#wegotgoals

I was speaking with someone over the weekend and I mentioned the theme of the #Sweatworking Summit: equity and inclusion in wellness. "Is anyone trying to keep people out?" was the question that followed. And if you haven't felt unwelcome in a space, like an "only," or a "token" ever in your life, it takes effort - and a willingness to be uncomfortable - to see the signs of it. This panel from the #Sweatworking Summit - The Relationship Between Representation and Inspiration in Endurance Sports - is the answer to that question. Yes, in big ways and in small ways, through systems and through rules, obstacles are created to impede athletes with different body shapes and sizes, skin tones, countries of origins, languages spoken, religions, and gender identities. In this episode of #WeGotGoals, you'll hear a recording of our panel from the #Sweatworking Summit titled, "The Relationship Between Representation and Inspiration in Endurance Sports." You'll hear from moderator and Team USA member Natali Villaruel as w

When Dustin Kendrick first graced your television screen on Season 15 of The Bachelorette, you probably noticed his fantastic suit choices, his eye-catching nose ring, and the fact that he managed to stay out of the drama while making it pretty far in the season (a sure sign that he was well-liked by all). But what you didn't see on screen is Dustin's passion for volunteering and giving back on a weekly basis—a passion that he's translated into founding Guaranteed Karma. Guaranteed Karma hooks you up with organizations you can volunteer with; then, once you've finished your shift, you're rewarded with perks from different local businesses around the city. The karma is instant, and the inspiration to continue volunteering sticks around long after. Dustin talks us through his background with philanthropy, from how he personally prioritizes volunteering on a weekly basis to different creative ways he's gotten others involved in giving back. Then, in this week's Goals to Go segment, Dustin advises Nimbe Juarez ab

Shanna Missett Nelson's childhood was probably a little different than the average kid. "I grew up just thinking that every mom put on a leotard and tights several times a day and ran out the door to teach a bunch of women who really adored them exercise," she said of her mom Judi Sheppard Missett, founder of Jazzercise. And if you heard the recent episode of How I Built This with Guy Raz (one of our favorite podcasts besides #WeGotGoals, obviously) featuring Judi Sheppard Missett, you heard a story of her teaching at a local rec center and collecting cash for classes. Holding onto the dough? Missett Nelson, who joked that she spent her childhood as an accountant for her mom's budding Jazzercise business. I wanted to invite Missett Nelson back on the podcast (we talked to her the first time in March of 2019) when we received a question from community member Amy Gumbs. Gumbs is busy building an online training business. And the kicker? She wants that business to stand the test of time. That's what Jazzercise h

Welcome to a #WeGotGoals episode that'll have you itching to chalk up and scale a wall at your local indoor rock climbing facility... or, at the very least, daydream about summiting your next mountain. Claire Bao, general manager of Brooklyn Boulders in Chicago and lululemon Ambassador, is a 10-year climbing veteran who ironically discovered her love for the sport while attending college in the flat Midwest. And surprisingly, Claire was afraid of heights until she began climbing and opening herself up to new challenges, with the help of several mentors in the community. We talk about how social relationships are so vital to climbing, especially when you're new to the sport. And fittingly, she's working towards a big goal of building the climbing community wherever she is, while growing as a leader, growing relationships, and making the sport feel as welcoming as possible. In this weeks Goals to Go section, we hear from listener Hester Lam, who needs help overcoming mindset as she attempts to scale her first 5

Since moving on from her role at aSweatLife, Maggie Umberger hosted the first and meticulously planned retreat that she though would be the basis of her own business, pivoted into an online community with a membership and on-demand classes (because, #pandemic), and continued to deepen her practice as a movement Coach. Her last day with the company was less than a year ago. That's the speed with which she executes the things she's passionate about - I saw that in my four years working with Maggie and it's a delight to watch from not-so-far. August 8, 2016 was Maggie Umberger's first day of work at aSweatLife. That date has been etched into my memory because it was the date when things really got real around aSweatLife. I remember this feeling of excitement and existential dread that fought each other on her first day - and I imagine that's the exact feeling I'll experience if I ever have kids. Finally there was help, but that help came with a very real responsibility that I didn't take lightly - I had to make

