BRINGING THE SMOKE WITH B-REAL
For our cover story this month we caught up with B-Real, from the ground-breaking hip hop group, Cypress Hill. Legendary for his pioneering music and being an ambassador and activist for the use and legalization for cannabis, we delve into the iconic sound of Cypress Hill; his new solo album ‘Tell You Somethin,’ produced with Scott Storch; the magic behind his cult hit ‘Dr. Greenthumb;’ the history of Insane OG and creating and expanding his industry-leading Dr. Greenthumb's Cannabis Dispensaries; creating Phuncky Feel Tips; his G Pen and Stündenglass Gravity Hookah collabs; cannabis and culinary; working out on the road and more!
ATHLEISURE MAG: Looking back on all the times we listened to Cypress Hill, and it’s amazing to think, we’ve had all these different emotions – happy, sad, parties, chilling, raging it’s just crazy – how is it to produce music to hit all those different vibes?
B-REAL: I mean, it’s pretty natural cuz we were pretty much just going by what we were feeling and we were experiencing. So there were times we were joyful, happy, clowning around like young men and stuff like that. Other times we were frustrated, angry - so I think we captured all those type of emotions and being that we’re stoners we also caught that laid back stoner vibe, so I think it was really organic as we were being who we were and we just happened to capture the vibe of regular kids growing up in Los Angeles, and sort of being the bullhorn for these different vibes and situations and scenarios that we were living through that others were living the same thing and could relate to. So I think that’s why its had an impact the way that it did and everybody had some sort of feeling for we were doing and I think that was the connection that we touched on those connections that anyone has been through.
AM: So you’re going on tour with all of these festivals, how is it performing live in these post Covid times?
B: It’s interesting, different because of the protocols and stuff like that. You’ve got to be safe and responsible and also accountable. And at the same time, it’s great, you’re back in front of a crowd and you’re getting a connection, getting a reaction from the music and the energy and all of that stuff and people have so much of that energy built up from the last 2½ years and they try to find any way to letting it go and blowing off some of that steam, so I think that this was helpful toward people trying to get that. At the same being an honest person that gives a shit about people, it’s also kind of scary because we’re going to some of these places where we don’t know what the venue policy is and how protected are the people, that is the one thing that concerns me. But in terms of getting out there and playing in front of people, and seeing that happiness, that crazy unbridled energy – it’s definitely a great feeling.
AM: So you have this new solo album ‘Tell You Somethin,’ produced by Scott Storch, with great featured artists, like Ty Dolla $ign, Rick Ross, Krayzie Bone, Berner and more, what went into the album and what made the sound and vibes about it?
B: Well you know originally I wasn’t planning to do a solo album. I had so much on my plate with my projects with Berner, because him and I are constantly putting out albums together; Cypress Hill obviously ‘cause we’re working on our next album - our last album in fact; and I also had Prophets of Rage going; as well as the group that I have with Xzibit and the other cat named Demrick named the Serial Killers. So I just had so much on my plate, I didn’t think that trying to fit in another project was going to be conducive to my schedule and what not. But we were doing one of my Smokebox interviews, it’s an interview in a CadIllac, in one of my low rider cars, and us smoking out and boxing out the car, just having the car, just having a conversation, not necessarily an interview. But Scott Storch was down at my studio for this - and as many artists do - we were like ‘oh we should do something.’ And we’ve known each other a long time, and our lineage dates back to Philly, way back when he was an intern at Ruffhouse Music which was the label which we were first signed to. So we go way back, and we talked about it. When artists do that sometimes you know they have full intention of working together, and other times they’re full of shit! And Scott was not full of shit, he hit me up and said ‘hey man why don’t you come down and lets vibe out,’ and all of the sessions that we had were vibe outs. He would never have one beat ready, like a folder, that’s how it is these days, producers will give you folders with beats and then you pick’em. With Scott and I, I went to his house, everyday we would have a session and we vibed out, smoked out, and thought OK if we were here what would the vibe be like and he would sort of tinker with stuff, and then we would get ideas from that and then we would just build each song based on the vibe and the idea and what not. So it was really organic the way it came out man - every song was written and produced from scratch. And I haven’t had a chance to work on an album exactly like that in a long time. You know the last Cypress Hill album ‘Elephants On Acid’ was sort of like that. We’ve always worked like that, like never really worked like take these beats and go from that, a couple times we might have done that, but primarily our vibe is let’s go to the studio and create from scratch and see what the vibe is and so it was refreshing to get back to that sort of thing in a world of folder transfers and file transfers, and shit like that. You know it just felt good to be in the studio and being produced by the producer. It's a very different sound for me in terms what people are used to hearing me on as it relates to hard core hip hop with Cypress Hill and Serial Killers and stuff like that. The stuff I do with Berner is close to what I’ve done with Scott, but this is a venture out of my own. So, we felt really good about it. It took a while to put this album out because I have so much shit going on, but I was very, very excited to put it out and glad when it finally came out, I thought it never would and shit it took so long.
AM: Yeah sometimes it feels like life goes so fast, and sometimes it’s like paint drying right?
B: Yeah, because when we were working on this album I had all this other stuff scheduled out, and it pretty much had to wait before I knocked all of that schedule down, before I could actually put it out there. I don’t like to shortchange or shortcut anything I’m working on so I didn’t want to bring something in the middle and cut that project in half. I’ve done that and it's sad when you’ve got a good project going on and you cut it cuz you’ve got to rush something else out because you have a fucking timeline. So I just threw that out the window, and I’m going to finsh all of my obligations, and then put this out so I can give the particular attention I can give it for this particular piece. So I did that and right now I’ve had these Cypress Hill shows, so I haven’t had time to do my own shows, but I know that will come over time, and as the album is building some momentum and the songs are building momentum, when it’s the right time, I’ll go out and do some shows and what not.
AM: So you had some great collabs with it and around 4/20 this year. You gave out a download to Mother Mary, and then did some NFTs around it. How is it to be in the intersection between music, cannabis and technology?
B: Well it’s cool. You know the position that we’re in, in terms of all 3 of those platforms. We're just trying to stay ahead and keep pace with what we want to do, in terms of our growth in the cannabis industry, and maintain our position in the music industry, and forge forward in technology cuz that’s where it’s all going. Technology has a lot to do with both worlds right now. And you know we've got a pretty fucking cool and efficient team so we’ve been managing to stay ahead.
