July 16, 2025 • 24 mins
In Episode 75 of How I Met My BFF, we share the heartwarming story of Shaina Zazzaro and Alex Buckner. Their journey began in an unexpected way—what started as a childhood acquaintance grew into something much more powerful after reconnecting years later in a professional setting.
Through shared grief and a commitment to their work at Effortlessly Healthy in Rochester, NY, Shaina and Alex built a bond rooted in trust, respect, and purpose. Their story is a beautiful reminder that sometimes the most meaningful friendships come from life’s most unexpected moments.
Tune in for a touching conversation about healing, connection, and the friendships that shape who we become.
And remember—friendship can find you when you least expect it. Until next time!
Visit our site at howimetmybff.com
Help support our show by getting some of our exclusive swag found here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Leisa (00:01):
Hey, besties. My name's Lisa.
Tamara (00:03):
And my name's Tamara, and we're BFFs.
Leisa (00:06):
Tamara and I met when we were about 12 years old growing
up in good old Fairbanks,Alaska.
Tamara (00:11):
And we've been best friends forever since.
Leisa (00:13):
That's right. And that's why we've decided to have some
fun, friendly conversations withthe bestest of best friends.
Tamara (00:18):
We'll talk about how we became best friends, our
experiences together, and haveother best friends on the show
to share how they met. Whoknows?
Leisa (00:27):
You never know when you'll meet your next BFF.
Tamara (00:30):
Now let's get into it, how I met my BFF.
Leisa (00:34):
Welcome to another episode of how I met my BFF. Hi,
Tamara.
Tamara (00:39):
Hey, Lisa. How are you?
Leisa (00:41):
I am good. I have a little doggy update. I Yeah.
Have a new puppy. She is 14 oldnow.
She we got her when she was nineweeks old, so we haven't
recorded in a while or maybe Ican't remember. I updated last
time, but I'm teaching her nowhow to be polite, which I I
learned that yesterday as a newtrick. Not just sit and
(01:04):
everything, but to act polite,to act with kindness. Because
when she when she is excited andwants to play, she's been, like,
nipping a little bit, and, she'svery communicative that she
wants to play. So I'm learning,and we're gonna go to puppy
school, and I gotta learn how tohandle that because I haven't
(01:24):
had a puppy in over twentyyears, so that's exciting.
But she is also smothering mewith kisses and love every day
too. So it's it's, she's really,really cute. I'm totally in
love.
Tamara (01:37):
She is very cute, but looks like a lot of work.
Leisa (01:41):
It is a lot of work because she's a I had a
nightmare that I was giving thatI had a baby, like a human baby,
and I woke up. I know. I wokeup, and I'm like, in the dream,
I was like, oh my gosh. I can'tbelieve this. Ariana's about to
go to college or Ariana's aboutto graduate from college.
How can I start over right now?And then I woke up. I'm like,
oh, it's just a dog. Okay. Good.
(02:02):
I'm alright. That was, like, waytoo much stress for me. I'm 52.
I'm not ready to have a babyright now. Yeah.
Shaina Zazzaro (02:10):
But a
Leisa (02:10):
puppy baby is fine. Alright. Well, I'm excited. We
have some fun guests today fromNew York. Shana and Alex,
welcome to the show.
Alex Buckner (02:20):
Thank you for Yes. Joining
Leisa (02:23):
We're excited to have to hear your best friend's story.
And Shana and I met at an event,and I can always tell, like,
when when I talk about the topicof best friendship, there are
certain people where it justreally lights up. And so Shana
and I had that connection. And,Shane, why don't you kick us off
and tell us your your version ofhow you and Alex met for the
(02:45):
very first time?
Shaina Zazzaro (02:47):
Well, I've actually known Alex for a very
long time. She was my sister whopassed away now seven years ago.
She was my sister Nikki's bestfriend growing up. So Alex knew
me as the very mean, scary, bigsister of Nikki's. And so that's
(03:09):
that's her childhood memories ofme.
And then fast forward twentyyears, Alex was looking for a
change of scenery, and she shewas a chef at a restaurant, and
she wanted something new. Andshe reached out to me when I had
a personal assistant add up, andI actually ended up hiring her
(03:31):
to be my food truck chef. Andthen throughout the years, we
just got closer and closer, andthen we just really realized
we're each other's best friends.But what's nice about us is that
we can separate business andfriendship. So I can be her boss
at times, and then she's, youknow, she's my best friend.
(03:54):
But we can separate that, whicha lot of people working together
in business have a very hardtime doing. So that I think is
something special about ourfriendship.
Leisa (04:02):
I wonder if it's because when you first met, you were
like the you said like the oldersister, so it interesting how
that dynamic maybe started helpsto keep the relationship, the
two different dynamics separate.
Shaina Zazzaro (04:19):
Yeah.
Leisa (04:19):
Wow. Well, I'm sorry to hear about your sister. And
Okay.
Shaina Zazzaro (04:25):
It's a I can finally talk about it now. It's
been a long time. Unfortunately,she had a overdose, and she
passed in 2018. So, actually,it's it's going
Leisa (04:35):
on eight
Shaina Zazzaro (04:35):
years next month, which is wild to me.
