March 5, 2024 • 62 mins
Meet Matty Maggiacomo, one of Amy's favorite Peloton fitness instructors who will inspire you all to live better and laugh more, something he does most days from a treadmill. In this episode Maggiacomo tells Amy and T.J. how he went from being a couch potato to becoming a world renowned fitness instructor, how he came out in college to his Italian catholic parents, and how we can all be more accepting of one another.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey, everybody, welcome to Amy and TJ and Majokamo today.
I'm saying that because we have a very special and
very poor guest that a lot of people know. And
right before we started, he was like, y'all got my
name right?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I was like, yes, of course, Matty Majakamo, who doesn't
know how to say his name.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
But I got.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Nervous because I screwed up vander Plump.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Right, this wasn't long ago, right, I guess it's true.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
And he kept saying vander plump. Once you say it
wrong and we tease each other, you keep saying it.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I don't know. It's pretty funny.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Home with Jakamo was fresh on my mind, so I
keep saying that. I keep saying it. Everybody knows this dude.
I was asking you, what's the right way to put it?
A beloved Peloton.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Instructors, I would say he is one of the most
beloved Peloton instructors because he just radiates joy and positivity
and he makes people actually enjoy running on the treadmill.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Okay, well, you needed that motivation this morning because we
were we were set for what today.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
We're supposed to do a five miler today. Yep, it
got cold again, So back on the treadmill. And you
went this morning?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
And I punted, Why did you punt?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Because we had a really late night last night?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Is that really what you're going with? One hundred percent? Okay,
that is absolutely why I punted.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
What's a late night?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
We went to bed at two thirty in the morning.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Okay, that's a late night for me especially. I haven't
done that in a very long time.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
It sounds very we I Actually we got home and
I fired up the stovetop grill at like twelve thirty
and I started cooking. I grilled chicken, I grilled salmon,
made some dope salads. What was the what movie did
we put on?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I it was delicious and I don't remember which we
In fact, it's funny. I pulled up my phone because
I was checking into my daughter, and I saw that
I was searching horror movies to stream.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
The good friend of mine is in town every week,
and I had a meeting last night at seven o'clock. Yep,
and used to I had a busy day. Are getting
ready and I saw the note from him, and I
almost and I sawry brother, but I saw a text
from him, and I went, ugh, he's gonna want to
go out.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And you said, babe, change of plans. We're gonna have
to go out. Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So one meeting ended at nine and then we made
our way up to kick it with my boy, and
that's why we ended up with the late night we had.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
It was a fun night.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
It was a fun night.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
It was a very good night. So that's why you punted.
And you could have used some Maddie Majocamo motivation this morning,
because it wasn't enough with me nudging you. You wouldn't, I
know I.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
And that's honestly, it's rare. I usually suck it up
and go anyway.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Today was a rare day. But I just figured I
could do it later, and I can you know. I
actually thought it'd be really fun after talking with Maddie
to then use like to go and use one of.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
His treadmill runs with me. So I'm gonna try it
out today.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Okay, Mattie, Mattie, tell tell, what would you tell a
person who or this one who just went out, had
a hard night, was going at it, and this morning
you're supposed to get up and run the five? Do
you punt or what motivation would you give to that
person to go ahead and still make it happen.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
This morning, I'm standing in full counterpoint to you, whipper snappers.
Was I was in bed with PBS News Hour at
eight pm last night, so I need to really reevaluate
my life. But no, I would say get up and
do it, unless, of course, you're feeling such a level
of fatigue that it's just not going to be worth it,
(03:27):
because people people really want to push through it. But
I will tell you, if you are tired and you
are not feeling right and you go hit it, sometimes
it works in the opposite direction. So it's o'll get
you punted. See for the sports.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I will do it later this afternoon, yes, and possibly
tomorrow morning.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I have to do the five. I'll get it in.
I love that though, because you're right. I didn't want
to do it either.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
But I was up at five this morning and started
working and prepping, and I'll say, you know what, let
me just go ahead and do this thing. And she
I thought you would get motivated by you know I.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Usually do yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Once I put the socks on and then the shorts
got on, and I'm like, Okay, this will do it.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Oh, the shirt's on, now, this will get it.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
The shoes are coming, She's still.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I sometimes get tempted and then say all right, I'm
gonna do it. And I never regret a run, That's
always what I say. But today I do not regret
not running this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Man, you do it for a living, but you have
to have days where you don't want to get on
that treadmill.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Are you kidding?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Of course, Oh my god, Like sometimes daily and GJ,
I've heard you talk about this dreadmill, and there are
days where I feel like it is a dread mill.
But I always say, like, no matter what, Like I
could probably count on one hand in almost forty years
of workouts that I'm like, oh, yeah, I regretted that
(04:51):
work Yep. Obviously we have to be honest with ourselves
and our bodies. If there's an injury, that is a
mistake that people make. And and I think it's actually
the fitness industry's fault because for a really long time
it's very trendy to be like, work hard, play hard.
It doesn't count a lesson. Yeah, that real like radio
(05:13):
poison w W and obviously a peloton. That's that's that's
not what we preach. I mean, if you need to
take the rest, to take the rest. That being said, yeah,
challenge yourself a little bit and sometimes okay, get out
of that discomfort. You gotta put the batsuit on. It's
your socks. That's what gets you in the mood.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
He thought I was gonna get me like, I was like,
oh god, he's actually really running.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I should go.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I was taking my time. I was noticing that you.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Took a lot of time making always like I heard
you open the drawer. I'm getting the running drawer open.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, put on the watch.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yes, I'll go now.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
It gets the day star. I I too, ran on
the tread today and it just gets it just it
just it flicks that switch. I am on, I am ready.
And the reason why is I knew that for today,
for this conversation, I needed to get on that tread
just to get the juices flow and just to get going.
And I will say, since typically when I have a
(06:17):
microphone and maybe a camera on me, it's very nice
to be sitting stationary while I do this versus because
usually I'd be walking or running when I have a
microphone on.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
So how your job not only is to you know,
inspire people, but to motivate them. How do you motivate yourself?
You know, because that's something I'm always in awe of.
If I'm on the dreadmill dreadml and I'm not feeling it,
I don't have to be all happy and spunky and
letting everyone else, you know, come into the joy of
running when I'm not feeling How do you motivate yourself?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Sure? Sure, I mean you kind of step away from
it and you understand that there's a bigger picture. And
I know that in other parts of my life, I
want to be alert and focused and present, and I
know that there's nothing else that gets me there unless
I've taken that thirty minutes, sixty minutes, sometimes ninety minutes
(07:11):
a day where because it's my job where I'm like, okay,
I'm giving this back to myself now. I'm not an
innate lover of the physical activity or even sports. My father,
My father was like all star sports, baseball, basketball. My father,
all he wanted me to do was like, He'll play
some kind of ball. But I hope you have a
(07:39):
soundboard for some sound effect.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I just looked over.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I even dropped off the cross country team in high
school after two weeks. I just it's not innate within me.
And until I really trained and like really taught myself
to love it. And I really didn't fall in love
with it until about college, I mean twenty years ago maybe,
(08:05):
and now it's my life.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
But you said didn't fall in love with fitness or
were you gifted in some way in athletics in any
particular sports.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
I'm tall, I got long legs. They move.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
That's about it.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
That is, it doesn't translate all wait, basketball player, were
we dance?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
No coordination?
Speaker 4 (08:27):
A little bit?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Okay a little bit?
Speaker 4 (08:30):
And so you know my message to that is, like,
you know, and that's why I think I found the
audience that I have found. And I don't think it's
much of a surprise that it's you know, women ages
thirty five plus all the way up through my mother's
age and into seventies and some eighty year olds. I mean,
you know, the Peloton platform is so inclusive, which is
(08:51):
why we love it.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
I teach a lot of walking classes too. As much
as I love, love, love to run, there's just something
about walking. Where are my walking shoes today that people.
It's just so accessible and it's the thing that we
all know how to do, especially in New York City,
that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
That's all we do well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And I wanted to tell everyone I fell in love
with you doing some of your workout classes. You do
strength training and you do the treadmill. I did some
of your strength training classes. But I was like, who
is this guy? He is just so beautiful, like you
just have a beautiful soul.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Day's right there.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
I almost stopted when she said I fell in love
with you, and then I remembered, Okay, he has a
fiance that's a dude, so might be okay, just fine,
all right, But I.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Posted something on Instagram because your workout was so amazing.
I just wanted to share it with everyone else. And
then you DMed me and we started dming back and forth.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
But it was what three years ago, we figured.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Out years ago. I looked for the time stamp. I
was like, wow, I honestly thought it was maybe a
year ago or so, and this is how I've fallen
in love with both of you and even your extended family.
Like Nikki, I'm like, okay, so I know the I
know all the casts of characters. I know who you
work out with, and you know, I know where you run.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, my uh my cousins.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I saw that you said you're a gunkle. I would say,
they're my cousins. But they love you and we had
brunch with them last weekend and they were just saying
to me, is there any way you can get Maddie Mujokamo.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
On the podcast?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yes, But then I texted him and said he said yes,
and they are.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
They were so excited.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
But you have such an impact on people, and I
know you you get a lot of feedback obviously with
Peloton because you're seeing real time.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
What Oh is it all good? It is it all positive?
It's a mix.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
It's a mix, you know, and you both are privy
to this. People like to tell you how to do
your job unsolicited and live your life unsolicited. But no, overwhelm,
it's overwhelmingly positive. I always say working for a Peloton
and being a Peloton instructor is the coolest job in
the world, full stop, period. There's not another better job
(11:15):
out there, because I mean, how many jobs do you
do that you go to work on a daily basis,
sometimes a minute by minute basis, and you are immediately
validated by the people who you've just taught or connected with. Right,
it's oh, I love you, Oh my god, that joke
was so funny, and oh my god, I love that
song and like, your hair looks great today.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Tell me, well, we're talking about you said, you're getting
I haven't done Peloton, So you guys are getting real
time feedback as you're doing your classes, right, and you said, oh,
it's overwhelmingly positive, But does do you ever allow it
might be ninety percent when it comes to positive negative
(12:00):
any of the negative ones get to you? Do you
find yourself disappointingly even sometimes like I can't believe I'll
let that one get.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
To sure, it's taken some time, taking some time. I'm
outspoken in a way. And again, kudos to Peloton for
letting us be individuals.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We're not.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
We're not two dimensional cardboard cutouts of fitness instructors. You
know that we're just like fitness memes. Walking fitness means
we're real people and again similar to you all, like
we live our lives on camera and when you've done
it for now, I've been with Pelotons six years and
and you have a following that has watched your ups,
(12:37):
your downs, your your they can tell, they can almost
tell when you're just not yourself. And that's funny when
that comes in, they say, you weren't yourself today? What
is wrong? Sheila in Oha, Iowa says, You're like, wow,
okay again the four agreements. You don't take it. You
don't take it personally right, You're just like they're just
(12:58):
seeing and they are invested. And that's sort of how
we always kind of deal with it. And it always
pushes yourself, pushes you to just be a little bit better.
We say, right, one percent better, just a little bit
better every day.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
But the pressure to be on I mean, I'm asking
for a friend here, but what you just talked about,
somebody can tell when you're having an off day. How
do you handle that feeling that you always need to
be totally the the best you that people recognize and know.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
You use it. You use it just like a performer
would on Broadway, just like a TV journalist would use it.
You you use it what I love because I am
a former journalist. I started my career in TV news
and broadcast. It's all I ever wanted to do as
a kid. Was to do what you guys do. And
(13:48):
I realized that, you know you, you can allow yourself
to really be genuine and be true and actually have
an opinion. It took me a really long time at
Peloton to have an opinion because I was so trained
as a journalist that literally I remember my producers. I
think I was teaching like a It was something like
(14:08):
a nineties class and I was talking about who did
you love more? In Sync or Backstreet Boys? And I
didn't pick a side. I was like, I love them both.
They were like, Maddie, you really need to work on
having an opinion about things, and boy, do I have
my opinions now.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
So wish one in Sync or back I'm a.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Backstreet Boys fan. I'll be honest with you and curious. Again,
like I said, kudos to Peloton. They allow us to
have our opinions. You know, I'm a member, a proud
card carrying member of the queer community, and it's very
important to talk about queer issues, especially at this point
in our culture, history and time. And they let me.
(14:48):
We're doing a just a few weeks trans Day of
Visibility is coming up. We always do a national coming
Out Day class pride comes around, and girl, I am
a walking rainbow.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I want to go back to the beginning. You you
said you dreamed your whole childhood of being a television journalist.
The dream came true.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
What happened?
Speaker 4 (15:17):
It was the hustle. It was really the hustle. I
was kind of at I got out of college. Gosh,
at a time where it was two thousand and eight,
I mean, like the economy would just crushed and as
you know, everybody was just grabbing for their jobs. I
was like, well, let's see how we can do this.
I started the NBC Page Program after like interning everywhere,
(15:38):
I mean, I entered into GMA. My first internship, this
is funny, was with a short lived show on MSNBC
when it was in Secaucus.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Oh, I've worked there in Seacock Seacock in Secock, Seaclocks
in the right Where am I going weekends with Maury
and Connie?