AM: Back in ‘91 you dropped ‘Stoned Is The Way of the Walk,’ on your debut album Cypress Hill – had never heard something like that before – and then Black Sunday with ‘Hits From The Bong, ‘Legalize it,’ ‘I Want to Get High..’ what was the process in putting out those benefits to cannabis in the liner notes and starting to champion use and legalization of cannabis from all the way back then?
B: Well you know on our first album we were putting out our vibe: this is who we are, this is what we believe in, and we believed strongly in cannabis legalization and all that stuff so the first album was sort of the set up with ‘Stoned Is The Way of the Walk’ and ‘Light Another.’ And as we start gaining momentum groups like NORML started getting wind of who we are and offered us spokeswork and being ambassadors to the movement, and that led to meeting up with High Times and doing the High Times cover and creating a long lasting friendship with my man Steve Bloom, and getting information, and eventually we would meet Jack Herer, who opened our eyes to everything, and because of the things we learned from him, and him being our mentor in the cannabis world, we took information from his book ‘Emperor Wears No Clothes,’ and applied some of that information in our liner notes on that album. So he was a big influence on us and his knowledge was basically what carried us trough and took us to the next steps of being advocates and activists. So we were much more educated about what we were talking about and what we were trying to accomplish in terms of turning people on to it. So we owe a whole lot to Jack Herer, yeah, so it was basically his knowledge that inspired us to put that sort of information on the Black Sunday album.
AM: So on the 4th album you dropped ‘Dr. Greenthumb’ and it became a huge underground concert anthem with your community. What was it like to go in that morning to write the lyrics so quickly, and from an entrepreneurship lesson what it means to stay true to your vision when partners or labels might try to steer that off course?
B: Well that song was destiny when I look at it now. You know at the time I thought well this is a great beat and some things just.. so I had written a sketch for a radio show that we were doing previously to making that album. Bobo and myself were working at 92.3 The Beat, and we wrote this sketch, and it was basically an infomercial type sketch which obviously makes the album, we eventually make that the intro for the song. But when I got to the studio and I heard that beat. Boom the theme Dr. Greenthumb just hit me and I started writing right away, I think it was like 10 in the morning I got to the studio. and Muggs knew I that was going to the love that beat, so he left the reels up and gave the engineer instruction to play me that song immediately when I walked in. So I started working on it before anyone got there, I was probably done writing it in 45min and done dropping it in 1 hour 30 min, or something like 1 hour 15min. And I remember specifically Sony hearing that and thinking it was great, but they wanted me to change the lyrics and make it not about weed and make it more like ‘Insane in the Brain.’ And I said, no we already got an Insane In The Brain, this song is what it is and we’re not going to change it. And they were like ‘alright, well I don’t think we’re going to get much radio on it, it’s a great song, but radio still isn’t playing weed songs.’ And I said well, you know I guess that is just a chance we’ll have to take. And the record company didn’t know the song was going to be a cult anthem or one of those underground anthems, they had no clue and thought it would be just a waste of a song. And it became one of our biggest singles in Europe, and then it trickled down here to the States. It never really caught on the radio, but when we played this song live, it would give the same energy off as an Insane In The Brain. Like people would just go nuts for it. It became one of our main anthems. And fast forward to now, California is now a medical state, now I that thought would be a cool brand name for me to come into the cannabis market. Which was my intention all along. And I thought to myself if Cypress isn’t going to come into it right now, then I’ll come into it as Dr. Greenthumb, and because of the music and the familiarlity of our fans as cannabis users, it was sort of a no brainer. It sort of took us a while to get momentum, because we’ve always been in cultivation, and the cannabis stuff, and but now we had brand to put what we were producing behind and that’s where it all started from - that song, bringing it into the cannabis industry, and making it my brand.
AM: You’re dropping Dr. Greenthumb dispensaries all over California, tell us about the team behind it, the mouth watering flavors, and especially the journey behind the potent and tasty Insane OG?
B: I think our team’s been together since ‘94-95. My partner Kenji Fujishima and I, we sort of started off together in the cannabis lane, learning how to grow and stuff like that. Me being on the road all the time, I couldn’t put as much time into the grow out as he did. So he became our master cultivator. Now for a couple years we sort of separated, and I started doing Jet Fuel with another partner, but that eventually went away as we had creative differences of where I thought the brand needed to go and things like that. They went and did their own thing. And Kenji and I fortunately had been partners in BREAL TV forever, since we started the platform, with livestreaming and doing some of the first podcasts before they were called podcasts. Kenji and I have had a long history. So when we both were free from obligations we had had with other people, we decided let’s partner back up, make the Greenthumb brand bigger, and call our strain brand Insane as a tribute to Cypress Hill and what not. So we’ve been together cultivating probably 25 years or so and we were maybe one of the first 6-7 guys in Southern California that had the OG Kush cut, which was to become one of the biggest strains in Southern California, and maybe even the world for a time, because it was so sought out and highly touted as the best cannabis in the world, up until maybe 10 years ago where all the exotic flavor blasts started happening, OG was the premier flower, and we were one of the ones that had it, and Kenji being one of the best at it, he produced some of the best Kush in Southern California for a long time, so our reputations as cultivators and ambassadors were constantly on the rise. So we’ve just been putting it together, piecing our team together little by little, getting the right guys that can represent, our company, our brand, our strains. So far we’ve accomplished Phase 1, and we’re rolling up to Phase 2.
AM: It’s a Big Phase 1! Congrats on everything. How many dispensaries do you have now in Californina?
B: Right now we have 7, we just opened in San Diego and we’re looking at a few other spots now. But the main objective is that after we get the spots that we feel are most important here in California, the next step is getting into the other cannabis friendly states, like Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma - everywhere that we can possibly plant a flag, we feel we’re going to do great. So locking down California is Phase 1, Phase 2 is now going into the different states that we can plant that flag and give that California experience.
AM: New York is stubbornly turning around. East Coast definitely needs some West Coast Love. Eventually we’ll be there..
