Milokssy Resto is the winner of HBO Max’s “The Big Shot with Bethenny Frankel” and the CEO and founder of MONARCHS, an empowering wellness brand. Milokssy takes us behind the curtains of shooting a reality show, and shares her journey to taking control of her own life and destiny by starting her own business.
Follow Milokssy on Instagram @miloves
You can find Monarchs on https://www.monarchsco.com
Naibe Reynoso is the Host and Executive Producer of Latinas Take the Lead.
Production Assistant is Anna Sophia Monzon
Follow Latinas Take the Lead on Instagram
If you loved this episode please follow us, subscribe and leave a review!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You just embark into this beautiful butterfly. That's when people
really value you and just admire you. And I'm like,
that's what a woman goes through. We go through all
these transitions, and not the greatest of them, right, but
we always embark out like a gorgeous butterfly. I haven't
met one woman yet that I'm not at all completely
fall in love with because I hear her journey, her pains,
(00:29):
her struggles, and where she is today. And I am
all about celebrating women.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welcome to Latina's take the lead. You just heard Meloxie Risk,
the winner of the reality show The Big Shot with
Bethany Frankel. Like many of us, Moloxie's life has been
chock full of pivots, from working at the Gap to
jumping into the entertainment business and working on shows like
Game of Thrones, to winning a reality show and then
starting her own business. Meloxie is as unique and as
(00:58):
powerful as her name. So let's dive into this conversation
where Meloxi gives us a peek behind the curtain of
what reality shows are really like behind the scenes, and
how she changed her own reality by stepping away from
an opportunity to create her own with her wellness brand Monarchs.
Let's go so muchas gracias. Thank you so much, Meloxi,
(01:22):
Resto for being here on Latino's take the lead.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Talk to me a little bit about your name. Where
does it come from?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So my father made it up. People want like this
amazing story behind my name, and I wish there was
an amazing story. But he took pieces of my mother's name.
So you think Moloxis, You're like, oh wait, then her
mother's name is even stranger than Maloxi. But her name
is Daisy Milagros. So he took the mil from Milagros.
The s two s's my mother only has one and Daisy.
(01:55):
And he says, I know there's something that to be
different about this one. Like she's gonna just tear it up.
She's going to be strong, she's gonna be a fighter.
I need to have something in there that's just going
to break it up and just like just powerful. And
he had the Kay Okay, I'm like, really that that's
the story.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That is awesome. I love your dad. Thank ingenuity. You know,
at its finest.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yes, he is very creative. And then my middle name
is just a totally different story. We won't get into that,
but but it's different because when you see my siblings name,
so you're like, oh, so the siblings must have, you know,
not strange but unique names. No, it's Carmen, it's Callie,
it's Ramon. So here I am standing out with Meloxi
and I'm like, I have to live up to the name.
(02:39):
So I'm the one of all the siblings that comes
with the chaos totally.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
My sister's names are Maria, Joanne, and Lisa. And then
let's just throw in some spice just for the hell
of it, right, I love it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Wait, what does your name mean?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So my name is actually a I'm full Mexican American,
but the name originated from a Lebanese family that migrated
to a little town in Mexico and my mom heard
the name from They named the daughter Nahibe, and she's like,
I really like the name. So here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I love it. Now let me ask you this. Did
you have a problem with it when you were younger?
Did you get bullied at all? Oh?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yes, did you?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I did it? You know my friends would just poke
at it. Like, what's in loxy? It sounds like a
stomach medicine and I'm to own it. I'm like, well,
what's your name?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's so funny because we grow and then we Yes.
When I was little, I wanted to just fit in
right and be a whatever, a Kelly or a whatever,
normal Amy or whatever. And then now I'm so happy
that I have a unique name. Yes, I agree you
apart right.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I agree. I always wanted to be named Lisa. But
I love my name now.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So yeah, I love it too. It so to start
the interview in the conversation in k no one's heard
of your story before or what you're up to. Tell
us a little bit about who you are and what
you do amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, I don't know where to start. I could go
back as far as when I started in the corporate world.
Been a fighter from the very beginning. At the age
of fourteen, I went to Baby Gap to get an
outfit from my nephew and I saw the manager and
I'm like, are you hiring? She was like, well, we aren't.
You made it like you worked at the Gap. You're
it girl. I always wanted more and I would wait
(04:29):
for the regional managers to come in and I always
had so many questions on story Shore. I ended up
in corporate, but I felt like I still always wanted
a little bit more right, So fast forward, I applied
to be on the show on the Big Shot with
Bethany Frankel on HBO Max. I didn't think anything of it.
I'm like, oh's just put in an application because I'm like, hey,
(04:49):
it could be like The Apprentice, right, it sounds interesting.
And then I didn't think anything about it afterwards because
COVID hit. In the mid of COVID, I get a
phone call I want to say, maybe seven months after
I put in the application and they're like, hey, you
were calling from the Beech Shop and I'm like, the who,
(05:11):
what are you talking about? What are you talking about now?
And they said, well, where we saw your submission and
we would love to have you at least try out
for it. And I'm like, I don't know. Do you
know there's a pandemic outside these doors? And they're like, well,
you know there was a whole song and dance and
I almost didn't do it. I was like, no, I'm
not going. It's how can I leave my family in
(05:34):
the mist of COVID. I didn't know anything. I didn't
even know where we were going. They wouldn't share anything.
We didn't know we were filming in New York, in
Los Angeles. I knew nothing until the day they picked
me up at home.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Did you know Bethany Franco was part of it?
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I did know she was part of it. And I
was terrified and excited all at once because Bethany is
the real thing. She is an extremely strong woman. She
shares exactly what she thinks. She's a mama, you know,
she she gets it. And I was like, well, if
I'm coming, if I'm I have to bring it right now.
This is Bethany Frankel. And again, I've worked with an
(06:12):
intelligent and powerful women in media before, and these are
the women that set the path for me. But it
came off with compassion and creating a relationship throughout the years.
Being thrown in front of a camera with Bethany Frankel,
not knowing what you're going to face and the next
week or so was frightening. It was the most frightening
(06:33):
experience of my life, to be honest with you.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Wow. But the competition was for what to ultimately be
her assistant or what was it.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
No, it was to be the vice president of operations,
so basically be her right hand person to run everything
that is Bethany Frankel and Skinny Girl. But again we
didn't know this until we got there. We said it
was an opportunity to help her build and run her brand,
and I said, I've been doing this my whole life.
This is easy. This is I could do in my sleep.
What are you talking about? Like, okay, whatever, But when
(07:03):
you throw cameras in there and different personalities and not
knowing you see, I'm a planner. I'm the type I
haven't it terninary for them that plans on my life
for the next twenty years. So I was like, this
isn't in that itinerary, So how am I planning this?
And we couldn't talk to our families. They took our
phones away from us. So it's like almost to build
up suspense, and just when the cameras go on, it's
(07:25):
like you're ready to fight because you have to prove
a point and you want to go home, and that
I gave up a lot of times. I'm gonna be
honest with you. It was supposed to be two weeks
of filming two weeks. They said You're gonna be away
for two weeks and ended up being two months.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Wow. And I always get you in the game. What
kept you in there because you spoiler alert you won.
I won. Yeah, yeah, And I watched it because I'm
a Beth that you love her or hater. I am
bes Any Frankel fan, amazing little fan girl. So I
saw the show and I was rooting for you because
(07:59):
I'm Latin. I'm always rooting for the latinas.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I'm thank you, thank you, Yes, yes, it was. It was.
I love to say that. It was Wendy and I too,
very strong, powerful Latinas and there I wasn't alone. What
made me stay so I again, I packed my bags
several times and I'm like, I'm out of here. But
I wanted I need a change in my life so desperately.
(08:23):
On the show you so Patany always said, MOLOXI always
plays the safe, you bet your bottom dollar. I always
play it safe. Why I'm a Latina. We have to
fight harder, we have to and I'm a woman, and
on top of that, I'm a mother. So I wasn't
doing it for me anymore. I was now doing it
for my children. I was now doing it for all
(08:43):
these Latinas that were watching me, that were cheering for me.
And I'm like, if I walk away now, I'm showing
them it's easy to quit when it gets hard. I
refuse to do that. So I said, you know what,
I've been here, what three months? I mean three weeks already,
what's another week? I kept saying that to myself every week.
I've been here four weeks, what's another week? And then
finally a week before the like that's it, the competition
(09:06):
was going to be over. I was in tears because
I was like, I cannot do this anymore. I'm afraid
I'm getting right to the end. And it's always when
you get uncomfortable where the miracles come in, right, you
just get it. My husband's like, you're not coming here.
You could leave, and I'm not opening the door. I
was like, what goes? You have been doing so much
(09:27):
for everyone your entire life. If you're not taking care
of us, if you're not taking care of the kids,
you're taking care of everyone who excuse me, everyone in
the corporate world. It's time to do this for you.
And I was like, you know what, You're absolutely right,
you know, corporate world, you're in it twenty four to seven.
And I'm that girl. I'm that girl that I'm always available.
