I WANT YOUR HEART

Our cover shoot took place at DOGPOUND, NYC's hottest new gym. This boxing haven brings celebrities, Victoria's Secret Angels, models, athletes, and those that are truly enthusiastic about perfecting their look. DOGPOUND has become the prime location where this all comes together through their focus on training members through personalization of their individual goals.

After spending the afternoon shooting here for our anniversary issue, we had some questions for this temple of fitness. What started from a group of workout buddies, has grown into DOGPOUND founded by Kirk Myers.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us how DOGPOUND came to be before coming to your present location in Tribeca? 

KIRK MYERS: DOGPOUND was originally called Kirk Fitness. I was working as a personal trainer, but my business started growing really rapidly. It was then I met Breylis Pena, who wanted to become a trainer, and we formed a group in the morning made up of clients who wanted to workout but didn't have a lot of time during the day. We started calling ourselves DOGPOUND. At the time we were renting space out of multiple gyms, but it wasn't long before we outgrew the spaces--even getting kicked out. So, we decided to build our own. 

AM: What is DOGPOUND and what is the meaning behind the name? 

KM: Some of our clients started bringing their dogs to the workouts. 

AM: What is your background and what led you to create this studio? 

KM: I was a chunky kid, but my health took a pretty big downturn when I suffered from heart failure. I knew I would need to make some pretty serious changes. I started working out, I started to see the results, they wanted to work out with me. My training business started to grow. I started at 23, and I've always been an independent trainer. I realized that in order to be the top trainers in the world, we needed our own home base. 

AM: It's clear that beyond being a studio and a method, that it is a culture - what about it has made it a destination for models, celebrities, etc as a place to get the physique that your members want? 

KM: I think there's a couple reasons why. It's because we are so passionate about what we do, and people see that and recognize it. That type of energy is infectious. We are in an up and coming neighborhood, we want our clients to feel safe and comfortable in the space and we are results oriented. We've created a community, so most of the celebrities and models who workout here, their friends workout here too. 

AM: On the same note, how do you select trainers that you onboard to the DOGPOUND family? 

KM: We hire passionate and positive trainers. That's our number one and number two. Our roster of trainers is pretty diverse. It is not really about what you've accomplished, but where you want to go. You really want to be a trainer, you really want to help people? That's the kind of trainer we want. We can develop the trainers and give them the education they need. We have our entire boxing program. No one ever boxed before the program, but we brought someone in who was a world class boxer and he taught us how to box and now we have a boxing program. You have to want to learn. Some of our top trainers weren't trainers when they started. We look for trainers who want to constantly seek improvement. Just like our clients come here to be a better version of themselves.

AM: We like that those who are members of your gym have the ability to be trained by a number of your trainers, what was the thought process behind that and how do you feel that that is beneficial to them? 

KM: Because it’s always been my own business, I've had long term clients. The issue is that they can get bored working out with only one person. Not only do the clients get bored, but the trainer gets bored. When you have a team, you can offer strengths that you don't have personally in your service. It creates variety. Just today, I had a client who likes boxing, but I don't box, so I had him warm up with some boxing techniques with another trainer. Another client has a knee bothering him so I had a trainer that has more physical therapy background work with him. Workouts don't get stale. And, simply for a time standpoint, it allows for clients to make sure they can fit their workout in. If a client want's to workout but their only availabilty is at ten, but I'm booked at ten, they can work out with someone who has an opening at that time. Here you can always get into workout with somebody. 

AM: Besides the location at Tribeca, are you planning additional locations? 

KM: Yes. 

AM: Do you sell apparel that is branded with DOGPOUND or other brands? 

KM: As of right now, you can't really get apparel unless you come directly to the location. It's available only at the gym. 

AM: What types of workouts are offered at DOGPOUND? 

KM: Boxing, HIIT, Strength Training

AM: How important is offering nutrition as a service? 

KM: It's extremely important. I think nutrition is 70% of your fitness goal. 

AM: Clearly, you're a busy man, when you're not working, what can we find you doing on your "off time"?  

KM: Relaxing and snuggling with my Pooh Bear. Oh, and watching the Raiders. 

AM: When did you introduce the Machine Gun? 

KM: Four years ago. 

AM: What does the studio look like? Any signature decor? 

KM: It was designed by Fabien Baron. Black, white, and concrete. Very sleek look. 

AM: I know you have a varied clientele but could you generalize a bit and give me a brief description of the folks who go there? 

KM: There are finance guys and girls, artists, athletes, celebrities, models and a lot of people who just want to get results. 

AM: Can you be more specific about how the various disciplines are combined? Are you going from holding a yoga pose straight into a resistance exercise straight into a jump squat? 

KM: Just want to paint a clearer picture of the progression of the class.  The only class we offer is boxing, but we always start a one on one session with a dynamic warmup, but the workout is specific to each person's goals. All of our one on one programs are individualized. If you are a dancer, there will be more flexibility, toning and core work, but if you are looking to join the 1000lb club, there is going to be more strength training and heavy lifting.

Read more from the Jan issue.

ATHLEISURE LIST | THE ROPE & THE DANCE NYC

Originally from Ohio, Amanda Kloots has had a number of roles in New York, that have included being a Broadway dancer, Radio City Rockette and a head trainer at Body by Simone.

When methods are created, they focus on a concept. Amanda created the jump rope method after years of finding different ways to stay in amazing shape.  The jump rope became her focus when she realized that it's the quickest, most effective way to a full body workout. She also spent a number of years finding ways to use the rope for more then just jumping! 

The Rope NYC is a class designed by Amanda K as it is completely original and new! This interval based class has you use the jumprope to tone your entire body with moves created by her to use with the jump rope to keep your heart rate up.  

Amanda is the sole creator and instructor of The Rope and she also teaches a dance cardio class called The Dance. These two classes plus her one-on-one training complete her fitness brand, Amanda K. Her classes are a mix of dance and cross training, with a primary focus on form and details. This creates a unique and fun workout that will leave you drenched in sweat in minutes. Both classes are taught at Studio B at Bandier and Dance Workshop NY. Keep an eye out on additional venues that these classes will be held in 2017.

When taking her class at Studio B there are towels, toiletries in the bathroom, and the first level of Bandier is filled with an array of workout clothes for sale to shop from before or after class!

It's worth noting that Amanda K will have her own apparel as well as her own rope.

This class is high energy and is taught by Amanda, whose creativity is seen through her energy which is contagious and maintains a positive vibe through the workout. 

ROPE NYC

STUDIO B. 
164 5th Ave NY, NY 10010

Read more from the June issue

WELLNESS TRENDS 2017

Last month, we talked with Jason Wachob of mindbodygreen and his Annual Wellness Report that looks at trends taking place in 2017. We also interviewed those who work in those fields. We took a moment to chat with Craig Elbert, Founder and CEO of Care Of. We talked about how he conceived of the company that focuses on vitamin/supplement personalization, and more! 

Last month, we talked with Jason Wachob of mindbodygreen and his Annual Wellness Report that looks at trends taking place in 2017. We also interviewed those who work in those fields. We took a moment to chat with Craig Elbert, Founder and CEO of Care Of. We talked about how he conceived of the company that focuses on vitamin/supplement personalization, and more! 

CRAIG ELBERT: Prior to Care Of, I worked at Bonobos which is a men's apparel brand here in NY and I had the joy of joining it when they had 10 people and then growing it to over 250 people by the time that I left. One thing that we were really bullish on was how do we grow a great customer experience in a category that was stagnant in the case of that brand, it was men's khaki pants. There was nothing more boring than men's khaki pants but we wanted to make it more interesting.

While there, I had an interesting experience to purchase vitamins and supplements as I was getting them for myself and trying to get things to be healthier and to also purchase pre-natal vitamins for my wife. The experience of going into the vitamin stores it was just a bad consumer experience it felt bad and it was confusing as well as overwhelming. It felt just a little bit of a manipulative situation. So what we wanted to do was to take a look at how we could do something that was more consumer friendly - giving people the advice that they needed and to ultimately give them the knowledge on what was right for them.

For me, my experience in a brick and mortar store, there are thousands of products on the shelves. I didn't know which ones would be right for me and the store clerk who was just being paid above minimum wage - didn't give me great confidence that he/she could provide the right information. So we spent just about over a year working with experts (nutritionists, naturopaths, doctors, academics) who were focused on the space to figure out what are the different use cases for vitamins and supplements and what the use cases behind them and how do we help people to figure out what is right for them. That's how I, as a consumer who was trying to shop for the products myself, came to this.

AM: This is so true. I have been going to places like GNC since I was in highschool as I know the types of vitamins/supplements that I need. Or if I was thinking of something new to try that it was a bit overwhelming to select from the choices. 

What struck me about your website is that you have a clean interface as well as descriptions of what it is as well as how it is beneficial to your body.

How do you guys go about deciding what types of items will be offered for consumers?

CE: One of the things that we found and started seeing in our research, we initially found was that we were only going to offer items that had scientific research and strong scientific support. One of the things that we found early on was that some things have scientific support and others don't. There are products like Vitamin D and Folic Acid that doctors have a lot of date and support that it is good for your body and that you have something like Fish Oil which has good science but there are some studies that show it's a bit of a mix. Then you have probiotics which have a lot of promising research, but it's still early on.

So we realized that there is a spectrum, and that for our product offering we wanted to focus on anything that had at least good science and we basically cut out the things that didn't have great science and started with ones that had good science for traditional usage and that were ones that could be used for common human goals, whether that was for stress, energy or something more long term like heart health and bone health. So we tried to just cover things that people are looking for and cross referenced that with scientific support.

AM: So over the course of the year, whether they met your criteria - will you be adding more supplements/vitamins into the mix?

CE: So we do plan to add more. Our goal right now is that we launched with about 30 products - we'll get up to about 50 with different doses. We never want to have thousands of products as we feel that it is overwhelming and so we do plan to add on products as we have our pre-natal, which we have worked on for a long time which will launch in Feb or early March. We have a probiotic that launched this month and then we have turmeric and elderberry that is also launching this month. So we do plan to continue to introduce products but we don't plan on having thousands of them.

AM: I liked seeing that you are adding in turmeric and elderberry as those are two products that I use in addition to fish oil. Tumeric is on trend this season as a flavor that we will see a lot of as well. What is the process like for someone who is new to the site when they are picking products for their monthly subscription box?

CE: We wanted to keep it simple. We have them take a little personalization quiz, where we ask about their goals, their diet, their lifestyle and their values. Based on that we cross reference it with the research that we have done as their recommendation. They are able to see that and then adjust to their pack as they wish. They can take something out, add in or leave it as it is. Then they place their order and each month in that box, will be 30 daily packets all personalized for that individual with their name on it and the products inside. We try to make it easy as well as a bit of fun. The survey takes about 3-5 minutes and it helps to guide all the recommendations. 

