ROCK THIS WHEN THE BALL DROPS AT MIDNIGHT

Read the Dec Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Rock this When the Ball Drops at Midnight.

ATHLEISURE MAG | #48 DEC 2019

This month’s cover and back cover is the first female Iron Chef, Restaurateur and TV Personality Chef Cat Cora. Our shoot (as well as the interview which you can hear right now on Athleisure Kitchen) was photographed and recorded at 498 West End Ave #12A, a Louise Phillips Forbes Team property. We talked with Chef Cat Core about her phenomenal career, Cat Cora Inc, her caviar partnership and the phenomenal mentors that she has met along the way. In our feature, Something You Should Know, we sit down with Vello Virkhaus of Xite Labs to talk about his work as a visual designer for amazing EDM, pop artists and more at some of your favorite festivals. We talk about his upcoming project with Bad Bunny for his Puerto Rico concert as well as a number of iconic concerts he created visuals from. Another feature which can also be heard right now on Athleisure Kitchen is the owner of The Flatiron Room and Fine & Rare, Tommy Tardie who talks about his love of whiskey, creating an experience when coming to his venues as well as how he goes about selecting the whiskeys that are offered at his destinations. The Flatiron Room’s head bartender, Darron Foy also talks about cocktails that we should enjoy as well as what we need to know when we are making them at home.

In this month’s The Art of the Snack, we head to TSISMIS NYC to enjoy a twist to Filipino dishes as well as crafted cocktails. We also have our 2nd Holiday Gift Guide for this year for those that are still doing gift exchanges into the new year. 

As usual, we have our monthly roundups including our 9LIST (Athleisure Mag’s picks that we’re loving this month in style, beauty and fitness) featured roundups. This month’s 9LIST STORI3S (picks supplied by celebrities) gives us insight into the People’s Court Judge Marilyn Milian. This month’s 9PLAYLIST (9 songs that our celebs are loving this month) comes from, Actress (Pretty Little Liars, YOU, Dollface) YouTube and Founder of BEIS – Shay Mitchell. As always, you can enjoy Athleisure List ([solidcore] and Caffe Napoli and Napoli Pastry Co.), The Pick Me Up, Bingely Books, Bingely Streaming, Style Files, Rock This When the Ball Drops at Midnight on NYE, Athleisure Beauty, How to Dress, In Our Bag, #TRIBEGOALS and Cacoa Beauty. We have a new pull out feature that we just launched in Athleisure Mag known as Bleisure Mag. Each month, you will see a hotel, restaurant, enjoying an array of experiences in that city and an airport lounge that’s worth checking out for your next flight.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag here.

WAYS TO SPEND YOUR FREE TIME AT HOME

More often than not, we spend our days working to the very limit of our capabilities. The demands of being in the workforce are, as necessary as it may be, the biggest time constraint we have. Let’s say we take an eight hour day. Assuming we sleep anywhere from six to eight hours a night, work takes up almost a third of our lives, and more than half of our waking hours. That may as well be three-fifths of our perceived lifetime. With that in mind, it may be difficult figuring out what one would do during their free time. It’s almost a foreign concept that we pack with so many wants and goals. We often overlook the primary purpose of having free time: to rest and relax. So in the spirit of leisure and the enrichment of life, here are some of the best ways you can spend your free time at home. 

Learn About Wine!

Wine is a very layered and tiered subject. On one level, it’s all about enjoyment and celebration. It’s a drink. No more, and no less. On another level, it’s a massive industry that is focused on various markets and their perceived quality standard in each. And then you get to tasting and collecting. This is where wine turns into a blend of art and science. People spend their entire lives becoming high level sommeliers, cultured and experienced in every standard, the market offers, pitching the best in each sector. Now, you don’t have to be the best of the best, but gaining a bit of knowledge about wine is a great hobby to engage in. For starters, it’s fun. Wine tasting can’t be fun. To enjoy wine like the pros, you can pick a top rated wine aerator and pick up on the hints, flavors, and tannins that wine connoisseurs rave about. But in the end, it’s all about having fun. In no way is wine supposed to be 100% accurate, or toted as an exact science. It’s merely the fact-based perception of a good drink. 

Exercise!

Another wonderful and enriching activity is exercise. I know, I know, the big “E” word brings out some strange emotions. It conjures up bad feelings and self-conscious. We all think we’ve done everything we can do and that the ends don't justify the means. Well, that’s simply not true. That’s a perceived truth, not an objective one. The truth is that fitness is whatever you want it to be. It’s just the movement. You can set your own home workout routine with just your body weight and some space. Some people choose yoga—a mentally taxing and static endurance-heavy practice, to get their workout in. Not the biggest calorie burner, but there is a spiritual angle that people use to stay motivated. Others choose high intensity interval training. Choose a full body movement (like squat jumps or burpees) and to it to maximum effort within a period of time. Set a time and rest, and repeat it again. Get it to a pace where you can do it for about a half hour. Or, you can do any combination of body weight workouts. The fitness world is your oyster. 

Start A Podcast!

If you’ve got a skill or a base of knowledge that you’re passionate about, why not start a blog or a podcast? You can curate the information you put out and become part of a global community of content providers. You can do purely audio or both audio and video. The basis behind it is that whatever you’re into, someone else is into it, too. There’s nothing new under the sun, only interesting takes from individuals. The wonderful part of putting it out in the world is finding out how many people share your passion. There is, of course, a bit of a downside. We’re still dealing with the internet, so there are trolls and negative people that can potentially sabotage your desire to keep going. Don’t let them. Remember, you’re out there potentially reaching a billion people. Someone will find your content and agree. Those are your people. Cater to them and reward them with more content. It’s that simple. The best part is, if you’ve got a smartphone, you can start from there. You don’t need any special equipment. And if you get a following, who knows, you might even be able to sell ad space and such. 

Free time is best spent either doing nothing or doing something to better yourself. The latter may take time, but it will never feel like work. You're doing it for you, not some boss. So when you get the chance to finally breathe from your job, choose one of the above options. You will not regret it. 

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HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR KOMODO ISLAND TRIP

Komodo Island is one of the best-kept secrets in Indonesia. If you love engaging in adventure-filled activities, Komodo Island should be in your bucket list. Here, you will get an opportunity to explore wonderful beaches, color-filled exotic corals, and lush hills. 

If you are considering embarking on a Labuan Bajo to Komodo trip, these tips will ease the planning process. 

Plan Your Route

Komodo Island is situated along the minor Sunda Islands and lies east from Bali and Java. You can access the island through Bali or Jakarta via an international flight. Once you are in either city, board a domestic flight from Labuan Bajo to Komodo, an airport known as Komodo Airport in Flores, which also happens to be the center for Komodo tours.

Flying from Jakarta to Labuan Bajo will take you approximately 2.5 hours. If you choose to fly from Bali, the trip will take one hour. A multiple-day boat trip from Lombok is also quite popular among backpackers. 

Pick the Best Time of the Year

While you can explore Komodo Island any time of the year, it’s advisable to understand what to expect at different times of the year. For instance, the land is calm and green between April and June. the sea is also clear during that time.

You are likely to spot different wildlife such as whale sharks, mantas, and sperm whales between September and November. Between July and August is high season. This means that many visitors will be flocking the Island.

For the best experience, try to avoid visiting during peak season. However, if you have to visit, book your accommodation areas early in advance. The monsoon season happens between January and February and many tours don’t operate then. 

Have an Itinerary

There are many beautiful things to see in Komodo Island. These range from underwater coral gardens, to green scenic hills. The beaches are alluring and you will want to visit the popular Pink beach.

There are other small exotic islands dispersed around the mainland too. Creating an itinerary will help you make the most out of your Labuan Bajo to Komodo trip. You will have an easier time however if you are using the services of a tour company. 

Choose a Tour Company

Numerous tour companies operate in Komodo Island. Research their services and understand what they offer beforehand. Each tour company is unique and comes with different advantages. Some companies offer a wide range of packages complete with varying highlights.

Remember, you can select a tour or boat service on arrival. However, you may end up being overcharged or with substandard services. Enjoy exclusive and good quality services by placing early bookings. 

Pack Appropriate Clothes

To get the most out of your Labuan Bajo to Komodo trip, you will need to trek for long distances. Pick the right clothes such as cotton-based ones that can easily absorb sweat, and comfortable shoes.

Mountain sandals will be ideal. Remember, there are picturesque beaches in Komodo Island and dynamic marine biodiversity. Pack your swimsuit and take a dip in the sea for effective exploration. 

Have Enough Cash

Convert your money into Indonesian bills. There are no ATMs in the Komodo islands and surrounding small islands. Withdrawing money past Labuan Bajo will, therefore, be an arduous task. Having ready cash comes in handy when you need to purchase food or souvenirs for your friends and family.  

Sun Protection and Cameras

The weather on small islands can be unbearably hot. Remember to pack your sunscreen and make sure it has the highest SPF. wear a hat while exploring the Island in the open. A good quality camera is a must-have tool when you travel to Komodo Island.

There is a lot to capture both on the island and under the seawater. Include and underwater camera, telephoto lenses, and macro lenses. These tools will help you capture great memories that will always remind you of your trip.

Finally

Before you can embark on your Labuan Bajo trip, familiarize yourself with safety practices. While Komodos will not attack you unless provoked, you want to be on the safe side and enjoy your trip to the fullest.