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Oh my gosh, I was there when that was going
when for Olderman all the time. That is so, so
we were probably walking down the hall at the same time.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
I was just like a little geek there with my
you know, with my little suit on whatever, making copies.
So that was my very first I was like, oh wow,
I really like this. And Connie Chunk couldn't have been
like better. She was like the best person in the world.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Oh she oh and Marey the two of them together.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
It was a short lived show, but yeah, no so
and and I just had this love of TV.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I got into the NBC Page program and I found
myself on air after I was I was shooting for
New York one my very first week. I was just
learning the gear and Hurricane Sandy happened, so they were
like all hands on deck. I was like, I don't
even know if you can use this thing, and like
we didn't go home for like ten days and it
(16:57):
was just you know, Manhattan in a full blackout, fires
and water, and so I was like, oh wow, this
is really cool. And then trying to like make the
money was a really hard thing. And so you as
you know, you one man banned it. But I'm also gigging.
I'm like, okay, I'm also personal training and I'm doing
boutique fitness and it was bartending. At one point I
(17:20):
was talking about the hustle. I mean, not to like
toot my own horn, but like I would go downtown
teach boutique fitness at five am, five am, six am,
get in my car, put my suit on, drive out
to wherever my story was, either in Long Island or
in Jersey. This is when I was working for WRNN
and file my story as like fast as I could,
(17:42):
and then I would go to the bar and work
at the bar. Wow, I was bartending.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
How long did you do that rutin?
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Not long because it wasn't sustainable. It just wasn't sustainable.
And as a freelance reporter, I mean I was making
one hundred and forty bucks like a day, Like it
wasn't it wasn't much.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
But did you make a determination like that this this
path is the one that's going to work better than journalism. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
I just sort of fell in love with I was like, oh,
fitness really and as you know, local news, oh wee drums,
you know, you're just like, oh no. I got to
a point where I was like, wait, how is this
story affected how I was telling the story? Affecting anybody?
Like when it comes down to like really grasping for
a story where there's no story or.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
Just something that scause we both came up through local news,
so you survived.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I don't know how it was. It was awful.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I mean, ninety hour weeks and I made twenty two
thousand dollars a year I think, and after four years
I was making twenty eight thousand dollars a year.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
If we did have sound effects, that would be the
slide whistle right there.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
Not good. Yeah, it was really not good. And I
felt and I felt like my executive producer really didn't
understand me. Oh, I even changed my name. It was
really like my last name too hard to say. So
I changed my last name to Thomas. And I got
to a point I was I on that through Thomas
what I really Yeah, I know, I know BOO want
Matthew Thomas boring, so boring, and so nobody knew me.
(19:09):
And then I was like, now I have to do
something a little bit more like genuine, to authentic to
who I am. And then I just started like teaching
boutique fitness full time. I was like, wow, I can
make money, started to get personal training clients and I
knew I was actually helping. Yeah, and then Peloton came
along and they were like, oh, do you want to
actually do something that will pull together everything that you
(19:33):
ever trained for in your entire life. She's like, yes, actually, yes,
the TV stuff, the news stuff, even talking to people
at the bar and just getting to know people's stories.
And so it's that's why I say it's the best.
It's the best job in the world.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
How long have you been Maddie though, I've always been Maddie. Okay,
you've never gone by Matthew or met it's been mad
Mom calls me Matthew when she's she's gonna call.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
She's gonna call at any point because she's like, where
can I listen? I said, well, it doesn't come out
right away. What time are you doing at eleven? So
she will call me at some point.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
But your story you didn't come out until college.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Yeah, right around college.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Did your family know?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
They they knew what I told them?
Speaker 3 (20:18):
And what was the reaction?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
It was, it was okay. My father was amazing. My
father was immediately accepting. He I'll never forget it. It'll
it'll be in my autobiography one day and I was like,
you know, he was like, you could never tell me
anything that would make you me love you less. And
then my mom like like all good, like Italian, Roman,
(20:41):
Catholic moms do they She just thought it was all
her fault, and but we got we really got through it,
and now she's, Oh my god, she's my biggest fan.
My mom's my mom's amazing, and it was just they
needed and again it was you know, it was almost
twenty years ago and things, thank god, things have changed.
They haven't changed enough. If we look at the headlines,
(21:03):
we know that they have not changed enough. But I
was very lucky and they surrounded me with love, even
though it took some time. I always like to say,
especially when I'm talking to parents of queer kids and
talking to those queer kids as well, your parents need
time to come out as well. So like you've had fifteen, sixteen,
(21:25):
twenty thirty years to come to grips with it when
you bestow this information onto your parents, and likely they
already know in some way, shape or form. I still
don't know how my mom didn't know. I was like
listening to like original Broadway cast album. I love to
shop with her. We'd go to aerobics class.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
At fourteen.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
This was weird.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
I'm like, girl, how was your day? I love you?
Did you always know? I?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Yes? And no, Like I don't know I think I
loved I was drawn to like fabulous women, so like
if Britney Spears was on a poster on my wall.
But I think I liked her for other things, you know.
And then I was also like, oh my god, Leo
to Garbria.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Wow, oh god, so there's a stirring.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
And then I and then I really I was like,
oh that's it. I mean after going to kind of
a fire in Brimstone, Roman Catholic School, Uhallian Brothers School
that obviously didn't have anything like a g S A
for sure, that's not the path I chose. And then
I went to n Yu and I was like, get
me to the gayest school.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
N Yu. My daughter is a junior at n y U.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
That's at least.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Who's in Berlin. She's in Berlin study abroad.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
She's studying really hard.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
She's been sending me pictures of her laying in the.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Sun and yes it's it's yes, Oh yes she has.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
She's she's told me all about it.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
She's cool.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yes, Well, I'm going to visit her and she wants
me to go with her.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I'll give you some some tips. It's hard to get.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
It, oh, I know. They got rejected.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
She was telling me all about it, like but she
eventually she did, but she's been rejected a couple of times.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
It happens. It happens. You have to be very very yeah,
you just kind of.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
You can't talk. You should, you can't talk in line
to get in.
Speaker 4 (23:21):
It's an incredible place. It is a it is a
club built in a former power station in former East Germany.
There are no mirrors and they basically they tape up
the camera on your phone so you'll never see a photo,
live photo of anybody inside. And I will tell you
it is miraculously. There will be thousands of people in
(23:42):
this club. Nobody touches you. You go, hind, I know
you guys party hard now the morning, nobody touches, nobody
touches you. You're like, oh my god. There's just something
about the Germans, just like they understand like personal space
and there's an etiquette and there's rules and if you
don't abide by that, like then you will get kicked out.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
This is fascinating. I'm I'm you're making me excited. I
got to try this out. I watched me get rejected.
I won't get in and then we'll give you a
sheet of Okay, okay, cool, But you started the first
gay fraternity at NYU.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
How did you do that?
Speaker 4 (24:17):
I don't know why I did it, but it was
and you know what, it was really interesting. It was
just that I knew that I was coming to New
York City. I knew that New York City was a
very very big pond, right, so I needed to find
a community. And as a young gay person, you know,
I mean, at eighteen, you can't even get into bars.
(24:38):
But like even if you you, I mean, I had
a fake idea. Of course, it's maybe not the best
place to find your fellow travelers, if you will. And
I was able to create this chapter of Delta Lamb DeFi,
which is the first fraternity again built on you know,
the same you know, the the same parameters and bastions
(25:02):
of Greek life as any of the you know, major
colleges and and major chapters of fraternities and sororities. But
it's it's for for queer menuh and queer identifying men.
They've changed the language, which is fantastic. And yeah, I
found a little family which was very cool, and that
is why I came out to my parents because they
rode up a story in the Washington Square Post Journal.
(25:26):
I forget the school newspaper, and then the New York
Post picked up the story, and I knew my parents
and my uncles all read the New York Post. So
I was like, oh God, I should definitely tell them
that I'm gay before they read this in the New.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
York Quite a second, man, you you formed a gay
fraternity before you even told your parents.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Yeah, talking about putting the cart before the horse, you
kind have almost forced your hand, you know, I did.
I did, but I was ready. But I did. I
was ready.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
It's something stood up. When she asked you about your
coming out story, you said it went okay. It was
how you response were and you talk about your day
and your mom. But were you surprised? What were you
expecting from? Did they respond exactly where you thought they?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
The opposite? The opposite. I thought my dad would just
going to kind of get quiet and maybe be like,
you know, he's a sensitive guy, which is which is great.
He's not. He's not he's not a Tony soprano type.
It's a sensitive guy. And my mom is kind of
exactly what you figure she she would be. And I
just thought she just you know, she needed her she
(26:27):
needed her time. And we got to laugh about it.
And now it's funny to go back and like tell
them what my point of view was, and she's like, oh,
that's not how it went. I was fine.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
I was totally how did it go?
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Like what was the setup to say, hey, guys, I
need to talk. Was it over the phone? Did you
go home to go?
Speaker 4 (26:49):
I enlisted the help of my eldest sister. I love
my sisters. I have two sisters. They are They're amazing moms.
They are I'm so lucky. I'm I'm the boy in
the middle. It's like the best, the best way to
be there. Incredible. And I told my older sister, you know,
interestingly enough, it was a point and I think my parents'
(27:11):
marriage that they actually weren't communicating. It was just how
it was, you know, after you've been together for decades,
and I think they thought we were bringing them to
the table to like be like, this is an intervention,
you need to talk to each other. I think they
thought we were like gonna gonna come and marriage.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Yeah, totally, the kid, that's so funny, we are taking.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
Over And and I said no, like i'm I'm I'm gay.
And then actually at the point in time, my younger sister,
who was a teenager, she walked into the room and
my mom actually turned said no, no, no, don't like go back,
go out of the room. And then Alyssa and I
my older sister, were like, no, no, no, you stay
right here. We're gonna have this conversation as a family.
(27:58):
So I was very I was really lucky. I was
really lucky because again, even today, and you know, the
nonprofits that I work for, like the Oli Forny Center,
they help these kids who don't have that experience, that
experience goes very different, or they don't even have the
luxury of being able to have that conversation. They're tossed
(28:18):
out before they even get the words out of their mouth.
And it it's just it's it's a tough.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Thing because.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
As a parent, and I'm kind of looking at that
as my future as a parent. Isn't your only purpose
as a parent to make sure that that kid is
safe and happy and it's not about you? So why
would anybody throw their kid out? I just don't. I
just don't get it, especially for for something as little
(28:52):
as small as this. Small piece of small little tile
of the mosaic that you are as a person.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Yeah, that's such a good way to put it, and
I think so many people listening will appreciate that because
it's something that unless you've gone through it, or you
know you have to go through it, you can't even
imagine what that process or what that feels like as
as the child or as the parents. So I know
you're doing such good work helping people walk that path.
(29:28):
You walked the path and you found love.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
And I was telling TJ.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I watched, Oh my gosh, your engagement video.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Did you cry?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I cried?
Speaker 4 (29:40):
I cried.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
I cried.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
That was it is one of the most beautiful proposals
I have ever seen in my life.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Evan really turned it out.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I mean he did.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Anyone else who's looking to propose to anyone, you, I
don't think you could do it better.
Speaker 4 (30:02):
And we got really lucky because there was a lot
of that. We had crazy rain in September here in
New York, and he, I mean, I was so surprised
because I'm the planner, so I'm I I know the facts,
I know where we're going, I have the passports, I
have you know, it's me. I'm doing the grocery shopping,
I'm cooking. Evan does a lot, but if you're listening,
(30:24):
you and I do more.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
But set the stage and I and I encourage anyone
to go onto your Instagram and to watch this because
it's so beautiful.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
But set the stage. And you were surprised.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
Oh I was. I was so surprised. Yeah, I mean
it even kind of went went viral.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
People love love.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
People love love. There's so much shit out there. They
love love, and that's why you know people love you guys.
It's just like I, Oh my god, I was on
like a zoom up until it was in September. It
was in September. It's like five He's like, we need
to be ready at five thirty. We're going to a
friend of his is very involved with the Met Museum
(31:07):
and we're going to go for a private after hours
tour of the Met. And typical jaded New Yorker being
in New York City for twenty years, I've been to
the Met. Why do I It's five point thirty on
a Wednesday, Like, why come on? Like we have other
things to do. So I was really talk about like
not getting out of the house and I was like,
I don't know what am I wearing? What are there people?
(31:29):
What are we doing? And he' said yeah, like where's
something you know nice? I was like, okay, fine, And
then we get there and it is a gorgeous night,
gorgeous after having like literally booke ended with rain NonStop,
the sun never came out. And we do this forty
five minute tour with two friends of ours and his friend,
(31:49):
and you know, I'm doing my best at not feigning interest.
The met is amazing. It's culturally just unbelievable, so I'm
I'm really getting into it. And then his friend is said, Oh,
we're going to go up to the terrace up the
rooftop garden, and I was like, oh, yeah, it's nice.
