ATHLEISURE MAG SEP ISSUE #129 | CHELSEA GREEN

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with WWE Women's Champion, Chelsea Green. We talk about how she came to the WWE, how she trains, what it means being in this WWE as the Women's Champion, and what we can expect to see from her as we continue to watch her storylines in the ring!

We share a new brand and partnerships with long time collaborators Pharrell Williams and Pusha T with Grindin Coffee. We find out why they wanted to create it. their partnership with Lavazza and the roasts that are available.

This month we spent our time with legendary MLB players that are not only amazing for their athleticism, and commitment to their game - but they are also focused on making sure that we know about our bodies' needs. We talked with St Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols, NY Yankees CC Sabathia, and Manager of the Yankees Aaron Boone to find out more about heart awareness, checking out our numbers from our doctors, and why they have partnered with Merck along with the wider MLB community for Playing with Heart.

We sat down with Choreographer and Creative Director Jasmine "JB" Badie who has worked with such notable names as Pharrell Williams, Beyonce, Sabrina Chapman and so much more. She talked with us about how she came to dance, her creative process, working with her phenomenal clients, and more.

Emily Harrington is a phenomenal and noted Rock Climber who is known for free climbing El Capitan in under 24 hours! In her documentary, Girl Climber, she shows how resilience, dedication, and a team finally led to her carrying out her dreams over the year! We talk with her about the film, why she loves this sport, and what she has been up to since the film.

This month's Athleisure List comes from NY's Nofar Method, a studio fitness that combines Classic Reformer with the Cadillac Reformer. We also make our way to the East Village for an amazing meal at Salumeria Rosi.  

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to Midtown East to Park Ave Kitchen by David Burke. We share dishes that you should enjoy, the ambiance of the restaurant, and more. 

As the lights have gone down on this seasons NYFW for the SS27 season, we recap some of our favorite shows that you should know about.

It is an honor that our enhanced 9PLAYLIST comes from Green Day as they share 9PLAYLIST with us. This month’s THE 9LIST STORI3S is from choreographer and creative director, Jasmine "JB" Badie and noted rock climber, Emily Harrington.

Read the SEP ISSUE #129 of Athleisure Mag.

IT'S ABOUT CHARACTER | NICHOLAS PINNOCK

Last month, we shared with you that we attended STARZ’s Fightland premiere, which also included performances by 50 Cent and G-Unit as well as an after party at PH Live in NYC! We have enjoyed this boxing crime drama as the character dynamics and storyline has been drawing us in on its inaugural season that is currently streaming now with new episodes dropping until the Season Finale on Sept 25th!

We had the pleasure of interviewing Nicholas Pinnock (For Life, Long Bright River, Hedda) who we have been long time fans of his work, and how he immerses himself into the characters that he plays! As Kingsley Marshall, the head of an iconic boxing family in London, we are taken into his enterprise and how he has been successful in the industry! We wanted to know more about how he came to the role, what he likes about it, and what he is excited about with this series!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have enjoyed seeing a number of projects that you’ve been on and we’ve enjoyed seeing you in Fightland as well! It’s great to connect with you.

NICHOLAS PINNOCK: No, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for talking to me!

AM: Well, before we delve into Fightland, what do you love about storytelling?

NP: Oh, wow. I mean, telling stories is universal. You can touch anybody anywhere with a story. Somebody will identify with something or someone in said story and the human condition is such that we’re more alike than we are different. That’s what I really love about it.

AM: What was your creative process like when it came to connecting with the character of Kingsley Marshall?

NP: Finding him was all in the script. What happens when I approach a character, and especially I remember very clearly with Kingsley, was I read the scripts and from the way that the rhythm of the dialogue is laid out and how I find the rhythm, an accent or a vocal quality comes into my head and that’s where I started. That’s where I normally start.

AM: Oh, wow.

NP: Then I start to imagine what that voice looks like. What does that look like?

AM: Right.

NP: Then I try to decide, okay, now I get a look and a sound. What’s the feeling? And the feeling then happens a lot later when it comes to finding out what he wears. And then the physicality, because I can’t, I don’t know who my characters are until I’ve got them dressed.

AM: Exactly.

NP: That’s the final piece. Then it all comes together. And so Kingsley, yeah, it was really, really interesting. And, you know, the voice dictated what the beard would look like and how short that hair was and all these specific things. Then, it was how he would come into a room. I mean it was so specific with him and luckily the creatives, the show runners, and the writers - they allowed me to really explore it and find it without too many restrictions. They thankfully trusted that I had a handle on who I believed Kingsley was and I can just only hope that the audiences are as happy with it as we are!

AM: Well, as someone who loves boxing, it’s our favorite sport. We’ve been watching it since we were 3 years old. The subject was already exciting and we grew up seeing great fighters prior to when they became known to everyone else. So to see this series, Fightland and to combine the elements of crime, revenge, etc, it’s exciting.

What drew you to want to be part of Fightland?

NP: The biggest draw for me was working with 50 Cent again. Working with Curtis again was by far the biggest draw. I knew after the first time, that we were going to work together again. And when this came along, it was an absolute no-brainer. But, you know, when you’ve worked with somebody like him who you know, you trust, you respect, you love as a brother and you’ve got a friendship and more than anything as a collaborator! I would have come on and done one line for him and left.

AM: Right.

NP: So to have the privilege of playing Kingsley was just - it was amazing. Yeah, that was the biggest. But then on top of that, I read the scripts and the scripts were fantastic. I’m a big fan of the POWER universe and it’s in keeping with that. So I find it completely entertaining. So, you know, another opportunity for me to entertain an audience.

AM: Absolutely.

NP: Then I looked at the cast, who I was going to be working with and it just, all the things fell into place.

AM: We’ve seen a number of the episodes. We were at the premiere that took place at Jazz at Lincoln Center and being able to see you guys as a cast as you were literally sitting 2 two rows behind us –

NP: And you didn’t say hello?

You know what? It’s kind of like - I’ll tell you what it is. It’s like your boss giving you a pat on the back to say, job well done. Because my audience, the audience is who I make it for. They’re the boss. They’re the people that, you know, forget what critics or anybody else says. If the audience has something to say, that’s what I’m interested in, really, really listening to. So whenever anybody comes up and asks, you know, for a photo or they want to talk about it or they want to say how much they enjoyed it. You know, no matter where I am or what I’m doing, I will give that person the time because it makes you go, okay cool! I will continue doing this because it’s offering an audience something that they still want! So thank you! I’m still happy to do it for you so never be too shy to say hi next time!

AM: Next time!

What do you love about playing Kingsley? He is quite a character with such a presence!

NP: Yeah, and you haven’t really seen him yet, have you?

AM: Exactly. But the little we have seen - you give good face. You give good presence.

NP: What I loved about Kingsley more than anything was, this is new territory for me.

AM: Right.

NP: If you look at the roles that I’ve played in the past, they’ve always been, you know, the moral compass. They’ve always been the upstanding citizen. They’ve always been a tortured, troubled kind of kind of guy that has, you know, a story to to break through and become something else. This was completely different.

AM: Yeah.

NP: He’s the antagonist. He’s the villain. He’s the crime boss. He’s the head of this family. He’s the person that no one takes any shit from. To be in that territory within my body was very, very tough. You know, people don’t know that the subconscious aspect of actor’s releases the same chemicals as if it were real life. So I was carrying around a lot of heaviness and a lot of power in a sense that didn’t sit well with me, Nicholas, but it was tough. It was absolutely new territory for me. So it was different shoes to fill, but that was the challenge.

AM: Right.

NP: You know, that’s what I wanted. That’s where the fear really sat with me. Can you bring this character to life in a way that is real and believable for an audience and that really... has the effect on the other characters in the piece to make them do what they do and react in the way that they react. Because it’s a specific tone that’s needed you know for Kingsley to have a knock-on effect on the rest of the players in the scenes, for them to do what they’re doing, for them to go on and tell the rest of the story to the audience. And that was my turn. That’s what really, really drew me to really wanting to explore Kingsley as much as I did.

AM: Mmm.

What do you want viewers to take away when they’ve seen this season after we see how the dots connected?

NP: Honestly, there’s no real philosophical thing that I want to go away with. I want them to be highly entertained and want more.

AM: Mmm.

NP: That’s all I could ask for.

AM: Well, it is such a pleasure. We have loved seeing you in so many different things. To see you play a number of characters and to now see you in this way, as soon as we see Kingsley, he stands on his own and your performance of him is believable - this is a badass man.

NP: Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment. Next time, say hi, right?

AM: Absolutely!

IG @fightlandstarz

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | STARZ

LIV GOLF NEW YORK 2026

This month, we headed to LIV Golf NY to check out the second to the last match of the season. We enjoyed walking the holes catching up with our JAN ISSUE #121 cover, Dustin Johnson from earlier this year, seeing Jon Rahm who locked in and giving Rahmbo vibes across the 4 days, as well as seeing a number of stars from the league that we have grown up watching or have become new stars that we always keep an eye out for!

In addition to a bit of a heatwave, it was also great to see the vibe and energy that LIV Golf presents when it comes to attending their events from shotgun style play to having walk on songs it really draws viewers in whether you have been involved in the sport or are new to it!

To get a sense of what to expect from LIV Golf for next year, we have some curated images from the course!

IG @livgolfleague

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Paul Farkas shot with SONY Alpha |

Read the AUG ISSUE #128 of Athleisure Mag and see LIV GOLF NEW YORK 2026 in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG AUG ISSUE #128 | PAUL GEORGE

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with 9X NBA All-Star, 6X Member of the All-NBA Team and 4X member of the NBA All Defensive Team - Paul George. This season, he joins the Boston Celtics. We sat down with him to talk about his love for the game, how he stays in shape, and how he overcomes injuries through rehab and recovery.

We kicked off the US Open 2026 season which runs from Aug 23rd - Sep 6th. We give you a bit of sights and sounds on a number of amazing global tennis talents that we will see throughout the next few weeks.

We caught up with Nicholas Pinnock who plays Kingsley Marshall in STARZ’s Fightland! We talk with him about how he connects to his creators, his creative process, and why he wanted to be in this powerful show!

We attended the 2nd to the last LIV Golf tournament here in NY where we saw our cover from earlier this year, Dustin Johnson of 4Aces, as well as a host of other top golfers from Jon Rahm, Bubba Watson and so much more!

Our Staycation in August took place at the Hotel Seville NoMad which allowed us to be in the heart of the city while feeling European vibes throughout our stay. We share more about this hotel that just completed rennovations on this Unbound Collection Hyatt property.

Rockstar Energy Open held its 3rd Annual skateboarding festival with top skateboarders around the world competing! In addition, this year they had a number of bands that performed to keep the good vibes going!

We sat down with Lakey Peterson as she is in the middle of her WSL Tournament season to find out about the love of this sport, how she trains, recovers, and hydrates! We also talk about how she gives back by supporting and cleaning our oceans.

We made our way to Nike HQ in NYC to try out the brand’s latest sneaker, Hybrid RN. In addition we trained alongside Elite Nike and Hyrox athlete, Dylan Scott. He also sat with us to talk about this sport and how he got into it.

We took sometime to talk with Trish Dalton, filmmaker of Reggae Girlz which is a film about the Women’s Jamaican Football Team. We follow their journey from playing for their country to making their way to the FIFA World Cup. We also interviewed Cedella Marley who talked about her involvement with the women’s team, why she wanted to support them with her energy as well as financially via the Bob Marley Foundation, and more. We also talked with Den-Den Blackwood that plays for this team.

We connected with one of our favorite brands, Oleada whose Co-Founder and Creative Director, Tiffany Zhou talked with us about the line, her engineering process in making, it and what we can expect from the brand.

We sat down with Netflix’s One Piece actor, Inaki Godoy. In addition to being in this successful show, he has a passion for hot sauce. We talked with him on his recent partnership and role as C.H.I.P.

