in limbo although it seemed like it would be postponed. We have talked with a number of athletes about how they had to modify their workouts as they didn’t have access to their normal facilities. Did you find yourself doing workouts that were modified (ie Ryan Murphy was pushing a car up his hill, April Ross created a gym in her home, Steele Johnson was walking on his hands in his backyard) in order to get in a good workout and to stay on track?

LH: Of course. I was doing stretches and yoga in my home to keep up my flexibility, going through routines mentally, running in my neighborhood, etc.

AM: You just competed at the Winter Cup earlier this year which you choreographed and was Hamilton inspired – what was that like and what are your personal goals as you anticipate a second appearance at the Summer Games?

LH: I loved being back out on the competition floor and had so much fun with my new floor routine! I did go back and do a few small choreography edits so stay tuned for my next competition. One of my biggest goals this whole journey is to comeback for myself and to have fun with the sport.

AM: Tell us about Golden. I know that LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted are creating this docuseries that includes you and additional gymnast Olympic hopefuls to obtain the remaining 4 spots. What can we expect from this show, do you know when it’s available on Peacock and why did you want to participate?

LH: It will focus on the day-to-day repetition it takes to become an elite athlete in our sport and a behind the scenes look at the ins and outs of our daily lives. I love all the girls that are participating alongside me and some are my close friends, so it made it a fun project!

AM: The Road to Tokyo has a number of events to qualify for being on the team. What’s your schedule look like right now and what competitions should we keep an eye out for?

LH: My next upcoming competition is the U.S. Classics on May 22nd.

AM: Part of the fun of the Olympic Games in addition to the actual competition, is being able to navigate the city outside of the Olympic Village. As we’re all emerging from lockdowns, have you been given a sense of what being at the Summer Games will be like outside of when you’re training and competing?

LH: We have not been given any specifics, but I know that without family and friends in the stands it will feel a bit different than previous Games.

AM: After a successful debut at the Olympics, you took some time off and won ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, published 2 books and were the inaugural host of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior Junior – why was it important for you to take the time off to take on these projects?

LH: It was super important for me to take time off and find out who I was and what I liked outside of gymnastics. Something my mom always told me was you are Laurie who just so happens to do gymnastics, there is much more to you than just one thing. Finding my love for dancing, acting, and hosting was very rewarding and also helped me realize I still loved the sport too.

AM: How important is it for you to balance your competitive nature while also embracing positive mental health and fueling your creative side?

LH: Extremely important. Mental Health awareness is something I am very passionate about sharing and embrace fully. This was actually another reason partnering with Little Words Project was a great fit. Spreading kindness and self-love is huge and I hope others benefit from wearing some of my favorite words and affirmations.

AM: We know that you love poetry and are a fan of words. Tell me about Little Words Project. Why did you want to collaborate with them with your collection of bracelets and how excited are you that it is available at Nordstrom?

LH: Words have always had a big impact on me and Little Words Project was the perfect partner to share my affirmations with others. I loved creating the sayings/words on each bracelet and am so excited to see others showing kindness to themselves and others by wearing them.

IG @LaurieHernandez

PHOTOS COURTESY | Laurie Hernandez

Read the May Issue #65 of Athleisure Mag and see In Balance with Laurie Hernandez in mag.

FINDING THE THROUGH LINE WITH JAMIE GRAY HYDER

We can't tell you how many times we've enjoyed watching NBC's Law & Order marathons whether it's the flagship program, Criminal Intent or SVU. We love our fair share of True Crime and the squad members that we get to know each season. When Law & Order: SVU came back last fall, its 21st season (they have now been renewed for an additional 3 seasons), marking it as the longest running drama series in history. Along with more stories ripped from the headlines, advocating for victims and getting to know many of our faves, Jamie Gray Hyder joined the cast as Officer Katriona "Kat" Azar Tamin who is learning the ropes, coming in with her style of tracking criminals and learning how to grow with her squad.

This month's shoot for our 50th issue showcases a number of pre-Spring looks worn by Jamie Gray Hyder who is known for her voice acting work in the Call of Duty video games, HBO's True Blood and a number of other projects. We took some time to find out more about how she got into the entertainment industry, how she prepares for her roles as well as how it is to be in this acclaimed and iconic show!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’ve been fans of yours since you’ve been on HBO’s True Blood, a number of our readers play video games and have enjoyed your voice acting on them. Can you tell us how you got into the entertainment industry?

JAMIE GRAY HYDER: I’ve been acting since I was a kid. I’ve been a classically trained vocalist since I was really young. I have always been performing and then when I got into college and studying straight acting and kind of left the musical theater world, that’s when I sort of honed in on film and television and working on screens. So after college, I moved out to LA to try to get it going.

AM: What have been some of the shows that readers have seen you in prior to NBC’s Law & Order SVU?

JGH: My first sort of big break was on True Blood. They initially hired me to do a smaller part for 2 episodes and we all worked together really well and they liked the character. So I ended up staying for 2 seasons. For me, that was a huge learning experience and a huge validating experience. To work with HBO as my first home is something that I am really grateful for.

AM: You are so extremely versatile. We’ve enjoyed seeing you in a number of ways such as David Guetta’s music videos. How do you prepare yourself for all of these different types of opportunities?

JGH: You sort of have to find the through-line in what you bring to each one and for me that came down to getting comfortable with what I already bring to the table. Self-awareness is really important because that’s going to be the thread that binds it no matter whether you’re doing video games, television or music videos. If you’re not comfortable with yourself and comfortable with sort of what you provide on naturally, then you’re not really going to know where to go from there.

For me, becoming more comfortable with myself and increasing my self-awareness was a tool that I think has helped me through all of the different mediums.

AM: So Law & Order as a franchise, we can’t tell you how many hours a week that we have enjoyed watching it. It’s something we love watching whether it’s Law & Order, Criminal Intent or SVU. How did you get the call that you are joining the cast?

JGH: Initially, they brought me on to do a few episodes as a guest star and we were going to feel out her role as a regular. Then when they decided to keep me and called me, I lost it and I started crying. I couldn’t believe it because not only am I a part of such a legendary show, but such a historic season. So I get all the weight that comes with that even though this is my first season. So to be tied into such a monumental achievement for the show has been something that has is very rare and something that I am really grateful for.

AM: Tell us who is Officer Katriona “Kat” Azar Tamin?

JGH: Officer Kat and Jamie actually have a lot in common when it comes to being driven and sometimes stubborn and independent. Kat is more reserved when it comes to, I think, her personality, but when it comes to the way she approaches her work and fighting for these victims, she really leads with her heart. I think you’ll see her attempting to create more of a balance between her head and her heart as we continue on. Right now, she is still a little bit rough around the edges kind of learning how to conduct herself in this new world and this new set of rules and structure. While she is a little bit out of line here and there, I think that as she grows and becomes more comfortable with her role in the squad room I think you’ll see her settle in a little bit better.

AM: What is it like working with this amazing cast of characters and people such as Ice-T and Mariska Hargitay. What is that like as we have a number of Law & Order fans who would love to know.

JGH: I learned so much from them both professionally and personally every day. Ice has sort of had my back very much so from the beginning just like Finn has had Kat’s back from the beginning. He and I connected instantly over my work in the music industry. My side job in LA was working at a recording studio called Record Plant. So I worked there for 4 years and dealt with a lot of the same people and personality types and scenarios that Ice has kind of grown up in. So we shared a lot of those kinds of experiences. With Mariska, it’s sort of a daily lesson in how to lead and how to inspire and motivate people. All of my castmates have families and they all have children. They all come in and focus and bring a fresh energy every single day. That’s easy for me as a new person, but thinking into working on something for 5-10-20 years, you might get jaded. Every single one of my castmates comes in fresh daily which is something that I find super impressive.

AM: You guys cover a lot of really heavy topics. In terms of preparing, as your episodes are inspired by cases that took place in real life, and I’m sure there is a lot of work in terms of understanding the victim, how you would play the role, how it would be like for them to come to you etc. How do you take that on as it seems like that would take a lot to be in those positions?

JGH: Before we do each episode, we are sent a whole research packet that has a bunch of news articles and things that all deals with the scenario that we are dealing with on the show. While we don’t necessarily represent certain people or events, often times we are pulling from the news and real people. For me, it’s very much a motivating factor. You have to put aside whatever you’re dealing with personally and really give value to what you are doing because there are real people dealing with these types of issues in their real lives. While we have to keep it light on set as much as we can because we are dealing with heavy material every single day. I think that approaching it with a little bit of reverence is the way that we all really justify what we are doing and just knowing that there are real people out there that are being positively impacted by our show is something that is never lost on us.

AM: So you guys are currently filming season 21 right now. What is a week like when you’re balancing between filming for the show and then what do you do when you’re not on set?

JGH: I chill in my apartment a lot. Because we can work long hours. Some days are shorter than others. We typically shoot 5 days out of the week, 10 months out of the year. It’s a 9-5 and you really have to think of your dressing room as your office and your trailer as your office and take that down time and be productive with it. It can be grueling, but you just remind yourself how lucky you are to be in this position every day and that helps get you through it. When I get home, I just like to hang, and chill and cook and watch movies. I’m happy to be in NY and I have a lot of exploring to do.

AM: What do you do while you’re here – where could we see you working out, going shopping or grabbing a bite?

JGH: I love Japanese food so I am always trying out a new Japanese restaurant. As far as working out, I work out at a fight gym.

AM: So the recent episode you were in, we saw you boxing - that was not something new for you?

JGH: No, that was kind of inspired by my routine already and they said we want to incorporate that and they had a storyline that they had been working on and so it all worked together. So a few days a week, I’m over at Gotham Gym. I work with trainers there. My preferred method of workout is technique and fight training and that’s what I do a few times a week.

AM: With summer coming up and people wanting to look fit and their best, what are 3 boxing moves that people should put into their routines?

JGH: Something super simple that anyone can do at home and you don’t need to pay a lot of money to do it and you don’t have to have people tell you to do it is jumping rope.

AM: Ugh we’re not a fan, but it’s so good for you so we power through it.

JGH: When I first started, I said oh my God, I’m so shitty at this. But then you keep going and just doing 3 minutes before getting into my workout every day – it gets your co-ordination in check, it gets your rhythm in check. For me, it kind of wakes me up. So this is something that anyone can do and benefit from.

AM: So you love to cook, what are 3 things that we can see you cooking?

JGH: I like projects. So I will typically pick a cuisine and say, “what about Korean? I love the Korean Cheong Soups how can I make one at home?” I really enjoy cooking projects that involve going to specialty grocery stores whether it’s a Korean grocery store, a Japanese grocery store, an Indian grocery store – I kind of like exploring new ingredients. I will pick something that feels foreign to me to learn about different foods but then you get to know more about different cultures that way at the same time.

AM: What are philanthropies, charities or platforms that you like to give your time to and support as well as to draw awareness to?

JGH: I work a lot supporting the Armed Forces and Veterans causes that’s really important to me. I specifically work with organizations that help to aid the transition to active duty and civilian life. Some of those include the Student Veterans of America. They are an organization that has liaisons at over 1,500 campuses across the country that help newly, people who are newly coming out of the service and want to get their Bachelors degree. They’re older and have a full life that they have to work around so they have an organization that helps to get around those hurdles to make achieving a higher education easier for those that are coming out of service. When I worked at Call of Duty, I worked with the Call of Duty Endowment which helps place veterans at high paying full-time jobs and in addition to veterans, I work a lot with mental health organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and I work a lot with Cannabis Reform. So those are my 3 major things and they often overlap in a lot of ways as well.

AM: That’s inspiring. What are acting projects that you could imagine doing and would like to have offered to you that are on your bucket list?

JGH: For me, it comes down to the types of work. I love being physical and that’s one of the things that I love about the episode on SVU. I loved being able to be physical, to fight and to do stunt work and getting into it that way. Any job that really requires me to by physical or learn a new skill. Working in other languages and accents and things like that is something that also appeals to me. I also really love animation because you get to voice characters that you would never get to play on screen and it allows you to sort of stretch that muscle a little more.

AM: With the summer coming up, do you have any place you’re going or somewhere on your bucket list to go to?

JGH: Loving Japanese food the way that I do, I love traveling to Japan. I have been once before and so my fiancé and I are doing a honeymoon of sorts and going back to Japan to have a retreat - a relaxing week in some of the onsen towns that’s more nature based places. It would probably be in Northern Japan. That would be the next big trip.

AM: When you’re flying, what are 3 things that you like to have in your carry-on that make traveling more comfortable?

