BRAIN HEALTH IS KEY | ALTON BROWN

This month, we had the pleasure to sit down and talk with Chef Alton Brown who is known as a TV Personality, super informative food scientist, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. Growing up, we enjoyed watching Food Network's Good Eats so much, which examined the origins of ingredients, and shares culinary customs and shared recipes with us. In addition, we enjoyed watching him host Iron Chef America on the network as well as Netflix's Iron Chef: Quest For An Iron Legend.

His passion behind the science of food, as well as its history, is always exciting to learn about. We took some time to find out about brain health, how he got into the industry and his partnership with Neuriva.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I have been a fan of your work ever since 1999 when I saw the first episode of Good Eats on Food Network!

ALTON BROWN: Oh wow! You were in grade school?

AM: Hmm ’99, I was in college!

AB: It’s funny, it still sounds recent. When I hear someone say 1999, I’m like that’s not too far away!

AM: Same! I was born in ’79 so I don’t feel it’s that far away!

AB: I graduated from high school in ’79!

AM: We’re always talking about health – fitness, gut, mental, and we don’t always get to brain health. But that is an important component as well. Why is it important to you?

AB: Well I really started to think about it a lot when I was thinking about the fact that I was going to turn 60 soon. I studied nutrition so much and I have read so much about it – I have probably forgotten a lot but, I hadn’t really spent a lot of time thinking about what my brain actually needed from me from a culinary standpoint, a supplemental standpoint, an exercise standpoint, or any standpoint. So I started doing a fair amount of research from a few years ago reading peer review papers and I have always enjoyed research. When I got a call from Neuriva, I was like, I already know what is in there, because I have already read papers on ashwagandha and papers on NeuroFactor and so it was very clear to me very quickly that they were very into the science, as was I. That’s how that started and that’s how I got interested in learning about what brains need and they are very complex organs. They do need things and a lot of what it is that they need, is that we need to feed them. The rest, I think supplementally helps.

For me, I break it down into exercise, quality sleep – which most of us do not get – as sleep is gigantic and really almost more important than exercise, nutrition, and what I call – brain stretching. For me, I always need to be in a state of always learning about something that I don’t know. It’s about studying and not just reading for fun. I have to have the ability to actively acquire information.

AM: Yeah, like putting the pieces together.

AB: Right, or my brain gets lazy. It does the equivalent of cracking a beer and sitting down in front of the TV if it’s not actively learning. That’s my brain – not me!

AM: Of course not you!

AB: I’m not a beer person!

And the other part is supplements. When I was studying nutrition from a brain standpoint, I thought there are a lot of things that I would like to get, but it’s just hard to get in food. You can, but not easily because you would have to eat a whole lot of something that you don’t want to. So I break it down into those 5 parts. I try to learn and now that I am in my 60’s, I need to try to learn enough so that my brain can continue to go for perhaps a little while longer.

AM: So what is Neuriva?

AB: You mean the actual supplement itself?

AM: Yes!

AB: Well, there are several of them. They have different things in them, but really, it’s a matter of adding, so the original Neuriva has this thing called NeuroFactor which is an extract from coffee berries – not the seeds, the berries. It also has Phosphatidylserine which is a phospholipid which supports cell membranes especially in the brain. So those 2 chemicals together – originally they were obtained from animal sources and then someone figured out how to get them from soybeans so it’s vegetable derived now. But those 2 things together formed a core of the two nutrients that I was interested in that I couldn’t just get.

You can get coffee berries for your beverage, but you need a lot and I’d rather take them in this supplement. On top of that I don’t really like the way that it tastes. For the Phosphatidylserine, it’s just almost impossible to get. So, those 2 things help you do maintenance for connectivity and cell membranes and then they added Neuriva Plus which brought B6 and B12 to they party. They are very symbiotic vitamins for brain health with those others. Then when Ultra came out, that added an extract from a member of the ginger family – Galangal – there are 4 different kinds of Galangals in the ginger family. They are wonderful for enhancing alertness. I like that one because it also works symbiotically with caffeine. It doesn’t have caffeine, but it works with it and I am a coffee person, so I have moved to that. It’s the same package plus the B Vitamins, plus that extract so it’s kind of like, you can get the base model or the extra! Of course when they come out with their next one, I don’t know! Because now that they have used Ultra, I told them to be careful about that as when it's out, what are you going to do? I mean what’s next, Super Ultra?

AM: Just hearing you talk about how you delve into the base parts of how things come together, how did you come to the culinary industry?

AB: I was a filmmaker, cinematographer, and director for TV commercials. I watched food shows and back in the late 80’s and the 90’s, I thought that they were boring and I knew that I wasn’t really learning anything. It was like, I have another recipe, great. But I don’t know why and I don’t know why any of this works?

I wanted shows that were more exciting and more visual. I wanted to know more on why that was going on and no one wanted to make that show.

So I quit and I went to culinary school. When I went to culinary school, I realized that they weren’t going to show me why either. Luckily, there was another college in this little town I went to for culinary school in Vermont and they had a library that we could use. So they would publish their chemistry reading list and I just went and started studying it because unfortunately, science is the answer to just about everything. There’s a science play everywhere, not necessarily for matters of the heart, but everything else.

So I think that I got addicted in a way that was chemical to telling those stories and to get people excited and to get people to be curious. It sparked in me a curiosity engine that I wouldn’t want to turn off.

AM: We love hearing about people's routines! What are 3 things that they enjoy doing, having, enjoying/being in the Morning, Afternoon, and at Night. We call this 63MIX ROUTIN3S.

AB: This has very much come out of my brain studies.

AM: I assumed!

AB: As a matter of fact, I'm not naturally a routine person. The only routine that I used to have was that I will stumble out somewhere and I will find coffee. When I went to bed, where I got to bed – at that time, everything was about work. I would work until 4 in the morning and then when I got up, I did it all over again.

So now with this routine that I have, it's about sleep and I have a bed time! I have a bed time. I have a bed hour that I have to get to bed during. Somewhere between 10:30 and 11:30, I must be in bed.

I can’t look at a screen at least 2 hours before then. It screws up everything. I can read, but it has to be a book. I have to get that sleep!

I also have a time that I get up and it’s no later than 6:30 in the morning. Because the morning to me is like stolen time it’s before you have to do things for other people. I’m working on my first collection of essays and memoirs stuff right know which has been a very challenging thing right now. I write better in the morning and I edit what I wrote at night better at this time. So that's a very big one.

My wife and I, Elizabeth, do not eat after 8pm at night. If that’s not enforced, you automatically set a clock where it forces at least a 15 hour break for the next day which puts me off my schedule for breakfast!

And then the other thing that I won't call a routine is that I used to say, ok, I'm going to workout. It's like, I have to put on clothes that I don't like.

AM: No 3-piece suits!

AB: It depends! I knew that it would be an hour and a half and that I would hate it. So instead, I have learned to break it up into chunks. I do micro workouts! I try to do 3 of them everyday. One of them has to be weight related. It doesn’t have to be a lot of weight.

One of them has to be 100% cardio. It can be fast - or when we're in NY, we have an apartment here and we live in Atlanta. If there is a coffeeshop that I want to go to like when we have our apartment here in NY, as opposed to picking the one on our block, I’ll pick one that is 3 miles away. So I earn -

AM: You earn that coffee!

AB: Yes! So there's always a cardio, there's always a weightlifting and this is going to sound so stupid, but my wife read this book called Breathe and convinced me that the entirety of my life, I had been breathing wrong. I don’t meditate because it makes me fall asleep, but I literally stop and work on nothing but breathing for half an hour.

AM: Breathwork is so important!

AB: Well I never knew that! I just thought that is was eh?

AM: I started doing it about a year ago and it really is effective!

AB: I was like, I'm already breathing! But the truth is, I'm a scuba diver and when I got the scuba diving training when I was much much younger, breath control was such a huge huge part of making your air last and not sinking all of the time, so it reminded me of that training that I went through and it's incredibly effective both mentally and physically! Two years ago, I wouldn't have been into it!

AM: It has been such a pleasure to chat with you and to be able to meet you and being such a fan of Good Eats as well as other shows that you have been on!

We enjoyed interviewing Alton and in addition to having time to talk with him, we enjoyed an intimate dinner party with him and the Neuriva team that would fuel our brain health.

Over our four course dinner at Hearth, Chef Marco Canora's (founder of Bone Broth brand, Brodo) Tuscan-American farm-to-table restaurant in the East Village of NYC, Alton walked us through each of the dishes! Of course, he provided the science behind them and why they are effective. Our first course was the Ribollita. It's an honor to share some select notes highlighted by Chef Alton from this special dinner.

AB: I’m so excited that we’re sharing this intimate dinner party together and as we enjoy our various courses, I’m going to tell you a bit about the brain nutrients that are involved in the dishes that we’re going to enjoy! The brain needs a number of nutrients for its health and you can get those outside of a supplementary way. One of the ingredients is coffee berries – I like coffee but I don’t like the berries and I’m not a fan of the taste and another one is Phosphatidylserine which is a lipid, a phospholipid that we used to get from brains in animals and now we get them from soybeans. It helps to build and maintain cell membranes and I want this stuff, I need to get this, and I can’t get enough of it in food. Then, all of a sudden there was the original Neuriva formula which I believe only contained those two things. So I knew it was the supplement for me as I wouldn’t be able to get enough of it in food.

So not too long after that, I was called up by them and I thought yes, get your scientists on the phone because I want to talk about white papers and everything. So it happened very naturally to partner with Neuriva and it’s been a couple of great years. I have been taking the product for awhile now and Ultra happens to be my favorite because it works really nicely when the caffeine hits.

We have a very stimulating evening ahead and we also have what I like to call instead of a Tasting Menu, a Thinking Menu as we talk about food. Everybody knows what the Mediterranean Diet (Editor’s Note: The Mediterranean Diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s.) is as it can be a bit loosey goosey and sexy and cool. It has had some great effects. From that is another diet that emerged from it known as the DASH Diet (Editor’s Note: Known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, it is a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life) that some of you may not have heard of that is a version of the Mediterranean Diet that was designed specifically for people that were fighting hypertension problems. So if anyone with us was in the 80s we used to have these things called Graphic Equalizer Stereos that turned things up and down on different parts of the soundwave and that’s what that diet did. It went for the hypertension part and removed salt and then it did some other things. Then in the 2015, Martha Clare Morris came up with the MIND Diet (Editor’s Note: Known as The Mediterranean – DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay Diet combines portions of the DASH Diet and the Mediterranean Diet which have been shown to improve cognition) and it takes the same componentry of the Mediterranean Diet and changing it up for our brains. What would our brains want out of that diet? It’s a little bit different as it emphasizes some other components that might not have been as focused as much. For instance, all the diets have fruit! No one is going to talk bad about fruit. The MIND Diet says, you know what? The brain really wants dark berries. Blueberries - eat your blueberries. Have more olive oil, eat more leafy greens. No one is going to say anything bad about these things either. The MIND Diet has more poultry, even more than fish! There is a substance in poultry called choline (Editor’s Note: Found in poultry, this prevents abnormal storage of fat in the liver, which ensures proper body metabolism and efficient utilization of nutrients. It also supports the proper functioning of the nervous system and ensures its harmony.) which is really hard to get anywhere else, but in good lean, protein meat. Choline has a lot to do with enhancing the way that phospholipids work in the brain and our membranes as well. The good news is that unlike other diets, red wine is on the MIND Diet currently. There is some research for that. Tonight, we’re going to eat 4 courses. We’ll try to enhance and bring to the party, some of those foods that are incorporated into the MIND Diet and we’ll talk about it course by course as we go through it.

We are very fortunate to be at this restaurant! Hearth is one of the best restaurants in NY and I have known Chef Marco Canora for many years. There are brilliant, brilliant cooks here. Chef Michael Keough is here tonight and I hope he will come in and say something to us in a bit. I had some questions for him this morning and he was so gracious about answering about things that are on tonight’s menu.

Our first course is going to be a soup called Ribollita. If anybody has spent time in Tuscany, this is a soup that you would have seen there. It's a basic - I hate to say the word the word but here it comes – rustic soup. What this one does is it’s going to hit one of the major notes and chords of the MIND Diet – beans! When we talk about green beans, we’re also talking about dry beans. This is a bean soup in vegetable stock and we will be enjoying those vegetables tonight! There will be carrots, there are some onions, and I believe there is some cabbage in there. This also has some sage and garlic infusion. The cool thing about this in its traditional form, is that is bread based. It is thickened usually with moistened bread and always served with crisp, giant croutons on top. There is also a dusting of parmesan cheese. But most of the flavor will be coming from those beans. That’s going to guarantee that we are getting those beans that we want. Of course you can enjoy the bread as well as the olive oil which is also perfect for this diet as well.

We enjoyed this hearty soup which was flavorful and nourishing. It really set the stage for the next portion of our meal which was a Pizzocheri, a ribbon pasta.

AB: As we continue on in the MIND Diet, the next course is a Pizzocheri. We don’t talk much about mushrooms in brain health and brain support, but there’s a lot of research that suggests that we should be focusing on them a lot more. They’re good for our bodies, our planet, and our brains. This Pizzocheri is topped with a little bit of fontina cheese and what we’re getting is some great vegetation with the cabbage and some brain healthy mushrooms that are not currently listed on the MIND Diet, but I think that they will be in the next few years and a whole grain pasta which is a perfectly acceptable way to get your grains.

This was yet another dish from the night that was filling an full of nutrients that are beneficial to our health. We all agreed that this was something that we would enjoy eating throughout the winter! Where the first, second and the fourth course are dishes that are currently on Hearth's menu, but were adjusted to have the brain health specific ingredients that are part of the MIND Diet, our third course is a recipe from Alton Brown that we were excited to try as we know his love for chicken!

AB: We are at the Main Course event for tonight! This is my recipe and it is actually a conglomeration of two of my spatchcock recipes. I like to cut the back of my chickens – some people call it butterflying, I think that spatchcock is far more sexy! So this features a couple of Middle Eastern spices that I am a big fan of, Aleppo pepper and Za’atar that I know that you all are very very familiar with. So we’re getting our poultry in which is definitely on this diet. But also, we’re taking in our greens from another chicken dish of mine, a Sesame Glazed Dark Greens which it is being served with it tonight. I believe we’re going to have a Black Kale and 2 other greens, I’m not sure what they ended up with tonight, but it is 3 very different organic greens. They have been sauteed and it’s whatever they got from the market today. The sauce is a straight forward pan sauce that are the drippings from the chicken with a little bit of butter and poured right over the chicken. This is something that I like to do once I got into the MIND set of the MIND Diet which is combining various things that were in the diet to support each other. I love chicken, it’s my favorite meat. There are days where I don’t want to eat my greens and I try to hide them – I will tell you that! But because they are brought together by the lemon glaze with sesame, it unites the dish in a really handy way! So I hope you enjoy it and smell it!

Without a doubt, this is a chicken that we could have again and again! The greens were also something that we want to put in our rotation as well! We have the recipe for both of these dishes that you can make for yourself for Alton's Butterflied Chicken with Aleppo and Za’atar as well as his Lemon Sesame Glazed Greens!

Of course, we ended this amazing meal with dessert and enjoyed a Tangerine Almond Cake.

AB: Dessert! Believe it or not, on the MIND Diet, desserts can be had especially when they contain nuts! Nuts are a big part of this diet because nuts have a lot of fantastic fats that are not only good for your body, but also for your brain. It’s the phytochemicals that are still being studied as we speak. This is an almond with most of the cream off to the side and kumquats. Of course, they are a great source of Vitamin C and so this is a dessert in the Italian style where the accent is really on the flavor of the ingredients rather than an added sweetness. Enjoy!

We enjoyed being able to chat with Alton as well as to be invited to his dinner party to enjoy a great meal as well as one that benefits our brain health!

We also learned about the brand's 30-Day Brain Health Challenge, an easy and fun way to redefine cognitive potential and establish a brain-healthy routine. This allows consumers to choose their Neuriva of choice and taking it for 30 days to help support up to 7 indicators of brain health, including memory. You can also download the Neuriva Brain Gym app, to play stimulating Brain Games daily and see the results for yourself.

IG @altonbrown

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 60, 65 + 67 Discovery+/Good Eats: The Return | PG 62 Neuriva | PG 69 - 73 Netflix/Patrick Wymore |

Read the FEB ISSUE #98 of Athleisure Mag and see BRAIN HEALTH IS KEY | Alton Brown in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #98 | MARTIN GARRIX

ATHLEISURE MAG | FEB ISSUE #98

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with legendary EDM international DJ/Producer, Martin Garrix! We talk about how he came to music, his creative process, those he has collaborated with, being on tour as well as his current tour in South America, recent drops and upcoming ones!

This month, we caught up with STARZ's BMF which drops its second season on Mar 1st. We talked with Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer Heather Zuhlke as well as castmates Kelly Hu and Morgan Alexandria. We talk about how they approached the series, what fans can look forward to, and more.

We had the pleasure of interviewing and enjoying an intimate dinner party with Chef Alton Brown, food scientist, TV host, and author. We talked about his passion for the culinary industry, the importance of brain health, and his partnership with Neuriva.

We also talked with legendary magicians and entertainers, Penn & Teller about performing, their CW show Fool Us, and their partnership with Mucinex.

This month, we had the pleasure of attending a number of NYFW FW24 shows that included NYMD, Prabal Garung, Bishme Cromartie, and Laurence Basse. We give you the inside scoop on what we saw during these shows as well as interviews with Celebrity Nail Artist Gina Edwards for Prabal Garung's show as we talked with her backstage moments before the show started. We also have an indepth interview with fashion designer, Laurence Basse who talks about her line, being a finalist on both Project Runway/Project Runway All-Stars, her recent NYFW FW24, and what's next!

This month's The Art of the Snack comes from Sabai Thai which is located here in NY in Midtown East. We find out more about the vibe of this restaurant from phenomenal cocktails, flavorful dishes, and the ambiance of the space which is great to enjoy with friends and family!

This month's Athleisure List comes from YAO, a fine dining Chinese restaurant with a 6 course tasting menu located in the financial district. We also have JETSET Pilates which is based in South Florida and has a number of locations there as well as in other cities in the US and in Australia. 

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from Lionel Messi. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from fashion designer and 2X Project Runway alum, Laurence Basse. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from Lagree Fitness founder Sebastien Lagree and Bravo star of Below Deck Sailing and Winter House, Alex Propson. This month's THE 9LIST 9CH3FS and THE 9LIST 9B-L-D comes from Chef Alex Oradei of Balos, Chef Nathan Berry of Residents Bar & Cafe, and Chef Alton Brown, of Good Eats, Good Eats: The Return, and Iron Chef franchise.

Read the FEB ISSUE #98 of Athleisure Mag.

LET THE MUSIC PLAY | RAWAYANA'S BETO MONTENEGRO

We're always about good vibes and keeping them going. As we think to warmer days ahead, we caught up with lead singer Beto Montenegro of RAWAYANA who has released 4 studio albums, and received a nomination for Best New Artist of at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards in 2017. They're currently taking a break from their World Tour which will continue next month. As we're always on the hunt for great music, we took some time in the midst of the band's busy schedule to find out more about who they are, how they came together, their sound, those they've collaborated with, and their partnership with Old Parr scotch.

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

BETO MONTENEGRO: It's because music makes me happy, it makes me smile. I feel it is the best tool to express my point of view about life.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to do this professionally?