Leisa (04:39):
Mhmm. So Yeah. Wow. Well, I'm sure she's with us in some
way today.
Shaina Zazzaro (04:46):
I'm sure she likes that Alex and I are best
friends.
Alex Buckner (04:48):
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Alex, what
Leisa (04:51):
about your version of of meeting Shana for the first
time?
Alex Buckner (04:55):
So as she said, I was very good friends with her
sister, and she was like the bigsister when we were growing up,
sneaking into her room and allthat. But, yeah, Shana had
actually reached out to me acouple of times to work for her
(05:16):
and seemed that every singletime she reached out to me, I
had just started a new position.So, finally, I wanted to get out
of that lifestyle of the chefthat works until 02:00 in the
morning, and I answered her ad,and it's just been the best
(05:36):
decision I've ever made. It's awonderful place to work, and I
reconnected with Shana. So Ithink that that's just probably
the biggest perk about this newlifestyle that I have.
Leisa (05:52):
What so how long have you been working for Shana now? Four
years. Four years. Okay. Great.
And then what's the because ourbesties probably wanna know,
what kind of company is this?What what do you do for them?
Alex Buckner (06:09):
Oh. So we're a meal delivery service. We
prepackage meals for seniors andpeople who want to just eat
healthier. It's just mealplanning and we deliver all over
Rochester. We do a lot ofcatering.
We have food trucks. Yeah. Doeverything.
Leisa (06:30):
That's amazing. So it's in Rochester, New York. So if
anyone in that area islistening, then it's
effortlessly healthy. Right? Isthat the name of the company?
Yes? Yes. That sounds so coolbecause I think it's hard to we
wanna be healthy, but thenthere's so many choices, and
then we have to make decisionsand then portion. So I love that
(06:53):
there are you guys are offeringthat and created that. That's so
cool.
Shaina Zazzaro (06:57):
Thank you. Yes. It was it was my idea. So many
people came up to me. What doyou eat?
How do you look like this? And Ihave I've lost 60 pounds now
three times. I was an overweightkid growing up. I took my
arthritis from severe to inremission during my college
days. And at about 25, I wasjust in the best shape of my
life.
I worked at the hospital. I wasthe youngest administrator
(07:19):
there. And everybody asked mehow I looked that way. And
finally, I was like, oh my gosh.Everyone has an excuse.
I was homesick one day. I hadthe idea, and I went for it.
Leisa (07:30):
Wow. You lost 60 pounds three times?
Shaina Zazzaro (07:34):
Yes. Actually, at 37 years old, I'm really in
the best shape of my life. Imean, I I'm I'm competing in the
missus American Nationals nextmonth. I'm missus New York
American. And then after that, II'm tempted to do a bikini
bodybuilding show because whynot just get all these shows
done?
Leisa (07:54):
I know quite a few people, way past 37 who are
competing in their bikinis, menand women, and and they have
completely transformed theirbodies, and it is a marvel to
watch. So, yeah, if you'realready if you're already 90% of
the way there
Shaina Zazzaro (08:13):
Yes.
Leisa (08:14):
Why not go all the way?
Shaina Zazzaro (08:16):
That's Why not?
Leisa (08:16):
Amazing. So I get that that's how you I'm I'm
understanding how you met andthen a little bit about how you
developed, became best friends.But if you could track back,
Shana, of, like, when did itshift from, you know, she's my
sister's friend or I've knownher for a long time to now we're
in the best friend zone? How howwould you describe that?
Shaina Zazzaro (08:41):
I think it once Alex started getting more
responsibility in my company, westarted talking more. And then
it sort of it grew into afriendship that way. Because the
more responsibility, the moreguidance she needed from me.
And, eventually, I just said,you're so good. I'm going to
train you on how to be myexecutive chef and run my
(09:02):
company.
I'm done with all these peoplethat are, you know, not
wonderful. You're capable of it.Believe in yourself. You got
this. Let's go.
And then I just slowly startedtraining her to really run
things, and it just brought uscloser because teaching someone
how to run your company, you youspend a lot of time talking to
(09:22):
them. And she's the person thatno matter I reach out to her for
anything that has to do with thebusiness, and then, you know,
it'll turn into a company call,and then we'll start talking for
twenty more minutes. Mostly, Italk her ear off. And and then I
finally realized she's at work,and I have to get off the phone
because she has a job to do,which is working for me. So, you
(09:46):
know, it's it's an interestingfriendship, but it really
started the more and moreresponsibility she got for me.
Leisa (09:52):
How about you, Alex? What what did you how did you feel
that transition was going intothe best friendship
relationship?
Alex Buckner (10:01):
I started noticing it probably when like she said,
when, I took over the positionas, executive chef. And her just
really pushing me, telling meconstantly that I can achieve
more. I was always in a positionwhere I was working for like, I
(10:24):
was never the executive chef,and she always told me, Alex,
you can do this. You can dothis. And when I actually did, I
realized that was somebody, andthat wasn't a boss telling me,
hey.
I want this. It was that was abest friend. That was a sister.
That was my favorite person inthe whole world telling me, you
(10:49):
are good enough. And giving methe confidence to run, though,
run effortlessly healthy, I feellike that's really what did it
for me where I said, wow.
