August 6, 2025 • 52 mins
Dream big, take risks, and give back!
In this episode of The Big Dawgs with Manning Sumner, Rachael Russell Saiger, a mother of four, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of Style Saves, the biggest back-to-school clothing drive, shares her story of making a real impact in the community.
Together, they discuss their come-up stories, lessons learned along the way, and how they handle it all.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, parent, or someone looking to make a difference, this episode offers inspiration and practical insights to help you follow your dreams and give back.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I started Style Savings when I was 23.
At the time I like didn't have many resources and everyone like
kind of doubted me and they'd belike, what do you mean you're
going to start a charity? Like you need a charity?
You can't even pay for your own stuff.
And I was like, we'll figure it out.
I just wanted to have an outlet where I was able to give back.
The fashion industry is very superficial.
While I enjoy working and creating beautiful things, I
(00:21):
always wanted to be able to use my resources to go a little
deeper and to help in a more meaningful and impactful way.
And I was like, well, what if I did the same thing but disrupted
the premium water space? Because if you really think
about it, when's the last time abrand like went after Evian,
Fiji, Aquapana, Saratoga? It's always you go to
restaurants, it's just what theybring to the table, right?
(00:43):
When you would go to school and you would see the kids, you
always knew that those were the poor kids and they were treated
differently. It hurt their self worth and it
wasn't their fault. And that's the sad part, right?
Like it was just a genetic lottery that they lost.
So we manufacture everything andwe're now the largest back to
school event in the country. We do 25,000 students over the
course of the weekend. Wow.
(01:04):
And I said, can we possibly be the official Primo out of the
Miami Heat? And they were like, what?
And they were like, you're goingto be replacing Fiji and
Perrier. And I was like, yeah, that's
what I want to do I'm Manning Sumner.
I've lived my life by 1 motto, no days off.
No days off has never taken a day off on you.
It's a commitment to becoming your best self.
(01:25):
Get ready to be inspired to do the same.
This is the big dogs with Manning Sumner.
All right, Rachel, you're on thebig dogs.
How are we feeling today? I'm good.
Awesome, awesome. How far along are you?
8 1/2 months. So you are it's here, yes.
And do we know? It's a boy, It's a boy.
Yep. And how many is this?
(01:47):
This is my 4th. 4th. Yes, wow, yes, practice makes
perfect. And what are the other kids?
I have a 5 year old girl, a fouryear old boy, a one year old
boy, and on this you were in it.I know, right?
I. Have a five year old son and a
one year old daughter and that'senough.
So I know 4 is. That sounds a lot.
(02:09):
Yeah, totally. Yeah, well, awesome.
So you were born in Rhode Island.
Yes. You made your way to Miami while
pursuing your education and graduated from Johnson Wells
University with a degree in marketing.
You also study fashion merchandising at Miami
International University of Art and Design and completed fashion
styling courses at the prestigious Domus.
(02:30):
Is that Domus? Sure.
That sounds fancy. Academy in Milan, Italy.
Your career began in fashion as a stylist in the editorial
department at Vogue in New York before signing with Ford Models
and Wilhelmina models along the way.
Wilhelmina used to tell me I'm too big.
Every single time I'd go sing them.
You're too big. You're too.
And I kept losing more weight and more weight.
You're too big. You're too big.
(02:51):
I was like, all right, fine, I get this.
Was like before plus I models were.
I guess. I mean, yeah, so.
Well, I wasn't fat, obviously, but I was.
My shoulders were too big. Anyways.
Along the way, you worked with several high profile brands,
including, I'll never be able toread this, the Vuev Clicko.
(03:12):
How do you say? Yeah, Yeah.
Calvin Klein and Nike. In 2017, you became the fashion
director of Myunsai, a modern jewelry and lifestyle brand for
men and women with a global reach.
The brand was founded by your husband, who you met on a flight
to Hong Kong. You oversee the women's
collection and photo shoot production.
Since joining the team, the brand has expanded its reach by
(03:33):
creating collaboration programs with social media influencers
and increasing production lines,all while strengthening its
commitment to sustainability, diversity, and inclusion.
At age At just the age of 23 years old, you founded Style
Saves. I think we've worked with
stylistics and nonprofit organization providing the use
in their families with the central goods from school
(03:54):
supplies, nutritious meals and mentorship to increase academic
achievement. It has become the largest back
to school event in the country and brings together your two
biggest passions, fashion and philanthropy.
Philanthropy. Oh my God, philanthropy I can't
talk to. Philanthropy.
Thank you. You got a tongue tied there.
You've been a peer educator withPlanned Parenthood and a mentor
(04:15):
for Big Brothers Big Sisters andrecently started your mentorship
program through Style Saves. You're also a mother of soon to
be 4. And.
Yeah, so that's a lot. Yes.
Yes. How do you handle it all?
I'm just really, I'm really goodat delegating, I'm really good
at logistics, I'm really good atmanaging and I also have a lot
(04:39):
of patience, so it helps. Patience is.
That's the key, honestly. Definitely a key, especially
with kids. I'm so unfazed and unbothered
like if I think that's like the key to to keeping my sanity.
Yeah. And so going back to your
modeling days, how did that spark the other things that now
(05:00):
you're now doing? Like, is that where it all kind
of like where you're like, OK, I'm a model that's good and all,
but I want to do more like wheredid that kind of come into play?
OK, so I was actually a stylist.So when so like Ford and
Wilhelmina, they have like styling departments.
So I was always on the creative side of things.
Yes, thank you for thinking thatI was a model.
Well, you but but no, I was always behind the camera.
(05:23):
And as you know, the fashion industry is very superficial.
So I, while I enjoy working and creating beautiful things and
having like, you know, that kindof creative outlet, I always
wanted to be able to use my resources to go a little deeper
and to help in a more meaningfuland impactful way.
(05:45):
So when I started Style Saves, it was my way of using my
network to give back through my resources which were fashion.
That's very cool, Very cool. And the jewelry brand, was that
something that your husband wanted you to do or was that
something you wanted to do? No, so it's actually the the way
that my husband and I met is like a, a movie, right?
(06:07):
So he was doing his he was doingthe brand for men and he decided
to launch a women's collection. At the time, I was a stylist and
he had heard of me and he said, OK, can you come and style the
women's collections Campaign said sure, no problem.
So I go in, I style the photo shoot.
(06:27):
We have like, you know, a good chemistry in the sense that like
we were compatible working together, but we were both in
relationships at the time. So it was just left there.
Then Fast forward like a year later, I bumped into him on a
plane from Miami to Dallas, Dallas to Hong Kong.
He was going to some factories and trade shows and I was just
(06:49):
like going with my friends and. To Hong Kong.
Yeah. That's wow, did you what you
were on even the connecting flights and every like you were
on these same and. It was.
And it was like randomly like Thursday, March 9th, you know
what I mean? So it wasn't like.
Definitely meant to be. It was totally meant to be.
We're sitting two rows apart. And I was like, oh, you want to
come out with us when we get to Hong Kong?
(07:11):
And yes, he did. And then from that trip, we got
back to Miami. We started dating and he
proposed four months later. So we're coming up.
March will be our 10 year anniversary.
Congrats. I didn't start working with him
like right from the jump. It was kind of like, you know,
maybe I was just like helping a little bit here and there.
(07:33):
I was doing some creative projects.
And then ultimately, like after we got married, like I came in
and like started overseeing likethe fashion direction of, of
like the women's department. It was something like the
marketing. You kind of just.
It was organic. Injected yourself into because
you're good at it. But he wants my help.
(07:53):
We call each other and we lean on each other for a lot of
things. And with Michael, he's really
good at his set of things and I'm really good at my set of
things. And we've always had a
relationship where we can work together without stepping on
each others toes. We've never once yelled at each
other in the office. We've never had a relationship
where I don't know where competitive in the workplace or
(08:16):
talking negatively about like wereally respect each others
boundaries, we respect each others roles and we're
productive. So not everyone could work with
their partner. And I don't recommend it for
most people because it really takes like a special kind of
relationship. I think most people would
probably kill their partner if they were working with them.
But for us, it was always very organic.
Like we work together really well.
(08:37):
And same thing goes in our houseand with our kids.
You know, it kind of like just carries over.
But I've always liked the concept of like a family run
business and like, husbands and wife having like, you know, that
ability to work together. It's nice.
Yeah, definitely. I love family.
You know, for me it's nice. Awesome, so how do your
Portuguese and Italian roots influence your work and or life
(08:58):
in general? Well, okay, my life in general.
So my Viva, which was like my Portuguese grandparents, my
Portuguese grandmother had 10 kids.
I'm not saying that I'm going for 10, but having a big family
and my family is the norm, right?
Like I started having kids after30 and in my family, like
(09:23):
everyone pretty much already hasfour kids by 30.
So it was kind of like interesting for me.
Like everyone was like, what's wrong with her?
Like is she gonna she gonna everhave kids?
Because I was always so focused on my career.
So I think yeah, like I got there.
I just got there at my own pace.But yeah, they've, I, I come
from like that side is like a very big family.
(09:44):
And then with the Italian side cooking, right?
Like everything that I make, everything that I like to make
for my family, for my friends isawesome version of like simple
Italian, Mediterranean home cooked food, like nothing fancy.
It's very simple. And then because I'm creative, I
just like make everything look like aesthetic because I enjoy
(10:05):
plating so. Are you the type that like does
the pictures of the food and post it and?
Yeah, definitely. All right, presentation is
everything. But it comes like it's very
effortless, it's very loose, it's very free flowing because
creativity is just like my DNA. It's like.
When did you, when did you? Because I, I, I feel like I was
(10:27):
kind of in the same way from a creative standpoint, like early,
early on, I was always doing stuff creatively.
Like was that with you? 2 Like was it like as soon as
you, I mean, not, not that you can remember as soon as you were
born, but you know, and did you find yourself being creative as
a as a, as a young age? Totally.
So like I would always do like Fine Arts camp and I would
always be like making projects. Even in Girl Scouts, I was like
(10:49):
gravitating towards the stuff that was more arts and crafts
based. And you know, I just always
enjoyed like fashion. So as soon as I got into school,
like this is it, there was no other direction that I wanted to
go into. And it was like, I don't come
from like I don't come from likea wealthy family or anything
like that. So fashion's not necessarily
like the safest option. So there was a lot of question
(11:10):
as to like, well, can you make aliving in that?
Like, you want to be a stylist? Like, I think that job was like
mainly reserved for kids that had like, you know, good
financial backgrounds because like, there's a lot of time
where you're not making a lot ofmoney or you're kind of like,
you know, going a long time without being paid contract to
contract. So I think like, you know, I had
(11:32):
to take that risk, but it paid off because I wanted to be
passionate about what I was doing and not just do something
that was safe. In the styling world, was there
was there anything that stood out to you in terms of like
working with a particular brand or particular person?
Like does any story come to mind?
(11:52):
Like when it comes to when you were in that?
Like crazy story you mean? Well, I mean, it doesn't have to
be crazy. It's just something that pops in
the head like right now, like I remember this working with
either this company or this person and you have to name
names or anything but. I guess when I was when I was
(12:12):
like interning, I come from the time where like you would intern
and you would do the most ridiculous things that you were
asked and you would not be getting paid for it.
Like I would be taking the subway with like $200,000 worth
of like David Yurman samples around New York in my bag and
like hoping that no one saw where I just walked out of, you
know what I mean? Or another time I was doing like
(12:33):
this couture shoe for Vogue and this like supermodel wanted
Vogue cigarettes and I literallyhad to go to like 6 bodegas to
try and find them for her. There was a Vogue cigarette.
It's like the really skinny longones.
Yeah, It's like super. Were they called Vogue?