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5 SIGNS YOU MAY HAVE ILLNESS ANXIETY DISORDER AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

It is hard not to suffer from illness anxiety disorder also referred to as health anxiety when each click of the mouse leads you to a news story about an illness or an alarming new study. With continuous medical research and findings, this can perpetuate health anxiety. Never before have laypeople had so much health information at their fingertips 24/7. What happens when this becomes an obsession and one is routinely convinced he/she is suffering from the “disease du jour?” We turned to Board Certified NYC Internist and Gastroenterologist Dr. Niket Sonpal and  New York-based Neuropsychologist, Dr. Sanam Hafeez, for a better understanding of the signs and treatment for health anxiety.

According to Dr. Sonpal, the following are signs that you may be too worried about your health and wellness:

Frequent Doctor Visits

Dr. Sonpal recalls the same patient coming in regularly asking him to “check this lump on my neck,” “is the color of my tongue normal?” “Listen to my heart, I think it beats too fast…  Those with health anxiety are consumed by the uncertainty of medicine and fearful that the disease is, in fact, inside them. If you find yourself “visiting” doctors regularly and you are found to be healthy, you may have health anxiety that requires the attention of a therapist not a physician.

Incessantly Online

From a medical standpoint, Google can be a great tool if used correctly.  “For those with health anxiety, Google is like crack-cocaine,” says Dr. Sonpal.   There is always a disease or a symptom listed online that they can correlate to themselves. Health anxiety sufferers tend to be more obsessive and convince themselves that if they feel something or see something on their body, it is always the worst-case scenario.

Avoidance

As a result of the overwhelming fear of getting an illness, individuals suffering from health anxiety may avoid certain places or activities that could potentially pose a health risk. A study conducted by Harvard Medical School states that an “avoidant group was found to have higher levels of symptom severity, functional impairment, and anxiety, as well as lower quality of life.” From these results, we can link avoidance to some of the characteristics of illness anxiety patients. If it’s flu season, the health anxiety patient may avoid airplanes, movie theatres or other enclosed crowded public areas where they feel germs are more likely to spread. This gives them a false sense of security from illness.

Repetitive Body Checks

Most individuals might not notice a bruise on their leg that occurred from a minor fall a few days earlier. Still, individuals with health anxiety analyze their entire body for signs of illness. The constant body checks often result in the mind being more likely to notice subtle changes that many people would not see. Another effect of health anxiety can be seen in obsessing over a specific organ in the body and repeatedly demanding that area be checked. 

Total Avoidance of Doctors

Juxtaposed to the patient who visits doctors all the time, is the person who is so deathly afraid of finding out something is wrong, that they skip important medical visits like yearly physicals, mammograms, gynecology visits, dental visits etc. For this group of people, this is dangerous.  By the time something is caught, it can be at an advanced stage.

Dr. Sanam  Hafeez provides insight on how to manage  and what steps to take to move forward: 

Find a Physician Who Understands That You This Anxiety:

Find a physician who you can confide in, and confess, “I have health anxiety.” This will enable the physician to treat you more effectively from a physical and mental health standpoint.

Stop Googling

In the age of health blogs, DIYS, and self-diagnosis tutorials, the internet is filled with erroneous information that can add to medical anxiety. Staying offline provides individuals with the ability to prevent the constant checking and worrying that increases their anxiety.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

C.B.T. breaks down unrealistic or unhelpful thoughts and encourages patients to replace them with more rational ideas. They can then learn to cope more realistically with anxiety-provoking situations. The therapy has been shown to remain effective in reducing symptoms of health anxiety for at least a year, and if needed, its benefit can be reinforced by a brief refresher.

Meditation

For individuals who want to try to manage their health anxiety on their own, meditation is advised. Health anxiety tends to stem from the lack of control over your body, which can lead to obsession over our health. Meditation allows individuals to connect with themselves while being able to manage their stress. This relaxation technique helps ease overall anxiety and additionally provides better coping mechanisms for improving your overall functioning.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

5 SIGNS YOU MAY BE A HYPOCHONDRIAC AND HOW TO OVERCOME IT

It is hard not to be a hypochondriac when each click of the mouse leads you to a news story about an illness or an alarming new study. With continuous medical research and findings, this can perpetuate health anxiety. Never before have laypeople had so much health information at their fingertips 24/7. What happens when this becomes an obsession and one is routinely convinced he/she is suffering from the “disease du jour?” We turned to Board Certified NYC Internist and Gastroenterologist Dr. Niket Sonpal and  New York-based Neuropsychologist, Dr. Sanam Hafeez, for a better understanding of the signs and treatment for hypochondriacs. 

According to Dr. Sonpal, the following are signs that you may be too worried about your health and wellness:

Frequent Doctor Visits

Dr. Sonpal recalls the same patient coming in regularly asking him to “check this lump on my neck,” “is the color of my tongue normal?” “Listen to my heart, I think it beats too fast…  Hypochondriacs are consumed by the uncertainty of medicine and fearful that the disease is, in fact, inside them. If you find yourself “visiting” doctors regularly and you are found to be healthy, you may have health anxiety that requires the attention of a therapist not a physician.

Incessantly Online

From a medical standpoint, Google can be a great tool if used correctly.  “For a hypochondriac, Google is like crack-cocaine,” says Dr. Sonpal.   There is always a disease or a symptom that the hypochondriac can link to him or herself. Hypochondriacs tend to be more obsessive and convince themselves that if they feel something or see something on their body, it is always the worst-case scenario.

Avoidance

As a result of the overwhelming fear of getting an illness, individuals suffering from hypochondria may avoid certain places or activities that could potentially pose a health risk. A study conducted by Harvard Medical School states that an “avoidant group was found to have higher levels of hypochondriacal symptom severity, functional impairment, and anxiety, as well as lower quality of life.” From these results, we can link avoidance to some of the characteristics of hypochondriac patients. If it’s flu season, the hypochondriac may avoid airplanes, movie theatres or other enclosed crowded public areas where they feel germs are more likely to spread. This gives them a false sense of security from illness.

Repetitive Body Checks

Most individuals might not notice a bruise on their leg that occurred from a minor fall a few days earlier. Still, individuals with hypochondria analyze their entire body for signs of illness. The constant body checks often result in the mind being more likely to notice subtle changes that many people would not see. Another effect of hypochondria can be seen in obsessing over a specific organ in the body and repeatedly demanding that area be checked. 

Total Avoidance of Doctors

Juxtaposed to the patient who visits doctors all the time, is the person who is so deathly afraid of finding out something is wrong, that they skip important medical visits like yearly physicals, mammograms, gynecology visits, dental visits etc. For this group of people, this is dangerous.  By the time something is caught, it can be at an advanced stage.

Dr. Sanam  Hafeez provides insight on how to manage hypochondria and what steps to take to move forward: 

Find a Physician Who Understands That You Are a Hypochondriac

Find a physician who you can confide in, and confess, “I have health anxiety.” This will enable the physician to treat you more effectively from a physical and mental health standpoint.

Stop Googling

In the age of health blogs, DIYS, and self-diagnosis tutorials, the internet is filled with erroneous information that can add to a hypochondriac’s medical anxiety. Staying offline provides individuals with the ability to prevent the constant checking and worrying that increases their anxiety.

Cognitive Behavorial Therapy

C.B.T. breaks down unrealistic or unhelpful thoughts and encourages patients to replace them with more rational ideas. They can then learn to cope more realistically with anxiety-provoking situations. The therapy has been shown to remain effective in reducing symptoms of health anxiety for at least a year, and if needed, its benefit can be reinforced by a brief refresher.

Meditation

For individuals who want to try to manage their health anxiety on their own, meditation is advised. Hypochondria tends to stem from the lack of control over your body, which can lead to obsession over our health. Meditation allows individuals to connect with themselves while being able to manage their stress. This relaxation technique helps ease overall anxiety and additionally provides better coping mechanisms for improving your overall functioning.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

HOW TO FIND A STUDIO FOR YOGA IN PHILADELPHIA

If you’re a yoga lover, then you know just how beneficial it is for your body. If you’re new to it, you can read more about the benefits of yoga here. And while doing yoga doesn’t require you to have a studio, it’s a lot more fun to do it than when you are alone.

Whether you’re new to yoga, just moved to Philadelphia or simply looking for a new studio, you’ll have plenty of options. But the problem is, how do you pick the right one?

A studio needs to feel comfortable and supportive, like home.

If you’re confused, here’s a simple list of factors to consider when picking a yoga studio.

Experiment

Most studios in Philadelphia will offer a trial run. So, you can just go in and try it out before making a final decision.

This will allow you to get a feel of how everything is going and what the studio is like before you have to commit. This is affordable for you and you might experience different yoga disciplines before you decide where to go.

You shouldn’t be afraid to try out a new thing. Maybe you’d be attracted to a specific style of yoga you’ve never tried before. Here are some of the types of yoga you could try: https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/the-11-major-types-of-yoga-explained-simply

It costs you virtually nothing to just go in and try. If you feel that you may come unprepared for that specific class, you can always call earlier and find out what you’ll need.

Look at The Instructors

Studios in Philadelphia usually give you a list of their instructors. There you can read their biographies and see what their teaching style is like.

They will also share their beliefs and opinions in these biographies, so you can see that too and it can help you decide.

It’s very important to have a good connection with an instructor, maybe even more so than with a studio itself. If the studio offers it, try to work with all of the instructors before you make a decision. Once you find an instructor you like, you can easily follow them to any studio they move to, and it can be easier for you to feel comfortable.

Look at Reviews

The internet can offer you many things, and among them are reviews that can help you make a decision about which studio to go to. Social media, websites, review websites and so on can contain some of the most useful information for you in your studio search.  

Facebook can be a good resource as you can reach out to your friends or groups related to yoga. Then you can look up the page of that studio and see their reviews there. You can do a similar thing on Instagram - plus, you can meet a bunch of people interested in yoga.

