ARE YOU REALLY A SOCIAL DRINKER OR COULD YOU BE AN ALCOHOLIC?

Increasingly, women are going head to head with men when it comes to binge drinking. It’s not surprising: society normalizes, encourages, and promotes drinking so heavily that it can be nearly impossible, at times, to know what’s “normal” or not. A 2015 report by the National Institutes of Health, says an exploding number of Americans are in the drinking danger zone. According to the report, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, nearly one-third of American adults at some point in their life have an Alcohol Abuse Disorder, and only 20% seek treatment. Drinking may seem harmless but overindulging in alcohol is responsible for more than 80,000 deaths in this country per year and is the third leading cause of preventable deaths. We turned to Carrie Carlton, Clinical Director (LCSW) of Beachway Therapy Center in Boynton Beach, Florida to outline the differences between social, problem and alcoholic drinking.

Addicted alcoholics hide their habit

Carrie Carlton says, “When people veer from social drinking to alcoholism, they usually try to conceal their drinking from those who are close to them. This is a warning sign because they deliberately wish to hide their drinking habit from their loved ones so as not to alarm or disappoint them. The fact is, the more they try to hide their drinking habit, the more serious their drinking problem becomes.”

Missing work

Alcoholics tend to miss work, damage other people’s lives, and not fulfill obligations because they stay busy drinking. Social drinkers will drink at specific times when they are usually free so that no important work is hampered. Social drinkers make sure that they do not over-drink, which ensures that they can tend to important obligations. “If they start ignoring these obligations because of drinking, they have likely become alcoholic,” says Carlton.

You’re a weekend warrior.

“If you don’t drink daily, but are drinking regularly, such as binges every Friday night, that’s a red flag,” says Carlton. While research shows that having about seven alcoholic beverages per week lowers your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, abstaining all week only to guzzle five or six glasses in a single sitting negates any of alcohol’s potential health benefits. Moreover, binge drinking can raise blood pressure and interfere with certain medications.

Drinking just “creeps up on you.”

Have you ever told yourself you were going to have only a drink or two at happy hour, and before you knew it you’d downed five? One of the clues that you may be a binge drinker is not knowing your limits—or feeling surprised when you've "suddenly" passed them. “Like diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems, drinking problems develop gradually and alcoholism is progressive,” says Carlton.

Drinking and driving

Alcoholics end up in alcohol-related accidents, while social drinkers do not. However, for a social drinker, they know that drinking and driving is not permitted and can be fatal. So, even if they over-drink on a particular social occasion, they don’t get behind the wheel.

You wonder if there will be enough alcohol available

“This most likely means that you are probably chasing the buzzed feeling and are unable to enjoy yourself without the fear of losing that high” says Carrie Carlton. “It is most definitely a warning sign of addiction and it can be a sign of obsessive thinking around alcohol, which should absolutely raise red flags.”

You “Pre-Game It”

Perhaps you are going on a blind date and don’t want your date to think you drink too much so you have 2 drinks at home and 2 drinks while on the date. You know you’ve had 4 drinks, but your date perceives you as a “normal” drinker. You are aware of your true quantity and have the buzz to go along with it.

You hide alcohol

If you don’t want your spouse, roommate or family member to see you drinking, perhaps you hide alcohol in a closet or bathroom cabinet and put your drinks in a colored paper cup so only you know you’re drinking. Carrie Carlton says, “alcoholics will do this to be able to indulge in their addiction while attempting to “act sober” and deceive others around them.”

You switch drinks or try to make rules for yourself that you don’t follow

Many people will negotiate with themselves. For example, “I will switch from 4 glasses of wine to two Vodkas” or “I will only drink on weekends,” “I will only go to happy hour when I have a new client win.” “Normal” drinkers don’t make these kinds of bargains with themselves because their lives don’t revolve around alcohol or attempts to control consumption of it,” says Carlton.

A ”problem drinker” versus an alcoholic

Carrie Carlton explains that, “A problem drinker is able to self-correct when they are given sufficient reason to do so – negative consequences, painful hangovers, birth of a child, new responsibilities, etc. An alcoholic, on the other hand, is unable to permanently cut back or stop drinking even when they have numerous reasons to do so. When faced with serious consequences and reality, an alcoholic may temporarily stop or limit themselves, but they will invariably return to their regular excessive drinking patterns.”

What to do if you’re not sure you have a problem

Carrie Carlton suggests, “If you are not certain you are an alcoholic, seek the advice of a therapist, or attend an AA meeting and speak with those who have long term sobriety to see if they share similar thoughts and experiences. If you feel that you need more than therapy to stop drinking, in patient treatment (rehab) may be the course of action you need to get both the therapy and tools to live a sober life.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag

EATALY'S CHEF COLLABORATIONS WITH CHEF ADAM HILL

The month of Sept is always a hectic time of year as it's summer's last hurrah, NYFW kicks off Fashion Month, football season begins and fall is embraced with it's transitional style and food festivities! As we finished our final show of NYFW SS19, we found ourselves enjoying Eataly's Chef Series, which is a collaboration of chefs including Chef Daniel Boulud, Chef Marc Forgione just to name a few, with Manzo's Chef Adam Hill. We took some time to talk to Chef Adam to find out about how he got into the industry, his work at Eataly's open kitchen Manzo, sourcing and sustainability and of course the Chef Collaborations.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us when you knew that you wanted to be a chef.

CHEF ADAM HILL: Believe it or not, probably when I was 10 years old. I started watching this show and it was before Food Network. There was a show called Great Chefs of the USA and The World. It was a very dry show and was not at all created for a 10 year old. It wasn’t like Emeril Live and didn’t have any kind of flash to it. I remember one day in particular that my dad went out for a business meeting and he came back a little over an hour later and I was still sitting in front of the TV fascinated by it! I started cooking dinner for my family at the age of 10 or 11. My mom took a job at night and even though I was the youngest in the family, I started cooking for my 2 older brothers, my mom and my dad. From there, I just fell in love with it. I started reading cookbooks at the age of 11 or 12. It got me at a young age!

AM: That’s a huge part of your culinary journey! Where else did you go and where did you train prior to coming to Eataly?

CHEF AH: I started my Lucibello’s in West Haven, CT. I started working there at the age of 16 as a dishwasher and prep cook. I worked there for about 2.5 years while I was still in high school. I ended up working my way up to prep cook full time. From there, I did some line experience also and working the hotline – starting at a young age. I also worked at a Country Club called The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, CT and I was at The Culinary Institute of America at the Rec Center – a student run restaurant called, The Courtside Café. It was simple things for students like burgers, fries, chicken fingers and cheesesteaks. It’s things that students want to eat when it’s not part of the curriculum. Even with that, after working there a couple of months, I became Student Manager – it was a good learning experience because at the CIA every 3 weeks, you have a new class. So you might be PM for 3 weeks and then in 3 weeks you might be learning Breakfast Class which starts at midnight but ends at 8am or 9am. So every 3 weeks, our staffing would change at Courtside so I got very good at teaching people because your staff may change.

Sometimes you go from having 15 available cooks to 10 and you have to figure out how to make it work with the schedule. Maybe someone has never worked a set station and you have to teach them how to do it and to pick it up as quickly as possible. That definitely helps. When I graduated from CIA, I worked at Chipotle for 6 months and I wanted to learn how they ran their business, how they did their ordering and their overall philosophy. It was also a great experience. My whole plan was to work there as that would be the job that would pay the bills and then train at other kitchens when I had free time. But once I became a manager, they said I couldn’t do that because I needed to have open availability and if I was trailing someone when I had a day off and they needed to call me in if someone couldn’t make it – it would be a problem.

