TALKING GHOST WITH METHOD MAN AND LARENZ TATE

We caught up with 2 co-stars from STARZ’s 2nd season of POWER BOOK II: GHOST which premiered on Nov 21st! We sat down with Method Man and Larenz Tate. In the first half of the podcast, we catch up with the legendary performer of the Wu-Tang Clan, and actor in a number of TV series and films, Method Man. We talk about his diverse career and what we can expect on the latest season. We delve into the writer’s room and the phenomenal cast which includes his co-stars and musical collaborators – Mary J. Blige and Redman. We also talk about his commitment to fitness and how he continues to increase expanding his business into the cannabis industry and NFTs.

ATHLEISURE MAG: As one of the stars of POWER BOOK II: GHOST, what was it about the series that made you want to be involved?

METHOD MAN: Well I mean, that first series was great and the way that they ended it in that season finale, it was unheard of!

AM: You play Davis MacLean. What’s your process like in playing him and how do you get into that mindset?

MM: Well now it’s just throwing on the suit. Of course, in the beginning, you do your due diligence. You do your research, you try to find their voice for this character. You want to know his intentions and all of this stuff that goes into building a character. But once you get into it and you and the writers are on the same page, it’s just all hitting the ground running after that. It’s all pretty easy.

AM: Did you find that you added more into the character than what was in the script?

MM: No, I give all the writers 110% credit! I mean, outside of an ad lib here and there like a motherfucker or something like that, they get all of the credit. They know exactly who this man is. The only time that I would ever say something is when I feel like they're not being true to the character the character which hasn’t happened.

AM: Last year when it launched, many of us were so excited to see that you and Mary J. Blige (she plays Monet Tejada) were in the show. This season, Redman (he plays Theo Rollins, Davis’s older brother) has joined the cast! How exciting is it for you to be on set and to have all of these cultural moments with great people that you have worked with?

MM: I’m glad we made our music quota, we needed it. It’s great. I mean, Mary’s great. The days that I see her on set, it’s always fun and she likes to laugh and I like to joke which is the perfect combination right there. What can I say about Redman? I’ve been working with dude for like most of my career. They knew they had something there – it was instant chemistry when they brought him in. So it was pretty simple and pretty cool.

AM: To catch our readers up on what’s taken place, where did we leave Davis last season and what’s coming up that you can share with us that we can expect?

MM: Last season, Davis kind of ended on riding a high because he won one of the biggest cases of his career. He got his nemesis fired in the process which is icing on the cake. But where other people would be gloating, Davis sees an opportunity and he hires the former US attorney on his team. There’s a bit more layers there that I am not at liberty to say right now, but I think that Davis being as calculated as he is – there is a reason for him in hiring Cooper Saxe (Shane Johnson) at this moment, so just stay tuned!

AM: We are excited to see how it all plays out this season. Here at Athleisure Mag, when we’ve watched your IG, we know that you are always in the gym and staying ready!

MM: I mean with everything that I do, that’s why!

AM: Exactly! In the SEP ISSUE #69, B-Real said that he gives it up to you that you are always working out. So that was his shout out to you.

What are 3 moves that you love doing when you hit the gym?

MM: Deadlifts, bench and squats are my favorites.

AM: As someone who has had such a great body of work, a successful career in TV, film, being a member of the Wu-Tang Clan and you’re going into NFTs and cannabis, how do you take time for yourself because you are a busy man.

MM: I don’t. I never have any time anymore. But, I could be doing a hell of a lot worse!

AM: Exactly!

MM: As a matter of fact, I take that back. When football season starts, they occasionally interrupt my Sundays, but usually Sundays is all football from 1:00 through 11:00, so you know where to find me!

IG @MethodManOfficial

After catching up with Method Man and finding out more about how his character, Davis MacLean ended the last season and what we can expect from this season, we had to talk to Larenz Tate to find out about Councilman Rashad Tate! Larenz joined the original series of POWER in the last 2 seasons of this show. He talks with us about how his character continued in the premiere season and what we can expect in this season! We also talk about what drew him to this show, his character and how he has maintained longevity in this career.

ATHLEISURE MAG: You were in the last 2 seasons of POWER, the flagship and you also joined the regular cast in POWER BOOK II: Ghost as well. What does it mean to you to not only have your character continue on into the series, but also to just be part of this cast?

LARENZ TATE: I love it! I signed up because I wanted to continue and the fact that the incredible Courtney A. Kemp which is the creator of the show, found value in incorporating me into the show – just meant a lot. As you said, I was able to be a part of the original POWER series, which was a fabulous show. To be able to find my character in this show is great. I mean, the writing is fantastic and it’s probably the closest thing to POWER. The demographics are a little different and there are some that are a little younger, there are some new people and there are some similarities. But certainly, the fact that there is some value in seeing that Tate is still surviving from the original show! I mean there are so many people who didn’t make it out of that show and they didn’t make it. So we get to see a show and a storyline where there are a lot of wins, some losses and there are some good people with good intentions, but bad decisions! I think that life is kind of like that, so it’s relatable when people watch our show. They get a chance to either see themselves or how they would interpret or react to the characters that they are watching. As an actor, it’s great to have words, dialogue and stories that are really multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. When they write, they’re not paint in trope or painting by the numbers. It’s truly gratifying and I’m excited!

AM: What drew you to want to be in the amazing show?

LT: Well, I can take it all the way back to the original POWER. I loved the show and when I saw it, I said, “I dig this!” These characters should be materialized and this representation should be there because it’s more that what people may think on the outside. It’s a show about the underworld, drug dealing and so much more. It’s a show about family, brotherhood, sisterhood, deceit, deception, big decisions, people finding a way out of their circumstances, empowerment and all of it! Originally, I was cast to portray a different character who was in season 4 through 6 – the lawyer, Terry Silver (Brandon Victor Dixon) who helped Ghost (Omari Hardwick) when he was going to jail. He also falls in love with Tasha St. Patrick (Naturi Naughton). I was away working and it didn’t happen. Long story short, I called Courtney and I said, “listen, I love this Black excellence. I’m down – whatever you want me to do. Let’s do it. I’ll come and do an episode, whatever.”

AM: Just get me in there!

LT: Yeah. I told her that it was me talking, not reps, agents and managers – all of that stuff – it was just me. She said that there was a really cool character that she was about to start filming on. She let me know that it was a politician and that his last name was Tate and I was like, “ok let’s go this is dope!” She didn’t give me a whole lot to go from, but we talked about it and she wanted to see what I would do with him. She gave me the setup and she trusted me and I was able to come in and to dispel the idea that this politician, as soon as he walks into a room has this stigma that he’s not trustworthy. So to combat that and to finesse it, he comes in with a high five and he’s smiling. He’s got all of the cool things to say and he throws people off.

AM: He diffuses everything!

LT: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He lets you know, “I’m welcome and you can invite me to the barbecue.” That being said, it’s been a joy. Unlike a movie, unless you’re doing sequels – you get in, you get out and you do your job. You live with that character for a period of time. With this, you’re able to really lean into it and you get a chance to be able to find different things that the writers are creating for you. They can take you in any kind of direction and you have to be willing to do it. Especially when the writing is good. So, I have been very fortunate to be part of this and to just see where the value is and in telling the story along with Rashad Tate.

AM: Where did we leave off with him last season and where do we see him this season? What can you tell us about what is going on for some of our readers that need to catch up?

LT: Season 1, you find him going for the Gubernatorial race. He’s trying to be the Governor and he’s trying to win. Where we find him in season 2, literally, he’s in his brother’s basement, on a couch, hiding under a rock from the world because he lost the gubernatorial run. He’s out of it and his brother Kamaal Tate (Lahmard Tate) who is played by my real life brother.

AM: Which is really awesome!

LT: Yeah it is, I love it! He’s telling him that failure is not acceptable and that he is a Tate. Rashad knows that he should not look at this as a failure, but as a lesson learned and how he can find a way to get back into the game and to climb that political ladder. He can also incorporate some of the things that he has learned along the way and he’s going to cross paths with another St. Patrick – more St. Patricks! It’s 3 – 3! This young boy Tariq St. Patrick (Michael Rainey Jr.), once he crosses paths with him, he’s looking at how he can utilize him to be an ally or will he ultimately be an enemy?

That’s what’s nice about the storytelling. There’s always this duplicity and duality that’s going on – you know, it’s the tug of war of power.

AM: That’s amazing! You’ve had such an amazing and dynamic career that has included so many movies and so many films. We’ve enjoyed seeing you in them and yet, you never age! So how do you stay in shape, stay positive and optimize yourself?

LT: You know for me, I just want to be the best version of myself. I’ve been in the game for a long time and I have been in this industry for 3 decades and I have seen how it has taken a toll on a lot of people. For me, I want to run the marathon as opposed to a sprint. So I try to avoid all the pitfalls that would cause self-destruction, that would cause a situation where I am aged before my time. It has an affect on your life all together. I decided to go the other route – I don’t want that other route, I’ve seen it. The demise of so many people that I respect. So now for me, I just want the best version of myself and I have to be mindful of my health, my mental space and my body and mind and conscious. It all plays a part in it. It’s all about responsibility and accountability!

IG @LarenzTate

PHOTOS COURTESY | STARZ POWER BOOK II: GHOST

Hear STARZ POWER BOOK II: GHOST co-stars Method Man and Larenz Tate now on our show, #TRIBEGOALS - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multimedia companion podcast network! Subscribe to be notified when the episode drops. Listen on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.

Read the latest issue of NOV ISSUE #71 of Athleisure Mag and see Talking Ghost with Method Man + Larenz Tate in mag.

LINK TO BETTER BEAUTY WITH LEXI THOMPSON

This month we catch up with 12th ranked LPGA's Lexi Thompson. We talk with her about how she came to golf, her passion for the sport representing Team USA at the Olympics and her career. We also talk with her about her skincare line, Lexi Skin and why she has included this within her portfolio.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with golf as we know that both of your brothers are professional golfers as well?

LEXI THOMPSON: I first fell in love with the game when I was 5 years old watching my brothers begin to compete in local junior golf tournaments.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to go professional?

LT: By the time I was 9 years old, I was consistently winning junior golf tournaments and was encouraged by my family to continue the process of improving my game with the hopes of one day playing professionally.

AM: I know that your schedule in the LPGA is busy, what is a typical week like when you’re on the course and in the gym when you’re preparing for your next tournament?

LT: Weeks out on the LPGA Tour can sometimes be long and strenuous. I often arrive to a golf tournament on Monday of tournament week with two practice rounds prior to the first round of competition. When I’m at home, I work out twice in the gym daily. I always like to work out in the morning as I am an early riser and typically will do cardio later in the day.

AM: With a number of tournaments throughout the year, when does the golf season start and end?

LT: The LPGA tour schedule is very busy between the months of March and October. I used to travel globally for many years. As I'm now entering my 12th year on the LPGA Tour I don’t play as many events as I once did, and I try to stay in the United States as much as possible to focus on my other interests outside of golf like my skin care line.

AM: What is your next tournament that we should keep an eye out for? When will this be published?

LT: November 11-14th, it’s the Pelican Women’s Championship.

AM: When it’s tournament time, do you have a series of routines that you do to get into a mindset that optimizes your play?

LT: My routine is extremely important to my success on the golf course. Prior to leaving for a tournament, I typically play multiple rounds of golf at my home course before leaving. I try to put the least amount of stress on my body during a tournament week, so I am prepared to go for round one and maintain my energy through the final round. By keeping a consistent routine, I am able to perform at the highest level consistently.

AM: What’s your favorite tournament to play?

LT: The ANA Inspiration is my favorite tournament – my win there in 2014 was special!

AM: In doing research for our interview with you, I saw that you are considering to play on the PGA Tour! Only 7 women have done this previously. Are you still thinking of doing this and do you have a course in mind?

LT: I’ve always wanted to play a PGA TOUR event to see how my game stacks up against the men. I've always thought I would have a chance to make the cut on a golf course that is close to 7000 yards.

AM: You have great partners/sponsors including Red Bull, Puma Golf, Rolex and Bentley to name a few, how important is it for you to have these relationships and their support?

LT: Partnerships are an extremely important part of my success as a professional golfer. Over my eleven-year career, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in the world. They have helped me grow as a person and develop great relationships.

AM: You are a 2X Olympian, what’s it like representing the US on a global stage?

LT: There is nothing like representing your country on a global stage like The Olympics. Being a two-time Olympian is one of the greatest honors I’ve had in my career.

AM: During the off season, what can we find you doing?

LT: During my off-season you’ll most likely find me in the gym. Fitness is an extremely important part of my routine and has become an extremely important part of my overall life.

AM: Last year, your website Lexi Thompson got a rebrand with Lexi Golf, Lexi Fitness and Lexi Skin. Before we delve into Lexi Skin, what can your fans expect when they come to your site?

LT: For the first time in my career, I decided to develop my own brand. The Lexi brand is coming to life and I’m excited to have three different components to the brand. Lexi Golf, Lexi Skin and Lexi Fitness will all be different avenues that I will focus on as I enter the next stage of my professional life.