AM: What drew me is that the packets have the person's name on them which I think is so cute and in an age of emailing and faceless activity it was a nice touch. With people who are busy or who travel a lot you can just see something that reminds you of home and you can seamlessly add it into your daily life.

CE: Yeah, one thing that we talk a lot about in personalization is the combination of technology as well as human empathy. We are building a brand that is focusing on using technology to make things easier so having the human touch factor is key. From having your name on it to having our customer experience team led by Amy here who is awesome in terms of responding to customers and ensuring that we have a good dialogue that feels humanly and not just a scientific laboratory. We wanted it to feel human, warm and empathetic, which is important for the brand.

AM: What are things you're looking to do as Care Of grows in 2017?

CE: We are definitely looking to build an app this year and are a little tight-lipped on what that will be in terms of features. Down the road, our goals are to focus on the business of personalized health. That could be vitamins and supplements and then additional products. We want to wade through the information that is out there and to make it easy for our customers for personalization which is a nice broad growth opportunity for us over time.

Right now we recognize that we are a new brand and we have to be able to execute and connect with customers on these first products that we have with these vitamins and supplements. So far it has been a lot of fun!

AM: Why do you feel that personalization in this field as well as in general is such a major trend that a lot of brands across various categories are looking to implement as we continue into 2017?

CE: As people, we're all very different and I think that we like to have this recognized. Realistically, we can live healthier if we focus on our individual needs. What's fun right now is that technology is making that possible. We're looking to unlock that technology to be able to build something that people always want to recognize that difference and being special and to have something that is unique for them which we can do for them with the technology that we have. 

Nutrition is an ongoing trend that we see from year to year. We caught up with Amanda Bacon of Moon Juice to learn about how she helps people's body and skin from the inside out. This was initiated by her own journey in food as a chef, food journalist and finding her way to her best self through her diet.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about your background?

AMANDA BACON: I traveled a lot through Europe and South America - living in Italy, then Uruguay for a while. These experiences stirred a love not only for the preparation of food, but in tracing ingredients back to their purest forms. When I came back to the states, I went to study at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, working at local bakeries and dairies. When I landed in California, I was fortunate to cook under Suzanne Goin at Lucques for a number of years. I truly found a mentor in her. I then moved into food journalism, reporting for LA Times Magazine when it launched. 

In 2006, I began studying the power of raw, medicinal foods to heal the hypothyroid condition I had had since I was a teen, in addition to my severe allergies to wheat, sugar, and cow dairy. Although I was still working as a chef in fine dining, at this juncture my whole diet changed. I ate primarily vegetables and legumes from the farmer’s market, and foods that would serve as hormonal adaptogens. Within a few months, I noticed a radical shift. My next round of blood work revealed that my thyroid hormone levels were back to normal.

Working in fine dining was amazing, but my own transformative experience – backed up by extensive blood tests, the scrutiny of several physicians, renewed feelings of vitality, and a shift in my personality, immunity, appearance, and thought – inspired me to create Moon Juice. These live, medicinal foods changed me from the inside out.

AM: Why do you like sharing about the power of medicinal foods that could work for you from the inside out?

AB: Food can be powerful medicine and no one has experienced its effects more dramatically than I have. Before I began to cook and eat in a way that allowed me to thrive cosmically, my thyroid was slow, allergies were rampant and I had the general feeling that I wasn’t optimizing this life and the body I was traveling in. There’s nothing I love more than talking to people about the ways that they can use food as medicine. The Moon Juice Cookbook is one of the ways I can help people.

AM: Why did you create Moon Juice?

AB: I created Moon Juice for people interested in a new way of living. Not a way where you have to erase your past, but a way fueled by excitement to help yourself live better. Our only intention is to add goodness and beauty to your life.

AM: What are the benefits that one may feel by including this in their dietary regimen?

AB: Being so clean on the inside that it shows in your skin. Having a complete makeover on your life outlook. Being a part of a movement that is changing the way food is produced and consumed. And no dishes! 

High functioning, bioavailable, potent, medicinal whole foods are packed with exceptionally high levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes turning them into tools we can use to tone, nourish and empower our bodies. These foods heal your cells, protect against oxidation, slow the aging process and support your immune system by stimulating and supplementing your bodies disease and infection fighting properties.

AM: We always enjoy a great drink and towards the end of last year we were introduced to Farmer Willie's, which is an alcoholic ginger beer drink that's not only refreshing but will definitely be a great beverage to enjoy during the summer!

We talked with the Co-Founders Nico and Max of this brand. What was your background and how did that lead you to working with one another, and what's the story behind creating Farmer Willie's.

NICO ENRIQUEZ: I first met Willie Fenichel 11 years ago on a beach in Cape Cod. I was this little kid who saw a makeshift beach volleyball game down the beach and asked to join. Turns out that the league of volleyball misfits was an every day thing. Little did I know that after that first game I would be hooked to a degree that I would literally try and spend every hour of sunlight during the summer playing with this crazy group. 

Willie's sister was the unofficial official league commissioner (she started the tradition and is in charge of bringing the net and ball to this day). I started eating dinner at their farm every day after games. Soon the Fenichel family became my second family. 

After getting to know Willie over several years he began sharing his home-brewed ginger beer recipe with me. It was amazing. I was always an entrepreneurial kid, I was trying to figure out ways to live the Cape life with the Fenichels all summer and not have my parents disown me as a beach bum, so I began dreaming, and told him we had to try bringing the ginger beer to the farmer's market in Ptown and see if we could make a living off it. Willie was in. 

Fast forward several years, I was about to turn 21 and I was sitting in my best friend's dorm room at Brown University. I started telling him about my dream to sell this alcoholic ginger beer with Willie. Max Easton (my best friend & business partner) had grown up working in the restaurant industry in London because his mom ran several bars and restaurants. He was an adventurous soul and I was an overly enthusiastic salesman, so he joined the cause without ever trying the ginger beer.

MAX EASTON: I spent most of my life on the other side of the pond in London, England, and grew up working in the restaurant industry as my mother started & managed several pub & bar companies in the UK. I was interested in coming to the US for college as I had no idea what I wanted to study & the UK university system really makes you focus on one major from the beginning. I had heard amazing things about Brown because of its reputation as a great academic school but partnered with a much cooler, less intense student body. I applied early, fortunately got accepted & headed to Brown after taking a gap year.

Nico and I met because he lived around the corner from my ex-girlfriend and I loved hanging out with him because he was always so happy & optimistic, and I found our times together hilarious (and still do) because we have polar opposite personalities. To characterize, I am the buttoned-up Brit and he's permanently got sand in his hair. 

We became closer & closer friends and one Spring night Sophomore year we were chilling in my room chatting about things we were doing or interested in. We both loved the idea of starting our own thing as both our parents were entrepreneurs, and so we started throwing out ideas. This was the moment when Nico mentioned Willie and his legendary ginger beer: as far as I remember, his words were: "I know this guy named Willie, who lives out on the Cape and he makes this amazing alcoholic ginger beer. I always thought it could be something. What do you think?" To be honest, I had no idea what to think, but after I said why not, Nico applied to this small Brown accelerator program to get us some funding & mentoring. We pitched the idea (without me having tried the product or met Willie) and we were accepted. That was definitely the start, but it only kept going because it was all hilarious and we enjoyed learning the steps you took to starting a business. We had both planned to start our own businesses some day, so why not learn about it while doing something fun? There was just no downside to us giving it a shot, so we kept taking small steps until it ended up being something pretty legit.

AM: When did Farmer Willie's launch?

NE: We launched May 22nd of 2015 at the Farmer's Market in Provincetown- a little under 2 years ago. We spent the 1.5 years before that day preparing, interviewing, working canning lines, filing legal papers, raising money, etc.

ME: The moment Nico mentioned Willie & his ginger beer in my dorm room was Spring Semester of Sophomore year. We kept working on it our Sophomore & Junior years - we brewed small-scale test batches, worked out where we could produce, sorted out the legal framework of the company, designed our logo & can, did more start-up competitions, talked to people in the industry etc. - and we had everything set by the end of our Junior Year so we decided to start selling it commercially. As Nico described, we started selling at the Provincetown farmers' market after our Junior year finals & lived out on the Cape at Nico's grandma's house for three months self-distributing cases to around 50 bars, restaurants & liquor stores. So, in terms of proper selling, we have been selling for just over a year and a half, but we have been working on Farmer Willie's for almost three years now. Many small steps!

AM: Ginger is an ingredient that has not only been on trend as a flavor for a number of years, but is definitely a core one when you think about wellness, what was the thought behind combining it with alcohol?

NE: Willie started brewing his ginger beer because he was bored in the winter living on the Cape and his mom was making beach plum wine, so he decided to try something different. He loved ginger and began seeing what would happen when he grated fresh ginger and added lemon juice, cane sugar, and yeast (to ferment it and add carbonation). Needless to say, the home-brew was spectacular. Fresh, simple ingredients go a long way. 

ME: We didn't! It's was all Willie. But the ginger trends were definitely one of the things that got us excited when we first looked into whether we could make Willie's ginger beer into something. It's exploding in bars & restaurants with cocktails such as Moscow Mules & Dark n' Stormies, juice bars & farm-to-table restaurants. So the idea that we could create a fresh, dry & seasonable alcoholic ginger beer that you can drink straight out of the can just seemed awesome. We drink it all the time and it's like nothing else in the ginger beer space.

AM: What are the health benefits that one can enjoy while consuming Farmer Willie's and how is it different than other beverages that are in its category or related categories?

NE: We can't ever say our beverage is healthy because it still contains alcohol and the FDA would do terrible things to us. That being said, what sets this ginger beer apart is that we use real ginger and it isn't so damn sweet. 

If you look at the mass produced ginger beer everyone drinks or even the specialty supermarket versions those ginger beers have anywhere between 30-60g of high fructose corn syrup which is 3X-6X more sugar than ours (and we use cane sugar). This means that other ginger beers have 170-200 calories in their cans - all from sugar. We have 150 calories in our can - 110 which come from the 4.5% ABV. So basically you can have a real fresh, dry ginger beer with alcohol and still consume less sugar than your average non-alcoholic ginger beer. To us, it's a no brainer (unless you are under 21, of course!).

We use simply prepared, real ingredients, such as cold pressed ginger, lemon, nutmeg, molasses. None of the "natural flavoring" crap. Ginger is a superfood, lemon gives you vitamin C. I don't know what nutmeg does for you but its a spice. Molasses doesn't do much but it sounds good haha.

ME: You grow a ginger beard. But seriously, we can't say that there are health benefits as we will get into trouble, but compared to other ginger beers, there is no comparison. As Nico said, there is a reason we are a much fresher, much more refreshing ginger beer.

But, in general, we're a fresh, low sugar, gluten-free alternative to beer. You are drinking something that lifts you up and you can drink it straight out of the can so you can bring it anywhere without an issue.