BM: After I realized that we had a big community waiting and asking for new music from us.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to come together to create RAWAYANA?

BM: We really just did it for fun. There was no real plan to “create” it.

AM: How would you define the RAWAYANA sound?

BM: I think it’s an eclectic mixture of Caribbean sounds influenced by pop music.

AM: You were nominated as Best New Artist at the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards back in 2017, what did it mean to you to have that distinction?

BM: I don’t like to pay attention to awards. I feel that art or music is not a competition, but in a way it felt cool to be recognized by the industry so we had such a good time spending time with a lot of friends in the business.

AM: What have been some of your favorite collaborations that you've had musically?

BM: Danny Ocean, Elena Rose, Natalia Lafourcade, Micro TDH, Mr Eazi… all our collaborations are amazing.

AM: You've released 5 studio albums and most recently '¿Quién trae las Cornetas?' (Who Brings the speakers?) tell me about this and what we can expect from it.

BM: It’s an album about cycles and new journeys. For us the music and RAWAYANA is about a journey, so the music is a very important part in our journey. It’s a very personal album but also the union of like-minded people making music and having fun in the studio.

AM: You just finished a tour here in the US and you already have dates lined up for next year, do you have any routines that you do right before a show to get ready to hit the stage?

BM: I warm up my voice in the shower.

AM: Do you have routines that you do after the show so that you can come down from all that energy?

BM: I really don’t have one. It always changes on nightly basis.

AM: You have a nice breather now with it being the holidays. You created a cocktail in collaboration with Old Parr known as Old Parr Rawy. How did your partnership come about and tell us about this drink?

BM: We’re thrilled with this partnership with Old Parr to bring even more golden moments to our music. The brand is an icon in Latin America, and just like the whisky, our music is a fusion of different sounds, flavors, and rhythms, so we know our fans will be just as excited to raise a glass of Old Parr with us. Also, we wanted to give our fans a taste of home during the Holiday season by creating a cocktail inspired by Venezuela and the fusion of flavors we create as a band—The Old Parr Rawy.

AM: How does this drink tie into the band and your sound?

BM: The Old Parr Rawy is a delicious and easy-to-make cocktail made for everyday golden moments this Holiday season – from enjoying the energy from a concert to toasting with our closest friends. This cocktail is a fusion of different flavors, sounds, and rhythms, like our music.

AM: How will you spend the holiday season?

BM: With my childhood friends and family!

OLD PARR RAWY

INGREDIENTS

· 1.5 oz Old Parr Aged 12 Years

· 1 oz Grapefruit juice

· .5 oz Maple syrup

· .25 Lemon juice

· 3 Dashes of angostura bitters

PREPARATION

Fill a cocktail shaker with Old Parr Aged 12 Years, grapefruit juice, maple syrup, lemon

juice and ice. Shake the mixture thoroughly, then pour into a serving glass. Top with 3

dashes of angostura bitters.

IG @rawayana

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 52 RAWAYANA/Facebook | PG 54 Team Diageo

Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see LET THE MUSIC PLAY | RAWAYANA’S Beto Montenegro in mag.

ONE LAST RIDE | STARZ HIGHTOWN - REBECCA CUTTER, DOHN NORWOOD + ATKINS ESTIMOND

We've enjoyed seeing everything that has gone down in Provincetown, MA in STARZ's Hightown! With the 3rd and final season premiering on Jan 26th, we get to see how the story wraps up with our favorite characters whether they're fighting crime and giving voices to victims or bulding their criminal entrprises. The complicated lines of the characters and the way that lines get crossed is a big draw in watching this show.

We had the chance to sit down with Rebecca Cutter (The Mentalist, Gotham, Code Black), Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner and Writer of the show. We also talked with Dohn Norwood (Hell on Wheels, The Sinner, Mindhunter) and Atkins Estimond (Lodge 49, Inside Man, Swarm) to talk about what they love about this show, their characters, and more.

There are light spoilers of the 3rd season. So if you have yet to watch the previous seasons or have not watched the 3rd season, you may want to watch prior to reading our conversation about the final season of Hightown.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’re such fans of your work as we enjoyed Gotham and Code Black. What kind of stories are you drawn to telling?

REBECCA CUTTER: I think that I am always drawn to crime dramas because I sort of love the structure and the kind of engine that it gives and always with really character driven stories. To me, just plot or just action is very boring unless you care about the people in it and why they are doing the things that they are doing. In Hightown, no one is just doing their job. They are always fulfilling something in them. So hopefully, it makes it interesting.

AM: When we had the chance to screen the final season, it was such a treat to see how everything has come together. What were you hoping to accomplish in this season?

RC: I think that I thought that it was important to look at what the inevitable end was to these characters? What do they deserve? What is their endgame? What is their final form? So it was kind of working backwards from their final form and then seeing how they got there.

AM: Where did you get the inspiration for Season 3? The characters are amazing as you’re drawn to their intricacies.

RC: You know, I had so many stories to tell and knowing that it was the end, I was like, “great, I get to leave it all on the table.” There was the story of the missing woman is something that I have been playing with in my head for a long time in other projects where I tried to write a feature about that.

There has been a lot of things that I was excited to do and knowing that this was the final season, now was the time!

AM: What do you want fans of the show to walk away with after watching the finale?

RC: I think that I want them to feel and to get the sense that everybody has reached their final form and that whether you hate or love them, that that was the place for them to end! I hope that they got to feel that they watched a great crime drama with a lot of twists and turns.

AM: How many episodes total will be in this final season as I know the screeners we have access to have 6 episodes?

RC: 7.

AM: Oh great! Because when the 6th episode ended, I was like, “wait, there has to be more – we can’t end with this!”

RC: Yup!

AM: What is your favorite moment from this series?

RC: From the whole series?

AM: Sure!

RC: Oh my gosh! I could not pick one, and one moment is from the finale!

AM: Whichever you want to choose!

RC: I will say that I directed the finale and there are a ton of great moments. I don’t know, I just loved the whole pilot because we shot in Provincetown and we recreated a whole Pride parade and It was before COVID, so we had this huge crowd and Jackie (Monica Raymund) finding the body on the flats was the exact vision that I had in my head so that was pretty special to see. Because I grew up going to that place. So to see exactly what I imagined on the screen was very special.

AM: Are there any upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for that you’ll be involved in?

RC: Oh yes! Well I am going to have another show on STARZ network called The Hunting Wives and we start shooting that in March. I’m super excited about that!

AM: Well we can’t wait to see that show as we know people loved the book and I know that Malin Åkerman (Billions, Soulmates, Dollface) is starring in it, which will be amazing! And our team can’t wait to see the final episode as there are so many questions and we appreciate you creating such an amazing show over these past 3 seasons!

IG @rebecca_p_cutter

@starz

@hightown

We always enjoy hearing why those who create a show want to present a designated story and how they hope that viewers will have various takeaways. But we also wanted to talk to those who played key characters so that they can share their insight!

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s a pleasure to talk with both of you, Dohn and Atkins, as I have been a fan of your work outside of this show and obviously in this one too.

ATKINS ESTIMOND: Thank you!

DOHN NORWOOD: Thank you!

AM: What drew you guys to want to do this show?

DN: Employment ha!

AM: Ha ha that’s always good!

DN: Right? It’s always good! Aside from that, there’s great writing and it’s always good to be part of shows where you’re not having to justify a lot of your lines and things like that. There’s fully developed characters that are grounded and based in real things and it’s what I feel that most actors feel like they’re looking most forward to in their characters and the types of roles that they’re going to do.

AE: All of what Dohn said! Yeah I mean, it’s a great story. The crime genre is not new, but this is definitely a fresh take on it and that was exciting and also, when I saw the people that were attached, I was like, absolutely! That was a greenlight all the way!

AM: Exactly!

Where do we leave your characters in Season 2 and where are we picking them up again in this final season?

DN: I think that they did a good job of seeing us just a little further along but not majorly. That way we can piggy back on what was there before, but not right on top of what we just did. The audience, whether it’s a new one jumping in or the old audience that is very interested in seeing what happened next, it’s still tantalizing and just enough intrigue to go and see what’s happening and for the questions that are posed to be filled in on the following episodes.

AM: I really enjoy the dynamic that both of you guys have especially when you’re in the same scenes together. How do you both go about preparing to play these characters?

AE: Well you know, it’s easy when you have someone as talented as Dohn to work with! But yeah, I feel that we find ourselves in interesting moments and obviously we’re on different sides of the law and there are so many points for our character where we differ and I think that it creates very interesting moments. The set up is so easy that when you get in there, it’s very easy to make those moments really cook because all of the points are already there. You can just walk this thing in on its own.

AM: You know what I also loved is that after watching the screeners we had access to, your characters particularly have vulnerabilities that you guys are showing that maybe we haven’t really seen in the previous seasons. Also, mentorship is an interesting theme and you both show it in different ways which is really interesting to see. It was one of the favorite things that I liked seeing from both of you in this final season.

What were your favorite moments in playing this show whether it was in an early season or in this one?

DN: Mmm that’s a good question.

AE: Yeah it is.

AM: We’re in the hard stuff now!

DN: There’s things that build up and accumulate and we’ve been waiting for the bubble to pop and I can’t give away too much, but it's some things that really got aggressive in this season and it’s good to see and feel and to get to that place with my character. His other facets and dynamics on who he is and how he deals with things. What lines he’s willing to or not willing to cross and how that is changing for him and how it is for everyone else!

AE: Yeah! Osito has had some moments to be vulnerable, to be weak, and that has been something that I have really enjoyed. A lot of times when we see someone who is bad or a bad guy, it’s just that they’re bad and always bad no matter how many times we come across them – that’s what happening! But with him, there are so many other things happening and you’re seeing so many sides of him and I have been able to do so many cool things with this character that I didn’t know that I would be able to do as an actor. I have had countless moments where I thought, this is so awesome!

AM: There have been a number of times where I go back and forth with your character where we know he does bad things, but he is also a nice guy.

AE: I know right?

AM: Now that this is coming to a close, is there anything that we should keep an eye out for that you guys are working on that you’re able to share?

DN: Contractually can’t say as where we are at this point, I can’t share because someone would email me at this point – so don’t say nothing haha!

AE: I have a project that is coming out on Netflix, A Man in Full which is an adaptation of a Tom Wolfe book. I’m not sure when it’s coming out, but it should be at some point!

IG @dohn_n

@atkinsestimond

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | STARZ/Hightown

Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag and see ONE LAST RIDE | STARZ Hightown - Rebecca Cutter, Dohn Norwood + Atkins Estimond in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #97 | MARIA STEN

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with actor and writer, Maria Sten! We talk about about how being a model, dancer, Miss Denmark 2008 winner and competing for her country for Miss Universe were part of her journey to writing for ABC's Big Sky, voice work in QCODE's Narcissa, and starring as Frances Neagley on Prime Video's Reacher which is streaming it's second season now on the platform and is currently in production for its 3rd season. We talk about how she maintains her creativity, what stories speak to her and more. We had a great time hanging out with Maria on set where we shot her photoshoot at il Pellicano and Bijoux Lounge. We have a great interview about both of these locations so that you can plan your next night out when you're heading to NoLita.

This month, we caught up with STARZ's Hightown which is in its final season. We talked with Creater, Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer Rebecca Cutter as well as castmates Dohn Norwood and Atkins Estimond. We talk about how they approached the series, what they hope fans walk away with, and upcoming projects.

We also talked with Beto Montenegro, lead singer of RAWAYANA to talk about the group, how they stay inspired, their tour, and more. 

We've been in the flow of Awards Season since the beginning of the year and took some time to talk with Charles Joly, DIAGEO Reserve World Class Award Winning Mixologist who poured Johnnie Walker Blue Label as the Official Spirits Partner of the 75th Emmy Awards. He talked about how he got into the industry, how he approaches his craft, and how he prepared for this mega red carpet moment.

We also talked with Isabelle Carramaschi, SVP Kiehl's and Andrew Way Marketing VP of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort to talk about both of these brands, their heritage, why they are partnering with one another and more.

It's that time of year when you may be thinking of purchasing statement jewelry for yourself whether it's part of your everyday, a gift for yourself, or even if you're thinking about engagement rings. With that in mine, we talked with Jerry Taylor of Taylor Custom Rings to find out how he got into the jewelry industry, his passion for diamonds, learning the business, and why he focuses on lab created diamonds. If you've ever been interested in learning more about this category and what you should look for, we cover it all!

This month's The Art of the Snack comes from Chef Guo which is located here in NY at Randolph House. We find out more about this 10 tasting dinner, the menu and how Chef Guo brought his training and love for Chinese cuisine together for this epic experience. This month's Athleisure List comes from Nobu Hotel London Portman Square for an amazing experience that allows guests to enjoy the intersection of food, wellness, and fitness in a Japanese concept known as Shiawase! We also have Pasta that has a noted location in Lima Peru and an upcoming location in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. We introduce you to the Peruvian husband and wife chef team who are passionate about Italian cuisine!

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from No Doubt and RAWAYANA. Our 9DRIP comes from pop synth duo, Icona Pop. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from our cover star, Maria Sten. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from our DEC ISSUE #96 cover, WWE HOF, AEW Wrestler, and star of Disney+'s Percy Jackson and The Olympians, Adam Copeland. We also have Japanese rapper, singer/songwriter, producer and entrepreneur Jesse McFaddin who shares his 9LIST STORIES as well. This month's THE 9LIST 9CH3FS and THE 9LIST 9B-L-D comes from Chef Sean Piccaretto of VENTANAS, Chef Yuu Shimano of Restaurant Yuu, and Ashley Schoenith, cookbook author of The Heirloomed Kitchen. Our NEW YEAR, N3W YOU feature has insights from Team USA Soccer Olympic Medalist, Angel City FC, USWNT athlete Christen Press; this month's cover star Maria Sten; RAWAYANA Lead Singer, Beto Montenegro; Cookbook Author, Private Chef, and Entrepreneur, Gaby Dalkin; and BEIS SVP Creative and Brand Liz Money.

Read the JAN ISSUE #97 of Athleisure Mag here.

THE STATEMENT | ANDREA SALAZAR

Style is a very personal thing as it reflects how you feel and how the world sees you. These styles set the scene which in many ways we showcase in our photoshoots! SETA is a line that balances edgy cool that can work whether you're looking to have a dramatic or an ethereal look. It can be dressed up or down. This month. we hosted our THE 9LIST® Holiday Event where we sat down with Andrea Salazar, Creative Dir of SETA and finalist in Prime Video's Making the Cut S2. We talked about her passion for design, her creative process, being on the show, the brand's vision, and her suggestions for NYE depending on where you'll be watching the ball drop!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We are so excited to be able to talk with you as I have been a fan for the past few years and I know our readers will love hearing more about you, competing on Making the Cut, and of course NYE finds that we can take into ending the year and kicking off to the next! For those that are joining us, Andrea Salazar is the Creative Director of SETA and she competed and was a finalist in Season 2 of Making the Cut which you can stream now if you haven’t done so!

ANDREA SALAZAR: Thank you so much for having me! Where is your magazine based?

AM: We are based in NY. Athleisure Media is our baby and we have Athleisure Mag which is released monthly and you will be in our 96th issue and we have one of our heritage features that we really love which is THE 9LIST. It’s really about those must haves of shop, discover, and experiencing. So when I thought about a brand in thinking about my hat as a Co-Founder/Creative Director as well as being a fashion stylist and an Accessory Expert, your brand is amazing as its great materials, is embellished, has an edgy style to it, and it had accessories too. So having you in THE 9LIST Holiday Event made perfect sense so that we can get to know more about you and our readers are able to understand the brand and of course, show the looks, that they can shop their favorite finds as well! This is amazing and I enjoyed your time on Making the Cut as well!

When did you realize that you wanted to be a designer?

AS: I discovered my passion for design when I was young. I came from a family of fashion lovers! My mother is a fashion designer, my grandmother was a fashionista in her decade! So fashion has been in our blood.

When I was a teenager, I had the opportunity to live in London and I fell in love with the street style as well as European fashion. So since then, I knew that I wanted to be in the fashion industry absolutely!

AM: How did you hone your skills from where you trained or apprenticed?

AS: I have an International Business Administration degree because I always knew that I wanted to do that and to open a business. I knew that I needed to know how to manage it. Then I did Fashion Design in Marangoni in Miami. They opened their doors 4 years ago and I was one of the first students there. Then I also did Visual Merchandising and fashion courses in Milan, Italy. I also did styling courses with stylists in Miami. I did pattern making with a university in Columbia that had those courses online and so I have done different aspects of fashion as it’s what I love!

AM: I love that you love the business and you know it from the design, but also the structure of it and how to plan it.

AS: I think that it’s very important to know about the business first and then to specialize in the fashion part as well. It’s another thing about the business that is important.

AM: How do you approach designing upcoming seasons?

AS: So, I have inspiration from different sources. I love to travel and it’s one of the ways that I get a bit of therapy. When I travel, I am inspired in this way the most. So, I love to go to museums to get in touch with art, culture, and history. I also have personal experiences, friends who love the brand, so I love to be at the stores so I can be in touch with the customer. Their opinion is important for the feedback to see which pattern is working and which isn’t, the fabric, and fit! We always try to do cohesive collections, timeless pieces so you can shop in different seasons. But at the end of the day, they are timeless pieces that you can use all year long.

AM: That’s something that I have loved over the last decade or so that brands are focusing on a timeless collection that can truly be worn year around! You were talking about how you get inspired which is amazing. How would you describe your design aesthetic which I am so obsessed with!

AS: Oh thank you!

As I said, inspiration can come from different sources. My design aesthetic, I’d say that it is an element of sophistication and also a little bit edgy as well. It’s timeless and I try to be classic too! It’s a very eclectic brand where you can find romantic style, classic, rocker, boho – it’s a mix of things like a clash. So when we are with our customers, we try to tell them to take that risk, wear that jacket, be the center of attention as this will make you feel beautiful. We love to celebrate every woman and it’s about them enjoying their self expression too! We want them to express themselves with the pieces.

AM: Tell me about how the brand came about and what is the meaning behind SETA?

AS: The meaning behind the name SETA is S from Salazar because that is my last name. Also my second last name is Zapata so we wanted to get together the S and the Z. When I do my initials, I always do the ASZ and so I have S and Z always in my last name. It’s also an acronym, S – Sophistication, E – Edgy, T – Timeless and A – Attire.

AM: Oh, I love that!

AS: Yes, that is the acronym.

AM: What would you say is the ethos of the brand?

AS: Are ethos for this brand is that we strive to empower individual women to express their uniqueness through fashion. We offer pieces that not only standout, but embody quality and craftsmanship. I’m super focused on craftsmanship, items that are handmade, very unique pieces – we say that they are treasures from the closet.

AM: Love it.

I first became aware of you and your brand from your season on Making the Cut. Why did you want to be on the show and what was it like navigating those competitions?

AS: So, Making the Cut, was a very big decision on my career. It was an opportunity to be on a global stage and at the end of the day, if I didn’t do it, I would never know what would happen! I’m a woman that loves to take risk. I loved the first season, the judges, the way that they produced the show, and it was done very well in a high-end way. So, I think it was a very good platform to be on and it was a great way to learn professionally as well as personally. It was actually a great resource.

AM: Being able to get insights from Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn which we have interviewed previously, that must have been such an amazing resource. What did you learn from doing the show in working alongside them as well as the other designers?