AM: Last month was National Women’s Small Business Month and the third week of the same month is National Business Women's Week, what led you to launching Lexi Skin and partnering with Dr. Swift?

LT: Skincare has always been a passion of mine. Playing golf and outdoor sports my whole life, I have had a ton of sun exposure. I have really had to learn how to protect my skin and as I have become a little older, prevent it from premature aging. I was introduced to Dr. Arthur Swift and Dr. Stewart Davis, and together we have developed unique anti-aging skin care products that are highly effective and priced appropriately for active women like me.

AM: Copper is known for its antimicrobial properties, but copper peptides for potential age-defying benefits may not be as known. Do all of the products have copper peptides which penetrate and stimulate collagen in the skin? Tell me a bit about the assortment that is currently available in Lexi Skin and what are your 3 go to products that you enjoy using?

LT: All of our products have copper peptides and our proprietary delivery system for these copper peptides. That is what is so unique. We can get our copper peptides into the skin to work their magic. Copper is naturally antimicrobial for sure, but it also naturally stimulates collagen and is anti-inflammatory. That is what makes it so special for skin care. I really can’t pick just three. I love them all and use them all. We have our 5 targeted products. Eye cream, face cream, neck cream, hand cream and foot cream. Then we have our silky-smooth facial cleanser. And finally, our amazing scar gel that works great for all new cuts and burns.

AM: It’s worth noting that the brand is Leaping Bunny certified and makes annual donations to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. How important was it to you to create this kind of impact by the brand?

LT: The Susan G Komen Foundation has an important tie to my own life. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago. I’ve always felt it’s extremely important to give back to a foundation such as Susan G. Komen as they work to find a cure, as well as comfort and support those living with breast cancer, and advocate for access to care for all.

AM: When you’re not playing or working on your skincare line, how do you take time for yourself?

LT: Spending time with family and friends, and my dog, Leo. I also love laying by the pool or the beach.

AM: You were the youngest golfer to ever qualify to play in the U.S. Women’s Open and have received 11 career victories, what legacy do you want to leave on the sport?

LT: I want to leave the sport in a better place than it was when I first started by growing the game and being a role model for young girls who have the same aspirations that I did when I was their age.

IG @Lexi

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 80 + 90 Lexi Thompson | PG 82 - 89 Red Bull |

Read the NOV ISSUE #71 of Athleisure Mag and see Link to Better Beauty with Lexi Thompson in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #71 NOV 2021

In this month’s issue, our cover story is with Lightweight Boxer 21-0 with 18 knockouts, Ryan Garcia. We talk with him about how he got into boxing, his career, brands he's partnered with and being the Co-Owner and Chief MARLOWE. Officer of skincare brand, MARLOWE. We talked with Chef Duff Goldman about his work with No Kid Hungry that he has been involved in for well over a decade, his passion for baking, how he approaches giving feedback to contestants by taking them on a culinary journey and more. LPGA golfer Lexi Thompson talks about her passion for golf, upcoming tournaments and her skincare line, Lexi Skin. We also sit down with 2X Team USA Olympic Bronze Foil Fencer and World Champion, Miles Chamley-Watson to talk about the sport, why he wants to increase its footprint, his partnership and documentary with Daring Foods and more. We also connect with Food Network Personality and Chef Aarti Sequeira who also tells us about she approaches judging Halloween Wars and Holiday Wars. She also talks about her her new book, My Family Recipe Journal and the importance of keeping recipes passed down from one generation to the next. 

This month’s 9PLAYLIST is from one of our favorites, Idris Elba. BMX rider Matthias Dandois as well as Ryan Garcia, shares their 9LIST STORI3S with us. Our 9LIST ROUTIN3S comes from football Super Bowl Champion, Hall of Famer and broadcaster Troy Aikman, Chef Duff Goldman and LPGA golfer Lexi Thompson. We also have our Miles Chamley-Watson sharing his 9DRIP with us. This month’s 9LOOKS shares some of our favorite ensembles from Tom Ford's FW21 collections.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on Tusca in NY. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Pua Manu Club and Juicery Harlem. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the NOV ISSUE #71 of Athleisure Mag.

SKY'S THE LIMIT WITH NOAH NEIMAN

This month, we've been sharing a number of people that have been focused on building their brands that impact the lives of others. Joining this group is Noah Neiman, who is known for his successful studio fitness gyms that include RUMBLE Boxing and Rumble Training. He's known for his dynamic personality and pushing people beyond their limit while also empowering them to believe in themselves. We took some time to talk about how he came to the industry, building his gyms, how he continues to grow his brand as well as his recent partnership with EASTBAY.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We remember the first time we saw you when Work Out New York premiered. How did you come to fitness and when did you decide to work in the industry?

NOAH NEIMAN: Wow! Not the Bravo throwback! Do you remember when Andy Cohen had me half naked on his show!? Sorry mom! My start in the fitness industry was one of those stories that was a lifetime in the making; I just didn’t realize it at the time.

I was one of those overweight kids that would always try to finesse my way onto the shirts team instead of skins playing pickup ball. T-Shirt on in the pool type. So early on, I started to study and learn all I could about physical fitness and nutrition. I had a lot of behavioral problems as a kid, and I found the more that I trained, the less likely I was to act a fool running around the streets of Pittsburgh, Pa. Fast forward to post-college, where I went to Hofstra and got my degree in accounting, a series of unfortunate events led me to leave NYC and returning to my hometown of Pittsburgh.

During my stint in Pittsburgh, I was being incredibly self-destructive again. I was heavily depressed, suffering panic attacks regularly, and forgot how training my physical body helped me keep me emotionally in control. I let myself spiral into a pretty dark place. I remember being in the hospital after a hard night of partying and seeing the concerned and disappointed look on my parent’s faces as they rushed to see me. Seeing that look is one I will never forget. That night, I stopped doing drugs! Now over 13 years ago!

That following week I happened to be driving by a new jiu-jitsu studio that was opening up near my hood: Warren Stouts Renzo Gracie Training Studio. I traded the drugs for jiu-jitsu. I trained with those guys for a year while going through on and off again anxiety issues; 'til finally my parents told me that I needed to head back to NYC. They conveyed in me the belief that I was destined to accomplish great things, but I had to do so in New York.

So I returned back to NYC with very little money and no real purpose. A friend asked me to attend a workout class with him at the newly opened Barrys BootCAMP; and that ended up being the serendipitous moment that most underdogs stories have at the beginning.

I was in that class cheering on my friend and losing myself in that workout. Fortuitously, the now CEO of Barrys, Joey Gonzalez, was the trainer leading the class. He approached me and asked if I wanted to become a trainer there. All my football, strength, conditioning, jiu jitsu, training and a lifetime of studying was about to pay off!! I was READY for a moment, I didn’t even know was coming; but you know the old saying “if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”

I found my purpose. For those hours I was training people and leading these big group classes; all my anxiety and all my depression seemed to just melt away. I had to focus on OTHERS. Making sure they were hustling and making sure they were having a great time. It was therapeutic to me. So I THREW every ounce of effort and energy into it. The world quickly responded; and I became one of the most talked about and featured trainers. Finding myself featured in everything to Vanity Fair to the New York Times, then ultimately landed that show on BRAVO!

Fast forward a few years of building my reputation, my now business partner Eugene Remm; the founder of iconic CATCH restaurants (CATCH HOSPITALITY GROUP) and I got together and started planning what our own gym experience would look like. We wanted to bring an elevated experience to the group fitness game; one the was highly effective, but highly FUN. One that had the aesthetic and vibes that only we could create because of our unique lenses built by decades of our own tastes…. and so RUMBLE was born.

AM: If we wanted to train like you do in an average week, what are your workout routines and what are the foods/meals that you are eating throughout the day?

NN: I actually take RUMBLE Boxing and Rumble training for a majority of my workouts each week. That’s why I created the space! For my body; strength training coupled with conditioning via running and boxing has always had me feeling and looking my best; and the MENTAL benefits of punching things, hard, throughout the week are immense! I try to eat as healthy as I can so I normally hit up my go-to spot HONEYBRAINS to eat fresh whole foods. Throughout the week I eat a lot of fish, steak, eggs, and chicken coupled with potatoes, white rice, spinach, salads, beans. Then when I feel like it, it’s burgers and fries..pizza and ice cream. I try not to be one of those holier than thou trainers. I like to keep it real, eat sloppy when I want, and then get right back to eating clean when I want.

AM: I remember a few years ago I took a class led by you at Barry's Bootcamp and then when Rumble Training opened, I attended an editor event that was led by you. As a well-known group fitness instructor, your passion for motivating and empowering people is so impactful regardless of your workout level - what is your approach to working out with your celeb as well as daily clients and why is this important?

NN: I call fitness the great equalizer! It doesn’t matter who you are, how many followers you have, I treat everyone the same! I keep that same energy like Teyana Taylor (coincidentally also one of our investors). My passion and energy is the driving force of what I do, and I treat every class like it’s Jay Z's My First Song; I treat my first class, like my last class, and my last class, like my first class, so my thirst and energy is the same as when I came!

Everyone is the same at the end of the day. You either do the work and get better by it, or you don’t. I think that’s one of the most refreshing things about training with me, and our philosophy at Rumble. We treat every like Jason Derulo, or Justin Bieber…you just might also happen to work out next to them one day.

AM: Boxing is one of my favorite sports to watch and I know you are passionate about it. Why is this your preferred workout method?

NN: The efficacy of boxing is undisputed as the champ! There’s a reason they call fighters “Lean mean fighting machines,” but to be honest, boxing was always mediative for me. I had a lot of problems growing up. ADHD, getting kicked out of schools. So training to me became therapeutic. It was an outlet for a lot of anger and the vast well of energy I had. Meditation comes in many forms, and this one is mine!

AM: You’re the Co-Founder of RUMBLE Boxing. When you were in the early days of launching this brand, what was it like to know that you had people such as Sylvester Stallone and Justin Bieber as investors?

NN: When you open a boxing gym, and have Rocky believe in you; the provides you with a certain level of confidence. However, at the end of the day, if the experience and workout doesn’t live up to that level of hype, you’re going to fail. It was important for us to come correct, especially knowing we had so many powerful and renowned personalities backing us!

AM: Tell us about RUMBLE Boxing, Rumble Training and Rumble TV and why you wanted to create this universe. For Rumble Boxing and Rumble Training, what cities are you located in and are there new cities you will open in?

NN: Plainly put, I wanted to bring boxing to the masses. Polish and package it in a way that I thought our clients would love! So Rumble Training, Rumble TV, and our OG RUMBLE Boxing were just ways we could positively impact our already highly engaged customers. We’re in NYC, DC, Philly, San Francisco, LA, Chicago; and with our new partnerships with Xponential; you’re going to see Rumbles popping up from Alaska to Australia with 100’s of locations opening up across the world.

AM: In terms of working on the Rumble brand, what is an average day like for you?

NN: As an entrepreneur in general, there are no average days. Especially living in NYC! My role is to really make sure our brand is staying just that; OUR brand. To ensure consistency and clarity in delivery; and making sure our trainers and staff have the discipline and help they need to execute. I’ve never been a great boardroom leader. I need to be in the mix with my team. Teaching classes, seeing how the front desk engages with clients, cleaning the benches and studio if need be! I try and keep that Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines approach; don’t tell. Show! Be there for your team and they’ll be there for you. It requires a tremendous amount of energy to lead in that manner; which is why I’m so passionate about health and mental wellness. It provides you with that unlimited well to tap into. You said you responded to my energy when you were at my classes long ago; and I told you I have to keep that same energy. So when I can; I’m investing in myself, so I can better serve others!

AM: What is the best piece of business advice that you received that has allowed you to navigate the industry as a fitness entrepreneur?

NN: I’d like to think I’m just an entrepreneur; working and consulting with companies in a variety of spaces; but my number one rule of thumb is 'chase relationships, not checks”. Everything I have been able to achieve has been a collaborative effort. I’ve earned my spot at the table by freely giving my energy and skills to whoever engages with me. You’d be surprised the return you get on an energy investment when you invest in PEOPLE.

AM: Recently you partnered with EASTBAY with the release of their new line EASTBAY Performance. You were a team captain for a flag football game in McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We heard that your team was impressive through 3 of your games and you just missed out on the championship game. Why did you want to participate in this event?

NN: I’m on that Peter Pan! I was so honored to get the call to participate it was a no brainer. Thinking back on my childhood; running home to check out the EASTBAY catalogue, or taking a girl on the date to the Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh to check out the FOOTLOCKER, is super nostalgic. To be surrounded by such iconic brands, in iconic Brooklyn, and most importantly surrounded by such positive and powerful PEOPLE; I HAD to be a part of this. I'm still rocking scabs on my knees as I answer this question. I look at it as a badge of honor. Young me would be so proud that I’ve worked hard enough to be recognized by EASTBAY and Footlocker; and to be honest, old me is too! Plus, that new EASTBAY line is fire, had to be one of the first to cop!