B: Yeah I mean frankly it surprises me, you know, being New York has been in the forefront of so many things, in terms of entertainment, fashion, culinary - mostly everything - and for it to be one of the last on the cannabis train, that’s just crazy, especially when you think about it that High Times was based out of NY, and they do a lot of cannabis events, Central Park even, I remember doing those small clubs at Wetlands and stuff like that, so it’s a trip that NY is so far behind, when you’d think they’re so progressive they’d be in front of it. Even in California, to have Colorado legalize before us, that was crazy. But it all eventually comes around, because I think you know, the powers that be that run the state see the revenue stream that cannabis creates, and they’re waiting to see how the other states do, and how they work it and if it’s successful, and how they can implement it without upsetting their conservative voters or religious voters.
AM: Tell us about the Phuncky Feel Tips, how long did it take from coming up with it to putting it out there.
B: Phuncky Feel Tips, I created maybe 3-4 years before they actually came out. I was doing a deal with Roor.de for a licensing deal to create two lines of glass with Cypress Hill, one being an expensive collection line and the other one being a more affordable line. And as we’re doing that, I happened to be in Amsterdam and we were on tour, and were rolling in front our hotel, or maybe Greenhouse, I can’t exactly remember that part.. but we were rolling up, and I love smoking joints with the tip, but those paper tips were killing me, for me I looked at them in frustration, and I said why the fuck hasn’t anyone ever made any glass tips for joints or blunts. And I thought OK when I get home I’m going to call my glassblower friends that I know and make prototypes and try to put these out. Being that I was already doing a deal with Roor, I presented to them as we’re already doing this bong deal. And at first - they were reluctant as never doing something like that or if people would buy them. I said I didn’t care if people would buy them, I want to do them, and I know that people will buy them, and I knew from my experience once we made my first prototype, because I made a prototype from a different glassblower, and then I presented it. So I had at least a few weeks of R&D with it, and I was like I need to make more prototypes, because I’m not smoking another joint without one of these, and I knew if that happened to me then it was going to happen to others. So I had the prototypes made and I sent them to him in Germany. They made their prototypes, which were better than the ones I had made, and we agreed those were going to be the ones that went to market. And we put them out and it was slow going at first. It was a new product, and people were like what the fuck were these. How do you use them, how do you roll with them, how do you stick your joint in them? And people didn’t get you put them in the joint, not in that you put the joint in the tips. But once they caught! And I mean they went – you know! And now there is a collector community that collects all our custom color coordinated tips like baseball cards - I never thought that would be happening. I thought we’d sell some tips and people would have a different smoking experience, but they went beyond that. And that was great. And now to see people that have knocked off the product, and see them everywhere now, even though it’s kind of shitty, that people knocked our idea off and put it in their products. It goes to show you we’re ahead of the game. And we still make these tips and we’re ahead of everyone at that. It shows you my theory that once people smoke with a smoking tip they weren’t going to go back. Now these days people are spoiled.. your average smoker that isn’t necessary educated about the tips, they’ll smoke those paper tips because that’s all they know - but once they get a hold of a Phuncky Feel Tip it’s over! I remember when it first started catching, there were certain glassblowers like ‘oh man, you didn’t create that, it’s been in the market forever.’ And I was like ‘OK find one, show me one, I issue a challenge to any of you motherfuckers, that is not wood, that’s not plastic that predates my tip..' And not one of them could do it, and they were just mad because someone that didn’t blow glass created something they could’ve easily done. And then after the fact that I’ve brought it out, you’d have all these guys went and made some tips because of me, because some were glassblowers and they could do that, but I've never gone after them, whatever they do, people are going to put it on my back anyway and will say that’s B-Real's idea, that’s the Phuncky Feel tip, and I never took too much offense to it, I just say I’ve had a great idea, here it is!
AM: Speaking of glass we saw the Dr. Greenthumb’s x Stündenglass Gravity Hookah on your IG because we check it out. It looks so elegant and smooth. Tell us about that partnership and what it’s like to use that.
B: Oh man, Seth Rogan was the first guy that they filmed with it and he blew it up and I think that they realized they had something there. And I think their idea was to get it in the hands of real celebrities that smoke weed and have influence. And I think they were working with G Pen, and I was working with G Pen on some of our Dr. Greenthumb's X G Pen collaborative products, like the Dash and the Connect and the Roam and while we were talking about that they were like what about doing a collaboration with Stünden. And I was ‘like yeah sure, send me over a sample of the product and let us fuck with it, and see.’ And if I like ‘I’m definitely down, but if I don’t like it I’m not gonna do it because I’m not going to put my name on shit that I would not use.’ So they send it over, and we immediately start fucking with it, but we’re not fucking it with flower, because you know I stopped hitting glass bongs a long time ago, just because I feel like at some point the hit gets stale, and I don’t want a stale hit ever, so I stick to smoking the joints. So what we did was we took one the connects that we have and we adapted it on to the Stünden because they had an adapter for that. We were using the Stünden for concentrate as opposed to flower, it was so awesome, that actually became part of our Dr. Greenthumb podcast where there’s a portion of the show, it was so awesome, and actually became part of our Dr. Greenthumb podcast where there’s a portion of the show where the last half hour where we take questions and comments and shoutouts from the fans, and a lot times they’ll be like we want 3 flips from B-Real, meaning they want me to hit that Stündenglass and take 3 hits of the glass and that became a thing, and when we started highlighting that type of shit on our podcast people started running to our dispensaries to buy those Stündenglass, we could not keep them in fucking stock. People use it with flower, I’ve seen Wiz Khalifa use it with the flower, but for us we use it for the concentrate, and it fucking works amazing. If anybody was going to do it, I would recommend to do it with the concentrate, do it with the connect, and it’s lovely. Bobo, he hit the first record with them, he hit 10 flips. One of our other guys did 15 flips and one of our other co-hosts did 20 flips and stuff like that. It’s devastating, but it’s a cool experience, people love that shit and they love seeing people testing their metal trying to do like 10-20 flips. I’m good at 3.
AM: Yeah 3 looks like a good start, definitely!
B: 3 is a good start..
AM: We cover a lot in food, from clean eating and meal prep, to fine dining and splurges. We loved the show Bong Appétit on Viceland that you hosted in ‘19, it was groundbreaking. What’s your take of cooking with cannabis, and edibles in general.