This month's Athleisure List comes from NY's Yunara Life, which is a wellness destination that ensures that we keep our bodies health at the forefront of our minds. We also made our way to TAP in NoMad where we enjoyed gluten-free Brazilian bites that are flavor forward and good for your body!

It is an honor that our enhanced 9PLAYLIST comes from Iconic So-Cal band, Red Hot Chili Peppers as they share 9PLAYLIST with us. Enneapus adds his 9PLAYLIST STORI3S vibes as he jams along on heavy repeat. Indeed it has fave gems for sure. This month’s THE 9LIST ROUTIN3S is from our NBA cover star, Paul George, Celebrity Event Planner maven Mindy Weiss, and WSL #8 ranked surfer Lakey Peterson.

Read the AUG ISSUE #128 of Athleisure Mag.

FANATICS FEST 2026

We enjoyed going to Fanatics Fest 2026 at the Javits Center, NYC. It had four heavy days of card show, Fanatics Games, panels, autographs, breaks. experiences, and more. The show was even better this year than last, and really brought out the best athletes, teams, entertainers, and brands for loyal fans eager to see their favorites. Definitely hometown NY Knicks had a big vibe coming off of their historic win; demonstration of teamwork and hustle; and Espy win.

The Fanatics Games are so innovative, definitely something we look forward to. This year Justin Bieber took the overall win. it was so much fun hanging with Big Papi on “ice.” (Athleisure Mag Cover, Issue #125). He was teeing off against Yankee great HOF CC Sabathia, an exciting pairing. Fortunately, someone shouted to keep the puck on the ground, and Ortiz nailed one smoothly in. NJ Devil was also part of hospitality, had been a bit since we saw you at Star Wars night at Prudential Center.

UFC Suga Sean v NYG Skatterbo were locked in. They were putting some targets, after some close calls, Sean hit one and celebrated. Skatt chuckled and came out to the crowd and signed a bunch of autos and did some Skatt Blasts. It’s fire to see two elite athletes from different sports go head to head in these games.

Conversely, Kevin Hart taking on Marcello Hernández were not locked in. Nope, but you knew that was the case. We picked up with soccer/football grand-standing. A lot of hoopla. Hart looked like he made a couple of tough ones. There was some more amped peaccking you’d expect from these two. Then we saw them dueling it out in golf.

WNBA Legend Diana Taurasi v US Kelley O’Hara remained serious competitors through out on the greens, as were Jordan Chiles and Tiffany Haddish in their battle. Mo Bama and Sheck Wes shooting hoops on the court was fun. Big group, all were invited. We also caught up with them on the ice; Sheck was super cool to some zealous fans, also doing some signature posing.

We also took in some excellent panels.

Cody Rhodes had a great discussion with GOAT QB Tom Brady. Cody was psyched to bring out Brady as someone he’s long admired. Brady was happy to relate he’s a perfect fit for a WWE heel. As with the year before, when we saw him speak with Oakley Meta. Michael Rubin, and Travis Scott, Brady just dropped dimes of wisdom in all his stories and answers. He revisited collecting cards as a kid. We’d imagine it’d be that level of cool to jackpot with your own cards you collected of yourself while playing, and to have those cards dwarf the sizeable PC you cared for over the years throughout, and now run CardVault by Brady, Both are extremely expiring. Brady learning from Manning to spark a top Gronk go-to move. Surround yourself with greatness. stay curious, honor the game and the greats’ legacies was another great story.

Dana White hosted a Zuffa Boxing panel, including featuring Ryan Garcia. (Ryan was our Cover Star for November 2021, #71). Always entertaining, Ryan looked eager and ready to go. Those hands are so fast for sure.

Inter and Nike held a 2026/27 Away Jersey Kit Reveal with Republic Records and artist performances showing exemplary sports, fashion, and music together.

Chirstian Vieri helped launch the jersey on stage, loving how it felt.

We also kicked off the show seeing Mr Wonderful do a $1.8M card deal with Shyne. O’Leary walked on the stage and reminded the crowd to always buy the best.

The show presents solid, warm networking opportunities, some cool people and brands were met, and old friends seen. Remote top NYC events had Fanatics Fest going all over town, as was for us as for the Final match watch party with Don Julio 1942 Tequila. We watched in a gorgeous tent adjacent to yacht on the pier. it was a pleasure and honor to watch the Final with Jacket Designer legend Jeff Hamilton, who mentioned some fabulous stories, feeling on the sports, wellness and the city, and also finding this year at Fanatics Fest special.

In our next part, we’ll share what we enjoyed seeing and learning from additional panels we attended, including John Cena; Spike Lee and Ryan Clarke; Diana Taurasi and Legend UConn Husky Alums, and more.

IG @fanaticsfest

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Paul Farkas

Read the JUL ISSUE #127 of Athleisure Mag and see FANATICS FEST 2026 in mag.

FIGHTLAND STARZ PREMIERE

Earlier this month, we made our way to Jazz at Lincoln Center to see the premiere episode of the latest series to be released from the 50 Cent (POWER, Den of Thieves, Escape Plan franchise) Universe, Fightland! The night kicked off with words from Kathryn Busby, the President of Original Programming at STARZ. Following her talking about the show, its place within STARZ, and how excited everyone is, she introduced 50 Cent, who is an Executive Producer who brought this series to STARZ and Sky.

He shared how important it was to launch this project through G-Unit Film & Television and what boxing meant to him.

With both of these opening remarks, we saw the first epsiode of this season. At the end of the first season which was full of plenty of action, we enjoyed 50 Cent performing alongside members of G-Unit and special guests. With castmembers from this show as well as those from the POWER universe, it was a great night to enjoy this energy. We continued on to the after party which was held at PH Live at Planet Hollywood in Times Square and enjoyed more performances by 50 Cent and well as hanging out with the STARZ team.

Fightland premiered on July 31st and will drop new episodes each Fri. on STARZ and its app as well. This show is a new high-octane scripted drama set in the cutthroat, high-stakes, cash rich world of British boxing, we navigate the action in the ring as well as what takes place outside of it!

Check out what we enjoyed during the red carpet premiere here, here, and here.

IG @starz

@50cent

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Fightland/STARZ

Read the JUL ISSUE #127 of Athleisure Mag and see FIGHTLAND STARZ PREMIERE in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG JUL ISSUE #127 | CHEF ANTONIA LOFASO

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with the Restaurateur and TV Personality/Host Chef Antonia Lofaso who just premiered her Food Network series, Kitchen Undercover which airs new episodes on Tues at 9pm ET. We talk about her phenomenal career, culinary competitions, her passion for cooking, her 3 restaurants and her upcoming shows! We also did a virtual shoot with her, which took place in her home in Las Vegas.

We made our way to Jazz at Lincoln Center to see the premiere of the first episode of STARZ Fightland which focuses on the world of British boxing. Executive Produced by 50 Cent and G-Unit Film and Television, he shared a few remarks about why he is passionate about this project and its inclusion in the 50 Cent Universe. After the episode, he also performed a number of songs along with members of G-Unit. We all continued on to the after party at PH Live at Planet Hollywood in Times Square.

Ahead of JAŸ-Z  's 3 NYC concerts at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx, we attended a listening party with Armand de Brignac aka Ace of Spades at Eavesdrop, a vinyl listening lounge based in Brooklyn. Hosted by the Wolf of Wine, Jermaine Stone a wine and hip-hop educator, he curated songs that pair well with the wine that are part of the iconic artist's discography.

We're midway the baseball season and we sat down with Cleveland Guardian's Shortstop, Brayan Rocchio to share his love for the game, how he trains during the season and how important eye health is to him and his game!

We took a moment with Peloton instructor, Emma Lovewell to talk about her love for working out, how we can prepped for a cycling class if it is your first time, the importance of gum health, and how she takes time for herself.

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to Thailand at the Mai Restaurant and Bar located at the Meli Hotel!

We made our way to Hell's Kitchen's Tavola to enjoy Italian and Sicilian cuisine as well as a number of phenomenal spritzes that are perfect for this itme of year! We learn about the history of the building, great items we should continue to enjoy when we come back on future visits, and more!

This month's Athleisure List comes from NY's The Cloud One Wine Bar and Lounge a FiDi destination that is know for great cocktails and a luxurious vibe above the city at the Cloud One Hotel. We also head to Midtown East to enjoy phenomenal Italian and Sicilian cuisine at Audace.

It is an honor that our enhanced 9PLAYLIST comes from Iconic rapper, JAŸ-Z as well as the legendary The Rolling Stones as they share 9 songs on their playlist right now. Our THE 9LIST 9M3NU comes from Chef Billy of Mai Restaurant and Bar, Francesco Gava of Luccialo in Hong Kong, and Mixologist Niko Imbert of Bon Vivants in the Bahamas. Our 9CH3F ROUTIN3S comes from our cover star, Chef Antonia Lofaso.

Read the JUL ISSUE #127 of Athleisure Mag.

GOV BALL 2026

GovBall has always hit a good vibe for us and this year seemed extra special for 2026. We attended Days 1, 2 and 3 and we have fond memories of cool moments, sets and experiences we had!

Day 1 we enjoyed live sets from Mariah The Scientist, KATSEYE, and more. Mariah The Scientist dropped an exquisite R&B performance and sparkled in a custom Gold Dress designed by Kim Shui. She performed classics from her hit album Hearts Sold Separately. KATSEYE blew out a high energy set working the crowd from all sides. Their vibrant vocals hit and choreography entertained.

We hung with Ayrloom and had a 1MG Cannabis Infused Honeycrisp. You can taste their 5th generation family orchard with the juicy and sweet flavors of the honeycrisp apple. It’s naturally sweet, but never heavy, their hemp infused fresh apple cider is the perfect way to cool down. A lower dosed sip than what we’re typically accustomed, we enjoyed the beverage flavor profile.

It was all about Major Lazer on Day 2, who provided us killer BTS content from their set on Snap Stage. Their tribal anthems and fierce dance repertoire always delivers upbeat party vibes and sticky global anthems you’re humming days later.

On Day 3 we enjoyed live sets from Clipse, JENNIE, A$AP Rocky, and more. Still reigning from their Grammy-award win, Clipse welcomed new fans and die hards alike, noting their code at the outside about loyalty and waiting with grace. They rapped their classics and some from their latest album to cheers from the crowd. JENNIE brought a mix of hits and tik tok dancing trends with a strong dance crew. Due to a minor rain delay, ASAP Rocky’s set ultimately was called off a bit early, but he went through about a dozen hits, his Rod Stewart & Miguel track Everyday was teased, and just hearing the intro gave us a smile and chills. He brought out Dominican rapper Tokischa to perform the unreleased collab, FLAKITO JODYE, definitely a massive standout moment of the festival weekend.

When not jamming to the performances, we refreshed in The Patron House; celebrated 7-11 Slurpee Anniversary with tried and true and upcoming flavors and live DJ; and Cabot Farms served up Pimento Grilled Cheese to the crowd on heavy rotation.

IG @govballnyc

GOVERNORS BALL PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 48 Roger Ho | PG 52 Okay Nicolita | PG 54 JN Silva | PG 50 Paigge Warton | PG 56 Ismael Quintanilla | PG 58 - 61 Major Lazer | PG 63 Rich Fury |

Read the JUN ISSUE #126 of Athleisure Mag and see GOV BALL 2026 in mag.

POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN | THE FINAL CHAPTER

The POWER universe is a world that continues to reveal itself across various timelines and it’s not stopping anytime soon! POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan is currently releasing episodes of its final season which you can watch on STARZ. We have chatted with various cast and filmmakers across the franchise in our issues. In this month’s issue, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Mekai Curtis (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; The Lion Guard; POWER: Origins), Patina Miller (The Hunger Games franchise, The Many Saints of Newark, Madam Secretary), Erika Woods (Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, FBI franchise), London Brown (Ballers, Tales From the Hood 3, American Soul), and Sascha Penn (By Any Means, Cliffhanger, Power: Origins) to talk about this season, the series, and what they are excited for the fans to see!

