DROPPING BANGERS | JOEL CORRY

We're always looking for the right vibes for music that will let us navigate our day from commuting, workflow, and nights out! This month, our cover is 5X platinum UK records, 5X BRIT Awards nominee, Joel Corry who has residencies at Ibiza Rocks, TAO Group Hospitality (Hakkasan, Marquee) and who has performed in an array of festivals from Creamfields, Ultra, Tomorrowland, EDC Las Vegas, and Lollapalooza to name a few. His remixes have been part of our playlists and have included collaborations with Saweetie, Charlie XCX, David Guetta, and Bryson Tiller as just a few of the highlights. His remixes have transformed tracks by Megan Thee Stallion, Ed Sheeran, Elton John, and Nina Simone. When it's about good vibes with beats that make you want to stay on the dance floor banger after banger, Joel always has something up his sleeve!

We caught up with him hours before the release of his latest single, Drinkin' with MK and Rita Ora which already has been on repeat for the past few days! This single as well as yet to be released and some of his epic records will be on the upcoming album, Another Friday Night which drips on Oct 6th. We wanted to know more about Joel from his passion for music, how raving in London grew to him collaborarting with artists and creating his music, and what he has coming up as he continues to make his mark.

We also wanted to know more about his approach to creating his music, working with his favorite artists, and more. We also wanted to find out about his time as a professional body builder, winning a number of competitions, and how he navigates his life while he's constantly on the go going from one city to the next.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall in love with music?

JOEL CORRY: When I was a young boy that was 12 or 13, that’s when I got my first pair of turntables. My older brother was a DJ actually, he’s 3 years older than me so when I was growing up, the music that everyone was playing was garage music back in London. It was all part of the DJing and MCing scene so my brother, he was like an MC and his mates would come over and do DJing and I was like, I just wanted to be cool like my older brother basically. So I said, “mom, get me some decks, I want to do some garage music. I want to be a DJ as well!”

That’s how I started and then I got my decks and I would go into the record shop every weekend and find vinyls. It just became a hobby growing up and then eventually, I started DJing people’s parties and it developed from there!

AM: So, when did you realize that you wanted to do it professionally?

JC: So it was kind of like a slow progress over the years. So I was DJing in my bedroom, and then I started DJing at people’s birthday parties, weddings, and like even DJing at my mom’s friend’s, birthday parties – just wherever! I was sort of the DJ at school and then when I was 17/18, I started playing the nightclubs. You know, at one point in my early 20’s, I was doing 5 residencies a week around London so I was really busy around the circuit and then it was like, “right, I’m doing that thing that I love to do, I’m making money from it, how can I take it to the next level?” That’s what I started to focus on music production and started to release my own music and that’s how eventually – I mean it took awhile so fast forward another 10 years when I got my first hit record, that’s when it really took off to another level.

AM: How do you define your sound?

JC: My sound has changed over the years to be honest with you. It’s kind of been like a progression as I have been through the journey of my love of dance music. But I would say that the sound that people know me from for my productions from my first hit records would be commercial piano house, feel good vibes – you know, my records, I think that they have really defined my career so far, tracks like Head & Heart, BED, Lonely, Sorry – they’re all kind of piano house. Just really uplifting, feel good vibe records that have sort of connected with people, tracks that you want to hear on the dance floor and also tracks that sort of hit you in the feels as well. It’s that nice balance that are records that you want to dance to and also those that you want to put in your car when you’re driving alone and to have an emotional connection with.

AM: I love listening to it when I’m spinning.

JC: A lot of people actually use my records and my tracks for gym playlists. I get that all the time, but I love that, because I’m really into my gym stuff as well! So I’m glad that my tunes are helping people like get those extra reps or cycle those extra miles.

AM: What is your process in terms of when you’re creating music? Are there certain things that you focus on first?

JC: I’d say that there are 2 different ways that the creative process works. The 1st way would be that I’m in my studio and we have a songwriter or an artist come in for the day, we’ll just start with some basic chords going, some loops going, and I’ll just be vibing with the artists or the songwriter and a kind of an idea will come out of nothing. You’re kind of really starting from scratch and I love working that way, it’s so much fun!

Another way things happen is that I get sent a lot of music, so I get sent acappellas or song ideas or demos and if there is something that I hear in it that I really like, then I will take that and develop it myself. So then, I already have a starting point there. So there are 2 different ways really – and I love being in the studio though and sort of being there from the birth of an idea which is always great!

AM: Where do you get your inspiration from?

JC: I feel like I get my inspiration from the dance floor because I’m DJing so much. I’m always on tour and I’m always playing in front of crowds and I guess, taking crowds from a journey, trying to create those moments on a dance floor. So when it comes to my own music, I’m trying to make those records that people are going to dance to and have a great time to, you know? Being a DJ, it’s kind of staying ahead of the game of the trends that are going to work on the dance floor and kind of being on the pulse of those sort of things.

AM: Well, your remixes have included a number of amazing people from Tïesto, Charlie XCX, Elton John, Saweetie – how do you work on that when you’re working with material that already exists that you have the opportunity to present it in another way?

JC: As a DJ, I guess I have been remixing things since I was a teenager. I just use to make edits and mash ups and stuff like that. Crazy mad edits for my sets and remixing and creating my own versions of records is just an important part of DJing and it’s something that I have always done. It’s a way of me putting my own spin on something. So when I play it in my own sets, it’s right for my sound and how I envision that record and I love remixing! So, when I get asked to do a big remix with a big artist like Ed Sheeran, Tïesto – you know it’s such a pleasure to do those things. I’ll listen to the original record and I’ll just think, “what can I add to this to make it different and also to make it fit in with my sound?” Yeah, it just kind of naturally happens when I just hear something, I just kind of get that vision for it straight away and I go from there!

AM: Do you have artists on your bucket list that you would like to work with or do their remixes that you have yet to do?

JC: Well I just mentioned 2 and every time I get asked this question, I always say Ed Sheeran would be my dream collaboration because I am a huge fan of his. He did Bad Habits last year, which is kind of a dance record which I remixed, but I still don’t think that Ed has done a full on dance banger yet. I would love to do that with him! Ed Sheeran would definitely be someone that I would love to work with in the future as a dream! He’s the biggest pop star in the world! You just mentioned Tïesto, I have remixed with Tïesto, but I haven’t collaborated with him yet. But we’re really good friends and I actually played with him in Ibiza last week and I supported him in Ushuaïa and we have already talked about doing a record together so it’s just the timing that needs to be right and the record needs to be right. But I'm sure that that will happen in the future. He's a great guy and a great inspiration to me!

AM: I love his music and remember the first time I saw him was back in 2007 here in NY at the Limelight – he was amazing!

JC: Of yeah, he’s a G man!

AM: Absolutely!

You have your debut album coming out Another Friday Night, dropping Oct 6th. I love OUT OUT, 0800 Heaven, Head & Heart. Tell us about this album and what are you excited about it?

JC: The album is literally what I have been building towards for the last 4 or 5 years of my life. The album is going to have all of the records that you just mentioned on there, all of the hits from over the years, plus my new music like 0800 Heaven that you mentioned and my new single that comes out in a few hours (Aug 25th), Drinkin’ with Rita Ora and MK. It’s also got another 3 new tracks that are on there as well that will come out when the album comes out. So yeah, it’s going to have all the hits that people love, plus my new music, and I’m just really proud of this body of work that’s kind of been my life for the last 5 years. Coming together in one playlist of bangers!

AM: It’s amazing. Like you said, Drinkin’ is out in a few hours with you, Rita Ora and also MK, how did this come about? You performed it live last week in Ibiza at Ibiza Rocks. It’s such a fun song, I’ve played it at least 20 times today!

“I feel like I get my inspiration from the dance floor because I’m DJing so much. I’m always on tour and I’m always playing in front of crowds and I guess taking crowds from a journey, trying to create those moments on a dance floor. So when it comes to my own music, I’m trying to make those records that people are going to dance to and have a great time to, you know? Being a DJ, it’s king of staying ahead of the game of the trends that are going to work on the dance floor and kind of being on the pulse of those sort of things.”

— Joel Corry

JC: Aww thank you, thank you! Drinkin’ actually samples a Chance the Rapper record called All Night which is a banger! I started on this record about a year ago. When I flipped the sample and put that chorus over a house beat, it just sounded so sick for the pianos behind it and I was like, “oh my God, this just really works!”

At that point, it was very much a demo and we wrote like the verses and the pre chorus for it and kind of made this really cool sounding demo.

Me and MK had been chatting about doing a record together for ages and I’m a big fan of MK of course you know, he’s a legend in the game. I was like, “this tune sounds like an MK track.” So I sent it to him and I was like, "bro, what do you think of this?" He hit me back he said he loved it! He loved the sample, he loved the vibe of it, and I sent him my parts that I had done so far and then he did his work on it and then sent it back to me. What he added to it was sick and I was like, “yeah, this is kind of what I envisioned!” Then I was like, “right, now I need to get a vocalist on it.”