Around that same time, Eataly opened and I started working at the Flatiron location when it opened 8 years ago. I started working at Il Pesce as a line cook and became a sous chef there and then I wanted to do something new, and then about a year and a half/2 years later, I came to Manzo as a line cook and worked my way through the stations. After 2 years, I became sous chef and after about 2 years I became the chef here for 3 years. So I have been at Eataly ever since it has opened and I have been able to stay here so long because there is always something new here, a new challenge to learn and everyday, everyweek there is something new and different going on. It’s great to run your own restaurant while fitting in with the Eataly structure.

AM: What’s an average day like for you at Manzo?

CHEF AH: I don’t know if there is ever an average day especially in the restaurant business and especially at Eataly.

On average, I come in and check in with the sous chef to make sure that we’re on the same page as far as running the specials, double checking with what the line cooks are doing, always walking around and talking with everyone tasting everything to make sure it tastes right before we go into lunch or dinner service. Talking with the General Manager to make sure we’re on the same page in terms of specials and changes to the menu. As we go into service making sure that we are expediting service and that food comes together at the same time. Making sure it’s right before it goes out. As we are getting through service, making sure that we are cleaning up and that everyone is taking their breaks.

The best way to explain the difference between being a cook and a chef is that a cook is a player on the team, but when you are the chef, you have to be the coach and it’s hard for some people to make that adjustment because when you’re the chef, it’s no longer about being the best player, it’s about making sure that your players are doing the best that they can and that your cooks are as well prepared as they can be. Making sure that as a chef, we’re always teaching and always having people think about the next step and training the person behind them to make sure that they are getting ready for a new station. For example, today walking kind of slow so that the person who is on salad station is learning on veg station and maybe the person on veg station learns how to grill meat and the person on meat station begins to learn on pasta. Some of the more advanced people can do the chef thing. It’s all about teaching and making sure that the cooks know that it’s not just a job to them, but that they are learning as much as they can while they are here. In this business, when people aren’t learning, they will put in a year on their resume and they will go elsewhere. The more that you can keep them invested and buying in, it keeps them engaged and hopefully you have a good succession plan so that you have a full circle of training happening.

AM: We truly enjoyed attending a recent Chef Collaborations dinner at Eataly where the menu was created by you and Chef Gabriel Kreuther. What is the purpose of the chefs series that took place there and how did it mold the menu as you partnered with different chefs through this series?

CHEF AH: We had this idea about a year ago as we had done a renovation of Manzo’s dining room. The kitchen is now in the dining room and it was an idea to help cross promote Manzo as well as the guest chefs, with some of the proceeds going to charity. It was a great opportunity for our guest chefs as well as for me to work with them to learn different styles of cooking.

The style of food and chefs definitely brings a different flavor each time. We recently changed the format because when we first did it we had the guest chef’s dish and a dish from Manzo’s menu, but as we continued through the series in the next round – we changed it to be a 4 course menu. So it was a dish of ours, either on the menu or off, a dish from the guest chef, the main course was a collaboration between the 2 chefs and then having the dessert course. This way was much better for the series to run for example at the dinner you attended, Chef Kreuther and I had a great overlap as he is from Alsace and there is some overlap with Alsace cooking and Italian cooking. One of my favorite things on the menu is Testa (it translates to Head Cheese in English, but it’s Pig Head) and I wanted to showcase this as it’s about responsible sourcing and eating sustainably and sometimes using just the pork chop or just the pork tenderloin – everytime an animal dies – the whole animal should be used. To utilize pigs head, it goes along with that ethos. If an animal is going to lose its life, no part of the animal should go to waste. That’s a big part of Alsatian cooking and Italian cooking. For the first course, I wanted to do a mix of Alsatian style and Italian style so the Testa was already Italian and Italian cooking uses a lot of sweet and sour components, which is also true for Alsatian cooking with the German influence. So I wanted to do the sweet and sour cherries and then for the main course, it was a similar idea. We wanted to a trio of pork – the braised pork is kind of Alsatian by braising it in beer which is also common in Northern Italian cooking. The polenta and green tomato sauce was a little sweet and a little sour. When you ate it, it didn’t feel forced there was enough of an overlap between the Alsatian and Italian cooking that it comes together naturally. That’s what those dishes should feel like and if you do a little digging into it – it makes sense historically and the customer finds it enjoyable, accurate and traditional.

AM: What was it like for you to create and work with these chefs throughout this series?

CHEF AH: There have been different challenges. It’s interesting to see the chef’s different styles and influences. Like, Chef Marc Forgione’s influence was a late night French Dip, but deconstructed so there was a carpaccio of dry aged rib eye and there was an au jus component – there was a horseradish sour cream component to it and it still felt natural together. But when you heard the story behind it, it was like cool that makes sense. Culinary-wise there is always a different technique, so there was a dish with Chef Daniel Boulud that was made with clams and andoulie which was very popular. We did a pork belly with kimchi that was pretty successful – so it was interesting to see the techniques and sometimes when we would get the recipes, they were more informal, where others were more precise down to the gram. Overall, it has been fun to learn about the chef’s history, their inspiration for the dish and their style of cooking. In every one, there has been a different learning experience.

AM: For you dishes that you created, how did you go about deciding what it was going to be and what ingredients that you would be using? Do most of them come from Eataly that can be purchased there?

CHEF AH: For the most part, yeah! I would say that when I do a dish, you can purchase the products here at Eataly, but it also depends on the flow of the guest menu that the chef wants to do. If they want to do an antipasta, then maybe we do a pasta. If they want to do a pasta, then it doesn’t make sense for us to do a pasta for the four course tasting, so we will try to do an antipasta. The collaboration is always the main course and it’s about finding that balance and that the flow of the menu is natural.

For this month, the whole menu had a country feel to it. Chef Kreuther’s dish had the apple cider braised rabbit with saffron butter, so we liked this idea of refined rustic cooking, and I love Testa so I thought that would work and he loved it too. So we agreed on this dish which flowed well with the rabbit and then for the main course, pork 3 ways was simple and elegant and continued the sweet sour play.

When we did the collaboration with Chef Akshay Bhardwaj from Junoon it was very natural. We tried to incorporate some thing that were very common in Indian cooking and in Italian
cooking. Naturally, you wouldn’t think that they would go together, but we did a Saffron Risotto with yellow lentils and lamb cooked two ways and this was really successful and I liked the dish a lot. It was because the lamb that we did, one part of it was Sicilian style and the other way was an Indian style where we had marsala and chili peppers and a lot of depth of flavor. We had Sicilian style lamb belly was cooked with garlic and herbs. The risotto was obviously Italian, but with the saffron in there it had the Indian approach along with the yellow lentils. When you ate it all together, it didn’t feel forced, you just loved the taste
playing well together.

AM: Although this series has come to an end, will there be another?

CHEF AH: I’m not sure. I mean, I know that the rest of the year maybe not, but perhaps next year. I know there is an Eataly launching in Las Vegas so maybe this is something that we could do there. It will be a new concept in Las Vegas so maybe getting people to be aware of this location, they can bring in other chefs that are established in Las Vegas through this series. Overall, we loved the concept and I think that going into the end of the year, we will be more focused on truffles and getting our menu ready for the winter.