JGH: Snacks – I always like having those. I usually like to have an oil or lotion which keeps your hands from getting dry. I also like to bring my essential oils like lavender or peppermint and to put it behind my ears. It doesn’t disturb anyone else but it keeps me in my own cocoon of sorts and it keeps me in my comfort in that way.

IG @JGHyder

We shot our 50th cover at the Dream Downtown Hotel within TAO Group Hospitality's PHD Rooftop Lounge and at the Winter Rose Garden Lobby Bar. These areas are just a couple of properties available at this destination that vacationers, those traveling for business and those who are enjoying a staycation can enjoy when visiting. We wanted to find out more about them as well as what you can look forward to as we transition to the Spring and the Summer.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we delve into the specific spaces we shot in, please tell us about Tao Group Hospitality as we find these restaurants, nightclubs and day clubs are global multisensory experiences.

TAO GROUP HOSPITALITY: Tao Group Hospitality is a leading restaurant and nightlife company that develops, owns and operates many of the worlds most recognized restaurant and entertainment venues under various brands including but not limited to Tao, Marquee, Avenue, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Vandal, The Highlight Room, Luchini and Koma in major markets across the world. Tao Group Hospitality’s corporate headquarters is located in New York City, with locally-based managing partners and a full-time marketing and operations staff in every other market.

AM: What cities are Tao Group Hospitality properties located in?

TGH: New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Singapore, and Sydney.

AM: Are there new properties that we should keep an eye out for in 2020 for Tao Group Hospitality?

TGH: Top secret – stay tuned!

AM: The Lobby Bar is a fun space and for the winter, you have it themed as the Winter Rose Garden. What was the thought behind this installation, and will there be additional themes for this this year?

TGH: The Winter Rose Garden is complete with a bar & wall made out of 15,000 red roses complete with red accent furniture, candles, and rose-infused cocktails. Food and beverage offerings at The Winter Rose Garden include the Crispy Truffle Mac & Cheese Balls and the Primrose Cider cocktail with a side of rose-infused ice cubes. This magical rouge oasis at Dream Downtown was designed to cure a bad case of the winter blues and will be activated for a limited time only so stop in today!

AM: Are there 3 signature cocktails and dishes in this bar that guests should enjoy while in this space?

TGH: Blanc de Blanc ($19) – Ciroc Coconut, Creme de Cacao, Amaretto, Almond Milk, Almond Milk Foam, Shaved Chocolate; Lavender Dreams ($18) – Don Julio Blanco, Lemon, Pea Flower Tea, Simple Syrup, Egg White and Primrose Cider ($18) – Barking Irons Applejack, Cinnamon Syrup, Lemon Juice, Sparkling Rosé, Rose Ice Cube.

AM: We have spent a number of nights, NYFW events and more at PHD Rooftop Lounge. When did this space open and what is the vibe of this penthouse space?

TGH: Having opened in June 2011, PHD Rooftop Lounge continues to be the ultimate penthouse, featuring timeless and luxurious finishes. With an exquisite panoramic Manhattan skyline view that includes direct lines of site to the Hudson River and Empire State Building, guests come to relax on custom-built Italian leather banquettes with marble tables, and cozy seating niches located on the outdoor terrace.

AM: What are 3 signature cocktails and dishes that we should enjoy when being here?

TGH: Dream Girl ($19) – Bacardi Limon, Cointreau, Raspberry; Strawberry Fields ($19) – Don Juilo Blanco, Fresh Strawberry, Basil and Ginger Towers ($19) – Ketel One, Fresh Ginger, Mint, Ginger Beer.

AM: What kinds of events are held at PHD Rooftop and as we head into the Spring and the Summer, what events should we mark on our calendar?

TGH: TBD! Follow us at @PHDRooftopNY to stay up to date with things fun for Spring / Summer 2020!

AM: Tao Group Hospitality has additional spaces within Dream Hotel Downtown, please share those with a little information about these as well as upcoming Spring/Summer events?

TGH: Join us every Monday night at Meatpacking hotspot, Bodega Negra, for the weekly themed dinner party – Loco Mondays. Amidst the intimate and moodily-lit “Tudor Hacienda” decor, watch as performers kick off the evening of vibe dining with music from DJ Select, followed by tabletop performances from a rotating line-up of mesmerizing acts such as burlesque dancers and fire-breathers. Enjoy menu offerings from Corporate Executive Chef Brad Warner with small plates such as fresh ceviche, tacos and generously proportioned dishes like Shrimp Alambre and Enchiladas, complimented by a selection of handcrafted mezcal and tequila cocktails; followed by the famous Don Huevo dessert from Corporate Pastry Chef Paola Marocchi. The perfect spot to host your birthday, visiting friends or simply just a way to turn your Monday around, this is a party you do not want to miss.

Located on the lower level of Dream Downtown in New York City’s Meatpacking District, The Electric Room is the perfect spot for late-night dancing and after-dinner drinks. The intimate room accommodates approximately 100 people and features a full bar servicing high-end spirits and specialty cocktails. The room provides a distinct cool Britannia feel with sofas featuring the Union Jack Flag and custom back-painted antique mirrors by artist Chris Stain that adorn the banquette wall. Relax among photography and artwork by Sante D’Orazio and Marilyn Minter, while two gothic-inspired chandeliers provide intimate lighting for a curated, one-of-a-kind experience.

Escape to The Beach at Dream Downtown, the outdoor/indoor restaurant located at Dream Downtown hotel in Meatpacking District. Spanning 5,000 square feet, The Beach includes a glass-bottom pool, full-service bar, pool deck, sand beach, two private cabanas, and over 50 chaise lounges. The café located adjacent to the pool features a casual all-day menu created by Corporate Executive Chef Brad Warner with highlights such as The Beach Burger and Baja Fish Tacos, which pairs perfectly with a seasonal cocktail menu. As one of New York City’s most beloved Summer staples, The Beach features a pergola filled with lush greenery, hanging lamps, lattice chairs, overhead twinkling mason jars, and oversized plant walls all surrounding the pool area and is open during the Summer season only.

IG @DreamDowntown

@TaoGroup

@PHDRooftopNY

@DreamBeachNYC

@BodegaNegra

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

Athleisure Mag's cover story was shot by Co-Founder/Celeb Photographer Paul Farkas, using Canon Mark IV; and selected Canon lenses: EF 50 f/1.2 L, EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II, and EF 70-200 f/2.8 L II.

IG @PVFarkas

STYLE, MAKEUP & HAIR CREDITS

Athleisure Mag's Celeb Fashion Stylist, Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director Kimmie Smith, MUA Jessica Bonilla and Hairstylist Lea DeLoy share how Jamie Gray Hyder's look was created for the cover editorial.

LOOK I | FITNESS STYLE

PG 24-29 | ULTRACOR Aster Luna Bra, Aster Legging and Aster Polaris Zip Up Hoodie |

SKINCARE | PONDS Dry Skin Cream | GLOSSIER Coconut Skin Balm | GIOVANNI Refreshing Rose Water and Aloe Mist | MILK MAKEUP Hydro Grip Primer |

FOUNDATION | L'OREAL Infallible Foundation Shade 475 | RIMMEL LONDON Concealer Shade Buff | L'OREAL True Match Powder Shade W2 + W4 for the center of the face; W7 for the perimeter of the face | FENTY BEAUTY Sun Stalk'r Shady Biz Bronzer |

BLUSH | MILANI Luminoso |

HIGHLIGHT | JOUER Skinny Dip |

EYES | ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS X AMREZY Eyeshadow Palette using Shade OG on the eyes | MAYBELLINE Lash Sensational Mascara |

LIPS | FENTY BEAUTY Gloss Bomb |

HAIR | Added THEURGY Gypsy Soul Styling Lotion throughout dry hair to maintain control of the hair and creating smooth hair before creating two inverted French Braids | Pulled out a few wispy pieces for an undone effect |

LOOK II | RELAXED STYLE

PG 16-22 | PARADISED Kelsey Jumpsuit in Vanilla | LAGOS Blue Caviar Beaded Bracelet x 2 | ATHLETIC PROPULSION LABS Women's TechLoom Bliss in Rose Dust/Nude | NAVAL SURFACE AND MINE WARFIGHTING DEVELOPMENT CENTER Hat |

EYES | ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS X AMREZY Eyeshadow Palette using Shade OG, New Yawker and Yugo was added on the Lash Line | ARDELL Trio Lashes applied |

LIPS | COVERGIRL Sienna Lipstick |

HAIR | This look showcased soft beachy waves | Sprayed in THEURGY Out of Body throughout dry hair for hold and heat protection | The wrap curled throughout curling curling everything away from the face | Finished with THEURGY Shape Shift for added extra root lift and sexy, messy texture |

LOOK III | OUT & ABOUT STYLE

FRONT COVER, PG 30 - 34 | THE FOLD Seville Coat Multicoloured Wool | OLIVIA VON HALLE Bella Jet Black Silk Camisole | MAVI JEANS Adriana Mid Rise Super Skinny in Black Denim | UNO DE 50 A Tickle with a Feather Necklace | MLB WASHINGTON NATIONALS World Series Hat |

LIPS | The lip was changed to DOSE OF COLORS More Creamer Please |

HAIR | Previously for the 2nd look, the hair was curled | For this look, the hair was pinned back on the sides | The hair was finished with a light mist of THEURGY Retrograde Hairspray workable spray |

LOOK IV | SPRING NIGHT'S GLAM STYLE

BACK COVER PG 36 - 39 | OLIVIA VON HALLE Capability Nika Full Length Robe | LUNYA Washable Silk Slip Dress in Deep Night | LAGOS KSL Cuff Bracelet | VIRGINS, SAINTS & ANGELS San Benito Crystal Magdalena in Blue Velvet |

EYES | BK on the lash line

LIPS | MILANI Red Lipstick in Kiss Matte Necklace |

HAIR | Hair was pulled up into a “Done/ Undone” top knot pulling out pieces from all around the hairline for soft texture |

IG @Shes.Kimmie

@Laniidoa_Cosmetics

@HairByLeaDeLoy

Read the Feb Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Finding the Through Line with Jamie Gray Hyder in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #50 FEB 2020

This month’s cover and back cover is NBC Law & Order: SVU’s, Jamie Gray Hyder. Our cover shoot editorial – Finding the Through Line with Jamie Gray Hyder took place at the Dream Downtown Hotel in Tao Group Hospitality’s PHD Rooftop Lounge and Winter Rose Garden Lobby Bar. In addition, she will kick off season 2 of our podcast, #TRIBEGOALS later on this month. We talked with Jamie about her career in entertainment, being on the longest running drama that just got renewed for an additional 3 seasons and how she prepares for her roles. In our feature, Something You Should Know, we chat with Nina Kharey of NONIE who talks about fashion as a platform, celebs who have worn her clothing and how she went about launching her line. This month, we chatted with one of our faves Whitney Port about her upcoming season for MTV’s The Hills: New Beginnings season 2, her work with Dress for Success in partnership with Chloe Wines and how she keeps everything going with her busy life. We also share highlights from this season’s R3DCARP3T, by sharing how an array of looks were created by the celebs’ fashion stylists, MUA and hairstylists. In this month’s The Art of the Snack, we head to the East Village and check out GNOCCO which has been in business for 20 years and serves an array of Italian dishes that are the ultimate in comfort food.

As usual, we have our monthly roundups including our 9LIST (Athleisure Mag’s picks that we’re loving this month in style, beauty and fitness) featured roundups. This month’s 9LIST STORI3S (picks supplied by celebrities) gives us insight into Celebrity MUA Rea Ann Silva, the Founder of BeautyBlender. This month’s 9PLAYLIST includes wrestling’s All Elite Wrestling’s Chief Brand Officer Brandi Rhodes who shares her favorite songs with us.  As always, you can enjoy Athleisure List (Studs and The Wonderbon Chocolate Co), The Pick Me Up, Bingely Books, Bingely Streaming, Style Files, He Rocks This When He Is Out and About, Athleisure Beauty, How to Dress, In Our Bag, #TRIBEGOALS and Pineapple Beauty.

Read the latest issue here.

BACK IN SEASON WITH PARVEEN KAUR

When the holiday season hits we tend to think about the umpteen events we are invited to and of course, closing out the year which means something a little different depending on what you do! We caught up with Parveen Kaur as she is in the midst of tapings for her hit show, Manifest which debuted this fall and will be back from its midseason break on Jan 7th! We have been fans of a number of her shows including Saving Hope, FX’s The Strain and Freeform's Beyond. We sat down with her to find out about what it’s like during Pilot Season, playing Saanvi on NBC’s hit show, what’s coming up for the remainder of the season and how she takes time for herself in the midst of such a crazy schedule!

ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment when you realized that you wanted to be an actor?

PARVEEN KAUR: Oh oh that’s a really good question! I don’t know if there was ever a particular moment, but I had always known that ever since I was really young that I was going to be in show business and I kind of went all over the place I remember at one point I was like, I am going to be a WWE wrestler and then I thought I wanted to be a stunt driver. Then I was like, I want to be a singer but it all kind of fell under this umbrella of wanting to be able to perform.

When I moved to Toronto when I was 18, I just had a friend that encouraged me to take some classes and it was something that felt natural and I had a lot of fun doing it. I think that was around the time when I felt like, yeah let’s do it – I was working at the mall and I wanted to figure out what I actually wanted to do with my life. The stars just kind of aligned in that way and then I was able to get an agent pretty quickly and then I just kind of kept at it. I mean I just really loved it and I still really just love it!

AM: That is a great story. What is Pilot Season and what is its duration as we always hear people refer to it, but it seems like there is so much that takes place within this.

PK: Yeah – so Pilot Season is typically from January to March. It’s a couple of months where studios are just trying to throw their scripts at the wall and seeing what sticks, making new projects and seeing what will be the next big thing in a condensed period of four months. All the studios are putting out their scripts and seeing what can be made and what will hopefully be their next big hit. Now Pilot Season isn’t just about being between January and March – I think that timeline has grown a little bit, but that is definitely the most. You’re going on like 4-5 auditions a day, you’re getting the script the night before and then you’re auditioning the next morning and it’s very fast.

If you are lucky to be booked for something, the Pilot gets made and then you also keep hoping that it gets turned into a series – because there are no guarantees that this will happen. Pilot Season is VERY stressful.

AM: That’s intense! So if you’re getting all of these scripts with different characters/personalities and going to the auditions, how do you prepare for all of them with so little time? What is the preparation for Pilot Season versus when you are working on a show like Manifest that you know has already been greenlit?

PK: Well you don’t prepare for it in Pilot Season. It’s like a marathon and your stamina has to be there, you go in and you just hope that whatever little time that you do get that people will see you potential! You’re right that it’s such a short period of time and you’re hoping that you go into the room and that the casting director is mindful of the fact that there is such little time and that they are looking strictly for whether I could be this person and not so much that this person is the one. It’s just not a lot of time to prepare. Now when I am on Manifest, or when you are on a show, it’s such a luxury!

AM: Knowing this, looking at you being on Manifest, how did you prepare for this role, what was the process like to be on this show and what was the audition like?

PK: So ok, I have the quintessential sad actor story for how I got into Manifest. So I was in Pilot Season and I was really close to getting on another show as I had not read the one for Manifest yet. This script fell into my lap and I fell in love with it and it doesn’t happen so often – like in every Pilot Season you may get 2 or 3 that you really love or connect with. It’s just that it’s such a high volume season that you’re reading so many of them – it may be only 1 that you really love. When I found out that I didn’t get the other project, I was really devastated and that one hit me really hard! It was my third year doing pilot season and it is really draining and you start thinking, “Oh my God it’s never going to happen.”

I was in this rut for a couple of days and then Manifest fell into my lap and then I read for Saanvi. I just took all that tension and weight that I was carrying from that rejection and I put it into my audition. It couldn’t have been more – I mean it’s that cliché of sometimes things are meant to be and happen in a certain way. Things were supposed to happen that way and I took that energy and put it into my Manifest audition and then the next day they were like, we’re going to have to fly you to NY to audition for David Frankel and I was still in kind of a funk because the same thing had happened to me for other shows. I’m based in Toronto, so you get that call and you’re being flown to LA or to NYC – where you are one step closer but it doesn’t turn into anything. So, I was still in that mind frame and when I went in to audition for David Frankel, I took the pressure off of myself and it ended up being the best audition that I have ever had in my life and it has forever changed the way that I now audition which is great!

AM: How do you describe Saanvi and what do you see as similarities or differences between you and her?

PK: Well Saanvi is a lot smarter than I am ha ha! When I had spoken to Jeff Rake showrunner and the creator of our show, he really described her to me as someone that is tough as nails, a fighter and someone that is really resilient. To me, that was very exciting to play someone like that. I feel that that part of her description is a common characteristic of her and I. Like, I have had an interesting upbringing and I have gone through a few things that made me resilient and maybe I have put up some walls and Saanvi has definitely done that as well – we haven’t seen her have any kind of breakdown like some of the other characters have had on the show. They are really struggling and Saanvi is really just pushing forward and just putting her head down and really just focusing on the work and looking at what happened. She just has this wall up and is guarded as well and I can understand that side of it. That will change as you will see when we get back to air as she has a huge turning point and I think fans will be excited to see this!

AM: We were wondering if there would be more about her backstory – does she have a love life? Her head down approach has been great, but it felt like there should be more about her and we know that you can’t give it away!

PK: No spoilers! I think that since the rest of the cast is so traumatized, not to say that she is not, but I think that she is a good balance and counterpart to the Stone family. I mean, they are really struggling as they have so much going on in their personal lives and she has been a good balance for them and the show. She is being shown as someone who has yet to absorb what has happened and she will! I’m so glad that the writers have waited to show this and I think that when people see what she is about to go through, I think that that will be really rewarding for the fans, everyone that watches and even for me as an actor. I have been patiently waiting for something to happen so when it does, I am really grateful.

AM: What’s great about the show is that you have two major pillars, obviously what has happened in terms of what took place on that flight and then it’s the Stone family. But the way that the other characters are integrated, you don’t feel that they are side people – they are just as important as the family. It’s like looking at a diamond with a number of facets and I think that’s what draws people in. You end up finishing the episode and talking with others about it and going online to read theories and it makes it a fun show to watch and to talk about.

PK: Do you have any theories?

AM: The show is maddening, in a good way as you guys are dropping these pieces where you see a connection and then something else happens and you realize that we’re still not figuring out what happened. Obviously the government is involved, but who and is there a secret arm and even the government agencies aren’t working together and are definitely not on the same page.

PK: Well, wait until Season 2 (knock on wood) because Jeff just came in to talk to me the other day and gave me kind of a vague idea of where the show would go as well as Saanvi’s character and it gave me goosebumps! It’s going to be really great and I am really excited. I think our show is still a baby too! In Season 1, we are figuring out our footing, what we are, who we are and that's really common. I mean the people that love this show will be rewarded and pleasantly surprised as they stick around for the back half of this season and as we continue into the next. We just started to get closer and closer and closer. We know the characters and we’re attached to them so we can really start finding out what’s happening. I’m excited for us to come back in the New Year.

AM: In addition to what we like about you as a person is the importance of representation for women as well as being a woman of color. How do you bring this into your roles and making sure that you’re amplifying this as much as possible in a situation where representation is still an issue?

PK: That’s definitely a complicated topic and issue because it doesn’t start with me – it starts in the writer’s room and it’s their responsibility to have representation in their room so that when they are writing the nuances of people from different walks of life, that those nuances are truthful and accurate. Also, as an actor, I can try to pick projects that reflect me as an actor as well as my community in an accurate way, but truth be told – it’s not like I get those opportunities all of the time to begin with. I’m still playing in the medical field which is very complicated and as grateful as I am to be working and on such a big show, I am still a South Asian woman playing a doctor. I would like to move away from that, but the difference with Manifest is that they have written her in a way that as we get to know her, she will be humanized and she’s not just an Indian doctor, she is someone with purpose and who you will get to know in a personal way. I think that that is why I was happy to be on the show and play someone in the medical field again. And I said that after this show I wouldn’t do it again and I hope that this show will lead to opportunities to play different characters. I think that that would be a blessing and all that I can do is to bring as much humanity to Saanvi as I can and as much nuance as I can and hope that people love her and appreciate her. There are a lot of people that watch and there are young people that are looking at who we are, who watch and are inspired by Saanvi, as well as my journey as an actor.

It’s a complicated question as far as how I deal with it and I think it really boils down to the writer’s room and asking them! I always find it to be counterproductive when people ask people of color what they think about diversity as I’m like, “you don’t have to ask me – I already know it.” I can talk about it for days – I understand it. It’s the people in power – those who are making the decisions they are the ones that need to be asked about diversity as they are the ones that need to start answering that question for themselves.

AM: You recently were in a film, are there additional areas in TV/Film that you would like to tackle – perhaps directing or producing?

PK: I would like to try to break into fashion!

AM: Oh!

PK: Yeah, it’s my first love. I would like to start breaking into that world in some way. I’m not sure into what capacity I could, but that is my heart. I like fashion, styling, creative directing. It gives me a lot of joy. I have been sewing since I was a kid and I was one of the people that would lock myself in my room coming home after school and by high school I was making the clothes that I made – it was therapeutic. It was a great expression for me and it took a lot of my frustrations and feelings that I felt as a child and it was put into clothing. So that’s a big passion of mine that I hope that I get the opportunity to work in, even if it’s just wearing the clothing.

I don’t know if I can get away with just making something at this point, but I am so inspired by fashion and the work that we do. Our costumes and wardrobing are a big part of our characters and it’s no small feat for our costuming departments to come up with something beautiful and accurate and that is a creativity that I know is acknowledged, but we can always do more! When we watch characters, what they are wearing is very important and I am one of those actors that you will find me in the Costume Department all of the time – just hanging out!

AM: How do you take time for yourself in the midst of your busy schedule – do you meditate or take inspiration walks?

PK: That’s a great question! I decompress in the shower and I need a hot shower before work and after work – that’s how I decompress. I like to just hang out with my dog. My mom gave me her Curry Chicken recipe for my 30th birthday and I am not a cooker and I don’t cook! She gave it to me and all of a sudden, I am enjoying cooking and trying to understand it. I like working with my hands as I find it very therapeutic and I’m sewing which is really nice so that’s how I wind down. I love spending time with my family and that’s great for me. I’m a pretty chill person. I love going to the movies – I go a couple of times a week. If there were enough movies, I’d go even more. I love escapism and the whole thing of going to the theater, grabbing snacks, the lights come down and I can escape and go somewhere new – it’s one of my favorite things to do! It’s so funny because I live in this particular area in Brooklyn where there are three different movie theaters and it’s really awesome!

AM: In Brooklyn, where can we find you grabbing a meal, drinks and working out?

PK: One of my favorite restaurants is Lucali's in Brooklyn - it has the best pizza in the world. People need to make their way there! I am a coffee snob and whenever I move to a new city, I need to find my coffee. If I don’t have my coffee place, I end up feeling very lost and don’t enjoy my time there. It’s such a big part of my routine because I get up and go get my coffee. So there are a few shops that I like to go and work from. In terms of working out, I love to do yoga and actually I haven’t been that good at doing it because my schedule has been so hectic! I do work with a personal trainer when I am in Toronto and I love doing hot yoga! I’m small and I like to stay toned. Being small and tiny, I want to have curves and there is this myth that if you workout, you will lose weight which I don’t want to do because if I lost weight, I’d look sick! Yoga and hot yoga was the perfect balance for me to practice mindfulness, working my body and exercising – that’s a good one for me as well.

IG @YoParveen

PHOTOS COURTESY | NBC Manifest + Parveen Kaur

Read more from the Dec Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Back in Season with Parveen Kaur in mag.

AND SCENE WITH ELLEN ADAIR

There are shows that give us the chills because it draws you in, you're trying to figure out how it all comes together and when they're limited edition series, you hope it comes back again. That's  how we feel about USA Network's The Sinner which is back for its second season to show us a crime that you couldn't believe that took place and then retraces its steps to tell you why it went down and how people and experiences are a lot more connected than you can imagine.

The cult following of the show comes through based on actors who play characters that don't have clear lines on being either good or bad. Ellen Adair who you have seen on HBO's Veep, NBC's The Slap, Showtime's Homeland and Billions, and currently plays Bess McTeer in The Sinner. She sat down with us to talk about her process as an actor, the scene that had everyone shocked within the first 10 minutes of the first episode (the second scene if you haven't seen it spoilers - you've been warned), character island and the Phillies!

ATHLEISURE MAG: So excited to talk to you. I was obsessed with The Slap. When that came out -

ELLEN ADAIR: Oh wow! You’re the only person in America!

