From Depressed to Empowered Through Fitness & Movement | S3, Ep 17.

“It’s as if someone turns off the light. Like you’re no longer a light—you’re just dark. And you don’t understand why…” Has this ever happened to you, coming to realize you might actually be depressed?

On this podcast episode of The Big Dawgs: with Manning Sumner, guest Diane Younes—CrossFit competitor and coach, nutritionist, Growth2Mindset founder, and host of The Di-scussions Podcast—shares her journey from a life of external success to internal struggle, facing depression during global lockdowns and finding empowerment through fitness, movement, and mindset.

Get ready for a raw, empowering conversation about depression, healing, and finding strength through movement.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's as if someone turns off thelight.
You're no longer a light, You'rejust dark and you don't
understand why. Looking back now, I understand
that I became depressed. It's time to make some changes
now. My husband and I, we were
watching Netflix, the CrossFit documentary.
They're like, what the heck is this?
I was blown away to the point where at the end of the first

(00:20):
one, I picked up my husband's Golf Club.
I started snatching. So I was like, OK, why don't I
do the hardest thing ever in order to become the this version
of myself. My mind and my body were trying
to heal me. I clung on to that and it saved
me. I felt like I was fighting every
day, but I knew that the real DNwas still in there.

(00:42):
I just gravitated towards more movement.
I had just started CrossFit, butonce I became depressed, I
subconsciously started working out more because it's the only
time where I felt like myself. I wanted to be outside all the
time. I wanted to see greenery.
I didn't understand why, but nowI understand that it's very
healing. People need to hear how you got

(01:04):
out of depression, not just likeoh I started to work out, but
like the moment where it shifted.
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. Get ready to be inspired to do
the same. This is the Big Dogs with

(01:25):
Manning Sumner, DN Yes. Love it.
You, Ness. Yes.
Thank you for joining us on the Big Dogs.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
Taking the time. I'm gonna tell a little bit
about your your, your story. You were born in Paris, France,
grew up in London and went on toearn 2 law degrees.

(01:47):
Not one people, but two. One in Canada and one in New
York. You spent six years in New York
as a lawyer in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and
Barclays Capital before moving to Hong Kong and Singapore.
Quite the traveller where you found it and ran a lifestyle
tech startup called Sponge. Correct?
And on demand and no. And on demand beauty company.

(02:10):
So it was a beauty company, Yes.Amazing.
While living in Asia during the COVID era, you discovered that
wow, that that just sounds horrible.
But I'm just saying that like reading that out loud is
terrible. You discovered the importance of
movement. You started doing CrossFit and
as you got deeper into it, you realize how critical nutrition,

(02:31):
mindset, and recovery were for your training, which helped you
mentally as you navigated uncertain times away from your
family during multiple lockdowns.
What part of China were you? Asia, were you in?
I was in Hong Kong and Singapore, yeah.
After moving back to the US, youfounded the consulting firm
Growth to Mindset, bringing together all of your previous
experiences to help Wellness andsports companies grow.

(02:54):
You provide business development, marketing
partnerships, legal strategy, and also hosts retreats.
You've worked with brands such as WOOP, Lululemon, Monster
Energy, and various Gems and health practitioners across the
US, Asia, Europe, and the MiddleEast.
You also host the Discussions podcast where industry leaders
share their stories of personal growth through growth to

(03:14):
mindsets nonprofit work. You and your team volunteer at
Gigi's Playhouse, offering individuals with Down syndrome
the opportunity to play sports because you truly believe
movement is for everyone. I love that quote.
I hope people retain from my story is that every chapter in
your life sets up the foundationfor the next one, which
ultimately cumulates, culminates, culminates into

(03:37):
deeper. So there's my eyesight.
Culminates into deeper. Knowledge, wisdom, experience,
growth and gratitude. Yeah.
Alright, well let's dive into this.
How have your French roots influence your personal and
professional journey? Oh wow, I didn't know you were
gonna go there. My French roots, you know, I all
my education prior to college was in French schools in London

(04:03):
and in New York. And what they do really, really
well is working you to the bone.Really.
Yes, for some it works, for someit doesn't.
I thrive on people telling me something's not good enough.
And even though I would actuallyget really good grades, if it's

(04:26):
not 100% each time they would tell you you suck.
Like literally would say you. Suck.
Sometimes they would take a whole hour of class to make this
whole whole speech about how yousuck and if you don't get better
your whole future is ruined. Wow.
Now looking back now with now that I'm older, I think I.

(04:48):
I feel so sorry for people for whom this does not work.
Yeah, 'cause that must be horrible and soul crushing, but
to me, I was like, oh really? You think I suck?
Let me show you next time. So that in itself, I think I've
replicated throughout my life where if I don't feel like I've

(05:08):
performed, if someone else doesn't feel like I've performed
to a certain level, I'm like, OK, I got this, I'm gonna show
you. So I think that's how it's kind
of shaped me. Yeah, American.
The American system's a little different from what I
understand. And even being at the French
lease, which is the French school in New York, you can kind
of, you could see that they wereslightly more Americanized where

(05:32):
they actually patted you on the back a little bit more.
And I could see how for other people, that really helped them
a lot. I really feel like like when I
was in college, you're in, in high school, for the most part,
you're just kind of on, on an island.
Like it was like it was up to you.
Like if you push yourself, you did good.
If you didn't, you did good. If you reached out, got tutors

(05:53):
or whatever. Now being on the football team,
we got we, we got assigned tutors.
So that obviously helped. But for the most part, everybody
was just like, good luck. College, right?
You're an adult part. All of this is very much like
from four years old all the way to 18.
Oh wow, so you're in so young, Young you're.
Looking for validation, you're looking for comfort, you're

(06:15):
looking for guidance, right? I don't feel like I got much of
those. I did very much at home, but
it's cool. It was very much like you're not
good enough. OK.
Which is very interesting. Was it was it shaped in the form
of like discipline? Were they trying to make it like
that? Or was it just shaped in the
form of humiliation? I think discipline for sure and

(06:37):
they wanted, especially the French school in London, they
wanted to keep that perfect record that they had cause in
France high school culminates into the French Baccalaureate
and that is the ultimate test. You work your little booty off
your whole life at that age to get the best grades possible at

(07:02):
the French Baccalaureate to thengo to the best schools.
So it's all of the different subjects like math, French
history, geography, physics, chemistry, like the whole thing.
And it's a week or a few days, like at least three to four days
of non-stop exams. And your whole life depends on

(07:23):
the results from those exams. And the French school I attended
in London was one of the best French schools in the world, and
they had an amazing track record.
And thankfully, I graduated withhonors, thankfully.
My God, the stress. I think my dad was super
stressed, too. Yeah, yeah, he was.

(07:43):
All right, how did you grow up in London?
Shake your identity in perspective.
London's so international. I love London and it it, it's
such a big city, but it feels like a village.
And so you were able to kind of have that city feeling, but feel
very protected as well and just meeting people from all over the

(08:06):
world. And thankfully, on top of that,
London is so centrally located in Europe that you can go
anywhere in Europe. So I felt like I could really
travel everywhere from there andthat really helped with my
development. Did you travel?
A lot, yes, very much, yeah. I mean, the good, good thing
with the French school system isyou get a lot of holidays.