B: I think it's awesome. Because it gives people that may be a little intimidated by smoking it, a chance to have the experience through culinary. A lot of the people that aren’t educated in the cannabis world, that maybe are curious, it was the perfect show for them as they can find ways to infuse. You can infuse any meal, you can infuse any dessert, any app, and that show was sort of like a guideline to doing that. Since then there have been like 3 other shows that have knocked that show off that are doing relatively the same thing. But I think shows like that is important, whether it’s us doing it, whether its Kelis doing it, or whoever else - it’s educating people, and showing people a different way. Because not everybody wants to smoke, it's kind of loud when you're smoking joints or blunts or bongs, Its loud, bongs. Its loud, and some people are more lowkey than that and so you have a significant amount of people would rather do edibles and this is one way they can create their own edibles if they have any culinary skills, or at least to know they can find it somewhere, that there are meal prep places that can infuse food whether its CBD full spectrum or just THC. So I think shows like that are important, the lifetime that they last on the air that’s subjective. I think we got caught up with Vice while they were in a transitional period. I think that they needed more room for their news platform and what not. So Bong Appetit didn’t get brought back, but it was great while it lasted. I had fun with Vanessa and Miguel, they’re great people. Vanessa sometimes comes and co-hosts on Dr. Greenthumb podcasts and all that stuff, so we still stay in contact. And we’re constantly talking about maybe creating another show somewhere down the line, but more I think dinner party conversational style rather than competitive cooking and stuff like that. That was fun to see people doing that. but I think there is a bit of conversation to be had and a little bit more education to be spilled out there if you would do a dinner party style, but we’re working on it..
AM: In the age of Covid and smoking, and vaping, it’s more important than ever to elevate your workout and wellness game, what kinds of things are you doing to workout - are you hitting the gym, doing stuff at home, or doing more adventure fitness outside?
B: That’s a part of my culture, it’s a part of me. I’ve made that to be part of my daily ritual. Like I pray everyday, I work out. Like I smoke everyday, I workout. Because realistically doing what we do in terms of performances, it's always a high energy show and we’re always trying to give 110%. And so you got to stay in shape for that. And just trying to stay in shape for ourselves, for our families, trying to be as healthy as possible - maintaining a proper diet and workout schedule and stuff like that to keep healthy and fit, and to put the right fuel in our system - and the fact of smoking cannabis the way we do, is also therapeutic and healing benefit from that. So you know, I think that’s one of the reasons we’re still able to do it on the level we do, performing at a festival, a small club or an arena, of whatever - we're always ready for it. Because we always maintain to keep busy, to keep active. Now in our fucking 50s, we’re watching what we put in our bodies, sure we still have a good time and splurge now and then. But we’ve always been guys in terms of Cypress Hill that were into sports and competing, like we’d play a lot basketball and football back in the day. Sen Dog and Muggs played a lot of baseball; Muggs and I trained in martial arts and boxing, so we’re constantly finding ways to keep busy, training and keep ourself active – besides from performing on the stage because that’s a workout itself – but we workout to do that just like an athlete works out to play their perspective sport. So we feel like that is really important. And what I’m glad to see is a lot of golden era rappers, start to get in the gym, take care of themselves, investing the time and energy and putting it back in their bodies. I see Method Man’s fucking workout grind, crazy. Jim Jones always had a crazy workout grind. Action Bronson, I gotta tip my hat to my bro, because he’s working his ass off these days. It’s great to see guys like that taking care of themselves like that man. And us, at Cypress Hill, we’ve always maintained to do that, it’s part of our culture, it’s who we are. When we are on the road, we’ll all meet up at the gym and get our pre-show workout or day-off workout, and then back on the grind. We don’t stop, it’s important to us. We wanna be fit, we don’t want to be those dudes that are huffing and puffing and can’t complete the show, you know!
AM: It’s been real fun to catch up today! Is there any news or teasers on the upcoming Cypress Hill album?
B: Yeah, we’ll be popping that off in March of next year. We have one of the singles from that album coming out pretty soon. We released ‘Champion Sound’ early for the MLB video game, but there’s another one coming called ‘Open Your Mind,’ and we look forward to people hearing that, and I believe we are going to make the video to that pretty soon cause its going to be the lead single and what not. There's much more music ahead of me, I have so much more coming out in the next year and a half it’s crazy, but you know it’s all paced.
AM: Well that’s great – Congrats again on everything! The entrepreneurship lessons for people that you give - of just being yourself, doing something different, working in a big market, doing what you love - those are huge lessons for everybody!
B: Yeah I mean the one thing that anyone should take away from this is you get what you put into it. If you go halfway, all you’re going to do is go halfway. If you put it all in, and go all in, and dedicate yourself to it, you can get wherever you want to go! Obviously, you’ve got to have talent, and a little bit of luck, and a whole lot of faith, that you will do it - but you have to put the work behind it, and when it’s the time, you meet the right people, the doors open up, you go through that door, and it’s all about what you do from there. You know you can take yourself as far as you want to go. So I would just say to anyone, believe in yourself, believe in what you’re trying to do, and go at it 110%!”
IG @breal
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Front Cover, PG 18, 21, 30/Insane OG BTS | PG 16, 22, 33 + Back Cover Eitan Miskevich | PG 24 G Pen | PG 27 Pedro Garcia | PG 28 Kenji Fujishima | PG 30 Insane Cookies/Justin Mcivor |
Read the SEP ISSUE #69 of Athleisure Mag and see Bringing the Smoke with B-Real in mag.
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GOVERNORS BALL
Governors Ball celebrated its 10th Anniversary this year with a 3-Day Festival at Citi Field in Queens, New York. The show marked that live music was back and many artists were thrilled to be on stage for high energy, intimate connection and to delight their fans. Here are some of our favorite highlights from the festival - indeed everyone rejoiced amidst the exhilarating performances and anthems of this big lineup.
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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 156, 158, 168 Getty Selects | PG 160 - 167 + 170 Taylor Hill |
Read the SEP ISSUE #69 of Athleisure Mag and see Governors Ball in mag.
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ELECTRIC ZOO
EZOO is one of our favorite NYC Festivals and this Labor Day on Randall’s Island Park, EZOO 2021 delivered another brilliant experience of top loved electronic acts, cool stages and tasty food/drink vendors as the US begins to re-open. With big sounds, cool vibes and sunshine abound, here are some of our favorite artists from this year’s event. Minds blown again – EZOO keeps proving it’s definitely a can’t miss event!