AM: Truly loved it. That show was just riveting and then, I’m just going to say it, the scene from The Sinner, was beyond!

EA: Oh thanks!

AM: Everyone who has watched that has been left with – what? So we’ll delve into that. There are scenes that are in cinema and TV and you think of the horse’s head in The Godfather, but you’re 10 minute situation was like that kind of scene in my opinion.

EA: Oh my goodness, thanks – I mean like, move over dead horse's head.

AM: I mean, you were still going.

EA: What a great compliment – thanks!

AM: Can you tell us about your background and how you got into acting. You’ve been in a lot of things, like Homeland.

EA: So I wanted to be an actress since I was like a tiny child which belies some type of personal development I guess. But it was just like children’s theater that I did. I wasn’t a professional child actor and I think that really my love was the theater and I think that that was partly because both of my parents were college professors and are staunchly (less so now, particularly my mom) anti-TV. So I didn’t have a TV growing up. So we would go out to see movies, but I think that my parents had this real thought about it being in the house as a source of a constant distraction. I read a lot and we went to theater and I saw TV at friends’ houses. When I was 10 years old, I said I wanted to be a stage actor and it wasn’t until I got into the professional world that I started working on camera a little bit and I was like, “oh I love this, I love this SO much.”

For me, I actually did Shakespeare at an early age. I did my first Shakespeare at the age of 12. My first professional/semi-professional thing when I was 15. That was also Shakespeare. What I love so much about Shakespeare is that there is so much that is technical about it that it allows my artist brain to just free up because there is this great sense of being like on a train, I don’t have to get on a boat, I just get on the train and take it to the end of the play. I just kind of say, ooo what I ride!

I feel kind of similarly about on camera stuff. In that there is so much stuff that is technical about it that part of my brain is able to be free and spontaneous about it. That way, I can be completely real about it.

AM: What is your process when you are looking at a character that you want to play? Once again, I loved you in Billions (Showtime) – especially when these characters are so different. You have played a number of characters across shows and although I know it’s you – you bring such a different approach to each one. Some people when they portray roles, still bring a lot of themselves into each one – do you get what we’re trying to say?

EA: Yes I do know what you are trying to say and I’m really touched that you say that because I think that is – it’s not a part of my mindful process so much as I guess, I don’t know coming from my sort of life reading a lot, and I was an English and Theater major in college and so I really love text. I love textual analysis so for me I guess, it all just comes from me really looking at the script and looking at what the writer is doing and then just imagining if I was that person in that place. So I don’t think about, “oh this is – I don’t judge my character in any sort of way" and I really feel that I am just playing myself, but if it were me and my entire life was different and my development was different and I did this thing and these were the words that I say or at least that is 100% of my process for on camera stuff.

For theater, it’s a little different. Sometimes I will mostly think about how would this character sort of hold themselves physically different or how their voice would be physically different then mine. So it’s also sort of like, technical things that show up. But, then there’s – I don’t know – why I do the thing as there is some kind of magical thing that happens and if I just put myself in the situation then I am just suddenly this totally different person. So on my – I remember on The Slap, one of the producers, because it was like the first big thing that I did for TV. I had done a couple of small reoccurring things before. But a producer came up
to me and we were in the middle of filming and really quickly he said, “I love your performance on this” and I thought, “I have a performance?” I mean I was just so focused on the thought of, what if I was a lawyer, a D.A. and got some wonderful thoughts from Ken Olin (Dir/Exec Producer - This is Us) – one of my favorite directors that I have ever worked with – I adore him. I incorporated those into thinking about what would be my life goals and what I would want to be. But I didn’t think of it as a performance and similarly, when I came in on my first day, I thought that I was just going to say the words and everybody was like, “oh I really love what you’re doing,” and I thought, “I’m doing something? Great, I’ll keep doing it.”

Working on The Sinner was just incredible – it was one of the greatest blessings on my life so far and part of what was so much fun about that was just that – the circumstance that Bess is in – it’s so extreme and different than the circumstance of other people that I have played. It was just that a whole new person just came out.

AM: Tell us about the process of getting on the show, what it was like working with Bill Pullman and the idea that The Sinner tells you what happens, but why did it happen and what are the circumstances around it that made it happen. Which reminds me of elements of The Slap.

EA: There’s so many wonderful things to unpack in what you just said! For me, a real comparison between the works The Sinner and The Slap is that we’re always talking in both cases, that there are sets of characters that have some sense of redeeming qualities and some less attractive qualities to put it politically. That’s my favorite kind of story, favorite kind of TV, favorite kind of movie, book whatever. I think that some people, it’s not their favorite.

They want it to be where this is the good guy and this is the bad guy. But I really enjoy digging into that kind of stuff. In terms of my experience with The Sinner, I had watched it because actually, a lot of the crew is the same from Billions – the genius Director of Photography Radium Cheung – some of the A.D.s that I knew from Billions said they were working on this and I watched it. But then I rewatched it when I was going in to audition for it, and having just done Homeland for 5 months, what I was struck with so much was how much everyone and all the characters take their time. How much space for human life is allowed versus the kind of person that I normally play that is very talky, journalists, lawyers, political animals – just be kind to Janet because she is so wonderful.

That was a conversation that I had with Bill at the very first Table Read. When I just sort of fangirled him and talked to him about how amazing his performance was in the first season.

What I loved about the show was that it is really populated with humans that are always saying something but not speaking. There is so much clearer speech that is not articulated in this show and it’s something a little more like indie film and Antonio Campos (Director + Executive Producer) one of the really big geniuses behind the first and second season has a background in indie film and he just brought that sensibility to the show. I found that also working on it that I am so hard wired to just pick up the pace and even though I knew that from watching the show not to do it - but ke kept reminding me that, no no - you can take it as long as it wants to take - if you want to say something else, just throw it in” and I thought, “oh this is a new fun thing to work on.”

AM: How long did you film this and are there any snippets that you may be able
to share with us for our readers at Athleisure Mag.

EA: We started filming in May.

AM: WOW!

EA: Yeah and we wrapped … my last day on set was a week before production wrapped. So the first 2 episodes were filmed in tandem which is the right phrase. Which sometimes there were tandem crews, 2 things filming at the same time, because the aesthetic of the show is to film a certain amount of coverage, but they also had to do it within a TV schedule. It was cross-boarded which is the phrase I was looking for because there were so many locations that were the same. That motel room was built on the stage so all of those shots were not on location, there were just a few things that we shot as the motel which includes the scene with the motel manager and things like that. So what can I tell you – I mean I can say I guess, that you will see more of Bess and that what’s really fun is that the flashbacks go back pretty far back. That was certainly fun to remember what human being I was in 2004 and what that meant. The mystery is really the whole thing so I can’t really …

AM: I know but we had to try! So the whole death scene with Bess – how many takes did it take. How much of it came from what the script stated and what part was what you added into it. It just seemed so raw and so much – but so good.

EA: There were many takes and we worked on that scene for a whole filming day.

AM: Woah

EA: Yes just the death scene. Not really much in terms of dialogue. Now that includes the stuff that Adam who plays Adam had to do, which includes the stunt stuff that he did which has the incredible shot of him falling out of the shower. That element will add more, but getting the shots from all the different angles and the special effects things – that still to me seemed fairly early in the process was indicative to me of the level of artistry in the production. So normally, an average filming day and you probably know this is 6-8 pages. So as a script page, the death scene is maybe a page or ¾ of a page but we spent a whole day working on it and we also actually had a day of rehearsal before we had even started filming so we could figure out basically what it was going to be and I talked with Antonio and I said, "you know, I have been watching everything that I can find of videos of film scenes where people are poisoned. Is there anything you can think of where this seems more of the thing and not this." I watched some ridiculous thing where a woman was throwing herself around to every piece of furniture in the room and I thought, “that doesn’t seem like something I should do.” He was like, “no, nothing really comes to mind,” but he said, “you might want to look at videos of people having seizures,” and I’m always dutiful about my homework and I went home and looked at a lot of people on YouTube who were having seizures at home – not film of this. It exists and it’s strange what people will put up on YouTube. In my life an as actor, my YouTube searches are so weird that whatever the computer thinks about me … “I don’t know what they should market to her” – I see a lot of weird ads.

I watched a lot of videos and I was interested in what people’s hands did and that violent convulsion thing is where we ultimately decided to take it. Then the rest of it, we sort of in rehearsal just old school rehearsed it to see what if I would fall to the bed and then the door of the bathroom and then try to save Adam – so it was basically being specific to what was happening in my body every single moment. Now I’m trying to save Adam and now I’m going to vomit and turn away and here’s the moment where I realize that Julian must have had something to do with this. It was a tough day of filming because 3 days before, for the first time in my life, I had developed Vertigo. So actually, it’s just Benign Positional Vertigo – it’s still with me when I lay down to go to sleep. Whenever I would change positions or elevations, I’d get really dizzy. So I thought on that day, I was lucky that it wasn’t a fight scene where I have to do this and look like I'm in control - I feel awful and I am dying so I guess I'll #useit which is what we said all day. And even by the end I would just lie down on the floor really quickly and then I would stand up to feel really awful.

AM: That is dedication!

EA: Well you know it’s just like, this is not a great situation and I wish I had felt well so that I could be in control of my body. As long as it was happening, I may as well take the roses along with the thorns or make lemons out of lemonade – whatever cliché term you’d like to use. It was a trying day, but at the end of the day I felt like I had died and come back to life.

AM: Is it easy for you when you’re done filming to come back to you the person? Some people are so into their characters that it takes them 2-3 months to leave that character. How is that for you and how do you keep that separation?

EA: Hmm it’s a really great question. I think it’s been more challenging for me in my life with theater where you're working on something every single day that’s probably also more of a challenge for people who are doing say a film that they are doing every single day. Whereas, I think that the most days in a week that I worked on the show was like 3 days in a week. So it wasn't every single day and then I wouldn't be working at all the following week. That said, I feel like I always miss my characters when they are not around anymore. Like a Quixotic small victimless tragedy for me as there is nothing that I can hug, there is no person that I can embrace. I really feel like there is this other person that I am in communication with when I am acting and it shows up for me the most very organically and this happened – where my characters have different gestures and little things that they do that that is a residue that will stick around. I’ll do that thing that that character did and I’m like, “oh” it feels like finding a loved one who has passed and seeing their shirt. It’s not that sad as I don’t want to compare it like that –

AM: Totally understand, as a fashion stylist, when I am working on clients or moodboards that it’s in your head so much much that when it’s done, I’ll see something and then have to remind myself that I don’t need it because it’s done and the project is done.

EA: I feel that as soon as I get a character, it’s the little piece of sand in like the oyster of my heart that I am always adding layers to that pearl that everything I see in the world is part of that person. When I don’t need it anymore, I still kind of keep adding to that pearl.
To a certain extent, one way in which characters will revisit is I will play a new one and I sort of feel – and this is a metaphor – that the angelic spirit of the other character will say, “let me lend you these things that were helpful for me” so that I can use them again. I am such a nerd. I have a book of poetry which will be published this fall and most of the poems I wrote are from awhile ago, but they’re about being an actor and a life in the theater and it is mostly about characters. Very much so about this thing that we’re talking about. The relationship between the actor and the character that are like this friend and what I have really come to love and have a relationship with them although we are sort of the same. And in one of them, I sort of create this metaphor where I am an island where all of my past characters live and that when a new character comes and sort of materializes, on the island and asks what this place is – all the other characters are like, “here you can use this” and that’s a poetic metaphor, but in a sense that’s all the people still living on that island.

AM: When is this book coming out and what is the name of it?

EA: The name of the book is Curtain Speech. I was trying to come up with a name that is actually sort of private – being backstage and that is where the conversation between the character and the actor takes place. Or it’s in your trailer or the moments before the take. When you step on stage or when filming starts, you’re one person and you can’t have that conversation again. Curtain Speech is actually the thing that someone will come out and say, “please turn off your cellphones, here are the exits and thank you for coming.” It’s the title I came up with and I don’t have an exact date when it will be coming out, but it might be available for pre-order on Amazon now – I can check with my publisher.

AM: What other projects do you have coming out that you can tell us about?

EA: Well, I will be in Season 7 of Chicago Fire! Other than that, I am working on writing a series like many an actor is. In terms of the little people of sand, it’s always around that series and that character and I developed the idea with a friend of mine, Chris Carfizzi from Billions who plays Rudy and so we wanted to work on something together. But he has a small baby and I sort of took the lead on writing it. We also want to – when our lives are sane enough – probably think about filming a scene so we can shop it around.