AM: How many times a year does the menu change at Manzo?

CHEF AH: Constantly ha! It’s an organic thing. You change the menu based on seasonality, availability, for example we recently took off summer squash because it’s fall and even though it’s a bit early to put winter squash on the menu, we can’t call out to summer squash because it’s not summer. Tomato season is winding down so even though we love selling heirloom tomatoes and caprese, we can’t run it all year and it’s not true to the Italian cooking philosophy.

Somethings that are on the menu are mainstays and they don’t change too much like some of the steaks we have – it doesn’t go out of season. But it’s the garnishes that might change and as we go into the winter, we want to make our menu more comfort friendly, so tomato based pastas aren’t so friendly with truffles so we do more butter and cheese sauces because it goes great with truffles. Just keeping the menu flexible for things like that is key.

AM: What are your favorite dishes that you like to create at Manzo?

CHEF AH: Well that’s a tough question! I like doing something that is traditional but a little bit different. A good example of this is the lamb shank that’s on the menu right now. In the spring
time in Italy, much like we do a barbeque here in the US with a whole roasted pig on a spit, they will do lamb in the same way over an open fire. You eat it as soon as it comes off the fire.
You dig into it when it is so hot that it burns your fingers and it’s so hot, but you eat it any way because it is so delicious. The dish translates to “lamb that burns your fingers” – we do a version of that, but it’s not the whole lamb because we’re not going to sell a whole lamb. So we do lamb shanks and it’s marinated with white wine and olive oil, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest and a little anchovy. These are all traditional flavors and we slow cook the lamb for 24 hours and then we cool it down. When the customer orders it, we coat it with salt and sugar and we roast it so it gets crispy on the outside and when you cut into it, it’s crunchy and juicy
and falls off the bone. When you dig into it, it burns the roof of your mouth or your fingertips and it pays homage to the original. There's a story to it and it’s kind of modernized in a way that makes it appropriate to sell into a restaurant. You might sell 10 a day or 2, but if you cooked a whole lamb everyday, that wouldn’t be sustainable.

AM: That sounds really good – we’ll have to try it!

CHEF AH: Well you should come in soon as we’ll be taking it off of the menu soon as it is more of a spring or summer dish.

AM: Oh no!

CHEF AH: Realistically, we probably could change the garnish on it to make it feel more wintery, but the overall story of eating lamb in the spring or the summer time outside in the piazza where people gather around – is just like having a suckling pig for a barbeque – you think of it as more of a summery thing.

AM: Are you constantly thinking of different dishes and coordinating with the sommelier as well as your pastry chef?

CHEF AH: Yeah usually for pastry, there is some sort of collaboration between the party chef and myself, but I try to leave Chef Rebecca to have more creative freedom there and just make sure that it is something that we can execute consistently. As far as coming up with a new menu, we work with Central Kitchen. It’s like a group of chefs that oversee all restaurants at Eataly. I’m the Chef at Manzo, but then there are a team of 5 chefs at Central Kitchen which oversees all the restaurants as another set of eyes. If we weren’t all under one roof like Chef Wolfgang Puck who has 10 restaurants, Wolfgang isn’t in every restaurant every day, but he has a trusted team of people he meets with I’m sure that make sure things are going to plan, food costs are looked after and that the menu makes sense. The same can be applied here with our Central Kitchen, as they are not in everyday but they are making sure things are ok.

AM: How do you define your cooking style and how does that marry with the ethos of Eataly?

CHEF AH: That’s a good question. I like simple food that is well prepared. I like making something that is the best version of something that you have had before. Like, finding what it is that people don’t like about food or something that they could potentially like. A lot of people say that they don’t like mushrooms and when I was younger, I had a lot of bad mushroom – just thrown on pizzas with no seasoning and they got squishy and it’s a texture thing that grosses people out. I love mushrooms now and what changes them is when you get them a little crispy and mix them with a little garlic and butter and thyme. There are only 3 or 4 ingredients but it makes a lot of difference. Eggplant is another one if you eat it and there isn’t enough salt and you roast it – again, it’s a texture thing. If you get it a little bit crispy and roast it in a really hot oven, a good amount of garlic and oregano – people will eat it and the hugest compliment to me is when people tell me that they don’t even like eggplant but they ask me what I put in it to make it taste so good. I like to keep it simple as you don’t need to throw the kitchen sink on eggplant but if you find the right flavors to highlight it and to make sure the texture is correct – people can change their minds about it.

At home, I would say that I don’t cook strictly Italian. I cook some different things. The other day, I was kind of sick so I made some noodles with a lot of garlic, sesame oil and soy sauce – because when I’m sick I want to eat a lot of garlic which is good for your immune system. That’s not traditional anything – just ingredients that I like to cook with. My style is very simple and focuses on seasonality and it matches up with Eataly because our whole style of cooking is about paying respect to the traditions of Italian cooking.

“The best way to explain the difference between being a cook and a chef is that a cook is a player on the team, but when you are the chef, you have to be the coach and it’s hard for some people to make that adjustment because when you’re the chef, it’s no longer about being the best player it’s about making sure that your players are doing the best that they can an that your cooks are as well prepared as they can be.”

— Chef Adam Hill

AM: When you’re not cooking, how do you take time for yourself?

CHEF AH: I like watching football a lot and now that it’s football season, I’m very happy! I’m a Steelers fan. I like to go out with friends and it’s tough in the restaurant business as we don’t all have the same time off. Usually, when we get out of work at midnight, we’ve been cooking all day so we want to eat now because we haven’t all day. Sometimes we’ll go out for late night drinks and to grab a bite and since we're close to Koreatown, we go there as it’s open super late. A lot of people who don’t work in the industry are surprised that when we get out of work we don’t want to cook fancy food, we want comfort food. Like a pot of rice and bulgogi is great. Different kimchis and vegetables that are just stripped down and it’s not messed with too much. You want to be full and happy. I love Bonchon late night with their fried chicken wings. We try to go out once a week to go to the bars which turns into going to Koreatown for some Hot Pot or Korean barbeque. Late night tacos are a go to for me as I love Mexican food.

If I have a day off, I’m just doing laundry and relaxing. I’ll clean the house and if it’s on Sunday, then I am going to be a lazy couch potato and watch football!

IG @ChefAdamHill @EatalyFlatiron

PHOTO COURTESY | Eataly Flatiron

Read more from the Sep Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Eataly’s Chef Collaborations with Chef Adam Hill in mag.

GERM CITY

We attended an exhibit preview of Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis at the Museum of the City of New York this month to explore and reflect upon the complex story of New York’s long battle against infectious disease—a fight involving government, urban planners, medical professionals, businesses, and activists. It reveals how our understanding of disease has changed us physically, socially, and culturally, and the surprising interplay between people and pathogens in an urban context.

The exhibition is organized by the Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with The New York Academy of Medicine and Wellcome. It is part of Wellcome’s international project Contagious Cities, which explores the interplay of people and pathogens in urban contexts. Drawing on the model of the Wellcome Collection’s “Reading Room,” Germ City features a hybrid gallery and library where visitors can view historical artifacts alongside contemporary artworks created for the exhibition, delve into the exhibition’s themes with a curated selection of books, and access a wide range of perspectives through digital interactives.

