January 27, 2023 • 58 mins
This week, Rachel Zoe speaks with The Lady Gang girls, Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jac Vanek on becoming best friends and coworkers! The Lady Gang's popular podcast and brand is such an inspiration, and it's even more impressive that the creation of their business was the foundation of their friendship from the very start.
Sponsors:
Curateur- CURATEUR is a shopping community curated by global fashion authority Rachel Zoe. Take an additional 30% off these products and SO MANY MORE with code WINTER30 through January 31st. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one, so head to CURATEUR.com.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to currently with kiatur, where I share my
latest style obsessions, all of which you can access through
my shopping community Katour. The biggest news ever is our
winter warehouse sale, which is still going strong. While we
make a way for a ton of fresh spring inventory,
you can save on winter favorites to get you through
the season in style. I'm talking Paraschlle sweaters and scarves,
(00:24):
PMD beauty tools and sunglasses from my own collection. Take
an additional thirty percent off these products and so many
more with code Winter thirty through January thirty. First. Trust me,
you don't want to miss this one, so head to
katour dot com. That's cu R at eu R dot
(00:44):
com and shot the sale. Now. Hi everyone, I'm Rachel
Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels. This show
is all about celebrating the most extraordinary superwomen who will
be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all while
(01:06):
staying glimmerous. Today, we thought we'd bring back one of
our favorite episodes from Works for Us, the episode with
the Outstanding Lady Gang Keelty Knight, Becca Tobin and Jack Vanneck.
These three ladies speak about thriving together in both friendship
and business, and are perfect examples of climbing their way
to the top together in heel. Finding the right people
(01:31):
to collaborate with can be an absolute challenge for most people,
but for our guest today, they were actually able to
find their kindred spirits and dream collaborators in each other
so that they could thrive together in business and even
more importantly, in friendship. The Lady Gang is a celebrity
driven brand for women by women from the minds and
(01:52):
mouths of Kelty Knight, Becca Tobin and Jack Venneck. The
popular Lady Gang podcast since its inception twenty fifteen, has
boasted over one hundred million downloads holy crap, making it
one of the most popular podcasts for women in the world.
The show has been nominated for Webby Award, which by
the way, my husband created People's Choice Award, and in
(02:16):
twenty sixteen was named Podcast of the Year. We are
so excited to say that we have beca Keelty and
Jack of the Lady Gang on works for us today.
So welcome, ladies, Okay, hi having us. I'm so happy
(02:36):
you're here. This is so much fun. And by the way,
just so you know I disinvited Roger today. It was like,
there's literally zero percent chance that I have a shot
with four on one here, and I was like, yeah,
well no, we don't want you anyway, and he's like, okay, great,
I have so much work to do. I'm like, okay, bye.
If I had known he created the Webbies, then I
would have invited him because we didn't win a rude
(03:00):
we needed like, yeah, we needed some insider help because yeah,
it was an l Well, we also had a show
on E the year we are nominated for a People's
Choice Award and E host that show, and we didn't
win that either, So it's kind of like bullshit. You know, listen, listen.
Winning is overrated. Honestly, it is brand listen to me.
I think, like I always you know, they always say like, oh,
(03:22):
it's an honor to be nominated. It really is, because
winning is a very bizarre thing because it's swayed so easily.
There's so many variables. I mean, you see it in
awards season every year like who should have? Who could have?
Who was the the the obvious choice and then it
went the total other way. So I do think just
being nominated means that you kind of won. I know
that sounds are real, but I think that's just the
(03:45):
way we should think about this. What do you think
I love and you have the same fashion moments at
award shows. There's no extra moment honestly, you guys, no
one cares who wins. It's really what you look like
on the carpet, honestly true. And sometimes you don't win,
but you still win, and sometimes the winners lose all
the time. Time that's what you're gonna wear to win
(04:08):
your Oscar thoughts about that, But you're not wrong. Don't
you love it when the perfect like storm happens and
the person that wins is wearing the best dress and
they walk up there and just win. And it's like
those moments really just those really just make me happy.
And in those moments, those are the seconds that make
(04:28):
me wish that I'm like, Okay, I miss it for
this five minute period, I really miss it, you know.
So you guys, I want to just talk for a
minute about your individual backstories because I know that you're
obviously all very accomplished, your badass, your ballers, you all
do like a billion and one things, um kelty, very cool,
that you are a rocket. I just need to spring
(04:50):
that out because that's like a major thing. Um uh.
And now you're a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, which is
also right, I cover it wells Like I think the
first time I met you, Rachel, was I mean years ago.
We used to do big fashion week coverage. Now the
fashion weeks are kind of like a little less exciting
in New York, but you had I remember the reason
(05:15):
I remember this. You had like a white studio and
there were well that's like very fashion, isn't it. It's
like every show ever. But it was one of your
fashion week shows, and like I remember like interviewing you
after you were wearing a white suit with like maybe
a black lapel, and the collection had like an insane
cardigan nit crocheted sweater, which I know is like one
(05:36):
of your staples, was probably in every collection. But I
remember like covering all these fashion shows and I was like, Oh,
who the fuck is wearing this? And then I covered
your show and I was like I want every single
I feel like a boho kind of girl in my heart.
So it was like very much in that vein. But
and you were always so nice and fashion people are
(05:57):
so nasty. They treat the press like you're literally cockroaches
because they know you're wearing like the Jessica Simpson version
of the Manolo and they like they know that in
their heart, and you're like, I know, but I am
a journalist and I do not have enough money for
the Manolos, so I'm trying to keep it. She get
Fashion Week, but like this shit's from Target, and you
(06:17):
were always so fucking nice. Oh, let me tell you
my thought on that. You know, it's funny because I
actually hear that. You know, I would say throughout my
career the number one thing of God, God is there
always Like I thought you were going to be an
evil bitch and you were the nicest, friendliest. I was like,
(06:37):
good fashion really has a bad rap. And I do
say that, Like listen, I came into the business and
fashion people were scary, you know what I mean? They
just were. I was terrified. Everywhere I went. I was terrified.
And my first and only boss actually said to me, verbatim,
you're way too nice to make it in this industry.
And they did, and she did, And I'll remember for
(07:00):
the rest of my life and when people ask me, now,
sort of what's your advice to people coming up in
fashion or people coming up in any business. And I
do think you can win and be kind. You have
to have a hundred eyes open at all times, you do,
and little naive me was definitely did not have my
eyes open all the time. But I think at the
(07:20):
end of the day, I just don't think you have
to shit on people to succeed. I just don't buy that.
And I also, I also have always been about relatability,
and I know that people are like, oh my god,
you can only wear that because you're you, or because
you're this, or because you're that, and I actually don't
subscribe to that. So the mission behind my whole brand
has always been let's live your best life and you
(07:41):
can do it no matter what your budget is, no
matter where you live, no matter what you're getting dressed for,
dress for you, you you know, and have fun with it.
And I don't judge people. And I think people think
like I look at them like, oh, don't look at
what I'm weary, don't look at it, And I'm really
not looking at what you're wearing. That's what's so funny.
But but yeah, okay, so Becca quite accomplished as a
(08:03):
singer and actress of everything, and I don't understand and
also a dancer, and I don't understand why everyone can,
Like I'm confused why actors all of a sudden, not
all of a sudden, but can always like sing and
dance and like it's like this, it's like this gift,
like you get this like wand over your head when
(08:23):
you're born, and they're like, I'm going to give you
the gift of dancing, singing, acting, and like I shouldn't
get it. It's like I remember when Rhese Witherspoon did
like walk the line. I was like, I don't get it.
So she can she can sing too, Like I literally
like God was like, Okay, I'm gonna put all the
talent into these select people, right, what does thatst of
us get? Nothing? I can do none of them, none, none, none,
(08:47):
So it's just an all or nothing. Then, yes, I
will say that now more than ever, every celebrity seems
like they can sing because the technology in a recording
student is next level. So I will say that it's
not always the greatest talented singers. It's the most confident
actors who think they can sing. Okay, you know maybe,
(09:09):
and then I'm not buying it so far. But also
I think you're being nice to civilians, but a lot
of us it's misplaced confidence, first of all. But the
other thing is a lot of people started myself included
as like musical theater and words like I was a
junkie for Annie and thoroughly modern millie like Sutton Side,
(09:30):
but I can't sing, or Danny Love Danny every word
every word. Yeah you're quiet over there, rocket, but I
locked myself in my room every day and like belted
out soundtracks to Broadway shows, like I was a titled
I finessed whatever that skill was to the point where
I could get paid for it. No, but see true story.
(09:52):
I actually hear that quite a bit from my like
talented friends and clients over the years. Or like I
literally was like a theater nerd that locked myself in
my room, saying at the top of my lungs, I
didn't care who was in my house. I dressed up
like all the time and like costumes and played different
characters and played different roles in my family. And like,
(10:12):
so I think it is really this gift, And then
you decide if you're going to nurture it, which is
not easy. By the way. No, I'm still trying to
figure out that part of it. I think I think
you're doing great. Great, you have a new show on
Disney Plus, which is very exciting, exciting. So I'm pretty
sure you're going to get paid paid. That's exciting. Disney's
(10:34):
a reputable company and they do pay their acts. I'm
pretty sure they're they're they're they're really reputable. Yeah, it's
Turner and Hooch. And actually I watched the first three
episodes with my nine year old nephew and like six
minutes in he said to me, you know what, this
is a really good show, and he's God, they are
the toughest, most honest critics. I have a ten year
old son and a seven year old and they hold
(10:56):
nothing back. Yeah, well they're gonna love Turner and so nice.
It's it was a really fun time to to shoot.
We were up in Vancouver and just like druy dogs everywhere,
and I got to wear power suits and I got
to wear some Manola blondos. Actually, I mean the real one,
full circle, the real one, because because it's Disney, I
love it. So you had like an SJP moment. Yes,
(11:18):
there's a lot of them running around Vancouver, just instead
of Paris. But cool, yes, yeah, slightly less chic. She
had to wear a shimmer tight. She plays a lawyer
and so she had to like wear. She would post
these pictures on Instagram. I was like, I'm sorry, are
you wearing a hose? A panty hoe and like a
nice curl style. Rachel is a perfect person. Asked this question.
(11:39):
We have an ongoing fight in Lady Gang. Is it
panty hose or panty hoe? H h s there we go.
What I thought. You know what's so funny is we
could have googled this. We could have googled it, but
why would we? I still say tights. Stockings maybe, but
tights just because the reason I say tights is because
(12:01):
it makes me feel like I'm six, like the ones
I wore with my dresses, and I was six and
had like a little like form muff thing on my hands,
like and it feels just easier to say tights. I
don't know why that is. It's just pantyhose sounds like
underwear and like the garden hose. I don't know. Yes, okay, Jack,
so you've created your own brand, which is pretty insane.
(12:21):
Tell me you look like you have a lot to say.
She's like you guys could talk for hours. It's a
whole thing. Yeah. So when I was younger, I was
obsessed with music, and like back to our conversation, I
was not given the gift of a great voice, Like
I might have the worst voice of anybody that I've
ever met in my husband does actually great, so second
(12:43):
worst voice. I had no musical talent whatsoever. But I
was like inserting myself into this world of bands, and
I was going to shows and I were like kid
Hudson and almost famous. Yes, literally was anything except for
a little bit younger, and I was trying. I'm like,
I want to tour, I want to travel the world
and like be a rock star, but I have no ability.
(13:05):
By the way, my husband's the same. He wanted to
be Jim Marston, but like can't sing anything, you know.
Did he ever like figure out like how to circumvent
the problem? Now he just followed the Dead and still does.
By the way, I've always wondered who what people do that?
I am like, whoop that love fish around? Yeah, but
like now the Dead has John Mayre and He's like awesome.
(13:26):
So yeah, so Roger like loves it and he goes
and he always sees Andy COmON there. It's really funny. Yeah,
I freaking love that. Um So, what I did is
like back in the day, I was like big on MySpace,
like before all the social media situation was happening. So
I was like, Okay, I'm gonna like try to figure
this out. And I made these rubber bracelets that had
(13:47):
different words on them, and I sold him on my
MySpace page. I was going to concerts and selling shit
out of my backpack and it kind of blew up.