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY Alive Coverage
Read the SEP ISSUE #69 of Athleisure Mag and see Electric Zoo in mag.
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ATHLEISURE LIST | BODI
Over the past 19 months, we have figured out ways to get our workouts in from building up our home gyms, finding classes online, following our favorite influencers, and for some as studios have opened up, we have headed back to our favorite methods. Regardless of our choices, many of us have still stayed focused on maintaining our equipment at home while also investing in virtual classes as it's always good to have those on hand.
With a number of classes being offered BODi takes interactivity and an assortment of classes and methods offered to another level. With its initial launch this month, we have found cardio/HIIT, strength training, barre, pilates, yoga, meditation and more. Rolling out later this fall, those who have a MYX II bike will also be able to use this platform on their screen to cycle as well as to swivel your screen and do a number of workouts off bike as well.
You are able to select classes that are on demand as well as being able to join a class live - known as a BODcast where you can see others who are also participating as you are led by your preferred instructor. You can also receive live shoutouts from your trainers as well so that you feel you're in studio.
Other features that are worth noting is that in between classes, you can maintain accountability by participating in BODgroups where you can stay connected with your coaches as well as others that are also participating. You can also see what classes your friends are taking so that you can sign up as well.
BODi also offers nutrition programs so that you can continue to focus on your goals beyond the workouts themselves. The platform also allows you to take a range of programs that are within the Body by Demand universe such as P90X, Insanity, PIYO.
ATHLEISURE LIST | BADSHAH
Badshah is a fun, young, stylish restaurant that offers tapas style regional Indian food. It is located in Hell’s Kitchen at the heart of New York City featuring a modern Indian menu designed for sharing and served with their signature handcrafted cocktails.
Born in Delhi and raised in Queens, New York, Chef/Owner Abishek Sharma shares his love for traditional Indian food and redefines it with touches of modern, western cuisine. For example, you'll enjoy Shahi Murgh Sliders which uses traditional makhani sauce and pao buns presented in western-style sliders.
Badshah's menu guides guests through the streets of India in a vibrant, trendsetting ambiance. It's a place to grab a bite with your friends, have a delicious cocktail and celebrate.
Suggested items for upcoming visits are appetizers Shahi Murgh sliders, Chettinad Chops and Chelsea to Kathmandu.
You and your friends should also make sure that you share the Shahi Tandoori Board, Rani’s Ghee Roast and Bangin Baingan.
No meal is complete without cocktails which is always a fun way to transport yourself to another destination while enjoying it.
We suggest the Sassy Lassi for a fruity and refreshing drink for bourbon lovers and the Bubbly Maharani for a gin drink.
One of our favorite meals of the week is brunch without a doubt! It's worth noting that this menu includes endless mimosas and their food highlights some traditional Indian dishes like the egg Bhurji, Chole Bhature as well as Indo-American dishes like the Spicy Lamb Burger, pav Bhaji sliders, Mac & Cheese Samosas.
PHOTO CREDIT | Unsplash/Harlie Raethel
3 WAYS TO REGAIN STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE AFTER A SPORTS INJURY
Exercise plays an important part in maintaining overall health. Still, there’s a risk of injury during exercise, especially when participating in a sport. You could be at risk if you haven’t been physically active or if you sometimes forget to warm up properly before exercise.
Sports injuries are commonly caused by poor training methods, accidents during training, or weakness in muscles, tendons, ligaments. These injuries may include sprains, strains, swollen muscles, fractures, and others. However, depending on the severity of the injury, it may take a few weeks or months to fully recover.
Prevention is always the best route when dealing with sports injuries. But if you find yourself dealing with an injury, this article may guide you with the process of recovery. Here are the best ways to regain strength and endurance after a sports injury:
Seek Professional Treatment
After the first month, there should be no obvious swelling or bruising surrounding the wounded area. Also, if you are experiencing severe pain or discoloration, even after taking prescriptions and following the PRICE method (more of this below), then it’s time to seek treatment from a professional.
Other symptoms that may indicate a serious injury that needs medical attention include: acute pain and swelling, visible deformities, and dizziness. Furthermore, severe sports injuries may require physical therapy and surgery. If you’re looking for a sports medicine doctor, please visit this site.
Physical Therapy: Physical therapy, or physiotherapy, may be beneficial for certain athletes who are healing from a long-term injury. It's a specialized treatment that use techniques such as massages, compression, and exercises to improve strength and flexibility, strengthen muscles, and restore normal function to the injured area. A physiotherapist can also create an exercise routine to help strengthen the injured body part and limit the risk of the injury recurring.
Surgery: Most sports injuries don't need surgery, but major injuries, such as broken bones, may need it. This may involve surgery to secure the bones using wires, plates, screws, or rods. A torn knee ligament, for example, may require surgery. However, most of the time, damaged bones may be realigned without the need for surgery.
2. Price Method
You might experience pain during the first few hours of a sports injury since it’s the body’s natural reaction to an injury. Also, you may feel swelling and bruising in addition to the immediate pain. The injured area may also be sensitive to movement and touch.
Minor injuries, like sprains and muscle strains, can be treated at home using the PRICE method for two or three days. PRICE is an acronym coined by trainers and athletes to easily remember how to treat a minor sports injury. PRICE stands for protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
Protection: Protecting the affected area from further injury is the first step. Crutches or a cane, for example, can help protect an injured leg or foot by reducing or eliminating weight-bearing. Protecting the damaged area by partially immobilizing it with a sling, splint, or brace is another option.
Rest: The body requires time to recover from any injury, and one of the most effective way to heal is rest. Although it may be tempting to push through the pain and keep going, this can delay the healing process. The affected area is weak and vulnerable to further injury, especially during the first few hours. For this reason, an injured person should avoid rigorous activities that may hinder healing.
Ice: Ice, a basic form of cryotherapy, can treat minor sports injuries. Cryotherapy can be done in several ways. However, the most basic way to apply cryotherapy is to put ice in an ice bag or a plastic bag and place it over the affected area. Applying ice to an injury is most beneficial within the first two days as it helps minimize and reduce swelling and reduce pain.