When I listened to the track, it just felt like a Rita Ora banger and me and Rita have been chatting for years actually. We had been mates and had worked together on other bits that didn’t quite materialize, but we both really wanted to do a track together. So I texted her and I said, “Rita, I think that I’ve got the one!” I sent it to her and straight away she said, “that’s me, I love it – let’s do it!” At the time, I remember when I texted her, I think that she was in India and then she had to fly to NY and she was like, “I’m going to fit in a day to get this recorded.” Then she ended up flying to London and she got into the studio Sun day afternoon and got the whole thing done. You know what? Fair play to Rita - I respect her so much. Her when you mentioned that we performed in Ibiza Rocks last week, she was on holiday and she took the whole day out of her holiday to do that with me. I love her for that and I’m so excited to be doing this record with her and MK. It’s a great feeling!

AM: That’s amazing!

Clearly, you’ve had a busy summer! All of your performances – you were just here in NY headlining at the Brooklyn Mirage which is awesome. What are some of your favorite cities to do your performances in?

JC: NY is definitely up there! I love NY, NY has always been a great spot for me over the last 3 years. I remember that my first headline show in Webster Hall sold out, then I did the Great Hall last year, I did Brooklyn Mirage this year. So every year, I have sort of stepped it up. The NY crowd always comes out for me. I absolutely love it.

I love Miami, Miami is such a good vibe. I feel that if I lived in America, that’s where I would choose to live. It’s just a bit of me. I love the outdoors, the sort of gym lifestyle as well, the good weather, and the clubs and the vibe. Dance music is just thriving in Miami.

Of course, I have to shout out Ibiza, where I am right now! This is like my second home, it’s a magical island and this place is just different man. It’s just something is special in the air here and I pray that I have a residency here in Ibiza when I’m past 80 years old!

So yeah, Ibiza, Miami, and NY. I love Australia – Australia is always a good time when I go out there on tour in Sydney and Melbourne. Last year, I did Japan for NYE in Tokyo which was a really good experience. So there’s a few good spots that I love.

AM: Next month you’re headlining at London’s iconic Ministry of Sound. How excited are you for this show?

JC: Yeah I’m so excited! I mean, obviously, I’m from London – that’s my home city. I haven’t had a headline show in London in over 2 years. The last one was Printworks back in 2021. It’s a big deal for me! Headlining a show in my own city and then in an iconic club like Ministry of Sound – this is a legendary club. I used to go there as a raver when I was 18 and I remember going to the Defected Records Raves there. So going back there and headlining my own show is so special. It’s also the week before my album comes out so a lot of friends are going to come, family, a lot of people from my label, and people from my label, and people that have worked on my projects over the last few years. I have invited everybody so it’s not just a headline show, I feel like it’s a celebration as well so I’m really excited!

AM: Do you have a set of routines that you do before you perform? Things that you just have to do to get into that mindset?

JC: What I like to do is like, in the hours building up to the show, I always like to have a bit of peace with my laptop, look over my set, listen to music that I am going to be playing in the set and to have a think about what the crowd might be like, how I think that the set is going to go and to just get into that mindset of mental preparation for the set. To get that clarity in my head, I need to be on my own for that and just with my music. When I feel like I’m prepared and I have my USBs loaded up, I get fresh – have a shower, do my hair, put on a twin set -

AM: King Twin Set!

JC: Haha you know that already! They call me the Twin Set King! I get to the show and maybe have a little bit of tequila and then I’m ready to go!

AM: Once the show is over, do you do anything to come down from all of that energy?

JC: I always like having a bubble bath watching some YouTube and maybe a bit of Gordon Ramsay or something – ha! It’s a bit weird I know! But I just feel like, after a show when you need to be able to go to bed, it’s kind of hard to switch off sometimes so you have to do just really normal things. Whether that's having a bath or putting something on on YouTube to just try to separate your mind from all of the madness that just happened and to get back to a normal level again!

AM: Absolutely!

Once again, you have so much going on that is so amazing to see. From the residencies in Ibiza, Tao Hospitality, what are some big upcoming projects besides the album coming out and obviously the Ministry of Sound that we should keep an eye out for?

JC: I guess aside from that, it would just be my touring. I’m back in America quite a lot between now and the end of the year. I’m also about to announce a big tour in Australia. I haven’t been to Australia since the start of 2021. So it’s going to be great to go back down under and also I have some more Asia dates coming up. I mean, I played in Tokyo for NYE, but that’s the only day that I have ever done in Asia so I’m going back to Tokyo and adding a few more in there as well. So between now and the end of the year, it’s like non-stop touring, we have the album coming out, it’s just going to be go go go go go and then I think in Jan, I might have a little week off – ha!

AM: Obviously at Athleisure Mag, we love fitness and you’re like a fitness king as well as you were a body builder before. How did you get into that and why did you want to do that?

JC: So going back to when I was a teenager, I was telling you about when I got my decks and I was DJing in my bedroom, I was also going to the gym a lot. They were my 2 hobbies. If I wasn’t on my decks tearing the house down with my mom screaming to turn the music off, I was down at the gym on the bench press lifting weights trying to get a 6-pack.

I just think that the gym became a hobby and I used to play football a lot. But then I started going to the gym and that became how my sort of love for fitness grew! It just slowly became more and more and more, when I started to see the results from training and I was becoming 18/19 years old, I really started seeing the results coming through, I just got hooked on it. I kind of I guess got obsessed with it as well. But I took it to another level. I wondered how I could take this thing that I loved and go a step further and it was like, I want to go on stage and compete. It was just something inside me saying that this was a box that I wanted to be able to tick off. I wanted to see how far I could push this thing that I loved doing. So in my early 20’s I was competing in male physique competitions. I did that for about 3 years and I did really well in them. I won quite a few of them. I won the Miami Pro, I won the Pure Elite Competition, I got a Pro Card in WBFF so I was really doing it seriously and getting into crazy condition for those shows. It got to a point where I was like, the music is going to be my career so I kind of had to put that competing on the back burner to really focus on the music. Because the thing with the body building and the competitions is that you have to be 100% all in and it’s so much commitment, dedication, and focus to do those competitions, that I didn’t have the capacity to then focus as much on the music. I had to make a decision where I said, “the music is my future, that’s my dream, that’s what I really want to do. I love to do the fitness thing, but I need to reign it in a bit,” and to enjoy it as a hobby and to focus on the music. I also felt like that I had completed what I wanted to do in fitness. I had won the competitions, I had done the cover of Muscle & Fitness Magazine, and I just thought that this is it now. I had done that and now let's focus back on music. But, it still remains a big part of my life. I still go to the gym everyday and it's more so the mental benefit now and the physical just helps me keep on point and keeps me feeling good while I’m touring.

“[After a show] “I always like having a bubble bath watching some YouTube and maybe a bit of Gordon Ramsay or something - ha! It’s a bit weird I know! But I just feel like, after a show when you need to be able to go to bed, it’s kind of hard to switch off...”

— Joel Corry

AM: What are 3 workouts for your abs that we should think about putting into our routines?

JC: So my favorite ab exercise is the hanging leg raise where you kind of hang up on a bar and you just lift your legs up and down. It’s the hardest one, but it’s definitely the best one. You can also kind of add a variation there by twisting your legs and really sort of hitting the obliques. So that has always been my favorite ab exercise. Also doing – you know when you have a bench and you lie down flat on it and then you put the dumbbell between your legs and you raise your legs up and down? I find that that one really hits your sort of lower abs because that’s always the hardest bit to get that bottom bit! That definitely targets that! What else do I do for my abs that I think is really good? Obviously, you’ve got your sit-ups and sort of decline crunches that you can mix that up by using a ball so you can come up further and then to be able to come down. So those are probably my top 3 ab workouts.

But you know what I would say is that definitely, to sort of get your abs to really start popping, it’s true what they say about abs being made in the kitchen – because they are! You can do all of the exercises that you want, but you have to get the diet on lock if you want to get the 6-pack.

AM: We mentioned before that you’re the Twin Set King, where does that come from that you love twin sets?

JC: I know, it’s an addiction – a twin set addiction! I love them! It’s easy! I mean, for boys, we sometimes don’t know what to wear! So if you get a twin set, you’ve got the bottom bit and the top bit! It matches and then it’s job done and you put a pair of trainers on and you know, when I’m touring around in the summer, it’s so hot a lot of the places that I go to. You can’t really wear trousers because it’s so hot so you need to wear a pair of shorts and if you have the top that matches, it's easy! It's become my thing as well isn't it?

AM: Oh yeah, when I was scrolling through your IG, I thought, “this man loves some twin sets.”

You do travel so much, what are 3 things that you always travel with?

JC: My Dyson hair dryer, so good!

AM: Love it!

JC: Obviously my headphones and my USB sticks – very, very important as a DJ and one other thing that I travel around with is a neck pillow! It’s an essential for the flights! Especially the sort of short flights where you’re sitting kind of like this for 3 hours – this is needed!

AM: How do you take time for yourself? Being so busy, how do you make sure that you get the reset that you need?