Melissa Stockwell is an aSweatLife favorite (yes, we play favorites occasionally). We've written about Stockwell as the founder of Dare2Tri, an organization that helps athletes of all abilities take on the challenge of the swim-bike-run. We went to her to get advice for athletes who are scared to "tri" for the first time, and she appeared on our podcast in 2018 to talk through her journey to becoming a Paralympic triathlete—a title she's hoping to earn again in the Tokyo Summer Paralympics this summer, if all goes well. Now, we called on Stockwell one more time to shed her wisdom on our new podcast segment, Goals to Go, in which we bring in an expert to answer a question and give advice to a member of our community. In this episode, you'll hear Stockwell advise Sarah Foote about bike training for her first triathlon. Foote, an experienced endurance athlete who loves her pandemic Peloton, has been training on her own and with Edge Athletic Lounge; she comes to Stockwell with "a million questions." You'll hear

In the four years we've hosted #WeGotGoals, we've interviewed more than 200 high achievers about their goals. We've learned a lot about their goals and the ways they've found success through these interviews. And as we kick off our fifth season, we think you should get that same opportunity. So, this year, we're playing goal-getting match maker. We're bringing on listeners who have big questions about their goals or people who are just plain stuck. We'll hear the experts' stories, but we'll also hear questions from people like you who want to know thing like, "how do I train for a triathlon if my gym's pool is close?" or "How do I create a business in the wellness space that's built to last?" To kick it off, we're welcoming Luke Saunders, CEO/Founder of Farmer's Fridge to the podcast. Under his leadership, Farmer's Fridge has a big goal: changing the supply chain to allow easier access to healthy food. And that's his North Star, Saunders explained. And having one big guiding goal just so happens to be the way

In today's podcast episode, we talk to Colleen Werner, the CEO and founder of Lulafit, a wellness company aimed at modernizing wellbeing to empower people in their everyday lives. She's an alumni of The University of Michigan and former professional ballet dancer. You'll hear Colleen talk about: Why it was so important to Colleen that Lulafit be a company that she herself would want to work for—including hiring people full-time (rather than contractors) to offer health insurance, a 401k, and benefits. The unexpected upsides she's found from slowing down during the pandemic. Lulafit's upcoming app launch and what new features it'll offer their customers. And how she's learned to lead with empathy during the pandemic. Resources: Lulafit's website and Instagram If you love this episode as much as we do, subscribe to the #WeGotGoals podcast wherever you like to listen to podcasts, including on Apple and Spotify (and hey, leave us a rating while you’re at it!).

According to a 2017 study from the American Psychological Association, work is the third-most common source of stress in the United States (only two percentage points behind the future of our nation). And with that one Buzzfeed article still making the rounds and having recently become a book, it's clear that the office (virtual or physical) is the birthplace of much of Americans' stress right now. So if the stress starts in the workplace, could mental healthcare and coaching start in the workplace, too? That's what Boon Health is hoping. Founded by Alex Simmons and Chris Henrichs, Boon Health offers a holistic, flexible, and approachable system for mental healthcare in the workplace. You know how frustrating it is to try and find a new dentist—let alone a mental health professional you vibe with—through your insurance website? Think of Boon Health as the MUCH more user-friendly version of that. The seed for Boon Health became when Alex found himself exhausted by an always-on career in investment banking and

They'd spent their childhoods 15 miles away from each other in the Bay Area, but it took Boston University pairing the two as random roommates for them to meet. That was their first lucky moment, but the path that led Felicity Chen and Christine Yi to co-found Potli was a mix of lucky moments like that and real, inspiring, hard work. After graduation, Chen returned to the Bay are to discover that her dad had picked up a hobby to help with her mom's asthma: he was bee-keeping in the family's back yard. For Chen, that was a big "aha" when she realized that she "wanted to put some weed into honey" to make it easier for her mom to conceptualize eating a product like that. While the two dreamed of their future company, Chen built a resume while doing business development for tech juggernauts and Yi honed her skills as a management consultant focusing on entertainment. Today, Potli creates olive oils, chili oils, and different skews of honey - including their new Dream Honey, made with CBD, CBN, a pinch of THC (if