Compression: Use a stretchable bandage to wrap around the injured part. This will minimize swelling by preventing fluid from forming. It can also help relieve pain by immobilizing the affected area. The bandage should be applied with a medium amount of tension to give enough, but not too tight, compression. Also, the bandage should not induce numbness and color change on the skin. If this occurs, loosening the bandage should soon ease them.
Elevation: Elevating is recommended to control swelling, allowing fluid to flow away from the affected area. Controlling swelling can reduce pain and possibly speeding recovery. Elevation is done by elevating the injured area above the heart's level. However, if you can’t lift the injured area above your heart, try to keep it at the same level as your heart or near it.
As you can see, the PRICE method is helpful for minor sports injuries. For best results, follow this method immediately within the first 24 to 36 hours following an injury.
3. Pain Relief
Pain relievers are commonly used to manage muscle pain and reduce inflammation surrounding an injury. Most athletes take pain relievers to cope with minor aches, pains, and injuries. These two basic non-prescription medications are good for many types of pain:
Acetaminophen: Acetaminophens (Tylenol) can help with pain and fever, but not inflammation. It acts on the brain's serotonergic, endocannabinoid, and vanilloid systems, and it's considered a safe pain reliever for both children and adults. However, large doses of these can harm the liver.
NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help with aches, pains, fevers, and inflammation. NSAIDs includes aspirin, naproxen (Aleve), and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin). These help ease inflammation brought on by an injury, arthritis, or a fever. However, NSAIDs aren't recommended for use before or during endurance training because they can cause stomach distress or gastrointestinal bleeding in some people.
Tips To Mentally Recover From A Sports Injury
Sometimes, being strong physically is mistaken for being strong mentally. Just because athletes are strong physically doesn’t mean they aren’t prone to depression and mental stress. Athletes are also humans, and humans have a tendency to stress out when things don't go as planned. Although sports injury recovery normally focuses on physical rehabilitation, it is also important to add sports psychology approaches to aid with mental healing.
4. Understand the Injury
Consult your doctor, do research online, talk to other athletes, and read books to understand everything you can about the injury. Know what kind of injury you have, how it was diagnosed, how long it will take you to heal, what treatment options you have, what to do and what not to do during recovery, and the warning signs to look for if the injury gets worse.
Having this knowledge will help you in setting realistic recovery goals so you don't panic or become nervous if the process takes longer than you expected. Ask these questions to your therapist to know what you can do to recover quickly and effectively:
What is my diagnosis?
How can I treat my injury?
How long will the recovery process take?
What should I expect during the recovery process?
What other activities can I do safely?
5. Accept Your Injury
Accept that you have been injured, and that your status is as good as it can be given the circumstances. Take control of your self-care, and treat your body right. Forget about the things you can't control and focus all on the things you can. Control what you can, and do so for your body's wellbeing. Rather than focusing on your reduced performance, it may be more helpful to simply accept that you have an injury.
Furthermore, acknowledge your body's desire to recover strength and endurance by resting. It's alright to be emotional about your injury, but try not to let your frustrations overcome your mind.
6. Honor Your Feelings
If your sport is a major part of your life, it's natural to be disappointed by your inability to participate in it. You may be missing your teammates, friends, or the sense of achievement that comes with scoring a goal or winning a game.
As a result, you might go through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). For that reason, recognizing and acknowledging these feelings is an important step to controlling them, owning them, and moving past them, hence, speeding mental recovery. By owning your feelings, you ensure that your injury has no power over you.
7. Set Realistic Goals
Athletes are usually goal-setters. They're used to keeping track of data and monitoring performance to reach goals. If you're dealing with an injury, however, you may need to temper your natural drive to push yourself. Start slow. Allowing yourself to heal at your own pace will help you avoid the difficulties that come with unmet expectations.
8. Focus On The Present
When one is ill or injured, they want to get better right away. Athletes, often want to return to the field as soon as possible. Truth is, injuries take time and patience to heal, and focusing on the present—rather than the future—is beneficial to your health.
Setting small weekly goals and hitting milestones can help you stay balanced and focused on your recovery process. Focus on what you need to do rather than what you're missing out on. No matter how positive you are in healing, it won’t happen overnight. It will take place in the right moment, one step at a time.
9. Accept Help And Support
No world-class athlete reaches their goals without support, especially after an injury. Having a guide, coach, or therapist acting as a support can be a motivation, regardless of how much you've trained or dieted on your own.
Some athletes hide in shame because they believe their injury has left them weak and defenseless. No, that is not true. Don't cut yourself off from the team. Also don't be afraid to seek moral support from your coach, family, teammates, and even your therapist.
Injury Prevention
Warming up and stretching properly are the best ways to avoid a sports injury. Keep in mind that cold muscles are more susceptible to tearing, while warm muscles are more flexible. They can absorb fast motions, bends, and jerks, thus, reducing injury. Other than that, here are a few steps you can take to avoid sports injury:
1. Use The Proper Form And Wear The Right Equipment
Learn how to move properly during your sport or activity. Different sorts of exercise need various stances and postures. In some sports, for example, bending your knees at the right time can prevent an injury to your spine or hips. Also, put on the appropriate gear or equipment. Make sure you're wearing the right type of shoes, for example. Poorly fitted shoes or equipment can increase your risk of injury.
2. Don’t Go Overboard
If you are hurt during the activity, wait until you've recovered before returning to the activity. Don't try to 'push through' the pain. When you return to the activity or sport, you may need to gradually ease back into it rather than diving back in with the same intensity.
3. Cool Down
After your activities, remember to cool down. This typically involves performing the same stretches and movements as a warmup. Cooling down allows your heart rate and blood pressure to gradually return to their normal levels. Cooling down is vital, especially for competitive endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, because it aids in blood flow regulation.
Final Thoughts
It's not unusual for amateur or professional athletes to get injured from time to time. The PRICE approach can be used to treat a small muscle injury at home. Rest, ice, compress, and elevate the damaged area during the first two days after your injury. Remember that to ease pain, alternate cold and heat treatments once the swelling has lessened. Start stretching and move the affected area gently.
In addition, most athletes may overcome minor injuries quickly and significant injuries over time by taking it day by day, setting realistic goals, and maintaining a positive attitude. For any further injury, remember to consult your doctor for an appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan.