JC: Do you know what? That’s probably something that I need to work more on. There’s not really a lot of time to myself, but I think that with what I do, I’m kind of 100% all in on it. It’s my hobby, it’s my passion, and there’s not any work separation where it’s like, ok work is over for the day, I’m going to over and chill out. It never stops, it's around the clock, there's always something to do and I just feel like that in this industry, with what I want to do and where I want to get to, I really believe that what I put into it is what I am going to get out of it. I’ve learned that over the years. I’m always scared of taking my foot up off of the gas. I just feel like everyday that I need to be as productive as possible and keep going. I actually feel guilty inside if I have time off. I always feel like I should be working to try to get to that next step. So that’s probably something that I need to work on. My mom is always like, “Joel, you need to take holiday, you need to take a day off.” But I find that hard. I think that when you find something that you love to do, it’s not work, it’s just life! I enjoy it!

“I know, it’s an addiction - a twin set addiction! I love them! It’s easy! I mean, for boys, we sometimes don’t know what to wear! So if you get a twin set, you’ve got the bottom bit and the top bit! It matches and then it’s job done and you put a pair of trainers on ... It’s become my thing as well isn’t it?”

— Joel Corry

AM: What do you want your legacy to be in this industry?

JC: Oh, that’s a big question man! I guess I want to be able to look back and to be honest, I have already been able to achieve my dreams of having hit records, touring the world, and I just want to be able to keep it going and to take it as far as I can and I guess when I look back over the years, I want to be able to have these big moments with these big records records that really connected with people and made a difference in people’s lives.

There are certain records that I have released over the years and I get messages still to this day, like, this record meant so much to me, it came out at a time when I needed it, and I connected with it. When I read these messages, forget about chart positions or like statistics, to know that like the music that I worked on is connected to people and brought happiness to them means so much to me. I want to keep doing that for years and years and years! Then I can look back on all of these records that had special moments. I want to tour the world and I already am, but there are certain places that I have never been. I’ve never been to South America before, there’s so many places as well just starting to really being able to go into Asia, there’s still places in America that I haven’t been able to be in and states that I haven’t played in. I guess I want to be able to look back and be like, I toured the world, played at some of the biggest festivals, had these huge moments in front of massive crowds, played all of these records that I put my heart and soul into working on – I guess that kind of is the legacy isn’t it? It’s having that big career! When I think of some of my idols like Calvin Harris, David Guetta, and Tïesto – like we mentioned, when you look at their careers, it’s just years and years and years of doing it and big records and big moments and that’s just what I want!

“Oh that’s a big question man! I guess I want to be able to look back and to be honest, I have already been able to achieve my dreams of having hit records, touring the world, and I just want to be able to keep it going and to take it as far as I can ... have these big moments with these big records that really connected with people and make a difference in people’s lives.

I want to be able to look back and be like, I toured the world, played at some of the biggest festivals, had these huge moments in front of massive crowds, played all of these records that I put my heart and soul into working on ... it’s just years and years and years of doing it and big records and big moments and that’s just what I want!”

— Joel Corry

IG @joelcorry

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Front Cover, Back Cover, PG 36, 39 + PG 42 63MIX ROUTIN3S Courtesy of Joel Corry | PG 16, 20 - 35, 40, 63MIX ROUTIN3S PG42 + 9PLAYLIST PG 122 Ibiza Rocks/Gabriel Vazquez | PG 19 USHUAÏA IBIZA |

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see DROPPING BANGERS | Joel Corry in mag.

TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | MONICA MEDELLIN

We enjoy a great docuseries where we get to follow our favorite sports and get behind the action to find out how it all comes together. Prime Video's 4 episode series, Surf Girls Hawai'i follows 5 native Hawaiian females as they take their shot on obtaining a spot in the world tour. We follow Moana Jones Wong, Ewe Wong, Maluhia Kinimaka, Pua DeSoto, and Brianna Cope as we see them navigating their season, training, and interacting with their friends and family.

We caught up with Monica Medellin, Creator and Executive Producer of this docuseries. We wanted to find out more about how she became a fan of this action sport, being a surfer, working in the surf industry, and the importance of storytelling to amplify voices that are underrepresented but have powerful points of view.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’ve personally been a fan of your work for awhile so it’s exciting to be able to talk with you to know more about you’re your docuseries, and what you’re working on that’s coming up!

MONICA MEDELLIN: Amazing! I’m so excited! I think that this is perfect because every body that knows me makes fun of me because athleisure is all I wear.

Thank you so much for highlighting me. I feel like a unicorn in this space. I just turned 30 and this all happened before then and it seems like the tides are changing and there are very few women that are like me in this position. So I really want to share my story and to hopefully inspire more storytellers in narratives like this.

AM: Absolutely!

Before we get into talking about the docuseries, we want to know more about you. What was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be a filmmaker?

MM: Oh, I mean, I feel like I was destined to be a filmmaker ever since I was a little girl. I couldn’t really identify that that was what I wanted until later in life. I've always been involved in sports as a child. My mom was a single working mom from Mexico and she raised me on her own.

Through that, she found different sports programs and extracurricular activities and that’s where I really fell in love with different sports and it started with more traditional sports like volleyball, basketball, and soccer. Then I moved into gymnastics and then we both discovered surfing while we were walking along the Santa Monica Beach and at that point, I had started skateboarding, surfing, and exploring these non-traditional sports.

I actually used her old camcorder to film myself skating! That’s what I did with my friends on the weekends, so obviously the production value was what it was!

You know, I started documenting sports from a young age and I started documenting myself as a young girl participating in those sports from that time. You know from there, I obviously played sports in high school – I was the team captain of the volleyball team, I would teach at surf camp over the summers and I moved to university and I studied Journalism at the University of Oregon. So, this theme of filming our experiences as women in sports has been something that has been a thread throughout my entire life!

AM: Wow! It also seems that a lot of your films as well as commercial work that you have done has also focused obviously on sports, but also covering underrepresented groups as well. As someone who is Black and has enjoyed sports such as snowboarding where people don’t think of us playing it, I like that you’re showcasing what is being done that people don’t necessarily think of.

MM: Right and I think that that’s something where you want to be niche, but not too niche where you miss out on telling other stories as well. I think that my main thing is highlighting and shining a light on stories that are underrepresented in the mainstream. That is the essence of my work. It doesn’t just need to be sports, it can be in anything. I mean, when I worked at the Los Angeles Times in 2015, I was helping launch a new platform that talks about this emerging American identity with race, immigration, identity, what does it mean to be American, but also never to really see yourself represented in the story in that way. So, I think that that time at the Los Angeles Times and producing documentaries around those topics really did shape the direction of how I approach my storytelling. Like sure, if I’m telling a story about an athlete, that’s in sports, but I want to uncover who the person is behind the athlete, what is the human experience that we can all relate to because ultimately, even when you see Surf Girls Hawai’i, it’s not just about surfing. It’s about coming of age, it’s about sisterhood, it’s about supporting each other through challenging times, and navigating life. So, I think that that is my approach through all of my storytelling that makes it universal whether you are interested in the sport or the topic itself.

AM: Absolutely!

What was the first project that you did that you realized that you wanted to do this as a career?

MM: Hmm, it’s actually funny, because my first film that I created was about a young Latina surfer in the Bay Area. She was part of a program that helped underrepresented youth get into the sport of surfing, get into action sports, and that film actually premiered at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival here in LA. That moment of seeing my work and my film, premiered at The Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood was such a monumental moment for me because I could see that this kind of storytelling was valued. I could see the reaction of the audience and I could see the emotion and I could actually feel the energy in the room. So, I feel like the LALIFF selecting my film to premiere at the Chinese Theatre in that way was a really defining moment for me. I knew that I could really make something out of this career and hopefully, tell more stories. At that point, I was still in my early 20’s so it was just the beginning, but I think that that was the moment that I decided to pursue this full time.

AM: We love surfers! This year alone we had the honor of speaking with Carissa Moore as well as Kai Lenny as covers for Athleisure Mag. You also surf – what is it about this sport that you enjoy so much?

MM: I think surfing is such a unique sport because it’s not just a sport. It’s a lifestyle, it’s a culture, it has deep roots around the world, and had I known that this sport is originated by people of color and women of color, I would have felt that I belonged in it sooner. (Editor’s Note: The origin of surfing can be found in various cultures as far back as the Incas in 1590 when a Jesuit missionary José de Acosta published it in Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias. In West Africa’s – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Senegal and Central Africans in Cameroon have had various accounts of this activity in 1640, 1679, 1834, and 1861. In Polynesia in 1769 there is documentation of he’e nalu which translates to wave sliding by Joseph Banks as he was on HMS Endeavour during the first voyage of James Cook while the ship was in Tahiti.) I didn’t know anything about the history of surfing until I met another Latina surfer who shared with me this deep history. After discovering that, I made it my life’s mission to try to tell the world that this is the truth and that this is the history of this.

