9LIST ROUTIN3S | LO BOSWORTH

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THE BACHELORETTE S18. | SEE THE MEN OF MICHELLE YOUNG'S SEASON

On Oct 19th, we finally see Michelle Young on ABC’s The Bachelorette. If you remember back to Matt James’ season on The Bachelor, you know that there were 2 Bachelorette’s chosen - Katie Thurston that we saw earlier this summer and Michelle Young.

Prior to any season, ABC releases who will be the contestants on the show. We have a number of people that we’re already thinking will make it far this season.

Each night during the season, we tweet about The Bachelorette and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

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SEASON 18

We’re sharing who you can expect to see on the upcoming season of S18 The Bachelorette.

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

ALEC T, 29 | North Charleston, SC

BRANDON J, 26 | Portland, OR

BRANDON K, 29 | Austin, TX

BRYAN W, 31 | Chicago, IL

CASEY W, 36 | Miami Beach, FL

CHRIS S, 28 | W. Hollywood, CA

CHRISTOPHER G, 28 | Nova Scotia, Canada

CLAYTON E, 26 | Columbia, MO

DANIEL T, 26 | Austin, TX

EDWARD N, 27 | Los Angeles, CA

GARRETT A, 33 | Salt Lake City, UT

JACK R, 33 | Philadelphia, PA

JAMIE S, 32 | San Diego, CA

JOE C, 28 | Minneapolis, MN

JOMARRI G, 26 | Fresno, CA

LEROY A, 27 | Dallas, TX

LT M, 38 | Bellevue, WA

MARTIN G, 29 | Miami, FL

MOLLIQUE J, 36 | San Diego, CA

NAYTE O, 27 | Austin, TX

OLUMIDE O, 27 | Newark, NJ

PARDEEP S, 30 | Brooklyn, NY

PETER I, 26 | Port St Joe, FL

PJ H, 30 | Houston, TX

RICK L, 32 | Los Angeles, CA

RODNEY M, 29 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA

ROMEO A, 32 | NY, NY

RUAN F, 30 | San Jose, CA

SPENCER W, 25 | Cleveland, OH

WILL U, 28 | Santo Domingo, DR

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9LIST STORI3S | JAMIE GRAY HYDER

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9DRIP | POOCH HALL

POOCH HALL IMAGE CREDITS | MANAGEMENT Zero Gravity Management | PHOTOGRAPHY Derek Blanks | STYLIST Ryan Christopher |

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see 9DRIP | Pooch Hall in mag.

9DRIP | JORDAN ANDINO

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MANIFEST YOUR LIFE WITH LONDON BROWN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IG @RealLondonBrown

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

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

A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY WITH NYESHA ARRINGTON

Storytelling comes in many forms that take place with food as a medium. It especially resonates with us as you get to know something about the chef, share an experience with others and even learn about the culture that it is derived from. We took some time to talk with Chef Nyesha Arrington about her culinary journey as well as cheffing in a TV landscape. We were first introduced to her on BRAVO's Top Chef Season 9 Cheftestant and since then, she has appeared on a number of shows from Food Network's Tournament of Champions and Guy's Grocery Games to name a few. This fall on FOX, she will be on Next Level Chef alongside Gordon Ramsay and Gino D'Acampo as each of them mentors a recruited group of talented chefs. We talk about her culinary journey, the power of identity, her health journey and being her authentic self wherever she goes.

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

CHEF NYESHA ARRINGTON: Well, I honestly feel like being a chef and being in the food space is really something that was always part of my life journey and it was definitely written in the stars before I was born. It’s something that has always been a passion of mine and it’s not something that I had to learn how to love, it comes very naturally to me. Sharing, the idea of nurturing and celebrating people and artists and Mother Nature as a whole, is kind of what is my grounding force in terms of craft and career.

AM: What was your culinary journey in terms of where you trained and kitchens that you worked in?

CHEF NA: The first kitchen I worked in was a restaurant called Jiraffe which was in Santa Monica. I was an intern there for about a year and I was there while I was going to culinary school in 2001. From there, I went to another restaurant called Melisse a 2-star Michelin. I was there for a long time and after there, I went to a 3-star Michelin restaurant called The Mansion which was helmed by Joël Robuchon and he was the Chef of the Century and has the most Michelin stars. He’s a legend to say the least! I worked for him for a few years and then I moved to the Virgin Islands and I was there for a year and that’s when I had my first Executive Chef job which was an interesting experience to meet people that are not of your same background. It was a challenge and it really taught me a lot of leadership skills and how to motivate people that aren’t of the same background as you. From there, I moved to Hawaii and I was there for about a year in Maui. But that’s when Top Chef called and said, “hey Nyesha, you’ve been on our radar.” So, I did Top Chef and that’s what sparked my venture into TV land and cheffing. That was back in 2012 for Season 9. All the while, prior to that it was about laying down that foundation and groundwork to being a good chef and learning technique. It was about learning how to be a food person I guess you could say.

I did Top Chef and I did a few other shows. One was on Food Network that aired shortly after that and that’s kind of the large brush stroke of the journey!

AM: That journey is amazing. We’re huge fans of Top Chef and have had the pleasure in including their stories in our issues from Chef Brooke Williamson, Gail Simmons and Richard Blaise to name a few. What was it about that community as your Instagram shows how you are involved with so many people from there. What was it about the show that made you want to align your brand with what they have going on?

CHEF NA: I think that at that time, I was seeing people in the food space that were on TV. I think that because I grew up in a sports background and I played soccer in high school soccer, I was playing softball in the very early stages of my life when I was 6 years old until I was 13. My dad was the coach of my softball team and I think that those early stages of my life, playing on a team, being part of a squad so to speak and for sure being competitive, really resonated with me in terms of life skills and brain development. The idea that you can be on a team and win, that’s what drove me to do Top Chef because ultimately I can still hone my craft in this kind of aesthetic. I’ve slowly started to accept the fact that I am a competitive person and not so much against other people, but myself! I like to be a person that is a growth mindset person who loves to put out their best. It’s what drew me to it. I hadn’t actually watched the program – maybe an episode or two but there are some really die hard Top Chef fans out there. I wasn’t one of those people because I was living in real life and cooking in real life. Then I went on the show and did the competitions. It was awesome and a great experience and being part of the Top Chef community is amazing. It definitely helped launch my brand if you will. I remember, this is when I was at my first Executive Chef position at the time and people were coming to the restaurant. Sales were doubling and people recognized who I was as a character and they would come in and say, “you were such a class act, humble and gracious and fun to watch.” You know, it was super cool and an amazing experience to feel that. I had never been recognized before and it was really fun.

AM: Shake Shack is an office favorite in our studio. Tell me about the collaboration that you had as well as your line of sauces that you are releasing separately from this eatery.

CHEF NA: I did a collaboration with Shake Shack earlier this year with a sauce that I have called Aisoon Sauce. We do very limited editions of the sauce and it’s inspired by my grandmother and she’s a Korean ingredient and essentially, it’s a grilling sauce so you can use it on vegetables, meat, a soup base or a vinaigrette base. It’s an all purpose, all around Korean-inspired sauce that was inspired by my grandma.

AM: That’s really interesting and how does your background as an African American and Korean Chef inspire the foods that you create?

CHEF NA: You know, it’s interesting because I come from a French fine dining background in terms of the kitchens that I have worked in and is very influential in how I approach technique. So that’s an interesting way to look at cooking as a whole. It’s either driven by ingredients, where you source them and also technique. So, my background being African American-Korean, I grew up with a lot – let’s say from, 0-6, being influenced by my grandmothers food from the Korean side very traditionally and a lot of foreign flavors. That’s what I saw as that’s what she cooked and it was very traditional. Then, after she passed away, being influenced by the other side of my family was huge! My dad’s side is from Pass Christian, Mississippi, I’m a 3rd generation Angeleno – but on his side, there was a lot of Hot Water Cornbread and delicious Southern style cooking and those are the foods that I grew up eating.

Life is a journey and it’s all about learning. Right before the pandemic, I did this dinner and it was the first time that I explored a menu that I felt was truly a form of self-expression. It was a very Afro-Korean inspired menu and that was super cool. My style is very global. I draw from an inspiration of Los Angelos being my terroir – I cook very seasonally and I try to cook what Mother Nature is celebrating at that time so right now it’s stone fruit, corn, chilis and eggplants which are things that are eating very well and I think that that’s important to be in this sort of idea of a circadian rhythm and our planet has a pulse and there’s a time when she’s giving us things based on a temperature and climate that is going on. That ethos is based in my cooking and I don’t know if that is even being rooted in my race. I think it’s about celebrating the human race and that’s what drives my cooking which is so very unconventional because what you see is chefs that are Mexican are making Mexican food and those from China are making Chinese food and that’s not how I am approaching food and it’s so interesting and something that I have a lot of conversations with internally because the idea of identity and how the world sees you and how you receive and perceive the world! Anyone can be their own individual and it’s like for me, my inspiration in cooking is that it transcends the idea of ethnicity and it’s really about human connection and that is my favorite ingredient and that’s what draws and drives my passion for connectivity. Food happens to be that media for me and food is that form of self-expression. It’s also a form of nurturing and for me that’s what drives me and that it is an art. It’s not art on the wall but it is a craft and it can be applied to anything. The idea of something being someone’s craft, it’s a lifelong journey of discovery. I love to share that with people and my food from that lens. I know it’s long winded, but I wanted to be able to articulate that.

AM: I like this answer. As a Black Co-Founder of this magazine and as a fashion stylist, when you’re talking about fashion, I don’t style from a Black background, I have a luxury meets high/low meets Boho aesthetic which is also vibing off of the person and the project that I am working on. I love if you have a pair of sneakers and pair it with an exotic top and making this visual texture experience. That’s not me necessarily being Black, it’s just me loving what I love and mixing it together to tell that particular story.

You’re probably the first person that I have spoken with that in talking about how they approach their food, it’s not based on the background that you’re perceived to come from per se. I love that food storytelling much like in style which has visual texture and storytelling can have those same roots and thought processes. People do need to understand that the experience you are giving others doesn’t always have to come from a prescribed place of an actual experience that you have grown up in and that one can assume that your dishes are going to be collard greens and ham when you want to share another experience entirely.