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THE ART OF THE SNACK | SUSHI GINZA ONODERA
As we begin to transition from the summer to the fall season, we have new restaurants that are launching as well those that are reopening as we continue to emerge from the pandemic. We chat with the new Head Sushi Chef Takuya Kubo of Sushi Ginza Onodera.
ATHLEISURE MAG: Tell us about your culinary background and how it led to you to Sushi Ginza Onodera.
HEAD SUSHI CHEF TAKUYA KUBO: After I graduated from high school, I worked at Sushi Dai Akasaka Keizan in Tokyo, Japan, which is considered one of the best in Japan and internationally acclaimed. I spent five years there before moving to another sushi restaurant, then, after 2 years, to yet another in Roppongi in Tokyo to continue to learn and gain experience. After that, I returned to Sushi Dai as the executive chef and worked there for 10 years. By then I thought that after having worked in Japan for many years, I would like to try my sushi skills in other countries, especially the U.S. I decided to challenge myself and went to Los Angeles, where I found Sushi Ginza Onodera, and started to work there, later becoming the executive chef at Sushi Ginza Onodera in Honolulu, Hawaii. After about two years there, I came to New York City to reopen the restaurant here – it had been closed for a year during the pandemic. We reopened for service in late March 2021.
AM: When guests come in for lunch, what are 3 options from the menu that you suggest?
HSC TK: We have three lunch menu options at $100, $150 and $200. Each omakase is a little different and meant to provide an experience the guests are looking for. For example, for guests who would like to focus on Nigiri sushi, the $150 menu is the best option as it offers the most Nigiri pieces. But for those would like to enjoy a fuller, more elevated experience, the $200 menu is the way to go.
AM: For your omakase only dinner menu, can you share why you only offer this and what it is for those that may not have experienced this?
HSC TK: An omakase tasting menu is the best way to experience seasonal ingredients in peak condition by trusting the chef to serve what’s best at the moment. Fish and seafood are as seasonal as vegetables and other ingredients, and we select the best seasonal ingredients available when we prepare the omakase. All the fish and seafood is hand selected at the Toyosu market in Tokyo, and flown from Japan to New York three times a week. Each ingredient has its season when flavor and taste are both perfect and I want our guests to enjoy the best of the season - that’s why we only offer omakase.
AM: What can guests expect when they come to dine at Sushi Ginza Onodera?
HSC TK: Guests at Sushi Ginza Onodera can expect an authentic Japanese experience and meal, as well as ambience.
Nearly all our fish is aged in the traditional Edomae style – Edo is the ancient name for Tokyo – before being served to customers. While Americans often think of the best sushi as being the freshest possible, Edomae sushi making uses the aging process to preserve the fish, develop umami flavors and create a more tender texture. Rice is equally important to the Edomae style and our rice is mixed with two different types of red vinegar, one dark and one light, which gives it a brownish hue.
Once guests enter the restaurant, the first thing they will see is the sushi counter made of hinoki wood. This might be the longest and largest size hinoki counter in New York City. Almost everything at the restaurant is from Japan. Not only is the fish flown from Japan, we use serving dishes that showcase Japanese traditional styles like Bizen-yaki, pottery with unique un-glazed finish, and Arita-yaki porcelain, prized for their elegant painted designs. Guests can enjoy the harmony of the food with the dishes it’s served on.
AM: What sake pairings do you suggest when enjoying your menu?
HSC TK: We offer a sake pairing to accompany the omakase. Generally, sakes in the pairing are dry; however, we do pair Junmai Daiginjo with some of our appetizers such as Toro with sea urchin or Abalone. For rich flavors, an off-dry sake pairs very well.
AM: When you’re planning your menu, what are the items that you like to offer and how does seasonality play into this?
HSC TK: Seasonality and the weather are what I focus on when planning a new Omakase menu. The omakase menu should match the weather, whether it’s hot and cold, the food should reflect it.
AM: You are a Michelin star restaurant. How important is it to have this distinction?
HSC TK: Michelin stars are an indicator of quality and consistency for guests. For us, it is important to do our best every day in order to live up to the standards that Michelin has set worldwide for excellence.
AM: You recently re-opened, what are you looking forward to as we continue through the summer and being to transition in the fall and holiday season?
HSC TK: Generally in autumn, Japanese food is abundant. I look forward to sharing the season’s bounty with our guests and hope they enjoy it.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Sushi Ginza Onodera
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9LIST ROUTIN3S | LO BOSWORTH
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PHOTO CREDITS | ABC The Bachelorette
THE BACHELORETTE S18. | SEE THE MEN OF MICHELLE YOUNG'S SEASON
On Oct 19th, we finally see Michelle Young on ABC’s The Bachelorette. If you remember back to Matt James’ season on The Bachelor, you know that there were 2 Bachelorette’s chosen - Katie Thurston that we saw earlier this summer and Michelle Young.
Prior to any season, ABC releases who will be the contestants on the show. We have a number of people that we’re already thinking will make it far this season.
Each night during the season, we tweet about The Bachelorette and you can chat along with us (@AthleisureMag + with our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director, Kimmie Smith @ShesKimmie) to see what’s taking place!
Each week we will let you know who our faves were from the last episode and if we’ve changed up since then as it pertains to who we think should go to Hometowns.
We also suggest a podcast that we’ve become obsessed with over the past few seasons, Wondery’s Bachelor Happy Hour to get their feedback!
SEASON 18
We’re sharing who you can expect to see on the upcoming season of S18 The Bachelorette.
THE BACHELOR CONTESTANTS
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ROCK THIS WHEN YOU'RE LUXE LOUNGING AT HOME
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HEALTHY DIET AND GLOWING SKIN: 6 HABITS AND PRACTICES TO START TODAY
More and more people are investing their fortune in the health and beauty industries with the hope of achieving healthy and glowing skin. You may also see many skincare product endorsements on social media and other platforms that claim to help you achieve a good skin complexion. But in reality, healthy and glowing skin isn’t always about the right and most expensive skincare products. Instead, it’s about your daily habits and lifestyle practices that mainly affect your skin health, and those products are only a part of it.
Each person has a unique skin type. It means that whatever product you see on television (TV) may not always work on your skin. So, before you make drastic decisions and spends more money on these products, take a look at your habits first and see if they work in favor of your skin’s health.