Contagious Cities is an international project developed by Wellcome, which supports local conversations around the global challenges of epidemic preparedness and marking the centenary of the 1918 flu pandemic, during which a third of the world’s population was infected and 50 million people died. Cities bring people and germs together. Through the stories it tells, Contagious Cities explores the outcomes of this cohabitation, and the relationship between microbes, migration and the metropolis. Combining different perspectives and expertise, partners in the project are co-producing artist residencies, exhibitions, interactive experiences, events and broadcasts. Together, they are investigating the physical, social, economic and cultural effects of infectious diseases

“Microbes don't necessarily first come to mind as intuitive territory for a cultural exhibition, but Germ City uses scientific models, historical objects, and contemporary artworks to make the very personal stories of New Yorkers who have been impacted by contagious disease over time come alive,” said Anne Garner, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at The New York Academy of Medicine Library, and co-curator of Germ City. “Everyone can relate to what it's like to feel afraid or uncertain about illness, and/or comforted by caregivers, and we hope the show will provoke new conversations about responses to epidemic disease."

“The Academy is pleased to partner with our neighbor The Museum of the City of New York and with the Wellcome Trust on this important exhibition and program series,” said Judith A. Salerno, MD, MS, President of The New York Academy of Medicine. “This effort brings together our collective expertise on the history of health in New York and the impact that outbreaks of disease over time have had on New York City’s residents, infrastructure, and its many interlocking systems including housing, urban planning, water systems, migration, and public health policies.”

Rebecca Hayes Jacobs, Andrew W. Mellon, Post-Doctoral Cultural Fellow, with the Museum of the City of New York, added, “we were interested in bringing together historical artifacts, scientific models and contemporary art to try to address this topic of infectious disease, and organized it thematically about responses to disease. It shows artifacts and artwork about containment, investigation, care and stopping disease in the urban environment. And so we selected objects that might be visually interesting, thought provoking, and might surprise people and make them think and also bring up the social meaning of contagion. It is about the cultural side. It's a topic that is underappreciated, infectious disease might sound scary and intimidating, but anyone can learn more if they’re interested. We have a whole interactive space in the reading room, where people can learn personal stories, so hopefully it is a very accessible exhibition for just about anyone.”

After touring the exhibit and listening to opening remarks, we spoke with Seema Kumar, VP of Innovation, Global Health and Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson, a sponsor of the exhibit.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about J&J's role and work in this field?

SEEMA KUMAR: J&J has a really superb global footprint in terms of multiple disease and therapeutic areas. Specific to this topic, in the global public health and infectious diseases and vaccines arena, we've got a long tradition in working in HIV, in TB, and many other diseases, like Zika and Ebola. We have a vaccines platform, where we are in the process of developing vaccines for Zika; we have actually 2M doses of an Ebola vaccine ready to deploy anytime there is a crisis - and those we developed and accelerated when there was a big Ebola crisis in 2015. We also have a vaccine for HIV, which is in clinical trials in South Africa. It's going to be tested in 2600 young girls and women in Sub-Saharan Africa, keeping fingers-crossed. In TB, we brought forward the first new mechanism of action in 40 years, there was a new compound and new break though and that works against multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). So for those when all hope is gone and near deathbed when resistant to all of the existing treatments, this particular medicine helps. Especially in South Africa, we have a wonderful collaboration with the government through clinical trials and also access programs, where we made our compound available for use and the transformation that has taken place in those patients is just extraordinary in terms of changing the trajectory of the mortality rates of MDR-TB, so much so that the South African government made a courageous move to put this medicine as part of its drug regimen against MDR-TB. So we have a huge footprint, and then in HIV we have three products which treat HIV, but in addition to that we have a long-acting injectable, we're working together with GSK ViiV.

We've went from multiple pills that HIV patients have to take everyday to one pill, and now we're trying to make a long-acting injectable that can keep the virus in check for longer periods of time, and a vaccine to ultimately prevent it. We also do a lot of education and healthcare systems strengthening, all of that because it's not just the innovation, but strengthening the healthcare system.

AM: We love what you said about storytelling in the opening remarks. Can you please expand upon that?

SK: We have a campaign going on called Champions of Science, and want to make people understand that science and technology are really important for us in healthcare and many other things, like food, fuel and energy.. With the Africa storytelling challenge, there is a lot of science, technology and entrepreneurship going on there. Many people just think of disease and poverty, so we need to tell the positive stories. Winners will be featured on the platform and phase two will start.

Science can seem so complex to people, it sort of happens behind the lab and seems mysterious, so one of things that storytelling does is it really makes the complex simple, it makes it human, and it connects - facts and figures are great because they are needed for credibility and accuracy, but charts, graphs and numbers do not engage the heart. What engages the heart is really storytelling. There is a tradition of storytelling in all of our cultures, because that's how you've learned your value systems and information, when not even knowing you're being educated because you're listening to the story, but somehow it wires your brain with a lot of information. So storytelling is extraordinarily important in engaging people. Not even just the public, anybody can react to a story, so I think it is an important part of public engagement.

A bit before this preview, Jim Allison, Ph.D, Chair of the Department of Immunology, MD Anderson Center, won the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for groundbreaking work with Checkpoint Inhibitors, where the immune system is being used as a way to try attack cancer. Now immunotherapy is becoming a big breakthrough way to attack cancer. This gentleman has figured out, just like a gas pedal and a break, there is a break in the immune system and that break prevents the immune system from going after a cancer, and if you can release that break, the immune system can go and attack the cancer. We have heard stories about women with tumors all over their bodies, and the tumors can shrink after the first treatment and go away, and one woman featured has been living for over ten years. This is about turning on the switch of checkpoint inhibitors to go attack the cancer in cancer immunotherapy.

The Champions of Science – Africa Storytelling Challenge aims to unearth the inspirational stories of African innovators, and invites scientists doing work on the African continent to come forward and share their stories. "A tremendous amount of science is taking place across Africa, with researchers and innovators developing solutions that can have a significant impact on society," said Seema Kumar, Vice President, Innovation, Global Health and Science Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson. "By amplifying the stories of innovation taking place across Africa and the impact it is having on families, communities and the world, we hope to build public engagement and support for science, and inspire the next generation to pursue scientific fields that will have the potential to drive Africa's socio-economic transformation."

We also spoke with Ken Arnold, Creative Director, and Simon Chaplin, Director of Culture and Society, at Wellcome Trust. The Wellcome Trust is a biomedical research charity based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Sir Henry Wellcome to fund research to improve human and animal health. The aim of the Trust is to "achieve extraordinary improvements in health by supporting the brightest minds", and in addition to funding biomedical research it supports the public understanding of science.

AM: Please tell us about Wellcome and the Germ City: Microbes and the Metropolis exhibition.

KEN ARNOLD: Wellcome has been delighted to collaborate with colleagues at MCNY to co-produce the exhibition Germ City, and further to work in close collaboration with their next-door-neighbours the New York Academy of Medicine. The show explores how New York has shaped – and been shaped by – the fight against contagious diseases such as cholera, and TB. Through a range of intriguing historical objects, powerful contemporary art commissions and interactive features, the exhibition teases out the personal, cultural, political and medical dimensions of contagion in this truly global city.

SIMON CHAPLIN: The show tells stories about health and illness, immune systems and antibiotics, breakthroughs in treatments and vaccinations; and on a more granular individual scale, stories of the lives and struggles of ordinary New Yorkers. But it’s just as much about the structure of urban life: housing, water systems, sanitation, and individual and collective rights. Inevitably, it also touches on issues of social injustice and conflict.