Another useful resource is Yoga Finder which can help you find all of the yoga classes and studios you need. And of course, they can help you find a studio in Philadelphia that you like. 

Use an App

Apps are amazing for finding classes nearby. For instance, Lymber is an app that can help you book a class in all sorts of gyms and studios, especially yoga studios. There is an app called the ClassPass which can help you get into some of the best classes if you have a membership.

Of course, there are many other apps that can help you, but these two are great, and they can point you to some of the best studios in Philadelphia.

Bulletin Boards

A good way to find Philadelphia yoga studios is to take a look at bulletin boards. Yes, these still exist, and you can find them in cafes, in shops, bookstores and so on. Most yoga studios and instructors like to have their numbers here, so it’s a good way to find what you’re looking for. You may also meet some great people on the way. 

If you follow these handy tips, you’ll have no problem finding great studios in Philadelphia. Just make sure that you remain open-minded. Every studio has its own style and you never know what can fit you until you try.

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MANAGING HEALTH AND WELLNESS DURING THE HOLDAYS

We’re still in the midst of the holiday season even though a number of the holiday have passed us. With New Years Eve, New Years Day and additional holidays that incorporate gift exchanges and other festivities, we sat down with Terra Wellington to find out how we can optimize this time so that we can still be good to our physical bodies as well as enjoying being with our friends, family and colleagues!

ATHLEISURE MAG: What is it about the holiday season that puts us at risk, in your opinion, from being focused on our health and even over doing things when we’re just trying to have a good time and trying to get into the holiday spirit?

TERRA WELLINGTON: Well yes, I’m here on behalf of iHerb.com and yes we can get stressed, we can lose our energy and also become susceptible to the cold and flu. So I have two prevention tips for that. One is to make sure that you wash your hands on a regular basis and not touch your face. Those two things will really helped with reducing the transmission of germs and also reduce your stress. This will help to boost your immunity and one thing that you can do to make that happen is to make sure that you’re hydrated. If you’re hydrated, that will help you flush those toxins out of your body.

AM: That’s good to know. A lot of our readers debate whether we should wash our hands or is it ok to use the different types of antibacterial products? Are they both ok or is one better than the other?

TW: There is a lot of controversy on those hand sanitizers, let’s say. Just be careful with reading those labels and make sure that you’re teaching your children that they are washing their hands correctly. I’d say that they should be doing it 20 seconds for all surfaces of your hands.

Of course, keeping up your energy is a big thing this time of year and reducing your sugar content is really important. It’s tough as there is a lot of sugar out there this time of year. From the time that you eat that holiday sugar, you will get a tiny spike of energy – but then you get that crash.

So one of the things that you can do according to the studies at the National Institute of Health is that you can look to apple cider vinegar to help you with this. It looks to control that blood sugar and to maintain your energy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like really drinking apple cider vinegar! But Gummiology has apple cider vinegar gummies and it’s a lot more tasty!

AM: We have to admit that drinking apple cider vinegar straight is not something we enjoy doing so having that as an alternative is good to know. Are there certain nutrients that can assist us in naturally boost our immunity?

TW: According to the Mayo Clinic and other studies, Vitamin D can help to boost our immunity which can be very helpful. You can go outside directly into the sunshine and that can help your body to produce its own Vitamin D. Of course, during the wintertime it may be a bit more difficult because of the shorter days. So Vitamin D supplements can help with that. I suggest Lake Avenue Nutrition Vitamin D3 – it’s available at iHerb.com. I like how this trusted retail site is really great with helping you research the kinds of products that you want, they’re transparent with the products that they have with their labeling and they keep track with the best buy and expiration dates. It’s just like if you went to a traditional store if you were going there to see what the products were about.

AM: That’s good to know. Do you have any tips on how we can make sure that we are not overindulging as it’s so tough with so many events going on!

TW: Yes! There are so many temptations and I feel for everybody on that! Three tips on that:

• When you do go to that holiday party, try to stick to water if you can. The high-calorie drinks and the alcohol will really add to that overindulgence.

• Keep up with your exercise. 15 minutes a day off of your fitness app is a great way to start.

• When you do go to those holiday parties, beforehand try to eat a healthy snack which will take the edge off. You can try carrots and nuts or bananas and yogurt.

For those who are adults, if you have overindulged, you can try probiotics to help you. According to research, at the Medical University of Warsaw that probiotics can help the digestion and can move things along. I suggest the California Gold Nutrition LactoBif 100 Probiotics that has 8 active and clinical probiotic strains. A tip for probiotics is to check the expiration dates which is something that iHerb does really well. They closely monitor those best buy and expiration dates. They also have air-conditioned warehouses to keep the products fresh and to maintain high-quality standards.

AM: This is year-round, but during this time of year with increased activities, how important is it to get good sleep for your health?

TW: It can reduce your stress and increase your energy which are two great benefits to being mindful of this. A quick tip is to wind down each evening which means that you should turn down the lights and turn off all of your electronics. Maybe you should do some yoga and meditation – or you can read a book. There is a wellness trend that you can use essential oils for relaxation. An example of an oil, is NOW Peppermint Essential Oil. You can research which essential oil works best for you and you can search and find which ones are best on iHerb.com. They’re focused on quality and they make it easy to order and find products. They have state of the art distribution facilities that are GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified and all of that means that they are going to maintain the product quality!

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MASTER OF SOUND WITH MARSHMELLO

As we look to close the decade, there are a number of phenomenons that have marked significant changes, pushing an array of industries forward. When you talk about the music industry and how people are connecting and inspiring fans, landing hits, distributing their music, collaborating with people and finding ways to engage with their communities in an enhanced way. Marshmello has become a larger than life figure in music as a collaborator and producer across genres, a streamer and gamer - his in game concert on Fortnight made him the most listened to DJ without a doubt. His ability to cut across a number of age groups who enjoy his music is easily seen when you're able to see the energy that hits any room that he walks into. We hung out with Marshmello and his manager, Moe Shalizi to toast a new business venture with his partnership with Stuffed Puffs who will open a large factory in Bethlehem, PA. The Philidelphia born DJ and producer sat with us to talk about some of their achievements this year, working across industries, their favorite collaborations and about artists that they would have loved to have collaborated with in this cover story.

ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment when you guys realized that Marshmello as a brand was something that you wanted to focus on?

MARSHMELLO + MOE SHALIZI: We always wanted to focus on it, but I think that when we saw things like what you’re seeing right now, kids wearing the costume as such an early thing – we realized that it transcended audiences and demographics of people and things like that. It’s just that the music resonated globally with people which is very different. So we knew that we had something on our hands.

AM: How would you define the Marshmello sound?

M + MS: I always like to say that he is the modern-day Timbaland. He’s someone that can hit every genre. We have a whole Number 1 country song with Kane Brown, 'One Thing Right'. We just put a single out that’s an alternative rock single 'Rescue Me' with A Day to Remember, the song with Bastille, 'Happier' hit 3 different categories (editor’s note: it’s worth noting that in 2018, 'Happier' spent an entire year at No 1. on the Billboard Dance Chart – which had never happened before). So the sound is everywhere. He’s a producer at the end of the day.

AM: What are a couple of highlights from being on tour or awards shows that are some of your favorite moments?

M + MS: I think that Fortnite was really one of the biggest things that he had ever done. It was something that no one had ever done before and the impact that it had was insane.

AM: How do you go about deciding on the types of collaborations that you do?

M + MS: We just try to be innovative the same way that Stuffed Puffs is in its category – we try to be as innovative as possible with our collaborations. It’s really easy for us to go and get collaborations with the normal people. But for us, it’s about finding that next top person and to work with them.

AM: Clearly the travel schedule is hectic and you’re always on the go, what are 3 things in your carry-on that you have when you’re about to hop on that next flight? M + MS: Probably headphones, Tylenol and gum – a lot of gum. AM: Who are 3 people that are living or dead that you would like to collaborate with?

M + MS: Prince, TuPac – he’d be dope and I wish we had done something with Nipsy - that would have been amazing - he was the man.

As someone who has been trailblazing in the industry, Marshmello pushes the boundaries on what it means to lea in a number of fields and how he likes to present himself. When you think about Marshmello, it's hard to not think of actual marshmallows and if you're familiar with his fun YouTube show, Cooking with Marshmello, you know that he shares how to cook an array of cool treats - some of them being marshmallows. It's not a surprise to see that he has now partnered with Stuffed Puffs, an innovative approach to making it easier to take your S'mores game to the next level. Each marshmallow has chocolate inside and is ready to eat right out of the package or heated. As is the case with many things that are all about serendipity, Marshmello crossed paths with the founder of Stuffed Puffs, Michael Tierney and the rest was history. We took a moment to chat with Michael to find out how this partnership took place as well as more about how he came up with the idea of his company.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Prior to launching Stuffed Puffs, what was your background before creating this company?

MICHAEL TIERNEY: Prior to founding Stuffed Puffs, I was in the fine dining world working in the kitchens of The French Laundry and Eleven Madison Park. Since founding Stuffed Puffs, but before bringing it to life this year, I also founded the better for you baking brand, Mikey’s.

AM: Where did the idea for Stuffed Puffs come from?

MT: Not surprisingly, sitting around a campfire. I have always been a foodie but never found traditional s’mores to be appealing. My issue, the chocolate never melted. As I am sure many others have, I carefully pulled apart a marshmallow and inserted a piece of chocolate before carefully seaming the marshmallow back together. Roasted over the fire, the chocolate melted perfectly from the inside out. The idea was the easy part. The execution, however, took much longer. I was laughed out of most candy manufacturers I tried to partner with who said that Stuffed Puffs were impossible to make. Eventually, we did it ourselves and built our own plant to prove up the innovative manufacturing processes we developed.