So I expanded it from there, and then I started
going and jumping on all these music tours. I would
have like a pop up tent that I would solve
my clothes out of an amazing living my best life. Yeah,
(14:08):
it was really fun and I got to like live
that rock star sort of a lifestyle with zero musical talent.
But now like really major people are wearing all of
your things, which is incredible, like Joe Jonas, Vanessa Hudgens, Kardelavine,
who's probably the coolest of everybody, right, I want to
be as cool as her. Oh my god, I love her.
She's so she's so yeah, and she's so nice too.
(14:29):
It's crazy because it's like, I mean, back in the day,
like usually I could tell when a celebrity, like I
knew somebody who knew them, so I could gift it
through people or share them personally. But then it was
just so weird when like a Lindsay Lohan was wearing
something like now, I'm sudden people actually want to buy
them and you see them out in the wild, You're like, wait,
I didn't give that to you. Yeah, how did you
(14:49):
get this? Did you go to my wedgit your address?
Oh my god. This literally happened with both Chloe and
Courtney Kardashian and our books. Last year. We were least
a book act like a lady, and we like had
one hundred books and we gifted them to everyone, and
so people are posting. We're like, oh my god, thanks,
but like you got that book for free, se right,
so that's why you're posting And we kind of like
friend pressured you into it. And then people started to
(15:12):
we all do it. No, listen, it's a hustle. But
then people started tagging us in pictures of like Courtney
and Chloe's houses and they'd be like hang out in
their kitchen and our book would be on the fucking
counter and we're like, how did you get the book?
How did you? I mean, it's chic, it's like a lady.
Everybody get it now? Yeah, how did you get this book?
(15:32):
And then I tried to write them and I was like, hey,
I saw Courtney has our book? Does she want to
come on the podcast? And it was like crickets, you know,
and God's fair. I feel like she totally would come on.
But I know, but that's amazing. I mean, listen, I
think what's so cool is you guys obviously have your
very different backgrounds, which is amazing. How did you actually
(15:54):
come together and think about doing this? Like how'd you meet?
How did this all happen? Like what the story? Because
the whole thing about works for us is it's really
getting into Like for me, it's about getting into like relationships,
married couples, best friends, people that work together, siblings, mother daughters.
So for me, you know, I just always want to
(16:16):
know sort of like what how did this happen? And
like how how did the love story begin between you guys?
Because three girls? You guys is not easy. It's usually
a shit storm. So we have this crazy psychotic and
(16:36):
if I were listening to this, I wouldn't even believe
it because I am a sister and I know how
psychotic and evil and manipulative women are capable of being
when feeling threatened. Yeah, the three of us have the
most healthy knock on wood. But it's been almost six years.
Healthy productive, like efficient dynamic of any partnership I've ever had,
(17:00):
male or female or whatever. It is, Like, it's for
whatever reason, the three of us work really well together.
I think it's because we're all so different. Yeah, and
we all have an awareness to stay in our lane.
Like we have different strengths. Like Jack is esthetically a queen.
She can look at something and be able to change
a font slightly to make it look like it's the
(17:20):
chicest thing you've ever seen. I can look at something
and have no idea how to fix it. I just
know it's ugly. Right, Can we use curls? And then
we're like Kelty that went away ten years ago and
that's okay. So I think, like to go back to
how it started. Kelty and I knew each other from
living in New York City, being broke ass dancers, like
(17:41):
standing in line at eight am and like waiting to
get into a cattle call, and we would just keep
seeing each other and finally we lost lost touch. We
were both out in LA. I was working on the
show Glee, and she was working for Entertainment Tonight, casually
not working Okay, cool, Okay. So I was working on
the show and I had just moved straight from New
(18:03):
York City to LA to be on this show. So
I'd never done TV, I'd never done a red carpet,
and I would see Kelty on these red carpets and
we would just sort of make eye contact with each
other and be like, is this an alternate universe? Weren't
we just dancing? Like? Were you just beating me out
for jobs? Became so cool, It was so cool, and
I kind of leaned on Kelty in that beginning phase
(18:24):
of being like do I really need a publicist? And
She's like, you absolutely need a fucking publicist. Nobody gets
any work without a publicist. And um, so she was like,
stop wearing black on the red carpet. Yeah, no one
will put you in in style yet unless it's really
special black. No, unless you're Aunt Hathaway or like Jelena Jolie.
It's like nobody wants to see you in black, or
(18:46):
the dress is extra, do you know what I mean?
Like if it's if it's special black dress as opposed
to like simple black dress. Yeah, yeah, I don't know
how to do extras. So it's like she was like,
you're really boring the hell out of me, please like
figure it out. So we kind of made this connection
and she was my security blanket at all these weird events.
And then we were having a sad lunch at Cafe
(19:08):
one O one rest in peace. It's no longer there,
like so much, so much. We're eating our sad salads
and sad veggie burgers, and we were like, we need
something of our own, like I'm so sick of waiting
for my phone touring. I'm so sick of waiting to
see if Rian Murphy will put me in another TV show,
like how much can you stalk somebody before they get
a restraining order? And she's like, let's do a podcast
(19:32):
because we wanted a talk show, but nobody's going to
give like two unnamed losers like a talk show. Healthy's
a genius. She had the fourth thought to be like,
this is going to be big. Podcasts are going to
be huge. We're going to do it. And I know
the third girl to make this rounded out and not
and give us a little street cred because Jack was
an entrepreneur, she wasn't an entertainment and we kind of
(19:52):
needed that trifectaus so people would be interested in us
and find a little piece of themselves in each of us.
So how was it? We just off to the races,
like blindly the blind and it just got lucky. And
Jack and I used to date the same guy, so
we have the same ex boyfriends. That true. Yeah, yeah,
I'm gonna jump in here and say what I always
do it. Kelty took my sloppy seconds. I did it
(20:14):
in first and then we broke up and she thought
that that we were maybe still together. She made out
with him, But thank god for what band? What were
you listening to? Like an Inner Pol song? And it
came Incubus. I was listening to an Incubus song. So
we could beside the timeline of when this happened, because
(20:36):
I'm like, was Kelty dating him? This is so rude?
Done her with me? But Rachel, you should know that
the man they were fighting over were leather vests an eyeliner.
So it wasn't the two thousands, was it was not
the two thousands? This was like when what two thousand?
It was two thousand, thousand and nine. Oh see you
(21:00):
dated him, Yeah, yeah, you were like two thousand and
five Jack. Anyway, it was I had better and all that.
That was kind of like Morrissey days and like what
about what it was? Em what about a vest made
out of roses? It was like a it was like
a stitch. Was he was a rock here? The thing
neither of you were with him now, which is no, no,
(21:22):
no helpful. Yes, And we I knew Jack because we
had dated the same guy and we had been like
kind of pitted against each other on my Space. But
I had always thought Jack was the fucking coolest woman
I'd ever met. I always wanted to wear all of
her stuff that she made, but like I really couldn't
because then the internet was like a sword. So yeah,
I was like, oh cool, Um, so you know, I
(21:44):
like knew her, but I was like, god, you know,
I've always wanted to be in the cool kids club, Rachel,
like that's my Like I just want to be invited
to be cool. Thank you are cool. Thanks, I'm not
thank you. I would take this and put it as
a real on Instagram. Why I think you're cool? Of life?
(22:04):
I feel like such cool vibes because do you know what?
To me and Roger and I always say this, it's
the people that like are self deprecating and so hyper
aware of what their sort of comfort zone is, what
they want, and they're so honest about it. To me,
the people say they want the invitation and they want
(22:26):
those actually are the cool people. Because it's the people
to me that only care about getting the invitation that
pretend the thing they don't care about is getting the invitation.
For me, the actual cool people are the people that
say what they are and are like living their truth
and like, I just think like being honest and funny
and candid is what actually makes you cool. I swear
(22:50):
and I've always thought that way. It's the people that
you know, have come into my life in a very
big way over the years that basically spend every waking
moment of their life trying to tell me exactly who
they aren't and don't want to be, but it's exactly
who they are. And they're hypocrites, you know, and I
know a lot of those. So I actually think the
royal cool people are the people that are truthful because
(23:12):
I just, you know, I don't that you know, obviously,
you guys are familiar with the term desperate, and I
think there's a lot of it's my middle name. No
it isn't, because I actually think by you saying how
many times can I stock Ryan Murphy, like, to me,
that actually makes you so fucking cool? You know what
I mean? Honestly, And you know, we were school parents
(23:34):
for many years together and he's awesome actually, and can
you give her another job? But now I feel I
feel like he fully knows you. Yeah, I mean, he
was a wonderful, wonderful person to work for. I think
I got spoiled. He's absolutely brilliant, and I got so
(23:55):
spoiled that being like my first TV job, because after that,
I would get these scripts and be on these sets
and I'd be like, this is some rinky thig bullshit
and They're like, no, it's just not Ryan Murphy. I'm like, oh,
damn it, You're gonna end up back there, trust I
promise life. Just like you go like this, you go
in like a circle, so that you have to kind
of be kicked to the side and down and upside
(24:16):
down a little to know how badly you want to
get back to where you once were. And you know,
they always say it's like getting to the top is
easier than staying there, right, It just is and not
applies to every job, no matter what it is. It's
just it really applies to the iTunes charts when you're
a podcaster that's for show lunch big, and then that
(24:38):
algorithm really sucks you. I was gonna say, you're talking
about working together. I think this secret sauce for us
is this level of compassion and honesty. So it's like
we do not let shit simmer, Like if something's going on,
if someone's fucking up, if someone is you know, doing
an emailing in a weird like her that's actually mostly me,
(25:01):
Like we nip it in the bud right away, and
then also having compassion for each other and the way
we work, Like I am an a type, Like I
sat up all day yesterday writing emails and then like
sent them out this morning and like like listen, listen
to Jack's Like I got to work at eleven o'clock
at night because that's when I'm productive. Sure, that is
not my schedule, but I'd be very compassionate to like, Okay,
(25:23):
I'm not going to hear from her about this font
at eleven m because that's not her, you know. And
so having that understanding of not trying to change people, Yep,
it's a secret. I think that's a really important part
because I think there's a lot of this. It is acceptance,
and I think working together as you know, as friends
(25:44):
and business partners. Now, I mean, was there ever a
time where you guys were not friends and it was
like just strictly professional and you guys were like, or
have you always just been this like super synergistic girl group.
It's funny because we actually, none of them, we're really
that close. When we started the podcast, like Becca and
I hadn't even met each other, Like her, I'm like,
(26:07):
who is this Bet? I don't know her. I don't
know her. Her and I had never met before. And
we met for the first time as we are going
into our pitch meeting for our network and I was like, hey,
I'm Jack. She's like hey, and Becca. And then we
go in the room and we're like Yeah, So our
podcast is based on like Mimosa Brunches with your bestie,
and we just kind of went into it. But that's
(26:29):
kind of part of the secret sauce too, is because
we none of us were really that close to begin with.
We've grown to know each other through the podcast and
through being business partners, and that is the reason why
I feel like it's kept us, like our relationships so
good because we're still not best friends. We don't hang
out outside of work for the most part, like because
(26:52):
our work is so fun too. We get to know
each other on the podcast. Course that's where there's like
a level of professionalism and respect or one another because
we don't have this weird dynamic going on underneath our
surface of like years and years of friendship and weird
stuff bubbling up to the surface. So that's kept us
kind of in a really really good, healthy place. Well,
(27:15):
I actually like love your business. I mean, you guys
have done a book, you're obviously on a show, your
podcast is hugely successful. I mean, did you ever think
that like the brand would manifest itself in so many ways?
And like what do you share the same goals for
the future or do you just kind of like roll
with it because you know, for me, people always ask
(27:36):
like how do I do what you did? Or how
did you become? And the truth is I never really
scripted it. I never really laid it out. I just
kind of wing my whole way through life. And if
you ask anyone on my team, I mean I literally
like I really do wing it because I find that
if I plan it, if I try and set these
goals and if I don't hit it, I'm going to
(27:57):
feel like I failed. And you know, I'm such a
virgo that it's like I never get complacent, but I
think I always feel like I have so much more
to do. So I guess with with your brand, you
know what, like have you done everything? Do you have
a million more things to do? Like what what? What
are your thoughts? Like what's the plan if any or
(28:18):
do you just roll? This is like the beauty of
it is that Kelty's the one who makes these like
manifestation lists. You know, they're like taped to her mirror.