Or was that just? Like no, that was the name of
the brand. No way.
Yeah, that's funny. Well, they were really hard.
To see people smoking those things, that question.
(12:55):
They were very hard to get and this was, and this was before
like, you know, proper Google oryou know, could help you find
these things more easily. So, you know, there was a lot of
times I was questioning what I was doing, but I stuck with it.
And you know, I'm happy I did because I was able to kind of
pivot to different parts of the industry that I got more
identified with, like, you know,production and styling and
(13:18):
marketing and things like that that are.
Yeah, I was. I was training this guy and he,
he was, he reminded me of, you've seen The Devil Wears
Prada. Yeah, that's how he treated me
like. Oh, he treated you like.
That hell like. Like you were the Anne Hathaway.
Yes, he would give me the most insane like projects like he
would tell me like. What was the craziest 1?
(13:40):
This, it doesn't sound crazy, but for someone from Alabama
being so, we were in New York and he wanted me to get him a
particular sandwich at this particular deli with this
particular cheese. Like it was all like, and I
didn't know where the deli was. I didn't know what the sandwich
was like. I had to figure all this out.
(14:00):
And then there was other times too, where he would not tell me
what I'm supposed to do that I and I just had to wake up and
figure it out. So he would like ghost me
almost, but we'd be in the same city and I was in charge of his
food, his nutrition, his bodyguard, his training.
Like I was basically like in charge of him.
But imagine waking up and not having an itinerary and like
(14:22):
trying to figure out where he is.
So I was like, go to the gym andsee if he was there.
If he wasn't there, I had to go to the to the to the restaurant
to see if it was. It was just, it was a very weird
situation. Sounds like it sounds like
you're his Manny. Pretty much, yeah, yeah.
No, it was a nightmare. And then come to find out he was
a con artist and now he's he's in prison now, so.
(14:43):
Checks out. That sounds about right.
Well, anybody that acts like that should be in jail.
So that's all I felt let's have in this style stage because I
think it's fascinating. I know we've worked with all a
little bit, but like, where? Where did it come from?
So I started Style Savings when I was 23, OK.
And at the time I like didn't have many resources and everyone
(15:05):
like kind of doubted me. And they'd be like, what do you
mean you're going to start a charity?
Like you need a charity. You can't even pay for your own
stuff, Like, and I was like, we'll figure it out.
I just wanted to have an outlet where I was able to give back
and do something that felt meaningful and impactful, where
I could, like actually see tangible results and change.
I think the problem is, like when you volunteer at some of
(15:27):
these bigger organizations, you can't personally connect to the
cause. Like if it's a soup kitchen or I
mean, listen, it's great and it's added value.
But for me, as, like, a fashion girl, like, I didn't connect
with, like, passing out food in the cafeteria, Yeah.
Or, you know, kind of doing someof those, like, standard
volunteer opportunities. So I wanted to use my resources
(15:48):
to do something that felt meaningful to me.
And growing up, my grandmother worked at a homeless shelter for
abused women. And I would often like stay
overnights, like on the weekendswith her.
So I would spend time in the shelters, like with the kids and
I'd play with them and I would see like what they had in the
donation room and like what the kids were missing and how they
(16:09):
would feel. And I could just really get a, a
very behind the scenes look at like what these kids were going
through and like what they were feeling and like what they, what
was needed. And for us like might seem like
so simple, right? Like, OK, T-shirt and pants
like, well, everyone, you would think everyone like has like
clothes. So then what else do they need?
(16:30):
But like, no, these kids don't have toothbrushes.
Like when you go into a homelessshelter or like if you're a
migraine or foster care, you have to clothes on your back and
that's it. Like you might not have more
than one pair of socks. You might not have hair brush.
You probably don't have like natural hygiene products, so
just kind of like things like that.
(16:51):
And I, you know, kept it in mind.
And when I started Style Saves, I wanted to give the kids the
opportunity to start their firstday of school on the same even
playing field as their peers. So, you know, maybe I don't know
how it was where you're from, but when you would go to school
and you would see the kids and they didn't have like the new
(17:11):
clothes for the first day of school, you always knew that
those were the poor kids and they were treated differently,
right? They had poor self esteem.
They would have their heads heldlow.
They like were probably like notthe popular kids because they
didn't have good self esteem. It hurt their self worth and it
wasn't their fault. And that's the sad part, right?
Like it was just a genetic lottery that they lost.
(17:33):
And you know, because of that, they were subjected to like
feeling that way. So with style saves, we want to
give every kid the opportunity to have like the same
opportunity as their peers. When I first started, it was May
2011, I did a fashion show fundraiser during swim week at
Soho House and I used the money to to launch the back to school
(17:56):
program. So the very first year I did 50
students and I personally styledall of them.
I would have them do like the styling survey.
I called it of like, what's yourfavorite color?
Who's your favorite celebrity? Like what you know, silly
things. And I would go with a group of
my friends that were all like infashion or marketing, you know,
community people, like, you know, who still helped today.
(18:19):
And we would just go and we would go shopping for these kids
and we would do a little fun daywhere we would give them all
their items. About six years or so into it,
Isabella Grutman, who's not my partner, found me.
And she had just moved to Miami and gotten married.
She was looking for something tolike, give back through a 'cause
(18:40):
that she identified with. And her and I met for coffee and
instantly connected. We have like very similar values
and morals. We strongly believe that you're,
if you're in a position to help,you should and and that it's not
about anything except like helping people who can't do
anything for you. So her and I took the
organization to the next level. And since her coming on board,
(19:04):
we've doubled consistently everyyear with the amount of students
that we've been able to help. And now in our 15th year, we are
the largest back to school eventin the country.
We manufacture and produce everyitem that we pass out to the
kids. So backpacks, uniforms, school
supplies, pants, polos, socks, belts, everything.
And we're doing. Wait, so hold on.
(19:25):
I just want to make sure I hear you.
So all of that stuff you just listed y'all actually are
making. Yeah.
So it's like a style Saves brand.
Yeah, that's so cool. Yes, that's very cool.
So we manufacture everything andwe're now the largest back to
school event in the country. We do 25,000 students over the
course of the weekend. Wow.
So with us, you know, we got to a certain point about five years
(19:50):
ago where we started doing such big volume that we were like, if
we want to be able to scale thisand maintain quality and
consistency, we have to do private label because we can't
rely on different wholesalers because one wholesaler might
have a fit that's like a Husky or one is slim or one is Navy
blue and one is tan. So it creates a lot of chaos,
(20:13):
the choices there's. Inconsistency in the sizes.
Kids don't know their sizes, so we needed to essentially uniform
the uniforms, make everything the same.
This is our standardized sizing.This is our fit.
These are the options and then produce it in volume so that we
can make sure that the quality is good.
(20:33):
Our quality is better than like gap or Old Navy.
It's like we're really big on like the details and the
aesthetic. So you have like to make sure
like the the hem on the pants isnice or the buttons are sewn
correctly with the right pattern.
The backpacks are thick. The pull tab for the backpack is
a nice nylon rope. The school supply kits are 22
piece school supply kits, all branded style saves like from
(20:56):
the erasers, the pencil cases, everything already comes packed
in inside the backpacks. So you know, for us, it's about
quality and making sure that we're giving kids like the best
items that they can possibly get.
Like our sneakers look exactly like air forces.
We're using the same factories so and, and the kids like it.
And then on top of that, we're bringing them in for a fun
(21:18):
activation. So they're going to get
haircuts. Sometimes it's the first haircut
they've ever gotten and we're giving them like little
opportunities to make like slimeand go to do a petting zoo.
And, you know, we want to make it fun so it doesn't feel like
they're there and they're a charity case.
They're like, this is great. Like there's also the uniforms
and backpacks. But this is like so fun.
It's like Disney for them. Yeah.
(21:40):
And and yeah, you should, I meanyou should probably sponsor
because we because we that's. A lot of water.
We have a lot of kids to have, so it's August 9th and 10th at
the Convention Center in Miami Beach.
All right, she just put me on the spot.
But we'll, we'll, we'll see. But you sponsored last year.
(22:02):
Yeah, at a smaller scale though.You know of?
Course no. No, no.
But we did the same amount last year.
But we don't expect anyone to give those kind of volume
numbers. It's so crazy.
But everything and anything helps.
But also you should get all the people from your gym.
You guys can come and. Help.
Yes. That's what it's about being a
(22:22):
mom and doing all this stuff. Obviously you have to take care
of yourself and now you're pregnant, about to have a baby.
Give me a little insight on justyou like what you do for you,
not everybody around you, but but you know, and again,
everybody's big on routines and morning routines and all that.
Doesn't have to be necessarily that, but just like what is your
(22:44):
kind of like things that you do for yourself to keep you so
strong and and able to take careof three kids and about to have
another one do style saves and do all these things take care of
your husband. You know all this stuff that a
woman has to do every day? Well, I think for anyone, it's
important to have your outlets, right?
To have something that you can decompress through.
(23:07):
Whether for me, like I, I reallyenjoy going to the steam room or
taking a bath or, you know, doing my skin care routine, like
just taking that time to do the self-care for myself, even
getting a massage or hot yoga, whatever.
And then creatively I like I also need my outlets.
So like if I'm creating content or I'm doing like some shoots or
(23:28):
something that is like keeping my brain like active and
mentally like challenged. Like I like challenges.
I love to, you know, create things.
So whether it's an event or a photo shoot or, you know, a
tablescape or whatever it is, but it's doing stuff like that
that keeps me like. What's a tablescape?
It's like when you set the tableand it's pretty.
(23:49):
Oh OK, that was the name for it.Tablescape.
Yeah, I know that sounds. That's probably.
This is so funny. You mean you don't have
tablescapes here at the Legacy Fit show?
No, I don't think so. I mean, maybe we have for an
event, but I wasn't aware of theterminology.
Yeah, You know, that's why we dothese things.
We learn. So.
(24:10):
Wait, did you start in Miami? Well, as a human, no, but.
No, I know you're from Alabama. Alabama.
I moved here in 2001 and then yeah, and then started my
business. But you started the gym here.
Yeah, 2008 was the first location.
That's great. And when?
Grads. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, cuz I've been hearing
(24:31):
about it for a while. And you've never gone.
Well, to be honest, I'm not a gym girl.
No, not at all. No, it's not like my thing.
Yeah, like I'm more of a a tennis.
Like I play tennis, OK? I I ski.
I do. So you more you like to do like
sport, like sports stuff. Yeah, yeah.
Which is are you in the padel? I've played once, but I'm I like
(24:52):
tennis. We're like a tennis family, so
we're like more like that, but we.
I love tennis. Have you read read Andre
Agassi's book? No, I think my husband's been
like, is there a movie? I don't know if there's a movie
yet. I don't know.
But Anne Mullen told me to read it and it was good.
Oh yeah, yeah, it was good. So I was obsessed with Andre
Agassi. Well, but what made you start
(25:13):
the water just because there like wasn't a good one at the
gym or. Yeah, a little bit of that.
So I I was always the person that only drank water.
Like I was the guy that carried around the jug of water back in
the day. And I drank like just water,
water, water. And so it was always something
that that I always tried to findgood water.
(25:34):
And and then I'm, I'm not a big drinker.
I mean, I drink every now and then, but I was, I was also the
person, you know, drinking the water at the club or the water
at the bar, whatever. And so when Liquid Death came
out, right around. Are you familiar with that
brand? Yeah, of course.
So when that brand came out, right around 2017, 2018, a
member asked me to invest in it,gave me the deck, sent me some
(25:57):
water. I tried it.
I thought the concept of water in a can was genius.
I was like wow this is really cool.