AM: When did you launch Stuffed Puffs and when did you know that you had a hit on your hands?

MT: Stuffed Puffs has been seven years in the making and we finally launched at retail with Walmart just before Memorial Day this year. We knew we had a hit by July 4th, only roughly five weeks later, when we had gone from zero to the number two item in the category by dollars sold.

AM: We're fans of Marshmello, you've been working with him for a bit now - how did this collaboration come about?

MT: In September of 2018, I was invited to the U.S. Forbes “30 Under 30” conference in Boston, along with Marshmello, who made the cover, and other honorees. I arrived late in the evening Marshmello was performing and got locked out of the packed outdoor venue. However, I lingered by the gate, loved the music, and marveled at his ability to mesmerize an audience. Returning to my hotel, I researched the name of his manager, Moe Shalizi, and sent him a note telling him about my marshmallow. I had zero expectation that I would get a response, which ended up arriving just minutes later. The next day, I met Moe in Boston and pitched him the idea. Two months later, Marshmello and Moe joined as my equity partners. They have been phenomenal partners and are always promoting and otherwise supporting the brand.

AM: What can we expect to see with your partnership between Stuffed Puffs and Marshmello?

MT: Our partnership will only continue to grow through a number of different avenues as we increase our retail footprint and portfolio of items throughout 2020 and beyond. Stay tuned!

AM: What are 3 ways that you like to enjoy eating Stuffed Puffs?

MT: Roasted over the fire is the obvious choice, but they are also phenomenal in the microwave for seven seconds if you want to enjoy S’mores indoors. For me though, they are best just popped in your mouth right out of the bag!

IG: @MarshmelloMusic

@StuffedPuffs

@JMTierny3

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Master of Sound with Marshmello in mag.

LIFE AFTER SPORTS: HOW DO ATHLETES DEAL RETIREMENT

Retirement can leave athletes purposeless. For every Shaquille O’Neal starting a lucrative business, there are 100 athletes who struggle to fill their day. As a professional athlete, the majority of your day is spent in the gym, on the court, or studying game plan. This often leaves players with little time to pursue other avenues in life; making retirement a difficult period for them. This article is going to explore what happens to all the athletes after they retire and how they choose to deal with their retirement.

1.    Coaching

Whenever an athlete retires, the usual go-to line of work is to coaching the sport for young up-and-coming players. The skills and experience learned from years of top tier competition can be very handy for inexperienced players looking to learn from someone who was knee-deep in the game before retiring. Depending on skill level, some of the higher end teams usually keep an eye out for every retired athlete to get them to coach their team for national tournaments. It’s one of the most common career routes athletes take after retirement as it’s still in the same field, using the same knowledge.

2.    Game Analysis

This is one of the more recent job opportunities for retired athletes at the moment as a lot of sports channels on TV, radio, and online look for athletes to give valuable insight to their respective sport. Having played the sport at the highest of levels is something not many can boast, and this leads to appealing perspective for these media outlets’ viewers. You can see a lot of athletes transitioning into game analysis after pursuing a career in any sport. The opportunities are countless as every outlet now provides pre and post-game breakdowns and often want the athletes to provide exclusive analysis.

3.    Retirement Job Opportunities

If you’re an athlete that’s close to retirement and you’re worried about how you’re going to find work after being in one field for so long, then you should probably be looking at some retirement plans. Experienced retirement planners over at My Retirement Rehab provide a constant flow of content regarding what some retired people have done, regardless of their age/career history. This can be a great way to get some idea as to where your life is headed after you make the big leap into retirement. There are also multiple guides on what you can do after retirement scattered all over the internet, so check those out as they can be very helpful in letting you know how to plan your life post-retirement.

4.    Pursue Different Careers

Many athletes were drafted from their college team and were never fully able to pursue the career they studied. Some athletes simply retire from the sport they used to practice and start another career down another path using their college education. It can be pretty surprising to hear that one of your professors or colleagues at work used to be an athlete, but it’s also much more common than you think.

5.    They Go Back to College

Much like the previous point mentioned, a lot of athletes were in college as they pursued their careers in a specific sport, however, not all of them finish college as some drop out midway to better pursue their athletic career. After they’d retired, some of them get the spark to learn reignited and go back to college to finish their degree and eventually go into a different career path that has something to do with their college education.

6.    Traveling to a Country with a Better Retirement Plan

Some countries offer more benefits to retired citizens than others. Some people plan out their retirement by filing the paperwork and traveling to a different country in order to retire there and get the benefits from that country’s retirement system.

Finding guidance after retirement is difficult for most and even more so for athletes. The thrill of the game, the excitement of the crowd, and the glory of the win gives them a high that is unparalleled. Athletes, generally retire a lot younger than people from any other field as they can only achieve their maximum potential up to a certain age. This makes retirement a very trendy topic to talk about if you’re an athlete closing in on the average retirement age of players in your specific sport. Doing the research and understanding what you’re in for after you’ve announced your official retirement from the sport can greatly reduce how scary the entire process can be for a person who has never worked in other fields.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

PATTAYA, A BEACH CLOSE TO BANGKOK!

Pattaya is a beach that is a 2-hour drive from troubled Bangkok. If you are looking for a quiet place to relax and enjoy a beautiful beach without having to take a plane, this is the place!

From Bangkok you can take a bus or a van (faster) towards Pattaya. You can use the same way from Pattaya to Bangkok. This trip costs about 90 baht! Both modes of transport leave from Mo Chit Bus Station, Bangkok's bus terminal.

Before I talk about Pattaya, I want to talk about one very important thing: travel insurance! Anyone who accompanies me knows that in international travel, I never stop using insurance because unforeseen events happen and it is always good to have a backup in any emergency that happens, whether in health or safety.

What to do in Pattaya

Pattaya is not a beach very well-liked by Thai people, as it is a region famous for prostitution and lady boy shows. But despite this fame, Pattaya also has other types of youth clubs, good beachside restaurants and other quieter options for those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle. The city beach itself is very beautiful, full of coconut palms and little shops and is a place full of beach houses of the richest people in Bangkok. The large buildings and chic hotels are part of the landscape and somewhat resemble some American beaches, such as Miami's.

How to get around Pattaya?

Just like any Thai city, there are several modes of transportation: mototaxis, buses, vans, taxis and the famous Songthaew or Baht Bus (tailored pickup trucks). This last option is the cheapest and most efficient. You will spend around 30 baht per person, depending of course on the goodwill of the driver. As I said in the post: Transportation in Bangkok, what is the best way to get around?

Night in Pattaya

Along with the beaches, nightlife is one of the factors of greatest interest in the Thai city. Pattaya is full of bars, nightclubs and restaurants, but the county is internationally renowned for its strong sex tourism. Known as the Disneyland Adult, the city has in its DNA a strong inclination to prostitution, which can be seen through middle-aged foreigners who negotiate pleasure and company on the streets. In these cases, prostitution is not just for women, but for men and ladyboys as well (the transgender people who are so present in the country). Even if the government has been trying to change Pattaya's stereotype, this is still a determining factor for the location.

Much of where the fun happens (whether or not related to sex tourism) is Pattaya Walking Street, a mile-long street full of bars, breweries, nightclubs and restaurants. This is where the city buzzes, especially as night falls. The place is also open in the mornings, but many establishments are not yet open at this time. If the idea is to start drinking in the afternoon, just walk around the town. The concentration of bars is so great that you will have no difficulty "accomplishing the task".

Another local classic is the Tiffany`s Show, a cabaret-style attraction performed by ladyboys only. The show is quite traditional in the city (including, it has been playing for over 40 years!). It's a good choice for those who want to do something very characteristic with Pattaya's face!

The Thai city is also known for its Go-Go and Ping Pong Shows. In the first case, women and ladyboys dance on a stage wearing bikinis or costumes with an ID number. At each pass of time, the dancers change and customers can give their favorites with cash. Ping Pong Show is an attraction where women do seemingly impossible things with their vaginas like throwing ping pong balls, cutting bananas, blowing candles, throwing dice, etc.

Koh Larn, a paradise island

Koh Larn is an island which is about a 3-minute boat ride from Pattaya. To get there just go to the city pier, Bali Hai Pier. There you will find several agencies that make the tour, but if you prefer, you can walk to the boats and find out the departure times of each. So, you do the tour on your own. Koh Larn is an island that has 6 beaches. They are not next to each other, so you cannot do the walking route or drip drips. It is best to choose one and enjoy your day there.

The six beaches are:
Tawaen Beach
Samae beach
Tien beach
Nual beach
Tonglang Beach and
Tayaiy Beach.

All are very beautiful, but the first is LOT of Asians and has no space to put your things in the sand and sit, the only option is to pay for the tent and chair (200 baht). It's worth a stop over to enjoy the scenery, but I don't recommend staying at this beach, you will definitely have no peace.

The beach of choice was Tien. Super calm, incredible waters, few tourists and several restaurants. And from there you can walk to Samae, which is a bit crowded and has a beautiful view point.

Here's the tip!

To get around the island you have 3 options, almost the same as Pattaya: the famous scooters, which you can rent for 250 to 300 baht with gasoline included; motorcycle taxi or Songthaew, which is the most affordable.

Note that the last boat back to town is at 18h. You must be back at the pier no later than 5:30 pm.

Don't worry, the ticket can be bought on the boat as well as the one-way ticket.

This tour of Pattaya and Koh Larn Island can be done on a weekend! It beats back and forth from Bangkok full of hectic options but at the same time with tranquil and calm paradisiacal beaches. All this 2 hours from the big capital! So, what do you think? Interested? Enjoy your trip and get an amazing experience in Pattaya! Thank you for reading!