I think that with surfing, it’s so special for that deeper reason, but also I think that it’s a way of connecting with nature to get outside and get off your phone. You have no way of communicating with anybody when you’re out there. It’s your time to exist and enjoy yourself and I think that it resonates with a lot of people. I think that when I first started surfing in Los Angeles, the lineups looked a lot different than they do today. Today I actually paddle out and I see more women, I see more women of color and I actually see friends every single time that I go. I think that this surf culture has been defined by advertisements, brands, the industry, but we are reclaiming what it means to be a surfer and you’re seeing that happening in your local lineups. You’re seeing that happening through Surf Girls Hawai’i, you’re seeing that happen through different lenses, I think! I think that that is what makes surfing special. It’s just, there’s nothing else like it honestly.

AM: As the creator of Surf Girls Hawai’i, what drew you to telling this story?

MM: Surf Girls Hawai’i is what I have dreamt of ever since I was a little girl. We saw Blue Crush released back in 2002, which was my favorite film, and I really identified with Michelle Rodriguez (Fast and the Furious franchise, Machte franchise, Resident Evil franchise), who was another Latina and I mean, that’s just one part of it. When I was working in the surf industry, I noticed that major mainstream platforms just had more coverage of male surfers. You barley saw women and in advertisements, it’s still really common to see a surfer girl in a bikini and a man on a wave surfing.

AM: Right.

MM: You walk down to any surf shop and that’s still the reality of our time in 2023! Actually, while I was working at the League (World Surf League), I started a personal archive of my favorite surfers who were women, who I thought deserved the spotlight and I pitched an idea that would eventually push the company to promote men and women equally on our social platforms. I think that since then, we have seen a shift. I just really wanted to be able to highlight women that I felt didn’t have a seat at the table. I think that through Surf Girls Hawai’i, they are finally getting the recognition that they deserve. That’s really cool that I helped spearhead that effort and identified this talent early on.

AM: For those that have not seen this docuseries, can you give us the premise of the show, and also, how did you decide to select the 5 Native Hawaiian female surfers that are featured in the docuseries.

MM: Surf Girls Hawai’i follows the next generation of native Hawaiian, female surfers as they compete at an elite level to earn a spot on the world tour of professional surfing. Surf girls is about a sisterhood of native Hawaiian surfers who are on the cusp of becoming pro and this is the most elite level that they have ever competed on and they are competing against each other, but also together in a lot of different ways and they support each other through that. I think that what makes it special is the fact that oftentimes when you see shows that center women, you see maybe cattiness or drama between the women. You see this marketable yet damaging portrayal of female relationships.

I think that what’s different with Surf Girls Hawai’i is, even though they are fierce competitors, and they are competing for one spot, they all support each other through this journey. That’s because they all know that if one of them makes it, everyone makes it because this is more than just winning for their own personal gain, this is about representing native Hawaiian culture at the highest level of surfing. I think that carrying that responsibility, and that legacy, is what makes this highest stakes in a lot of ways. You don’t need that cattiness or drama between the girls. I think that that is the premise, but also what makes it different.

AM: From your perspective as a filmmaker, how do you go about creatively organizing all of this. As you said, they’re all there for that aligned goal, but they are also individual people. How are you weaving that story and kind of planning it in your head especially when it’s only 4 episodes! By the end I was wanting to see more about these women, wondering if there would be another season, would the same surfers be followed – so many questions!

MM: The response to this show has been so overwhelmingly positive and I have been told that it is over performing. It shows that there is a gap and this storytelling was absolutely needed and 4 episodes did the trick! I think that that worked and I think in going back to your question, this cast is so special because on the surface, they are all native Hawaiian pro surfers that share this bond and share their culture together. But what I wanted to really accomplish with this series was to show them as multi-dimensional, multi-faceted women. They’re all different and all have different interests and different mindsets. They’re all different because you have on the one hand, Maluhia who is 26 years old, considered older to be competing and is at the crossroads of deciding on whether she wants to be a professional athlete and fulfill that lifelong childhood dream or pursue her education. She did both. She got her degree from Stanford and she is pursuing her PhD at UH Mānoha – all while competing on the WSL tour. I think that that is super unexpected. That defied expectations and I think that each character defies expectations of what you would think of them on the surface. So that’s just one example of how we approached the storytelling around each woman. How do we paint them as more than an athlete? Because each character is more than an athlete.

AM: What was it like working with Hello Sunshine on this project?

MM: I’ll start with Hello Sunshine. Hello Sunshine was honestly a dream partnership. Like we were aligned in our values before we even made the show together. I think for me as a creator, it was really important that the team working on Surf Girls was women-led and women-run, that is the essence of what makes Surf Girls Hawai’i what it is. I think that Hello Sunshine’s mission of changing the narrative for women aligned with my mission well before the final product. I think that Surf Girls put this native female Hawaiian experience at the forefront and Hello Sunshine invested in that, believed in that, and they saw that from the beginning. I think that that’s brave. This talent, they’re low profile, lesser known names outside of the surf industry, but that didn’t matter to them and I think that they just saw the magic. I also think that the Hello Sunshine team was very collaborative and supportive of hiring women behind the camera and making sure to work with my recommended Hawaiian and Hawaii local creators and crew. I just felt like the set was forward thinking and they understood the importance of picking a team to tell a story and in the best way.

I actually created and directed the original digital series that sold the show, and the vision stayed true throughout the process. I think that that is really hard to do actually. I feel that the women were really portrayed in a positive light and the culture wasn’t sensationalized. That was really really important. That’s my bit on Hello Sunshine!

AM: That’s amazing to hear. What has been your biggest takeaway in doing this docuseries?

MM: Oh my gosh, so much! I mean, creating and executive producing my first TV show, was an experience that I learned a lot from. I think that a big takeaway from the series is that you see the reactions from people that watched this and people are hungry for this kind of storytelling and they’re hungry to see women and women of color in sports. I think it’s interesting because this was technically made for Gen Z young women to identify with. But you see women of all ages responding to this and you see men of all ages intrigued, interested, and inspired by this story. So, I think that this is a story for everyone and that’s the takeaway – this story is important and deserves a spotlight and we were the first to do it and that’s really, really special. We were the first female sports docuseries on Hello Sunshine’s platforms and this was the first female sports documentary on Amazon.

AM: That’s a pretty big first!

MM: That’s big!

AM: That’s awesome!

I’m sure you’re always working on different projects, is there anything coming up that you are able to share that we should keep an eye out for?

MM: Yeah, so 2 things! I just got back from Tahiti for a shoot with the Olympic Channel, so that’s coming up. Then, I have another underreported, but fascinating field that centers women of color and Black women in sport that is not highly covered that I am currently developing. I’m developing projects constantly so we can leave it at those things.

IG @monicamedellin_

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 52 Ryan Gladney | PG 54 Brie Lakin | PG 57 Katie McDonald | PG 58 - 63 Prime Video |

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | Monica Medellin in 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.

THE VISION | JERMELLE SIMON

There are so many options and genres of shows that we can watch and when it comes to streaming, the possibilities are beyond endless. With so much going on, we do love our feel good shows that take us away from our day-to-day! Earlier this summer, we took some time to talk with Jermelle Simon of NETFLIX's The Upshaws which is one of the top rated shows on the platform who just finished Season 3 earlier this year and Season 4 drops this month! We wanted to talk about his career, his experience on the stage, his Denzel Washington story, being on The Upshaws, and his focus on fitness as a means to make sure that you put yourself first!

This article has heavy spoilers and we talk about a number of plot points, cliffhangers, and arcs from the first 3 seasons of this show. If you have yet to watch and want to be spoiler free, binge the episodes now and then come back to enjoy this article. We have a light discussion on Season 4 as well; however, that discussion is spolier free.

This interview was conducted in May 2023, prior to the start of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike which began on July 14.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be an actor?

JERMELLE SIMON: I don’t know if I ever realized it! I just remember being in the 3rd grade and we had to do a play as part of our curriculum and I remember having that feeling like, “man, I love to pretend, I love to be someone else.” It’s fun and interesting to me and obviously, I couldn’t express it at 8 or 9 or whatever that age is when you’re in the 3rd grade. That feeling just kind of kept growing and I kept craving it and by 5th grade, I was in Drama Club and I think that that is when it hit. I was in the 5th grade, I started to understand it a little bit more. I thought that everyone liked it at first, you know what I mean? I thought it was so great and then I realized that I was the only other one doing it.

AM: I love that! Before we delve into The Upshaws, what is your process in terms of how you prepare for your roles in general and how do you sync in with your characters?

JS: I think just understanding the story. So reading the script and understanding what story the writer is trying to tell. What’s my role in the story? Am I an antagonist, the protagonist, am I comedic relief? You know, it’s about understanding my role in the entire script and then I think that with years of people watching, the stories that are on television, I think that we have always seen those characters before. Maybe I have an aunt or an uncle or even with me having children, with my role now, it was easy to dive into the father aspect, because I have 3 children. Sometimes it’s based off of experience and sometimes it’s based off of people watching, and having a huge imagination!

AM: Exaclty!

