#wegotgoals

On #WeGotGoals podcast episode 102, I interviewed the founder of 305 (305 Fitness, that is), Sadie Kurzban. When she was only 24, Kurzban was putting the finishing touches on the first physical space for 305 Fitness in the heart of New York City, a project that was four times as expensive as she planned, while the rest of her pals from college were simply enjoying their second year out of college. "I was sitting there thinking, what did I just do? I was super scared," Kurzban told me in this episode. But it was at this point - a point at which many people may deem the stress to be insurmountable - that Kurzban believed in herself and the mission she founded the company on. Not only did she get past her fears of owning one studio, but she then went on to open more locations in four cities and certify over 60 more national instructors to teach the 305 Fitness method. Back in 2012, Kurzban had a vision to take her passion for dance and a desire to create change in the fitness industry (and to make it more access

Even if you're not familiar (yet) with She Can & She Did or the Badass Lady Gang, you probably know who Kelly Roberts is thanks to her viral 15 minutes back in 2014, when she ran a half marathon and took selfies with an unsuspecting hot guy every mile. The popular Buzzfeed post inspired a blog, and from there, Roberts has taken on the mantle of relatable "struggle runner" to women worldwide. Candidly referring to herself as a former president of the I Hate Running Club, Roberts now trains to one day qualify for the Boston Marathon, and she wants women worldwide to realize that strength comes in different shapes, sizes, and body types (she even crowdsourced a sports bra guide to help women of all sizes find a suitable sports bra for them, pointing out that not having a fitting, functional sports bra can be a major obstacle to being active). On She Can & She Did, she invites women to share their stories through stories, art, images, and more. (And Roberts herself has represented a non-traditional image

Bonnie Micheli and Tracy Roemer - co-founders of Shred415 - are sort of a package deal. Together, they go by Bonnie and Tracy, populating a shared Instagram under the name with photos of the two of them, sharing an office where each sits under their first initial, taking vacations with their families together. In fact, it was during this interview that I realized that I had not ever pronounced their last names aloud. And at aSweatLife, we use a style that was beaten into me in Journalism School - spelling out a full name and listing a title on first mention (Bonnie Micheli and Tracy Roemer - co-founders of Shred415) and then referring to that person by their last name from that point forward. And although I will follow that style, I must note how difficult it's going to be, which is a true win for the pair who have successfully branded themselves by their first names together and created a world for themselves built around fitness. "I think we're sisters at this point," Micheli said of the pair that met in li

Go back in time with me for a minute, back to when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (and wrote about it, here). After the trip, I found it incredibly hard to distill the experience into a two-sentence answer I could call upon when people asked me how the trip went. It was awesome, it was emotional, it was awful at times and joyful at others, and the aspect of doing this insane achievement with my close family put a whole different layer on things. Fast forward to my podcast interview with Hilaree Nelson, an explorer and ski mountaineer, and I finally felt like I'd found someone who could truly relate to my unique experience. That's because Hilaree also climbed Kilimanjaro with her family, who ranged in age from four years old to 74 years old. The highs were high and the lows were low, and by the time we wrapped up that portion of the interview, I had almost forgotten that I wasn't talking to a close friend—I was talking to someone who's climbed two 8,000 meter peaks (Everest and Lhotse) in 24 hours; wh

Ten years ago, when Rafe Offer created Sofar Sounds, he had no idea what kind of global community he would build. He didn't know how badly people needed real, tangible, human connection. He was just frustrated with his experiences at concerts by musical artists he knew and respected. With the drive to improve his own listening experience, Offer came up with a relatively simple idea: invite artists into people's homes to play an intimate set. The audience would kindly be asked to not use their phones and hold off on getting up to get drinks during the experience. Offer describes that first experience as something that truly allowed for connection. It felt so good, they decided to do it again, and then again. By the third living room concert, the line to enter was out the door - and Offer and his co-founders knew they were onto something. Since that first concert in London in 2009, Sofar Sounds has reached 400 cities, with over 20,000 concerts played in various living rooms, on rooftops and in small retail spac