AM: What are your 3 favorite products from the Eastbay Performance line?

NN: The t-shirt, tights, and shorts combo is a trifecta. Deion Sanders said “if you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they PAY good!" I took that to heart as a child, so rocking the new line it not only LOOKS fresh, but it’s functional to enhance you playing good too...and you know what happens when you PLAY good. Ka-ching $$$!!!!!

AM: In looking at your IG, beyond your passion for fitness and style, we know that you love your dog Oz. How has he been impactful in your life especially when we were all going through the craziness of quarantine?

NN: I’m gonna go super mayonnaise corny on you now; Oz saved my life. He taught me firsthand what it was like to care about something, and have to take care of something other than myself. I learned not to be selfish from him. This dog has been with me from first blood; through thick and thing. Through happiness, depression, poor, rich; Oz has been by my side. During the pandemic I actually rescued two more dogs that look exactly like Oz from Buddy’s Rescue. I may be biased, but I have the sweetest and best-looking trio of dogs on the island of Manhattan.

During the pandemic, I was feeling very anxious and uncertain like the rest of us; so once again I found myself needing to get out of my own head. Who better to escape with than with two little puppies and one sage old pitbull. The puppies even earned a little money over the pandemic shooting for brands like KITH and PETCO.

AM: When you’re not working out, focusing on your business, appearing on TV etc, how do you take time for yourself?

NN: I’m an ambivert so to contrast the extreme extroverted nature of my job, I like to spend a lot of time by myself. I love to walk the dogs through Washington Square Park, read a book, going to ZERO BOND which is my friend’s members-only club. I like to ride my Ducati motorcycle around NYC like the island-ordered Batman on WISH! Sorry mom, I won’t sell it! It’s also meditative to me. The correlation between boxing and riding a motorcycle is strong. In both pursuits, you have to be present. You have to live in the moment. You can’t think about the past or the future; you have to live in the now. I think more people would be better served if they could find those things they love that ground them and bring them home to the present moment.

Growing up, I was never ok to be by myself, because I didn’t love the person I was spending time with; so as I get older, I’m learning to love and invest in that person more. To contrast all that; when I’m really trying to get after it. I will 100 percent get a table at CATCH and hit that dance floor full up on a belly full of the best steak, sushi, and tequila. The perks of being in business with Eugene Remm are numerous; but that is definitely one of the best!

AM: As someone who is always on the go and working on the next thing, are there any projects that you can share that you are working on?

NN: The universe provides if you know how to harvest, so I keep working on my universal agricultural skills. I’ve been fortunate to work with brands across a variety of industries, from NIKE, to BOSE, to Tag Heuer, to Vital Proteins, to MCLAREN to name a few, and each one has been a great learning experience. Its enabled me to spot opportunities across a wide spectrum.

The biggest things I’m focusing on now is helping EMERALD EQUITY GROUP create a brand around their new high end luxury rental building they just purchased 2 COOPER SQUARE. Helping create that elevated living experience people have come to expect from me, albeit in a different arena, with Rumble.

I'm a longtime fan and investor in HONEYBRAINS, the restaurant I mentioned before where I eat 80 percent of my meals. I used to just be a customer and ending up striking up a conversation with one of the owners. Now I’m an investor and helping them grow the brand! All because of giving off that welcoming energy that created the environment for me and the co-owner to strike up a conversation. Remember what I said about chasing relationships! You have to be open, aware, and receptive to the early stages of them!

I’m working with my boy Louis Denaples who owns Ducati New York City on some branding projects for his motorcycle shops; and helping him create a retail line around the Ducati lifestyle.

I’ve been in talks with SIRIUS and other networks about my own show which is something I’m extremely passionate about now. At the end of the day, I just want to impact people. I want people to engage with me, through a variety of platform; yet always know that they are going to get that positive energy and support they need to unlock the greatness within themselves. I pitched a lifestyle travel show with my own unique twist pre-pandemic that is picking up some attention and steam; so stay tuned for announcements on that!

IG @noahdneiman

PHOTOS COURTESY | Noah Neiman

Read the OCT ISSUE #71 of Athleisure Mag and see Sky’s The Limit with Noah Neiman in mag.

9PLAYLIST | TIËSTO

Read the OCT ISSUE #70 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST in mag. Listen to Tiësto’s 9PLAYLIST here.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #70 OCT 2021

In this month’s issue, our cover story is with DJ/producer and founder of Club Quarantine, D-Nice. We talk with him about his legendary career, being a founding member of Boogie Down Productions with KRS-One and the late Scott La Rock, launching Club Quarantine, how he continues to evolve the brand, his recent performance bringing Club Quarantine to Hollywood Bowl and more. We talk with Celebrity Fitness Trainer, Harley Pasternak to talk about how we can tackle our fitness goals regardless of the season, the way we should approach working out and healthy food hacks that we need to know. Founder of RUMBLE, Noah Neiman talks about his career in the fitness industry, his love for boxing and how it led to his own gym and his approach to life. We also talk with Celebrity Fitness Trainer Gunnar Peterson and pulmonologist, Dr. Cedric Rutland about asthma and how it affects fitness enthusiasts and athletes. They share their perspective on this condition and how they are involved with the LungZone campaign.

This month’s 9PLAYLIST is from one of our favorites, Tiesto. The NY Giants’ John Ross shares his 9LIST STORI3S with us. Our 9LIST ROUTIN3S comes from Gunnar Peterson and Noah Neiman. We also have our AUG ISSUE #42 cover story from 2019, EDM DJ/producer, SAYMYNAME to share his 9DRIP with us. This month’s 9LOOKS shares some of our favorite ensembles from Chanel’s PFW SS22 collections.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on Tuscany Steakhouse in NY. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Afternoon and No Strings Attached Noodle Bar. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

 Read the OCT ISSUE #70 of Athleisure Mag.

DISCOVERY OF POWER WITH LO BOSWORTH

We first learned about Lo Bosworth as one of the cast members of MTV's Laguna Beach as we were introduced to a friendship group in Orange County of young people that navigated the transition between high school and college. We continued on with her and other members as they navigated adulting post college in The Hills. Lo was always a grounded member of this friend group who we would learn after these succeful reality shows that she had a passion for wellness and would become the founder and CEO of Love Wellness which focuses on self-care with a focus on body positivity and science. We catch up with Lo to talk about her brand, partnership with Baileys and how she takes time for herself.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When you were on The Hills, there wasn’t programming that focused on adulting in that way. The show also laid the foundation for a formula that we look for in these shows from friendship groups, getting to know main character’s facets of life, introducing audiences to popular boutiques/restaurants and designers that are being worn – which is standard now. What does it mean to you that you participated in a show that laid this groundwork and what did you learn by being involved in these shows?

LO BOSWORTH: I learned the power of my own voice and community. I'm so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to connect with an audience on a large scale and have always tried to do my best with the opportunities given to me.

AM: Back in 2019, we attended a fitness event that Love Wellness hosted. I was drawn to the packaging and your messaging. What led you to creating this self-care brand and what role does self-care play in your life?

LB: I became more interested in health and wellness when I dealt with a few health setbacks in both 2014 and 2019. Going through these challenging moments forced me to focus on my well-being, search for alternatives, and when I was able to heal, I was inspired to share my journey able to heal, I was inspired to share my journey through the founding of Love Wellness.

AM: What products can we find at Love Wellness?

LB: We make everything from vaginal suppositories to de-bloating supplements. Our total body care products for women are made with clean ingredients, are innovative and trendsetting, and give women the real results they're looking for from a wellness company.

AM: You guys just launched probiotics – tell us more about this.

LB: Our recent probiotics launch was actually an expansion of this product category at Love Wellness. One of our original products, Good Girl Probiotics, launched 5 years ago with a focus on improving vaginal and urinary tract health with the use of diverse live bacteria strains organic to the vagina. After closing in on selling one million units of Good Girl Probiotics, we made the decision to expand our probiotics category to focus on other microbiomes in and on the body. Our new best-sellers include Clear Skin Probiotics for reducing the number of acne pimples on the skin, and Gut Feelings Probiotics which is a pre-probiotic blend that helps support overall gut health and immunity.

AM: What are you currently working on whether it’s with Love Wellness or outside of it?

LB: I'm the founder and CEO of Love Wellness and operate my business full-time everyday alongside my excellent team in New York City. My primary focus is helping women discover our innovating products, education, and community.

AM: As we’re all continuing to venture out after the past 19 months that we have endured, it seems like every opportunity to celebrate whether solo or in small groups is a must! How can we host the appropriate end of summer party or kick off to the fall?

LB: Aside from putting together a fun group and great spread of food, Baileys Deliciously Light is one of my secrets to entertaining at home. Baileys Deliciously Light is a delicious and versatile treat that can be enjoyed so many ways including over ice, chilled, in a smoothie or with hot, iced or whipped coffee so there’s truly something for everyone!

AM: Why did you want to partner with Baileys Deliciously Light?

LB: I always make sure to partner with brands that represent my lifestyle. Baileys Deliciously Light gives me a chance to treat myself to a delicious cocktail or baked good, and it’s also made with 40% less sugar and 40% less calories than Baileys Original Irish Cream so it gives me the balance I always look for in my life!

AM: We’re all enjoying that transition into fall weather and in many cases, that also means our cocktails take this journey as well! What’s your go to fall cocktail that we should think about including into our rotation?

LB: I love experimenting in the kitchen and making new things for me and my friends to try. Baileys Deliciously Light is a delicious and versatile treat that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways – but my favorite is including it in hot and iced coffee drinks or even espresso martinis. One of my favorite cocktails to make this season is the Baileys Frothy Coffee – it’s made with Baileys Deliciously Light, espresso and frothy milk. It’s the perfect, simple fall drink that’s a major crowd pleaser.

BAILEYS FROTHY COFFEE

Ingredients

2.5 oz Baileys Deliciously Light

2 oz Espresso

2/3 Cup Frothy Milk

Preparation

1. Combine Baileys Deliciously Light and espresso into a coffee mug.

2. Heat up milk and blend/whip until frothy.

3. Top coffee and enjoy!

AM: When you’re not running your business or taking on a project, how do you take time for yourself?

LB: I take baths, eat amazing meals at my favorite restaurants in New York City, and spend quality time walking my neighborhood with friends.

IG @LoBosworth

PHOTOGRAPHY | Baileys Deliciously Light

Read the SEP ISSUE #70 of Athleisure Mag and see Discover of Power with Lo Bosworth in mag.

9PLAYLIST | DWAYNE JOHNSON

Read the SEP ISSUE #69 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | Dwayne Johnson in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #69 SEP 2021

In this month’s issue, our Sep cover is Cypress Hill and founder of Dr. Greenthumb’s, B-Real. We talk about Cypress Hill, his solo project and the expansion of Dr. Greenthumb. We also talk with Lo Bosworth, founder of self-care brand, Love Wellness. She shares her journey in wellness as well as taking time for herself and friends.  This month, The Art of the Snack comes from Sushi Ginza Onodera here in NY. Our Athleisure Lists include BADSHAH and BODi. This month, we enjoyed getting back to in person events by attending Electric Zoo and Governor’s Ball, we share our favorite moments from both of these music festivals.

This month, our 9DRIP comes from B-Real, our 9ROUTIN3S comes from Bar Malik founder of BARCODE as well as Lo Bosworth. This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from Dwayne Johnson as he shares 9 songs on his playlist. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from Celebrity Hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons who shares his must haves in style, beauty and fitness. We also share 9 of our favorite looks in 9LIST R3DCARP3TS from the Emmys and talk with Stylists, MUA, Hairstylists and Nail Artists that created the looks. In this months 9LOOKS we share some of our favorite looks from CHAANCE’s NYFW SS22 presentation.

See the SEP ISSUE #69 of Athleisure Mag here.

9DRIP | TRINITY FATU

Read the AUG ISSUE #68 of Athleisure Mag and see 9DRIP | Trinity Fatu in mag,

9PLAYLIST | ADAM LEVINE

Read the AUG ISSUE #68 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | Adam Levine in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #68 AUG 2021

In this month’s issue, our cover shoot is with skateboarder and Team USA Skateboarding Gold medalist Cory Juneau. We talk about how he came to the sport, how he approaches it, the importance of his friend group, being in the inaugural debut of his sports at the Summer Games in Tokyo and his partnership with Golden Goose. We talk with country singer/songwriter, Tyler Rich who is back on the road with 2 tours! He talks about he stayed connected to fans during quarantine, how he approaches his music and upcoming projects. We also connect with EDM DJ/producer, Will Sparks that talks about his music, the Melbourne Bounce and his EP. We also caught up with long distance runner, marathoner, Olympic medalist, NY and Boston Marathon winner, motivational speaker and NY Best Selling Author, Meb Kefllezighi to talk about about how he came to running, how he approaches training and the importance of never giving up.