(08:27):
So my parents really took advantage of that and, and made
us travel and in Europe, especially back in those days.
I'm 37 now, but back in those days it was.
It was. So what years what what?
How old were you when you were in London?
In London, I was six months old.We moved.
I was born in Paris. We moved to London when I was
six months old. So that was 1988.
OK. And then I left London in 2004,

(08:51):
I believe. Yeah.
I think it was four, 2004. Loved it.
Absolutely loved it. My mom and sister still live
there. They love it.
Oh, OK. Yeah.
And you go back. I do go back, but not that
often, because if I do go back to Europe, it's mostly France.
And also London's changed. London's very much changed,

(09:13):
yeah. And I used to be in the South of
London a lot because that's where the French school is.
But now a lot of the cool stuff is in the north of London, which
I'm not that like, I don't know much of it and I know it's
changed a lot. Yeah, I know nothing about it
so. London's cool.
Can't dive into that. I definitely want to go though.
So, So what? What was the thing that got you

(09:37):
into 'cause I mean, being a lawyer is is tough.
What drove you to that? You know, I've thought about
this so often because with what I do now, I use my legal
expertise and my law degree a lot, but I'm not practicing as a
lawyer. And I'm like, why did I do this?
And I think quite honestly, my parents went through a divorce

(10:00):
when I was about 8 years old andI just felt I had no voice
during that. Like I just felt like so much
was going on outside of the house 'cause I knew they were
going to court, but I was like, how can this judge decide what's
best for me when I haven't even had a chance to talk about
what's best for me? I know the law says you know

(10:22):
above a under a certain age a kid isn't consulted, but at the
time I felt like I was voiceless.
You've been. At 8 years old, yeah, that's
amazing. Yeah, I honestly, I was quite
mature for my age and I, I, I didn't understand what was going
on. Like when my parents said they
were divorcing, I didn't understand what the word divorce

(10:44):
meant. I had two siblings.
They're both older. I looked at them, they started
crying. So I knew it was bad.
So I and I knew that my dad moved out, so I knew something
bad was happening and it's gonnachange everything.
And I felt like, why am I not being consulted?
So I wanted to become an attorney to give a voice to

(11:04):
kids. And when I went to law school
the first time in Canada, I tookfamily law.
And I quickly realized that as afamily law attorney, you're
basically a psychologist. And I wasn't ready for that.
I felt like I had too much powerand I wasn't.
I didn't understand enough of the human psyche in order to

(11:29):
have that much control of her families.
So that's when I went into the business world.
OK, cold. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Quite the opposite, right? Right.
Go for it. All right, here we go.
Another You're quite the traveler.
So how did living the New York lifestyle shape your work ethic
and hustle? Oh my God, New York.
Those New York years were amazing 'cause when I went to

(11:51):
law school in New York the second time, so that was what,
2008 to 2011? And then once I graduated, I
finally got a paycheck. Now, when you're over 21, you've
got a paycheck, you're working investment banking and you're
working in New York. I thought I had made it.

(12:13):
I was like, I am the shit. I hope I can say that.
I'm sorry. Yeah, you're fine.
OK. I really felt like.
I we've had people say much worse.
So it's like, yeah. So I.
Stand by what I just. Said.
It was amazing. And I'm still, I'm smiling
talking about it, 'cause I felt like I had so much energy, so
much like I can shape my, my future.

(12:35):
I now have money to do stuff, you know, because when you're,
you're in law school, you're in college, like quite frankly, are
you making them? No.
You're broke. You're.
Broke. I was broke.
So finally I have paycheck, and it's mine.
Yeah. So I absolutely loved it.
I just felt like I was living oncloud 9.
And you're in New York. People are hustling.

(12:56):
You become this aggressive Walker.
I don't know if you saw me walk outside.
I'm an aggressive Walker. It's just you become a hustler.
And I really, really appreciatedthat.
Yeah, I'll never forget visitingevery single time I visit New
York. As soon as your feet get off the
plane, there's a there's a different energy in New York and

(13:16):
you're just like you. Just it's like you're, you're
gliding through the city like it's, it's crazy.
So and you. Kinda.
It's nice to take a step back from it in New York just because
I feel like some of the smartestpeople on earth are in New York.
So you can just sit in a bar andjust wait for someone to come up

(13:38):
to you and just start telling them, telling you about their
life story and, and I swear theyare some of the most interesting
people. The Uber drivers.
And the Uber drivers are? The.
Best Stories? Hey, they talk to you as soon as
you sit down and tell your entire ride and they tell you
these crazy stories like that's that's the best New York.

(13:59):
You can find the craziest of people's too.
Like it's just like it's now at my age, I find it very
overwhelming. But back then I was like, bring
it on. This is amazing.
I still love it I mean it's one of those things that I don't
like you said I don't see myselfliving there now with the family
and wife and so that but but back in my hustle days, I could

(14:21):
definitely see myself, you know,getting after it.
So alright, see, I figured it out on my own there I'll.
Be proud of. I did a podcast of the day and I
was like y'all didn't give me all my questions and they were
like as good as you didn't know how to swipe so it was my fault.
That's. Why you have a team?
Yes, exactly. Can you share your revelations

(14:44):
and impact the fitness, nutrition, mindset and recovery
you've had on your life, especially while navigating
uncertain times away from your family in Asia?
So like when that when that period of time, those lockdowns
and you leaned into this, like, how did that shape you?
I feel like it changed everything.
My time in Asia during COVID andall the lockdowns made me

(15:05):
realize made made me more in tune with my vulnerability and
it's a side of me I didn't know I had.
And I think it's made me even stronger now.
So for those people who don't know what happened during COVID,
in a lot of Asian countries, they actually did lockdowns.

(15:27):
Like it's not the lockdowns thatother people had in other
countries. This is literally locking you
up. I had to serve A2 week
quarantine in a hotel room without access to fresh air.
I couldn't even open a window. When I moved from Hong Kong to
Singapore at the height of COVID, I realized in that

(15:50):
instance how important freedom was to me.
And I use the word freedom very much, knowing that people
interpret the word freedom very differently.
I think freedom is very subjective.
What freedom is to me is the freedom to be whoever I want to
be, to do who whatever I want todo, and to respect certain basic

(16:12):
human rights. I don't think I should be locked
up for not committing a crime. All I did was move from country
A to country B at the height of the pandemic and now you took
away all my freedom and I can't even open a window.
I know cultures are different, countries are different.

(16:35):
I don't believe in changing a country that isn't mine.
I believe in leaving a country that isn't mine if I'm not OK
with it, which is what I ended up doing and coming back to the
US, which to me is home. So that period made me realize,
wow, this is what's important tome.

(16:57):
This is how the lack of freedom affected me.
Looking back now, I understand that I became depressed.
I knew I was very sad, but I didn't know it was depression.
And it's actually very hard for me to actually say that 'cause
I'm like, Oh my God, I actually was depressed.
Like I never thought that would happen to me.

(17:19):
And nutrition, fitness, recovery, all of that got me out
of it. Now what happened is I didn't
know what was happening. I was just super sad.
I It's as if someone turns off the light, like you're no longer
a light, you're just dark and you don't understand why.
I was very function. I was functional and I was fine

(17:41):
and people who didn't know me that well thought I was fine.
But people who knew me very well, including my husband, knew
something was off. So naturally I just gravitated
towards more movement. I had just started CrossFit, but
once I became depressed, I on just subconsciously started

(18:03):
working out more and really hanging on to that.
Like clinging on to that routineof I have to go work out 'cause
it's the only time where I felt like myself, like thoughts,
everything, what was happening around me, all the lockdowns
weren't affecting me in that moment.
Sorry about. That no, it's fine.