(09:47):
And I was always complaining like, oh, you know, I
love working for people. I just don't want to work
for anyone anymore more. I want to just do something
different that's going to serve me. And that's what made
me say and I was like, God, if this is
for me, let me know, let me know, I'm going
to give it my own. And that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, and you hit a home run, so congratulations on that.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Thank you. And Bethany's good, you know, like keeping the
suspense because I was like, that's say I'm losing. I
don't have this like towards the end, right, And when
she said my name, that was really shock and the
emotion that came over me. And it was and when
people ask like, why did you cry? And I was like,
because I was exhausted, and I think that inner child
(10:33):
in me I cried for her because I was like,
we did it, We did it all these years. You
worked so hard and you felt like you weren't seen
here we are this is for you, and it was
it was just a little melo that was crying and
I'm gonna cry again. I'm always crying.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
That's amazing. And if you if you pulled back the
curtain on what it's like to film a reality show,
whether it's this one or I mean, I'm sure they're
all kind of film very similarly. It's not as fancy
as we may think, right, Like where did you sleep?
When did you eat? How long were the hours? All
of that?
Speaker 1 (11:09):
God, let me tell you. So everyone that wants to
be on a reality TV show, please please, like second guests,
do your research, and even when you think you've done
all the research, do some more and then throw it
out the window because it is never what you think
it is. So again, I didn't know where we were going.
They didn't tell us anything. So a car shows up,
(11:30):
drives me, I'm do I need a passport? Am I
getting on a plane? And they were like, no, You're
going to New York City. I'm like, are you serious?
Like okay, great, New York City is right across the
bridge from you know, it's home to me. We stayed
in a hotel in Soho, but we didn't know how
many participants were on the show. I was kept in
my own room and all the other participants were kept
in their room. We weren't allowed to speak to family
(11:52):
at the time. I had several relatives that had passed
away of COVID, So we would get the phones once
a day, and you know, when I would open up
my phone, you know, bad news such as such, she
just passed away. So I really have to have a
heart to heart with the producers and say I get it,
but I can't do this, like I really need to
be in connection with my family because of the situations
(12:14):
and the circumstances that are happening. So they said fine,
and I believe that that helped others get their phones
back as well. So we were communicating. So we stayed
in a hotel, so they will feed us three times
that day, you know, are we would have one person
that would be in charge of us and they would
come knocking on the door, send us a text when
we had our phones, be like, you know, here's the menu,
(12:35):
what do you want to eat? So it was a
lot of that. It was like waiting, like, oh my god,
I want to say this, but it almost felt like prison.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
You know, you guys, three times a day when you're
describing it. That's exactly what I was thinking.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I got. I was in a nice hotel that I
could open my window and be like, oh my god,
it's still light, and I'm like, this is kind of
like jail. So we were kept like that for maybe
two weeks, and then I started getting upset cause I'm like,
I'm doing absolutely nothing. We're not filming, no one's talking
to me. What's happening. I could be home with my family,
but it was because the elections were taking place. There
were riots taking place in New York City, and the
(13:10):
numbers were going up in COVID, so that was their
word of keeping us safe. Finally, week two, they're like,
all right, we're gonna film and get ready. So we're
all getting dressed again. We don't know who's coming, who's joining,
we don't know anything. They drive us to Connecticut from
New York. So they drive us to a place in
Connecticut to a hotel. They do our hair and makeup,
and then they feed us and we're sitting there for
(13:32):
two hours, and then they drive us to Bethany's home
in Greenwich, Connecticut. That's the first episode that you see
that we're in a home and she comes out through
the balcony looking all grand and beautiful. That was five
o'clock in the morning, by the way, my gosh, so
at this point I'm like, I'm starving, I'm freezing. It
was like twenty something degrees and it's five o'clock in
(13:52):
the morning. No, like everything about it was. And this
is when we see all, right, oh, my gosh, so
it's not just me and three other people where I
think twelve of us at one point. And it got
real very quick with our first challenges, like what do
you mean I have to do a post on Instagram?
It's twenty degrees out here. I don't feel my fingers,
(14:13):
like I want to go home and sleep. So it
was just and then there's cameras everywhere. It's not this
beautiful like the scenery that you see on The Real
Housewives or everyone is pretty and you think it's just
one camera on your face. I was tripping over people
every two seconds because there was a camera girl here,
a camera guy in front of me. I didn't know
where to look. And you're not supposed to really look
(14:34):
in the camera, but guys, who's staring in the camera.
This girl right here, I'm like, I'm staring at the
and there have Melaxi starts staring at the camera. I'm like,
I'm sorry, I don't know where else to look, so
it's not as glamorous. I'm sorry. Girls and gals like,
it's not as glamorous it's going.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
To now and I want to know. So you won
that competition to become the VP of operations for Bethany
Franco's brand, Skinny Girl and all her brands. Did you
stay in the job or are you still in the
job or how did that work out?
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So I am no longer in the job. I can't
talk about exactly what happened, but I'm no longer in
the job now and I would love to share it,
but since it didn't air, I don't know we're going
to do a reunion. I don't know what right if
there's gonna be a part two, So I can't share
that part. But as of today, I am no longer
on the job. But everything between Bethany and I is amazing.
(15:26):
I support her, she supports me, and I just felt like,
all right, this is my opportunity to start something new
for me right. And I did a lot of learning
with Bethany, so I was like, okay, it's twice time
to start my own brand.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
You learn from the best, I mean, like I said,
lover or hater. She has created brands, I mean from nothing,
and it's kind of like she has that magic dust.
Time for a quick break. We'll be right back. You
have now your own brand, right monarch, Yes, you just launched, right,
(16:00):
just launch.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
This is my this is my newborn. This is like
but I feel like it's been a making since I
was a teenager. And I will tell you why. It's so.
Growing up, my mom had issues hormonally, just you know,
I didn't realize it was hormalst. But it's like heavy
mensis right. So but to me, that wasn't an issue.
It was normal. It was what I saw my whole life.
And then it started happening to me. But again, I'm
(16:22):
thinking it's normal. I didn't think anything of it until
I got into my twenties, where I needed emergency blood
transfusions every month. Wow, I was always in the hospital.
If I wasn't getting blood, I was getting iron because
I was severely anemic. I walked in one day almost
bleeding to death, and my gym said to me, you
(16:44):
should just get a hysterectomy. I'm like, I'm twenty three,
twenty what are you talking about? Like, do you know
what's wrong with me? She goes, we can't figure it out.
But I'm like, wow, it's that easy to just write
us off. Right, So then that happened. Then I had
my children, and my mom always said to me, don't worry.
It gets better once you have the kids. Right, everything
(17:05):
gets you know, shifts back normal and your flow will
get heavy. It got worse, It got ten times worse,
and here we are, like now, the blood transusions were
more frequent. And one day on my way to work
and we had a big meeting. It was Game of
Thrones meeting. So it's soon like, girls, get get ready
because this is it.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
What did you do for Game of Thrones?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
I worked for you.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
You threw that name out there and we got to
stop and explain, what do you mean you work for
the Game of thrown?
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So I worked for HBO. So I started at Time Warner,
which was back then Time Warner AO all Time Warner, right,
And then I took a break and I had my son,
and I came back to work with one of the
most phenomenal women in the industry, Courtney Monroe, she's now
at Disney, and it was for HBO marketing. And this
is in the Miss of Sex and the City. This
(17:57):
is the Sopranos and Game of Thrones. All the marketing
that you saw going out there, that was us. It
was just creating, just billboards and commercials. Back then, that's
what that was. That was marketing. Now this game of
marketing is it's different. This is a different animal. Like,
I don't even get me started with the marketing nowadays.
But yeah, so I So it's funny when people find
(18:19):
out that I used to work for HBO and that
I won the show, They're like, oh, it's that's all
the setup. She's an actress. She used to work for HBO. Darling,
I wish it was I wish, I wish. Let's just
say that because I really went through it. Now, this
this is the real deal. So I'm on my way
to work that day, and I remember getting out of
(18:39):
Grand Central station. But wait, let's rewind. I live in
Rockland County right now, which is forty five minutes north
of New York if you're driving, but if you're not driving,
if you're commuting, ladies, listen to this. My commute each
way was two hours. I was commuting four of us.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Sorry, I'm the metru.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I wish, I wish it was that simple. So I
had to take a little fairy okay, the ferry that
crosses me from from where I live to the other side,
which is awesetting. Okay, that's consider the Westchester. Once you
do the ferry for like twenty minutes, you get on
the Metro North. So the Mentro North takes you all
the way downtown to New York. So on my way
on the ferry, I feel my flow and I'm like, okay,
(19:19):
it's going to be one of those days. And I
would have to wear I'm sorry, it's graphic. I would
have to wear two overnight pads, an adult diaper okay
over that, and a tampon.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
And it was still getting through. But I was like,
all right, maybe I can make it to the Metro
North and find a bathroom and just change in there.
I didn't even make it out of the ferry and
I was already it was going through my clothes. So
by the time I get to Grand Central, I was
a bloody mess. And what do you do when you
feel like you're bleeding, you brace yourself, right, So I'm
bracing myself. I'm holding and I'm like, oh my God,
(19:52):
like trying to shift the way I'm sitting. By the
time I look, the blood is in my hands. I'm
touching my face. People thinking, y, she got dad, and
I'm like, no, it's gushing out of me. It's not tricklings,
gushing and what do we do? Us? Fears Latinas I
called my boss, I'm like, I have a little issue,
but I'll be there ten minutes late. She's like, you
(20:15):
will do no such thing. Get yourself to a hospital.
