FROM SET TO SOUND | ARMIN VAN BUUREN

Festival season continues on and one of our favorite DJ's that we have enjoyed for years has been Armin van Buuren! We caught up with him right before he headed to EZoo to perform here in NY. We wanted to know more about his label, his performances at festivals and his B2B set with David Guetta.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Why was it important for you to launch your independent label, Armada Music and what do you look for in terms of artists that are available on it?

ARMIN VAN BUUREN: Before I started Armada, I worked with United Recordings. They gave me a label (Armind) but refused to sign the tracks I wanted to release on there because they didn’t believe in those tracks. I got all these demos because I started a weekly radio show “A State of Trance” which was highly successful. I understood that the best way to release those tracks and get exclusive stuff for my sets and radio shows was to have my own label.

AM: You perform at a number of festivals as a headliner, from Tomorrowland, Zouk Out Dec 3rd in Singapore etc. do you have any routines that you do prior to hitting the stage to get ready for your set?

AVB: Mostly, I have already prepared my set weeks in advance but I never pre-program my set to the minute. I always leave room for last-minute additions or change the sound of my set if I feel the crowd is actually up for a different sound or isn’t feeling my sound at that moment. I always try to work out, eat healthy and sleep before a show. Then I take a shower and try to be on time before a show so I’m not stressed about traffic or something.

AM: This summer you played a B2B set with David Guetta at Ushuaїa in Ibiza, which was the first time that has happened! What was that like and do you have other people on your list that you would want to do a B2B with that you have yet to do?

AVB: It was incredible and I didn’t expect the crowd to go crazy like that!! We have the crowd to go crazy like that!! We have been friends for a long time but never really worked together. We came up with the idea when I met David in Los Angeles when we were both working there. It was also a success because it was a one-off show and we made special edits and mash-ups before the show. Earlier this year, I played B2B with Reinier Zonneveld at Ultra Music Festival which was also very inspiring. I don’t really have a list of names I want to go B2B with but I will always consider one if I feel we can find common ground in our sound.

IG @arminvanbuuren

PHOTOGRAPHY | PG 108 Bart Heemskerk | PG 111 Alive Coverage | 9DRIP PG 92 + 95 Bart Heemskerk | 9DRIP PG 95 Floris Heuer |

Read the SEP ISSUE #81 of Athleisure Mag and see FROM SET TO SOUND | Armin van Buuren in mag.

9DRIP | ARMIN VAN BUUREN

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9DRIP | ALOK

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ELECTRIC ZOO 3.0

Over Labor Day Weekend, over 100,000 fans enjoyed the "last dance" of summer at Electric Zoo 3.0 on Randalls Island Park in NY. With performances by DJ Diesel, Cheat Codes, Afrojack, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix and over 100 international artists were across multiple stages, it was a great way for us to come together and to keep the good vibes going.

As guests "plugged into the matrix," the grounds were transformed into an AI tech-driven environment. This allowed for new stages to debut at this festival, previous stages to be reimagined, innovative production and creating an immersive experience. Already, plans are undwrway to take these elements to the next level since they have a year before the next one rolls into town.

Michel Julian, EZoo's Chief of Marketing shared that “Having spent 13 years with EZoo since its inception, I have to say that this was one of the most special editions we’ve ever had. Working together with the new ownership we’ve brought about the start of an inspiring collaboration. We’re thrilled by support and such positive feedback from our fans, artists, and the industry – and can’t wait to show everyone what we have in store next year.”

This year's festival included an updated festival layout and all-new designs of the Antheon, The Landing, Morphosis, and Levitron stages created visual drama with their pyro, fireworks and massive LED walls.

IG @electriczoony

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Alive Coverage

Read the SEP ISSUE #81 of Athleisure Mag and see ELECTRIC ZOO 3.0 in mag.

9PLAYLIST | HOZHO

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BIG DIVA ENERGY | BIG FREEDIA

Hip hop has a number of sub genres that we can enjoy when we're at our favorite club, dance festival, studio class or just hanging out at home. We've been long time fans of Bounce, a New Orleans sound that make it impossible to not dance to. A number of people are associated with this sound as well as popularizing it!

In this month's issue we catch up with Big Freedia, the Queen Diva who is known for Bounce music. Whether it's watching her successful show Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce which gave access to her life on tour as well as just navigating the industry, watching performances or even seeing her in shows as HBO's Treme, guest judging on Rupaul's Drag Race All Stars or this season's P-Valley on STARZ - the focus to push New Orleans as well as this genre is always at the forefront of her efforts. Without a doubt, she is known for her Big Diva Energy whether she's in the studio or outside of it. We wanted to take some time to find out about what The Queen of Bounce is working on, collaborating with Beyoncé and partnering up with No Kid Hungry to combat food insecurity among children!

ATHLEISURE MAG: You’re known for popularizing the hip hop genre, bounce music. Can you tell us more about what this is and its link to New Orleans?

BIG FREEDIA: Bounce music is a fast-paced call and response style of hip hop that was born in New Orleans in the late 80s and popularized globally in the mid-late 90s with Cash Money Millionaires (Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Lil Wayne).

AM: You were sampled on Beyoncé’s Formation, but what was it like to collaborate with her on Break My Soul and the video?

BF: Working in any capacity with Beyoncé is incredible. I am always – and still have to pinch myself to see if this is really happening!

AM: New Orleans means a lot to you and you recently partnered with No Kid Hungry X Williams-Sonoma in creating a spatula where proceeds will go to providing funds for children to reduce food insecurity.

Why did you want to participate this year and why was it important for you to be involved?

BF: I feel very strongly about helping the kids of New Orleans. When you don't have enough food, you can’t focus on school or develop properly. So, to me, this is a way to get them the food they need–and help them early.

AM: When you’re not working how do you take time for yourself to recharge your batteries?

BF: To recharge, I have to have nothing on my calendar! I love to cook, hang out with my friends and family.

IG @bigfreedia

PHOTOGRAPHY | PG 136 - 137 Nelson Cosey | 9DRIP PG 60 - 61 Brad Hebert, PG 61 + 63 Nelson Cosey |

Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see BIG DIVA ENERGY | Big Freedia in mag.

9DRIP | BIG FREEDIA

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9PLAYLIST | BENNY BENASSI

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IT'S ABOUT THE MUSIC | CHEAT CODES

It may be the end of the summer, but festival season continues and here in NY, we're excited for Labor Day Weekend when Electric Zoo brings some of our favorite DJ/Producers to Randall's Island for 3 days of music from Sept 2nd - 4th! We caught up with one of the acts who will hitting the stage to get the scoop ahead of their performance.

Matt Russell, Trevor Dahl and KEVI make up Cheat Codes, a trio that has been collaborating with a number of people from Demi Lovato, Afrojack and Wiz Khalifa to name a few. They shared how they came together, how they got their name and their collaborative process. They also talk about dropping HELLRAISERS Part 1, 2 and 3, upcoming country music with Jimmie Allen and Dolly Parton and of course their upcoming performance for EZoo!

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did each of you fall in love with music and what was the moment that you realized that you wanted to be a DJ?

MATT RUSSELL: 3rd grade music class, they handed me a recorder, I made hot cross buns sound like Beethovens 5th, and it was over. We didn’t start the project by DJing we just wanted to make songs, and once we started gaining momentum we had to learn very quickly. Our first DJ gig was rough, let me tell you.

AM: Tell us how the 3 of you came together to become Cheat Codes?

MR: We all met in LA, but came from different musical backgrounds. Trevor was doing acoustic singer songwriter music, Kevi was a rapper, and Matt was in an indie/hip hop project. I was making beats for KEVI’s rap project, and Trevor needed a studio, so he turned my laundry room into a dope recording set up. We had the idea to just mess around and do a session together, and thats when we wrote Cheat Codes first song “Visions”.

AM: Where did the name Cheat Codes come from?

KEVI: My brothers were in this band called Clear Static, and they had a lot of early success. They were opening for Duran Duran at Madison Square Garden and I came out to support them, but was dumbfounded by everything they were accomplishing. So I asked my bro Tom, how you doing this, and he told me “I found the cheat code little bro” haha!

AM: As a trio, what do each of you bring to created your DJ group?

TREVOR DAHL: We all handle different roles, which allows us to do more and not get burned out. Matt handles a lot of the live set, live edits, etc. I finish a lot of the production on the songs, and Kevi handles a lot of the visual aesthetic, as far as merch idea, album artwork ideas etc. but we collaborate with each other on everything. We usually agree on most things.

AM: How do you find inspiration when you are creating new music?

MR: Well we do a lot of collaborations, so I think that makes it easy. Just trying to find something that works well for both artists, but is still representative of our sound.

AM: What’s your process when it comes to creating your music – do you have set roles?

K: It just depends on each song, but we all write and bounce ideas off each other. We all have vocals on different records as well. But dividing and conquering helps us do a lot more for sure.

AM: You have collaborated with Demi Lovato, Kaskade, Afrojack etc. When you’re collaborating with other artists, what are you looking for when you’re thinking about whether you can work together?

TD: Just an idea that sounds like Cheat Codes, but still works for the other artist. With Demi, we had the demo idea and we just thought her voice would sound awesome on it so it was kind of a no brainer. With Kaskade and Afrojack we really wanted to lean on their production sound and write some cool vocals that would compliment their ideas, so those were a little more production driven.

AM: How would you describe the Cheat Codes sound?

MR: At this point we’ve done every genre basically so we’re its hard to put in a few words. We kind of have different eras, where early on it was almost tropical house leaning, then kind of went more pop, dance, but we definitely hate being put in a box, we get bored easily.

AM: I’m a huge fan of Squid Games and I can’t wait for when the next season drops, you made Way Back Then an Official Squid Games Remix. How did that come about?

MR: Well we binge watched the show, stayed up all night actually. We were having an argument on the best way to watch it, with Korean voiceovers and subtitles or English dubs, then the idea hit.

AM: Tell us about HellRaiser Part 1, 2 and 3 as you released these albums over the last 18 months. What was the concept behind it and why is it a series of 3 albums?

MR: It was originally 1 album, and then Covid hit. We couldn’t tour for 8 months, so we just spent extra time in the studio, once we had all these ideas, it didn’t sound like 1 cohesive project, there were more 3 distinct sounds, so figured why not, we’ve never done an album before so lets go big.

AM: We know that you have been teasing a country album for awhile. Why was this a genre that you wanted to incorporate your sound into?

MR: We've always been song and vocal driven, and one of our early influences was Avicci, so it never seemed too out of bounds for us. When we were making Hellraisers, we had this record called "Never Love You Again." It was never intended to be tended to be a country record, the production is more dance, but we just needed a very soulful voice that matched, and little big town jumped on. Something about their harmonies and soul made the record what it is, so we kind of went down a rabbit hole.

AM: Is there a synergy between EDM and country music?

K: Yeah for sure, I mean EDM is so global, and its taken us so many places around the world, some of the best times to blast country music is on a road trip, or hitting up an isolated place, and I think that works really well especially in a festival environment. Just bringing good vibes and people together.

AM: Jimmie Allen is going to be on this record, what can you tell us about the music that you worked on with him and what was that like?

MR: What I like about this record is, it's not a typical country record. Jimmie's vocals aren’t overly twang, and the lyrics aren’t about trucks or anything. So it became this easily accessible thing whether you like dance music or country or pop.

AM: Are there other country artists that are also on this record?

TD: We have Matt Stell, MacKenzie Porter, Madddie and Tae, Lady A, and we’re working on one with Dolly as well.

AM: With it coming out Sep 30th, what are you doing to promote this album, will you participate in country festivals and will these songs also be incorporated into other sets that you’re doing outside of the country scene?