(18:25):
And then on top of that. Silent thing.
On top of that, the gyms were closed, So what I did was get
gym equipment. I was doing snatches in my
apartment. And this is still in Asia.
This is still in Asia, Yeah. Like imagine in Hong Kong, like
the apartments are so. Sight the ceilings.
Are really short and you you gotto be really good really and

(18:47):
then you know, accurate and bringing it down.
You know, like with so much control blowing up my back in
the process, I, I clung on to that and it saved me
subconsciously, I wanted to be outside all the time.
I wanted to see greenery. I didn't understand why, but now
I understand that it's very healing for us to be outside, to

(19:09):
look at greenery, to take moments of just like silence, to
take nature in. And because I upped my training
naturally, I upped my nutrition,my recovery.
And that's why I got certified by the American College of
Sports Medicine as ACPT Precision Nutrition as a
nutrition coach. And I just immersed myself in so

(19:31):
many recovery modalities to see what works for me.
Then I started coaching other people.
This was all in Asia because I knew that what works for me
doesn't necessarily work for other people.
So that was the basis of growth to mindset.
So I, I had the idea for growth to mindset in Asia, but waited

(19:52):
until I came back to the US. It was probably about a year.
Once I had the idea and waited to execute on it because I
wanted it to be in America. I didn't want to start that back
in Asia. I literally wanted to be like,
I'm back home and I'm going to start running towards my goal
now. And so that whole chapter taught

(20:14):
me so much. It was so hard.
But I think it's one of the mostbeautiful chapters of my life
thus far. Talk a little bit, though, about
like because when you're truly depressed, but you said like
nobody really knew except for you.
Yeah. And then when you made the
decision to choose fitness to get, was it was it like a trying

(20:37):
to get out of the depression or was it an intentional thing?
Like, you know what I mean? Like.
That's a great question. I honestly don't know how, but
it was just my body and mind telling me to do this.
This is why, to be honest, I felt such a surge of confidence
in myself since then, because I know that my mind and my body

(21:00):
were trying to heal me. What was your sorry to control,
but what was your relationship to fitness before that?
So I've always been active. I played college basketball, you
know, up in Canada, but with investment banking, you just are
tied to your desk all the time. So at the time I put on weight,

(21:20):
I was in as like active as before.
And of course with the stress ofwork, like it was so much.
And then when I moved to Asia, Ithought, okay, I think it's time
to make some changes. Now.
I was pushing 30. Like, okay, something needs to
change and I want to look like Iwork out.
I want to be healthy from the inside out, but I also want to

(21:43):
look like I work out. So I remember the pure
coincidence. My husband and I, it was
probably like a Sunday. We were watching Netflix, and at
the time there were these documentaries on Netflix, the
CrossFit documentaries, like Fittest on Earth.
We're like, what the heck is this?
We put it on. I was blown away to the point

(22:05):
where at the end of the first one, I picked up my husband's
Golf Club. I started snatching.
I didn't know how to snatch, butI was like, I want to do this.
And then, 'cause that looks likethe hardest thing you can do on
Earth. Like to me that was like, what
the heck is it? Definitely does look like the
hardest thing. It's really hard.
So I was like, OK, well why don't I do the hardest thing

(22:25):
ever that what I think is the hardest thing ever in order to
become the fittest version of myself.
And so I started CrossFit in August 2018 in Hong Kong and
this awesome gym called CrossFitAss Fidel I, it's like I drank
the kool-aid after the first, like they called it on ramp

(22:46):
where they kind of teach you thefoundational movements first
before putting you in a class because it's quite technical.
After the first one. I'm like I told my husband,
that's it. I am high on life right now.
I want to do this. And then 2-3 months later, I was
having dinner with a friend of mine who's also a nutrition
coach and I told her, I don't understand.
It's been 3 months of doing CrossFit.

(23:08):
Why don't I have muscles I don'tunderstand?
Like I'm working really hard. She's like, it's what you're
eating. I told her how I was eating.
And back then people were like talking about vegan this, vegan
that. So once in a while I would have
like, a vegan burger and all that stuff, which now I will
never touch. Oh God, yeah, so bad.

(23:28):
Basically, I wasn't eating enough protein.
Yep, so I knew. What you were going to say
before you said of? Course, of course, I mean,
you're a trainer, so you know, so at the end of the day, she's
like, I'm going to work with you.
And I became her first client because she had just
transitioned over. Her name is Beth Wright.
She changed my life. She taught me the basics and I

(23:49):
fell in love with the whole process.
And I'm like, why did was I not taught this in school?
Like honestly, why was I not taught this in school?
Why is it that I went through years in school of disliking my
body 'cause I never looked like anyone?
I'm tall and I'm thick. Like that's just who I am.

(24:09):
I look sick at 80 kilos, which is what, 100?
Gosh, I'm so bad in Pounds A. 160.
I think a little. Around a little 166 or something
like that because it's 2.2 pounds to 1K.
Yeah, right. Something around them.
I look sick at 80 kilos sick andAnd how tall are you?

(24:29):
I'm like 6 foot tall. Amazing.
So, but so I'm just naturally thick.
I'm like big bone. I carry lots of weight like, and
so back then growing up, I, I did not look like anyone.
And back then you had to look skinny like Britney Spears and
all this stuff, which I never could look like tonight, to be
frank. Now don't want to.
Everyone looks beautiful the waythey are.

(24:50):
Yes, so I wish I had known all this 'cause if I had known what
my body needed I would have put the focus more on I don't care
what my body looks like, I'm giving it what it needs.
Cause back then I was not eatinggood enough.
Like I wasn't eating enough as ateenager.

(25:10):
At one point I, I think it was 1summer, I was like, I'm sick of
not having a flat stomach. So I would skip dinner every
day. Like how sad is that?
My poor body. I was not giving my body the
basis of everything in life. Like my body enables me to do
amazing things, including hugging my loved ones.

(25:30):
I was not giving that love back to my body.
So I wish, and this is somethingthat I actually want to do
through growth and mindset. I actually want to help educate
kids as early as possible on this is what your body needs.
This is science. Don't question it.
This is what your body needs. How you feel about your body is

(25:52):
completely up to you, but I truly, truly feel like these
body image issues will be decreased the more we actually
educate people and kids on what their body needs well.
The first thing we got to do is get rid of the food pyramid.
That would be nice. We got to flip it upside down.
That would really be. Nice, yeah.
Exactly. And the whole basis of growth to
mindset is to help brands in theWellness and sports and fitness

(26:15):
realm grow. For me, the more brands in that
realm that are growing, the moreoptions everyone has to be the
best version of themselves. They'll be like, OK, there's
Company A through Z that are offering these services for my
Wellness, whether it be mental, whether it be physical, they're

(26:37):
growing. That's amazing.
I want to use this and this and this to become the best version
of me. That's the basis of growth to
mindset. I want to help these brands grow
so people grow, hence the growth2 mindset which is growth
squared. Love it, love it, but I do want
to like I'm trying to unpack. There's so much.
No, no, that was awesome. It's it's, it's fantastic.

(26:58):
I just, I feel like I've heard this from from so many people
when they get depressed and they're trying to figure out how
to get out of it. And so I'm very intrigued with
with again, like, what was it? Was it by chance that fitness or

(27:19):
was it intentional? You see what I'm saying?
Because I think people need to hear how you got out of
depression and not just like, oh, I started to work out, but
like the moment where it shifted.
I think it's very important because it doesn't happen
overnight, right? And so people need to hear that
maybe it took you, you know, these kind of steps.