CHEF NA: I’m telling you man! It’s so nice to have this open and honest conversation about this. I have to tell you that it has been a real reckoning of learning how to explain that because that is how I feel and I have to assume that not everyone knows where I am coming from and so I have to say the words and to hear from yourself as a POC to explain that theory behind art and the vibe – that is the true art of the craft. The whole collard greens and things like that, the thing is that’s such an interesting dialogue because I don’t think that I’m doing a disservice by not cooking the ancestral food, I’m Black everyday – you know? It’s about the lens of an artist! It’s also, I’m a woman so those two things, I have to be frank because when people ask me in interviews all the time – “what’s it like to be a woman in the kitchen, tell me about your Korean background,” – that specifically because in 2008, that’s when my first PR piece came out for me as a brand and as a chef. They talked so much and it stuck in the media and I’ve been seeing it for the last 17 years that the conversation is, “Nyesha Arrington Korean and Black,” and I’m like, ok yeah but I don’t know. It’s interesting to see what sticks and now after all of these talks about inclusion and I’m like, “wow, what’s really going on?” I’m an artist at the core of my being and that comes from my father who is my best friend. He is the best human that I know who happens to be my dad. He’s just an amazing person who has such a universal perspective about life, well read person, he puts himself in other people’s shoes all the time and he would give an ant a piece of food. The guy is an angel and I’m just so grateful for him and I just try to make my family proud with my cooking and things. So this whole Next Level Chef, it’s going to be a huge pillar in my life and I think it just puts a different outlook on cooking, sharing that in the media space and it’s going to be so powerful you know?

AM: I have to say that your scope on identity is a conversation that everyone needs to have with themselves and others especially when it comes to those that have management and people so that they can understand understand how you want to be presented and they’re in step with your vibe. Because if it can’t be articulated to them and they can’t embrace that this is who you are, what it means, etc it’s tough because you will continue to see that disconnect from them and those that reach out to you as the message isn’t being properly placed.

CHEF NA: It’s becoming –

AM: A fight.

CHEF NA: Yeah man and I’m just leaning into it. I think before, I didn’t know and as life happens, you just collect the data and as humans that is who we are. We are literal expressions of what is happening to us. Our duty is to celebrate the past, have the life experience and then carry that into the future because at the end of the day, we’re all storytellers – what else do we have? We’re telling stories and we’re trying to continue and share that. It’s interesting with the integration of tech – it’s fascinating!

AM: For sure!

From what we've been reading, your show Next Level Chef is an interesting concept and has a range of dynamics that make it unique in the food genre. Tell us more about this!

CHEF NA: Basically, probably 6 months ago, I went to guest chef on Gordon’s MasterChef. I went in and I did a dish and this dish which is so ironic because Gordon worked for Joël Robuchon. I did too. I made the classic Robuchon potato and he was – I can’t even tell you. He was standing off to my right and I was cooking and doing the potato and demoing it for the 4 cooks in front of me. The task was for them to recreate it. As I’m doing it, I can feel Gordon’s energy emanating off of him and vibes are real. What words couldn’t tell me, he pictured himself in me on the line and that was the energy that I was receiving and it fed me and I was like, wow this is so cool! Someone who worked for the same chef as me, who’s doing the TV life and is the #1 chef monetarily.

As a 17 year old girl on the line, I found this very early on when I was at a 2-star Michelin restaurant and it’s challenging to say the least. I remember saying to myself, “Nyesha, you need to push and work your ass off to eventually get out from behind the stove.” Because, I saw very quickly that if you don’t create options for yourself for growth, you get stuck and I never wanted to be that. I always had a big dream. I say that because when I did some research, Gordon Ramsay was always one of those people that’s doing it right and scaling properly in terms of brand building and all the things. In that moment when I was cooking the dish, it was just so cool to see a set and by that time, I had been on many sets – but to see a set driven by a chef was just a whole new world. It’s not a random producer who’s like painting this dream for the crew to recreate. It’s a kitchen and it felt like I was on a real kitchen again.

I did the dish, was on the show, left the set and Gordon basically came running out and was like, ”hey, who are you?” and shook my hand. My heart was pounding and he hugged me and tears just fell out of my eyes. It was a beautiful moment because I felt safe and I knew that this guy sees me. We shared that moment, his assistant was there and he was like reach out to her and they actually did! So how it came about was the Executive Producer who was there that day, we started talking and he asked me what a show would look like for me. It’s just like what I said to you, celebrating people, storytelling and I’m saying this more and more and leaning into it – I am not a conventional chef and I shouldn’t try to shove my circle into a square peg, let me be a circle and that’s ok! It’s pretty cool and empowering. They saw my authentic self and they asked what spoke to me and I said, the idea of mentorship, coloring outside of the lines – knowing the rules for sure, but being an artist. We had a few chats and then he reached out and said, we have a show called Next Level Chef, he gave me the premise and let me know that it would work well for me as it would be mentor based. I would have a small team of 5 and Gordon would have a team of 5 and we would mentor these chefs to win $250,000 – life changing! I am so freaking excited to say the least! I am so stoked and I can truly make an impact on people with just sharing. We’re looking for a 3rd judge and it’s going to be so cool.

AM: Before we let you go, in prepping for this interview, when looking at your IG, which is a great way to get some insights, we know that fitness is important to you. We noticed that you have worked out with Lacey Stone and we have featured her a few times here at Athleisure Mag and we love her vibes! She just has an authenticity and when I talked with her in person, I connected with her in so many ways and found myself just opening up and being vulnerable with her. She truly cares about her craft and just has a love for people.

CHEF NA: Um you freaking should be, I just had dinner with her a couple of days ago and it was the first time that we had actually hung out without working out. I have to be honest. She really changed my life and I want to pay her mad respect right now. In 2019, I joined her squad camp. Girl, this is real facts right now and it was a real epiphany for me. I was surrounded by strong, badass, kind, vulnerable, authentic humans and it literally changed my life and the idea of strength. Strength shouldn’t only be associated with masculinity and I had never been led by a strong female. The way she conducted her program, her professionalism, her classes, she’s a very present human – it changed my freaking life. I had only been led by European males so I think that in the background, I had only associated strength and ego from that perspective because how else is a European male supposed to lead me other than by what they know, you know? It’s toxic actually because there is a lot of that in my field. So to be lead by that and quite frankly, I have lead like that early on because that is what I was taught. So it has been a process of unlearning.

So when I went to her bootcamp girl, it changed my life! I was the most fit – that was pre-pandemic and now I’m the strongest that I have been in my whole life. I did her class yes and I started out with her 2019 and I lost 22lbs and gained a ton of muscle and it really kickstarted my healthy lifestyle. She’s doing these outdoor workouts on this cool tennis court and she was like, “girl, you’re strong AF and I want to come out and workout with you now!” So, she’s going to come out to my gym which I am going to mention in my ROUTIN3S because it is my favorite!

IG @NyeshaJoyce

PHOTOS COURTESY | Nyesha Arrington

Read the JUL ISSUE #64 of Athleisure Mag and see A Journey of Discovery with Nyesha Arrington in mag.

CELEBRATING FLAVORS WITH CHEF ERIC ADJEPONG

When we connect with a master chef, they take us on a journey exploring their voice through food. Chef Eric Adjepong was a finalist on Season 16 of BRAVO's Top Chef and competed the following season on Top Chef: All Stars LA. He brought West African cuisine and its stories to the dishes he created and ultimately to millions of eyes. He has continued to serve as a judge or guest host/judge on a number of programs including Top Chef: Amateurs and Food Network's Battle of the Brothers (Bryan and Michael Voltaggio) on Discovery+.

His passion for his Ghanian American heritage has led him to participate in a restaurant concept in Ghana as well as launching flavorful food in his newest project with AYO Foods. We delved into his culinary point of view, his background and how important it is to share it with others.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have enjoyed seeing you on Top Chef as well as a number of other programs. When did you first fall in love with food and when did you realize that you wanted to be a chef?

CHEF ERIC ADJEPONG: It started at a very young age for me around 6 or 7. I was enamored by chefs on cooking shows growing up – Julia Child, Yan Can Cook and I thought it was super, super cool to use fire and to create food. Watching my aunts, uncles and mom especially making food and just seeing that super power and I still think it’s a super power watching them cook to make a meal, which makes everyone stop what they’re doing and come to the dinner table. I have always admired that. I think that’s when it started for me and I’m lucky enough to have parents that fostered that.

AM: Before we delve into some of the projects that you’re involved in, we find it interesting that you have a Masters in Nutrition and you have cited that Chef José Andrés inspired you to do that. What was it that he was doing that lead you on that path?

CHEF EA: Definitely, I went back to study for my Masters in 2012 and a lot of that was spawned by the work that Chef José was doing with World Central Kitchen which was right around that period of time. It was fascinating honestly. I had my Bachelors in Culinary Nutrition so I had already gotten into it. Knowing better and doing better with my food and to be able to go full circle with what I started with, I wanted to be able to present myself as a one stop go-to kind of shop so to speak for food, anything regarding nutrition and culinary. I went to England and studied for about a year or so and it was a lot of fun and an awesome experience. I got to go to Ghana and I got a huge understanding of a global climate – what people are eating, how they are interacting with one another and that was an awesome experience for me. I think that a lot of that experience, the ideas, thoughts, inspirations and what I learned there has influenced me today.

AM: Can you share your culinary journey?

CHEF EA: I’m born and raised in NYC. My family came from Ghana in Kumasi. I was the first person born in the US from my family and I think that that gives me a unique perspective from the food that I cook and everything that I kind of do, it’s woven into me not just the food, but the culture, the way that I greet my parents, greet the elders, the way that I dress – it’s just all West Africa. It just so happens that I fell in love with cooking and have been able to bring to the forefront the food of the diaspora in a way that I think is unique to me, but also super authentic to the flavors to the places that I get my inspiration from.

AM: It was great seeing you on Season 16 of Top Chef as a finalist and then coming back for the next season for All-Stars in LA. What drew you to want to be part of that community which has such a dynamic platform to be involved in. How did you connect into it and you continue to be involved as I know you’re Top Chef Amateurs as well.

CHEF EA: I think it was just my admiration for the franchise even before I got in on my season. I was just a huge fan of the show period. I remember watching in culinary school and was just enamored by the talent and different characters coming out. I knew that if I was ever lucky enough to get on, I wanted to be able to celebrate West African culture as much as possible. I don’t know how it happened to be honest, it was kind of a blur, I was telling my now wife about it when we went out on a date. She helped me to apply which was cool. I did a tasting for them which was awesome and I was expecting a call months later or something like that. They called relatively quickly in a day or so and that just got the ball rolling. It’s an awesome fraternity and network that I love being a part of and not only in my season, but I can reach back to seasons past and it’s the same for those in the future. Even for the chefs that were in their season from Portland, you’ll have those folks reach out that want to do something like a collaborative dinner or to ask a piece of advice – how you handle certain things when it’s their time to be on the show. It’s a pretty huge community and I think it’s pretty cool to have Gail, Tom and Padma close by and you can reach out to them. They’re also ultra supportive as well to all of the chefs. They do a great job on the franchise to support all of us.