JS: I think that that helps a lot too. Repetition – I think that I read that a lot of actors read a script over 100 times. You know it front and back. I can’t build up enough stamina to read it 100 times, but I have read a script 10 times and I know that that’s enough for me. This way, I know that I know the story front and back. I think that it’s one of those magical things where you sleep on it and then it just clicks! I don’t know, it’s a hard thing to explain, but it will click especially after you understand the story. So I think that the most important thing is to understand the story that you’re telling and the part that you play in the story that you’re telling.

AM: We read that you also have experience on the stage. You were in August Wilson’s (The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Radio Golf) Fences for 8 weeks where you played Cory. But you actually got the opportunity to audition for Denzel Washington (Training Day, American Gangster, Equalizer franchise) at his home to play that character in the film adaptation. What was that experience like?

JS: You know what’s so wild? That story still anchors me in those times where I’m feeling inadequate. You know even when I am on a hit show like on Netflix, you’re still human and there are those moments where you don’t feel as confident and you don’t feel as talented. I just think that any artist kind of feels that way. I always go back to, man, I was at Denzel Washington’s house with Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder, DC’s Suicide Squad franchise, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes), Denzel Washington, the whole cast! In order to get to that space, this kind of has to be for you. That always reminds me that this is for me.

To this day, I think that it was one of the most extraordinary things that has ever happened to me. To the point that sometimes I don’t even believe that it happened!

AM: We have to admit that when we read that, we were like, he’s in this man’s house with all of these people – that is a moment. There are times regardless of your vertical or career that you can have amazing things happen, but in the course of things, you ask yourself is this it? You question that which you have excelled at for a number of reasons. But then you think about moments that took place that like you said, you wonder if that happened and you grasp it and realize that you are where you need to be and it gives you that fuel for whatever it is that you do in life.

JS: Yes! That’s what it is. It fills you up! Those are constantly in your memory bank and it’s always one of those things that I can always go back to regardless. If I ever work with them again – I just recently saw Viola Davis at the NAACP Image Awards and I saw her before that at an Oscar Gifting Suite and each time I see her, I forget that she knows me and that she remembers me! That’s still so shocking to me, because I will say, “oh, I worked with you” and she’ll say, “I know." Then I remind myself that I don’t have to say that every time that I see her because I’m just in such a shock that she remembers that.

It was like a 6 week process. I was in the running, I was in the top 3. It was a journey for sure that still gives me high vibrations. In this industry, you need as much as you can because it’s such an up and down thing. Like right now, we’re in the writer’s strike and they should get the things that they deserve and that means that everything has to kind of shut down. So, I’m not working right now and you just go through so many things being an actor in this industry. It comes with so much and so the things that you can hang onto that help you feel confident to feel better, because you still have to go through everyday life. I was just telling a friend today that sometimes it’s difficult because even on the days that you don’t want to perform, you have to and it’s like sometimes you have to be someone else and you do that when you’re on a show. I have to – my job is to become a whole different person. That takes so much energy and me and Kim Fields (Living Single, Insecure, All the Queen’s Men), we were just talking about that the other week. It’s like, our job is to become these people and I don’t think that people realize how that can be exhausting because that takes all of you. To do it justice, to do it right, you have to give all of you because people can sense when you’re not. I know that that’s a long answer!

AM: You’re absolutely right in what you shared. Even in life sometimes in general. I’m a big believer in dramaturgical behavior in the sense that we have many masks that we wear, even if it’s authentic to us. How you are with your best friend might be different from your mom and when you’re in those circles like that, it can be exhausting!

JS: Yes! That’s so true. Because even how I am as a father is completely different then how I am as a friend or how I am as an actor. You know, I try to blend it all. Even when I first started giving interviews, especially when I was doing press for this, I felt that I needed to say this answer and needed to say whatever. Now, I’m learning to just be me and people are appreciating that more and I’m always thinking that I over share and talk too much and then people will be like, “no, we love that!”

AM: Exactly!

JS: I would apologize and I know I did it a few times here and you and other people have been like, we want to hear you, we want to hear who you are. That’s ok and people love authenticity! That’s what makes you who you are and everyone is different and can bring something different to the table and it’s all equally important. So I’m just now learning that on my 3rd season of the show. I think that everything happens so fast and all at once and I had to catch up to it.

AM: You know what, sometimes it’s just a process!

How did you find out about The Upshaws, the character, and what drew you to want to be part of it?

JS: I felt like it was just like any other day where your manager or agent sends you an audition and when you’re on the come up, you’ll kind of do any role to kind of get on. Because I think it’s like so many different worlds and realms that factor in. Like you have the time when no one knows you yet and so you audition for everything, you’re doing commercials and anything that you can to make the dollar because LA is expensive. Then not only that, but you just love acting and the craft, so anytime that you can play, you do it!

So that’s how it started. It was any other audition and I was like here I go, I’m going to give it all I’ve got. Every audition I give it all I’ve got. But I did look at it and I saw Netflix and that was like a dream of mine. I think that a lot of actors have that dream. I mean. Netflix is a powerhouse and they’re the largest streaming platform in the world! It’s international and it’s all the things! So I saw that – then sometimes you can see that and then it can play with your confidence a little bit. So you start to second guess yourself – am I right for this – is it too big for me? Even though you want it, it’s intimidating because it’s Netflix. Then I see Mike Epps (Uncle Buck series, The Hangover, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins), Kim Fields, Wanda Sykes (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Black-ish) and I’m like – I had to let it go. I let those parts go – the parts that scared me like those names, the platform.

I released it and then it goes back to that Denzel story. I had such an intense scene with him but in that scene, I had to let go of the fact that it was Denzel. I know what I’m doing when it comes to acting and I just had to go for what I know and I know how to embody this Cory character. I don’t care who it is, you lose yourself in that moment.

So I did that same kind of thing when I auditioned for this show. I released Netflix and I released the names. So I did that and I have had many auditions, but this one, I knew that my first audition that if I got a callback for it, then this would be mine. The process is that you go for your initial one, then they call you back and then they might call you back for the 3rd time. Maybe a 4th time and then you test. But I knew that if I got a call back for this one, it’s over!

AM: You’re like, it’s mine!

JS: I get the callback and immediately, I stop second guessing myself. This is how far I went into it. I already knew what I was going to post. It was a meme and he was in the car, his name is Desi Banks and he’s an online comedian. He’s in the car with the top down saying, “yes sir!!!” He’s hyped because something happened. I couldn’t obviously say what it was, but I wanted to do something that was real low key and then people would be wondering. I had everything planned out and I think that I felt it before everything happened. It’s really important to manifest things that I already feel about the thing before the thing even comes and not to wait for the thing to come to then feel it. I feel that people do it backwards. So that was the first time that I've done that where I was already embodying the role and what it would feel like. So I go from that to the callback, 2 days later after the first audition and the callback was at 6pm and my manager called me at 11pm. He told me that I was the choice, we had to go through network approval and he let me know that I had pretty much booked it. What do they say? The rest is history! I didn’t know that it was going to be history like this! I didn’t really realize what I was going to be getting into.

AM: Yeah! I know that the 3rd season was released earlier this year and the 4th season drops in August – doing 2 seasons in the same year!

JS: Yeah, going so fast!

AM: I mean that’s amazing! Before we get into the upcoming season, for our readers who may not have seen this show yet, what is The Upshaws and tell us about your character, Bernard Jr.

JS: The Upshaws is about a Black family based out of Indiana and it’s your Norman Lear (Good Times, All in the Family, The Jeffersons) style sitcom. It’s a bit edgy, we talk about really relatable things, and we bring hilarity to everyday life. I feel like it’s a family that talks about real topics that people really go through. You have a mom, you have a dad, younger children in high school, you have me who my character is the oldest of the Upshaw family. Bennie Upshaw (Mike Epps) has 4 children – Bernard Upshaw Jr., it’s Kelvin (Diamond Lyons), Aaliyah (Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins), and Maya (Journey Christine). Kelvin is a side kid that Bennie had when he was on a break with Regina, my mom who is played by Kim Fields. You have a show where again, we talk about real life things and we bring light to it, we bring laughter to it, and I think that in the world that we live in now, we need more comfort shows, we need more laughter. I agree that we need all the other things, but laughter is really good for the soul. It’s medicine. So we definitely bring the laughter in each episode and each one has an unexpected twist or turn. Each finale has this cliffhanger that has you on the edge of your seat.

So I think that we’re onto something and that’s why it’s so successful. We have such great writers that are always even for us, that it’s about expecting the unexpected. We go in week after week never knowing what our characters are going to do. I think that that’s the fun part of The Upshaws, it’s always pushing the envelope – we curse. Traditionally, your sitcoms that run on a network, they couldn’t say certain words. We have the freedom to do a lot more things so we can talk about a lot more topics. I think that it makes us that much more relatable.