As a breakfast enthusiast who conned her friends into a Waffle House Club in high school, I've held a passion for breakfast food for a long time. So when we had a chance to interview Emily Groden, founder of Evergreen, about her clean, frozen waffle brand, I metaphorically elbowed Jeana aside and said "I GOT THIS." Groden has maybe one of the most impressive backgrounds I've ever come across: undergrad at Yale, law school at Harvard, and a career in Big Law, all going according to her life's plan. As a competitive college swimmer, Groden knew about the importance of fueling herself with nutritious ingredients, and a few undergrad Then, one night, Netflix roulette landed her on Chef's Table and an episode about Alinea—and it inspired her so much that she sent a cold email to Alinea's founder Nick Kokonas asking if he needed a lawyer. At Alinea and Tock, the reservation software Kokonas also co-founded, Groden learned the importance of being innovative and following her gut, asking why things "had" to be a cert

Over the years of hosting #WeGotGoals, we’ve heard a lot of founders tell us that they want to “Revolutionize X” or “Shake up Y.” But when David Rabie, the founder and CEO of Tovala told me that he's going to “revolutionize home cooking,” I absolutely believe him. That's because I talked to him three years ago just after Tovala started selling to the masses, and I've watched the company deliver on the promises they made. Tovala’s countertop cooking device uses a barcode to tell a smart oven how to combine steaming, convection, broiling and toasting to produce a *chef’s kiss* meal. And they promise less than a minute of prep. Rabie says that’s all intended to give you “the best parts of home cooking, but none of the messy stuff – like prepping.” Salmon, he said, will steam, bake and broil as it cooks, giving you a perfectly baked, caramelized meal. But the journey from idea to that smart counter-top oven has been winding, rewarding, and full of the kind of moments that occupy entrepreneurs' dreams. In this wee

Peloton has been one of the buzzwords of the pandemic, but the attention is nothing new to Jess King. A lifelong performer with a resume that includes Cirque du Soleil and So You Think You Can Dance?, King's charisma was so magnetic that when she was recruited by Peloton, it didn't matter that she'd never even been on a spin bike before. The fact that she was a natural performer was what made her attractive to the Peloton team—and last year, she took that same beginner's mentality as she embarked on a two-year long journey to train as a Tread instructor. Listen to this podcast episode to hear: How Jess found her start in fitness at a young age What she loves about being a beginner How she took the initiative to become a Tread instructor in training What the Peloton team did to help her succeed Plus, a super-personal family goal she and her new fiancée, Sophia Urista, are moving towards Find Jess on Instagram @jesskingnyc (that's where you can find her most up-to-date schedule, PS), subscribe to her YouTube

Alex Caiola, the High Priestess of Brooklyn, thought it was normal to know all about the family histories and intentions of the people who she interviewed as an executive recruiter. This is until she had a psychic reading. "You're a very psychic woman," she was told. And I was struck by how bad for business that would be for a psychic to tell someone else they were psychic too if they weren't absolutely certain about the information. "You're psychic too," is a little more direct than, "You're going to meet a woman who will be very important to you." You can look at your life and the things you know and the answer is binary—yes, you are or no, you're not. Alex started honing her claircognizance—which is the term for when you just know something—while she was working at SoulCycle. The perfect place to work on a little inner woo-woo, she explained. And in that time, she kept pulling a card from her tarot deck over and over again: The High Priestess, a card that signifies the kind of inner knowing that Alex was h

“Really, I just feel like I’m above all things a creative,” 11-year NFL veteran Israel Idonije explained as he was describing his post-football business ventures. Today, Idonije is truly stretching those his creative muscles on a lot of different ventures. Israel is the founder of iF Charities, which has programs that have contributed to the lives of over 10,000 youth in Chicago, Winnipeg and West Africa. As an entrepreneur, Israel has started several successful business ventures. His company blessed stands as the industry leader in communion supplies, and ATHLiTACOMiCS develops custom comic content and properties. He also cofounded Crypto Key Stack and launched FBRK (fabric) Impact House, a 40,000 square-foot, first of its kind philanthropic hub in the heart of Chicago’s Loop. But when he talks about it, one business really has his heart. He opened RSTR, a gym in Chicago’s South Loop last year is focusing on building that community and the business’s future – yes, even during the pandemic. This level and bre