We'll take some photos it's like the sunset whatever. And
(32:10):
then we go up there and I see like a
table with some champagne glasses, like, oh, they must be
having an event up here later. And then we kind
of they have this beautiful art installation up top and
I kind of walk around it and that's when I
saw my mom. That's when I saw his dad, That's
when I saw our friends, and I start I start
(32:32):
bawling because and he said it in his proposal. He said,
I know how important family is to you, and I
have been working for months to get everybody together because
I want to ask you two questions and yeah, he said,
he was cute. You do you want to get married?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
First?
Speaker 4 (32:52):
I said yes. Second question, do you want to get
married to me? And I said yeah, and so son
it was. And then oh and then of course Broadway
dweeb Jessica Vasque for those of you, your Broadway lovers,
you know Jessica Vosh. She's like one of the most
famous Alphaba's and she's a friend of ours. And then
she is there with her brother playing guitar, and she
(33:15):
starts singing our song Golden Hour by Casey Muskraves, and
I'm crying again.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
I'm like, you're getting me.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Alphaba is sitting singing Casey Muskraves right now. When we're
getting married? How am I gonna pay for this wedding?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
When is? When is the wedding?
Speaker 4 (33:34):
We're gonna give ourselves a little bit of lead time.
So we're doing peak fall Foliage in October twenty twenty five.
So and everybody wants to come. Okay, what else are
you toe volks about the wedding? What kind of wedding?
What is there anything? Actually? We are so gay?
Speaker 3 (33:52):
How gay are you?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
This is how gay we are to We are having
a brunch ceremony, wedding, getting married at gay brunch, and
then we're gonna take a break and then we're gonna
have a big party and it's gonna be a show.
We're gonna have opera, We're gonna have drag, we're gonna
have Broadway. There might be fire breathing people.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Oh my gosh, this sounds Where is this happening?
Speaker 3 (34:19):
And when can we expect the invitation?
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Uh so here's the punchline that we're getting married. We're
having a gay wedding in cocksack y New York.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
I don't think we're gay enough to be invited.
Speaker 6 (34:33):
No, no, no, oh my goodness, that is going to
be a party.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
It'll be a who you know?
Speaker 1 (34:40):
You mentioned how important is it? There is no question
at all. You're going to be.
Speaker 4 (34:43):
Parents, no question, no question. Family is. Family is as
much a part of my brand as my awesome hair
these days, Like I mean, family is. I talk about
family so much And I've always wanted to be a
dad though you know I love a man and I'm
going to form it. We are doing, we are, we
(35:04):
are you you heard it here first breaking news. I mean,
we are. We are fully on our fertility journey. It
is as I'm sure many of your listeners can attest
to because it's their lived experience. It is a twisty
turney rollercoaster, emotionally fraud exciting, scary thing. And you know,
(35:31):
when you're a same sex couple, there are hoops you
have to jump through. And I and I will tell you,
without giving too many details, our our egg donor lives
in a southern state and we we we made a
very very determined and intentional decision to not do the
(35:52):
egg donation in the state that she lives in. We
did in DC, which is great, and so we do.
We have a few little as my mom calls them,
Anna's and Elsa's.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Or a freezer somewhere.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
I mean, with all the with all the news regarding
embryo's IVF, all of all of these issues are now
at stake or in play, which is shocking to so
many people who are desperate and want to be amazing parents.
How has that played a role in your timeline. I mean,
are you concerned.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
I think we're safe with with how we've chosen because
we did all the work ahead of time, and we
have this amazing coordinator who has helped us from start
to finish, and she's there. She's as much a therapist
as she is somebody who helps just make sure we've
crossed all the t's and dotted all the eyes.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
It is.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
Science is so cool, though, Science is so cool. And I,
as you said to Jay, I am fully I know
that things can can change in a way. They have
and we've changed our expectations again and again and again.
And we've been doing this for about a year now,
and we're not planning on getting pregnant until right around
(37:10):
the wedding anyway. And and I think I'll be a
good dad. And Evan really loves cartoons, so I'm like,
there's no way we can pick this up. Like this
is too this is too too good.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
I'm curious. I'm like, what's he watched?
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Oh my god, every Oh he's he's he's a competitive
Pokemon player. So there's a lot of Pokemon in my house.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Those events where they go out, Oh yeah, oh yeah,
he's he's not the Pokemon Go where you see the
kids come mindlessly.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
It's a traffic Wow, bad bad idea. No, he does
the battles. We've been watching Avatar on not not James
Cameron Avatar, the other The Airbender Avatar. Know they just
did the live action.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
We watch a lot of TV. What are you watching
right now? We just picked up We're big horror movie fans.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
I know you said that opposite of you.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
I'm just about to you don't have a favorite horror movie?
One you could name that your.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
I mean the Exorcists, okay, and one could probably say
that the live action Cats was a horror movie.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
We tried to watch that, So what's your no?
Speaker 4 (38:25):
I mean, if I'm really in it, like God, like
the French ones are really messed up. High tension, high tension.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
Yeah, it's hot tension whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
But yes, is a little.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
Summer is so freaking hereditary. I could only watch a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Of a child decapitated and I had a hard time
with that one as well.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
I mean, you guys have limits. You went to Sweeney
Todd on Valentine's Day, so it's like nothing says I
love you like cannibalism.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Well, it's it's on brand for us. Basically, I would say, probably.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Yes, what are we watching right now?
Speaker 3 (39:05):
We just picked up ninety Fiance.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
We just picked that up, but we went through every
single episode. I think that exists a below deck.
Speaker 4 (39:13):
Okay, all right, so you're a Kate fan?
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Oh? Yes, are you watching The Traders? No?
Speaker 4 (39:18):
Okay, no, please, please know. I implore you. Really, I'm
not getting paid by Peacock to say this, because I
this show is so good and it's it's did you
ever play Mafia in college? It's there, there are there
are traders amongst this group of what they say, faithfuls,
and it's amongst the group. They need to figure out
(39:39):
who are the traders? Who are It's like the mole
almost right, and it is. They have cast it with
like reless, you know, but like some of our favorite
reality show personalities.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
And Kate's all in it.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
And Kate's in it. She kind of comes in at
the last minute to like kind of shake.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
I would think she'd have to be a trader.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
She's justly maybe.
Speaker 3 (39:59):
Up to her.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
You remember we watched one episode where the guy walks
around and touches on the shoulder who the trader is, right, that's.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
That we did see one.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
Alan comming Is is a remarkable host. And in Scotland, Scotland,
you can skip the first you can skip the first season.
UK is really good. This season that's happening phasor Parks
is it is her show? Like if they could give
an Oscar away for a reality she would get it.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
What season is this?
Speaker 4 (40:25):
This is season two?
Speaker 3 (40:26):
Okay, we should do that is watch watch it and
let me we've been watching.
Speaker 4 (40:29):
We should at TV. We should all be on it
next season.
Speaker 6 (40:32):
Agreed, let's do it today. Wait would you like to
be Oh? I would be on it in a second
trader would I'm a faithful, faithful so I would be
there to like get the money for the group if
they tap me for a trader.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
I could probably do that.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
But I think you could do both.
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Yeah, I think you could.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
You said, there's some things you like to talk about
and things that are in the headlines here. What what
is it that you are seeing that concerns you when
it comes to the LGBTQ plus community, And it will
only get necessarily that you want to I'm not asking
you some political views or political leanings or political candidates,
but what are you seeing that that concerns you and
also encourages you.
Speaker 4 (41:07):
For sure, for sure, no, I appreciate the way that
you pose that question, because again at Peloton, we understand
that no matter what your political leaning is, you're gonna
come to us to work to work out. And so
I am very clear that like I'm not out here
to talk about politicians, I can stand up for the
issues that I believe ring true in my heart. Our
heart is really heavy for next and next Benedict's family
(41:31):
right now, and that's an issue that I've talked about
for a really long time, because the insidiousness of something
like a bathroom bill seems to be something that we
should be less concerned about, considering that there are a
lot other things happening in this world and the twisty
(41:56):
turney nature of the media and some politicians trying to say, oh,
don't you know, look over there, don't look over here,
when lives are truly at stake, and when it comes
to young people, I mean, come on, this is our
this is our future. And the fact that they would
even try and make an argument that, oh, no, this
(42:19):
for the listeners that didn't don't know about this, it
was a young person in Oklahoma who there was There
was an altercation in a bathroom and this person did
not necessarily identify with the gender that was prescribed of
the facility they were in, and they were attacked by
three older students and went home, went to the hospital,
(42:44):
and then a day later passed away. And so obviously,
as you know, they'll pick apart what the reasoning for,
and there's an argument saying, oh it was it was
just my chance, it was unrelated, unrelated, and that they
were really that really makes my head want to spin
and it gets me really, really angry. This is where
(43:05):
I get really activated, because it's eleven states that have
bathroom bills.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
And.
Speaker 4 (43:13):
Come on, like, where is where is the straight man
in a wig who's showing up and walking into a
women's bathroom? I just don't see it. And so again
heavy heart with next day, they had a great rally
at Stonewall. The other day, Sara Ramirez was out there
on the megaphone and to the listeners with queer kids
(43:36):
or queer people in your family or friends, and especially
as we approach the political season, please listen to them.
As we edge closer and as we get more entrenched
into what likely will be the ugliest political season we've
ever seen in our lifetime.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
And deep breath, everybody just signed.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
Everybody, you please exercise and find the things that that
make you feel feel better.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
Sorry, I told her I was gonna come in here
and bring sunshine.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
You know, but these are also important issues that we
are in a huge political year, and I know one
of your messages is to do the research, be aware,
and to vote.
Speaker 4 (44:20):
More importantly, that's it, hands down, vote, don't get donka.
I know nobody is excited about either of these candidates.
You still need to vote.
Speaker 5 (44:29):
Vote.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
You know what, how do you have a conversation about
Because there are people in other parts of the well meaning,
good folks who have whatever reason they have for being
against whether if it's for a bathroom bill or if
it's against the LGBTQ plus community. I have a problem
with it. There was something, Mattie, and I was always
disappointed in my reaction. I wonder what you would have
(44:51):
said to this guy. I was in Kentucky years ago
covering a story and I was leaving the hotel, this
little motel and the a family coming out, white family, parents,
two little kids. Guy comes up to me, Oh, man
on TV. It starts talking, nicest guy, We have the
greatest conversation. They're warm. Oh man, you guys are great.
Everything's great, nicest guy ever. And then he asked me
(45:14):
what I was doing in town when I was covering.
I was covering the story of the woman what's her name?
The she wouldn't give the marriage licenses to gay couples
in Kentucky. This was I can't remember her name, but
you know what I'm talking about. I said, I'm there
to cover that story. And in that moment he switched
on a dime and he said, you know what, man,
all that is and gay guys and trans got that
that's just the guys trying to get into the girl's bathroom.
(45:36):
So a guy that in that moment I found is
a really decent guy. It just bo he turned. Now,
how do you how would you have responded to that
guy in that moment? And how do we have conversations
and bring people in who's some are decent folk. We
can't just assume everybody's a bad person, obviously, and there
(45:56):
are some terrible folks out there, But what would you
have done in that moment?
Speaker 4 (46:01):
The best piece of advice is from Oprah. You got
to meet them where they are, meet them where they are.
So you really, I mean not like you're gonna sit
there and talk to this guy for an hour. But
you're a journalist, you know, now, why would you say
that did something happen to you in your past that
it is traumatic that you feel? Can you show me
(46:23):
the sources that this is happening in real time? Again?
This is why I watched PPS News hour after I
left News. I was like, I am going, I am
going to the source that just makes me not anxious
about the about the world. And yeah, and it really
can be the media's fault. People are choosing, people are
(46:46):
choosing sides. And then even with the with the way
that news is now propagated through TikTok, you cannot learn
about these major global social, economic political issues that are
affecting our world in a thirty second TikTok.
Speaker 1 (47:07):
Right, that's part of the problem. You say you meet them,
whether are you sit down, you have an hour long conversation,
But all the conversations we're having are in forty five
sent clips.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
I know it's hard to change people's minds, and people
seek out information that reinforces their beliefs instead of challenging
it or making them see it from another perspective. And
that's part of the problem, because that's what these news organizations,
media companies know how to cater to the audience they want,
and so it's unfortunate. We know, those of us who've
been in the news business exactly what goes on. It
(47:37):
is a business, and so unfortunately the information you're getting
isn't necessarily objective or even thought provoking. I love what
you said, and this is such a good tool for
anyone who's in any sort of I don't want to
say disagreement or argument, but when you have different points
of view, instead of reacting, defending or telling someone they're wrong,
(48:00):
be curious about why they think the way they think.
That is beautiful. I love how you just put that.
That is really it really is something. If all of
us could do that more, sure there'd be less argument
and more understanding.
Speaker 4 (48:13):
And I think that's why people come to work out
with us. Sometimes, you know, yeah, it's it's there are
certain days it's you know, it's hard when there's news
about next and now I have to go teach a
thirty minute class and I have to be all rainbows
and butterflies, and but it can be an escape and
(48:33):
if you you can I don't want to say sneak
because that sounds nefarious. You can offer nuggets to people
in a way that and again the sort of the
beauty of my job is unlike a television set or
even if you are listening to those podcast chances are
people who are listening to this and they might be
doing something else right TV, you're cooking, you're kind of
(48:57):
half watching. When you're on that tread with us, I've
got you captive, which is pretty cool, pretty cool, And
so it's important for it to be palata b liceerly
and everyone want to say anything that I'm going to
make somebody turn it off, because even in my own family,
I have people with completely differing views. But any think
(49:17):
it was Harvey Milk that said, you know, they vote
differently if they know one of us, so you got
to come out of come out of the closet. Is
like it's a great quote, come out, come out, like
they vote with us if they know us.