K: Yeah, we've already performed some of the records at different electronic festivals this summer, so it kind of just depends on the vibe and the edit. We’ll be doing Rodeo World in Vegas in December, so catch us at the official after party.

AM: You’ve been creating so much music, are there other projects that are coming out that we should keep an eye out for?

MR: Yeah we’re already working on the album after this, so stay tuned, we can’t really talk about it though.

AM: We’re looking forward to EZoo as you’ll be here in NY! What are you excited about for this festival?

MR: We play in NYC all the time, but I think this will be the biggest festival we’ve played here, definitely electronic based. I think I heard everyone's dressing up as animals, so I’m excited to fulfill my fantasy as a sexy elephant. Stay tuned.

AM: When you’re performing at EZoo, do you have routines that you do prior to your set to get prepared for the show and do you have things that you do after your show to relax?

MR: Yeah we usually play “Kill, Marry, F$#%” and then follow that up with 30 burpees and we’re ready to hit the stage. Afterwards we relax by putting on our noise cancelling headphones and listening to ASMR.

AM: How do you balance your schedules from when you’re performing a festival, being on tour, your residencies, creating music etc?

TD: Yeah we just have to prioritize what’s most important, so we’ll usually block off time to be in the studio where we won’t play shows no matter what. But organization is key for sure.

IG @cheatcodes

PHOTO CREDITS | Cheat Codes

Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see IT’S ABOUT THE MUSIC | Cheat Codes in mag.

ELECTRIC ZOO

Labor Day Weekend is the "last dance" of the summer and is celebrated when Electric Zoo 3.0 will takeover Randalls Island Park in NY from Sept 2nd - 4th. We're excited for DJ Diesel, Cheat Codes, Afrojack, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix and more who will have sets across multiple stages! This year's 3.0 theme encourages attendees to “plug into the Matrix” for their 13th edition by enjoying their tech driven, electronic dance music paradise. Guests will enjoy more VIP areas, increased free water stations, interactive installations and more.

This year, there are new stage designs! The new stages are integrated together by AI technology. The Landing replaced the Hilltop Arena and will be surrounded by lush greenery for EZoo's first fully-immersive experience. Because of where it's placed in the festival, sound bleeding is no longer a concern for festival attendees. The Grove is also being retired and Morphosis will be the stage where house music evolves. That means pyrotechnics, fireworks, LED walls and more surprises.

In addition to a number of large acts such as those mentioned above, there will also be an inclusion of emerging artists and local ones from NY for attendees to get to know.

We've always been a fan of EZoo's Golden Hour for sunset performances. Diplo will perform on Fri, DJ Snake on Sat and Sun will have Subtronics. Each night, there are a number of after parties across the city from Webster Hall, Marquee and Lavo to name a few.

There's nothing like a festival to bring the love of dance music, artistry, fun sponsors, immersive experiences and outfits that add a whole other color to the festival experience which are perfect for Instagrammable moments!

IG @electriczoo

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Alive Coverage

Read the AUG ISSUE #80 of Athleisure Mag and see ELECTRIC ZOO in mag.

OUR MUSIC OUR CULTURE | GREG HARRIS + ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME

Music has immense value, from enjoying the song, melody and instruments used, to the artists, performances and remixes there is a much larger scope in terms of what it means to the social fiber and how in many ways it serves as a mirror of who we are, where we want to be and how we are held accountable. It creates a series of feelings and memories that are enlightened and intertwined.

We had the pleasure of talking with the President and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Greg Harris. In addition to their noted Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony which honors a class of musicians across rock & roll, they are known for the museum which is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

We wanted to know more about the museum, how they connect with music enthusiasts around the world and how artists can become eligible for the honor. Greg also shares how he came to this role and how he continues to drive the importance of impact in music.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we delve into your work and role at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I’d love to know about your background because I know you were the owner, partner and operator of the Philadelphia Record Exchange. When did you fall in love with music and what was your focus behind opening this retail store?

GREG HARRIS: You know, I grew up, per your readers loving both sports and music! I was fortunate to be raised to play various sports depending on the season with two brothers. On the music side, it just always spoke to me. We always had music in the house and in Philadelphia, the area where I grew up, new music and old music mixed together. So oldies and FM radio were all the same. I got involved a little bit with one of the local public radio stations when I was in high school. Then we had a club near us called City Gardens and it had every live band and we went there as soon as we were old enough to get in! We were there all the time! Then, I went to college in Philadelphia, I went to Temple University and one of my off-campus jobs to help pay for school was the record department of a used bookstore. That’s where the idea came from that the other clerk and I were friends and we realized that the store owner was making a lot more money than we were as the hourly employees!

So we quit and rented out a storefront about a half a block away and we opened our own store. That business has been a great success! I was involved for a couple of years and sold my half to some other people, but my original partner still has it. The Philadelphia Record Exchange has been around for 30 years and it’s an iconic place in the city. Every musician knows it, everybody that is into music when they are in Philly, they find their way to the store and that includes current artists like Kurt Vile and other folks back in the day, like Ahmir Khalib Thompson – Questlove.

I think an important thing to note in terms of looking at my career is that I found out pretty early on that I couldn’t play very well. I could play some guitar, but I was never that great. But I was always better at helping other people market and grow. So the store became that place. We would put concerts on, we’d shut the streets down and do block parties and promotions with artists and other musicians. We just loved helping them succeed and helping our customers find excitement and joy.

AM: It’s so funny, I grew up my dad was a huge record collector and he would slap my hands every time I would try to go to the stereo to play with the records and at my campus at Indiana University, we had 3 record shops near my campus, Tracks was my favorite one. There is something about a record, I love them and when you hear the sound that comes out and the needle hitting the vinyl – it’s an experience. When I read that about you, I thought that’s really cool!

GH: Those stores back then, that was kind of the social network. It's where you met like-minded people that loved the same music or liked similar music. It’s where you learned! You couldn’t Google everything so sometimes the customers taught you and you taught them!

AM: Especially if you were able to come up with crazy imports. I think there’s something about that social fiber when you don’t have that independent local record store. The guy that I would get my music from knew so many things about various artists and had stories to tell and I appreciated it. I don’t remember if they had block parties but it would have been amazing!

GH: I really want to celebrate my original partner, who still has it Jacy Webster and he has given such a gift to Philadelphia music lovers for the last 30+ years, it’s an amazing place!

AM: Another part of your background that’s interesting is I love your focus on curation. To know that you were at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown where you focused on curation was really interesting. Can you tell us about what your role was there, what you did, and why curation was so important?

GH: My first significant museum position was at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I was originally hired to be there Broadcast Media Archivist. My job was to curate the broadcast collection and that was recordings of All-Star games, World Series games, home movies, radio pieces – all the things where that exciting history of baseball is. In museums, they have to take their collections and tell stories with them. You want to tell the stories where you have impact to your visitors and to make those connections and that’s what we did in Cooperstown. You know, it’s an amazing museum. I started in that area, I was fortunate to be able to curate some exhibits and much like the record store, I got involved in business development and fundraising and things like sponsorship and inductee relations. It really helped to grow the business and as I advanced from the collections side of the house, I got more involved in business development and the growth of the enterprise. I spent 14 terrific years there and it was really hard to leave. It’s a wonderful museum. Anyone that has ever played catch in the backyard or Little League, should go to Cooperstown to experience it.

AM: What do you think is the connective tissue between baseball and music and how were you able to move onto the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame where you’re the President and CEO currently?

GH: They’re 2 great places and they’re both so much part of our culture. People have a deep love for both subjects. They make these pilgrimages to Cooperstown or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. These music and sports evolve and they are the history of our culture – all the good and all the bad comes through and you can tell these stories. On some fronts, you can talk about exclusion and people not being included and you can tell about opportunity opening up. Sometimes it opens up in sport before it opens up to the wider society. These are really important pieces for all of us to learn from to think about and to grow from. Then on the other part from the business side, these museums operate in a very similar way. They each get hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

We have inductees that are the best of the best individuals, we have broadcast properties, we have important digital engagement with our visitors, we have retail operations and we are places that kind of mean a lot to a lot of people. So they’re very similar from a business sense and it’s just the subject that’s a little bit different. But they are magical places where people learn about their history, themselves and it helps them to better understand the present.

AM: Well can you tell us about the history of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in terms of who founded it and what it’s mission is? I know a lot of people think about it in terms of the amazing induction ceremony, but there are a lot of things that it does.

GH: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame started close to 40 years ago by a group of music industry professionals – the head of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun and the head of Rolling Stone Magazine, Jann Wenner and others. They conceived it as a special evening celebration for their industries’ best of the best. After doing that for a short period of time, the idea came up to want to build a museum. A bunch of cities looked at it New York, San Francisco, my hometown of Philadelphia – all made a play for it, but Cleveland really stepped up. Cleveland had a great story about rock & roll being important to the city and being an important place for artists who broke in – including David Bowie’s whose first shows in the US were in Cleveland, Jimi Hendrix when he came back from England – his first shows were there, Rush’s first shows were there. Also a DJ named Alan Freed was playing music in the early 50’s and inspiring young people – so they had this great story! But, they showed up and had a business plan. They said this is how we’re going to build it and how we’re going to fund it and this is what it is going to mean to the region. Long and short, 27 years ago we opened up in this I.M. Pei building on the shores of Lake Eerie in Ohio. Since opening our doors, over 13 million people have visited the museum and we’re at the height of our summer season now. We'll get thousands of people through everyday all summer long. Every one of those people who comes through the front door has a lifetime of memory connected to the subjects inside our museum. When they see it, they hear it or hear it through a band that plays on our stage, it inspires them and makes them think of the people they were with and the places that they were at, the greatest week of college, the time their heart was broken, the greatest road trip that they took and they might even hear a song that reminds them of their mom, dad or siblings.

AM: So when you say rock & roll, what genres comprise this very broad title?

GH: It’s a big title and quite frankly, our definition is a very big tent. Rock & roll is more about attitude and spirit then it is about a specific sound. We embrace in the 50’s Doo-Wop, Street Corner Harmony and RockabIlly; in the 60’s there’s Psychedelic, Soul music, Folk music; in the 70’s there’s Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, Dance Music, Disco, Punk Rock – it’s all under the umbrella of rock & roll. Synth Pop and Industrial – we embrace it all! So for us, it’s all about attitude and spirit! There’s an attitude about Johnny Cash that he had to the music industry and when Ice Cube was inducted, a couple of years ago, In his induction speech, he said, “rock & roll is a spirit, rock & roll is an attitude.” You can find his full quote online. (Editor’s Note: When Ice Cube was inducted, he talked about whether a rap group was considered to be rock & roll. He said, “Now the question is, are we rock & roll? And I say you goddam right we rock & roll. Rock & roll is not an instrument, rock & roll is not even a style of music. Rock & roll is a spirit. It’s a spirit. It’s been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul R&B, rock & roll, heavy metal, punk rock and yes, hip-hop. And what connects us all is that spirit. That’s what connects us all, that spirit. Rock & roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life. That is rock & roll, and that is us. So rock & roll is not conforming. Rock & roll is outside the box. And rock & roll is N.W.A. I want to thank everybody who helped induct us into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and I just want to tell the world – Damn, that shit was dope.”) That is what we embrace. It’s the voice of change, it’s always been the sound of young America and it continues to evolve and as a museum, we continue to evolve with it.

AM: So as music continues to evolve, you will always look for new forms and elements to add to what rock & roll is.

GH: We will and that’s kind of the wave right now. That’s why we have been inducting great Hip-Hop artists right alongside great Heavy Metal artists. In the last induction, it was LL Cool J, and it was Carole King, it was the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z and Tina Turner that were all inducted! To us, it’s a broad tent and everybody’s welcome!