As far as my character, I play Bernard Upshaw Jr., the oldest of the Upshaw kids. The series starts off with Bernard holding onto this secret and trying to figure his life out. His secret is his sexuality, so he is gay, he doesn’t necessarily know how to come out to his parents so it’s weighing heavy on him and as you can see during the first season, in my opinion he’s very moody and you can just tell that there is something going on. He also has a very challenging relationship with his father who is Bennie Upshaw played by Mike Epps. Bennie and Regina had him when they were kids in high school so he wasn’t there for him as much as he could have been because he was also growing up too. So it was a little bit of a strained relationship with his father because of that as well as with himself because he wasn’t living in his own truth.

As the series continues, you get to see him come out. You see him live out loud, you get to see him become a father. Not to give it all away to those who haven’t seen it – ha!

AM: We have a significant spoiler alert! People need catch up before reading this!

JS: You get to see him become a father, you get to see him date. I think that now in the upcoming season, you get to see him do more of that. You get to dive deeper into who he is as a person because there are levels to everything. We go through different phases in our lives and we just keep growing and growing. You get to see Bernard grow in all of these areas as a partner, a father, and as a family member. So yeah, you get to see him become more and more into the higher version of himself. From Season 1 – Season 3 or from part 1 to part 4, it’s 2 different Bernards.

AM: Which is amazing because like you were talking about, you’re playing so many different complexities and dynamics, we see him struggling with himself and being able to come out and live his truth, then there’s his daughter and what family means and that complexity, and then understanding the relationship with the father dynamic of his dad and himself. Then there’s families you claim versus those you have paradigm as well. Having all of that there, what does it mean to have this form of representation? Growing up as a kid, we had The Cosby Show and other kinds of shows, but this is another kind of representation that is also real and a different dynamic. So what does that mean to you to be able to present that to people?

JS: I love it! I went into this as an actor portraying a role and not really realizing at first, the impact that this show has on people. I think that to be part of something where people feel seen, people feel heard, - so many people reach out and say, “this is such an authentic representation of Black people.” It’s so comforting, this makes me laugh, this is not watered down and I think at first, that was so much pressure to me, because I felt like we had to get it right! It’s like, no, that’s the point.

It’s effortless. The chemistry works it just flows and I think that again at first, it was a lot of pressure. Because even for me and the representation to the gay community, I didn’t really know because I get the question a lot. I didn’t exactly sign up to be a role model, but after the impact and after so many DMs and thank you’s, I realized that it was so important to see yourself because representation shapes how people will react to you. This is how people learn how to live in this world. It’s such a huge responsibility to do it right and I think that I’m just so proud of us for being perfectly imperfect because that is what is needed to be shown on television. Everyone is not the Cosby’s, everyone is not the Winslows.

AM: Yup!

JS: Now we have The Upshaws. I wouldn’t even call it a dysfunctional family, it’s real life. It’s things that happen in real life. I feel super proud to be in a position where me living my dreams helps someone to heal, grow, feel seen, and heard. I feel extremely proud of our writer’s of our castmates, and Netflix for getting it right.

Even for me, for me being on the show, it doesn’t stop it from being my comfort show. A lot of people can’t watch their work. I can put The Upshaws on and I don’t know. It’s one of my comfort shows and it’s always weird to say because it can seem so egotistical when I’m putting on my own show while I’m cleaning up. Me and my son have this thing because I let him watch the show – he loves it. I make breakfast Saturday morning and we sit and he picks his favorite episode of the show because it is our comfort show you know? He gets to see himself you know? I think that that’s just really important for you to be able to see yourself and we provide that for people in a way that some people have not seen before.

AM: What can you tell us, if anything about the upcoming season or what we should keep an eye out for?

JS: I really do think that it’s full of unexpected surprises. I think that in this sitcom world, you can do so many things. We have always had our groove and our chemistry, but you have to remember that part 1, we were all kind of strangers to one another and we still had that chemistry. Now, 3 years later, we’re still working together and I said this in another interview – you can’t tell me that these people aren’t my family. This is legit my family. So going to work, with my family – you can expect this season to have more chemistry and I think that we take more risks because we’re more comfortable with each other. The writers know how to write for us. They always knew but we collaborate now. It’s a well-oiled machine. I think that we have upped the ante with the twists and turns that we have. Our finale is bizarre. It’s really going to keep you on the edge of your seat. Just like in the previous seasons, but I think that it’s like 2.0 now!

AM: Oh wow. I can only imagine.

JS: We watch the show. We’re filming it every week. So we never know what to expect. So when we see it, it’s like how the viewers are doing it when they’re bingeing. For ever how many weeks we do it, we have to put that time into it and we see it weekly. I have to ask myself, “I wonder what Bernard is going to do next?” I’m rooting for him and I want to see what happens. I have to wait week by week! It’s exciting.

AM: Are there any other upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for that you can share?

JS: Right now, I’m still auditioning. My main focus right now is The Upshaws, but I’m putting it out there that I am going to do a film this summer. Don’t know which one, but it’s going to be something, I already feel it. You know, when we have our next conversation, we can talk about it.

AM: You are passionate about fitness and you have a fitness app. Tell us about this as in looking at your IG, you’re not just acting, you have other things that you are also involved in.

JS: Yes, I have a fitness line called Jrambo Bands which are resistance bands that come in a 3-pack. They’re 5lbs, 10lbs, and 20lbs. It’s like all of your at home essentials for people who feel that maybe the gym isn’t convenient or they are too intimidated so they can work from home. I have ab belts that’s a belt you put on that’s similar to a waist trainer so it can assist you in being able to lose the water weight. This way you can have a more defined stomach. I recently came out with gym bags which is an all in one that you can use as a carryon for your flights or as an everyday bag. It’s my Jrambo bags and it should be out soon.

I’m just building that because I have such an extreme passion for fitness because a couple of years ago, I started training with a trainer. I loved the results, but I love how it made me feel and I think with me being an actor, you need all the confidence that you can get. It gave me such confidence because I was connected with myself, being disciplined, stretching myself far beyond what I could be, and it gave me that superhuman kind of feeling. I wanted everyone to feel that way. Everyone deserves to feel like, “man, I’m really doing this!” Because you’re constantly when you’re working out and are part of that lifestyle, you’re constantly choosing yourself.

AM: That’s right!

JS: I think that that is important in any kind of career – any position in life. If you’re constantly choosing yourself, you can’t fail. So I wanted to spread that feeling to a lot of people and I started off doing classes. I became a personal trainer, but I have way too much energy as you can tell to be with just one person! So my classes are Jrambo HIIT which is high intensity interval training. Jrambo - long story short – comes from one day I walked into a gym and I sweat a lot when I work out. So I put a bandana on my head and they said Jermabo and I said, “what – I like that, but let me change it to Jrambo,” and it just sort of stuck.

AM: Love it!

JS: So it’s my Sasha Fierce like Beyoncé! So I use that and everything is Jrambo Bands, Jrambo Bags, Jrambo Abs and that’s where that came from! My classes, once I got the show, I couldn’t teach my classes so I developed that app. So the app where I train people with the classes is Jrambo HIITs.com. I come from South Carolina where it’s Soul Food capitol to me. So I’ve learned how to eat now. I fell in love with wellness and health and wellness in general. That keeps me busy when acting is not. I think that people should have multiple passions and multiple things that make you feel alive!

IG @jermellesimon

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 134 + 137 Russell Baer | PG 138 Max Hemphill | PG 142 - 147 Netflix |

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see THE VISION | Jermelle Simon in mag.

THE ART OF THE SNACK | CENTROLINA

This month, our The Art of the Snack takes us to Washington DC where we took a moment with Chef Amy Brandwein a 5X James Beard Award Finalist who is the chef/owner of Centrolina which is known for its Italian dishes that utilize seasonal ingredients as well as having a number of cocktails to complete the experience! We wanted to know more about her background, how she came up with this restaurant that has an Osteria and Mercato, and We see more about upcoming events that you can enjoy there as we transition into the fall.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Chef Amy Brandwein, can you tell us about your culinary journey in terms of where you trained and kitchens that you worked in prior to Centrolina?

CHEF AMY BRANDWEIN: I began my career with Chef Roberto Donna at Galileo. I trained under four Italian chefs there for the next six years, and became the Executive Chef. I then opened Bebo Trattoria with Chef Donna as the Executive Chef (2.5 years) and then moved to The Ritz Carlton hotel to relaunch a restaurant there, Fyve Restaurant (2.5 years). I was hired by BLT Restaurant Group to start an Italian concept Casa Nonna, I opened the restaurant locations in DC and NY.

AM: As the chef/owner of Centrolina, what inspired you to open this restaurant?

CHEF AB: As the chef/owner of Centrolina, what inspired you to open this restaurant? I was inspired to create a dining experience that is a modern and respectful interpretation of authentic Italian cuisine and reflected my cooking and values - using local and fresh ingredients to create exciting, natural Italian dishes.

AM: For those that have yet to enjoy a meal, what is the cuisine that is offered and what are spices and ingredients that are indicative of this cuisine?

CHEF AB: Traditional Italian ingredients include herbs (basil, rosemary, sage), garlic, fruits, citrus, mushrooms, and an expansive variety of fish, game, and meats. Extra virgin olive oil is used extensively as well as parmigiano regiano. We incorporate umami in the form of nonnata di peace, anchovy, colatura.