AS: Working with industry icons like Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn was invaluable! It was a big opportunity – the feedback, the mentorship, these things were very important in staying true to my vision – that is what a real designer is. Also, Jeremy Scott says that the life of a designer is tough and you always have to be creating. You launch a collection, you’re already thinking of the next one. It is a non-stop industry that is also very competitive. It was also great to be next to big designers too that had a vision. We were all super different, no one was similar. So it was super interesting to have this cast and I really enjoyed it.

AM: It was so cool to watch you throughout the season as well as the other designers. Since the show, how has your brand grown?

AS: It has really grown! The presence has increased, we have a new clientele, the exposure opened our doors to have our own online channel, we also have Amazon Fashion as a customer. It was great growth and it has been a great year for us. Not only in exposure and publicity, but also for sales. Even after COVID and various things, we have really had a very good result! Being on Amazon has been a vision beyond borders. It’s just been a great opportunity.

AM: I really love that your brand, it has high visual texture, amazing embellishment that takes place and you really lean into that! Then there are the accessories which really rounds it out. Where does your love in those 3 areas come from?

AS: We love elevated looks! I don’t know, you can be a classic woman, but if you put on a belt, you’re already elevating that look.

AM: Yup!

AS: Accessories are the seal of the look. We really love that. That's something that we import because they are statement pieces and the belts are made super well and are handmade leather. We are very focused on that. We love the boots and the shoes and it’s a great way to diversify the business beyond just the clothing.

We’re also exploring the beauty industry – we have our fragrance. We want to do more research on this as we’re already a brand. We want to have candles and other kinds of products as well. So this will be something that is coming in future seasons as well.

AM: Tell me about your boutiques as I know you have a few – walk us though them.

AS: Our boutiques are carefully curated so it has the essence of the brand. From the moment you enter, you are immersed into the world of SETA. You’re surrounded by crafted garments and accessories. You can find our physical stores in Miami, Medellin, and Bogota. Those are our 3 stores. We have projects to open more and to franchise coming soon. But for now, we’re super good with these and of course, we’re available online too!

AM: That’s amazing and I hope you one in NY as that is where we’re based!

AS: We actually did a pop up last year there during NYFW!

AM: What’s your travel schedule like as I’m sure you personally maintain a presence in all 3 stores frequently?

AS: Oh yes. I think that that the pop ups are a very good resource to try different markets and we’re always looking at where the next place will be to open. But NY, that is our next target.

AM: That aesthetic for many of us in NY is just perfect!

AS: We feel the same way!

AM: Tell me about the SETA Gallery at the Sagamore Hotel in South Beach. It’s been fun to see the images on your IG.

AS: We really had this opportunity to have the space in this hotel. It’s a very traditional hotel in Miami Beach. It’s full of tourists and is in the touristy area of Miami Beach and we wanted to make it different. They wanted to expose art - different art pieces and to have it as a fashion exhibition. We are celebrating 10 years in the industry as a brand so that celebration allows us to showcase our most iconic pieces from the beginning! You can find our first pieces of the brand, it tells our story, and you can scan the QRCode and see the story of the piece and they are unique one of a kind pieces. It’s like an exclusive escape where they can see our pieces from our trajectory.

AM: What would you say are 3 core pieces from the brand that are essentials for people to have in their closets?

AS: So 3 essential pieces from SETA is definitely our classic Legend Military Jacket. That jacket has been a classic from the beginning and it’s a must. It’s very well fitted, it’s a statement. It’s good for the winter and the fall. It’s for that girl who loves to travel, so it’s a must. In our suit pants, we have our Baggy Suit Pants which are super super studded and they’re amazing too. They are showstoppers. A belt in general is a must. As I have said, a very classy woman wears classic pieces or basics, a belt adds that extra.

AM: You have a collab that you’re involved in. Can you tell me more about this and how it came together?

AS: Right now, we’re pitching some different shoe and accessory brands. I think that it’s very good to have a marriage and different strategies. But we have also had them in the past, we worked with a Spanish boot brand and we did a runway show in NY in 2022. We were sold out on all of the boots. People loved them and we had collabs with influencers in Columbia and from Latin American. It was amaz ing because they had their own influence and their own clientele. So we also sold super fast with those as well! We can tell that collabs work very well.

AM: In looking at your line, I love the color palette. Do you ever envision other colorways coming into the brand?

AS: Yeah, actually we do try to be more flexible with the colors. But to be honest with you, we only do that with little capsules. It can be a bit of a shocking position when we have colors in the brand and it’s a challenge because it targets a different kind of clientele. But why not?

This year for the holidays we did a bit of a lilac for the embellishment. People love it!

AM: It was pretty cool.

AS: A bit of a hint of color can make a difference.

AM: I can’t believe that we’re talking a few days out from the beginning of the year and when this is in our issues, it will be 2 days before New Year’s Eve!

AS: It’s unbelievable!

AM: For those that may still be planning what their NYE looks will be, I love that for this night, we all do different things.

AS: Yeah, I know it’s fun!

AM: So we reached out to you to give 3 NYE events and to present 3 looks that could be worn with accessories from SETA! So we’ll walk through each of the shown looks and get your thoughts on them (See the event stream here)!

The first one, we thought was amazing for a NYE Loft Party if you’re here in NYC or a roof top if you’re celebrating in warmer climates like Miami! I love that this look is really easy – tell us more about it.

AS: I really love this one because it is perfect for the winter. It’s a Mesh Turtleneck and pants and I love to put this bralette on top so that you can have that shimmery addition to your outfit. The mesh turtleneck, I’m wearing that right now.

AM: Loving the mesh!

AS: It’s like a layer and the Lumino Bralet – love it. The Luminous Collection is for Fall/Winter and is perfect for NYE. The cut, color, this one has the little lilac sequins that I talked to you about earlier. It’s a new color and the Lumino Pant is super comfortable and has a baggy style. It can be comfortable, yet beautiful for a rooftop or a dinner! It’s a very balanced look for the New Year.

AM: We also have a 2nd look that would be great if you’re doing New Years at home!

AS: Oh yeah, amazing!

AM: Not to say that you can’t dress whichever way you choose when celebrating at home, but I love the idea of still putting a great look together whether you’re enjoying it with friends or your significant other. It’s really fun with how relaxed it is – walk us through this one!

AS: It’s flawless. This is our Oversized Shirt in black, we also have it in white. I know a lot of people love to wear white for NYE. But we picked this one. This Alquimia Short is super baggy and is a bit of a Bermuda Short style. It’s embellished and it also has that lilac sequin that we’ve been talking about. It’s very special and these boots – you can wear hosiery or pantyhose with it if you’re looking for more coverage. But it’s the perfect outfit to be at home.

AM: I love this Rocker Boot! Does it slouch or fold over fully if you want to?

AS: Yes you can slouch them!

AM: It’s a sick boot!

AS: Yeah when you slouch them it has a great look!

AM: It looks like you’d have the perfect scrunch with them.

When we’re talking about the classic NYE bring it down with that epic night out, tell me about this!

AS: This is my favorite!

That Luminous Faux Coat! It’s perfect!

AM: Right?

AS: For NY it’s perfect and that catsuit, it’s my favorite of the season because I just posted a video using it and I was in NY because I went to Heidi Klum’s Halloween party and it was chilly. I wore it and I love it! I talked to the people and they loved it and it’s time that we shine in our own skin! People are loving this catsuit, it’s amazing because it’s all crystal and it’s super trendy right now.

I mean Kim Kardashian’s collaboration between SKIMS and Swarovski, I was happy to see that because I knew I was ahead with mine!

AM: When I saw the pieces from their drop, I instantly thought of your catsuit which you’ve already had! You’re so right that this is trending.

I must tell you that I really love your campaign shoots and videos as it lets me step into your world truly! Right now if you look at your IG table we see the pieces juxtaposed to glam elements of a tablescape with dinner plates and candelabras which is stunning. It ties back into the brand and is amazing!

AS: Thank you so much! You’re so sweet and thank you so much for all of this love! I think that when we do the things that we love, everything flows so we are really passionate and SETA is like our baby and it’s like our little daughter that never grows! We take care of her all the time and it’s our life project! It’s like a baby because we have been seeing all of the growth and we still have a lot to do.

It’s a lot of learning, it’s a lot of sacrifice, it’s a lot of bumps in the road but I love it – the success and the failure. It’s up and down, but it’s like life, but we love it as it’s the passion and it’s amazing to do what we love!

IG @seta_apparel

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | SETA

Read the DEC ISSUE #96 of Athleisure Mag and see THE STATEMENT | Andrea Salazar in mag.

HOLIDAY HEALTH | LA LA ANTHONY

We always enjoy when we catch up with La La Anthony! Whether it's talking about her latest TV/film projects, entreprenurial endeavours or how she balances her day to day, she always keeps it real and gives us words of wisdom that we can use in our own lives. In this month's issue, we catch up with her to talk about the holidays, what she's gifting, staying healthy, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s the holiday season. We can’t even believe that it’s the end of the year!

LA LA ANTHONY: Right? How did that happen?

AM: It’s like we blinked in April and here we are in Dec!

We’re enjoying tons of activities, but it’s also the time of year that we can get a bit under the weather. How do you navigate that during this time of year?

LLA: Well, that’s exactly why you know that I wanted to do this partnership with Delsym. It’s been a staple in my house so especially having a son for a very long time. So, you know when that cough is starting and we’re not feeling well, that is my go-to. So why not let the world know?

Delsym, you know is the #1 doctor-recommended 12-hour cough suppressant. That along with this chicken soup that my mom taught me how to make when I was growing up, that’s the one thing that I learned in the kitchen, because I’m not that good in the kitchen. That combo right there, you’re good to go. So I definitely wanted to be part of Delsym’s, Bring Comfort Home Campaign. In this kit, you’ll also get all the ingredients to make my favorite chicken soup. It’s delsymmeal.com. You’re seeing it behind me right now and it’s just something that Kiyan and I have been rocking with for a very long time.

AM: When you’re under the weather, you have the things that you do. I have my favorite set of cashmere, my streamed shows, that oversized mug that I’m drinking out of. I love a good chicken soup recipe so what is it?

LLA: So, I grew up in a Hispanic household. Both of my parents are from Puerto Rico, so it has Spanish, Latin, Puerto Rican flavor in there. So, it’s however my mom taught me, what seasoning to use, how to mix it up – it has that kind of flavor to it, which is why I love it so much and it’s easy. Because if you follow the steps, I feel that anyone can do it, because if I can do it, anyone can do it, because I don’t know how to cook at all, so it’s literally like, if I follow it and she tells me what it is start to finish, the result is going to be good! It definitely has Latin flavors like Sazon to it. So you know it’s going to be good!

AM: Definitely checking it out as the other night I enjoyed having Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Chicken Soup), which I thought was amazing and I had never had it before. So this, sounds like another winner to me even if I’m not sick because I do love Chicken Soup!

LLA: Oh no, that's the same with me! It's just my go-to for holiday seasons in general. I don’t know, there’s something about eating something that you had growing up that makes you feel nostalgic, like holiday, and home. So, it kind of for me, brings all of that out for me.

AM: There are a number of traditions that we enjoy as well as those that we make as we go along. What are some of your favorites during this holiday season?

LLA: So for me, I grew up and always had tons of people in my house. It was my whole family, that’s how it has always been. So I have continued that tradition so now in my home, Thanksgiving just passed, I had 30-35 family members – it might have been more now that I think about it. 35 family members in my house, which my house ain’t even big enough to fit 35 people!

So we were all just cramped in there and we’ve always been like that. Just playing games, music, laughing, and fun. We just had a great time and the same thing with Christmas, it’s just continuing that family gathering and having everyone together and taking a break from their crazy lives, work, and everything that they have going on. So, it’s always been like that. It’s nice to be in a place where I can continue that same holiday tradition.

AM: Well, this season means that we do tons of different activities whether it’s with our colleagues at work, friends, and family. What’s the best way that we can keep it cute and fresh when we’re doing all of these different things?

LLA: Stay healthy! That’s how you keep it cute and fresh! The holidays are when people get sick, so stay healthy so that you can be outside and that you can enjoy these social events and gatherings.

It’s fun being outside and doing the Christmas parties, the NYE parties, it’s fun. You get to be social, you get to meet people, and you don’t want to miss out on that stuff because you’re not feeling well. Stay on top of your health, stay on top of you're A-game. Another reason why this partnership was important to me is because I want to be my best, and I want Kiyan to be his best so that he can be great at everything that he is doing.

AM: What are you thinking of in terms of gifting friends and family this year? What are things that we should also be thinking about for our holiday lists?

LLA: So candles to me are always great! Like, candles are easy, but they are so symbolic and they have so much meaning. You can get candles that are engraved, you can get candles that say a quote or a scripture on it, whatever your preference is. But, I think that that’s like a not too expensive gift that it’s intimate and it feels thoughtful. That’s always my go-to. Like, who doesn’t want a beautiful candle?

It’s not something that you’ll ever have enough of. You’re not going to be like, “oh, I’m at my candle limit!” There’s no such thing.

AM: Especially those that are in those big jars!

LLA: Oh yeah, I love! Those are really pretty.

AM: Well, you’re an amazing mom, a great actress, and you’re always putting your name and intention behind great things! It’s always great when I have the ability to be able to interview you and to see all the things that you continue to do and your focus on THREESIXTY (Editor’s Note: You can find out more about this program started by La La as well as additional upcoming projects by reading about it in our NEW YEAR, N3W YOU feature in this issue) for those who are young men that are incarcerated at Rikers Island is really an amazing initiative. I know that with you, it’s always going to be excellence.

LLA: I really appreciate you saying that, thank you so much!

IG @lala

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Michael Simon

Read the DEC ISSUE #96 of Athleisure Mag and see HOLIDAY HEALTH | La La Anthony in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #96 | ADAM COPELAND

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story with actor and professional wrestler, Adam Copeland! He talks about acting in Syfy's Haven, History Channel's Vikings, and most recently Disney+'s Percy Jackson and The Olympians - which is streaming right now with episodes dropping weekly. We also talk about his phenomenal career wrestling in the WWE under the name Edge as well as currently wrestling at AEW under his own name. We talk about how he navigates these industries, his passion for them, and more!

This month, we caught up with actor, entrepreneur, and social justice advocate La La Anthony Showtime's The Chi and STARZ's BMF to talk about how she stays healthy during the holiday season, what she's gifting, and her upcoming projects.

We also talked with one of our faves, JoAnna Garica Swisher of Netflix's Sweet Magnolias to talk about how she navigates the holiday season, traditions, and her upcoming projects.

As we navigate the remainder of this year, we're looking ahead as is NWSL's Angel City FC and US Womens National Team's Christen Press! She talks about how she got into soccer, her passion for the game, the importance of advocacy and how she has taken this from her platform to her company, RE--INC.

We love a great night out which includes an amazing meal as well as cocktails. We sat down with Lynnette Marrero, Partner/Chief Mixologist at Delola and Head of Education for Bar Convent Brooklyn. She walks us through those early days of craft cocktails in NYC in the early 2000's from beverages, bartenders, and the fusion between food and spirits! She also talks about her role at Delola, Jennifer Lopez's Ready-To-Drink Better-For You brand that is perfect to enjoy year around and with a number of dishes. She also talks about her brand Speed Rack as well as her upcoming projects!

This month, we enjoyed chatting with Andrea Salazar, Creative Dir. of SETA a brand that empowers women through an edgy assortment that reflects her lifestyle whether she leans towards dressing boho, ethereal, minimalist, etc. She talks about her fashion background, where she trained, and shares looks with us that we can wear however we plan on celebrating NYE. We also talk about her being a finalist on S2 Prime Video's Making the Cut and what that experience was like with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. This interview is from our THE 9LIST® Holiday Virtual Event that took place this month where you can see the event as well as the looks presented, here.

Another interview in this month's issue is with SVP Brand, and Creative Liz Money of BÉIS, an on the go travel brand by Shay Mitchell. We talk about Liz's fashion backgound, the ethos of this brand, essential pieces, upcoming projects/collaborations, and even events that they did this year that they are proud of! This virtual event was part of our Athleisure Mag Summit® Series so you can see the conversation here and we also have an ATHLEISURE MAG SUMMIT® X BÉIS giveaway of must-haves BEIS pieces for 1 lucky winner that we are running now through Jan 3rd.

This month's The Art of the Snack comes from Tsubame here in NY which take Omakase to another level with this culinary experience. This month's Athleisure List comes from Bijoux Lounge in NoLita which is a decadent way to end the night or to start your weekend! We also have Cucina 8 ½ which is known for their table side Caesar salads, Italian dishes, and a lovely ambiance to enjoy a great meal.

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from Synth Pop Duo Icona Pop. Our 9DRIP comes from our cover, Adam Copeland as well as the founder of Lagree Fitness, Sebastien Lagree. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from MAX Rap Sh!t Daniel Augustin and JoAnna Garcia Swisher. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from La La Anthony and Icona Pop. This month's THE 9LIST 9CH3FS and THE 9LIST 9B-L-D comes from NY brunch institution Chef Ron Silver of Bubby's, Food Network's Alex vs America Chef Eric Adjepong, and Hav and Mar's (Chef Marcus Samuelsson's latest restaurant) Chef Friyal Abdul! This month and in our upcoming JAN ISSUE #97, we have our NEW YEAR, N3W YOU feature. This month you'll hear from Adam Copeland, Dominic "The Surgeon" Ciambrone (NOV ISSUE #95 cover), Daniel Augustin, Andrea Salazar, Grammy Award Winning Producer/Songwriter Toby Gad, La La Anthony, and Icona Pop.

Read the DEC ISSUE #96.

POWER BOOK III: RAISING KANAN REALITIES OF LIFE MEKAI CURTIS, JOEY BADA$$, LONDON BROWN

Season 3 of STARZ's POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan is back on Dec 1st at midnight on the STARZ app (all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms) as well as on STARZ at 9pm ET every Friday night! We caught up with MeKai Curtis (Arrested Development, Girl Meets World, Milo Murphy's Law), Joey BadA$$ (Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Mr. Robot, Grown-ish), and London Brown (The Hustle, Ballers, American Soul) who are all back for the latest season. We wanted to find out about what we can expect for this season (season 4 is not only renewed but is already in production) as well as what we should be excited for!

MeKai plays Kanan Stark in the 90's in the origin story of the character played by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in POWER, the flagship series. We know he's the devoted son of Raquel "Raq" Thomas (Patina Miller) and as he searches for answers that he will ultimately evolve. We wanted to know how he approaches Kanan, what drew him to this series and what he is excited for.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so exciting to be able to connect with you. How do you approach playing Kanan?

MEKAI CURTIS: You know, I approach it like any other character that I would approach and like how anybody would approach life. I take it line by line, scene by scene, day by day, reaction by reaction – I kind of just try to make it as organic as I can. That’s all acting it. It’s reacting.

AM: Where did we leave Kanan last season and where are we picking up with him again?

MC: I think that you’ll kind of find Kanan in the same spot that you left him at the end of season 2. He’s just trying to get a lot of answers to a lot of questions that he has and some of the answers that he’s getting aren’t necessarily adding up. So he dives deeper into finding those answers and then he builds his truth and his new world around that information! So you know, you’re just again finding an inquisitive young man trying to figure out what he is doing in life and who he is.