AM: What are your 3 favorite rock genres that you love listening to?

GH: I look for stuff that’s a little harsher, a little stronger. I love old Blues, I love 60’s Soul like Memphis and I love Punk Rock! I like for it to have a little punch and a little attitude.

AM: I can see that!

GH: Yeah, that’s what I prefer.

AM: What is your day-to-day like in your role and what are the key projects that you’re focused on?

GH: My day-to-day role is 1 – to make sure that we have the greatest museum in the world, that every single visitor that comes through our doors leaves being transformed and impacted and that we have a great team that makes that happen. It’s about keeping our staff inspired and changing. We don’t believe in maintenance mode, we always want to be growing and reaching. To that end, we're working on an amazing expansion project at the museum. We’ll be breaking ground later on this year. We will be increasing the museum by about 50,000 sqft. It’s a great project and we’re very excited to be doing it. For that project, one of my biggest responsibilities is to work with a team and to raise the funds to be able to do that. We talked about how there have been 13 million visitors that have been through the museum for the past 27 years. We need to build something for the next 13 million visitors!

AM: What can guests expect when they do come to visit and then for those that aren't available to come in person, is there an online version where people can connect that way?

GH: Yeah, so I’ll back up a little bit to your question of what do we do. So, we have this great museum and then in addition to this great museum, we have this great digital outreach. So anybody in the world can connect with us and they can experience the Hall of Fame, but also if there are teachers out there, we have ready teaching materials that they can use for free. Pre COVID, we averaged 50 teachers a day using it, during COVID it was about 500 to 1,000 a day and we have reached over 1 million students last year with our online education programs. We would love it if teachers would use it and help spread the word! We’re not teaching kids how to play instruments or to write songs, we’re teaching them math, science, social justice all through the lens of rock & roll.

AM: That’s really cool! It’s a large job!

GH: Oh yeah. We have a really great team and we’re cranking through!

When someone walks onsite at the museum, the experience starts when you’re in the building. You’re going to hear music blasting from speakers, it might be a live band on stage outdoors or it might just be coming out of our PA speakers. In the museum, you can see the whole history of rock & roll – from Blues, gospel and country through the Beatles, Stones, Supremes, James Brown, Motown and all of that. On our 2nd floor, you can play on instruments and jam with your friends. If bands visit us and they want to jam with visitors – they can do that. On our 3rd floor, you can walk through our Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and see the greats of music where they are immortalized forever in our Hall of Fame and experience our immersive theater that has an amazing show that was edited with the great Jonathan Demme and it’s really the greatest moments from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. So really, that’s some of the things you do and throughout it all, you’re reminded of times in your life that you listened to certain music, the greatest road trip, your Freshman year in college, who you hung out with and we bring all of those memories back and that’s the real power of our place.

AM: Going back to the expansion, what will that involve?

GH: We are keeping the whole I.M. Pei pyramid as is and that’s 128,000 sqft and we’re going to add another 50,000 sqft. You know the Pei Pyramid, the only other pyramid that he has done was at the Louvre which is truly the center of Europe’s great art as it’s the home of Mona Lisa. His only other pyramid is here in America at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and we’re the home of America’s great art rock and roll.

AM: That expansion is going to be huge as that’s 175,000 sqft!

GH: Pretty close give or take!

AM: That’s a lot of space.

GH: Well it’s a big subject!

AM: What are 3 of your favorite exhibits that are at the museum?

GH: I love the Garage Exhibit where visitors can come in and jam with each other it’s amazing.

We finished an exhibit that I liked a lot that I think is particularly interesting to your readers. That was an exhibit that we did about the greatest Halftime Show Performances in Super Bowl history. We had it at the museum when we hosted the NFL Draft in Cleveland. Then we worked with the NFL and we took it out to the Super Bowl in LA this year and we’re working with them again to take out to Phoenix for the next Super Bowl.

It shows performances and great moments by Prince when he did Purple Rain in the rain, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé – it’s just these iconic moments in American cultural history that happened at the Super Bowl Halftime performance it’s just a really great exhibit.

We have an exhibit which really is the legends of rock and each band has a focus area. That focus area could be David Bowie, Elton John, Michael Jackson – they all have an area that highlights their career. And that’s an exciting area to walk through and to be reminded of these individuals and their wider impact on our culture.

AM: What’s the process for acquiring items for the museum?

GH: We work directly with the inductees and pretty much everything we have at the museum has been donated by an inductee, a family member or the artist directly. We make sure to partner with them. They donate to us and occasionally it’s a loaned item if they still need it! We’ve had artifacts that are on exhibit that an artist needs back because they're touring so a guitar goes out to them and a label says, “currently on tour.”

AM: For those that are in town, how many live shows do you have a year?

GH: We have live music probably about 100 shows a year at the museum. This summer, every Thurs and Fri, we’ll have live music and some of the bands that are still coming this summer – Guided By Voices, Adrian Belew is playing and people can go to RockHall.com to check out what we have going on. There’s all different genres and one of the things that’s important to us is that we just don’t put up a party band that plays cover songs. We want original artists playing original music and we want to mix it up between the different genres whether it’s bands that are heavy metal, classic rock sounding or if they’re Hip-Hop. We love having all of them at the museum and they will be playing outdoors on our plaza.

AM: Like many, I am a fan of music. My great uncle was Joe Henderson a tenor saxophonist, I love various genres of music and here at Athleisure Mag as well as outside projects I have styled a number of known artists or have interviewed them. I know that our readers would love to know more about what goes into the induction of artists for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. What are the eligibility requirements?

GH: Artists have had to have made a record 25 years ago to make them eligible for consideration. And then, it’s really impact and influence. You look at did they take the art form in a new direction, did they push the envelope and that’s what they’re recognized for more than chart placement and sales. The process is, there is a ballot made for all those that were nominated. It then goes out to our voters and the largest voting body is all the other inductees. This year, Jay-Z is going to get a ballot, Bono gets a ballot, Smokey Robinson gets a ballot, Madonna gets a ballot, Bruce Springsteen and members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers – they all get ballots. So they vote and the top 5 vote getters are elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

AM: I like that the public is also allowed to join in the fun – why was this an element that has been added to the process?

GH: So the fan vote is interesting. During the year, we let fans in the museum voice who should be nominated. It’s always fun to hear that and to understand that. Then when the voting is underway with all of the inductees, we also do a public fan vote and part of it is engagement so that they can engage with us online and let us know who their favorites are. Then we take all the fan votes online and we aggregate them and they count as a composite ballot into the bigger vote. So what it is important for is to see who people are interested in and to understand what they are thinking about. Because the induction into the Hall of Fame is not a popularity contest, those that are in the industry and have made their living off of rock & roll, their votes are really what counts the most because they can judge the merits of their peers. If that wasn’t the case, whoever has the most social media followers would be elected and that doesn’t necessarily mean they they are the most impactful, it just means that they have great music and great followers. We need that impact.

AM: When the nominees are announced, I am sure there are a number of logistics to figure out from who will accept an award for the artist/group if they have passed away and who will perform if there are other artists that will do a tribute versus those that opt to play themselves. Can you tell us more about that?

GH: The show producers are amazing! It’s our Foundation President, Joel Peresman and our Foundation Chairman, John Sykes and they do an amazing job working to create a show that is dynamic and exciting and also appropriate for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They have done a super job working with the show, the production design team and sometimes at its greatest when it’s an artist from yesterday that is being honored by an artists of today and when they perform together – when you have Stevie Wonder inducting Bill Withers and then they sing together and then John Legend comes out and performs with them – it’s amazing! When LL Cool J was inducted, LL was joined by Eminem and by JLo. Just an incredible combination. It’s a desire to allow some artists to pay tribute to those that have influenced them and it’s a chance for other artists to combine that they have meant a lot to. So it’s kind of a neat looking back and looking forward and making something that is even better for that moment in time at that event.

AM: As we’re based in NY, it’s always fun when the ceremony is in our backyard, but for the upcoming 2022 induction ceremony, it will be in LA this fall. Why is it being held there and what is behind the decision of the city that you opt to do it in?

GH: Well there are rock & roll fans everywhere and let’s face it, NY is a big center for music and LA is the home of much of the industry. So those 2 cities make a ton of sense and we also do it in Cleveland which is the home of the museum and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We’re working on a sequence where it goes on between those cities and we’re really excited and honored that Cleveland is in that cadence and we’re looking at how that pans out in future years. We’re really excited and thrilled to be going to LA as it hasn’t been there since 2013!

AM: Looking at this year’s inductees, I was excited about all the names but especially pleased to see that Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton are in this year’s group – what are you looking forward to this year?

GH: You know, they’re all terrific and they’re all deserving! I’m looking forward to just being surprised. Every year there are super highlights and it’s amazing as this honor isn't about haing 1 hit record or having a great soundtrack song or something like that. This is a lifetime award that is emblematic of excellence and forever they will be celebrated and enshrined at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This is a really powerful moment for those artists and I can’t wait to hear their speeches and then to see them light up the room with their performances.

AM: I know we talked about the educational elements that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is involved in throughout the year. Are there other community programs that takes place throughout the year?

GH: We have a program called Toddler Rock where kids from First Start Programs come to the museum twice a week and we teach them for 15 weeks on rhyming, alliteration, and social skills with trained music therapists. It’s amazing. We have another program where anyone who lives in the city of Cleveland can come in for free admission all year long, everyday – whenever – just come on in! It’s a great community outreach for us and we love partnering with our conventions and business bureaus and other entities around town. When the city is bidding on and trying to attract the NBA All Star Game or the MLB All Star Game, we are in the mix. We are part of the hosting committee and we pledge to be a great partner and frequently they theme the event rock & roll because it is Cleveland. We love doing that and we think that if our reach can do well, then everyone can do well and we want to make that happen.

AM: In terms of the remainder of this year and looking forward to next year, what are you looking to do in terms of outreach and education on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?

GH: One, we need to execute on an amazing summer season which is what we are doing. We want to keep going with all of our educational initiatives. We have a traveling exhibitions program where certain exhibits once they are in Cleveland will go out to cities around the country. We're actively working on this building expansion project which is a significant endeavor for the museum and we’re very excited. We have been ramping up our digital presence and we have been adding a lot of Spanish language to what we are doing in our digital outreach. There is a massive group of people that love rock & roll that don’t speak English and we’re very excited to reach out to those audiences as well who do speak English.

IG @rockhall

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Read the JUL ISSUE #79 of Athleisure Mag and see OUR MUSIC OUR CULTURE | Greg Harris + Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in mag.

SMOKE & ROLL | KENJI FUJISHIMA

For this month’s cover story we catch up with Kenji Fujishima, who is Head of Cultivation at Dr. Greenthumb and Insane OG Brand. He shares how he befriended B-Real over martial arts training under his world-renowned father as sensei; going on the road with the Cypress Hill crew; and growing weed together to become legends in cannabis culture. Kenji recounts tours and trips in Amsterdam; the origin and viral smash following of Kush Bubba (known as Bubba Kush) and Insane OG; and the insane path from growing underground and the Dr. Greenthumb hit anthem to going legit with Dr. Greenthumb’s dispensaries taking over California and expanding to legal states across the US as cannabis mainstreams. Their mission is admirable and necessary in delivering top quality products at an array of prices, while helping legacy farmers grab their share against corporate giants pushing to overtake the scene. We also delve into how cannabis is increasingly crossing into sports, health and fitness, and leisure activities, particularly with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu smoke and roll, and their Team Insane recently featuring the exciting Nicky and Jacob "Jay" Rodriguez at Subversiv 7, their participation in High Rollerz, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: So you met B-Real through a friend around 1993 at a Cypress Hill Show, with the Beastie Boys and Rage Against The Machine?