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.

14TH ANNUAL STARCHEFS INTERNATIONAL CHEFS CONGRESS

We headed to Brooklyn for the weekend to watch a number of demonstrations, panel discussions and meeting with a number of vendors at the 14th Annual StarChefs International Congress. We were excited to do a deep dive into its various initiatives that it presents to those in the culinary community. We took some time at the beginning of this conference to talk with StarChefs' Managing Editor, Will Blunt on what took place at the conference, what he's looking forward to as well as the issues facing those in the culinary industry as we go into the next year.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about your background and how you came to Star Chefs?

WILL BLUNT: I grew up in Washington DC and my parents were in politics. I graduated from Georgetown University and like most people, I didn’t know what I wanted to do so I taught high school tennis for a bit and did some work on The Hill for a while. I then decided to jump-start my career by moving to NY – it was the height of the internet exuberance in the late 90s. I was thinking about going the path of a conservative banking job and I did some interviews and I got allergic to the concept. I eventually took a minute to help a friend at what is StarChefs now. This friend had been hired as the first employee after a fundraising round and I got the bug. I’m 20 years in now.

In terms of food, I fell into it and then fell in love with the industry. I do cook and I am really into food; however, I am most inspired by the industry and the people that work within it. In the early 2000s, like most internet companies, we didn’t have a lot of direction, but we were firmly committed with my business partner Antoinette to be completely on the trade side, publish for chefs and make our mission to support chefs and other people in the industry. The idea with that is that it’s a wonderful industry opportunity, but it is also one with with a number of pains and challenges. We have a classifieds area that helps with labor which is a pain, all of our publishing is about best practices and inspirations for chefs and they are really passionate people. I have been most inspired by them in this industry and I do love food. I have gotten to know them really well, but it is truly about the people for me.

AM: What are your day to day roles in StarChefs?

WB: Fortunately we have evolved a bit – we’re still 15 full staff and for this event, we have 100 people who work on it. I do a bit of everything now and we have fortunately evolved to the point that we have great people that have different departments. I do a bit of fundraising and development, HR, I make a point to stay engaged. So let’s say in the early days there were 5 people – I learned to use a camera and my business partner Antoinette as well – there was a rule that everyone needed to be able to use a camera – classic start-up that’s boot strapping. We would do the Tastings Interviews. I didn’t mention it, but our thing that distinguishes StarChefs from any other publication is that we do 600 tastings interviews on the ground, every year across the country. We organize that to the 4 markets typically by quarter and we spend 2-3 hours with the chef, pastry chef, somm, artisan baker, coffee roaster – anyone that’s industry and doing something well. We will visit them, document them and get to know them. We share what we think is done well and would be inspiring for other people. So, all of that to say that, I still do that. It’s important because it’s something I enjoy doing, but we now have a wonderful editor, writers, full time photographer who are super capable, but I still keep my toe in the editorial. Just to stay in touch and I love the culture of the restaurant community.

AM: What’s the biggest thing that you have learned about chefs by working in this environment that still keeps you inspired to be a part of this everyday?

WB: Yes, the industry is still – despite all of the media attention in food TV and all of the exposure with celebrity chef scenarios etc – it’s very merit based and egalitarian. So at the end of the day, even if you have a Top Chef show and all that goes with it, you still face the same challenges. Many of the chefs that really early on inspired me and were early supporters, they all started at the dishwasher level. I think Jean Georges who is one of our Board of Directors he made dog food to start his career – not even human food (editor’s note: at the beginning of Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s career in Michelin three-starred L’Auberge de l’Ill in Alsace, he cooked and prepared the meals for the guests dogs)! Marcus Samuelsson who is a great friend and supporter, worked a hot dog stand, Bobby Flay scooped ice cream and so it’s very honest in that sense. There’s less patience in the industry because the demographic is such that there is such an explosion and there isn’t really a shortage. There are more opportunities that are quicker in the industry, but at the end of the day, there is still this certain base or sense of needing to work to get to where you are. I admire that and I like supporting people that are working that hard and trying to make it in an industry that has a lot of opportunity, but a lot of failure. I think 80% of all restaurants fail in the first 3 years or something along those lines. I think that my staff has had a lot of great people that have worked in the industry or gone to culinary school. We are all motivated by trying to be that extra leg up, or piece of perspective or inspiration. Folks that come to this conference – the best version for their experience of busting their ass all year is to come here to get a few days off to be inspired and to remind themselves on why they do what they do.

AM: Going into 2020, what do you think are 3 of the biggest issues that chefs are concerned about?

WB: Yeah of course! In this conference, I am hosting a session with Restaurateur Sean Feeney, his partner Chef Missy Robbins of Misi and Lilia and then Cosme’s Chef Daniela Soto-Innes – we will talk about restaurant culture and moving it forward. That was the theme of our conference last year, but it’s about being better humans. How you treat people and the culture. Everyone is on board in theory with that; however, I think that the challenge in terms of 2020 and beyond is how you walk the talk. It’s a challenge that’s easy to say in terms of providing benefits, treating employees better, more decent hours – but how do you develop the strategies to run a successful business and still do that?

I think that there is something that has developed amongst chefs and those in the industry in general, the brand image – it’s another panel we just finished. It focuses on how you manage your time and capital, what you invest in. That has been something that has built up over time. Which events do you decide to do and now it’s even more when you look at social media in how you present yourself and how much energy you put in to that. What opportunities do you say yes to and it’s pretty high level as not everyone is at that point. I think that even on a micro level, people who are starting out and opening a restaurant, they need to decide on investing in PR, social media and that’s another thing. I think there are the ongoing challenges that may not be 2020 challenges, but it’s becoming more acute with the larger companies that have bigger scale that are snatching up real estate that independent restaurateurs have harder times to access. Starting a restaurant is harder and harder and having to leverage to get the right space at the right price and to keep it once you're successful. That is a serious issue and when you look at NYC it's a great example because we have parts of Manhattan that are unattainable and all the leases are controlled by large management companies. Then you have the chains, I’m not saying that they’re all bad – they employ people and there are great ones that do home scratch cooking – but for the independent restaurant and chef that is a challenge.

AM: What are 3 panels, demonstrations, workshops etc that you are excited about for this year’s StarChefs?

WB: Our program is really strong this year and we tried to involve people that are more or less famous although our name is StarChefs, we’re not all about stardom. Some of the items I will highlight may seem like the less obvious ones. Ben and Brent from The Meat Hook will be doing an event on the main stage which they call Vintage Beef. I don’t know how much you know about them, but it’s my local butcher. They have been exploring different ways that they can be sustainable. One issue we have across the food system that we have with meat at least is a lot of our USDA and certification is centered around young animals. So they are going to be fabricating a 12 year old bull and they will serve it as a tartare. Apparently, I haven’t had it, but it tastes like an aged beef which is a cool thing to demonstrate that dairy cows, bulls etc have value if we could get to a place where we not only use the whole animal but all animals. I think that that will be a good one!

I think that an obvious one is that we have the most signups for Chef Francis Mallmann who is on Chefs Table on Netflix. He is so inspiring and I have wanted him to present for years! He is closing the show and he will be building a fire in the parking lot outside and presenting on the mainstage a vegetable roll! It will be carmelized and cooked with the fire ahead of publishing his Vegan cookbook which will be out next year. It's pretty cool as he has always been identified with a lot of meats. I think that for our chefs, one of the reasons why they are so excited for it aside from the fact that Chef Mallmann due to his great presence is that cooking with fire is really a thing that chefs find to be a bit of challenge. Everyone wants to cook with fire and it’s a trend, but how you actually harness fire, to cook consistently at different temperature points – those techniques are great takeaways for chefs.

I mentioned the panel earlier with the discussion with Daniela and Sean, they are 2 really special people that are models and examples of what the future of our restaurant industry should be and models that they should look at as one if a chef and one is a restaurateur. They have cool strategies to improving restaurant culture.

IG @StarChefs

@Will_Blunt

We sat down with James Beard Nominated husband and wife duo of Don Angie to talk about their West Village Italian American restaurant.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about Don Angie for our readers who have yet to swing by?

ANGIE RITO: It’s an Italian American restaurant in the West Village here in NYC. It’s more American leaning than Italian. We both grew up in Italian American families – like super passionate about red sauce and we take quite a few liberties with it. We use a lot of different ingredients and take more of a global approach to it.

AM: Why did you decide to do it like that?

AR: To be honest, there are a number of reasons and the major one being – we like to incorporate a lot of flavors that we like that aren't Italian into our food. Whether they're like Chinese or Japanese - or whatever it is. We just like to cook ingredients that we like. In NYC especially, there are a lot of Italian restaurants so we really like to set ourselves a part and this is the main way that we do that. Coming up with our own style of Italian food that we like that’s a broad perspective on what we do.

AM: As a husband and wife team, how does that work for you to cook together, work together – how does that coupleship work?

AR: We’re both super passionate about what we do and that’s what drives us. We could never work in this industry separately because we would never see each other. We tried doing it for a while. At the beginning of our relationship, we worked separately and like I said, you’re working 14-15 hour days and we wouldn’t see each other. We felt that working together was the best way to do what we loved together. It also works to our advantage. We’re typically on the same page and we can read each other’s minds because we spend so much time being together. It kind of helps because we communicate minimally when we’re at work and we’re always on the same page.

AM: What would you guys say would be your signature dishes at Don Angie?