But then I tested the water and looked into the company and was
was whack. So I, I said to myself, because
I'd already done a beer before. So I did a beer with JW
Wakefield. It actually looked just like the
(26:18):
black can. And it was a massive success.
It was electrolyte beer, beer. It was no days off beer.
Oh, cool. So it was, no, we stopped, we
stopped selling that, but it wasselling at Total Wines for like
$9 and it was flying off the shelf and everybody loved it.
And he, he even had it on tap, tap at his, at his brewery.
(26:38):
So I said to myself, I was like,I think I can do this, but I
need to do it from a different perspective.
So liquid death disrupted the budget water category.
So they just disrupted the Zephyrhills, the Poland Springs,
the Aquafinas, the Dasani's of the world, the single use
plastic crap water, as we say, tap water in a bottle.
(26:59):
And I was like, well, what if I did the same thing but disrupted
the premium water space? Because if you really think
about it, when's the last time abrand like went after Evian,
Fiji, Aquapana, Saratoga, It's always, you go to restaurants,
it's just what they bring to thetable, right?
So I was like, what if I kind ofdid that?
Then I said to myself, all right, well, if I'm going to do
that, how am I going to do that?And so I trained professional
(27:21):
athletes. So I reached out to the Miami
Heat because I used to train a bunch of their players and a
bunch of their staff and I said,can we possibly be the official
cream water the Miami Heat? And they were like, what?
And they were like, you're gonnabe replacing Fiji and Perrier?
And I was like, yeah, that's what I want to do.
Did you get it? And we got it.
So we're the official cream water the Miami Heat.
And then in the Casea Center, weactually outsold Fiji and Perio
(27:44):
three time Lee 3X sales for them.
Because I feel like that water doesn't feel accessible, right?
It feels like so premium if you're at a basketball game,
like you just want like a water.Yeah, well now you get no days
off if you're sitting in a premium seats.
And also like the the packaging is like perfect for that.
Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's very complimented the
heat love us because we're very on brand with their culture.
(28:07):
Yeah. So it, it goes very well like.
Well, and you're local too, which is like a nice tie in.
Definitely. So what's your distribution like
now you? So what happened was, is because
of the relationship with the heat and we made a ton of noise
when we first started because wewere 15 year old brand, you
know, launching a new product, basically an extension of the
(28:28):
gems and the apparel. So we're very recognizable
everywhere and especially being all over the heat arena.
So we were able to open like 150accounts like the first 30 days
by ourselves, like with our Sprinter van just driving around
and open up accounts. And Reyes Holdings, the largest
beer distributor in the country,we're like, and it was the
subsidiary Gold Coast. We're like, who the hell are
(28:50):
these people? Like what is happening?
So they reached out and got us ameeting with them and they loved
us and they signed us. And then we've just been kind of
riding that Reyes Holdings distribution channel and then
specifically Molson Coors trucks.
So we signed with Ala Bev and the entire state of Alabama.
We're about to sign with South Carolina, North Carolina, DC,
(29:12):
Virginia, but right now we're inTennessee, Alabama, Florida.
And then we're national like we just opened today and, and what
was the name of that park, Bryant Park in New York.
Wow. That's.
Great. Yeah.
So we, because we signed with Bartlett Dairy and Cisco.
(29:33):
Perfect. So it that's national and New
York. So we're already making some
noise there. And we saw an Amazon and TikTok
shop. So we're we can go across the
country that way too. So yeah.
That's so impressive. Yeah, it's, it's been, it's a
very fun business. So what it's like the other
stuff? Cuz I see like a green can and a
white can. So we just launched our Freedom
cans. Is that matcha?
(29:54):
This is a no, no, it's a limited.
It's a limited edition can and formula, so it's premium Plus.
So it has more potassium in it, so it gives a little bit more
silky taste and then it makes you pee like crazy.
And then so interesting. The Premium plus Sparkling
(30:14):
freedom can is more sparkle, so it has like more bubbles in it.
Cool. And then we have our glass
bottles coming out the end of the summer.
What are the little ones? Just like smaller.
Those little 88 oz cans, I like that and they work really well
with kids. They work really well with mini
bars. I love that size.
Actually. I drink a lot of ginger ale.
Oh, OK at the moment. And yeah.
(30:34):
You like the? Sparkling, that's the, that's
the size that again, we gotta get you.
We'll get her some cases before she leaves.
So perfect. Yeah.
But it's it's it's like playing chess every day.
This business like it's it's very cuz you have to drive.
Different than what you're doingat the gym.
Oh, it's totally different. Yeah, yeah, gym is very people,
people, people. Like managing people basically
(30:55):
is what the gym business is and it's in service.
It's like a service job, you know, you're servicing people
all day long, including your staff and, and members.
And then the doing ACPG businessis more like about the product
and about connections and like connecting dots.
So so it's it's fun. Yeah, it's totally different, so
that must be interesting. Does your wife work with you at
(31:17):
all? No, I mean she's huge supporter
like, but she's full time mom and and we definitely probably
wouldn't want to work together. Like we're just very different
in a good way. Like I call she's like the calm
to my storm kind of you know, that's how I describe.
You need the. Balance.
Yeah, but I don't think she'd want to work with me.
So. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
(31:40):
So but alright, so let's talk about the bounce back.
So what are your what is some ofyour advices for women getting
after the pregnancy and getting back to yourself and all that?
Any tips there? Well, you know what, there is so
(32:01):
much false news or like fake news when it comes to anything
related to pregnancy. And I've been through it four
times, so I can speak very authoritatively on the topic.
You know, I think that women areconditioned to think that, oh,
like, if your mom has stretch marks, you're going to have
(32:21):
stretch marks. My mom had really bad stretch
Marks and like, I've never gotten any.
So I like, you can't listen and you can't, you know, have the
anxieties. Also when it comes to being
pregnant, like people will, if you ask 10 people, you'll get 10
answers. So like, never ask anyone for
their opinion. I like.
Google like. Don't.
(32:41):
Oh also never Google anything. Yeah, ignorance is bliss.
So just go with that. My first and 2nd pregnancy, I
worked out and I was doing yoga,Pilates hit literally until the
day that I gave birth because inthe second one I actually was
doing 2A days. I would do a trainer and then I
(33:01):
would do a hike. So I was working out like so
hard. And then as soon as it was like
cleared, I would get right back into it.
I would had my trainer start. I was like doing tennis
everyday. I was doing the whole thing.
The third one, I was like, OK, like I played tennis until I was
8 months pregnant. I wouldn't do any backhands.
(33:25):
I would only hit from the back. I was not running up to the net
and I would only do four hands. And I got a great workout in
like my, I was strong. And then and then with this one,
which is my 4th, I stopped working out at about 6 months.
I'm like, you know what? It's not going to make a
difference because at the end ofthe day, I think genetics, like
(33:48):
they have a lot to play with it.But also if you're a healthy
person, it's going to come back,right?
Like people always say, oh, if you're having a kid after 35 or
whatever, it's going to be so much harder to bounce back after
the first. Oh, it's so hard to bounce back
after the second. Oh, like after this, you have no
chance. By the way, I looked hotter
(34:08):
after my third kid than I did before I even had my first.
So like, you just can't listen to people.
And, you know, as you go in likethose different stages of life
as a woman, your body requires different workouts.
So, you know, maybe before, whenI was early 30s, it was like I
needed more cardio. Now I would need to be doing
(34:30):
more like weights. So I think that you can't just
listen and you just like have todo it when you feel ready and
like don't listen to anyone else.
It's not about bouncing back, it's about feeling good.
Yeah, and finding what works foryou.
Right. Yeah, because.
We're all different. Yeah, yeah.
The art of comparison, it alwaysmesses people up.
(34:51):
Yeah, like what for? Even if it's in your same family
like you said. Like just because your mom had
something that doesn't? Mean for sure, for sure.
What do you think about Miami being here in Miami?
I love Miami. So I'm I've been here for like
15 years and I like the culture,I like the community.
(35:12):
You get like a lot of really interesting people and everyone
kind of has like different things that they bring to the
table and everyone is so like willing to help and work
together. So I, I, I just love how like
close and like willing to help. Everyone is here.
It's like a good flow. Like it feels like a small close
knit family. And even though like Miami's
(35:34):
technically a city, like it feels very much like a small
town. Like once you I.
Agree with you. Yeah, definitely.
Yeah. So like you know everybody,
every. You mentioned some of that.
Oh yeah, I know that like. For sure.
You walk down the street, it's like, oh, you can see five
people that you know, And I think that as an outsider,
people might not have that perspective of Miami because
they look at it and you see likethe highline and you see, I
(35:57):
mean, you see the skyline and you, you know, you it's a lot of
like events and parties and stuff.
But when you peel back that layer and you actually see it
for what it is like, it actuallyis like a deep, supportive
community, and there's a lot of great people here.
Yeah, I agree with that. You almost, you almost have like
many tribes here, I find. Like you find your people.
(36:18):
Yeah. And then when you find them, you
do life together. And that's just kind of how it
how it plays out. It's nice, yeah.
And where are you in Miami Beachor Miami?
Beach, I'm in Morningside. Oh, that's kind of so.
And then kind of in between likeall my gyms like.
When did you guys move here? I remember.
So I opened this in November of last year, yeah.
(36:38):
I used to come over here when vanity projects was over here.
Vanity projects. It's a nail salon.
Oh yeah. OK, have you been to Sonny's
yet? I love Sonny's so good.
So my daughter's name is Sunny, no?
All right. My daughter's name is Sage, so I
love that. And my son's name is 7 so.
Oh, I love the S names. Yeah, 7 is a cool name.
Yeah. Is that your lucky number?
(36:59):
No, it was, it was just it's God's number, intuition, wisdom.
There's like I have like this book that I wrote basically
about all the different meaningsbehind it.
I love that. That's great.
Yeah, that's no. I was like, so red.
I picked it out when I was 15 years old.
You did? I said.
I'm gonna name my son 7. That's that's actually a really
good one. Yeah, it was.
It was cool. And then there's this whole
(37:20):
Seinfeld episode where they makefun of someone naming their
child 7. Seriously.
Yeah, it's fun. It's funny though, because like
now that my child's name 7, likewhen you watch it, you're just
you almost get mad, but but you have to laugh because it's of
course comedy, you know? But they're like dogging the
name 7 like it's. So no, it's cool and I noticed.
Your But I love it. Yeah, I.
Noticed your chain too. Chain so yeah it's on my truck
(37:44):
too so but yeah yeah it's funny because my favorite number is 2
and I don't know why but it justis but so it's not it's
definitely not my favorite number which is now obviously my
favorite son you know so it's. Kind of funny.
Is it your only son? Yes, yes.
And I have a daughter so. But yeah.
So what made you start a podcaston top of like everything else
(38:05):
that you're doing, you just like, had too much free time on
your hands? No, not at all.
Actually. Actually, this is.
It's never like like before you got here I had like 3 fires I
had to put out and like so. It was good that I was late.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's perfect. The podcast, I try to tell Amber
sometimes like, like I only can do it on this day.
(38:26):
And then what happens is, you know, it never works out
because, you know, I have to basically, if I want guests, I
got to adjust my schedule. So it was something that I felt
like and it, and it kind of it'sfunny because everybody has a
podcast right now, like, you know, like everybody's doing
podcasts, but I felt like I had actually something like some
(38:49):
substance to share and talk about and vibe with people and,
and I'm like, I can talk about anything and I can talk to
anybody. So I felt like it was a good
fit. And then also what I was
noticing in the podcast world was that all these podcasters
had beverages like sitting on their table.
And so I was like, well, what better thing to do to be able to
(39:12):
spread the word of my beverage company to have a podcast?