KENJI FUJISHIMA: Yeah, I went to school with this girl and her boyfriend sold weed, and by way of linking with him in that sense, he was like one day, do you want to go check out a show? And it was with Cypress Hill, Rage Against The Machine and the Beastie Boys, a Leonard Peltier Benefit close to LA; at Dominguez Hills College, and we all pretty much started hanging out from there. You can imagine that line-up it was nuts.

AM: It sounds it! So you guys were hanging out and then started training martial arts together too? I see from your background you started doing Shotokan from age 5, right?

KF: Well my father is a world-renowned Shotokan master, I kinda grew up in the dojo. I started training when I was like 3 1/2 probably a little bit more serious by the time I was 5, because 3 1/2 is pretty young, you’re just still getting real legs under you. Both my brother and I, from the time we were in cribs we were in the dojo, and then by the time we were walking we were on the dojo, and when we were actually cognitive of learning things, that’s when my dad started putting Gi's on us and training us.

AM: And B-Real was doing Taekwowndo before?

KF: Yeah, he was already training, we shared the love of the martial arts and stuff, and after many months of checking my dad out, he wanted to switch it up from Taekwowndo to training with my dad. I want to say that probably happened early '94.

AM: That's cool. So when did you get into cannabis?

KF: Oh man, well I've been smoking weed since late '80s maybe like '88-'89, I barely turned 15 years old. Put the first plants, just like from bag seed in the ground around '91. And it just evolved from there, you know. The first time I went to Amsterdam was in ‘96 with them and that’s where I really saw seeds and everything for sale. I mean it was just a whole new world when you saw seeds for sale - it kind of all happened at the same time, right. Like we were seeing stuff in Amsterdam and then we were seeing things starting to change back home with weed. Because around ‘96 we were starting to see little things of OG Kush coming. So those years '96, '97, and '98, I would say where my career in cannabis started taking shape.

AM: Got it. Amsterdam is crazy! There are menus, and even more, there’s the culture.. different vibes and types of world music, like we had never heard of Alpha Blondy, all of those different kinds of hash - you just start experiencing some similar things in and around all of the coffee shops - that has never been re-created yet!

KF: Yeah, you know the culture definitely is really different over there. You know nothing like we were really used to seeing like being able to walk into a shop, buy weed, smoke it, drink some coffee, have some food and just bullshit all day if you'd want to. There were the smartshops where you could walk in and get mushrooms. We had times where we were just trippin' out in the Amsterdam streets, which was pretty wild when you have a crew of like 10 or 12 people.

AM: No one should be fooled by the small mushrooms, those things don't go by the size!

KF: [Laughing] Yeah those small ones, those things did some damage, they were no joke.

AM: We want to go over that story with the original Bubba, and how that blew up! Sounds like a crazy time how it went viral and blew up.

KF: It was one of those things.. At that time weed was like Indo, maybe it was Chronic you know. There weren’t too many different strains in the early 90s, like you saw Skunk, Northern Lights, a lot of the stuff we were seeing with seeds and stems, not like Mexican Brick Weed, but it was green, it was ok. Once the Hydro stuff started coming, it was so expensive, like less than a gram for $20-$25 bucks, so you barely got a joint. Always worked, but like man that was expensive. So we wanted to mess around with the whole growing thing. By the time we had started doing the Bubba, we had grown out some things, but those were from seeds, we never kept any of the plants, we didn’t know really too much about cloning or any of that other stuff. So when the Josh D crew and our crew connected and we got a hold of the Bubba seeds, that's really some our first attempts.

At that time we also had the genetics, some of the seeds from Amsterdam, where we were popping all of these things to try to figure out what's a really cool plant. That’s when I really learned to clone and keep strains - the start of that. The Bubba was given to us by a friend that regularly went and saw Josh D and Matt Berger, they call him “Bubba.” We kind of popped all of those seeds at the same time. We were popping some of the ones we got from Amsterdam like White Russian, White Rhino, Cali-O, and a few other things. And it was like our first real phenohunt, the same batch of seeds was coming out looking different, smelling different, and totally different characteristics and whatnot, and we came up with that one pheno that became to everybody the Bubba Kush. It was so different from what we were seeing in weed at the time from the brightness of the colors, the stickiness of it, the smell, I mean literally that thing stunk up entire neighborhoods from not many plants! We had never seen anything like that as far as plants in front of our face before.

AM: That was all in B-Real's house?

KF: That was in B-Real's house, we put a couple of plants outside, which were the first flowered out Bubba plants. We built a little mother/propagation room, he had an upstairs bedroom with a bathroom and we did it in there, and we used his garage to build the first set of lights. I want to say we had like four lights and that grow kind of became the influence of the Dr Greenthumb song.

AM: So how was all that? We had the honor to talk with B about how that came about. How was it when the song was written and the choice to have the track be what is and not to go commercial with it necessarily..

KF: You know, I guess I really didn’t think about it too much at time just because we were road dogs, we were like already together all of the time. If we weren’t together at the house or going out doing some shit, we were in the studios or karate studio, and I guess it was cool because maybe I knew him for 4 years or so. Just to hear him writing verses on stuff we were doing at his house was cool, but i didn’t really think that was going to change so much stuff for us because that was B-Real, he was already talking about weed. I didn’t think this Bubba Kush or this Kush Bubba was going to change a lot of the culture of weed out there, and definitely think between that and OG pushed a lot of people growing weed in the valley at that time. It spread so fast, there was nothing else that you could do to make that much money at the time. Even though we weren’t doing it at huge scale at that moment, for us we were getting like $7K or $8K a pound and you’re talking about ‘97, ‘98, '99 and 2000’s at the time, and people loved it and it was great weed. It made and ended a lot of good friendships, I’ll tell you that.

AM: All good things do..

KF: You know, money always has the tendency to do that to people. You see a lot of true sides come out, a lot of like long and what I thought were tried and true friendships came astray because of it, but we kept doing our thing. At B-Real's house, it was all pretty much personal stuff, and then at my house I started putting up rooms to pay for extra bills and stuff like that, and sometimes I’d have a roommate to take care of stuff when we were on the road and over the years of being in a bunch of different studios and a hell of a lot of tours. We were gone for like 6-9 months out of the year for a long time, we would always have our weed and when you took stuff like that to the Midwest or East Coast or even overseas, not many people had seen quality stuff like that. So it definitely changed the landscape of what we knew cannabis as it existed at that time.

AM: Did we see that you guys put Snoop on to some stuff too?

KF: Yeah, there was a studio session, and B-Real wanted to link.. oh god this had to be like ‘98-’99-ish, might have even been 2000, but where he wanted to give Snoop Dogg an oz. of the weed, there wasn’t really production of it. You were lucky if you could get an 1/8 in those days and it was like $100. An oz. you know just in general was like $500. Yeah Snoop wanted one and he thought we were going to give it to him. I was like it wasn’t even mine, it came from my boy’s spot, and yeah he had to pay the $500. He at that time, he hadn’t seen nothing that looked like that. You know it that Ooh Wee Snoop Dogg type thing you know. I mean for me, I was already just amazed to be hanging out with Snoop Dogg and crew. B-Real's definitely responsible for it being introduced to a lot of artists out there that talked about it and kind of showed off whatever they had over a lot time and a lot of fans were built over those studio sessions. A lot of creative stuff was done I’m sure.

AM: How much time was put to doing martial arts when the tours were going on?

KF: When the tour was going on not that much. It was attempted, but between going out there originally to train with him, and kind of becoming a roadie at the time and learning the ropes, and those guys with their press schedules and rehearsal, and shows and traveling. Those kind of tours are super tiring, we got to train here and there, but not really anywhere like we wanted to. But I'll tell you B-Real stayed very consistent at home, at the dude almost got to be a Black Belt. He was very serious about it that’s for sure!

AM: We caught the Insane in The Brain documentary for Cypress Hill on Showtime, and it ends with a quote that's very gripping that hits as a throughline for us... "It's one of those eternal flames that we all just keep lit, all of us keep going and being masters of our crafts, better men, better friends, better at business - I mean look at us, 30 years later it was all organic." Seems to be such an important statement right there, what does it mean for you to be the Director of Cultivation for Dr. Greenthumb and pulling in the prior underground lines with Insane?

KF: It means a lot, right. We've been doing our thing for so long on the underground, and never really turned it to a legIt brand. We were busy touring, we loved what we did with the cultivation, and the flavors and the smoking and stuff like that. Everybody was just busy doing the thing you know, we had to be dodgy about it though - we were growing in like houses and bedrooms, spare rooms and guesthouses and everything. The lifestyle wasn't like glamorous as far as the cultivation was concerned, we lived really grimy. The plants got better and the bigger bedrooms. Half the time we were sleeping in like living rooms or the smallest room of the house. Everything was always fucked up because you can't always be super clean and too nice blowing up an entire residential house you know or multiple houses like we did. There was a lot of work put in, but it’s great to see it transition now into a brand that is literally just growing every day.

The team is getting bigger and stronger and with any business and any new crew a bunch of mistakes are made, and we all learn from that and hopefully we don't repeat any of the stuff and we keep on elevating what we do. We don't look sideways, we don’t copy what other people are doing, we just do what we like, we grow what we want to smoke, and if people like it that's great we're going to keep doing it – and if they don’t that’s everybody’s individual opinion in life and we accept that. We just want to keep the people that support us happy and keep bringing new stuff. Thats our goal.

AM: Dr. Greenthumb's has new category offerings from the Legacy, Loyal and Unapologetic lines, it seems incredible that you can get different quality, choices and price points for different kinds of smokers.

KF: So over the years we've built up a lot of relationships with different kinds of farmers, you know some of those being outdoor, or full sun or greenhouse, mixed light or indoor - we know not everybody can afford the top quality, like let's just say Insane bags that might be like $50, $60 an 1/8 at a store. But if there's like sungrown, or mixed light or greenhouse that we can work with our people that we can get to the price points that we want that can be the most affordable, then we want to do that. We don’t want these legacy guys and girls that have been doing this work, you know ended up a lot them in jail, raided, stolen from, killed whatever, like there are so many things that have happened to the people that have tried to bring this culture forward! Now that they are not necessarily struggling, but it is a struggle every day because now its mainstream, all these companies with super deep pockets are coming into the space and not understanding the culture or really caring about the culture. All they care about the money, and them thinking they’re going to come in and take it from everybody. For me, I felt it was kind of a responsibly to help keep these legacy operators active and at least do whatever I can to help support them as long as we know they’re doing the quality, we know we want to work with them and actually instead of just whitelabeling or purchasing whatever they do, them getting the proper recognition for their efforts.

AM: That’s mad cool. Literally Farm to Table

KF: It’s Farm to Table, that’s right yeah.

AM: So tell us about the Garbage Test and the 1, 2, 3 thumbs up test..

KF: We got a bunch of guys over here, we're all friends and we're all stoners, and we see a lot of weed come through these places. And for us it's cool because these people want to submit these products to make it into these Greenthumb bags or Insane before bags and whatnot, you can always appreciate peoples’ efforts, but we can’t put out garbage. So it’s just a test, even our own stuff that we grow, we do the same thing. If I grow, let’s just say 10 new strains, I’m gonna put them on the table and I’m telling everybody OK honest opinions, you tell me what we all like, and it’s just a rating system based off of smell, taste, effect - there’s levels to it. Because for me I don’t want to grow stuff people don’t like. For us we like stuff that’s a lot heavier, so we kinda gauge to the stuff that's a little bit on the stronger side. And that’s it, you know if it’s good and if a majority of us like it, it might make it to the next phase depending on what we are trying to do and how many strains there are. We've all literally had sessions where we all smoked 16 joints each and each joint was a different strain in a test, you know at one time, and it was a 5-6 hour smokeout and I think we kept 2 of those.