AM: From the Portland season, it was great to see one of the episodes focusing on West African foods. Thinking back to your season specifically, it was the first time that we remember seeing this brought forward. You really introduced us to a number of foods that we hadn’t been aware of and now are things that we have been able to eat by you presenting it in your dishes every week. Why was that so important to you to be able to include that in your repertoire of dishes that you were making?

CHEF EA: I knew going in that when I got the green light and I knew I was going to be cast, I had studied Modern American, Modern Italian, French and I knew that I could have gone that route. I think that if I had stayed on that line of thinking, that I could have been weeded out and I wanted to present something that was 1. very second nature to me and 2. that I hadn’t see on the franchise as I was such a fan. In 15 seasons, I hadn’t seen anybody cooking food from the continent of Africa really in a forceful way. So I figured, why not me, why not now – it was a great opportunity and I hit the ground running. I served a Raw bay scallop with Ghanian shito honey glaze, pickled shallots and celery garnish and it was super spicy and flavorful. They had no idea what was going on in their palette but they kept asking me to just keep cooking and I found myself in the finale cooking the same food, telling the same stories and I thought, I could really win off of doing this. I didn’t but I think in the long run, it boosted the profile of not only myself, but for the food of the diaspora.

AM: Absolutely and for those that are not familiar, what are the spices and foods that are indicative of West African foods?

CHEF EA: It’s a lot of warm spices and dry spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, star anise which is used quite often. Rosemary and thyme are huge and really we celebrate flavors and a lot of what is naturally grown in the area and in the region. So peppers, they come from literally everywhere and we use them in a variety of ways. Ginger, habanero, garlic, peanuts, plantains are huge. A lot of dried and fermented fish which we use essentially to what’s readily available. The sun is a great preservative and something that we can use to preserve and ferment and we do that often. It’s a great way to bring out strong and unique flavors in our food. I would say that that is pretty much the calling card and you will see that throughout the diaspora and the Caribbean with the use of cassava and plantains in South Africa, the use of corn and hominy here in the American South with jambalaya and gumbo which means okra – all of these little dishes which go back to the African diaspora in West Africa.

AM: Those are great points when you’re looking at the impact diaspora from a culinary standpoint. We were going to ask you how that affected the foods of the regions.

CHEF EA: Massively. One of the dishes that we’re presenting with AYO is Waakya and it’s a classic rice and beans dish. I call it the OG of the Peas and Rice dish because you will see this variation all throughout the diaspora because you’ll see it in Jamaica, parts of the Caribbean islands, a pretty popular rice and beans dish pretty much everywhere in South Africa and you’ll see it in Haiti. I’m really excited to talk about that and it’s really about the ingredients that we use. The peanuts, the plantains, the cassava and using those in really unique ways. You have to think that when people were being enslaved, they tried to grab what they could and to work with what they had. They braided rice in their hair and took what they could to the New World. They made use of what they had and whatever they couldn’t find or weren’t used to they adapted to what was readily available to them in the new land. You’ll see different variations of a very similar dish with a slight ingredient change and that happens all throughout the Caribbean as well. We use the scotch bonnets, it’s heavy and I think those traces are something that I like to be able to do and to celebrate as much as I can.

AM: How did the partnership between you and AYO Foods come about and what made you decide to introduce the two that will be coming out?

CHEF AE: Pretty organically funny enough. The founders Perteet and Fred Spencer of AYO Foods had reached out and they saw everything that I had been doing and very seamlessly, it was like an easy puzzle. They were pretty much preaching the same gospel that I have been doing if that makes sense and they have been pushing this food forward to get it into the grocer’s frozen and hot sauce aisles. I’m doing nutrition and a bit of fine dining. So the synergy was there and then making it work was something that we had to figure out, but I’m happy that we did be ause not only is the food really good and delicious but the branding is vibrant just as West Africa is. They have done a phenomenal job from beginning to end and I’m happy with the Chicken Yassa dish that we have which is beautifully braised chicken thighs and a rich roasted garlic and ginger sauce, a lot of onions, lemon juice and mustard and it’s cooked down to a beautiful jam with this jasmine rice. Waakye is the rice and peas dish. We have a red rice cooked like a sorghum millet leaves so it leaves this beautiful earthy note with a nice magenta color and we add a little coconut oil, roasted garlic and we season that and serve it with a really delicious sauce. It’s super traditional in terms of how the food is presented and is served, but as far as how it is shown, when you look at the box it’s so eye catching and catches the vibrancy of the plate – I really love what they did with it.

AM: Do you foresee that you will do additional dishes with them? Do you have a list of foods that you would like to add in down the road?

CHEF AE: I would actually! We’ve been able to kick things off without a hitch and have already started talking about collaborating on another dish or two or a sauce. For now, we’re focused on the Waakye and the Yassa and bringing these two dishes out as hard as I can. We both have a really strong effort to do that and I think that when people catch onto that wave, then we’ll definitely open the floodgates with a lot of dishes.

AM: In support of these 2 dishes what will you do in terms of driving awareness? Will you be doing IG Live or things of that nature?

CHEF EA: Yeah, anything that we can do to generate this like an IG Live, Zooms as those are things that people are normally doing to kind of break up the monotony with food and food stories. Doing demos, I’m totally down. They’ve been awesome and we’ve been able to do culinary classes as well with the folks at AYO which has been a lot of fun. If we can continue to do that in different ways to begin talking about this food, then it would be awesome. I’m always excited to do virtual classes as I do them anyway so doing it with AYO, I think that that’s really great.

AM: True, you’re already on that front doing your virtual classes. The fact that you and your wife are doing them together, it's great to see power coupleship!

CHEF EA: It’s been great and thank you for noticing! She’s been great and it’s been awesome and there is a lot of pivoting that had to happen as I’m sure that people are recognizing from last year. Being able to do these virtual classes and my wife being around helping out as much as she can has been awesome. It’s a great way to keep things different and being inside for the past year!

AM: It’s been a long 18 months!

CHEF EA: It has been yeah!

AM: You have 2 books coming out which is insane! Are you working on them now?

CHEF EA: You’re right it’s insane and I’m in the process of doing both of them and am writing them. It was a really smart idea when it was presented to me, but I’m feeling it now and it’s a lot of work. I’m glad I’m doing it this way so that I can get it out and it helps because I can piggyback off of one book to the next one. So the children’s book is somewhat feeding off the adult cookbook. So there are little gems in there and Easter eggs that you will see throughout. It tells the fictional story of a young kid in the inner city who is dealing with identity and food very much so like me growing up. So, I’m excited to share that story. For the adult cookbook, the contemporary one, there will be a huge spotlight on the traditional Ghanian and West African dishes and inspirations from modern times to the places that I have traveled to and what I have learned in between! I’m excited to present both books which will be out next year in Oct and I’m working on them now! For anybody that is writing a book, it’s quite a process so it won’t be out until next year, but I am in the thick of it right now!

AM: Do you have additional projects going on that you’re able to share as you're juggling quite a few.

CHEF EA: Yeah maybe I should slow down ha! But I am working with great organizations and great brands just like AYO and I’m really thankful for that. I have a little bit more TV in the future with Top Chef: Amateurs, the Discovery Network which I’m really proud of and the cookbooks. I’m taking a lot of time as a father and a husband is a title which is its own time and world as well. Hopefully when things kind of settle, I can get back into restaurant mode.

I helped open up a restaurant in Ghana last year which was an amazing experience. It’s been a busy few 18 months as you mentioned, but I like to stay busy and I’m really blessed to be in this position to do what I’m doing as I definitely dreamed about this. I want to take full advantage of this as much as I can.

AM: Why did you want to be involved in opening a restaurant concept in Ghana?

CHEF EA: Yeah definitely, a good friend of mine, who runs a hospitality business that is running the restaurant, East End Bistro in Accra the capital of Ghana in the Cantonments area, he and his partner have run a really successful bar called Bloom Bar. It’s probably one of the most successful bars in all of West Africa, they have expanded and they were looking to hop into the restaurant space. We had a relationship from the Bronx and he moved outand went to Ghana and started his dream with his hospitality venture. It was the perfect moment, I was available because I was not opening up a space here, so I left.

I went to Ghana and I was there for about 8 weeks from start to finish. We opened up, and did the training. I’m definitely open to extending my reach as much as I can not only to cooking in the continent of Africa but also to anywhere that is open to good food.

AM: What do you want your legacy to be in terms of the impact that you created?

CHEF EA: Wow, I’ve never been asked that. I think it’s reputation, being a good person is #1 and something that I should always strive to be regardless of my profession or what I do in my life. I want to make people feel good and decent. That is my personal legacy. I think that career-wise, I just want to be a better chef every single day, every single year. I know that that sounds cliché but the better that I am, the better that I can be of service to people around me. Honing my skills and being the best chef that I can be, I will allow as an artist as it’s not up to me. It’s up to the masses to settle in on how impactful I have been when I pass or move on is. Hopefully, the cookbooks aid into a little of that legacy so to speak where I can have something that will be longstanding and will be around a lot longer then I will be physically. Kind of honing in and being better, will make me a happy person.

AM: How do you do take time for yourself?

CHEF EA: I am probably watching basketball when the season is on. I love watching basketball, sports, going to the gym and listening to music. Listening to music in the dark which I know sounds odd, is so peaceful to me. Listening to an album or two with dimmed lights. If I'm reading or working on something, I'm just jotting it down so that I can see. But I like some good music and some low lights which is probably the best way for me to wind down!

IG @ChefEricAdjepong

PHOTOS COURTESY | Chef Eric Adjepong

Read the JUL ISSUE #67 of Athleisure Mag and see Celebrating Flavors with Chef Eric Adjepong in mag.

MAKE IT WORK WITH TIM GUNN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TG: Yes!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IG @TimGunn

@MakingtheCutTV

@AmazonFashion

PHOTOS COURTESY | Amazon

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

THE BACHELORETTE S17. E10. | IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette brings it all together as so much has taken place over the season and last episode!

The guys are told that Greg has left, but they will still have time with her uninterrupted. Blake and Katie Thurston began their date with throwing paint balloons. She then runs down Michael and Greg and what happened, while saying she had a strong connection with them. We all see Blake’s face as he is surprised how close she was with other men.

They continue their date at dinner. Blake lets her know that he loves her and is excited about life with her. Katie tells him she loves him too. They head out to the Fantasy Suites. They wake up happy and connected.

She debriefs with Kaitlyn and lets her know that she was satisfied many times. She even admits that her heart is with Blake! Now, she’s got her date with Justin, what does this mean for him? Although Justin is excited for their date, Katie talks with him to let her know where she is. She tells him about Blake’s date and that she can’t go forward with him. She doesn’t see a point in him meeting her family. On the couch, Justin saw his scene and is still grappling with it but still has love for her. He feels Katie didn’t give him a real shot and he was there by default. She says that that isn’t true. From that uncomfortable moment, we go to a reel of his faces -awkward transition, but funny moments.