I was like, no, no, no, no, it's fine. I have
it on the control mentira. Next thing I know, I
wake up in the hospital. But I feel like that
was my saving grace because I finally found the doctor
after so many years of seeing so many different specialists
that they all said get a hysterectomy, but they couldn't
tell me why. This man looked at me, he goes,
(20:36):
all right, do you have kids? I said yeah, I
have two boys. He goes, do you want anymore? I
was like I don't think so, but why he goes,
I think you should get a hysterectomy. And I'm like,
I've heard this all my life, but no one tells
me why. He was like, but I'll tell you why.
And he explained to me what I had, which is
called aniomiosis, and I never knew this thing existed. He goes, Okay,
So he was like, are you going to continue to
(20:56):
bleed to death? Right? And you're not going to raise
your kids anymore? He had to put in black and
white for me like that, for me to register it,
he said, Or I could put you on birth control
pills and you already know the side effects of that.
It's not gonna be great, and I can't guarantee anything.
He goes, what do you want to do? I was like,
those are my two choices. He goes yeah. I was like,
cut me. That's it. If if this is what it's
(21:16):
gonna take for me to raise my boys and see
them get married and have you know, grandkids, then do
what you gotta do. But little did I know, I'm thinking, Okay,
once you take my uterus and you know, I'm thinking,
this is it, you know I'm gonna be great. No
one explained to me what's gonna happen to you after
they do this, and my world went. It just spiraled down.
I'm thinking, oh, I could wear white jeans, Mandata, You're
(21:39):
gonna wear white jeans, but they're not gonna fit you
because you're gonna gain twenty pounds. Okay, And this.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Is because the hysterectomy causes all kinds of hormonal issues
or hortel me.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
So it causes hormonal issues. But with me, and the
more I'm talking to other females is it speeds you
straight into perimenopause right back then, growing up, when you
say menopause is a primal anything that has to with menopause,
I picture of Yahita, someone in her seventies, you know,
never did I think it'll happen to someone in their thirties.
So I ignored all of that. I'm like, oh, it's
(22:11):
just I'm tired because what happened. I go to see
my primary and she was just like, you need to
rest more, you need to sleep more, you need to
lose weight. And I'm like, but I don't. I don't
feel like it's that. I don't feel like it's really
like I can't think straight. My brain fog is horvrible.
I can't remember where I'm going half of the time,
and that did happen to me. I'm going to pick
(22:32):
up my kids. Halfway there, I didn't know where I
was heading. I blanked out, and I'm like, this isn't normal.
I went, I got several tests done, and I don't
know if you've done this, but every time you go
to get your hormones checked, everything is normal, the blood
work is normal, You're fine, and I'm like, I don't
feel fine and I know I'm not fine.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
So to say to point out something that's super important
for that you were an advocate for your own health
and that you didn't fall. You didn't necessarily believe everything
that the doctors told you because you know your body.
We know our bodies more than anybody else. And I
think that's such an important point to make because doctors
(23:12):
have been wrong so many times. Oh my lot of
women have gone through horrible things because they listen to
their doctor instead of their own intuition. It's always good
to get two, three, even four opinions right. So yes,
I just wanted to point that out because that's super
super important and that's something that I feel in our
(23:32):
community as latin as, we don't do as much as
we should. We don't advocate and speak up as much
as we should.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
And I'm glad you pointed that out because I don't
know if when you were growing up you hear all
these wives tales. Right growing up, my mom always said
to me, make sure when you have kids, you don't
wash your hair after labor and delivery. And I'm like, why, oh,
because you'll go crazy. So I'm like, really, that's a
crazy wifs tale? It is? Can I tell you my
second son, I had the worst postpartum depression, And I'm like,
(24:03):
did I wash my hair? This is how crazy it
was because I went back to what I was, you know,
grown up, being taught like if you want your hair,
you go go crazy. And then I made the connection.
I'm like, it's not that I washed my hair. This
is postpartum depression. But we're not talking about its latinas
I was raised, don't spread your business, don't talk about
(24:24):
things that you're going through behind closed doors, and when
it comes to you, how nie you know. So I'm like,
we need to change that. So this is what Mornarch says.
Monarch says, we're having the conversation, but I want to
begin a podcast. I haven't gotten there yet, But why
aren't we talking about this? Why is it taboo? Why
are we embarrassed to say, I'm thirty five and forty five,
(24:44):
my libido is horrible. I'm about to get a divorce
because my husband thinks I'm having an affair because I
don't want to have sex with him. My hairs falling out.
I gained forty pounds on the Big Shot. I was
sixty pounds overweight, and I'm like, what's going on? And
before getting on the on the Big Shot a week
before or going on set, I want to see a
hormonal doctor. Because I was desperate. I was like, Bethany's
(25:06):
gonna ask me questions and I'm gonna blank out. I'm
not gonna know how to answer it. So I need help.
So I paid one thousand dollars. He put me on
all these you know, progesterone, testosterone, all these fun things
that did absolutely nothing for me. I ended up gaining
more weight, I started growing facial hair, and I'm like,
there goes a thousand dollars down the drain. I look
horrible on television, but even worse, I felt worse. I
(25:29):
couldn't I couldn't just articulate my words properly. So I
come back from the Big Shot great. You know, it
was wonderful. I won, and I still feel crappy, like
my hair is falling out at this point. I'm sorry
you have a question.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Oh, I was just gonna ask real quick. And when
you won the Big Shot, did it also come with
like a monetary win or just the position?
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Just like, no, you you do get a monetary win.
And that's what I used to start my perfect transition.
I put it in the bank. I'm like, that's gonna
serve for something one day. And then when when I
walked away, I was like, huh, there goes the money
that I start and just you know, create my empire.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Everything happens for a reason, everything.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Everything, and it's it's you always question God's timing, but
it's like, just believe, have faith, and I'm a big
believer and all of those amazing, beautiful things that God,
you know, puts in front of us. But where was
I Here we go with.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
The so the monarchs, Yeah, talk to us about the
first iteration of it and how because when I saw
your company when I was researching to do your interview,
I was like, this must be such a difficult company
to start because of all of I don't know. The
FDA regulations are like, do you have to get scientists
involved or doctors involved? Because it's it's kind of like
(26:55):
a delicate product. It's not like a book or a right.
It has to do with your body and chemistry and
all that. So talk to us about that journey.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yes, the way I fell into it. So when I
get when I got back from from doing the big shot,
I was desperate at this point. Now I'm sixty pounds
of aweight. Now I'm not sleeping at night. I'm up
at three o'clock in the morning. I'm sweating. It's just nasty,
and I'm like, I need help. I can't do this anymore.
So I started doing the research, right, and I'm like,
I already spent thousands of dollars on pellets on hormones.
(27:26):
Let me just try something natural. So I'm looking up
supplements and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna try this
for my sleep, and I'm gonna try this for the hair.
And I started having like I had a little lab
in my kitchen and I'm like, oh, Mina, this is
interesting because I'm sleeping now at night because I'm trying
this supplement and my hair is not falling out because
I'm doing this supplement. So all these different supplements were working.
(27:46):
I got my hormones on the control finally. But then
I'm like, oh my god, I'm spending like six hundred
dollars a month alone on supplements because I'm just you know,
just mixing and matching, and I'm like, this is really expensive.
It's helping me, yes, but it's expensive, and I'm like,
it has to be a better way. So, you know,
I go online, I'm doing my research. I'm going on TikTok,
and I see all these women going through the same thing,
(28:08):
like what is wrong with me? Why is it? Why
are we getting any help, and why are we talking
about it? And that's when I was like, this is
a perfect opportunity for me to start something, because let's
talk about it. Let's let's start something that's affordable. And
when I came up with the idea, I met with
one person and his first question was, well, what's going
to be your price range? And I was like, twenty
(28:29):
no more than twenty five dollars and he looked at me.
He goes, are you crazy? And I'm like, why he goes,
everyone else is selling gummies for eighty dollars, I said,
exactly exactly. First of all, gummies are full of sugar
and they don't have the nutritional value or you know,
it's not going to help you in any way. And
there's already a market for someone that could afford eighty
dollars for one supplement. I am not going to do that.
(28:51):
I refuse to do that. There is no market for
women that need help that they have to literally pinch
pennies to afford one one supplement. I was like, it's
not fair. I'm going to serve that market. I'm going
to walk into the market. It's like twenty three dollars.
But guess what you don't have to pay. And this
is what other companies do. They're like, oh, you have
(29:11):
problems with your stomach, here's a bottle of a probiotic.
Here's a bottle of a prebiotic. Here's a part of enzyme.
Their goals how many products? Three products? And at their
price is like what fifty dollars each? Maybe? I was
like absolutely not. I'm putting all these three products into one.
So this is how I sat here and I'm like,
this is how I'm going to be different. So if
you have gut issues, I'm going to give you all
(29:32):
the products that helped me in one bottle. I'm not
going to sell you three different formulas with my hair.
I did that as well with sleep, all the supplements
and all the ingredients. I wrote everything down. I met
with a research and discovery team, research and development, excuse me,
and I said to them, these are the scientists. These
are the big boys that come in and put the
(29:53):
science behind it. And I'm like, all right, this is
what I was taking in my kitchen. I'm not a scientist,
So how do I me this into a formula? And
they broke it down for me, and they did the research,
and they did the calculations for me, and they handed
over this beautiful binder and they were like, here, here's
your formulas. Run and be with it. So then it's
not easy. People think that. They go on YouTube, they
(30:15):
see these TikTok influencers, They're like, hey, you can make
a million dollars on one day with this product. It's
not that easy. You have to do your research, you
have to find suppliers, you have to find the manufacturers.