There she gets really in the nitty gritty with herself
about what she wants to accomplish for herself in the brand.
And so but I will With that being said, there
was never any roadmap because we didn't actually think that
(28:41):
you could make a living podcasting. It was a side hustle.
And so when you're thinking about something as a hobby
and sort of just an outlet, you're not the expectations
are so low. Yeah, and so the first ad that
we sold, it was like, oh, well that's cool, but
it's like five dollars and we're not going to be
paying our mortgages off of this thing. So Kelty was
(29:02):
achieving all of her journalism and entertainment journalism goals. I
was still acting, Jack was still doing her brand, and
we would come together to have this like fun time
for an hour a week. And it's like, when you're
busy focusing on all these other things that you have
these high expectations for, you come into this other, this
other like venture so lightly yeah, so lately freedom to
(29:27):
just go through the doors that open and have the
meetings that come to you. And it really did. We
did work our asses off, not to say that we
didn't invest a ton of time and energy and our
own money into it in the beginning, but like it
was almost so easy because we didn't have expectations and
we never in a million years thought that we could
ever build any kind of like brand to us. It
(29:49):
was hilarious that it was even referred to as a
brand for the first two years. So it's so great.
It's been. It's been wonderful. And as far as like
long term goals go, I'll let l you takeover because
obviously she has like eighty five goals for us. Bring
out You're Bojo no, you know what? You know? What's
interesting is that, like we started this and then I
(30:10):
knew something had clicked Rachel when we like I used you, Well,
you're very well known, and so when you walk anywhere,
people are like, I think I just saw Rachel Zoe.
Like some people probably come up to you, some people don't.
But like for me being on et, like really the
only place that people really like double looked at me
was like on airplanes. That was my like real people,
Like I'd walked on an airplane and people would be like,
(30:31):
I know you, or they'd be like hey, and then
I was like, you don't know me in real life.
And so what with Lady Gang, Like about a year
in Becca was always getting recognized for Glee, but like
Jack and I would be like at home goods or
we'd be at Target and like people would be chasing
us across the parking lot and they'd be like, oh
my god, I love Lady Gang so much. Like a
girl came out to my home good she was like,
(30:51):
oh my god, I knew you were here because I
saw your husband in the towel aisle. Like it's like, yeah,
Like it's just that's when I realized, like, something real
is happening here. How can we harness this? And our
mission has always been to make women feel less alone?
And I really love We had Bethanny Frankel on the
podcast in December and I was talking to about philanthropy,
(31:12):
and it was like, you know, we want to give back.
We've been doing all these charity things, but then it's like,
are we allowed to make money off the podcast? Like
what if I just want this to be my full
time job now? And she was like, I feel like
the more successful I am, the more I can give back.
And she's like, and I put the two in two
different piles. I don't do ten percent of proceeds I do.
I make all the money, as Bethanny Frankel, and I
(31:32):
give back in a big way, and I think that's
how Lady Gang is moving forward is that you know,
we're going to continue to make money. We'll do books,
we'll do clothes, we'll do whatever comes our way. That's
fun in a collaboration where we can serve our girl.
But at the end of the day, we really want
to serve women and help them and continue to give
money and goods to like, you know, people who are
(31:54):
not as privileged as us. And so that's kind of
the big goal. I mean, I would love to be
a fifty million dollar brand, but like you know, we'll
see you will be. I don't work on it. I
just want to say we launched our subscription box at
a very similar time to when you started yours, and
I know it's now transition and we have since given
(32:15):
up maybe well we are also we were all in
our shipping everything ourselves in garage. So you guys, it's
an insane business, but it's but I have to say,
you know, and a lot in part on that side
of it, to Roger and the sort of operational side
(32:35):
of it, it is a massive, massive undertaking and the
reason we turned it into what's now called Curator because
beyond the actual box that we do every season we
wanted to actually create this entire membership lifestyle program for
women so that they came yes to get their curation
every quarter, but that we wanted them to stay there
(32:58):
and create this whole membership shot and all these experiences
and basically be like almost like an AMEX platinum card
for women to come in shop, get styled and feel
safe and get access they can't get anywhere else. How
did the pandemic affect like your relationships with each other
if they did at home with the podcast? I mean,
(33:20):
I imagine the podcast even went probably even way bigger
over the pandemic, right, I mean, more people listening. I
think the biggest difference is before the pandemic, we I mean,
we had been doing this for five years, two episodes
a week, never missed a single episode in that entire time,
and every amazing person so like we needed to make
(33:43):
sure that one of us didn't end up getting sick
because then we wouldn't be able to put a podcast episode.
So obviously everything transferred to zoom over the pandemic. So
that was honestly the hugest logistical difference for us, But
it has given us so much freedom because now Becca
moved to Austin. Yea, I travel a lot, so now
(34:04):
we can podcast literally if the three of us were
a totally from each other. So that actually has been
a positive in our lives because before, I mean, Becca
wouldn't have been able to move at all because we
need her twice a week for the podcast. That's amazing.
That has really screwed us, Rachel, thanks for asking, is
that all these other people have come out with podcasts.
(34:24):
I mean, let's be honest, the pandemic was wonderful for us,
but then it also gave all these celebrities her portals
that other TV shows, in their movies. They got bored,
they weren't getting enough attention, and so they were like,
I think I'm going to launch a podcast, and then
they did, and then they went to the top of
the Apple charts, and I had meltdowns. Let's be screwed. Yeah,
(34:45):
there's that too. But I want to give you a
lot of credit because you know, it's funny when podcasts
first came out. You know, literally everybody was like, Rachel,
you have to do a podcast. Use your podcast. How
what They're like, you can do it from your couch,
you could do it. I didn't really understand it because
I'm not you know, I'm not a commuter, which my
commuter friends and employees are the most podcast you know, verse,
(35:11):
I guess is the word. But I was sort of
alone on an island because I'm always a little late
to understanding the newest sort of platform and podcasts. And
I was like, Puck, I'm like, I don't understand when
am I going to listen? When when do I not
have a child in my ear or my team kind
of like pulling me into a room somewhere. It was
just like unfathomable to me, and so I guess a
(35:33):
couple of years later, it's just the conversation started happening
and I was like, I feel like there's two billion podcasts.
I don't think I should do a podcast. And what
happened to your point in the pandemic, you know, the
opportunities kind of just came and Roger and I were
obviously working like animals at home, and it just became
such for me, it's such a fun I don't want
(35:56):
to say easy, but just it's amazing. It's a fun,
very organic thing because way more than television for me,
you know, I was a psych major. I was not
a fashion major. I was a psych and social major.
So for me, actually doing this and talking to you guys,
for me is the most natural thing I've ever done
in my career because I just feel like I get
(36:17):
to hang out with cool women like you guys and
just shoot the shit and like talk about life and
the things that whatever. You know. And so for me,
you know, having Roger on it as annoyed. No, I'm
just kidding, but like we've been together. We're celebrating almost
thirty not almost thirty years. August twenty ninth will be
thirty years together from our first day. So holy. So
(36:37):
when it kind of came to, hey, you know, we
want to do this relationship podcast with you and Roger,
that to me became so fascinating because I was like,
I love to get into people's heads and I love
to get into what makes them work, what their magic sauces,
what all of that. So that was actually the impetus.
But you know, when we started getting all these ads
(36:57):
and sponsors, I was like, really they wanted like I
was literally like you, I was like a head tilt.
I was like, they want to they want to like us, Okay, cool,
So I get it. But I was one of those joking.
Of course, No, I actually agree with you, because everybody's
doing a podcast, But I don't disagree with you. What's
really great about a rage is that, um, when we
(37:19):
first started, right the ads that were coming to us
were man ads because people really doing podcasts were meant
there were sports and there was like Adam Carolla and
Howard Stern technically like like sports radio. We had like yeah,
we had like Zip Zip Recruiter, who we love great,
like the great thing, but it was like a lot
of men SuDS. Yeah, and we could not get a
(37:40):
female brand to sponsor the podcast. What's happened now? Everyone
starting these podcasts during the pandemic and so many A
listers and recognizable names. Yeah, sure, it's a challenge to
still like make room for us. But at the same
time it's like every major brand, I mean our brand
sponsors are Vogue, Chanel, like Diz Knee, like, I mean,
(38:01):
are you dead? Like I feel like you have fully
when we got the Chanel ad, I was like, I'm sorry,
I'm sorry. I was like, yeah, I don't think you're
I don't ever waiting for the invite. I don't think
you're waiting for that invite. But it's like that everywhere,
the level was never there, you know, the level that
(38:21):
level of ad is only because the A listers have
come and recognized what people are now doing podcasts that
they can go and be like, oh, we should be
working in the podcast world, you know. And that's an
incredible gift because I podcast or the jam. Yeah, and
I actually think, well, I also, what I actually really
love about podcast is that you can't see anybody, you
(38:42):
know what I mean. It's actually what made me love
um Clubhouse. I actually loved that no one there wasn't
like a narcissistic element to it. It wasn't like you
had to go here and makeup, you had to like
be judgy. It was just you're actually just listening to voice,
which actually makes you listen rather than get distracted. So
I actually thought that was fantastic. But I think you
(39:04):
guys have created a movement. I think you're so impressive.
I really think all of you are amazing, and I
don't I mean, I think you've fully made it. I mean,
I'm sure you're gonna I'm sure the best is still
yet to come. But I am super impressed with all
of you, what's the biggest I mean, if ever have
(39:24):
you ever gotten in like a fight and just like
did it last or was it dramatic or you could
say no, by the way, I mean, it's usually when
I melted down and do something stupid. Kelty has what
we like to call it kelt down every couple of
months when things just get like very overwhelming, and then
she might go into our Facebook group and start sharing
(39:47):
personal details about her life that she should it stop
and then be then I need to have an intervention
and then we have like a group phone called to
really you know, get Kelty out of that one space.
That's like our biggest conundrum that ever happens within the
Lady Gang. I really think that, like the thirty five
thousand girls in our Facebook group are my best friends.
(40:08):
So like when I happened to be going through a
hard time, I may like overshare. It's like who I
am as a human. I think everyone's my friend, and
then those people will like take that information and blackmail
me with it, which is like, okay, Kelsey, do you
remember what I said as I was coming up in
the industry, you have to have ten eyes open all
the time. Yes, because I'm telling you, being naive in
(40:30):
this industry will just never help you. It will only
hurt you. And I am the same. I am guilty
of the same, and I have learned the hard way.
So Kelsey's she's not even naive. She knows better, but
she was. We had to have a conversation during COVID
where I almost drafted a contract to say I will
(40:52):
not post in the Facebook group without checking with my
business partners to the content going up. Like it was
like three strikes and you're out. She had like thirteen strikes,
And finally we were like, oh, we know that you
love sharing, and we know that like Kelty was also
a fun fact one of the original bloggers, like she was.
(41:14):
I could see that, and she made friends by sharing
her life, and she really is somebody who she just
genuinely wants to do that, like it's it's her way,
it's her therapy, if you will. By the way, I think,
listen to go to that for a second. I think
social media. Look, if I shared, if I was more
(41:35):
that way, I'd probably have ten million followers, you know
what I mean. I have three and a half million
follows the reality of it is, I think the people
that share and expose and really feel they really show
the real vulnerable moments and things like that. You know,
I try to share enough, but I really I really
keep a lot in to it tight, you know what
(41:57):
I mean. And I don't think there's any right or
wrong to anything on social I think your social is
your um, it's you know, how you approach social is
is very interesting because I think it's how much you
choose to share. And I think everyone has a different
level of comfort with that. The problem that I'm hearing
(42:19):
here not to place you know, therapists, but I think
I think no, I think the I think you can share,
but you can't share on others behalf. That's the thing.
Once you bring other people in, you get in trouble.