AM: What other exhibitions and projects are part of Wellcome's Contagious Cities international project?

KA: Germ City is the first exhibition in Wellcome’s ambitiously broad international Contagious Cities initiative. Timed to coincide with the centenary of the 1918/19 influenza pandemic, Contagious Cities is a cultural project that spans Geneva, Hong

Kong and New York. Each has its own fascinating, often tragic, but also sometimes hopeful set of disease stories to share. With the World Health Organisation headquartered there, Geneva is arguably the city in the world where most thought is given to contagion and epidemics. Contagious cities commissioned WHO’s first artists in residence. While Hong Kong is perhaps the world’s most connected city, with a vibrant history as a hub of international travel, but also of contagious diseases. A major part of the project there will be an art-led exhibition at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong’s brand-new centre for heritage and arts.

AM: What are some of the upcoming featured artist residencies, broadcasts, events and interactive storytelling experiences?

KA: Across New York ‘Contagious Cities’ features exhibitions, artist residencies, broadcasts, events and interactive storytelling experiences. The Tenement Museum will host a series of special tours of its historic Lower East Side buildings focused on former residents’ tales of disease, medicine, immigration and reform; while WNYC have drawn on their archives and newsroom to offer a series of narratives chronicling the relationship between cities and contagious disease. Other activities are based at the New York Public Library, CUNY’s Graduate School and the Brooklyn Historical Society.

AM: What some key takeaways you hope attendees have when exploring Germ City: Microbes and Metropolis and the Contagious Cities series?

SC: We want to raise awareness of how much germs are a part of all our lives: the reason we wash our hands and cover our mouths when we sneeze. They are a major, if microscopic, feature of our urban environment; and in causing diseases they have brought tragedy, fear, suspicion and destruction to urban environments. But in dealing with them, cities have also witnessed acts of compassion and imagination and globally significant learned lessons. We want people to find out and think about that balance and tension; to comprehend some of the fascinating consequences of those histories, as well as understand and be part of collective attempts to avoid potential disease outbreaks in the future.

AM: What are some highlights of historical significance in NYC's battle with infectious disease?

KA: INFLUENZA - The most deadly flu episode came to New York 100 years ago, in the aftermath of World War I. The global pandemic of 1918–19 killed an estimated 50–100 million people (more than the entire combat death toll of the war). Although over 30,000 New York City residents died, the city’s death rate was actually much lower than other large US cities, in part due to decades of work to improve sanitation and housing conditions by the New York City Department of Health.

“TYPHOID MARY” - Perhaps history’s most famous case of forced isolation of a disease carrier was that of Mary Mallon (1869–1938), who spent the last 23 years of her life held against her will on North Brother Island in the East River. She had spread typhoid to the many families and other clients for whom she worked as a cook, but never fell ill herself. She was outraged at her confinement and refused to believe that she was infected.

TB CARE - Tuberculosis played a particularly pernicious and tenacious role in the urban landscape. Tenements were ideal environments for the disease, which thrived in unventilated rooms and among those whose immune systems were compromised by malnourishment and poor hygiene. TB killed more New Yorkers in the 19th century than any other contagion.

AM: How powerful is storytelling at exhibitions and events to advocate and promote change?

SC: It can be an extraordinarily potent aspect of exhibitions and events, especially in the way it brings personal lived experiences into the context of topics that may otherwise seem challenging, complicated and unrelatably large. Narratives can remind us that shared human instincts reach across time allowing us to empathise with historical figures; but also to show how rich and varied human experience is - that our perspectives are not necessarily shared by others. Less focused on the idea of promoting specific changes, storytelling does provide a powerful platform to make people think openly and differently about big topics such as epidemic preparedness and why they should care about it.

AM: What are some insights into your creative process for designing exhibits, as well as across global show series?

KA: ‘Contagious Cities’ is a profoundly transdisciplinary project: it brings together insights and perspectives from science and culture; from historical investigation and personal reflection. It’s a vigorous attempt to make bold links between medicine, life and art.

SC: It is also a project founded on the principles of co-production. It wouldn’t happen without Wellcome’s core role; but is equally inconceivable without our inspiring partners in each of these cities. We work like this because we believe more exciting public shows can be the result, and because we believe we can all learn much by working collaboratively.

Contagious Cities also aims to make the most of Wellcome’s international reach; it is based on our commitment to the value of supporting locally grounded conversations around global challenges, in this case epidemic preparedness.

AM: Please tell us more about Wellcome and some of its global health initiatives. How does it advance ideas, seize opportunity and drive reform?

SC: Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive. We’re a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. And we support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations, and spark debate. Our funding helps 14,000 curious people in more than 70 countries to explore ideas in science, population health, medical innovation, the humanities and social sciences and public engagement.

We are a well-resourced and relatively independent organization that, we believe, that can make tangible differences. We aim to stimulate research excellence and develop global collaborations to drive change. If we're successful, the research we fund will provide strong evidence for action, which will lead policymakers, businesses and the public to make more informed decisions on things that affect the environment and health.

KA: Wellcome is also helping change the way we think about medicine and its place in society and culture. Through our free museum and library (Wellcome Collection), we seek to challenge how we all think and feel about health. We put on exhibitions, curate collections, produce live and digital programming, broadcasts and publications to create opportunities for people to think deeply about the connections between science, medicine, life and art. Projects like Contagious Cities take our excitement around this approach to the culture of medicine to new audiences in parts of the world important to us, but where we are less well known.

We also caught up with the blood artist and activist behind Blood Mirror, Jordan Eagles. In 2014, artist Jordan Eagles enlisted a group of 9 extraordinary gay, polysexual, and/or transgender men, each with a unique life story, to donate their blood to the sculpture Blood Mirror in protest of the FDA’s ban. The blood in this sculpture has been encased in resin and is fully preserved, ensuring that the organic material will not change over time. In 2016, 50 PrEP advocates gathered in protest to donate their blood to Blood Mirror. Each individual donated a tube of blood – 50 tubes equals a full pint, the amount in a standard blood donation — which was collected into the “community pint”. This blood was preserved inside Blood Mirror, which protests FDA’s current 1-year deferral policy to stigmatize gay and bisexual men without accounting for PrEP, condoms, and other safe-sex practices that can greatly reduce the risk of HIV infection. Viewers can enter Blood Mirror and see themselves reflected through the blood of these 59 preserved donations. A totem of science and equality, Blood Mirror is an archive of the donors’ blood that confronts the 33-year history of the FDA’s ban and current discriminatory policy.

AM: What is this art piece called and what is the message behind the work?

JORDAN EAGLES: The piece is called Blood Mirror. It is made out of the blood donations of 59 gay, bisexual and transgender men to discuss and peacefully protest the FDA’s discriminatory policy on blood donations for gay and bisexual men. Up until recently (2015), there was a lifetime ban from donating if a man had sex with another man once, he was deferred for life. This was put into effect in 1983 during the AIDS epidemic. In 2015, the FDA changed the policy to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood, but only if they were celibate for a full year, which is as I see it ridiculous, especially when there are no requirements for any other individuals to be celibate.

So this piece was created over a two year period, there are two iterations. The first phase of the project happened before, in 2014 and 2015, and involved the blood donations of 9 very particular men, all with very unique stories and life perspectives about hypocrisy and policy.