Blake is about to meet Katie’s family and he knows that he is the only one left. He’s meeting her mom and aunt. Katie’s aunt, Lindsey, is tough and asks the hard questions while telling him how it is. Lindsey grills Katie too! Katie’s mom asks pointed questions too. There are a lot of logistics to figure out.

They have another date after meeting the parents. She lets him know it will be serious. They do an exercise to leave negativity behind by sharing their concerns and fears. Neil Lane is called and Tayshia brings Blake the rings. We see Katie getting ready. It seems like Blake is on the fence in terms of proposing.

Katie arrives to give her final rose. Blake at least arrives with his suit and Tayshia lets Kaitlyn know that he was battling about his decision. Blake and Katie are finally together and she has nothing, but amazing things to say to him. Blake talks about their time together, how great she is and he asks her to marry him.

Of course, we head to the remainder of After the Rose. Greg is the last bit of old business that they need to tackle. He got the first impression rose, got thefirst 1-on-1 date but towards the end, it devolved. Katie comes out and is pissed. She says he was never ready for an engagement because she validated him each week. She accuses him of gaslighting her.

Each night, we tweeted about The Bachelor and we chatted along with you (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to talk about what took place!

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SEASON 17, EPISODE 10

Blake and Katie are engaged.

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

THE BACHELORETTE S17. E9. | HOMETOWNS HAVE ARRIVED

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette is what we have been waiting for - Hometowns! WIth only 3 men: Greg, Blake and Justin, it’ll be interesting to see who will continue on although we feel that there is a drama in the air.

Katie Thurston kicks off Hometowns with Blake and they do a Canada-themed date prior to when she meets his family. He brings a number of elements from Canada to her and he bartends for her and shares that they use syrup for everything and have it everywhere. They do shots of syrup and they also learn that he has used it in the bedroom before as they keep it by their bedside? They also play darts with a series of questions to get to know more about one another. Of course, they play hockey in the street and they ride a mechanical Moose. While they are enjoying their date, Greg sees them and he’s not ok - especially when he sees them go into the penalty box and make out. Seeing their 1-on-1 date, Greg can’t take watching them and seeing how unhappy they are.

As she heads into Blake’s second portion of the date with his family, she realizes that Blake isn’t in love with her yet; however, she wants to make a great impression. She also wants to mesh with his family and see where he comes from. His family definitely seems like they’re cool and the kind of people that would give her a chance to know more about her. They see there is a connection, but they wonder if there is a real connection as opposed to just an infatuation with her. Katie is very honest in letting her know that they haven’t told one another that they love each other; however, they are willing to continue to see where it goes. Blake’s sister really asks the tough questions with him to ensure that he understands what’s going on as she has seen him fall in love with a number of people quickly. Blake and his mom chat and feel that they are a good fit, but wants to know if he sees her as his wife. She also agrees that he should tell her that he loves her just so that he is clear with her on what he wants. The date ends with a bit more street hockey and a successful date. Blake didn’t tell her that he loved her at the end of the night.

We see that Justin’s family is not coming to the resort for Hometowns. But he gives them a call to get their feedback. He’s bummed that he is unable to share his parents with her. His parents say they will support him, but by them not being there, it’s unfortunate that he will not be able to share them with her. Thankfully, his friends will be there. He will show Baltimore to Katie for his Hometowns. Katie feels that their connection started early and she is excited to know more about him and where he comes from. He shares the grafitti wall that is iconic to the area and they find out that they both love Blue Cheese over Ranch. He also has a crab lunch with her and lets her know that this is just a major part of where he’s from. Their connection is one that has always been undeniable. He wants to let Katie know about the dynamics of the date and where he is out. He lets her know that his parents couldn’t come and she will only meet his best friends which are like his brothers. Katie is happy that she told him and is looking forward to meeting his friends. She does wonder if he is ready for a marriage since his parents won’t be there.

His friends defintely seem like his brothers and you can tell that they have his best interest at heart. His friends let him know that his vulnerability has been an issue in the past. By not sharing his thoughts and being reserved, they feel that he has had some missed opportunities in the past. Katie realizes that his friends are shocked to see him being so comfortable with her and hopefully that lets Katie know that even though his parents aren’t there, that there are things that they can continue to explore. Justin lets her know that he is falling in love with her. She kisses him and although she will reserve saying “I love you,” until there is only 1 man, it’s for the best that he lets her know so that she can properly assess what is going on.

The final Hometown will be with Greg, but we already know that he has been having issues throughout this process as she has dated others in the house. After seeing Blake’s date, we know that he is feeling even more unsettled! Greg gives a taste of his town in New Jersey which will kick off with a tandem bike. Their first stop is the iconic pork roll and cheese. They also enjoy an Italian ice as well as a bouncy wave that has them surfing. He brings her to the basketball court and lets her know that his dad coached him throughout his career and he hasn’t played since his dad passed away. He thought it would be great to do something sentimental as they did that with the last 1-on-1 date that he had with Katie when she shared what her and her father did. Greg’s mom, brother and his friend will be there for Hometowns. He enjoyed the rain in Seattle and then let her know that it rains in Jersey too - which it did and it gave them the moment to enjoy a few kisses.

When she meets Greg’s family, even though some of his other members were unable to be there, his mom shares pre-recorded video of them showing their support. They all talk about how they have not seen him this happy in a long time. They notice that he is glowing. When Greg’s mom talks to Katie and tries to get specific questions out of her, Katie answers but is also clear on why she will not say, “I love you,” until it’s the last person that’s there as she wants to give that gift. As he speaks with his mom, he tells her that he wants to hear that she is in love with him, but he would love to hear that validation. He tells her that he is falling in love with her and hasn’t been this happy in such a long time. She tells him what she talked with his family about and that she knows he will be there next week, but he looks hurt that she will not be vulnerable and share more of her thoughts with him. Katie asks him to trust in their relationship, but we can see that Greg probably will not make it to the end.

All 3 of the Hometown dates have been completed. Blake and Greg talk about how the uncertainty is tough to handle and they both agree that they don’t know what she is thinking. Greg is sad because he feels that his heart opened up to her and that she didn’t really respond and that she just shut down. He feels that he needs to talk to her because he feels it’s clear that she doesn’t feel the same as him as she hasn’t given the indications that he is looking for. He swings by her place and lets her know that he wants to talk to her about the other night. He lets her know that he told his family that she was the one and when he let her know those feelings, he felt that she dismissed him and his feelings. Katie tells him that she only wants to say, “I love you,” to one person. He says that he gets that, but he didn’t even see an emotion from her and he says that he’s not asking for her to give a “love you” or that he is guaranteed a rose the following week - he didn’t like the way that she hasn’t shared. He is also upset that she told him that she doesn’t trust anything. He lets her know that this is his breaking point and that he will no longer continue. Her lack of acknowledgment is his issue and not the fact that she didn’t say that she was in love with him. He feels that there is a wall. He’s also embarrassed that he told his family that he thought she was the one.

Katie attempts to chat with Greg once he leaves, but he’s completely over the entire situation. She heads back to her room and lets production know that she is done and wants a plane ticket home. Kaitlyn comes over to talk with Katie. Through the door, Kaitlyn connects with Katie and she explains that she has been there as she remembers crying into her salad. Kaitlyn walks her through what happened to see if there is a nugget that they can learn. She then asks her if there is anything that could change, at that point Katie lets her in and they have a heart-to-heart moment as they figure out where they can go from where she is. Kaitlyn being able to hold her hand and to share how she understands is probably something that Chris Harrison would have not been able to do in the same way. Katie wonders if it is worth it and to be blindsided by someone that she knows that she connected with and to see him go away. She ticks off that Michael as well as Greg left - is there a reason for her to be able to continue as her confidence is shaken.

Katie doesn’t know how to navigate the rest of the process and asks for someone to book her a flight home. Without knowing what the future holds, we do know that the season finale is next week. We see her chatting with her mom, we know that Tayshia and Kaitlyn talk to the remaining men Blake and Justin about what has taken place.

Each night, when the season airs, we’ll tweet about The Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

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SEASON 17, EPISODE 9

Last week, we knew that Andrew, Blake,and Greg would be introducing Katie during Hometowns.

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

THE BACHELORETTE S17. E8. | WELCOME TO HOMETOWNS

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette has an honest conversation between Tayshia and Katie Thurston. In Matt’s season, she didn’t make it to Hometowns so she doesn’t know what to expect and she is also thinking about holding off to tell anyone that she is in love with them as that is the 1 thing that she can give 1 of them. Tayshia says that if she feels it, she should say it and if it is with multiple people that’s ok. She lets her know that Zac wasn’t in the running, but when she was at Hometowns with him, that’s when she knew.

The guys all talk about the importance of the week and why this is so integral for them as they get closer to the end. We see Michael talking with his son letting him know that they will go on a vacation when he is back. But the call ends up leaving him conflicted when he feels that his son James believes that his father doesn’t want to see him. Michael begins to question him being there as he doesn’t want him hurt. He finds Katie and lets her know how much he has enjoyed being with her and now he feels that because of his son, he can’t focus on anything else and that’s his priority. He feels that he can only give her half of who he is even though he sees so much. He lets her know that he is going home because of his son James. He is sad that he has to leave there with all the what ifs. She tells him that she saw them going to the end and she is very confused. He reiterates that he is not leaving because of their relationship, but that he needs to be there for his son. She shares that she had so many things that she wanted to tell him and it’s really sad to see that they’re not going to be able to continue.

Michael leaves and then there were three: Greg, Blake and Justin. We’re holding out for the possibility of her connecting with Michael later, but we also see him at the Men’s Tell All! It’s getting hard to figure out who she will ultimately be with - if at all!

Now we’re at the Men Tell All and looking back on the season and it’s being hosted by Kaitlyn and Tayshia. This episode is definitely going to be cringey as we see things playback and everyone hears what was said. They delve into Cody and Aaron’s beef which we didn’t hear a lot about but definitely could glean the issues that they have as they’re from the same area. While the guys chat, Karl jumps in and says the house was a witch hunt and he’s reminded that Cody only had one person that wasn’t his fan, Aaron and that Karl wasn’t liked because everyone saw through him.

Each night, when the season airs, we’ll tweet about The Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

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SEASON 17, EPISODE 8

Last week, we felt that Andrew, Blake, Greg and Michael A. would be on their way to Hometowns.

This week, we finally know who will be sharing their families with Katie during Hometowns: Blake, Greg and Justin.