So. I can think of something what I
can think of something if you support.
She's so fun. I love it.
Keep shooting your shot. I like we're going to figure
something out. So but yeah, it was definitely,
I would say it was why I startedthe podcast was it's a platform
(39:37):
that can highlight the things I'm doing and the things other
people are doing. And then I believe that
collaboration is multiplication.So it's like the more you
collaborate with people now, hopefully people that love you
will see me. And it's just it kind of like,
you know, that it creates a ripple effect of connection.
And then it's really cool too, to meet cool people Like we've
(39:59):
both lived here. I've lived here 20. 25 years
you've lived here 15 years and we've never met.
And and that's kind of like, like when I hear all this stuff
you're doing and I've actually been a part of some of your
stuff, I'm like, well, that's weird.
Like how why haven't we met? So it almost gets like you in
front of people that otherwise because we're all busy and we're
all doing these things. And so and like once you have
(40:21):
like your business and your friend group and like your kids,
you're not necessarily like meeting other friends unless
it's through your kids these days, right?
Exactly. At the birthday parties, like
every weekend, my wife's like, we have another birthday party
to go to and I'm like, Oh my God.
So the birthday parties are funny.
They're so funny. I feel like all the parents try
(40:41):
to outdo themselves. Like it's, it's kind of comical.
It is. It's very interesting.
It's totally different from how I'm sure you and I know I grew
up like we had like Publix looking cake and like some
leopard napkin. I don't know I'm.
From Alabama. So it was more like BBQ.
They throw you out in the backyard and you just freaking
get dirty and have fun like it was.
But I will say my mom, the birthday party that stands out
(41:05):
to me the most is I was really into BMXBMX riding.
Yeah, so she made a BMX bike cake and it looked like a bike.
And then we went to the BMX liketrack with the ramps and, and,
and I had the the racer jacket and the helmet and the gloves,
you know, like that was like, you don't forget those.
No, that sounds pretty iconic. I love that.
(41:25):
Yeah, the fact that I still remember is pretty cool.
Yeah, I liked it like because I mean also having a cake that's
like in the shape of a bike backthen it is probably.
No, she like went all out. That's cool.
But my mom's a very creative person.
She does. She's a florist.
Oh nice, so she probably does a lot of tablescapes.
Yes, actually when you said it, I was what?
(41:45):
My mom has a name for it. Arrangements, Centerpiece.
Centerpieces for the thing. Yeah, she does arrangements and
then she does centerpieces for the tables.
Exactly. So that's tablescapes.
Yeah, yeah, I notice you have a flower shop next door.
Yeah, they're great too. I'm gonna go in there right
after this. Yeah for to help.
Your for sure for sure, but thisis great and honestly I mean you
(42:08):
having a water brand just like seems like it's such a good like
evolution of the gym it's. Yeah, like you stare at your
cooler for the last like before I had my water, you're staring,
you're staring at your cooler and you're selling everybody
else's stuff for sure. So it's like, why not, right.
You're gonna sell water in the gyms.
We actually, my business partners not said that.
We said worst case scenario we have a bunch of waters that we
(42:31):
have to sell out of the gyms like.
Exactly. Worst case scenario you sell
them out of your gyms and you'regood.
But actually I've been seeing them a lot more.
Yeah, we're, we're, we're gaining a lot of traction.
Yeah, that's so good. Opening up a lot of accounts.
We're well on our way to make some noise.
I mean, I want to take it as bigas Poppy.
Did you know, like. Yeah.
Oh yes, love that. Yeah, exactly.
(42:53):
OK, well, you're going to get there.
One day at a time. One day at a time, yeah.
So what's next for you other than style saves coming up, a
baby is coming up another one? Anything else on the horizon?
Isn't that enough? I mean, that's a lot, yes.
So in August we have our back toSchool event at the Miami Beach
Convention Center on August 9th and 10th.
(43:16):
And how does that work in terms of because this is important for
people to know, yes. So.
Can come, how do they come? Like tell a little bit about
that. So we, because this is our 15
year anniversary, we're doing like a week of programming.
So first on that Sunday, which is the 4th, I believe, we're
doing an event at the Museum of Ice Cream, which is a community
(43:39):
event. So like you can come, you can
bring your kids. It's more so to like bring
awareness to the fact that like it's back to the school season
and we're kicking off the week. Our theme for this 15 year
anniversary is Sprinkle City. So it's basically kind of like a
spin off of like the Museum of Ice Cream.
There's going to be a lot of that kind of like fun sensory
(44:01):
stuff and a lot of it different experiences on site.
So then we do 2 days of setup. So like that Thursday and Friday
will be setup days at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
And then we have the two event days which are Saturday and
Sunday and that's when like the actual kids and families and
everyone come to receive the items.
(44:21):
So for us, if you know you're looking to get involved or
donate or anything like that, you can go to stylesaves.org or
at Style Saves. We have a volunteer group chat
on WhatsApp. So you can like always DM and
say, hey, send me the link And then you can get the
notifications of like when that stuff is happening.
But we're very active on social.So you can always see like
(44:42):
exactly when those things are coming up And like what we're
currently doing, we always need volunteers to come and like help
with setup and help with the event days over the course of
the weekend because like I said,it's 25,000 people.
So you have 12,500 a day. So it's a lot.
And we're doing high volume where you know, the, the
(45:04):
families will come, they come asearly as like, you know, 7:00 AM
to make the line. We open the doors some something
like 9 or I, I think 9. And the kids always get like
their backpacks or uniforms or school supplies first.
So they get all the core items and then they come out to the
activities section and there's like F&B and there's like all
different things that they can do.
(45:26):
So it's really interesting because when you go there, you
literally see every single partner in the community, right?
Like you'll see IGK doing haircuts, you'll see Poppet
Project making slime, you'll seeGopuff giving out snacks, you'll
see Pepsi giving out Gatorades. You'll have, you know, Rosetta,
(45:47):
you'll have Caracas Bakery, you'll have all these different
people that you know, you've seen in the community coming
together to make this work. So it really is like community
driven. It's very, very grassroots.
Like you'll walk in the door andyou'll recognize every sponsor
because it's every local business in Miami and Miami
Beach. Like we thrive on our
(46:08):
partnerships because their personal relationships and like
friendships of ours that we've like cultivated us and that have
like grown with the brand since inception, right?
And then as far as the 25,000, is that something that people
pre register? How did they?
Yeah. So for the students, it's open
registration until we sell out. So basically like we have our
(46:28):
limit of, you know, the items that we can distribute and once
like we're closed, we're closed.So there's an AM and APM on
Saturday and on Sunday, so not PM, more like afternoon.
So we do like 9 to one, one to four Saturday and Sunday.
So the kids and families can register for either morning or
an afternoon slot. But like, we only have a certain
(46:49):
amount because we stagger it in a way that, you know, we'll make
sure the flow is continual. And, you know, nothing's like
bottlenecking and there can be crowd control and, you know,
once it's full, it's full. So usually, usually it fills up
like a week, a couple weeks before we have to shut it down.
And unfortunately, like I said, you know, there's just nothing
(47:10):
we can right now. We're limited because if it was
up to us, we would keep it open and have everyone in the world
come. But you know, we're doing our
best and for for us, like Isa and I have been able to not only
grow it, but we've also been able to give better quality
consistently over the years by manufacturing all of our stuff
by adding in a second pair of socks.
(47:32):
Now this year, we're proud to beable to give 2 polos for each
kid. So we're always trying to like
enhance it and find different ways to like step it up a notch
for us. You know, we always want to be
better. Yeah, of course it's.
Cool though and you can bring your kids.
So if you ever want to like, bring your kids, like when
they're really young, like underthe age of five, usually they're
(47:52):
just going to want to be making slime or like running around in
the bounce houses or doing the petting zoo, which is fine.
But I think it's really important to, you know, expose
children to philanthropic thingsat an early age because it just
opens their eyes and that bringsthe awareness to like, the
circumstances of everyone. And like really just kind of
(48:13):
like instills in them from an early age that this is just like
normal. And this is like something that
should just be done, right? Like, you shouldn't just be
doing it because like one day you get dragged to an event or
because your company tells you you should.
Like it should just be somethingthat is a part of your culture,
your life, right? Yeah.
Are your kids kind of getting slowly getting involved?
(48:34):
Are they still kind of too young?
It's it's funny because, you know, I started stylesaves way
before I had kids. So I've been seeing, you know,
how they like how they react because it's such a big event
And we, you know, now my daughter Sonny, like it has a
better understanding. She's 5 of like what it is that
(48:55):
she's doing there. You know, like I put her in the
backpack station and she'll passout the backpacks that have the
school supplies and she'll hand out the pens and, you know, she
understands that these kids don't have resources.
And you know, it's interesting to see like right now my other
son's only like he's 4 and I have the one year old.
So they just think they're at a party.
But it's interesting like to seethe shift in like 1 year to
(49:18):
another, like how they're starting to understand like what
we're doing. Like we also have a mentorship
program, which we do twice a year at Booker T, which is a
school in Overtown, and it's a six week course that we help
them do life skills. So we bring in people who have
like more like vocational or certificate programs.
So they're kind of like teachingthem trades or about like what
(49:41):
trade opportunities there are, like maybe being a trainer or
being a hair stylist or, you know, being a nurse or like just
different things that you can dosocial media market, like just
little things that you can do inlife to build a career or start
a career that doesn't necessarily involve college
because it's not always in the cards for everyone, as we know.
(50:03):
So, you know, I've, I've taken Sonny to the mentorship program
where we, you know, we also do like interviewing and we teach
the kids about resumes and we domock interviews.
We do, we give them scholarships.
It's like a whole thing. And, you know, I've brought her
to that and it's interesting because she sits there and she's
like listening to the, you know,to the kids give their
interviews or, you know, she's helping pass out food, you know,
(50:26):
like, let's say Pura Vida sponsor.
She's like passing out the wrapsor the cookies or whatever.
So it's nice. Like she'll ask like, oh, can we
go back there again? Like that's so fun.
So you'd be surprised, but I think it's a nice thing.
Yeah. Can you guys, you guys would
like that too? Cuz it's kind of like you're
like Star Star's come and she's like spoken to the kids about
being a personal trainer and. Star.
(50:48):
You know, baby Moffat? What baby Moffat?
Yeah, yeah. But she.
Just had her baby, right? She did.
Yeah. Yeah, she's awesome.
I love her, but she's come and she's talked to our students
because, you know, like Star wasa single mom and she started,
she, you know, she started really from retail, like working
maybe the front desk at Berry's and then became like, I don't
(51:10):
know, such a big trainer and influencer and everything else.
So she really was able to build a brand from scratch.
And you don't need a college education to do that.
You just have to have the drive.And I think that it's important
for kids to see other people whodon't necessarily have like, a
strong financial background, like making it and giving them
(51:31):
inspiration. Right.
Yeah, No, definitely. Well, if you, I mean, if you
want me to come talk, I can do that.
Yeah, you would be so good at it.
OK, I'm going to put you in the agenda.
You're going to bring water, you're going to talk.
It's going to be great. What is something that no one
knows about you that you would want them to know about you?
Well, honestly, I feel like if Iwanted them to know, I already
(51:52):
would have said it. Yeah, but no, I think I'm an
open book, to be perfectly honest with you.
I don't really have any secrets.Like for me, I have my heart and
my head open that all the time. So I think that what you see is
what you get with me. Like I'm in it for my kids.
Like I'm very hands on. I love like, you know, helping
(52:17):
the community. I love like everything like
that. So for me, there's like nothing
I would say that I that people maybe don't know or maybe they
maybe there is. I don't know.
I have to think about that more.I'm not sure it's all.
Good. It's all good.