AM: Who are some of the individuals who donated blood for the project? Why were they selected, what are their stories?

JE: These are some of those blood donors. Oliver Anene is a LBGT activist from Nigeria who is here in the US on political asylum. It is ironic and sad how his participation of the project has a different meaning now in 2018, even though we’re thinking of the FDA’s policy on blood donations, blood is something that is in all human beings – a life force for everyone in the world. So it was important to ask someone very far away to be represented. Blue Bayer is a bisexual father of two, so it really humanizes his inability to donate blood for his own children should they need it. Howard Grossman, M.D., is the medical supervisor on the project, and well as a blood donor, he is a classic AIDS specialist, on the front lines of HIV/AIDS for 30 somewhat years. Kelsey Louis is the CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Lawrence D. Mass, M.D., is the co-founder of GMHC and the first writer to write about AIDS back in the 80’s. The Reverend John Moody, he is an openly gay priest and part of Trinity Wall St, coincidentally where the first act of protest was. Reverend Moody was important so someone could speak about the spirituality of the blood and it’s so often connected to a lot of religious iconography, rituals and the deep humanity of it. Loren Rice is a transgender man, who at the time he donated blood he was married to another transgender man. What’s interesting about this that the transgender men can be self-identifiable, but that means if you check the box
you’re with another transgender man, meaning that checking the box confers you slept with another man, and in so, then disqualified from giving blood. What about monogamously married people, there is CPT Anthony Woods who is married, but is also in the project because he led two terms in Iraq, and he could shed his blood on the battlefield and cannot donate blood to save lives. It is so crazy especially when donation is supposed to be this patriotic, symbolic duty. Ty Spicha is an identical twin, he is gay and is brother is straight. They have the same DNA but only one can donate because one is gay and one isn’t. So all of that was done in 2014-2015.

AM: Where else has the Blood Mirror been featured?

JE: The sculpture premiered in Washington DC at the American History Museum and travelled from there to here in New York, at Trinity Wall St. Then from there, it came back to my studio and we did another iteration of the project, where we created a blood drive for 50 men donating a tube of blood, on PrEP to make a joint human pint, and that was added to the piece and preserved. The viewer essentially becomes another participant in the piece because of the nature of being a mirror – you can see yourself through the blood of men whose blood would have been used for life-saving purposes.

AM: What is it like to tell stories with blood, tell us more about yourself?

JE: I’m an artist and have been working in blood for almost 20 years. Most of my work was done from blood procured from a slaughterhouse and addresses different themes, more philosophically driven, spirituality, regeneration, lifecycle, and the body. This is the first human blood project and happy it is here in the Museum of the City of New York. 55 of the donors are New Yorkers, so I really feel it is coming back home. The piece was recently shown as of last year through middle of this year at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama, so different venues can change the ways it can be discussed. Here it is based on the theme of containment, it is really a contemporary metaphor of even today in 2018, LGBT individuals are essentially quarantined through their blood and not being able to participate the way everyone else can. So hopefully after eight months of it being here, more people will know about the issue and people will wake up and change the policy.

Read more from the Sep Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Germ City in mag.

5 OUTERWEAR PIECES TO KNOCK OFF THE CHILL

Read more from the Sep Issue and see 5 Outerwear Pieces to Knock Off the Chill in mag.

THE EIGHT BEST FALL STYLE

Read more from Athleisure Mag and see The Eight Best in mag.

CUPUACU BEAUTY

Read more from the Sep Issue and see Cupuacu Beauty in mag.

THE HITMAKER WITH NATHAN MORRIS

When you think about R&B you always come to Boyz II Men who had one hit after another with their cool sound, great sense of style and music videos that you remember when thinking about their songs. Although they are a phenomenal music group, we had the chance to hear about a project one of the founding members and Grammy winning artist, Nathan Morris is doing with the DIY Network in his new show, a four part series premiering on Oct 6th – Hit Properties with Nathan Morris. We had a moment to chat with him while he talked about the legacy of his group, his interest in real estate, how this show differs from a number of flipping programs and what we can find him doing when he is not touring and flipping houses!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we get into your new show on DIY Network, we know you kicked off this year’s NFL season with Boyz II Men at Lincoln Financial Field. We’ve been a fan of the group since Cooleyhighharmony. How have you guys continued to be an amazing group that has produced a number of hits, videos and more?

NATHAN MORRIS: I just feel that we are truly blessed to still be able to do what we love, to see our fans and for them to still find that after 27 years, our music is still relevant to them. Our fans are from all over the world and they give us so much love. When you hear fans say that the first song they slow danced to was, “I’ll Make Love to You” or they had a Boyz II Men baby – to know that we have been a part of people’s important moments is crazy!

AM: You guys have a residency at The Mirage in Las Vegas – how is it to prepare for these shows and is there a place that you have yet to perform that you would still like to do?

NM: We love that our fans know that 22 weekends out of the year, they can come see us at The Mirage – we have done this for the past 3 years. We know a number of our fans who have really enjoyed our music over the years may have never seen us in concert - so this is the venue to do it! We just signed an additional 3 years there.

I’d love to see us performing throughout South America and we’d love to be able to have the chance to go to the Middle East and to perform in Duabi. We’d also love to go to Africa as well.

AM: Clearly, we know you’ve been a powerhouse in the music business but how did this translate to real estate?

NM: I’ve had the pleasure of investing in some serious real estate deals on the business side and on the personal side, I’ve done some construction, renovation and designing.

AM: Tell us about your new show Hit Properties with Nathan Morris?

NM: I’m really excited about this show. I know that there are a lot of shows about flipping houses, but we really go in there to show you what it’s like. I take this old mansion in Orlando and I Nate-a-cize it – I love luxurious upgrades and I really like smart home upgrades, remote controlled toilettes and WiFi enabled lighting. In addition to showing the work of taking this 8,200 sq feet mansion from a decrepit place to a glamourous one, we also have humor in this show and you see my right hand man, Bryant Gipson working right along side with me as he has done in other projects that we have partnered on together.

AM: Why did you focus on Orlando?

NM: Mainly, the weather is ideal there as you can pretty much work year around and it just made sense to do it there.

AM: What do people who want to get into the flipping industry need to know about the business?

NM: If you’re a person who can’t be flexible and only has a plan if everything goes right – then this is not for you! You also have to remember that when you're flipping a house, you're not building it for you. You want to put finishes and touches that someone buying it could see for themselves. If you make it with amenities that you personally want, you may find that they are too much to your taste and not universal.

AM: What are areas that you suggest a flipper should focus on when doing a home?

NM: I believe that the kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms are essential. I spend the most time in these areas of my home after my bedroom. These are areas where you want to be able to relax. I don’t like small spaces so you’ll see in the show that I increased one of the rooms by 15 to 20 feet in order to be more spacious and inviting.

IG @NathanMorrisPHD

Make sure to check out this season this season of Hit Properties with Nathan Morris on DIY Network which debuts on Oct 6th at 10:30pm EST.

Listen to our conversation with Boyz II Men's Nathan Morris, on an upcoming episode of #TribeGoals on Athleisure Studio, our multimedia podcast network.

Read more from the Sept Issue of Athleisure Mag and see The Hitmaker with Nathan Morris in mag.

IN OUR BAG | FALLING INTO FALL

Read more from the Sept Issue of Athleisure Mag and see In Our Bag | Falling Into Fall mag.