(27:41):
So kind of dive into that just alittle bit.
I think it would be very impactful for people.
To hear it took me two years. OK, see, that's exactly I knew,
see, I knew it that this was notlike because and again, with all
due respect, like when it how itsounded like was like I was
depressed. Then I started to work out and I
was fine. That's what it is.

(28:01):
And yeah, exactly. So I knew that wasn't the case.
So kind of talk about that two year experience of of getting
out of depression and the commitment in my opinion is what
I'm hearing out of context, but what I'm hearing is the
commitment that you made to yourself to keep going.
Yeah. Because that's really what it
takes. Honestly, in the beginning it

(28:21):
started with just my body craving things and I just leaned
into it. The whole movement, the whole
nature. Music was a big thing for me.
I've always put big headphones on and blasted music.
What's your What's your go to? Honest.
You're gonna laugh. Classical music.
No, I'm not gonna laugh. It's like.

(28:41):
Oscar will tell you I'll be jamming out to classical all the
time. Beautiful like I can be.
No, it's, it's amazing. It's the most beautiful thing,
and then that's when it's reallybad.
OK. Then R&B like old school.
R&B is my. 90s nineties, which is why I grew up to mindset the
whole branding is all 90s hip hop and R and.
B OK, all right. Yeah, like to me.

(29:03):
Have you been to Fukia? To where?
Fukia. No.
It's all 90s R&B. It's you've been there, right?
No, I guess it's like. A late night thing because I go
to bed at 9:00 PM No, I mean. It's a it's an Asian.
She's going to kill me. But Annie, shout out to Annie,
her restaurants right over here.It's in the river.
It's amazing, delicious, like a like a it's Asian something you

(29:27):
know, you know how they do this Asian fusion, whatever, but they
play nothing but 90s hip hop. So that's what it made me think.
I love Yeah. Like when?
You would like it, the ambience take your husband.
It's it's. I need to go because for me, 90s
hip hop and R&B, like the beats are so simple, the rhymes are so
simple but so impactful. It's like poems.
And now I don't get me wrong, I still jam to like music from

(29:49):
nowadays, but it doesn't hit thesame.
Like if you listen to Common, Ohmy God, that guy's like he's a
poet. One of my favorite songs, The
Light. That's beautiful.
Such a beautiful song. Like so for me, it's like coming
back to basics. So again, like to get out of
this depression era for like a better word.

(30:11):
I came back to basics, whether it be music, whether it be
nature, whether it be movement. And this honestly came out of
just listening to my body. And I think I don't know who I
have to credit for this. I maybe I, I, I keep thinking
it's my dad. My dad is a sink or swim kind of

(30:32):
guy. And boy did he swim throughout
his entire life. He got out of bad situations and
did everything to give his kids everything that he didn't have.
And he's one of the biggest fighters I've ever getting
emotional. It's OK.
He's the strongest person I know.

(30:54):
And so I feel like I don't know if it's genetic, I don't know if
it's environmental. He always, always told me to
that no one can take anything that's in between your ears.
What you have, no one can take. And I feel like that's a sink or
swim moment. Like all you have is yourself

(31:14):
type of deal. So I feel like that was
ingrained in me. And I don't know if it's genetic
and I don't know, but I think ata certain moment it got so bad
after that quarantine that I waslike, you have to take control
now. Like you have to figure this
out, otherwise no one's going tohelp you.
And it's not for lack of support.

(31:35):
I have plenty of support. But I truly believe that
ultimately, even if you have support, the only person you can
count on to get yourself out of a shitty situation is yourself.
You cannot depend on other people to pull you out of
something. And so I just listen to my body.
I have no clue how. Honestly if I had the answer I

(31:57):
would give it, but I. But you stayed with it.
I stayed with. It that that is the answer, in
my opinion. I it's it's the fight.
It's the every single day. You obviously showed up for
yourself. Yeah.
And didn't allow what was ever what what what was happening
between the years. Yeah.
It's that conversation we have with ourselves every single day.

(32:18):
Yeah. And obviously you were speaking
life into yourself, otherwise you wouldn't have made it.
It's funny when you say that. So clearly yes, it's true.
And I, I felt like I was fighting everyday, but I knew
that the real DN was still in there and all I had to do was
literally get rid of the crap. It felt like you're, you're

(32:38):
underneath earth, right? Like someone basically dug a
hole, put a bunch of earth on you and you can't see the light.
And I was literally trying to dig out.
But believe me, once, once I dugout of that hole, I'm running
like I stole something. And again, I think that's my dad
and the way he basically raised us.

(32:59):
It's literally like bet on yourself, always bet on
yourself. And I will forever, forever bet
on myself even more now that I feel like I've got I got myself
out of that hole myself. It was quite, it was very hard,
but I'm so grateful for that lesson and I know that a lot of

(33:20):
people are going through it, whether it's now they went
through it before and heck, I might go through it again.
Like I think it's not talked about him enough.
I myself felt, felt like it's not something that would happen
to me. It just it's something that
happens to others. But no, like honestly, it
happens to, it can happen to everyone.

(33:41):
And I do think that the world welive in doesn't make it easier
for someone to get out of it. Like, think about our phones.
We're so disconnected from each other and from ourselves.
Like who is comfortable now sitting in a chair doing
nothing, being with your thoughts?

(34:01):
That's why I would like, for example, in the gym when there's
like a long endurance piece where I have to be on the roll
or for a long time or whatever, I will never ever put headphones
on. I want to sit with my thoughts,
'cause if you are not comfortable listening to your
thoughts, you got an issue. And it's it, it's hard to get
rid of that issue because it means you're super

(34:23):
uncomfortable. And my heart goes out to you,
'cause that's really freaking hard.
Yes. I'm not best.
My best thinking moments are in the sauna by myself.
No music, no nothing, no phone, no phone, just I can't stand
people to bring the phone into the sauna.
It drives me nuts. So bad for the phone and they're
it's bad for the phone, it's badfor it's and they're scrolling
the whole I'm like, could you just enjoy the sauna, please?

(34:46):
So yeah. But to be frank, I'm I'm one of
those people. Sometimes I will bring it in and
I have to tell myself no, stop looking at it like we are so
consumed by so much info all thetime.
All day. Long and I've fallen victim to
it and I, I get mad at myself. I'm like, why am I scrolling?
I could have used those 10 minutes to do something really

(35:08):
good for myself, like take a walk, right?
Or actually notice trees or notice the plants that are in my
garden. Like just stuff that we are
actually wired to do. And we're so far from what is
what we are wired to do and whatactually heals us.
And that's why I think we see somany issues.

(35:29):
I want to talk a little bit about the state of CrossFit
because me and you kind of went back and forth a little bit the
other day. I went on this like whole thing
that I was going to save CrossFit kind of over a period
of time. And then I realized I had to, I
had to worry about my own company stuff.
So I quickly abandoned that. But but I'd love to hear, you

(35:51):
know, your experiences with where you have come from
CrossFit, like, like your experience in the early days and
then like where you see it today, what your evolvement is
today, where you see it going. I believe it's still for sale,
correct. Like it's on the market.
I heard Rich Froning talking a little bit about it.
I've heard, you know, I've heardrumblings and stuff.