Speaker 3 (49:30):
Yeah, yeah, Harvey Milk.
Speaker 4 (49:35):
But I do like Milk, so.
Speaker 2 (49:39):
You know, I the one thing I also want to
ask you about, just in terms of fitness, because this
to me is so important. You very much say that
you were not into fitness, you didn't like it, you
didn't want to do it, you wanted nothing, you didn't
want to be a part of it. And then look
at you, now, how did you?
Speaker 4 (49:56):
What switched? What changed?
Speaker 3 (49:57):
Because so many.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
People out there feel the same way, and on any
given day, I feel that way today this morning, the
hits keep coming. But what changed in you? And what
could you what advice could you offer to someone else
who says, you know what why I don't have time
and I don't want to do it and it's not
worth it?
Speaker 3 (50:18):
What changed? And how could someone else learn from what
you did?
Speaker 4 (50:21):
I just realized I need to be needed to be
more healthy in my life. I felt like I was
kind of living sedentary. I didn't like the way I felt.
I didn't like the of course that goes hand and hand.
I didn't like the way that I looked. And I
knew that I had the tools necessary to be able
to make a change. And so you do need to
(50:45):
find the thing that you love. So like I understand
you have this. You both have this really complicated relationship
with the dreadmill because you know, at the end of
the day, we're not hamsters. We're just not hamsters, and
the tread mill is asking you to be a hamster.
That's why I love the Peloton tread a lot. That
sounds really salesy, but no, it's like I get to
(51:06):
get on that thing, that amazing piece of machinery. And
if you guys haven't run on the tread plus, by
the way, the tread plus is like amazing. And you
get to run with these I mean talk about being inspirational.
You know, you get to run with Jess sim So,
you get to run with Kirsten Ferguson, and you're just like, wow, okay,
they are giving me the inspiration, the motivation that I need.
(51:31):
I realized that once I started to do it, go
out for my runs, start lifting weights, that yes, I
loved to see the effect. I was like, oh, hey,
I'm like, you know, nineteen years old in New York City.
I'm like, Tim gonna be hot, right, I wish. But
(51:52):
that was just a fun benefit of it. It was
the I'm pointing to my temple friends listening. It was
what was happening in my brain. It was my mental health.
I said, well, okay. The mental health benefits far outweigh
even those you know benefits and that you see in
the mirror. And I will say, and so you need
(52:14):
to find what you love. If if okay, no shade,
if you hate the tread, you do not have to
run on the tread. You can swim, you can do yoga,
you can do gymnastics, you can walk. Trapeze, you can walk, right,
So that's did you just throw trapeze? I said?
Speaker 1 (52:30):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (52:31):
I said trapeze?
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Okay, I'm the only one confused by that.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
Do I incorporate that? It sounds fun?
Speaker 4 (52:40):
Don't they have that? Chelsea?
Speaker 3 (52:45):
I've always wanted to do that. Thank you, not that.
Speaker 4 (52:49):
Yes, I know where you run, don't see you?
Speaker 2 (52:52):
I know. Wait, let me ask you this. I know
you have an alter ego, Marah Marah thanner.
Speaker 4 (52:59):
I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (53:01):
Have you ever run a marathon?
Speaker 4 (53:04):
I have run half marathons? Okay, really right the best?
So it's half marathons for me. And yeah, you're you're
learning something. This is I bet you a lot of
people surprise. I've never run a full marathon. It's on
the list. Oh wait, you said you want to do Berlin.
Speaker 3 (53:16):
I did Berlin.
Speaker 4 (53:17):
Oh you did Berlin? I did?
Speaker 3 (53:18):
I did Berlin.
Speaker 2 (53:19):
And yeah, we are now kind of addicted to doing
at least a marathon a year.
Speaker 4 (53:24):
The vision Board has Chicago, he did, listen, New York.
I really want done New York twice.
Speaker 2 (53:32):
I've done New York three times, three times, and I've
done Chicago once. But I really want I had this
in my head that I wanted to do the six Majors,
which are in New York, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, and London.
Speaker 4 (53:47):
Tokyo's this weekend. Bex is there you run with Bes Gentry? Ever, No,
all right, Becks is amazing.
Speaker 3 (53:53):
But okay, so when's the marathon going to happen?
Speaker 4 (53:57):
It's possible that it could have might be the Berlin Marathon.
It all depends because I think I'm going to be,
you know, kind of busy next year, and i'd like
to do it before children.
Speaker 3 (54:07):
It's a really good idea.
Speaker 4 (54:08):
So that's right your wedding, Yeah right, So don't mark
my words here, people.
Speaker 2 (54:13):
Well, Berlin is fun because when you cross the finish
line in a well in New York and other places,
what I know, you know what I'm about to say,
because it was my favorite part of the marathon. They
don't have water stations or gatorade stations. They have a
big thing of beer. So you and honestly, we've talked
about this before.
Speaker 3 (54:33):
Sometimes there's nothing better than an ice cold beer after
a long run twenty six it's I mean, I've got
southern roots. It comes out sometimes you spit thottle sunflower.
Nothing better.
Speaker 2 (54:50):
Matthew, Well, my dad ran with me, and so did Dicky,
and so did my cousin, and we all laid in
the grass and drank that beer and just it was
the best.
Speaker 4 (55:02):
Reward, best beer you've ever had.
Speaker 3 (55:04):
It was the best beer I ever had.
Speaker 1 (55:06):
You do in the half coming up the New York City.
Speaker 4 (55:07):
I'm not signed up for anything right now, but I'm
thinking about it. I'm thinking we've been, you know, pretty
busy with life and whatnot. So it's it is been
on that treadmill a lot.
Speaker 1 (55:16):
But can I ask about the tree You said tread two.
Speaker 4 (55:19):
Why the tread plus tread plus why? Oh, it's it's
slat belt. It's a very just wonderful cushiony like running
on clouds. Its back on the market, and that is
I personally, no shade to my colleagues who teach on
the bike. The bike is very nice, but the tread
plus is like, that's the real that's the real deal
(55:41):
for me. My parents, my parents have it. And actually
during so right around when we kind of first connected,
I mean kind of in the throes of the pandemic,
we we got we got scrappy. I mean, kudos to
Peloton for being Okay, what are we gonna do. We
set up something like fourteen remote studios in our homes
and I went I went home to Rhode Island and
(56:04):
taught in my parents' basement on their tread plus And
they have I tell this story so many times and
not the first time Sheild has heard it. My parents.
You know, it's like a drop ceiling or in the basement,
it's like maybe a seven foot ceiling on six '
one the treads, it's almost like a foot off the ground.
So we had to build. We had to we had
to literally build a fortified box over me so that
(56:27):
I could teach for the cameras and they could still
see my head and I wouldn't crash my head.
Speaker 1 (56:31):
Into the No.
Speaker 2 (56:33):
Peloton was a lifeline during the pandemic. I mean it
was really, really was. I I never missed a day.
I was so thankful for what you all did because
it was so helpful. I think in the in the pandemic,
people either stopped working out altogether and just say effet,
or people I got probably the fittest I ever was
(56:54):
during a pandemic. But it was in large part to
you and to your colleague. So thank you.
Speaker 4 (56:58):
That means, that means a lot. We hear that, We
hear that a lot, and it's great because we formed
those really wonderful relationships with people, and we do. Like
that's the thing. It's not just like a one way thing.
I answer my DMS and I see the comments and
I know who's been taking my classes for six years
and I know who had a baby. That sounds creepy,
(57:20):
but like, no, you do. They celebrate people posts. You know,
you're just you all get inbound, you know, And it's
that's the that's the best part of it. It's there's
a a tried and true, authentic relationship building aspect to
the job.
Speaker 1 (57:38):
All right, Well, last to wrap from me here, not
quite a not quite rapid fire, but there's something I'm
sure people are curious about you or your health and
your fitness. So I'll start with this. How many hours
of sleep a night? Do you get?
Speaker 4 (57:49):
Eight?
Speaker 1 (57:50):
You get eight?
Speaker 4 (57:51):
No matter what?
Speaker 1 (57:51):
All right, so you get in So that's bedtime and
what and up at what time?
Speaker 4 (57:55):
We're usually in bed by ten? Do do my math right?
And like six fifteen?
Speaker 1 (58:01):
Yeaheah? What's your favorite shoe to run in?
Speaker 4 (58:05):
Oh? I'm wearing them right now. And I didn't do
this on purpose, but these are my Brooks. These are
actually the new Brooks glicerin stealth Fit twenty ones. Fantastic.
I really flat foot, Like I kid you not there
when I you know, you go in the pool and
you you see your footprint?
Speaker 3 (58:21):
How's that when you wear heels?
Speaker 4 (58:22):
Oh my god, I know, well size fourteen, you know? So, yeah,
I need like a fortified arch, I need a I
need a chunky I need a I need a chunky wedge.
So you continue, so yeah, but yeah, I love I
love the Brooks. That's not an endorsement, but it is
what I'm wearing today, and I.
Speaker 1 (58:39):
Do love these glass She jumped in because the heels
question is not well, I didn't know that. The other
thing your diet. Do you always get in three meals
a day? And what type of things are you?
Speaker 4 (58:48):
Yeah? I try, I try, and again, I'm always like
cautious because as you know, it's it's so customed to
each and every every every person is different when I
eat versus what you eat. You, I know. The grossest
thing that I do, Sure, I do. This is the
browest thing that I do. I chug egg whites in
the morning. Wow, I do? I do? I get that
(59:10):
Trader Joe's. I know, I know the faces in this room.
I know, and you know what, It's fine. You just
plug your nose and it tastes like milk. And then
and then I do my my ag one and then
I drink my coffee. After I do the I wait
for the coffee so you don't have the crash.
Speaker 1 (59:26):
Wait a second, you put in egg whites something and
then coffee in the morning.
Speaker 4 (59:30):
Yeah, okay, And then I teach, Wow, when's the bathroom?
Speaker 3 (59:36):
It happens at some point. It happens at that point.
Speaker 1 (59:40):
Some point.
Speaker 4 (59:41):
Sometimes we're surprised.
Speaker 3 (59:44):
Okay, I'm done with and.
Speaker 1 (59:48):
Scene.
Speaker 2 (59:50):
You know, I am just so happy to finally meet
you in person, and I knew you were going to
be this amazing.
Speaker 3 (59:57):
Just bright light.
Speaker 2 (59:58):
And uh, it's just an honor to be able to
actually get to sit down with you hear your story,
and I just you know, want to thank you. I
think on behalf of all the people who watch you,
follow you, are inspired by you and work out because
of you. I know you know you've changed lives and
you're still doing it. So your purpose. I love that
you switched your career because you wanted to have an impact.
(01:00:19):
You're doing that. And thank you for sharing all of
this with us and with everyone listening.
Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
Thank you. You both are wonderful and I really appreciate
it's such an honor to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
Well, Matthew Thomas, Folks, you can catch him at.
Speaker 3 (01:00:36):
Matthew Thomas.
Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
You're like, you're the opposite of Matthew Thomas.
Speaker 1 (01:00:41):
But no, what is the message to end on this?
What he wrote to you and you said he wanted
to be the light? What was the he used a phrase?
Speaker 4 (01:00:49):
I said, I'm bringing some sunshine. Listened to the past
two episodes, there are a lot of feelings. I said,
well listen, if if you didn't want me to, if
you didn't want feelings. In today's episode, you shouldn't have
brought me in, and we brought some feelings.
Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
But she spoke of it in a way that he
is going to light the place up with his energy
and with positivity. And there were even a couple of questions.
I was about to ask you, and I switched him
up to make sure it wasn't a downer or I
wanted you to criticize something. But you talk about toxic positivity.
Speaker 3 (01:01:15):
Is that a thing?
Speaker 4 (01:01:16):
Oh, that's totally Oh that's because it's disingenuous. It's disingenuous
and it's and people see right through it.
Speaker 3 (01:01:23):
Okay, you can't always be that happy.
Speaker 4 (01:01:25):
You can't be happy. I I use I use you
know this analogy of you know, it's like it's if
you're an optimistic person on a cloudy day, you know
that the sun is still beyond the clouds. You know
that sun's gonna come out. That's about being an optimistic person.
People say, oh, mad, you're you're so happy. How do
you stay so happy? I'm oh, believe me. I have
(01:01:46):
voodoo dolls at home.
Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
I should we should add how do you do it?
And the
Speaker 3 (01:02:04):
Pat the patent
Hey, everybody, welcome to Amy and TJ and Majokamo today.