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so nice to connect with you all as we navigate the final season of POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan! It‘s great that we are speaking with Mekkai, Patina, and Erika for the first time. In addition, being able to circle back to London and Sasha who we have interviewed prior to the S1 premier of this series as well as other times, and being able to circle back to you as this season comes to an end.

What have you enjoyed about being in this show?

MEKAI CURTIS: I’ve gotten to enjoy getting to grow as an artist and playing Kanan. I’ve gotten to kind of sink my teeth into this! I know that sounds like such a trope that every actor says. Actually being able to pull the layers back on a character and reveal that sort of thing. That’s something that, you know, any actor kind of dreams of. So that’s what’s been fun.

PATINA MILLER: I mean, I think being able to do incredible work with really great artists is kind of the actor’s dream. You know, it was a franchise that... was already amazing and so to be able to be a part of something that people love, being in this fandom where you know our fans of the POWER show are just so intense and love the show so much and so the opportunity to be able to jump into something like that and be a part of it and you know work with great material, great people, and a great crew you can’t ask for anything more!

ERIKA WOODS: I enjoy the slow boil that is Pop. You know, she starts off, she doesn’t say much. She sits at the table. She counts money. All of that is great. But this last season and getting to handle that business with Crystal (Aliyah Turner) and handling business with Famous (Antonio Ortiz). I just thought it was so many different layers and it’s just so much fun just playing with what motivates her and why she did what she did. It’s been a wonderful ride.

LONDON BROWN: First and foremost, likewise, I have enjoyed chatting with you.

I have been enjoying the checks, you know, staying employed haha.

No, no, no. You know, playing Marvin - as an actor, you want to find these characters where you can really have fun with. I’m so glad they allowed me to explore and let me play. You know, because sometimes you never know. Sometimes the writers have a strict idea about a character, but they were totally cool. They let me go and let me bring Marvin to life. And so just to have them to trust me to do that, that has been a great time. So that’s been wonderful.

SASCHA PENN: It’s good seeing you. Thanks for coming back.

AM: We have enjoyed seeing how this series in this universe has evolved! So it is interesting to see your perspective as the Executive Producer, Creator, Showrunner, Writer, you wear a lot of hats.

SP: I mean, look, I think... I’ve really enjoyed like working with people that I love and respect, you know, that’s first and foremost, that’s been kind of amazing. I’ve really been fortunate in that I’ve worked with people who frankly, I think have made me better at my job and maybe better even beyond my job. So, I think that’s also been like an incredibly satisfying piece of the experience. Look, it’s an amazing thing to be able to write a story and share it with a broad audience. And to have that audience respond mostly positively is always great, too. So, you know, it’s been kind of an amazing experience from start to finish. On some level, I’m sorry, it’s over. On the other hand, I do feel like it ended at the right moment in terms of the stories that we’ve been telling. So, you know, it’s bittersweet. But at the end of the day, I feel like we answered every question we asked. Let’s put it that way.

AM: The cast has such a great presence and it’s great to see the dynamics between one another as well as those behind the screen that create the story that is being brought to life. What are you excited for viewers to see of your character or the show?

MC: Honestly, I’m just excited for people to see the question that’s been asked since day one of the show, like how Kanan became Kanan, the people that influenced that, the environment, I’m excited for people to have more context as the show has kind of just revealed as it’s went on. But, you know, going into its final season, you see a lot of questions answered that everybody’s had.

PM: I mean, I’m always excited. You know, anytime an opportunity to be able to get another season is incredible.

You know, so for us to be able to do 5 seasons and this being the final one, I guess I’m just excited for the finale and for, like Mekkai said, to understand. It’s been incredible sitting with these characters in this world for so long. And, you know, I have loved it. And, you know, it’s going to be... It’s going to be fantastic. I can’t wait to hear what people think about it. But I think it’s a wonderful ending to a really great chapter in this series.

LB: Well, I’m excited for them to see S5 because we get into it. We really peel back the layers. There’s a lot of vulnerability in S5. And especially with Marvin, people get to see a different side of Marvin. I know people are used to some of the comedic stuff, and he’s not the comedic relief at all. People still have found him to be likable and that’s cool. But I think now people are going to really love Marvin. Not because he’s perfect or anything, but because he’s so imperfect. I think people feel like, man, they are going to really be able to, they’re going to root for him or want to, you know, when it comes to Marvin for S5 and that’s going to be dope.

EW: You know, I’m curious for people to see exactly why Crystal was killed. Exactly who killed her? Was I alone - allegedly. Constantly people want to know that and the dynamic between Pop and Snaps (Wendell Pierce).

AM: Yeah.

EW: You know, you never saw them one without the other.

AM: Right.

EW: So for people to see, oh, they’re solid or, or really just see the dynamics of that partnership playing out. And now with our nephew, I think that there’s a lot of questions that I’m eager to be answered in the way they’re answered.

AM: That’s going to be exciting to see how the pieces come together!

SP: I mean, look, I guess I’m excited for them to see all of it. I’m so curious and excited to hear sort of where the viewers end up on all these different characters. Like the final analysis, what do you think of Raq (Patina Miller) and what do you think of Marvin? I’m just so curious because I’ve been surprised. I’ve been surprised over the course of these seasons. For example, after Marvin put his hands on his daughter in episode 108, people were like, that’s it for Marvin. I hate this guy. And then now Marvin is truly probably the most beloved character on Raising Kanan. It’s interesting to see how that all evolves and changes and shifts. That’s really interesting. For me as the person who’s sort of, I guess, writing it and guiding it it’s instructive.

AM: What is the biggest takeaway that you’re going to leave with, you know, coming out of this world, coming out of this series?

MC: Hmm it’s a toughie!

PM: It is tough! There’s so many things that you learn. Every show that you are able to be a part of every job, you learn something, right? I think you want to leave better than when you entered, you know? You hope that you can be inspired by the work and by the people. You hope that within the process, you’ve given everything that you could and you showed up and you were happy and you’re happy with the work, happy what you’ve left behind, you know. So I’m very happy with how this worked out. I was excited going into it and I was excited to the very end and to show up for work every day and to love what you do and to work with incredible artists. I know I keep saying it, but it is so true. Working with incredible people, it doesn’t feel like work. It’s just showing up, doing the thing that you’ve always dreamt of doing.

MC: I have nothing. I was literally about to say – I have nothing.

AM: Samesies!

MC: Patina is always able to, you know, I think that’s, again, just a testament to the work that we’ve done and the impact that we’ve made on each other is, you know, she just finished the same thought that I had. Being able to leave a legacy behind with the work that you’re doing and being able to connect with so many other people that inspire you to push you. You know, that’s what I’m excited for. That’s what this has been. That’s the blessing this has left me with.

PM: You know, you leave being more. There’s more belief in yourself and I’m a better actor for having being pushed, gone to my limits, really being tested. `Really! I mean, we’ve had to do a lot of vulnerable things. I mean, working with Mekkai and seeing how he’s had to, like, flex, you know, different parts of his instrument. And I’ve had to flex so many different parts of my instrument. You don’t really get that in every job that you do. You’re the one type of character. But all of these characters in this show have had such amazing journeys where I feel so fulfilled with being able to have pulled out so many different things to use. And, yeah, I’m better now than when I started, you know? So that’s the dream.

AM: Now that the show is coming to an end, what has been your biggest takeaway being a part of this series, part of this universe that people love so much?

EW: You know, I think my biggest takeaway is you can’t always focus on the awards.

AM: Right.

EW: The level of acting that I have been able to be around to learn from Patina Miller, Wendell Pierce (Elsbeth, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War, Jack Ryan series) and Shameik Moore (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, The Get Down, Dope). I mean, I just, everyone is so good. Joey Bada$$ (Grown-ish, Boomerang, Mr. Robot), all of these actors are so amazing. And it’s just wonderful to see them all get to explore these wonderful roles and play with this great material. And it’s not just, you know, guns and you know it’s it’s stories of families and relationships between mothers and kids and you know, spouses. So it’s just wonderful when you, when you see that and it crosses all races. We have Asians. We did every race - that I loved because there’s so many different parts of New York. I just, I loved it. All, you know, we’ve had Indian, we’ve had, we are United Nations and it is just so wonderful to explore that within the show.

LB: Just more confidence in the craft because this project was able to, I could feel that it pushed me in different areas as an actor that I hadn’t really touched on before. So it just kind of really sets me up going into the next thing. And so I’m glad this was a good, actor’s gym session for me doing this show. And I’m glad I was able to put on some weight after doing this show.

SP: Look, I think my biggest takeaway is just like you can’t do this on your own. To be truly great, you need to be surrounded by great people! So that’s one of my biggest takeaways. You know, I do have a tremendous amount of gratitude for 50 (Street Fighter, Fightland, BMF) and Courtney (Nemesis, The Good Wife, POWER franchise) and Mark Canton (Den of Thieves franchise, Escape Plan franchise, 300) and, you know, all these different people who brought me in. Obviously, my friends at Lionsgate and Starz.

You know, it is a humbling experience. You know, it’s truly humbling.

Like, here I am. You know, the act of being a writer, most of it is you sit in front of your computer by yourself in a room and tap away.

AM: Yeah.

SP: In rare instances, I get to sit with Kimmie from Athleisure Mag and I get to talk about things that I created by myself sitting in a room.

AM: Which is crazy.

SP: It’s crazy, right? It is crazy. And that is in and of itself like a tremendous, tremendous sort of gift to have. So there you go.

AM: Thank you guys for taking the time with us as S5 comes to an end as it has been a fantastic series! It’s been amazing to see the range and journey of the characters and how they sit in the overall universe. It’s bittersweet to know that the end is coming it has been so great to see the complexity, fashion, how it is shot and so many elements that have come together to create this series!

This universe is one that has been exciting to look at from various vantage points starting with the flagship POWER, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force! We also can’t wait to see that universe continue on with the prequel that has begun filming with Power: Origins which picks up after the events taking place in Raising Kanan so we can’t wait to see more of Mekkai! We’re also looking forward to Power: Legacy with Michael Rainey and Joseph Sikora. So the universe will continue and I look forward to seeing your projects within this world and outside of it.

MC: It was great talking with you today!

PM: It’s been a great time.

EW: It was great to be here.

LB: Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you!

SP: Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thank you for sticking around.

IG @starz

@raisingkananstarz

@themekaicurtis

@patinamiller

@e.woodz

@reallondonbrown

@pennsascha

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Starz

Read the JUN ISSUE #126 of Athleisure Mag and see POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN | The Final Chapter in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG JUN ISSUE #126 | SƠN TÙNG M-TP

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with the King of V-Pop, singer/songwriter, Sơn Tùng M-TP. We talk about his career as a singer/songwriter, his creative process, his latest single with Tyga and more.

Earlier this month, POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan premiered its final season of this series in the POWER universe. We sat down with Mekai Curtis, Patina Miller, Erika Woods, London Brown, and Sascha Penn. We talk about the series, what it has meant to them to be in it, and what they are excited for viewers to see.

With Miami Swim Week kicking off the Summer season, we highlight Spotlight Collective that ran a series of runway shows at PARAISO Miami Swim Week.

We kicked off the month in Flushing Meadows for Governors Ball, a music festival across genres that takes place over 3 days. We caught up with some of our favorite acts from A$AP Rocky, Clipse, JENNIE, Major Lazer, Diplo, and more.

This month we attended BCB Brooklyn, a spirit and hospitality show that fosters the industry to come together to enjoy cocktails from brands that we have known as well as those that are new to the market. We take you to the trade show as well as to adjacent events that take place during this time.

We have definitely been enjoying FIFA whether we're out at watch parties, seeing it from home or heading to the stadium! We kicked off our time by attending UBER One's FIFA Party with a DJ set by Mark Ronson and performances by Backstreet Boys!

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to Hong Kong at the Hari Hotel and we enjoy Italian Cuisine at Lucciola which is known for it's vibes, views, and phenomenal menu.

This month's Athleisure List comes from The Crane a luxurious resort in Barbados and Jin Broth which is currently having a pop-up in K-Town's Baro as well as having a subscription meal kit for their bone broths! 

Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from NFL Giant, JuJu Smith-Schuster and iconic rocker and Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar. Our 9PLAYLIST comes from icon entertainer, Madonna. Thank you Madonna for sharing this with us.

See the JUN ISSUE #126 of Athleisure Mag now.

BORN IN A CROSSFIRE HURRICANE | THE ROLLING STONES

Without a doubt, The Rolling Stones will have an amazing Summer this year! On July 10th, the anticipated 14-track album, Foreign Tongues will drop and they have been releasing tracks and videos; such as In the Stars dropped earlier this month. While we wait for the full album to become available, The Rolling Stones have another launch that is worth noting! This Spring, they debuted Crossfire Hurricane Rum, a super-premium spirit that celebrates the bands connection with Jamaica in a relationship that has spanned more than 5 decades! This launch and product illustrates the band’s music heritage, its Jamaican provenance, and modern craft.

Starting with Jamaica, this is the first brand to utilize rums from 4 of the country’s most respected distilleries - Hampden Estate, Long Pond, Worthy Park, and Clarendon. These 4 styles come together in a single blend that showcases its complexity and the island’s rum-making tradition and is 100% Jamaican with no added sugars.

“Jamaica got into everything we did in the early seventies - the music, the rhythm, the pace of life. Jamaica was one of the few places that would let us all in. The island said come in and we recorded Goats Head Soup. It’s never let us down since. Crossfire Hurricane is a continuation of that story, more than fifty years on,” said The Rolling Stones.

It’s worth noting that prior to The Rolling Stones’ arrival in Jamaica, they had been recording on Main Street in the South of France; as well as touring in the US. When they arrived in Jamaica in 1972, it became a breath of fresh air their label head, Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records knew that this island was the centre of emerging musical influence. By recording Goats Head Soup in Kingston, they were immersed in a new flow that Keith Richards said that the “1970s Jamaica felt a lot like 1960s England when we started out. There was something in the air - a new rhythm, a new imagery.”

The band continued to record at Dynamic Sound Studios where the connected with iconic reggae authors - Sly & Robbie, Peter Tosh, and more. Mick Jagger recorded, “There was something in the air. You could feel it from everybody on the street - a vital thing happening with reggae.”

The rum brand’s name is from the opening lyric of Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Editor’s Note: The opening lyric: I was born in a crossfire hurricane and I howled at the morning drivin’ rain) as a means to capture the raw energy and enduring spirit of one of the world’s most iconic bands.

The Rolling Stones partnered with Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador to be a co-creator due to his expertise in Jamaican run and its cultural significance.

The bottle reflects the band’s iconic lips logo in a prominent way and is surrounded by wave patterns that showcase echo sound. By visiting the website, the storytelling continues by sharing the band’s time in Jamaica in the 70s, along with the recording of Goats Head Soup in Kingston.

Fans of the band and rum should visit the website to see never-before-seen images of the band on the island along with the moments that established their time there from the music as well as the spirit behind the rum. As their global rollout continues, Crossfire Hurricane Rum’s social account will share upcoming drops, collaborations, and new ways to interact with this story.

The portfolio includes Crossfire Hurricane Gold for mixing and Crossfire Hurricane Reserve for sipping.

IG @crossfirerum

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | Crossfire Hurricane Rum

Read the MAY ISSUE #125 of Athleisure Mag and see BORN IN A CROSSFIRE HURRICANE | THE ROLLING STONES in mag.

FEEL THE BASS | BENNY BENASSI

We’ve been fans of EDM DJ/Producer Benny Benassi for years! His songs have been in our playlist and when enjoying his music, it’s all good vibes and energy.

We had the pleasure of having Benny as our DEC ISSUE #60 cover back in 2020, with a virtual shoot that took us all the way to Venice! It was great to connect with him again during the first weekend in May for the drop of his latest album, Feel the Bass! During that weekend, he DJ’d a number of events from radio stations, taking over Times Square, being at Marquee and even DJ’ing while biking the TD Five Boro Bike Tour! As we went to a number of events we had the chance to chat with him at various times to talk about the album, his NYC rollout as well as touring internationally!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Great set last night Benny!

BENNY BENASSI: Oh yes, yes I saw you last night amazing!

AM: I was taking footage with my Meta Glasses so I had to be still, but inside I was dancing!

BB: Thank you for coming!

AM: It was also great to have you as our DEC ISSUE #60 cover during the pandemic as we shot you virtually while you were in Venice!

BB: Oh yes, thank you!

AM: It was cool to be able to be “in your studio” all the way from NY!

You have had a busy weekend promoting this album and you have been all over the city! How excited are you about dropping this album?

BB: I’m super excited! I am doing a lot of DJ sets in different places. Like, Fri Night I was at Marquee and then last night, I was at Marquee Skydeck. Tonight I will be at a little club!

AM: We will see you there tonight!

BB: We will have a little block party! It’s amazing! I’m super excited! The public loves me and I love NY!

AM: It was such a pleasure to attend a number of the dates for Feel the Bass album drop while you were in NYC! What was the inspiration behind Feel the Bass and why did you want to create this album?

BB: I wanted to make a record that returned to bringing some physical energy back into the club, like when I started out with my first album twenty years ago. It’s a time when music has gone back to being very electro, very physical, and I really loved this sensation of feeling the bass in your stomach again. That’s where the whole concept of Feel the Bass came from.

AM: What was your creative process like when you were working on this album?

BB: It was a very instinctive process. I have a wonderful team of people I collaborate with, a lot of young guys, and I also receive a ton of music from emerging producers who send me their tracks to listen to. So, some things were born outside the studio, while others we developed directly in the studio.

It was a very “easy” and laid-back creative process, in the best sense of the word: we took our time. Whenever we received something we really liked, we worked on it without forcing anything. I think this is exactly what gave the album its unified feel.

AM: What are your 3 favorite tracks from this album?

BB: Definitely Feel the Bass, because it’s the track that also gave the album its title. Then there are some that I personally love, others that I adore playing live because they completely change the energy of the room, and others that are a bit more experimental, for example Chicago Baby with my longtime friend Felix Da Housecat and Superstar with Chris Nasty.

AM: What do you want listeners and/or your fans to know about this album and how do you want them to feel?

BB: I hope people feel that energy I was talking about earlier. I’d like whoever listens to the record to feel pushed to turn the volume all the way up... almost to the point of blowing out the speakers. I always say it’s a bit like when you test drive a powerful car on the track: you go full throttle until you hit the limit. Well, I want people to listen to this record like that, giving all the power possible to their sound systems, whether they are in the car, at a club, or at home.

AM: You came to NY and you really connected with so many people to launch your album! What was it like when you took over Times Square?

BB: It was pretty surreal, actually. I remember when I was a kid seeing Times Square in the movies... it seemed like another world. And then I remember the first time I took my dad there: he was completely blown away by all that energy, by all those people. He is no longer with us today, so being there playing inevitably made me think of him. It was truly an incredible emotion.

AM: You performed at Marquee and then you were also at Marquee’s Skydeck which we attended - what did you love about being at these venues and having it as part of your launch weekend?

BB: I really liked the contrast between the two. Marquee represents the more club-oriented, nightlife, and quintessential New York side, and it’s a place I’ve been going to for many years. Skydeck, on the other hand, is almost cinematic.

You are on the 100th floor with all of New York beneath you... it’s incredible. Just talking about it gives you a thrill, let alone actually experiencing it.

AM: Why did you want to be at the TD Five Boro Bike Tour?

BB: Oh, because I love biking and I think I will do something special for this because I enjoy riding a bike with family. But this bike will let me play live while I ride!

AM: The TD Five Boro Bike Tour was such a fun experience! We chatted with you a bit before you led the 2nd Wave of riders to take on the race! What can you tell us about the bike that you rode on as we didn’t realize that you would be riding as well as DJing!

BB: I honestly think no one expected me to ride the whole thing! But I love cycling; it helps me so much to mentally disconnect. Plus, New York on a bike has an incredible charm, because it allows you to take your time to really look at the city. I want to thank Canyon again for putting together that setup for playing and biking. It was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful way to wrap up the weekend in New York.

AM: The last event we went to was at Mi Casa Studios. It was cool to see other DJs play their sets, enjoying slices of pizza and watching you DJ - why did you want the event to have these elements?

BB: I liked the idea of something very closely connected to the people. Anyone who came really got the feeling of stepping into my own home. Sort of like saying, “come over to my place, I’ll make you a pizza and play you some records.” It was the same thing there: you come in, listen to music, maybe even spin a few records with me... and it was beautiful like that.

AM: You left NY and you hit the road to continue releasing your album - what are additional dates or festivals that you will be participating in as we begin to make our Summer plans?

BB: Usually, in the summer, I focus a bit more on Europe. This year I’ve also added a small tour in Canada and a few festivals there. Then there will be Mykonos, some dates in Ibiza which I always love doing, something in Sardinia—where I’ll be going shortly to one of my favorite clubs— and also a couple of festivals in Italy. I always like to combine work with a bit of vacation time.

AM: When you are not DJing, how do you take time for yourself?

BB: I always look for simple moments. I also really love the lifestyle here where we live, in the Apennines, an hour away from my home. I like taking some time out with my mountain bike or going for a drive in my old Jeep. They are simple things, but they really help me disconnect.

IG @bennybenassi

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Paul Farkas via SONY Alpha | PG 85 Kimmie Smith |

Read the MAY ISSUE #125 of Athleisure Mag and see FEEL THE BASS | Benny Benassi in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG #125 | DAVID "BIG PAPI" ORTIZ

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with 3X World Series Champ, 10X All Star, Boston Red Sox DH, FOX Sports Analyst and Owner of Ozama Rum, David "Big Papi" Ortiz. We talk with him about baseball, his love of the game, his career, being an analyst for FOX Sports, competing in Masked Singer, his latest venture Ozama Rum, being a family man, and his legacy.

Next month, BCB Brooklyn will take place from Jun 9th + 10th where the hospitality industry comes together to learn about new spirit brands as well as those that have been on our bar carts for quite some time! We always love checking in with Jackie Williams, EVP of BCB Brooklyn to see what we can expect when we hit the trade show floors in Industry City next month. In addition, next month we will have a post recap of brands and offsite events we attended as well in our JUN ISSUE #126.

We kicked off the beginning of this month with our DEC ISSUE #60 cover, EDM DJ/Producer Benny Benassi. With the release of his album, Feel the Bass, he launched it in a number of events around the city from Marquee, Marquee Skydeck, riding and DJ'ing at the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, and more! We talked with him about his passion for music, why he came to NYC to drop his album in this way, and what he loves about his latest album.

We've been fans of the iconic band, The Rolling Stones and with their launch of Crossfire Hurricane Rum, this spirit is the merge of the band's love of Jamaica and their time recording there as well as creating a spirit that embraces their music and pushing the envelope.

We have enjoyed seeing Hemky Madera play a number of roles including one of our favorite shows, Queen of the South as well as Perry Mason! Currently, he is in Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer, HBO's Euphoria, and is back in Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. We talk about how he approaches his characters and what he looks for in his projects!

We head into the world of Hip-Hop Freestyling when we sit down and chat with Red Bull's Marlee Hightower to talk about her MOTIV crew and MOTIV Dance Studio. She shared how she got into the industy, competitions that she participated, her work with artists that have included Janet Jackson, Pharrell Williams, and Coldplay. We also talk about her upcoming projects.

This month we had our THE 9LIST Event Series at Lore Bathing Club in NYC's NoHo. We had members of our readership/community attend this newly opened bath house where you can enjoy cold plunges and saunas in a 75 mins session. We sat down with the team of LBC to find out more about bathing culture, its historical roots, and what can be enjoyed when you come to this destination.

Next month, we will be at Gov Ball and ahead of this jammed pack weekend of music, food and vibes, our pre-coverage will share what you can expect from this festival.

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to Midtown in NYC to an amazing experience of Indian cuisine at Chatti by Regi Mathew. Having a meal here is not just an amazing series of dishes, but it is an immersive experience that starts from the time you walk in until you take your last bite.