(36:13):
But I was just, you know, you'rein it.
Yeah, which CrossFit do you go to here?
I go to to CrossFit Miami Beach.OK, and is that where Sadie
goes? That's where Sadie goes.
Shout out Sadie. We love Sadie.
She's a. Sadie is a superhero.
Yeah, Yeah, she is. She's literally a superhero like
like living superhero. Oh yeah, she kicks my butt in

(36:34):
the gym. She's amazing, yeah.
She's. And Kaplan's awesome, so.
Oh yeah, he fixes. Me.
Yeah, he fixes us when we Jack ourselves up.
Yeah, basically. And I also go to peak 360.
Which, OK, Gito, my man, Gito. Love Gito.
Exactly, Yeah. It's two different vibes, both
amazing gyms. OK, I love going too, but I I

(36:54):
definitely you tap into a different vibe. 1 is very much
like more laid back. That's CrossFit Miami Beach, and
there's one that's a little bit more competitive where you get
elite CrossFit athletes who train there.
Yeah, Noah's there, Noah. 'S there exactly?
Who's the big The big black dudethat trains there too?
Noah's friend. Tola.
I. Think well Chandler Smith.
Or is it champ? Yeah, Chandler.

(37:15):
He is. Yeah, there's there's one.
Like dude, this is super Jack. Super nice too.
I mean, they're all nice, Yeah. It's such a a great community.
Yeah, Noah's kind of too nice. I tell him all the time.
Like bro, you're too nice. He he's sunshine.
Yeah, no, literally. Like he's too nice, I'm telling
you. Like.
No too nice means there's like ajudgement attached to it.
He's just joking. I'm joking.

(37:36):
But it it it is one of those things you're like, bro, he
can't be that nice. Come on.
He actually is. No, but he is.
No, he is. It's it's a real thing.
Kido too. Kido's super, like, just an
amazing guy. Yeah, amazing humans over there.
So. This community is like really,
really good. And I'm I'm really thankful to
tap into both. Like, you know, CrossFit has has
gone through a lot recently. I joined on the tail end of it's

(37:59):
what some might call their heyday, right?
I like August 2018, OK. I think they fired their media
team 2018 or 2019, something like that.
That's when, at least on the public side, you started seeing
that there were stuff, there wasstuff going on behind the
scenes. Now CrossFit is, is going

(38:23):
through what some might call it crisis.
I I call it an identity crisis, to be honest.
It's like a midlife crisis of just trying to understand what
you are, whether you're a sport,whether you're a training
methodology and can you be both?Do you have to choose?
And there's a a bunch of rumblings about who might buy

(38:45):
CrossFit right now. It's owned by a private equity
firm, Berkshire, Berkshire ShirePartners.
The CEO is Eric Rosa, who's a past like tech entrepreneur.
He also owns like a CrossFit gym.
There's a bunch of people who have put in, you know, their hat
in the ring. I'm even hearing Rory McIlroy.

(39:09):
He apparently has started in in sports investment funds and it's
somehow linked to TPG. I mean, these are all rumblings.
You don't know what is true, what isn't.
I just know it's up for sale, right?
I, I absolutely love the training methodology that that
is CrossFit. It's changed my life.

(39:29):
I don't think it's the best training methodology out there.
I think it's the best one for meright now, right?
That's a good way to describe it.
Yeah, you're smiling just because I'm not gonna preach
CrossFit. Well, I mean, if I'm smiling
because if you have a exercise science strengthening addition.
You're probably like that. Kinesiology background and you
know, it's tough to hear that and not smile.

(39:54):
But I'm also a believer that everyone from nutrition, from
lifestyle to training to sleep to everything is an individual
choice. Everything is.
Related to what works for you and what is like people always
ask me like you know when you know when should I work out when

(40:14):
should I do this on and when should I and I said when you
will do it you know and that's the biggest thing but.
Not only that, like it is absolutely about how you
practice something. Like there's a rate, there's a
spectrum of how to do CrossFit. You can compete in it or you can
just be a weekend warrior in it.And that's fine, right?
And cross people hate on cross it like, oh, it's they're so

(40:37):
injury prone. The last time I checked
pickleball, you know the injuries linked.
Well, you can get hurt. You can get hurt in anything.
And the truth is, is that most of the time you're getting hurt
because of the lack of technique.
There you go. And that's really what it boils
down to and your recovery. Exactly.

(40:58):
And I will say this, there are certain things about CrossFit
that you're having to perform technique in exhaustion and that
combination is very hard to master.
Basically what I see is that CrossFit is an elite situation.
Like to master CrossFit is, is years and years of, of training

(41:24):
without ego. That's another thing too.
Like if people are willing to not compete with the man next to
them or the woman next to them and be like, well, he's using,
you know, 185 lbs. So I have to use a, if they
would let their ego go and master the technique first, then
they would all of a sudden progress and not have the
injuries. But of course it's so
competitive and they see that and they're like, no, I have to

(41:46):
do what they're doing like that.But that's with anything.
I was going to say you can. You can have that as hit.
Exactly. Actually, a guy the other day
he, he, he was like insistent onjumping on a plyo box that he
couldn't jump on. But because the other guy did
it, he did it and he fell and hurt himself and that was an ego
injury. That's what I call ego injuries,

(42:06):
you know, and that I think that's.
Had an. Ego injury a million times have
you? Really.
Yeah, yeah, definitely interesting.
I broke my back twice so often times my osteo shout out Doctor
Goddard. And mine too.
So the osteopathic center and Kaplan, they keep me right?

(42:28):
Yeah. But So what would happen was is
Sean would inject me with, you know, pro low or PRP or stem
cells or whatever and get me right.
And as soon as I'm feeling 100%,I go and do crazy workouts and
stuff. And so that's where they now
that's years ago. But now, now the ego is very low

(42:49):
and I, I, I haven't, you know, knock on wood, I haven't been
injured in a while now because of that.
I'm very smart with listening tomy body and not pushing the
envelope and not just doing stupid stuff like I would in the
past. But certainly I've 1000% have
had ego injuries. So for sure like just doing

(43:10):
ridiculous things, you know, so.Yeah, and like I said, I said so
many people hate on CrossFit. I, I can only speak about what
is done for me and that's find confidence in myself because now
I focus more on what my body cando versus what it looks like.
I like that I put on muscle. To be frank, the way I'm built

(43:33):
is not the right build for CrossFit.
I'm literally not in the right sport. 100%.
Yeah, you're too. Tall.
First of all, I'm. Too tall.
Every single. Badass CrossFit girl is like
5/2. Exactly.
I'm £200. I laugh when I see guys do
weighted pull ups. I'm like, you haven't, you don't
even reach my weight yet. Like you need to add more.

(43:54):
And they're like, this is hard. I'm like, yeah, and this is me
doing it whilst having less testosterone, more fat and being
on a cycle every month, right. So I have no no.
Let me pull up to your body weight, strict.
Yeah, strict. I can do 88 and the real 1 so
I'm talking. Dead, dead hang.

(44:14):
That's what we're talking about underneath.
The chin back. Real, not the kipping.
Not the kipping, but also not the one where I start like that,
where my elbows are bent. No, like if there's something I
do that's amazing. Meats.
That's awesome, right? That's a great me a long time.
Yeah, and you're going to get to10.
I can. Think I'm hoping.
I'm hoping, but you know, back when I started, they would tell

(44:35):
me go ahead and squeeze your lats.
I'm like, what do you mean? I didn't, I didn't have that
mind muscle connection. Like I could not squeeze my
lats. I did not understand.
And then once I started coaching, I realized that this
was quite prominent amongst females.
We don't use lats and ours aren't even that developed.