AM: Tell us about how you came upon the design of the can, as well as the logo as we love how distinctive it is.

NE: The can was designed by a legendary girl named Juliette Weiss. She is our head of design. We met because when we were studying at Brown, Juliette was down the hill, studying at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design). Our entrepreneurship professor Danny Warshay introduced us. We told her we wanted a clean, but quirky can to reflect our weird story and real ingredients. 

On our second meeting, Juliette came in with the idea that we make the front of the can into Willie's ginger beard so people could get the beard while they drink and post photos online. Obviously we had to do it. Especially because everyone knows puns and hipster-ass beards are the key to a Brown student's heart. Juliette absolutely killed it on the design and we ended up winning a prestigious package design award the next year. 

ME: The legend, Juliette Weiss. She's a beautiful, wonderful, pain in the ass - and we are so lucky to have her on the team. 

AM: Where is Farmer Willie's sold and where would you like to see it?

NE: Farmer Willie's is sold in MA and RI. Specifically in MA, we are sold on the North Shore, Boston, South Shore, Cape, and Islands. There are a ton of places that we would absolutely love to see Farmer Willie's sold. We love the sea and the ginger and lemon kill it with seafood and clean fresh ingredients so obviously the Matunuck Oyster Bar in RI, the Beachcomber in Wellfleet (out on the Cape), Branchline in Watertown (that place is literally fire), and The Poynt in Newburyport. Also, it's light and refreshing as hell straight out of the can so the spots, where we dance like idiots in Boston like Middlesex Lounge or Middle-east would be absolutely primo. Regardless, if you do not see Farmer Willie's in your local liquor store or bar and want it there, please ask them to ask for it because that truly helps us build this.  

AM: Will Farmer Willie's have any brand extensions into other categories, flavors etc?

NE: We are working on some absolutely awesome flavors to compliment our approach of fresh ginger and low sugar. I can't say what specific flavor twists yet though... 

AM: How is Farmer Willie's aligned to Athleisure Culture?

NE: We believe in having a damn good time but taking care of yourself at the same time. Basically real ingredients, low hassle, adventures for days. Also, the only thing that keeps us sane as we work 80 hour weeks building this thing are the mind-clearing runs.

AM: Will Farmer Willie's be involved in events, tradeshows, promotions etc that will take place this spring/summer?

NE: Absolutely, we are planning some speakeasy parties around Boston this Spring for people who follow us on social media each month. We are trying to organize some beach volleyball games outside the Beachcomber this summer.
Also we will be doing plenty of brewfests and tastings every Friday and Saturday night... anyone can send me an email nico@thefarmerwillies.com to ask which tastings/fest may be in your area if you want to meet anyone on the team.

AM: As co-founders when you're not running the brand, how do you take time for yourselves?

NE: We both dance like fools whenever possible. 

Sundays, I go for a hike or super long bike ride to explore the area around Boston. I find the air clears the head and slows down your thinking and there isn't the impact of running so I can give my knees and ankles a rest. Last adventure I found a crazy 200 ft rock quarry and got kicked out then lucked on some old WW2 forts on the north shore. Sunday night I go home to my parents house and chill with the fam, read the Sunday paper and eat the home cooking... Not gonna lie I bring my laundry home. 

Max loves running as well, nice food, bit of whiskey & chilling with his girlfriend. He also loves building up his music playlists & finding new music, which is awesome for me. He's the kind of man who takes over the music at a party, but honestly it is always for the better because people tend to dance a bit more. He knows how to read a party for sure. 

ME: It really depends on my mood, but I really do love running to shake off any stress or clear my mind. Got that from my mum & Nico. But if I have more time, I love finding new music, going for an awesome meal or going for a great walk with someone chill. Anything where you can come back feeling refreshed. 

AM: Nico, we heard that you run marathons, how did you prepare for it, what was the training like and when is your next one?

NE: I grew up just off Heartbreak Hill so I always wanted to do the marathon. The year I turned 19, I ran it but it was the bombing year and I was on the final stretch of Boylston when the bombs went off so I felt I really had to do it again. 

I run 5-7 miles every day and don't really have time for more so my training was just that. I had super slow times and the two days after the races were always painful and I was so stiff that I had to walk down stair backwards, but it was always more about proving it to myself then anything else. The next one is definitely on my radar- I want to do NY and others, but no idea when I will have the time or the stupidity to forget the pain of haphazard marathons of the past. 

See more from the Jan Issue 

N3W YOU

KATRINA SCOTT + KARENA DAWN

FITNESS TRAINERS + CO-FOUNDERS

TONE IT UP

THE GOOD

We have our Tone It Up Challenge going on right now (you can sign up HERE for a free starter pack!). It’s basically 6 weeks of total body toning workouts paired with the day-by-day 6 Week Meal Plan to bring fitness results to the next level for 2017! 

THE BUZZ

We have something really big coming up in late 2017 that we’re getting super excited about! We’re announcing all the deets in March, so make sure to follow both of our Instagram accounts @KarenaKatrina and @ToneItUp for more info to come ;)

We also came out with 8 brand new workouts called BODY LOVE and 3 of them are with one of our fave fitness icons Jillian Michaels!! They’re absolutely amazing routines that kick some major booty and torch calories.

KAITLYN BRISTOWE + SHAWN BOOTH

THE BACHELORETTE

THE GOOD

2016 was a BIG year. We moved to Nashville TN as a newly engaged couple. Living in music city, I was able to meet many talented song writers, and singers who have helped me pursue my passion in singing. It led me to hosting on the red carpet for the 50th anniversary of the CMA’s where I got to meet incredible  artists.

We have also been fortunate enough to start CitySTRONG, an indoor/outdoor group workout that takes place in cities all across the country. We’ve teamed up with our good friend Erin Oprea, who is also a well known trainer here in Nashville TN. It’s all about getting a good workout, but more importantly, having fun! A portion of the CitySTRONG proceeds go to a charity called “Creativets” which we are very passionate about. It helps soldiers overcome PTSD when they come back from overseas by pairing them up with song writers to help them create music. We are proud of that and have met some amazing people from that organization. Our platform has allowed us to have a voice with many different charities, meet incredible people who make a difference, and hear a lot of inspiring stories.

THE ADD

I think when it comes to resolutions, one that stands out to us is being more in the moment. We are all so caught up on our phones, and dealing with the pressure of being a public figure, that we always feel “on.” I think another thing we would love to do is work with more charities and make the world a better place. That is the stuff that evolves and makes us happy. Instagram is fun, but making a difference is rewarding. I know we love to say we will plan a wedding this year. But again, we don’t want it to be because of the pressure or expectations we are under from being on TV. We want to make sure it's when we are ready. Just because we don’t have a date, doesn’t mean we don’t love each other any less. We are busy. And hopefully in 2017 we can start to plan. 

THE BUZZ

I’m excited to announce my podcast. I have been brainstorming, and plotting for a while now on how to make it unlike any other. I always have a lot to say, and I like to make people laugh. I feel like I am meant for it. Who knows who will show up on there, but I’m hoping some people I've always wanted to get to know. I have also been co-writing songs, and recorded my first one the other day. I am proud of it and can’t wait to share it with everyone who believes in me. 

Shawn has been working SO HARD on his fitness and being the best trainer he can be. He is getting new clients all the time, and is also training for an IRONMAN that he will take part in this year. Now THAT’S an ambitious goal for 2017. I've never seen someone so dedicated in my life. You can tell it is his passion. He is extremely knowledgable when it comes to nutrition, health and fitness. Shawn has his own meal plans that he customizes to each person who orders one. It's not about a fad diet, he creates a healthy and achievable lifestyle. Whether you are a mom on the go, someone doing fitness competitions, or even just wanting to live a healthier life. There is something for everyone. 

He has been working every single day on his website that will be coming out soon for people to get on board. His passion for fitness is what inspired him to start CitySTRONG.com, where we get to meet people across the country and inspire them to be their best selves. 2017 is going to be a great year.

DAGMARA WOZNIAK

TEAM USA OLYMPIAN 2016 RIO BRONZE FENCER

THE GOOD

2016 was a memorable year for the books for so many reasons. It was a combination of the best moments in my life as well as some truly difficult times. I was able to qualify, compete, and medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. At the same time all this was going on I was going through some of the worst injuries I have dealt with in my career. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but that's life and instead of getting upset and feeling defeated, I never stopped hustling and never stopped putting one foot in front of the other. It was a time in my life that I felt I was tested emotionally and physically and it just made me grow more comfortable with who I am as well as understanding what I’m capable of.

THE ADD

This year I have decided to train and heal differently by slowing down. Athletes think stronger, faster, harder is the best way to go but at some point your body will shut down on you. One goal is to focus on clean eating that will help my body recover and heal faster from intense workouts and practice. Another goal is to improve my ability to be more self aware and strengthen my mindfulness in such a fast sport like fencing if you are worried about what has happened or what will happen, then you lose and I think that relates a lot to everyday life. You can’t be worried about losing a job for example or not getting an interview if you didn’t try to go for it. People tend to focus on beach body mode or losing weight for event and end up freaking out and binge eating. If you just take it one meal at a time, one meal at a time, one workout at a time, one becomes 2 and that becomes 5. Before you know it you went consistently for a month eating healthier and working out more. Making plans is necessary, but when taking steps towards it be in the moment and appreciate the handwork and everything that is going on at that point in time.

THE BUZZ

I recently got signed to Nike and I’m IN LOVE. I have always loved the company and its clothing so now to be a part of the family feels right. I got some things in the works so I can’t disclose them yet, but keep following me and check out my road to success! As of now, I’ve committed myself to training for 2020 Tokyo and I can’t be more excited about it. I love being an athlete and representing the US and I plan on doing it for as long as I can.

EDM TWIN DJ'S MIRIAM + OLIVIA

NERVO

THE GOOD

2016 was ace! We were able to travel the world on many exciting tours through The America's, Asia, Australia, and all over Europe, played around 200 shows at some of the biggest festivals and nightclubs in the world, hosted our own NERVONation shows at Ushuaia in Ibiza and SLS in Miami, continued our biggest residencies in Las Vegas at Omnia and Wet Republic, and Ushuaia, Ibiza. We were able to connect with so many incredible fans that showed their love and support at every single show and also towards our releases.  We launched our own record label GOT ME BABY! Records, had a Billboard Dance #1 with People Grinnin’, released so many special songs, explored a virtual reality 3d music video with “Did We Forget”, had exciting collaborations with Timmy Trumpet, Kylie Minogue, Savi, Amba Shepherd, and Nicky Romero - among others, and reached the DJ Mag top 100 poll as highest ranking females.  On a personal level, we have become very close with the team of people we work with, creating our own little family and we were lucky enough to to take our brother on the road with us for three months where we built some everlasting memories. We can only hope 2017 is as special and we are very grateful for the good times in 2016!