I'm saying that because we have a very special and
very poor guest that a lot of people know. And
right before we started, he was like, y'all got my
name right?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I was like, yes, of course, Matty Majakamo, who doesn't
know how to say his name.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
But I got.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Nervous because I screwed up vander Plump.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Right, this wasn't long ago, right, I guess it's true.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
And he kept saying vander plump. Once you say it
wrong and we tease each other, you keep saying it.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
I don't know. It's pretty funny.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Home with Jakamo was fresh on my mind, so I
keep saying that. I keep saying it. Everybody knows this dude.
I was asking you, what's the right way to put it?
A beloved Peloton.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Instructors, I would say he is one of the most
beloved Peloton instructors because he just radiates joy and positivity
and he makes people actually enjoy running on the treadmill.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Okay, well, you needed that motivation this morning because we
were we were set for what today.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
We're supposed to do a five miler today. Yep, it
got cold again, So back on the treadmill. And you
went this morning?
Speaker 4 (01:08):
And I punted, Why did you punt?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Because we had a really late night last night?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Is that really what you're going with? One hundred percent? Okay,
that is absolutely why I punted.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
What's a late night?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
We went to bed at two thirty in the morning.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Okay, that's a late night for me especially. I haven't
done that in a very long time.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
It sounds very we I Actually we got home and
I fired up the stovetop grill at like twelve thirty
and I started cooking. I grilled chicken, I grilled salmon,
made some dope salads. What was the what movie did
we put on?
Speaker 2 (01:45):
I it was delicious and I don't remember which we
In fact, it's funny. I pulled up my phone because
I was checking into my daughter, and I saw that
I was searching horror movies to stream.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
The good friend of mine is in town every week,
and I had a meeting last night at seven o'clock. Yep,
and used to I had a busy day. Are getting
ready and I saw the note from him, and I
almost and I sawry brother, but I saw a text
from him, and I went, ugh, he's gonna want to
go out.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
And you said, babe, change of plans. We're gonna have
to go out. Yes.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So one meeting ended at nine and then we made
our way up to kick it with my boy, and
that's why we ended up with the late night we had.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
It was a fun night.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
It was a fun night.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
It was a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
It was a very good night. So that's why you punted.
And you could have used some Maddie Majocamo motivation this morning,
because it wasn't enough with me nudging you. You wouldn't, I
know I.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
And that's honestly, it's rare. I usually suck it up
and go anyway.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Today was a rare day. But I just figured I
could do it later, and I can you know. I
actually thought it'd be really fun after talking with Maddie
to then use like to go and use one of.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
His treadmill runs with me. So I'm gonna try it
out today.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Okay, Mattie, Mattie, tell tell, what would you tell a
person who or this one who just went out, had
a hard night, was going at it, and this morning
you're supposed to get up and run the five? Do
you punt or what motivation would you give to that
person to go ahead and still make it happen.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
This morning, I'm standing in full counterpoint to you, whipper snappers.
Was I was in bed with PBS News Hour at
eight pm last night, so I need to really reevaluate
my life. But no, I would say get up and
do it, unless, of course, you're feeling such a level
of fatigue that it's just not going to be worth it,
(03:27):
because people people really want to push through it. But
I will tell you, if you are tired and you
are not feeling right and you go hit it, sometimes
it works in the opposite direction. So it's o'll get
you punted. See for the sports.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I will do it later this afternoon, yes, and possibly
tomorrow morning.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I have to do the five. I'll get it in.
I love that though, because you're right. I didn't want
to do it either.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
But I was up at five this morning and started
working and prepping, and I'll say, you know what, let
me just go ahead and do this thing. And she
I thought you would get motivated by you know I.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Usually do yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Once I put the socks on and then the shorts
got on, and I'm like, Okay, this will do it.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Oh, the shirt's on, now, this will get it.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
The shoes are coming, She's still.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
I sometimes get tempted and then say all right, I'm
gonna do it. And I never regret a run, That's
always what I say. But today I do not regret
not running this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Man, you do it for a living, but you have
to have days where you don't want to get on
that treadmill.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Are you kidding?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Of course, Oh my god, Like sometimes daily and GJ,
I've heard you talk about this dreadmill, and there are
days where I feel like it is a dread mill.
But I always say, like, no matter what, Like I
could probably count on one hand in almost forty years
of workouts that I'm like, oh, yeah, I regretted that
(04:51):
work Yep. Obviously we have to be honest with ourselves
and our bodies. If there's an injury, that is a
mistake that people make. And and I think it's actually
the fitness industry's fault because for a really long time
it's very trendy to be like, work hard, play hard.
It doesn't count a lesson. Yeah, that real like radio
(05:13):
poison w W and obviously a peloton. That's that's that's
not what we preach. I mean, if you need to
take the rest, to take the rest. That being said, yeah,
challenge yourself a little bit and sometimes okay, get out
of that discomfort. You gotta put the batsuit on. It's
your socks. That's what gets you in the mood.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
He thought I was gonna get me like, I was like,
oh god, he's actually really running.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I should go.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I was taking my time. I was noticing that you.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Took a lot of time making always like I heard
you open the drawer. I'm getting the running drawer open.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, put on the watch.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Yes, I'll go now.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
It gets the day star. I I too, ran on
the tread today and it just gets it just it
just it flicks that switch. I am on, I am ready.
And the reason why is I knew that for today,
for this conversation, I needed to get on that tread
just to get the juices flow and just to get going.
And I will say, since typically when I have a
(06:17):
microphone and maybe a camera on me, it's very nice
to be sitting stationary while I do this versus because
usually I'd be walking or running when I have a
microphone on.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
So how your job not only is to you know,
inspire people, but to motivate them. How do you motivate yourself?
You know, because that's something I'm always in awe of.
If I'm on the dreadmill dreadml and I'm not feeling it,
I don't have to be all happy and spunky and
letting everyone else, you know, come into the joy of
running when I'm not feeling How do you motivate yourself?
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Sure? Sure, I mean you kind of step away from
it and you understand that there's a bigger picture. And
I know that in other parts of my life, I
want to be alert and focused and present, and I
know that there's nothing else that gets me there unless
I've taken that thirty minutes, sixty minutes, sometimes ninety minutes
(07:11):
a day where because it's my job where I'm like, okay,
I'm giving this back to myself now. I'm not an
innate lover of the physical activity or even sports. My father,
My father was like all star sports, baseball, basketball. My father,
all he wanted me to do was like, He'll play
some kind of ball. But I hope you have a
(07:39):
soundboard for some sound effect.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I just looked over.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
I even dropped off the cross country team in high
school after two weeks. I just it's not innate within me.
And until I really trained and like really taught myself
to love it. And I really didn't fall in love
with it until about college, I mean twenty years ago maybe,
(08:05):
and now it's my life.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
But you said didn't fall in love with fitness or
were you gifted in some way in athletics in any
particular sports.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
I'm tall, I got long legs. They move.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
That's about it.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
That is, it doesn't translate all wait, basketball player, were
we dance?
Speaker 3 (08:23):
No coordination?
Speaker 4 (08:27):
A little bit?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Okay a little bit?
Speaker 4 (08:30):
And so you know my message to that is, like,
you know, and that's why I think I found the
audience that I have found. And I don't think it's
much of a surprise that it's you know, women ages
thirty five plus all the way up through my mother's
age and into seventies and some eighty year olds. I mean,
you know, the Peloton platform is so inclusive, which is
(08:51):
why we love it.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
I teach a lot of walking classes too. As much
as I love, love, love to run, there's just something
about walking. Where are my walking shoes today that people.
It's just so accessible and it's the thing that we
all know how to do, especially in New York City,
that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
That's all we do well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And I wanted to tell everyone I fell in love
with you doing some of your workout classes. You do
strength training and you do the treadmill. I did some
of your strength training classes. But I was like, who
is this guy? He is just so beautiful, like you
just have a beautiful soul.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Day's right there.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
I almost stopted when she said I fell in love
with you, and then I remembered, Okay, he has a
fiance that's a dude, so might be okay, just fine,
all right, But I.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Posted something on Instagram because your workout was so amazing.
I just wanted to share it with everyone else. And
then you DMed me and we started dming back and forth.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
But it was what three years ago, we figured.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
Out years ago. I looked for the time stamp. I
was like, wow, I honestly thought it was maybe a
year ago or so, and this is how I've fallen
in love with both of you and even your extended family.
Like Nikki, I'm like, okay, so I know the I
know all the casts of characters. I know who you
work out with, and you know, I know where you run.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Well, my uh my cousins.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I saw that you said you're a gunkle. I would say,
they're my cousins. But they love you and we had
brunch with them last weekend and they were just saying
to me, is there any way you can get Maddie Mujokamo.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
On the podcast?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Yes, But then I texted him and said he said yes,
and they are.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
They were so excited.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
But you have such an impact on people, and I
know you you get a lot of feedback obviously with
Peloton because you're seeing real time.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
What Oh is it all good? It is it all positive?
It's a mix.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
It's a mix, you know, and you both are privy
to this. People like to tell you how to do
your job unsolicited and live your life unsolicited. But no, overwhelm,
it's overwhelmingly positive. I always say working for a Peloton
and being a Peloton instructor is the coolest job in
the world, full stop, period. There's not another better job
(11:15):
out there, because I mean, how many jobs do you
do that you go to work on a daily basis,
sometimes a minute by minute basis, and you are immediately
validated by the people who you've just taught or connected with. Right,
it's oh, I love you, Oh my god, that joke
was so funny, and oh my god, I love that
song and like, your hair looks great today.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Tell me, well, we're talking about you said, you're getting
I haven't done Peloton, So you guys are getting real
time feedback as you're doing your classes, right, and you said, oh,
it's overwhelmingly positive, But does do you ever allow it
might be ninety percent when it comes to positive negative
(12:00):
any of the negative ones get to you? Do you
find yourself disappointingly even sometimes like I can't believe I'll
let that one get.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
To sure, it's taken some time, taking some time. I'm
outspoken in a way. And again, kudos to Peloton for
letting us be individuals.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
We're not.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
We're not two dimensional cardboard cutouts of fitness instructors. You
know that we're just like fitness memes. Walking fitness means
we're real people and again similar to you all, like
we live our lives on camera and when you've done
it for now, I've been with Pelotons six years and
and you have a following that has watched your ups,
(12:37):
your downs, your your they can tell, they can almost
tell when you're just not yourself. And that's funny when
that comes in, they say, you weren't yourself today? What
is wrong? Sheila in Oha, Iowa says, You're like, wow,
okay again the four agreements. You don't take it. You
don't take it personally right, You're just like they're just
(12:58):
seeing and they are invested. And that's sort of how
we always kind of deal with it. And it always
pushes yourself, pushes you to just be a little bit better.
We say, right, one percent better, just a little bit
better every day.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
But the pressure to be on I mean, I'm asking
for a friend here, but what you just talked about,
somebody can tell when you're having an off day. How
do you handle that feeling that you always need to
be totally the the best you that people recognize and know.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
You use it. You use it just like a performer
would on Broadway, just like a TV journalist would use it.
You you use it what I love because I am
a former journalist. I started my career in TV news
and broadcast. It's all I ever wanted to do as
a kid. Was to do what you guys do. And
(13:48):
I realized that, you know you, you can allow yourself
to really be genuine and be true and actually have
an opinion. It took me a really long time at
Peloton to have an opinion because I was so trained
as a journalist that literally I remember my producers. I
think I was teaching like a It was something like
(14:08):
a nineties class and I was talking about who did
you love more? In Sync or Backstreet Boys? And I
didn't pick a side. I was like, I love them both.
They were like, Maddie, you really need to work on
having an opinion about things, and boy, do I have
my opinions now.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
So wish one in Sync or back I'm a.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Backstreet Boys fan. I'll be honest with you and curious. Again,
like I said, kudos to Peloton. They allow us to
have our opinions. You know, I'm a member, a proud
card carrying member of the queer community, and it's very
important to talk about queer issues, especially at this point
in our culture, history and time. And they let me.
(14:48):
We're doing a just a few weeks trans Day of
Visibility is coming up. We always do a national coming
Out Day class pride comes around, and girl, I am
a walking rainbow.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
I want to go back to the beginning. You you
said you dreamed your whole childhood of being a television journalist.
The dream came true.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
What happened?
Speaker 4 (15:17):
It was the hustle. It was really the hustle. I
was kind of at I got out of college. Gosh,
at a time where it was two thousand and eight,
I mean, like the economy would just crushed and as
you know, everybody was just grabbing for their jobs. I
was like, well, let's see how we can do this.
I started the NBC Page Program after like interning everywhere,
(15:38):
I mean, I entered into GMA. My first internship, this
is funny, was with a short lived show on MSNBC
when it was in Secaucus.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
Oh, I've worked there in Seacock Seacock in Secock, Seaclocks
in the right Where am I going weekends with Maury
and Connie?
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Oh my gosh, I was there when that was going
when for Olderman all the time. That is so, so
we were probably walking down the hall at the same time.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
I was just like a little geek there with my
you know, with my little suit on whatever, making copies.
So that was my very first I was like, oh wow,
I really like this. And Connie Chunk couldn't have been
like better. She was like the best person in the world.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Oh she oh and Marey the two of them together.