Then you have to figure out your branding, and then
you have to create a website, and then you have
to get all these just like licenses, because again, like
you said, this is not a book, this is something
that's going into your body. So this took me a
(30:36):
good year, good year to launch, just getting ideas. And
when I tell you, I was pulling in eighteen hours,
just sitting in front of my computer, talking to people,
calling people that I knew that are in this market
that'll give me pointers, because I was so confused and
so lost, and again I wanted to give up, but
I'm like, I can't because now I'm doing it for
all these younger girls that are going through this as well.
(30:59):
And I stopped with the five formulas that I have
now because those are the five formulas that are dear
to my heart because it's everything I went through. It's
the postpartum supplement. Again, no conversations are being had about that.
We're embarrassed to say, you know, I don't like my
baby right now, or I'm not happy that I have
a baby right now, so we need to talk about that.
So that's why supplement the hair. My hair was falling
(31:21):
out by the clumps, like my kids could find me
throughout the house. Just follow the hair trail, that's where
that's where she is. And then the menopause and the
supplement for the hormones. It's good for girls with pcos.
Another conversation. We're not having PMS perimenopause, the sleep I
mean people are calling me or summer sending me dms.
(31:43):
They're like, where have you been? Like my whole life
because I've been searching for something. I just I just
didn't know what it was until I started taking your supplements.
Thank you. And again we're still brand new. The word
isn't really out there yet as much as I want
to be because I want to focus right now on
my customers that I have now. And but what I
mean by that is, if you bought something from me recently,
(32:04):
I'm reaching out to you every week. I'm like, how
do you feel this week? And how do you feel
this week? Are you sleeping how I want to have
that communication with my customers. And then I'm looking within
the next year to start branching out in major stores.
That's still a conversation I'm having because I've been told
that once you are in stores, everything changes. You no
(32:25):
longer have the control of your company than when you
sell on e commerce. So that's that's still a song
and dance and I'm trying, you know, trying to dissect
and figure out what the next steps are.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So where can people find your products now?
Speaker 1 (32:39):
So we're on my website, which is monarchsco dot com.
And if people ask that, I've been getting this question
to why Monarchs, why the name? Do you love butterflies?
And I was like, you know what, I do love butterflies,
but it wasn't because of that. I just love the
whole transition that a butterfly has, and I can relate
that to a female, to a woman. You know, you
(33:00):
start off as an egg and then you're just this creepy,
crawley little caterpillar, and that you're going to your crystal
stage and you just embark into the beautiful butterfly. That's
when people really value you and just admire you. And
I'm like, that's what a woman goes through. We go
through all these transitions, and not the greatest of them, right,
(33:20):
but we always embark out like a gorgeous butterfly. I
haven't met one woman yet that I'm not I don't
completely fall in love with because I hear her journey,
her pains, her struggles, and where she is today. And
I am all about celebrating women.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Yeah, definitely. And I love the fact that it's not
just a product, but it's also a platform to have
a conversation about these different issues. I think a lot
of times because we don't talk about it, and because
we don't know that there's other women dealing with similar issues.
When we have these whether it's postpartum, whether it's your
hair falling out, we feel like it's us, something wrong
with us, right, yes, But knowing that it's not us,
(33:57):
it boils down to chemistry, and it boils down to
like being a human being, where it is we're not
going to be perfect, and we have to not advocate
for ourselves, figure out how to like help ourselves with products,
different types of products, et cetera. So I'm so happy
that you, as a Latina, are really pushing the needle
(34:18):
in us to have these kinds of conversations that are
uncomfortable because our moms and our grandmas typically wouldn't talk
to us about our periods or and a lot of
times they would shame us like, oh, you know, you
need to like throw go outside and throw all your
stuff out in the trash can outside, And it's like.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Exactly right, And you know, a beautifier for women. Now,
I'm like, we tend to idolize these beautiful women we
see on TV or social media, and for example, right now,
I'm like, look at the Kardashians. Everyone loves the Kardashians,
so gorgeous. They're going to perimiutal pause by the way.
See so when you see it like that, you're like,
wait a minute, look young, no, my dear, these women
(35:02):
are also going through what you go through. So stop
shaming yourself. Stop thinking you're different because what you see
on television or Instagram doesn't really fit what you what
you're going through every single day. Guess what, all these
beautiful women that are your ages are going through the
same exact thing. But because we're ashamed to talk about it.
But I'm gonna I'm going to remove that. That is
(35:22):
my goal is to remove the taboo from being a
shame of our bodies, of what we're going through, of
people calling us the B word because oh, she must
be on her period, because because I'm having a meltdown
because I feel like the world is on my shoulders
and no one understands me, and my body feels like
it's falling apart. I'm changing that. I don't care how
long it's gonna take me, but you know, that's my mission.
(35:44):
I don't know if you're aware there's an app out there.
I don't want to name the name because I don't know,
you know, for trademark issues or copyright issues. But it's
for blind people. If they'll call you, your phone rings
is a certain ringer, right, and you pick up and
the blind persons on the other line and your help
them and they'll be like, I've had a guy say, hey,
you know, I just got dressed. Can you make sure
(36:05):
that I that I match? And you see him. It's
like a FaceTime You're like, oh, yeah, you look great,
And that's the call.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
It's amazing. I'll text you the name just in case.
I'm like, why don't we have that for women, especially
for postpartum moms. There's no judgment. It'll just be another
mom on the other line picking up and saying you're
gonna be fine, You're gonna go to a room, get
a breather, just you're gonna be fine, why don't we
have that? So that's that's my narrative. That's that's what
I want to do now. I want to embrace all
(36:33):
these women and even guys, like I want to buy
guys on my platform because they're going through Like my
husband didn't know how to help me. He was like, girl,
what is wrong with you? You're a monster, And he
started doing the research so that he could better understand
what I'm going through. So I want to put the
research out there, even for kids like my kids. I
want my kids to know how to understand mommy when
she's not feeling her best. So that's what Monarchs is like,
(36:54):
it's affordable supplements. Yes, it'll be great to sell them
all expensive and be beautiful brand, but I want it
to be a classic. And that's why the branding is
very just simple. I want to say, be classic and
that you could put it on your nightstand and not
be ashamed about it. Not these beautiful loud colors because
I love the loud colors, but not you know, not
(37:14):
calling attention to it, because people still are not ready
to talk about, oh, why she's taking a hormone supplement,
you know. So it's just let's just make it part
of our everyday life, right simple.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
A lot of women that have businesses, including myself, we're
always trying to juggle, like making our kids happy, our
husband happy, our business happy. How do you make it
all work?
Speaker 1 (37:37):
So it's scary every day. I'm tempted to go back
to the corporate world. I'm on LinkedIn all the time
because having that secure paycheck every two weeks, it's so easy, right,
It's like comforting, and it's it's that's it. You're guaranteed
that money. I'm doing Monarchs twenty four hours now. This
is my full time job. So I have to make
this work. And I tell my boys all the time
(37:59):
like mommy's and then this, you know, seventeen hours a day.
I'm sorry I can't play with you, but if I
don't make this work, you guys are gonna eat peanut
butter and jelly every day for the rest of your life.
And that Ramen noodle that you love so much isn't
a permanent staful year. So this is it, Like I am,
I'm giving it my awe. I have to make this work.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah, and I'm sure you will. I'm sure you will will.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
I hope so and the reviews that I'm getting from people,
it looks very promising. But we'll see.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
What is something you're doing, reading, listening to that you
that you're obsessed with that you want to recommend.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
I wish I could tell you that I was reading
something and we're listening to anything. But you know what
I'm obsessed with, and I've picked this up during COVID.
I am truly obsessed with gardening now. And this is
why I have liked right here. And I don't have
a green thumb to save my life, but this is
why I'm so intrigued by it, because it's therapeutic for me.
(38:55):
My kids laugh because they're like, Mom is out there
looking at the grass grow again, Dad, go grab your wife.
I'm standing there because I'm like, I put so much
hard work into this garden. I don't know what I'm doing,
but one day it's gonna grow, and one day's gonna beautiful,
and it happens, and I think I could just relate
to that. I'm grass seeds right now. I'm growing.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
I love it, love it, And how are you taking
the lead.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
I'm taking the lead because I am finally standing up
for myself. I am finally making people respect. My know,
I was always a people pleased in my entire life,
always always doing everything, setting myself on fire to keep
others warm. And now I'm learning to find my voice.
It's taking me forty plus years to find my voice,
(39:37):
but it's it's about me now. And if I say no,
respect my no, and I shouldn't have to explain myself why.