If it's you sharing, you you got to do you,
you know what I mean. So I think that's it,
Like if you want to take them to the gynecologists
(42:40):
like cool, Yeah she will, And she just took her
Instagram following to doctor Diamonds where you did did you
did facial? Got that chin back? Baby? No? But I
actually learned a really hard lesson UM. I've learned hard
less since over the last six years with this because
(43:01):
I would. I love all these these followers and I
do consider them like friendly. And recently I had um
a fan of ours who was a longtime fan and
had been dming me, but I there's like all those
sections of dms now, like where you can't see who's
dm ing, and like I don't really I can't look,
(43:23):
and then like I might see Jacks, but I don't
see this on he I guess had this fan had
been dming me for like months and I hadn't liked
it or responded or whatever, and they took it very
personally and like left the lading and stopped listening to
lat Gang because they didn't feel like we were friends anymore.
And I was like, this is he doesn't even respond
to like our dms either. I haven't spoken to my
(43:44):
mother in two weeks. Like that that is who I am.
And like when we were on our TV show, producers
would be like healthy didn't respond to my text. They
were like, yeah, it wasn't healthy, that's how she is.
So we lost fans because of it. So it's like
maybe I've opened myself too much, and so I think
it's always cool to address it. I just think address
(44:05):
it and be like, guys, we have so much going
on and like I can't. I'm overwhelmed and I can't
stay on top of everything. And if I don't respond
to you, I'm sorry, I put you know what I mean. Yeah,
and then it's kind of just an overwriting apology and
let them kind of sit with that like you're talking
to them. Yeah, you know, I think that's helpful because
(44:25):
it's true. How can you respond to everybody that texts
your damn too? That's crazy? You know. Well, you guys,
I am endlessly fascinated with all of you. This has
been so fun for me because I always like marvel
at girls that can work so closely together, maintain a
respect for one another, not get in fights all the time.
(44:48):
And you know, I always say women are really hard
sometimes and at the same time great women are the best,
you know, And I think that there are secrets to
the success of female relationship for sure. But I just
love seeing you guys. I love hearing you guys. I
love seeing your energy, you know. And I love the
brand and I think it's awesome. I love what you
stand for, and I love that you were one of
(45:08):
the first, you know, so and I actually I'm saying
it here and now I think you're fucking cool, you know,
all of you. I'm literally about to go into the
office and write on my whiteboard ten eyes open, and
it's going to live there forever. You must have ten
eyes open. That should be on your manifest or I could.
If I can leave you with anything, please please open.
My kids actually say mommy has eyes behind her head.
(45:34):
You guys, now, I have to ask you, like just
a few silly, fun questions that we always end with
just because it's silly and it's a little bit like
newly wed style, like you kind of answer on each
other's behalf. Okay. One of my favorites that I can
ever not ask because it's always the funniest answer, what
would each of you get arrested for? And you can't
(45:54):
say your self. It has to be of d answer
for like what would Kelty get arrested for? Oh? Healthy?
Would does go? Jack? She's not a rule breaker? So
this is hard. What were you going to say? Oh,
you're right, she's not a rule breaker. It's hard. She
loves to follow a rule she does, although she would
(46:14):
get arrested for some type of terrible driving, like reckless driving.
She is the world's worst fucking driver. There you go,
there you go. You should be locked up already, Becca,
I already, I already know what your you would get
arrested for. But okay, what would Becca get arrested for? Him? Wait?
What do you think you said? You talking Ryan Murphy,
like binding his house or standing outside the school or something.
(46:38):
I think Becca would end up getting arrested for some
sort of a vengeance. Yes, I could be a secret
murderer for somebody that wronged somebody that she cares about.
That's how I am by Becca. Are you a Virgo?
I'm not, but I have a lot of clothes virgo girlfriends.
I'm a Capricorn, but the same though my son's a Capricorn,
(46:59):
we're the same. I actually held caiusin to make him
a Capricorn. Oh my god, I didn't. I did. I
held him sae. I know. I did not want to sadge,
and so I literally said to my ob who's also
a Virgo. She was like, you need to hold him
into the twenty second and lo and behold twenty second
he came and Capricorn Jack will get arrested for public
(47:23):
intoxication and I'm pretty sure she has before. Yes, no,
I haven't, and like ten thirty am, like a mid day,
a midday like forgot to wear Pantica road or something
on four or five. Listen, she's pretty lane, you guys,
(47:43):
this is what she should be arrested for. It. By
the way, I think Roger would get arrested for that.
He always says I would get arrested for like having
a temper tantrum at the airport, for like someone yelling
at me at security or something because they wanted to
take my bag. Um and like check it. I'm like,
I'm going with it under the plane. If you check that,
literally check whatever's in your Roger has held me back.
(48:05):
I'm like they're like, I'm sorry, ma'am. We have to
take it. There's no like whatever on the like small
planes to like an island or something. And I go,
I will either sit on it, I will go under
the plane. But it is not going under without me
and Roger, my god, you're going to jail. And I
don't know you for real, for real, for real? Good okay, okay,
(48:26):
A last one, last one, last one. I'm just trying
to make it a good one. Hold on, hold, on,
hold on, m okay, what would be your last meal?
Not that you're dying, God for a bell, Jacks would
be Jack sandwich sandwich with chips in it, yeep, and
a chocolate chip cookie. You know, Jack. I'm feeling like
(48:49):
you'd be best friends with Roger. Him and I like
are a kindred spirit. You really are, Like he just
wants to live like a male Penny Lane and like
while he was like an investment banker. But trust me
when I tell you like he's living in double life.
I know. I feel like we need to be best eat.
I promise you you would be. That's amazing. So Keltia
(49:10):
doesn't really eat real food, so it's the veggie burger,
fat burger. But which one? Oh from fat Burger? They
have an impossible burger with a skinny fry and a
diet coke. But I've recently given up diet coke again
for the hundredth time in my life. Oh my goodness,
I pull it from Roger. It's really he onlyeds down
to like half of one a day, but like it
(49:31):
used to be really intense. No Asper team, guys, any
app team, No none drink alcohol. Just don't have Asper Team.
Becca Becca is like a fancy bitch. So for me,
it's like she wants to go out somewhere where the
seating is leather and she's getting like a like a
(49:53):
she's she would go where salt Bae is feeding. Okay,
like she's having a salt Bay meal. I think like
it's like the chicken and mean the tomahawks steak with
an expensive wine and like now she's living in Austin
where there's delicious, delicious, hilela the food here, isla, lela.
(50:13):
What is it called salt Bay seasoning? No, like you
know the salt Bay guy that does a little she
does that. You're what is so salt Bay is like
a hot chef and he feeds you. He comes out
to the table. He's looks so sexy. He's like in
a white tank top in a little like alesome glasses
(50:36):
and he coumes out and he starves you the food
in it. The last thing he like takes the salt
and he goes. He became like a meme, like a
social media meme. You go look up salad would have
a salt Bay Oh my god, stop it. He looks
like he should like a lead in the Asia. Yes,
he's very sexual and if you want to get them,
if you want to get salt bad in La he
(50:57):
opened a restaurant. It's three hundred and thirty dollars just
for the steak. Wow, a guaranteed salt based sighting anyway, literally,
would that be your last truth? Um? I mean it
would be something like insant, like right by the water
with like seafood and wine. Like it would be something
like that. Okay, Okay, I'm with you. I'm yours, Rachel,
I'm there with you. I'm thinking like Portofino Positano, something
(51:20):
like that, some amazing like something like just really heavenly. Yeah.
I'm also picturing just where I'm sitting right now. So
I got lost in that. Yeah. And then whatever you
what your hair, what your hair sounds like, what perfume
you're wearing. Definitely in a calftan, no matter what it is,
eating my last meal and a caftan for shure and diamonds. Wait, Rachel,
(51:42):
let's just end with this story. I had a calftan
disaster that I can't wait to share with you. So
I was judging this universe and the dress I wanted
was not available from like the rental house that you
wear like buy a fan or you rent a fancy
dress if you're in a regular bitch like me. Yeah,
And so I had to go in the morning before
the flight, and I was like, I need something. And
then I sent this picture to Marchella and I was like,
(52:03):
I just held it up. I didn't even try it on.
I was like, what if I just do rich Lady klftan,
She's like sheic and so then I didn't realize it
was a fourteen, which is not my size. And then
I got to Miss Universe in Miami and I put
the klftan on. It was fucking explosive. And then on
top of that, I got this idea. Throughout Miss Universe.
It's so glamorous. There's so much makeup, there's so much hair,
I got there, so much sequence everywhere everything. I was
(52:26):
so much I got. I got lost and I put
in a clippin bang as well, And so I just thought, you, okay,
she wasn't. It's like, I need you how to keltdown.
I need you to see the photo too. Like I
love Kelty and normally I tell her she looks beauty,
she looks beautiful always, But I'm telling you this was
like the most missed fashion moment that has ever existed. It.
(52:54):
Oh shit, do you know what? It's not even the
calftan that's killing me. It's the hair situation. I know
if I had done what happened fun, I just it
was the hair and makeup team I got. Really I was,
I actually doesn't even look like you. I know I
use Zendeia as a hair inspiration. That was a mistake.
(53:17):
Like it was just it was the prettiest I know
it's anything. So literally a washcloth with like a rubber band.
Who is that? That's your profile, peck. And so here's
this story is I texted my mom because like it's
(53:38):
it's worldwide, there's like five hundred million people watching. I
text my mom, who's like a real stage mom, and
I was like, did you see me? And she just
replied yep. That's how bad it was. My mom couldn't
even love me. Babe, you look unrecognizable. I know I'm recognizable.
That's why I'm so freaked up up. Like if you
(53:59):
actually showed out to me, I actually, in no life
would have been like, oh you look, I'm interesting there,
Like I wouldn't have even thought that was actually you,
I know, so anyway, not every Okay, I won't be
your calf tan ever again. I'll tell you that that's
not true. You just chose the wrong one, you hair.
I think it was the glam It wasn't even the
(54:20):
calf tan. Don't blame the calftan. It was the hair.
You know. But these how things he'll go wrong. That's
why you are who you are, because there are so
many of us, insecure, fashion loving people who can't make
right choices in Hollywood. And that's why stylists and having
experts is so important, because if you if we are
left to our own devices. Honey, we've all seen them
(54:42):
before they got a stylist, pictures on the red carpet.
We're ashually Tisdale two thousand and three. Good listen, you
do you, and don't run from the calf tan. It's
just the hair and makeup. I say this till I'm
blue in the face. Hair and makeup is equally as
importan as what you wear, sometimes even more so. I
(55:03):
hate to say that as a stylist, but true. And
I tell these parting works. Okay. I love you guys
talking so much. I feel cool. Okay, thank you for
having us. This is our first fight because Kelty won't
shut the fuck up on your podcast, you won't thank you,
thank you. It's that time in the show where I
(55:28):
answered to listener questions. So let's see what we have today. Um.
I actually pulled this question from and ask me anything
that I did over the weekend on my ig story. Okay,
So the question was if I could style anyone today
like a dream client, who would it be someone alive today?
(55:50):
I would say probably Margot Robbie, Dakota Johnson, Kate Blanche.
I mean, there's just so many fun people to dress
right now, but of course like Bella, Gigiaded, Haley Bieber,
I mean, Beyonce. Shall I go on? Okay, what is
your go to rain or winter weather footwear? I feel
like everything is so chunky and ugly. I actually think
(56:14):
now more than ever, there's really chic, like weatherproof chic footwear.
I do think when in doubt, like a great rain
boot is still like Hunter. I think they're still so
incredibly chic. And the equestrian look has never been bigger
than it is now. And I also love like a
shearling lug soul boot. And honestly, everybody makes them in
(56:38):
every price point, and I think those are great. My
winter weather boot, I mean I have some faux fur boots,
some sheer ling boots, but of course mine still are
on like a seven or eight inch heel. But don't
listen to me. You might slip and really hurt yourself.
But yeah, I think there's tons of options out there now,
from Ugs to Jimmy Choose to Saint laurents Zara. I mean,
(57:03):
the list goes on. There's so many great weatherproof boots.
So good luck and stay chic, and when in doubt,
try a hunter boot. Don't forget to submit your questions
for next week's episode. All you have to do is
dm us your questions to at Climbing in Heels pod
on Instagram and I might just answer your question. I
(57:30):
loved re listening to this incredible episode with three of
my favorite girls. Finding the right people to collaborate with
can be such a challenge for all of us, but
for Kelty, Becca and Jack, they were able to thrive
together in both business and friendship. Thank you so much
for listening to Climbing in Heels and don't forget to
write a review wherever you get podcasts. While you're at it.