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

TOKYO 2020 | OPENING CEREMONY

It’s been quite a process and in many cases, we wondered about whether we’d be able to have the Olympic Games taking place in Tokyo. But after a year in postponement, this morning (Friday, July 23rd), the Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Games will take place! Usually, we watch them during prime time but with the time difference of 13 hours in Tokyo, the schedule is a bit different this year!

NBC is the home of Olympic coverage (although throughout the NBC Universal network, you’ll be able to see a number of your favorite sports and countries competing). Below we have included the schedule regarding the ceremony. In addition to the links below and NBC, the ceremony will also be live on the NBC Sports app and on NBCOlympics.com.

JULY 23 TOKYO OLYMPICS CEREMONY PROGRAMMING ON NBC

6:55 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Live Opening Ceremony Coverage

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Special Edition of TODAY (interviews and reactions from athletes will take place)

1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Tokyo Olympics Daytime

7:30 p.m. – Midnight | Primetime Opening Ceremony (this is the re-airing of the Opening Ceremony which was live as well as some bonus content that was not included from this morning)

JULY 24 TOKYO OLYMPICS CEREMONY PROGRAMMING ON NBC

12:35 a.m. – 5:00 a.m. | Overnight Replay of Opening Ceremony

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

COURSE BOUND WITH JULIE TYSON

On Aug 16th - 22nd, THE NORTHERN TRUST golf tournament will be back at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, NJ. We attended back in 2019 and in anticipation of the upcoming event, we wanted to find out more about this tournament, its importance in the golf season and how it benefits its communities. Julie Tyson is the Executive Director of the PGA TOUR of THE NORTHERN TRUST. She shared her career journey, how she came to working in the golf industry, her approach to putting on one of golf's biggest tournaments as well as how she balances a myriad of schedules.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Back in 2019, we had the opportunity to go to THE NORTHERN TRUST and had an amazing time there so it’s so great to find out more about this tournament and your role in it. I’m also excited to chat with you as we are fellow alumnae at Indiana University so it’s always nice to connect with people from there!

JULIE TYSON: You are! You’re a Hoosier?

AM: I am and I was impressed that you were a founding member of the IU Dance Marathon on campus as I enjoyed going to that and raising awareness!

JT: That’s amazing and so cool! I’m on this sports board that they have now at IU and we had a board call last week and it’s like a who’s who of sports. I was listening on the call and I thought, “gosh Indiana turns out some really talented people!”

AM: Without a doubt!

JT: Well you included!

AM: Well thank you!

JT: You have quite a business!

AM: Thank you for saying that! It’s been an incredible journey and even in this time of the pandemic, we were really able to take stock to optimize what we’re doing while working on some really amazing things that will be launching soon! You know, in doing this magazine, we talk to so many people across a number of verticals and a number of them have come from IU and it always makes me think of just how phenomenal of a school it is and how far their arms reach! I’m from Indiana originally so I always wanted to go there, but looking at it from where I am now, seeing all the people that come through there it truly is incredible.

JT: I have 2 older brothers and I’m from Chicago originally and they went to school there during the Bobby Knight era.

AM: Same!

JT: And just like you, but for a different reason, we really wanted to go to Indiana University badly. I remember my first foot steps onto the campus, I had a couple of those pinch me moments like, “I can’t even believe that I’m here!” It’s such a cool experience.

AM: I loved it so much that after my freshman year, I became an Orientation Leader there every summer for the incoming students that were coming in! I’m still friends with a number of the people from those teams as well as students that I oriented. Bobby’s last year was my senior year, but my memories there were truly incredible and anytime I get to talk to others that went there, I know that it’s good people.

JT: Awww me too. I agree completely.

AM: Exactly. You have worked in this industry for a number of years. What is your background and what led you to working in sports and specifically to the golf industry?

JT: I was in media sales for a long time out of Chicago and I remember very distinctly boarding a plane and it was one of those really small 19 seat planes and I was in Michigan and it was in Feb. and I thought that it was freezing cold and dark and I need to do something different. I started to think about what would be next for me and I thought that being an agent would be interesting and fun. So my easiest path in I thought would be women’s sports to become an agent. I thought that I didn’t want to travel all over the globe at that stage in my life so that eliminated tennis because they were playing a lot of their events globally and I thought that golf would be an interesting thing because it was very well established and sort of fit with the lifestyle of not being in freezing cold Michigan weather.

So I reached out to the Vice President of Business Affairs at that time and said, “If you ever need help with your television, I’d love to help.” We got through a bunch of conversations and lo and behold he became the Commissioner of the LPGA, a guy named Ty Votaw. So I went to go work with the LPGA initially and worked there for a long time. It’s a very entrepreneurial setting where if you can dream it, you can do it. I loved my first foray into golf through the LPGA and then my career progressed and I ended up working at the PGA TOUR first in Account Management and then in Global Sales. Then, in 2017, my path led me to a counterpart and a friend that had become the head of our Championship managed event that we own and operate a portfolio of events and he asked if I ever wanted to come and run a tournament within this group of events? That began my event management experience was in 2017. THE NORTHERN TRUST happened to be moving from LA to NY so it was a perfect time for me because I got a new title, we were playing new venues and so everything was new. I didn’t walk into a big legacy really even though this event has been played in and around this area for over 50 years!

AM: That is quite a journey. Before we get into THE NORTHERN TRUST, can you tell me about your role at the PGA and what your day-to-day is like?

JT: So, I’m the Executive Director which means that literally if you think about it like a CEO of a small business, every aspect of the event rolls up through me whether it's client relations, whether it's operations, local relationships with the city or the state – putting on an event like this you have to let everybody know you’re coming to town and make the appropriate accommodations, marketing, HR, everything under the sun. Now the great part about this is that if you think about it like a franchisee, I have the PGA TOUR in the backdrop that we’re owned and operated and I have those resources that I can tap into on a daily basis. But we’re pretty much in NY running our own show up here.

AM: As you mentioned, THE NORTHERN TRUST is over 50 years old, can you tell us about this tournament which is the first of 3 Fed Ex Cup Playoffs events? What makes this such an important event?

JT: This is probably one of the most competitive events in all of golf where players compete throughout the regular season to earn enough points to make it to the Playoffs. We are the first Playoff event as you said. So we only accept the top 125 players in the world. If somebody gets sick or decides that they don’t want to play this particular week, we will play with fewer people. We won’t bring anybody else in. Not only do they compete to get into this event, after this event, we will cut as the Playoffs progress as they go from this event to the second event it will go to 70 players. So for some number of players like 55 players, their season will end at the conclusion of our tournament at THE NORTHERN TRUST because they didn’t earn enough points to make it into the top 70. So that’s 1 and 2, we tend to be one of the largest global platforms first being in and around NYC which is a huge enough platform to begin with. This event is also televised in over 220 countries worldwide so it’s a really big stage that we're putting these guys on. Lastly, over the course of those 3 weeks, these players will pay for over the 3 week run between the bonus pool at the end and the 3 weeks of purses, almost a $100 million in prize money. So that in and of itself, the scale of the stage, the number of hours of television, the platform, the fact that their season could end – there is a lot at stake here that these guys are playing for. So, really competitive environments tend to produce memorable moments on the golf course.

AM: Wow that is very critical in the fact that you could be ending your season after that particular tournament. How far in advance do you begin working on a tournament like this and as we’re a few weeks away, what does your schedule look like leading up to it?

JT: This event typically rotates in and around NY and NJ and in 2020, we played in Boston. We start planning 18 months in advance for where we are going to be in the upcoming year while simultaneously completing the steps towards the current year’s event. We have to be building 2 events simultaneously.

AM: When people think of golf, they think about The Masters, The Players or The Open as opposed to thinking of a tournament that’s minutes away from NYC, what are the intricacies of having a PGA TOUR event in NYC?

JT: Yeah. Interestingly here a local NYer or someone from NJ that is from the area will tell you that convenience is key! You have to have an easy way to get to something no matter how compelling. Unlike some of these other places where you’re in Augusta, GA and it’s convenient and easy to get to once you’re on the grounds of Augusta – you’re pretty local there. Here we battle traffic and all of these other kinds of modes of transportation. I think in 2021 what you will see as fans is that we have made it more convenient to get to the tournament. This being our first time back since 2019, we learned a lot from our fans so parking will be easier, we’ll have our rideshare much closer, our Ferry will drop off at the Liberty National Port instead of at Port Liberté. It will be super easy to get the opening and closing holes. So we have made it more convenient – that’s 1.

2, I think that if you live in the area, you have access to pretty much anything that you could ever dream of from world-class food options to entertainment so we really have to try harder to make this a singular experience that is super memorable. So we have really held ourselves accountable to building something that we think will get people to come back time and time again and hopefully your experience proved that we’re working hard on that front.

AM: I thought it was awesome. We went to the Media Day the day before and took the ferry over that day. I thought it was really cool. Who would have thought that steps away from the city, we have a golf course that we can go to without having to go to other regions in the country. It was really well produced and I’m excited to see what this year will be like. When I think about the music festivals and fashion weeks that we have attended it’s always challenging to do them when you’re talking about doing them here!

JT: I totally agree and we’ve lived through every challenge. COVID being what it is, to have THE NORTHERN TRUST last year in Boston during COVID which I can’t think of anything that is more complicated and we successfully pulled that off so we learned a ton about running events in a COVID environment just like everybody did in running their businesses.

AM: Speaking to that, running any type of event during COVID is problematic. What was your approach last year to tackling it and being in a different locale and keeping in mind all of these other factors that were literally outside of your control?

JT: Well, first we had to determine what was going to be our North Star. Our North Star was always going to be safety. Safety of the players, safety of the fans, safety of the volunteers, of the staff and in every step. We decided that we were going to operate without fans because we didn’t know if we could effectively do it as there were a lot of unknowns about COVID, there were no vaccinations - we just didn't think that we could aggregate people in a safe way. We knew that with the areas with the population of people and volunteer staff and players, that we could control how they could engage, we could control social distancing safety measures. So safety was always going to be our North Star. The second part of this and I think with anything that you’re going through with a crisis, is communication. We over communicated to everybody, the league, we communicated to the state and health officials. We over communicated with people and brought everybody into the process so that they could transparently see what we were planning to do and to advise us if we were going down a bad path. It helped us to be able to play in a time where most sports were unable to. We were really excited to be able to do that and to deliver to fans so that they could at least watch it on TV.

AM: In 2019, we had the best time watching Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka play and walking the course as they played. So for this year’s event, what kind of hospitality features and experiences that fans can enjoy while watching their favorite players.