This month, singer/songwriter, Adam Levine shares his favorite songs in 9PLAYLIST. Previous cover star, Jamie Gray Hyder of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU shares her favorites and why in our 9LIST STORI3S. We also have pro skateboarder and Team USA Skateboarder Zion Wright, who shares his 9LIST STORI3S. One of our fave WWE and E! Total Divas and previous cover, Trinity Fatu who wrestles under the name, Naomi, shares her 9DRIP with us. Celebrity fitness trainer, Don Brooks shares his favorites and why in our 9LIST ROUTIN3S. In addition, designer/artist, Jade Purple Brown shares her 9LIST ROUTIN3S that she enjoys in the morning, afternoon and night. This month’s 9LOOKS shares our favorite looks from designer and Making the Cut Season 2’s contestant, Andrea Salazarz and her line, SETA which has a collab with Amazon.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on J-Spec in Manhattan. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Kolache Brooklyn and Spa Relais. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the AUG ISSUE #68 of Athleisure Mag.

MANIFEST YOUR LIFE WITH LONDON BROWN

This month, the anticipated release of STARZ's Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres. Before it has even aired, it has already been greenlit for a 2nd season with the cast currently filming. We caught up with London Brown, who plays Marvin Thomas, Kanan's nephew to talk about the new series that takes place in South Jamaica Queens in 1991. We talk about his career from Fuse's The Hustle, his breakout role in HBO's Ballers and how he has evolved as an entertainer. We also talk about how important it is for him to stay grounded as he navigates the industry and his focus on giving back in the ways that he can.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to be an entertainer? You cover a number of areas as you’re an actor, dancer and a comedian.

LONDON BROWN: I think it’s just a thing that I remember early on always being into the arts. I felt that the arts came very naturally. Between the arts feeling like they were already part of my proclivity, I enjoyed them as well, fortunately. A lot of times, people are gifted and are good at what they do, but they’re not necessarily drawn to them. I was always very passionate about the arts in general. I just remember that it started when I did Easter plays and that sort of thing. So I did it and at school I realized that they had more plays there, so I did those and played the Scarecrow and in Black communities where you grow up in religious households, you go to church – so you’re playing an instrument, you’re singing – you’re doing something on that level. So all these things were just kind of normal and it transmitted to school and so throughout high school, I was involved in bands, was in plays and that’s when I started to take it seriously. I had a theater teacher that saw more in me than I did and encouraged me to take it more seriously.

From there, I went away to school and one of my friends encouraged me to dance. He was a choreographer with a dance team and he said, "you should join the dance team." I told him, "nah, I'm not going to do that.” He then told me that I should do it because he was gay, the rest of the team were all girls and since I was straight, that that would be a great match. So I did and I danced, I kept doing it and I taught dance which allowed me to pay the bills all while I became a teacher where I taught high schoolers theory of acting. While this was going on, I took some auditions to get into the groove of my art. It’s funny because while I was teaching for the high school, a fellow teacher told me about a comedy show that the school was putting on and I asked about it and they suggested that I should sign up to be part of it. I realized that the same energy of the instant gratification that we get from doing live theater, I can also get it from doing standup as it’s just a one man show. Doing standup, I finally felt that I had a voice. I do a lot of different things, but I also feel that with all of the things that I do, God gave them to me because he knew that I would also give them away. So teaching, I inspired a lot of other young people to do whatever they do now.

I was doing standup for about 2 years and I ended up connecting with Chris Tucker and we hit it off. I started touring with him as his opening act for a few years. Somewhere in there, I land my first TV show, The Hustle. That was 2013, it was a small network, but the creator was also the showrunner for Insecure, so Prentice Penny saw a bunch of young actors and said, “hey I want you guys to do this,” gave us a call and we auditioned and he took chances on us. In Hollywood, they want familiar faces so the fact that he took a shot on me, I did a season of The Hustle, Chris had stopped touring and with no TV show, I no longer had an agent or a manager.

So now, I am agentless and I get a call from a friend of mine who asked if I had auditioned from Ballers. I let him know that I had heard about it, but at the time, I was a choreographer just trying to pay bills. He said he would pass my information along. I go in, this is during 2014 and I audition for Ballers and they said they liked me. Initially the character was only supposed to do 1 or 2 episodes. After the audition that I did, they wanted to make me a lead on the show and keep me all 5 seasons. I moved to Miami, filmed and then finished the other half of the season in LA, so after that, the series ends in 2019 and Dwayne pulls the plug as I think that he was just busy because it was still #1!

AM: For sure, we loved watching it every week and although your character generated a lot of reactions and people didn’t like him. But we enjoyed your character. The growth that you did as the character, it’s interesting to see someone who was in a situation where he was trying to protect his friend, try to do what’s right, but you’re in an industry that you really have to learn quickly and to see the progression of the character season by season. We weren’t familiar with your work previous to that show, but when you have a knee jerk reaction to a character, they’re acting their ass off to make you feel that way. It’s not easy to come off that unlikeable.

LB: Right? For me, that’s why it was so important because on paper, the character wasn’t going to be around as that wasn’t the plan initially. He was supposed to be character A, Reggie the best friend. I knew that I really needed to be able to establish my presence 1, a lot of the guys that were on there had established resumes and had been in the industry a long time. I knew the opportunity and the weight that that project was going to have. It had the #1 entertainer with Dwayne Johnson and also it’s HBO, a very credible network. For me, I was going to exhaust whatever energy from whatever scene to make sure that I wasn’t doing too much but I was standing out on some kind of level. And 2, I became the antagonist by accident because we’d be on set and I was improvising a lot because they didn’t have any lines for me because I wasn’t supposed to be around. They said, “ok, let’s let him go and let’s see what we come up with.” So I was giving them stuff and then we kind of found this voice of Reggie as far as making him the fly around the food. So once I tapped into that, I knew I could amp it up wherever they allow me to go. At the same time, as an actor, in the development of making a character 3 dimensional, in season 1 and part of season 2, he was the annoying guy. But we wanted to take him to such a place that by season 5, he’s more responsible and he’s trying to get it together so that he’s really advising Vernon in positive ways. I wanted to make sure that I kept the character interesting and not just fall and be a character like Best Friend #1.

Now, we find out on Instagram that the show is over so I’m like, ok. I’m not worried because from a spiritual place, I don’t even put all my energy into man anyway. So, I feel that I will be fine. I’m working clubs, on the road and touring. So now it’s the fall of 2019 and I get a call from Robi Reed who does all the casting for Spike Lee’s projects and is really great. She calls and asks if I can do American Soul to play Bootsy Collins. I get down there and I learn the guitar and whatever I have to do for the part. I then do a horror film in Canada so I’m doing these 2 projects and my manager says that there is a young agent who is familiar with my work and wants to work with me. I tell him it's cool and he says that he likes what I do and asks me to read the sides, which are pieces of the script.

On the sides I see Power at the top. I think to myself that this can’t be the real Power because I had seen billboards all over Times Square that they are on the final season. So I thought that it was a mock because sometimes, they put a fake title on there. So I went in, I read the part and felt that it flowed well and that whoever was writing it had good language and it’s how I would talk so I thought it was cool. I sent the tape in, I didn’t hear anything and after the Christmas break, the new agent that I’m building with because we are just feeling each other out, I visit the people at the office and they let me know that I have a callback. I do 6 or 7 takes and then I go in and long story short, the agent said that they liked me and wanted to offer me the part. So I agreed and I’m still unaware that it’s Power and then I hear that it’s Raising Kanan. Mind you, I had never watched anything from Power at all. When I would run into fans on the street, they would say, “hey man, my favorite show is Ballers, Game of Thrones and Power.” So I wanted to be part of Power, but I was grateful for what I did have. I wanted to do Power so badly that I didn’t even want to watch it because I was already committed in my current project at the time. So when they said, Raising Kanan, I was confused, but I knew it was a show and it took place in the 90’s. I get on set and I start to connect the dots. People are telling me that this is the backstory of Kanan and I knew that 50 Cent had done something with Kanan because the streets were talking.

It wasn’t until I really got into filming the shoot that I realized that this was a spinoff – Power Book III: Raising Kanan! We’re an official spinoff because we’re the prequel. The other ones continue the story. So when I found out it's 1991, this character is not like Reggie – he’s Reggie on steroids and he just goes there. He’s short-tempered, but he loves and is loyal to his family. There’s a leadership power struggle between him and his siblings because his younger sister is running the whole family operation. She’s showing love to the younger brother because he’s really cool, calm and collected. So my character feels a certain type of way about that. My daughter and I have a strange and strained relationship because my character had done some time and she got a whole other life. So the only person that my character is able to flex some leadership on is my nephew Kanan (editor’s note: in Power, the flagship series Kanan is played by 50 Cent). So I’m the guy who introduced my nephew to this nefarious lifestyle that he begins. So, I’m like the muscle of the crew. My sister gives the orders, I carry them out and sometimes I go beyond what she asks for and that causes some animosity between us but in the end, it’s the loyalty that keeps us very connected to each other.

So, that answers your question and gives you the spill on how this all came out!

AM: You took us on a great journey! The way you presented your story makes me think about something I tell people all the time. When you’re building your brand and taking opportunities that are based on your interests or become available, you never know the people that you come into contact with and the projects that come your way. It’s the sliding doors that you enter and exist that allows you to build your career and sometimes it’s completely unplanned but each link adds another to get to your end result.

LB: You’re right. I know that for a lot of people, when they first saw me, it was from Ballers. But people didn’t know that there were a lot of foundational things that took place when I was doing theater that helped me to have a presence when I was playing across to Dwayne. That’s one side and the other is, if you can’t be the hero, the antagonist is the next best thing. It all just lined up! Even for people who didn’t know me, the fact that all my scenes in season 1 were with Dwayne, it pushed me into a space that I couldn’t have been more grateful for.

My first TV show allowed me to transition from theater and to learn how to play everything inside of a small frame. Ballers helped me to establish my onscreen presence. So by the time I got to Power Book III: Raising Kanan, I have more of a handle on what’s going on and how to play to it. I think that people will really connect with the project and my character Marvin – especially my friends because I do more cursing and drinking on TV then I do in real life! He’s charming but he is intense. My friends who know me, they find it funny that I’m playing Marvin because I’m cursing and rude and I’m so not these guys. But that’s why I enjoy playing them so much because I’m so the other way. I’m chill and very easy going. With Reggie, he didn’t care and he was loud. This character is shooting, fighting and doing all kinds of stuff. So I think people will connect with it very much so!

AM: Power Book III: Raising Kanan released earlier this month. When you got this role, what did you do to prep for it? It takes place in the 90’s. How did you get into the vibe and feel for this series?

LB: For me, I’ve always been a champion for the 90’s from the sitcom, the clothes and the music. I love the 90’s. It’s already part of my regular life so what I did in terms of preparation, I listened to a lot of Nas and 90’s hip-hop to understand the language. We had a dialect coach on set to just keep us where we needed to be in terms of the accent and dialect. I just tried to stay very present. My home is still LA, but for filming we all relocated and I’m actually here now in NY because we got a pick up for the next season already!

AM: Which is awesome because you were confirmed for a 2nd season just days before the premier dropped!

LB: I know and it’s such a blessing! I think that maybe the producers saw what they needed to see and they know it’s rich. I’m not even mentioning me, these guys performances are just strong. Mekai Curtis who plays Kenan is very connected. Our lead actress, Patina Miller (plays Raquel Thomas) she just gives it up - she won a TONY coming from theater. So a few of us have come from theater so already between that and when we came together, we didn’t have any egos. Sometimes in auditions, you meet each other and have chemistry tests and you vibe and they put people together and pair you up to see. We didn’t have any time for that. They booked us, we flew out to NY, we had a photoshoot and the first day was like a family scene. If we were playing like we were in high school on the first day of class, we could play with the awkwardness of real life on screen. But we’re playing a family that’s a tight unit. So we can’t be with the weird stuff. Everyone needs to be present and professional. Anything outside of that has to be left at the door because it can affect the chemistry. Fortunately, day 1, everyone was just cool and supportive of each other. The offscreen energy read very well for what we did onscreen.

The whole thing should come together well. The costumes definitely helped us. The hairdos – I’m in a high top. I spoke to the costumer just yesterday for the fitting and he felt that my character was one of the ones which helped to sell the era. They put me in some Dapper Dan. I mean the budget to make it come to life – even renting the cars so that every car all the way down the block and in the view of the camera was taken back to ’91. They really got all of the aesthetics down for it. I just hope people enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.

AM: How was it working with 50 and Courtney Kemp?

LB: After all the shenanigans that people feel 50 does, they have to understand that the dude is a very smart tactile guy! At the end of the day, 50 is very charming, but he is onto something. I had the chance to talk to him a few times and he really believes in the project, he’s really invested into it and Courtney’s energy and her last say so’s of things with her vision and I think that they both work well with guiding the ship in the right direction. We had a great lead writer, Sascha Penn, she wrote the hell out of the script. All of them were very open if we didn’t understand something or we felt that the character wouldn’t do this or that, it wasn’t about doing it like the way they said, it was very collaborative. They would ask, what do you think and I’d say that I didn’t think Marvin would do it this way, but we could play with it this way. Even with the hair or other items – everyone was really cool. I think again, all the way around the set because we didn’t have egos or dictatorship energy, it allowed people to give their opinions even if we didn’t agree. They were still open to hearing and we found a medium place. That I think is what helped this project all the way around.