(57:53):
Follow me on at Rachel Zoe and at Climbing in
Heels Pod on Instagram For more updates on upcoming guests,
episodes in all things Curator m
Welcome back to currently with kiatur, where I share my
latest style obsessions, all of which you can access through
my shopping community Katour. The biggest news ever is our
winter warehouse sale, which is still going strong. While we
make a way for a ton of fresh spring inventory,
you can save on winter favorites to get you through
the season in style. I'm talking Paraschlle sweaters and scarves,
(00:24):
PMD beauty tools and sunglasses from my own collection. Take
an additional thirty percent off these products and so many
more with code Winter thirty through January thirty. First. Trust me,
you don't want to miss this one, so head to
katour dot com. That's cu R at eu R dot
(00:44):
com and shot the sale. Now. Hi everyone, I'm Rachel
Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels. This show
is all about celebrating the most extraordinary superwomen who will
be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all while
(01:06):
staying glimmerous. Today, we thought we'd bring back one of
our favorite episodes from Works for Us, the episode with
the Outstanding Lady Gang Keelty Knight, Becca Tobin and Jack Vanneck.
These three ladies speak about thriving together in both friendship
and business, and are perfect examples of climbing their way
to the top together in heel. Finding the right people
(01:31):
to collaborate with can be an absolute challenge for most people,
but for our guest today, they were actually able to
find their kindred spirits and dream collaborators in each other
so that they could thrive together in business and even
more importantly, in friendship. The Lady Gang is a celebrity
driven brand for women by women from the minds and
(01:52):
mouths of Kelty Knight, Becca Tobin and Jack Venneck. The
popular Lady Gang podcast since its inception twenty fifteen, has
boasted over one hundred million downloads holy crap, making it
one of the most popular podcasts for women in the world.
The show has been nominated for Webby Award, which by
the way, my husband created People's Choice Award, and in
(02:16):
twenty sixteen was named Podcast of the Year. We are
so excited to say that we have beca Keelty and
Jack of the Lady Gang on works for us today.
So welcome, ladies, Okay, hi having us. I'm so happy
(02:36):
you're here. This is so much fun. And by the way,
just so you know I disinvited Roger today. It was like,
there's literally zero percent chance that I have a shot
with four on one here, and I was like, yeah,
well no, we don't want you anyway, and he's like, okay, great,
I have so much work to do. I'm like, okay, bye.
If I had known he created the Webbies, then I
would have invited him because we didn't win a rude
(03:00):
we needed like, yeah, we needed some insider help because yeah,
it was an l Well, we also had a show
on E the year we are nominated for a People's
Choice Award and E host that show, and we didn't
win that either, So it's kind of like bullshit. You know, listen, listen.
Winning is overrated. Honestly, it is brand listen to me.
I think, like I always you know, they always say like, oh,
(03:22):
it's an honor to be nominated. It really is, because
winning is a very bizarre thing because it's swayed so easily.
There's so many variables. I mean, you see it in
awards season every year like who should have? Who could have?
Who was the the the obvious choice and then it
went the total other way. So I do think just
being nominated means that you kind of won. I know
that sounds are real, but I think that's just the
(03:45):
way we should think about this. What do you think
I love and you have the same fashion moments at
award shows. There's no extra moment honestly, you guys, no
one cares who wins. It's really what you look like
on the carpet, honestly true. And sometimes you don't win,
but you still win, and sometimes the winners lose all
the time. Time that's what you're gonna wear to win
(04:08):
your Oscar thoughts about that, But you're not wrong. Don't
you love it when the perfect like storm happens and
the person that wins is wearing the best dress and
they walk up there and just win. And it's like
those moments really just those really just make me happy.
And in those moments, those are the seconds that make
(04:28):
me wish that I'm like, Okay, I miss it for
this five minute period, I really miss it, you know.
So you guys, I want to just talk for a
minute about your individual backstories because I know that you're
obviously all very accomplished, your badass, your ballers, you all
do like a billion and one things, um kelty, very cool,
that you are a rocket. I just need to spring
(04:50):
that out because that's like a major thing. Um uh.
And now you're a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, which is
also right, I cover it wells Like I think the
first time I met you, Rachel, was I mean years ago.
We used to do big fashion week coverage. Now the
fashion weeks are kind of like a little less exciting
in New York, but you had I remember the reason
(05:15):
I remember this. You had like a white studio and
there were well that's like very fashion, isn't it. It's
like every show ever. But it was one of your
fashion week shows, and like I remember like interviewing you
after you were wearing a white suit with like maybe
a black lapel, and the collection had like an insane
cardigan nit crocheted sweater, which I know is like one
(05:36):
of your staples, was probably in every collection. But I
remember like covering all these fashion shows and I was like, Oh,
who the fuck is wearing this? And then I covered
your show and I was like I want every single
I feel like a boho kind of girl in my heart.
So it was like very much in that vein. But
and you were always so nice and fashion people are
(05:57):
so nasty. They treat the press like you're literally cockroaches
because they know you're wearing like the Jessica Simpson version
of the Manolo and they like they know that in
their heart, and you're like, I know, but I am
a journalist and I do not have enough money for
the Manolos, so I'm trying to keep it. She get
Fashion Week, but like this shit's from Target, and you
(06:17):
were always so fucking nice. Oh, let me tell you
my thought on that. You know, it's funny because I
actually hear that. You know, I would say throughout my
career the number one thing of God, God is there
always Like I thought you were going to be an
evil bitch and you were the nicest, friendliest. I was like,
(06:37):
good fashion really has a bad rap. And I do
say that, Like listen, I came into the business and
fashion people were scary, you know what I mean? They
just were. I was terrified. Everywhere I went. I was terrified.
And my first and only boss actually said to me, verbatim,
you're way too nice to make it in this industry.
And they did, and she did, And I'll remember for
(07:00):
the rest of my life and when people ask me, now,
sort of what's your advice to people coming up in
fashion or people coming up in any business. And I
do think you can win and be kind. You have
to have a hundred eyes open at all times, you do,
and little naive me was definitely did not have my
eyes open all the time. But I think at the
(07:20):
end of the day, I just don't think you have
to shit on people to succeed. I just don't buy that.
And I also, I also have always been about relatability,
and I know that people are like, oh my god,
you can only wear that because you're you, or because
you're this, or because you're that, and I actually don't
subscribe to that. So the mission behind my whole brand
has always been let's live your best life and you
(07:41):
can do it no matter what your budget is, no
matter where you live, no matter what you're getting dressed for,
dress for you, you you know, and have fun with it.
And I don't judge people. And I think people think
like I look at them like, oh, don't look at
what I'm weary, don't look at it, And I'm really
not looking at what you're wearing. That's what's so funny.
But but yeah, okay, so Becca quite accomplished as a
(08:03):
singer and actress of everything, and I don't understand and
also a dancer, and I don't understand why everyone can,
Like I'm confused why actors all of a sudden, not
all of a sudden, but can always like sing and
dance and like it's like this, it's like this gift,
like you get this like wand over your head when
(08:23):
you're born, and they're like, I'm going to give you
the gift of dancing, singing, acting, and like I shouldn't
get it. It's like I remember when Rhese Witherspoon did
like walk the line. I was like, I don't get it.
So she can she can sing too, Like I literally
like God was like, Okay, I'm gonna put all the
talent into these select people, right, what does thatst of
us get? Nothing? I can do none of them, none, none, none,
(08:47):
So it's just an all or nothing. Then, yes, I
will say that now more than ever, every celebrity seems
like they can sing because the technology in a recording
student is next level. So I will say that it's
not always the greatest talented singers. It's the most confident
actors who think they can sing. Okay, you know maybe,
(09:09):
and then I'm not buying it so far. But also
I think you're being nice to civilians, but a lot
of us it's misplaced confidence, first of all. But the
other thing is a lot of people started myself included
as like musical theater and words like I was a
junkie for Annie and thoroughly modern millie like Sutton Side,
(09:30):
but I can't sing, or Danny Love Danny every word
every word. Yeah you're quiet over there, rocket, but I
locked myself in my room every day and like belted
out soundtracks to Broadway shows, like I was a titled
I finessed whatever that skill was to the point where
I could get paid for it. No, but see true story.
(09:52):
I actually hear that quite a bit from my like
talented friends and clients over the years. Or like I
literally was like a theater nerd that locked myself in
my room, saying at the top of my lungs, I
didn't care who was in my house. I dressed up
like all the time and like costumes and played different
characters and played different roles in my family. And like,
(10:12):
so I think it is really this gift, And then
you decide if you're going to nurture it, which is
not easy. By the way. No, I'm still trying to
figure out that part of it. I think I think
you're doing great. Great, you have a new show on
Disney Plus, which is very exciting, exciting. So I'm pretty
sure you're going to get paid paid. That's exciting. Disney's
(10:34):
a reputable company and they do pay their acts. I'm
pretty sure they're they're they're they're really reputable. Yeah, it's
Turner and Hooch. And actually I watched the first three
episodes with my nine year old nephew and like six
minutes in he said to me, you know what, this
is a really good show, and he's God, they are
the toughest, most honest critics. I have a ten year
old son and a seven year old and they hold
(10:56):
nothing back. Yeah, well they're gonna love Turner and so nice.
It's it was a really fun time to to shoot.
We were up in Vancouver and just like druy dogs everywhere,
and I got to wear power suits and I got
to wear some Manola blondos. Actually, I mean the real one,
full circle, the real one, because because it's Disney, I
love it. So you had like an SJP moment. Yes,
(11:18):
there's a lot of them running around Vancouver, just instead
of Paris. But cool, yes, yeah, slightly less chic. She
had to wear a shimmer tight. She plays a lawyer
and so she had to like wear. She would post
these pictures on Instagram. I was like, I'm sorry, are
you wearing a hose? A panty hoe and like a
nice curl style. Rachel is a perfect person. Asked this question.
(11:39):
We have an ongoing fight in Lady Gang. Is it
panty hose or panty hoe? H h s there we go.
What I thought. You know what's so funny is we
could have googled this. We could have googled it, but
why would we? I still say tights. Stockings maybe, but
tights just because the reason I say tights is because
(12:01):
it makes me feel like I'm six, like the ones
I wore with my dresses, and I was six and
had like a little like form muff thing on my hands,
like and it feels just easier to say tights. I
don't know why that is. It's just pantyhose sounds like
underwear and like the garden hose. I don't know. Yes, okay, Jack,
so you've created your own brand, which is pretty insane.
(12:21):
Tell me you look like you have a lot to say.
She's like you guys could talk for hours. It's a
whole thing. Yeah. So when I was younger, I was
obsessed with music, and like back to our conversation, I
was not given the gift of a great voice, Like
I might have the worst voice of anybody that I've
ever met in my husband does actually great, so second
(12:43):
worst voice. I had no musical talent whatsoever. But I
was like inserting myself into this world of bands, and
I was going to shows and I were like kid
Hudson and almost famous. Yes, literally was anything except for
a little bit younger, and I was trying. I'm like,
I want to tour, I want to travel the world
and like be a rock star, but I have no ability.
(13:05):
By the way, my husband's the same. He wanted to
be Jim Marston, but like can't sing anything, you know.
Did he ever like figure out like how to circumvent
the problem? Now he just followed the Dead and still does.
By the way, I've always wondered who what people do that?
I am like, whoop that love fish around? Yeah, but
like now the Dead has John Mayre and He's like awesome.
(13:26):
So yeah, so Roger like loves it and he goes
and he always sees Andy COmON there. It's really funny. Yeah,
I freaking love that. Um So, what I did is
like back in the day, I was like big on MySpace,
like before all the social media situation was happening. So
I was like, Okay, I'm gonna like try to figure
this out. And I made these rubber bracelets that had
(13:47):
different words on them, and I sold him on my
MySpace page. I was going to concerts and selling shit
out of my backpack and it kind of blew up.
So I expanded it from there, and then I started
going and jumping on all these music tours. I would
have like a pop up tent that I would solve
my clothes out of an amazing living my best life. Yeah,
(14:08):
it was really fun and I got to like live
that rock star sort of a lifestyle with zero musical talent.