AM: What made you want to play this character as well as to join this amazing cast?

MC: Ah man, I mean, wanting to play this character, it stemmed from partially being a fan of the original franchise and then just wanting to push myself as an artist and to take on something new, to stretch my chops and to do something that I knew that I could. But even signing on, I had no idea in certain ways on what I was stepping into. I’m beyond grateful for it. I’m beyond ready for it. But even the magnitude of where we are and what we’re creating, it wasn’t so heavily on me at the time. It was just again about doing good work and getting to be part of the POWER franchise!

AM: What should fans be excited about as we come into the season as I can’t believe that it launches this Fri on Dec 1st!

MC: Ah wow! It is crazy! Oh wow, it is coming up on Fri!

AM: I know, right?

MC: Yo, time is moving – I mean time is just timing! It’s just happening. Everything is happening so fast! I mean, you just threw me for a loop with that one!

I mean it’s about just being able to watch the season! It’s about continuing the journey and continuing the ride with us. It’s about continuing to unfold and discover this world and these characters and what made the person – the original people that the fans of the original franchise are really able to get to understand. It’s about knowing the person that they saw from the original and new people that we have garnered and have started to bring onto the ship. They’re getting to enjoy just a really good story. It’s a coming of age story, a story of love, a story of forgiveness, a story of ups and downs and bonding. It’s about just trying to pave your way and making it do what it do every day that you’re allowed to!

IG @themekaicurtis

We've been a fan of rapper and actor, Joey BadA$$ and the energy that he brings into playing playing notorious drug lord, Kadeem “Unique” Mathis, a character that continues to unveil his complexities from season to season. In addition to finding out how he brings this character to life, we also wanted to know what he loves about playing him as well as what drew him to the POWER universe.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How do you approach playing Unique?

JOEY BADA$$: Well you know, once I get suited and booted, it’s definitely like I get 5 points for that! You know what I mean? Just being in the attire! Also, it’s just more of the mental preparation than anything. You know, I’m thinking about what must be going on in the character’s mind, what are the current challenges that he’s facing and how can I bring that to life on the screen? How can I show that with my actions or my mannerisms or even my facial expressions.

AM: Where did we leave Unique last season and where are we picking up with him again this season?

JB: So you know, last season we saw the villain become the hero and I thought that that was very interesting. You know, I think that with this new season, historically, he was the guy that you hated that you loved or the guy that you loved that you hated. But now, I feel like people are going to see him in a new light this season because he’s in much more of a vulnerable space navigating this chemistry between him and Raq. So, you know his brother being back home and Ronnie’s (Grantham Coleman) not happy with what Unique has done. So there’s this work-life balance that Unique is facing and you know, I think that people are really going to see more of the human aspect of Unique more than anything this season so I’m excited about that!

AM: What made you want to play this character and be part of this phenomenal cast?

JB: Well I’ve been a fan of the original POWER series you know for a long time. When I saw that they were doing a spin-off, I just thought, look I just need a role. It don’t really matter which one it is, but once the role of Unique came and I auditioned for this character and it landed on my desk, I’m like, this is it – this is me. You know, by every means, this is me. I felt like I was born to play this character, you know what I’m saying? It’s been exciting to say the least and I’m super grateful to be part of this universe and to be part of the family.

AM: It’s always fun to see when you’re on screen! Are there any other upcoming projects that we should keep our eye out for that you can tell us about?

JB: Well, as we know, Raising Kanan Season 3 is coming. I’m working on a new album right now to put out at the top of next year. So I’m looking forward to that! Yeah and you know, more film stuff. I’m actually starting up a production company right now so I’m actually looking to get my hand involved in the executive level in this film industry so I am genuinely excited about that! I’ll be producing some of my own projects. I’m just looking forward to elevation and growth!

IG @joeybadass

Before the series premiere of this show, we caught up with London Brown who plays Marvin Thomas, who is Raq's older brother and Kanan's uncle. In that interview, he introduced us to POWER BOOK III, and it's great to now touchbase with him ahead of the 3rd season, to know more about his thoughts on the intracacies of Marvin, how he continues to approach him when playing him, why he enjoys bringing him to life and of course, what we need to know to be prepared for the upcoming season.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How do you approach playing Marvin?

LONDON BROWN: With a lot of concentration and focus in the sense that I just try to make sure that I try to create a lot of layers for Marvin so that he really becomes 3 dimensional and that he’s just not just some caricature, but more so a real person with real feelings. That way, the audience can go on a journey with me.

AM: Where did we leave Marvin last season, and where are we picking up with him again?

LB: We leave Marvin last season injured and in the middle of trying to repair relationships and we pick it up with him right there in the sense of he’s learned some lessons and now he is trying to apply those lessons to really become a better person. Not only for himself, but for those that he loves.

AM: We had the pleasure to catch up before the first season aired and so to talk with you again has been great. What do you enjoy about playing him across these seasons?

LB: The thing that I enjoy is experimenting with the arc of Marvin. That’s what I like! I don’t like for any character to stay in one thing and you can’t put Marvin in any kind of particular space because he’s doing different things. People can even experience that from the first season. This is true even from season to season. Even within a scene, you'll see Marvin go from one extreme to the next. So that’s been fun, just to get into the layers of playing Marvin.

AM: What should we expect from this season as we’re excited that this show is back!

LB: I think that people should expect plot twists and more specifically with Marvin. Just when people thought that they understood Marvin, they’re going to see a completely different side of Marvin that people can appreciate and whatever ideas that they thought that they had of Marvin in Season 1 like, “oh man, he did – oh wait – he is – he’s like this and like that!” But Marvin is still Marvin. So Marvin don’t start no issues, but if you cross him, he’ll finish them. So the undertone of Marvin is still there, but there are a lot of new notes to Marvin that we explored.

IG @reallondonbrown

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | STARZ/POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan

Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan - Realities of Life | MeKai Curtis, Joey BadA$$, London Brown in mag.

GREAT GATHERINGS | JUNG LEE

There's nothing that we love more than an event that is truly an experience that ties in the visuals, sounds, smells, and of course phenomenal food! For well over a decade, we have always enjoyed seeing Celebrity Event Planner/Designer Jung Lee's flawless attention to detail when it comes to weddings that have been featured in Vogue and Bride's, the red carpet of the 76th Annual TONY Awards in 2023, State Dinners at the White House, corporate functions and more. With the holiday season upon us, we wanted to find out how she got into this industry as her event planning and design production firm FÊTE and her store of curated items can be found at Jung Lee New York. We also wanted to know about her favorite projects, her creative process, and what she loves about the holiday season. We also got a few of her tricks in how you can execute holiday gatherings even if you don't have access to a celebrity planner.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I have followed you on Instagram for a number of years and have seen your work covered in Vogue. There were a couple of NY Bridal Fashion Week shows where I know we were attending the same events and I’ve seen you there. So, it is such an honor to be able to talk to you about your career in design, event planning, and event production.

When did you decide you wanted to be a designer and an event planner?

JUNG LEE: To be perfectly honest, I never thought in a million years thought that I would be doing what I am doing now!

AM: Interesting!

JL: Yeah! I never considered myself a designer and it was just because I was in it and I was getting frustrated with other things. So I thought I was just going to do it in-house and same for planning. Initially, how I thought about planning, in terms of a business marketplace where it is today, is totally evolved. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I thought that there was a need to sort of add professionalism and a different way to think about events and weddings. When I started a little over 20 years ago, we deconstructed what made up an event or wedding and sort of built it back up with what I consider – soul where there is a purpose, a strong point of view and it’s not just like, “oh, it’s this color scheme and whatever.” I guess I have a fairly strong personality and I like things with a point of view as opposed to, it could just be. I went into it with a business angle and I said, you know what? From what it is now, I can actually do a better job in telling a story. So it started from that and then as I started to get into events, I started learning more about the interiors and the event design piece of it.

I guess I was a little bit frustrated and my clients were a little bit frustrated. So I just started doing it and I’m somebody where I learn by doing. I used to spec build homes so I just sort of started to pick it up. So if I had a home, this is what I would want. I feel like at the end of the day, we all as human beings, we want similar things. Obviously, everyone’s taste levels are a little bit different. Our styles are a little bit different, so you want to be able to sort of be able to make adjustments to that. But fundamentally as human beings, we all want more or less, the same thing. So whether it be a home or an event or things like that. I just feel that I understood that quickly.

AM: I like the position that you take on that.

Where do you feel that you get your inspiration from? The depth of the events that you have done, whether it’s the red carpet for the TONY Awards or event planning for the White House, doing weddings that have been featured in Vogue or Bride’s – how do you decide where you are going to pull the inspiration from and where does it all come from?

JL: I mean, I think that inspiration is everything that we see. We don't even understand it. It’s just like all of the images, the films, stories, and novels – everything that we have sort of seen in our life. So, it’s not like, “oh, I’m going to work on this event, let me start.” It doesn’t work like that. For us, the work that we do it’s such a collaborative process. So for us, I really want to get to understand my couples or whatever I’m doing. So whether it’s Dr. Biden – I’m really trying to get into her head a bit. I want to tell that story and have it sort of manifest and unfold into basically tablescapes and color schemes, the candles, and have it where everything is sort of laid out. I mean, it’s not one place which obviously is not an easy answer. But it’s really a whole host of things and then the way that I think about it, I love sort of putting everything on the table and really editing it down and pairing it down. I love starting with more initially and trimming and trimming and trimming until it feels right. It’s like a constant play and it doesn’t stop until the actual install because we’re still editing, adding, removing, and tweaking. That’s part of the craftsmanship and the artistic side in terms of putting an event to life because it’s how it sort of feels and looks.

AM: I totally agree with everything that you said as I’m also a fashion stylist so that concept of always pulling from everything and in the pull I have more than what I need and as you get closer to the deadline whether it’s a photoshoot or my client is hitting the red carpet, then I’m refining and bringing it down to align with what my client is saying and the vision that I have. The final result is the culmination of the hours and adjustments that finally become the desired look. That’s a really cool way to look at it.

JL: Yes, it’s like that for all of the interiors and fashion and everything! We want a little bit more to play with.

AM: Exactly!

JL: 100%!

AM: When you take on a project. From sketching out the ideas to creating, etc. Where do you like to start?

JL: Again, there’s no one place for it. They come in in different ways. Like right now, we have a corporate holiday party that we’re doing that’s for my daughter and she has always loved making gingerbread houses. I don’t even know why, I don’t even like them – I’m not a gingerbread person really. There was something about this holiday season – so we constructed basically a gingerbread house that is like their office which is on Park Ave South and the whole invitation is printed onto it and it has all the things that make it. So, again, the ideas come from everywhere. So it just came from there, it wasn’t like anyone said, make this.

I love that what we do, we can always think about different ways to sort of create something and to present it to our clients. Fortunately, we have a really wonderful relationship with our clients and it’s like year after year, it feels a little bit different. I love the idea of having something that is edible and it’s great for families so that event was for family as well. There is information and a sense of whimsy and fun and it’s the most delicious gingerbread house. Usually the ones that are store bought aren’t so great! So you take it out of this giant box and it’s such an experience to see the invitation this way. So I take my inspiration from experiences everywhere honestly. It’s just, you see something at a store, a museum, an opening – and it’s not like you take that specifically, but it’s how you make it your own for that particular project and I think that that’s where the magic and all the excitement – at least for me is. I’m sure for you too as a stylist.

AM: Absolutely!

JL: I’m sure it’s the fabric somewhere, or a little clip, or a piece of jewelry.

AM: Yup!

JL: You start taking that and you start running with it. Same – so we get inspiration from everywhere. It can be something that I saw on the runway or a really beautiful interior. It could be a fashion period piece or an era – it’s everything.

AM: I totally agree.

What have been some of your favorite projects that you have been involved in?

JL: Oh my God, I mean all of our projects, they’re like my children. I love them all for different things. I mean, obviously, working at the White House on the grounds for France or inside the White House for the Republic of Korea which was super special for me as being Korean born. They hold very very special places in my heart. One was just the first time for the Biden Administration for when they did the State Dinner for France and it was a giant tent and it had never been done before. I loved it and again, we were just on the ground and the way that we had constructed it and sort of made the elevation – they really trusted us and they leaned on us in terms of how we saw it. We propped the tent up so that you could see the Washington Monument and the White House which was really special because that had never been done before.

Then, when we were invited back in the Spring and this time, we were able to do the State Dinner inside the White House, that was really special. We just brought in tons of cherry blossoms and all of the florals that made sense for Korea as well as for Dr. Biden for being the Spring time. So that was really special for me of course and they were so gracious and they invited us to it, like me, my mom, and my brother. So, that was phenomenal to be there at the State Dinner.

Obviously, working on the TONY Awards and again, it hadn’t been done the way that we had done it. So it’s not just a red carpet, being in Washington Heights, I didn’t want it to be a typical red carpet. So we chose a hot pink fuchsia which was fiery to me and I wanted it to feel like a little bit of the Dominican Republic in Washington Heights in the summer time. I wanted it to come to life so along with the backdrop that we had created, lots of tropical leaves and florals that were sort of coming out at you. So I love that it was flat, but also coming out.

AM: It looked beautiful!

JL: Thank you! We’re working on one now for the end of the year where we’re going to a small island off of Kenya for an end of year celebration and we’re getting ready to go there shortly. It’ll be 4 days of events, so all of these events and projects are culturally so different. We did a trip to Cuba before it was open prior to the Obama Administration and that was for the same clients. So, I have a tendency to sort of collect clients over the years and we end up doing so many projects with them because we know them, they know us and they know we will be able to take it up one step higher. That sort of connection with our clients is where they give us that trust where they tell us, you know us, what do you think? That’s really so important where they trust us so we can test out these things. That’s a lot of fun of course.

AM: What do you love about the holiday season?

JL: I know! This year just flew! I can’t believe it! I love the holiday season obviously. For me, there’s so many things. We’re insanely busy with holiday sets and installs and things like that. But I really think that it’s important for me to take time for my team who are so incredible. So treating them really well, treating my friends and family because the work that I do, I don’t have a lot of personal time. I love my work and there is definitely a very blurred line and it's just because I am so passionate about it so fortunately, work doesn't always feel like work for me. What that means is that I’m not with my friends and family as much as I want to be. So when the time sort of slows down because everything sort of stops, I love that. So I really like to spoil and treat them. So that’s my pleasure. I get to work hard and then I can treat the people that are so important to me. I really love that.

AM: Because we’re all planning our dinners, seating charts, and more – for those that are about to embark on their own holiday festivities that don’t have a celebrity planner that they can be assisted by, how can people approach creating their events? What are tricks of the trade that you use that they should do so that they can have fun and the experience is seamless and easy in terms of planning?

JL: I feel like for a lot of people, and young people specifically who have apartments, they feel so intimidated, but like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the better you become. You have to have a starting plan and I think that some people are so intimidated because they think that it has to be perfect. They’re exhausted before they even begin and that’s no fun.

I love a beautiful place setting.

AM: Same!

JL: I think that the notion of having as many people as you love at your home that you care about and fostering this community of this wonderful warm energy especially around the holidays is everything! I really believe in the energy of all of that and I love on it. I don’t think that it needs to be so fanciful, but the lighting, the music, you know. Getting some good wine or some champagne, it doesn’t have to be a fancy holiday cocktail. Do it if you want to, but you don’t have to. The most important thing is setting the mood so it doesn’t feel like such a big list. And again, great scented candles – to me smells, sights, and what you hear is the most important thing and that is everything in terms of setting the mood.

Whether they are frozen foods that you got to heat up, like quiche puffs or whatever – that to me is less important honestly. It’s about being together and setting a mood. That to me is far more significant rather than someone slaving over a kitchen and making things for days and days. That to me is silly. Because again, I hate waste and I feel that that’s a waste. Again, if that’s what you do, go for it, do it. But if it’s not, if you have limited time, you can get great food and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune and you can have it at home. To me, doing something at home versus at an event space or a restaurant, there’s nothing like it. Because the more you do it, the easier it will be. I just love the notion of getting your home ready to have people over. We clean our floors, we clean out our fridge and it’s that anticipation when we’re getting ourselves ready for it and I really think that when people do it, they will do it more often. It’s just good for our souls I think!

AM: I totally agree and I love the fact that you’re talking about people should do the things that are comfortable to them. Bringing foods in, frozen food options, spending time with people, and removing that stress.

One of my favorite things is that I love an awesome bar cart or cocktail nook and I also know that you have your store, what are 3 items that we should have or can gift to others that can elevate a cocktail/bar cart experience?

JL: I mean, I think that great little bowls and I love warm nuts because it’s the easiest things to do. It’s so luxurious when you’re having a nice warm nut. I think that a nice thoughtful gift like a great scented candle. We just got a new one in that I was in Paris and I smelled it and I thought, we have to bring this in and I do think that the French do make the best candle and scents because that’s where it all originated. It’s called D’ORSAY. We just got them in and I love them all! I think that going to someone’s home, a pet peeve of mine is that you bring them a bouquet of flowers, it’s hard for the host because now they have to take it and make it an arrangement unless it’s all sort of done and they can put it out. I love serving cake plates and domes and bringing sweets, but bringing it in a really beautiful cake stand. I like taking some store bought things and putting it on a nice plate and that afterwards, they have a nice gift to remember. I’m a big fan of that and I guess it sort of depends on people’s price points. As a hostess gift, you don’t have to break the bank, but I think that nice subtleties that feel a bit neutral that they can appreciate. I’m not a fan of gifting things that are too seasonal necessarily. I’m not into something that has a turkey or a Santa on it! I think color is more interesting if you are trying to do things that are for the holidays.

AM: Those are great tips as I always believe in bringing gifts and these are also great ideas to enjoy for yourself as well.

When did you get he idea to launch your own store, Jung Lee New York? I love the curation and it’s as tasteful as the events that you plan.

JL: You know, back to what I was saying earlier, people are all the same. Part of what I do in looking for things and constantly shopping for my clients and events that we’re going to do, and I shop everywhere. I think at the end of the day, everyone that I know, I don’t care between the billionaires to someone who is working in a finance job or someone who works in fashion, we all shop high-low. We go to Zara and we pair it with our Chanel bag. Everyone does that and I found that a lot of the home stores, it was either luxe or Big Box and I didn’t like that and I wanted to create a store that I would want to shop in for me and my clients!

That’s what I felt and to me I felt that we really represent the best $10 glasses to all of the Christofle and the Baccarat and everything in between. Because that’s how I feel that I live and how I feel that most people live and I like that. Everything feels luxurious and the cost may be whatever it is. So to me, everything in the store is a great piece. Obviously there are great investment pieces and certain things are just really nice. But I don’t think that a price necessarily dictates whether something is great or not. To me, I value – value. I handpick 90% of the items that are in the store and there are glasses that are $400 and I will pay for those as I think that they are so beautiful. There is a Saint-Louis glass that’s called the Les Endiables and it’s one of my favorite things and it has been around for awhile and you can use it upside down because there are 2 cups to it and I love the playfulness of it. Nobody does it like that and it’s not inexpensive, but whatever it costs, it’s worth every single penny in my opinion. Then there are glasses where I’m like, those are great and I love them and they are a $10 glass. Or I love an acrylic! The things that people bring home, I don’t necessarily think that it needs to be so precious because I think that people spend way too much time thinking about that. If you like it, bring it in! People are like, "oh my God, what if it breaks?” People buy a $2,000 pair of boots and you scuff them up and you have to get them repaired. It’s ok!