That's how I'm taking the lead. Love it.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Thank you so much again, Meloxi. It's been a pleasure
to get to know you.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Why.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
And you have a friend here, Yeah, you have a
friend here in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
If you're ever out here.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Thank you so much for listening. Please subscribe and give
us a review. Tell your friends and go madries about
our podcast and hope you join us next week. Latinus
Take the Lead is executive produced by Hodston Reinoso Media Group,
LLC and hosted by me naive Reno. So Production Assistant
is Ana Sofia Monson. Latinus Take the Lead is a
(40:23):
production of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Asta la
proxima
You just embark into this beautiful butterfly. That's when people
really value you and just admire you. And I'm like,
that's what a woman goes through. We go through all
these transitions, and not the greatest of them, right, but
we always embark out like a gorgeous butterfly. I haven't
met one woman yet that I'm not at all completely
fall in love with because I hear her journey, her pains,
(00:29):
her struggles, and where she is today. And I am
all about celebrating women.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Welcome to Latina's take the lead. You just heard Meloxie Risk,
the winner of the reality show The Big Shot with
Bethany Frankel. Like many of us, Moloxie's life has been
chock full of pivots, from working at the Gap to
jumping into the entertainment business and working on shows like
Game of Thrones, to winning a reality show and then
starting her own business. Meloxie is as unique and as
(00:58):
powerful as her name. So let's dive into this conversation
where Meloxi gives us a peek behind the curtain of
what reality shows are really like behind the scenes, and
how she changed her own reality by stepping away from
an opportunity to create her own with her wellness brand Monarchs.
Let's go so muchas gracias. Thank you so much, Meloxi,
(01:22):
Resto for being here on Latino's take the lead.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Talk to me a little bit about your name. Where
does it come from?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So my father made it up. People want like this
amazing story behind my name, and I wish there was
an amazing story. But he took pieces of my mother's name.
So you think Moloxis, You're like, oh wait, then her
mother's name is even stranger than Maloxi. But her name
is Daisy Milagros. So he took the mil from Milagros.
The s two s's my mother only has one and Daisy.
(01:55):
And he says, I know there's something that to be
different about this one. Like she's gonna just tear it up.
She's going to be strong, she's gonna be a fighter.
I need to have something in there that's just going
to break it up and just like just powerful. And
he had the Kay Okay, I'm like, really that that's
the story.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That is awesome. I love your dad. Thank ingenuity. You know,
at its finest.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Yes, he is very creative. And then my middle name
is just a totally different story. We won't get into that,
but but it's different because when you see my siblings name,
so you're like, oh, so the siblings must have, you know,
not strange but unique names. No, it's Carmen, it's Callie,
it's Ramon. So here I am standing out with Meloxi
and I'm like, I have to live up to the name.
(02:39):
So I'm the one of all the siblings that comes
with the chaos totally.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
My sister's names are Maria, Joanne, and Lisa. And then
let's just throw in some spice just for the hell
of it, right, I love it.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Wait, what does your name mean?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So my name is actually a I'm full Mexican American,
but the name originated from a Lebanese family that migrated
to a little town in Mexico and my mom heard
the name from They named the daughter Nahibe, and she's like,
I really like the name. So here I am.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I love it. Now let me ask you this. Did
you have a problem with it when you were younger?
Did you get bullied at all? Oh?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Yes, did you?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I did it? You know my friends would just poke
at it. Like, what's in loxy? It sounds like a
stomach medicine and I'm to own it. I'm like, well,
what's your name?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
It's so funny because we grow and then we Yes.
When I was little, I wanted to just fit in
right and be a whatever, a Kelly or a whatever,
normal Amy or whatever. And then now I'm so happy
that I have a unique name. Yes, I agree you
apart right.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I agree. I always wanted to be named Lisa. But
I love my name now.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So yeah, I love it too. It so to start
the interview in the conversation in k no one's heard
of your story before or what you're up to. Tell
us a little bit about who you are and what
you do amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Well, I don't know where to start. I could go
back as far as when I started in the corporate world.
Been a fighter from the very beginning. At the age
of fourteen, I went to Baby Gap to get an
outfit from my nephew and I saw the manager and
I'm like, are you hiring? She was like, well, we aren't.
You made it like you worked at the Gap. You're
it girl. I always wanted more and I would wait
(04:29):
for the regional managers to come in and I always
had so many questions on story Shore. I ended up
in corporate, but I felt like I still always wanted
a little bit more right, So fast forward, I applied
to be on the show on the Big Shot with
Bethany Frankel on HBO Max. I didn't think anything of it.
I'm like, oh's just put in an application because I'm like, hey,
(04:49):
it could be like The Apprentice, right, it sounds interesting.
And then I didn't think anything about it afterwards because
COVID hit. In the mid of COVID, I get a
phone call I want to say, maybe seven months after
I put in the application and they're like, hey, you
were calling from the Beech Shop and I'm like, the who,
(05:11):
what are you talking about? What are you talking about now?
And they said, well, where we saw your submission and
we would love to have you at least try out
for it. And I'm like, I don't know. Do you
know there's a pandemic outside these doors? And they're like, well,
you know there was a whole song and dance and
I almost didn't do it. I was like, no, I'm
not going. It's how can I leave my family in
(05:34):
the mist of COVID. I didn't know anything. I didn't
even know where we were going. They wouldn't share anything.
We didn't know we were filming in New York, in
Los Angeles. I knew nothing until the day they picked
me up at home.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Did you know Bethany Franco was part of it?
Speaker 1 (05:49):
I did know she was part of it. And I
was terrified and excited all at once because Bethany is
the real thing. She is an extremely strong woman. She
shares exactly what she thinks. She's a mama, you know,
she she gets it. And I was like, well, if
I'm coming, if I'm I have to bring it right now.
This is Bethany Frankel. And again, I've worked with an
(06:12):
intelligent and powerful women in media before, and these are
the women that set the path for me. But it
came off with compassion and creating a relationship throughout the years.
Being thrown in front of a camera with Bethany Frankel,
not knowing what you're going to face and the next
week or so was frightening. It was the most frightening
(06:33):
experience of my life, to be honest with you.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Wow. But the competition was for what to ultimately be
her assistant or what was it.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
No, it was to be the vice president of operations,
so basically be her right hand person to run everything
that is Bethany Frankel and Skinny Girl. But again we
didn't know this until we got there. We said it
was an opportunity to help her build and run her brand,
and I said, I've been doing this my whole life.
This is easy. This is I could do in my sleep.
What are you talking about? Like, okay, whatever, But when
(07:03):
you throw cameras in there and different personalities and not
knowing you see, I'm a planner. I'm the type I
haven't it terninary for them that plans on my life
for the next twenty years. So I was like, this
isn't in that itinerary, So how am I planning this?
And we couldn't talk to our families. They took our
phones away from us. So it's like almost to build
up suspense, and just when the cameras go on, it's
(07:25):
like you're ready to fight because you have to prove
a point and you want to go home, and that
I gave up a lot of times. I'm gonna be
honest with you. It was supposed to be two weeks
of filming two weeks. They said You're gonna be away
for two weeks and ended up being two months.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Wow. And I always get you in the game. What
kept you in there because you spoiler alert you won.
I won. Yeah, yeah, And I watched it because I'm
a Beth that you love her or hater. I am
bes Any Frankel fan, amazing little fan girl. So I
saw the show and I was rooting for you because
(07:59):
I'm Latin. I'm always rooting for the latinas.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I'm thank you, thank you, Yes, yes, it was. It was.
I love to say that. It was Wendy and I too,
very strong, powerful Latinas and there I wasn't alone. What
made me stay so I again, I packed my bags
several times and I'm like, I'm out of here. But
I wanted I need a change in my life so desperately.
(08:23):
On the show you so Patany always said, MOLOXI always
plays the safe, you bet your bottom dollar. I always
play it safe. Why I'm a Latina. We have to
fight harder, we have to and I'm a woman, and
on top of that, I'm a mother. So I wasn't
doing it for me anymore. I was now doing it
for my children. I was now doing it for all
(08:43):
these Latinas that were watching me, that were cheering for me.
And I'm like, if I walk away now, I'm showing
them it's easy to quit when it gets hard. I
refuse to do that. So I said, you know what,
I've been here, what three months? I mean three weeks already,
what's another week? I kept saying that to myself every week.
I've been here four weeks, what's another week? And then
finally a week before the like that's it, the competition
(09:06):
was going to be over. I was in tears because
I was like, I cannot do this anymore. I'm afraid
I'm getting right to the end. And it's always when
you get uncomfortable where the miracles come in, right, you
just get it. My husband's like, you're not coming here.
You could leave, and I'm not opening the door. I
was like, what goes? You have been doing so much
(09:27):
for everyone your entire life. If you're not taking care
of us, if you're not taking care of the kids,
you're taking care of everyone who excuse me, everyone in
the corporate world. It's time to do this for you.
And I was like, you know what, You're absolutely right,
you know, corporate world, you're in it twenty four to seven.
And I'm that girl. I'm that girl that I'm always available.
(09:47):
And I was always complaining like, oh, you know, I
love working for people. I just don't want to work
for anyone anymore more. I want to just do something
different that's going to serve me. And that's what made
me say and I was like, God, if this is
for me, let me know, let me know, I'm going
to give it my own. And that's exactly what happened.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, and you hit a home run, so congratulations on that.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Thank you. And Bethany's good, you know, like keeping the
suspense because I was like, that's say I'm losing. I
don't have this like towards the end, right, And when
she said my name, that was really shock and the
emotion that came over me. And it was and when
people ask like, why did you cry? And I was like,
because I was exhausted, and I think that inner child
(10:33):
in me I cried for her because I was like,
we did it, We did it all these years. You
worked so hard and you felt like you weren't seen
here we are this is for you, and it was
it was just a little melo that was crying and
I'm gonna cry again. I'm always crying.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
That's amazing. And if you if you pulled back the
curtain on what it's like to film a reality show,
whether it's this one or I mean, I'm sure they're
all kind of film very similarly. It's not as fancy
as we may think, right, Like where did you sleep?