AR: The most recognizable one is our lasagna. It’s a pinwheel style lasagna. That’s the one that everyone photographs and it’s all over Instagram. Aside from that, our Chrysanthemum Salad which is basically treated like a Caesar salad with a garlic anchovy dressing a lot of parmesan, sesame bread crumbs. The third thing would be ….

SCOTT TACINELLI: I’d say it’s a toss up between two things, the Buffalo Milk Caramelle and the Stuffed Garlic Flatbread.

AR: Oh I agree! Our Buffalo Milk Caramelle is a two tone black sesame and persimmon pasta. We just did a demo of our flatbread. This is something that is traditionally Italian, but we totally take it in a different direction by putting sesames on it, garlic, garlic chives and so it’s different than the original one.

AM: When did you guys know that you wanted to be chefs?

SC: I changed my careers as I did something else for like 9 years. I always loved cooking when I was a child and then I decided that I should try cooking and took a few classes at culinary school and then I went full time.

AR: For me, I always wanted to have a restaurant since I was a little kid. I used to play pretend restaurant when I was a kid. I wasn’t sure about what path in terms of cooking, working front of house or what that would be. I grew up in an Italian American family that had a bakery and I liked working there. I grew up in a very food-oriented family. Once I moved to NYC right after college, I was working as a waitress in a restaurant and at that moment at 21, I knew I was so passionate that I really wanted to know how to cook it. I started cooking then and didn’t go to culinary school and just asked if I could volunteer in the kitchen and I kept going.

AM: Do you guys envision another location or going to an entirely different coast?

AR: I think that the next thing that we would do is probably something in NYC, preferably something in the West Village as that’s where Don Angie is and easier for us to be present.

ST: I don’t know if it would be another Don Angie’s. AR: No, it would be another concept.

AM: How was it for you when you were nominated for a James Beard Award?

AR: I was surprised – I was like, ok! It was super exciting and I just wasn’t expecting it.

ST: I was very surprised and it was such an honor to be recognized by such an esteemed organization!

AR: Especially in NYC where there are so many other people!

AM: Do you forsee having a TV show or presenting your brand in different ways that we know chefs utilize.

AR: We are working on a cookbook right now. It won’t be out until 2021.

ST: We’re going to take it day by day and see what comes!

IG: @DonAngieNYC

When it comes to one of our favorite comfort foods, it's pizza! It incorporates a number of traditional ingredients as well as those that aren't. We chatted with Emily Hyland of Pizza Loves Emily and Emmy Squared to talk about how this food became the catalyst to this successful business.

ATHLEISURE MAG: So, pizza – why do you like pizza so much?

EMILY HYLAND: I mean, I think it harkens back to the quality of this nostalgia that all of us have as Americans. We all have this memory of pizza parties with friends or going out and have pizza or enjoying a slumber party and ordering pizza. It’s this uniting American food that lives in the state of our history. So why wouldn’t we want to have pizza?

AM: We know a few people who say that they don’t like pizza and we’re like, “really?”

EH: My dad says that and then every time he comes in he eats like a whole freaking pizza!

AM: How did you transfer this love for pizza to saying, I want to have a restaurant and make a business out of pizza?

EH: It was a dream for me and at that time, my husband as a dream for many years. We were in a moment where I had transitioned out of being a public school teacher and was a full time yoga teach – which is a next to nothing earnings for that time and space in my life. We had moved to Brooklyn and he was apprenticing at a neopolitan restaurant. I remember the day that he came home and he said, “I put my hands on the dough and this is what I want to do.” So the time and space really opened up and we took a chance and that really got us into our first brick and mortar, Pizza Loves Emily. From there, we found growth partners through our wonder partner Howard who has taken this small little baby, our first child and has helped us merge this into a growing company.

AM: How does it feel to know how you started and how it has evolved into what exists now?

EH: It’s really been surreal and I haven’t digested it – no pun intended! It’s weird as the founder and the namesake to have this identity that’s so rooted in my heart and then to relinquish some of this control to this corporate structure that is developing. It’s tons of learning and really taking something that is so very much mine and making it ours in this whole team. I love it and I’m having so much fun! The people that we have brought on to help it grow like the Director of Operations, the Director of Marketing are so talented and really care so much about the concept that it has made it so much nicer to be able to go to work everyday.

AM: What would you identify as your 3 signature pizzas?

EH: Our 3 signature pies at Emmy Squared are the Colony – so that’s got pepperoni, pickled chili honey so you’ve got salty, spicy, sweet trifecta – hands down fan favorite. Not too far behind it is the Vodka Pie. It’s house made, really nice creamy vodka sauce – the way I do it is dollops of burrata on it – I do it like a Margarita and just go extra on it. Then the Roni Supreme. A classic pie with tons of pepperoni and tons of Calabrian chili on it. So it’s like an elevated pepperoni pizza and the Calabrian chili oil is not so much spicy, but warm - it really rounds out the pie really nicely.

AM: Where do you get your pizza inspiration from?

EH: That’s all from our head chef, Chef Matt. He is really talented at developing topping creations and is trained as a culinary artist and a lot of that vision is from him. He conceptually wanted Emmy Squared and Pizza Loves Emily to be fun and not rooted in the formality that so many more esoteric pizza places do when they say, “this is what pizza is supposed to be.” We just wanted to open ourselves up to the variety of toppings that we could have without judgment. What you want is what you like!

AM: What are 3 ingredients that you like to have on hand when it comes to making that best pizza?

EH: So I think it’s our cheese obviously! At our original location, we still make our own mozzarella by hand. Over at Emmy Squared, we have a chef blend which we sprinkle around on the outside of the edge of the pan and it carmelizes with the dough on the pan so you get a fried cheese which is delicious. Our Ezzo Pepperoni cups are our ronis that cup nicely on the pizza. We also use really high quality flour. We use King Arthur Flour that is here in America and not shipped over from Italy. We start from that simple ingredient and just build from there and just add yeast, water and a little bit of salt as it doesn’t take much and we’re very simple with our dough.

AM: What are your goals as we close 2019 and thinking ahead to 2020 – what are you excited about for your brand?

EH: For the brand for next year, we’re really thinking about what it means to grow on a national scale. We just opened in Philadelphia and we will be in Washington, DC by the end of the year. If not then, early 2020 and on a growth path from there. Through my lens from there, my goal is to figure out how I can maintain this genuinely robust culture as a restaurant environment for my employees as well as to ensure that the same level of warmth is available to our guests that are coming in to dine with us. That is a big goal for me and when we do openings, I try to greet every guest table the few days that I am there and to say hi and to instill that cultural feel. I think that the other facet of it is to just synthesize our team and to lean on the talent there. It’s 2019, we’re all leading full robust lives. What are the things that my team members do that they can bring in and to support the types of things that we’re doing so that we are growing. We’re very people focused!

IG: @EmilyHyland

@PizzaLovesEmily

@EmmySquared

When we chatted with Will Blunt earlier in this conference, he shared that we should catch The Meat Hook founder's session on Vintage Beef and how they are lending their craft to the sustainable movement. We sat down with Ben Turley and Brent Young to find out about this duo, their business and what the holiday season is like for them.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We enjoyed sitting in your demonstration focusing on regenerative agriculture. How did you guys decide that you would be butchers, was this always a plan?

BEN TURLEY: We were both line cooks for a long time and living in Richmond, Virginia which is where we met. A small little butcher shop opened and we started interning there on our off time and the more you learned, the more questions we had. It wasn’t a whole animal shop as that’s not what existed at the time. The more we dug into it, we realized we wanted to do this and we moved to NYC to do just that. We could only find one restaurant group on the East Coast that was doing a whole animal program and we ended up opening a butcher shop for them and very quickly, it was disorganized and if you were going to be in it, you had to know everything like the finances. We thought we had to do it for ourselves and we ended up deciding to open our own shop. But essentially, we fell into it backwards and we were genuinely super interested in it as no one was doing it and we did and that was it.

AM: How do you go about finding the different farmers and farms that you’re working with? Are you constantly rotating things in?

BT: No not really. The whole idea is to develop a relationship with someone that you are going to find at a Farmer's Market and has dedication to their their craft. We’re very lucky to have found a great network of farms when we started. The whole idea was that we wanted to work with one farm that did one thing and that way, every single week, we’re able to give them feedback and not just buying things from all over. It was about having a very structured system and it was great because people could enjoy it and say that they would like to visit us and we could let them know the farm for them to visit. We wanted complete transparency in the food chain which is a major reason why we started this.

AM: We were talking with Will Blunt earlier this morning and he was talking about how you work with age cows. We had never had one before and we wondered what a Jersey cow would taste like. What was the thought behind integrating this as well?

BT: We had been tasting this on our own and when we would go up to the farm, we knew that they were not going to go and grind an older animal. We knew that they would have it in their farm store so when we went up there, we would just make a habit of asking if they had older animals. We would take them home and I remember the first one that I had cooked. I cooked it to medium and it was tough as nails and it sucked; however, the flavor was still incredible and you could tell that there was something still there. So we just brought it home for ourselves when we were there and eventually, we realized it was something that we had learned enough about that we could bring this into restaurants and have a dinner focused around these older animals. We were always blown away by these older animals. The texture was so different then what we had always been told it would be like and we thought it was phenomenal that no one knew about and no one was giving towards.

AM: Are there various breeds of cows you tend to deal with more versus others?

BT: Because everything we do is grass fed and grass finished, only a couple of breeds do well on grass and that would be Angus, Devon – that’s the best and what the farmers raise. We’re like, you guys know the grasses and we’ll tell you how it tastes. We’re the marketers for them!

AM: With the holiday season upon us, how crazy is this time of year?

BT: Bonkers.

BRENT YOUNG: Very busy!