THE PICK ME UP

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#TRIBEGOALS

Read more from the Sept Issue of Athleisure Mag and see #TRIBEGOALS in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | B MVMNT

Bizzie Gold is one of the world's top Personal Development and Wellness experts with 5 global brands held by BUTI Inc, her parent company which started in 2012. It has grown into a global business in 27 countries. This parent company recently launched B MVMNT in May in the LES. With the success of her Buti Yoga in 2012 that included a number of streaming videos, in May 2018 she launched the brand's first brick and mortar studio.

The Stanton Street studio offers a carefully curated experience of Celebrity Trainer Bizzie Gold's unique movement and wellness methodologies. All B MVMNT class sequences utilize spiral structure technique® to facilitate the deep release and toning of the body - physical, emotional and energetic.

Through primal movement, dynamic asana and cardio-sprints, students breakdown the emotional barriers that hold them back from achieving self-love and true human connection. Music guides the classes like an internal GPS - no more 8 counts or reps. The beat blended movement forces you out of your head and INTO YOUR BODY. It is in this magical place that you integrate your human experience instead of escape it. All formats incorporate elements of shaking and vibration to help release stored trauma and stimulate cellular organization.

B MVMNT offers drop in classes in addition to 3 membership tiers, private training and nutrition counseling. The studio includes a community infrared sauna complete with BOSE sound system and chromotherapy lights, NKD by Bizzie Gold retail shop and Golden Ratio protein bar. Non-heated classes are taught in a room with ambient temperature of 78-80F while heated classes are taught with far infrared towers to gently heat and detoxify the body - the ambient temperature may rise between 85-90 degrees.

The lockerrooms are equipped with changing rooms, wifi equipped lounge, community vanity complete with DryBar blow dryers and products as well as a 4 person infrared sauna. Guests can also purchase NKD by Bizzie Gold at the retail shop as well as purchase items from the Golden Ratio protein bar/cafe.

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B MVMNT

114 Stanton St #1506

NY, NY 10002

www.BMVMNT.com

IG @bmvmnt

Read more from the Sep Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Athleisure List | B MVMNT in mag.

ATHLEISURE BEAUTY | FALL PREP SKINCARE

Read more from the Sept Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Athleisure Beauty | Fall Prep Skincare in mag.

HOW TO DRESS | FOR FOOTBALL AT HOME

Read more from the Sep Issue of Athleisure Mag and How to Dress | For Football at Home.

MIND YOUR MANNERS WITH LIZZIE POST

We're coming back to another season where we will be attending a number of weddings during the fall. There are a number of things to consider as a guest from gift giving, attending events and more. Regardless of the type of wedding you're attending there is still an etiquette to be aware of. We sat down with Lizzie Post, great-great granddaughter to the iconic Emily Post, to find out what we need to know about wedding season as guests as well as those that are in the bridal party. In addition, she shares some great ideas on the rules of attending a wedding even in an age of social media where we're eager to post our best wishes to the happy couple.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell our readers a bit about your background and your connection to Emily Post?

LIZZIE POST: I have been working at The Emily Post Institute (the business Emily founded in 1946 to allow her work to carry on through her family) for the past 11 years and Emily was my great-great-grandmother.

AM: What would you define as expected elements at a wedding whether for a casual or a glam affair?

LP: No matter how you get married, there are usually two people making a promise and some form of a celebration. Whether that’s a big party or the couple driving around to their friends and family and showing the marriage certificate from the courthouse, it matters not. What matters is that two people have made a commitment to one another and how they want to share and celebrate that is up to them.

That being said, most people have an exchange of vows followed by a party and that party has a typical routine of a cocktail hour, dinner and dancing. (Speeches and toasts, first dances, bouquet tosses, and cake cutting are all typical elements, but not mandatory by any etiquette standard. Cutting the cake does carry with it the traditional rule that once the cake is cut, guests may leave. If you leave this element out of a wedding it's nice to have

something in its place to let guests know it’s okay to leave. (Though, most guests will simply do so once they are ready to end the night.)

AM: What are people doing now to add their own touch?

LP: Pretty much any and everything! Whether that’s a grand entrance to the ceremony, or labeling the tables at the reception (themes include: superheros, cocktails, authors, movies, destinations, foods, books, bands…) you name it and a couple can personalize it to their style and needs for their big day. One piece of advice: Ask yourself if this element of your wedding is necessary to you feeling married on your big day. It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole when planning a wedding and feeling like every decision has to represent you and your partner and be an amazing expression of the two of you. It doesn’t. Pick and choose what will really make you feel married and let the rest of it (maybe that’s napkin colors, or the variety of appetizers, or the size of the lights hanging in the garden bar area) just be whatever works.

AM: What are great wedding gifts to give?

LP: So many ideas! Mainly, keep the couple and their interests in mind. I partnered with Marshalls this wedding season because I absolutely love getting inspired to give a wedding gift off the registry. (I usually look at the registry to get an idea of color or style.) At Marshalls I often put together a basket of things for the couple. If they like to cook, some cookware and specialty ingredients or a set of serving ware (platters, trays, plates, bowls – choose what works! - and serving utensils) and one of my favorite recipes written out on a nice card – which you can also find at Marshalls! They have great stationery for thank you notes too! Picking out the items is fun – and I'm always pleasantly surprised by what I find!

AM: Times change but what wedding etiquette stands the test of time from the bridal side and the attendee side?

LP: The couple should always spend a moment with each guest. Whether it’s a receiving line, or visiting tables during the meal, or just making the rounds and being diligent about it, it’s important that the couple gets to connect with each guest and thank them for coming.

For guests, RSVPing appropriately is one of the most important things. RSVP. Period. Whether you are attending or not you must let your host know. Most hosts are trying to figure out headcounts for vendors and it’s crucial to get the right number both for financial and logistical reasons. Guests should never add plus ones or extra guests (children included) to their RSVP unless those people have been specifically indicated on the invitation. (“Ms. Christine Williams and Mr. Kamal Metta & Family” means the kids are invited. “Ms. Christine Williams and Mr. Kamal Metta” with no indication of family are being invited as a couple not as a family.)

AM: Are there new rules regarding etiquette?

LP: No, there really aren’t many “new rules” in wedding etiquette. While it’s not a rule, one thing that is emerging is phone-free weddings and not posting tons of wedding pictures before the happy couple has a chance to.

AM: Tell us about your partnership with Marshalls and how this is fitting for wedding gifting?

LP: I have been very excited to partner with Marshalls this wedding season because it is one of my go-to places for wedding gifts. Everything is always new and fresh when I go in and with all the different departments it’s easy to find something special for the couple that I’m excited to give. One of my favorite gifts this summer has been luggage and travel accessories! Everyone thinks to give to the honeyfund, but luggage ends up being a real lifesaver when it comes time to pack!

AM: Does Marshalls have a registry and if not how can brides be kept in the loop on items that they can cross off their list?

LP: Marshalls does not have a registry, but it’s perfectly appropriate to shop off registry (the registry is there as a suggestion and to help guests who might have a hard time thinking of a gift). This is one of those awkward etiquette places where practicality tries not to step on the toes of surprise. If you don’t send the gift immediately, you can always let someone close to the bride know that the item has been purchased at another store and therefore to remove it from the registry. It’s a little awkward telling the couple themselves and then not sending the gift until after the wedding (or bringing it to the wedding). Instead it’s fine to the let the mother of the bride (or the appropriate alternative) or a member of the bridal party know, and ask that they let the bride and groom know the item has been taken care of.