This month's Athleisure List comes from The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection and Four Seasons Mykonos! 

Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from EDM DJ/Producer Benny Benassi, ABT principal ballet dancer Christine Shevchenko, and Muse New York Hotel. All 3 share what they do, enjoy, or have in the Morning, Afternoon, and Night. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from Red Bull Hip-Hop Freestyler, Marlee Hightower where she shares her must-haves in beauty, style, and fitness. Our 9PLAYLIST comes from global icon and fashion designer Victoria Beckham whose collaboration with GAP has made everyone excited! She shares with us what is on her playlist in her GAP X Victoria Beckham playlist. Our THE 9LIST 9M3NU comes from Chef Regi Mathew of Chatti, Chef Henry Laprte of Salt Hank's, and Big Papi.

Read the MAY ISSUE #125 of Athleisure Mag.

THE STYLE ICON WITH JUNE AMBROSE

We have been a long time fan of June Ambrose who has been in the industry not only for decades, but if you grew up watching music videos done by Hype Williams, saw epic style statements by Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott - you were enjoying a living masterclass by June Ambrose. You were seeing her work. The clothing, the hues, the storytelling that was done that was bordered by the videos, lyrics, dancing, and more. She set the tone and continues to do so in her projects.

This stylist, Costume Designer, and Creative Director continues to push the envelope. She recently launched another capsule collection for Naturalizer X June Ambrose. We talk with her about the shoes, her approach to her work, and what we can keep an eye out for!

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

JUNE AMBROSE: I fell in love with fashion before I even had the language for it. Growing up in the Bronx, style was survival - it was expression, armor, aspiration. MTV just amplified what I already felt in my bones. I realized early that clothing could shift energy in a room. That was my first understanding of power.

AM: When did you realize this could be your career?

JA: The moment I saw that my point of view could move culture - not just dress it. When artists trusted me to translate their sound into a visual language, I understood this wasn’t just styling and costume design… it was authorship. That’s when it became a calling.

AM: How would you define your personal style and 3 favorite accessories?

JA: My style is intentional contradiction - tailored yet fluid, disciplined but expressive. It’s what I call Authentic Intelligence.

My essentials? A statement heel (always), fun hat, and a fun and iconic shaped bag that feels like art.

AM: Where do you start creatively on a project?

JA: I always begin with narrative. Who is this person? What is the emotional temperature? I build from story, then silhouette, then texture. I’m not dressing bodies - I’m designing moments that add punctuation to your look.

AM: What have been your 3 favorite projects that you have done?

JA: Building Missy Elliott’s iconic persona, starting with her Supa Dupa Fly music video, launching women’s basket and motor sport catergory for Puma, and building the STYLE-LETICS universe. Each one pushed culture forward in a different way.

AM: Tell me about STYLE-LETICS and Naturalizer?

JA: STYLE-LETICS is where fashion meets velocity. It’s a new category where the elegance of pumps and sandals moves like a sneaker. My partnership with Naturalizer was rooted in a shared belief: comfort should never compromise style. Together, we challenged the idea that fashionable shoes require sacrifice.

AM: Tell me about the Macy’s event that took place this month.

JA: At Macy’s Herald Square, we didn’t just host an event - we activated a movement. Women stepped into the arena, tried on power, and walked in confidence. It was immersive, high-energy, and deeply personal. Style became a shared experience.

AM: What was your approach to the capsule collection?

JA: Precision. Each drop was engineered for versatility and transformation. I wanted silhouettes that could move from work to play and dancing all night without losing intention. Every piece had to perform - emotionally and physically.

AM: What do you love about your partnership with Naturalizer?

JA: It’s alignment. They understand that a woman’s life is dynamic - so her wardrobe must be too. We’re not just designing shoes, we’re designing freedom and taking risk.

AM: We always like asking our faves about 3 workouts that you love doing!

JA: Pilates for elongation, strength training for power, and walking - intentional, styled walking - for clarity. Movement is part of my creative process.

AM: How do you replenish your cup?

JA: I disconnect to reconnect. Silence, travel, and moments with my family. Stillness is where my next vision reveals itself.

AM: Are there any upcoming projects that we should keep our eye out for?

JA: Expansion of the STYLE-LETICS universe - new silhouettes, deeper storytelling, and hopefully global activations. And of course, continuing to build platforms where style and culture intersect in meaningful ways.

IG @juneambrose

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | June Ambrose X Naturalizer

SALT HANK'S

Those bomb French Dips from Salt Hank’s have become a must in NYC! We popped back to this well-deserved hot spot started by Chef/Restaurateur/Author Henry Laporte, a leading recipe developer and content creator known for over-the-top and viral recipes, to shoot some pics and video of the inventive process that puts these tasty sandwiches with love.

From the dry-aged sliced prime rib; to the well-simmered jus; extra melty provolone cheese; seven hour caramelized onions; horseradish garlic aioli; fresh baguettes from Franchette Bakery, and more; our taste buds and stomach and eyes we were just blown away each time we try them. We also especially dug the hot pickled pepper combo and slaw, with crispy fries in different bites, just dippin’ away.

Head Chef David Rubenfeld walked us through and ended with a fabulous cheese pull that went on for days and days. Thanks Henry, David & Team, loved it!

Be sure to check out Henry’s book, Salt Hank: A Five Napkin Situation (A Cookbook), and their line of seasonings and condiments from Salt Love’s Club.

Thanks Chefs Henry, David & Team, loved it - we’ll be back with friends for sure!

IG @salt_hanks

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Paul Farkas shot on SONY Alpha

ATHLEISURE MAG #124 | CHEF AYESHA NURDJAJA

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with Chef/Partner of Shuka and Shukette, James Beard Award Finalist Best Chef NY State, Titan on S4 and the upcoming S5 of Food Network's Bobby's Triple Threat, Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja. We talk with her about how she got into the industry, her passion for her cuisine, why she loves appearing on TV shows and food festivals, Bobby's Triple Threat, and her upcoming cook, Mediterranean All the Way which you can pre-order now.

On April 16th, we attended the Youth America Grand Prix for their 2026 Stars of Today, Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala which brought the best ballet talent together from those that are rising stars to those we enjoy seeing on the stage. This year, Misty Copeland hosted and there were a number of people honored at this event, performances, and an auction for designer pointe shoes. 

We sat down with Creative Director, and Costume Designer, June Ambrose who is known for creating iconic looks for Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, and so much more. We talk about her love for creating dynamic looks, her favorite projects, and her latest capsule collection for June Ambrose X Naturalizer.

Who doesn't enjoy a Staycation? During the month of April, we made our way to Muse New York to enjoy a few days during the week in our suite that had a private balcony, spacious spaces, luxurious amenities, and is centrally located to a number of places in Times Square/Theater District and Rockefeller Center.

Football season isn't too far away! We caught up with NFL Super Bowl Champ Wide Receiver of the Kansas City Chiefs, JuJu Smith-Schuster to talk about the game, looking forward to the upcoming season, his upcoming nuptials and his grooming routine. 

We took some time to catch up with singer/songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Rock & Roll Hall of Famer icon and successful entrepreneur, Sammy Hagar to talk about his career, his passion for music and how he got into the industry, wellness, and why he wanted to launch his own supplements in partnership with Wayne Gorsek's Nature Labs.

We had the pleasure of talking with Founder, Dr. Kate Ackerman of Women's Health and Sports Performance Institute to talk about why this institute exists, projects they are involved in and why this is beneficial for women who are professional/semi-professionals, and beyond.

During the month of April, we had another successful Athleisure Mag Summit Series which was hosted at NRTHRN Strong, a modality that is based in cross-country skiing that is a great low-impact total body workout. We sat down with its Founder, Nicoline Roth to talk about how she came to the industry, why she wanted to create this fitness method, walked us through her Flatiron location as well as the flagship in Coppenhagen, and what we can expect in the coming months.

Knowing more about where you come from and tracking down your family roots can be quite a task! We sat down with Ancestry.com's Sr. Story Producer, Nicka Sewell-Smith to find out how we can take the stories that we know, the records that we collection, and keeping an open mind to be the family historian!

This month, our tastebuds were satisfied with a number of meals such as a recent trip to Tokyo Record Bar where we enjoyed a 7-course Omakase menu in their Jewel Box while listening to vinyl from their superb audiophile setup that guests selected prior to the meal. We talk about the restaurant, its dishes, and more.

We attended the launch of Prince Street Pizza X Sergio Tacchini launch where in addition to trying a number of slices, we were able to enjoy a series of performances by Gashi while enjoying a cool Spring night in their courtyard. 

In addition, we enjoyed epic French Dips at Salt Hank's where we spent some time with Chef Daniel Rubenfeld as we enjoyed cheese pulls, satisfying sandwiches, and an all around great vibe.

We also had a phenomenal dinner at Ginger Ristoranti which has locations in Rome and launched its first US eatery here in NYC near Rockefeller Center. They bring nourishing and satisfying Italian dishes along with a focus on wellness that is incorporated into their meals and smoothies/juices. We enjoyed a number of dishes along with inventive cocktails. 

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to DC and Maryland with 2FIFTY Texas BBQ which is known for their Texas style focus of sauce and grilling meats.

This month's Athleisure List comes from 1898 The Post + Porter’s House, a boutique hotel in Belgium and F1 Arcade in Las Vegas! 

Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from June Ambrose where she shares her must-haves in beauty, style, and fitness. Our 9PLAYLIST comes from what the crew of Artemis II listened to while in space! Our 9LIST ROUTIN3S comes from Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek, Dr. Death, and The Affair) to share what he enjoys, does, or has Morning, Afternoon, and Night. Our THE 9LIST 9M3NU comes from Chef Gabriel Lucca of Ginger Ristoranti, Chef/Pitmaster, and Founder Fernando Gonzalez of 2FIFTY Texas BBQ, and Tokyo Record Bar's Chef Ignacia Valdes.

Read the APR ISSUE #124 of Athleisure Mag.

MAESTRO OF MAGIC | DEBORAH CZERESKO

We spent an afternoon with Deborah Czeresko at Brooklyn Glass making three of her acclaimed and well-sought after Forgotten Potatoes with her, and her assistant Em. An acclaimed NYC-based artist and designer, Deborah is best known for her work with glass. She won the inaugural season of Netflix’s Blown Away glass competition show in 2019, where contestants compete in glassblowing challenges for prizes and the title of champion. Her work challenges societal norms with elegant, sophisticated and often whimsical themes rooted in gender and feminism. Her work has been shown in Corning Museum of Glass and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

We love how she is such a deep thinker and super creative in speaking is art and metaphor. An extremely thoughtful and determined creative, we were honored to spend working time together to truly embrace the elegant fierce fragility that glass blowing presents at this top level. It was truly exciting to see her in action and hear her stories about past, present and future projects.

We first met her and her lovely partner, Three, on the eve of our January Cover drop, where we enjoyed Diageo’s legendary Burn’s Supper Night in NYC together, complete with Haggis, Poetry & Song, Bagpipes, and a medley of favorite Scottish Whiskey’s Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Oban Single Malt, Buchanan’s Blended Scotch Whiskey, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: You said glass was your first love, what were those first moments for you?

DEBORAH CZERESKO: It felt like a real true love. Like when you just are instantly attracted to something. It’s sort of fourth dimensional on some undefinable plane what you’re feeling, this kind of attraction, because it combines all the things you don’t know about yourself necessarily at that time. Like when I was younger and why was this material for me? It seemed kind of mystical and magical [and] what I didn’t know is the intelligence that I had in connecting to it in a physical way and in a conceptual way. I mean, now I can intellectualize it, but then I was just instinct-driven.

AM: And you knew it off the bat or within, say the first month - or looking back now, you’re saying that?