But now like really major people are wearing all of
your things, which is incredible, like Joe Jonas, Vanessa Hudgens, Kardelavine,
who's probably the coolest of everybody, right, I want to
be as cool as her. Oh my god, I love her.
She's so she's so yeah, and she's so nice too.
(14:29):
It's crazy because it's like, I mean, back in the day,
like usually I could tell when a celebrity, like I
knew somebody who knew them, so I could gift it
through people or share them personally. But then it was
just so weird when like a Lindsay Lohan was wearing
something like now, I'm sudden people actually want to buy
them and you see them out in the wild, You're like, wait,
I didn't give that to you. Yeah, how did you
(14:49):
get this? Did you go to my wedgit your address?
Oh my god. This literally happened with both Chloe and
Courtney Kardashian and our books. Last year. We were least
a book act like a lady, and we like had
one hundred books and we gifted them to everyone, and
so people are posting. We're like, oh my god, thanks,
but like you got that book for free, se right,
so that's why you're posting And we kind of like
friend pressured you into it. And then people started to
(15:12):
we all do it. No, listen, it's a hustle. But
then people started tagging us in pictures of like Courtney
and Chloe's houses and they'd be like hang out in
their kitchen and our book would be on the fucking
counter and we're like, how did you get the book?
How did you? I mean, it's chic, it's like a lady.
Everybody get it now? Yeah, how did you get this book?
(15:32):
And then I tried to write them and I was like, hey,
I saw Courtney has our book? Does she want to
come on the podcast? And it was like crickets, you know,
and God's fair. I feel like she totally would come on.
But I know, but that's amazing. I mean, listen, I
think what's so cool is you guys obviously have your
very different backgrounds, which is amazing. How did you actually
(15:54):
come together and think about doing this? Like how'd you meet?
How did this all happen? Like what the story? Because
the whole thing about works for us is it's really
getting into Like for me, it's about getting into like relationships,
married couples, best friends, people that work together, siblings, mother daughters.
So for me, you know, I just always want to
(16:16):
know sort of like what how did this happen? And
like how how did the love story begin between you guys?
Because three girls? You guys is not easy. It's usually
a shit storm. So we have this crazy psychotic and
(16:36):
if I were listening to this, I wouldn't even believe
it because I am a sister and I know how
psychotic and evil and manipulative women are capable of being
when feeling threatened. Yeah, the three of us have the
most healthy knock on wood. But it's been almost six years.
Healthy productive, like efficient dynamic of any partnership I've ever had,
(17:00):
male or female or whatever. It is, Like, it's for
whatever reason, the three of us work really well together.
I think it's because we're all so different. Yeah, and
we all have an awareness to stay in our lane.
Like we have different strengths. Like Jack is esthetically a queen.
She can look at something and be able to change
a font slightly to make it look like it's the
(17:20):
chicest thing you've ever seen. I can look at something
and have no idea how to fix it. I just
know it's ugly. Right, Can we use curls? And then
we're like Kelty that went away ten years ago and
that's okay. So I think, like to go back to
how it started. Kelty and I knew each other from
living in New York City, being broke ass dancers, like
(17:41):
standing in line at eight am and like waiting to
get into a cattle call, and we would just keep
seeing each other and finally we lost lost touch. We
were both out in LA. I was working on the
show Glee, and she was working for Entertainment Tonight, casually
not working Okay, cool, Okay. So I was working on
the show and I had just moved straight from New
(18:03):
York City to LA to be on this show. So
I'd never done TV, I'd never done a red carpet,
and I would see Kelty on these red carpets and
we would just sort of make eye contact with each
other and be like, is this an alternate universe? Weren't
we just dancing? Like? Were you just beating me out
for jobs? Became so cool, It was so cool, and
I kind of leaned on Kelty in that beginning phase
(18:24):
of being like do I really need a publicist? And
She's like, you absolutely need a fucking publicist. Nobody gets
any work without a publicist. And um, so she was like,
stop wearing black on the red carpet. Yeah, no one
will put you in in style yet unless it's really
special black. No, unless you're Aunt Hathaway or like Jelena Jolie.
It's like nobody wants to see you in black, or
(18:46):
the dress is extra, do you know what I mean?
Like if it's if it's special black dress as opposed
to like simple black dress. Yeah, yeah, I don't know
how to do extras. So it's like she was like,
you're really boring the hell out of me, please like
figure it out. So we kind of made this connection
and she was my security blanket at all these weird events.
And then we were having a sad lunch at Cafe
(19:08):
one O one rest in peace. It's no longer there,
like so much, so much. We're eating our sad salads
and sad veggie burgers, and we were like, we need
something of our own, like I'm so sick of waiting
for my phone touring. I'm so sick of waiting to
see if Rian Murphy will put me in another TV show,
like how much can you stalk somebody before they get
a restraining order? And she's like, let's do a podcast
(19:32):
because we wanted a talk show, but nobody's going to
give like two unnamed losers like a talk show. Healthy's
a genius. She had the fourth thought to be like,
this is going to be big. Podcasts are going to
be huge. We're going to do it. And I know
the third girl to make this rounded out and not
and give us a little street cred because Jack was
an entrepreneur, she wasn't an entertainment and we kind of
(19:52):
needed that trifectaus so people would be interested in us
and find a little piece of themselves in each of us.
So how was it? We just off to the races,
like blindly the blind and it just got lucky. And
Jack and I used to date the same guy, so
we have the same ex boyfriends. That true. Yeah, yeah,
I'm gonna jump in here and say what I always
do it. Kelty took my sloppy seconds. I did it
(20:14):
in first and then we broke up and she thought
that that we were maybe still together. She made out
with him, But thank god for what band? What were
you listening to? Like an Inner Pol song? And it
came Incubus. I was listening to an Incubus song. So
we could beside the timeline of when this happened, because
(20:36):
I'm like, was Kelty dating him? This is so rude?
Done her with me? But Rachel, you should know that
the man they were fighting over were leather vests an eyeliner.
So it wasn't the two thousands, was it was not
the two thousands? This was like when what two thousand?
It was two thousand, thousand and nine. Oh see you
(21:00):
dated him, Yeah, yeah, you were like two thousand and
five Jack. Anyway, it was I had better and all that.
That was kind of like Morrissey days and like what
about what it was? Em what about a vest made
out of roses? It was like a it was like
a stitch. Was he was a rock here? The thing
neither of you were with him now, which is no, no,
(21:22):
no helpful. Yes, And we I knew Jack because we
had dated the same guy and we had been like
kind of pitted against each other on my Space. But
I had always thought Jack was the fucking coolest woman
I'd ever met. I always wanted to wear all of
her stuff that she made, but like I really couldn't
because then the internet was like a sword. So yeah,
I was like, oh cool, Um, so you know, I
(21:44):
like knew her, but I was like, god, you know,
I've always wanted to be in the cool kids club, Rachel,
like that's my Like I just want to be invited
to be cool. Thank you are cool. Thanks, I'm not
thank you. I would take this and put it as
a real on Instagram. Why I think you're cool? Of life?
(22:04):
I feel like such cool vibes because do you know what?
To me and Roger and I always say this, it's
the people that like are self deprecating and so hyper
aware of what their sort of comfort zone is, what
they want, and they're so honest about it. To me,
the people say they want the invitation and they want
(22:26):
those actually are the cool people. Because it's the people
to me that only care about getting the invitation that
pretend the thing they don't care about is getting the invitation.
For me, the actual cool people are the people that
say what they are and are like living their truth
and like, I just think like being honest and funny
and candid is what actually makes you cool. I swear
(22:50):
and I've always thought that way. It's the people that
you know, have come into my life in a very
big way over the years that basically spend every waking
moment of their life trying to tell me exactly who
they aren't and don't want to be, but it's exactly
who they are. And they're hypocrites, you know, and I
know a lot of those. So I actually think the
royal cool people are the people that are truthful because
(23:12):
I just, you know, I don't that you know, obviously,
you guys are familiar with the term desperate, and I
think there's a lot of it's my middle name. No
it isn't, because I actually think by you saying how
many times can I stock Ryan Murphy, like, to me,
that actually makes you so fucking cool? You know what
I mean? Honestly, And you know, we were school parents
(23:34):
for many years together and he's awesome actually, and can
you give her another job? But now I feel I
feel like he fully knows you. Yeah, I mean, he
was a wonderful, wonderful person to work for. I think
I got spoiled. He's absolutely brilliant, and I got so
(23:55):
spoiled that being like my first TV job, because after that,
I would get these scripts and be on these sets
and I'd be like, this is some rinky thig bullshit
and They're like, no, it's just not Ryan Murphy. I'm like, oh,
damn it, You're gonna end up back there, trust I
promise life. Just like you go like this, you go
in like a circle, so that you have to kind
of be kicked to the side and down and upside
(24:16):
down a little to know how badly you want to
get back to where you once were. And you know,
they always say it's like getting to the top is
easier than staying there, right, It just is and not
applies to every job, no matter what it is. It's
just it really applies to the iTunes charts when you're
a podcaster that's for show lunch big, and then that
(24:38):
algorithm really sucks you. I was gonna say, you're talking
about working together. I think this secret sauce for us
is this level of compassion and honesty. So it's like
we do not let shit simmer, Like if something's going on,
if someone's fucking up, if someone is you know, doing
an emailing in a weird like her that's actually mostly me,
(25:01):
Like we nip it in the bud right away, and
then also having compassion for each other and the way
we work, Like I am an a type, Like I
sat up all day yesterday writing emails and then like
sent them out this morning and like like listen, listen
to Jack's Like I got to work at eleven o'clock
at night because that's when I'm productive. Sure, that is
not my schedule, but I'd be very compassionate to like, Okay,
(25:23):
I'm not going to hear from her about this font
at eleven m because that's not her, you know. And
so having that understanding of not trying to change people, Yep,
it's a secret. I think that's a really important part
because I think there's a lot of this. It is acceptance,
and I think working together as you know, as friends
(25:44):
and business partners. Now, I mean, was there ever a
time where you guys were not friends and it was
like just strictly professional and you guys were like, or
have you always just been this like super synergistic girl group.
It's funny because we actually, none of them, we're really
that close. When we started the podcast, like Becca and
I hadn't even met each other, Like her, I'm like,
(26:07):
who is this Bet? I don't know her. I don't
know her. Her and I had never met before. And
we met for the first time as we are going
into our pitch meeting for our network and I was like, hey,
I'm Jack. She's like hey, and Becca. And then we
go in the room and we're like Yeah, So our
podcast is based on like Mimosa Brunches with your bestie,
and we just kind of went into it. But that's
(26:29):
kind of part of the secret sauce too, is because
we none of us were really that close to begin with.
We've grown to know each other through the podcast and
through being business partners, and that is the reason why
I feel like it's kept us, like our relationships so
good because we're still not best friends. We don't hang
out outside of work for the most part, like because
(26:52):
our work is so fun too. We get to know
each other on the podcast. Course that's where there's like
a level of professionalism and respect or one another because
we don't have this weird dynamic going on underneath our
surface of like years and years of friendship and weird
stuff bubbling up to the surface. So that's kept us
kind of in a really really good, healthy place. Well,
(27:15):
I actually like love your business. I mean, you guys
have done a book, you're obviously on a show, your
podcast is hugely successful. I mean, did you ever think
that like the brand would manifest itself in so many ways?
And like what do you share the same goals for
the future or do you just kind of like roll
with it because you know, for me, people always ask
(27:36):
like how do I do what you did? Or how
did you become? And the truth is I never really
scripted it. I never really laid it out. I just
kind of wing my whole way through life. And if
you ask anyone on my team, I mean I literally
like I really do wing it because I find that
if I plan it, if I try and set these
goals and if I don't hit it, I'm going to
(27:57):
feel like I failed. And you know, I'm such a
virgo that it's like I never get complacent, but I
think I always feel like I have so much more
to do. So I guess with with your brand, you
know what, like have you done everything? Do you have
a million more things to do? Like what what? What
are your thoughts? Like what's the plan if any or
(28:18):
do you just roll? This is like the beauty of
it is that Kelty's the one who makes these like
manifestation lists. You know, they're like taped to her mirror.
There she gets really in the nitty gritty with herself
about what she wants to accomplish for herself in the brand.