AM: It’s so true!

JL: You have to live and that’s the thing that I want people to realize. Enjoy life and live! It’s ok. You have a gorgeous ring, of course you’re going to wear it. You’re not going to leave it in the safe deposit box! I’m such a big proponent that you have to live life! Enjoy, get the best things possible. Don’t break the bank, be smart about it. People think months about whether they should get this or that. I love collections and I love knick knacks. There are certain glasses that I have that can all live harmoniously together on my Thanksgiving table. To me, it’s like a great denim, you pair it with your favorite designer silk top or whatever. You can go all denim and a white T-shirt or you can go a little fancy or you can mix and match. That’s what I think that tabletops should be. If you curate it properly, your fancy stuff should be able to work with your everyday stuff!

AM: Many years ago, I was a Home Manager at Anthropologie and that’s when I started really loving décor with all of the different plates, silverware, mugs, candles, packaged soaps, etc. So to have a Baccarat glass that is mixed with an Anthropologie Latte Bowl – it looks so good on the table together and it’s like a moment.

JL: Yes! I think the thing about it is that I think that between fashion and accessories, I think that people have a sense because they have been working on it and I think that with homes, they find it so intimidating. I think that’s why people go all white basic. People are so afraid that they just want to be all so safe. If color makes you happy, have some color. If you’re more neutral, that’s ok but you don’t have to have it all white. It’s like wearing white, all day long, that feels boring. I just think that your home should be like the best restaurant that you have ever gone to. All of the things that you use whether it’s glasses or small plates, it should be like, “I love it!” Silverware, I feel like people don’t think about it. I think it’s one of the most sensual things that you should have.

AM: 100%.

JL: You should love your fork, you should love the spoon that you use. You should love it and if you don’t love it, you should think about it and start acquiring the things that you really want.

AM: Could not agree more! There is nothing better than having your Sweetgreen salad and having a lightweight hammered copper fork to eat it with a stunning wine glass while you watch The Golden Bachelor solo or with friends! There’s something about that high-low that you can enjoy it while doing something casual that isn't tethered to a holiday season or special event. It’s just appreciating that moment and I don’t think that you should relegate those items to big/signature events only.

JL: Without a doubt, if you love it, you should do it!

IG @jungleeny

@fete.ny

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 48 Shawn Connell | PG 51 Dimirtrios Kambouris/Getty Images | PG 52-59 Erin Scott/White House Photo Office |

Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag and see GREAT GATHERINGS | Jung Lee in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #95 | DOMINIC CIAMBRONE AKA THE SURGEON

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with pioneering custom footwear designer Dominic Ciambrone, aka The Surgeon. He is known for creating coveted exotic sneakers whether collaborating with his celebrity clients or in partnership with brands including Bentley Motors, Nike, Lanvin, Gucci, and more. We talk about how he got into this industry, being self-taught, working on projects, SRGN Academy, SRGN Studios, The League and more.

This month, we have our fashion editorial ‘Tis the Season that we did in collaboration with The Algonquin Times Square Hotel, Autograph Collection. In addition to this model shoot, we also have an interview with the hotel's General Manager, Willis Loughhead who talks about the literary and Hollywood history of this hotel which was frequented by John Barrymore, Dorothy Parker, Tallulah Bankhead, indepth coverage into the hotel for guests, and more.

We also have interviews with the cast from STARZ POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan. MeKai Curtis, Joey BadA$$, and London Brown talk about the 3rd season which premieres on Dec 1st. We talk about what we can expect this season, how they prepare to play their bigger than life characters, and more. Another one of our favorite shows kicked off its 2nd season, Max's Rap Sh!t which focuses on a rap duo navigating the South Florida music scene and beyond. We sat down with Daniel Augustin who plays Maurice to talk about the season, the importance of Haitian representation, as well as his personal music and production projects that he is working on.

We also took a moment with the founder of Lagree Fitness, Sebastien Lagree to talk about his method, equipment that he is created and what he has coming up in the next few months with his popular brand.

We also caught up with Celebrity Event Planner/Designer, Jung Lee. We have been a fan of her work that has included celebrity functions, weddings, corporate events, the 76th TONY Awards Red Carpet, the Biden Administration's first White House State Dinner with France in 2022 as well as their Republic of Korea State Dinner earlier this year. She has been featured in Vogue and Bride's as well as a number of TV segments. We talk about how she got into this industry, how she grew her event planning business FÊTE, why she created her curated store Jung Lee New York and how we can make holiday planning at home easier for friends and family that come over.

We also enjoyed talking with songwriter/producer, Toby Gad who is known for writing such hits as Fergie's Big Girl's Don't Cry, Beyoncé's If I Were a Boy, and so much more! We talked about how his family influenced him to be in the music industry, how he navigated it, his creative process, collaborating with artists, and his lates project Piano Diaries that reimagines his biggest hits stripped down and with modern artists.

This month, we also celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Casio's G-Shock where we looked back at the innovations that they have made in the industry as well as collaborations and special projects that they have been part of. They will be auctioning off Project #2, an 18K gold watch that is a 1 of 1 at Phillips Auction House next month. During the press conference, the Prince of Reggaeton, J Balvin shared his thoughts on the brand, and how it was part of his upbringing in Columbia. Later on that night, he treated us to a private concert.

This month's The Art of the Snack comes from Bohemien Bar in Brooklyn where cocktails, an inspired menu and the perfect sound come together for an epic night. This month's Athleisure List comes from Remedy Place a wellness membership destination here in NYC and in LA that allows you to get an array of treatments that align with your self-care goals. We also have 87 Ludlow, a Filipino-Spanish tapas focused restaurant that is the perfect way to keep our taste buds inspired.

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from Chef and TV Personality, Duff Goldman as well as Songwriter/Producer, Toby Gad. Our 9DRIP comes from our cover, Dominic Ciambrone. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from Lagree Fitness' Sebastien Lagree. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from Actress, Model, and Activist, Maggie Q and Netflix's Emily in Paris star, Samuel Arnold. This month's THE 9LIST 9CH3FS and THE 9LIST 9B-L-D comes from Food Network's Bobby's Triple Threat, Chef Tiffany Derry, Executive Chef Steven Barrantes of Bohemien Bar, and Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cookin'.

Read the NOV ISSUE #95 of Athleisure Mag.

FOOD NETWORK NEW YORK CITY WINE FOOD FESTIVAL 2023

We love this time of year as the fall is the best of both worlds in terms of weather, wearing fun layers, and enjoying the change of the seasons before the madness of the holidays! Here in NY, you also know that the Food Network New York City Wine Food Festival presented by Capital One, takes place over 4 days where you get to enjoy a series of events from signature events, Walk Around Tastings, Intimate Dinners, Demo & Dine, Master Classes, Cocktail Parties, and more! Last month in our SEP ISSUE #93, we shared the events that we would be attending and let you know that we would give you a recap of those jam packed days! In addition, we also had interviews with various chefs, from those that have restaurants here in NYC as well as some of your favorite chefs that are food personalities on Food Network as well as others.

We kicked off Day 1 of this festival at the Sip + Savor: A Happy Hour Hosted by Chef Antonia Lofaso (DAMA Fashion District, Scopa Italian Roots, Black Market Liquor Bar) and Chef Brooke Williamson (Playa Provisions, Food Network's Bobby's Triple Threat and Tournament of Champions Season 1 winner) at Harbor NYC Rooftop. We were able to try a number of restaurants as well as spirits and beer at this event. We had our eye on a number of dishes and restaurants, but before we got into it, we sat down with them to find out about how they enjoy being at this festival, the event they're participating in and how they keep their energy going between running their restaurants and hosting/judging/competing on a number of their shows!

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so exciting to be able to talk with both of you guys. Why are you excited to be at this festival?

CHEF BROOKE WILLIAMSON: I mean, what’s not to be excited about? There’s food, there’s beverages, there’s people, and there’s music! When you walk into a room like this, you feel that energy and it's like - you know that everyone is excited to be here! People have been DMing me for MONTHS that they have gotten their tickets and that they’re so excited to be here and that they will be able to be part of the festival and so it’s one of the most fun festivals that we’re able to do.

CHEF ANTONIA LOFASO: It’s one of those things where NY is so spread out. So the festival kind of just brings everybody together!

AM: Absolutely!

CHEF AL: Obviously there’s great food so to be able to celebrate that with all of the different people that are participating is such a great thing. It’s great that all of food is celebrated. I love seeing the mom and pop chefs, and yes there are big chefs with big names and that’s the draw. But there’s also an opportunity for young chefs and small brick and mortars all over from Queens to Brooklyn and all over to be able to showcase themselves!

CHEF BW: I think it’s so cool that we get to host an event and that we get to walk around and get to showcase the people that are local and they can enjoy our Shrimp Po Boy dish that we created!

AM: Well, our readers love both of you guys! They love seeing you on Bobby Triple Threat, Chef Brooke, and they love when they see you on Guy’s Grocery Games, Chef Antonia, as well as a number of other shows that you’re on!

How do you guys keep all of that energy to be on those shows cooking, competing, and judging people?

CHEF BW: We were actually just discussing a show that we are currently shooting and it really comes so naturally! We have this sort of inherent competitive spirit that brings it out of us! We both took a Red Eye here last night from shooting a show. We came in this morning, but like, the moment that we hear about some kind of news on what's going on, I want to be part of it! We want to know what we’re doing and how we’re part of it!

CHEF AL: I think our energy comes from an unnatural place!

CHEF BW: Oh yeah! For sure!

CHEF AL: I mean we’re talking with you which is an athletic magazine right?

AM: Yes Athleisure Mag is all about the intersectionality of athleticism, sports, fitness, style, food, entertainment, music, wellness, etc. We just have Chef Michael Voltaggio as our cover a few issues back!

CHEF AL: That’s awesome! We are also very big on taking care of ourselves and eating correctly, exercising and working out! Because honestly, to be able to keep the schedules, it’s impossible to do. I mean Brooke runs 50 miles a week.

CHEF BW: I do.

CHEF AL: Yeah, you do! I lift 400lbs.

AM: I mean …

CHEF AL: We’re on opposite ends of the fitness pole, but we get it in.

CHEF BW: It’s definitely necessary to keep our schedules on track by focusing on our fitness.

AM: Well we know that you’re a huge Peloton fan as we interviewed you a few years back!

CHEF BW: I actually graduated from the Bike and now am on their Treadmill. When the Treadmill came out I was so excited about that! I will say that it is the most motivating equipment that I have ever used!

AM: Since both of you have restaurants, what are 3 amazing dishes at your restaurants that our readers should be checking out for THE 9LIST 9CH3FS?

CHEF BW: Ha! Do you want to pick a dish from each of your restaurants?

CHEF AL: Yeah that works! I would say that if you’re going to Dama which is my Latin inspired place downtown, there’s the Seafood Tostada – it’s like octopus, shrimp, calamari, pickled chilis, avocados, and lime juice. For me, it’s refreshing, I love the seafood and the creaminess from the avocado. We have these really beautiful heirloom tortillas. Scopa’s got to be the Ricotta Crostini with housemade ricotta, rosemary, chili, olive oil, and ciabatta that’s the thing.

CHEF BW: Wait, you have to also add the Arancini to that as well!

CHEF AL: Ooo yeah, definitely Arancini is our giant rice ball, you can’t go wrong with that.

AM: Mouth watering!

CHEF BW: I have a seafood restaurant, but it also has a couple of different extensions so we have an ice cream shop, a whiskey bar, I mean, our menu is very seasonal. We just changed 7 items on the menu, but I would say that there are items that don’t change. One of them being the Fried Crab Claw Pop, it’s a big crab cake wrapped around a snow crab claw.

CHEF AL: And it’s fried!

CHEF BW: Yeah, it’s fried and it’s with our house hot sauce. We have ice cream flavors that change all of the time.

CHEF AL: Wait, you have the best Lobster Roll though!

CHEF BW: You think so?

CHEF AL: I love it!

CHEF BW: People have been coming for our Lobster Rolls since we’ve opened.

CHEF AL: Oh, I love it! I come for the Lobster Roll and your Shellfish Tower! If I’m going, I’m going to your restaurant, I’m going for your Seafood Tower! I like it and it’s the best!

CHEF BW: Well it does have those Peruvian Scallops which are the best and probably my favorite part of the tower!

IG @chefbrookew

@chefantonia

There were a number of intimate dinners that took place throughout the NYCWFF! One of the key events was a sit down dinner hosted by Alain Ducasse & Friends: Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Benoit New York as part of the Air France Dinner Series. Chef Alain is known for having a collective of 20 Michelin stars and was the first chef ever to have 3 Michelin stars in 3 different cities at the same time. He invited esteemed chefs to celebrate the 15th anniversary of his his bistro, Benoit which is modeled after ithe original in Paris.

He invited Emma Bengtsson (chef of Michelin starred Scandinavian superstar restaurant, Aquavit), Jean Francois Bruel the corporate chef for Daniel Boulud), James Kent (Michelin two starred, Saga), Eunji Lee (acclaimed pastry boutique, Lysée), Pascaline Lepeltier (Guest Master Sommelier), Alberto Marcolongo (executive chef of Benoit), and Stefano Secchi (the executive chef of cutting-edge Michelin Italian eatery, Rezdora).

We wanted to talk with Chef Daniel Boulud who was at the event to find out about participating at a number of events this year at NYCWFF as well as his 9M3NU at Boulud Sud for THE 9LIST 9M3NU.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why did you participate in this year’s NCCWFF?

CHEF DANIEL BOULUD: It is important to give back and it is always my pleasure to be involved in NYCWFF. Lee Schrager and his many years of support to God’s Love We Deliver and bringing us all together is what it’s all about!

AM: What event did you host/were involved in and what dish did attendees get the chance to try that you made?

CHEF DB: There were a number of events that I was honored to be part of! The brunch hosted by myself and extra special guest Martha Stewart at the Blue Box Café was such a treat! It was an honor to be part of the 15 year celebration of Benoit with a collaboration dinner with Chef Alain Ducasse and other amazing chefs! It was also great to host at Boulud Sud with a Mediterranean menu with bubbly pairings by Perrier Jouët. With so many dishes that were created, I’ll share the Pithivier of quail, squab, and duck that was at Benoit.

AM: Chef, we have had the pleasure of eating at your restaurants and we’re such a big fan of Boulud Sud as we love Mediterranean cuisine. What are 3 dishes that we should enjoy when we come in to dine?

CHEF DB: Three must-try dishes are the Mediterranean Mezze, Snake River Farms Wagyu Bavette, and our Gâteau an Miel.

IG @danielboulud

Down in the Meatpacking District, Partner and Culinary Director of Fig & Olive, Chef Alain Allegretti and Chef Akhtar Nawab hosted another Air France Dinner Series. We talked with Chef Alain about being part of this year's NYCWFF and to share what we should enjoy when we come to visit Fig & Olive.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why are you excited to participate in this year's NYCWFF?

CHEF ALAIN ALLEGRETTI: This is always an exciting time in New York City. NYCWFF always brings excitement to the city's culinary landscape while highlighting all the amazing and talented chefs with delicious food the city has to offer and I being a part of this is a great thing.

AM: Tell us about the event and dishes that you created that attendees were able to enjoy!

CHEF AA: For this year's event, I got to share the kitchen with my good friend and very talented Chef Akhtar Nawab. Guests were treated to a culinary journey that was Latin-inspired while embracing the flavors of the South of France.

For the entree I created a Riviera Stuffed Calamari with black ink rice, scallops & rice chicharròn, mojo picot and the dessert were French Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches in salted caramel, pistachio and lemon saffron.

AM: As the the Partner/Culinary Director at one of our favorites, Fig & Olive, for our next visit, tell us 3 dishes that we should try or share with friends and family.

CHEF AA: Three must try dishes are the Amalfi Seafood Risotto, the classic Steak Frites and the 2lb Whole Bronzino.

IG @alainallegretti

Day 1 was a great way to ease into the first of 4 days. Day 2 took us to Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits Trade Day Hosted by Wine Spectator - Grand Tasting at Pier 76. It was a gorgeous day and we were there for nearly 5 hours sipping sake, wine, beer, spirits and a number of sweet and savory options. We kicked off the day talking with Chef Philippe Chow of Philippe by Philippe Chow. His namesake restaurant is on the UES and downtown in NYC as well as another location in Washington DC. We took a few moments to chat with him.

ATHLEISURE MAG: How excited are you to be at this festival today?

CHEF PHILIP CHOW: It’s so exciting to be here to see all of the people and for them to try my food! It’s a beautiful day and it makes me happy to see everyone’s smiling face.

AM: What are you making today that everyone will be trying?

CHEF PC: Today, people will enjoy our Chicken Satay!

AM: We’re fans of your restaurant and have had great meals there. For THE 9LIST, what are 3 dishes that you love that is at your restaurant?

CHEF PC: Well I like the Chicken Satay, the Peking Duck, and our Kung Pao Chicken.

IG @philippechownyc

It was an honor to talk to Chef Philippe Chow, a noted culinary figure and we'vewhere we've been to his restaurant a number of times. We were very excited to make our way to Archer & Goat's booth as we have covered them previously in our MAY ISSUE #89 of Athleisure Mag in our beloved feature, The Art of the Snack. As is the case when you're at the festival, there tends to be one dish that is served and thankfully, we were treated to the A&G Hot Chicken Sliders which is on their brunch menu in Harlem. We can't say enough about the dance between sweet and savory! There's something about pickled strawberries, arugula, and maple aioli. We paired it with our soju cocktail from iichiko Shochu. Although it was a substantial serving, you need to check them out at their restaurant for the full size! Clearly it was a favorite as they served over 2,000! So we had to find out a few things from Chef/Owner Alex Guzman of Archer & Goat.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why are you excited to participate in this year's NYCWFF?

CHEF ALEX GUZMAN: NYCWFF is a great event that helps highlight the great diverse dining culture of NYC - we were proud to take part in the cornerstone event, the Grand Tasting, this year alongside a host of other very talented chefs. It gave us a great opportunity to showcase our unique cuisine in front of other food professionals, the media and influencers.

AM: We enjoyed waiting in line to try the dish you created! Tell our readers about the event you were in and the epic dish that you created that attendees were able to enjoy.

CHEF AG: At this year’s NYCWFF event, we served our hugely popular A&G Hot Chicken Sliders with pickled strawberries, maple aioli, and arugula on a potato slider bun … Spicy, sweet, tart with a satisfying crunch of the fried chicken, these sliders are a mini version of our Hot Chicken Sandwich that we serve for brunch.

AM: As you know, we enjoyed having you in our feature, The Art of the Snack! If THE 9LIST 9B-L-D were to come over to your house for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, what would be 3 dishes that you would make for us?

CHEF AG: I am not a big breakfast person, but love to start the day with an espresso or homemade chai with a freshly baked cookie to dunk. Nothing like a sugar caffeine buzz to kickstart the day! For lunch, I love to make sandwiches. One of my favorites is hanger steak marinated in chimichurri, with great crusty bread slathered with our panch phoran mayo. For dinner, one of my favorite meals to prepare is a whole roasted fish such as a red snapper or branzino, with a spicy, herby and lemony relish. A serving of buttery rice on the side because as a Latino, nothing feels more homey and soulful than a meal with rice.