AM: So you’re based in NY, where do you love to eat, shop here, workout etc?

EA: So I love Vietnamese food and I can eat it everyday! Probably one of my favorite restaurants is probably OBAO in Hell’s Kitchen. Whenever anyone wants to get lunch, I’m like, “Oh do you like Vietnamese food?” I also really Asian food in general – I’m a big lover of sushi and a friend of mine have had a date for 3 months that we have kept moving to go to Nakazawa, but you have to make a reservation way in advance. Everytime we have made one, I always end up working on a show. I mean in this week, this is the one day that I am filming so that hasn't happened yet. I really love Koreatown because it's right in the middle of the city so it’s not like you have to go all the way down to Chinatown. I also live in Queens and I live in Jackson Heights and I love the Indian food there and Tibetan food, so good! There’s this place Faul. It’s impossible to find as there is no storefront and you go up a random staircase, but it is very close to the Jackson Heights stop. Lassa Fast Food is behind a cellphone store - if you didn't know it was there, you’d never see it. I love living so close to Flushing because my husband and I will just hop on a train and feel like we’re going to another country and that’s really how Flushing feels.

I tend to workout at my local gym and I can’t run outside anymore. I can run on a treadmill and that’s about it.

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“... my characters have different gestures and little things that they do that is a residue that will stick around. I’ll do that thing that that character did...”

— Ellen Adair

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AM: We know that you’re a huge Phillies fan as we have seen your Instagram - so are you from Philadelphia originally?

EA: Yes nobody chooses the Phillies. But I’m from there originally and neither of my parents are from Philadelphia actually, my mom’s from Virginia and my dad’s from Oregon – they were like, we’ll adopt the Phillies. I went to games in utero and then as a babe in arms. Someone asked me if I remembered my first baseball game and I was like, “no, I’ve been going for as long as I can remember.” They’re my life partner as I like to say.

AM: Do you have season tickets or do you go when they’re always here?

EA: I make sure I see them pretty much when I am here. Season tickets are not super practical living in NY, but I do try to see a couple of games in Philly every season. Last season I didn’t because I was doing an Off Broadway show that was basically all of baseball season and that was tough for me emotionally. There are a few Mon games I went to. So in 2016, I saw 16 games and so I knew that that would be my goal. And what I like about this is that I can move the goal post in a good way every year. This year, I have already seen 18 games and there is still a bit of the baseball season left and I am going to a Phillies game next week.

AM: Are you an Eagles fan too?

EA: Um, sure, is the most accurate answer and I was not raised on the religion of football at all. So definitely supported the Eagles this season and not in any sort of a bandwagon way. Did I want them to defeat the Patriots as they are the Yankees of football, absolutely I do. Actually, I watched the Super Bowl with Dylan Baker in Virginia as we were there shooting Homeland and he’s a big football fan. I know the marquee names of football – I definitely enjoy watching it with friends, it’s not something that I would sit down myself and do. I will sit down and watch baseball because it’s unhealthy but I really loved sitting down and watching it with Dylan. Everybody except for one table in this hotel bar was clearly rooting for the Eagles and that made it more delightful. I was wearing an Aaron Nola shirt because I was like, this is how I know how to support – just wear a Phillies shirt.

AM: So how do you give back in a philanthropic/charitable way?

EA: It’s more monetary than it is time. I would love to figure out how my time would be valuable to a particular organization but there are a lot of charities that I care about. One that I have supported for years is City Harvest – I’d like to give my time to them as well. But in the world that we’re living in right now, it feels like there are so many things to keep tabs on there is more then the hours in the day! But, I feel like if I am a monthly contributor to a cause it helps. I care a lot about the environment so I support the Natural Resources Defense Council. I traveled a lot as a child so I think I have a real appreciation for other countries and other cultures. If I had to say the most right now in terms of America, one thing that sticks out there, it’s protecting immigrants and Muslims. I spent a lot of time in Turkey and so like I grew up being like, these are some of the nicest people in the world – I support the Council For American Islamic Relations and National Immigration Forum and United We Dream – I got connected to them because they send text messages where if someone in your area is going to get deported, you can come and help. It’s a service that I guess I signed up for and I was like, I like what they do. The Center for Popular Democracy is also important to me. It’s 10 – 12 that I am monthly donors to and obviously the big ones, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP – I’m forgetting somebody I’m sure.

Journalism is important. I have a subscription to the NY Times, Washington Post and I support NPR. Also that’s a service and for a little while, there was a grassroots organization of women that I was working for a friend who had founded it and she was trying to get it to expand across the country and she decided to start something different called Candidates and Coffee. So she interviews people for local elections because the information isn’t always there as it’s not in the national stream. You’re not going to see people in your local elections talking on CNN about stuff. There should be a way that millennials can connect so I was just meeting with her last night and I might end up and hope to help her work on that a little bit as well. Voting is super important! The 2016 election certainly taught us that.

I have been thinking about and I haven’t done this before – kind of getting on a bus from NY to PA a swing state close to the election to get out the vote. It’s close and I was registered to vote in PA for a long time.

AM: Is there a director or a role that you’d like to work with or be with?

EA: Such a great question wow. It’s easier for theater because the roles exist already. That's the great thing about TV/film - you don’t know who that person will be until you go off and really create what that is definitively. So, that’s hard to say on camera. I’ve done in theater, a lot of period stuff like old time timey people. It would be really fun to be able to get to do that on camera. I played Marie Antoinette in a play about Marie Antoinette and that was really fun to get to play a historical figure like that. In terms of a play that I read and really fell in love with and knew that that was what I wanted to do, there is this play called the Curious Case of the Watson Intelligence, by Madeleine George. It’s great. A dream role is the one that I am writing for myself.

AM: That’s what I was thinking!

EA: I know I’m sorry Erin for forgetting about you for a second! In terms of a director, I don’t think I have an answer because there are so many that I really admire their work. Sometimes your favorite ones are the ones that were unexpected, because it’s the chemistry between the two of you as people is really great. That’s hard to know, but I’d love to discover that. Note that if Paul Thomas Anderson wants me to – I mean we’d have great chemistry that would be awesome. Also, Antonio was one of my favorite directors to work with and part of the reason for that is that I felt like his eye is so meticulous that when he sees something he is willing to comm unicate that to the actor. So, I felt that absolutely my performance was 100 times better because I was working with him and it’s always going to be better when you work with the director then just doing it in a vac um. He so often had a thought for me like – this time try this or this is so small but I remember it so clearly that in the first episode there is a shot where I get up from the bed and I realize that Julian is missing and he’s at the breakfast bar and I go to the window. That was of course in the studio and when I was looking out the window, I wasn't looking at anything, it was just black. The first few times that we did the take, I said to myself, imagine what you’re seeing as we had not shot in the motel yet so I didn’t know what I was looking at. I had to just make it up and imagine I was seeing cars, whether I was seeing the kid – but I wasn’t, but then we did it so many times that I was doing the movement without doing anything. A couple of times after doing it, Antonio said, “oh it doesn’t look like you’re seeing anything.” I was like thank you because most directors would not give you a note that was that detailed and it has to do with your own internal process. I have a hard time remembering exactly what he said to me that day when we were filming the death scene, because I was going through it physically but I know that he was coaching me and saying we need a little of this and that or that I had this ball in the air, but I was also dealing with this. But he’s the greatest!

AM: I think what makes that scene so impactful is like in sex scenes you know that there are various movements that they do to create the illusion of the act which can come off as very technical looking. The arm is here and then there, 1-2-3. But when watching your scene it doesn’t look like Twister and technical, it falls seamlessly and makes you think it happened in one take when it in fact wasn't. It doesn't look like you're thinking, it's just a flawless flow. Which is why it has really stunned everyone.

EA: What you’re talking about is the whole deal. That the difference is just inhabiting it than just doing the things. I think that there were physical marks I had to hit but the freedom within the technicality I could experience “oh my gosh I’m losing control – I can’t talk, I’m feeling nauseated, where does that live in my body?" I feel it is very similar when you have dialogue and in my transition of doing more on camera stuff and not just theater, is that I learn text in a completely different way. In theater, I know that this is the text and then I have a rehearsal process and I want to spare myself the personalization so I can discover it in a room with other people so that it’s not totally stale when I get to performance. But the way I memorize things for on camera is I do the thought verse and then the words. If you look at someone and it looks like they are saying words not about anticipating – but if they are thinking words and not thoughts, you can see it. You can have very good competent acting where it’s obvious that the person is thinking of words and not a person’s thoughts but my goal is to just be thinking of the person’s thoughts rather than the technical thing whether that be my hand goes here, I stumble over here or I have this political or legal gobbly gook. I’m always like, what’s the thought behind this? That’s what makes it fun.

IG @ EllenAdairG

PHOTO COURTESY | PG 86 + 90 Peter Kramer/USA Network | PG 82, 85, 88, 93, 94 Ambi Williams |

Listen to our conversation with The Sinners, Ellen Adair on an upcoming episode of #TribeGoals on Athleisure Studio, our multimedia podcast network.

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Read more the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag and see And Scene with Ellen Adair in mag.

ON THE RISE WITH ERIN KOMMOR

NBC's Rise, from the producer of Hamilton, Jeffrey Seller, focuses on the lives of highschoolers who are navigating family, friends and teachers. One of the breakout stars, Erin Kommor chats with us about how she got into the industry, parallels in her character and being a yoga teacher.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us about how you got into acting and what your journey in the field has been as we know you have done theater, film and TV.

ERIN KOMMOR: No one believes me now when I say this - but when I was younger, I was cripplingly shy. I hated talking to people and would hide when I was introduced to any person I did not know. When my mom started bringing me to the theater, I had this sudden pull. I wanted to be up on the stage, but I could barely speak to a stranger. For some reason, it was much easier for me to be someone else/engage with the audience & humanity when I was on stage. After doing theater for a while, I became less shy & more comfortable in myself, and in that, much more personable/friendly. I think theater helped me find myself by way of becoming someone else, in a manner of speaking.

I started acting & singing classes as a kid on the weekends in Louisville, Kentucky (where i’m from), and began doing community theater shows. From there I auditioned for our Youth Performing Arts High School, and got accepted. Those years really shaped me and prepared me for the next steps. I auditioned for my dream school, The Boston Conservatory and was thrilled to get accepted. From there I moved to New York and continued doing shows and taking class.

AM: Who have been mentors of yours whether in film, theater or TV?

EK: I owe so much of my success to the generosity and kindness of my mentor, Paul Hardt. He is an exquisite casting director in New York City. I met him a few months before I graduated college and he immediately took me under his wing. He has always been there to give me advice about everything in the industry, and to check in and make sure own I am okay (career wise & emotionally!). He is like a father to me. His guidance, wisdom and humor have gotten me through my time in New York. I would not be the performer I am if it were not for him, and for that I am so grateful!

Another big hero of mine is Jeffrey Seller (producer of Hamilton, Rise, Rent, Avenue Q, the list goes on...) I first auditioned for him a little over a year ago for a new show he was directing called “The Man in the Ceiling”. I ended up getting that job and working with Jeffrey was an absolute dream. He is so genuine in everything he does and he has helped me grow immensely as a performer. He is the reason I even got to audition/book Rise, as well. I adore Jeffrey, and respect and admire him in so many ways.

AM: For those that may not be familiar with Rise, tell us about this show and about the character that you play.

EK: Rise is a new drama about discovering inspiration in all different ways. It takes place in a modern high school where these students are navigating their way through some challenging life experiences. The show really focuses on the relationships between these kids and their families, peers & teachers.

I play the role of Sasha Foley. Sasha is a student at Stanton High, and a part of their theater department. She absolutely loves the theater troupe and that gets her through her days. Her family life is challenging - she is an only child with just her dad. Her father lost his job and they are really struggling financially. She doesn't have much support from any adults in her life. Tracey becomes a beacon of light for Sasha.

AM: Are there any parallels between yourself and Sasha Foley?

EK: Sasha and I are both extremely passionate about theater & music and use those art forms as an outlet to express ourselves. We take our hardships from our lives and pour it into our art. For both Sasha and I, theater is immensely healing, theraputic & transformative.

Sasha and I also both value friendships and what it means to be a good friend. We have both in a sense chosen our families from the friends and loved ones around us, not necessarily blood related. We are sensitive & vulnerable, though we may put up a tough exterior as a defense mechanism at times.

AM: What is the social impact of this show in today's climate with many being concerned about the reduction of funds for the arts in schools?