She really does care a lot aboutme.
Leisa (11:07):
Wow. What what would you say are the top three things
that you love about Shana?
Alex Buckner (11:14):
Number 100% her confidence. She can walk into a
room and everybody looks there,and she doesn't she doesn't
care. Her confidence and she'sbrilliant. She can run this
company from a she can do itfrom a cell phone. She she just
the numbers that she runsthrough her head every day, I
(11:38):
don't even sometimes I don'teven understand that.
Just she's just so smart. She'sa great mom. She's the coolest
mom ever. Her kids areconstantly they're always at a
water park or going go kartingor, you know, shopping. And I
just think that that's amazingof just how great of a mom she
(11:59):
is.
And she's just one of the mostgenerous, unselfish people that
I've ever met. She cares abouteverybody else before she cares
about herself. She will doanything to make sure that
everybody else is taken care ofbefore she does takes care of
herself. And that to me is justa great human being, and that's
(12:19):
somebody that I want. That'ssomebody I wanna be around every
day.
That's somebody I wanna talk toevery day.
Leisa (12:24):
Wow. Wow.
Shaina Zazzaro (12:26):
Wow. Make you sound so nice. Dana.
Tamara (12:30):
Dana, what about Alex? What are what are some of her
things that you really enjoy?
Shaina Zazzaro (12:38):
I have never met someone that works harder than
me. And that was my first thingI noticed. Like, when she does
something, she cares. She careswith all her heart, and she
works her ass off. And I I'venever seen it.
I was always the person who youknow, my husband's the same way.
(12:59):
We we work so hard, and it'shard to see people that really
have a wonderful work ethic. AndI saw that in her, which allowed
me to let go of a lot ofresponsibility in my company and
anxiety, honestly, because I sawthat she was so capable. And I
(13:24):
think as a business owner,especially, it's hard to find
someone that you can, like,truly, truly trust. And she's I
mean, you can put a $100,000cash on her lap, and she's not
gonna steal a dollar of it.
You know? I mean, she she's verytrustworthy. She has a very kind
heart. She's got a great workwork ethic. She's a great
person.
(13:44):
You know? I I I consider to belike my little sister. You know?
My my sister's not coming back,and it's really special to me
that I have someone in my lifethat that I can consider to be,
you know, that close with. Shealso doesn't really annoy me,
which is, like, super importantin a firm.
(14:07):
Like, we can hang out, and wedon't have to talk to each other
every second of every day. Youknow? We can just chill. Like,
we just took a vacation inMaine, and we're able to hang
out on a beach and relax. And wedon't feel the need to over
impress each other.
You know? And it's it's nice tojust have a friend that you
could be yourself. You know, sheknows Alex knows the real Shana
(14:32):
that a lot of people don't know.You know, she doesn't just know
CEO, missus New York Shana. Sheknows Shana, and and that's
cool.
And I I'm not able to trust alot of people to let them in the
way that I've let Alex in. Soit's nice. She's she's a
beautiful person.
Leisa (14:49):
So important. Oh, I love this. I was just thinking about
your sister as well. And isthere anything that you want to
share in her honor today on theshow?
Shaina Zazzaro (15:06):
I everything I'm doing, I'm doing it because I
know life is short, and I knowthat because of my sister. And
so Alex is the Alex is thereason I'm missus New York right
now because she told me I coulddo it. She's like, you're Shayna
Cesaro. Go for it. You can win.
(15:28):
And I'm like and now she's she'sthe reason I'm I'm going to
missus American. So, you know, Ihad her to believe in me enough
and think I'm this wonderfulhuman that I can go do these
things. But in the back of mymind, yeah, I'm doing them
because my sister, you know, shecan never come back. She can
never experience things. So I'mI'm living my best life in her
(15:50):
memory.
Another really cool thing aboutmissus American American and the
whole organization is that theowners of the the Westgate
Hotel, their daughter actuallypassed of an overdose. And they
created this Victoria's VoiceFoundation, which is a big part
of the missus America Americanand the Miss America Strong
(16:14):
organization. And so that'sreally great for me to be part
of an organization that I amable to really have my heart in
it and my heart being my sister.And I hope, yeah, if I can take
this crown and win, that I'mable to work with Victoria's
voice more in memory of Nikkibecause she was really a
(16:38):
beautiful, hardworking,wonderful, the funniest person
I've ever met soul that was justtaken too soon because of a
terrible epidemic. And, youknow, unfortunately, you can't
look back.
You have to keep moving forward.And now I just I'm do every
doing everything for her andalso for my mom because my mom
(17:01):
lives in such heartache oflosing my sister. And,
hopefully, I'm giving hersomething to continue to look
forward to in life when, youknow, things can bring her down
very easily after losing Nikki.
Leisa (17:15):
Yeah.
Shaina Zazzaro (17:16):
Sorry. That was a long That's No.
Leisa (17:18):
That's okay. It's keeping it real. We've had we've had
other guests on our show who wholost their best friend actually
and will come on and share. Andso that's a part I mean,
unfortunately, death is a partof life, you know, and Mhmm. You
know, Tamara and I have also hadour own losses and such, so we
(17:40):
we understand.