Speaker 6 (16:26):
It was a short lived show, but yeah, no so
and and I just had this love of TV.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I got into the NBC Page program and I found
myself on air after I was I was shooting for
New York one my very first week. I was just
learning the gear and Hurricane Sandy happened, so they were
like all hands on deck. I was like, I don't
even know if you can use this thing, and like
we didn't go home for like ten days and it
(16:57):
was just you know, Manhattan in a full blackout, fires
and water, and so I was like, oh wow, this
is really cool. And then trying to like make the
money was a really hard thing. And so you as
you know, you one man banned it. But I'm also gigging.
I'm like, okay, I'm also personal training and I'm doing
boutique fitness and it was bartending. At one point I
(17:20):
was talking about the hustle. I mean, not to like
toot my own horn, but like I would go downtown
teach boutique fitness at five am, five am, six am,
get in my car, put my suit on, drive out
to wherever my story was, either in Long Island or
in Jersey. This is when I was working for WRNN
and file my story as like fast as I could,
(17:42):
and then I would go to the bar and work
at the bar. Wow, I was bartending.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
How long did you do that rutin?
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Not long because it wasn't sustainable. It just wasn't sustainable.
And as a freelance reporter, I mean I was making
one hundred and forty bucks like a day, Like it
wasn't it wasn't much.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
But did you make a determination like that this this
path is the one that's going to work better than journalism. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
I just sort of fell in love with I was like, oh,
fitness really and as you know, local news, oh wee drums,
you know, you're just like, oh no. I got to
a point where I was like, wait, how is this
story affected how I was telling the story? Affecting anybody?
Like when it comes down to like really grasping for
a story where there's no story or.
Speaker 6 (18:27):
Just something that scause we both came up through local news,
so you survived.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I don't know how it was. It was awful.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I mean, ninety hour weeks and I made twenty two
thousand dollars a year I think, and after four years
I was making twenty eight thousand dollars a year.
Speaker 4 (18:43):
If we did have sound effects, that would be the
slide whistle right there.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
Not good. Yeah, it was really not good. And I
felt and I felt like my executive producer really didn't
understand me. Oh, I even changed my name. It was
really like my last name too hard to say. So
I changed my last name to Thomas. And I got
to a point I was I on that through Thomas
what I really Yeah, I know, I know BOO want
Matthew Thomas boring, so boring, and so nobody knew me.
(19:09):
And then I was like, now I have to do
something a little bit more like genuine, to authentic to
who I am. And then I just started like teaching
boutique fitness full time. I was like, wow, I can
make money, started to get personal training clients and I
knew I was actually helping. Yeah, and then Peloton came
along and they were like, oh, do you want to
actually do something that will pull together everything that you
(19:33):
ever trained for in your entire life. She's like, yes, actually, yes,
the TV stuff, the news stuff, even talking to people
at the bar and just getting to know people's stories.
And so it's that's why I say it's the best.
It's the best job in the world.
Speaker 1 (19:50):
How long have you been Maddie though, I've always been Maddie. Okay,
you've never gone by Matthew or met it's been mad
Mom calls me Matthew when she's she's gonna call.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
She's gonna call at any point because she's like, where
can I listen? I said, well, it doesn't come out
right away. What time are you doing at eleven? So
she will call me at some point.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
But your story you didn't come out until college.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Yeah, right around college.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Did your family know?
Speaker 4 (20:15):
They they knew what I told them?
Speaker 3 (20:18):
And what was the reaction?
Speaker 4 (20:20):
It was, it was okay. My father was amazing. My
father was immediately accepting. He I'll never forget it. It'll
it'll be in my autobiography one day and I was like,
you know, he was like, you could never tell me
anything that would make you me love you less. And
then my mom like like all good, like Italian, Roman,
(20:41):
Catholic moms do they She just thought it was all
her fault, and but we got we really got through it,
and now she's, Oh my god, she's my biggest fan.
My mom's my mom's amazing, and it was just they
needed and again it was you know, it was almost
twenty years ago and things, thank god, things have changed.
They haven't changed enough. If we look at the headlines,
(21:03):
we know that they have not changed enough. But I
was very lucky and they surrounded me with love, even
though it took some time. I always like to say,
especially when I'm talking to parents of queer kids and
talking to those queer kids as well, your parents need
time to come out as well. So like you've had fifteen, sixteen,
(21:25):
twenty thirty years to come to grips with it when
you bestow this information onto your parents, and likely they
already know in some way, shape or form. I still
don't know how my mom didn't know. I was like
listening to like original Broadway cast album. I love to
shop with her. We'd go to aerobics class.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
At fourteen.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
This was weird.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
I'm like, girl, how was your day? I love you?
Did you always know? I?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Yes? And no, Like I don't know I think I
loved I was drawn to like fabulous women, so like
if Britney Spears was on a poster on my wall.
But I think I liked her for other things, you know.
And then I was also like, oh my god, Leo
to Garbria.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Wow, oh god, so there's a stirring.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
And then I and then I really I was like,
oh that's it. I mean after going to kind of
a fire in Brimstone, Roman Catholic School, Uhallian Brothers School
that obviously didn't have anything like a g S A
for sure, that's not the path I chose. And then
I went to n Yu and I was like, get
me to the gayest school.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
N Yu. My daughter is a junior at n y U.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
That's at least.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Who's in Berlin. She's in Berlin study abroad.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
She's studying really hard.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Right.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
She's been sending me pictures of her laying in the.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Sun and yes it's it's yes, Oh yes she has.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
She's she's told me all about it.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
She's cool.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Yes, Well, I'm going to visit her and she wants
me to go with her.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
I'll give you some some tips. It's hard to get.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
It, oh, I know. They got rejected.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
She was telling me all about it, like but she
eventually she did, but she's been rejected a couple of times.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
It happens. It happens. You have to be very very yeah,
you just kind of.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
You can't talk. You should, you can't talk in line
to get in.
Speaker 4 (23:21):
It's an incredible place. It is a it is a
club built in a former power station in former East Germany.
There are no mirrors and they basically they tape up
the camera on your phone so you'll never see a photo,
live photo of anybody inside. And I will tell you
it is miraculously. There will be thousands of people in
(23:42):
this club. Nobody touches you. You go, hind, I know
you guys party hard now the morning, nobody touches, nobody
touches you. You're like, oh my god. There's just something
about the Germans, just like they understand like personal space
and there's an etiquette and there's rules and if you
don't abide by that, like then you will get kicked out.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
This is fascinating. I'm I'm you're making me excited. I
got to try this out. I watched me get rejected.
I won't get in and then we'll give you a
sheet of Okay, okay, cool, But you started the first
gay fraternity at NYU.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
How did you do that?
Speaker 4 (24:17):
I don't know why I did it, but it was
and you know what, it was really interesting. It was
just that I knew that I was coming to New
York City. I knew that New York City was a
very very big pond, right, so I needed to find
a community. And as a young gay person, you know,
I mean, at eighteen, you can't even get into bars.
(24:38):
But like even if you you, I mean, I had
a fake idea. Of course, it's maybe not the best
place to find your fellow travelers, if you will. And
I was able to create this chapter of Delta Lamb DeFi,
which is the first fraternity again built on you know,
the same you know, the the same parameters and bastions
(25:02):
of Greek life as any of the you know, major
colleges and and major chapters of fraternities and sororities. But
it's it's for for queer menuh and queer identifying men.
They've changed the language, which is fantastic. And yeah, I
found a little family which was very cool, and that
is why I came out to my parents because they
rode up a story in the Washington Square Post Journal.
(25:26):
I forget the school newspaper, and then the New York
Post picked up the story, and I knew my parents
and my uncles all read the New York Post. So
I was like, oh God, I should definitely tell them
that I'm gay before they read this in the New.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
York Quite a second, man, you you formed a gay
fraternity before you even told your parents.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
Yeah, talking about putting the cart before the horse, you
kind have almost forced your hand, you know, I did.
I did, but I was ready. But I did. I
was ready.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
It's something stood up. When she asked you about your
coming out story, you said it went okay. It was
how you response were and you talk about your day
and your mom. But were you surprised? What were you
expecting from? Did they respond exactly where you thought they?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
The opposite? The opposite. I thought my dad would just
going to kind of get quiet and maybe be like,
you know, he's a sensitive guy, which is which is great.
He's not. He's not he's not a Tony soprano type.
It's a sensitive guy. And my mom is kind of
exactly what you figure she she would be. And I
just thought she just you know, she needed her she
(26:27):
needed her time. And we got to laugh about it.
And now it's funny to go back and like tell
them what my point of view was, and she's like, oh,
that's not how it went. I was fine.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
I was totally how did it go?
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Like what was the setup to say, hey, guys, I
need to talk. Was it over the phone? Did you
go home to go?
Speaker 4 (26:49):
I enlisted the help of my eldest sister. I love
my sisters. I have two sisters. They are They're amazing moms.
They are I'm so lucky. I'm I'm the boy in
the middle. It's like the best, the best way to
be there. Incredible. And I told my older sister, you know,
interestingly enough, it was a point and I think my parents'
(27:11):
marriage that they actually weren't communicating. It was just how
it was, you know, after you've been together for decades,
and I think they thought we were bringing them to
the table to like be like, this is an intervention,
you need to talk to each other. I think they
thought we were like gonna gonna come and marriage.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Yeah, totally, the kid, that's so funny, we are taking.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
Over And and I said no, like i'm I'm I'm gay.
And then actually at the point in time, my younger sister,
who was a teenager, she walked into the room and
my mom actually turned said no, no, no, don't like go back,
go out of the room. And then Alyssa and I
my older sister, were like, no, no, no, you stay
right here. We're gonna have this conversation as a family.
(27:58):
So I was very I was really lucky. I was
really lucky because again, even today, and you know, the
nonprofits that I work for, like the Oli Forny Center,
they help these kids who don't have that experience, that
experience goes very different, or they don't even have the
luxury of being able to have that conversation. They're tossed
(28:18):
out before they even get the words out of their mouth.
And it it's just it's it's a tough.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Thing because.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
As a parent, and I'm kind of looking at that
as my future as a parent. Isn't your only purpose
as a parent to make sure that that kid is
safe and happy and it's not about you? So why
would anybody throw their kid out? I just don't. I
just don't get it, especially for for something as little
(28:52):
as small as this. Small piece of small little tile
of the mosaic that you are as a person.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Yeah, that's such a good way to put it, and
I think so many people listening will appreciate that because
it's something that unless you've gone through it, or you
know you have to go through it, you can't even
imagine what that process or what that feels like as
as the child or as the parents. So I know
you're doing such good work helping people walk that path.
(29:28):
You walked the path and you found love.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
And I was telling TJ.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I watched, Oh my gosh, your engagement video.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Did you cry?
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I cried?
Speaker 4 (29:40):
I cried.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
I cried.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
That was it is one of the most beautiful proposals
I have ever seen in my life.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Evan really turned it out.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I mean he did.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Anyone else who's looking to propose to anyone, you, I
don't think you could do it better.
Speaker 4 (30:02):
And we got really lucky because there was a lot
of that. We had crazy rain in September here in
New York, and he, I mean, I was so surprised
because I'm the planner, so I'm I I know the facts,
I know where we're going, I have the passports, I
have you know, it's me. I'm doing the grocery shopping,
I'm cooking. Evan does a lot, but if you're listening,
(30:24):
you and I do more.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
But set the stage and I and I encourage anyone
to go onto your Instagram and to watch this because
it's so beautiful.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
But set the stage. And you were surprised.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
Oh I was. I was so surprised. Yeah, I mean
it even kind of went went viral.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
People love love.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
People love love. There's so much shit out there. They
love love, and that's why you know people love you guys.
It's just like I, Oh my god, I was on
like a zoom up until it was in September. It
was in September. It's like five He's like, we need
to be ready at five thirty. We're going to a
friend of his is very involved with the Met Museum
(31:07):
and we're going to go for a private after hours
tour of the Met. And typical jaded New Yorker being
in New York City for twenty years, I've been to
the Met. Why do I It's five point thirty on
a Wednesday, Like, why come on? Like we have other
things to do. So I was really talk about like
not getting out of the house and I was like,
I don't know what am I wearing? What are there people?
(31:29):
What are we doing? And he' said yeah, like where's
something you know nice? I was like, okay, fine, And
then we get there and it is a gorgeous night,
gorgeous after having like literally booke ended with rain NonStop,
the sun never came out. And we do this forty
five minute tour with two friends of ours and his friend,
(31:49):
and you know, I'm doing my best at not feigning interest.
The met is amazing. It's culturally just unbelievable, so I'm
I'm really getting into it. And then his friend is said, Oh,
we're going to go up to the terrace up the
rooftop garden, and I was like, oh, yeah, it's nice.
We'll take some photos it's like the sunset whatever. And
(32:10):
then we go up there and I see like a
table with some champagne glasses, like, oh, they must be
having an event up here later. And then we kind
of they have this beautiful art installation up top and
I kind of walk around it and that's when I
saw my mom. That's when I saw his dad, That's
when I saw our friends, and I start I start
(32:32):
bawling because and he said it in his proposal. He said,
I know how important family is to you, and I
have been working for months to get everybody together because
I want to ask you two questions and yeah, he said,
he was cute. You do you want to get married?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
First?