I met Chris Fanucchi about a year ago, just as he'd started to build the company he's currently working on now: Bitewell. But go on a conversation journey with Chris—like you will in this week's episode of #WeGotGoals—and you'll notice that his brain works differently. To the question, "How'd you go from winning an innovation competition in college to starting Bitewell?" "Let me tell you about my step-grandfather named Stan - he's an author and the only guy in Illinois to wear a cowboy hat all the time,” he started. When Kristen Geil, our Chief Content Officer asked him about the state of consumer packaged goods in an article about Bitewell, he told her about his favorite website in middle school: hotnewhiphop.com. But in years of talking to entrepreneurs, I've seen over and over again that the way their synapses fire forces them to see the world differently. What does Hot New Hip Hop have to do with CPG? The volume of new food products can be easy to get lost in—Fanucchi wants to help you to find what's hot

Any time Beyoncé endorses something, our ears perk up—so naturally, we were psyched to host Michael Tennant, founder of CEO of Curiosity Lab, on #WeGotGoals this week. Michael is a thoughtful, creative entrepreneur who's focused on working with businesses that are mission-driven and aligned with his team's values. His card game, Actually Curious, went viral, and our team fell in love with its friendship-making appeal and how it helps you connect to others on a deeper level. In 2017, Michael founded Curiosity Lab, a boutique marketing agency that builds products and experiences that change narratives. In 2018, he created a viral deep conversation card game called Actually Curious, which is designed to bring people close and spread tools for empathy (www.actuallycurious.com) and has been featured in Beyoncé's Black Parade List, Goop, Cosmopolitan, Thrive, Man Repeller, and more. Michael’s long term ambition is to build a thriving integrated products, media, and services business, from communities of color and i

This podcast was recorded in partnership with ZYN. As always, we only partner with brands, products, and experiences we truly love. Want to try ZYN for yourself? Get 25% off using this link or with code “asweatlife” at checkout! Asim Khan grew up knowing that turmeric was at the heart of many of his family's cures and treatments. Everything from the common cold to knee pain after a soccer match was treated with some variation of the root, whether as a spice in a curry or as part of a topical paste. But it took a family trip to Pakistan in 2016 for Khan to realize just how influential turmeric could be, and how passionate he was about bringing its healing powers to others. Along with his brother, Qasim, Khan came back to the States and immediately started researching turmeric and learning more about its bioactive ingredient, curcumin. (Learn more about curcumin here.) They started experimenting, mixing up blends of curcumin and piperine along with vitamins C and D for extra immunity-boosting. On this episode o

Liz Lefkofsky and her husband, Eric Lefkofsky joined the Giving Pledge in 2013. For those not familiar, the Giving Pledge is an initiative started by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet that invites billionaires to give the majority of their wealth away. "He makes the money and I give it away," Liz joked of the division of labor between her husband—who has the co-founder title on companies like Tempus, Groupon, Echo Global Logistics, InnerWorkings, and Mediaocean—and her, the Executive Director of the Lefkofsky Family Foundation. The pledge was merely a comma in the sentence explaining Liz's lifetime of philanthropy and non-profit work. For Liz, giving is who she is, and that identity started in childhood when she lost her sister to a brain tumor, which resulted in her mother founding the American Brain Tumor Association. After spending her early career working in non-profits in Chicago, she continued her work with the Lefkofsky Family Foundation, which contributes to initiatives in education, human righ

This week on the podcast, Kristen talks to Dr. Jen Welter, the NFL’s first female coach, the first female running back in men’s pro football, founder of GrrridIron Girls, and recent children's author. Her remarkable career in women’s football includes two gold medals with Team USA, four World Championships, and eight All-Star selections, Dr. Jen was the first female running back signed to a men’s professional team. Blending her passion for the game with a powerful, unique communication style, she broke through the biggest boys club of all, the NFL, as the first female coach in the league and the Madden NFL 20 video game. Crystallizing her journey into a playbook for overall success, she published “Play Big, Lessons in Living Limitless from the First Woman to Coach in the NFL.” You'll hear how Dr. Jen went from tennis to rugby to football, why getting her PhD was so important to her, and how she found an opportunity in the pandemic to write a book series aimed at helping children cope with the weird world we'r