DC: Oh no. The moment I saw the glass, hot glass, I knew this was for me. So, first of all, you’re sculpting a fluid. That’s not like sculpting any other material. The stuff is flowing… [i]t’s a weird way to think that you’re actually sculpting a liquid. It’s the weirdness of how you sculpt this and the weirdness of the material itself. The material seems otherworldly when it’s hot, so it’s like lava. I was really attracted to the fact that this stuff seems so atypical and not stereotypical as a medium, really. So it definitely feels magical.

AM: So what does glass allow you to say that other materials wouldn’t let you do?

DC: Well, I touched on the fluidity, and also it’s transparency. So that’s something you can’t find in that many materials. So anything having to do with transparency and fluidity and this moving from different states in this particular way, in the middle of kind of a binary - it’s not soft and it’s not hard - it’s a fluid. So it’s constantly moving and even in its perceived state, when it’s cold it’s called a super cooled liquid, so I think you can say anything with glass they can say with any other material, but with glass I think the fluidity, and it inherently brings fragility on one side and then fierceness on the other.

And then at some point it becomes permanent. So when you’re working on it you’re able to go from A to B, and then a number of stops, and then you’re in control and you’re changing things. But at some point you lose control, right? At some point it’s beyond adapting, like after placing it in the annealer. The minute it’s in the annealer, you can’t then take the glasswork and put it back in the fire and remold it again right, so at some point you lose control.

I would say if we were having a dialogue with this material, it’s more like speaking this material’s language. It’s not going to speak our language, it’s not human, and when you can’t be receptive enough to learn about this material as it is [ultimately] going to take control. It’s going to dominate as dominant material, and that’s one thing about it in its property. It doesn’t look that way, it’s so demure in a way when you just look at a glass thing like a huge hunk of 100 pound glass could look like an enormous ghost, but it’s this massive thing that has these strengths you can’t even see and it’s just demanding that you sort it in a soft way to to be at one with it, rather than collaborate withn it.

AM: So how do you approach a project? What are some of the steps you take initially? Generally what do major project timelines look like?

DC: For my own artwork project or one initiated by a prompt of some sort, like as in the case of the large piece I did for the public school called “Everybody’s Gotta Eat,” in that case, I was told where the piece would be going. So it’s going to a public school for grades 1-6 outside of the school cafeteria. And so, the other criterion was to be significant and relevant for 100 years, and immediately that’s very intimidating. How could anything I say or do be relevant for 100 years, when the world is changing so rapidly at this point? I don’t know what demographic of person is going to be there, or even if the school is going to be a public school for that long. Let’s assume it is, so then I have to fit within those boundaries, but that’s a pretty open criteria. So I start thinking about the dialogue and the vernacular. I’ve started to create with my own work and how that can fit into that parameter. In that case, I submitted an initial idea and was asked to modify that idea because they really wanted the idea to be primarily glass. I submitted an idea that had a lot of metal in it because the project was so large and had to take up so much space. And glass is rather expensive, well so is metal, but I tried to occupy the space in other ways than just glass objects. So I started to think in terms of those limitations, and also financial in that situation. So that’s a commissioned piece.

Now, in the case of my own imagination, without any limits, I’m thinking about what I’m going to make all the time. I never am not thinking about those ideas and how what I want to put forward conceptually can be connected to some kind of form. And in recent years, I’ve been doing realistic forms, like eggs, for example, I’ve become synonymous with the egg. What kind of symbolism does that have? Is it enough to just put that egg out there? Do I have to do some kind of action to the egg? And so, as I’m going through the world, that’s how I get my creative ideas. That’s when I’m in the most, I think, creative mindset. I’m just influenced by New York. I’m in New York. It’s so beautiful and filled with art, like we walk down the street and we see graffiti and we see shoppers putting their potato chips in designer ways in their windows and entire shops making beautiful installations with their tires and hubcaps. I just feel like that’s part of me too, like my how I live in New York as that’s my world. So I try to do the similar things with the glass, like as if I were a storefront in New York with food. I try to tell my story here or what I think is relevant. I’m more like a miner. I’m mining for things constantly around me.

So you kind of have that page open, and it’s kind of like a piece of your personality where you’re thinking of ways for storytelling and expression that can always happen through this medium.

It just feels good so like being in that zone, I mean when I really connect, I really feel like I have an idea that is meaningful and just running on all cylinders, that’s when I feel the best, honestly.

AM: Oh, that’s cool. How often would you say that has happened?

DC: I don’t know. That’s more rare. It’s like to really nail it. I think the piece that would be the most iconic piece for me would be the Meat Chandelier that’s in the Corning Museum of Glass. I feel like I nailed it there. Sometimes that gets in the way of finishing a piece though, because once I already feel like I did it, then the assemblage becomes the hardest part, because then the most fun part of thinking I nailed it is over. So now it’s an aesthetic and a construction problem, rather than a conceptual problem. And that’s a different energy process. And it’s more like vacuuming. You have to make sure we’re cleaning the dishes. You have to make sure how to build something. It’s a different kind of energy than creative energy, I think with the installations because there’s a lot of other problems to solve, which aren’t right. The fun icing on the cake part.

AM: So what part would you say is the most fun? Is it thinking of it, making it, or having it up where people can enjoy it?

DC: I think on both ends of the spectrum here, like having it up and having people enjoy it is really satisfying to know that it’s done. And if I get to the point where I’ve actually thought of something, I think I like to have nailed it. That’s the most satisfying. The making part, it’s not as satisfying as those two things, honestly.

AM: Let’s talk about making it. So there, I was with you and your assistant Em making three Forgotten Potatoes at Brooklyn Glass, and there’s a lot to it in setting it up, making it, and constantly working and re-working it. There’s a lot of physical movement. So do you stretch before you start and do you work out certain areas to be more inclined to doing that? Tell me about the athleticism behind it, and also you started out wanting to be an athlete?

DC: I think that was one of the things that clicked for me in being attracted to glass. I wanted to be in a physical medium and I wanted to be in a creative medium. I wanted to express myself through my body, but not as a dancer. So, because that is something that was very intimidating to me, like rhythm and dancing, but I knew I was very physical. What material is going to incorporate that aspect of me is something I was asking without asking. I would say I wasn’t as conscious of it as I am now, but it’s obvious now why I was really attracted to this material. So challenging! It’s just like a feeling that you can’t get anywhere else really to work with glass in a variety of ways.

So [about] the athleticism, I was in high school sports and college sports, and it’s interesting to have an equal part athleticism and creativity with what you are going to do with that and how it is going to manifest. What is that going to make you in your life, and so I guess I found it by mistake. So I do prep and I make sure my body is in condition to work. So I work out in a gym doing strength training. Strength training is the best thing for prepping for this type of activity. I mean, glass can be easy physically, but it depends what you’re really going for here. If you’re doing a large production and making a thousand pieces in a day, that’s going to be physical in one way, versus a really large piece that weighs like 50 pounds. It’s going to be physical in a different way. Or you could just be a hobbyist and just make one thing a day and not really need to prep your body at all. But I don’t work every day. So I don’t want to go in there after not working and not be conditioned or ready to go. So it involves a lot, especially in the heat.

AM: So what gym do you workout in?

DC: I just recently moved to Crunch South Slope. It’s in Brooklyn, two blocks from the studio I’ve been training with a friend of mine, one of my people I work with to make glass. His name’s Alex Kruger. He’s a trainer at Crunch. It’s really cool because how often you get a trainer that’s also a glassblower, so it’s a pretty special situation right - he knows exactly what touch points help you and how I can do the workout and still be functional the next day. We’re doing a lot of higher reps.

AM: What kind of music do you listen to in the studio? Today we heard a lot of Buena Vista Social Club, which we absolutely love! So I was very happy. So what kind of music?

DC: I do like dance disco. I like Purple Disco Machine. They’re good. Groovy. Anything that goes well in hot weather actually does work well in the hot shop. Something with good vibes, something just open. Having good music, I think, is important doing art. I’m also influenced by my studio mate who’s over there. He’s Colombian, and so he does a lot of Latin beats and I like Celia Cruz, that came with that. I think it’s just such a lovely rhythm to work in glass with like and some people come in and try to play things like heavy metal and what not, but it doesn’t really go. It makes the time pass much slower, when you don’t have a good rhythm going.

AM: So what are some of the works you would say you’re most well known for?

DC: I would say there’s three. The one that sort of put me on the map, I think, as an artist was the Meat Chandelier, which is in the Corning Museum Collection. And that started my dialogue with using food and consumables and everyday objects as kind of a vernacular that I talk in with these objects. And that one was specifically sort of a critique of the hot shop that we work in and the patriarchy in general, and this patriarchal world of trying to enter in as somebody other than someone of the patriarchy. So it was a play [on that]. I always like to put a little humor in my work. So I see both sides of this coin on this. Like so many people have helped me of all genders, and so many people have hated me of all genders. So I’m kind of in the middle, but it’s a place where physicality matters and typically people working larger pieces are guys, so it by it’s very nature and we’re talking here specifically, about sculpting glass, not in factories and production in those situations, it’s almost all men.

So, like when I went to Italy, there are no women working on the pipe. By pipe, I mean blowpipe. There’s maybe an assistant helping somebody, but that is really still separated as far as genders go and glass making, outside of the studio glass movement of America and other countries. So this is an art scene, which is different, but it still has that aspect to it. Who gets the jobs? It tends to be the guys, whatever. It’s better in my world because I’m an artist and it’s an art world, but I’m also speaking about the world in general in my work. So that is real.

AM: So what are a couple of the other pieces you would say you’re most well-known for?

DC: Another piece would be the piece I just recently finished last year, which was “Everybody’s Got To Eat,” that is in the public school. It’s one of my bigger works. And I feel like it was sort of a sweet and delicate piece in a way where it’s made for children, and also in a way it’s made for everybody because more than just children go through a public school. People love to eat, as do I, [but] maybe not at the school cafeteria, but it’s 24 fruits and vegetables from around the world representing different worldly cultures. There was a limit and how many I could make due to the financial scope of the project, but I tried to get different regions of the world represented through their fruits and vegetables, including things like New York, an apple, and that represents school and an apple. Then there’s things like an avocado, which represents South America, but also hipsterdom. So these vegetables and fruits have dual meanings sometimes, and who can see themselves in there because they gave another task requirement of being relevant for a hundred years. I mean, it’s a tough one.

AM: I see it. I’m looking at it online now. Wow.. That’s beautiful.

DC: And then it’s really kind of touching to see - you can tell they’re handmade and supposed to be inspiring to people to see that you can make these things with your own two hands in the world of AI and Technology, and have these handmade things in front of students. I think it’s really meaningful to connect them to the planet in some way, in their own bodies. So all that’s in there. And make them feel special that it’s there for them, right?

AM: So it seems like there’s a realistic meets artistic formula that I’m looking at through this project where there’s some surrealism, right? But then some practical vision of what it would look like. And you’re balancing that in the piece.

DC: Yeah, I think that this idea of creating a vernacular is really important to me as an artist - like what is this piece and who are you just putting a dragon fruit out there?

AM: I like that one! Looks very challenging, with all the green around it. Now that I got to see all the intensity it took for the sprouts of the Forgotten Potatoes. Wow, I really like the corn too.

DC: Yeah, that was another challenging one. See, this is a public school project, so the budget wasn’t huge, but it was a decent budget. But I really needed four or five people per piece. That’s a 50-pound corn, and I had a team of three. So for glass, that’s a reasonable-sized team. But for that piece, each corn kernel was brought in a wrap. So one person had to bring all those wraps, whereas I formed all the reps. So we divide into teams, where one person’s bringing the wraps; one person’s on the main blow pipe reheating keeping the piece hot doing all the forming; so if we had another person at least, that would have been helpful. But it really wasn’t in the cards for that project.

AM: See, it’s good you said it was 50 pounds because from looking at the image hung up, I don’t know if it gives the sense someone would know.