AM: Do you find as an actor, that it’s difficult to prepare for a character when it’s a series versus a movie? Then when you’re looking at a series, is it difficult as you go in and out of that character when you’re picking it up to get back into the character when it takes place over multiple seasons? Is that hard for you to separate yourself from that character?

LB: For me, I always separate it from the emotional stuff. I just stayed in the dialect. I didn’t want to be back and forth. So the whole time I was filming, I stayed with the dialect. So now, I have to get back into it because we’re about to film again and I have been in and out of it today. But when I’m filming I stay that way throughout the filming and even off set. The emotional stuff, I leave at work so that I can live, breathe and process because my character is doing all kinds of stuff so I don’t need to bring any of that at home! When I come out of the costume, jump into my sweats and get dropped off, I’m back to that. Also, we were in the pandemic. I'm glad at the time, there was no real social stuff going on. For me, my routine was hitting the gym everyday, I’m a sneakers guy and I’m living in Harlem so I passed by 8-10 sneaker shops and walk in everyday and if I saw something new, I'd grab those and get some groceries. Then, I’d be home to study. I had a very simple vibe of things that I did. I just locked in and tapped in. We were in the middle of winter. I’m from LA and I realized that I was the only one that gave a damn about the snow. Everybody else was indoors and I’m the only one that was outside glad to be in the street and walking to the gym in the snowstorm. But that’s how simple I am – I just enjoyed it. I was grateful to work and grateful to see the snow. I do photography so I went out and would shoot. In my mind, going back to what you said about one path leading to another path and so forth, I’ve always wanted to live in NY but I didn’t want to uproot and to leave LA. So just like this is setup is exactly how I wanted it to be. My things are in LA but I can be here for a period of time but I can still go back home. This is just like how I would have wanted it to happen even though I didn’t ask for this. That’s how I know I’m where I’m supposed to be.

That’s why I encourage people to go out there for what they want to do. There are things on your list that you’re unaware of that automatically come with what they do. I have friends who say that they love to travel, getting free stuff and clothes and I’m like, “do the things that you’re supposed to do and the other things will come.” My core goal is to be an actor, but the other things as a result is living in NY, being able to travel and the free stuff. There’s the love that you get and even helping other people. I don’t complain, I’m just really grateful that people care enough to even want to sit down with me and talk with me so thank you!

AM: What are the workouts that you do and clearly with your job you always have to be ready for whatever is coming at you.

LB: I do a few things. I change up the routine so that my body doesn’t get too comfortable. At one point, I was doing a Dwayne exercise which we would focus on a particular muscle group for that day so Mon – chest, Tues – back legs, Wed – shoulders, Thurs - abs, Fri - arms. I was doing that for awhile. Right now, I’m doing a compound full-body approach. I do something for each muscle group but as a full-body type of thing. When we start filming, I will probably do an upper-body routine and then a lower body the next day. I try to do abs every day usually – at least 200 of something for abs. Again, even with Ballers, in season 1, they were like, “London, we need you to put this tank top on.” I was like, “ahhhh not right now.” At the end of season 2, not that I turned into Dwayne, but I filled out a bit and worked on some stuff. When I did that pool scene, I got myself together with my arms.

Even with this, I got some intimate scenes in season 1 and I’m still vacillating between ideas of what I look like because that was one scene that I wish I could have gone back and taken a look. Not that I could have have changed what I looked like that day, but I know that that scene is coming up and I just hope that I look ok! Because it’s onscreen and this is now locked in forever. That’s why I don’t waste any time. They were making jokes at me for going into the gym, but I was telling my co-stars that this is the first time that people will see whatever they are seeing of us and on the branding side of things, I have done a few photoshoots outside of this. So if people reach out because they think your body looks nice, they may want you to be the face of Levi Jeans or Gap Jeans. I’m thinking way past the scene – it’s the branding side of it. I’m also thinking about the leading guy side of it. Will Smith was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire until we saw him in I Am Legend for example. We saw him chiseled up and then we saw him in Ali and he put some size on him. Or even Michel B. Jordan, we were like, “hey that’s the handsome looking Black guy." Then he sized up for Creed and people were like, "ooo Michael B. Jordan." The response that women had when they said his name, I was like, “ok he leveled up!” When he did Black Panther, now he’s in a different league and he is a leading guy. These are the things that I am thinking about so when people are joking about me being in the gym, I’m like, “listen, we’ve got to think past Power if we’re thinking about the next level. We’ve got to look good.”

AM: Absolutely. You don’t know where it’s coming from. You’re right with Michael B. Jordan, we had his trainer who is a Body Transformation Specialist, Corey Calliet who also does a lot of the people in the Marvel Universe etc as our July cover in 2018. He talked about how he transformed his body and you’re right, when he started taking on those roles with that physique, he’s a leading action hero! Now he’s in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse. So you’re definitely ahead of the game!

LB: I’m just thinking advanced because I live in anticipation and I believe that I can have it and I manifest it. I don’t have any doubt and I am just preparing for the things that I believe are going to come. It’s like when Noah had the arc and people said, there’s going to be a storm and you need to get on the boat and people were like, “yeah sure - right.” I’m just trying to tell my friends that we have to get ready. Everyone mentally is not able to function in that capacity. But I know of many things that I have said and they did happen and when I spoke about Power and to be on Power, I had no idea it would be in the spinoff and I knew I wanted to do it. There are a couple of things on the list and I am just trying to do the best that I can to be prepared for them as I know that they are on the way.

AM: Do you have other projects that you’re working on that we should keep an eye out?

LB: Right now, it’s Power and now that the clubs are opening up, I will get back into doing standup. But there is a book of photography that I’m working on. I want to use the photos for the income from the book to help with homeless people. I do a lot with homeless people. Growing up, I always have helped street people and would feed them. LA has a huge homeless problem so I am working on this coffee table book. As people look at the homeless people from the different places that I have traveled to, it’s a way to keep us very grounded and to remind us on how we look at things. It’s very easy, not that I am in a high position, but even in the position that I am in, you can get caught up and think it’s about you. The best way for me to keep my heart in check is that I am always giving. By doing this book and what have you, it will help people that when they sit down and their rich friends come over and they take off their Rolex, there’s a book there that you can just tap into every so often and they can say that they are grateful for their apartment, house or whatever they have. That book will remind them that there are people who don’t even have a bed or food. I would give these people a pear, apple, PB+J and they would say, “thank you, I appreciate you.” I would talk with them and I realized that people aren't just crazy or on drugs. They may have went through a depression, a divorce, were in the military and they just fell on tough times. Even with this pandemic, it showed how people had troubles and everyone was shut down. Now people have to reup and regroup and focus. I did a table read during the pandemic and one of the actors was complaining about something and I’m like, “brother, we’re doing a table read. We’re working.” That’s the angle, I’m not mad at him. It just reminds me that I need to keep giving and keep myself very connected and grounded because the truth is, if I stay on the ground, if I fall or stumble, I’m already down there. But when people get besides themselves and spiritually, I’d rather keep myself humble then to have God do it – I got it and will do what I need to do because I don’t want Him to do it. I'll stay in check.

AM: So when you’re not on set or on stage and all of the things you do, what do you do to take time for yourself?

LB: If it’s not the gym, I’m going live and cooking. I do a lot of live stuff and interact with my followers. Or it’s my photography, I’m out and about with my camera shooting or just trying to help friends with their headshots. I also cut hair so if I'm in the city or I'm at home, guys want to come up, I cut hair. I’ll be home if anything, I’m really easy going. I like the self-care of cooking at home or going to the gym or giving to others in some capacity – the homeless and feeding them and trying to be of service.

IG @RealLondonBrown

PHOTO CREDITS | PG 127 London Brown | PG 128 + 131 HBO/Ballers | PG 132 - 139 STARZ/Power Book III: Raising Kanan |

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see Manifest Your Life with London Brown in mag.

MAKE IT WORK WITH TIM GUNN

Tim Gunn is known well for his career at Parsons School of Design which started in 1982, he served as Associate Dean from 1989 - 2000 and would go on to becoming the Fashion Design Department Chair in August 2000. He is noted for retooling and invigorating the curriculum for the 21st century. His mentorship went mainstream as we watched him and supermodel Heidi Klum for 16 seasons on BRAVO's Project Runway. Last year, this fashionable duo debuted Amazon Original's Making the Cut and its 2nd season premiers this month. We chatted with Tim about his career, the show and how we "make it work."

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have been such a fan of yours for years. Looking at the depth of your career and how you have helmed the careers of so many people in the fashion industry, did you ever think that you would be doing what you are doing now?

TIM GUNN: Oh, never in a million years, never! This entire television phenomenon didn’t happen to me until after I turned 50. I had had a very satisfying career as an educator. I never dreamed that this would happen, it’s completely and totally surreal. I still pinch myself!

AM: It’s absolutely amazing and it’s also great to see how you have been such a powerhouse in the industry by sharing your insights. How important is it to you to be able to be such a mentor to so many designers that you’ve dealt with directly as well as to those that you may not have known that you have?

TG: I have to say that it’s a great honor and it’s a role that I take very very seriously. As a teacher for many many years, the greatest satisfaction for me was watching my students bearing witness to them having that kind of epiphany for what they can achieve, what they can do and having that “ah ha moment.” To be able to nurture that and to cultivate that and then to be able to actually see that happen, it’s just hugely satisfying and rewarding. I have the same thrill when I’m working with the Making the Cut designers. I don’t take any credit for their successes and I also don’t blame myself for things that go awry, but I do take great pleasure and honor in being a kindred spirit of sorts and kind of an angel on their soldier that’s there to tell them the truth, to be a cheerleader and to be a shoulder to cry on if necessary. It’s extremely satisfying for me and it’s a huge honor.

AM: We enjoyed the inaugural season of Making the Cut last year. What initially drew you to the format of this show and what did you want viewers to take away from it?

TG: Well, the concept of the show, the format is a concept that Heidi and Sara Rea, uber Executive Producer and I have had for a very long time. We had been forming it, we had been developing it – owing to the success of the other show that Heidi, Sara and I had did – Sara was the showrunner the last 10 seasons of Project Runway. We couldn’t do this, we couldn’t execute this vision. So when Heidi, Sara and I decided to leave, we shopped the show and our dream was to be with Amazon because of the creative flexibility that Amazon provides and the potential of the shoppability aspect. So we wanted first of all, to show a broader view of what the fashion industry is like rather than just showing the making of clothes.

We wanted to talk about branding because without that aspect, it’s just a pretty dress, who cares? For the viewers, we wanted them to be able to shop that look immediately as opposed to, “well you’ll get it in 6 months.”

All of that came into fruition and it was rather miraculous! I still pinch myself when I think about it. We’re just savoring this experience. It’s been phenomenal.

AM: It’s really great to hear that as my background was in Visual Merchandising as well as in Wholesale and I have worked corporate at a number of brands including Lacoste. What you shared is exactly what I love about this show - that perfect balance between creating something beautiful, but also understanding the business behind it which is so important!

TG: Yes!

AM: How do you decide the cast that’s on the show? Last season there were those that I was familiar with and others that were new to me. What are you looking for in terms of that dynamic?

TG: Well, we’re looking for people that have that vision, that have something to say visually, spiritually and practically! We’re looking for – in terms of the group of designers, we’re looking for diversity and points of view. We don’t want a sameness as that wouldn’t be very interesting for the viewers. We’re certainly looking for people who are hungry and really know that this is an amazing experience for them whether they win or they don’t - because of the exposure and because of the profound link of being a part of the Amazon family.

At the same time Kimmie, I have to say that you don’t know, you’re throwing the dice. You don’t know how exactly people are going to perform on the show. You don’t know how they are going to respond to the intensity of the environment and the fact that there are no breaks, we just keep go-go-going. You don’t know and when things do go awry, you hope that you’re able to pick people up and help them along so that they can self-correct in some kind of way. It’s never a dull moment I’ll say that!

AM: With the second season, what are you excited about as I’m sure it was challenging in terms of filming during a pandemic. Here at Athleisure Mag, we went to virtual photoshoots and found a different way to continue. So what are you excited about?

TG: I’m just excited to get the show out and up and to get people watching it! I want to learn things from their feedback. As we know, Season 1, we traveled around the world. Season 2, we stayed put and we were on a ranch in Malibu, California, but the venues that that ranch presented were all so incredibly different, it looks as though we had traveled. It’s hard to believe that we didn’t. We knew that we had to be very diligent and responsible in how we conducted ourselves during that very intense COVID period and we were successful I’m thrilled to say! But it took a lot of diligence and very responsible behavior.