THE ADD

Any creative person will tell you that they struggle with evolving and balance. You see, our jobs are all encompassing so we are “on” 110% of the time. This can work against finding down time, but we need this “down time” to come up with new ideas, so I guess you could say it is a constant battle. In 2017, we will keep trying to find the perfect balance. 

Like every year, we will continue to keep pushing boundaries, to keep growing musically and explore different genres.   We are releasing a more pop record in February through BigBeat, Warners, which may or may not connect with our fans, but to us, we are excited about trying something new. Prioritizing studio time is also super important for 2017. We need to set aside time to be creative in order to fulfill our creative aspirations so this will be a major focus for us.

Giving back to charity is also a goal for 2017. In the past we have been involved in Breast cancer charities. We chose Breast Cancer because our mother survived it, but we are also interested in some other charities which we hope to work with this year. 

THE BUZZ

2017 is going to be another very busy year for NERVO!  Aside from working up our label - GOT ME BABY! Records, we have some special collabs coming with DVBBS, Danny Avila, Quintino - to mention a few.

We teamed up with some people in the business to launch our own management company called 25Eight Entertainment and we will be announcing some new artists and clients that we are working with in 2017 and beyond.

Our NERVONation shows will be back at Ushuaia in Ibiza, as well as Miami for Music Week and also taking it to the slopes in Austria, Solden.

From March onwards, we are back on a heavy touring schedule and are super excited about playing Lollapalooza in South America. 

LACEY STONE CELEBRITY FITNESS TRAINER + 

CELEB TRAINER ON E! 's REVENGE BODY WITH KHLOE KARDASHIAN

THE GOOD

This year was a huge year for me professionally. I got cast on Khloe Kardashian’s new docuseries REVENGE BODY, set to premiere on E! January 12th, 2017. I’ve been working in the fitness industry my entire adult life and I’m so excited for the world to see this show, because it’s not about extreme weight-loss it’s about health and being the best you can be from the inside out.
 
I traveled to Fiji for 2 weeks and spent that time meditating, reconnecting with my heart, and enjoying some long overdue quality time with 3 of my best friends. Being successful is RAD, but if you don’t take time to celebrate and reflect on your successes you miss  
out on the joy of achieving them.

My program 8 Weeks To Change Program has helped so many people find big time fitness results and increased happiness in their personal and professional lives. Because of this the Program has gotten a lot of national attention from The Steve Harvey Show, The Doctors, & E!

THE ADD

In 2017, I’m looking to expand 8 Weeks To Change Programs across the country and create a virtual environment which allows me to help people in all parts of the world find their inner athlete and the courage to be who they were born to be. 
 
I’m also looking to complete my first book and continue to spread the message that fitness isn’t about the scale, it’s about finding health from within.

If I were to choose one word to describe how I’m looking to live my life in 2017 it would be FEARLESS. I'm going to actively work at being the best I can be everyday, forcing myself to live life consistently outside of my comfort zone. Being fearless involves tremendous courage and to be courageous you must be confident in the unknown.
 
In order to grow my business and stay on top of what’s hot and what’s not, I’ll be hiring several more people to work on expanding my brand. That involves me learning to delegate and not be such a perfectionist control freak (hahahha). 

THE BUZZ

Some of my personal resolutions involve not being so hard on myself and learning to be more flexible and adventurous outside of work.

Last year Khloe Kardashian selected me as one of her go-to celebrity trainers on her new E! Show Revenge Body. The show premieres January 12th on E! 
 
I’ll being doing a fitness retreat in Bali with 14 lucky people looking to change their lives from the inside out. 
 
I’ll also be doing some clothing collaborations with Carbon38, which will launch in February 2017.

See more from the Jan Issue 

LANDMARKS & SOUND

Sometimes it's all about immersive experiences that allow you to escape. We took a moment with Producer/Director/Creator Daniel E Catullo III to talk about his new series Landmarks Live in Concert on PBS which is Great Performances x Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown x Sonic Highways which will release two episodes this month with additional destinations and artists starting in June. We talked about how he came up with this show, his background and how he got Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer, Chad Smith as a host!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We are so excited to talk with you about the show and had a great time at the launch at the Dream Hotel Downtown! We love telling stories, music and travel - so the fact that this new show has all of this is really phenomenal!

DANIEL E CATULLO III: Thank you so much for recognizing what we are doing. I'm just so damn passionate about what we are doing and it has been a long road and I am really happy that you see that!

AM: Tell us about your background and what led you to creating this show. Your roll is massive as the creator, director and producer - what do you do and how did this get to PBS?

DEC III: I have been in the industry for about 25 years. Believe it or not, I started out as a roadie years ago after college. I was in the music business for years and all through the 90's I traveled with hundreds of bands from Guns and Roses to Live to Extreme. In the late 90's I met a nice couple Michael and Glenis Gross. Glenis became my partner and Michael (her husband) produced Ghostbusters, Kindergarden Cop and Twins and all of these really big films.

Glenis and I became partners and she brought me in on the industry on a business level. The first thing that we did was to buy a concert theater together called the Ventura Theater and I was a promoter for a couple of years. It was a tough business, because back then they were starting to do all of the roll ups - Live Nation was just beginning and it was funny because when we sold the theater, I told Glenis, "Ok I corrupted you into music - take me into film now," which was kind of a joke - but we were actually going to start a film company that focused on low budget features. This is around 1999/2000, I told her that I knew all of these bands and that I believed that this DVD thing was doing to take off. Remember that in 2000 DVDs weren't really there and people still had VHS. So we came up with an idea to do music DVDs that was quite a risk. I went to Universal and all of the major record labels and said I want to do these music DVDs for all of your artists, I will fund it but I want to own the copyright. They all said I was freaking crazy, but I could do what I wanted because if I was gong to fund it, then I could have it. So we got the sign off on the label and we started to do bands. We started off with a lot of rock bands - Godsmack, Marilyn Mason and The Cult. The next thing I know, music DVDs go from selling at 1500 units to 200K units to 500K. In 2003 I did Rush in Rio and it sold like 2M copies.

The risk took off! All through the 2000's I was doing live concert DVDs. I was pretty fortunate as I have done over 200 live DVD concert specials. I have really enjoyed the mix of people as I have done everyone from Rage Against the Machine to Mariah Carey to Etta James - it's really all over the map. I did Dave Matthews Band in Central Park and when I was doing that whole thing, I always had an idea to do a TV series because one of the things that fascinated me about music on TV, is that when our parents grew up, music programming was really family programming.

Families would gather around the TV set to either watch American Bandstand or Ed Sullivan Show and they watched it for the music artists. It was something that everyone had in common and somehow there has been this disconnect. This has been happening over the past 30-40 years as new genres have started to come in. It's very seldom that parents share the same musical taste as their kids. I'm just like, how do we bridge this gap and create something that is kind of like this appealing thing to everyone. I started thinking of ideas for shows and sort of took a break from music around 2011 and started doing documentaries and got pretty heavily involved in the doc business. I started understanding a whole other level of filmmaking and worked with some of the world's biggest documentary filmmakers. The first one I produced was called The Square and it went on to getting an Academy Award nomination and won a few Emmy's, Sundance and went on to Toronto and the second one I was involved with as a producer won Sundance again.

We won Sundance two years in a row and the cool thing that happened is 1. I still had an interest and was missing music and 2. I saw another side of filmmaking and that I needed to take my show idea and make it into the docuseries, while adding in lifestyle, travel etc with the music. I realized that if we hinged on the lifestyle doc side that I could make something that would appeal to my parents, myself and my kids. That's when we started screwing around with it and for the past 3 years we have done nothing but this. We took $2M of our own money and this is the only thing that we have worked on the show. We shot a couple of pilots and the first thing that we had ever done with the show, I shut down Grand Central Terminal for a few hours and brought the Scottish band CHVRCHES in and that was the initial pilot. We then took that concept and tweaked it again and did Alicia Keys (this aired Jan 20th). It was a never-ending process that brought it to what it is now and there was a lot of input from a number of people - probably well over 200 people have worked on the past 2 shows and it has been a really great process in getting our 2 shows. I think we have the magic sauce now. About a year and a half ago, we started aggressively meeting with TV networks - about 20. One of the things that I was pretty adamant on and why it took so long to get to a deal was I didn't want to sell the show, as I wanted to retain ownership of the show. I would meet with the network and they wanted to acquire the show and give me a big check - but let's face it not to sound like a dickhead but I didn't want them to fuck the show up and turn it into a variety show that would canceled after one season. I have done enough music stuff that I wanted to stay in control of it and to be the showrunner. Literally, we were turning down big offers and interestingly enough, originally our first choice was to work with PBS, but they didn't have a slot for us! They wanted me to go to American Television and get a syndication deal and I didn't want to do that so we walked away from them. 

So we went back to other networks and almost signed with them and then Stephen Segaller from WNET (NY local PBS channel) - a big champion of the show, told me that the network wanted to get behind us for this show. He knew they could secure a national spot for the show as right around that time, Downton Abbey had just gotten canceled and there were a number of spots available. I was like, now PBS National is knocking down our door. I mean if you look at the history - the most successful music shows are on PBS. Great Performances, Live at Lincoln Center, Austin City Limits etc all of these shows are 40 seasons deep!  The average network if you have a big show, it's on for 5 or 6 seasons. If we wanted to build something that could last forever, then PBS was the natural home and it's the most flexible from a creative standpoint. At the same time, it's in almost every home in America! We have the opportunity to bring the younger demo into the show and this network. This past week has been awesome because when they started promoting the show, the execs at PBS have seen the response to Alicia Keys and they see that millennials are having an interest in this. Even cooler, they're starting to give me a longer leash so I can do what I want to do! We're all over the map! I have everyone from will.i.am to Andrea Bocelli but that is the challenge is that I can do a show with him in it and get a 16-year-old to watch!

That's why we have Chad Smith as our host - he has a wide demo that likes him. He can be very compelling interviewer that I would enjoy watching and he is also hip and fun enough that a 16-year-old would enjoy watching him! His job is to bridge the gap and so when we are in Venice, Italy filming behind the scenes on Bocelli  - we'll make sure that we have enough in there that a millennial will enjoy watching it! It really is a travel show.

AM: Was Chad always your idea in terms of the host attached to this show?

DEC III: Yeah I love Chad. I worked with him years ago and did a DVD live concert film for Chickenfoot (the rock supergroup with vocalist Sammy Hagar/ex-Van Halen,  bassist Michael Anthony/ex-Van Halen, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Chad Smith) and he was a blast. When we were trying to figure out what to do with bonus features and everything, Chad is such a goofball - I gave him a microphone to go out with people in the street to mess with them. This was back in 2009 and I loved what he was doing and I told him that I wanted to do a show with him. Matt Pinfield who was one of the initial hosts and is one of my best friends is an EP who also developed the show. When we did the search for a host, the first call we made was to Chad. At the time, Chad had a web show called, "In Conversation With". I was like I know you want to do that, but you have to hear me out on this concept and come into my world. I knew he would be happy with it. Interestingly enough, there was a massive feeIing of concern from the network and sponsors because they thought of him with the picture from the Red Hot Chili Peppers with the sock. They wondered if he was going to be crazy and I said, "trust me, he will be great". They even had language in my contract that it wouldn't be valid until I showed them footage of Chad. Now, they are the biggest Chad Smith fans in the world. 