Yeah. Well, I appreciate you coming
and let's definitely stay in touch and would love to help
(52:38):
and. You know we're going to see you
all right. Awesome.
Well, thank you. Thanks.
Yeah.
I started Style Savings when I was 23.
At the time I like didn't have many resources and everyone like
kind of doubted me and they'd belike, what do you mean you're
going to start a charity? Like you need a charity?
You can't even pay for your own stuff.
And I was like, we'll figure it out.
I just wanted to have an outlet where I was able to give back.
The fashion industry is very superficial.
While I enjoy working and creating beautiful things, I
(00:21):
always wanted to be able to use my resources to go a little
deeper and to help in a more meaningful and impactful way.
And I was like, well, what if I did the same thing but disrupted
the premium water space? Because if you really think
about it, when's the last time abrand like went after Evian,
Fiji, Aquapana, Saratoga? It's always you go to
restaurants, it's just what theybring to the table, right?
(00:43):
When you would go to school and you would see the kids, you
always knew that those were the poor kids and they were treated
differently. It hurt their self worth and it
wasn't their fault. And that's the sad part, right?
Like it was just a genetic lottery that they lost.
So we manufacture everything andwe're now the largest back to
school event in the country. We do 25,000 students over the
course of the weekend. Wow.
(01:04):
And I said, can we possibly be the official Primo out of the
Miami Heat? And they were like, what?
And they were like, you're goingto be replacing Fiji and
Perrier. And I was like, yeah, that's
what I want to do I'm Manning Sumner.
I've lived my life by 1 motto, no days off.
No days off has never taken a day off on you.
It's a commitment to becoming your best self.
(01:25):
Get ready to be inspired to do the same.
This is the big dogs with Manning Sumner.
All right, Rachel, you're on thebig dogs.
How are we feeling today? I'm good.
Awesome, awesome. How far along are you?
8 1/2 months. So you are it's here, yes.
And do we know? It's a boy, It's a boy.
Yep. And how many is this?
(01:47):
This is my 4th. 4th. Yes, wow, yes, practice makes
perfect. And what are the other kids?
I have a 5 year old girl, a fouryear old boy, a one year old
boy, and on this you were in it.I know, right?
I. Have a five year old son and a
one year old daughter and that'senough.
So I know 4 is. That sounds a lot.
(02:09):
Yeah, totally. Yeah, well, awesome.
So you were born in Rhode Island.
Yes. You made your way to Miami while
pursuing your education and graduated from Johnson Wells
University with a degree in marketing.
You also study fashion merchandising at Miami
International University of Art and Design and completed fashion
styling courses at the prestigious Domus.
(02:30):
Is that Domus? Sure.
That sounds fancy. Academy in Milan, Italy.
Your career began in fashion as a stylist in the editorial
department at Vogue in New York before signing with Ford Models
and Wilhelmina models along the way.
Wilhelmina used to tell me I'm too big.
Every single time I'd go sing them.
You're too big. You're too.
And I kept losing more weight and more weight.
You're too big. You're too big.
(02:51):
I was like, all right, fine, I get this.
Was like before plus I models were.
I guess. I mean, yeah, so.
Well, I wasn't fat, obviously, but I was.
My shoulders were too big. Anyways.
Along the way, you worked with several high profile brands,
including, I'll never be able toread this, the Vuev Clicko.
(03:12):
How do you say? Yeah, Yeah.
Calvin Klein and Nike. In 2017, you became the fashion
director of Myunsai, a modern jewelry and lifestyle brand for
men and women with a global reach.
The brand was founded by your husband, who you met on a flight
to Hong Kong. You oversee the women's
collection and photo shoot production.
Since joining the team, the brand has expanded its reach by
(03:33):
creating collaboration programs with social media influencers
and increasing production lines,all while strengthening its
commitment to sustainability, diversity, and inclusion.
At age At just the age of 23 years old, you founded Style
Saves. I think we've worked with
stylistics and nonprofit organization providing the use
in their families with the central goods from school
(03:54):
supplies, nutritious meals and mentorship to increase academic
achievement. It has become the largest back
to school event in the country and brings together your two
biggest passions, fashion and philanthropy.
Philanthropy. Oh my God, philanthropy I can't
talk to. Philanthropy.
Thank you. You got a tongue tied there.
You've been a peer educator withPlanned Parenthood and a mentor
(04:15):
for Big Brothers Big Sisters andrecently started your mentorship
program through Style Saves. You're also a mother of soon to
be 4. And.
Yeah, so that's a lot. Yes.
Yes. How do you handle it all?
I'm just really, I'm really goodat delegating, I'm really good
at logistics, I'm really good atmanaging and I also have a lot
(04:39):
of patience, so it helps. Patience is.
That's the key, honestly. Definitely a key, especially
with kids. I'm so unfazed and unbothered
like if I think that's like the key to to keeping my sanity.
Yeah. And so going back to your
modeling days, how did that spark the other things that now
(05:00):
you're now doing? Like, is that where it all kind
of like where you're like, OK, I'm a model that's good and all,
but I want to do more like wheredid that kind of come into play?
OK, so I was actually a stylist.So when so like Ford and
Wilhelmina, they have like styling departments.
So I was always on the creative side of things.
Yes, thank you for thinking thatI was a model.
Well, you but but no, I was always behind the camera.
(05:23):
And as you know, the fashion industry is very superficial.
So I, while I enjoy working and creating beautiful things and
having like, you know, that kindof creative outlet, I always
wanted to be able to use my resources to go a little deeper
and to help in a more meaningfuland impactful way.
(05:45):
So when I started Style Saves, it was my way of using my
network to give back through my resources which were fashion.
That's very cool, Very cool. And the jewelry brand, was that
something that your husband wanted you to do or was that
something you wanted to do? No, so it's actually the the way
that my husband and I met is like a, a movie, right?
(06:07):
So he was doing his he was doingthe brand for men and he decided
to launch a women's collection. At the time, I was a stylist and
he had heard of me and he said, OK, can you come and style the
women's collections Campaign said sure, no problem.
So I go in, I style the photo shoot.
(06:27):
We have like, you know, a good chemistry in the sense that like
we were compatible working together, but we were both in
relationships at the time. So it was just left there.
Then Fast forward like a year later, I bumped into him on a
plane from Miami to Dallas, Dallas to Hong Kong.
He was going to some factories and trade shows and I was just
(06:49):
like going with my friends and. To Hong Kong.
Yeah. That's wow, did you what you
were on even the connecting flights and every like you were
on these same and. It was.
And it was like randomly like Thursday, March 9th, you know
what I mean? So it wasn't like.
Definitely meant to be. It was totally meant to be.
We're sitting two rows apart. And I was like, oh, you want to
come out with us when we get to Hong Kong?
(07:11):
And yes, he did. And then from that trip, we got
back to Miami. We started dating and he
proposed four months later. So we're coming up.
March will be our 10 year anniversary.
Congrats. I didn't start working with him
like right from the jump. It was kind of like, you know,
maybe I was just like helping a little bit here and there.
(07:33):
I was doing some creative projects.
And then ultimately, like after we got married, like I came in
and like started overseeing likethe fashion direction of, of
like the women's department. It was something like the
marketing. You kind of just.
It was organic. Injected yourself into because
you're good at it. But he wants my help.
(07:53):
We call each other and we lean on each other for a lot of
things. And with Michael, he's really
good at his set of things and I'm really good at my set of
things. And we've always had a
relationship where we can work together without stepping on
each others toes. We've never once yelled at each
other in the office. We've never had a relationship
where I don't know where competitive in the workplace or
(08:16):
talking negatively about like wereally respect each others
boundaries, we respect each others roles and we're
productive. So not everyone could work with
their partner. And I don't recommend it for
most people because it really takes like a special kind of
relationship. I think most people would
probably kill their partner if they were working with them.
But for us, it was always very organic.
Like we work together really well.
(08:37):
And same thing goes in our houseand with our kids.
You know, it kind of like just carries over.
But I've always liked the concept of like a family run
business and like, husbands and wife having like, you know, that
ability to work together. It's nice.
Yeah, definitely. I love family.
You know, for me it's nice. Awesome, so how do your
Portuguese and Italian roots influence your work and or life
(08:58):
in general? Well, okay, my life in general.
So my Viva, which was like my Portuguese grandparents, my
Portuguese grandmother had 10 kids.
I'm not saying that I'm going for 10, but having a big family
and my family is the norm, right?
Like I started having kids after30 and in my family, like
(09:23):
everyone pretty much already hasfour kids by 30.
So it was kind of like interesting for me.
Like everyone was like, what's wrong with her?
Like is she gonna she gonna everhave kids?
Because I was always so focused on my career.
So I think yeah, like I got there.
I just got there at my own pace.But yeah, they've, I, I come
from like that side is like a very big family.
(09:44):
And then with the Italian side cooking, right?
Like everything that I make, everything that I like to make
for my family, for my friends isawesome version of like simple
Italian, Mediterranean home cooked food, like nothing fancy.
It's very simple. And then because I'm creative, I
just like make everything look like aesthetic because I enjoy
(10:05):
plating so. Are you the type that like does
the pictures of the food and post it and?
Yeah, definitely. All right, presentation is
everything. But it comes like it's very
effortless, it's very loose, it's very free flowing because
creativity is just like my DNA. It's like.
When did you, when did you? Because I, I, I feel like I was
(10:27):
kind of in the same way from a creative standpoint, like early,
early on, I was always doing stuff creatively.
Like was that with you? 2 Like was it like as soon as
you, I mean, not, not that you can remember as soon as you were
born, but you know, and did you find yourself being creative as
a as a, as a young age? Totally.
So like I would always do like Fine Arts camp and I would
always be like making projects. Even in Girl Scouts, I was like
(10:49):
gravitating towards the stuff that was more arts and crafts
based. And you know, I just always
enjoyed like fashion. So as soon as I got into school,
like this is it, there was no other direction that I wanted to
go into. And it was like, I don't come
from like I don't come from likea wealthy family or anything
like that. So fashion's not necessarily
like the safest option. So there was a lot of question
(11:10):
as to like, well, can you make aliving in that?
Like, you want to be a stylist? Like, I think that job was like
mainly reserved for kids that had like, you know, good
financial backgrounds because like, there's a lot of time
where you're not making a lot ofmoney or you're kind of like,
you know, going a long time without being paid contract to
contract. So I think like, you know, I had
(11:32):
to take that risk, but it paid off because I wanted to be
passionate about what I was doing and not just do something
that was safe. In the styling world, was there
was there anything that stood out to you in terms of like
working with a particular brand or particular person?
Like does any story come to mind?
(11:52):
Like when it comes to when you were in that?
Like crazy story you mean? Well, I mean, it doesn't have to
be crazy. It's just something that pops in
the head like right now, like I remember this working with
either this company or this person and you have to name
names or anything but. I guess when I was when I was
(12:12):
like interning, I come from the time where like you would intern
and you would do the most ridiculous things that you were
asked and you would not be getting paid for it.
Like I would be taking the subway with like $200,000 worth
of like David Yurman samples around New York in my bag and
like hoping that no one saw where I just walked out of, you
know what I mean? Or another time I was doing like
(12:33):
this couture shoe for Vogue and this like supermodel wanted
Vogue cigarettes and I literallyhad to go to like 6 bodegas to
try and find them for her. There was a Vogue cigarette.
It's like the really skinny longones.
Yeah, It's like super. Were they called Vogue?
Or was that just? Like no, that was the name of
the brand. No way.
Yeah, that's funny. Well, they were really hard.
To see people smoking those things, that question.