AM: We’re definitely looking forward to seeing you and Heidi as we love your dynamic together. What is it like working with her and having that synergy that you guys naturally seem to have together?

TG: You know, working with Heidi, she’s like a safety valve for me. I relax when I see her, I know that everything is going to be ok, I know that we’re going to have a lot of fun and laugh a lot. She’s like my great antidote to everything that’s bad or unhappy in the world. She brings happiness, she brings light, she brings her incredible spirit – she’s a joy! I’m the luckiest guy in the world!

AM: Tim, it’s been such an honor to be able to talk with you and to hear your insights. I know around Athleisure Mag, whenever there are a number of projects going on from a photoshoot, releasing an issue, organizing schedules etc, I do think about you saying, “make it work” and it just kind of begins to organize the priorities as we approach deadlines.

TG: Absolutely, get that issue out and make it work!

IG @TimGunn

@MakingtheCutTV

@AmazonFashion

PHOTOS COURTESY | Amazon

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see Make it Work with Tim Gunn in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #67 JUL 2021

In this month’s issue, our cover shoot is with WTA 4th Ranked, Australian Open Champion 2020 and French Open 2020 Finalist, Sofia Kenin. We talk about when she fell in love with the sport, training as well as participating in a number of tournament around the world and what she’s focused on this season as we get closer to the US Open. We talk with one of the fashion industries most respected people, Tim Gunn who talks about his career and the 2nd season of Amazon Original’s Making the Cut which is releasing episodes now. We also catch up with Chef Nyesha Arrington about her culinary career, falling in love with food, appearing on a number of shows including BRAVO’s Top Chef, the importance of identity and her upcoming show that she will co-host with Gordon Ramsay in FOX’s Next Level Chef. We talk with Ghanian-American Chef Eric Adjepong who is also a Top Chef Alum. He talks about why sharing his West African culinary POV is so important, projects that he’s working on, his upcoming books and his latest foray with AYO Foods. We became fans of London Brown when we first saw him in HBO’s Ballers. We talk with him about his career as an entertainer, how he frames his characters and his current role as Uncle Marvin in STARZ’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan. He also talks about the importance of giving back and manifesting where you want to be.

This month, country music star, Tyler Rich shares his favorite songs in 9PLAYLIST. Our cover star, Sofia Kenin shares her favorites and why in our 9LIST STORI3S. One of our faves and previous cover, Ray Donovan and The Game (which is getting a reboot on Paramount+) actor, Pooch Hall shares his 9DRIP with us. We also have another former cover, Chef/Restaurateur/TV Personality Jordan Andino, share his 9DRIP with us as well. Celebrity fitness trainer and nutritionist, Harley Pasternak shares his favorites and why in our 9LIST ROUTIN3S. In addition, celebrity chef + TV Personality, Nyesha Arrington shares her 9LIST ROUTIN3S that she enjoys in the morning, afternoon and night. This month’s 9LOOKS shares our favorite looks from Miami Swim Show with a brand that we have always enjoyed sharing, Camilla.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on YUCO in Greenwich Village. This month’s Athleisure List comes from PJ Bernstein and Citrovia. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag.

IN THE STUDIO WITH DON BROOKS

Whether you've been enjoying your workouts or are adding items into the mix, we always like hearing about methods that people are doing. We took some time to chat with celebrity fitness trainer Don Brooks who is also known as Don-A-Matrix. We know of him from episodes on Keeping Up with the Kardashians as he has been the family's trainer for a number of years. We also know that he has sessions for his followers and fans to workout alongside him. We wanted to find out more about his journey into the fitness industry, his method, philosophy and some movements that we can include within our routine.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with fitness and know that you wanted to work in the fitness industry?

DON BROOKS: I’ve always had a passion for fitness and a drive to stay healthy and in shape. Before I became a certified trainer, I was someone who loved working out and the accomplished feeling that comes afterward. When I moved out to San Diego years ago, I knew I wanted to be a trainer but I couldn’t have imagined where it would take me – it’s been a blessing to do what I love everyday with great clients.

AM: What was your journey into the industry as I know you were previously an NFL trainer?

DB: After moving out to San Diego to meet some family who had moved out here previously, I fell in love with the West Coast and it’s incredible weather. I started training a variety of athletes in the San Diego area – eventually working with players on the NFL Chargers – and then decided to move to Los Angeles (where it’s a larger hub) and open up my own location there.

AM: What is your fitness philosophy?

DB: If you put in the effort and hard work, you will see the results you were hoping for.

AM: Tell us about the Don-A-Matrix Method as I know you focus the workout around quarters?

DB: I came up with the Don-A-Matrix method as a way to have a specialized workout resemble a sports game. Similar to a normal basketball or football game, my workout consists of four quarters – but within each quarter, you have 3 sets of two different exercises, combined with a period of rest or relief after each quarter. The method delivers results by challenging the cardio and muscular endurance system to tone and sculpt the body, while burning fat. The rest period also gives participants the chance to rehydrate, which is key for sustaining performance throughout the workout. A natural, low-cal sports drink, like BODYARMOR LYTE is my go-to between quarters because it’s packed with electrolytes, coconut water and vitamins – and doesn’t have anything artificial.

AM: Tell us about your studio.

DB: My Don-A-Matrix Studio is located right in downtown Los Angeles, CA at 7704 Melrose Ave. It’s been a great location for me and my clients – I’m able to host a variety of classes DAILY inside my studio, as well as outside in the back lot.

AM: What is Don-A-Matrix Day?

DB: I’m a native of Petersburg, VA – and grew up in the area – going to Petersburg High School and Virginia State University. I was lucky enough to be honored by the city of Petersburg a few years ago – and they named an official day for me, called “Don-A-Matrix Day.” It’s an honor for me, and I love being able to give back to the community that raised me.

AM: What does an average day or week look like when you are personally working out?

DB: I personally work out every single day – and that could be before or after my personal sessions with clients or even during the sessions, where I'll personally do the workout with them. On any given day, I could realistically end up “working out” 2-3 times a day. Free time is certainly limited!

AM: What are your go to items that you think are important for people to have on hand to have a dynamic workout?

DB: BODYARMOR is #1. It’s important to be hydrated before, during and after a workout. And I LOVE my Don-A-Matrix x Sweet Sweat Fitness Bands, as they are perfect for any workout – and allows you to work in all sorts of different modifications to your standard workout moves.

AM: How important is it for people to have accountability in their workouts and as people are on their journeys of their fitness goals, what should they be looking at to know they are achieving their desired results?

DB: The biggest misconception is that working out will change your body overnight. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case. So it’s 100% about accountability and the ability to stay the course. Results don’t happen overnight and there are going to be times when you want to relax, not workout, give-up, whatever it might be – but don’t. It’s important to keep going and workout even when you’re lazy and don’t want to. We all feel that way – celebrities, athletes, etc. – it’s just a matter of getting up and getting through it because you know that you’ll feel better and accomplished afterwards once you do start to see those results.

AM: For those that are finessing their summer bodies, what would you suggest for arms, abs and glutes?

DB: Here are three examples of specific workouts that target your upper body, lower body and core. Keep in mind, the below include a Bosu Ball and would come in a set, similar to my Don-A-Matrix method.

• Lateral Squats – Start from squatting position and keep one foot on the ground and the other on the Bosu ball. Leap into the air and switch feet. Repeat 20 times.

• Jump Switch Lunge – Start from the lunge position with one foot on the Bosu ball. Jump into the air and land on your opposite foot. Repeat 20 times.

• Push Ups – Start in a plank position, dome side-down, and your hands on the flat side on the Bosu ball. Lower down into a push-up position, hovering your chest off the bosu. Repeat 20 times.

AM: You’ve trained Fergie, Josh Duhamel, Travis Barker and more. When it comes to taking on clients, what are you looking for whether they are your celeb clients or someone who sees your work on TV or online?

DB: If someone wants to work with me, they just have to reach out! I always have open availability, and I enjoy working out with new attendees all the time. You don’t have to be a celebrity, just someone who is serious about wanting to better their body.

AM: We know that in addition to people looking to achieve personal fitness goals, you work with celebs that may have to transform their bodies for roles, how do you approach those projects?

DB: Any of my clients – whether they are celebs or not – have personal goals that they want to attain and that’s why they are reaching out. It’s all about accountability and understanding that you have to put in the work in order to attain those results. So as long as you’re willing to put in the work – and deal with the struggles that come with it – I’m happy to work with anyone who wants to get their mind and body right.

AM: You’ve been a long time trainer to the Kardashians. How does the Don-A-Matrix Method work with them and how is it customizable as we're sure Kim, Kourtney and Khloe have different fitness goals.

DB: Absolutely. To your point, they all have different goals from a fitness and body perspective. The Don-A-Matrix Method is great because it’s flexible for any body type, workout level and more. If we’re trying to work on a specific muscle group or just trying to tone down (or up) the workout, we can mold the Don-A-Matrix workout to each attendee’s specifications – whether that’s tweaking the workout, modifying the number of sets or adding another fitness item to change it up.

AM: We have had the pleasure of talking with a number of trainers such as Harley Pasternak, Gunnar Peterson and Jen Widerstrom about how they had to adjust working with their clients especially since they couldn’t get in the gym with them. Did you find last year’s lockdowns a difficult transition for your clients in terms of their preparation to work out and what did you suggest to them?

DB: It was truly a strange year or time-period for everyone, so it was all about trying to adapt and manage as best as possible. For a lot of my clients, we tried live-streaming workouts and doing at-home workouts – things of that sort. As time progressed, we transitioned into more outdoors workouts, given everyone’s comfortability. But I think overall, it just shows that you have to be adaptable for whatever barrier comes your way.

AM: How did you connect with BODYARMOR and what was synergistic between your brands that you felt this would be a great partnership?

DB: My partnership with BODYARMOR goes back several years now and it’s one that has been beneficial for us both. Obviously, hydration is key for working out – and BODYARMOR makes some incredible products that are better-for-you than the other sports drinks out on the market today. They have clean ingredients, potassium-packed electrolytes and vitamins, and their low calorie/low sugar BODYARMOR LYTE is great for fueling my workouts and helping me recover faster.

AM: How important is hydration while working out and of course, throughout the day?

DB: Hydration is critical to your performance – whether you’re working out or about to start your day. It can often make the difference between you being able to complete that last set or struggling to get it started. And part of that is preparation – you want to be sure that you’re hydrating before, during and after your workout – just so you’re giving your body exactly what it needs for fuel.

IG @DonAMatrixTraining

PHOTOS COURTESY | BODYARMOR

Read the JUN ISSUE #66 of Athleisure Mag and see In the Studio with Don Brooks in mag.

IN THE ZONE WITH RIOT TEN

Over the past few weeks, we've started to see a number of our favorite artists hitting the road to perform at residencies, events and more! It's so exciting to see how we have begun getting into a modified new normal. We caught up with RIOT TEN, a producer and DJ who we have enjoyed including his songs in our playlist. We wanted to find out how he got into the industry, how he stays inspired when making his music, about his new album that launches next month on Dim Mak's label and his upcoming performance at Lollapalooza.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall in love with music and when did you realize that you wanted to work in the industry?

RIOT TEN: For as long as I can remember I always loved music. But it wasn't until the start of high school that I began experimenting with it. That's really where it all started. From then on, I knew I wanted to make music for the rest of my life and there was no one that could tell me otherwise.

AM: How did you get your start?

RT: Well, I guess it depends how you would define "start", but I'd say mine was when I first downloaded FL Studio. I was introduced to it by a friend of mine, Jack Bass, during my sophomore year of High School. The rest is just history.

AM: How would you define your style of music?

RT: I'd describe my style as loud, obnoxious, and high energy. Haha I know it doesn't sound very inviting, but when you're playing in front of thousands of people, and you feel the energy, it makes a bit more sense.

AM: Who would you identify as your mentors musically?

RT: That's a hard one to be honest. As far as producer mentors, I never really had anyone take me under their wing so to speak, but influences are a completely different ferent story. I still draw influence from so many artists, all different genres and different sizes. I also had some artists supporting my music early on that played a big role in my growth. I toured with Yellow Claw, Adventure Club, Excision, and others early on.

AM: You’ve been producing music since you were 15, when did you realize that you wanted to DJ and at what point did you feel that you made it in the industry?

RT: I was around 18 I believe, playing at house parties, when I realized I wanted to DJ. The energy from those parties was something I'd never felt and I was addicted to it. And I'd say I was around 25 when I began feeling "legitimate" in the scene. I know I still have a long way to go, so even though I may be on a larger stage, I still don't necessarily feel like I've "made it"... If that makes sense. When I start headlining festivals, and my music hits #1 on Billboard, maybe then I can rest.

AM: You’re known for dubstep and hardtrap, when you’re not making music, who do you enjoy listening to when you’re just relaxing at home?