AM: Before we delve into the offerings, what was the thought behind having an Osteria as well as a Mercato for Centrolina?

CHEF AB: Through the Mercato, I wanted to showcase the beautiful produce and ingredients which spark our creativity and form the basis for the menu at the Osteria. I wanted to highlight our local farmers and create an avenue of access customers to purchase and take home. To aid customers to cook healthy and put a quick meal together using our amazing ingredients - freshly made pasta, sauces, vegetables and sustainable fish. Many customers have told me they shop at the market and try to recreate their meal in the restaurant.

AM: For those that are coming in to dine, what is the ambiance of the restaurant?

CHEF AB: Comfortably modern, relaxing and invigorating. Seasonality is key to the dishes that are available and your menu changes daily.

AM: From a menu planning perspective, what's your process in approaching this?

CHEF AB: I purchase ingredients from our farmers availability every week and then create dishes based on what is on hand in our kitchen. I start with a daily sheet of ingredients, vegetables, fruit, fish and meat, and then I create a menu. We print our menus every day, which enables me to take advantage of new and different ingredients. We rely on seasonally available products. Oftentimes, our creativity takes ordinary ingredients and creating a new way of looking at it. Other times, taking a glut of produce from farmers and foragers to create an interesting dish helps them with their profitability.

AM: You've partnered with DC Urban Greens - why was this important to you and can you tell us a bit about them?

CHEF AB: It is very important to me to support people who are improving access to vegetables in underserved communities and using available land. Urban farming is an important way to help local economies and reduce carbon footprint. The vegetables are harvested nearby and sent right over to us, only 4.7 miles away - many times they are still warm from the sun. DC Urban Greens is led by Tobaris Robinson, a third generation farmer and a DC native. Tobaris owns The farm, which was started as a nonprofit in 2015. DCUG is located in Wards 7&8, an area which is underserved and in need of fresh produce. Tobaris is also connected to other nonprofit hunger groups, such as Dreaming Out Loud and local markets accepting SNAP.

AM: What are 3 appetizers that you suggest that we should order for lunch when we come in with friends and family?

CHEF AB: Verde Salad, Swordfish Carpaccio, and Melanzane (fried eggplant with honey).

AM: For lunch, what are 3 entrees that we should consider?

CHEF AB: Chicken Paillard, Tagliolini with Nduja Butter and Fried Egg, and Roasted Branzino with Confit of Potato and Tomato.

AM: What are 3 wines that you suggest to pair with your lunch?

CHEF AB: Cleto Chiarli Sparkling Rosé. It's fresh, crisp, and dry, and great for patio dining in the summer. Grillo Donna Fugata. It's a mineral, medium body, Sicilian white that pairs perfectly with our seafood and lunch pastas. Barbera Ca Viola is a medium body northern Italian red. Nice fruit and floral notes with hints of plumb and blackberry. It’s a great accompaniment to our home made pastas.

AM: For dinner, what are 3 appetizers that you suggest?

CHEF AB: Yellowtail Crudo with Carrot Yuzu, Crème Brûlée with Chanterelle Mushrooms, and Charred Napa Cabbage with Calabrian Chile.

AM: What are your suggestions for 3 entrees for dinner?

CHEF AB: Right now, Pici Artichoke Cacio e Pepe, Halibut with Corn and Peach, and Squab with Plums.

AM: What are 3 cocktails that we should try?

CHEF AB: Gin Basil Smash. It’s made with gin, home made basil simple syrup and fresh lemon. Fresh, citrusy, bright and herbaceous.

Chefs Negroni. A secret recipe for the perfect Negroni, simple and classic Italian derby.

Basil Hayden bourbon, freshly squeeze grapefruit, Campari and a splash of brown sugar. A great balance of tart, bitter and sweet for our bourbon lovers.

AM: From the Mercado, what are 3 items that are a must-have to purchase for those that have enjoyed eating their favorite dishes in the restaurant?

CHEF AB: Fresh Pasta, Nonnata di Pesce, and White Bolognese Ragu.

AM: The restaurant is a leader in the James Beard Award Smart Catch program. Can you tell us more about this program and why you wanted to be involved?

CHEF AB: Smart Catch is a program that provides information to Chefs on what fish is sustainable and then rates their purchasing on these standards. Invoices are submitted to the program for review and feedback. I wanted to ensure that we as Chefs are making responsible choices and to ensure the viability of our fish species. Chefs should be leading the way to drive consumers and our suppliers to rely on sustainable readily available seafood choices, for the continuation of species and to reduce the carbon footprint. My family spends summers on the Great Lakes so it has always been my priority to protect our waters and the habitat.

AM: Tell us about the private dining options!

CHEF AB: We have various private dining options at Centrolina. We have our private wine room which accommodates up to 10 people. Our private chefs salon can fit up to 28 people and has a private kitchen as well. Centrolina can also be privately booked for lunch or dinner buyouts.

AM: Tell us about Piccolina and for those swinging by for Happy Hour, what is a cocktail/wine and 2 dishes/appetizers that you would suggest for our next visit?

CHEF AB: Piccolina, our second restaurant, opened in 2019. it's an Italian style casual restaurant that offers everything from breakfast to dinner. It's main feature is the wood fire oven which allows us to make delicious Italian style pizza, that pairs with one of our signature spritz. Happy hour starts at 3pm and ends at 6pm. Standout items are our Mezzaluna Pizza (translates to half moon as it's shaped as a crescent moon), and pairs great with a Italicus Bergamotto Spritz. The pizza and spritz happy hour combination is available for only $18. Another happy hour must try is our Piccolina Piatto Misto, a mix of delicious snacks to enjoy with a glass of Italian wine.

AM: Are there any events coming up whether at Centrolina or Piccolina that you would like to share with us whether it's for the remaining summer, fall, or holiday season?

CHEF AB: Our Chefs Table with Amy and Friends Series was created to foster collaboration and partnership between chefs in DC. The dinners include a four-course meal, held at Centrolina in the exclusive Chef's Salon. A portion of the proceeds from the dinners go to a charity of the guest chef’s choosing. Upcoming Chefs Table guests for September and October include Scott Drewno (9/13), Jerome Grant (9/27), Chris Morgan (10/5) and Joan Nathan (10/24). Tickets available on Resy for $175/pp. For the holidays, we are excited to offer Thanksgiving to Go, Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes, and holiday food including luxury pasta kits and Christmas cookie tins.

IG @centrolinadc

@piccolinadc

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Centrolina

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see THE ART OF THE SNACK | Centrolina in mag.

BINGELY STREAMING

SHELTER

Prime Video Series

Prime Video

Bestselling mystery and thriller author, Harlan Coben brings his book Shelter as a series as we find out the connection between a family, town, and whether death is as finite as we believe it to be.

We get to know about Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael) who goes back to his father's NJ suburban town after his death. Although there is something nostalgic about having his aunt, Shira Bolitar (Constance Zimmer) take care of him, playing basketball in the same school as his dad and making friends. There is something idyllic about this quaint town. Through a series of strange events, disappearances and secrets, he works with his friends Ema (Abigale Corrigan) and Spoon (Adrian Greensmith) to figure out how his dad's death is connected to the unease that continues to grow within him.

SURVIVE THE RAFT

Discovery

Max

We enjoy a good reality competition show that shifts the social experimentation paradigm! The premise of Survive the Raft is inspired by the 1973 Acali Experiment by Mexican anthropologist, Santiago Genovés. He curated a group of people from varying backgrounds to see how they would come together, live, work, and accomplish goals. The experiment had a lot of conflict and tensions.

With this experiment and the studies that resulted from it, this competition builds on that and is hosted by Nate Boyer (US Army Green Beret, NFL Seattle Seahawks, Mayans MC) who announces the challenges to the contestants who live on the raft and work together in order to win money for the group. The contestants do a series of challenges, navigate conflicts and even have opportunities to win money for themselves without the group knowing or to stay true to the assignment to build the pot for everyone to share equally. It's a game of the ultimate believe in unity as well as questioning whether those you came in with should stay or be swapped with those that are a better fit!

PAINKILLERS

Netflix Originals

Netflix

Painkillers, a Netflix Original Series focuses on the opioid epidemic that we have been navigating for the last few decades. The availability of these drugs comes with immense consequences and this series follows all who are involved from the companies that make the drugs, the victims that use it, those who are related to users who are also caught up the effects and the investigation of how all of these elements converge together.

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see Bingely Streaming in mag.

EZOO NYC: GOING INTO HYPERSPACE

From Sep 1 - 3rd on Labor Day Weekend, we're excited to make our way back to Randalls Island for Electric Zoo for 3 days of our favorite EDM artists that will be back in NY! This long weekend will allow us to listen to some of our favorite artists that we already listen to as well as those that are new to us! This year's theme is Hyperspace and we're looking forward to Tiësto, Kaskade, Kx5, Alec Monopoly, Major Lazer, Timmy Trumpet, and more.