Chad is so cool because he is a music buff. He is just as happy to interview someone like Brad Paisley (his episode airs on Jan 27th) as he is Alicia Keys. He has something in common with all of them because he listens to and appreciates an array of music and he knows how to connect. Even though Chad is older than me, the cool thing about the Chili Peppers is that they have managed to stay relevant and to connect with the younger demo even though older people love them as well. I am so happy with our choice and wouldn't change it for a million years!

AM: Why are you doing 2 episodes in Jan and then releasing the rest in June?

DEC III: It took us 9 months to get our contract. No one thought it would take that long honestly so we just went into production early last year. It's how it ended up and for Alicia we wanted the episode to coincide with the launch of her record. Unfortunately, the way it worked, we have to do things in order so you had to do your TV deal and then do your international deals, then your digital deals and then your sponsors. Unfortunately to get them all aligned and processed it takes over a year. 

When I talked with PBS, I knew there were some slots in Jan, and suggested we tease out two special one off presentations episodes to the world so they can talk about it and know what it is. There will be some people that will say "oh another music show on PBS" but this one is really different. When the official series runs in June, people will know what to expect. We wanted to show viewers and sponsors to see their reaction. We don't consider ourselves a music series, we're more travel based. My goal is to go after the millennials and it's a learning curve. Unfortunately, the way music shows have performed in the last 20-30 years, that variety category got very dull and dry. 

You're judged by a genre and if you want to get interest for your show you have to show them and let them see why you're different. Honestly, we were so damned excited, we couldn't wait any longer!

AM: How did you decide on the artists?

DEC III: It's interesting. Alicia, I have worked with 50 times, so she is a friend.  I wanted to do a show in New York and there is no one in the world who encompasses this city than her as she is New York. When I was developing it, I was doing other projects with her and during lunch I would talk to her about it and she would say that is dope and I  told her I wanted her to do it! She was amazing as she stepped up to do it, not once but twice - actually three times. We did a show on the Circle Line,another at The Apollo and an interview with her. Then Brad Paisley came around, because I went to West Virginia Univerity and both Brad and I have a connection there because I'm an alumnus and he is from the area and we both support the University. I have an endowment at the university and I was down there for a dedication of the new football stadium that I helped build and I was like I was to do a show there so bad! I went to the President of the university and explained that I wanted to do a show there to give exposure to the university to let the world know. It was suggested that Brad should do it and they had been trying to get him to do something there for awhile. They had been trying to get him there for 10 years and I knew I was going to figure it out so I reached out to his management and no one would call me back. Weirdly enough, I was at Sean Penn's party for the Golden Globes and he has a Haiti benefit. I also have a Haiti charity as well called Global Adolescent Project. Anyway I'm at the party and who am I sitting next to? Brad Paisley and we hit it off right away and I told him about the show. He said he would have his manager call me on Mon and he did, and we put together an organic show which turned out to be the biggest party thrown at the univeristy. It was a show for 30K people, we paid for everything and it was a free show. I can't wait for that episode to air on Jan 27th!

Throughout the show, we highlight all of these amazing historic landmarks over the world. People can look at it and get why we are there as we have the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower etc, and then they will be like West Virginia University? Viewers will say how is a football stadium a landmark, but when they watch the episode, they will see that the stadium means the world to that state, because there isn't anything else there. The stadium is a landmark there and it was so cool to showcase my alma mater. Then Bocelli, I'm a music buff and so I was hanging out with Dave Bryan (keyboardist for Bon Jovi) and he lives by me in NJ and we were hanging out in an apartment in NY and he gets a call at midnight as I was about to drive back to NJ and he asked me if I wanted to hang out with Bocelli for dinner. I was like it's midnight and he explained that he just finished hs concert at the Garden and that they were heading to a restaurant. So we go to La Cirque and they shut the restaurant down and it's Bocelli and his family. I hang out with them and had such a great meal as he was charming and his wife was lovely. I said that they should be on the show and I ended up working with him twice as he did my show as well as an ice skating special that took place in Verona. They're wonderful people and any chance I get to go to Italy I jump on it. A lot of the artists are through friends or people that I have worked with before. Especially before your show airs, if you want to have a big artist, it is going to be through friends and family. 

Now that the press is hitting, we're getting blitzed. We're having over 70 artists that have submitted and record labels are reaching out. I have a meeting next week at Sony. I'm glad that PBS is giving me more of a leash to book younger acts especially with them seeing the results of Alicia Keys. We are doing Sting in Sweden on June 16th and we're going to start finalizing the rest of the lineup. 

AM: Have you finished production on this season?

DEC III: NO, we're only 4 shows in and have 8 more to go! We go back into production the end of next month and will shoot through June. After the two that are being shown this month, we only have 2 in the can (will.i.am and Andrea Bocelli). All the other shows are being shot when we're back in production. We will do one every other week and once we get into production mode it's pretty easy. We get our team together, we spend a week in each city and you'll see that after the first two episodes, there is a lot more travel in them. A lot more interactive travel so you'll see kind of like in Anthony Bourdain that Chad is walking around, going to restaurants and seeing landmarks with the artists. We were a little handcuffed with Alicia and Brad because we couldn't get Chad to be with them as he was touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and it was crazy scheduling along with deadlines via PBS so, we had to shoot those episodes a little differently. In the future, Chad will be at the show, we'll see the city with them and it will be very Anthony Bourdain like. We're Great Performances X Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown X Sonic Highways.

AM: Who are some of your favorite artists that are going to be participating, but that you haven't shared with us yet?

DEC III: It's one I can't announce - we have one of the biggest bands in the world that is one of my favorites, but as we are still going through contracts I can't say, but I can say that they will be in Jamaica! That one and I am doing a huge show in Cuba, both are super great!!! We have some big ones coming up and it's surreal as I have worked with so many artists in my life. But now it's really cool as I can pick and choose who I want to work with! Sting's manager was at the party last night and she was telling me how excited he was to be at the show. We're honored to have him at the show. 

We have a behind the scenes reality show being done on us which is kind of funny but we're like a traveling circus and I bring my wife and kids with me. My daughter is 12 my son is 5 and they were brought up around this and I have pictures where they sit in the TV truck with me and my daughter has met Alicia Keys a few times now. My daughter got to bring 10 of her friends with her backstage to hang out with her and my daughter has directed on her own and she is actually a better music director then I am! She has a real eye and when I brought them to Italy with me, I took her on a remote camera and I had Ben  (he does Super Bowl halftime, U2 and the biggest shows in the world) and he was like she's better than he was. The kids today have a great eye and to be able to do this with my family - my wife works with us and to bring people to great places to meet the artists and to  have the next 6 months to go around the world - I am so stoked! My kids get to see different cultures and as I think about it, I should give my daughter a producer credit because she's 12 and I ask her opinion all the time to see if she gets what she's seeing, if she would watch it etc because if you can't connect with the kids then you're screwed.

AM: You must be so excited from all of the feedback that you've been getting!

DEC III: Yes, if you're going to play the long game and want to have the longevity of 30-40 years, PBS was the right fit for what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. Now we're seeing the love from them and it will be the beginning of a very long relationship. They know that if they have a show that the public reacts well to, they don't care about the ratings, they will keep it going. They are about delivering quality programs. That is without a doubt - the best choice that I made and I don't regret it. Some people - investors wondered why I made that choice and I was happy to give them all the reasons why it was a sound decision. 

They are phenomenal partners. I kid you not, go look at Great Performance's and they have put a social media post up about Alicia Keys every 20 mins for the past 5 days straight! It's just crazy.

PHOTO CREDIT Courtesy of PBS/Landmarks Live in Concert

See more from the Jan Issue 

THE ART OF THE SNACK | GREENS ARE KEY

Lifestyle holistic guide and host of the onine cooking show, Eat with Intention, Cassandra Bodzak has a new book that illustrates her focus on wellness - EAT WITH INTENTION. It combines recipes, a bit of background on them and meditation together, which makes for a balanced book to refer to as you make a number of the tasty treats. It's a book that definitely focuses on the mind, body and soul while leaving you great items to share with family and friends.

 
GROUNDING SALAD

When we are ungrounded, it feels like chaos; all the thoughts in our heads are swirling, we don’t feel solid or at peace, and we don’t make the best decisions because we’re not thinking clearly. By connecting back to nature and eating more root vegetables and warm foods, we bring ourselves back to a steady, more powerful place. Roasting vegetables—especially root vegetables—gives them a grounding energy, which has an incredible power to connect us back to the earth’s core. This salad is a great balance of both: it not only quenches the desire for the greens of a salad, but it also includes hearty roasted veggies, such as Brussels sprouts, carrots, and potatoes, along with lots of great spices, to bring you back down into your root chakra.

DOWN TO EARTH MEDITATION

Ideally, you would do this meditation on a nice patch of grass or perhaps sitting on the beach; however, you can still connect yourself to the center of the earth in just a few minutes right in the comfort of your home. Find a comfortable place to sit in easy pose close
your eyes, and start focusing on your breath—in through your nose and out your mouth. Bring your attention to where you are sitting on the floor and imagine a thick rope extending out of your being, all the way down and around the core of the earth, anchor-

ing you to it. Feel that rope crystallize and strengthen, all the way from the base of your spine into the earth’s core.  Take a moment to really embrace this connected, anchored, and supported feeling, knowing that you are being held so powerfully by this planet, and then carry that with you throughout your day. Sit anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes. When you are ready to re- lease and end the meditation, gently move your fingers and toes, rub your palms together, and place them over your eye sockets as your slowly open your eyes and expose them to the light.

Yield: 2 Servings 

Ingredients

5 tablespoons (75 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 baby potatoes, sliced (I prefer the
colored ones, but any kind will do!)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
2 teaspoons onion powder, divided
½ cup (44 g) quartered Brussels sprouts
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
¼ cup (31 g) sliced carrot
2 teaspoons slivered almonds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup (68 g) chopped kale
1 cup (29 g) spring mix salad

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C, or gas mark 7). Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the potatoes, oregano, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil, and 1 teaspoon each of the salt, garlic, and onion powder and mix until thoroughly coated. Transfer the potatoes to one of the prepared baking sheets and roast for 10 minutes, or until the edges turn crisp and golden brown. 

3. Meanwhile, combine the Brussels sprouts and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil in a small bowl and toss with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Arrange them on the other prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or
until the edges turn crisp and golden brown.

4. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Add
the sliced carrots, almonds, turmeric, curry powder, and ground coriander, reduce the heat, and lightly sauté for several minutes, until the shallots and garlic are browned.

5. Divide the kale and spring mix between 2 individual serving bowls. Add the roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts, and then finish with the carrot mixture.

FOCUS POTION

Distractions are everywhere these days, especially with smart phones and social media vying for our attention throughout the day. My daily focusing weapon is always my meditation and reciting what I’m here to do. What’s your mission statement? I’ll give you a hint: For all of us, at its core, it is being a living example of love incarnate. When we adjust our focus through our divine purpose, we have a lot more power when it comes to steering clear of mindless distractions. This potion is a bit of a secret weapon of mine for days when shiny objects are getting the better of me. The sweet combination of grapes with the alkalizing punch of kale and celery perks you up while magical rosemary focuses all that good energy in the area you need it!

DIVINE PURPOSE VISUALIZATION

Sit in easy pose with your eyes closed and focused on your third-eye point (the space between your eyebrows). Take long, deep breaths in through your nose and out your mouth. Feel your body come into a calm balance. Now, bring what your purpose on this planet is to the top of your mind. If you are unclear of what your purpose is, use “I am here to be love,” because that is all of our main purpose. Allow it to be your mantra for a few moments, letting it roll around your head, down your spine, and through your breath flow. Now bring to mind what this would look like to you. How do you behave? How do people around you feel and act? What’s the ripple effect in the world? Allow these images to flood your mind for the next 3 to 5 minutes before bringing yourself back to your original purpose statement, taking a deep breath in, holding it, and releasing it.

Yield: 1 Serving

Ingredients

3 celery stalks
2 cups (134 g) baby kale
1 cup (150 g) grapes
3 drops rosemary essential oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, to garnish
1. Put celery, kale, and grapes into a juicer and juice into a large glass. 
2. Stir in the rosemary oil, garnish with sprigs of rosemary, and serve immediately. 

RADIANCE JUICE

Roald Dahl famously said: “If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” I couldn’t agree more. Beauty starts from within and permeates outward. Thinking thoughts that nourish your soul and eating foods that nourish your body are more effective than the most luxurious makeup money can buy. You can’t fake true radiance. This juice is packed with nutrients that will get you glowing from the inside out! Pineapple juice promotes healthy skin and helps prevent acne; watercress is also great for your overall health with its high levels of vitamin C; and cucumber has cooling and moisturizing properties.

RADIANT HEART MEDITATION

In this exercise, we are going to pull energy into our heart center and allow it to saturate every cell of our being, filling us with light and allowing our inner radiance to pour outward as it overflows.

Begin by sitting in easy pose and breathing long and deep. Close your eyes and focus on your heart center while using your hands to slowly and steadily pull the energy surrounding you into your heart. Your hands should stay at heart height and move from the sides of your body inward, as if you are catching a ball and bringing it into your heart. Feel the light in your heart expand and grow brighter with each motion. Continue for at least 3 minutes, gradually building up to 11 minutes. Take a deep breath in and bring your hands into your heart, right palm on top of left. Feel the energy pulsing through your heart center and allow it to distribute throughout your entire being. Imagine it filling up each cell with its loving light energy. Exhale.

Yield: 1 Serving

Ingredients

½ cup (17 g) watercress
2 cucumbers, peeled
2 limes, peeled
1 cup (166 g) pineapple chunks

1. Starting with the watercress, juice all the ingredients into a large glass. 

2. Lightly stir and serve immediately

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Cassandra Bozak

See more from the Jan Issue 

ATHLEISURE MAG; JAN 2017

Our Jan Issue, the Anniversary issue is out tomorrow but you can take a peek now, right here!

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | Paul Farkas

BINGELY BOOKS

MINCEMEAT: THE EDUCATION OF AN ITALIAN CHEF
Leonardo Lucarelli
Other Press

BOOK COVER ART | A Mincemeat: The Education of An Italian Chef/Other Press

Italian chef Leonardo Lucarelli’s daring and honest memoir MINCEMEAT: The Education of an Italian Chef relays the sordid details of working in fifteen different restaurants across Italy—rising from the bottom of the food chain to head chef.
 
This book is filled with hilarious, heartbreaking, and gritty tales of immigrant kitchenhands, relationships with waitresses, drugs, and problems with law enforcement. An honest take on the inner workings of a fast-paced, brave, and heartless industry. It is a story about fighting tooth and nail to achieve your dreams and finding comforts in delicious food along the way. 

A PORTRAIT OF EMILY PRICE
Katherine Reay
Harper Collins

BOOK COVER ART | A Portrait of Emily Price/Harper Collins

A Portrait of Emily Price centers on fix-it girl extraordinaire and would-be artist Emily Price, an art restorer who has never encountered anything she can’t fix – until she meets Ben, an Italian chef who seems just right. When, after a whirlwind romance and marriage, Emily joins her new husband on a trip home to Italy, she learns that his family, is another matter.

Upon landing in Rome, she is enchanted with Italy. But instead of allowing the land, culture and people to transform her, Emily imposes her will upon everyone and everything around her, alienating Ben’s tightly knit family. When she unearths family secrets, Emily wonders if she really fits into Ben’s world. 

WELL FED WEEKNIGHTS
Melissa Joulwan
Greenleaf Book Group Press

BOOK COVER ART | Well Fed Weeknights/Greenleaf Book Group Press

Melissa Joulwan’s third cookbook in the Well Fed series, Well Fed Weeknights: Complete Paleo Meals in 45 Minutes or Less, features a collection of weeknight dishes inspired by takeout classics, food trucks, and cuisines from around the world. All of the recipes in Well Fed Weeknights are completely free of grain, dairy, legumes, and soy. Each dish is thoroughly tested and easy to make with affordable ingredients that can be found at a regular grocery store.
 
Debuting in Well Fed Weeknights are fun and flexible “Food Court Recipes;” in-depth blueprints for how to create customized, themed dinners (Meat and Potatoes, Burger Night, Velvet Stir-Fry, The Ultimate Salad Bar, and more), and tips for navigating the grocery story, the best kitchen tools for fast cooking, how to cook quickly and eat slowly and more.

BINGELY STREAMING

AGATHA CHRISTIE'S WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
Acorn TV

PHOTO CREDIT | Agatha Christie’s Witness For the Prosecution/Acorn TV

Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution is a new BBC and Acorn TV adaptation of her acclaimed story.

A brutal and bloodthirsty murder has stained the plush carpets of a handsome London townhouse. The victim is the glamorous and rich Emily French (Kim Cattrall). All the evidence points to Leonard Vole (Billy Howle), a young man to whom the heiress left her vast fortune and who ruthlessly took her life. At least, this is the story that Emily’s dedicated housekeeper Janet McIntyre (Monica Dolan) stands by in court. Leonard however, is adamant that his partner, the enigmatic chorus girl Romaine (Andrea Riseborough), can prove his innocence. Tasked with representing Leonard is his solicitor John Mayhew (Toby Jones) and King’s Counsel, Sir Charles Carter KC (David Haig). 

CAPTIVE
Netflix

PHOTO CREDIT | Captive/Netflix

From the highest profile cases to those kept hidden from the public, comes a new docu-series from acclaimed executive producer Doug Liman and producers Simon and Jonathan Chinn. The producers of Captive have gained privileged access to the most challenging negotiations of our time - revealing how hostage-taking, and the efforts to resolve it, have evolved to address an escalating international trend. The episodes look at a wide range of situations from the viewpoint of everyone involved: the victims and their families back home, the experienced negotiators, business leaders, government officials and the kidnappers themselves.

SHUT EYE
Hulu

PHOTO CREDIT | Shut Eye/Hulu

Charlie Haverford (Jeffrey Donovan) is a failed magician who now works as a psychic/conman overseeing a number of fortune telling parlors in Los Angeles. Employed for many years by a Romani kingpin, Charlie’s life is stifled and going nowhere until a blow to the head jars him into a new mindset and makes him question everything he has ever believed. When his wife, Linda (KaDee Strickland) urges him to break out on his own from 

Fonso (Angus Sampson) who runs the psyhcic empire and has controlled the Haverford's future, he's careful - because he knows that one wrong move will land him in a shallow grave.

Shut Eye takes a darkly comedic look at the underground world of Los Angeles storefront psychics and the organized crime syndicate that runs them. The story revolves around a disgruntled player in the organization who finds his cynical world view challenged when he starts to experience visions that may or may not be real.

ALMOND BEAUTY

Almonds are a great treat, but they are also a gift for the skin, whether your product has almonds in their entirety, essence or just the oil. We have a roundup of some of our favorites to include in your beauty routine as we come to the end of the year.

| DOVE ADVANCED CARE Clear Tone Sheer Touch | TRILOGY Age-Proof Active Enzyme Cleansing Cream | L'OCCITANE Almond Supple Skin Oil | NUDE SKINCARE Replenish Daily Moisturizer | PHOTO CREDIT UnSplash

RESOURCES FOR BETTERING YOURSELF

by Ed Maguire

How do you become smarter, healthier, happier, more successful, wealthier, more fulfilled? What tools, systems, insights or advice are most useful?

The category of self-help and personal improvement books and videos available numbers in the hundreds of thousands – a quick search of Amazon’s self-help category reveals over 546,000 books that fall under the self-help category. There are many resources to help people deal with illnesses, tragedies, additions, stresses, difficult life circumstances. These are typically focused on solving specific challenges (often enhancing or substituting for therapy, counseling or support, not groups.) That's what I am referring to here.

Self-improvement literature has been a personal interest of mine for quite a while. This is a particularly American genre, with origins that extend back to Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists in the mid-19th century. Tony Robbins is perhaps the most successful and best known American self-help guru, but there are loads of others that specialize in helping improve mind, body, being more successful at work, being happier…There’s an element of frontier spirit in the idea that anyone can improve themselves, or start afresh through self-empowerment.

One of the first books of this genre I read was Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” which I first read as a teenager. In this book written in 1936, Dale Carnegie illustrates his lessons by telling his own stories. The crux of the book is that being interested in others, and getting them to reveal their passions and interests is the quickest way to find common growth with people, the first step toward building relationships and trust. This is a book that in my view should be required reading for anyone making their way into the world.  It’s a fundamentally optimistic book, a quick read,  with immediately practical tips that are relevant for a lifetime. Another one of his books is How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. This is a book that I’ve found useful to return to from time to time when I need a mental boost or find myself feeling stressed.

I started digging deeper into the genre in 2007-2008 as I was listening to some Tony Robbins recordings he made reference to a number of his own sources that had helped him develop his own philosophy of self-empowerment.  The granddaddy of them all is Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” which was written in 1925 and has remained an essential classic to this day. Napoleon Hill was a fledgling reporter who got the chance to interview the legendary industrial baron Andrew Carnegie, who made him an offer to follow him around for a year, with no pay or guarantee of any remuneration, in order to learn the lessons of success from him – and over 500 others that he interviewed. Hill’s wisdom has proven powerful and enduring. Using a folksy, homespun style, Hill laid out methods and processes to help people become successful.  You can see him in this 1954 video here.