IG @archerandgoat_harlem

The Grand Tasting had so many great moments, but one that stuck out was when we went by Dos Hombres' booth which was a cart where you could sample their mezcal - which is one of our favorite spirits. We happened to see Co-Founders, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, El Camino, Your Honor), and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Westworld, Black Mirror) who brought in good vibes around! In addition, we loved that Bryan handed us a cocktail which hit the spot!

IG @doshombres

@bryancranston

@aaronpaul

Another dinner series that people enjoyed attending was a dinner hosted by Chef Franklin Becker of The Press Club Grill and Chef Joey Campanaro of The Little Owl sponsored by Ferguson as part of the Air France Dinner Series. The dinner took place at The Press Club Grill. We have been long time fans of Chef Franklin and wanted to talk about his participation at the food festival and what we would have if he made us Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why did you participate in this year’s NCCWFF?

CHEF FRANKLIN BECKER: When an event such as the NYCWFF supports groups as important as God’s Love We Deliver, it is important that we as chefs participate.

AM: What event did you host/were involved in and what dish did attendees get the chance to try that you made?

CHEF FB: This year, I hosted a private dinner at my restaurant, The Press Club Grill. I partnered with my dear friend, Joey Campanero. People went crazy for my take on Crab Rangoon and my Buffalo Carrots. They also loved our Prime NY Strip Steak.

AM: If THE 9LIST 9B-L-D were to come to your house, what dish would you make us for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner?

CHEF FB: Completely depends on what you would like to eat. As a chef, I am in the service business and believe in making what my guests want to eat. That said, if it were solely up to me, I’d prepare Bagels and Lox for breakfast, a delicious salad for lunch and probably some simple pan roasted scallops for dinner.

IG @chefbeckernyc

Day 2 was perfection with the perfect blend of weather, food, spirits, and good vibes! Day 3 had a bit of twist with quite a bit of rain, but it didn't dampen our excitement because we were very excited about the events and people that we were going to interview! We would find ourselves kicking off the morning with one of the most epic brunches at the Oyster Bash Presented by Barnegat Oyster Collective and Go Fish Co. Sponsored by Modelo and Hosted by Tyler Florence at The Standard Biergarten which is part of The Standard Hotel in the Meatpacking District and the venue is outdoors, but under the highline! No matter how hard it rained, we were perfectly dry!

We enjoyed trying raw oysters, oysters we that were taken to the next level with caviar, chimichurri and so many savory twists. There were a number of cocktails and of course Modelo to enjoy throughout the event. We even got the chance to learn how to shuck an oyster which we never thought that we would do that!

We left this event to make our way back to Pier 76 at the Grand Tasting as we were going to chat with Chef Andrew Zimmern after his cooking demo which was at the Hex Clad tent. We have been fans of his shows for years whether he's talking about eating and cooking foods that we may not have thought to eat or opening our world up to how people in this country cook various cusines that are indegenous to their regions. Of course we wanted to talk about his involvement in this festival which has taken place for 16 years and that benefits God's Love We Deliver which assists NYers by cooking and delivering medically tailored meals for people living with chronic/serious illness since 1985.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I’m such a fan of yours chef as I’m from the Midwest originally.

CHEF ANDREW ZIMMERN: Right on, where?

AM: Indianapolis and there were 3 Minnesota based chefs that we’ve always said we especially love to interview Chef Justin Sutherland as well as Chef Yia Vang and now completing the trifecta with you is awesome! I know you’re originally from NY, but as you have made it your home and have highlighted foods of that region, we’re so honored to have you!

CHEF AZ: Right on!

AM: Why did you want to be part of this festival that is happening right now?

CHEF AZ: I’ve been doing it since day 1, since there was a festival here in NY, I have been involved. So it’s kind of hard not to raise money and awareness through food for the most vulnerable New Yorkers and as a New Yorker born and raised here, I’ve always thought it was important. Food people show up wherever there is a need and I have grown up in this business and have been cooking since I was 14 professionally, That’s when I did summers, after school, and so I don't know any other place to be.

AM: What do you feel is your focus when you’re cooking. You’re known for being a sustainable chef in using the entire item that you’re cooking and really just enjoying the food as a whole. It was great watching your demo at the Hex Clad tent and we’re going to have to make your Ponzu recipe.

CHEF AZ: It was great to share the demo with everyone and I’m glad you’re walking away with great tips!

Well it starts out with a little bit of selfishness and self-care. Food to me is yoga, you know? I really believe very very very importantly that there is a way to let go of the day and to focus on nothing but the food. In doing so, I’m not thinking of my 15 problems or issues at work, or what’s going on with a family member – I can just focus on the food. So even if I’m cooking all day at work, I can come home at 7 o’clock after a 12 hour day of cooking 8 dishes for a video series – I cook because it’s my self-care and I get to get rid of the day and get to have that night time at home. So for me, food really is a yoga for me. It’s a spiritual practice.

AM: I love that!

We have been talking to chefs all throughout about their menus. What is a Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner item that you would make if THE 9LIST 9B-L-D were coming to your house?

CHEF AZ: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Well breakfast at my house would probably be Dutch Baby, you know the risen pancakes. The Germans call it Auflauf. It’s sort of a fun thing to do. In terms of my daily breakfast, it’s an Egg in the Hole. I cut a hole in the toast and I hard fry an egg in it because it’s one egg, one slice of egg. It’s a little bit of avocado and a little bit of fruits so it’s like a whole breakfast. I’ll make you a Dutch Baby and I’ll eat my single egg!

For lunch, I’m a big sandwich guy. I love sandwiches and I happen to have recently become a big fan of Curry Chicken Salad. There’s so many great ones. I keep a lot of meatballs and sauce and I have started freezing them in little tiny quart bags flat so that I can make meatball parm sandwiches any time of the day! So it will either be a Curry Chicken Salad Sandwich or a Meatball Parm kind of situation.

Night time at my house, it’s probably my grandmother’s Roast Chicken along with a seasonal veg or whatever we have. This time of year, I’m still throwing eggplants on the grill and seasoning it with a good ricotta, lemon zest, chili oil and mint. So a nice piece of roasted or grilled chicken and keeping that simple with a really robust salad. We’re getting into citrus season so it will probably be an endive salad with citrus vinaigrette so it would be bitter and sweet. With dessert, we’re in the middle of apple season so you get Tart Tatin which is my favorite dessert to make.

AM: You have successfully made us especially hungry!

IG @chefaz

@godslovenyc

Chef Andrew Zimmern has such a passion for what he does and giving back to people. So it was an honor to be able to chat with him as we attended Autism Speak's Gala back in 2019 where he was the keynote speaker. So to have some time with him was a treat.

We had one more event for the day which took us to ASPIRE at One World Observatory for Steak & Whisky Presented by Mohegan Sun Hosted by Robert Irvine. We've had the pleasure in chatting with him before, but we couldn't wait to taste what he created as well as to catch up with him again!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’re so excited to interview you again! We’re big fans of yours. Why do you love being at this food festival?

CHEF ROBERT IRVINE: Well, I think that it’s the first food festical that allows people to get close to you and they’re the people that watch you on TV! The more that you get to interact with them, I think that this event sells out every year in about 12 mins! I want to be amongst the people so that they can tell me what they feel and what they think, right? I have a lot of fun. I work hard and I play hard, but I play for them!

AM: Right!

CHEF RI: They are my people and that’s why I love it!

AM: What dish are people trying that you made for tonight’s event?

CHEF RI: We’re making a Smoked Espresso Dry Rubbed Brisket. It’s a 16 hour slow smoked brisket on a parsnip puree with a charred scallion chimichurri sauce.

AM: THE 9LIST 9B-L-D has been delving into chef's favorite menus whether it’s at their restaurant or at their homes. So what would be a Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner that you would create for us if we were at your home?

CHEF RI: So for me, I’m not home very often. I travel 345 days a year. So if you get to my house, you get oatmeal in the morning, then we work out and you get eggs. Then you get some kind of soup and salad. Then you get some kind of a protein in the afternoon and then we get fish at night. So, I mean, that’s how we go and again, I travel so much that my wife does most of the cooking.

Tomorrow (Oct 16th), I’ll be on the USS Eisenhower to Israel.

AM: Your schedule never stops!

CHEF RI: Yeah, one of my things is taking care of our military and our first responders. We’re in a sad time right now and we need to make sure that we bring the morale of those troops up! That’s why I’m going.

AM: Without a doubt!

Are there any upcoming projects that you would like to share that we can keep an eye out for?

CHEF RI: I will tell you that Restaurant Impossible is not dead!

AM: We were hoping to hear that Chef as we love that show!

CHEF RI: We may have left Food Network, but it is coming back in a bigger, better form on another network!

IG @chefirvine

Without a doubt, this event was so much fun from taking the elevator up and getting a virtual aerial view of what's in Lower Manhattan to being able to enjoy a number of steaks, whisky, and more! At one point Chef Robert became the life of the party by literally getting the attendees into the fun by doing push-ups, shots, and dancing! It was also great to connect with brands such as Old Parr and STK to find out more about them.

The final day, Day 4 still had amazing events that we were excited about attending! We made our way to the French Bistro Brunch presented by Grey Poupon and Hosted by Geoffrey and Margaret Zakarian back at The Standard Biergarten. It was a lot of fun to enjoy classic brunch bites from a number of restaurants as well as to enjoy cocktails that paired perfectly with it. It was nice to be in the area on a sunny day so that we could really take it in.

We were really excited about our final event at The Intrepid, Bacardi Presents JJ Johnson's The Cookout: Hip Hop's 50th Anniversary Celebration Featuring DJ Cassidy, Rev Run, DJ Ruckus, Ice-T, DJ Mick, Tamron Hall, & Angela Yee.

This event was truly about good vibes only. Of course there were a number of fantastic bites and sips, but the ongoing dance party was major as we celebrated coming together, food, and Hip Hop! It was a full on 3 hour+ party where we were all singing along, people busted out with the Electric Slide and you really felt how we were all there to be at an epic cookout.

It was 4 days and yet, it felt like we took a number of journeys. To be able to enjoy the culinary artists, chat with our favorite food personalities, to see a number of those who we have covered to catch up or to meet for the first time - it was an amazing event and we're excited to go again next year to do it all over again!

We enjoyed talking with these chefs and immediately following this portion of the feature you'll want to know a bit more as you plan your next meals and visits!

IG @nycwff

@bacardi

@sgwinespirits

@wine_spectator

@barnegatoyster

@modelousa

@mohegansun

@greypoupon_us

@thestandard

@airfrance

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 104 = 109, 113 - 114, 126 -131 Getty Images/Food Network New York City Wine Food Festival | PG 110, 121 - 125, 132 - 141 Paul Farkas | PG 117 Courtesy Archer & Goat IG | PG 118 Kimmie Smith |

Read the OCT ISSUE #94 of Athleisure Mag and see FOOD NETWORK NEW YORK CITY WINE FOOD FESTIVAL in mag.

BEING SEEN | MISTY COPELAND

We're honored that we got a few moments with American Ballet Theatre's Misty Copeland who broke barriers in the industry as the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history! As the Co-Founder of Greatness Wins, she launched the brand's first women's collection. This brand includes founders, Chris Riccobono (founder of UNTUCKit), NY Yankees Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter and Rangers Legend - The Great One, Wayne Gretzky. The brand creates pieces whose foundation is based in performance, style, and comfort. We wanted to know more about her passion for this style of dance, the importance of this achievement, her favorite ballet memories and how she is using her platform to create inclusivity in a field that she is so passionate about!

ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment when you fell in love with ballet?

MISTY COPELAND: The first time I stepped into a ballet studio. I saw myself in the mirror, I felt seen and safe.

AM: You started in the corps de ballet in 2001, became an ABT soloist in 2007, and in 2015, you became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in their 75 year history! What does achieving that mean to you?

MC: The achievement to me is a platform to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and successes of Black dancers from the past present and future. I’m a link in the chain.

AM: What are 3 of your favorite performances or ballet memories?

MC: My first performance of Firebird at the Metropolitan Opera House, Romeo and Juliet with La Scala Ballet at Teatro alla Scala, and my first show with Prince at Madison Square Garden dancing to his song, The Beautiful Ones.

AM: In addition to being a ballet dancer, you have also been a public speaker, spokesperson, been involved in documentaries, was a featured dancer for Prince and more! What does it mean to you that you have brought your talent and athleticism across so many platforms?

MC: This is what art should be - accessible, available, equal in the level of importance and recognition amongst sports and Hollywood entertainment. It’s surreal that we have reached this point to be in these spaces, but it also means growth and progress for ballet.

AM: At this year's Tribeca Film Festival, you debuted Flower which you were in and also produced! Tell us about the film as well as what it means to you that you were involved in this?

MC: Flower is a short art activism film highlighting Oakland, California and the social issues they’re experiencing, specifically gentrification and homelessness. We created a scripted story told through movement where the only spoken words are from actual houseless community members. This film is a modern ballet. It’s taking what I do onstage, telling a story through movement with a relevant story and something so many communities can relate to. This is an extension of everything I’ve worked for in my career. Access, bringing people into the arts, and this form of storytelling in a way that makes them feel welcomed.

AM: What was it like to attend this year's Chanel's Through Her Lens Luncheon for women filmmakers at this year's festival?

MC: To be in a room full of creative women who want to support one another and do everything they can to move the needle in the entertainment industry was inspiring!

IG @mistyonpointe

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Misty Copeland/Greatness Wins

Read the OCT ISSUE #94 of Athleisure Mag and see BEING SEEN | Misty Copeland in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #94 | LAIRD HAMILTON + GABBY REECE

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with Pro Beach Volleyball Athlete, Gabby Reece and Ultimate Waterman, Co-Inventor of Tow-In Surfing, Laird Hamilton. Both have been models, TV personalities, producers, etc and are Co-Founders of Laird Superfood. We talked with them to find out more about Laird Superfood as well as XPT, products that they are focused on as we continue into fall and holiday, and how they balance their coupleship with the work that they do. We also interviewed the first African American principal at ABT, Misty Copeland. She talks about the sport, how she uses her platform to amplify ballet voices, and more.

This month, we have a number of culinary stories that we're so excited to share with you. We covered Food Network's New York City Wine and Food Festival presented by Capital One. We give you an inside look on the events we attended as well as including interviews we have with Chef Brooke Williamson (Chef/Owner - Playa Provisions), Chef Antonia Lofaso (Chef/Owner - DAMA Fashion District, Scopa Italian Roots), Chef Andrew Zimmern, Chef Robert Irvine, Chef Philippe Chow (Chef/Owner - Philippe by Philippe Chow), Chef Franklin Becker (Chef/Owner - The Press Club Grill), Chef Alain Allegretti (Partner Culinary Director - Fig & Olive), Chef Alez Guzman (Chef/Owner - Archer & Goat). We also cover the Concorde Hotel as they were a great partner in this story as we enjoyed a staycation there while covering this food festival.

Our food coverage continues with Hortus NYC in addition to this month's The Art of the Snack which brings the Hamptons to the city, Sagaponack. This month's Athleisure List comes from Paros Tribeca which makes you feel like you're enjoying a Grecian getaway, along with Seasoned Vegan which has opened recently in the East Village. We also caught up with Gaby Dalkin who is known for her take on food to tell us a bit how we can prepare for holiday entertaining as the season is around the corner as well as her latest cookbook. We also talked with Doreen Winkler, a noted sommelier who will bring orange wines to her 2nd Annual Orange Glou Fair. We talk about her boutique, her passion for orange wines, the event, and mroe.

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer, Miley Cyrus. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from EDM DJ/Producer, Honeyluv and from DJ/Producer/Rapper/Singer/Songwriter, Jesse McFaddin. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from icons Laird Hamilton and Chuck Norris.

Read the OCT ISSUE #94 here.

BRINGING THE HEAT | UBAH HASSAN

As many of you know, we're in the midst of Fashion Month with the beginning of Sept kicking off with New York Fashion Week, which makes us think of a number of our favorite models, shows, campaigns, and more.

Somali-Canadian model, Ubah Hassan, who lives here in NY has worked with a number of top fashion designers including Ralph Lauren, Gucci, and Oscar de la Renta to name a few! In addition, she is a business woman who launched her own brand of hot sauce, UBAH HOT, a few years ago! She recently partnered with one of our favorite eateries in the city, Serafina with a pizza that includes her sauce that will be on the menu over the next few months.

We wanted to talk about her background in fashion, creating her hot sauce line, being long time friends with the founders of Serafina, and of course being part of the cast of Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York with a rebooted cast that definitely gives us the taste of the city with these women who blaze trails in their industry and with one another!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Ubah, we have been fans of yours for years from your photoshoots, campaigns and extensive modeling career! When did you realize that you wanted to be a model and what do you love about it?

UBAH HASSAN: I didn’t realize I wanted to be a model, a photographer approached me and it kind of came to me naturally. After I started I realized it had everything I loved – working with different people, traveling around the world, my industry is like the United Nations in one little basket and I love that different diversity, different culture, etc.

AM: We've also love seeing you in the cast of Real Housewives of New York, not only is the cast great, but we always love how you bring your style every time you're on screen. Why did you want to be on this show and how has this season been for you?

UH: Bravo is an incredible platform and I thought it would be good for me and my branding to gain a different audience. It has also been amazing because I have bonded with the other girls and displayed myself really well. Seeing yourself on TV makes you learn a lot about yourself.

AM: What did you learn or love the most on being on this show?

UH: I learned that whatever you say has been recorded so you better remember everything you said. I loved bonding with the girls and understanding people in depth and understanding you should never judge a book by its cover.

AM: We also love that you're always sharing your love of food and glad to see you talking about UBAH HOT! We've yet to try this, but tell us about it and why you wanted to create it.

UH: I was so frustrated of always having to eat healthy food without flavor. I needed something to spice up my steamed vegetables so I would make different hot sauces to spice up the flavor.

AM: Before we get into your collaboration, what do you suggest that we should put UBAH HOT on?

UH: Anything you don’t want to eat. Putting hot sauce on your steamed veggies can taste like lasagna real quick.

AM: We love Serafina and have a number of favorites and have been going there for years! What do you love about Serafina and what do you enjoy eating when you're there?

UH: The pizza of course! I also enjoy their salads, their Foccacia Alla Nutella, Gnocchi and Lemon Pasta with Shrimp.

AM: How did your partnership between UBAH HOT and Serafina come about?

UH: Vittorio and Fabio have been longtime friends of mine. My favorite restaurant is Serafina and I eat there all the time. I am selective about the collaborations I take part in but felt that this would be a natural fit. Vittorio and Fabio are very selective about their ingredients flying to Italy to find the perfect tomatoes, olive oil, etc. As well as great to their employees that remain loyal to the Serafina brand.

AM: Tell us about this pizza that will be at Serafina locations as well as the soon to open Serafina Restaurant & Wine Bar which we can't wait to go to!

UH: This new pizza collaboration is a spicy take on a margherita pizza using habanero infused san marzano tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, finely sliced habanero and basil julienne. The pizza will be available at all 13 of Serafina’s NYC locations. Serafina Restaurant Group is opening their first ever restaurant + wine bar concept. The restaurant is set to open in early October and will be located at 110 University Place, New York, NY. Similar to its traditional restaurants located throughout NYC and the world, the menu will offer Serafina classics such as their beloved pizza and pasta dishes. Making this wine bar location unique, the bar will offer over 100 hand selected wines by owners Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato from all the regions in Italy and around the world. The wines will be high-quality but affordable for Serafina’s diners. With an extensive wine-pairing menu, guests will be able to learn and try about the different wines that compliment Serafina’s classic menu items. Think wine-tour without the hefty price of a plane ticket to Italy.