"I do think that I’ve become the patron saint of failure," Sarah Robb O'Hagan said as I spoke to her for the #WeGotGoals podcast with a laugh. But that's exactly what made me pay attention when I met her two years ago: a special sort of grit that's simultaneously powerful and vulnerable. On this week's episode, Robb O'Hagan and I talk about her goals, sure, and they're well worth a listen, but I was most struck by her retelling of childhood in New Zealand. It's also telling to note what was dominating the news when we spoke - it was in close proximity to the college cheating scandal that made "Aunt Becky" trend on twitter and days after a terrorist attack devastated a mosque in New Zealand. And in the background, we had rescheduled our interview so that Robb O'Hagan could attend a vigil in a mosque in New York City shoulder-to-shoulder with a grieving community. Robb O'Hagan is naturally an introspective person, but I'd think that because of this convergence of factors, you'll catch a certain nostalgia in th

Some athletes aim to run or bike faster, others to score more points or lift heavier. But those at Chicago’s EDGE Athlete Lounge have the same underlying target: “becoming better people and helping each other attain whatever goal is in front of them.” Robyn LaLonde and her husband Brian opened EDGE about five years ago as a space where athletes can “do hard things together,” she told me on this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals. The idea came to the couple when they were training for an Ironman triathlon and found that, even after hours together on the ride or run, they wanted to keep hanging out with their training partners. The only obvious location was a bar, but the LaLondes thought there must be another option. So they went about creating it, opening a spot that feels like the sweatiest living room you can imagine. There are plenty of recovery tools—from ice baths to lasers to inflatable compression boots—along with bike trainers, Woodway treadmills, and training classes. The facilities draw high performers

I have a few things that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who will listen to me: the fancy Medjool dates from Trader Joe's, my acupressure mat, the book Station Eleven. And for the past few months, I've added Girls' Night In to that list. Girls' Night In (GNI) is an email newsletter that goes out every Friday, and it's dedicated to all things self-care and the joy of staying in. Expect to get a blend of product recommendations, buzzworthy conversation topics, and a few #longreads to kill those last few hours at your desk. It's no secret around here that I love the written word, and I have a special fascination with email newsletters in particular (in no small part because I have occasionally tried to force my friends to read my own recaps of The Bachelor by spamming their inboxes with my long-winded musings). The feeling of writing a long, thought-out email and then sending it into the internet is a special kind of vulnerability—will anyone respond? Is someone going to get that obscure Drake lyric? Did I

By the time Coss Marte, Founder and CEO of ConBody, landed in solitary confinement at Rikers Island Prison he was ready for a new path. And that path would eventually lead him to create a fitness sensation with a built-in cause component that landed him in The New York Times, Buzz Feed, Elle, Vice, and The Startup podcast. While sitting alone in his cell 23 hours a day, he reflected on his ninth incarceration. This time, he had gotten his own health in-check, losing 70 pounds through prison cell calisthenics. After helping himself, he helped other inmates get healthy too, 20 of them lost 1,000 pounds combined. And it's hard to understand what solitary confinement does to a person unless you've researched it extensively or lived it, but it is certainly not something one would ever hope for. During this interview, I referenced solitary confinement as "an opportunity" for Marte as he noted that its within the tiny cell, in the dead of summer that he finds his inspiration for ConBody. That's a cringeworthy moment

My first memory of fitness was in, you guessed it, a Jazzercise class. In elementary school I had a few classes at my dance studio, but that didn't feel like a workout. (And why should it? It was dance. It was just fun!) It wasn't until my aunt dragged me to her Jazzercise class one summer afternoon, and I was sandwiched between so many adult women dancing furiously for an hour, dripping sweat and repeatedly giving each other high fives between songs, that I made the connection: dance and fitness might very well be the same thing. And for women across the nation and the world, Jazzercise was the first form of dance fitness to ever allow them to feel good - to genuinely have a good time - while working out. "When Jazzercise began, there really wasn't a fitness industry, " Shanna Missett Nelson, President of Jazzercise and daughter of Jazzercise founder Judi Missett told me. When Judi Missett saw women dropping out of her dance classes in school, she wanted to know why. The women loved to dance, but they weren'