AM: You had how many?

KF: Out of 16, 2 that we kept. Not saying those other 14 weren’t good. They just didn’t fit the profiles we were trying to achieve at that time.

AM: You had raised strain standardization before, makes a lot sense..

KF: Well, not saying everybody growing the same thing, but standardizing ways to do it, like we want to keep consistency, especially a brand operating in multiple states. So if somebody goes to a store over here and they buy, whatever an OG Kush from us, we want to be the same over there, not just produced by somebody and it’s totally different and somebody and it’s totally different and we just called it this. Yeah standardized is hard, because there are a couple of different levels of smokers over here. Some people want it the same, they want that same strain all the time, just like us we love OG Kush we're going to die by that you know what I mean that’s our stuff. But like other people want flavors, and people get bored of stuff. Some of these strains may have a year, 2-3 year cycles before people are bored of it. Like Ice Cream Cake or any of these other ones, even though there are a lot of people that buy it, names get played out, artwork gets played out. So you just gotta keep it fresh and always come with quality. We standardize the procedures of what we do so that our stuff comes out, hopefully, the same every time. There are plant issues or failures that might lead to one or two batches here and there not making the cut, but for the most part standardized methods to produce the same - that’s important.

AM: So the Insane Brand is sponsoring Team Insane for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for Subversviv 7 on June 11 on Fite TV. How did you guys put this sponsorship together and connect with Nicky Rodriguez, who is just blowing the sport up with his brother. How did this come about?

KF: Well one of our buddies was working with the Subversiv crew, I think he’s catering the event, and he knows we’re into martial arts and whatnot, and that I've been involved with High Rollerz camp that does the stoner Jiu-Jitsu stuff too and he passed it to our team, and of course B-Real and I loving and appreciators of martial arts definitely wanted to be involved, we thought Insane kind of fits into the mixed martial arts category and we wanted to be known as more than a cannabis brand.

AM: Yeah speaking of Insane, I mean Nicky has been wrecking people.. It’s just been incredible how he's been progressing to the whole industry, that’s going to be sick, his brother too!

KF: That’s what I’ve heard, I didn’t know too much about these guys, I took my eye off paying attention and when all of this came up, and I saw what these guys were doing out there - it's kind of shocking how much this sport has been coming up and evolved, and guys like those brothers that are out there just slaying people. So I’m honored to get to meet them and see these guys rolling and go fuck some shit up. I love the sport and the level of these guys training it’s definitely something to watch.

AM: The High Rollerz looks cool too, how did you connect with that and for those that don’t know that they have cannabis as part of the rulebook and the sport too.

KF: My buddy Matt Staudt is one of the founders of it and right when they were launching we were talking a lot and we just wanted to support that too. It was super interesting that the mainstream people started hearing about the Jiu-Jitsu and grappling events happening, but for as long as I’ve been around Jiu-Jitsu a lot of the guys that have been involved in that have always been smokers - like smoke and roll. It seemed to be one of those things where you smoke before you go roll, and be in that zen spot and then training was just like that. B-Real and I would go smoke and then train with my dad for a 2 hour training session, so you know some people function on it, some people don’t. For us, smoking puts us into a certain zen where our concentration locks into whatever we're into at the time.

AM: Yeah there’s a certain cerebral zone you can hit right. And for recovery too - so it can be good for training, fighting and recovery?

KF: Well for me, definitely on the recovery side too. I’m pretty much always hypertensive. I had back surgery back in ‘02 and so i pretty much did my whole recovery drug-free minus cannabis. It was a little different because the injury that I had, like even when I coughed it hurt, so I had to be careful about how I was smoking so I wouldn't choke too much, but it would definitely help me relax and help me get into sleep versus taking a bunch of pills that were making my stomach bad. To this day, peoples’ addiction to pills is crazy, I just never wanted to go that route, so my medicine has been cannabis you know.

AM: Makes sense the stories with the pain pills, just a couple of missteps and anyone can take a wrong turn with that.

KF: You never know, today there’s Fentanyl and people are dying from the smallest dose where they’re just normally taking a pill or doing something they’re used to and they’re just dropping dead. I don’t really need to worry about that because I’m not taking pills. It’s just something I’ve never been into, you do, or do too much of that and you can’t control yourself, with weed I’ve always felt I’ve been able to micro-dose myself. I guess you can say control hitting the joints or however just to get to the point where I’m good and that’s it, and then I’m going do what I’m going to do. Smoke a joint and go ride 20 miles on a bike just in my zen spot or smoke and hike or go train or whatever. Yeah THC and the other cannabinoids and things like that the compounds in cannabis definitely have medicinal properties and should be researched a lot more so the people can find the benefits from the use of it.

AM: Yeah we're still scratching the surface, between all the different cannabinoids, the terpines and the entourage effect.

KF: 100%

AM: So when you see customers coming in, you have different groups of people where some see the different Indica and Sativa; some looking for the highest THC possible; others CBD.. will people more and more see what their personal relationships can be and become connoisseurs?

KF: That and combined with education, a lot form people walking into dispensaries and are just asking the budtenders ‘what’s your strongest stuff;’ or ‘what do you suggest;’ or saying they like this, this and this; or the whole Sativa and Indica thing which I personally really don’t believe it too much anymore these days. There’s a lot Sativas that look like Indicas, I mean it’s a very hard thing to really solidly I guess to say because there are so many things are crossed these days. There are hybrids and poly hybrids, a majority of stuff you really can’t say is a solid Indica or Sativa, with the exception of maybe a few strains out there. Once people understand the entourage effect and where terpines and other cannabinoids combine, and even the method ingested being smoking or eating, have a big deal how it impacts a certain individual.

AM: So what’s coming down the pike for Dr. Greenthumb’s, you guys are opening up stores everywhere and more states are becoming legal, and you have all these new lines?

KF: Definitely a few more states that are being locked in right now for retail; as well as the possibility of some third-party stores carrying the Insane and/or Dr. Greenthumb brands; we're going to continue to partner with farms to add genetics to the roster of Dr. Greenthumb as well as new skus be it joints, vapes, or concentrates and whatnot, and the same with Insane - Insane will have a lot of new proprietary stuff we're doing, a lot of breeding is going down this year, as well as phenohunting, so we're going to see a ton of new strains coming out probably toward the end of the year, first quarter next year - and beyond that, we’re working stuff on right now that will be released under both lines, merch, extreme sports - keep moving, keep building this culture.

AM: Who are 3 people that have inspired you along your path and journey?

KF: My father for one, he gave me my work ethic and discipline to do what I do.

My wife, actually has been pushing me to kind of come out of the shadows, right. I never really talked about what I did. I never cared about interviews or cameras, we were old school guys, that didn’t talk about it, we just did it, to kind stay out of jail. And this community, B-Real - that dude gave me an opportunity back then to come work for Cypress Hill and I was not in a good way back then, I was making some stupid decisions. That guy, by bringing me into the crew and allowing me to do what I do and make use of the resources that came around to the camp, that really changed my life and I’ll say it now and I’ll always say it that changed my life and I’ll never forget that.

Nicky Rodriguez is taking the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sport by storm. He transitioned from wrestling in college and had breakout success taking home Silver at ADCC ‘19 as a Blue Belt. Dubbed as the ‘Black Belt Slayer,’ he trained under legend John Danaher, and recently splintered off to co-found The B-Team, based in Austin, Texas. We chat with Nicky Rod about BJJ; training for ADCC ‘22; cannabis and the sport; team-building and nutrition; as well as fighting for Team Insane at Subversiv 7 this past month, with his brother Jacob “Jay” Rodriguez and female fighter, Alex Enriquez.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We see that you wrestled in college and made the move to do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, what was involved with making the switch?

NICKY RODRIGUEZ: It was a bit of a tricky transition. There are some things that coincide, like Jiu-Jitsu often times we start from a standing position, so Americanized wrestling is a small aspect of the sport. There's a lot of things I had to adjust as a wrestler you know, you want to take your opponent down but there is always a threat of a guillotine or other submissions, so I had to really solidify a solid defense to have success when trying to be offensive.

AM: You were training under John Danaher?

NR: Yeah I was training under John Danaher for maybe about 3 years, and man I learned a lot, you know the guy is brilliant in his space and dedicated his life to the sport. So I was just there to soak up a bunch of knowledge and it was very beneficial.

AM: And you guys formed the B-Team in Austin?

NR: We opened up B-Team in Austin about 6 or 8 months ago, it's been going well. We're a private competition-based facility. Eventually we'll open up to white belts, newcomers and outsiders, but for now it's a strictly private location.

AM: And it's an elite gym, so you have to be pretty advanced to apply?

NR: You have to be pretty advanced. We have some lower level guys, that compete pretty well, they train hard. You don’t have to be a world beater to be in our gym, but have to be willing to learn and train often. Most train twice a day and want to be professional athletes. We just are keeping it like that because we're athletes ourselves in our prime and we're still looking to compete, and win and grow. Yeah it's been a fun ride so far.

AM: What's next for Mexican Ground Karate?

NR: Well, ADCC Titles are our main focus. ADCC World Championships are the ‘Olympics of Jiu-Jitsu' in September. We have about 6 guys going from our team, potentially more because we have Australian and Asian trials very soon, and a few guys competing over there. We'll have quite a few guys at the event and would be nice to get some gold medals.

AM: In '19, you just dominated people and you got the Silver medal and had a blue belt!

NR: Yeah, exactly. I was a blue belt at the time and was training Jiu-Jitsu for about a year and a half. I won the ADCC trials and then with the year and a half experience I ended up taking second at the World's. That's pretty much why people got to know me, because it was not seen before, a wrestler making a transition so fast successfully as I had. So it definitely opened people's eyes to how they can input NCAA wrestling into Jiu-Jitsu. Now you see a lot more quality wrestling in the sport, and yeah the Americanized wrestling in Jiu-Jitsu has been much more prominent over the last several years.

AM: And they were calling you the Black Belt Slayer?!!

NR: Yes, that’s definitely a name that stuck. People liked it, I liked it. It seemed pretty memorable, so I just rode the wave on it.

AM: And now you’re a brown belt, we see you got it earlier this month..

NR: I got my brown belt a few weeks ago actually. So I’m a new brown belt, still plenty to learn, still fresh in the sport you know. I think it takes time to get acclimated and keep learning, it's about how many reps you do, you can know moves, but you really have to learn and be in-depth with those moves.

AM: So how many divisions are you going for in ADCC ‘22?

NR: I'll be doing the heavyweight which is over 99kg, which is no weight limit, I’ve had guys from 200 to 300, 360, and then the open weight division where you can have much smaller quota like 125lbs all the way to the biggest guys. So absolute division is the most recognized and more valued gold medal you can get because there is no weight class and you are the absolute champion.

AM: You just fought in Subversiv 7 on Saturday, how did that go?

NR: We had a team event at Subversiv 7 with 30K Grand Prize, I was representing Dr Greenthumb and Team Insane OG, they treated us very well when we were out there. It was a high level competition. Team Insane OG did well, we had some wins, we had some losses. As a team, as an event - it was fun, man. A lot of people came out, it was good to see the support in LA. It was a great event.

AM: How did you connect with those guys?

NR: I got contacted through social media, they were looking to expand in the Jiu-Jitsu world, they see the kind of content I put out, and it was a mutually beneficial relationship. I believe social media has a lot to do with an athlete’s success in the business world. Obviously you have to win, but you also have to tell a story. That’s what I do online, tell a story, so it’s a really good relationship with us working together.