EK: NBC Rise started a R.I.S.E America project where NBC awarded 50 high schools with a $10,000 grant! The grant covers the theatre department’s needs such as production expenses, technical equipment and master classes. NBC partnered with the Educational Theatre Foundation (ETF), an organization dedicated to shaping lives through theater education, to administer the grant applications and award process.

Rise is making a huge effort to help high school’s theater departments, and I think that is SO important and special. Theater has been proven to help students in a myriad of ways.

AM: What has Rise been like from the audition process, to being accepted and then filming the current season?

EK: Rise has been such a dream to be apart of from day one. The audition process was very quick and I actually didn’t initially audition for the role of Sasha. I went in for Jolene, and a few days later my agents called to inform me I landed the role of Sasha. I was over the moon. I had been dreaming of being on TV since I was a little girl, and this was my television debut. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. The filming process was a dream. Jason Katims is my favorite writer of good all time (I grew up obsessed with Parenthood & Friday Night Lights), and to get to bring one of his characters to life and work with him was surreal. He is such a brilliant man, and his work is so incredibly powerful and touching. The whole cast and crew was amazing to work with, and I feel insanely lucky to be able to say “work” and living my dream are one in the same.

AM: When you saw the promos running during the Super Bowl, what was your reaction?

EK: I cried when I first saw the Superbowl commercial. I actually was drinking coffee in bed and spilled it all over myself. I just could not believe how stunning the commercial came out. Seeing myself and my friends on TV is still so surreal. The reaction has been overwhelmingly lovely from everyone around me.

AM: We know there are a number of phenomenal actors including Rosie Perez, what was it like working with her?

EK: Rosie Perez is easily the best scene partner I have ever worked with in my entire life. She is such a brilliant and generous actress and human. The scenes we shared together were so very meaningful to me. She taught me a lot in the work we did together, and I’ll never forget those special moments we shared. Between takes and offstage, she was so amazing and kind as well. Not to mention- she is HILARIOUS. She was always cracking me up. Rosie is a goddess!

AM: Do you have any upcoming projects that you are apart of that you can share?

EK: Not that I can share... yet. I’ll keep you all updated! :)

AM: In addition to being an actress, you are also a yoga teacher - why did you embrace yoga in this manner?

EK: Yes! I love yoga and meditation. When I moved to NYC, in the mix of auditioning and working, I needed something to ground myself. This city and industry can be overwhelming, and it’s nice to have yoga to center me. I practice yoga daily and on set before I film. It’s a way to check into the present moment, be aware of your breath, and really get in touch with the here and now. I love being a teacher and sharing the gift of yoga with others. It has done wonders for my anxiety and I love helping other people find that same sense of calm. Yoga is really a key part of my life and I would not be the same person or actress without it.

AM: In NYC, where can we find you working out, grabbing a cocktail and a meal and shopping in the city?

EK: Working out, you’ll find me at my yoga studio, Yoga to the People!

Grabbing a cocktail and a meal, I really love a spot in my neighborhood, Harlem Public. Amazing vibes and great food & drinks! I love shopping in Soho — that area is adorable.

AM: Do you have any plans to travel this summer and if so, where?

EK: I don’t have any travel plans as of now, but I love traveling and I would love to plan a trip. Somewhere tropical ideally. I love the sunshine!

AM: How do you stay balanced between auditioning, preparing for roles, and taking personal time?

EK: It takes a lot of time management skills. My friends and family are so important to me, and they are also very understanding of my demanding schedule. I make sure to schedule set time with my loved ones and hold myself accountable. As for time with myself, that’s what my hour of yoga a day is for. It’s a time to unwind, refocus and come back to myself.

AM: Do you give of your time in terms of philanthropy/charity and if so, what?

EK: In the next couple months I am starting to volunteer at an animal shelter in NYC. I love animals and want to give back and help animals in need.

PHOTOS COURTESY | PG 50 VIRGINIA SHERWOOD/NBC | PG 53 CINDY ORD/NBC

Read more from the April Issue and see On the Rise with Erin Kommor in mag.

ON THE ROAD WITH BUICK

It seems like snow has been an interesting challenge over the past few weeks and this month, Athleisure Mag editors decided to take a roadtrip to Vermont courtesy of our friends at BUICK to try out the BUICK Regal TourX, a crossover that has the dynamics of a car while having the versatility of a SUV.

The 5 hour drive to Woodstock, Vermont allowed us to enjoy a number of luxury amenities that included OnStar access, OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi Hotspot (essential for doing laptop work and
keeping our phones connected when we started to get into spotty coverage areas), plenty of USB ports, SiriusXM Radio (we loved Lithium, the Pearl Jam and Beatles channels), and navigation that kept us aware of accident areas and re-routing us as needed.

We're all about storage as we had a bit of equipment with us from camera gear, outfits for the slopes, snacks and more. The cargo space was quite substantial and as we drove into the night,
the illumination of key areas on the dashboard was a great way to keep areas lit.

While in Vermont, we stayed at the Woodstock Inn + Resort, which was a quaint resort that provides easy access to Woodstock Inn Nordic Center (we took the opportunity to go Snowshoeing), as well as a number of other mountain resorts such as Killington Ski Resort. Our room had a fireplace, as well which was a homey touch and there were attendants available to
start the fire if needed. In our downtime, we took advantage of our stay at the Woodstock Inn enjoying fine dining at the properties' Red Rooster and Richardson's Tavern, which had a
number of savory comfort foods and well-made cocktails. We also enjoyed our fill of basketball games as we're in the midst of March Madness!

There were a number of common areas with fireplaces that continued the woodsy vibe of this resort from the lobby, cozy nooks as well as a library that gave guests a number of places to connect with friends, family and other guests. We dove into chapters of Re-Engineering Humanity over hot toddies.

We explored the town of Woodstock, which had a number of churches, historical sites and covered bridges that highlighted the New England town.

When we added the trip to our calendar, we knew that we wanted to explore a few areas and decided to make a pit stop on our way home. Interestingly enough when we crossed Vermont's state line into Massachusetts, we saw the exit for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. With March being the month of one of college's biggest tournament's, NCAA March Madness we decided that we had to make a stop here.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is in honor of Dr. James Naismith, a physical educator who invented the game at the age of 30 in 1891. He wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the University of Kansas basketball program. He was the first Kansas Jayhawks' Coach (1898 - 1907) as well as the school's Athletic Director (1919 - 1937). Prior to his death, he saw the game become an official Olympic event in the summer games of 1936, the birth of the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and the NCAA Tournament (1939). At his tenure at Kansas, he would coach Phog Allen who later became the coach for Kansas for 39 seasons. He would also coach Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith.

This building is home to more than 300 inductees and has over 40,000 square feet of basketball history from NCAA teams, NBA, interactive exhibits and live clinics. Visitors can see signed memorabilia, sneakers, plaques, uniforms and more that have a place in Hardwood History.

It was a great weekend checking out the car, snow sports and paying homage to the inception and heritage of basketball.

Read more from the Mar Issue and On the Road with Buick in mag.

AWARDS SEASON 2018 | GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATIONS/WINNERS

Who's watching The 75th Golden Globes hosted by Seth Meyers tonight? We have shared who we think is winning (italics) and we will have the ones we picked correctly in bold and italicized and we will have the winners that we did not select correctly in bold. Stay in the loop on who won with us and make sure to watch tonight on NBC at 8pm EST.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Dunkirk
The Post
The Shape of Water
Call Me by Your Name
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY

The Disaster Artist
Get Out
The Greatest Showman
I, Tonya
Lady Bird

BEST DIRECTOR

Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World
Steven Spielberg, The Post

BEST ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Tom Hanks, The Post
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

BEST ACTRESS, MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA

Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Meryl Streep, The Post
Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World

BEST ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY

Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes
Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

BEST ACTRESS, MOTION PICTURE, COMEDY

Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes
Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Armie Hammer, Call Me by Your Name
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, MOTION PICTURE

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Hong Chau, Downsizing
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

BEST SCREENPLAY

The Shape of Water
Lady Bird
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Post
Molly’s Game

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

“Home,” Ferdinand
“Mighty River,” Mudbound
“Remember Me,” Coco
“The Star,” The Star
“This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
John Williams, The Post
Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

A Fantastic Woman
First They Killed My Father
In the Fade
Loveless
The Square

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

The Handmaid’s Tale
This Is Us
The Crown
Game of Thrones
Stranger Things

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY

Black-ish
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Master of None
SMILF
Will & Grace

BEST LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE

Big Little Lies
Feud: Bette and Joan
Fargo
Top of the Lake: China Girl
The Sinner

BEST ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE

Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies
Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan
Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan
Jessica Biel, The Sinner

BEST ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE

Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies
Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks
Jude Law, The Young Pope
Ewan McGregor, Fargo
Geoffrey Rush, Genius

BEST ACTRESS, TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Claire Foy, The Crown
Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander

BEST ACTOR, TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA

Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

BEST ACTRESS, TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY

Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Alison Brie, GLOW
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Issa Rae, Insecure
Frankie Shaw, SMILF

BEST ACTOR, TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick
William H. Macy, Shameless
Eric McCormack, Will & Grace

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, TELEVISION SERIES

Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies
Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, TELEVISION SERIES

Christian Slater, Mr. Robot
David Harbour, Stranger Things
Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan
Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies
David Thewlis, Fargo

FROM STORM WITH LOVE

L > R Sandra Lee, John Starks, Steve Schrippa, Hannah Storm and Dan Hicks

We have been fans of Hannah Storm for years as we know her best from her work on ESPN speaking with a number of athletes across various sports, as well as her work with NBC covering Wimbledon, MLB and the Olympics. We were very excited to chat with her about the depth of her career, Brainstormin' Productions, and The Hannah Storm Foundation. We also attended her Charity Waiter Event earlier this month which included a number of her colleagues at her network, athletes, personalities, and industry leaders.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us your journey to becoming a Sports Broadcaster and how you came to ESPN, as well as what shows you've been on with the network.

HANNAH STORM: That is a very very long answer! So, I’ll try to condense it. So growing up, I was the daughter of a sports executive and we moved all around the country. When I went to Notre Dame, I came in there having been in a lot of plays and musicals in high school and was somewhat of a ham as I loved performing. I decided I would channel that into television work and because I had really grown up around sports, I decided to pursue that and that was something that women didn’t really do at that time as a career option. I started off on the radio and began at my local station. We had a little TV station at my time so I interned there for free. I think that internships are so important and I did them at TBS in Atlanta over the summer. When I was in Houston, I did an internship there for experience while I was waitressing for money. 

When I got out of college, of course no one wanted to hire me. It was just uncommon to have a woman in that field. I would have news directors tell me that their audience would not accept a woman or that their sports directors would not work with a woman. One even said that they would hire a woman over their dead body. I got a lot of those kinds of responses. My father actually said that there were a lot of radio stations and TV stations around the country, so I started answering want ads. I actually got hired by a Rock and Roll heavy metal station to be a DJ. I loved the music as well and I thought, “ok I need to get on the air.” It was a great first job in Corpus Christi, TX. I saw another want ad up in Houston and this time, it was a person that was a DJ on the weekends and then they did sports during the week! I thought, “Ah ha! That’s me – that’s my in.”. So I drove up there and waited in the lobby for the program director to leave work one day. I popped up and handed him my tape and resume in person. I got that job and I started working part-time in TV in Houston.  I went to do the Rockets and Astros halftime and pre-game and I kept sending tapes out the whole time across the country. I was literally mailing tapes and resumes out all the time and then I got hired by a station in Charlotte that was a brand new station starting up looking to be different than other stations in the market. They thought, wouldn’t it be wild to hire a woman in sports.

So I was hired there as sort of a “let’s be different” kind of thing and less than a year later, I was hired by CNN. I was the first full-time female sports anchor there. I was in a department of about 75 men. So that was quite the experience there and a great thing was that I met my husband, Dan Hicks. 

Then I went from CNN to NBC. My first assignment was Wimbledon and my second assignment was the Olympics in Barcelona – Dick Ebersol from NBC was a really late night TV watcher and I was on at 2:30am a lot (sometimes 11) and so he saw me quite a bit on the air and thought that I had a lot of potential. So after 3 years at CNN, I went to New York at NBC for 10 years and he gave me unprecedented opportunities that a woman had never had in the business. I hosted Major League Baseball, I hosted the NBA, I hosted Notre Dame football – basically every event NBC had as they had a lot at that time. Then, NBC lost a lot of their sports properties media rights and I had always wanted to do morning news.