DC: Well, to get the texture of getting the corn kernels… I have to solve some technical problems about how I’m going to get all those kernels on there without applying each one individually. So we put on glass wraps that are vertical wraps that are rolled in powder color I divide out with a tool. I then crimp the kernels into it and it creates a personal style I think you can identify that piece kind of as something I made because I choose to work in this style and this level of detail a lot. I could spend the entire day putting every kernel on individually, but I do not need to do I so. One of the maestros I studied with would do that. His demos were excruciatingly long. His name was Pino Signoretto. He was my most influential maestro that I studied with. And he’s so detail-oriented and could work on all different scales. I think he was just an amazing, like, approaching God of Glass, honestly. He could make things other people couldn’t make at the furnace, that is.

AM: So to get the corn, for example, looking that way, did you study corn for a while to look at kernels? And how long would you do that for? Or is this something you would look at really quickly and then put your spin on it?

DC: Oh, I pull up images of corn. I mean, they’re all over my desktop. Like when I’m making a corn, I print them out. I bring in corn to work from. I eat a lot of corn. I just want to know about corn. You live your work. I grew corn in my garden…

AM: So when you see corn now, do you think of corn and that project?

DC: Oh yeah. That’s in my garden. I love corn though. Bi-colored is harder to make as the two colors for each kernel are applied separately.

AM: So tell me about how the Egg series you started. And being in your studio, I saw a whole bunch of Eggs dripping all over. So tell me about the Eggs!

DC: So the Egg pieces, I would say this is the third piece that really defines me as an artist’s third installation. But that happened on TV. That happened on the finale of the Netflix competition show Blown Away. So the prompt there was to make your ultimate art exhibit or something really high there, like something amazing, fantastic, unduplicatable, like just your most amazing piece of art ever! So, with these parameters where we had to fit into that space and you only get so much time to make it, I start to think about some of the pieces I had previously made and what aspects of those concepts I wanted to focus on. So within that, the egg came about because I had the Meat Chandelier in the back of my mind - I knew it couldn’t make a chandelier, but I could use the egg as a metaphor for a female and aspects of what it means to be a female in the world of art into my final finale of the show. This gender inequality, like my feminist side in art, because I’m an artist and a feminist, and I like to make food and glass - so I’m like, how can I make this a meaningful statement? So I started to think of a classic art pedestal, so saying it’s good finally taking over the art world starting to become equal, or the egg not aggressively, but oozing over and in a different way creating a stand in the art world that’s equal to males. Then i also wanted to play on queerness and gender bending and that’s where the frying pan comes in. It’s obviously everything’s glass, but the frying pan is cast iron as very male. But the egg, it was the primary character. Without the egg, there would be no installation.

AM: So what brought you to that show? So you applied or you were asked to join the competition show? What was it like to be on the show and win Blown Away S1 on Netflix?

DC: It was intense to be on it and intense to win it. The structure was where we had to create a new project every three days and it was from a prompt, like creating a floral, or a biological with the human body and moving through space. So they would give us a prompt and then we would have a little bit of time to come up with an answer for that, and we would be in our own hotel rooms doing this. It’s a lot of pressure to have to get on camera the next day and produce. First of all, come up with the idea before you go to bed that night, and then present it the next day in drawings on camera. So it was 10 episodes of forced creativity in a way, but what I learned about myself from that is to actually function really well in that regard when I have a deadline and I have to produce.

AM: Yep. I know what you’re saying. Urgency to Deliver - I’m going to deliver. It’s like a diamond, right? Under pressure, you’re going to produce and maybe not the same every time, but often you’re going to nail it really way and often win!

DC: Yeah. When we first got on there, I had [to look at] space to organize or deal with, like space is a luxury. Time is a luxury and I have it, and I’m like, Oh My God, why am I not more productive when I have all this time to get my Corning residency together? Why am I not doing this in a way that I’ll just get it over with? It lingers. But if you told me tomorrow I’d have to get in there and tell them exactly what to do, I would be up all night figuring it out.

AM: Did you know of anyone else on the show? Were you familiar with any other competitor?

DC: Actually, I only knew one other person, which surprised me.

AM: What was your experience on the show as far as winning? Did your career change after that? What were the effects after being announced the winner?

DC: It was remarkable. Like the effect was kind of like a wave. I got on the top of a wave and it just took me. I wasn’t doing anything. Part of the prize of winning this was that the Corning Museum Store would buy $10,000 worth of my work. But it wasn’t necessarily art. The store sells collectibles. So for the first time in my life, I came up with a line of objects that I could sell. People just kept writing me and asking me. I couldn’t keep up. I couldn’t catch up. I couldn’t make enough posts on Instagram. It was a lot! It was life-changing in that I wasn’t able to consistently sell my work like that beforehand. And it changed the work I did to make a living from that point on. So a lot of the work I did prior to that was fabrication for other artists, which I find that extremely demanding psychologically and physically to do. You put a lot of yourself into other people’s work as opposed to your own work. And it could be draining to you making your own work in multiple ways. And then, I also had a lighting line I did with a rep that was called site-specific art, and we would do custom high-end projects.

The show kind of launched during COVID too, and that was an interesting time to have this launch. Then I got opportunities to show in galleries and asked to do things I think I normally wouldn’t have had as a result. It’s not magic, you win a reality tv program and still have to work really hard and try to control my own life in some way in a direction that I want it to go, but there’s a magic to life, right - and what door is going to open next I don’t necessarily know!

I could do that like the project for Mortlock whiskey through Diageo, that was just out of the blue in designing a whiskey pipette. So the brand was Mortlock, and they specifically have design projects going every year. This was the fifth year. So it’s part of their marketing and bringing people together. They found me and asked me if I could make something for their design line and I’m thinking.. oh a glass or something - sure I’d love to make a glass, but they’re like it’s a pipette, [which is] basically an eyedropper. I can make anything in glass, but you want me to make this tiny thing? So I suggested that they had me make the pipette holder too to hold the water as well as a set. It was inspired by the the stills using copper embedding copper in glass, and in the case of the finished product I rolled the hot glass in copper foil and had a violent reaction under the glass that bubbled and turned blue. When it was hot, the copper looked black, but the finished glass ended up being blue. Yeah, it looked very pretty, very elegant 120 sets.

AM: So one of the things you made on this show were Forgotten Potatoes on one of the episodes.. So tell me about the episode. How did you came up with that? And they’re continuing in your studio and people are excited to order and get them?

DC: So that was a botanical-themed challenge. They came up with that challenge because one of the first things you make in glass when you touch it for the first time ever is this thing called a flower. It teaches you how to use the pincers and pull the glass out and it ends up looking something like a very rudimentary flower. I was like thinking about potatoes that sprout, and I really like them because they represent to me, these like unsung powerhouses. It’s not something that’s typically considered beautiful as a potato, yet here it is being this amazing powerhouse! Like, yeah you got your typical beauty which is a flower with its color and all its proportions, but I see the world in a different way - so many other things that could be beautiful and are beautiful and powerful and to me it represented marginalized people as very super powerful people that get disregarded and overlooked. They were represented in the Forgotten Potato and they are often forgotten or overlooked or pushed down and not allowed to shine, but the potato comes through no matter what!

AM: We made three of those together, which was awesome and I saw that you put a lot of effort into getting the exact hues and colors you wanted for the potato. So what’s involved with trying to recreate something that you created before and trying to stay true to the system, rather than creating a new thing as an artist?

DC: Well, the good thing about potatoes and sprouting, they’re endlessly variable - like consistently fascinating - they’re not boring, so it’s not like making a production line in that everyone’s the same. Each one has a little personality and people relate to them in different ways like and people really do relate to the Forgotten Potato or they relate to the metaphor behind the piece heavily. It really gave me a lot of faith in people in a way.

AM: And the sprouts were super cool. It was noted that the sophistication and quality of the sprouts is similar to fine stemware. So it really gets to show off both some of your superb skills and it also gets to relate to and maybe be something the owner gets to flaunt in a way.

DC: That they’re an art piece and has something as fine as stemware, there’s some people that might look to use it as a conversation piece with their guests. It’s challenging to make when you’re opening that up and trying to get it hot as it’s flopping all over the place in the hot box. The hot box is called what we have for our furnaces, and then reheat the glass in glory holes, many are now calling reheating chambers. A challenging part of it with young glass is timing that is really huge here… so you got to know your glass and and what temperature it’s it’s at because it will self-destruct if it gets too cold, and if it’s cold and then goes back into the glory hole which is super hot, it can shatter! In order to become a maestro at this, you have to make a lot of mistakes and work on a lot of different projects to get really good as a sculptor in glass.

AM: How do you generally decide what to make if you’re selling glass pieces?

DC: It’s not just selling, but having a place to put it, because I don’t have enough space in New York to just make stuff. So we thought about that as if I had a beautiful studio in upstate New York that I could bring my work and work on it, I would be creating worlds. I think worlds with these, I would probably make my garden like that. [Presently] there’s a practicality in that there’s the limit of space, and glass is expensive, and part of it is time making it.

AM: What’s the longest time you spent on a project?

DC: Probably one of the ones we mentioned already.. there was also a show I did a couple years ago with the Hannah Traore Gallery that took a couple years to put together. I’m known for it and it was involving mushrooms and their mycelial network that I made in neon so the mushrooms would communicate with trees which I made also in the galaxy called Creatures of Culture That was very popular recently.

AM: Oh, wow, that’s cool.

DC: So I made a tree out of mirrored mosaic, like how it would look like a disco ball. Then I brought in a thousand pounds of glass soil, which was broken up brown chunks of glass from a defunct factory in West Virginia that I brought into the gallery and put on the floor. That also had a queerdelier, it’s like a chandelier, but a queer chandelier because the mushrooms are like non-binary beings - they’re neither plant nor animal, so they have one foot in each category, because they don’t have photosynthesis they get their nutrients through enzymatic digestion.

AM: So if glass could talk back to you, what do you think it would say?

DC: Stop hurting me. That’s when you’re working it too cold. It feels so painful to the glass. You can see it like hates it. Okay. you’re pushing too hard trying to just get every working second out of the heat you just did, and you just go too far it always scars the glass, and it shows you it just went too far! I think it speaks to me most when it’s hot. So when it’s in this molten state. So once the sand and whatnot is heated together. Then it forms an identity, a personality. Yeah.

AM: What would you say the most absurd commission request you ever received was?

DC: Oh, David Letterman, to make glass soap for him. He wanted to use Christmas gifts. Oh I thought this guy is hilarious, because that’s the gift you give somebody when you don’t know what to give them! So he’s creating this glass soap, like when you don’t know what to give someone, you bring a housewarming gift or something, you get soap and candles as two of the biggest things. He was going to use it as a charming novelty to hand out to people saying, I normally would give you soap, but now I’m giving you elevated glass soap. I thought it was hilarious.

He had me make other things too. A tie. OK, then there’s the tie which he still had hanging over there from his son’s prep school tie when he was graduating. So he had me make that - then the tie broke - the tie was broken by someone cleaning the house and he wanted me to do something with the tie’s broken shards to make it into a new sculpture, so I edit those shards into like a big kind of paperweight. He is a fan of glass because he went to an undergraduate school that had glass in Indiana, and he really fell in love with the material. He made a documentary about making that [Editors Note: “Clear Reception” is the Documentary]. Also another thing - so he has a duct tape cell phone holder of different colors on it and it became this big mass of duct tape and plaid and he wanted that reproduced in glass, which I was able to do. He gets very attached to things!

AM: So what’s on your bucket list now?

DC: Well, I’m heading up to the Corning Museum. The next thing is I got asked to be in the show in Venice, so I have to make pieces for that, which I’m calling the project Big Fruit. I’m sticking with fruit. When I was thinking of what to do in Corning, I wanted to turn the fruit project into lighting.

AM: You had won a residency at Corning from the show, right?

DC: That was years ago, but now I applied. So I was two weeks in there, the museum hot shop… they have different hot shops there… I ended up making car parts there, because I was like let’s let me do something that’s not fruits or vegetables... so I made like a car mufflers with big plumes of exhaust coming out of them and hubcaps as the jewelry of the car. So my goal was non-toxic masculinity and that was represented by the car, so glass can transform anything that I thought into something gorgeous and beautiful.