JT: I think one thing to note is that if you’re a golf fanatic, we’ve got an option for you which is golf with a side of fun, but if you’re not super into golf and you just want to watch a little bit of golf, we’ve got fun with a side of golf. I think that more and more our fans are starting to see that you don’t have to watch 8 hours of golf if you don’t want to. We’ve got hospitality options that range from anywhere from over a little over $100 a ticket to all the way to $7,500 a ticket. It just depends on the level of convenience that you're looking for. So at the high end of that, the $7,500 ticket gives you valet right up to the door of the club. At the lower end of that, you’ve got access that will keep you out of concession and food lines and it gives you a reserved seat which generally is hard to find in golf. We’ve got hospitality options with everything in between and it just becomes things like climate control, shade or location on the golf course if you’re on a finishing hole. Those things come at a premium. We’ve got people and opportunities that can help coach you through any kind of opportunity that you want to experience. I think that the most interesting thing is for our Grounds Patron. We have 6 miles of front row seats for our Grounds Patrons which is unheard of in sports. Also, our amenities bring in local flavor with our food partners that you saw in 2019. So Shake Shack, Luke’s Lobster and Pizza Vita are there. We also brought in Playa Bowls which is a healthy option that was one of the bits of feedback that we got back from our food partners. We’ll have a wine garden that we fashioned after a North Fork vineyard experience with Adirondacks and food for purchase that pairs up nicely with wine as well as other kinds of experiences that people can enjoy. Again, if you’re interested in fun with a side of golf, we’ve got all kinds of space on a 6 mile golf course that is out in fresh air for you to enjoy with your friends.

AM: In addition to watching amazing athletes and having fun on site, there is also a charitable component as I know you’re focused on food scarcity. Can you tell me about where the proceeds will go to this year?

JT: Thank you so much for raising that as it is super important to us. Right now, we’re trying to frame up our relationships with our charitable partners and part of the reason why we’re still working on that is that it is the tournament’s proceeds that go out to that charity. So we have to hit the numbers in order to take the proceeds and provide them out. What we have tried to do is to pick some themes under the umbrella of Community Champions and Community Heroes. We know everyday that there are people going to work to make somebody else’s life better. Wherever we and THE NORTHERN TRUST as our title partner can go to work and help make those folks lives easier, we want to be able to do that. Things we've focused on include food scarcity that is coming out of COVID in NJ. They're focusing on real issues and summer is always tough with kids not going to school and having a guaranteed meal so that was one that we knew we wanted to be able to help. We’re looking at Boys and Girls Club, The First Tee which is our national charity partner with local chapters. We work with Tackle Kids Cancer, so we have a whole host of charities that we’re talking to right now and we want to help them in 2 ways. 1, with proceeds and financial underpinning and 2 is to take the PGA TOUR’s broad spotlight and shine it on those charities so that not only are we giving to them, but others that can afford to give are also supporting them. So you will see a lot of that going into the weeks leading up to and during tournament week.

AM: Going back to the point you were making with safety being a North Star, what can fans expect when it comes to their experience on-site at the tournament this year in terms of protocols and adherences that are taking place?

JT: Happily, NY eclipsed it’s 70% mile marker with vaccinations so that has been a mile marker that we have been waiting on for a long time! That being said, we also know that as people take their first steps back out into society, they’re going to do this in a cautious way and we want to meet them where they are. First, our food service, even when you’re in a shared structure for hospitality, where we used to have a buffet, we’re going to modify those experiences in terms of the way that we serve and produce the food so that we can make sure that everything is done safely, prepared safely and served safely. Second is, we’ve got fresh air that people can enjoy so we will keep things largely open air this year, more than we have in years past. That's due in large part because of COVID, but also because we have all been cooped up and we think that people want to be outside a lot more. Thirdly, we want to remove the judgement from mask wearing so we will be an environment where if you feel that you want to wear a mask, there will be no judgement and we will encourage it, but it will not be required. Generally speaking, we have an army of volunteers that will be wiping down surfaces and making sure that we keep people a reasonable distance apart – all those things that we have come to expect and want at a golf tournament will continue. I think that our 2020 experience made us much more knowledgeable to know how to operate in this environment.

AM: Wow, it seems like you have so much on your plate with so many different types of schedules running, outside of your job at the PGA TOUR, how do you take time for yourself?

JT: You know, I think that work and life sort of blend together and I’m fortunate because I work in golf and golf is a passion point for me. Being outside is a passion point, so I get to do a lot of what I like to do anyway. I have a family and I have a dog and things like that and when they want your attention, you sort of just give into it at those moments. So everything has its place and I’m grateful that I have all of those things because they are welcome distractions.

AM: How do you give back to the community whether it’s golf or philanthropic endeavors that you’re involved in?

JT: I sit on a couple of boards, but I think that really the thing for me is that my job marries to my passion point. Every day I get up and I get to think about the tournament that my team and I, THE NORTHERN TRUST, that operates with us will be able to benefit the communities where we play. I’m really lucky in that regard because I get to do that every day for a lot of hours a day. We all work a lot of hours and part of my mission is to make sure that we’re serving those communities and building deep roots and I’m grateful that we get to do that so that work and life get to blend together in that way.

AM: It’s always great when we get the opportunity to talk to changemakers and I think especially when we talk with women in sports that are dominating their fields and doing such an amazing job. I know our readers will enjoy it and personally, just prepping for this interview and seeing the dynamics of your career, I was really impressed and excited to talk with you and to see this event from another vantage point!

JT: I’m impressed with you! You’ve got this business that you created from the ground up are you kidding me? This is amazing. We love your support in covering this tournament.

AM: We’re always about storytelling and I love bringing awareness to a number of our topics especially when it comes to areas where people may not think of women being involved in. It’s exciting to see what the landscape can be especially for younger women that are coming up that they will have a better footing than what we had when we started on our journey.

JT: Hopefully that is true or we’re not doing our jobs. Someone once told me, “when you get to the top, send the elevator back down for women.” I’m grateful that you’re helping to do that and any way that I can do it, I want to do it!

IG @PGATOUR

@Thentgolf

PHOTOGRPAHY COURTESY | PGA TOUR/THE NOTHERN TRUST

Read the JUN ISSUE #66 of Athleisure Mag and see Course Bound with Julie Tyson in mag.

THE BACHELORETTE S17. E7. | STEPS FROM HOMETOWNS

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette is getting us much closer to Hometowns. As the guys talk about how key this will be, we also see Kaitlyn, Tayshia and Katie Thurston connecting over what she projects this experience will be for Hometowns. The date card arrives with Greg getting a 1-on-1 with Katie (his second one). The other guys wonder who else will get 1-on-1 dates as the rosed given out today will be those that will be for Hometowns so that she can meet their families.

Greg’s date includes her giving a taste of Seattle. Instead of Pike Place Market, she has Katie’s Place Market. From throwing fish, eating oysters, creating bouquets etc - it’s a sweet moment. They play football because that’s huge there and they even have a replica of The Gum Wall (this was not one of our favorite things to see when we were in Seattle). It’s always interesting to see how the producers add these home-oriented touches when we’re not able to do them now due to being in a pandemic.

We continue onto the second part of Greg’s date and she lets him know that many times, she thought that he was just going to leave. She hopes that he knows that she wants him to stay; however, now that it’s getting closer to Hometowns, we’d think that his anxieties would be reduced with less people vying for her attention and being able to have more time. Plus, it definitely seems like those that were problematic have been removed so that it’s just about the interactions. He lets her know that he is there and he hopes that if he is there for the next week, he wants to show his family the girl that he is falling in love with. Katie lets him know that she does have feelings and she gives him the rose and he is heading to Hometowns.

The next date card arrives and we know that Brendan and Mike P. have yet to have a 1-on-1 with Katie. Justin, Andrew, Blake, Michael A. and Brendan are all on the group date which means that Michael P. will get the 1-on-1 date. Brendan is not the happiest about seeing that he didn’t get the 1-on-1 date. Although he’s frustrated and happy that Mike P. got 1-on-1 time, he decides to just go to her room and talk with her. He feels that since he didn’t have time to talk with her during the cocktail party and having the group date prior, he wanted to know more about what she was thinking. He lets her know that she has so much to offer and he wishes that he could have just one full day with her. Katie lets him know that although she felt a connection with him, she doesn’t think that with Hometowns being next week that they would be able to get there and she sends him home.

Since Brendan was sent home, only Justin, Andrew, Blake and Michael A. are on the group date. The date involves flowers that are sensual and self portraits of the artist. The guys are tasked with creating art that is inspired by Katie - most of them create paintings and Michael A does a sculptor. The second part of the group date begins and all eyes are on the rose. All 4 guys feel that they are on the bubble but at least they all know that they will have time with her alone to say what they need to say.

Blake kicks off some time with her and lets Katie know that although he is not in love right now, he knows it’s coming and that his mom will love her. Justin brings a butterfly picture that he painted for her and says that it means evolution and that that is what she has done for him. When he had time to make a second painting and to make another great rose, this could be quite a hobby! They both acknowlegde that they have a great and easy connection. In her time with Michael A., Katie says that she will figure out the dynamics of a relationship with him as she knows that his son, James is part of their life together. She tells him that every rose given is also given to James as well as Michael. Michael’s concerns that he had going in were taken care of when she said that everything will be figured out. Andrew A. takes his time with Katie and lets her know that every athlete dies twice once when they finish their sport and again when they pass away. He lets her know that he is willing to stop playing so that he can focus on her. She tells him that she wants him to continue doing his passion and they will figure it out and if it means traveling with him, living in separate places, pushing back on having a family, etc - she’s there for it. Her recreates their 1-on-1 date with the envelope in the cieling with lights and she reads his note, “I’m falling for you.” We have to agree that this group of 4 guys will be tough to decide who gets the group date rose and who she will have to choose when it comes to the end of tonight’s episode.

The group date rose goes to Michael A. - Justin, Blake and Andrew A. not have to wait until the rose. It’s great to see the guys that are left who definitely are sad that they didn’t get a rose, but they’re not attacking one another.

Mike P.’s date is a 1-on-1 and they meet a cuddle expert and they change into comfortable clothing so that they can get through the cuddle exercises on their first date. It looks pretty awkward as they do various positions with one another and he shares how he feels that Katie is nurturing just like his mom. The giggling throughout the date was a red flag to the cuddle coach. When they have the chance to chat with one another as they continue to cuddle, it’s nice to see him showing his vulnerability with her. From cuddling, they’re on a park bench and Katie is crying. She explains that they had a great time, and she knows they bonded more and she knows she has stronger relationships with the other guys. She feels that she can’t get there with him and she doesn’t want to make him go to a dinner, when she knows that it won’t work and is sending him home. She sends Mike P. home.

Andrew, Blake and Justin are fighting for the last 2 roses at the rose ceremony. Katie gives the first rose to Blake and the remaining one to Justin! We’re kind of surprised as we thought that Andrew was a shoe-in!