AM: Do people order in advance with you. Just thinking about our readers that may be interested in swinging by today or prepping for their holiday meals, how would they go about it?

BT: We do everything online. We realized that after a few years, the amazing nature of human fallibility and error, all ordering is on our website. For Thanksgiving, we have a lot of options on our website. We’ll have over 550 turkeys for Thanksgiving this year. We normally sell 450, but we decided to go for it this year so we have a lot of turkeys. Then early Nov we’re heads down and you can’t even look up until after Thanksgiving and then 3 days after Thanksgiving, Christmas ordering happens and it’s heads down through New Years.

AM: Is there a down season when the orders aren’t as frequent?

BT: March. Just because we’re in NYC and everyone leaves in March. If you can get the hell out in March, your probably should!

AM: What are 3 dishes that you guys like to make with the items that you butcher when you’re at home?

BT: Both of us shop and we use what needs to be used. My personal favorite is beef shank and we always have beef shank. I think it’s still the most delicious things – it’s a nice project and it takes a couple of hours to get to relax and cook for that time.

BY: Chicken! Chicken in all forms. Last night was Chicken and Rice with scallions and a really simple sauce that was perfect for me. A real chicken and rice dish. I think that chicken to this day is so versatile and could be used in so many ways. It’s worth twice the price that you can pay for it.

AM: Why did you guys want to participate in this year’s congress?

BT: First year and I mean we were asked. We jumped on the opportunity. Talking about local meet is our mission and super fun and doing demos is fun too – no brainer!

IG: @TheMeatHook

@BenjaminStephen

@BrentonYoung

PHOTO CREDITS | Paul Farkas

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see 14th Annual StarChef’s International Chefs Congress in mag.

THE ART OF THE SNACK | CHOLA

FOR THE SAVORY

As the weather continues to get into chillier temperatures, it's important to have destinations that's worth braving the cold for that's guaranteed to have sweet and savory items on the menu that delight the tastebuds as well as having a decor that transports you elsewhere! We found ourselves at just the place, Chola which truly allows those looking for intricate and delicate flavors of India to come to life in Midtown East. After trying some new faves and phenomenal cocktails, we talked with veteran restaurateur, Executive Chef/Owner of Chola, Shiva Natarajan.

ATHLEISURE MAG: We have walked past Chola numerous times, but when did it open?

SHIVA NATARAJAN: Chola opened in April of 1998 and was awarded two stars by the New York Times. The restaurant has been an Indian destination for 20 years and has recently undergone a newly revitalized and reinvigorated interior and menu.

AM: As the Executive Chef and Owner of Chola, what is your culinary background and other restaurants that you were a part of prior to Chola?

SN: As a veteran restaurateur and culinary titan, I am responsible for restaurants like Sahib, Dhaba, Malai Marke, Chote Nawab, Thelewala, and others. I picked up cooking from my grandmother in India which become one of my passions. Mixed with my American culinary experiences waiting tables and working in restaurants, I used my business savvy to begin opening and operating restaurants of my own in New York City and the surrounding area.

AM: What can guests expect when they come to Chola in terms of their ambiance as well as the kind of cuisine that can be consumed here?

SN: Inviting and warm, Chola's walls are marbled with grey banquettes lining the restaurant. Old black and white phototographs are hung throughout, featuring coastal scenes from Southern India to give a sense of the history behind the cuisine. A bar is anchored at the front of the room with gold lamps that hang above for a welcoming glow, and a mix of modern and traditional accents can be found throughout the restaurant, paying homage to Indian culture.

Chola holds on tight to its roots and integrity of serving traditional Indian cuisine. I grew up in India and new menu items at Chola are inspired by my culinary journey around the coast, placing an emphasis on the flavors I came across during my travels. The redesigned concept focuses on seafood and southern Indian cuisine with select recipes from my upcoming untitled cookbook set to hit stores in 2020.

AM: Can you share the types of dishes that Chola creates?

SN: Chola’s new and expansive menu has plenty to share. With a myriad of starters and entrees, there’s certainly something for everyone, making the restaurant great for group dining. New and super shareable dishes include Cafreal Paneer Tikka, a house made fire grilled cheese fresh from the Tandoor oven that comes out smoking with green masala and Kodi 58, Chola chicken fry with house blend spices. Other options include Khekda Nariyal, a sautéed crab dish with coconut and mustard seeds that will have guests fighting over the last spoonful and Scallops Caldin, perfectly spiced and served in a Goan yellow coconut curry.

AM: Chola is open for lunch and dinner. Is there a difference between the service that is offered during lunch versus dinner?

SN: Chola serves dinner and lunch with a special to-go menu for lunch as well as a buffet served from 12:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. from Monday - Thursday ($17.95) and Friday - Sunday ($18.95).

AM: What are 3 signature dishes that one can enjoy at Chola for dinner?

SN: Meen Moilee: a light and flaky Branzino with turmeric, coconut and curry leaves, topped with green banana chips. Lata Shetty’s Yeti Ajadina: Mangalorean style shrimp with fresh coconut and pounded spices. Golbari Kosha Mangsho: a slow cooked bone-in goat roast from a Kolkata pada.

AM: We enjoyed the craft beverages created at Chola, what are 3 must enjoy cocktails that our readers should know about for their next visit?

SN: Himalayan Sunset (Spring 44 vodka, King’s Ginger liqueur, mango puree and fresh lime juice). East of Manhattan (Ragtime Rye Whiskey, La Copa Sweet Vermouth and saffron syrup). Indian Rose (Citadelle Gin, Luxardo Apricot Brandy, rose syrup).

IG @CholaNYC

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see The Art of the Snack | Chola in mag.

BACK TO THE HILLS WITH WHITNEY PORT

This summer, many of us enjoyed seeing The Hills: New Beginnings which brought back our favorite reality stars from The Hills as well as new castmembers to continue this MTV classic. One of our faves that we have interviewed previously on Athleisure Mag is back on the show, Whitney Port. We wanted to know more about her decision to bring her personal life back to the screen, projects she's working on and how she continues to lead a normal and full life even when a migraine hits!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Like many, we were glad to see you in the reboot of MTV The Hills Beginnings. We were fans of the original and loved you on this current season. What was it like for you to come back and what was your decision to do so?

WHITNEY PORT: I honestly wasn’t so sure about it at first. I was nervous to come back and to put my life and everything going on with my family back on TV. Then I just thought, it sounds fun, I’m in a good place with everybody and why not reconnect and give people something that’s nostalgic and something that they enjoyed watching. I do think that I had some nervousness about not knowing what people were going to be like or to start – you never know with Reality TV people. Are they just going to start drama out of nowhere? You have to be nervous and you have to have your guard up a little bit. But ultimately, I felt that the show was a huge part of my life and that it was a platform that allowed me to do everything that I do now so I thought, “why not?”

AM: Well it was so fun to see you again and are there other projects that you have going on that we should keep an eye out for?

WP: Yes for sure! Today, I’m talking about Excedrin Migraine – not that it’s a project, but this condition is something that I have suffered with for quite awhile. I feel that it’s my duty to talk about Excedrin because it’s the one thing that I can do to make them go away so that I can be present and can take care of all the things that I want to do and am passionate about, you know? It can be hard, especially as a mom, when you’re hit by one. Recording my podcast or my collection with Rent the Runway coming out in April – so there all these exciting things that I want to do that are dreams, goals and passions and keeping myself healthy and that I’m migraine free is really important to me.

AM: There are a lot of people that suffer with them. Do you have certain kinds of triggers that kick in with you that you know that it’s going to happen? What makes a migraine so different then a regular headache?

WP: I mean a migraine is all consuming. I start to not be able to see straight, I get sweaty palms, a lack of energy, I just get a pounding pain in my head and when these things start to happen – I know it’s coming. If I can drink a full glass of water, take my Excedrin and get a little protein in me those are usually the things that help them to go away before it gets to a place where I just can’t handle it.

AM: Why did you decide to partner with Excedrin and why is it so good for migraine conditions?

WP: I decided to partner because it’s what I was taking. I talk about my migraine issues on my podcast and on my social. I would talk about Excedrin and that it was something that helped. Naturally, they reached out and said that they wanted to work together because they saw that it was something that was a part of my life in a big way. In terms of what is in it – I’m not a doctor. But I know that what is in there with its ingredients that when it comes together it’s combined strength allows me to function!

AM: In terms of your partnership with Excedrin, what does your partnership look like with them whether they are things on your social, events etc?

WP: You can read my blog post on WhitneyPort.com to find out how I use it and how other people should use it as well.

AM: As someone who is so busy, as a mom, wife, entrepreneur and Reality Star, what are 3 things that you like to do to take time for yourself?

WP: A couple of things I do for myself are: I take a hot yoga class. It changes my whole mood and it’s an hour to myself where I am sweating out so much – I’m energized and I’m ready to get back to the grind on my career as well as being a mom! I am a huge proponent of massages! I know that they are a luxury, but I use the App Soothe which comes to your house. Once I put Sonny down for the night, I will order a massage and it’s pretty affordable and I don’t have to leave the house and can do it while Sonny is sleeping. You can tell the therapist that you have a migraine issue and they can work on certain areas to help like around the jaw, head or neck. Then, another thing is just trying my best to fill my body with things that are going to be good fuel for it instead of just empty calories. I drink these really good smoothies from Kreation that have turmeric, Kreation Juice, coconut and all of these good anti-inflammatory type things. I try not to eat a lot of processed sugar and I try to have a healthy dose of greens everyday and definitely meat, protein etc. My husband in the morning before my yoga will scramble me 2 eggs with a little grated cheddar in there for some extra protein. I think that physical activity, something luxurious and feeding your body with good stuff will set you up for success. Also taking time to just listen to good music and taking some deep breaths can make a big difference. A lot of us have a commute whether it’s in cars or buses – putting in my earpods, listening to some calming music and taking some deep breaths can really ground me and put me back into a present mind space.