(12:55):
They were very hard to get and this was, and this was before
like, you know, proper Google oryou know, could help you find
these things more easily. So, you know, there was a lot of
times I was questioning what I was doing, but I stuck with it.
And you know, I'm happy I did because I was able to kind of
pivot to different parts of the industry that I got more
identified with, like, you know,production and styling and
(13:18):
marketing and things like that that are.
Yeah, I was. I was training this guy and he,
he was, he reminded me of, you've seen The Devil Wears
Prada. Yeah, that's how he treated me
like. Oh, he treated you like.
That hell like. Like you were the Anne Hathaway.
Yes, he would give me the most insane like projects like he
would tell me like. What was the craziest 1?
(13:40):
This, it doesn't sound crazy, but for someone from Alabama
being so, we were in New York and he wanted me to get him a
particular sandwich at this particular deli with this
particular cheese. Like it was all like, and I
didn't know where the deli was. I didn't know what the sandwich
was like. I had to figure all this out.
(14:00):
And then there was other times too, where he would not tell me
what I'm supposed to do that I and I just had to wake up and
figure it out. So he would like ghost me
almost, but we'd be in the same city and I was in charge of his
food, his nutrition, his bodyguard, his training.
Like I was basically like in charge of him.
But imagine waking up and not having an itinerary and like
(14:22):
trying to figure out where he is.
So I was like, go to the gym andsee if he was there.
If he wasn't there, I had to go to the to the to the restaurant
to see if it was. It was just, it was a very weird
situation. Sounds like it sounds like
you're his Manny. Pretty much, yeah, yeah.
No, it was a nightmare. And then come to find out he was
a con artist and now he's he's in prison now, so.
(14:43):
Checks out. That sounds about right.
Well, anybody that acts like that should be in jail.
So that's all I felt let's have in this style stage because I
think it's fascinating. I know we've worked with all a
little bit, but like, where? Where did it come from?
So I started Style Savings when I was 23, OK.
And at the time I like didn't have many resources and everyone
(15:05):
like kind of doubted me. And they'd be like, what do you
mean you're going to start a charity?
Like you need a charity. You can't even pay for your own
stuff, Like, and I was like, we'll figure it out.
I just wanted to have an outlet where I was able to give back
and do something that felt meaningful and impactful, where
I could, like actually see tangible results and change.
I think the problem is, like when you volunteer at some of
(15:27):
these bigger organizations, you can't personally connect to the
cause. Like if it's a soup kitchen or I
mean, listen, it's great and it's added value.
But for me, as, like, a fashion girl, like, I didn't connect
with, like, passing out food in the cafeteria, Yeah.
Or, you know, kind of doing someof those, like, standard
volunteer opportunities. So I wanted to use my resources
(15:48):
to do something that felt meaningful to me.
And growing up, my grandmother worked at a homeless shelter for
abused women. And I would often like stay
overnights, like on the weekendswith her.
So I would spend time in the shelters, like with the kids and
I'd play with them and I would see like what they had in the
donation room and like what the kids were missing and how they
(16:09):
would feel. And I could just really get a, a
very behind the scenes look at like what these kids were going
through and like what they were feeling and like what they, what
was needed. And for us like might seem like
so simple, right? Like, OK, T-shirt and pants
like, well, everyone, you would think everyone like has like
clothes. So then what else do they need?
(16:30):
But like, no, these kids don't have toothbrushes.
Like when you go into a homelessshelter or like if you're a
migraine or foster care, you have to clothes on your back and
that's it. Like you might not have more
than one pair of socks. You might not have hair brush.
You probably don't have like natural hygiene products, so
just kind of like things like that.
(16:51):
And I, you know, kept it in mind.
And when I started Style Saves, I wanted to give the kids the
opportunity to start their firstday of school on the same even
playing field as their peers. So, you know, maybe I don't know
how it was where you're from, but when you would go to school
and you would see the kids and they didn't have like the new
(17:11):
clothes for the first day of school, you always knew that
those were the poor kids and they were treated differently,
right? They had poor self esteem.
They would have their heads heldlow.
They like were probably like notthe popular kids because they
didn't have good self esteem. It hurt their self worth and it
wasn't their fault. And that's the sad part, right?
Like it was just a genetic lottery that they lost.
(17:33):
And you know, because of that, they were subjected to like
feeling that way. So with style saves, we want to
give every kid the opportunity to have like the same
opportunity as their peers. When I first started, it was May
2011, I did a fashion show fundraiser during swim week at
Soho House and I used the money to to launch the back to school
(17:56):
program. So the very first year I did 50
students and I personally styledall of them.
I would have them do like the styling survey.
I called it of like, what's yourfavorite color?
Who's your favorite celebrity? Like what you know, silly
things. And I would go with a group of
my friends that were all like infashion or marketing, you know,
community people, like, you know, who still helped today.
(18:19):
And we would just go and we would go shopping for these kids
and we would do a little fun daywhere we would give them all
their items. About six years or so into it,
Isabella Grutman, who's not my partner, found me.
And she had just moved to Miami and gotten married.
She was looking for something tolike, give back through a 'cause
(18:40):
that she identified with. And her and I met for coffee and
instantly connected. We have like very similar values
and morals. We strongly believe that you're,
if you're in a position to help,you should and and that it's not
about anything except like helping people who can't do
anything for you. So her and I took the
organization to the next level. And since her coming on board,
(19:04):
we've doubled consistently everyyear with the amount of students
that we've been able to help. And now in our 15th year, we are
the largest back to school eventin the country.
We manufacture and produce everyitem that we pass out to the
kids. So backpacks, uniforms, school
supplies, pants, polos, socks, belts, everything.
And we're doing. Wait, so hold on.
(19:25):
I just want to make sure I hear you.
So all of that stuff you just listed y'all actually are
making. Yeah.
So it's like a style Saves brand.
Yeah, that's so cool. Yes, that's very cool.
So we manufacture everything andwe're now the largest back to
school event in the country. We do 25,000 students over the
course of the weekend. Wow.
So with us, you know, we got to a certain point about five years
(19:50):
ago where we started doing such big volume that we were like, if
we want to be able to scale thisand maintain quality and
consistency, we have to do private label because we can't
rely on different wholesalers because one wholesaler might
have a fit that's like a Husky or one is slim or one is Navy
blue and one is tan. So it creates a lot of chaos,
(20:13):
the choices there's. Inconsistency in the sizes.
Kids don't know their sizes, so we needed to essentially uniform
the uniforms, make everything the same.
This is our standardized sizing.This is our fit.
These are the options and then produce it in volume so that we
can make sure that the quality is good.
(20:33):
Our quality is better than like gap or Old Navy.
It's like we're really big on like the details and the
aesthetic. So you have like to make sure
like the the hem on the pants isnice or the buttons are sewn
correctly with the right pattern.
The backpacks are thick. The pull tab for the backpack is
a nice nylon rope. The school supply kits are 22
piece school supply kits, all branded style saves like from
(20:56):
the erasers, the pencil cases, everything already comes packed
in inside the backpacks. So you know, for us, it's about
quality and making sure that we're giving kids like the best
items that they can possibly get.
Like our sneakers look exactly like air forces.
We're using the same factories so and, and the kids like it.
And then on top of that, we're bringing them in for a fun
(21:18):
activation. So they're going to get
haircuts. Sometimes it's the first haircut
they've ever gotten and we're giving them like little
opportunities to make like slimeand go to do a petting zoo.
And, you know, we want to make it fun so it doesn't feel like
they're there and they're a charity case.
They're like, this is great. Like there's also the uniforms
and backpacks. But this is like so fun.
It's like Disney for them. Yeah.
(21:40):
And and yeah, you should, I meanyou should probably sponsor
because we because we that's. A lot of water.
We have a lot of kids to have, so it's August 9th and 10th at
the Convention Center in Miami Beach.
All right, she just put me on the spot.
But we'll, we'll, we'll see. But you sponsored last year.
(22:02):
Yeah, at a smaller scale though.You know of?
Course no. No, no.
But we did the same amount last year.
But we don't expect anyone to give those kind of volume
numbers. It's so crazy.
But everything and anything helps.
But also you should get all the people from your gym.
You guys can come and. Help.
Yes. That's what it's about being a
(22:22):
mom and doing all this stuff. Obviously you have to take care
of yourself and now you're pregnant, about to have a baby.
Give me a little insight on justyou like what you do for you,
not everybody around you, but but you know, and again,
everybody's big on routines and morning routines and all that.
Doesn't have to be necessarily that, but just like what is your
(22:44):
kind of like things that you do for yourself to keep you so
strong and and able to take careof three kids and about to have
another one do style saves and do all these things take care of
your husband. You know all this stuff that a
woman has to do every day? Well, I think for anyone, it's
important to have your outlets, right?
To have something that you can decompress through.
(23:07):
Whether for me, like I, I reallyenjoy going to the steam room or
taking a bath or, you know, doing my skin care routine, like
just taking that time to do the self-care for myself, even
getting a massage or hot yoga, whatever.
And then creatively I like I also need my outlets.
So like if I'm creating content or I'm doing like some shoots or
(23:28):
something that is like keeping my brain like active and
mentally like challenged. Like I like challenges.
I love to, you know, create things.
So whether it's an event or a photo shoot or, you know, a
tablescape or whatever it is, but it's doing stuff like that
that keeps me like. What's a tablescape?
It's like when you set the tableand it's pretty.
(23:49):
Oh OK, that was the name for it.Tablescape.
Yeah, I know that sounds. That's probably.
This is so funny. You mean you don't have
tablescapes here at the Legacy Fit show?
No, I don't think so. I mean, maybe we have for an
event, but I wasn't aware of theterminology.
Yeah, You know, that's why we dothese things.
We learn. So.
(24:10):
Wait, did you start in Miami? Well, as a human, no, but.
No, I know you're from Alabama. Alabama.
I moved here in 2001 and then yeah, and then started my
business. But you started the gym here.
Yeah, 2008 was the first location.
That's great. And when?
Grads. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah, cuz I've been hearing
(24:31):
about it for a while. And you've never gone.
Well, to be honest, I'm not a gym girl.
No, not at all. No, it's not like my thing.
Yeah, like I'm more of a a tennis.
Like I play tennis, OK? I I ski.
I do. So you more you like to do like
sport, like sports stuff. Yeah, yeah.
Which is are you in the padel? I've played once, but I'm I like
(24:52):
tennis. We're like a tennis family, so
we're like more like that, but we.
I love tennis. Have you read read Andre
Agassi's book? No, I think my husband's been
like, is there a movie? I don't know if there's a movie
yet. I don't know.
But Anne Mullen told me to read it and it was good.
Oh yeah, yeah, it was good. So I was obsessed with Andre
Agassi. Well, but what made you start
(25:13):
the water just because there like wasn't a good one at the
gym or. Yeah, a little bit of that.
So I I was always the person that only drank water.
Like I was the guy that carried around the jug of water back in
the day. And I drank like just water,
water, water. And so it was always something
that that I always tried to findgood water.
(25:34):
And and then I'm, I'm not a big drinker.
I mean, I drink every now and then, but I was, I was also the
person, you know, drinking the water at the club or the water
at the bar, whatever. And so when Liquid Death came
out, right around. Are you familiar with that
brand? Yeah, of course.
So when that brand came out, right around 2017, 2018, a
member asked me to invest in it,gave me the deck, sent me some
(25:57):
water. I tried it.
I thought the concept of water in a can was genius.
I was like wow this is really cool.
But then I tested the water and looked into the company and was
was whack. So I, I said to myself, because
I'd already done a beer before. So I did a beer with JW
Wakefield. It actually looked just like the
(26:18):
black can. And it was a massive success.
It was electrolyte beer, beer. It was no days off beer.