AM: Will this pizza be available for a limited time or will it be something that will stay on the menu?

UH: The pizza will remain on the menu for a few months!

AM: What are other projects that we should keep an eye out for that you're working on that you would like to share with us?

UH: Working to create a mocktail – more to come soon!

IG @ubah

@ubahhot

@serafinanewyork

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 52 + PG 53 Serafina | 9LIST STORI3S Bravo/Real Housewives of NY |

Read the SEP ISSUE #93 of Athleisure Mag and see BRINGING THE HEAT | Ubah Hassan in mag.

FOOD NETWORK NEW YORK CITY WINE FOOD FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE

The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival presented by Capital One takes place starting today on Oct 12th - Oct 15th! During these days, there will be a number of signature events, Walk Around Tastings, Intimate Dinners, Demo & Dine, Master Classes, Cocktail Parties, and more! Events will include some of your favorite chefs and Food Network Stars such as Michael Voltaggio, Marcus Samuelsson, Duff Goldman, Eric Adjepong, and Brooke Williamson, who we have included in previous issues of Athleisure Mag!

You'll also find a number of our favorite restaurants and chefs that are involved this year from Rosa Mexicano, The Standard Grill, Buddakan, STK Steakhouse, Pig Beach, Shake Shack, Archer & Goat, 5 Napkin Burger, Little Owl, Serendipity3, Boulud Sud, Fig & Olive, and Lamia's Fish Market to name a few!

Be on the lookout to meet your favorite chef, to taste a dish that will be next level or to be at an event such as Bacardi presents JJ Johnson's The Cookout: Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Celebration featuring DJ CASSIDY, Rev Run, Ice-T, DJ Mick, Tamron Hall, and Angela Yee. We also have our eye out on Brunch at the Blue Box Cafe hosted by Daniel Boulud and Martha Stewart which is at the iconic Tiffany & Co. store on 5th Avenue. There are also a number of intimate dinners with some of your favorite chefs that are presented by Air France. As there are a number of events taking place over these 4 days, make sure to go to the website to see if tickets are still available as some events are sold out.

As you know, Athleisure Mag always enjoys sharing our favorites in food through our indepth articles, our monthly feature The Art of the Snack, Athleisure List, and our podcast Athleisure Kitchen. We're looking forward to this year's festival and in the OCT ISSUE #94, we'll tell you about the events we attended as well as interviews with those that we have covered previously and those that have yet to be included in our issues. Make sure you follow @AthleisureMag across social handles so that you can also see what we're tasting, watching, and attending during that weekend!

To get ready for this year's event, here are some of our favorite moments from last year's festival. Without a doubt, this is definitely a series of events that are not to be missed whether it's enjoying dishes and restaurants that have always been on our list or those that are new to you! Grab your culinary bestie and be prepared for numerous satisfying bites!

IG @nycwff

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Food Network New York Wine Food Festival

Read the SEP ISSUE #93 of Athleisure Mag and see FOOD NETWORK NEW YORK CITY WINE FOOD FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE in mag.

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #93 | MIA MORETTI

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with DJ/Producer, songwriter and poet, Mia Moretti! We have been a fan of her work whether we're seeing her clubs in NY, spinning at Fashion Week and special events or enjoying her music like SWEET JUJU. We find out more about her journey to being a DJ, her creative process, upcoming projects and more. We also interviewed EDM DJ/Producer Timmy Trumpet who recently performed at EZoo, Lollapalooza, and Tomorrowland. His ability to blend his artistry as a classically trained musician with DJing creates a unique experience to his sets. We talk about how he came to merging these musical forms, those he collaborated with, and more. We also talk with house DJ, HoneyLuv who has had a busy schedule performing at a number of festivals and stages. We found out where she gets her inspiration from and why this genre is so important to her.

If you've been enjoying the latest season of Bravo's Real Housewives of NY as much as we have, you know that model and founder of Ubah Hot, Ubah Hassan is one of our faves. We talk with her about being on the show, what led her to create her hot sauce brand, her collaboration with one of our favorite restaurants, Serafina and a pizza update! Dancing with the Stars launched their latest season where DWTS pro and celebrities hit the stage to take the Mirror Ball. We caught up with pro, Britt Stewart to talk about her passion for dancing, shows and projects that she was in, and her road to this show. In addition, via her partnership with BAND-AID and OURTONES products, she is working to bring diversity to dance with access as well as tools that allow their performances to be seamless.

Next month, Food Network's New York City Wine Food Festival takes place Oct 12-15th. We share some upcoming events that are taking place as well as including moments from last year's festival. We look forward to attending this event as well as sharing what took place which will be in the OCT ISSUE #94.

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer, Chris Lake. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from Ubah Hassan and Britt Stewart. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from EDM DJ/Producer and entertainer INNA and Team USA Olympic Swimming 2X Medalist Elizabeth Beisel.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack shares a must-visit to Blue Rock in Virginia. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Pasta Corner and Nomad Girl in NYC. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the SEP ISSUE #93 of Athleisure Mag.

HOMAGE TO CRAFTSMANSHIP | CHEF JACQUELINE BLANCHARD

We love our meals to be fully seasoned. How we prepare them, the diversity of our ingredients (as well as knowing where they come from), the proper tools needed to create the ultimate presentation are super important. We caught up with Chef Jacqueline Blanchard, chef/owner of Sukeban an izakaya in New Orleans as well as at Coutelier NOLA which has an array of tools, cookbooks, and pantry goods that professional chefs, home chefs, and enthusiasts can enjoy when making their epic meals.

We wanted to know more about her culinary journey that took her from Southern Louisiana to noted Michelin starred restaurants including The French Laundry, Benu, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns where she continued to create dishes with a discerning eye. When she returned to her home state, this led to her taking her experience and relationships to illustrate her passion for Japanese cuisine and to showcase the ultimate crafstmanship in Japanese cutlery. We found out more about these businesses, why this Japanese artistry is one that needs to be continued to pass down for generations to come, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with food?

CHEF JACQUELINE BLANCHARD: At a very young age. I’m from a very big Cajun family. Food is just the center of most gatherings – pretty much all gatherings from the South. I’m from South Louisiana from Bayou Lafourche – I have very deep Cajun roots. My family has been down here since the late 1700’s, so big French background. Whether it’s been crawfish boils or food in general, food has always been a centerpiece. So for me, I’ve always been cooking at a very young age, My grandparents had a small outdoor kitchen and we would always make breakfast in there. It’s probably my earliest memories. Back in the day, those houses didn’t have a lot of air conditioning so they put small kitchens outside so it was a matter of keeping houses cool and that sort of thing.

I definitely got my roots from tugging at my grandmother's aprons - gumbo, all of the Southern staples and that just kind of stuck with me my whole life. I kind of knew pretty early that I wanted to pursue cooking professionally at a pretty young age. It's kinf of been with me the whole time!

AM: Wow! Tell us about your culinary journey from culinary school to kitchens that you trained in. I know that you were at The French Laundry and were at one of our favorite places, Blue Hill at Stone Barns which is such a fave!

CHEF JB: Yeah! That’s awesome! Totally!

I was lucky enough to go to Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University which has an amazing culinary school. I think that it’s still the only state school in the country that you can get a 4 year culinary degree in Bachelors Arts that is not a private university. It’s very rare that that exists. I had applied and gotten into all the fancy culinary schools: CIA, Johnson & Wales, and all of that. But when it came down to it, Louisiana would pay for my tuition if I kept my grades at a certain level – they had this program called the TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program or Students) program, and plus I had a soccer scholarship as well. So it made sense for me to stay in state. So I was pursuing culinary arts at the same time that I was pursuing soccer at the collegiate level. I kind of kept my discipline together for sure and then I blew my knee out my sophomore year and then decided to just focus on culinary. During that period of time, I felt that it was a pretty revolutionary time in the food industry and in restaurants where things were really starting to get out there and to take hold. This was like the early 2000’s. I went to culinary school between 2002 – 2006 and then frickin’ Katrina happened my senior year in college in 2005. So by the time that I graduated, I had been working in restaurants all throughout New Orleans in college and the city was just in really bad shape in the months leading after the storms so I felt that it was a really good time for me to sort of leave and to branch out.

The French Laundry cookbook had just come out while I was in college and that was a big source of inspiration for me. I think that the reason that I decided to go to Yountville – I just graduated and got in my car and went to California. I never thought that I would come back to Louisiana - ever. I had an amazing foundation built there, networks out there, it was a great launchpad for the next phase ofmy career. From there, I went to Frasca in Boulder, I was a French Laundry alumni and the restaurant had just opened. It was definitely an amazing experience and Bobby Stuckey (The Little Nell, The French Laundry, Scarpetta Wine) is a master sommelier and I really wanted to know more about wine in the same thread in learning about food. Then I went to Blue Hill and then it was back to New Orleans around I think 2010. I worked with John Besh (Besh Steak, Shaya, Willa Jean) at Restaurant August, I was the Exec Sous there for several years. Then I took on a position as a sous chef at Benu in San Francisco where we got 3 Michelin stars while I was there which was a really exciting time. I was also kind of burned out at that point!

AM: Can definitely imagine as you were moving to so many places!

CHEF JB: Yeah, I was traveling a lot and I was around 30/31 at that time and decided that I would move back home so that I could open Coutelier NOLA which is the knife shop and it gave me kind of a break from the grueling kitchens that I had been in all of those years. I still had my finger on the pulse of what the industry needed and places around that had all of these amazing tools and accessories that we had only been able to access online and you never know what you’re really getting a lot of times. Those were the earlier days of ecommerce. I wanted something kind of tangible where you could go and hold a knife. I had been exposed to these amazing Japanese knife makers throughout my career and with people that I worked with and that was great exposure. So it made me understand why Japanese knives are something that we prefer and it’s the Japanese craftsmanship. It’s the handmade nature of them, it’s the diligence to craft that the Japanese have that is basically unparalleled – whether it’s flower arranging, sushi, ceramics, whether it’s knife making. Everything that they do is with the utmost focus and diligence. It really makes their product stand out. So, I think that that was something I really liked and the relationships for me were important and diving as deep as I could into Japanese culture and really respecting the culture and just absolutely giving in the attention to detail that it deserved as well as the reverence. It's such a deep ocean of history! It’s hard for a foreigner – even as deep as I am into it now, you still feel that you are always going to be an outsider kind of thing.

The relationship that evolved out of this that has grown and the networks are really incredible because that’s how it works. That’s just such an important part of the business relationship to them. That’s why I travel there a lot. I really do everything that I can to dive deep in heavily at first into it as I possibly can. You know, along that wave, my food preferences definitely shifted and what I wanted in a restaurant started to shift. I had this idea that I wanted for so long and that completely morphed into what I hadn’t expected, and I decided that I really wanted to open Sukeban which is temaki based you know, doing 1 or 2 things really well like sashimi and temaki. It’s definitely something that everyone thought that it would be a high end tasting restaurant, but it’s certainly a little more casual than that. I’ve been able to bring all of my experience and my focus in that from a Michelin level to the food which makes it stand apart a little bit more in this town. It certainly isn’t the kind of sushi that most people are used to, but that all kind of evolved from the Japanese relationships. The nori, the seaweed that we get, I have a very close relationship with a seaweed farmer in the Southern part of Kyushu in the Ariaki Sea and you know we’re the 3rd restaurant in the US to get their seaweed as a non-Japanese person for our restaurant. We couldn’t get that kind of access to those products without those relationships unless I was going out there and doing those meetings with people. That’s why it is so important to have this access because of the relationships. It’s amazing ingredients from these small producers that do 1 thing really well their entire life. Like, that focus, they have been doing this for generations.

I have a knife maker down in that area that actually helped me link up with this seaweed farmer and they have been around since the 1200’s and their story and their history is just insane. It’s hard for us to wrap our heads around that, especially Americans being so young as a country. It’s just the kind of stuff that blows your mind! The soy sauce makers, the brewers, the sake producers, the people that make miso - every time I go out there, I’m doing a workshop with somebody. I’m making miso, I’m learning how to brew, learning soy sauce. Not that I am doing it over here, but I’m learning that process, and I’m really happy to be able to explain that process to customers and my staff which I think is really important in the long run.

AM: The first time that I went to Japan a few years ago, I was struck exactly by what you just said. I would see modern buildings and then nearby, I’d see a building or structure that had been around so many centuries ago. You’re really struck by how we’re little babies compared to all this history!

CHEF JB: Yeah, it’s so silly!

AM: It is! It makes you think that when we’re here in the US, it’s only been x amount of years.

CHEF JB: Oh yeah, it’s just a blip.

AM: I love the fact that you have really immersed yourself into this and bringing that heritage so that people can have an opportunity to see it. When I think of Blacksmiths, I think of Paul Revere types.

CHEF JB: Yeah!

AM: What are the Blacksmiths of Japan – how are they different, are they using different techniques?

CHEF JB: Yeah I mean, there are different techniques that you see in different parts of Japan and that’s one of the biggest things that I have noticed. Because certain areas have older traditional methods that have been passed down. Certain areas do it one way while others may do it in another way. They all sort of source their steel from 2 similar companies. So steel a lot of times is the baseline and the common denominator, but the forging technique is certainly the difference. It’s like giving 5 different chefs a tomato and then to tell them to make something with it, you’re going to get 5 different products. So it’s the same kind of thing in knife making: heat treating, approach – everyone is an expert in there area. There’s a guy that forges the blade out. There’s a guy that grinds the blade down to its shape, there's someone who sharpens it, there's someone who puts a handle on it, and it's definitely more of an efficient process.

These guys are doing it on their own from start to finish. People ask here in America why knives are so expensive and it’s because they are importing Japanese steel. In Japan, the process is more efficient. You get more production level out of it even though it’s still very handmade and piece by piece.

We ended up in this town a few years ago that was our last trip before COVID. We met a sword maker who was part of this area that is very historically relevant in katana sword making for the shogunate during the time when feudal lords were running the country. This area was very prolific in sword making for that kind of stuff. So, because the river itself had a lot of iron sand in it, they would extract it, melt it down, and then make a steel called tamahagane and that tamahagane steel is very dense and very heavy. It almost feels like a meteorite when you hold it. That was the steel that was originally used, I mean Japan doesn’t have a lot of resources when it comes to steel. So that’s how they made it, they extracted it from the river. There’s a guy there that we met who is making his own tamahagane steel in the old way and you don’t see that any more. You can’t really even buy that steel.

You can in a very sort of limited allotment be part of a family heritage to get it. The fact that this guy is doing that and we were able to watch him and we had dinner with him, he was an unassuming guy who we met when we were going to our knife makers and they let us know about this sword maker who was going to hang out with us. From him randomly joining us, it ended up being a huge highlight of our trip. He only makes a certain amount of chefs knife’s a year, and now we have access to those. That’s where that stuff is born out of. He trusts us and we have a mutual relationship with one another. We have been buying knives from him. It will be the first time that I have seen him from that drip before COVID. So that will be really Exciting! His method of forging is so different than anyone else’s and it’s really hard to describe because he’s a sword maker and that’s the method that he was taught. It wasn’t necessarily meant for culinary style knives in the tradition of sword making. That’s how it was so interesting to see him forged.

These knives are incredibly well made which makes them pricey. People get disgruntled about the price points of some of these. They wonder why the knives that they see in their IG ads are $14.99 and these are $40. We have to create an incentive for this next generation to keep making knives. These knives makers weren’t really making a good living and they weren't charging enough for what they were doing. So we’ve come into this new era where we’re telling them that they have to charge more if they want to make a living as well as to encourage the next generation to be able to keep making knives. A lot of these guys are very old and their sons, because of the time frame when the Japanese economy was booming because of cars, electronics, and plastics – post war WWII, there wasn’t a market for culinary knives from Japan. It just wasn’t a market. Everyone was buying German steel and French knives. That was in the 70’s/80’s/90’s – it wasn’t until the last 20 years where people began paying attention to Japanese cutlery in a lot of ways. It’s not to say that they weren’t making these, they definitely were and there was a market for it in their own country, but they were not exporting. So, a lot of their sons, because there was no – I mean many of these families for 8 generations had these makers, but their son decides to go to off to Tokyo or Osaka to get a salary job because that’s where the money was and that’s where the market and the economy were shifting. So there’s this lost generation right now where the grandfather’s or just that much older and they don’t have the patience to teach. At this point, they should have been with them for their whole life to learn the trade. You’ve got this new group of people who are the younger generation in our age group that are in their 30’s/40’s where this group is trying to revive it and to continue it on.

Some of these guys die and it dies with them. We want this to continue on and we want for people to understand that that’s part of the deal and that they’re handmade, imported, there is a level of craftsmanship that is unparallel, and you have to support a reason for this industry to continue. If they’re not going to be able to make a living, then why will they continue? So that's the kind of shift that we have been noticing too. A lot of times, it takes us to be able to say, you should be charging more for these. I don’t mind paying more for them because I know that I will be able to get it on our side on the retail end and at the same time, we need to make sure that they are supported and continue on. We don’t want to lose this craft.

AM: What are the trends that you’re seeing in cutlery, in the knives right now and are there 3 knives that everyone should have in their home kitchens?

CHEF JB: Yeah! I think that the trend is definitely towards Japanese and I see a lot of marketing towards big Japanese products that are actually not made in Japan and produced in maybe a factory in China. It’s just a Japanese name so it sounds like you’re getting what you’re looking for. Education to us is the most important thing because a lot of that exists out there that you would not otherwise know. I think that the biggest trend is Japanese knives. I think that more and more people are catching on to it. It’s more like, we have to do our diligence to the educational part because you can get lost in the sauce if you really don’t know sort of what you are getting into.

That being said, I think that the 3 knives I would say in everyone’s kit, which even that changes because everyone is so different and knives are so personally. You definitely want to keep in mind what you cook the most of. It may not be the same as what I use or what I cook the most of. So those knife preferences shift and a lot of the Japanese knives are very task centric and they are not limited to those tasks, but they are very specific to the task. So I would say for sure, a Petty Knife and that name derives from the French – petite so it’s a small knife. It’s kind of an everyday utility, it’s a little more utilitarian. I think a lot of people got used to Pairing Knives. To me Pairing Knives, they have their role, but I think you can get more utility out of a Petty Knife and those come in anywhere from 4”-6”. They’re a little slimmer and you can do all of the daily tasks. They’re the ones that you keep on your cutting board.

Another one would be a Santoku - san means 3 and toku means virtues in Japanese. So the 3 virtues in the kitchen are fish, meat, and vegetables so that knife is kind of like the everyday for everything kind of knife. I don’t really use the Santoku a lot, but I think that the bulk of people know that name and they understand that shape. It’s a very approachable size and style.

Then the third one can really be a mixture of a few things. For me, instead of a Santoku, I would use a Bunka. Bunka is just a similar shape, but Bunka Bocho means like everyday house knife in Japanese. It’s got a more extreme tip that I would say verses a Santoku that has more of a rounded off tip and it kind of slumps off. But a Bunka, has more of a very sharp top drop point. So you get a lot more precision in the tip when you’re doing fine scallions. Those little things to me are important and that’s just me over analyzing it – ha! I enjoy a Bunka and that would be my second one and I think for a lot of people the Santoku is a lot more approachable.