In my experience, there’s a common thread that emerges from a lot of self-help literature: “what you think becomes real”. It’s a simple concept, explored in literature, religion and spirituality and increasingly in hard science. A recent popular example is Rhonda Byrnes’ “The Secret”. It’s what you think about, and where you focus that manifests in other parts of your life. Thinking about the right things, in the right way, is the “hack” to improve your life.

So my two recommendations for anyone starting down the path of self-improvement would be  (if you haven’t already) to read “Think and Grow Rich” and “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. These are time-tested, clearly written and inspirational.   You’ll be better for it. 

Ed Maguire has worked as an equity analyst covering the technology sector since 1999 for a variety of firms including CLSA Americas, Merrill Lynch and CIBC. Previously he led sales for independent music distributor Twinbrook Music while working as professional musician performing on bass, violin and keyboards, composing, arranging and producing a variety of styles of music. Ed holds a B.A. in Music from Columbia and an M.B.A. from Rutgers in Finance and Management Information Systems. He lives in Millburn, NJ with his wife Lily, their two kids and the dog Spock.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, SWEENEY

Alison Sweeney has literally grown up on TV from her first commercial at the age of 5 for Kodak, various shows and then in 1987, she came to the soap opera, Days of Our Lives which she spent over 2 decades as Samantha Brady. She is also known for her roles as the host of NBC's Biggest Loser, Hallmark's Murder She Baked and more. This Daytime Emmy and Soap Opera Digest Award winner and nominee continues to share her love of life in Food Network's Kid's Sweet Showdown as a host (she has hosted and co-hosted various Food Network specials).

We took a moment to sit down to talk with this Soap Opera queen to chat about her Food Network special, how she keeps a healthy mindset, what she's up to for the holidays and her personal style.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We've been fans of yours for a long time as we got our first glimpse of you as Sami! How have you crafted your career to take on so many roles and opportunities beyond those of just the Soap Opera world? 

ALISON SWEENEY: Thank you for being fans! Growing up on a soap opera, where we learned so much dialogue each day, taught me how to be in the moment and how to plan. That upbringing has helped me throughout my life as I now tackle various roles. I make a point to continually push myself, but always to keep it manageable with a schedule and to only look at what’s next on the list. By focusing on what I’m doing in the moment, I’m able to give it my undivided attention before moving onto whatever is next. Plus, as my kids are getting older, I’m able to accomplish much more during their hours at school and with after school activities.
 
AM: We're Food Network fans for sure, how did Kid’s Sweets Showdown come about and what can we expect from this show?

AS: As followers of mine on social media know, I love to cook at home and I’m a big fan of Food Network. I’ve hosted several specials for the network so when they asked me to host Kid’s Sweets Showdown for the holidays, I jumped at the opportunity. 

AM: Being healthy is a mindset, but it's also about making a time commitment, how are you able to do this during the holiday season especially with children and so many other responsibilities?

AS: My family and I are incredibly active and we view the holiday season as a time to get out and do so much more because we don’t have limitations with work, school and other responsibilities.

Whether it’s taking a hike or skiing down the mountain, it’s a great time of year for us to have fun while still being healthy

AM: Outside of the holidays how do you stay healthy from favorite meals, workouts, etc that you do?

AS: I love cooking at home and with my kids helping me. I think by making our own meals, we’re more aware of what we’re eating. Our go-to favorites are shrimp and veggie kabobs that my kids and I prep and my husband grills. For workouts, nothing beats a long run with good music and it’s a great way to explore neighborhoods or cities if I’m traveling.
 
AM: How did the partnership with Arm & Hammer Spinbrush come about and why are they a perfect stocking stuffer?

AS: I’m a big fan of Arm & Hammer products and believe in having a strong and confident smile so when Arm & Hammer approached me about working together to raise awareness of their Spinbrush and toothpaste, it was an organic fit as they’re products I already used and a daily routine my family and I are committed to. Plus, who doesn’t love a fresh toothbrush for the new year! It’s a great stocking stuffer and one that my kids look forward to each year.
 
AM: With the holidays, it's literally almost 6 weeks of so many activities - do you have any traditions and how will you be spending it?

AS: My family and I always disappear to the mountains for some time in the snow. We love being first on the chair lifts and last off the mountain before curling up by a fire. 
 
AM: What's your holiday style suggestion from what you would wear to a holiday brunch, holiday activities with your kids, Christmas and New Year’s Eve - do you have any go to staples?

AS: I love to have a sparkly top or shoes to be extra festive over the holidays. I also learned a great tip years ago which is to carry a handbag so one hand is always full, providing less opportunity to
graze the food at holiday parties.
 
AM: When the holidays are over, how will you bring some much needed zen and centering back into your life as you embark upon the new year?

AS: My family and I are creatures of habit so the first day of school is the first day we return to our normal routines and get back in the mode of school and work. The holidays always give us a great time to take a break so when the day comes, we’re ready to tackle life again in the new year and to make every day count.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Food Network

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW | GIFTING ESSENTIALS

When it comes to gifting, it's essential to have the tools to get the job done. When prepping your gifts, it's important to ensure that your bows are steamed with the Reliable DASH 100G (the flat plate really presses it), name tags are uniform via the Brother PT-D210 label maker, and Scotch Thermal Laminator keeps your party plan pages intact throughout the holiday season! 

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | UnSplash

THE ART OF THE SNACK | EAT LIKE FRANK SINATRA

In over 70 years of existence, Patsy’s Italian Restaurant has had only three chefs, the late Patsy himself, his son Joe Scognamillo and Joe’s son Chef Sal Scognamillo, who has been manning the kitchen for the past 30 years.  Frank Sinatra first met “Patsy” Scognamillo in 1942, which sparked a lifelong relationship between Patsy’s and Sinatra. Whenever he was in NY, he would visit the restaurant with his friends.

FRANK'S CLAMS POSILLIPO

Serves: 4 
Ingredients

32 littleneck clams
3 tbsp. olive oil
6 garlic cloves, halved
¼ cup onion, chopped
28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes with juice
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp. tomato paste
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley, plus more for garnish

Directions

1. Scrub the clams with a stiff brush, rinse thoroughly in cold water and place in a large pot. Add cold water to just cover (or slightly less) and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon remove the clams to a large bowl as they open and discard any that do not open.

2. Strain the cooking liquid though a chinois/strainer lined with a coffee filter. Reserve ¾ cup of the strained cooking liquid.

3. Return the clams to the pot, add cold water and stir to remove any remaining sand. Drain and reserve clams.

4. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium flame and sauté the garlic halves until golden, about 2 minutes. Remove garlic with tongs and discard. Add the onions to the garlic oil and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, until soft but do not brown. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add them and their juice to the saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste and add the basil and 1 tbsp. of parsley. Simmer UNCOVERED 5 minutes.

6. Add the reserved clam broth and clams to the sauce and bring to boil. Cover the saucepan, reduce heat and simmer 8 to 10 minutes or until the clams are heated through. Spoon the clams and sauce into serving bowls, garnish with parsley and serve immediately with hot crusty bread.

FRANK’S VEAL CUTLETS MILANESE

Serves 8
Ingredients

½ small Italian stale baguette (½ lb.)
2 tbsp. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Pinch of oregano
¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. olive oil
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
8 veal cutlets (about 1 ¼ lb.), pounded to slightly less than ¼"
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 lemon cut into 8 wedges

Directions

1. Break or cut the bread into large chunks and place in a food processor. Process until the bread is reduced to fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl and stir in the cheese, oregano, and parsley. Gradually add 3 tbsp. of oil, stirring, until thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Spread the flour on a large plate, place the eggs in a shallow bowl, and spread the seasoned bread crumbs on a second large plate. Coat each veal cutlet in the flour, then the beaten eggs, and then the bread crumbs, patting with the palm of your hand to ensure adhesion. 
 
3. Heat 1 cup of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high flame (to a frying temperature of 350 F) and sauté the veal for 2 minutes.  Turn and sauté for 1 additional minute.  Do not crowd pan. If necessary, fry the cutlets in batches. Remove with a slotted spatula and drain on paper towels.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with lemon wedges.

FRANK’S LEMON RICOTTA TORTE

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 3-lb. container whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 2/3 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs
½ tsp. vanilla extract
Zest from 1 lemon
Butter and flour, for greasing pan

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F.

2. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and juice from the lemon until well blended.

3. Butter and flour a 9x2" round baking pan. Spoon the mixture into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. To prevent the spillage of rising batter over the side of the pan, construct a collar around the pan that extends at least two inches above the top with a sheet of aluminum foil folded in half lengthwise and secured with tape.  Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 55 minutes.

4. Refrigerate for three to four hours.  Remove from refrigerator and allow to return to room temperature before serving.

ATHLEISURE LIST | CROSSTOWN FITNESS CHICAGO

CrossTown Fitness is a group exercise studio that focuses on 50min scalable total body interval classes as well as 1 on 1 personal training with the industry's leading professionals. It's called CrossTown because of its multiple locations where clients can train at these facilities with their membership.

The founding location is in the West Loop on Madison Street between Halsted and Racine--1031 W Madison to be exact. A second location is located two blocks east of Wrigley Field at 3600 N Halsted St. They are currently scouting for their third location.

At CTF, there are full bathrooms with showers, towel service, toiletries, and hair care products provided by Solo Salon in the West Loop.  The front café is called the Daily Feed which has protein smoothies that make for a quick meal replacement after class. Also, there are protein shakes, protein bars, and other nutritional snacks available.

CTF offers hand-selected apparel and works within the company towards creative and comfortable clothing and designs. They carry everything from tanks and tees to winter hats and onesies for CTF babies as well as their branded apparel.

CTF specializes in High Intensity Interval Training which is showcased in Total Body classes. It's a  focus on attainable and challenging functional fitness. Total Body classes are 50/50 cardio and strength. There are also Total Body Strength classes which take out the pure cardio and focus on strength training and heavier lifting. Total Body Mobility is a mix of yoga recovery and stretching and Total Body Excursion Run includes 3-4 miles of outdoor running with bodyweight exercises.