Katie is not completely settled with the decision that she made the night before. She felt that it was really hard to let him go. A knock on the door by Andrew brings a smile to her face. He didn’t want to leave on a bad note with her; however, she is still not bringing him back. He left her with a note that she can read when she is ready and he leaves - again. She reads it immediately and it says, “if you change your mind, I’ll be waiting.” She runs after him and gives him a hug - she asks that if he can stay longer, would he and he says it’s tough because even though he wants to be with her, this place is too hard. But he couldn’t say yes. She realizes that the journey wasn’t for them and as hard as it is, she feels that this process is worth it.

Katie sends the following home: Brendan, Mike P. and Andrew S.

Next week, Hometowns will include: Greg, Michael A., Blake and Justin.

Each night, when the season airs, we’ll tweet about The Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

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SEASON 17, EPISODE 7

Last week, we felt that Andrew, Blake, Greg and Michael A. would be on their way to Hometowns.

This week, we finally know who will be sharing their families with Katie during Hometowns: Blake, Greg, Justin and Michael A.

HEADING TO HOMETOWNS:

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

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9LIST ROUTIN3S | CATT SADLER

Read the JUN ISSUE #66 of Athleisure Mag and see 9LIST ROUTIN3S | Catt Sadler in mag.

AWARDS SEASON 2021 - 2022 | EMMYS NOMINATIONS

This year has been one that has been interesting to navigate and we have watched a number of shows to get us through! This morning Emmy winning father-daughter duo Ron Cephas Jones (This is Us) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (#FreeRayShawn) announced the nominations for the 73rd Emmys which will take place on Sep 19th at 8pm ET/5pm PT on CBS as well as being streamed live and on demand on Paramount+. Simply put a number of our favorites from The Mandalorian (24 nominations), Lovecraft Country (18 nominations), WandaVision were definitely enjoyed by all. Cedric the Entertainer will host the big night which is slated to have a limited live audience of those that are nominated and their guests as opposed to virtual shows that took place during the pandemic.

As always, we predict who will win in italics and on the big night, those that won will be in bold and those that we correctly predicted will be in bold italics. Categories and those that are nominated are below (for the complete list of nominees, see them here).

Outstanding Drama Series

The Boys

Bridgerton

The Crown

The Mandalorian

Lovecraft Country

Pose

The Handmaid's Tale

This Is Us

Outstanding Comedy Series

Black-ish

Cobra Kai

Pen15

Emily in Paris

Hacks

Ted Lasso

The Flight Attendant

The Kominsky Method

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Regé-Jean Page, Bridgerton

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Billy Porter, Pose

Jonathan Majors, Lovecraft Country

Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason

Josh O'Connor, The Crown

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Emma Corrin, The Crown

Olivia Colman, The Crown

Uzo Aduba, In Treatment

Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale

Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country

Mj Rodriguez, Pose

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country

Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale

Max Minghella, The Handmaid's Tale

O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid's Tale

John Lithgow, Perry Mason

Tobias Menzies, The Crown

Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian

Chris Sullivan, This Is Us

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gillian Anderson, The Crown

Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown

Emerald Fennell, The Crown

Ann Dowd, The Handmaid's Tale

Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid's Tale

Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale

Madeline Brewer, The Handmaid's Tale

Aunjanue Ellis, Lovecraft Country

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

William H. Macy, Shameless

Kenan Thompson, Kenan

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Aidy Bryant, Shrill

Jean Smart, Hacks

Allison Janney, Mom

Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live

Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live

Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso

Brendan Hunt, Ted Lasso

Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso

Jeremy Swift, Ted Lasso

Paul Reiser, The Kominsky Method

Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hacks

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live

Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live

Rosie Perez, The Flight Attendant

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks

Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

Juno Temple, Ted Lasso

Outstanding Limited Series

Mare of Easttown

I May Destroy You

WandaVision

The Queen's Gambit

The Underground Railroad

Outstanding Television Movie

Uncle Frank

Sylvie's Love

Oslo

Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia

Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Paul Bettany, WandaVision

Hugh Grant, The Undoing

Ewan McGregor, Halston

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton

Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown

Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You

Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen's Gambit

Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision

Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown

Julianne Nicholson, Mare of Easttown

Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision

Phillipa Soo, Hamilton

Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton

Moses Ingram, The Queen's Gambit

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Daveed Diigs, Hamilton

Jonathan Groff, Hamilton

Anthony Ramos, Hamilton

Thomas Brodie-Sangster, The Queen's Gambit

Evan Peters, Mare of Easttown

Paapa Essiedu, I May Destroy You

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series

Courtney B. Vance, Lovecraft Country

Charles Dance, The Crown

Don Cheadle, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Timothy Olyphant, The Mandalorian

Carl Weathers, The Mandalorian

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid's Tale

Mckenna Grace, The Handmaid's Tale

Claire Foy, The Crown

Phylicia Rashad, This Is Us

Sophie Okonedo, Ratched

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Chris Rock, Saturday Night Live

Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live

Daniel Kaluuya, Saturday Night Live

Dan Levy, Saturday Night Live

Morgan Freeman, The Kominsky Method

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live

Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

Issa Rae, A Black Lady Sketch Show

Jane Adams, Hacks

Bernadette Peters, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

Yvette Nicole Brown, A Black Lady Sketch Show

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

A Black Lady Sketch Show

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Conan

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Outstanding Competition Program

The Amazing Race

Nailed It!

RuPaul's Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program

RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race

Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness, Queer Eye

Nicole Byer, Nailed It!

Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons, Top Chef

Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin O'Leary, Shark Tank

Outstanding Variety Special Live

“Celebrating America – An Inauguration Night Special”

“Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020”

“The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards”

“The Oscars The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd”

Outstanding Variety Special Pre-recorded

“8:46 – Dave Chappelle”

“A West Wing Special To Benefit”

“When We All Vote”

“Bo Burnham: Inside”

“David Byrne’s American Utopia”

“Friends: The Reunion”

“Hamilton”

Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special

“My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman”

“Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special”

“Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy”

“United Shades Of America With W. Kamau Bell”

“Vice”

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THE BACHELORETTE S17. E6. | CAN WE GET AN EASY WEEK?

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette continues with Kaitlyn, Tayshia and Katie Thurston having a proper catch-up session to see where she is with the guys that remain. The guys are at the house and Kaitlyn announces Katie’s plan for Operation WOWO to see who will be able to hold out the longest. The guys take in this added element of self-care that they will not be able to engage in. Kaitlyn leaves the date card behind and Justin receives a 1-on-1 date. We can only imagine how many faces he will do during their date.

On Justin’s date, we see our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Dir. of Athleisure Mag’s friend (Kimmie Smith), Franco Lacosta who is back as the photographer of the wedding date. Katie and Justin write their vows and then they take a number of pictures in a wedding dress and a suit. Seeing Justin think about what it would be like to be married and to think about what he would say on his big day along with all of his facial expressions was definitely a great date to see. Franco shares some words of wisdom about being authentic and real.

The second date card arrives which will be a group date and includes: Blake, Andrew, Michael A., Greg, Aaron, Mike P., Brendan, James, Tre and Hunter are on the next date. They are halfway through this season so the need to have 1-on-1 time is important. Connor realizes that he will get the 1-on-1 date. As we return to the back half of James and Katie’s date, she shares that the experience was hard because her dad passed away and it reminds her of how important it is for her to love her family every day and then she found out prior to his death that he was not her biological father. She knows that her biological father wants to meet her and be involved, but she is conflicted as she is always reminded of the one she thinks of as a father that passed away. In telling her story, she is comforted by how Justin listened to what she was going through and she offers him the date rose. They end their night dancing to Max Schneider’s (from Nickelodeon’s Rags) performance.

The theme for the group date is a Bachelorette Party of sorts. She lets the guys know that she has enlisted the help of RuPaul’s Drag Race Shea Colet and Monet x Change. They will learn how to throw shade and cut the other guys down - this is not going to end well. Hunter will definitely have some words thrown his way. The guys let her know through their interactions that Hunter is a Bachelor Nation super fan who likes to read the blogs and comment on people. They’re dismissed to the second half of their date for the group cocktail party.

Connor officially gets his date card for his 1-on-1. We head back to the second part of the date and Katie says that she’s concerned about a few things that she heard during the date and lets them know that Hometowns are coming up and some of the guys are not exactly where they need to be. Andrew and Katie seem to have a great connection when they talk aside from the event. Greg lets Katie know that he is falling for her and that he just wants to make sense that they are on the same page and to be honest with him. She enjoys chatting with everyone and has a different vibe with each. Her and Blake engage in sexy banter and James shares that Hunter is not who he presents himself to be. Tre also shares his thoughts on Hunter as well as the interaction about whether he was in love with her. Aaron also puts his 2 cents in on the subject and she grabs him to find out more.

Katie asks him about being calculated and the fact that multiple guys are bringing it up. Hunter shares that he is being ganged up on and he’s trying to take care of his side of the street. Katie lets him know that she needs a minute because she is so conflicted. The guys are talking amongst themselves and not everyone got time with her she calls the night early and she says that she will not be giving a rose for the group date. The guys are dejected and are left in limbo.

We pick up with Connor which is prepping for his date with Katie. Although she was drained from last night’s date, we can see that she is excited to just have a fun date with the original cat man. She admits that although she loves their chemistry, she doesn’t feel that sizzle when they kiss with one another as she doesn’t feel that spark. Their date is a double with Kaitlyn and her fiance Jason Tartick. She hopes that because they have been in the process, they can shed some light. They begin with Volleyball and move on to maneuvering with coconuts as well as playing a game to ask questions to get to know one another better. Kaitlyn lets her know that time means everything and reminds her that she was friends with Jason first and then they started to date. Clearly, Kaitlyn feels that the last kiss will tell her everything that she needs to know. Connor asks what the other part of the date will be and she doesn’t really answer him - but they do kiss and it looks pretty passionate (we assumed that she felt all of her kisses with him were - then again, they did linger on his suitcase quite a bit).

We’re back from the commercial break and Katie visits Connor before the second part of the date wearing a cropped hoodie and her jeans. She lets him know that as much as she appreciates him, when they kiss one another, she feels something is missing. Although she is being honest, it’s pretty awful for him to hear that. Connor says goodbye to the guys and the bromance of Greg and Connor is now over on the show. It’s nice to see how people in the house do like him and how they respected him. Hunter with the faux tears though? Blake comes over with his radio above his head, outside of her window to send some love her way. Clearly, there is passion between the two of them even after their WOWO conversation from earlier. Blake shows how he is being supportive as he realized that while the house was having an emotional moment with Connor’s goodbye, he thought about how Katie must have been feeling to do that. We’re definitely starting to root for Blake as we’re seeing a lot more of his personality.