(44:58):
So when you're trying to do a pull up, sometimes I do this
under fatigue. In fact, I probably do it more
often than not. Under fatigue, you use your back
like the upper back, etcetera, instead of actually using your
lats. And once now you tell me squeeze
your lats, I'm like, got it. But that took me a long, long
time. And that's the journey that I

(45:19):
love with CrossFit. I have found physical and mental
strength through it and that's why I love this sport.
Do I think it's for everyone? Not necessarily.
It's like saying basketball's for everyone.
It's not. I think what's for you is what
makes you feel empowered, what makes you feel healthy, and what
makes you happy. But I will say this, it can be

(45:40):
for everyone. It can be yeah.
So it's it's two way St. like basketball can be for everyone,
correct, because anyone can playbasketball, correct.
Anyone can do CrossFit. Yes.
It's just you have to figure outif that's really what you wanna
do, Correct. And experience.
I would say the thing for me about CrossFit that stands out
the most is the community. Yeah, absolutely.

(46:03):
In its heyday. And again, I'm not familiar with
what's going on right now other than the rumblings that they
need help. But in the early days, like you
said, because when in my in our heyday, which we're still
growing, I feel like we haven't touched our real true heyday.
But I think a lot of fitness facilities, 2019 was like a just

(46:24):
a monster year. Like it was like we were just
packed classes, you know what I mean?
It was just a fantastic year anda lot of cross fitters would
come take pit as their conditioning nice.
And so I meet a lot of them, including, you know, Sadie would
come over and Noah came over a couple of times.

(46:44):
So and for me it was just the way they talked about it, how
they rallied around each other, how they encouraged each other,
how they ate the same things. And everybody's in the paleo
thing like, you know, at that time back then, you know, you
know, the the just the camaraderie of it was awesome to

(47:04):
me. And that's what I took from it
and applied that to what we do and really kind of like looked
at that and said this is a positive thing out of CrossFit.
So and I still think there's tons of room for them to I think
ghetto and I talked about a little bit that they should
probably have the exactly the two things that you said is the

(47:26):
struggle. Which one is it?
And they should probably break it apart to a certain degree and
have like programming for the sport and programming for just
the everyday person so that it'snot like the everyday person
doesn't feel like they're competing against the five foot
8, you know, 220 LB little monster that's next to them.
So. I agree with that.

(47:48):
Like logically that's where my mind goes, we need to separate
them. But the counter argument to that
is what makes the community of CrossFit so strong is that they
are doing the same thing that elite athletes are doing.
So when you look at the season really starts with the open,

(48:09):
which tends to be in February toMarch every year.
And now it's a series of three workouts, one every week.
And whether it be your weekend warrior at a CrossFit gym or an
elite athlete like Noah Olson, they're all doing the same
workout and that's kicks off theseason.

(48:30):
So let me ask you this though, are they all doing the same
weight? So that's a great question.
There are two different divisions.
There's RX and scaled. RX means prescribed and that's
what the elite athletes are doing.
And that's what people who you know are are proficient in
certain movements and in certainweights tend to do.

(48:51):
If that's too much, like for example if they don't know how
to do toast to bar for example, that would be prescribed toast
to bars. Literally, you're hanging on the
rig and you can use a kipping motion in order to get your
toast to the bar and hit it. Some people can't.
So they'll basically do knees tochest type of deal, right?

(49:14):
That would be the scaled. So scaled is not that it's
easier, it's just you're not there yet.
But let me let's make sure that you're still getting.
It's a little modified, right? It's a little modified.
Yeah, that way everyone can do it.
So obviously the elite athletes are doing RXAK prescribed.
People love that they are actually doing the same thing as

(49:37):
these athletes that they look upto.
Like now you really feel like you're part of the same
community, right? And you have to do the open to
get to the CrossFit Games. That's where the top like 0.1%
goes. I never got there, but you knew
that I'm like top 10% or maybe even top 12 now, who knows, but

(49:58):
they're literally like the fittest on Earth, like 40, you
know, people. That's what makes the CrossFit
community so strong. So if you separate that where
you have the sport of CrossFit on one end and the training
methodology on the other, there can't be the open.

(50:19):
So, but logically for me, it makes sense from a branding
perspective. I think also there's a lot of
stuff going on in the CrossFit space.
There's been a lot of chatter, good and bad.
Like there's a lot of black or white.
No one's really talking about the Gray area.
It's, it's, it's, it's such a divisive moment right now.

(50:41):
It's actually quite sad to see. I don't, I don't like stuff like
this, but because of what happened with CrossFit, it's
just a bunch of different things.
But perhaps lack of full clear communication, maybe being
transparent or lack thereof. Because based off of an incident

(51:02):
that happened at the CrossFit Games last year where there was
a tragedy and, and we unfortunately lost an athlete,
the community was really down. Like, you know, you talk about
how strong this community is. We lost one of our own.
So it some weren't happy with the CrossFit Games continuing
when unfortunately, this death happened on the first day of the

(51:25):
CrossFit Games. Some were OK with continuing,
but then they weren't happy withhow CrossFit, the brand handled
it. And then even afterwards, just
what is this gonna mean? Is is, are we gonna be more
cognizant of safety procedures? Are you taking responsibility
for the tragedy? Like there were so much and it,

(51:47):
it's true. I see it as a pure lack of
transparency, which is kind of scary because, and perhaps it's
a legal thing. I don't know what's going on on
the inside. I'm on the outside looking in.
And as you know, as a business owner and I myself know, until
you're in that structure in the company, you don't really know

(52:11):
what's going on. So I don't know why there was a
lack of transparency. All I know is there was and and
then it's all of a sudden new season.
Let's go. This is how the new season is
structured. And here are the changes.
And people are like, wait a second, we're still not over
what so. They never addressed it.
They did, but they didn't not enough to for people to feel

(52:35):
like they addressed it. And maybe it's for legal reasons
like who knows, right? But.
But they could say that. I mean, you know, was there ever
a formal statement? Was there a formal statement?
A. Formal statement, but then you
know how it goes and people start pointing fingers and then
it comes out that this person said this, this person did that.

(52:57):
I mean, it becomes so messy and people are like, I'm
disappointed. And so now there's a new league
called the World Fitness Project.
WFPI was just there a couple a couple days ago in Indianapolis.
It was the inaugural event wherea bunch of CrossFit athletes

(53:19):
that we've seen at the CrossFit Games competed because they get
pro cards. So it's kind of like the PGA
Tour. So think of PGA Tour versus
live. This is what happened in
CrossFit. Interesting.
Yeah, it's really. What's it called again?
World Fitness project. World Fitness project.
And I came in as media, I was invited as media.

(53:39):
And I just wanted to see, hey, this is a new business.
I, I want to see it flourish because it's a new business.
I love it. The, the people who started it
are entrepreneurs. That's so hard.
Let me see. You know, you're, you're setting
up something new and the whole world is waiting to see if you
fail and you have the guts to doit in front of the whole world.

(54:00):
And they did and they did a great job.
They I had the best time, The athletes had the best time.
It's a great way for athletes toshow off what they can do.
It's a great new platform for brands to make more money, get
more exposure. But then of course, with what's
going on, people in the CrossFitspace are like, wait a second,

(54:21):
are you competing with CrossFit?And.
Is it? Is it the programming CrossFit?
Yeah, yeah, it's CrossFit. So it's not like high rocks
where it's different programming.
It's functional fitness. Yeah, let's be frank now.
CrossFit doesn't own functional fitness, right?
Of course no one owns functionalfitness.