AM: How was it fighting with your brother, was this was the first time in a major match fighting with him together?

NR: Yeah it was the first time we stepped on the mat back-to-back and on a team at the same time. In high school we wrestled at the same school and stuff, but I was graduating when he was getting into high school, so we never got to be on the same team together. So it was a great experience.

AM: And he is a blue belt right now? It seems like he is also starting to take the sport by storm, following your, and taking his own footsteps, it is a crazy parallel..

NR: He is a bit of a Black Belt Slayer himself, you know. He's been training for about a year and a half. He just did his ADCC trials where he got his purple belt on the podium, right, but out of 7 matches, he also sub'd all 7 opponents, most of them high-level black belts. I would say his trajectory is even bigger than mine, just because the results he has had at a year and a half you know, I was at ADCC and winning matches, but he is finishing high levels guys with minimal experience and that's honestly never been seen before. We’ve seen me use wrestling to negate Jiu-Jitsu and win, but Jay with a year and a half, he has been using strictly Jiu-Jitsu to submit opponents. So it’s something different and the speed of which he is doing it has never been seen before.

AM: What are some lessons and recipes about making good teams, be it about Jiu-Jitsu, corporate or in general?

NR: To make a good team.. First you need knowledge, you need to have somebody where most people can go to answer questions. Also, it's important to have conversations before and after practice about things you’re having issues on. Many don’t know the right questions to ask. It's a solo sport, although you’re training with teammates, it’s only you out there on the mat. So when you’re practicing you really need to figure out what you’re having problems with and specify what they are so you can ask your coach. So having the knowledge, having people on the team that can answer those tough questions and consistency. Being consistent with your training, for me I train everyday and that’s how I like it. Other people can get away with training less and do well. You can’t expect results to come fast. I think people train a couple times and expect it to work immediately. Things take time, and through pressure and time you can make diamonds man.

AM: It was cool to see you with Team Insane OG. What are some of the cross overs of Jiu-Jitsu and cannabis culture?

NR: Most of the community uses it, whether for nighttime or right before training. It enhances my mood, how I think cognitively about certain things, sometimes it changes the perspective that I’m having, so I can see and move different, or make certain adjustments.

AM: Is that smoking or edibles, in what format?

NR: Usually burn it, maybe roll up a joint or use a bowl. Joint is pretty easy and pretty immediate effect.

AM: Any particular strain?

NR: I’ve had Insane OG, probably the best strain I’ve ever had to be honest.

AM: Yeah shout out to them.

NR: For sure, Dr Greenthumb and Team Insane OG, those guys hold it down for sure!

AM: Have you competed in High Rollerz?

NR: I had a competition at High Rollerz a while back. I did one of their beginning events, it was fun man. I know the guys that own it, run it. They put together a great event. It was great to see the two worlds collide, the hip hop, the cannabis and Jiu-Jitsu culture. I think the two blend together, it just had to be in the right format.

AM: It’s about the vibe, serious but fun, all the blends together -

NR: I think the Jiu-Jitsu world makes it a bit of a party, when you come out to a show, it's not Jiu-Jitsu and leave, you know it’s good music, good vibes, people are drinking, food, there’s a lot going on, it's more of a spectacle, a fun event instead of a quick jits vibe.

AM: You have a handle @nickyrodeats, is that about wellness and food too?

NR: Well it's something personal I’ve been collecting like a food blog, I eat clean - like mainly meats, fruits and veggies. I post the cheat meals too, you know sometimes I grab a coffee and a donut, or some ice cream or something. It's not far-fetched to have a sweet tooth and display that, but it is something I’ve been kind of blogging about with no real direction. I think eventually I’ll have some more in depth content, maybe a Youtube channel. But it's a bit hard to focus on being an athlete and content, so for now I have to really mitigate my time where my thoughts are going.

AM: Sure it will come in time, people will be interested.

NR: Yeah I’ll keep posting, growing it little by little, and when I’m ready to fully commit to it, I’ll be ready.

AM: Who are 3 people that have inspired you along your journey?

NR: I'd say my coach John Danaher, the most inspiring, at least the most valuable asset to my immediate growth. Second, my dad, because hard work runs in the family and it is important to see it first hand, experience it first hand, that way so we can display it often. Three, I would say myself, I’m pretty much self-motivated. I never really get up and have it not hard for me to get going, I never really waste any time or have wasteful thoughts. I like to gear my day towards something positive, towards the next things.

AM: Cool. What do you think can help mainstream Jiu-Jitsu to levels like MMA and boxing?

NR: I think of this here and there. Getting on a major network, like ESPN would help. There are a few things that hold it back.

I think there are lot of different rule sets within the sport, I think it makes it harder for viewers to follow. I think honestly this year’s ADCC will help push us closer to becoming mainstream. It’s a bigger prize, a bigger spectacle, the event itself will be massive. But if we had a huge Grand Prize like maybe $1M to win the absolute devIsion, I think that will pull a lot of people out of their seats and come watch, or just be intrigued, and potentially make it more mainstream to see these guys fighting for a million rather than 10k, 20k or 50k.

AM: Well we'll be rooting for you! You're style is entertaining and your definitely an inspiration for us and a lot of people.

IG @killdrama

@nickyrod247

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Front/Back Cover, 16 - 19 + PG 70 9DRIP Eitan Miskevich | PG 20 - 23 + 27 - 35 Pedro Garcia | PG 24 Showtime |

Read the JUN ISSUE #78 of Athleisure Mag and see SMOKE & ROLL | Kenji Fujishima in mag.

THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS | BETTY WHO + ELAN GALE

We love reality shows and a number of our readers enjoy The Bachelor/The Bachelorette and even tweet along with us during each episode. We love seeing the social interaction, the dates, experiences and more. Prior to the pandemic, reality shows that focused on relationships went to the next level with an array of social experiments from Love is Blind, The Circle, The Ultimatum and more. These shows break new ground and really allow us to analyze how we interact with another.

On June 24th, The One That Got Away hits Prime Video. It allows people to look at their past to see if someone at that time could be a great fit for them. We caught up with singer/songwriter, Betty Who who is the host of this show. We talk about how she got attached and what we can expect. We also talk with Elan Gale who serves as the showrunner and executive producer delves into the intricacies of relationships with us.

ATHLEISURE MAG: It was such a great show to watch as who doesn’t love how we continue to explore social experiments when it comes to dating? What drew you to this show to want to be part of it?

BETTY WHO: I am such a fan of reality dating shows and it actually started with The Bachelor! I wasn’t really a fan of this and being in this sort of world. Then I got the chance to perform on The Bachelorette in Becca’s season. I was shooting it and I was thinking, “this is crazy – this world and this whole thing.” So I got super into The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and that’s how it introduced me to the world and now I feel like I’m a connoisseur and I’m all about it now! So when this conversation sort of started, someone came to me and asked if this would be something that I would be interested in. I was like, “guys, I don’t want to oversell it but, I would crush this job!” I think that this is a very powerful combination for me. I feel very lucky and yet very perplexed as to why they booked me, but I did what I could and I think that I showed up and showed out I think!

AM: I think that it’s such an amazing fit because in watching you, we’re used to the formats of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette where the host is interacting with the primary person and the people competing. In this situation, we have 6 people that are exploring themselves, you coming in and connecting with them and being able to interact with them when they’re broken down in the experience of it all! There are some intense moments and being able to see you in that way, what was your takeaway in watching all of this?

BW: I think that I really appreciated the opportunity to have conversations with those contestants in that moment. I think that as someone in my personal life, I really want to be warm and a safe space for my friends. I want to provide that warm energy with people and that’s something that I also like to do on stage as an entertainer. You want to create that safe space where people want to be able to come in and enjoy themselves. It was a new way for me to stretch my muscle in that way as it was 1-on-1, but still in this very highly curated environment where it’s still fundamentally about entertainment for us. I love to have a job, I love to entertain and I love to have all of these incredibly talented and creative people who know so much more about how to make a reality television show because what do I know? They’re like, do this and I’m like, ok this is such a fun adventure and I was in good hands! I think that that is a huge part of my enjoyment and experience on the show being such a positive one. I give that all to the people who sort of held my hand along the way. I feel very lucky.

AM: I saw the initial 6 episodes via the screener ahead of the launch on Jun 24th and I can’t wait to see the remaining 4! I really want to know as every episode I was transfixed!

BW: I’m so glad that you’re hooked! This is exciting!

AM: I am so hooked. As a reality junkie – I love this format.

BW: Oh, so you’re our target demo! So if you’re loving it, this is good news!

AM: For sure! At first when I heard the concept about the portal I was a little confused about it. But then I started watching it and getting how you guys delved into picking people from there past. Although at one point, I was like, wait they literally just got the guy that followed her on Instagram? I’d be mad too. To see you reasoning with her and asking her to go back one more time because there was a better person, was pretty funny.

BW: Um yeah, we’re definitely a little bit shady! But I think that that is my favorite part! I was watching to do some prep before I hosted a television show. I was looking at getting a lay of the land. I saw all of these hosts that did different things and I was watching Nick and Vanessa from Love is Blind.

AM: Love that show!

BW: I love that show and I was checking everybody out and I know that this isn’t a dating show, but I think that Jeff Probst – how shady Jeff Probst is on Survivor is one of my favorite things about the show! The way that he says, “so and so, I see you’re still having a tough time over there.” He is not afraid to stir shit up and I think that that’s especially amazing. I pray for a season 2 so that I can get even more. I just wanted to be nice the first time around and to have everyone like me as I was totally a fish out of water. But now that I know what’s going on, I’m ready to start some stuff up – you heard it here first!

If you have enjoyed watching The Bachelor/ette, Elan Gale executive produced both of these shows for a decade. A few years ago while we were tweeting along with others about these shows during a season, we noticed Elan talking about the episodes and providing insights.

With the launch of TOTGA, we talk about the power of relationships, what makes a good show and the impact of our interactions.

ATHLEISURE MAG: As long time watchers of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette, it’s amazing to chat with you and we love interacting with you on Twitter to hear your thoughts. Before we get into The One That Got Away, what is it about relationships that you love delving into as this is something that has been a large part of your career in creating these shows?

ELAN GALE: Great question! I think that the honest answer is that I have always felt that my relationships are the greatest things in my life. I have a hard time focusing on anything else if I’m being really honest. I always found that I only know what I know. I am only around the people that I am around, I only have relations with people that are in my life and generally from where I’m from because that’s where we are and that’s how we meet. Relationship shows have always given me an opportunity to just watch other people interact with each other and watch them build bonds that hopefully are life changing. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the relationship has to be permanent. I think that that is something that often we put too much emphasis on because almost all of our relationships are impermanent and it doesn’t mean that it’s not important or that it doesn’t change us or make us grow.

So watching people focus on things that are non-linear like relationships which are probably the most important aspects of their lives as well – I think it’s really interesting and it’s a window into how we interact with each other. I think that people are really interesting! I like watching them do whatever the hell they want to do!

AM: So what do you find to be the secret sauce in terms of putting that into TV as a medium? What are the dynamics that make a good show about relationships?

EG: I think that more than anything, we’re looking for people who are effusive. Anyone could be a good TV dating contestant really. What’s hard is finding people who want to explore their emotions in real time. When something happens to me, I process it. I take some time and I’m pretty shy about how I interact with my own emotional life. I would go so far as to say, almost a little cowardly in the way that a lot of people who come on this show aren’t. There’s an incredible bravery in being able to say that I am going to go through all of these intense emotions, but I’m also going to allow people into that and to let them into my world. So finding people who have specific points of few, strong emotions, strong desires, but simultaneously willing to be able to get it wrong because that’s what we usually do. We almost always get it wrong until we get it right! But it doesn’t mean that those are the most compelling relationships either!

