#wegotgoals

On this week's episode of the podcast, you'll hear a lot of references to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I'm an alumna and our guest - Sam Karl, co-founder and president of Kamps Fitness - is an alumnus. You'll hear a lot about the campus and its hot spots.And I have never really cared that much about sports, which is sort of the thing that ties alums to their universities for years and years. I experience no pang of guilt if I don't know the Badgers' standing in the Big 10 or wherever else standings matter. I do, however, feel a sense of attachment to a place on campus, which was very much connected to my routine: The SERF, or the Southeast Recreational Facility. Aka, my campus gym.You'll hear on the episode that I just learned that the SERF was demolished (and they didn't even call to let me know) and replaced with an even bigger facility, The Nick. I think the new, bigger and better facility is incredibly representative of the increasing value that college students are placing on wellness.Meanwhile,

Content warning: In this episode of the podcast, we mention the concept of suicide in the context of prevention and raising awareness. If you’re listening with young ears or if you’re just not in a place to hear that today, skip this episode and come backI’ve never met Kacee Must, founder of Citizen Yoga in real life. We met during the pandemic and have zoomed through our relationship. We talked in February of 2021 when she’d been teaching yoga online for almost a year. We talked in April, when I was on her podcast and both of us were sitting in makeshift offices - me in my parents' basement, and Kacee somewhere warm. We talked shortly after she gave birth to her daughter this spring and again just recently to record this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals.Kacee Must is the kind of person who shares openly about the good, the bad, and how she sees the world. And it’s that kind of open sharing that led to me feeling like I understand who Kacee is as a person even though the two of us have only talked on Zoom a tota

Free MVMT Shop is a concept Ashley Rockwood conceived after retiring from dancing professionally - she wanted to create a space for herself in fitness that she didn’t see. She got a really good deal in a former dry cleaning location and viola, her first pop-up featuring dance, cardio, yoga, and sculpt had popped.You’ll hear her speak to it, but since 2018, Free Mvmt Shop has lived in 6 different homes across Chicago. And through all of that Ashley achieved most of her goals that she shared on episode 85 of the podcast (we're close to 300 now) and came out of the pandemic more profitable than before.For her, like many others, the pandemic was a time to streamline and get in touch with what resonates with your community. And Free Mvmt Shop’s community was looking for JOY. That’s because the way Ashley and her crew teach is intuitively tied to happiness. A smile will stay on your face as you take a class virtually or IRL. I can attest to that as an untrained dancer - I used to say “not a dancer,” but everyone wi

The indoor rowing machine - or erg - has been in use since the fourth century when an Athenian Admiral created a rudimentary version to train his army. And since, innovators from Concept2 helped to commercialize the indoor rowing machine and CrossFit got millions of people across the world onto the erg in their intense workouts.And this week on the podcast, I spoke with two innovators who helped take rowing from the corner of the gym floor to the center of a workout.Debra Strougo and Eric Von Frohlich, are the husband and wife team who created Row House in 2014. Their mission was to bring the sport of rowing to the masses and make it accessible. They saw the sport as accessible to all entry points into fitness, whether you’re just starting out on a fitness journey or whether you’re an olympic rower looking for somewhere to practice. And to hear them tell it, they crafted their own education to learn the ins and outs of studio fitness after writing down what would become the plan to build Row House on a napkin

This week I interviewed Todd Wadler, CEO of Box Union and Title Boxing Club, and Felicia Alexander CRO of Box Union and Title Boxing Club, and it was clear that their partnership plays on both of their strengths. This pair is bold and thoughtful, which you’ll hear throughout the episode. And if you're wondering how you missed that Box Union, which had three locations before the pandemic, acquired Title Boxing Club, you'll hear all about it in the episode. Luckily, or because Todd had the foresight that Box Union needed to raise as much money as possible, Box Union was extremely well capitalized before the pandemic. So, when opportunity came knocking, they were ready to acquire it. And overnight, they were the largest boxing brand in the United States. More on that from Club Industry here. There’s a saying in boxing that the punch you don’t see coming is the one that knocks you out - I think we can safely say no one saw that gigantic move coming. They also give incredible guidance for leading a team that I too