(54:42):
What's interesting in America isthat the US is one of the only
countries on earth to not have aministry of sports.
What does that mean? Sports is not publicly funded.
It's privately funded, so that means that these companies can
pretty much do what they want with a sport, especially if it's

(55:05):
a non Olympic sport, for example'cause then you have the Olympic
Committee, etcetera. But when you take the sport of
functional fitness, who owns it?All you know is that you have an
umbrella of brands. Hyrox's functional Fitness.
Are they all tapping into the same key demographic?

(55:25):
Yes. Does that mean they're
competitors? You tell me.
All I know is this being the US and with so much emphasis on
private companies and capitalism, I think that if
you're seeing another company tapping into your key
demographic, it is up to you to make whatever you offer better.

(55:53):
That's what capitalism. I was about to say, that's the
same thing as McDonald's and Burger King.
You know what I mean? Like it's, it is what it is.
Like game on. Exactly.
Coca-Cola doesn't own sodas. Coca-Cola is a type of soda.
A brand. And at the end of the day, as a
company, and you know this as anowner of a company, if you feel

(56:14):
like other companies are tappinginto your key demographic and
they might be going that way more, you unfortunately, because
this is very painful, have to hold up a mirror to yourself and
say, what am I doing wrong? And the way for companies to do
that, as you know, is to ask their customers, what am I doing

(56:36):
wrong? And it is so painful.
Think about it, even on a personal level, to ask someone
when you've messed up or when you're not doing well enough.
What did I do wrong? And to hear it, it sucks.
Multiply that by thousands and hundreds of thousands of people.
It's horrible. But again, that's your key to

(56:58):
success. And in America, you have the
freedom to do what you want withyour company, but you,
especially with regards to sports, but you have the, dare I
say, responsibility to do right by the sport.
It's interesting, though, you keep referring to America

(57:20):
because Crossfit's a global sport.
True, but it's in America. It started in the US CrossFit
isn't in America. But wouldn't you say like I
mean, and again, out of context,correct me if I'm wrong, but
it's pretty massive in Europe it's.
Huge. But we're talking about the
structure in itself, not the reach.
We're literally thinking, I'm thinking about the entity where

(57:41):
you're clearly there's someone else coming up in the
environment and into your key demographic.
So would you say this new company is trying to replace
CrossFit Games? I can't speak for them.
Do I think they are? No, I think actually.
Or compete with it might be a better way to say it.

(58:03):
That's a great question and I asked Will Murad who started the
WF. Because the format is like a
game, right? It's like games, it's
competitive. It's an event, It's a
competition. Yeah, yes, OK.
Whether they are competing, it depends how you define
competing. Are they tapping into the same

(58:24):
key demographic? Yes.
Is there a winner like yeah, OK,so it's definitely a a
competition so but the. Structure's a little different,
like people earn pro cards, etcetera.
Like to be honest, it's not evenmy place to answer that
question. I feel like because I
interviewed Will Murad, the the one who started the WFP, and I

(58:44):
asked him that question and he literally said we're staying in
our own lane. So I just think like, whether
they're competitors or not, if CrossFit is upset with it, it is
Crossfit's duty as a brand to see why this is happening,

(59:05):
whether they can fix it and how to fix it.
And I say all of this because for me, not only as a business
owner who tries to help companies grow, but also as a
fan of this sport, I want it to be better.
They're only good things can come from everyone in the

(59:25):
functional space doing better. There's so many people in
CrossFit who hate on high rocks,So many people in high rocks who
hate on CrossFit. I love high rocks.
But that that just hearing you say that is the silliest thing
I've. Ever heard about?
And it's very similar though to when so and I would say it still
exists today. Miami used to be, I, I don't

(59:46):
feel it as much as it used to be, but right around that time,
2018-2019, everyone talks shit about everybody.
CrossFit boxes talk shit about each other.
CrossFit talk shit about legacy,legacy talks.
I mean, I'll be honest, we probably talk shit about this,
you know, like it was like everybody was putting their

(01:00:08):
chest out, like we're better. And I used to.
Try to frame it. I used to tell my staff we're
not allowed to say we're the best even though we felt like we
were the best. I would always say, let's frame
it as we're the leader in Group fitness.
We're not the best in Group fitness because that's you can
always better your best. So even if you have a year where
you're supposedly the best, well, then somebody's coming out

(01:00:30):
after you the next year, you know?
So to me, be a leader, have an impact consistently, like always
be a leader in the field. Yeah.
So that also other people can be, can lead.
And and because we're all in this together, what irritates me
is like fitness, it got you out of depression.

(01:00:51):
Like fitness is something that anybody can apply to their
lives, no matter what they choose to do, whether they do
solid core or yoga or whatever, it's all good.
It's we're all in this together.So to be hating on like hearing
CrossFit hate on high rocks is ridiculous.
Like because the thing and vice versa and high rocks hating on
cross, it's absurd. It's really ridiculous.

(01:01:13):
Everybody is out there trying tocompete, trying to be the best
that they can be committed to it.
You know, that's The thing is like, and I saw a bunch of
CrossFit athletes do high rocks.So you know.
But that's the beautiful thing. I just want people to move on a
personal level. Do am I the biggest fan of High
Rocks? Am I going to sign up?
I'll probably sign up, but it's it's not necessarily something

(01:01:35):
that excites me right now. But I I still want to compete in
CrossFit and I do feel like training for both is very hard.
So I prefer training for. One, it's very hard because
there's so much more endurance and high rocks.
Exactly. To be honest, on a personal
level, I suck at running. I'm not ready to do that yet,
but once I actually start. Some long legs.

(01:01:56):
I got long legs, but I got some heavy legs, yeah.
Give them strides out there, so I sure.
Do I actually want to work on myrunning?
Then I want to do high rocks. I do one day want to do it.
I just want people to move. If people move, they become the
best version of themselves. If they have more options in
order to do that movement, even better.

(01:02:18):
On top of that, a rising tide lifts all boats.
If the WFP is here, maybe CrossFit has to be here.
And then that means, oh wait, we're tapping into the same
demographic, let me get better. They will up each other.
That's the beauty of it. And I want everyone to shine.
I really, really do. And I don't like this divisive

(01:02:39):
environment that is kind of taking over the narrative.
It's actually quite sad. Well, it's, it's ridiculous.
It's like, imagine it would be like the NFL hating on the NBA.
Like we don't do that. Like we don't like football
doesn't hate on soccer. And it's like, well, football
doesn't hate on football, but you know, but you know, tennis

(01:03:00):
isn't hating on pickleball. Like it's if we're truly looking
at this as a sport, we should becelebrating athletes no matter
what they choose to do, period. And it's all hard too.
Like it's, it's a, it's a tough,like both of those are very
demanding sports. Firerox, at first, when it first
came out, I was like, what is this?

(01:03:22):
And then the more I saw these races, the more I just realized
just how hard it is. There's no way.
Like you tell me tomorrow, sign up for Highrox.
There's no way. I will die.
I will die. You won't.
You won't die. You could do it.
I'll do it because we have members that have done it.
Yeah. No, you would.
You would have, actually. You probably.
You would probably surprise yourself actually.

(01:03:44):
I don't know. You have not seen me run.
If I'm running towards food, different story, But if I'm
running around. Running towards food that.
That I will Sprint. What's your favorite?
What's your favorite go to meal?OK.
Are we being are we being healthy or no?
What go to meal like? Anything Lebanese food.
Lebanese. Yeah, even better buffet.