AM: You worked on a cool project with Cake Boss as well?

DC: Oh yeah. That was another TV program. Yeah. Buddy Valastro - Cake versus Glass. His production team found me because he was doing a special for Christmas time or the holidays. It was going to be cake against other materials. And they reached out to me because they wanted to use glass. Glass was one of the mediums. Set design was one of the meat. Legos was one of the mediums. Toys was, I think. So they reached out to me. And they did a four-episode series, which is Buddy versus, and I was the Buddy versus Glass. Okay, I forget the exact prompt now, but it was something about “The Night Before Christmas.” And Buddy did a cake where Santa Claus crashed into a house. He does these huge elaborate installations with armatures underneath -

AM: Yeah they’re crazy! Our jaws were just dropped when we binged a Buddy Versus Duff season recently when we were working around the clock during on a staycation at Coda Williamsburg, ironic no? So much creativity, passion and skill for both of them!

DC: I did a christmas cookie that was out for Santa that got eaten by a mouse. So it was a mouse that ate part of a cookie, and the cookie thought the mouse was in love with it, but the mouse ended up eating the Christmas cookie, so it was not true love. We had two judges. He was on the left side of the stage and I was on the right side of the stage.

AM: So what happened?

DC: I won. He was great [about it].

AM: What are some of your favorite museums and gallery exhibitions?

DC: I like Friedman Benda Gallery. It’s a furniture art gallery. Salon 94. As far as museums go, my preference is the Whitney in New York. The gallery I showed in - Traore gallery. That’s cool. Gotham was doing an ashtray exhibit - they have a gallery in addition to the store where they show some lifestyle things like clothing, and also an art gallery. [Editor’s Note: The Exhibit is called “The Smoking Section.”] It’s a really cool art gallery because they do show things that maybe can’t go anywhere else, like an ashtray show. For that I used a traditional Venetian style goblet that has a dragon in the stem. It’s still there in their store.

AM: What are some of the things you like to do in your downtime when you’re not glass blowing or glass working?

DC: I do yoga okay with Three, because she teaches yoga and I don’t think it would be as fun if she wasn’t teaching. It’s great because that [helps] the flexibility part, especially as you get older, you have to keep limber. And then skiing, we went skiing. I’m a beginning skier, really, but I’m enjoying it. That’s new for me. Then dining and going to movies.

AM: How do you like having a studio office at Brooklyn Glass?

DC: Brooklyn Glass is like a shop that is really devoted to having artists fabricate their work. So there’s two shops near here. One is Urban Glass, which is a non-for-profit artist organization or arts organization. And then there’s this one, which is Brooklyn Glass. I like this one. Well, first of all, I have a studio within this one. And it’s really like a community here that’s a small community that I can rely on to talk ideas over and to help. And so it just feels like more of a community to me than the larger space down the street.

So I like that. And it’s just really focused on professionals here. They have an educational program, but it’s really only at night. So during the day, it’s all professionals working here, which is great. And it’s just a good range of projects coming through that you can see different things being made and different people coming in. They have several departments, including neon, fabrication, hot sculpting or hot blowing, and cold working the finishing area studios where drilling and grinding and cutting of the glass is done. So getting special shapes outside of what you can do in the hot shop. That’s here too. It’s a nice small shop.

AM: It was great making some Forgotten Potatoes together, we look forward to some Eggs & Fruit another time!

IG @dczeey

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | Paul Farkas shot with Sony Alpha |

Read the MAR ISSUE #123 of Athleisure Mag and see MAESTRO OF MAGIC | Deborah Czeresko in mag.

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Read the MAR ISSUE #123 of Athleisure Mag and see 9R3DCARP3T in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG #123 | CAROLINE MARKS

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with current #2 ranked WSL Champion of 2023 and Team USA Surfing Olympic Gold Medalist, Caroline Marks. She talks with us about the love of the sport, how she optimizes her fitness for it, what her favorite tournaments are on tour, being a surf ambassador for Lexus and what she is looking forward to in the upcoming season! She also talks about her Red Bull film, Now Days.

On April 16th, the Youth America Grand Prix will have their 2026 Stars of Today, Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala which brings the best ballet talent together from those that are rising stars to those we enjoy seeing on the stage. This year, Misty Copeland will be the host and there will be a number of people honored at this event, performances, and an auction for pointe shoes. 

We grew up watching Joshua Jackson in Mighty Ducks as well as Dawson’s Creek. He continues to act in a number of shows that we enjoy including: The Affair, Dr. Death, Dr. Odyssey and more. We talk with him about his passion for hockey, partnering with the NHL to fight against cancer, and a number of projects coming up that we will want to check out!

We enjoy the tennis season which takes us all over the world! One of the most noted WAGS is Morgan Riddle. We caught up with her to talk about how she navigates constant travel, her beauty routines, the importance of SPF, and more!

March is a busy month and when March Madness takes over, we’re all excited for weeks of basketball on end! We made our way to the Reese’s Bracket Summit to hear how NY Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, and analysts - Andraya Carter and NBA Champion Richard Jefferson focused on their brackets. We also talk with them about their love of the game and how a busted bracket can win you Reese’s!

We caught up with Team USA Olympic Speed Skaters, Erin Jackson and Jordan Stolz to share what they love about this sport, how they continue to push boundaries in it, and their participation in Happiness is the Real Gold Campaign with Hershey’s.

Last month, our Athleisure Mag Summit Series took place at SaltDrop in the East Village. Dino Malvone, founder of this fitness method sits down with us post class to talk about how he came to the fitness industry, why he wanted to create this method, class offerings, and what we can keep an eye out for this brand!

The Boston Marathon is coming up (along with a number of marathons) - we caught up with Becs Gentry to get tips on how we can prepare for our next race, her passion for it, and more.

We connected with Chef Chris Valdes to talk about his style of cooking, what dish he fell in love with, and pairings that he enjoys with Tanqueray cocktails.

In this month’s issue, we made our way to Brooklyn Glass to watch noted glass blower, Deborah Czeresko S1 winner of Netflix’s Blown Away, create her noted potatoes! She shares with us about her passion for this medium, phenomenal projects that she has been able to do, and more.

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us to NYC for Brazilian cuisine at Berimbau Brazilian Table which is filled with savory dishes, cocktails, and great vibes all around! 

We sat down with Founder of Black Girl Tennis Club, Kimberly Selden to find out why she wanted to create this organization, the power of tennis and it’s roots as well as upcoming events that we want to know about.

This month's Athleisure List comes from New York Pilates, a studio with a number of locations in NYC as well as the Hamptons that is the city’s go-to-spot. We also included Carlisle Bay in Antigua that woudl be perfect for our next trip! 

With Awards Season coming to an end, we recap some of our favorite looks from this season along with insights from glam teams that participated as well as the talent walking the red carpet themselves in THE 9LIST 9R3DCARP3T. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from Morgan Riddle where she shares her must-haves in beauty, style, and fitness. Our 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer ILLENIUM to see what he is listening to now. Our 9LIST ROUTIN3S comes from Dino Malvone and Misty Copeland.

Read the MAR ISSUE #123 of Athleisure Mag now.

HER HALF PIPE JOURNEY | BEA KIM

This month, we have all enjoyed watching the Olympics and seeing so many stories whether our favorites or new to athletes that hit the podium, played our favorite sport, or just seeing them navigate their Olympic journey! We love snowboarding and Team USA had a number of great stories that we enjoyed watching. Bea Kim has been on our radar for a bit, watching her journey on the global stage along with seeing her hanging out with Chloe Kim and Maddie Mastro. We caught up with Bea as soon as the Olympics concluded to talk about her Olympic debut, the sport, being at her first Olympics and more!

ATHLEISURE MAG: What is your first memory of being on a snowboard and when did you fall in love with it?

BEA KIM: I honestly don’t think I can remember my first memory on a snowboard. I just remember things about when I started. My family would ride on Chair 7 at Mammoth and I had a green jacket and this 8-ball helmet. The jumps were tiny but I was having the time of my life. I think I’m honestly trying to chase that feeling every time I strap in.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to snowboard competitively and at what point did you go pro?

BK: I realized I wanted to try snowboarding competitively when I randomly entered and podiumed at the JLA Banked Slalom in Mammoth. I saw a kid ride by with a Mammoth Snowboard Team Jacket and I told my dad I wanted to join. He initially laughed because we live by the beach, not close to the mountains, but he allowed me to join and has been my biggest supporter since. I decided I wanted to go pro when I watched Chloe win her first Olympic gold in Korea. That was a pretty pivotal moment for me.

AM: Tell me about halfpipe and why do you love doing it?

BK: I love the halfpipe because it’s always challenging me, both mentally and physically. There are always new tricks to learn and technique to refine. I honestly nerd out on the super little things and sometimes my coaches have to say, “Stop thinking so much -- just go snowboard!” Great advice. I

think playing that line between being analytical and going with what feels right is super exciting.

AM: We always like knowing about what athletes do to optimize themselves in their sport. Are there 3 workouts that you do that you can share with us?

BK: My top three are:

• Bulgarian split squats

• Squat jumps

• Shoulder press

AM: What is an average week like when you are preparing to compete?

BK: Hectic. I’m historically not great during competition practices, so I typically feel a little weird on my board. Majority of the week is spent recovering physically and resetting my brain to approach the next practice or competition day with a strong mindset.

AM: This year, you made it to the Olympics and you placed 8th in your debut! What has the journey to get to the Olympics been like and what are your biggest takeaways in competing this year?

BK: The journey has been wild! I mean it’s been almost a decade now, so to finally get to the Olympics and have the opportunity to compete was super surreal. If I’m being honest, I got caught up in the “Olympic stress” leading up to the Games and had a few rough days. But landing a run in finals really reignited that childish love for snowboarding and has made me super excited for the future. Moving forward, I am going to try and not take everything so seriously. Still put maximum effort and hard work into everything that I do, but loosen up. It makes the journey more enjoyable.

AM: What were the Opening Ceremonies like?

BK: A lot of standing haha. It felt like prom or a graduation because everyone was all dressed up taking pictures just hanging out. I like to think it was our joint celebration of the hard work we all put in of training and qualifying for the Olympics.

AM: We’ve enjoyed seeing images of you and Chloe Kim together. How did you guys connect and what has it meant to you to be able to share your Olympic experience with her competing as well?

BK: We connected through the U.S. Team once I made the pro team. It was very full circle to be able to share my Olympic experience with her. Before she even knew who I was, she was inspiring me to go out and snowboard. Now, she not only continues to inspire me but treats me like a little sister. We talk about snowboarding and life. Lots of selfies and exchanging lip products haha.

AM: When you were not competing or preparing to compete, what was your favorite Olympic experience?

BK: Ooh. The late night pizza runs after training.

AM: What’s next in terms of your snowboarding career?

BK: Having fun. That might be in the halfpipe, or the backcountry, or just riding with my little brother. I want to keep pushing myself while learning to maintain a better relationship with snowboarding.

AM: This Fall you will be attending Columbia University, which is exciting! What are you looking forward to?

BK: Everything! It’s going to be such a new experience and world, than snowboarding, so I am looking forward to all of it. Getting to meet new people and grow a different part of my brain!

AM: You partnered with Protect Our Winters. Can you tell me more about that and why this is synergistic with you?

BK: I grew up in the outdoors. Snowboarding, camping, and hiking were such a huge part of my childhood and who I am as a person. The outdoors has given me my career and so many amazing adventures and opportunities. As I started to travel more it became impossible to ignore climate change. I got in contact with POW because I want future generations to be able to explore and adventure like I did.

AM: When you are not snowboarding, how do you take time for yourself?

BK: It’s pretty simple, haha. Reading, eating, spending time with my friends and family.

IG @hellobeakim

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 78 - 82 Courtesy of Bea Kim | PG 84 Trevor Brown Jr./X Games | PG 87 - 89 Isami Kiyooka/Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games |

Read the FEB ISSUE #122 of Athleisure Mag and see HER HALF PIPE JOURNEY | Bea Kim in mag.