And so but I will With that being said, there
was never any roadmap because we didn't actually think that
(28:41):
you could make a living podcasting. It was a side hustle.
And so when you're thinking about something as a hobby
and sort of just an outlet, you're not the expectations
are so low. Yeah, and so the first ad that
we sold, it was like, oh, well that's cool, but
it's like five dollars and we're not going to be
paying our mortgages off of this thing. So Kelty was
(29:02):
achieving all of her journalism and entertainment journalism goals. I
was still acting, Jack was still doing her brand, and
we would come together to have this like fun time
for an hour a week. And it's like, when you're
busy focusing on all these other things that you have
these high expectations for, you come into this other, this
other like venture so lightly yeah, so lately freedom to
(29:27):
just go through the doors that open and have the
meetings that come to you. And it really did. We
did work our asses off, not to say that we
didn't invest a ton of time and energy and our
own money into it in the beginning, but like it
was almost so easy because we didn't have expectations and
we never in a million years thought that we could
ever build any kind of like brand to us. It
(29:49):
was hilarious that it was even referred to as a
brand for the first two years. So it's so great.
It's been. It's been wonderful. And as far as like
long term goals go, I'll let l you takeover because
obviously she has like eighty five goals for us. Bring
out You're Bojo no, you know what? You know? What's
interesting is that, like we started this and then I
(30:10):
knew something had clicked Rachel when we like I used you, Well,
you're very well known, and so when you walk anywhere,
people are like, I think I just saw Rachel Zoe.
Like some people probably come up to you, some people don't.
But like for me being on et, like really the
only place that people really like double looked at me
was like on airplanes. That was my like real people,
Like I'd walked on an airplane and people would be like,
(30:31):
I know you, or they'd be like hey, and then
I was like, you don't know me in real life.
And so what with Lady Gang, Like about a year
in Becca was always getting recognized for Glee, but like
Jack and I would be like at home goods or
we'd be at Target and like people would be chasing
us across the parking lot and they'd be like, oh
my god, I love Lady Gang so much. Like a
girl came out to my home good she was like,
(30:51):
oh my god, I knew you were here because I
saw your husband in the towel aisle. Like it's like, yeah,
Like it's just that's when I realized, like, something real
is happening here. How can we harness this? And our
mission has always been to make women feel less alone?
And I really love We had Bethanny Frankel on the
podcast in December and I was talking to about philanthropy,
(31:12):
and it was like, you know, we want to give back.
We've been doing all these charity things, but then it's like,
are we allowed to make money off the podcast? Like
what if I just want this to be my full
time job now? And she was like, I feel like
the more successful I am, the more I can give back.
And she's like, and I put the two in two
different piles. I don't do ten percent of proceeds I do.
I make all the money, as Bethanny Frankel, and I
(31:32):
give back in a big way, and I think that's
how Lady Gang is moving forward is that you know,
we're going to continue to make money. We'll do books,
we'll do clothes, we'll do whatever comes our way. That's
fun in a collaboration where we can serve our girl.
But at the end of the day, we really want
to serve women and help them and continue to give
money and goods to like, you know, people who are
(31:54):
not as privileged as us. And so that's kind of
the big goal. I mean, I would love to be
a fifty million dollar brand, but like you know, we'll
see you will be. I don't work on it. I
just want to say we launched our subscription box at
a very similar time to when you started yours, and
I know it's now transition and we have since given
(32:15):
up maybe well we are also we were all in
our shipping everything ourselves in garage. So you guys, it's
an insane business, but it's but I have to say,
you know, and a lot in part on that side
of it, to Roger and the sort of operational side
(32:35):
of it, it is a massive, massive undertaking and the
reason we turned it into what's now called Curator because
beyond the actual box that we do every season we
wanted to actually create this entire membership lifestyle program for
women so that they came yes to get their curation
every quarter, but that we wanted them to stay there
(32:58):
and create this whole membership shot and all these experiences
and basically be like almost like an AMEX platinum card
for women to come in shop, get styled and feel
safe and get access they can't get anywhere else. How
did the pandemic affect like your relationships with each other
if they did at home with the podcast? I mean,
(33:20):
I imagine the podcast even went probably even way bigger
over the pandemic, right, I mean, more people listening. I
think the biggest difference is before the pandemic, we I mean,
we had been doing this for five years, two episodes
a week, never missed a single episode in that entire time,
and every amazing person so like we needed to make
(33:43):
sure that one of us didn't end up getting sick
because then we wouldn't be able to put a podcast episode.
So obviously everything transferred to zoom over the pandemic. So
that was honestly the hugest logistical difference for us, But
it has given us so much freedom because now Becca
moved to Austin. Yea, I travel a lot, so now
(34:04):
we can podcast literally if the three of us were
a totally from each other. So that actually has been
a positive in our lives because before, I mean, Becca
wouldn't have been able to move at all because we
need her twice a week for the podcast. That's amazing.
That has really screwed us, Rachel, thanks for asking, is
that all these other people have come out with podcasts.
(34:24):
I mean, let's be honest, the pandemic was wonderful for us,
but then it also gave all these celebrities her portals
that other TV shows, in their movies. They got bored,
they weren't getting enough attention, and so they were like,
I think I'm going to launch a podcast, and then
they did, and then they went to the top of
the Apple charts, and I had meltdowns. Let's be screwed. Yeah,
(34:45):
there's that too. But I want to give you a
lot of credit because you know, it's funny when podcasts
first came out. You know, literally everybody was like, Rachel,
you have to do a podcast. Use your podcast. How
what They're like, you can do it from your couch,
you could do it. I didn't really understand it because
I'm not you know, I'm not a commuter, which my
commuter friends and employees are the most podcast you know, verse,
(35:11):
I guess is the word. But I was sort of
alone on an island because I'm always a little late
to understanding the newest sort of platform and podcasts. And
I was like, Puck, I'm like, I don't understand when
am I going to listen? When when do I not
have a child in my ear or my team kind
of like pulling me into a room somewhere. It was
just like unfathomable to me, and so I guess a
(35:33):
couple of years later, it's just the conversation started happening
and I was like, I feel like there's two billion podcasts.
I don't think I should do a podcast. And what
happened to your point in the pandemic, you know, the
opportunities kind of just came and Roger and I were
obviously working like animals at home, and it just became
such for me, it's such a fun I don't want
(35:56):
to say easy, but just it's amazing. It's a fun,
very organic thing because way more than television for me,
you know, I was a psych major. I was not
a fashion major. I was a psych and social major.
So for me, actually doing this and talking to you guys,
for me is the most natural thing I've ever done
in my career because I just feel like I get
(36:17):
to hang out with cool women like you guys and
just shoot the shit and like talk about life and
the things that whatever. You know. And so for me,
you know, having Roger on it as annoyed. No, I'm
just kidding, but like we've been together. We're celebrating almost
thirty not almost thirty years. August twenty ninth will be
thirty years together from our first day. So holy. So
(36:37):
when it kind of came to, hey, you know, we
want to do this relationship podcast with you and Roger,
that to me became so fascinating because I was like,
I love to get into people's heads and I love
to get into what makes them work, what their magic sauces,
what all of that. So that was actually the impetus.
But you know, when we started getting all these ads
(36:57):
and sponsors, I was like, really they wanted like I
was literally like you, I was like a head tilt.
I was like, they want to they want to like us, Okay, cool,
So I get it. But I was one of those joking.
Of course, No, I actually agree with you, because everybody's
doing a podcast, But I don't disagree with you. What's
really great about a rage is that, um, when we
(37:19):
first started, right the ads that were coming to us
were man ads because people really doing podcasts were meant
there were sports and there was like Adam Carolla and
Howard Stern technically like like sports radio. We had like yeah,
we had like Zip Zip Recruiter, who we love great,
like the great thing, but it was like a lot
of men SuDS. Yeah, and we could not get a
(37:40):
female brand to sponsor the podcast. What's happened now? Everyone
starting these podcasts during the pandemic and so many A
listers and recognizable names. Yeah, sure, it's a challenge to
still like make room for us. But at the same
time it's like every major brand, I mean our brand
sponsors are Vogue, Chanel, like Diz Knee, like, I mean,
(38:01):
are you dead? Like I feel like you have fully
when we got the Chanel ad, I was like, I'm sorry,
I'm sorry. I was like, yeah, I don't think you're
I don't ever waiting for the invite. I don't think
you're waiting for that invite. But it's like that everywhere,
the level was never there, you know, the level that
(38:21):
level of ad is only because the A listers have
come and recognized what people are now doing podcasts that
they can go and be like, oh, we should be
working in the podcast world, you know. And that's an
incredible gift because I podcast or the jam. Yeah, and
I actually think, well, I also, what I actually really
love about podcast is that you can't see anybody, you
(38:42):
know what I mean. It's actually what made me love
um Clubhouse. I actually loved that no one there wasn't
like a narcissistic element to it. It wasn't like you
had to go here and makeup, you had to like
be judgy. It was just you're actually just listening to voice,
which actually makes you listen rather than get distracted. So
I actually thought that was fantastic. But I think you
(39:04):
guys have created a movement. I think you're so impressive.
I really think all of you are amazing, and I
don't I mean, I think you've fully made it. I mean,
I'm sure you're gonna I'm sure the best is still
yet to come. But I am super impressed with all
of you, what's the biggest I mean, if ever have
(39:24):
you ever gotten in like a fight and just like
did it last or was it dramatic or you could
say no, by the way, I mean, it's usually when
I melted down and do something stupid. Kelty has what
we like to call it kelt down every couple of
months when things just get like very overwhelming, and then
she might go into our Facebook group and start sharing
(39:47):
personal details about her life that she should it stop
and then be then I need to have an intervention
and then we have like a group phone called to
really you know, get Kelty out of that one space.
That's like our biggest conundrum that ever happens within the
Lady Gang. I really think that, like the thirty five
thousand girls in our Facebook group are my best friends.
(40:08):
So like when I happened to be going through a
hard time, I may like overshare. It's like who I
am as a human. I think everyone's my friend, and
then those people will like take that information and blackmail
me with it, which is like, okay, Kelsey, do you
remember what I said as I was coming up in
the industry, you have to have ten eyes open all
the time. Yes, because I'm telling you, being naive in
(40:30):
this industry will just never help you. It will only
hurt you. And I am the same. I am guilty
of the same, and I have learned the hard way.
So Kelsey's she's not even naive. She knows better, but
she was. We had to have a conversation during COVID
where I almost drafted a contract to say I will
(40:52):
not post in the Facebook group without checking with my
business partners to the content going up. Like it was
like three strikes and you're out. She had like thirteen strikes,
And finally we were like, oh, we know that you
love sharing, and we know that like Kelty was also
a fun fact one of the original bloggers, like she was.
(41:14):
I could see that, and she made friends by sharing
her life, and she really is somebody who she just
genuinely wants to do that, like it's it's her way,
it's her therapy, if you will. By the way, I think,
listen to go to that for a second. I think
social media. Look, if I shared, if I was more
(41:35):
that way, I'd probably have ten million followers, you know
what I mean. I have three and a half million
follows the reality of it is, I think the people
that share and expose and really feel they really show
the real vulnerable moments and things like that. You know,
I try to share enough, but I really I really
keep a lot in to it tight, you know what
(41:57):
I mean. And I don't think there's any right or
wrong to anything on social I think your social is
your um, it's you know, how you approach social is
is very interesting because I think it's how much you
choose to share. And I think everyone has a different
level of comfort with that. The problem that I'm hearing
(42:19):
here not to place you know, therapists, but I think
I think no, I think the I think you can share,
but you can't share on others behalf. That's the thing.
Once you bring other people in, you get in trouble.
If it's you sharing, you you got to do you,
you know what I mean. So I think that's it,
Like if you want to take them to the gynecologists
(42:40):
like cool, Yeah she will, And she just took her
Instagram following to doctor Diamonds where you did did you
did facial? Got that chin back? Baby? No? But I
actually learned a really hard lesson UM. I've learned hard
less since over the last six years with this because
(43:01):
I would. I love all these these followers and I
do consider them like friendly. And recently I had um
a fan of ours who was a longtime fan and
had been dming me, but I there's like all those
sections of dms now, like where you can't see who's
dm ing, and like I don't really I can't look,
(43:23):
and then like I might see Jacks, but I don't
see this on he I guess had this fan had
been dming me for like months and I hadn't liked
it or responded or whatever, and they took it very
personally and like left the lading and stopped listening to
lat Gang because they didn't feel like we were friends anymore.