New York City has the same thing going for fitness that it has for every other industry: if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. I mean, granted, something that’s on the fringes of woo-woo and cult-fitness may not do great in Fargo. But for the most part, if New Yorkers will pack a class, it has a certain mile-a-minute effectiveness and cool factor that the rest of the country can get on board with.Fhitting Room stood out for a few reasons that you’ll hear come out on this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals featuring its founder Kari Saitowitz.I was lucky enough to take class with Eric - Fhitting Room’s Head Coach - in 2017. I reset my account password so I could confirm that fact for sure. And when I took my first class, Fhitting room used to have two coaches in every single class. It was like a workout and a show - Eric and Jason (his co-teacher) - bantered the entire class. I remember feeling expertly coached and entertained. Here's a photo for evidence.I can still picture that flatiron studio and I

Ask anyone who’s been on a Versa Climber what they think of the machine and the first reaction will be a look that you’ll recognize quickly as a combo of fear and respect. It’s a machine that earns the title of love/hate. You might love how much you can get done so quickly, but you might hate how much you have to do so quickly. You know what I’m saying.Today, on #WeGotGoals, we’ll be spending a lot of time talking about the Versa Climber, a machine that’s featured prominently at the center of Rise Nation’s studios' 30-minute classes. Jason Walsh, the founder of Rise Nation, brought the Versa Climber to his clients after seeing them get injured on more traditional cardio equipment. The Versa Climber had been a fixture in weight rooms, but it hadn’t yet hit the celebrity-trainer and everyday-athlete circuits. Seeing success in his one-on-one sessions with celebrity clients, Jason brought it to a room full of people - enter Rise Nation Los Angeles. And now Rise Nation - with locations in New York City, Cleveland

We could talk all day about the pressure of being discovered as a teenage model like Erin Heatherton, co-founder of Chicago-based studio Resistance Chicago, was. She was scouted on the street at 17 and would go on to walk in high fashion shows as well as Victoria's Secret Fashion shows. The pressure comes from being expected to stay that way - a teenage girl - for your foreseeable future.Erin recently wrote about it, and I’ll quote her instead.“At the peak of my career, there was constant pressure to stay very thin. Even early on, maintaining industry standards was a full time job, but it was possible for my body type at the time. I took my fitness seriously and was motivated by the validation I received … As I got older, I continued to work hard, but the “fit” version of my body looked different. I built my career and my self image on positive feedback that came naturally when I was younger and the foundation crumbled when that feedback turned negative. Shoots and agency meetings that were once fun and rewar

Conik Runyon's education in culture started as a kid, going to the Anytime Fitness conferences with his dad and seeing people who loved that brand so much that they tattooed the logo on their bodies. And today, he's the owner of Basecamp Fitness Chicago, a newer entrant into the fitness scene. And I don’t even really want to mention his dad except to say this: Conik was born into a world of fitness culture as the son of Chuck Runyon, Co-founder of Anytime fitness and CEO of Self-Esteem Brands (which owns and operates franchise brands like Anytime Fitness, The Bar method, Waxing the City and Basecamp Fitness). Conik graduated from college in 2021 and lobbied to open the first Basecamp fitness location in Chicago.The education in culture under his dad served him as he set off to learn on his own and operate his own business. To read between the lines, Conik appreciates what he’s learned, but has a fire in his belly to create something for himself. You’ll hear him share how he builds culture among the members at

[This episode is supported by Athletic Greens. You can get an AG1 subscription and a free gift: a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase at athleticgreens.com/asweatlife.]I’ve come to know Bonnie Micheli and Tracy Roemer, co-founders of Shred415, as a package deal. I can't actually remember seeing one without the other. I've also learned to look at them as eager collaborators and mentors, but I'm willing to bet a lot of people in fitness do.On this episode you’ll hear a lot about the workout at Shred415, and the business of running a franchise. But what’s more inferred is the most important part about this pair - their relationship. It’s clear that their bond keeps them connected as leaders, allowing them someone to celebrate with when things are good, and someone to lean on when things aren’t going as planned. Read: a global pandemic.This duo explain their origin story on this week’s episode of #WeGotGoals, but more than that, you’ll hear them get r