IG @WhitneyPort

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Back to the Hills with Whitney Port in mag.

S1. E6 | BUNGALOW SK WITH KIMBERLY FRIEDMUTTER

On today's episode of Bungalow SK, we delve into the power of the subconscious, going with your gut and leaning into your intuition! We sit down with Celebrity Hypnotherapist to a number of celebs, athletes and CEO's Kimberly Friedmutter. We find out how this skill can assist us through all aspects of our lives, how we're able to enhance this ability and using a checklist to ensure that we are optimizing it as well. Kimberly shares all of this, talks about her new book Subconscious Power: Use Your Inner Mind to Create the Life You've Always Wanted which is out now and loops us in on where she loves hanging out in Las Vegas as well as in Malibu!

Thanks for joining us for today’s episode of Bungalow SK. Make sure to follow, rate and review us on Apple Podcast. You can also follow and listen on additional podcast platforms including – Spotify, iHeart Radio, Google Play, Himalaya, Soundcloud and Stitcher Premium. Bungalow SK is a member of the multimedia podcast network, Athleisure Studio, part of Athleisure Media and Athleisure Mag. You can see our show notes at AthleisureStudio.com/Bungalow-SK and follow us on Instagram at @Bungalow.SK to find out who we’re talking with as well as what our guests are up to. Bungalow SK is executive produced by myself and Paul Farkas with sound editing by the Athleisure Studio team. Our music is courtesy of Icons8, with FOREVERT performing Renaissance. Our ad segment's music is EQUALS performed by Dural. I’m your host Kimmie Smith and I’ll see you next week at Bungalow SK.

S1. E8. | ATHLEISURE KITCHEN WITH STARCHEF'S WILL BLUNT

We attended the 14th Annual StarChefs International Chefs Congress a couple of weeks ago in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. This 3-day event focused on chefs and restaurateurs that we enjoy eating in their restaurants or seeing them on an array of TV programs, to supporting chefs rising in their field and some top appliance, cooking and food producers in the market. Throughout the event, we were able to enjoy a number of sessions that included pairing wines with the iconic Dinosaur BBQ, a Fried Rice Smackdown which was judged by Chef Marcus Samuelsson, Chef Edward Lee, Chef Nicole Ponesca and Christine Lee with participants that included BRAVO's Top Chef - Chef Sheldon Simeon, a discussion on West African food and educating listeners on its flavors and importance via Kith and Kin's Chef Kwame Onwuachi and a number of hands-on culinary classes as well as being able to walk the floor to try a number of treats by brands in the space. 

On today's Athleisure Kitchen, we sit down with Will Blunt, Managing Editor of StarChefs in one of the breakout rooms on the floor of the event to talk about how he came to being a part of the publication StarChefs as well as the annual event, the purpose behind StarChefs, speakers and participants he looked forward to especially seeing at the event and more. Make sure you keep an eye out for the November issue of Athleisure Mag which will drop the week of Thanksgiving which will have a number of interviews and images from the 13th Annual StarChefs International Chefs Congress held in Brooklyn. You can see this interview as well as additional conversations in the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag.

You can stay in the loop on who future guests are by visiting us at AthleisureStudio.com/Athleisure-Kitchen and on Instagram at @AthleisureKitchen and @AthleisureStudio. Athleisure Kitchen is hosted by Kimmie Smith and is Executive Produced by Paul Farkas and Kimmie Smith. It is mixed by the team at Athleisure Studio. Our theme music is "This Boy" performed by Ilya Truhanov. Our ad segment music is EQUALS performed by Dural.

STYLE FILES | SS20

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Style Files | SS20 in mag.

ATHLEISURE LIST | CROWNE PLAZA HY36

When it comes to staying in midtown, Hudson Yards is a great place to be in the middle of the action. The Crowne Plaza HY36 is near the Jacob K Javits Convention Center and Hudson Yards. This hotel has a 24-hour commons space that is great for business travel as well as being able to work. In addition, the workout center has a number of state of the art fitness machines that allow you to work out from the Peloton bikes and virtually guided exercise equipment such as the MIRROR (currently only at this location as well as EVEN Eugene and Seattle as a test pilot until the end of the year) which allows you to select an array of modalities from cardio, yoga, pilates etc.

In addition to a number of amenities offered at the hotel, guests can grab a meal at TGA, their original restaurant concept which unveiled their grafiti clad backyard beer garden which gives a nice ambient feel on the ground floor of the property.

Guest rooms have in-room dining, in-room coffee stations, and free wifi that can be enjoyed throughout the hotel whether in the room or in communal areas.

This property is accessible to JFK, LGA and EWR airports which make the commute on your next flight easy.

CROWNE PLAZA HY36

320 W 36th

New York, NY 10018

www.crowneplazahy36.com

IG @CrownePlazaHudsonYards

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Athleisure List | Crowne Plaza HY36 in mag.

BINGELY BOOKS

THE POLAROID DIARIES

TASCHEN

Linda McCartney

The Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney provides personal images of her work in the follow up to the bestselling TASCHEN monograph Life in Photographs book.

Readers can see the world through her eyes as well as her family. Enjoy portraits that are taken of Paul McCartney, their four children from funny faces to matching pajamas. These images capture the everyday moments on their farm in Southern England.

This coffee table book shares 200 photos of these moments from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s. The introduction has a few words by Paul McCartney himself as well as a foreword by Chrissie Hynde with an essay by art critic Ekow Eshran.

In addition to seeing the family, images include landscapes across Scotland and Arizona. Additional images include an array of celebrities such as Steve McQueen as well as a host of animals! - all caught on Polaroid.

LITTLE WEIRDS

Little, Brown and Company

Jenny Slate

Sometimes when you think about it, we live our day to day lives and it goes by with a number of unextraordinary occurrences that take place. But when you think about it, the very act of being out and about includes a lot of odd things that come together. Jenny Slate highlights these things by allowing us to think about the strangeness of these daily occurrences - like living in a rotating environment that is a part of a system of other orbs that are all connected in order for us to go about our day.

Living on Earth, we get to know a number of feelings from those that are charming and delightful to those that are much more complicated to navigate. The spontaneity of this thing that we call life allows us to take these turns and to share it with others. Every high and low reminds us that we are alive and that we can have an impact and that we must remember all of these things as we go about our day to day life.

GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN

Avon

Talia Hibbert

When faced with a chronically ill condition that nearly left Chloe Brown dead, there is a moment of clarity where she decides to truly live! To live, she must have a goal, a plan, and a list. Ultimately, she decides that she needs to Get a Life and there are 7 directives that will assist her in doing that! In part, she decides to move out of the family’s mansion. Next, she plans to enjoy a drunken night out, ride a motorcycle, go camping, have meaningless and enjoyable sex, travel with only a carryon bag and do something bad. She finds that she needs a bit of assistance to tackle these items and she reached out to a man that will be there every step of the way! Red is a handyman with tattoos and a motorcycle who is also an artist - although he doesn't make it known. In the process, Chloe learns a lot about him, his views on life as well as his thoughts on her background.

Read the Nov Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Bingely Books in mag.

KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER PRATT TALKS PETS AND THE HOLIDAY SEASON

With the holiday schedule in full swing, we have been juggling events, getting the perfect gifts, taking some me time and more. We pretty much have everything thought out. But are we thinking about our pets? How are we ensuring that our four-legged friends are being taken care of when we travel, when we have more people over and how we incorporate them into our holiday cards? We chatted with Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt to get her advice on how she would go about this!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Can you tell us about pet adoption and why that is so important to you?

KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER PRATT: Pet adoption is an incredible gift in my life and has been such a treasure in my life to be able to have rescued my dog Maverick. I was introduced to that world after I graduated from college and I decided to foster some puppies. I had never done that before and my sister and I decided to do that around the holiday in order to help a local rescue organization to take care of some dogs over the holiday season. It was such an incredible experience for me and when I got my final foster puppy, which was Maverick. I had a foster failure as they call it and decided to rescue him and made the decision to adopt him. It’s been such a blessing in my life to be introduced to others as well as the incredible world of animal rescue is a cause that I am really passionate about and feel really lucky to be involved in.

AM: Do you have any advice for pet parents that will be away from home for the holiday season or who will have a lot of people over with their pets there as well? Are there things that they should look out for?

KSP: For sure the comfort and well being of your pet is something to be aware of. Be mindful of the holiday season. A lot of people have others that come to their house and you want to make sure that you have a space where your dog feels comfortable and safe is super important. When you are traveling, be willing to have someone that is trusted and that you know that they will take really good care of your dog. This is also really important. I remember the first time that I was going out of town and I had to leave Maverick, it was really stressful for me. To be able to have someone that you feel really comfortable with and that your dog Is really comfortable with is really important – especially during the holiday season.

AM: What are some gifts or ideas that we should keep in mind when it comes to gifting our pets or giving to someone who has one?

KSP: The amount of outfits that I have my eye on from Petco this holiday season is pretty embarrassing. I love the matching pajamas because I can do a full photoshoot with Maverick under the Christmas Tree. My sister and I have done it ever since our very first Christmas with Maverick. I’m really excited about all of these holiday sweaters that are at Petco. The matching pajamas are going to be something that I think are going to be a huge hit this holiday season. Obviously, they also have these incredible plush toys and treats. There’s a huge wide range of gifts at Petco – but I’m all about that pajama set.

Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.