(01:04:05):
Like a buffet. A.
Lebanese. I is that does that exist in
Miami? Yeah, well, I don't know in
Miami, but elsewhere, absolutely.
And it's the most beautiful thing to just have a huge
amount. What is so help me out.
I don't think I've I'm not versed in Lebanese.
Yeah. What?
What are they known for? Oh my God.
OK, you ready? Because I'm about to start
drooling. All right, Hummus is big, OK,

(01:04:27):
Shawarmas, which is kind of likea kebab.
And then you have like your yourmore traditional ones like
fasulia and things like that. And then you have like desserts
where Oh my God, knife get ready.
It's melted cheese like mozzarella style with like a
sugar crust and there's like rose syrup and pistachios on it

(01:04:49):
and you stuff that into warm bread and then the cheese just
goes on every side as you bite into it.
It is I, I, I love it. And the thing about Lebanese
food, my dad's Lebanese by the way, the thing about Lebanese
food is it's made for mountain people 'cause Lebanon is
basically a bunch of beautiful, beautiful mountains.

(01:05:10):
The water goes straight into themountains.
It's just insane. And so it has to be sustainable
food and it's very simple food because it's not the richest of
countries, but man is it flavorful and it's full of like
meat and things like that. Like, it's just so you're, once
you sit down for Lebanese food, yeah, your stomach will keep

(01:05:32):
expanding for a good few hours after that because it's
sustainable. Like, it keeps you going.
And I love it. Is there any Lebanese
restaurants in Miami? The best I've found is a mud in
Coconut Grove. That's the best 1A mud.
So it's Amal like a mall. And what's very interesting Do

(01:05:53):
you eat raw meat? Every now and then.
OK, I love me some raw meat, in fact.
I mean, I'll do like, like Wagyubeef and stuff like, yeah, like
love that. Love that.
Amazing. Yeah, actually love it.
I actually feel so good and so strong when I eat raw meat.
Obviously you have to be very. Have you seen the Lurking
documentary yet? No.
Well, yes, but he's on a whole different level.

(01:06:16):
I'm talking about here and there, but they have Kid Bin
Naye, which is basically grounded up meat, lamb meat,
beef together with like some spices.
You eat it on raw onion. So you take a raw onion, you put
the meat on top, you drizzle it with olive oil from Lebanon.

(01:06:36):
That sounds. Delicious and you just eat it,
love. It they have this at that
restaurant. Yes, which was very surprising.
Signing up is we could do a whole podcast of food my friend.
Legit. So you, so you said your dad's
from Lebanese and obviously he'sa big, a big influence on your
life. Huge.
Probably the biggest in my. Life and it's still today very

(01:06:58):
much amazing and what what is just name some I mean you went
you said a few things before earlier, but like kind of dive
into like what you've learned from.
Him, honestly, it's just bettingon yourself.
That's the biggest thing. He had to bet on himself his
whole life and it turned out well for him.

(01:07:21):
Like just to give you an example, he comes from Lebanon
and and he didn't have enough money to.
He wanted to become a doctor andhe wanted to study in the US,
but he didn't have enough money.So he settled on going to
France. He got a scholarship 'cause his

(01:07:43):
grades were so good. He worked his butt off and he
got a scholarship to be sent to France to become an engineer.
He got 2° at the same time. Like he worked so hard.
All he did was go to school, getthe good grades so that he could
actually get a good job. His dream was one to move to the

(01:08:03):
US, two, to send his kids to theUS for school.
He did both. And that to me is all I need to
know about my dad. He, I I can't even put into
words the love I have for my dad.
I will forever, forever be his little girl.

(01:08:25):
And I, I say that with so much pride.
And I'm so happy that I look just like him.
Oh, that's so good. Yeah.
Like, you know, when you're, you're growing up and you're,
like, going through stuff and you probably aren't happy with
the way you look like. I wanted to get a nose job back
when I was like 16 or, you know,and then I remember thinking,
no, you can't get a nose job 'cause if you get 1 you won't

(01:08:47):
look like your dad. And I'm so glad.
And he don't need one, so thank God you didn't.
Thank you, but I'm so glad I didn't.
He's now forever. I can look in the mirror and I
see my dad. That's all I want.
That's beautiful. So I I typically ask this to all
the guests at the end. What if there was one thing that

(01:09:11):
you would want people to know about you, but you don't think
they do? What would it be?
Honestly I wish I could just meet them.
I feel like the energy some someone puts off says so much
about them. I can't say this and that about
me, about myself, but I feel like you need to feel it.

(01:09:38):
Like it's not that everyone loves you.
Believe me. I'm not saying that 50% of
people will like you or dislike you based on whatever you know
they're, they're thinking. You can't really control that.
But what I mean is like, it's like when sometimes I have
meetings, I prefer to have them person to person because then
you see the intention in my eyes, like it's different.

(01:10:00):
So I can sit here and say this and that about myself, but I'd
much rather actually sit with a person and then feel it.
And I feel it from them too. So I don't know.
That totally did not answer yourquestion, but to me there's no
way of answering. I understood it and then also
sitting across from you. I get it so cuz I can tell what
you mean by it because I'm experiencing it.

(01:10:23):
Aw, so you know yeah for sure. And then lastly, tell us like
what's next with you and growth to mind.
I mean, I'm sure there's a lot, but yeah, you know, top of mind.
What is next maybe maybe your next event, Tell people about
SO. I'm saying Oh my God, cuz like
I'm so excited. I love what I do and I can't

(01:10:43):
believe that I've created the life that I live because it
truly brings me so much happiness.
We have a bunch of stuff going on.
Go to Mindset, so one of them isthe next Go to Mindset Retreat,
which is on June 21st. You guys, no days off sponsoring
the event. Thank you very much.
Man, is that at peak? No, that's across at Miami.
Oh, CrossFit Miami. Yeah.

(01:11:03):
So like a breathwork for performance class, and then
there's going to be physio, chiropractic services, amazing
water, no days off, yes, some healthy food, all that stuff.
It's a platform so that I've created so that Wellness and
sports companies can tap into their key demo demographic and
the key demographic, AKA our guests can actually enjoy these

(01:11:24):
services. We have the Champions two event
coming up and the intro you touched on how we volunteer our
time at Gigi's Playhouse, which is an achievement Center for
people with Down syndrome. It's nationwide.
And what I created was a Champions event which started
last year, was actually at peak 360, where the members of Gigi's

(01:11:46):
Playhouse, who I like to coach CrossFit to, along with a bunch
of other people, including Chad Sorrentino, we invited them over
to peak in like, I mean, it's such a beautiful gym and they
got coached by elite CrossFit Games athletes like yeah,
etcetera. So the Champions Two event is

(01:12:07):
coming up next week and what we're doing is we're gonna coach
them at Wynwood Fitness Club. So in a beautiful CrossFit gym
and then right after we're goingto go outside because it's
Wynwood and we're going to painta mural all.
Together. Because I believe that art is
quite therapeutic and brings people together.
So those are the events. But for the clients on that

(01:12:28):
side, lots of product launches because the summer's coming up.
So that's hot. A lot of CEO calls, as you as
you know, a lot of fires to be put out.
And I have some stuff planned for the end of the year, which
I'll be releasing too. I'm excited.
Well, thank you so much. I've enjoyed it.
And yeah, good luck the rest of the year.

(01:12:48):
Good luck to you. Yes, of course.
Thank you.