If you send the gift immediately after purchasing, then the couple will receive it and know to cross it off the registry list. You can add a note with a gift receipt if you’d like letting them know it was purchased off registry, that way they know to remove the item from the registry.

Don’t worry too much about repeated gifts, the couple will likely have to deal with a few returns anyway.

IG @AwesomeEtiquette

Read the latest Athleisure Mag issue.

ATHLEISURE BEAUTY | YOUR DAY TO NIGHT MUST HAVES

Read more from the Aug issue of Athleisure Mag and see Athleisure Beauty | Your Day to Night Must Haves in mag.

THE ART OF THE SNACK | THE MARKET PLACE

Read more from the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag and see The Art of the Snack | The Market Place in mag.

GET ORGANIZED WITH TIA MOWRY

The transition that takes place in August is always an interesting one as many are focusing on the last days of summer and getting ready for fall, some are going back to school (or are involved with little ones) and the clock begins to tick on planning for holiday. As we're all about preparation, we took some time to talk to Tia Mowry about the upcoming season as a working mom, her partnership with Office Depot and upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Back to School Season is like a moment in time where even those who may not be going to school are thinking about their home offices - how important is it to have the important tools to get your work done whether it's going back to school, setting up your home office or just doing a general refresh?

TIA MOWRY: As a working mother of two, you can imagine how chaotic life gets at times. The only way I accomplish all the tasks I need to get done during the day is by staying organized - and the best way to do that is to have fun with it. I usually have endless to-do lists laying around my house, however I just discovered my new favorite organization “tool” – Office Depot’s customizable TUL planner. It’s so cute and comes with a bunch of fun stickers and built-in accessories that make each to-do list fun to create and check off.

When Cree and I go back to school shopping, I can’t help but think about students and families who cannot afford the school supplies they need. I think that having the proper supplies helps students succeed in school and every student deserves a fair chance to succeed in the classroom. I love that Office Depot is committed to supporting education and makes it so easy to give back.

This year, Office Depot has two great ways that everyone can participate in giving back to the community. Their “Give Back to Schools” program lets you give 5% of your qualifying purchase back in credits towards supplies to a school of your choice, or the Office Depot School Supply Drive lets you purchase extra supplies at a local store that will go to a local Title 1 school at the beginning of the 2018 school year.

It’s a great feeling buying all Cree’s school supplies in one place, but it’s even more rewarding being able to give back to support local schools while shopping, and I am glad that Cree is getting that experience at such a young age.

AM: What tools should we always buy to make sure that we can replenish them without having to make another order?

TM: I’m all about pens! I think it is important to always have fresh pens on hand. Nothing is more annoying then writing a note or list or helping Cree out with a project and running out of ink. So for me, I have packs and packs of pens in every color and of course, my favorite – gel pens (especially Office Depot’s TUL retractable gel pens)! For back to school, Office Depot also has these adorable jewel top pencils and windmill pens and I am obsessed! They make writing anything much more fun.

AM: Why did you partner with Office Depot?

TM: Education and giving back to the community are two things I fully support and stand by. Office Depot has been committed to this for over 30 years, so partnering with the company was an easy decision for me.

Office Depot makes it easy for me and my family to send Cree to school with everything he needs, and I know I can rely on them to have exactly what we want –fun and stylish (what Cree wants!) and functional so I know he’ll be prepared for anything.

AM: How do you make lunches fun - do you change up the options, add special utensils?

TM: When I was in school, I used to love opening up my lunch and getting surprise notes from my mom. Every note would be different and would brighten my day. I make sure Cree has something (besides food) to look forward to at lunch, like a note or some cool stickers.

Kids get bored of things so easily, so I try my best to change up Cree’s lunches as much as possible. Whether it’s a different type of sandwich or fruit, I think it’s important to mix it up and provide a variety. It also helps to plan ahead for the week and of course I ask Cree if he has any preferences (this makes it easier on me). His favorite are these yummy turkey meatballs I make so I try to pack those often. The Bentology Bento Box Set from Office Depot makes packing lunches so easy and also fun, and since Cree is obsessed with the Slime lunch box and loves showing it off, I pack the bento box set in it and we’re both happy

AM: Tell us about Tia Mowry Quick Fix and what we can expect to find there.

TM: Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix is all about life hacks that make everyday things that we do easier! Hence the “Quick Fix”! You’ll find recipe hacks, beauty hacks, and Q&A's so my viewers can learn more about my life and family.

It’s really a community that I have created that helps people get through their day to day life easier.

AM: Tell us about projects that you are working on that we should keep an eye out for as we have been fans of your work for years?

TM: I am doing more tv/movies in the future, so keep an eye out for that! Look out for new episodes of Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix as well.

IG @TiaMowry

PHOTO COURTESY | Office Depot

Read more from the Aug Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Get Organized with Tia Mowry in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | SOURCED ADVENTURES

Founded in 2013, Sourced Adventures’ mission is to make the outdoor accessible and affordable to anyone and everyone who lives in New York City. Since then, they have expanded to more than 5 different US cities and now offer a suite of international destinations as well.

Sourced Adventures has its roots in the travel industry. The brand’s founder, Kyle Davidson was an Adventure Tour Guide in a previous life. Now, that same commitment to a great customer experience is embodied by the company’s tour guide feels as a central sentiment within the company culture. The SA Management team now consists of a diverse group of travel professionals with varied experience including the Ski industry and Outdoor Education.

We had the pleasure of attending a recent trip that left NYC and combined yoga in a vineyard, a wine tasting and some free time to enjoy the space as well as to continue drinking more wine. Day trips include your transportation, lunch on site and the opportunity to bring a group with you or to meet new people. Trips leave from two locations in the city earlier in the morning and return early evening which allows you to go home and continue your night.

Sourced Adventures has three main product offerings. The flagship products are local adventure day trips out of several US cities including NYC, DC, Boston and Chicago. The goal with these products is to make it easy for absolutely anyone to escape the city and get into the outdoors. They also have several guided and unguided international trips to destinations such as Iceland, Mexico, Scotland and more. Finally, they work with corporate and private clients to build tailor-made international itineraries or custom corporate retreats.

Feedback is an integral part when it comes to adding new adventures to the offerings at Sourced Adventures. When we attended our adventure, we noticed that a number of people had attended their Hiking and Brewing Program or had planned to do so. According to the Sourced Adventure team, this trip was included due to repeated requests from the community of travelers for a hiking trip to be offered.

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SOURCED ADVENTURES

85 Delancey

NY, NY 10002

www.sourcedadventures.com

IG @SourcedAdventures

Read more from the August Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Athleisure List | Sourced Adventures in mag.

HOW TO DRESS | FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Read more from Athleisure Mag's Aug. Issue and see How to Dress | For Labor Day Weekend.

AND SCENE WITH ELLEN ADAIR

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

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

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

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

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

EA: Oh thanks!

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

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

AM: I mean, you were still going.

EA: What a great compliment – thanks!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EA: We started filming in May.

AM: WOW!

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

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

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

AM: Woah

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

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

AM: That is dedication!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Ellen Adair

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

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

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

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

AM: Are you an Eagles fan too?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AM: That’s what I was thinking!

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

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

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

IG @ EllenAdairG

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

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

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