The Winter Games Fitness Challenge is a competition that starts in January. This gives members the opportunity to show off their strength and athleticism that they developed throughout their time with CTF. In order to qualify for this competition, all members will have to demonstrate outstanding strength, power, endurance, and agility. Competitors will have to successfully complete and exceed the workouts and tests created by CTF trainers.  Those who make it through the qualifying and semifinal rounds will move on to the finals where the top male and female competitor will be chosen. 

| QUALIFIERS Jan. All Day 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26 & 31 | SEMIFINALS Feb. 4th 6:30am 2017 | CHAMPIONSHIP Feb.  18th 6:30am  |

CROSSTOWN FITNESS

1031 W Madison Chicago, IL 60607
3600 N Halsted Chicago, IL 60613

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Crosstown Fitness Chicago

ATHLEISURE LIST | INSCAPE FLATIRON

INSCAPE is a new meditation studio that taps into your senses during your session at its Flatiron location as well as on the app that you can download.
The former founder and CEO of Intermix, Khajak Keledjian, had his company acquired by Gap for $130 million dollars. 

Although he's quite active as he has invested in compaines that include Proenza Schouler, Flywheel, We Work, Aloha and more - meditation has been his way of finding happiness from within and his aim is to extend his love of various yoga and meditation practices that he has given his fashion friends over the years to the masses.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why did you choose NYC as your first studio space?
 
KHAJAK KELEDIJAN: The first INSCAPE studio is in NYC because I live here, and I know first-hand the noise and over-stimulation that comes from an urban center like Manhattan. Also, this city is a true melting pot. Where else can you have so many different variables – lifestyle, age, occupation, income, background, schedule – in one place? If we can reimagine meditation here, and create a cohesive community and bring together like-minded individuals in an anonymous city like New York, we can do it anywhere.

AM: Who designed the space? How did the collaboration come about?
  
KK: Winka Dubbeldam designed the space. We first met when I was at Intermix about 10 years ago. A year and a half ago, I called her to ask if she knew any designers who would be interested in this project. I thought it was too small for her, but she was actually inspired by the idea. Turns out we have parallel interests in yoga and meditation – Winka’s been meditating since her early 20’s. She naturally recognized the interplay between aesthetics and meditation. We designed the space together, thoughtfully. Working with someone who authentically understands not only the design you’re imagining, but its essence, is invaluable.

AM: What is the meaning behind the name INSCAPE?

KK: I want people to focus inwardly which is why I called it Inscape. I  wanted to create a space that was safe, grounded, calming and a place that members could come to anytime. 

AM: Describe the studio. What’s unique about the studio? Why did you focus so much on the physical environment?
 
KK: Our intentionally designed 5,000 square-foot studio is a quiet space away from the distractions of everyday life, offering fully immersive group experiences for meditation and relaxation. The studio is an experience, not just a destination, and incorporates elements that address all sensory touch points - sight, sound, smell, temperature, light and taste.

Sound, light and temperature need to be precisely balanced (they can make you feel safe and enveloped like you’re in a womb) without distracting from the concept and feel of the space. 

AM: What is the layout? What are the separate areas like?
 
KK:The Studio – we’ve created a transitional space to just “be.” You can read, meditate, sit reflectively. On one hand, the area has no Wi-Fi, encouraging a tech timeout. On the other hand, we’ve created an interactive art installation that might inspire some selfies to capture that feeling of awareness and clarity when you finish a session … so you can remember it when you look back at the image.

The Dome – The room is circular to symbolize wholeness, lifecycles, togetherness, equality. The dome has a woven ceiling like ancient temples in India, a dreamcatcher, a mandala – like all of INSCAPE, meditators can interpret how they see it.
 
The Alcove – This area is inspired by the philosophies of Burning Man – self-expression and inclusion. It will transform seasonally to represent how we are also constantly changing.

AM: Who are your teachers?
 
KK: We’re reimagining meditation: we’re merging traditions with modern thinking & technology to create a new experience that's focused on the meditator.

Our work with teachers was completed prior to the sessions in our content development process. Our content was highly researched and tested in order to create our optimized experience. The sessions are audio-guided, rather than a teacher, so that everyone is an active participate in their own personal experience. We’ve created a neutral space where our facilitators empower the meditator to build their skills. By delivering our content via audio guidance, we bring a level of consistency otherwise impossible, since so many classes can vary based on which instructor is leading. Additionally, this innovative approach allows us to further marry our app and studio experiences.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Inscape Flatiron

INSCAPE FLATIRON

45 W 21st St NY, NY 10010

7 WAYS TO UP YOUR ORAL HEALTH GAME IN 2017

With the New Year fast approaching, it’s time to once again consider what our resolutions will be for 2017. One of the more popular, yet generic resolutions is simply to “get healthier.” For those looking to set more specific goals, improving your oral health should be a top priority. Oral health is profoundly important, and goes far beyond simply having white teeth or a pretty smile. Did you know periodontal (gum) disease can either be an indicator or effect of other serious, systemic health problems?

Considering this, Dr. Caitlin Grimes of StoneCreek Dental Care has shared her top seven ways to help ambitious New Year’s “resolution-ers” up their oral health game in 2017: 

1. Choose the right foods. We’ve all heard that we need to avoid sugary foods so we won’t get cavities. While this is true, there are certain foods you should be eating that can actually help your mouth. Next time you’re in the kitchen, reach for crunchy foods like celery, carrots and apples — not only are they healthy, but they also increase saliva production. More saliva means less bacteria-producing acid in your mouth that may lead to cavities and erode your enamel. Calcium-rich dairy products (think: milk, yogurt and cheese) are also great options to help strengthen your teeth. 

2. Change your toothbrush. Chances are, you haven’t changed your toothbrush in months or maybe even a year. If your toothbrush is worn out, it definitely will not clean your teeth as effectively as it once did, and may even be leaving behind plaque and food debris. Throw your old one out, and aim to replace it every two or three months.

3. Pick up that floss! There seems to be a never-ending debate about whether or not flossing is a necessity. The answer is actually quite simple – it’s YES, you need to floss! Flossing gets rid of food trapped between your teeth, helps removes bacteria and plaque and freshens breath. It’s a win-win-win!

4. Go easy on the brushing. Listen carefully, it’s not that you should brush less — you should be brushing at least twice a day for two minutes. That said, many people brush their teeth way too hard. Vigorous brushing can wear down your enamel, and lead to increased tooth sensitivity or damage your gums. So, next time you brush, pretend you’re brushing the surface of a tomato, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of how much force should be applied to your teeth.  

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MARVIS Toothpaste

5. Don’t neglect the tongue. This may not be the most pleasant news you’ve ever heard, but bacteria doesn’t just live between your teeth — it also covers your tongue. This bacteria causes bad breath, and can move to your teeth and gums and create other problems. You don’t necessarily need to go out and buy a special tongue scraper, just remember –  when brushing your teeth, be sure to give your tongue some love as well. 
 
6. Consider cosmetic choices. Did you know that crooked teeth that rub against each other wear down more easily, and are more likely to build up plaque that can lead to gum disease? 

If you don’t want metal braces, there are several great and increasingly affordable options for invisible braces. Veneers and implants should be considered if you have more serious dental concerns, but are an investment and must be done properly. Be sure to consult with a trained dental surgeon who specializes in cosmetic dentistry prior to making any decisions. 

7. Make and keep your dental appointments. Visiting your dentist twice a year for a cleaning and checkup is crucial. Regular cleanings help prevent cavities and gum disease, improve your smile and boost your overall health. Most importantly, you’ll be able to address your concerns with a trained professional (not Google), and ensure there are not any serious issues going on that need further treatment.

New Year’s resolutions can be cliché, but often serve as a great motivator to help people make positive changes in their lives. In 2017, up your oral health game with these seven tips and you’ll reap the benefits for years to come!

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | UnSplash

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KISS ME AT MIDNIGHT

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ATHLEISURE MAG: Nice shooting here, what amenities are offered at Nine52?

NINE52: Every detail of Nine52 has been designed to accommodate the modern city dweller’s needs and to provide the comforts and services of a luxury building. The full-service building is attended by a 24-hour concierge and offers a children’s playroom, a state-of-the-art fitness center with separate yoga and spinning rooms, private storage units, an expansive interior courtyard with a tranquil fountain, a large resident lounge with a bathroom and entertainment area with a full kitchen, a wine cellar with dining area and a co-working space complete with two conference rooms and individual workstations. Atop the building sits a fully furnished and landscaped rooftop deck complete with 360-degree views. Residents may also use a complimentary bike service offered, which includes twenty single-speed Joulvert bikes. The vast amount of amenities is incomparable to other buildings.

AM: What is the concept of the layout?

NINE52: Developed by Gaia Real Estate, Nine52 offers 155 residences with architecture by SPIVAK Architects and interior design by Erik Galiana. Danny Fishman, Managing Partner of Gaia Real Estate not only wanted to target “attainable luxury” for residents, but also include as many amenities within the building as possible. Gaia has a very large rental business and did a lot of research when planning this building – they did a survey with a few thousand tenants and asked them what they wanted.  Ultimately, instead of creating something they thought people wanted, they used direct results to actually give them what they are looking for - which, one of the top things was a co-working space. In terms of style, they wanted to keep it very "New York". 

AM: What are its selling points?

NINE52: Nine52 provokes a sense of discovery. This striking building in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen – a neighborhood rich with history and intrigue – features a brick façade and winding, maze-like corridors that lead to thoroughly modern and new condominiums. Like the city itself, Nine52‘s duality of space blends old with new, masculine with feminine, metal with wood, and thoughtful design with unique details to create a harmonious whole.

Comprised of studio through three bedroom and garden duplex homes, each residence is well-appointed with rich finishes, such as stained white oak floors, oversized windows and sleek kitchens with custom lacquer cabinetry and Caesarstone countertops.  Each home is also equipped with a washer and dryer.  

There is also a large array of floorplans, which helps cater to a wide variety of buyers and is unlike anything else available in the neighborhood.

AM: What is building's occupancy?

NINE52: The building is open and is now fifty percent sold.  Residences are priced from approximately $819,000 to more than $3,000,000. Park River Properties is the exclusive sales and marketing agent for the property. 

AM: What is the neighborhood draw?

NINE52: Located between 9th and 10th Avenues, with entrances on both 51st and 52nd Street, Nine52 conveniently located just steps from Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square and shopping outlets at Columbus Circle, and residents will find a magnitude of resources and sought after destinations, including renowned museums, educational institutions, and a vast assortment of fine dining and shopping.

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ATHLEISURE BEAUTY

| JANE IREDALE Lemongrass Love Hydration Spray | MALIN + GOETZ Lime Bar Soap | L'OREAL PARIS Pure Clay Mask Purify - Mattifying Treatment Mask | GARNIER WHOLE BLENDS Replenishing Legendary Olive Shampoo | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY Unsplash

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IN OUR BAG | THE CARRY ON

| THE STRAP SAVER Wardrobe Solution For Too-Long Bra & Sports Bra Straps | DRAPER JAMES Plaid Travel Set | BLISS Triple Oxygen Instant Energy Eye Mask | ERNO LASZLO Double Cleanse Collection Duo in Soothe + Calm | M-61 Moisture to Go (Hand Cream, Body Butter + Lip Balm) | DECLÉOR Strengthening Nail Serum | GOYARD Travel Duffle |

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