Looking at relationships that are raw and based on feelings rather than logistics, I think that TV shows do a really good job of removing the logistics from relationships. I think that’s also one of the things that people find the most jarring about them. It doesn’t feel real to me because the logistics are taken away. But I have found personally, and maybe this is just me, I have found that when I am falling in love, when I’m in a relationship and when I am with people that I feel are important parts of my life – logistics do kind of take a back seat. If we’re going to continue to claim that relationships are the most serious driving force in our lives, then putting logistics to the side is probably a good idea. You can probably figure that out later. The weird magic of love and whatever is the stuff that you can’t do later and you can’t figure that out thoughtfully over time – I don’t think.

AM: I don’t think so either! What brought you to want to be part of this project. I watched the screeners and I’m obsessed, the fact that all of the screeners weren’t available at once made me mad because I’m so invested and I want to know what happens!

EG: I’m so glad you liked it. Thank you for watching!

AM: It was a great watch. I took a Sun and just let the storytelling unfold!

EG: That makes me so happy! Honestly, these 6 people just went for it. This is a terrifying show. You don’t know who is coming through that portal and who you are letting into your life. That is such a bravery that they had to step into this – I don’t have it! That’s part of what was so exciting to me. I have a similar relationship that I think that most of the people in the audience had – I wish I could do that to have the tenacity and the openness!

AM: I could never!

EG: For me, I have done so many dating shows where strangers meet strangers. There is such an interesting dynamic there and I love those kind of shows. I love watching those shows, but secretly probably the show that I am most addicted to is 90 Day Fiance. What I love about this show is that by the time you meet these people, they really have complex relationships. You have to peel it back like an onion as a viewer. So this – all the things that I love about dating shows, people meeting for the first time and adding this layer of complexity where you get to watch people who they were, previous iterations of themselves and for me, I really wanted to approach this show differently from any other show. I wanted to treat it like sci-fi. I wanted the portal to be like a real-time machine and if I’m being honest, this might sound really crazy – for me the show took more inspiration from Rick & Morty than any other dating show I have worked on in the past. Looking at this like one tiny sliver of the multiverse where you can suddenly live a life that you have never lived for a short amount of time and see what that life may have been like. Yeah, if those relationships can go back into the real world, maybe they do – I don’t know. But if they do, that’s really interesting and beautiful, but more importantly, this slice of life, this time and this place where nothing really exists is interesting. In the first episode, Jeff meets someone who he hasn't seen in 15 years. They were 2 people and now they're 2 different people just like everyone else is. Getting to watch them date for the first time, but also being able to come to terms with how they’ve changed and to see that through the eyes of someone that’s dating them, it’s really one of the most transformative processes for me as a viewer. At the end of the day, that’s what I am. Getting to watch them and these things that were happening and to be able to watch them and to really see them going through it! The thing that I am most excited about is that no one was focused on results. Everyone got a happy ending but it doesn’t mean that it’s the one that audiences were expecting. I think that we’re set up to believe that dating shows end like this. And maybe they don’t have to. Maybe dating is enough. Maybe moments with people and experiences that you share, looking inward on yourself through the eyes of someone who knew you back then – maybe that’s enough. I think it is and I think that that’s what makes the show so different.

AM: That’s so true. I think that when you look to The Bachelor/ette where you have a designated person that is available although in the upcoming Bachelorette there are 2 – but you have the designated person and then you have this whole group of people who are another dynamic. The idea that you have a couple of people for a certain person and how they interact with the separate house and the main house, that’s something because they’re also bringing in their own versions of the person that they know. That’s a whole other sociological study right there!

EG: I think you made a really good point. One thing that I think that this show does really nicely is that it plays up the dynamic friendships that the leads have with each other and of course with the arrivals as well. They’re going through this incredible process together and it’s something that no one else has ever been through before. The bonds are permanent and we don’t just revel in the rivalries on the show. Someone goes out on a date 2 days ago and their friends are hoping and wishing and praying that they come home happy and had a good time. Again, it’s all about building that universe. We talked about this on set. We called our location Lacuna. You never see it on camera – it’s just something that we talked about internally.

Lacuna is an unwritten piece of a story or a missing page in a book. We just kind of tried to build an environment where whatever story that person had been living, it was paused for a moment. They were encouraged to write a new story in this period of time and they go off into the world. Maybe it folds nicely into what you already have or maybe it doesn’t but it’s going to be interesting and it’s going to be messy. That’s what I love so much about the show too! Life is a fucking messy, disaster 90% of the time! Acting as if things are linear, perfect and meant to be – maybe they are, but there is also something about embracing chaos. I think dating is chaotic and I think that that is also what makes it fun. I’ve never gone on a first date and went, “it’s remarkably average and I can’t wait to do it again.”

AM: How did you go about finding the arrivals? There were those like the person from the confirmation, another who went to school together and then you had the one who just followed the lead on Instagram?

EG: Honestly, it was the most complicated process that I have ever been part of. Primarily, the way that our casting team did it was talking to family and friends of the individuals and trying to figure out people who they would be interested in. The leads also gave lists of people that they thought about, wondered about or were curious about. So there was some kind of dynamic combination of people that their mom or sister might have thought was perfect for them, a best friend or if they were close to their ex – someone that they thought that they knew. It could also come from someone from their very very long list or someone who was fascinated by them on their social media and felt more connected than maybe they actually were.

I think it also points out the way that we all create our own histories. We all tell our own stories or what part of our lives are important or not. I think that in a lot of the cases of the leads that they may have been more impactful on the lives of others than they realized. That’s really empowering for a lot of people where something that you said, or something that you did or a look you gave someone – even if it wasn’t meant in a romantic way, it stuck with them and made you important enough to go through a whole casting process, get on a plane, go to LA and then just walk through a portal to see someone. You had to have meant something to someone to fill them with a feeling and that’s a great place to start a relationship. Even if it doesn’t go somewhere because everyone can feel that a question that has haunted them, can be answered in a way that everything else is guessing. It’s fun to have a moment in life where you get to answer the many questions where I don’t know about you, but I’m haunted and plagued and live in a state of permanent regret! If I could go somewhere – can you imagine knowing what the sliding door version of your life is or lesser so the Butterfly Effect of Ashton Kutcher version? It’s a good movie, underrated – fun!

AM: Like you said, in watching this show, removing the dating/romantic aspect – you think about the coffee cart guy you see everyday on the corner and during the pandemic, you didn’t have it and you felt that there was a hole. The concept of relationships and interactions and what it means to you and the other person is an interesting dynamic.

What do you want people to walk away with in watching this. Should we all be digging into our past to find our relationships to figure our shit out?

EG: It’s such a good question! I’m not confident that the takeaway should be that we should go back into your past to find your future. I don’t think that’s the answer. I do think that the takeaway should be, that if you are actively looking for love, you should leave no stone unturned. I think that most people will not find their future from their past. A lot of people might. But if you’re curious about something and you have been looking for this long, maybe you don’t need a portal to do. Maybe you do and I’m glad that these people did, but these days you can pick up a phone. You can send an email and ask a question and it will probably lead nowhere because most things in life do. It might lead you somewhere really magical and you might find the one that got away and that would be pretty fucking cool.

IG @bettywho

@theyearofelan

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT | Prime Video

Read the JUN ISSUE #78 of Athleisure Mag and see THE POWER OF RELATIONSHIPS | Betty Who + Elan Gale in mag.

63MIX ROUTIN3S | PLASTIK FUNK

Read the JUN ISSUE #79 of Athleisure Mag and see 63MIX ROUTIN3S | Plastik Funk in mag.

GOVERNORS BALL

Here in NY, we know that the summer season has really gotten underway when Governors Ball's 3 day music festival comes to the city. Held at Citi Field Stadium, fans came to enjoy hearing an array of artists that represent those in hip hop, pop, rock and more. Acts performed across 3 stages: GOVBALL NYC presented by Verizon, GOPUFF Stage and Bacardi Stage. Performances included J. Cole, Kid Cudi, Becky G, Jazmine Sullivan, Playboi Carter, Tove Lo, DIESEL, Halsey, Coi Leray, A$AP Ferg and Jack Harlow to name a few.

In between waiting for the next act, there were plently of options to keep them engaged from Instagrammable areas, staying hydrated at the ElectroLit Zone, Casa Bacardi to enjoy their classic canned beverages and so much more.

This season those who couldn't attend were also about to watch virtually via Governors Ball Livestream on Twitch which was presented by Levi's 501's as well as via the radio on SiriusXM's app to keep the good vibes going.

With high energy all around, here are some of our favorite moments as we count the days down to Governors Ball 2023!

IG @govballnyc

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 110 - 111 Aaron Rickets | PG 1112 - 113 + 116 - 117 Paigge Warton | PG 114 - 115 Greg Noire | PG 118 - 119 Charles Reagan | PG 120 - 121 Roger Ho | PG 122 - 123 Mickey Pierre - Louis |

Read the JUN ISSUE #78 of Athleisure Mag and see Governors Ball in mag.

9PLAYLIST | SKIP MARLEY

Read the JUN ISSUE #78 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | Skip Marley in mag.

9PLAYLIST

Read the JUN ISSUE #78 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | ANAME in mag.

ENERGY & EVOLUTION | DIMITRI VEGAS & LIKE MIKE

We're big fans of good vibes and sounds that transform us to a special place. Without a doubt, when it comes to some of our favorite DJ/producers Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike has been our go-to for well over a decade! This month's cover is the perfect way to kick off an amazing summer ahead with this incredible musical brother duo - Dimitri Thiavos and Mike Thiavos.

We wanted to find out more about this duo who has performed at Electric Daisy Carnival, Electric Zoo, Creamfields and Tomorrowland to name a few. In addition to their phenomenal tracks, we know that they have projects that they're also focused on whether its acting in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion, clothing lines, comic books and more. We talk about how they approach their music, how they got into the industry, collaborations that they do with a number of artists and upcoming music.

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

DIMITRI THIVAIOS: From a very early age, we were both into music, but I was the first to really get into buying records and djing etc. Seeing music as much more than just a hobby, but more a career. I started djing when I was 13 and really pushed myself from very early on to try and make a career out of djing, which led me to moving to Majorca and then later Ibiza.

MIKE THIAVOS: Electronic music has always been a part of my life growing up, as that was the main style of music being heard on radios and played out on a mainstream level in Belgium since the early 90’s and even before I was born, remembering the countless “top hits” cd’s being played by my parents on our seemingly everlasting trips in our car without AC to Greece over summer (laughs)… but next to always having been intrigued by my brother’s musical antics and trying to learn and copy my older brother’s behavior, as most younger siblings do. I started writing songs around the age of fourteen, after being introduced to the wonderful sound of hip hop, venturing down my own musical journey shortly after. Finally being old enough to travel by myself at the age of sixteen I moved to Ibiza in 2001, simultaneously banging out hip hop albums on the white island, I gradually fell in love with house music, as anyone would having the opportunity to spend late nights to the groovy beats of various house legends at Pacha Ibiza. My love for music was widespread and I was becoming way more experimental with my musical taste going from classical music to funk of the early seventies and grimy electronic beats in the eighties. Still today I think that is the foundation for the countless big sounds I’ve created and the endless unreleased songs on all my old devices, I must have made over a hundred albums by now ranging in different musical genres.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to be DJs/producers?

MT: Although I love deejaying and as it’s not really rocket science, I’ve always considered myself a performer, musical creator, and a producer instead of a DJ. Making music is where I can find the real art of expressing myself with whatever mood I’m in in that moment, both instrumental and vocally, in sound and lyrics.