Runners might travel the streets of their city for years without noticing some of the art that decorates alleys, buildings, and walls. Marnie Kunz aims to change that—and to bridge gaps between the communities of athletes, artists, and local businesses while she’s at it. Through her company, Runstreet, she hosts approximately three- to four-mile guided art runs at a relaxed pace through New York and other major cities (a goal she’s particularly proud of—leveraging sponsorships and other relationships to expand into new locations). “It’s a way to connect to people while staying inspired on the run,” she told me on this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals. The idea came to her about four years ago. She was already a running coach and a blogger; on her own runs around the city, she’d find street art, then document it on social media. Her followers eventually started asking questions about what they were seeing. “I thought, well, I’ll just organize an event where we run and go to the art and I can show people,” she sai

On the first two seasons of #WeGotGoals, we sought out individual goal-getters that we admired, whose missions aligned with ours and whose passions we found motivating and inspirational. Standouts like Kate Field of The Kombucha Shop, Jillian Lorenz of The Barre Code, Sarah Spain of ESPN, and Jen Ator of Women's Health all graced our airwaves, sharing their invaluable advice and inspiring us to dream even bigger. And while the heart of that won't change during season 3 of the pod, we decided to take advantage of the fresh start of a new season. This year, we're structuring our season around four big themes we care a lot about, and we'll highlight goal-getting guests who are doing big things as a part of that theme. Not quite sure what we mean? Here's a sneak peek at what our podcast calendar will look like in the coming year: From March through May, we'll interview guests working towards the greater goal of building community. You'll hear from the founder of the Runstreet community and the daughter of the fou

Readers and listeners, today marks a special day in aSweatLife chronology. Today we celebrate Episode 90 of the #WeGotGoals podcast. And it's not just special because it's episode number 90; we're also celebrating our two-year anniversary of sharing big time goal getters' stories on this podcast platform. We've had just about 90 guests on our podcast over the past two years—from Olympians to world champion runners, from critically acclaimed authors to activists, Survivor contestants to leadership coaches, world traveling yogis to some of the best chefs in the business. They've all shared big goals they're proud to say aloud and state for all of you, the listeners, what they're working towards in the future. In this very special #WeGotGoals season finale episode, you'll hear five (yes, five!) hosts share some of their favorite lessons learned from podcast guests over the last year, as well as a few goals they tackled on their own. Upon reflecting over 90 episodes chock-full of rich information, helpful tips, a

When The Barre Code first opened its doors in River North eight years ago, there was something different about it from the start. Rather than touting what women could lose—weight, say, or “cottage cheese”—founders Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin instead put their focus squarely on what each and every person who walked in the doors could gain. “Our studios are so much more than just fitness,” Lorenz told me at a special live recording of #WeGotGoals at the Hotel Moxy in Chicago. “We use fitness as a vehicle to provide self-acceptance and love to ourselves, and then support others in their pursuit to find their own.” The approach helped start a sea change in the fitness world overall, Lorenz said. Now that The Barre Code is a national franchise—with 59 locations sold and 31 open, and plans for an even larger expansion—she hopes they’ll continue to set the tone for a broader definition of well-being. Launching that franchise program is one big goal Lorenz is particularly proud of, and getting there was more ha

One of the workplace hazards of recording a podcast is that a lot of the time, we end up recording over the phone. And with that medium—especially if it's the first time you're ever talking to this person beyond email—developing a good chemistry between host and guest is kind of a 50-50 toss-up. You might get along like a house on fire (which is a really weird phrase, by the way), or you might wait out awkward pauses during which you're not sure whose turn it is to speak or whether it'll completely kill the story if you interject. So as I plugged in my headphones to call Kate Field, CEO and founder of The Kombucha Shop, I was prepared for either experience. I had my customary Type-A list of carefully worded questions ready to go, grouped by category in case the conversation well ran dry and I needed the switch topics. I am nothing if not a good list-maker. But my lists went almost completely to the wayside the second I heard Kate's warm voice log onto our recording platform. It's a true talent to be able to c