We're using our 7th season of our podcast to celebrate fitness - its creators, innovators and everything in between. We made sure to include goodies from the studios and brand we’re chatting with for you, so make sure to listen, share with a friend and try something new.And a HUGE thanks to Athletic Greens for its support for this episode. You can get an AG1 subscription and a free gift: a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs with your first purchase at athleticgreens.com/asweatlife. On now, here's why we love POMSQUAD Fitness.Cheerleading wasn’t really a part of my life growing up - I mean it was and it wasn’t. In Minnesota, I don’t remember there being an insane cheer competition culture with all of the things that come with that.And maybe I don’t remember because I’ve blocked it out. I’ve never uttered this aloud, but I actually really wanted to be a cheerleader. Where I grew up in Anoka, Minnesota, there was a specific set of cheerleaders who I considered to be elite.

This episode of #WeGotGoals marks the start of our seventh season of the podcast. Because we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of aSweatLife, we made sure to include goodies from the studios we're chatting with for you, so make sure to listen, share with a friend and try something new.And also, make sure you don't miss a single episode by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.When I started aSweatLife, I felt like I was constantly doing research. I would walk down the streets of Chicago with my head on a swivel, exploring new studios opening their first location or expanding to the market. If you remember, 5 to 10 years ago, it was an insane time for studio fitness. New concepts, new hybrids, and star instructors were building brands with no end in sight. I remember walking down Erie street in Chicago’s River North neighborhood in 2015, and seeing this beautiful, old brick building wrapped in billboards that told us Studio Three was “coming soon.” After an extensive

[Trigger warning: in this episode, we mention pregnancy loss]So, every year on my birthday, I get a reading from a psychic, she’s the High Priestess of Brooklyn. She does my tarot cards, my astrology, and tells me an outlook for the year - it’s a whole thing. Two years ago, she gave me a timeline of when a baby could come into my life. It was the middle of a pandemic, I had just gone through an insane medical thing - so all signs should have pointed to, “no, thank you” for me. However, my first reaction was, “what else are we doing?” So I went to an OBGyni, took out my IUD and bought some pre-natal vitamins. Meanwhile, I neglected to tell my husband the plan from the cosmos and the doctor until I came home with those gigantic pills. We, of course, had a discussion, during which we realized that our timing was not aligned with the timing of the stars. But I come back to those pre-natal vitamins, time and time again. Sitting in a giant container in my cupboard. Doctors tell us to take them before trying to conc

I remember the praise Heidi Klum received when she walked the runway a mere 5 weeks after giving birth to her third child. As much as the internet could go crazy in 2009, it did, praising her for being back to work and having her pre-baby body back for the Victoria Secret Fashion show that fall. There’s this phrase “bounce back” that has been a part of the postpartum vernacular for as long as I can remember. It’s a standard that women have long held themselves (and each other) to - that your body should be exactly what it was before you cooked a human inside of it. In the past few years, we’ve seen a rejection of the bounce-back culture - for so many reasons including allowing your body to heal. Because mere mortals are comparing themselves to the Heidi Klums or the Instagram highlights of the world, we are destined to neglect the actual care our bodies need after a major change like pregnancy.We’re continuing our deep dive into the decision to grow your family. This week, we spoke with two different doctors

Anne Helen Peterson, the writer responsible for the popular substack “culture study” is responsible for a lot of writing that makes you think in a sneaky way, like her celebrity profiles that serve as cultural mirrors. She wrote a piece about Armie Hammer that asks why Hollywood gave this guy so many chances that I think about a lot. (I’ve linked to that in the show notes), She’s written about work culture and its expansion into the rest of our lives on her substack and in the book she co-authored with Charlie Warzel titled “Out of Office.”She’s also covered the culture of domestic labor, particularly how it impacts women today as they care for their children and their aging parents. In a piece titled, “forced to care” (which is a reference to a book by Evelyn Nakano Glennm by the same name) Anne stated the thing that I’ve been thinking about in not so many words as I considered having a family in this pandemic-y world. “What we have, then, is a caregiving paradigm — not just for kids, but for elders and othe