And it's also, I think,important to honor and remember,
you know, recognize and rememberthose who we've lost.
Tamara (17:50):
Yeah. And how great you two can have, like, come
together because it sounds likeit was after her passing. And
Yeah. And now you have your thisbond and friendship and how it's
grown, you know, from what itused to be. So that's beautiful.
Shaina Zazzaro (18:10):
Well, and what's nice is, like, when we were in
Maine, you know, my daughter,Zoe, is nine, and Alex bought
her a boogie board. You know, Iwould never go boogie boarding.
I don't like the cold water. ButAlex, sure. No problem, Zoe.
Let's go. And I was watching herplaying with with, I almost said
Nikki, playing with Zoe on thebeach. And I was like, well, she
doesn't have aunt Nikki, but shehas Alex. Mhmm. You know?
(18:32):
So it's it's nice that becausethere's there's a lot of
similarities in Alec. They'recompletely different people, but
there are a lot of things thatare similar between the two of
them. And a lot of things aboutAlex reminds me of Nikki. And so
it's nice that my kids get,like, a little bit of her
without you know, she's nothere.
Tamara (18:53):
Yeah. I can I completely understand? I have my oldest
daughter passed away ten yearsago, and her and she was 21, but
her whole friend group, I'mstill friends with, and they're
now 31. But, you know, like,throughout the years, and
they've been kind of an oldersibling to my other younger
(19:16):
kids. And, yeah, it's nice ifyou can have people in your life
to not that they're taking overthat role or that person, but
just something similar andfamiliar and you know that the
person that we lost cared about,you know, Alec like, I'm sure
your sister cared about Alex somuch.
And, yeah, it's beautiful.
Shaina Zazzaro (19:38):
Yes. I'm sorry for your loss. It's I know it's
not easy.
Tamara (19:41):
Yeah. Yeah. So, well, on a on a more positive side of
note, we like to talk about andit's cool that you guys get to
see each other so much. But ifyou when we get off the podcast
today and you guys are together,what would you go and do for
fun?
Shaina Zazzaro (20:01):
And if if we could actually not work, would
we go back to Maine, Alex?
Alex Buckner (20:06):
We would probably be in Maine. We'd be on the
beach in Maine.
Leisa (20:12):
Mean, sometimes we'll
Shaina Zazzaro (20:14):
Every now and then, we'll sneak away, and
we'll to SimBads for lunch andthen go to Happy Feet for a foot
massage.
Alex Buckner (20:19):
Yeah. Or
Shaina Zazzaro (20:22):
just sometimes we I just show up randomly, and
we'll just take a little, youknow, fifteen minute walk and
chat behind the building becauseI have a canal behind my
building. So we'll just meet fora walk. But, you know, it's it's
I do love our happy feet time.It's always so nice. Happy feet
is a place where you just go getfoot massages.
Leisa (20:42):
Oh, Tamara, that could be your new business. She loves
giving foot massages.
Shaina Zazzaro (20:54):
Tamara, Yeah. Don't really require much. Like,
I don't know. We just we'll findsomething to do, and we'll do
it. You don't need to doanything special.
You know? I think that's whatmakes a great friend. Like, we
could go get a $10 salad and behappy, or we can just go take a
walk and chat.
Alex Buckner (21:11):
Every Tuesday. We just take our walk. Every single
Tuesday, she walks in, and she'smy boss. She's telling me what
to do, and she goes, you wannago take a walk real quick? And
we go take our fifteen minutewalk, and we just talk about
everything in that fifteenminutes.
And then we come back, and we'rein a great mood because we just
got to either vent or laugh oranything.
Leisa (21:35):
I love that. That's so beautiful. I'm so I'm so excited
that we got to hear your storyand that you have each other in
more way you know, in multipleways of support, of, personal
and professional support. And Ican't wait to see how the Miss
American pageant goes. That'llbe really exciting.
(21:55):
We'll be cheering you on. And, Iguess, any closing words? If you
is there anything else you wannasay? Say it now.
Shaina Zazzaro (22:06):
I think so many times people think that they
need to have so many friends.Right? Everyone wants to have
this huge group of people. I'velearned, and I think this comes
also from being a businessowner, and it's a little
different when you own your owncompany and people don't really
understand. But I I I've learnedit's better to have a couple
(22:30):
really good close friends than awhole lot of people that don't
really care about you.
So if you're lucky enough tohave one or two really great
friends, don't think of it as,oh, I only have a couple
friends. Think of it as, wow. Iam lucky enough to have this
awesome friend that really lovesme and truly supports me and
(22:50):
cares about me and that I knowI'll have in twenty years. You
know? That's better than having50 friends that you may see once
in a while, don't really careabout, and in two years, you're
not gonna know them.
So I'm I'm grateful to have atleast one really solid friend.
Leisa (23:12):
I agree. Well, besties, we'll see you next time. And
just in case you don't remember,you never know when you're gonna
meet your next best friend. Bye.Bye.
Hey, bestie. Thanks for listening. If you like this
episode, be sure to hit thatsubscribe button to get notified
(23:34):
of new episodes and check outcool Bestie gift ideas at
howimetmybff.com.
Tamara (23:39):
That's right. And also leave us a review. Those reviews
help us out a lot and are one ofthe best ways to support us.