I would say the producing of electronic music started after coming back from working abroad for a couple of years and realizing the market and prospect for making rap albums wasn’t a very lucrative thing being from Belgium back then (although it’s a different story now). So going back to our roots of electronic music was an inevitable but nevertheless easy decision for me to make.

After inviting Dimitri to move into my apartment the ball really started rolling when we decided to work together as a team. I learned all my earliest tricks from Dimitri who was already very knowledgeable when it came to software and computers.

It took me a couple of years before I was able to fully produce my own tracks and get into making sounds like ‘Mammoth’ and ‘Tremor,’ but it was a wonderful journey that has continued until this very day.

AM: What’s your process like when it comes to creating your music and where do you find inspiration?

MT: I create sounds and make songs every day that I can; it’s a ritual and something that brings a certain type of fulfilment that almost nothing else can bring me…almost like a drug. Not being able to let out my creative drive will make me feel on edge and I’m always happy being able to return to my studio, as being on tour and having a heavy tour schedule sometimes makes it hard to have a creative outlet. But then there’s other ways of doing that like writing, drawing or designing fashion, architecture or even ideas for movies or businesses that could change our planet and way of life in a positive way, cooking and food are also amongst some of my biggest passions.

Whenever I make a song that could be a good fit for DVLM I always send them to Dimitri to get his thoughts and feedback.

DT: We are always bouncing ideas around for new tracks, especially when on the road as you get a lot of inspirations from daily life and of course shows.

AM: Do you have specific roles when it comes to how you go about creating your music or planning your setlists?

MT: Dimitri has always had full control over our sets and mashups. I’ve always taken the part of being the hype man. But I do like to come up with crazy ideas or songs or concepts to bring back from the past. I do mostly focus on the production side of it, for example trying to make the sickest intros for our biggest shows of the year.

DT: Not really, our thing has always been about an equal share on the creative side. We’re willing to take risks and try new methods and ideas. If you want to be forward-thinking with your career and to keep everything fresh you need that openness.

AM: How do you balance your working relationship while also being siblings?

MT: We grew up together, so we’re used to being in each other’s lives. It’s familiar to us and if anything, it makes it easier to communicate ideas and be honest with one another about what we want to achieve.

DT: That honesty and dedication for the same targets is what makes it work.

AM: How do you define your style of music?

DT: It is difficult to put our sound into one category or genre. We love such a wide array of music across many genres, and I think that is reflected in our music. One thing that always runs through our music is energy. Our style is mainly upbeat and has an energy that people can vibe to.

MT: We get inspiration from so many different areas in life, and I think that shows in the people we work with. We try to work with people who inspire us, for example, we’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the best names in music, such as Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Hans Zimmer, Natti Natasha and Daddy Yankee.

AM: Is there a different approach when you’re working on your own music versus when you’ve worked on projects with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or various artists that you collab with whether for remixes like Coldplay or Lady Gaga or editing for Sean Paul, Jennifer Lopez or Pitbull?

MT: Of course, you must respect the creative side of other artists when you’re collaborating with someone else and everyone has a different approach to their work in the studio, but we love that.

DT: With remixes it’s a little different because we are there to bring our sound to the project, so it’s about respecting the original but also remembering our role is to apply our style and vision to the project.

AM: When it comes to collaborating with someone whether it’s a film or person, what do you look for?

DT: For us its simple, we have to be into the music they’re making or inspired by the project.

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

DT: Lost Frequencies, Dr Dre

MT: Keinemusiccrue, Artbat, Eminem

AM: You have won a number of accolades for your work, played in major clubs, have ongoing residencies and have been in major festivals year after year, what does it mean to you that you have this reach and love with your fans?

DT: It means everything to us. Our fans are incredible and the support they’ve shown us over all these years is something impossible to put into words. To be a part of such an unbelievable scene, perform at these amazing events and share it with the best fans in the world is a dream come true.

AM: Musically, as well as looking at your social feed, you have an incredible group of people who you have creatively worked with, as well as are friends with, from Steve Aoki who was a previous cover, Afrojack, Martin Garrix, David Guetta and more. How does this fuel your work to be surrounded by these creatives?

DT: Every day we are inspired by all our music friends and colleagues. To witness our scene become so internationally accepted, and to see our friends help build the foundation of that is something very special. It’s never been a competition for us, we’re blessed to have such amazing people in our life and happy to see each of them flourish and have their successes inspire our own career.

AM: You guys are always working on a number of projects, do you have any upcoming ones that you can share with us that we can keep an eye out for?

DT: With touring now back on the agenda, we have a lot of new music ready to go so stay tuned for announcements soon. What’s next from us is collaboration with a legend of the harder side of dance music, Brennan Heart. This one is going to blow the roof off!

AM: What festivals will you perform at this summer?

DT: We’ve a busy schedule this summer and excited to be back on the road again. Fans can catch us at Ushuaia Ibiza for our summer residency, as well as AirBeat One, Balaton Sound, Barcelona Beach Festival, Neversea Festival, Dance Valley, Creamfields, and of course we’ll be at our home Tomorrowland.

AM: What are your 3 favorite events to play?

DT: Playing our own shows at Ushuaia Ibiza, or our end of year parties at the Antwerp Sportpaleis, are always a special occasion because we get to be a part of the whole process.

MT: And being a part of Tomorrowland.

AM: How do you stay in shape as you’re on the road frequently and we’re always looking for routines that we can include in our workout?

MT: Touring life can be intense, both physically and mentally, especially when you’re on extensive touring schedules. Sleep is a vital part of looking after yourself when touring but it’s hard to keep a steady circadian rhythm, also having the right nutrition and staying away from stimulants is key. We manage it by fitting in time to exercise regularly.

AM: How would you define your personal style?

DT: Casual but stylish.

MT: My style is a combination of different influences picked during my life and the constant drive to improve and find a better version of yourself, ever evolving and not holding on too much to old ideals.

AM: You do a lot of traveling, what are your 3 favorite cities that you enjoy visiting?

MT: My absolute favourite city is Athens but I do love spending time in New York, Los Angeles and Miami.

DT: Ibiza, Ibiza and… Ibiza (jokes).

AM: In addition to working together, both of you have a number of projects that you’re involved in. Dimitri you’ve been acting in movies such as Men In Black: International and Rambo: Last Blood and you’ll be in the upcoming Jurassic World: Dominion – what was it like to be involved in this and what can you tell us about it?

DT: An incredible experience both as an actor and more so as a fan of the franchise. A real childhood dream come true. Being a part of these amazing movie projects and around so many phenomenal actors and actresses has taught me so much already. I’m super excited to see the movie on the big screen with my friends and family. Anyone who follows me knows I’m a huge fanboy of the movie and comic business, so I’m truly honoured to be a part of these projects. And now with my first lead role in the movie H4Z4RD coming up, I can’t wait to do more stuff…

MT: On a personal level, I’ve designed my past two houses, created a new label and fashion line and several concepts for restaurants that are about to be put into fruition and am invested in very forward-thinking companies and concepts that are hopefully taking the world by storm in the nearby future. The ultimate goal is combining all passions and curating unique experiences that are unmatched.

AM: You’re a comicbook fan, we recently interviewed Rodney Barnes where we talked about his work with Marvel, Star Wars and the Killadelphia series. How did you fall in love with comic books and what are your 3 favorite comic books?

DT: For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by comic books. I grew up on stories like Ninja Turtles, Batman, Spider-Man, all of which were and remain my favourite superheroes. I still collect comics and have a room dedicated to my passion of all things Marvel and DC.

AM: You also have Dino Warriors – what was the thought behind creating this and what can you tell me about it?

DT: It’s been a dream of mine to create my own universe within the comic industry. I’ve had the Dino Warriors idea in mind for a long time. Teaming up with David Uslan and his father Michael, the originator and executive producer of the Batman movie franchise, felt like the perfect moment for this project to come to live.

I’m proud to say that we also have onboard one of IDW Publishing's most critically acclaimed writers Erik Burnham, best known for writing Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Transformers, A-Team, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. As well as Jim Starlin (creator of Marvel's Infinity War uber-villain Thanos and more), Brett Booth (Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men), Stephen Segovia, known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel and Valiant Entertainment, and Diego Galindo (Power Rangers, Dungeons & Dragons, and Stranger Things) are all part of the projects creative team.

AM: What is Smash Universe?

DT: We’ve a deep-rooted passion in other creative art forms beyond music, everything from film to esports so we decided to launch our lifestyle agency Smash Universe to allow us the freedom to explore these areas more. The project had been in our minds for a while. We got introduced to Miranda Huybers, a gaming industry veteran who was part of Activision’s “Call of Duty” team, by one of our team members, and it immediately felt good. Miranda brings a wealth of knowledge to the table, along with our Smash The House team and our manager Nick Royaards. Add to that Nick Depauw, head of SMASH esports, Nick Royaards, as well as Perry van de Mosselaar and Dwayne Megens from our label Smash The House and we have the nucleus of a formidable team.

AM: Mike, I know you just had a collaboration with BLACK BANANAS – the tracksuit looks cool. How did this collaboration come about, and will you continue to work with them?

MT: There’s a long connection with Tomorrowland and the popular Dutch streetwear. It’s a friendship that’s lasted over a decade. We wanted to lay down casual street wear, athleisure, that symbolizes the ideologies of both BLACK BANANAS and my label GREEN ROOM.

A perfect combination was found with the inspiration from the world of football, hence the captain style armband.

This is just the beginning of our story working together.

AM: You also released a solo album, “Pain, Love, & What Comes After”, how long did it take to put this album together and why did you want to release it?

MT: I would say it’s an accumulation of some of my favourite songs and collaborations created in the past 5 years. It was a very personal project for me, highlighting some of the most emotional and captivating moments of my life, depicting a beautiful but sometimes also sad story and, outside of mine and Dimi’s work together, was a chance to showcase a different side of my musical creativity.

AM: You had your first solo set in Vegas last month. What was that like and will you have upcoming solo sets that we should keep an eye out for?

MT: Being able to play out my new music and curating a night by myself was an incredible experience that asks for more!! It was a chance to showcase my new sounds and to be around so many incredible people that decide to fly in from all over the world. The energy and buzz from that experience was one of the best I’ve ever felt, and I could feel all the love. I was really nervous on the night, especially since it’s a totally different sound than what people are used to hearing from us as DVLM. It’s literally taking it back to our roots and some of the earliest vibes we grew up loving. I’ll be doing more shows again soon, planning a US solo tour at the end of this year so stay tuned.

AM: In terms of the Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike brand from your music, touring and additional projects, how do you want your legacy to be seen?

MT: Well, we’re far from over. We’ve got so much more planned, so many exciting projects coming up and new shows scheduled. Although never having a clear vision of the path, I'm absolutely confident there are many more goals to achieve, so answering this question right now doesn’t feel right. Evolution is key.

AM: How do you take time for yourselves when you’re not in your projects?

MT: Grounding and healing yourself and being creative in different ways is a big part of my time off and spending it with friends and family is what matters most for us.

IG @dimitrivegasandlikemike

@dimitrivega

@likemike

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Front/Back Cover + PG 16 - 25 + 28 - 31 Boy Kortekaas @boythecollector | PG 26 -27 + PG 70 - 71 9DRIP Benhoudijk |

Read the MAY ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see ENERGY & EVOLUTION | Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike in mag.

9LIST STORI3S | SOFI TUKKER

Read the MAY ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see 9LIST STORI3S | SOFI TUKKER in mag.

9PLAYLIST | HARDWELL

Read the MAY ISSUE #77 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST | Hardwell in mag.