This year, there are 6 stages which will be curated within a theme or genre and we're excited to navigate them to catch the sights and sounds. As usual, you will find an array of genres of EDM on full display to pay homage to dance music and its importance. We always enjoy checking out the installations which is always perfect for those Instagrammable moments with friends and fellow enthusiasts. There are also a number of vendors that will keep us fueled up for an intense 3 days from tasty meals across dietary interests, water stations and cocktails. We'll also head out to an array of after parties that include a number of venues from Webster Hall, Brooklyn Mirage, Marquee, Somewhere Nowhere, The Great Hall at Avant Gardner, and more.

You can check out available tickets and VIP packages if you have yet to firm up your plans.

IG @electriczoony

PHOTO CREDIT | EC/Electric Zoo

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see EZOO NYC: Going into Hyperspace in mag.

BINGELY BOOKS

THE CON QUEEN OF HOLLYWOOD

Harper

Scott C Johnson

In The Con Queen of Hollywood: A Hunt For An Evil Genius focuses on an imposter who creates emotional and financial destruction around the world! Her work is seen throughout the entertainment industry. We get to know about this villain's origin story and the private detective that was able to deliver this person to the FBI. We learn about this con who created this very real and elaborate series of scams that committed the most perfect crime of our time.

THE 'OHANA GRILL COOKBOOK

Ulysses Press

Adrienne Robillard + Dawn Sakamoto Paiva

When we get to the end of the summer, we think about all those gatherings we can still host and how we can kick our menus up a notch! The 'Ohana Grill Cookbook: Easy and Delicious Hawai'i-Inspired Recipes from BBQ Chicken to Kalbi Short Ribs gives us the culinary vacation that we need with flavors of the Pacific regardless of where we actually are! You'll get more grill time with these recipes, learn about your equipment, get acquainted with ingredients and more!

This cookbook has beautifully shot images that will ensure that and your guests will salivate and be satiated with each bite. We're looking forward to Guava Chicken, Pulehu Tri-Tip, Spicy Li Hing Mui Pineapple, Furikake Party Mic, Grilled Mahimahi, and Adobo Pork Belly Bao with Won Bok Slaw.

You'll find 50 recipes that are easy to make and full of flavor! All you need to do is to add a bit of flair and fun cocktails to make it all come together for your next gathering!

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Gallery Books

Noelle Crooks

We meet Harper Cruz in a bit of a desperate point in her life in Under the Influence. She's run through a string of jobs that have gone nowhere in NY's publishing industry. She's broke and having a hard time making ends meet. So it's not even a question when she finds out about a job to work with an influencer where she will make 3X her last paycheck!

She sends her resume to Charlotte Green, a self-help guru and although she is not personally familiar with her, she knows that her charisma and fresh take on life has created a cult-like following with many woman across the country. She is accepted in less than 24 hours for the job and has to quickly accept. She is not part of The Greenhouse and has to move to Nashville to be part of Charlotte's world.

This world is not just a workplace but a family and although at first she enjoys the events and amenitites which are all mandatory, she realizes that she must work long hours and meet the demands for loyalty to her boss and that everything comes at a price no matter how it is packaged.

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see BINGELY BOOKS in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | RUA THAI BAR

Rua Thai opened in July 2023 in Brooklyn. Thailand is known for its floating markets, where vendors offer food, handicrafts and souvenirs from traditional wooden boats afloat on khlongs (canals). Chef and co-owner Kornpon Theeraumpornkul grew up in the province of Ratchaburi in central Thailand, home to Damnoen Saduak, one of the largest and most famous floating markets in the country. Rua (rowboat in Thai) pays homage to the markets and his family, who sold food at the market.

Chef Kornpon's grandmother taught him most of the family recipes. He enjoyed modifying the recipes to create something new and to have his family try them for feedback. When he came to the US, he worked in the kitchen alongside many skillful chefs at Prem-On, one of the most famous Thai restaurants in New York at that time. Later he became the head chef at one of the most popular Thai restaurants in New York called Yum Yum. He worked for about 20 years in New York restaurant industry before opening Rua Thai.

Ingredients and spices that are indicative of Thai cuisine are Thai chili, white pepper, and lemongrass.

3 Appetizers we suggest to try are the Shrimp Donuts served stacked on a sugarcane stick, RUA Fresh Summer Rolls with beautiful edible flowers, and Crispy Calamari with their signature egg yolk seafood mayonnaise dipping sauce.

3 Entrees that we suggest are: Mama Tom Yum Grilled River Prawns served over sauteed tom yum flavored ramen noodles; Fish Curry Custard with butterfly pea rice, and Pla Tod Numpla crispy whole branzino with mango salad.

We added Kanom Jeen Rice Vermicelli a perfect rice for summer with curries and other dishes. Thai Fried Rice and Basil Fried Rice also go well with many dishes.

Cocktails are created by one of the co-owners Dolporn Thongneam and a bartender. We suggest trying Chom Bueng is made with whiskey with a touch of lemongrass and homemade honey syrup, it is smoked and served covered to be unveiled at the table - it brings the experience to the next level.

Pak Tho, a watermelon mojito, is a thirst-quenching cocktail that’s great for the summer, the watermelon makes it very refreshing.

Suan Pueng is a cocktail created to pair with Thai food, it has a gin base and a hint of basil which goes very well with gin.

To complete your meal and to end with something sweet, we suggest Mango Sticky Rice, Coconut Pudding, and Chocolate Lava Cake.

RUA THAI

204 Smith St,

Brooklyn, NY 1120

ruathai.com

IG @ruathainyc

PHOTO CREDITS | Michael Tulipan

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see ATHLEISURE LIST | Rua Thai Bar in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | HALIFAX HOBOKEN @ W HOTEL

We ferried across the Hudson River from NYC to Halifax Hoboken at the W Hotel. Known for their Nova Scotian cuisine which is associated with simple food made with few (often in-house curated and made) ingredients, the cuisine includes Halibut, Swordfish, Haddock, Lobster, Oysters, Mussels, Clams, amd Seaweeds. Chef Seadon Shouse makes his own salt, smoked meats, spice blends, corn syrup (from NJ corn), as well as liquors such as his own Vermouth.

When dining here, earth tones mix with wood tones to create a comfortable ambiance set against full windows that look out on the Hudson River with a stunning Manhattan view. Named after the capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax is a creative collaboration between Nova Scotia fare, local farm and fishery delights and sustainable cuisine. Each dish has locally sourced meat, produce, dairy, or Marine Stewardship Council-certified fish.

They have a good mix of coastal inspired dishes and land based dishes on all of our menus. Whether you're enjoying breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there is always something special in each dish that comes directly from the Chef's childhood home in Nova Scotia.

The summer menu is focused on a lighter fair while the fall will have more grilled items as opposed to those that are braised. For the summer, there's NJ heirloom tomatoes, NJ corn and summer squashes, where in the fall they will use more roots (parsnips, rutabaga, large beets) and fall squashes (butternut, delacata, Kabocha).

3 Appetizers we suggest are Sea Scallops Carpaccio with kohlrabi, horseradish remoulade, fresno peppers, dill oil, lemon viniagrette, Lamb Meatballs with Smoked Gorgonzola Fondue, and Maine Mussels with Roasted Pepper Butter & White Wine.

Our favorite 3 mains are: BBQ Grilled Nova Scotia Swordfish with Eggplant Caponata, Kale, Crispy Eggplant, Sesame Seed Puree, Rabbit Duo with Braised Leg, Grilled Rabbit Sausage, Pickled NJ Peaches, Lentils, and NJ Sea Scallops with Nova Scotia Sea Truffle Butter, Toasted Barley, Braised Leeks.

We suggest pairing your bites this summer with: Cool Hemingway with Hardshore Gin, Cucumber, Absinthe, Sparkling Wine, Watermelon Drop with Grey Goose Essence, Chambord, Orange Liquor, and Strawberry Field with Appleton Rum, Strawberries, Elderflower, Whey.

Complete your meal with: Apple Fritters with salted caramel, peanut butter ganache, grapefruit campari, NJ Peach Pavlova with spiced meringue, honeycomb, lemon, whipped cream, and Almond Blackberry Cheesecake with ginger crumble, almond brittle, orange blackerries

HALIFAX HOBOKEN @ W HOTEL

225 River St

Hoboken, NJ 07030

halifaxhoboken.com

IG @halifax_hoboken

PHOTOGRAPHY | Halifax Hoboken

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see ATHLEISURE LIST | Halifax Hoboken @ W Hotel in mag.

9LIST STORI3S | CHAZ DEAN

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9LIST STORI3S | INNA

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63MIX ROUTIN3S | JOEL CORRY

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63MIX ROUTIN3S | NATHAN ADRIAN

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THE 9LIST

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63MIX ROUTIN3S | FERRY CORSTEN

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9LOOKS | DOLCE & GABBANA

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ATHLEISURE BEAUTY

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9PLAYLIST | JOEL CORRY

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HE ROCKS THIS EASY STYLE TO NAVIGATE HIS DAY

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see HE ROCKS THIS EASY STYLE TO NAVIGATE HIS DAY in mag.