Leisa (23:46):
Yes. And if you have a fun story about how you met your
BFF, send us an email atinfo@howImetmyBFF.com. We would
love to hear about it.
Tamara (23:55):
Definitely. And, hey, maybe we'll have you on our next
episode.
Leisa (23:59):
That would be awesome. Until next time.
Tamara (24:02):
Love you, BFFs.
Hey, besties. My name's Lisa.
Tamara (00:03):
And my name's Tamara, and we're BFFs.
Leisa (00:06):
Tamara and I met when we were about 12 years old growing
up in good old Fairbanks,Alaska.
Tamara (00:11):
And we've been best friends forever since.
Leisa (00:13):
That's right. And that's why we've decided to have some
fun, friendly conversations withthe bestest of best friends.
Tamara (00:18):
We'll talk about how we became best friends, our
experiences together, and haveother best friends on the show
to share how they met. Whoknows?
Leisa (00:27):
You never know when you'll meet your next BFF.
Tamara (00:30):
Now let's get into it, how I met my BFF.
Leisa (00:34):
Welcome to another episode of how I met my BFF. Hi,
Tamara.
Tamara (00:39):
Hey, Lisa. How are you?
Leisa (00:41):
I am good. I have a little doggy update. I Yeah.
Have a new puppy. She is 14 oldnow.
She we got her when she was nineweeks old, so we haven't
recorded in a while or maybe Ican't remember. I updated last
time, but I'm teaching her nowhow to be polite, which I I
learned that yesterday as a newtrick. Not just sit and
(01:04):
everything, but to act polite,to act with kindness. Because
when she when she is excited andwants to play, she's been, like,
nipping a little bit, and, she'svery communicative that she
wants to play. So I'm learning,and we're gonna go to puppy
school, and I gotta learn how tohandle that because I haven't
(01:24):
had a puppy in over twentyyears, so that's exciting.
But she is also smothering mewith kisses and love every day
too. So it's it's, she's really,really cute. I'm totally in
love.
Tamara (01:37):
She is very cute, but looks like a lot of work.
Leisa (01:41):
It is a lot of work because she's a I had a
nightmare that I was giving thatI had a baby, like a human baby,
and I woke up. I know. I wokeup, and I'm like, in the dream,
I was like, oh my gosh. I can'tbelieve this. Ariana's about to
go to college or Ariana's aboutto graduate from college.
How can I start over right now?And then I woke up. I'm like,
oh, it's just a dog. Okay. Good.
(02:02):
I'm alright. That was, like, waytoo much stress for me. I'm 52.
I'm not ready to have a babyright now. Yeah.
Shaina Zazzaro (02:10):
But a
Leisa (02:10):
puppy baby is fine. Alright. Well, I'm excited. We
have some fun guests today fromNew York. Shana and Alex,
welcome to the show.
Alex Buckner (02:20):
Thank you for Yes. Joining
Leisa (02:23):
We're excited to have to hear your best friend's story.
And Shana and I met at an event,and I can always tell, like,
when when I talk about the topicof best friendship, there are
certain people where it justreally lights up. And so Shana
and I had that connection. And,Shane, why don't you kick us off
and tell us your your version ofhow you and Alex met for the
(02:45):
very first time?
Shaina Zazzaro (02:47):
Well, I've actually known Alex for a very
long time. She was my sister whopassed away now seven years ago.
She was my sister Nikki's bestfriend growing up. So Alex knew
me as the very mean, scary, bigsister of Nikki's. And so that's
(03:09):
that's her childhood memories ofme.
And then fast forward twentyyears, Alex was looking for a
change of scenery, and she shewas a chef at a restaurant, and
she wanted something new. Andshe reached out to me when I had
a personal assistant add up, andI actually ended up hiring her
(03:31):
to be my food truck chef. Andthen throughout the years, we
just got closer and closer, andthen we just really realized
we're each other's best friends.But what's nice about us is that
we can separate business andfriendship. So I can be her boss
at times, and then she's, youknow, she's my best friend.
(03:54):
But we can separate that, whicha lot of people working together
in business have a very hardtime doing. So that I think is
something special about ourfriendship.
Leisa (04:02):
I wonder if it's because when you first met, you were
like the you said like the oldersister, so it interesting how
that dynamic maybe started helpsto keep the relationship, the
two different dynamics separate.
Shaina Zazzaro (04:19):
Yeah.
Leisa (04:19):
Wow. Well, I'm sorry to hear about your sister. And
Okay.
Shaina Zazzaro (04:25):
It's a I can finally talk about it now. It's
been a long time. Unfortunately,she had a overdose, and she
passed in 2018. So, actually,it's it's going
Leisa (04:35):
on eight
Shaina Zazzaro (04:35):
years next month, which is wild to me.
Leisa (04:39):
Mhmm. So Yeah. Wow. Well, I'm sure she's with us in some
way today.
Shaina Zazzaro (04:46):
I'm sure she likes that Alex and I are best
friends.
Alex Buckner (04:48):
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Alex, what
Leisa (04:51):
about your version of of meeting Shana for the first
time?