[CW: There's discussion of the concepts of sex, birth control and abortion in this episode. If you're listening around smaller humans who haven't had *the talk* yet, prepare to do some explaining.]So if you’ve been following along and listening to #WeGotGoals this season, we’ve been diving deep into topics we care about and want to learn more about. We’ve talked about the history of fitness, mental health, diet culture and sustainability. This month, we were all set to talk about making the choice to grow your family or not. My husband and I are in the midst of making that decision. We got married not really knowing the answer, so I had big plans to talk through things like choosing not to have children, fertility, loss, cost of caring for a family and more.Cut to the recent revelation that the Supreme Court was close to overturning Roe v. Wade, which was the supreme court case that established a woman’s right to an abortion based on a constitutional right to privacy in 1973. So suddenly the idea of focusing

Here’s a fun stat for you: In 2018, the North American sports market had a value of about 71.06 billion U.S. dollars. Sports have a huge influence on the way we spend our dollars, whether it’s to shell out for a ticket to the Super Bowl, or grabbing a certain candy bar because their Super Bowl ad made you laugh. So… what if we harnessed that power of influence for good? That’s what we explore today with Zoe Morse, a defender for the Chicago Red Stars soccer team. Growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, Zoe lived, laughed, loved, and lake life-d her way through her childhood. But when she arrived in Charlottesville to attend University of Virginia, she realized just how much she’d taken her proximity to nature and fresh water for granted (especially after witnessing the Flint water crisis). In college, Zoe balanced studies in environmental science with soccer practice, while also founding a group called Green Athletics that advocated for sustainable changes in the athletic department. Now, as a second year playe

I recently became the proud owner of a VERY cute little Bamboozle compost bin (which you can find on Goldune, the e-commerce site of previous podcast guest Azora Zoe). The only problem: no idea how to use it in a city.Luckily, Liam Donnelly, CEO and founder of WasteNot Compost, came on to give me the breakdown on composting (pun slightly intended). This will blow your mind: Liam has been running his own composting business since he was 15 years old, when he started transporting the compost from a local coffee shop to his parents' backyard in Lincoln Square. Since then, he's built WasteNot compost into a zero-emissions business serving most of Chicagoland with an all-electric fleet.In this episode, you'll hear Liam share his delightful and fascinating origin story. We also cover composting tips for beginners, what you can and cannot compost, and the most common misconceptions about composting that Liam runs into.Listen to the episode on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you find podcasts. And if you want to join Was

Today we bring on Nicole Loher, a strategist, adjunct professor at NYU, and climate change advocate in New York. After accidentally becoming a competitive triathlete, Nicole now balances her passions for training and for climate change policy (with a little bit of fashion thrown in – yes, she contains multitudes). She talks us through Climate Policy 101 and what the Green New Deal *actually* means. Plus, she overviews the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal that Biden recently signed.We also talk about “climate anxiety,” the feeling of dread that’s induced by the thought of the future of the climate), and how that might affect women differently than men. (And food for thought: the search term “climate anxiety” hit its peak popularity in August of 2021, and it’s remained popular since). And similar to Azora Zoe’s perspective that “sustainability is a spectrum,” Nicole also explains why it’s a myth that you don’t have to be a perfect climate activist to be an effective climate activist. One of the most fascinating t

I had a startling realization today: the tradition of Earth Month is actually not that much older than I am. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, Earth Month’s roots (pun intended) come from an environmental crisis. In 1969, a major oil spill along the Santa Barbara coastline led to roughly 3 million gallons of oil spreading across 35 miles. It’s hard to properly communicate the magnitude of this environmental disaster. But to those who saw it, they knew instantly it was a life-changing moment. In fact, in January 1970, The New York Times’ environment correspondent called it the “ecological ‘shot heard round the world.'”In the spring of 1970, Gaylord Nelson, a politician from Wisconsin, came up with “Earth Day,” as it’d later be called, as a national day of learning. Strategically set in April, around spring break and finals, Earth Day relied heavily on students and youth to lead the movement (so yes, Greta Thunberg has predecessors). Facing political pressure from the rise of environmental activism, Presid