Tonight’s episode has definitely had a lot of emotion going on! Heading into the rose ceremony, Katie is looking ahead and knows there are some decisions that she will be making. She lets them know that she is going to be intentional with her heart and that there won’t be a cocktail party and they will go straight to the ceremony. She only wants to focus on the relationships that she has formed and time tonight won’t change her mind. Right when she is about to give roses out, she asks to talk with Hunter to get clarity.

At the end of tonight’s episode, the following receive roses: Justin, Blake, Andrew, Greg, Michael A., Mike P. and Brendan.

Katie sent home: Connor, James, Hunter, Tre and Aaron.

Each night, when the season airs, we’ll tweet about The Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

---

SEASON 17, EPISODE 6

Over the past few weeks, we have stayed with Connor B, James, Greg and Tré for who we thought will go to Hometowns due to not having a rose ceremony.

This week, we’re shaking up our picks that we think will go to Hometowns by removing James andTre and adding Andrew S. and Michael A.

WHO WE’RE PREDICTING WILL BE AT HOMETOWNS

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL (Copy)

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ (Copy)

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH (Copy)

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

THE BACHELORETTE S17. E5. | THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette continues with changes on the horizon! Tayshia pops by to see the guys and lets them know that this is ultimately Katie Thurston’s season. She lets them know that a guy reached out to her to join the season and that he is now being added to the mix. Blake comes by and introduces himself to the guys and notes that the energy is not the greatest.

The date card arrives, and it’s a 1-on-1 with Blake. The guys are definitely simmering over him being there and getting that prime time with her.

Katie makes her presence known and sits with the guys and decides to open up the floor and to see how they feel about it. They wanted to know more about how she knows Blake. She assures them that she values the existing relationships but in also speaking with him, she noticed that there was chemistry there and wants to explore it. In her confessional, she shares that by having him now as a date, she can see if there is an opportunity with him quickly.

While Blake and Katie are on the back half of their date, the next date card is given and it’s a group date. Greg, Quartenay, Aaron, Mike P., Michael A., Andrew M., Josh, Justin, Brandon, James, Connor B., Tre and Hunter.

Andrew S.’ name was not on the card so he knows that he will get the 1-on-1 date.

Back on the date with Blake, he asks her and learns about her journey to sex positivity. She is interested in continuing the journey with him and finding out more about him and gave him the rose. They also enjoyed a solo performance by Laine Hardy (American Idol season 2) as there is always a country artist that’s in the mix these past few seasons of the show.

We know that the group date makes a reference to a battle field and with so many emotions amongst the guys, we have a feeling that this will be an intense date. We also know that one of our favorites (longtime friend of our Style Director, Kimmie Smith) Franco Lacosta are on today’s episode. They’re playing a rugby meets basketball game known as Bash Ball. They begin with a medley of workouts that included tackling drills. The guys hit the field rocking wrestling outfits. Hunter initiates the aggressive tackle and it gets dicey throughout the rest of the game with hard tackles. Michael A. gets tackled from behind and the medics hit the field - the look on Justin’s face is filled with anguish as he feels bad. Katie calls the game because she doesn’t want anyone injured. She also notes that if they got injured, they have to leave the bubble and can’t come back. Katie decides that although the black team won, she is having both teams come to the cocktail party.

The largest group date rose transitions into the back half of the date as everyone in the house minus Andrew S. and Blake are on the date. Katie pulls Michael A. away first - he did get a huge injury so everyone should have expected that. She brings him a cold ice pack so that he can put it on his injuries. He lets her know it’s been a rough few days as his wife passed away and it was her birthday. Others on the date find ways to connect as they feel the pressure of really being able to connect and make the best impression. Hunter truly leans into being an awful human being by being rude to the guys. He shares pictures of his kids with her which is sweet; however, hearing him being an ass to everyone else on tonight’s episode has been a bit much.

Back at the house, the last date card arrives for the episode and it confirms that Andrew S. will be on the 1-on-1 date. Back on the group date, the guys chat amongst themselves and Michael A. shares that he is widowed after being with the same woman for 16 years. Greg is visibly touched by his story (in our chat on Twitter tonight, we were reminded that Greg lost his dad) and realizing how happy he is and that he would have never have known that about him. Michael A. shares that time is an important element and that people need to live in the moment and Greg realizes that he wants to step it up and be in the moment. He talks with Katie and she tells him that he has resting sad puppy dog face. The rose for the group date goes to Hunter. Clearly, the house has focused on Hunter as the next person that they will try to kick out.

Immediately after the group date, Andrew S. has his late-night date with Katie. They grab some lanterns and walk into the dark woods. Katie plugs in the lights and it seems like they will have to open envelopes that will direct them to do various activities. The activities allow them to converse and to get to know more about one another. The date continues with them being able to break hearts (after reading the envelopes) which is a deeper set of conversations where they talk about their families and other topics. Both of them answer the questions so that they can get to know more about one another. This continues onto the next portion of the date which has balloons that are lit up with a few questions that they can continue to answer. As they complete their date over a few drinks, it’s easy to see how they have great chemistry and it’s easy between them. In addition to having a shared upbringing and some of the same insecurities, it makes you wonder how their relationship will progress in terms of a dating dynamic. Andrew S. talks about the realities of an interracial relationship and how a woman he wanted to marry questioned what it would be like to have biracial children. Katie was shocked but put his mind at ease by saying that she wants a beautiful family no matter what they look like and that she would be a mama bear. They end the date in the hot tub and she gives him the 1-on-1 date rose.

Going into the cocktail party with half an hour left, it’s 50/50 on whether the rose ceremony will happen. The guys note that there isn’t drama necessarily going into this rose ceremony (although there is) and Katie emerges and talks with Justin first. Justin gives us all the faces during their time together. Hunter takes some time with Katie, but his housemates, Aaron and James are annoyed because he already has a rose. They feel that if he didn’t have a rose, he would be annoyed that someone with a rose was with her. James decides that he will interrupt their date. He asks to talk with her and Hunter initially says no and that he needs a few more minutes. James comes back and pulls her again, Hunter feels that even though he has his rose, he will still get his “unclaimed” minutes. Aaron continues his campaign by sharing what happened with Hunter to Tre. Hunter chats with Tre, James and Aaron and says that he is competing and rose or not, it’s what he wanted to do.

The end of the night comes to a close with the following guys moving onto next week with a rose: Blake, Hunter, Andrew S., Greg, Aaron, Michael A., Conor B., James, Justin, Mike P., Brandon and Tre.

Katie sends Quartenay (round of applause was given by the house), Joshua and Andrew M. are sent home. Aaron was going to give a toast and Hunter interrupted him and gave his own!

Each night, when the season airs, we’ll tweet about The Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

---

SEASON 17, EPISODE 5

Over the past few weeks, we have stayed with Connor B, James, Greg and Tré for who we thought will go to Hometowns due to not having a rose ceremony.

This week, we’re shaking up our picks that we think will go to Hometowns by removing James andTre and adding Andrew S. and Michael A.

WHO WE’RE PREDICTING WILL BE AT HOMETOWNS

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

THE BACHELORETTE S17. E4. | THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

Tonight’s ABC’s The Bachelorette continues with the guys still talking about Thomas who admitted last week that he came mainly because he wanted to be The Bachelor although he doesn’t think like that now. There is another group date that’s getting underway which includes: Andrew S., Greg, Tre, Joshua, Christian, Andrew M., Mike P.. Katie Thurston meets them to have a Truth or Dare date that will have them doing a number of stunts across the property.

On the second part of the date, the guys talk about whether they should tell Katie. Tre decides that he is going to tell her what Thomas said. Some of the guys are not in agreement with Tre telling her about what was going on in the house. Ultimately, Katie says she appreciated it and Tre receives the group date rose.

The next morning, Katie thinks about what took place the night before and Tayshia finds her to see how she’s doing. She explains that although she won’t say who it is, this person is here for her and wants to meet her. It ends up being Blake and he lets her know that he has been intrigued by her since she walked out of the limo in Matt James’ season. Katie and Blake have DM’d each other before. She is concerned that he has dated 2 other Bachelorettes. She lets him know that she is also concerned about him being in the house as she already has strong connections in the house and she doesn’t want to disrupt that. She also has to figure out Thomas.

Conor B. and Michael A. both received roses last week. Tre has his rose from today’s group date. At the rose ceremony, Katie gives out additional ones to: Hunter, Greg, Justin, Brendan, Andrew S., Aaron, Mike P., James, Josh, Quartenay and Andrew M.

Katie tells Thomas right before the last rose that his audition for The Bachelor is now over and that he can leave. It stuns everyone. She doesn’t give the last rose away. She then heads to Blake’s room and lets him know that if he wishes to stay, he can and he will be staying in the house. Can we just say that tonight, as are the other nights have been amazing when it comes to Justin’s faces.

So Thomas, Christian, David, and Conor C. were sent home.

Each night, when the season airs, we’ll tweet about The Bachelor and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!

Each week we will let you know who our faves were last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.

We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!

---

SEASON 17, EPISODE 4

Last week, we stayed with Connor B, James, Greg and Tré for who we think will go to Hometowns due to not having a rose ceremony.

We know that we have been including these guys each week, but we feel that she definitely still has quite a vibe with them. Next week it will be interesting to see how things get shaken up a bit!

WHO WE’RE PREDICTING WILL BE AT HOMETOWNS

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

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THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS

AARON 26 - Walnut, CA

ANDREW M. 31 - Walnut Creek, CA

ANDREW S. 26 - Waukegan, IL

AUSTIN 25 - Mission Viejo, CA

BLAKE 29 - Hamilton, Ontario Canada

BRANDON 26 - Mokena, IL

BRENDAN 26 - Toronto, Canada

CHRISTIAN 26 - Newburyport, MA

CODY 27 - Montclair, NJ

CONNOR B. 29 - Columbia, IL

CONOR C. 28 - Edmond, OK

DAVID 27 - NY, NY

GABRIEL 35 - Charlotte, NC

GARRETT 29 - Salinas, CA

GREG 27 - Edison, NJ

HUNTER 34 - San Angelo, TX

JAMES 30 - NY, NY

JEFF 31 - Cranford, NJ

JOHN 27 - Santa Cruz, CA

JOSHUA 25 - Pembroke Pines, FL

JUSTIN 26 - Ellicott City, MD

KARL 33 - Miami, FL

KYLE 26 - Sarasota, FL

LANDON 25 - Bakersfield, CA

MARCUS 30 - Vancouver, WA

MARTY 25 - Reno, NV

MICHAEL A. 36 - Akron, OH

MIKE P. 31 - Surprise, AZ

QUARTNEY 26 - Arlington, TX

THOMAS 28 - San Diego, CA

TRÉ 26 - Covington, GA

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.