If you don’t know how and where to start, here are six habits that you can start practicing today that may help you achieve healthy, bright, and glowing skin:
1. Eat Healthily
Some skin care products are made to help nourish your skin. But before investing in skincare products, it’s better to start to nourish your body and skin, inside and out. You can do this through a healthy diet. You see, the quality of your skin health is a reflection of what you’re feeding inside your body, which means you need to eat healthily to achieve a radiant and glowing complexion.
That said, go for skin-friendly foods that are excellent sources of vitamins, zinc, and omega-3 acids: as well as those foods high in chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps treat acne and other skin-related issues, while vitamins like C, A, and E can improve skin texture and promote skin healing. So, the next time you plan your meals for the day or week, make sure your meals have these nutrients.
2. Take Beauty Supplements
Eating your way to radiant and glowing skin is recommended. However, it can be challenging to try and get all the nutrients your body needs from the food alone. Keep in mind; that your skin is the largest body organ which means it requires more nutrients to stay healthy.
More so, your skin might be exposed to harmful environmental factors like dirty air, harsh sunlight, and other skin pollutants. So, aside from eating healthily, it’s also recommended that you take beauty supplements for your skin. You may visit Goodness Me! and other online food markets for various choices of healthy food and nutritious body supplements. It’s also best to consult a doctor and see if beauty supplements are good for you.
3. Drink Plenty Of Water
Water can do marvelous effects on your skin and your overall health. Remember that your body consists of 60-70% water, which plays a critical role in maintaining your health and body functions. Drinking plenty of water will keep your skin hydrated and prevent it from experiencing dryness.
You can tell that your skin is well-hydrated with water when you barely have any visible pores, almost no breakouts, and of course, more glowing. So, instead of consuming those sugary drinks, coffee, and other unhealthy beverages, make it a habit to drink water all the time. Water will not only help you achieve glowing skin, but it’ll also help you maintain a healthy weight. It’s a win-win situation.
4. Apply Sunscreen Everyday
Aside from keeping up with your skincare routine every day and night, one product you must never miss is your sunscreen. Your sunscreen will shield your skin from the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. While the sunshine can do wonders for your health, too much exposure can damage your skin and result in skin issues. Some harmful effects of too much ultraviolet (UV) ray exposure may include skin discoloration, premature skin again, freckles, wrinkles, worst, skin cancer.
Thus, regardless of the weather outside, always remember to apply sunscreen. If you’re planning to stay outdoors for a period, remember to reapply your sunscreen every two hours. To keep your skin protected.
5. Get Enough Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep is another critical element towards a healthy body and glowing skin. A long and peaceful sleep allows your body to rejuvenate, recharge, and repair your body’s damaged cells so that you wake up the following day feeling fresh, glowing, and energetic. Meanwhile, depriving yourself of sleep will make it difficult for your body to do the necessary repairs to your skin, leading to visible wrinkles, dark eye bags, and aging skin the next day. Let your skin get an opportunity to stay young and healthy by giving yourself enough rest.
6. Manage Your Stress Levels
Psychological stress will not only affect your mental health but as well as your skin health. You’ve probably noticed that every time you’re stressed, from work or school, your face suddenly has breakouts. Then, after seeing that breakout on your face, you become even more stressed. It happens because every time you’re stressed, your body releases more cortisol, responsible for skin inflammation.
This stress-breakout cycle will continue if you don’t take steps to reduce and avoid stress. Manage your stress by considering; practicing self-care habits such as yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises at work.
Treat Your Skin Right
Aside from following your skincare routine religiously, incorporating these habits and lifestyle practices in your day-to-day life can do wonders for your skin’s health. What’s more, all these tips don’t require you to invest in expensive products and painful dermatological procedures to achieve glowing and healthy skin. Remember, consistency is the key when it comes to your skin’s health.
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9LIST
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THE PICK ME UP
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IN OUR BAG | WHEN WE'RE OUT APPLE PICKING
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HOW TO DRESS | SUMMER BODIES MADE IN THE FALL
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PHOTO CREDIT | Unsplash/Mohamed Masaau
HOW TO LIVE THE TRAVEL LIFESTYLE
We all have that one friend on social media who seems to be popping up all over the world, making everyone jealous of their lifestyle with another picture of them sitting feet up by the sea. Like us all, you’ve probably wondered how they do it, and how you can do it yourself. It’s not as difficult as it seems. It does take some courage to give everything up and leave home, but once that’s done, the world really is your oyster. Do you dream of leaving home on a one-way ticket with a thirst for adventure? Here are some ways you can live that travel lifestyle.
Sell Your Life Insurance
If you want to go traveling without having any money worries at all, this option is probably the best one for you. If you are still planning on working while away, you should still have an emergency fund to fall back on. You are going to have the obvious outlay of flights and, even if you’ve secured a job, you might need to pay for your first few months of accommodation upfront. Never forget that emergencies can and do happen, so ensure you have an emergency stash. If you hold a life insurance policy, you can sell it for a lump sum giving you immediate access to cash. If you would like to know more, you can check out a quick guide online that will tell you everything you need to know about selling your policy for cash.
Write
If you have a passion for writing, travel could be the kickstart you need to fuel your passion. For most people, taking off for faraway places is just a pipe dream but they still want to have a peek into the lives of those who do, and there’s no better way than to read about other people’s experiences. This is where you come in. Start a blog documenting your travels and aim to give a unique perspective. The more popular it becomes the more opportunities will become available to you in terms of advertising or having your work published.
Teach
You’d be surprised at the wide variety of languages people want to learn. Finding work teaching languages is relatively easy, especially if you have teaching qualifications and experience. You will have the opportunity to earn a high salary while also immersing yourself in local culture as you are actually living and interacting with local people. If you don’t have qualifications, they are not difficult to obtain and there are now online teaching courses available for prospective language teachers.
Work in Hostels
This is an option for the truly adventurous and more extrovert personalities, but it can also be considered an option for people who want to start living outside of their comfort zones. Hostels are usually the accommodation of choice for travelers as they are relatively cheap, and you are also able to meet people as you move around. When your budget determines your destination, a hostel is often the lodging of choice. Many hostels will be looking for people to work for them, especially if you are multilingual. You may not always be paid in cash. It might just be food and accommodation; however, they will be able to point you towards work in the local area. Perhaps slightly risky, but that’s the life you want, right?
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