Speaker 4 (32:52):
I said yes. Second question, do you want to get
married to me? And I said yeah, and so son
it was. And then oh and then of course Broadway
dweeb Jessica Vasque for those of you, your Broadway lovers,
you know Jessica Vosh. She's like one of the most
famous Alphaba's and she's a friend of ours. And then
she is there with her brother playing guitar, and she
(33:15):
starts singing our song Golden Hour by Casey Muskraves, and
I'm crying again.
Speaker 3 (33:19):
I'm like, you're getting me.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Alphaba is sitting singing Casey Muskraves right now. When we're
getting married? How am I gonna pay for this wedding?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
When is? When is the wedding?
Speaker 4 (33:34):
We're gonna give ourselves a little bit of lead time.
So we're doing peak fall Foliage in October twenty twenty five.
So and everybody wants to come. Okay, what else are
you toe volks about the wedding? What kind of wedding?
What is there anything? Actually? We are so gay?
Speaker 3 (33:52):
How gay are you?
Speaker 4 (33:54):
This is how gay we are to We are having
a brunch ceremony, wedding, getting married at gay brunch, and
then we're gonna take a break and then we're gonna
have a big party and it's gonna be a show.
We're gonna have opera, We're gonna have drag, we're gonna
have Broadway. There might be fire breathing people.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Oh my gosh, this sounds Where is this happening?
Speaker 3 (34:19):
And when can we expect the invitation?
Speaker 4 (34:21):
Uh so here's the punchline that we're getting married. We're
having a gay wedding in cocksack y New York.
Speaker 3 (34:31):
I don't think we're gay enough to be invited.
Speaker 6 (34:33):
No, no, no, oh my goodness, that is going to
be a party.
Speaker 4 (34:39):
It'll be a who you know?
Speaker 1 (34:40):
You mentioned how important is it? There is no question
at all. You're going to be.
Speaker 4 (34:43):
Parents, no question, no question. Family is. Family is as
much a part of my brand as my awesome hair
these days, Like I mean, family is. I talk about
family so much And I've always wanted to be a
dad though you know I love a man and I'm
going to form it. We are doing, we are, we
(35:04):
are you you heard it here first breaking news. I mean,
we are. We are fully on our fertility journey. It
is as I'm sure many of your listeners can attest
to because it's their lived experience. It is a twisty
turney rollercoaster, emotionally fraud exciting, scary thing. And you know,
(35:31):
when you're a same sex couple, there are hoops you
have to jump through. And I and I will tell you,
without giving too many details, our our egg donor lives
in a southern state and we we we made a
very very determined and intentional decision to not do the
(35:52):
egg donation in the state that she lives in. We
did in DC, which is great, and so we do.
We have a few little as my mom calls them,
Anna's and Elsa's.
Speaker 3 (36:05):
Or a freezer somewhere.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
I mean, with all the with all the news regarding
embryo's IVF, all of all of these issues are now
at stake or in play, which is shocking to so
many people who are desperate and want to be amazing parents.
How has that played a role in your timeline. I mean,
are you concerned.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
I think we're safe with with how we've chosen because
we did all the work ahead of time, and we
have this amazing coordinator who has helped us from start
to finish, and she's there. She's as much a therapist
as she is somebody who helps just make sure we've
crossed all the t's and dotted all the eyes.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
It is.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
Science is so cool, though, Science is so cool. And I,
as you said to Jay, I am fully I know
that things can can change in a way. They have
and we've changed our expectations again and again and again.
And we've been doing this for about a year now,
and we're not planning on getting pregnant until right around
(37:10):
the wedding anyway. And and I think I'll be a
good dad. And Evan really loves cartoons, so I'm like,
there's no way we can pick this up. Like this
is too this is too too good.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
I'm curious. I'm like, what's he watched?
Speaker 4 (37:24):
Oh my god, every Oh he's he's he's a competitive
Pokemon player. So there's a lot of Pokemon in my house.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Those events where they go out, Oh yeah, oh yeah,
he's he's not the Pokemon Go where you see the
kids come mindlessly.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
It's a traffic Wow, bad bad idea. No, he does
the battles. We've been watching Avatar on not not James
Cameron Avatar, the other The Airbender Avatar. Know they just
did the live action.
Speaker 1 (37:52):
We watch a lot of TV. What are you watching
right now? We just picked up We're big horror movie fans.
Speaker 4 (38:05):
I know you said that opposite of you.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
I'm just about to you don't have a favorite horror movie?
One you could name that your.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
I mean the Exorcists, okay, and one could probably say
that the live action Cats was a horror movie.
Speaker 3 (38:22):
We tried to watch that, So what's your no?
Speaker 4 (38:25):
I mean, if I'm really in it, like God, like
the French ones are really messed up. High tension, high tension.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
Yeah, it's hot tension whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
But yes, is a little.
Speaker 4 (38:45):
Summer is so freaking hereditary. I could only watch a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Of a child decapitated and I had a hard time
with that one as well.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
I mean, you guys have limits. You went to Sweeney
Todd on Valentine's Day, so it's like nothing says I
love you like cannibalism.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Well, it's it's on brand for us. Basically, I would say, probably.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
Yes, what are we watching right now?
Speaker 3 (39:05):
We just picked up ninety Fiance.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
We just picked that up, but we went through every
single episode. I think that exists a below deck.
Speaker 4 (39:13):
Okay, all right, so you're a Kate fan?
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Oh? Yes, are you watching The Traders? No?
Speaker 4 (39:18):
Okay, no, please, please know. I implore you. Really, I'm
not getting paid by Peacock to say this, because I
this show is so good and it's it's did you
ever play Mafia in college? It's there, there are there
are traders amongst this group of what they say, faithfuls,
and it's amongst the group. They need to figure out
(39:39):
who are the traders? Who are It's like the mole
almost right, and it is. They have cast it with
like reless, you know, but like some of our favorite
reality show personalities.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
And Kate's all in it.
Speaker 4 (39:50):
And Kate's in it. She kind of comes in at
the last minute to like kind of shake.
Speaker 3 (39:54):
I would think she'd have to be a trader.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
She's justly maybe.
Speaker 3 (39:59):
Up to her.
Speaker 1 (40:00):
You remember we watched one episode where the guy walks
around and touches on the shoulder who the trader is, right, that's.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
That we did see one.
Speaker 4 (40:07):
Alan comming Is is a remarkable host. And in Scotland, Scotland,
you can skip the first you can skip the first season.
UK is really good. This season that's happening phasor Parks
is it is her show? Like if they could give
an Oscar away for a reality she would get it.
Speaker 3 (40:24):
What season is this?
Speaker 4 (40:25):
This is season two?
Speaker 3 (40:26):
Okay, we should do that is watch watch it and
let me we've been watching.
Speaker 4 (40:29):
We should at TV. We should all be on it
next season.
Speaker 6 (40:32):
Agreed, let's do it today. Wait would you like to
be Oh? I would be on it in a second
trader would I'm a faithful, faithful so I would be
there to like get the money for the group if
they tap me for a trader.
Speaker 4 (40:44):
I could probably do that.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
But I think you could do both.
Speaker 4 (40:48):
Yeah, I think you could.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
You said, there's some things you like to talk about
and things that are in the headlines here. What what
is it that you are seeing that concerns you when
it comes to the LGBTQ plus community, And it will
only get necessarily that you want to I'm not asking
you some political views or political leanings or political candidates,
but what are you seeing that that concerns you and
also encourages you.
Speaker 4 (41:07):
For sure, for sure, no, I appreciate the way that
you pose that question, because again at Peloton, we understand
that no matter what your political leaning is, you're gonna
come to us to work to work out. And so
I am very clear that like I'm not out here
to talk about politicians, I can stand up for the
issues that I believe ring true in my heart. Our
heart is really heavy for next and next Benedict's family
(41:31):
right now, and that's an issue that I've talked about
for a really long time, because the insidiousness of something
like a bathroom bill seems to be something that we
should be less concerned about, considering that there are a
lot other things happening in this world and the twisty
(41:56):
turney nature of the media and some politicians trying to say, oh,
don't you know, look over there, don't look over here,
when lives are truly at stake, and when it comes
to young people, I mean, come on, this is our
this is our future. And the fact that they would
even try and make an argument that, oh, no, this
(42:19):
for the listeners that didn't don't know about this, it
was a young person in Oklahoma who there was There
was an altercation in a bathroom and this person did
not necessarily identify with the gender that was prescribed of
the facility they were in, and they were attacked by
three older students and went home, went to the hospital,
(42:44):
and then a day later passed away. And so obviously,
as you know, they'll pick apart what the reasoning for,
and there's an argument saying, oh it was it was
just my chance, it was unrelated, unrelated, and that they
were really that really makes my head want to spin
and it gets me really, really angry. This is where
(43:05):
I get really activated, because it's eleven states that have
bathroom bills.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
And.
Speaker 4 (43:13):
Come on, like, where is where is the straight man
in a wig who's showing up and walking into a
women's bathroom? I just don't see it. And so again
heavy heart with next day, they had a great rally
at Stonewall. The other day, Sara Ramirez was out there
on the megaphone and to the listeners with queer kids
(43:36):
or queer people in your family or friends, and especially
as we approach the political season, please listen to them.
As we edge closer and as we get more entrenched
into what likely will be the ugliest political season we've
ever seen in our lifetime.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
And deep breath, everybody just signed.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
Everybody, you please exercise and find the things that that
make you feel feel better.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (44:06):
Sorry, I told her I was gonna come in here
and bring sunshine.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
You know, but these are also important issues that we
are in a huge political year, and I know one
of your messages is to do the research, be aware,
and to vote.
Speaker 4 (44:20):
More importantly, that's it, hands down, vote, don't get donka.
I know nobody is excited about either of these candidates.
You still need to vote.
Speaker 5 (44:29):
Vote.
Speaker 1 (44:30):
You know what, how do you have a conversation about
Because there are people in other parts of the well meaning,
good folks who have whatever reason they have for being
against whether if it's for a bathroom bill or if
it's against the LGBTQ plus community. I have a problem
with it. There was something, Mattie, and I was always
disappointed in my reaction. I wonder what you would have
(44:51):
said to this guy. I was in Kentucky years ago
covering a story and I was leaving the hotel, this
little motel and the a family coming out, white family, parents,
two little kids. Guy comes up to me, Oh, man
on TV. It starts talking, nicest guy, We have the
greatest conversation. They're warm. Oh man, you guys are great.
Everything's great, nicest guy ever. And then he asked me
(45:14):
what I was doing in town when I was covering.
I was covering the story of the woman what's her name?
The she wouldn't give the marriage licenses to gay couples
in Kentucky. This was I can't remember her name, but
you know what I'm talking about. I said, I'm there
to cover that story. And in that moment he switched
on a dime and he said, you know what, man,
all that is and gay guys and trans got that
that's just the guys trying to get into the girl's bathroom.
(45:36):
So a guy that in that moment I found is
a really decent guy. It just bo he turned. Now,
how do you how would you have responded to that
guy in that moment? And how do we have conversations
and bring people in who's some are decent folk. We
can't just assume everybody's a bad person, obviously, and there
(45:56):
are some terrible folks out there, But what would you
have done in that moment?
Speaker 4 (46:01):
The best piece of advice is from Oprah. You got
to meet them where they are, meet them where they are.
So you really, I mean not like you're gonna sit
there and talk to this guy for an hour. But
you're a journalist, you know, now, why would you say
that did something happen to you in your past that
it is traumatic that you feel? Can you show me
(46:23):
the sources that this is happening in real time? Again?
This is why I watched PPS News hour after I
left News. I was like, I am going, I am
going to the source that just makes me not anxious
about the about the world. And yeah, and it really
can be the media's fault. People are choosing, people are
(46:46):
choosing sides. And then even with the with the way
that news is now propagated through TikTok, you cannot learn
about these major global social, economic political issues that are
affecting our world in a thirty second TikTok.
Speaker 1 (47:07):
Right, that's part of the problem. You say you meet them,
whether are you sit down, you have an hour long conversation,
But all the conversations we're having are in forty five
sent clips.
Speaker 2 (47:15):
I know it's hard to change people's minds, and people
seek out information that reinforces their beliefs instead of challenging
it or making them see it from another perspective. And
that's part of the problem, because that's what these news organizations,
media companies know how to cater to the audience they want,
and so it's unfortunate. We know, those of us who've
been in the news business exactly what goes on. It
(47:37):
is a business, and so unfortunately the information you're getting
isn't necessarily objective or even thought provoking. I love what
you said, and this is such a good tool for
anyone who's in any sort of I don't want to
say disagreement or argument, but when you have different points
of view, instead of reacting, defending or telling someone they're wrong,
(48:00):
be curious about why they think the way they think.
That is beautiful. I love how you just put that.
That is really it really is something. If all of
us could do that more, sure there'd be less argument
and more understanding.