The 3rd one could be an 8” chef knife, a Gyuto – gyu is cow in Japanese and uto means cow cutter, so that comes down to what they slice beef with traditionally. This knife is a traditional chef’s knife that’s 8.5” for the everyday.

That third knife could also be a Nakiri that boxy flat edged vegetable knife. It’s the shape of a small cleaver, but it’s not a cleaver for meat. It has a thinner blade meant for vegetable chopping and it has a flatter edge. It’s a more scaled down version of what you would see in a Chinese Cleaver. The Chinese Cleavers are used in Chinese cooking a lot for everything! The Nakiri is more of a very stealthier, scaled down version, more wieldy and easier to use. It’s not as big and it has a flatter edge. It’s better for chopping up and down, not meant for rocking. If you’re a rocker, rocking back and forth, everyone cuts differently.

So it could be one of those, or it could be a slicer. That third knife is kind of a variable within what you do.

AM: Whatever you lean towards in what you’re cooking.

CHEF JB: Exactly. Not to over complicate it!

AM: In addition to knives being offered, what are other items that are carried at Coutelier NOLA whether in your brick-and-mortar or online?

CHEF JB: We’ve got a myriad of products for everyday cooking at home, for professionals, and we wanted home cooks in South Louisiana who are very serious and fancy themselves as professionals at home, they wanted access to these same sort of things. So it’s really nice aprons, the knife rolls, the tool rolls, all of the very curated small tools that we use – the peelers, the microplane, etc. The things that I have used my entire career in the kitchens that I have worked in – everyone is using the same tools and that’s what we wanted to be able to bring people. We wanted a curated scaled down version, because you couldn’t necessarily find it in a one stop shop. You could find the spatulas and these small tools and accessories and items for your everyday kit. We have beautiful hand carved walnut spoons and spatulas from my buddy Kylee Thatcher up in Kentucky, she does Boothill Kitchen and I designed a Roux Spatula Paddle for making Gumbo with her, several years ago. That’s been one of our bestsellers especially down here. We packaged that with Mosquito Supper Club Cookbook which has been one of the bestselling Cajun cookbooks that have come out of South Louisiana in years! Melissa Martin, she has won several awards for it. So we’re catering to our culture in general and of course the overall scope of the tools that we have used. We also have Konro Grills, the Japanese firebox grills that everybody is using now in kitchens. We’ve got a whole pantry section filled with amazing ingredients and Japanese pantry items from very small producers all over Japan and some in the US. We have a lot of tinned seafood and I think that COVID made us pivot to have this pantry section because people were starting to cook at home more and have better ingredients, cooler snacks, and things like that. We try not to get too crazy into it and to still be very diligent about our selections. Like the sesame seeds and the sesame seed products that I use at the restaurant, the Wadaman family in Osaka, I just visited them this past May. They’re 5th generation sesame family who make these wonderful products and we sell it at the shop and we use them in our restaurant. Those are very intentional type of things and we have an incredible cookbook section as well and very dialed in.

AM: I know and myself included, a lot of people enjoy watching Top Chef and 5 Star Chef and all of these different competition shows. It seems like the one thing in addition to flavors and putting it together and that’s plating! The use of plating teasers is always something that we see. What are your tips that we should know when we’re using these tools?

CHEF JB: So I think it’s to the task. Like we have several different ones, we have 4 different sizes. Some are straight, some are offset so whatever is kind of comfortable for you. I have always used them in professional kitchens because you’re dealing with delicate products and delicate placement. I still use them everyday at the restaurant when I am doing sashimi dishes. The larger ones I use on the grill because I don’t like to use big tongs as they’re bulky and clunky. They can also kind of indent your food with the big teeth on the front. So we have these really cool 30mm Tweezers that you can use. I use them on the grill exclusively, but you can also use them for pasta making when you're making spaghetti or anything like that. I use them a lot in just my everyday approach to cooking and grilling. Sometimes they’re not going to be as practical, but you can use them to get into the pickle jar and all of those kinds of things. I use them to prune some of my houseplants. They really do have a good span of use. I keep them in kind of a ceramic crock with the rest of my tools at home and in the kitchen as well as work. I think that they are extremely utilitarian. You don’t want to get your hands too dirty and when you are dealing with delicate ingredients and their placement, they’re great so that your fingers aren’t smudging everything. Especially in a post COVID world, we try to keep our fingers out of things as much as possible and to still have a delicate touch to things.

AM: We talked a little earlier about your restaurant that recently opened. What does the name mean and what can people expect when they are coming in to dine?

CHEF JB: We opened July of last year, so it’s a little over a year now. Sukeban roughly translates to “woman boss” or “girl boss” because there used to be this time in the 70’s/80’s in Japan where there were these women that kind of formed these girl gangs around Tokyo and Osaka. They would meet up after school and women weren’t allowed to be in the male group of anything. So it was a time when women were forming their own independence. Japan is very patriarchal and set in tradition and social roles as well as social norms. So this was a time in Japan where women were coming out of their shell and it was almost like a women’s lib movement that was happening. The Sukeban was the leader of the gang and they formed these little motorcycle groups and they were just these little after school groups. Everybody in Japan wears the same school uniforms and it’s like a little navy sailor attire. After school, they would put these little pieces of flair to distinguish themselves in their group. They were not violent and I thought that it was a cool part of Japanese culture and it sort of died out. It’s represented in films they’re known as Pinky Grindhouse or Tokyo Grindhouse films. The Sukeban has definitely been taken to a fictional level in certain ways. I don’t know if you have seen Quentin Tarantino's (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Once Upon a Time in ... Hollywood) Kill Bill, but the scene where Uma Thurman is trying to get to Lucy Liu and kill 200 people in that room, and she gets to that girl right before her, that’s a Sukeban with the ball and chain.

AM: I was thinking that when you said it. She’s my favorite!

CHEF JB: Yes! So one of my dear friends, she’s a Japanese chef and a woman of many things. She’s a renaissance woman. She’s a graphic designer, she’s a fashionista, she’s a chef and she’s amazing. We met when she stajed with me in New Orleans probably 15 years ago and we became immediate friends. She was a large part of me getting deeply into Japanese culture as I am. She had her café and she wondered what it was that I was going to do? I mentioned this thought and felt that the name was kind of cool and she said that it absolutely made sense. Sometimes the older Japanese people give you a weird reaction, but the younger generation thinks that it totally makes sense. I wanted to make sure that it was kosher and I certainly didn’t want to piss anybody off. Then she ended up designing my logo and really helped me with that process and it kind of represents me in all of the things that I have done and she felt that it was me incarnate. Just like breaking the norm, a lot of times, I was the only woman in the kitchens that I worked in. I took it upon myself to open these businesses. It was kind of born out of that.

What you can expect from us is a really high level and it’s infancy, it’s a Japanese handroll bar. It’s an izakaya and an izakaya literally means, a stay drink place so people have an izakaya that comes in thousands of iterations. It’s usually a pretty late night kind of situation. It’s a bar where you get snacks and things like that. When I go to Japan, we go izakaya hopping at night. We bounce around and everybody kind of does their one thing well and then you go to the next one. The common denominator is that there are drinks involved and it’s a small and calmed down atmosphere and I wanted to create the aesthetic of a lot of the places that I had experienced and to work with my architect on that. It came out to this beautiful space with an L shape bar and very much so the aesthetic that I have been experiencing.

Louisiana is such a huge seafood area and I thought that the parallel between Japan and South Louisiana with the seafood and the rice, and the drinking culture – these are like 3 pillars in a lot of ways. We are a huge rice producing region here, I don’t use Louisiana Rice because we haven’t quite developed the right one yet for sushi, but I do work with a Japanese American family in California, the Koda family at Koda Farms, we use their rice. They’ve just got this amazing story as well. For me, that was the draw. I have always been a big seafood head. Rice growing up as a Cajun is as much a staple as someone who grew up in Japanese culture. We would just eat buttered rice sometimes and we would have these cravings. It was kind of silly, but in a lot of the same ways, it was as important to a Cajun table as it would be to a Japanese table. I’ve always been obsessed with rice and all rice is different and cooks differently and then you look at how to really dial that in. So I wanted to feature that, I wanted to feature seafood besides gulf and Louisiana seafood, we do fly some stuff in from Japan once a week from the Tokyo fish market. We use other amazing domestic fishermen and fisherwomen around the US, sustainable products all over. So our scope on the fish purveyors is pretty wide. Bringing that level and quality of seafood with that nori, that we went to the bottom of Japan for – it’s harvested for us, it’s baked for us, it’s shipped for us. It’s incredibly crunchy and crispy and is good for you. It’s a superfood as well. This food is incredibly healthy as well as premium quality. I really wanted to focus on doing those things well and letting those ingredients speak for themselves. That was the biggest part for me. I didn’t want to over complicate it by putting in too many sauces because oftentimes, you can’t taste the fish or what the star of the dish is. So for me, that is the biggest part of what I wanted to do and to do that really well – sashimi and temaki rolls. That can sound very simple, but when you take the attention and the time to source those things and to make sure that all of these hyper quality ingredients are all in one bite, that for me is everything.

We’ve got a few little apps and starters and things like that. We wanted to have a place where you could get great sake and it’s hard to find great sake down here. Whether it hasn’t been sourced well or whatever, a lot of people would say that they didn’t really like sake because so many people have had bad sake here. Or maybe it’s always served warm and that’s not the only way to consume it. Warm sake does exist, but oftentimes here, it’s a mass shitty sake. So cold sake, we exclusively do cold sake here and I’m constantly going to sake breweries in Japan to understand the process and to better source better sake. I think that in the next 5 years, we’re going to see a mega wave of sake hit the way that we kind of see it coming. You know, there’s a certain kind of underground where a lot of us have this idea in mind of what we’re helping to shape as far as that. It’s like when Natural Wines started having its moment.

It's a similar thing. My friend Shawn Williams, she’s a sake aficionado here in town and we do a lot of small events together. She and I went to a sake event in NY, a few weeks back and went to Le Bernardin and we wanted to see the kinds of sake that they had on the menu. We decided to just drink sake with the whole meal. They had 2 bottles on the menu and that was it. It blew my mind. They were really good and we had both of them and then the somm ended up talking to us for awhile and then he ended up coming as he was off the next night and he went to the event with us.

AM: Yeah, you’re talking about the Joy of Sake?

CHEF JB: Yes, the Joy of Sake. Yeah and that was Brendan Kimball, one of the somms at Le Bernardin. So he came with us and we ended up tasting all night and enjoying sake and then we went to dinner after and now he’s saying it’s ridiculous that they only have 2 sakes when there are so many amazing ones out there. It’s the little stuff like that where I’m excited to see where it goes. There are some sake breweries in Brooklyn, and it’s happening. I think that the biggest part of it is water and that’s number 1 when it comes to sake. That’s why Japan has such great sake – the great water. Here, it’s hard because if you’re not sourcing directly from well, an aquafir or spring water, it’s really difficult when you’re just using filtered water to make sake. It’s kind of creating dead sake without much flavor profile and that’s the difficult part in America that we’re going to have to get over as we’re used to just turning on the faucet. I think that that’s the thing that I learned in Japan. All of these places I visited, there were 300/400 year old sake breweries that are all lined along a river watershed and there’s a reason for that. It’s rice #2 – so it’s water quality and rice quality. The biggest consumer of sake is the Japanese people. If it’s small batches or if they limit out what they can produce a season, the Japanese will consume it all. Oftentimes, we’re left with what’s left and I think that that’s all changing. I think that that besides the temaki and that we did that well, I wanted to make sure that we had an incredible sake selection so it can change people’s ideas on what sake is.

“Louisiana is such a huge seafood area and I thought that the parallel between Japan and South Louisiana with the seafood and the rice, and the drinking culture - there are like 3 pillars in a lot of ways ... For me, that was the draw. I have always been a big seafood head. Rice growing up as a cajun is as much a staple as someone who grew up in Japanese culture ... [I]t was as important to a Cajun table as it would be to a Japanese table.”

— Chef Jacqueline Blanchard

AM: I totally agree and I love drinking it with so many different things!

CHEF JB: Right, same! Pizza!

AM: For sure! Pizza, tacos, chicken wings, steak, there are so many amazing pairings that are perfect for it beyond what many believe to be the fit. I’ve had friends raise an eye when I had it with something that they didn’t think it was meant to be paired with it. Here in NY, there are a lot of options and yet there aren’t.

Right before the pandemic, I feel that 2 or 3 years right ahead of that, people were really big here in NY on cider and cider production and it was having an entire moment and I went to a few places in Brooklyn that were focused on that.

CHEF JB: Right!

AM: I kind of agree with you that sake is the next one that will have that really big effort I hope.

CHEF JB: Exactly! I hope it's not fleeting!

AM: With so much that you do with your restaurant, you have your store, you have these amazing buying and research trips that you’re doing, are there other projects that you're doing that are food event oriented or a cookbook or any of these kinds of things that we should keep an eye out for?

CHEF JB: Not right now. I think that I have mellowed out a lot. I think right now just focusing on the knife shop and the restaurant and not getting myself into too much, too fast – it’s about balancing and that whole dichotomy. Right now, my focus is on travel so I think that the next thing that I would want to do is to host trips in Japan. I think that’s a big part of what I see coming up next for myself and I know that every time I go, people say that they want to go to the next trip and the next trip. You just have this line of people that want to go with you. That’s awesome, but you can’t bring huge groups, but certainly a smaller handful of people. You want to share it with people and it’s hard for me to articulate it to people if they’re not there to experience it. You want to definitely have some shared experience with that. For me, that’s the next big thing. I don’t have a book in the works right now, but maybe down the line. It would be cool to see another location of Sukeban somewhere. I think it’s built to be able to replicate in that way, but not in a franchisee situation. To be able to bring that to another town or another city and that experience is pretty special. My focus is to continue to dial in my relationships and to find more incredible ingredients, more incredible makers. I’ve already been twice this year and I’ll be back a third time in Oct.

I think that for me, that’s the biggest thing. I would like to and I think with the travel aspect, it’s a huge part of it and a bit more immersive for people that don’t know how to access a lot of the things that I have had the privilege of accessing through the years of doing it. I’m more of a simple girl. But now that the restaurant has been there for a year, people are always reaching out for projects and things like that. So local food events like I’m going to do Oyster South out in Georgia this Oct when I get back from Japan. It's a really cool event with a bunch of chefs about sustainable oyster production in the South and things like that. More awareness about sustainable seafood and I’m trying to be more about that conversation and movement a little bit more.

AM: If we were to come to your home, what are 3 spices or ingredients that you have always at the ready at home that can make the most versatile dishes that you enjoy making?

CHEF JB: I definitely think that furikake is one of those – the rice seasoning. It’s sesame, seaweed, a little salt, a little sugar, a little katsuobushi flakes, and bonito flakes. I think that that’s something that I put in a lot of stuff. I go through a lot of it. Definitely chili crisps for sure. Japanese chili crisps are absolutely my favorites and there are a million in one of those things out there now. There’s one in particular that I really love and use and it’s a huge staple that I kind of roll through. I think that tamari, tamari is more on the gluten-free style soy sauce. To me, it's kind of almost a thicker consitency - not syrupy – but thicker than what you use for soy sauce. But it’s this sweet umami packed flavor. You can use it on anything. I use it dress tomato salad, cucumbers, you don’t have to even with just Japanese things. It can be a marinade for chicken, fish, or whatever. It’s just one of those incredibly versatile ingredients. We have it in the shop and the same one that we use in the restaurant is the one that I use at home. It's incredible and I think that it’s one that people don’t think to use a lot. It doesn’t have a dark nature soy sauce or color scheme to it. It’s lighter, but it’s also gluten-free so if you have gluten issues, I’m not, I don’t have them – I just prefer that. Of course the Wadaman sesame seeds just to throw in a fourth. I use them on everything. I roll through that stuff!

AM: I’m sure you do! I would love to have a plate at your house to see what you’re making!

If we were coming over for brunch as we’re still in summer, what would be the meal that you would cook?

CHEF JB: Hmm brunch! It would probably be a crawfish étouffée just to be real. As that’s a very frenchy sort of thing. It’s on the stove all morning and by the time you look at it, it’s ready to go! That or man, that could shift! It could be a crazy bagel and lox spread with Ikura, the Japanese Salmon Caviar or like Trout Roe, stuff like that. I would probably do something along those lines.

IG @couteliernola

@barsukeban

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Chef Jacqueline Blanchard

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 of Athleisure Mag and see HOMAGE TO CRAFTSMANSHIP | Chef Jacqueline Blanchard in mag.

TAKE IT TO THE WAVES | MONICA MEDELLIN

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

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

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

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

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

AM: Absolutely!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AM: Absolutely!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AM: Right.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AM: That’s a pretty big first!

MM: That’s big!

AM: That’s awesome!

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

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

IG @monicamedellin_

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

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

ATHLEISURE MAG ISSUE #92 | JOEL CORRY

In this month’s issue, our front and back cover story is with EDM DJ/Producer and hitmaker, Joel Corry! With his latest single, Drinkin' that dropped last Fri for his upcoming album, Another Friday Night with MK and Rita Ora. We caught up with him in Ibiza to talk about he got into the music industry, his creative process, his latest single, upcoming album, his schedule, passion for fitness, and more.

We also caught up with Creator/Executive Producer and storyteller, Monica Medellin whose docuseries Surf Girls Hawai'i, which can be streamed in it's entirety on Prime Video. We talked about her career, a number of her projects, her passion for sports, and why she wanted to share the story of native Hwaiian women who are competing to be on the World Tour. We also chatted with Team USA Olympic Swimming Medalist Elizabeth Beisel. She talked about her love for swimming, being an Olympic athlete, the importance of swimming as a skill that we should all know to be safer in the water, giving back through USA Swimming Foundation, Block Cancer and the Newport Folk Festival!

We took some time to talk with Chef Jacqueline Blanchard who has worked in Michelin starred kitchens and took her knowledge and passion back to New Orleans with Sukeban and Coutelier NOLA, her cutlery and culinary tools/accessories store. We talked about kitchens that she trained in, why she launched her store which includes craftsmanship from Japan with an array of knives, why she is passionate about Japanese cuisine and how it parallels with Southern Louisian food, and more.

Prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, we took some time to talk to Netflix The Upshaws' Jermelle Simon. We talked about his career which includes the stage as well as this series which is back for another season, his creative process, auditioning with Denzel Washington, and upcoming projects and manifestations.

Labor Day Weekend here in NY means that it's time for Electric Zoo. We give a bit of a preview of what to expect this season and in the SEP ISSUE #93, we will have interviews from artists that participated!

This month’s 9PLAYLIST comes from EDM DJ/Producer, Joel Corry. Our 9LIST STORI3S comes from singer/songwriter and entertainer, INNA. Our 63MIX ROUTIN3S comes from EDM DJ/Producer Joel Corry, EDM DJ/Producer Ferry Corsten, and Team USA Olympic Swimming 8X Medalist Nathan Adrian.

Our monthly feature, The Art of the Snack shares a must-visit to Centrolina inYDC. This month’s Athleisure List comes from Halifax Hoboken at the W Hotel Hoboken and Rua Thai in Brooklyn. As always, we have our monthly roundups of some of our favorite finds.

Read the AUG ISSUE #92 now.