When did you eat? How long were the hours? All
of that?
Speaker 1 (11:09):
God, let me tell you. So everyone that wants to
be on a reality TV show, please please, like second guests,
do your research, and even when you think you've done
all the research, do some more and then throw it
out the window because it is never what you think
it is. So again, I didn't know where we were going.
They didn't tell us anything. So a car shows up,
(11:30):
drives me, I'm do I need a passport? Am I
getting on a plane? And they were like, no, You're
going to New York City. I'm like, are you serious?
Like okay, great, New York City is right across the
bridge from you know, it's home to me. We stayed
in a hotel in Soho, but we didn't know how
many participants were on the show. I was kept in
my own room and all the other participants were kept
in their room. We weren't allowed to speak to family
(11:52):
at the time. I had several relatives that had passed
away of COVID, So we would get the phones once
a day, and you know, when I would open up
my phone, you know, bad news such as such, she
just passed away. So I really have to have a
heart to heart with the producers and say I get it,
but I can't do this, like I really need to
be in connection with my family because of the situations
(12:14):
and the circumstances that are happening. So they said fine,
and I believe that that helped others get their phones
back as well. So we were communicating. So we stayed
in a hotel, so they will feed us three times
that day, you know, are we would have one person
that would be in charge of us and they would
come knocking on the door, send us a text when
we had our phones, be like, you know, here's the menu,
(12:35):
what do you want to eat? So it was a
lot of that. It was like waiting, like, oh my god,
I want to say this, but it almost felt like prison.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
You know, you guys, three times a day when you're
describing it. That's exactly what I was thinking.
Speaker 1 (12:49):
I got. I was in a nice hotel that I
could open my window and be like, oh my god,
it's still light, and I'm like, this is kind of
like jail. So we were kept like that for maybe
two weeks, and then I started getting upset cause I'm like,
I'm doing absolutely nothing. We're not filming, no one's talking
to me. What's happening. I could be home with my family,
but it was because the elections were taking place. There
were riots taking place in New York City, and the
(13:10):
numbers were going up in COVID, so that was their
word of keeping us safe. Finally, week two, they're like,
all right, we're gonna film and get ready. So we're
all getting dressed again. We don't know who's coming, who's joining,
we don't know anything. They drive us to Connecticut from
New York. So they drive us to a place in
Connecticut to a hotel. They do our hair and makeup,
and then they feed us and we're sitting there for
(13:32):
two hours, and then they drive us to Bethany's home
in Greenwich, Connecticut. That's the first episode that you see
that we're in a home and she comes out through
the balcony looking all grand and beautiful. That was five
o'clock in the morning, by the way, my gosh, so
at this point I'm like, I'm starving, I'm freezing. It
was like twenty something degrees and it's five o'clock in
(13:52):
the morning. No, like everything about it was. And this
is when we see all, right, oh, my gosh, so
it's not just me and three other people where I
think twelve of us at one point. And it got
real very quick with our first challenges, like what do
you mean I have to do a post on Instagram?
It's twenty degrees out here. I don't feel my fingers,
(14:13):
like I want to go home and sleep. So it
was just and then there's cameras everywhere. It's not this
beautiful like the scenery that you see on The Real
Housewives or everyone is pretty and you think it's just
one camera on your face. I was tripping over people
every two seconds because there was a camera girl here,
a camera guy in front of me. I didn't know
where to look. And you're not supposed to really look
(14:34):
in the camera, but guys, who's staring in the camera.
This girl right here, I'm like, I'm staring at the
and there have Melaxi starts staring at the camera. I'm like,
I'm sorry, I don't know where else to look, so
it's not as glamorous. I'm sorry. Girls and gals like,
it's not as glamorous it's going.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
To now and I want to know. So you won
that competition to become the VP of operations for Bethany
Franco's brand, Skinny Girl and all her brands. Did you
stay in the job or are you still in the
job or how did that work out?
Speaker 1 (15:04):
So I am no longer in the job. I can't
talk about exactly what happened, but I'm no longer in
the job now and I would love to share it,
but since it didn't air, I don't know we're going
to do a reunion. I don't know what right if
there's gonna be a part two, So I can't share
that part. But as of today, I am no longer
on the job. But everything between Bethany and I is amazing.
(15:26):
I support her, she supports me, and I just felt like,
all right, this is my opportunity to start something new
for me right. And I did a lot of learning
with Bethany, so I was like, okay, it's twice time
to start my own brand.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
You learn from the best, I mean, like I said,
lover or hater. She has created brands, I mean from nothing,
and it's kind of like she has that magic dust.
Time for a quick break. We'll be right back. You
have now your own brand, right monarch, Yes, you just launched, right,
(16:00):
just launch.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
This is my this is my newborn. This is like
but I feel like it's been a making since I
was a teenager. And I will tell you why. It's so.
Growing up, my mom had issues hormonally, just you know,
I didn't realize it was hormalst. But it's like heavy
mensis right. So but to me, that wasn't an issue.
It was normal. It was what I saw my whole life.
And then it started happening to me. But again, I'm
(16:22):
thinking it's normal. I didn't think anything of it until
I got into my twenties, where I needed emergency blood
transfusions every month. Wow, I was always in the hospital.
If I wasn't getting blood, I was getting iron because
I was severely anemic. I walked in one day almost
bleeding to death, and my gym said to me, you
(16:44):
should just get a hysterectomy. I'm like, I'm twenty three,
twenty what are you talking about? Like, do you know
what's wrong with me? She goes, we can't figure it out.
But I'm like, wow, it's that easy to just write
us off. Right, So then that happened. Then I had
my children, and my mom always said to me, don't worry.
It gets better once you have the kids. Right, everything
(17:05):
gets you know, shifts back normal and your flow will
get heavy. It got worse, It got ten times worse,
and here we are, like now, the blood transusions were
more frequent. And one day on my way to work
and we had a big meeting. It was Game of
Thrones meeting. So it's soon like, girls, get get ready
because this is it.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
What did you do for Game of Thrones?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
I worked for you.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
You threw that name out there and we got to
stop and explain, what do you mean you work for
the Game of thrown?
Speaker 1 (17:35):
So I worked for HBO. So I started at Time Warner,
which was back then Time Warner AO all Time Warner, right,
And then I took a break and I had my son,
and I came back to work with one of the
most phenomenal women in the industry, Courtney Monroe, she's now
at Disney, and it was for HBO marketing. And this
is in the Miss of Sex and the City. This
(17:57):
is the Sopranos and Game of Thrones. All the marketing
that you saw going out there, that was us. It
was just creating, just billboards and commercials. Back then, that's
what that was. That was marketing. Now this game of
marketing is it's different. This is a different animal. Like,
I don't even get me started with the marketing nowadays.
But yeah, so I So it's funny when people find
(18:19):
out that I used to work for HBO and that
I won the show, They're like, oh, it's that's all
the setup. She's an actress. She used to work for HBO. Darling,
I wish it was I wish, I wish. Let's just
say that because I really went through it. Now, this
this is the real deal. So I'm on my way
to work that day, and I remember getting out of
(18:39):
Grand Central station. But wait, let's rewind. I live in
Rockland County right now, which is forty five minutes north
of New York if you're driving, but if you're not driving,
if you're commuting, ladies, listen to this. My commute each
way was two hours. I was commuting four of us.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Sorry, I'm the metru.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
I wish, I wish it was that simple. So I
had to take a little fairy okay, the ferry that
crosses me from from where I live to the other side,
which is awesetting. Okay, that's consider the Westchester. Once you
do the ferry for like twenty minutes, you get on
the Metro North. So the Mentro North takes you all
the way downtown to New York. So on my way
on the ferry, I feel my flow and I'm like, okay,
(19:19):
it's going to be one of those days. And I
would have to wear I'm sorry, it's graphic. I would
have to wear two overnight pads, an adult diaper okay
over that, and a tampon.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Oh my god.
Speaker 1 (19:31):
And it was still getting through. But I was like,
all right, maybe I can make it to the Metro
North and find a bathroom and just change in there.
I didn't even make it out of the ferry and
I was already it was going through my clothes. So
by the time I get to Grand Central, I was
a bloody mess. And what do you do when you
feel like you're bleeding, you brace yourself, right, So I'm
bracing myself. I'm holding and I'm like, oh my God,
(19:52):
like trying to shift the way I'm sitting. By the
time I look, the blood is in my hands. I'm
touching my face. People thinking, y, she got dad, and
I'm like, no, it's gushing out of me. It's not tricklings,
gushing and what do we do? Us? Fears Latinas I
called my boss, I'm like, I have a little issue,
but I'll be there ten minutes late. She's like, you
(20:15):
will do no such thing. Get yourself to a hospital.
I was like, no, no, no, no, it's fine. I have
it on the control mentira. Next thing I know, I
wake up in the hospital. But I feel like that
was my saving grace because I finally found the doctor
after so many years of seeing so many different specialists
that they all said get a hysterectomy, but they couldn't
tell me why. This man looked at me, he goes,
(20:36):
all right, do you have kids? I said yeah, I
have two boys. He goes, do you want anymore? I
was like I don't think so, but why he goes,
I think you should get a hysterectomy. And I'm like,
I've heard this all my life, but no one tells
me why. He was like, but I'll tell you why.