When you look at problems like systematic oppression, the 20-year life expectancy gap between people of color and Caucasian communities, a lack of physical activity programming for kids, or even stigma about accessing mental health services … well, it’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed. The high achievers on this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals, however, chose to face these issues head-on rather than shrinking from them. Each one has created a unique way to improve their communities—all using fitness as a catalyst. As part of the #SweatworkingWeek last month, CLIF presented a Lunch and Learn called Fitness Is for Everyone: Perspectives in Equity. Immediately afterward, the four panelists took a few steps around the corner into the podcast studio and continued the conversation. Here at aSweatLife, we’re always looking for ways to expand access to the benefits of an active lifestyle, so no one encounters a barrier to living their best lives. So, we were happy to learn more about each of these panelists’ innovative

Here's a behind-the-podcasting-scenes nugget for you: before I interview anyone for our podcast, I obsessively Google them, usually all within the last 45 minutes leading up to our scheduled interview time. I like to think all the information will be fresh in my head then; it's definitely not cramming, or anything. Right? So it was at approximately 1:17 pm that I called Marie, our Director of Partnerships, who met Maya French (co-founder of Koia) at a past #SweatworkingWeek Fitness Festival. When I asked Marie what I should talk to Maya about, she immediately texted back: "OMG I LOVE HER. Do you have like 2 mins and I can call you? Would be easier than texting haha." Once on the phone, Marie adorably gushed about how helpful Maya's been to Marie and her business partner as they start their own beverage company. As a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient with potential partners beating down her door, Marie spoke about how Maya somehow found the time to answer Marie's industry questions by sending thoughtful, structured

The concept of the pop-up shop changed the way businesses think about brick-and-mortar retail. If you're a small business owner who doesn't want to sign a seven-year lease before you've proven your concept, you don't have to. Trailblazers - big and small -  have reinvented retail by creating short-term opportunities in retail to test concepts, using underutilized space and social media to fill those spaces for a moment in time. Ashley Rockwood, founder of FREE MVMT Shop is that for fitness. Rockwood created a permanent idea in the FREE MVMT Shop - a movement studio - but its location changes periodically. This idea is pushing Chicagoans to step out of their ordinary routines and into new neighborhoods,  all while FREE MVMT Shop acts as a temporary tenant in commercial real estate spaces. Rockwood's first pop-up was on Southport and her second is in Lincoln Park. After I caught wind of what she was creating, Rockwood and I met via Instagram as modern friends are wont to do. In today's digitally connected world

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella is the author of the new book Run for Your Life—all about how to achieve longevity in the sport—and has finished marathons in under three hours for 30 straight years. But at one point earlier in his career, he was told he’d have to give up running altogether. For this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals, I caught up with Cucuzzella in Austin at The Running Event, a trade show for running retailers. The way he overcame setbacks serves as a powerful example of charting your own path to your goals—and how slow, steady progress really can lead to major accomplishments. Cucuzzella—who’s now a professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine, a family physician, shoe-store owner, and race director, among other titles—started running in high school. Back then, he told me, coaches and sports scientists didn’t understand nearly as much as they do now about training methods and biomechanics. “We just ran as hard as we could until we broke, repeat,” he said. He continued to train through college an

Ryan Kikkert, now Executive Chef of The Little Beet Table, a Chicago and New York-based restaurant concept, began his career journey as a journalism major. Deep down, though, the moment he set foot in a restaurant kitchen he felt drawn to its beautiful chaos. While completing his undergraduate degree in advertising and public relations, he ultimately knew he'd use it to aid this other passion - working his way into the restaurant industry and creating a name for himself - as it quickly became the only thing he could see himself doing for a career. "Being a chef is a marketing-driven business," Kikkert told me on this episode of #WeGotGoals. As the head chef, and at times the face of the business, sometimes you're the one creating hype for the restaurant. He translated a lot of his advertising and PR skills into restaurant marketing, making what he does now a big melting pot (no pun intended) of all the things he is passionate about. But his journey to the position of executive chef of a very on-trend, vegetab