RT: I'm a big fan of rap and hiphop, so when I'm driving I'm usually listening to that. Some Smokepurpp, DaBaby, Ludacris, Lil Jon, etc. If I'm relaxing at home, some chill house music does the job. Artists like Kaskade, Deadmau5, stuff like that. But if I'm in my feels, I love some Hans Zimmer, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ryuichi Sakamoto. That might come as a surprise to some.

AM: Creatively, what’s your process like when you’re creating your music?

RT: It really varies. Sometimes I have a concept of what i want to do and other times I just play around with sounds and see if something cool comes out of it. There are also times where i'll just sit there for hours and nothing good comes out of it. Patience is key.

AM: This past year or so has been one that we couldn’t have scripted. With the lack of being able to tour and with plans being in the air, how did you approach continuing to make music?

RT: It was a hard time for so many of us, but I really do think I wrote some of the best music I've ever made. It gave me so much more time to really experiment, hone in on my craft with different sounds and styles, etc... Although financially difficult, in hindsight it was everything I really needed to continue my career.

AM: What did you learn about yourself during the pandemic?

RT: I realized that I wanted to help others more. I wanted to do more good deeds and be a better person overall. I've always believed in good energy, so the time off at home really helped me actualize it.

AM: We have been playing “Don’t You” on loop as it’s cool to listen to when you’re relaxing but is also awesome for working out. This song has such an ethereal quality to it, what inspired you in creating this?

RT: Honestly, this song was a bit of an accident. It was just one of those times when I was messing around with random sounds while warming up. I started to catch a groove and it literally all came together in the same session. For me, the vocals really opened up a lot of possibilities in the song and sort of became the glue.

AM: You’re releasing your latest album, Hype or Die: Homecoming in July on Dim Mak, tell us about the album and what can we expect?

RT: It's my best body of work, hands down. As far as expectations, you can expect a lot of different styles of bass music. Some of the songs are slow, some fast, some high energy, some more melodic, some aggressive, some tame. I think overall the listening experience is the best I've put out and I am beyond excited for this release.

AM: Who are 3 people that you have yet to work with that are on your list?

RT: Honestly an easy #1 for me is Meek Mill. The energy and rawness he has is something I've always wanted on a song of mine. For the more melodic stuff that I make I would love to work with Maroon 5, or at least Adam. His voice is A1. And on the production side, however cliche it seems, Skrillex would be the ultimate collaboration.

AM: With things reopening again, you’re back on the road performing and you have a number of festivals coming up – you’re playing Lollapalooza – how excited are you to play this festival as well as to get back to juggling a schedule?

RT: I think excited would be the understatement of the century. Haha playing at Lollapalooza has been a bucket lister of mine since I began touring and I'm going to make a major statement with that set. Overall though, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy being at home with the family, so I'm going to miss that a lot. But nothing beats delayed flights, airport food, and crying babies on a plane every week. I'm so ready for it all again. haha

AM: Are there additional projects that you have coming up that we should keep an eye out for?

RT: Sitting on A LOT of unreleased music right now. We have a new single this month with a music video, a full length album in July, and I just about have the follow up EP finished as well. In addition, I have a side project that I'll be announcing soon as well. We've released a handful of singles already under the alias, but I've yet to disclose my involvement. Excited to see the reaction to this!

AM: When you’re not making music or hitting the road, what do you do in your downtime?

RT: I'm at home with my 2 boys and my girlfriend. I really don't like to go anywhere when I'm not traveling, so you can catch me spending time with the family or playing Xbox with friends. I'd consider myself a gamer, so I definitely like to escape sometimes and play some Apex Legends and Rocket League.

IG @RIOTTENMUSIC

PHOTOS COURTESY | RIOT TEN

Read the Jun Issue #66 of Athleisure Mag and see In the Zone with RIOT TEN in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #66 JUN 2021

In this month’s issue, our cover shoot is with World Champion Skateboard professional and member of Team USA who will debut this event at the Olympics in Tokyo next month, Heimana Reynolds. We talk about how he fell in love with the sport, training as well as participating in a number of events around the world and taking it to the global stage.  We talk with Don Brooks aka Don-A-Matrix, celebrity fitness trainer to the Kardashians, Fergie, Travis Barker and more. We talk about his work with the NFL led him to creating his own fitness method, working with his clients and how we can add various routines into our workouts. We also catch up with celebrity fitness trainer and sports nutritionist, Harley Pasternak who shares workouts we can do when we may not have equipment, go to bites and the importance of hydration. EDM artist RIOT TEN talks about his upcoming album dropping next month, his tour and his creative process. We had an in-depth conversation about the efficacy of vaccines on organ transplant and immunocompromised patients with world renowned organ transplant surgeon, Dr. Dorry Segev MD, PhD (a Major K. and Thomas Pozefsjy Professor of Surgery and Epidemiology and Associate Vice Chair of Surgery at John Hopkins University. He is the founder and director of the Epidemiology Research Group in Organ Transportation). We find out more about one of our favorite golf tournaments, THE NORTHERN TRUST which returns to Jersey City at the Liberty National Golf Club Aug 16 -22nd. Executive Director of the PGA TOUR, Julie Tyson talks about how she came to the golf industry, what is involved in creating this event as well as how important it is to the season as well as the communities that it is played in.

This month, Team USA Diving’s, Steele Johnson shares his favorite songs in 9PLAYLIST. Celebrity Hairstylist and Founder of Beachwaver Sarah Potempa shares her favorites and why in our 9LIST STORI3S. EDM and Dim Mak artist, RIOT TEN shares his 9DRIP with us. Journalist, broadcaster and podcaster Catt Sadler shares her favorites and why in our 9LIST ROUTIN3S. In addition, country music star, Tyler Rich shares his 9LIST ROUTIN3S that he enjoys in the morning, afternoon and evening. Our 9PLAYLIST 9MIX 9ACOUSTIC performance is by Ultra Record’s OMI. 

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack focuses on Concord Hill in Brooklyn. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Birch Aquarium and Crystal Springs Resort. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the Jun Issue #66 of Athleisure Mag.

CHANGE AGENTS NEEDED WITH GURWIN SINGH AHUJA

This month, we talked with Gurwin Singh Ahuja whose career has included his public service in focusing on Civil Rights, working in the Obama Administration as well as being focused on the importance of sustainable access to cure issues such as Climate Change and being ready for how we go about our work as we continue to evolve.

Although Gurwin has worked in various political capacities, it's worth noting that he interned at the National Economic Council in the Executive Office of the President during the Obama Administration; he was a National Field Coordinator for the re-election campaign for President Barack Obama's 2nd term; he founded the Know Your Neighbor Coalition which partnered with the White House to enhance civil rights policies at the US Department of Justice, US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of Education, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; he also worked as a Special Assistant and later an Advisor to the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President during the Obama Administration to name a few. He also became the Co-Founder and Advisor to We Are Sikhs, an organization advocating what Sikhism stands for the equality of women and men and denounces any discrimination pertaining to gender, race, caste, creed, religion, or color.

In addition to being the Director of Strategic Communications at The Glover Park Group, a leading strategic communications and government affairs firm which was founded by former White House and Democratic campaign officials Carter Eskew, Michael Feldman, Joe Lockhart and Chip Smith, he continues to fight for change. He's focused on a sustainable marketplace he founded, Salvos which allows people to make conscious choice through their purchase power. We talk with him about his career, the importance of making an impact in order to make a change and what he wants his legacy to be seen as.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We were looking forward to this interview as you have covered a number of areas from your political involvement to launching Salvos, the sustainable marketplace, what did you think you were going to be when you were growing up?

GURWIN SINGH AHUJA: That’s a great question. I didn’t know really. If you had told me about the stuff that I did when I was a kid, I wouldn’t have believed you. I wouldn’t have thought that those things would have been possible for someone like myself. I was a fairly average student. I was a pretty confused kid. I didn’t really get it together until I was 19/20 years old.

AM: That response is surprising as I know you graduated from Ohio State and went to grad school at Columbia Business School!

GSA: Yeah, I didn’t go to Ohio State initially, I was rejected, I went to a community college at the University of Dayton and then I transferred to Ohio State. When I got there, I then excelled.

AM: Last fall, we had Kal Penn as a cover and some of our readers had no idea that he was involved in politics and served in the Obama Administration just like you, what made you interested in politics?

GSA: It was really Barack Obama to be honest with you, I was following the election closely as an 18 year old and I remember sitting in my US government class thinking that before I knew who Obama was, I thought, maybe there would be a Black president when I’m old. Given the trajectory of the progress of our social fabric of our country effectively, I watched him and it inspired me. You saw somebody and sometimes this trope is over used – but you saw somebody who was literally a person of color and at that time, it was very unique, there’s been many strides since then. As an 18 year old, I thought, if he can do it, maybe I can do it. If I work hard, apply myself and do the things that I’m supposed to do, that really helped to focus my attention and I wanted to get involved in politics because of him. I never would have guessed that I would actually end up working for him.

AM: As a Black Co-Founder of this media house, I remember seeing him and thinking that in my lifetime, I would never see a Black president and what that has created has been phenomenal. Historically, the different things that have taken place in this country, you never would have thought that something like that would happen.

What was it like working with him to lend your voice, be in service and to make change happen?

GSA: To that point, I remember watching him get elected and I was sitting in my dorm room and 4 years later, I remember this very distinctly and I was in his boiler room on election day. The boiler room is kind of the place to be with all of the big people that are there – the campaign manager, the CEO of Google was a volunteer for the campaign, top White House staff – I’m sitting in that room 4 years later at 22 years old! It was wild to go from in a dorm room to that.

In working in his administration, it was what you would expect it to be. It was a very buttoned up operation, very professional operation and working in the administration actually generated hope for me. I was like, “wow this is how politics work and how politicians are.” We have learned that he is more of an aberration than a base case really. It was his personality that really permeated through the organization. I think that the fact that he was such an underdog made the people around him, we all became family.

AM: We enjoyed the We Are Sikhs Funny or Die video, Let's Talk About Turbans. The exchange that takes place as people are trying to communicate with those that come from a different background and making it so awkward as opposed to just saying it really resonated.

GSA: That was kind of the purpose of that. The subliminal message of that is that we’re all human beings and we should just treat each other as human beings as opposed to being avatars for the groups that we belong to.

AM: We believe that looking at someone from a particular race does not mean that they are the representative of that entire group – as they are not a monolith. Seeing that in that video and once again making that statement that one should ask about a person’s particulars and not making it an assumption for everyone was also a great message that you shared. As long as it’s respectfully done, you can just ask! How did you come up with We Are Sikhs? What’s the purpose of it and what’s behind it – what’s your involvement in it?

GSA: I’m the Co-Founder of that as there are other founders. The thing that motivated me and this goes back to the Obama campaign during 2012, there were a group of white supremacists that went into a Sikh Temple and started shooting people. 6 People died and 1 person was permanently paralyzed and it was kind of jarring. At that time, discussions about these kinds of ideologies and people were really not mainstream. The Sikh community, our core beliefs and organizing principles are: gender equality, racial equality, religious tolerance and the belief in one universal God. So very universal beliefs but because we have beards and turbans and we're from India but we look Middle Eastern in a post-911 world, there was a lot of confusion about who we were and what we stood for. I remember sitting there and thinking, if our community could just capture 1/100th of the magic of this campaign, maybe not for an attack of this degree – but the bullying and discrimination would die down. So basically, I got some of Obama’s top people like David Axelrod and his firm, people that really put together his message which has become famous of hope and change. I had them work with my community to put together a very comprehensive campaign that has become successful beyond my imagination. We had the opportunity to work with Funny or Die, Ben and Jerry’s, UFC, NBA and so many amazing organizations. We won a bunch of different industry awards like the Shorty Awards for the video. It’s been something else!

The Funny or Die video came about in an interesting way. When President Trump became president, there were a lot of racial tensions obviously and it was shocking for me and it kind of shook my beliefs in the country for a couple of months. Then once we started going out and talking to people, I noticed that there was a high capacity for people to learn, but there was this feeling that despite their political ideology – unless they were so out there, most people who don’t care about politics all that much, not as much as I did, I found that there was this wall of hesitancy to get engaged because they didn’t want to be called out or to be called a racist. I wanted people to ask questions because we were so different and the only way that they could gather information – because they wouldn’t learn it in school about our community. I wanted people to ask questions. I sensed this hesitancy. I know that when you establish that you’re willing to have a conversation and you can see that the other person is going to be respectful, a lot of dialogue is able to happen. I wanted to do it from that angle. I also took a lot of inspiration from The Office and funny enough, some of the people from that show has seen it like Rainn Wilson (plays Dwight Schrute) and a few others. None the less, the point was to create a common humanity.

AM: What is – whether it’s your platform or the organization’s platform coming off of a pandemic and an election, there is a whole social justice movement that took place last summer and now we’re focused on hate crimes happening to Asians, with your focus on civil rights and equality, how are you using your platform to lend your thoughts to these issues?