And I was like, this is he doesn't even respond
to like our dms either. I haven't spoken to my
(43:44):
mother in two weeks. Like that that is who I am.
And like when we were on our TV show, producers
would be like healthy didn't respond to my text. They
were like, yeah, it wasn't healthy, that's how she is.
So we lost fans because of it. So it's like
maybe I've opened myself too much, and so I think
it's always cool to address it. I just think address
(44:05):
it and be like, guys, we have so much going
on and like I can't. I'm overwhelmed and I can't
stay on top of everything. And if I don't respond
to you, I'm sorry, I put you know what I mean. Yeah,
and then it's kind of just an overwriting apology and
let them kind of sit with that like you're talking
to them. Yeah, you know, I think that's helpful because
(44:25):
it's true. How can you respond to everybody that texts
your damn too? That's crazy? You know. Well, you guys,
I am endlessly fascinated with all of you. This has
been so fun for me because I always like marvel
at girls that can work so closely together, maintain a
respect for one another, not get in fights all the time.
(44:48):
And you know, I always say women are really hard
sometimes and at the same time great women are the best,
you know, And I think that there are secrets to
the success of female relationship for sure. But I just
love seeing you guys. I love hearing you guys. I
love seeing your energy, you know. And I love the
brand and I think it's awesome. I love what you
stand for, and I love that you were one of
(45:08):
the first, you know, so and I actually I'm saying
it here and now I think you're fucking cool, you know,
all of you. I'm literally about to go into the
office and write on my whiteboard ten eyes open, and
it's going to live there forever. You must have ten
eyes open. That should be on your manifest or I could.
If I can leave you with anything, please please open.
My kids actually say mommy has eyes behind her head.
(45:34):
You guys, now, I have to ask you, like just
a few silly, fun questions that we always end with
just because it's silly and it's a little bit like
newly wed style, like you kind of answer on each
other's behalf. Okay. One of my favorites that I can
ever not ask because it's always the funniest answer, what
would each of you get arrested for? And you can't
(45:54):
say your self. It has to be of d answer
for like what would Kelty get arrested for? Oh? Healthy?
Would does go? Jack? She's not a rule breaker? So
this is hard. What were you going to say? Oh,
you're right, she's not a rule breaker. It's hard. She
loves to follow a rule she does, although she would
(46:14):
get arrested for some type of terrible driving, like reckless driving.
She is the world's worst fucking driver. There you go,
there you go. You should be locked up already, Becca,
I already, I already know what your you would get
arrested for. But okay, what would Becca get arrested for? Him? Wait?
What do you think you said? You talking Ryan Murphy,
like binding his house or standing outside the school or something.
(46:38):
I think Becca would end up getting arrested for some
sort of a vengeance. Yes, I could be a secret
murderer for somebody that wronged somebody that she cares about.
That's how I am by Becca. Are you a Virgo?
I'm not, but I have a lot of clothes virgo girlfriends.
I'm a Capricorn, but the same though my son's a Capricorn,
(46:59):
we're the same. I actually held caiusin to make him
a Capricorn. Oh my god, I didn't. I did. I
held him sae. I know. I did not want to sadge,
and so I literally said to my ob who's also
a Virgo. She was like, you need to hold him
into the twenty second and lo and behold twenty second
he came and Capricorn Jack will get arrested for public
(47:23):
intoxication and I'm pretty sure she has before. Yes, no,
I haven't, and like ten thirty am, like a mid day,
a midday like forgot to wear Pantica road or something
on four or five. Listen, she's pretty lane, you guys,
(47:43):
this is what she should be arrested for. It. By
the way, I think Roger would get arrested for that.
He always says I would get arrested for like having
a temper tantrum at the airport, for like someone yelling
at me at security or something because they wanted to
take my bag. Um and like check it. I'm like,
I'm going with it under the plane. If you check that,
literally check whatever's in your Roger has held me back.
(48:05):
I'm like they're like, I'm sorry, ma'am. We have to
take it. There's no like whatever on the like small
planes to like an island or something. And I go,
I will either sit on it, I will go under
the plane. But it is not going under without me
and Roger, my god, you're going to jail. And I
don't know you for real, for real, for real? Good okay, okay,
(48:26):
A last one, last one, last one. I'm just trying
to make it a good one. Hold on, hold, on,
hold on, m okay, what would be your last meal?
Not that you're dying, God for a bell, Jacks would
be Jack sandwich sandwich with chips in it, yeep, and
a chocolate chip cookie. You know, Jack. I'm feeling like
(48:49):
you'd be best friends with Roger. Him and I like
are a kindred spirit. You really are, Like he just
wants to live like a male Penny Lane and like
while he was like an investment banker. But trust me
when I tell you like he's living in double life.
I know. I feel like we need to be best eat.
I promise you you would be. That's amazing. So Keltia
(49:10):
doesn't really eat real food, so it's the veggie burger,
fat burger. But which one? Oh from fat Burger? They
have an impossible burger with a skinny fry and a
diet coke. But I've recently given up diet coke again
for the hundredth time in my life. Oh my goodness,
I pull it from Roger. It's really he onlyeds down
to like half of one a day, but like it
(49:31):
used to be really intense. No Asper team, guys, any
app team, No none drink alcohol. Just don't have Asper Team.
Becca Becca is like a fancy bitch. So for me,
it's like she wants to go out somewhere where the
seating is leather and she's getting like a like a
(49:53):
she's she would go where salt Bae is feeding. Okay,
like she's having a salt Bay meal. I think like
it's like the chicken and mean the tomahawks steak with
an expensive wine and like now she's living in Austin
where there's delicious, delicious, hilela the food here, isla, lela.
(50:13):
What is it called salt Bay seasoning? No, like you
know the salt Bay guy that does a little she
does that. You're what is so salt Bay is like
a hot chef and he feeds you. He comes out
to the table. He's looks so sexy. He's like in
a white tank top in a little like alesome glasses
(50:36):
and he coumes out and he starves you the food
in it. The last thing he like takes the salt
and he goes. He became like a meme, like a
social media meme. You go look up salad would have
a salt Bay Oh my god, stop it. He looks
like he should like a lead in the Asia. Yes,
he's very sexual and if you want to get them,
if you want to get salt bad in La he
(50:57):
opened a restaurant. It's three hundred and thirty dollars just
for the steak. Wow, a guaranteed salt based sighting anyway, literally,
would that be your last truth? Um? I mean it
would be something like insant, like right by the water
with like seafood and wine. Like it would be something
like that. Okay, Okay, I'm with you. I'm yours, Rachel,
I'm there with you. I'm thinking like Portofino Positano, something
(51:20):
like that, some amazing like something like just really heavenly. Yeah.
I'm also picturing just where I'm sitting right now. So
I got lost in that. Yeah. And then whatever you
what your hair, what your hair sounds like, what perfume
you're wearing. Definitely in a calftan, no matter what it is,
eating my last meal and a caftan for shure and diamonds. Wait, Rachel,
(51:42):
let's just end with this story. I had a calftan
disaster that I can't wait to share with you. So
I was judging this universe and the dress I wanted
was not available from like the rental house that you
wear like buy a fan or you rent a fancy
dress if you're in a regular bitch like me. Yeah,
And so I had to go in the morning before
the flight, and I was like, I need something. And
then I sent this picture to Marchella and I was like,
(52:03):
I just held it up. I didn't even try it on.
I was like, what if I just do rich Lady klftan,
She's like sheic and so then I didn't realize it
was a fourteen, which is not my size. And then
I got to Miss Universe in Miami and I put
the klftan on. It was fucking explosive. And then on
top of that, I got this idea. Throughout Miss Universe.
It's so glamorous. There's so much makeup, there's so much hair,
I got there, so much sequence everywhere everything. I was
(52:26):
so much I got. I got lost and I put
in a clippin bang as well, And so I just thought, you, okay,
she wasn't. It's like, I need you how to keltdown.
I need you to see the photo too. Like I
love Kelty and normally I tell her she looks beauty,
she looks beautiful always, But I'm telling you this was
like the most missed fashion moment that has ever existed. It.
(52:54):
Oh shit, do you know what? It's not even the
calftan that's killing me. It's the hair situation. I know
if I had done what happened fun, I just it
was the hair and makeup team I got. Really I was,
I actually doesn't even look like you. I know I
use Zendeia as a hair inspiration. That was a mistake.
(53:17):
Like it was just it was the prettiest I know
it's anything. So literally a washcloth with like a rubber band.
Who is that? That's your profile, peck. And so here's
this story is I texted my mom because like it's
(53:38):
it's worldwide, there's like five hundred million people watching. I
text my mom, who's like a real stage mom, and
I was like, did you see me? And she just
replied yep. That's how bad it was. My mom couldn't
even love me. Babe, you look unrecognizable. I know I'm recognizable.
That's why I'm so freaked up up. Like if you
(53:59):
actually showed out to me, I actually, in no life
would have been like, oh you look, I'm interesting there,
Like I wouldn't have even thought that was actually you,
I know, so anyway, not every Okay, I won't be
your calf tan ever again. I'll tell you that that's
not true. You just chose the wrong one, you hair.
I think it was the glam It wasn't even the
(54:20):
calf tan. Don't blame the calftan. It was the hair.
You know. But these how things he'll go wrong. That's
why you are who you are, because there are so
many of us, insecure, fashion loving people who can't make
right choices in Hollywood. And that's why stylists and having
experts is so important, because if you if we are
left to our own devices. Honey, we've all seen them
(54:42):
before they got a stylist, pictures on the red carpet.
We're ashually Tisdale two thousand and three. Good listen, you
do you, and don't run from the calf tan. It's
just the hair and makeup. I say this till I'm
blue in the face. Hair and makeup is equally as
importan as what you wear, sometimes even more so. I
(55:03):
hate to say that as a stylist, but true. And
I tell these parting works. Okay. I love you guys
talking so much. I feel cool. Okay, thank you for
having us. This is our first fight because Kelty won't
shut the fuck up on your podcast, you won't thank you,
thank you. It's that time in the show where I
(55:28):
answered to listener questions. So let's see what we have today. Um.
I actually pulled this question from and ask me anything
that I did over the weekend on my ig story. Okay,
So the question was if I could style anyone today
like a dream client, who would it be someone alive today?
(55:50):
I would say probably Margot Robbie, Dakota Johnson, Kate Blanche.
I mean, there's just so many fun people to dress
right now, but of course like Bella, Gigiaded, Haley Bieber,
I mean, Beyonce. Shall I go on? Okay, what is
your go to rain or winter weather footwear? I feel
like everything is so chunky and ugly. I actually think
(56:14):
now more than ever, there's really chic, like weatherproof chic footwear.
I do think when in doubt, like a great rain
boot is still like Hunter. I think they're still so
incredibly chic. And the equestrian look has never been bigger
than it is now. And I also love like a
shearling lug soul boot. And honestly, everybody makes them in
(56:38):
every price point, and I think those are great. My
winter weather boot, I mean I have some faux fur boots,
some sheer ling boots, but of course mine still are
on like a seven or eight inch heel. But don't
listen to me. You might slip and really hurt yourself.
But yeah, I think there's tons of options out there now,
from Ugs to Jimmy Choose to Saint laurents Zara. I mean,
(57:03):
the list goes on. There's so many great weatherproof boots.
So good luck and stay chic, and when in doubt,
try a hunter boot. Don't forget to submit your questions
for next week's episode. All you have to do is
dm us your questions to at Climbing in Heels pod
on Instagram and I might just answer your question. I
(57:30):
loved re listening to this incredible episode with three of
my favorite girls. Finding the right people to collaborate with
can be such a challenge for all of us, but
for Kelty, Becca and Jack, they were able to thrive
together in both business and friendship. Thank you so much
for listening to Climbing in Heels and don't forget to
write a review wherever you get podcasts. While you're at it.
(57:53):
Follow me on at Rachel Zoe and at Climbing in
Heels Pod on Instagram For more updates on upcoming guests,
episodes in all things Curator m
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.