Alex Buckner (04:55):
So as she said, I was very good friends with her
sister, and she was like the bigsister when we were growing up,
sneaking into her room and allthat. But, yeah, Shana had
actually reached out to me acouple of times to work for her
(05:16):
and seemed that every singletime she reached out to me, I
had just started a new position.So, finally, I wanted to get out
of that lifestyle of the chefthat works until 02:00 in the
morning, and I answered her ad,and it's just been the best
(05:36):
decision I've ever made. It's awonderful place to work, and I
reconnected with Shana. So Ithink that that's just probably
the biggest perk about this newlifestyle that I have.
Leisa (05:52):
What so how long have you been working for Shana now? Four
years. Four years. Okay. Great.
And then what's the because ourbesties probably wanna know,
what kind of company is this?What what do you do for them?
Alex Buckner (06:09):
Oh. So we're a meal delivery service. We
prepackage meals for seniors andpeople who want to just eat
healthier. It's just mealplanning and we deliver all over
Rochester. We do a lot ofcatering.
We have food trucks. Yeah. Doeverything.
Leisa (06:30):
That's amazing. So it's in Rochester, New York. So if
anyone in that area islistening, then it's
effortlessly healthy. Right? Isthat the name of the company?
Yes? Yes. That sounds so coolbecause I think it's hard to we
wanna be healthy, but thenthere's so many choices, and
then we have to make decisionsand then portion. So I love that
(06:53):
there are you guys are offeringthat and created that. That's so
cool.
Shaina Zazzaro (06:57):
Thank you. Yes. It was it was my idea. So many
people came up to me. What doyou eat?
How do you look like this? And Ihave I've lost 60 pounds now
three times. I was an overweightkid growing up. I took my
arthritis from severe to inremission during my college
days. And at about 25, I wasjust in the best shape of my
life.
I worked at the hospital. I wasthe youngest administrator
(07:19):
there. And everybody asked mehow I looked that way. And
finally, I was like, oh my gosh.Everyone has an excuse.
I was homesick one day. I hadthe idea, and I went for it.
Leisa (07:30):
Wow. You lost 60 pounds three times?
Shaina Zazzaro (07:34):
Yes. Actually, at 37 years old, I'm really in
the best shape of my life. Imean, I I'm I'm competing in the
missus American Nationals nextmonth. I'm missus New York
American. And then after that, II'm tempted to do a bikini
bodybuilding show because whynot just get all these shows
done?
Leisa (07:54):
I know quite a few people, way past 37 who are
competing in their bikinis, menand women, and and they have
completely transformed theirbodies, and it is a marvel to
watch. So, yeah, if you'realready if you're already 90% of
the way there
Shaina Zazzaro (08:13):
Yes.
Leisa (08:14):
Why not go all the way?
Shaina Zazzaro (08:16):
That's Why not?
Leisa (08:16):
Amazing. So I get that that's how you I'm I'm
understanding how you met andthen a little bit about how you
developed, became best friends.But if you could track back,
Shana, of, like, when did itshift from, you know, she's my
sister's friend or I've knownher for a long time to now we're
in the best friend zone? How howwould you describe that?
Shaina Zazzaro (08:41):
I think it once Alex started getting more
responsibility in my company, westarted talking more. And then
it sort of it grew into afriendship that way. Because the
more responsibility, the moreguidance she needed from me.
And, eventually, I just said,you're so good. I'm going to
train you on how to be myexecutive chef and run my
(09:02):
company.
I'm done with all these peoplethat are, you know, not
wonderful. You're capable of it.Believe in yourself. You got
this. Let's go.
And then I just slowly startedtraining her to really run
things, and it just brought uscloser because teaching someone
how to run your company, you youspend a lot of time talking to
(09:22):
them. And she's the person thatno matter I reach out to her for
anything that has to do with thebusiness, and then, you know,
it'll turn into a company call,and then we'll start talking for
twenty more minutes. Mostly, Italk her ear off. And and then I
finally realized she's at work,and I have to get off the phone
because she has a job to do,which is working for me. So, you
(09:46):
know, it's it's an interestingfriendship, but it really
started the more and moreresponsibility she got for me.
Leisa (09:52):
How about you, Alex? What what did you how did you feel
that transition was going intothe best friendship
relationship?
Alex Buckner (10:01):
I started noticing it probably when like she said,
when, I took over the positionas, executive chef. And her just
really pushing me, telling meconstantly that I can achieve
more. I was always in a positionwhere I was working for like, I
(10:24):
was never the executive chef,and she always told me, Alex,
you can do this. You can dothis. And when I actually did, I
realized that was somebody, andthat wasn't a boss telling me,
hey.
I want this. It was that was abest friend. That was a sister.
That was my favorite person inthe whole world telling me, you
(10:49):
are good enough. And giving methe confidence to run, though,
run effortlessly healthy, I feellike that's really what did it
for me where I said, wow.
She really does care a lot aboutme.
Leisa (11:07):
Wow. What what would you say are the top three things
that you love about Shana?
Alex Buckner (11:14):
Number 100% her confidence. She can walk into a
room and everybody looks there,and she doesn't she doesn't
care. Her confidence and she'sbrilliant. She can run this
company from a she can do itfrom a cell phone. She she just
the numbers that she runsthrough her head every day, I
(11:38):
don't even sometimes I don'teven understand that.