GSA: That’s a great question. I think about them everyday and I engage with people on it everyday in a variety of capacities. One thing that we did to give a larger voice to a large number of communities which started at the White House was a program called Know Your Neighbor. It was modeled after We are Sikhs – it hadn’t launched yet but there were sketches of that launch. We had a lot of polling that influenced the White House to start Know Your Neighbor which was helpful to spread awareness on a range of communities. There were 2 moments that influenced Know Your Neighbor and we renewed it under the Biden Administration. There was 1 more minor incident that people probably struggle to remember because it was in the news for only a day. There were some Muslim kids that were in a parking dispute and they were killed and the other one where there was a kid who was 18/19 who lost their life over an argument. Obviously, the more famous incident that people know more about, the shooting in South Carolina at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the kid went in, went to the prayer service and murdered everyone after. That was another influencing moment and we renewed this under the Biden Administration as the White House is partnered with us on that. It ended up changing a lot of policy in the Obama Administration and it’s just under way in the Biden Administration. Hopefully we can change more Civil Rights policy. Interestingly, all the people that helped form the program on the administration side are back in the same roles. So it makes it super easy!

AM: Do you have an official capacity under the Biden Administration?

GSA: I don’t have an official capacity under the Biden Administration, I’m a fan of the President and I do help the administration on a few things here and there.

AM: How are you able to manage all of these hats that you’re wearing with these organizations, you’re with the Glover Park Group as well as Salvos, your sustainable marketplace – how are you able to do that?

GSA: That’s a great question. I work an fuck ton! There’s absolutely no way around that. Another interesting thing is because we’re in a pandemic, it’s hard to socialize – it’s either that or I watch TV!

AM: How did you decide to create Salvos – there is a vast assortment.

GSA: We’re actually working to narrow it down to things that really sell well. You’ve structured this conversation kind of personally. My interest in climate change has really been driven from all of the social justice and equality work that I have been doing.

The bigger picture here is that climate change is going to be a very serious threat to the world. Obviously, we’re going to survive it, but it’s going to change a lot of things. When I say changes, I’m not just talking about the sea levels getting higher or the weather being crazier. It will fundamentally change where people live, how they grow food and there’s going to be hundreds of millions of people that can’t live where they are living and will have to leave. This will cause tensions in places where they are moving in. We’re worried about xenophobia today which is pretty modest in terms of immigration and refugees. I can only imagine when a solid percentage of the world has to migrate and that people will have to change the way that they work. Most of the world is still just farmers working on their own farm. Small farmers will not be able to work and will need things to do. We are already in a situation where the number of quality jobs are shrinking. My point in saying all of that is that we have this vision of the future that is always going to be more prosperous and just from the past. I think that climate change really creates a situation where the future may not be a more is more future – it may be more chaotic. We have to change our economy to mitigate these effects so that we can preserve all of these positive changes that we have been able to work towards for over a century!

AM: Wow, that’s a thought. The more things change, our very way that we go about doing what we do will also be very different.

GSA: So, bringing it back to the business and bringing it more closer to Earth, we have this big problem – being sustainable is hard! I even have a hard time doing it! It’s hard because it’s unclear whether the products you’re getting are sustainable and if you’re being greenwashed. It’s hard to find them. We wanted to make a place, where people could make at least 1 change, find genuinely sustainable products in one place and we’re slowly building. We will narrow things down to focus more on home and bath because that is what has been selling well and that makes sense. We’re ultimately trying to provide credible products, to make one change to ultimately mitigate the effects that we talked about earlier.

AM: What is your criterion? Being someone who outside of Athleisure Mag. My career is rooted in fashion as a Celebrity Fashion Stylist and as an Accessory Expert. In the jewelry business for example, there is a whole issue with Blood Diamonds and knowing the supply chain from where it’s put together to how it comes forward so you know that you can identify where the problems are should a part of the chain not be in compliance. How are you doing that from your side in terms of onboarding those products and those brands?

GSA: That’s a great question! There’s 3 cases of the criteria. The first one is the material – is it a more sustainable material? Like it is made with bamboo instead of plastic, is the clothing made out of hemp as opposed to regular cotton. The second one is the actual use case. Is the use case actually sustainable? If it’s biodegradable is it living up to its claim? There is one product that exemplifies the use case methodology which is – we sell these phone cases by Pela, they make biodegradable phone cases. They’re basically big hunks of plastic and they work. If you dig it into the ground, within a few months, it's going to go away which is kind of crazy. I use it today and it’s one of the best sustainable products that I use and the case is just as good as a normal case. I don’t even know we have normal cases and I have dropped my phone a number of times and it’s super protective. I’m not sacrificing anything by using it and when it’s done, it will just got away as opposed to being here for thousands of years. Third, the most important one, like you said – the supply chain is super important. It’s very difficult to monitor it so the way that we hack it is the certifications that are out there that assesses companies and their products that are done by scientists that are far outside of our capabilities. So we look for products that have genuine eco-friendly certifications.

AM: I think it’s smart as I would do this when consulting with the retail industry that you do have to look at the numbers in order to hone in on the assortment and to do swingshops on the other items. To see everything there was interesting.

GSA: It’s hard, there are a lot of products with varying quality some are good and some aren’t – it’s just interesting as I dug into it, to see all the issues and successes of the industry.

AM: What other projects are you working on as you seem to be oscillating between a number of things. I’m sure like us, even when you’re relaxing, you’re thinking ahead to the next group of things that you want to embark on.

GSA: I know what you mean! I have made a vow to myself to take a breath and not to add more stuff. I’m finding that I have had a decade of craziness and doing a lot of stuff and sometimes doing a lot of stuff, doesn’t actually help in generating new ideas, sometimes it just makes you tired. So I don’t know – I’d be interesting to hear your experience on that. I’m trying to pause myself from doing more and more. The more I am going to do, the less I will be able to actually do it.

AM: I can agree with that. I also find that when people know you for certain things or they understand that you have an adjacency that works, it becomes very difficult. I have a 3 layered system – anything I take on, has to actively support what is already going on. If it’s reasonably adjacent, you’re not spitting yourself too much. But if you ask me if I want to go to Mars tomorrow, I wouldn’t see how that works well within what I am already doing. But if it’s reasonable, the timeline works, you find yourself saying ok – and then in the middle of the night you’re like ok that was a chunk right there.

The pandemic allowed us to hone in on things that maybe we wouldn’t have greenlit before because we were looking at being busy in other ways. We’ve been able to analyze and understand what we really want to do and to look at the resource allocation to see it in its proper light.

What do you want your legacy to be?

GSA: I think about it often. When I was in business school they made us think about this. I’m not sure if I want to be known as doing any one particular kind of thing or job per se. In some ways that’s outside of my hands as many things are out of my control. I think what is in my control for today and moving on with life, the thing that motivates me from all my projects is that we see each other as humans and as equal despite our differences. That’s what motivates me throughout all of these people and work. It motivated me to get involved in politics with Barack Obama because I saw myself and it motivated me as I saw us as equals, to do We Are Sikhs and Know Your Neighbor because I wanted other people to see each other as equals and it motivated me to do sustainability and climate change because I see that problem and that situation getting worse if we don’t handle this issue. That’s what motivates me and I hope that when my life is over and everything is done, I can be seen as somebody who helped to see one another’s common humanity.

IG @GurwinAhuja

Read the May Issue #65 of Athleisure Mag and see Change Agents Needed with Gurwin Singh Ahuja in mag.

MINDFUL DEDICATION WITH CHRIS BRICKLEY

As we head closer to the NBA Playoffs, we caught up with Chris Brickley, a Player Development Coach who played at the University of Louisville under Rick Pitino, worked with players at the NY Knicks and launched a successful training company, BlackOps Basketball. His training has been sought after by a number of basketball players, entertainers and more.

We took some time in between his busy schedule to find out about how he built his career, how he became so influential in the sport as well as his personal projects.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with the game of basketball?

CHRIS BRICKLEY: I fell in love with the game at 11 years old. I realized I could use the game to do some amazing things and I became obsessed with it.

AM: You played at the University of Louisville under Rick Pitino and went on to coaching at Ole Miss and being the youngest assistant coach at an NCAA Division I school at Fairleigh Dickinson University. What is it about coaching that you enjoy?

CB: Being in love with the game of basketball and learning from Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to teach young men the game of basketball and the game of life.

AM: How did you transition from coaching there to being at the NY Knicks?

CB: When I was coaching at FDU, I would workout JR Smith at night at Manhattan College. That season JR was 6th man of the year. The Knicks heard about me and hired me.

AM: What is a Player Development Coach and what do you do in that role when it comes to interacting with your players?

CB: My role was to make development plans for all of the players and to make sure during the off-season and season they were constantly improving. I loved it.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to start BlackOps Basketball and why was that important for you to do?

CB: Being with the Knicks for 4 seasons, I believed that I had enough connections to branch out on my own. Even though leaving a guaranteed Knicks contract wasn’t easy, I’m glad I made the decision. BlackOps Basketball is something I am proud about.

AM: What are your days like with your clients during the season and off season?

CB: During the season, it’s a lot of text convos and dinners, taking about their games and what they can do better. The off-season is grind time - we make a plan and work extremely hard to attack that plan.

AM: When it comes to taking on clients as you have a number of NBA stars, those looking to hone their skills for college as well as those that are entertainers, what do you look for?

CB: I look for players and people that genuinely love the game and want to get better. You don’t need to be an NBA star or a celeb, you just need to be urgent about getting better. Simple as that.

AM: What kind of intake questions do you ask for those that have worked with you for the first time? Do you ask what they want to improve, athletes that they want to play like etc?

CB: We have many conversations before we start up. I ask them what they think they need to improve & work on. I tell the them what I think they need to improve and work on and we come to a common ground. Then we work.

AM: In working with your clients, how much interaction do you have with their teams’ coaches?

CB: I have a lot of interaction. In the off-season players coaches will come in the gym and watch the workouts. They will also give me stuff to focus on.

AM: You have also been working with J. Cole who will premiere this month playing for the Rwanda Patriots BBC for the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League. I know this was a dream for him to play at a pro level, what was it like working with him to get him to this dream?

CB: J. Cole was someone I looked up to way before working with him. So to work with him every night for 4-5 months was amazing. He got so much better and now he’s a pro!

AM: I know that Quavo has worked with you for a while and introduced you to Travis Scott, which brought you on tour with him, how do you schedule your time as your work can literally take you anywhere?

CB: So Quavo is one of my close friends so shout-out to him. When he introduced me to Travis, Travis asked me immediately to come on tour with him. His tour hit all the NBA cities and it was during the winter so it worked perfectly. I could work with Travis and also see my clients in their cities. Shoutout my guy Travis!

AM: We’ve enjoyed looking at your feed over the years where you’ve shared pick up games at Life Time Athletic with LeBron James, James Harden, Carmelo Anthony etc. – how did these come about and did you realize that this would be such a draw for others to want to participate in as well?

CB: One night Melo and I were hanging out in Puerto Rico and he said when we get back to NYC schedule a pickup game. He said he wanted to play some 5 on 5. The first one I scheduled had Kevin Durant, Kemba Walker, JR Smith along with 10 other NBA players, it went viral and the rest is history.

AM: How do you take time for yourself when you’re not watching games, prepping for your clients, working with them in person, etc.?

CB: I listen to music, hangout with friends and go on walks. Music and walks are my peace of mind.

AM: You’ve partnered with BODYARMOR. How did this partnership come about and what is it about your synergy that made sense for you to work with one another?

CB: I’m very excited about my new partnership with BODYARMOR. Seeing the growth they’ve had in the last few years and the potential they have to do more – along with the fact that they have incredible athlete investors who I regularly work with like Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Trae Young – it was a no-brainer for me. I know my brand and company is still on the rise too, so we’re both grinding to be the best out there and that makes it even more special.

AM: Why do you like including BODYARMOR within your routine?

CB: Now more than ever, athletes and trainers – like myself – are paying close attention to what we put in our bodies. To perform like the best, you need to prepare like the best – and hydration plays a major role in that. BODYARMOR is my go-to because it gives me exactly what I need – potassium-packed electrolytes, vitamins, and antioxidants – to ensure I’m feeling my best out on the court and can perform to my highest level.

AM: Tell me about Color Blind. What’s the ethos behind it and what is the product assortment that’s currently available?

CB: Color Blind is my baby! It means so much to me. I love fashion and I love the meaning. It represents the light in all of us Doesn’t matter your race, your gender, your religion, we are all humans. I have some amazing collabs coming soon! I can’t wait for you guys to see.

AM: What other projects are you working on that you’re able to share with us? Based on your IG, it seems like you’re working on some music?

CB: Yes BlackOps Presents ‘Welcome To The Grind’, it is going to be the soundtrack for all hoopers and athletes across the world. When athletes and people in general are working out I want them to play this album. The album has some of the biggest names in music. It’s going to be a classic!

IG @CBrickley603

@BlackOps.basketball

@ColorBlind

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 56 - 61 Chris Brickley/Social | PG 64 BODYARMOR |

Read the May issue #65 of Athleisure Mag and see Mindful Dedication with Chris Brickley in mag.