Speaker 4 (48:13):
And I think that's why people come to work out
with us. Sometimes, you know, yeah, it's it's there are
certain days it's you know, it's hard when there's news
about next and now I have to go teach a
thirty minute class and I have to be all rainbows
and butterflies, and but it can be an escape and
(48:33):
if you you can I don't want to say sneak
because that sounds nefarious. You can offer nuggets to people
in a way that and again the sort of the
beauty of my job is unlike a television set or
even if you are listening to those podcast chances are
people who are listening to this and they might be
doing something else right TV, you're cooking, you're kind of
(48:57):
half watching. When you're on that tread with us, I've
got you captive, which is pretty cool, pretty cool, And
so it's important for it to be palata b liceerly
and everyone want to say anything that I'm going to
make somebody turn it off, because even in my own family,
I have people with completely differing views. But any think
(49:17):
it was Harvey Milk that said, you know, they vote
differently if they know one of us, so you got
to come out of come out of the closet. Is
like it's a great quote, come out, come out, like
they vote with us if they know us.
Speaker 3 (49:30):
Yeah, yeah, Harvey Milk.
Speaker 4 (49:35):
But I do like Milk, so.
Speaker 2 (49:39):
You know, I the one thing I also want to
ask you about, just in terms of fitness, because this
to me is so important. You very much say that
you were not into fitness, you didn't like it, you
didn't want to do it, you wanted nothing, you didn't
want to be a part of it. And then look
at you, now, how did you?
Speaker 4 (49:56):
What switched? What changed?
Speaker 3 (49:57):
Because so many.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
People out there feel the same way, and on any
given day, I feel that way today this morning, the
hits keep coming. But what changed in you? And what
could you what advice could you offer to someone else
who says, you know what why I don't have time
and I don't want to do it and it's not
worth it?
Speaker 3 (50:18):
What changed? And how could someone else learn from what
you did?
Speaker 4 (50:21):
I just realized I need to be needed to be
more healthy in my life. I felt like I was
kind of living sedentary. I didn't like the way I felt.
I didn't like the of course that goes hand and hand.
I didn't like the way that I looked. And I
knew that I had the tools necessary to be able
to make a change. And so you do need to
(50:45):
find the thing that you love. So like I understand
you have this. You both have this really complicated relationship
with the dreadmill because you know, at the end of
the day, we're not hamsters. We're just not hamsters, and
the tread mill is asking you to be a hamster.
That's why I love the Peloton tread a lot. That
sounds really salesy, but no, it's like I get to
(51:06):
get on that thing, that amazing piece of machinery. And
if you guys haven't run on the tread plus, by
the way, the tread plus is like amazing. And you
get to run with these I mean talk about being inspirational.
You know, you get to run with Jess sim So,
you get to run with Kirsten Ferguson, and you're just like, wow, okay,
they are giving me the inspiration, the motivation that I need.
(51:31):
I realized that once I started to do it, go
out for my runs, start lifting weights, that yes, I
loved to see the effect. I was like, oh, hey,
I'm like, you know, nineteen years old in New York City.
I'm like, Tim gonna be hot, right, I wish. But
(51:52):
that was just a fun benefit of it. It was
the I'm pointing to my temple friends listening. It was
what was happening in my brain. It was my mental health.
I said, well, okay. The mental health benefits far outweigh
even those you know benefits and that you see in
the mirror. And I will say, and so you need
(52:14):
to find what you love. If if okay, no shade,
if you hate the tread, you do not have to
run on the tread. You can swim, you can do yoga,
you can do gymnastics, you can walk. Trapeze, you can walk, right,
So that's did you just throw trapeze? I said?
Speaker 1 (52:30):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (52:31):
I said trapeze?
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Okay, I'm the only one confused by that.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
Do I incorporate that? It sounds fun?
Speaker 4 (52:40):
Don't they have that? Chelsea?
Speaker 3 (52:45):
I've always wanted to do that. Thank you, not that.
Speaker 4 (52:49):
Yes, I know where you run, don't see you?
Speaker 2 (52:52):
I know. Wait, let me ask you this. I know
you have an alter ego, Marah Marah thanner.
Speaker 4 (52:59):
I don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (53:01):
Have you ever run a marathon?
Speaker 4 (53:04):
I have run half marathons? Okay, really right the best?
So it's half marathons for me. And yeah, you're you're
learning something. This is I bet you a lot of
people surprise. I've never run a full marathon. It's on
the list. Oh wait, you said you want to do Berlin.
Speaker 3 (53:16):
I did Berlin.
Speaker 4 (53:17):
Oh you did Berlin? I did?
Speaker 3 (53:18):
I did Berlin.
Speaker 2 (53:19):
And yeah, we are now kind of addicted to doing
at least a marathon a year.
Speaker 4 (53:24):
The vision Board has Chicago, he did, listen, New York.
I really want done New York twice.
Speaker 2 (53:32):
I've done New York three times, three times, and I've
done Chicago once. But I really want I had this
in my head that I wanted to do the six Majors,
which are in New York, Chicago, Boston, Tokyo, and London.
Speaker 4 (53:47):
Tokyo's this weekend. Bex is there you run with Bes Gentry? Ever, No,
all right, Becks is amazing.
Speaker 3 (53:53):
But okay, so when's the marathon going to happen?
Speaker 4 (53:57):
It's possible that it could have might be the Berlin Marathon.
It all depends because I think I'm going to be,
you know, kind of busy next year, and i'd like
to do it before children.
Speaker 3 (54:07):
It's a really good idea.
Speaker 4 (54:08):
So that's right your wedding, Yeah right, So don't mark
my words here, people.
Speaker 2 (54:13):
Well, Berlin is fun because when you cross the finish
line in a well in New York and other places,
what I know, you know what I'm about to say,
because it was my favorite part of the marathon. They
don't have water stations or gatorade stations. They have a
big thing of beer. So you and honestly, we've talked
about this before.
Speaker 3 (54:33):
Sometimes there's nothing better than an ice cold beer after
a long run twenty six it's I mean, I've got
southern roots. It comes out sometimes you spit thottle sunflower.
Nothing better.
Speaker 2 (54:50):
Matthew, Well, my dad ran with me, and so did Dicky,
and so did my cousin, and we all laid in
the grass and drank that beer and just it was
the best.
Speaker 4 (55:02):
Reward, best beer you've ever had.
Speaker 3 (55:04):
It was the best beer I ever had.
Speaker 1 (55:06):
You do in the half coming up the New York City.
Speaker 4 (55:07):
I'm not signed up for anything right now, but I'm
thinking about it. I'm thinking we've been, you know, pretty
busy with life and whatnot. So it's it is been
on that treadmill a lot.
Speaker 1 (55:16):
But can I ask about the tree You said tread two.
Speaker 4 (55:19):
Why the tread plus tread plus why? Oh, it's it's
slat belt. It's a very just wonderful cushiony like running
on clouds. Its back on the market, and that is
I personally, no shade to my colleagues who teach on
the bike. The bike is very nice, but the tread
plus is like, that's the real that's the real deal
(55:41):
for me. My parents, my parents have it. And actually
during so right around when we kind of first connected,
I mean kind of in the throes of the pandemic,
we we got we got scrappy. I mean, kudos to
Peloton for being Okay, what are we gonna do. We
set up something like fourteen remote studios in our homes
and I went I went home to Rhode Island and
(56:04):
taught in my parents' basement on their tread plus And
they have I tell this story so many times and
not the first time Sheild has heard it. My parents.
You know, it's like a drop ceiling or in the basement,
it's like maybe a seven foot ceiling on six '
one the treads, it's almost like a foot off the ground.
So we had to build. We had to we had
to literally build a fortified box over me so that
(56:27):
I could teach for the cameras and they could still
see my head and I wouldn't crash my head.
Speaker 1 (56:31):
Into the No.
Speaker 2 (56:33):
Peloton was a lifeline during the pandemic. I mean it
was really, really was. I I never missed a day.
I was so thankful for what you all did because
it was so helpful. I think in the in the pandemic,
people either stopped working out altogether and just say effet,
or people I got probably the fittest I ever was
(56:54):
during a pandemic. But it was in large part to
you and to your colleague. So thank you.
Speaker 4 (56:58):
That means, that means a lot. We hear that, We
hear that a lot, and it's great because we formed
those really wonderful relationships with people, and we do. Like
that's the thing. It's not just like a one way thing.
I answer my DMS and I see the comments and
I know who's been taking my classes for six years
and I know who had a baby. That sounds creepy,
(57:20):
but like, no, you do. They celebrate people posts. You know,
you're just you all get inbound, you know, And it's
that's the that's the best part of it. It's there's
a a tried and true, authentic relationship building aspect to
the job.
Speaker 1 (57:38):
All right, Well, last to wrap from me here, not
quite a not quite rapid fire, but there's something I'm
sure people are curious about you or your health and
your fitness. So I'll start with this. How many hours
of sleep a night? Do you get?
Speaker 4 (57:49):
Eight?
Speaker 1 (57:50):
You get eight?
Speaker 4 (57:51):
No matter what?
Speaker 1 (57:51):
All right, so you get in So that's bedtime and
what and up at what time?
Speaker 4 (57:55):
We're usually in bed by ten? Do do my math right?
And like six fifteen?
Speaker 1 (58:01):
Yeaheah? What's your favorite shoe to run in?
Speaker 4 (58:05):
Oh? I'm wearing them right now. And I didn't do
this on purpose, but these are my Brooks. These are
actually the new Brooks glicerin stealth Fit twenty ones. Fantastic.
I really flat foot, Like I kid you not there
when I you know, you go in the pool and
you you see your footprint?
Speaker 3 (58:21):
How's that when you wear heels?
Speaker 4 (58:22):
Oh my god, I know, well size fourteen, you know? So, yeah,
I need like a fortified arch, I need a I
need a chunky I need a I need a chunky wedge.
So you continue, so yeah, but yeah, I love I
love the Brooks. That's not an endorsement, but it is
what I'm wearing today, and I.
Speaker 1 (58:39):
Do love these glass She jumped in because the heels
question is not well, I didn't know that. The other
thing your diet. Do you always get in three meals
a day? And what type of things are you?
Speaker 4 (58:48):
Yeah? I try, I try, and again, I'm always like
cautious because as you know, it's it's so customed to
each and every every every person is different when I
eat versus what you eat. You, I know. The grossest
thing that I do, Sure, I do. This is the
browest thing that I do. I chug egg whites in
the morning. Wow, I do? I do? I get that
(59:10):
Trader Joe's. I know, I know the faces in this room.
I know, and you know what, It's fine. You just
plug your nose and it tastes like milk. And then
and then I do my my ag one and then
I drink my coffee. After I do the I wait
for the coffee so you don't have the crash.
Speaker 1 (59:26):
Wait a second, you put in egg whites something and
then coffee in the morning.
Speaker 4 (59:30):
Yeah, okay, And then I teach, Wow, when's the bathroom?
Speaker 3 (59:36):
It happens at some point. It happens at that point.
Speaker 1 (59:40):
Some point.
Speaker 4 (59:41):
Sometimes we're surprised.
Speaker 3 (59:44):
Okay, I'm done with and.
Speaker 1 (59:48):
Scene.
Speaker 2 (59:50):
You know, I am just so happy to finally meet
you in person, and I knew you were going to
be this amazing.
Speaker 3 (59:57):
Just bright light.
Speaker 2 (59:58):
And uh, it's just an honor to be able to
actually get to sit down with you hear your story,
and I just you know, want to thank you. I
think on behalf of all the people who watch you,
follow you, are inspired by you and work out because
of you. I know you know you've changed lives and
you're still doing it. So your purpose. I love that
you switched your career because you wanted to have an impact.
(01:00:19):
You're doing that. And thank you for sharing all of
this with us and with everyone listening.
Speaker 4 (01:00:24):
Thank you. You both are wonderful and I really appreciate
it's such an honor to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
Well, Matthew Thomas, Folks, you can catch him at.
Speaker 3 (01:00:36):
Matthew Thomas.
Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
You're like, you're the opposite of Matthew Thomas.
Speaker 1 (01:00:41):
But no, what is the message to end on this?
What he wrote to you and you said he wanted
to be the light? What was the he used a phrase?
Speaker 4 (01:00:49):
I said, I'm bringing some sunshine. Listened to the past
two episodes, there are a lot of feelings. I said,
well listen, if if you didn't want me to, if
you didn't want feelings. In today's episode, you shouldn't have
brought me in, and we brought some feelings.
Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
But she spoke of it in a way that he
is going to light the place up with his energy
and with positivity. And there were even a couple of questions.
I was about to ask you, and I switched him
up to make sure it wasn't a downer or I
wanted you to criticize something. But you talk about toxic positivity.
Speaker 3 (01:01:15):
Is that a thing?
Speaker 4 (01:01:16):
Oh, that's totally Oh that's because it's disingenuous. It's disingenuous
and it's and people see right through it.
Speaker 3 (01:01:23):
Okay, you can't always be that happy.
Speaker 4 (01:01:25):
You can't be happy. I I use I use you
know this analogy of you know, it's like it's if
you're an optimistic person on a cloudy day, you know
that the sun is still beyond the clouds. You know
that sun's gonna come out. That's about being an optimistic person.
People say, oh, mad, you're you're so happy. How do
you stay so happy? I'm oh, believe me. I have
(01:01:46):
voodoo dolls at home.
Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
I should we should add how do you do it?
And the
Speaker 3 (01:02:04):
Pat the patent
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.