Just she's just so smart. She'sa great mom. She's the coolest
mom ever. Her kids areconstantly they're always at a
water park or going go kartingor, you know, shopping. And I
just think that that's amazingof just how great of a mom she
(11:59):
is.
And she's just one of the mostgenerous, unselfish people that
I've ever met. She cares abouteverybody else before she cares
about herself. She will doanything to make sure that
everybody else is taken care ofbefore she does takes care of
herself. And that to me is justa great human being, and that's
(12:19):
somebody that I want. That'ssomebody I wanna be around every
day.
That's somebody I wanna talk toevery day.
Leisa (12:24):
Wow. Wow.
Shaina Zazzaro (12:26):
Wow. Make you sound so nice. Dana.
Tamara (12:30):
Dana, what about Alex? What are what are some of her
things that you really enjoy?
Shaina Zazzaro (12:38):
I have never met someone that works harder than
me. And that was my first thingI noticed. Like, when she does
something, she cares. She careswith all her heart, and she
works her ass off. And I I'venever seen it.
I was always the person who youknow, my husband's the same way.
(12:59):
We we work so hard, and it'shard to see people that really
have a wonderful work ethic. AndI saw that in her, which allowed
me to let go of a lot ofresponsibility in my company and
anxiety, honestly, because I sawthat she was so capable. And I
(13:24):
think as a business owner,especially, it's hard to find
someone that you can, like,truly, truly trust. And she's I
mean, you can put a $100,000cash on her lap, and she's not
gonna steal a dollar of it.
You know? I mean, she she's verytrustworthy. She has a very kind
heart. She's got a great workwork ethic. She's a great
person.
(13:44):
You know? I I I consider to belike my little sister. You know?
My my sister's not coming back,and it's really special to me
that I have someone in my lifethat that I can consider to be,
you know, that close with. Shealso doesn't really annoy me,
which is, like, super importantin a firm.
(14:07):
Like, we can hang out, and wedon't have to talk to each other
every second of every day. Youknow? We can just chill. Like,
we just took a vacation inMaine, and we're able to hang
out on a beach and relax. And wedon't feel the need to over
impress each other.
You know? And it's it's nice tojust have a friend that you
could be yourself. You know, sheknows Alex knows the real Shana
(14:32):
that a lot of people don't know.You know, she doesn't just know
CEO, missus New York Shana. Sheknows Shana, and and that's
cool.
And I I'm not able to trust alot of people to let them in the
way that I've let Alex in. Soit's nice. She's she's a
beautiful person.
Leisa (14:49):
So important. Oh, I love this. I was just thinking about
your sister as well. And isthere anything that you want to
share in her honor today on theshow?
Shaina Zazzaro (15:06):
I everything I'm doing, I'm doing it because I
know life is short, and I knowthat because of my sister. And
so Alex is the Alex is thereason I'm missus New York right
now because she told me I coulddo it. She's like, you're Shayna
Cesaro. Go for it. You can win.
(15:28):
And I'm like and now she's she'sthe reason I'm I'm going to
missus American. So, you know, Ihad her to believe in me enough
and think I'm this wonderfulhuman that I can go do these
things. But in the back of mymind, yeah, I'm doing them
because my sister, you know, shecan never come back. She can
never experience things. So I'mI'm living my best life in her
(15:50):
memory.
Another really cool thing aboutmissus American American and the
whole organization is that theowners of the the Westgate
Hotel, their daughter actuallypassed of an overdose. And they
created this Victoria's VoiceFoundation, which is a big part
of the missus America Americanand the Miss America Strong
(16:14):
organization. And so that'sreally great for me to be part
of an organization that I amable to really have my heart in
it and my heart being my sister.And I hope, yeah, if I can take
this crown and win, that I'mable to work with Victoria's
voice more in memory of Nikkibecause she was really a
(16:38):
beautiful, hardworking,wonderful, the funniest person
I've ever met soul that was justtaken too soon because of a
terrible epidemic. And, youknow, unfortunately, you can't
look back.
You have to keep moving forward.And now I just I'm do every
doing everything for her andalso for my mom because my mom
(17:01):
lives in such heartache oflosing my sister. And,
hopefully, I'm giving hersomething to continue to look
forward to in life when, youknow, things can bring her down
very easily after losing Nikki.
Leisa (17:15):
Yeah.
Shaina Zazzaro (17:16):
Sorry. That was a long That's No.
Leisa (17:18):
That's okay. It's keeping it real. We've had we've had
other guests on our show who wholost their best friend actually
and will come on and share. Andso that's a part I mean,
unfortunately, death is a partof life, you know, and Mhmm. You
know, Tamara and I have also hadour own losses and such, so we
(17:40):
we understand.
And it's also, I think,important to honor and remember,
you know, recognize and rememberthose who we've lost.
Tamara (17:50):
Yeah. And how great you two can have, like, come
together because it sounds likeit was after her passing. And
Yeah. And now you have your thisbond and friendship and how it's
grown, you know, from what itused to be. So that's beautiful.
Shaina Zazzaro (18:10):
Well, and what's nice is, like, when we were in
Maine, you know, my daughter,Zoe, is nine, and Alex bought
her a boogie board. You know, Iwould never go boogie boarding.