Oh, cool. So it was, no, we stopped, we
stopped selling that, but it wasselling at Total Wines for like
$9 and it was flying off the shelf and everybody loved it.
And he, he even had it on tap, tap at his, at his brewery.
(26:38):
So I said to myself, I was like,I think I can do this, but I
need to do it from a different perspective.
So liquid death disrupted the budget water category.
So they just disrupted the Zephyrhills, the Poland Springs,
the Aquafinas, the Dasani's of the world, the single use
plastic crap water, as we say, tap water in a bottle.
(26:59):
And I was like, well, what if I did the same thing but disrupted
the premium water space? Because if you really think
about it, when's the last time abrand like went after Evian,
Fiji, Aquapana, Saratoga, It's always, you go to restaurants,
it's just what they bring to thetable, right?
So I was like, what if I kind ofdid that?
Then I said to myself, all right, well, if I'm going to do
that, how am I going to do that?And so I trained professional
(27:21):
athletes. So I reached out to the Miami
Heat because I used to train a bunch of their players and a
bunch of their staff and I said,can we possibly be the official
cream water the Miami Heat? And they were like, what?
And they were like, you're gonnabe replacing Fiji and Perrier?
And I was like, yeah, that's what I want to do.
Did you get it? And we got it.
So we're the official cream water the Miami Heat.
And then in the Casea Center, weactually outsold Fiji and Perio
(27:44):
three time Lee 3X sales for them.
Because I feel like that water doesn't feel accessible, right?
It feels like so premium if you're at a basketball game,
like you just want like a water.Yeah, well now you get no days
off if you're sitting in a premium seats.
And also like the the packaging is like perfect for that.
Oh, thank you. Yeah, it's very complimented the
heat love us because we're very on brand with their culture.
(28:07):
Yeah. So it, it goes very well like.
Well, and you're local too, which is like a nice tie in.
Definitely. So what's your distribution like
now you? So what happened was, is because
of the relationship with the heat and we made a ton of noise
when we first started because wewere 15 year old brand, you
know, launching a new product, basically an extension of the
(28:28):
gems and the apparel. So we're very recognizable
everywhere and especially being all over the heat arena.
So we were able to open like 150accounts like the first 30 days
by ourselves, like with our Sprinter van just driving around
and open up accounts. And Reyes Holdings, the largest
beer distributor in the country,we're like, and it was the
subsidiary Gold Coast. We're like, who the hell are
(28:50):
these people? Like what is happening?
So they reached out and got us ameeting with them and they loved
us and they signed us. And then we've just been kind of
riding that Reyes Holdings distribution channel and then
specifically Molson Coors trucks.
So we signed with Ala Bev and the entire state of Alabama.
We're about to sign with South Carolina, North Carolina, DC,
(29:12):
Virginia, but right now we're inTennessee, Alabama, Florida.
And then we're national like we just opened today and, and what
was the name of that park, Bryant Park in New York.
Wow. That's.
Great. Yeah.
So we, because we signed with Bartlett Dairy and Cisco.
(29:33):
Perfect. So it that's national and New
York. So we're already making some
noise there. And we saw an Amazon and TikTok
shop. So we're we can go across the
country that way too. So yeah.
That's so impressive. Yeah, it's, it's been, it's a
very fun business. So what it's like the other
stuff? Cuz I see like a green can and a
white can. So we just launched our Freedom
cans. Is that matcha?
(29:54):
This is a no, no, it's a limited.
It's a limited edition can and formula, so it's premium Plus.
So it has more potassium in it, so it gives a little bit more
silky taste and then it makes you pee like crazy.
And then so interesting. The Premium plus Sparkling
(30:14):
freedom can is more sparkle, so it has like more bubbles in it.
Cool. And then we have our glass
bottles coming out the end of the summer.
What are the little ones? Just like smaller.
Those little 88 oz cans, I like that and they work really well
with kids. They work really well with mini
bars. I love that size.
Actually. I drink a lot of ginger ale.
Oh, OK at the moment. And yeah.
(30:34):
You like the? Sparkling, that's the, that's
the size that again, we gotta get you.
We'll get her some cases before she leaves.
So perfect. Yeah.
But it's it's it's like playing chess every day.
This business like it's it's very cuz you have to drive.
Different than what you're doingat the gym.
Oh, it's totally different. Yeah, yeah, gym is very people,
people, people. Like managing people basically
(30:55):
is what the gym business is and it's in service.
It's like a service job, you know, you're servicing people
all day long, including your staff and, and members.
And then the doing ACPG businessis more like about the product
and about connections and like connecting dots.
So so it's it's fun. Yeah, it's totally different, so
that must be interesting. Does your wife work with you at
(31:17):
all? No, I mean she's huge supporter
like, but she's full time mom and and we definitely probably
wouldn't want to work together. Like we're just very different
in a good way. Like I call she's like the calm
to my storm kind of you know, that's how I describe.
You need the. Balance.
Yeah, but I don't think she'd want to work with me.
So. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
(31:40):
So but alright, so let's talk about the bounce back.
So what are your what is some ofyour advices for women getting
after the pregnancy and getting back to yourself and all that?
Any tips there? Well, you know what, there is so
(32:01):
much false news or like fake news when it comes to anything
related to pregnancy. And I've been through it four
times, so I can speak very authoritatively on the topic.
You know, I think that women areconditioned to think that, oh,
like, if your mom has stretch marks, you're going to have
(32:21):
stretch marks. My mom had really bad stretch
Marks and like, I've never gotten any.
So I like, you can't listen and you can't, you know, have the
anxieties. Also when it comes to being
pregnant, like people will, if you ask 10 people, you'll get 10
answers. So like, never ask anyone for
their opinion. I like.
Google like. Don't.
(32:41):
Oh also never Google anything. Yeah, ignorance is bliss.
So just go with that. My first and 2nd pregnancy, I
worked out and I was doing yoga,Pilates hit literally until the
day that I gave birth because inthe second one I actually was
doing 2A days. I would do a trainer and then I
(33:01):
would do a hike. So I was working out like so
hard. And then as soon as it was like
cleared, I would get right back into it.
I would had my trainer start. I was like doing tennis
everyday. I was doing the whole thing.
The third one, I was like, OK, like I played tennis until I was
8 months pregnant. I wouldn't do any backhands.
(33:25):
I would only hit from the back. I was not running up to the net
and I would only do four hands. And I got a great workout in
like my, I was strong. And then and then with this one,
which is my 4th, I stopped working out at about 6 months.
I'm like, you know what? It's not going to make a
difference because at the end ofthe day, I think genetics, like
(33:48):
they have a lot to play with it.But also if you're a healthy
person, it's going to come back,right?
Like people always say, oh, if you're having a kid after 35 or
whatever, it's going to be so much harder to bounce back after
the first. Oh, it's so hard to bounce back
after the second. Oh, like after this, you have no
chance. By the way, I looked hotter
(34:08):
after my third kid than I did before I even had my first.
So like, you just can't listen to people.
And, you know, as you go in likethose different stages of life
as a woman, your body requires different workouts.
So, you know, maybe before, whenI was early 30s, it was like I
needed more cardio. Now I would need to be doing
(34:30):
more like weights. So I think that you can't just
listen and you just like have todo it when you feel ready and
like don't listen to anyone else.
It's not about bouncing back, it's about feeling good.
Yeah, and finding what works foryou.
Right. Yeah, because.
We're all different. Yeah, yeah.
The art of comparison, it alwaysmesses people up.
(34:51):
Yeah, like what for? Even if it's in your same family
like you said. Like just because your mom had
something that doesn't? Mean for sure, for sure.
What do you think about Miami being here in Miami?
I love Miami. So I'm I've been here for like
15 years and I like the culture,I like the community.
(35:12):
You get like a lot of really interesting people and everyone
kind of has like different things that they bring to the
table and everyone is so like willing to help and work
together. So I, I, I just love how like
close and like willing to help. Everyone is here.
It's like a good flow. Like it feels like a small close
knit family. And even though like Miami's
(35:34):
technically a city, like it feels very much like a small
town. Like once you I.
Agree with you. Yeah, definitely.
Yeah. So like you know everybody,
every. You mentioned some of that.
Oh yeah, I know that like. For sure.
You walk down the street, it's like, oh, you can see five
people that you know, And I think that as an outsider,
people might not have that perspective of Miami because
they look at it and you see likethe highline and you see, I
(35:57):
mean, you see the skyline and you, you know, you it's a lot of
like events and parties and stuff.
But when you peel back that layer and you actually see it
for what it is like, it actuallyis like a deep, supportive
community, and there's a lot of great people here.
Yeah, I agree with that. You almost, you almost have like
many tribes here, I find. Like you find your people.
(36:18):
Yeah. And then when you find them, you
do life together. And that's just kind of how it
how it plays out. It's nice, yeah.
And where are you in Miami Beachor Miami?
Beach, I'm in Morningside. Oh, that's kind of so.
And then kind of in between likeall my gyms like.
When did you guys move here? I remember.
So I opened this in November of last year, yeah.
(36:38):
I used to come over here when vanity projects was over here.
Vanity projects. It's a nail salon.
Oh yeah. OK, have you been to Sonny's
yet? I love Sonny's so good.
So my daughter's name is Sunny, no?
All right. My daughter's name is Sage, so I
love that. And my son's name is 7 so.
Oh, I love the S names. Yeah, 7 is a cool name.
Yeah. Is that your lucky number?
(36:59):
No, it was, it was just it's God's number, intuition, wisdom.
There's like I have like this book that I wrote basically
about all the different meaningsbehind it.
I love that. That's great.
Yeah, that's no. I was like, so red.
I picked it out when I was 15 years old.
You did? I said.
I'm gonna name my son 7. That's that's actually a really
good one. Yeah, it was.
It was cool. And then there's this whole
(37:20):
Seinfeld episode where they makefun of someone naming their
child 7. Seriously.
Yeah, it's fun. It's funny though, because like
now that my child's name 7, likewhen you watch it, you're just
you almost get mad, but but you have to laugh because it's of
course comedy, you know? But they're like dogging the
name 7 like it's. So no, it's cool and I noticed.
Your But I love it. Yeah, I.
Noticed your chain too. Chain so yeah it's on my truck
(37:44):
too so but yeah yeah it's funny because my favorite number is 2
and I don't know why but it justis but so it's not it's
definitely not my favorite number which is now obviously my
favorite son you know so it's. Kind of funny.
Is it your only son? Yes, yes.
And I have a daughter so. But yeah.
So what made you start a podcaston top of like everything else
(38:05):
that you're doing, you just like, had too much free time on
your hands? No, not at all.
Actually. Actually, this is.
It's never like like before you got here I had like 3 fires I
had to put out and like so. It was good that I was late.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's perfect. The podcast, I try to tell Amber
sometimes like, like I only can do it on this day.
(38:26):
And then what happens is, you know, it never works out
because, you know, I have to basically, if I want guests, I
got to adjust my schedule. So it was something that I felt
like and it, and it kind of it'sfunny because everybody has a
podcast right now, like, you know, like everybody's doing
podcasts, but I felt like I had actually something like some
(38:49):
substance to share and talk about and vibe with people and,
and I'm like, I can talk about anything and I can talk to
anybody. So I felt like it was a good
fit. And then also what I was
noticing in the podcast world was that all these podcasters
had beverages like sitting on their table.
And so I was like, well, what better thing to do to be able to
(39:12):
spread the word of my beverage company to have a podcast?
So. I can think of something what I
can think of something if you support.
She's so fun. I love it.