And he explained to me what I had, which is
called aniomiosis, and I never knew this thing existed. He goes, Okay,
So he was like, are you going to continue to
(20:56):
bleed to death? Right? And you're not going to raise
your kids anymore? He had to put in black and
white for me like that, for me to register it,
he said, Or I could put you on birth control
pills and you already know the side effects of that.
It's not gonna be great, and I can't guarantee anything.
He goes, what do you want to do? I was like,
those are my two choices. He goes yeah. I was like,
cut me. That's it. If if this is what it's
(21:16):
gonna take for me to raise my boys and see
them get married and have you know, grandkids, then do
what you gotta do. But little did I know, I'm thinking, Okay,
once you take my uterus and you know, I'm thinking,
this is it, you know I'm gonna be great. No
one explained to me what's gonna happen to you after
they do this, and my world went. It just spiraled down.
I'm thinking, oh, I could wear white jeans, Mandata, You're
(21:39):
gonna wear white jeans, but they're not gonna fit you
because you're gonna gain twenty pounds. Okay, And this.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Is because the hysterectomy causes all kinds of hormonal issues
or hortel me.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
So it causes hormonal issues. But with me, and the
more I'm talking to other females is it speeds you
straight into perimenopause right back then, growing up, when you
say menopause is a primal anything that has to with menopause,
I picture of Yahita, someone in her seventies, you know,
never did I think it'll happen to someone in their thirties.
So I ignored all of that. I'm like, oh, it's
(22:11):
just I'm tired because what happened. I go to see
my primary and she was just like, you need to
rest more, you need to sleep more, you need to
lose weight. And I'm like, but I don't. I don't
feel like it's that. I don't feel like it's really
like I can't think straight. My brain fog is horvrible.
I can't remember where I'm going half of the time,
and that did happen to me. I'm going to pick
(22:32):
up my kids. Halfway there, I didn't know where I
was heading. I blanked out, and I'm like, this isn't normal.
I went, I got several tests done, and I don't
know if you've done this, but every time you go
to get your hormones checked, everything is normal, the blood
work is normal, You're fine, and I'm like, I don't
feel fine and I know I'm not fine.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
So to say to point out something that's super important
for that you were an advocate for your own health
and that you didn't fall. You didn't necessarily believe everything
that the doctors told you because you know your body.
We know our bodies more than anybody else. And I
think that's such an important point to make because doctors
(23:12):
have been wrong so many times. Oh my lot of
women have gone through horrible things because they listen to
their doctor instead of their own intuition. It's always good
to get two, three, even four opinions right. So yes,
I just wanted to point that out because that's super
super important and that's something that I feel in our
(23:32):
community as latin as, we don't do as much as
we should. We don't advocate and speak up as much
as we should.
Speaker 1 (23:39):
And I'm glad you pointed that out because I don't
know if when you were growing up you hear all
these wives tales. Right growing up, my mom always said
to me, make sure when you have kids, you don't
wash your hair after labor and delivery. And I'm like, why, oh,
because you'll go crazy. So I'm like, really, that's a
crazy wifs tale? It is? Can I tell you my
second son, I had the worst postpartum depression, And I'm like,
(24:03):
did I wash my hair? This is how crazy it
was because I went back to what I was, you know,
grown up, being taught like if you want your hair,
you go go crazy. And then I made the connection.
I'm like, it's not that I washed my hair. This
is postpartum depression. But we're not talking about its latinas
I was raised, don't spread your business, don't talk about
(24:24):
things that you're going through behind closed doors, and when
it comes to you, how nie you know. So I'm like,
we need to change that. So this is what Mornarch says.
Monarch says, we're having the conversation, but I want to
begin a podcast. I haven't gotten there yet, But why
aren't we talking about this? Why is it taboo? Why
are we embarrassed to say, I'm thirty five and forty five,
(24:44):
my libido is horrible. I'm about to get a divorce
because my husband thinks I'm having an affair because I
don't want to have sex with him. My hairs falling out.
I gained forty pounds on the Big Shot. I was
sixty pounds overweight, and I'm like, what's going on? And
before getting on the on the Big Shot a week
before or going on set, I want to see a
hormonal doctor. Because I was desperate. I was like, Bethany's
(25:06):
gonna ask me questions and I'm gonna blank out. I'm
not gonna know how to answer it. So I need help.
So I paid one thousand dollars. He put me on
all these you know, progesterone, testosterone, all these fun things
that did absolutely nothing for me. I ended up gaining
more weight, I started growing facial hair, and I'm like,
there goes a thousand dollars down the drain. I look
horrible on television, but even worse, I felt worse. I
(25:29):
couldn't I couldn't just articulate my words properly. So I
come back from the Big Shot great. You know, it
was wonderful. I won, and I still feel crappy, like
my hair is falling out at this point. I'm sorry
you have a question.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
Oh, I was just gonna ask real quick. And when
you won the Big Shot, did it also come with
like a monetary win or just the position?
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Just like, no, you you do get a monetary win.
And that's what I used to start my perfect transition.
I put it in the bank. I'm like, that's gonna
serve for something one day. And then when when I
walked away, I was like, huh, there goes the money
that I start and just you know, create my empire.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Everything happens for a reason, everything.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Everything, and it's it's you always question God's timing, but
it's like, just believe, have faith, and I'm a big
believer and all of those amazing, beautiful things that God,
you know, puts in front of us. But where was
I Here we go with.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
The so the monarchs, Yeah, talk to us about the
first iteration of it and how because when I saw
your company when I was researching to do your interview,
I was like, this must be such a difficult company
to start because of all of I don't know. The
FDA regulations are like, do you have to get scientists
involved or doctors involved? Because it's it's kind of like
(26:55):
a delicate product. It's not like a book or a right.
It has to do with your body and chemistry and
all that. So talk to us about that journey.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Yes, the way I fell into it. So when I
get when I got back from from doing the big shot,
I was desperate at this point. Now I'm sixty pounds
of aweight. Now I'm not sleeping at night. I'm up
at three o'clock in the morning. I'm sweating. It's just nasty,
and I'm like, I need help. I can't do this anymore.
So I started doing the research, right, and I'm like,
I already spent thousands of dollars on pellets on hormones.
(27:26):
Let me just try something natural. So I'm looking up
supplements and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna try this
for my sleep, and I'm gonna try this for the hair.
And I started having like I had a little lab
in my kitchen and I'm like, oh, Mina, this is
interesting because I'm sleeping now at night because I'm trying
this supplement and my hair is not falling out because
I'm doing this supplement. So all these different supplements were working.
(27:46):
I got my hormones on the control finally. But then
I'm like, oh my god, I'm spending like six hundred
dollars a month alone on supplements because I'm just you know,
just mixing and matching, and I'm like, this is really expensive.
It's helping me, yes, but it's expensive, and I'm like,
it has to be a better way. So, you know,
I go online, I'm doing my research. I'm going on TikTok,
and I see all these women going through the same thing,
(28:08):
like what is wrong with me? Why is it? Why
are we getting any help, and why are we talking
about it? And that's when I was like, this is
a perfect opportunity for me to start something, because let's
talk about it. Let's let's start something that's affordable. And
when I came up with the idea, I met with
one person and his first question was, well, what's going
to be your price range? And I was like, twenty
(28:29):
no more than twenty five dollars and he looked at me.
He goes, are you crazy? And I'm like, why he goes,
everyone else is selling gummies for eighty dollars, I said,
exactly exactly. First of all, gummies are full of sugar
and they don't have the nutritional value or you know,
it's not going to help you in any way. And
there's already a market for someone that could afford eighty
dollars for one supplement. I am not going to do that.
(28:51):
I refuse to do that. There is no market for
women that need help that they have to literally pinch
pennies to afford one one supplement. I was like, it's
not fair. I'm going to serve that market. I'm going
to walk into the market. It's like twenty three dollars.
But guess what you don't have to pay. And this
is what other companies do. They're like, oh, you have
(29:11):
problems with your stomach, here's a bottle of a probiotic.
Here's a bottle of a prebiotic. Here's a part of enzyme.
Their goals how many products? Three products? And at their
price is like what fifty dollars each? Maybe? I was
like absolutely not. I'm putting all these three products into one.
So this is how I sat here and I'm like,
this is how I'm going to be different. So if
you have gut issues, I'm going to give you all
(29:32):
the products that helped me in one bottle. I'm not
going to sell you three different formulas with my hair.
I did that as well with sleep, all the supplements
and all the ingredients. I wrote everything down. I met
with a research and discovery team, research and development, excuse me,
and I said to them, these are the scientists. These
are the big boys that come in and put the
(29:53):
science behind it. And I'm like, all right, this is
what I was taking in my kitchen. I'm not a scientist,
So how do I me this into a formula? And
they broke it down for me, and they did the research,
and they did the calculations for me, and they handed
over this beautiful binder and they were like, here, here's
your formulas. Run and be with it. So then it's
not easy. People think that. They go on YouTube, they
(30:15):
see these TikTok influencers, They're like, hey, you can make
a million dollars on one day with this product. It's
not that easy. You have to do your research, you
have to find suppliers, you have to find the manufacturers.