Precipitously, they had started a new morning crew at CBS so I was on in the mornings at CBS for 6 years. CBS News had a lot of turn over and that whole morning crew was swept out, and then roughly at about 8 months later, ESPN was getting ready to launch daytime SportsCenter in the morning and you really needed to launch it with someone who had a name and an understanding of the morning show sensibility along with knowing sports. So I went back into sports at ESPN. 

I made a lot of decisions that brought me to various reasons for working where and when I did as this is just the quick version and a lot of it had to do with my children and their schedule. I always worked daytime or in the morning because of my kids. 

Now I have 2 in college and one that has 2 more years in high school. It’s gone by really fast!

AM: As a fan of your work, I like that you wear many hats from being a broadcaster, being an author and being a producer. What is Brainstormin' Productions and what was the catalyst behind creating this company?

HS: Great question. When I left CBS, and before I knew that I was going to ESPN, I had already been through a time at NBC and CBS where they were making broad business decisions for various reasons. None of them had to do with whether I was doing a good job, but it was based on things happening at a company wide basis. I think with my dad being a commissioner at the ABA and having an understanding of how things work with franchises and I have always understood how things along the way that are decided upon that are not personal. 

I wanted something that I had control over. This was important to me to be able to have something of my own and that I could create and do it in my own way and to run. It’s interesting because this was the impetus of what lead me to write my own book and I have always felt that I needed that creative outlet that I had control over and I wouldn’t wake up to find that it was gone.

So Brainstormin’ and my foundation were created when I left CBS and before I got to ESPN. My foundation and my production work were grandfathered into anywhere that I went. We started it out of my daughter’s tiny bedroom, we kicked her out of her room, and it was perfect for me as it was my first office. She slept in her sister’s bedroom and I was able to work in this closet and then it grew into my basement and now I have a cottage that we work out of which is awesome. 

We got our first big break when I was being introduced at the UpFronts to ESPN and as I was watching them do the presentation about the original 30 For 30 series. I thought that I could do that and wanted to do that! I introduced myself at ESPN to the person running 30 For 30. I asked if they had any slots left and he said he had two. 

I asked if there was anything that they didn’t have that they were desperate for. To me, this is something that I learned from my really good friend Nicholas Sparks (Bestselling Author of novels The Notebook, A Walk to Remember) which is to find out what the needs are and to fulfill those. He said that they did not have a women’s film nor a tennis film. My thoughts went to Chris Evert and Chris and Martina [Navratilova]. I ended up producing my first film Peabody Award winning 30 For 30 which was awesome and a great experience. I did several films: 9 For 9, SEC Stories, shorts, full length, etc. My first film which comes up on a different network, Epix, debuts on Nov 8th – Danica. I’m very proud of it as my films tend to be inspirational and aspirational whether they are about men or women. My last film was about Shaq and his coach Dale Brown at LSU – a relationship between two men. I’m already in discussion about more films and content across the board. It’s exciting to get into these conversations. Now that I have had a little bit of time to devote time to this it’s been a lot of fun.  

AM: What is the process behind deciding which projects are greenlit or are a fit to being included within Brainstormin' Productions?

HS: There are definitely things that I know are good stories. I pitch those up to whatever entity that I think would be a great fit. It’s the same formula I have used all along – what do you need, what are you looking for – what are you missing? What fits your sensibilities and I take the myriad of ideas I have and take them in. That makes it a great fit. I have a varied team of people that I work with and I pair various producers and editors. It’s about pairing people that are right for the project and its ongoing team building. Just putting together groups of people and projects is fun as you’re running a project, working with a network and you’re creating the whole time and always thinking about it.  Sometimes you work on something and realize that that isn’t what you want to do and you don’t want to do things unless they’re going to be good!

AM: Tell us about the Hannah Storm Foundation and why this organization is so important to you.

HS: Yes! It’s been great! I was born with a port wine stain on my left eye area and it looked like I had a black eye, and I still do when you don’t see me with makeup on. People will ask what happened to my face etc. Growing up, my parents tried all kinds of surgeries – the cold laser surgery wasn’t available then. All different methods of surgeries growing up and it was a lot – they really tried to make it look better. Now the surgeries and technologies are available, but they are not covered by insurance and is prohibitive. Kids really need 10-12 surgeries, and many are severely disfigured. We’re able to fund those surgeries with one of the best surgeons in the world and one of the inventors of the laser, a South African doctor Dr. Milton Waner, who is at the top of his field and is known worldwide. We’re able to do the surgeries in conjunction with him and it’s a specific charity, but it is very close to my heart. 

The other mission of this charity is to fund a journalist internship at my alma mater, Notre Dame. It allows students to work on a practical level by writing for our alumni publication so that when they get out of college they have online and print content. Now we’re going more into visual, but when they get out they have published work when they leave college.

AM: We're excited to attend this year's Celebrity Waiter Event which is one of your foundation's events. Why did you come up with this format for this charity event, and since you have done this for a number of years, how do you decide which Celebrity Waiters will participate and are there those that do so at each of these events?

HS: Actually, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals kind of gave me that idea. I saw that he was doing an event in Phoenix at Morton’s and I thought what a fun concept. He got his teammates to wait tables and I thought that was really neat and we partnered with Morton’s for our first event. I asked how the Phoenix event worked and whether he thought it would be a good idea for me to do and he said to go for it. It was crazy. 

My celebrity waiters will eat and drink as much as the patrons and they have been hilarious. Mike Ditka enjoyed eating mash potatoes out of the center of the table which is one of my favorite memories from a previous event. It was hysterical and people love it. It’s just a fun and different experience and people don’t really do that. People get a kick out of it and my waiters have fun and it’s like – I’m not stuffy and I want it to be a party. 

We do a live auction and this year we’re being honored by All Sports United. It’s just really amazing and very celebratory and we’re coming together to do good. It’s a different and needed cause and we’re a global charity that people reach out from all over. We always identify a special child who will need something immediately and we have a fund in need that focuses on them. 

One year, we had a child that had something wrong with his eye and he needed immediate surgery and we set aside portions of the auction within the “funds in need” to take care of this critical surgery. A charity event impacts a number of lives and it doesn’t matter the number – just the act of doing it and that’s why we’re on this earth. We have to impact individuals and it costs a lot of money to take care of one child but we have to help – we’re their only hope! 

It’s been very gratifying and many of these children and families I may never meet! Some I have and it’s important that we know the doctor that is doing it and we are very much so on top of each case and what is taking place from the treatment plan. It helps to have such an acclaimed doctor that is a part of this as I think he is the most interesting man in the world!

AM: You’re doing so many good things and it’s amazing that you’re able to get them done! 

HS: Well I don’t know how either! It’s so busy around here – that’s all I have to say! I have an incredible business partner, Carmen Belmont. We met when our kids were in pre-school and we’re still together to this day. She believes in me and everything we have going on. I am super creative with a ton of connections. She is super practical, she line produces, she does the books – she’s over at the hospitals. She’s the nuts and bolts of what we do.

AM: We know that you are married to NBC Broadcaster, Dan Hicks. How do you balance your time when you both may me be traveling to cover similar stories such as the Olympics or when you have schedules that cause you to be apart - how do you ensure your connection?

HS: The cool thing is that he is around during the week. So that’s nice. He is here now eating lunch and we’re able to go to my daughter’s field hockey games, we can have lunch together, we have dinner when we’re both home as I love to cook. I love that time right before dinner when I’m cooking and I have a glass of wine or scotch! 

Golf is essentially on the weekends so we can hang out during the week. Right now, golf is on a hiatus so that's  nice for a couple of weeks. Then obviously we do a lot of events – so I just got back from Chicago interviewing the Mannings for a corporate event. It’s funny, there is a lot more travel now than before. Whether I’m doing corporate events, filming or doing things for ESPN – there’s travel. It’s about balancing that out while having a daughter at home and it’s about being cognizant of that. Sometimes, you just have to do it and it sucks but it’s the reality of what we do. I mean, I suppose if we were actors we’d be shooting and doing the same thing. We’re home for spurts and then we also travel quite a bit!

Read more in the Oct Issue and see From Storm with Love in mag.

WHAT CAN I BRING?

Our Style Director grew up in a suburb in the Midwest at a time where everyone knew their neighbors in their subdivision and events were celebrated together. When her father mowed the lawn, it was a time to gossip with other fathers in the neighbhorhood and their wives planned ways to come together. The highs and lows were celebrated through food. Now more than ever, the need to bring warmth to the everyday through food is an essential. We had the opportunity to sit down with Elizabeth Heiskell, who just released her lifestyle cookbook, What Can I Bring, to talk about how she got into the culinary industry, a Today Show Contributor, a caterer and how we can approach incorporating food into lifestyle situations. We laughed more than any interview we can think of and the food and the presentation of it from this book is from a place of love.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us how you came to this journey as a cook, TODAY SHOW contributor and writer.

ELIZABETH HEISKELL: I started in highschool with a catering company and my mom was really good friends with the owner of the company and so I would go and cater on the weekends. I would work during holidays and when I came home from college and I would work for her. So when I finished school, I was looking for a job and ended up finding a husband instead of a job and then very quickly had a baby right after we got married. I hadn’t planned on working as I was just going to raise children and my family and that was just what I was going to do. Then I had this friend that I just adored and she had just moved back to town. She didn’t have a job and she would just come over to my house and literally every morning, we’d visit and have so much fun!

Her husband was making her get a job. So it was so bad that I would load up the baby and then sit in the car while she would go off to do interviews and then we would go eat lunch – it was awful! Finally, I said, “this is ridiculous, we just need to start our own company and then you don’t have to get a job and we can still hang out!” I told her that I had this idea call Instead of Flowers. So basically instead of getting flowers, you called us and we would bring you food. If you had a friend that died or someone who had a baby or sick – we would take food. So we did that and of course our husbands called it, “Instead of a Job”, but it was really successful and it moved into catering almost immediately. 

Then we moved from Memphis back to the Delta in Mississippi where I’m from originally and I slowly started catering again and then I became the head chef at Viking Corporation – which of course is the stove company. I was there for 8 years while still catering and then we were approached by this couple that owned a farm in Oxford. They had just bought it and were going to develop it with house, but then the market turned and they thought they were just going to hang on to it. In the meantime, they had started a farm down in Louisiana and they were servicing New Orleans with some of the most beautiful vegetables that you have ever seen. So they decided to shift plans with the property that they were holding onto and to work with someone to do the same things that they were doing there. 

So my husband came home from work (he was a builder at the time but had grown up as a farmer) and started talking to me about all of this. We had just built my first house as we had lived in rental after rental after rental – it was my first house. We were going to live in that house, we were going to die in that house – I wasn’t going to go anywhere – they were going to have to lay me out on my dining room table when I was dead for people to see me - that was it! I wasn’t going to go to Oxford Mississippi! He wouldn’t shut up about it and I agreed to look at the property in Oxford. We went down to Lousiana at their other farm and they started pulling out vegetables that I had never seen before! This was 7 years ago before we even had a WholeFoods. You’d see these vegetables in magazines but the thought that you could harvest them and cook them took me to a whole other level.

So we ended up selling my beautiful house and moved to Oxford and started growing them. The plan was that Luke would grow the vegetables and that I would sell them. That’s the way it was going to be because I was a chef and knew what the restaurants wanted and what they needed and I was connected to them in Memphis and in Oxford. 

The crates were a thousand pounds because there were crates of squash and tomatoes. It wasn’t feathers that we were selling and it was the hardest 5 months of my life. I went to Memphis 3 days a week and sold these vegetables and then we had a barn on the farm that we were redoing so that I could get back to catering and of course we’d use all the vegetables in the catering company. 

It was a perfect marriage and then I had wanted to be on the Today Show for 17 years. I remembered sitting in my house back when I had Instead of Flowers seeing Martha Stewart on with Matt Lauer with a Turkey that she was making. I told my friend, “One day, I’m going to be on the Today Show and I am going to show my grandmother’s Pillowcase Turkey and it’s going to be fantastic.” My children would always ask me if I could take them to New York and I’d say, “we can go to NY as soon as I get on the Today Show.” 

So I was asked to do a dinner for Andy Lack in Oxford at Roanoke. I cooked out of William Faulkner’s kitchen and I was the first one to cook out of his kitchen since his death. It was 12 people at the dinner and he was coming back out of retirement to take over as the head of NBC and that was on a Thursday and he was taking over on Monday. I knew that this was my chance. Honey, we put the dog on!

AM: So wait – what was this dinner like?