Keep shooting your shot. I like we're going to figure
something out. So but yeah, it was definitely,
I would say it was why I startedthe podcast was it's a platform
(39:37):
that can highlight the things I'm doing and the things other
people are doing. And then I believe that
collaboration is multiplication.So it's like the more you
collaborate with people now, hopefully people that love you
will see me. And it's just it kind of like,
you know, that it creates a ripple effect of connection.
And then it's really cool too, to meet cool people Like we've
(39:59):
both lived here. I've lived here 20. 25 years
you've lived here 15 years and we've never met.
And and that's kind of like, like when I hear all this stuff
you're doing and I've actually been a part of some of your
stuff, I'm like, well, that's weird.
Like how why haven't we met? So it almost gets like you in
front of people that otherwise because we're all busy and we're
all doing these things. And so and like once you have
(40:21):
like your business and your friend group and like your kids,
you're not necessarily like meeting other friends unless
it's through your kids these days, right?
Exactly. At the birthday parties, like
every weekend, my wife's like, we have another birthday party
to go to and I'm like, Oh my God.
So the birthday parties are funny.
They're so funny. I feel like all the parents try
(40:41):
to outdo themselves. Like it's, it's kind of comical.
It is. It's very interesting.
It's totally different from how I'm sure you and I know I grew
up like we had like Publix looking cake and like some
leopard napkin. I don't know I'm.
From Alabama. So it was more like BBQ.
They throw you out in the backyard and you just freaking
get dirty and have fun like it was.
But I will say my mom, the birthday party that stands out
(41:05):
to me the most is I was really into BMXBMX riding.
Yeah, so she made a BMX bike cake and it looked like a bike.
And then we went to the BMX liketrack with the ramps and, and,
and I had the the racer jacket and the helmet and the gloves,
you know, like that was like, you don't forget those.
No, that sounds pretty iconic. I love that.
(41:25):
Yeah, the fact that I still remember is pretty cool.
Yeah, I liked it like because I mean also having a cake that's
like in the shape of a bike backthen it is probably.
No, she like went all out. That's cool.
But my mom's a very creative person.
She does. She's a florist.
Oh nice, so she probably does a lot of tablescapes.
Yes, actually when you said it, I was what?
(41:45):
My mom has a name for it. Arrangements, Centerpiece.
Centerpieces for the thing. Yeah, she does arrangements and
then she does centerpieces for the tables.
Exactly. So that's tablescapes.
Yeah, yeah, I notice you have a flower shop next door.
Yeah, they're great too. I'm gonna go in there right
after this. Yeah for to help.
Your for sure for sure, but thisis great and honestly I mean you
(42:08):
having a water brand just like seems like it's such a good like
evolution of the gym it's. Yeah, like you stare at your
cooler for the last like before I had my water, you're staring,
you're staring at your cooler and you're selling everybody
else's stuff for sure. So it's like, why not, right.
You're gonna sell water in the gyms.
We actually, my business partners not said that.
We said worst case scenario we have a bunch of waters that we
(42:31):
have to sell out of the gyms like.
Exactly. Worst case scenario you sell
them out of your gyms and you'regood.
But actually I've been seeing them a lot more.
Yeah, we're, we're, we're gaining a lot of traction.
Yeah, that's so good. Opening up a lot of accounts.
We're well on our way to make some noise.
I mean, I want to take it as bigas Poppy.
Did you know, like. Yeah.
Oh yes, love that. Yeah, exactly.
(42:53):
OK, well, you're going to get there.
One day at a time. One day at a time, yeah.
So what's next for you other than style saves coming up, a
baby is coming up another one? Anything else on the horizon?
Isn't that enough? I mean, that's a lot, yes.
So in August we have our back toSchool event at the Miami Beach
Convention Center on August 9th and 10th.
(43:16):
And how does that work in terms of because this is important for
people to know, yes. So.
Can come, how do they come? Like tell a little bit about
that. So we, because this is our 15
year anniversary, we're doing like a week of programming.
So first on that Sunday, which is the 4th, I believe, we're
doing an event at the Museum of Ice Cream, which is a community
(43:39):
event. So like you can come, you can
bring your kids. It's more so to like bring
awareness to the fact that like it's back to the school season
and we're kicking off the week. Our theme for this 15 year
anniversary is Sprinkle City. So it's basically kind of like a
spin off of like the Museum of Ice Cream.
There's going to be a lot of that kind of like fun sensory
(44:01):
stuff and a lot of it different experiences on site.
So then we do 2 days of setup. So like that Thursday and Friday
will be setup days at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
And then we have the two event days which are Saturday and
Sunday and that's when like the actual kids and families and
everyone come to receive the items.
(44:21):
So for us, if you know you're looking to get involved or
donate or anything like that, you can go to stylesaves.org or
at Style Saves. We have a volunteer group chat
on WhatsApp. So you can like always DM and
say, hey, send me the link And then you can get the
notifications of like when that stuff is happening.
But we're very active on social.So you can always see like
(44:42):
exactly when those things are coming up And like what we're
currently doing, we always need volunteers to come and like help
with setup and help with the event days over the course of
the weekend because like I said,it's 25,000 people.
So you have 12,500 a day. So it's a lot.
And we're doing high volume where you know, the, the
(45:04):
families will come, they come asearly as like, you know, 7:00 AM
to make the line. We open the doors some something
like 9 or I, I think 9. And the kids always get like
their backpacks or uniforms or school supplies first.
So they get all the core items and then they come out to the
activities section and there's like F&B and there's like all
different things that they can do.
(45:26):
So it's really interesting because when you go there, you
literally see every single partner in the community, right?
Like you'll see IGK doing haircuts, you'll see Poppet
Project making slime, you'll seeGopuff giving out snacks, you'll
see Pepsi giving out Gatorades. You'll have, you know, Rosetta,
(45:47):
you'll have Caracas Bakery, you'll have all these different
people that you know, you've seen in the community coming
together to make this work. So it really is like community
driven. It's very, very grassroots.
Like you'll walk in the door andyou'll recognize every sponsor
because it's every local business in Miami and Miami
Beach. Like we thrive on our
(46:08):
partnerships because their personal relationships and like
friendships of ours that we've like cultivated us and that have
like grown with the brand since inception, right?
And then as far as the 25,000, is that something that people
pre register? How did they?
Yeah. So for the students, it's open
registration until we sell out. So basically like we have our
(46:28):
limit of, you know, the items that we can distribute and once
like we're closed, we're closed.So there's an AM and APM on
Saturday and on Sunday, so not PM, more like afternoon.
So we do like 9 to one, one to four Saturday and Sunday.
So the kids and families can register for either morning or
an afternoon slot. But like, we only have a certain
(46:49):
amount because we stagger it in a way that, you know, we'll make
sure the flow is continual. And, you know, nothing's like
bottlenecking and there can be crowd control and, you know,
once it's full, it's full. So usually, usually it fills up
like a week, a couple weeks before we have to shut it down.
And unfortunately, like I said, you know, there's just nothing
(47:10):
we can right now. We're limited because if it was
up to us, we would keep it open and have everyone in the world
come. But you know, we're doing our
best and for for us, like Isa and I have been able to not only
grow it, but we've also been able to give better quality
consistently over the years by manufacturing all of our stuff
by adding in a second pair of socks.
(47:32):
Now this year, we're proud to beable to give 2 polos for each
kid. So we're always trying to like
enhance it and find different ways to like step it up a notch
for us. You know, we always want to be
better. Yeah, of course it's.
Cool though and you can bring your kids.
So if you ever want to like, bring your kids, like when
they're really young, like underthe age of five, usually they're
(47:52):
just going to want to be making slime or like running around in
the bounce houses or doing the petting zoo, which is fine.
But I think it's really important to, you know, expose
children to philanthropic thingsat an early age because it just
opens their eyes and that bringsthe awareness to like, the
circumstances of everyone. And like really just kind of
(48:13):
like instills in them from an early age that this is just like
normal. And this is like something that
should just be done, right? Like, you shouldn't just be
doing it because like one day you get dragged to an event or
because your company tells you you should.
Like it should just be somethingthat is a part of your culture,
your life, right? Yeah.
Are your kids kind of getting slowly getting involved?
(48:34):
Are they still kind of too young?
It's it's funny because, you know, I started stylesaves way
before I had kids. So I've been seeing, you know,
how they like how they react because it's such a big event
And we, you know, now my daughter Sonny, like it has a
better understanding. She's 5 of like what it is that
(48:55):
she's doing there. You know, like I put her in the
backpack station and she'll passout the backpacks that have the
school supplies and she'll hand out the pens and, you know, she
understands that these kids don't have resources.
And you know, it's interesting to see like right now my other
son's only like he's 4 and I have the one year old.
So they just think they're at a party.
But it's interesting like to seethe shift in like 1 year to
(49:18):
another, like how they're starting to understand like what
we're doing. Like we also have a mentorship
program, which we do twice a year at Booker T, which is a
school in Overtown, and it's a six week course that we help
them do life skills. So we bring in people who have
like more like vocational or certificate programs.
So they're kind of like teachingthem trades or about like what
(49:41):
trade opportunities there are, like maybe being a trainer or
being a hair stylist or, you know, being a nurse or like just
different things that you can dosocial media market, like just
little things that you can do inlife to build a career or start
a career that doesn't necessarily involve college
because it's not always in the cards for everyone, as we know.
(50:03):
So, you know, I've, I've taken Sonny to the mentorship program
where we, you know, we also do like interviewing and we teach
the kids about resumes and we domock interviews.
We do, we give them scholarships.
It's like a whole thing. And, you know, I've brought her
to that and it's interesting because she sits there and she's
like listening to the, you know,to the kids give their
interviews or, you know, she's helping pass out food, you know,
(50:26):
like, let's say Pura Vida sponsor.
She's like passing out the wrapsor the cookies or whatever.
So it's nice. Like she'll ask like, oh, can we
go back there again? Like that's so fun.
So you'd be surprised, but I think it's a nice thing.
Yeah. Can you guys, you guys would
like that too? Cuz it's kind of like you're
like Star Star's come and she's like spoken to the kids about
being a personal trainer and. Star.
(50:48):
You know, baby Moffat? What baby Moffat?
Yeah, yeah. But she.
Just had her baby, right? She did.
Yeah. Yeah, she's awesome.
I love her, but she's come and she's talked to our students
because, you know, like Star wasa single mom and she started,
she, you know, she started really from retail, like working
maybe the front desk at Berry's and then became like, I don't
(51:10):
know, such a big trainer and influencer and everything else.
So she really was able to build a brand from scratch.
And you don't need a college education to do that.
You just have to have the drive.And I think that it's important
for kids to see other people whodon't necessarily have like, a
strong financial background, like making it and giving them
(51:31):
inspiration. Right.
Yeah, No, definitely. Well, if you, I mean, if you
want me to come talk, I can do that.
Yeah, you would be so good at it.
OK, I'm going to put you in the agenda.
You're going to bring water, you're going to talk.
It's going to be great. What is something that no one
knows about you that you would want them to know about you?
Well, honestly, I feel like if Iwanted them to know, I already
(51:52):
would have said it. Yeah, but no, I think I'm an
open book, to be perfectly honest with you.
I don't really have any secrets.Like for me, I have my heart and
my head open that all the time. So I think that what you see is
what you get with me. Like I'm in it for my kids.
Like I'm very hands on. I love like, you know, helping
(52:17):
the community. I love like everything like
that. So for me, there's like nothing
I would say that I that people maybe don't know or maybe they
maybe there is. I don't know.
I have to think about that more.I'm not sure it's all.
Good. It's all good.
Yeah. Well, I appreciate you coming
and let's definitely stay in touch and would love to help
(52:38):
and. You know we're going to see you
all right. Awesome.
Well, thank you. Thanks.
Yeah.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.