Then you have to figure out your branding, and then
you have to create a website, and then you have
to get all these just like licenses, because again, like
you said, this is not a book, this is something
that's going into your body. So this took me a
(30:36):
good year, good year to launch, just getting ideas. And
when I tell you, I was pulling in eighteen hours,
just sitting in front of my computer, talking to people,
calling people that I knew that are in this market
that'll give me pointers, because I was so confused and
so lost, and again I wanted to give up, but
I'm like, I can't because now I'm doing it for
all these younger girls that are going through this as well.
(30:59):
And I stopped with the five formulas that I have
now because those are the five formulas that are dear
to my heart because it's everything I went through. It's
the postpartum supplement. Again, no conversations are being had about that.
We're embarrassed to say, you know, I don't like my
baby right now, or I'm not happy that I have
a baby right now, so we need to talk about that.
So that's why supplement the hair. My hair was falling
(31:21):
out by the clumps, like my kids could find me
throughout the house. Just follow the hair trail, that's where
that's where she is. And then the menopause and the
supplement for the hormones. It's good for girls with pcos.
Another conversation. We're not having PMS perimenopause, the sleep I
mean people are calling me or summer sending me dms.
(31:43):
They're like, where have you been? Like my whole life
because I've been searching for something. I just I just
didn't know what it was until I started taking your supplements.
Thank you. And again we're still brand new. The word
isn't really out there yet as much as I want
to be because I want to focus right now on
my customers that I have now. And but what I
mean by that is, if you bought something from me recently,
(32:04):
I'm reaching out to you every week. I'm like, how
do you feel this week? And how do you feel
this week? Are you sleeping how I want to have
that communication with my customers. And then I'm looking within
the next year to start branching out in major stores.
That's still a conversation I'm having because I've been told
that once you are in stores, everything changes. You no
(32:25):
longer have the control of your company than when you
sell on e commerce. So that's that's still a song
and dance and I'm trying, you know, trying to dissect
and figure out what the next steps are.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
So where can people find your products now?
Speaker 1 (32:39):
So we're on my website, which is monarchsco dot com.
And if people ask that, I've been getting this question
to why Monarchs, why the name? Do you love butterflies?
And I was like, you know what, I do love butterflies,
but it wasn't because of that. I just love the
whole transition that a butterfly has, and I can relate
that to a female, to a woman. You know, you
(33:00):
start off as an egg and then you're just this creepy,
crawley little caterpillar, and that you're going to your crystal
stage and you just embark into the beautiful butterfly. That's
when people really value you and just admire you. And
I'm like, that's what a woman goes through. We go
through all these transitions, and not the greatest of them, right,
(33:20):
but we always embark out like a gorgeous butterfly. I
haven't met one woman yet that I'm not I don't
completely fall in love with because I hear her journey,
her pains, her struggles, and where she is today. And
I am all about celebrating women.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Yeah, definitely. And I love the fact that it's not
just a product, but it's also a platform to have
a conversation about these different issues. I think a lot
of times because we don't talk about it, and because
we don't know that there's other women dealing with similar issues.
When we have these whether it's postpartum, whether it's your
hair falling out, we feel like it's us, something wrong
with us, right, yes, But knowing that it's not us,
(33:57):
it boils down to chemistry, and it boils down to
like being a human being, where it is we're not
going to be perfect, and we have to not advocate
for ourselves, figure out how to like help ourselves with products,
different types of products, et cetera. So I'm so happy
that you, as a Latina, are really pushing the needle
(34:18):
in us to have these kinds of conversations that are
uncomfortable because our moms and our grandmas typically wouldn't talk
to us about our periods or and a lot of
times they would shame us like, oh, you know, you
need to like throw go outside and throw all your
stuff out in the trash can outside, And it's like.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Exactly right, And you know, a beautifier for women. Now,
I'm like, we tend to idolize these beautiful women we
see on TV or social media, and for example, right now,
I'm like, look at the Kardashians. Everyone loves the Kardashians,
so gorgeous. They're going to perimiutal pause by the way.
See so when you see it like that, you're like,
wait a minute, look young, no, my dear, these women
(35:02):
are also going through what you go through. So stop
shaming yourself. Stop thinking you're different because what you see
on television or Instagram doesn't really fit what you what
you're going through every single day. Guess what, all these
beautiful women that are your ages are going through the
same exact thing. But because we're ashamed to talk about it.
But I'm gonna I'm going to remove that. That is
(35:22):
my goal is to remove the taboo from being a
shame of our bodies, of what we're going through, of
people calling us the B word because oh, she must
be on her period, because because I'm having a meltdown
because I feel like the world is on my shoulders
and no one understands me, and my body feels like
it's falling apart. I'm changing that. I don't care how
long it's gonna take me, but you know, that's my mission.
(35:44):
I don't know if you're aware there's an app out there.
I don't want to name the name because I don't know,
you know, for trademark issues or copyright issues. But it's
for blind people. If they'll call you, your phone rings
is a certain ringer, right, and you pick up and
the blind persons on the other line and your help
them and they'll be like, I've had a guy say, hey,
you know, I just got dressed. Can you make sure
(36:05):
that I that I match? And you see him. It's
like a FaceTime You're like, oh, yeah, you look great,
And that's the call.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
It's amazing. I'll text you the name just in case.
I'm like, why don't we have that for women, especially
for postpartum moms. There's no judgment. It'll just be another
mom on the other line picking up and saying you're
gonna be fine, You're gonna go to a room, get
a breather, just you're gonna be fine, why don't we
have that? So that's that's my narrative. That's that's what
I want to do now. I want to embrace all
(36:33):
these women and even guys, like I want to buy
guys on my platform because they're going through Like my
husband didn't know how to help me. He was like, girl,
what is wrong with you? You're a monster, And he
started doing the research so that he could better understand
what I'm going through. So I want to put the
research out there, even for kids like my kids. I
want my kids to know how to understand mommy when
she's not feeling her best. So that's what Monarchs is like,
(36:54):
it's affordable supplements. Yes, it'll be great to sell them
all expensive and be beautiful brand, but I want it
to be a classic. And that's why the branding is
very just simple. I want to say, be classic and
that you could put it on your nightstand and not
be ashamed about it. Not these beautiful loud colors because
I love the loud colors, but not you know, not
(37:14):
calling attention to it, because people still are not ready
to talk about, oh, why she's taking a hormone supplement,
you know. So it's just let's just make it part
of our everyday life, right simple.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
A lot of women that have businesses, including myself, we're
always trying to juggle, like making our kids happy, our
husband happy, our business happy. How do you make it
all work?
Speaker 1 (37:37):
So it's scary every day. I'm tempted to go back
to the corporate world. I'm on LinkedIn all the time
because having that secure paycheck every two weeks, it's so easy, right,
It's like comforting, and it's it's that's it. You're guaranteed
that money. I'm doing Monarchs twenty four hours now. This
is my full time job. So I have to make
this work. And I tell my boys all the time
(37:59):
like mommy's and then this, you know, seventeen hours a day.
I'm sorry I can't play with you, but if I
don't make this work, you guys are gonna eat peanut
butter and jelly every day for the rest of your life.
And that Ramen noodle that you love so much isn't
a permanent staful year. So this is it, Like I am,
I'm giving it my awe. I have to make this work.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah, and I'm sure you will. I'm sure you will will.
Speaker 1 (38:22):
I hope so and the reviews that I'm getting from people,
it looks very promising. But we'll see.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
What is something you're doing, reading, listening to that you
that you're obsessed with that you want to recommend.
Speaker 1 (38:35):
I wish I could tell you that I was reading
something and we're listening to anything. But you know what
I'm obsessed with, and I've picked this up during COVID.
I am truly obsessed with gardening now. And this is
why I have liked right here. And I don't have
a green thumb to save my life, but this is
why I'm so intrigued by it, because it's therapeutic for me.
(38:55):
My kids laugh because they're like, Mom is out there
looking at the grass grow again, Dad, go grab your wife.
I'm standing there because I'm like, I put so much
hard work into this garden. I don't know what I'm doing,
but one day it's gonna grow, and one day's gonna beautiful,
and it happens, and I think I could just relate
to that. I'm grass seeds right now. I'm growing.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
I love it, love it, And how are you taking
the lead.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
I'm taking the lead because I am finally standing up
for myself. I am finally making people respect. My know,
I was always a people pleased in my entire life,
always always doing everything, setting myself on fire to keep
others warm. And now I'm learning to find my voice.
It's taking me forty plus years to find my voice,
(39:37):
but it's it's about me now. And if I say no,
respect my no, and I shouldn't have to explain myself why.
That's how I'm taking the lead. Love it.
Speaker 2 (39:46):
Thank you so much again, Meloxi. It's been a pleasure
to get to know you.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Why.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
And you have a friend here, Yeah, you have a
friend here in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (39:55):
If you're ever out here.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Thank you so much for listening. Please subscribe and give
us a review. Tell your friends and go madries about
our podcast and hope you join us next week. Latinus
Take the Lead is executive produced by Hodston Reinoso Media Group,
LLC and hosted by me naive Reno. So Production Assistant
is Ana Sofia Monson. Latinus Take the Lead is a
(40:23):
production of the Seneca Women Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Asta la
proxima
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