I don't like the cold water. ButAlex, sure. No problem, Zoe.
Let's go. And I was watching herplaying with with, I almost said
Nikki, playing with Zoe on thebeach. And I was like, well, she
doesn't have aunt Nikki, but shehas Alex. Mhmm. You know?
(18:32):
So it's it's nice that becausethere's there's a lot of
similarities in Alec. They'recompletely different people, but
there are a lot of things thatare similar between the two of
them. And a lot of things aboutAlex reminds me of Nikki. And so
it's nice that my kids get,like, a little bit of her
without you know, she's nothere.
Tamara (18:53):
Yeah. I can I completely understand? I have my oldest
daughter passed away ten yearsago, and her and she was 21, but
her whole friend group, I'mstill friends with, and they're
now 31. But, you know, like,throughout the years, and
they've been kind of an oldersibling to my other younger
(19:16):
kids. And, yeah, it's nice ifyou can have people in your life
to not that they're taking overthat role or that person, but
just something similar andfamiliar and you know that the
person that we lost cared about,you know, Alec like, I'm sure
your sister cared about Alex somuch.
And, yeah, it's beautiful.
Shaina Zazzaro (19:38):
Yes. I'm sorry for your loss. It's I know it's
not easy.
Tamara (19:41):
Yeah. Yeah. So, well, on a on a more positive side of
note, we like to talk about andit's cool that you guys get to
see each other so much. But ifyou when we get off the podcast
today and you guys are together,what would you go and do for
fun?
Shaina Zazzaro (20:01):
And if if we could actually not work, would
we go back to Maine, Alex?
Alex Buckner (20:06):
We would probably be in Maine. We'd be on the
beach in Maine.
Leisa (20:12):
Mean, sometimes we'll
Shaina Zazzaro (20:14):
Every now and then, we'll sneak away, and
we'll to SimBads for lunch andthen go to Happy Feet for a foot
massage.
Alex Buckner (20:19):
Yeah. Or
Shaina Zazzaro (20:22):
just sometimes we I just show up randomly, and
we'll just take a little, youknow, fifteen minute walk and
chat behind the building becauseI have a canal behind my
building. So we'll just meet fora walk. But, you know, it's it's
I do love our happy feet time.It's always so nice. Happy feet
is a place where you just go getfoot massages.
Leisa (20:42):
Oh, Tamara, that could be your new business. She loves
giving foot massages.
Shaina Zazzaro (20:54):
Tamara, Yeah. Don't really require much. Like,
I don't know. We just we'll findsomething to do, and we'll do
it. You don't need to doanything special.
You know? I think that's whatmakes a great friend. Like, we
could go get a $10 salad and behappy, or we can just go take a
walk and chat.
Alex Buckner (21:11):
Every Tuesday. We just take our walk. Every single
Tuesday, she walks in, and she'smy boss. She's telling me what
to do, and she goes, you wannago take a walk real quick? And
we go take our fifteen minutewalk, and we just talk about
everything in that fifteenminutes.
And then we come back, and we'rein a great mood because we just
got to either vent or laugh oranything.
Leisa (21:35):
I love that. That's so beautiful. I'm so I'm so excited
that we got to hear your storyand that you have each other in
more way you know, in multipleways of support, of, personal
and professional support. And Ican't wait to see how the Miss
American pageant goes. That'llbe really exciting.
(21:55):
We'll be cheering you on. And, Iguess, any closing words? If you
is there anything else you wannasay? Say it now.
Shaina Zazzaro (22:06):
I think so many times people think that they
need to have so many friends.Right? Everyone wants to have
this huge group of people. I'velearned, and I think this comes
also from being a businessowner, and it's a little
different when you own your owncompany and people don't really
understand. But I I I've learnedit's better to have a couple
(22:30):
really good close friends than awhole lot of people that don't
really care about you.
So if you're lucky enough tohave one or two really great
friends, don't think of it as,oh, I only have a couple
friends. Think of it as, wow. Iam lucky enough to have this
awesome friend that really lovesme and truly supports me and
(22:50):
cares about me and that I knowI'll have in twenty years. You
know? That's better than having50 friends that you may see once
in a while, don't really careabout, and in two years, you're
not gonna know them.
So I'm I'm grateful to have atleast one really solid friend.
Leisa (23:12):
I agree. Well, besties, we'll see you next time. And
just in case you don't remember,you never know when you're gonna
meet your next best friend. Bye.Bye.
Hey, bestie. Thanks for listening. If you like this
episode, be sure to hit thatsubscribe button to get notified
(23:34):
of new episodes and check outcool Bestie gift ideas at
howimetmybff.com.
Tamara (23:39):
That's right. And also leave us a review. Those reviews
help us out a lot and are one ofthe best ways to support us.
Leisa (23:46):
Yes. And if you have a fun story about how you met your
BFF, send us an email atinfo@howImetmyBFF.com. We would
love to hear about it.
Tamara (23:55):
Definitely. And, hey, maybe we'll have you on our next
episode.
Leisa (23:59):
That would be awesome. Until next time.
Tamara (24:02):
Love you, BFFs.
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