EH: It was the most magical thing that I had ever done. We had silver on the lawn, the oak trees were uploft, beautiful bars and we served mint juleps out of sterling silver cups with sterling silver straws as that is what Willian Faulkner served. We passed ham and biscuits because he always had a ham everytime he had a party. They were seated at his table – it was a magical night and at the end of it, Andy just held my hands and said, “you need to understand that you are wildly talented.” And I said, “Oh Andy – you tell all the girls that!” 

I sent him a package reminding him of my interest to be on the Today Show and I didn’t hear anything for about 2 and a half months and my fingers were bloody from hitting the email button!

I wasn’t going to let it go and we have a Bloody Mary mix called Debutante Farmer Bloody Mary Mix that was born on the farm with Luke growing 10,000 tomato plants and me having nothing to do with them as we only had 6 restaurants. 

I knew that Andy loved Bloody Marys as I had already put some in his room at the hotel and he drinks the mix every morning – not with the vodka but he loved it. 

So I FINALLY got a call from the Senior Producer of the Today Show and I talked to her for 2 hours as I was headed to Nashville. It didn’t dawn on me how long it was as I was driving to Nashville and I know she didn't get a word in edgewise and my Suburban was filled with tomatoes. So at the end of the conversation she said, “we’re going to send a crew to you and I really want to see what you’re doing there. We’ll get one of our anchors to come down to be with you.”

She said, “I know, you want to be on the Today Show with Matt Lauer – there isn’t a person up here who doesn’t know what your dream is. We will get you on, but if you don’t mind we’d like to come and do a segment on you.”

They came down with Erica Hill and did a beautiful segment and it was nominated for a James Beard – which I didn’t know until after the awards happened. Then she called and it was about a month before Thanksgiving and she let me know that they wanted me to come up and to do the Thanksgiving Turkey. She didn’t know that that was what I wanted to do – just my friend. So I came on and did the turkey in 3.5 minutes with Matt and I thought that that was it. That was my dream – we went to Tavern on the Green, had champagne and went shopping with the girls. 

That’s how we got to all of this and because of the Today Show, Sid Evans (Editor in Chief of Southern Living Magazine) called and said he wanted me to come to Birmingham to do Facebook Live and webisodes. We then had lunch with Katherine Cobb the Editor at Time Inc and Oxmoore House had this idea of What Can I Bring which is based on a column that they already have in the magazine and with that column they wanted to do a book. I had already thought about doing a book about 3 months before this and my prayer was that I wanted to do one but it had to be simple and easy as I didn't have time to find an agent, a publicist etc. I just wanted it to be the easiest book that I could write. So Katherine told me about it and I was like "Katherine that was my first job – ‘Instead of Flowers’ that’s what I did.” I can do that with my eyes closed – lock me in the room for 2 hours and I’ll have a book for you. 

After that I agreed and I wrote a little bit and Sid said we’ll see if you can write and if not, we can get someone to help you write. I let him know that I thought I could write it and he said, “we’ll be the judge of that.” I sent him a few things so that he could pitch it to Time and they said the book went through. I asked Katherine if Sid thought that I needed someone to help me write and she said, “oh no no you’re doing this all by yourself.” It’s so funny as English was my worst subject and to see this book sitting here, I can’t believe it! It’s beyond! I just wrote what I was thinking and I figured that Katherine would fix whatever needed to be done and she never called – and now there is a book.

AM: Tell us more about the Debutante Farmer.

EH: So, we started with the Bloody Mary Mix and started canning it. So we had big stove pots we would mash the tomatoes down and cook them, strain them and then add what you do – Wooster, Garlic, Salt and Lime – that’s it – nothing else. We canned and canned. I’d take it to friends and then people started asking for it and it became this thing. So then we found this wonderful guy that makes it for us and he uses local tomatoes and does right by the product. So now it’s a really great product. The next step will be to work on the Pimento Cheese, Pickled Green Beans, Pickled Okra - all of those things will follow suit with this. Because there is nothing better to me then Cheese Straws and Bloody Marys and Pimento Cheese and a Pickled Okra. 

The Bloody Mary is the only thing that can drink at 9am and no one is going to roll their eyes at you or to put you in the Betty Ford Clinic! They just think that you’re getting in your vitamins.

AM: What foods are classic to the Mississippi Delta?

EH: Well just the ones we were talking about. We have such notoriety for our fried foods and things that aren’t healthy like Pimento Cheese and Chicken Dumplings which are fantastic. But what a lot of people don’t understand is that we have the vegetables and the produce and the ability to grow it with the land that no one else has. We have beautiful Farmer’s Markets and people are moving back to this seeing this huge resurgence. When I grew up, we had a vegetable patch and most of my friends did. We had big lunches everyday and it’s going back to that but it wasn’t very long ago. So I still remember this as it’s not 2 generations or 3 generations – like it is in a lot of other places. There was a meat and 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 including sliced tomatoes, creamed corn, wonderful black eyed peas – oh my God! So although we’re famous for the fried chicken, it’s moving to a healthier aspect and I honestly think that we will be known as almost the vegetable basket (just like the bread basket in the midwest) – because we do know how to grow the vegetables and they flourish there.

AM: What Can I Bring debuted this month, what can people expect when reading this book?

EH: Number one it’s funny. I wrote it just like I’m sitting here talking to you talking about my favorite pound cake recipe. 

Even though I am going to promote vegetables and healthiness all day long, there is sometimes a need to take a shortcut to get to the end result! The whole point of this book and why it's important is that when people are sick or hurting or celebrating – if you stop your world and take your time to care for them, by bringing them something that you made, it’s like God magnifies it and impacts them in ways that are lasting and memorable forever. I have a friend and I talk about this – my youngest daughter had an eye surgery and she was only 6 months old and we had to go to Baltimore. She was blind in one eye and it was terrifying. We came home and my neighbor saw me getting out of the car and she came over and hugged us. A few hours later, she brought back a beautiful roast chicken with lemon rice, asparagus and muffins. That was 19 years ago and I can still tell you everything that she brought. I can’t remember what I ate yesterday or where I was but I remember every single thing of what Lee Fife brought me that day. That is the reason why this is so important. Especially in our day and time today – there’s nothing more important than sharing your time with someone else. That’s what this all boils down to and that’s why the book is doing so well.

AM: So can anyone give you a lifestyle situation and you can give them a dish/dishes that can pair well with it?

EH: I can – that’s the catering background that I came up in!

AM: Oh great as we have some Athleisure situations that we’d love to know what it can be paired with! We always like asking 3 things and this seemed perfect! First up, what’s a great meal for a girls night in?

EH: Ok [laughter] Ok Girl’s Night In – now this is funny because usually with a girl’s night in or at least my friends, the wine starts flowing first. So what happens is that everyone starts talking and their mouths are moving a mile a minute. I mean, we're the loudest group in Oxford, Mississippi and you want things that are easy - easy- easy to pick up. So a gorgeous charcuterie board with beautiful cheeses and bread and honeycombs are perfect because you can just eat it. Just a little nibbles and noshes is what I call it. So a wonderful tiny BLT – things that you don’t have to fix and make a plate to stop that energy. Because the energy of those kinds of parties are so fun that you don’t want people to have to stop, go sit down, get a fork and a knife to eat – because the mood is ruined. 

AM: Second one – your friend just moved out of her home office and her business has its first space and you want to bring her her first lunch – what can we bring?

EH: Mmmm ok so if you’re traveling with anything, you want to make sure that it’s easy and portable. I love Chinese To Go containers. I think that they are the most adorable things in the entire world. So I would have the most beautiful marinated vegetables and put that in and then I love salad.

So we have the marinated veggies in the to-go containers because packaging is fun and it makes it. Do another to-go container lined with Bibb lettuce and put your chicken salad in there and tie it up with some crackers and bread and then have some finger pimento cheese sandwiches. Honey, that is the most delightful lunch ever! But then put it in a great basket and take it to her and then she has something to remember the lunch by and the food is always going to be fantastic, but then you want to take it to the next level and consider what it looks like, how portable it is and what is the impression that you’re going to make when you give it to somebody. If you threw that into an old to-go container, yes it’s going to taste great but is it going to be spectacular? You want to put an exclamation point at the end of that lunch, not a period.   

AM: And finally a tailgating - 

EH: Oh shut up – you don’t know nothin' about no tailgating! I mean …. That’s all we do down in Oxford, Mississippi and right now we’re in the throws of it with LSU being home this weekend. Our tailgating is very different than most. Because we put a lot of effort into it but there are things that you have to remember. Number 1 – it’s weather dependent, you want to make sure that if it’s boiling hot you don’t want to do a bunch of mayonnaise and shrimp – things that go bad. Because people are drinking so much and talking so much (much like the Girl’s Night In), you want to make sure that things are already assembled like the hangover slider and you can pop it in your mouth. You don’t want to have to set your drink down to fix something. You want to be able to hold onto that drink and pick it up whether it’s chicken tenders – fried chicken all day. Same thing with wonderful roast beef sandwiches with bleu cheese. I have a wrap that’s a flank stank wrap that I love that has carmelized onions and bleu cheese and it’s easy to pick up and put in your mouth.

This is not the time for crudité or no damn marinated vegetables – we are all in on this tailgate. And a lot of pick up sweets like cookies that have you theme on them, tent name or greek name. That’s a ton of fun! 

It’s so easy to pull in the car right there, unload everything, set it up, cars go out and then the cars come back in to load it up at the end of the night. So we do it up! There are a ton of tents that have chandeliers and candleabras – we’re talking tablecloths, overlays and everything. You have to come – you’d die and everyone is dressed up, I’m talking cocktail dresses. Huge flower arrangements although many times I do my own but last weekend, I didn’t have time. 

When I started tailgating, that’s when I realized I’m competitive. My tent, I'm going to know that I won because when I walk by every other tent, I can tell you that it was me. I mean we kill it every single time. We’ve made gameday twice! 

AM: For the holidays, what are things that people should have on hand in terms of gifts to give delivery men?

EH: Delivery men, I give them beers – just kidding but I do give it our trash guys and put a bow on it, they love it! You want something that is easy and portable and that they can snack on when they are driving around. I love Rosemary Cashews which is one of the recipes in the book and Fried Walnuts will make you swoon. Put them in a great bag and tie them with a festive ribbon and they can take them home and serve them to their friends.

AM: So what’s a typical holiday dinner like at your home?

EH: I was raised that my Great Grandmother, my Grandmother and my mother all had beautiful beautiful holiday dinners – they’re always perfect. They were PERFECT. The thing that is difficult for me is that my house is where everyone comes and I wouldn’t have it any other way – I love it more then anything. But with the catering company by that point, I’m a little exhausted. But still, it’s 25 people for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter – whatever the holiday is and everyone comes over. 

I am really funny, I don’t usually let people bring things to my Thanksgiving or Christmas because I want them to enjoy themselves and it’s how I can give back to them and … I don’t trust them! There are some people in your life that you can’t entrust them with key parts of your dinner, there are some people that just need to bring the rolls an the wine - or just the vodka!

AM: What charities do you support?

EH: St. Jude – We have the Taste of St. Jude which is an unbelievable event in Oxford, Mississippi and I have been on the board for about 5 years. We raised over $237,000 last year – this is in Oxford! We get things donated like trips and I do a lot of the culinary packages. We auctioned off a dinner for 40 people on the 50 yard line in the stadium the night before the LSU game. 

We will be in the stadium, we bring in a Celebrity Chef Ryan Trimm is going to be cooking. Literally, they will sit on the field and have dinner with the stadium lights on – nobody is in there but them. That went for $10,000 this year. 

We do a Pig, Pizza and Produce event. We have a great chef in town that does barbecue with amazing pigs and then we have an amazing wood fire pizza place that brought their ovens out and I did all the produce. We auctioned that off for $8,000. 

I auctioned off a VIP tour to the Today Show. So there are tons of trips and events and our team is second to none.

Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude, the LeBonner House, Young Life, Doors for Hope – there are so many. It’s weekly that we’re doing something because I honestly feel that I have been given so much and blessed beyond that God will give back. 

One year, my husband figured out how much we as a company had given out in time and money and he said, “we can’t afford this” and I said, “we can’t afford not to do this.” God will give it back to me a million times over. It doesn’t matter what it is but the moment that I feel that I don’t have enough to give to someone that is in need, that’s the minute that I will not have enough to give. That’s how I believe. We give a ton and we get a ton!

Read more of the Oct Issue and see What Can I Bring? in mag.