Katherine Amato and Natasa Billeci are the Founders of the Katan Klinic, an integrative skin revision and anti-aging sanctuary, where all treatment programs are uniquely tailored to each patient’s needs. Together, they have over 20 years of combined experience in the field of Aesthetic Medicine. Their experiences led them to recognize that aging well was more about developing completely customized regimens for each client and not relying on beauty trends and cookie-cutter treatments. Katan Klinic’s mission is to rebuild beauty from the inside out using a sustainable long-term regimen that keeps the skin evolving and aging gracefully.

Vincent Ferguson :

Before we discuss the Katan Klinic, let's talk a little about the both of you. Where were you born and raised and where did your interest in health come from?

Katherine Amato:

I'm born and raised in Long Island, New York and I have been here ever since. My interest in skincare really started from a young age, definitely with my mom, just her always being into taking care of herself, skin, going to get facials. It really just stemmed from following her, going with her to her little facial appointments. It really just ended up being something that I really felt deeply about.

Natasa Billeci:

I too am a native New Yorker, born and raised. I'm actually first-generation American born. I am a child of immigrant parents that came here in the early 70s. And very early on in life, I was exposed to the beauty and wellness space through my mom, much like with Katherine, but my mom had her own hair salon. And so I grew up around beauty and wellness. Later on in life, I had some of my own health issues that created a much deeper interest in how do we take a more integrative and whole-person approach without having to dip into pharmaceuticals, but doing things a bit more naturally. So that's really where my passion for health started was really through my personal journey with my own issues.

Vincent Ferguson :

Wow. Very nice. Now, how did the two of you meet?

Katherine Amato:

We both worked for a short time together in a skincare clinic and we forged a relationship and that's really how it happened. And then we went our own ways for a little bit, and we reconnected about a year or two later. And that's how we both were like, let's do this together. Let's open up a place and start something new.

Vincent Ferguson :

Nice. How long have you guys been around?

Natasa Billeci:

We've been in business together as Katan Klinic for about two and a half years now.

Vincent Ferguson :

Two and a half years. But you have combined again, 20 years of experience though.

Natasa Billeci:

Yes, we do. Both Katherine and I have a very deeply rooted background in aesthetic medicine as well as dermatology. I am a nurse and my specialty is dermatology. Katherine is an aesthetician. We really brought together our skills, talents, and experiences to be able to give our clients and patients a very integrative and whole person approach to reviving their skin.

Vincent Ferguson :

In your bio, I read off how you are an integrative skin revision and anti-aging sanctuary. What does that mean? And what type of treatments do you provide at the Katan Klinic?

Natasa Billeci:

That's a great question Vince. Our approach and our philosophy to skin revision and general skin health are a bit different than what's customary in the industry. You're coming into our clinic and we're not looking at you as someone who just needs to get rid of their acne or someone who has pigmentation issues, but we're looking at you as a whole person. And the reason that we've taken this approach to reviving skin is because skin is influenced by everything else that's going on around us, so whether we're talking about your lifestyle choices, that means your nutrition. It means how much you move on a daily basis, what you eat and whether or not that's appropriate for your individual physiological needs.

Natasa Billeci:

We're looking at the skincare ingredients that you need and the dose of these skincare ingredients. It's a little more than just looking at your skin and saying, "hey, we're going to do a couple of fabulous treatments on you and your skin is going to be glowy and dewy for a couple of days." Our approach is really based on creating an individualized treatment program, as well as one that's going to carry you through your lifetime and allow you to age a lot better.

Vincent Ferguson :

You deal with each individual client separately based on their particular needs.

Natasa Billeci:

That's exactly right. The consultation is a really important portion of our visits. When you enter our clinic, we don't allow people to just book a facial or book a Botox treatment. You come into our practice and we spend about an hour or two, really getting to know who you are. And in that process, you're going to be sharing a lot about your medical history, your family history, your lifestyle, your sleeping patterns, and your eating patterns. And we bring all of this information together so that we can really build that customized plan for you.

Katherine Amato:

I think that what separates us so much from other places is when someone comes in, they sit down with both Natasa and I for the most part most of the time, and they're getting two different backgrounds of knowledge. Natasa is so rooted in the medical field and the health and wellness portion. I'm so much in the skincare with skincare ingredients and treatment that tandemly, when we're working together with a client they're leaving with so much education and knowledge before they even get a treatment. And I feel that that's so priceless and it's so important. And I think that's what really sets us apart from other clinics and kind of run it in mill med spas that just let you book your own treatment, go through a menu card and say, "Oh, I want this vitamin C facial or this filler today." We don't really allow you to tell us what you want, we tell you what you need.

Vincent Ferguson :

Now, who are your ideal clients?

Natasa Billeci:

Our ideal clients are those that understand the importance of really integrating skin health into their lifestyle. If we take a look at, especially, many women that are interested in caring for their skin, if they went into their skincare spend budget and looked at how much money is spent on different creams and serums and different tools and equipment, what they would end up seeing is that they're spending a lot of money on products that end up sort of sitting on their shelf. And they don't really cause an effect, right? We see a lot of skincare products that are promoted by celebrities or influencers, and they claim that it changed their skin forever. But the reality is, is that we're all unique individuals.

Natasa Billeci:

If you're able to honor the fact that you may not respond in the same way to a certain treatment or a skincare product or routine, that is where a clinic like ours will come into the mix. Our client is someone who's looking for a little bit more of a sophisticated and personalized experience. Someone who really understands that it's not just about creams, but it's about lifestyle as well. And they're willing to create a budget on an annual basis just to make sure that they're aging well and that they are achieving these individualized skin health goals.

Vincent Ferguson :

How important is nutrition to slowing down the aging process?

Natasa Billeci:

That's a great question, and it's probably a little bit beyond the scope of our conversation here, but it's sort of tapping into the general concept. When we think about nutrition, nutrition is going to drive our skin health in a lot of different ways. the skin is connected to the gut and that's one of the important connections that we see a lot of research on today. There's also a lot of research with regards to biomarkers, things like blood testing, saliva testing, looking at our cortisol levels, the changes in our hormone levels. And those are two of the really important factors that we know influence our skin health and the aging process. And a lot of those things can be mitigated through really good nutrition and personalized nutrition.

Vincent Ferguson :

And do you discuss nutrition with your clients?

Natasa Billeci:

Yes, we do. Both Katherine and I are certified health coaches as well. When we're going through the entire consultation process, we're talking a lot with the patient about their health habits and their nutrition as well. And we make recommendations that are going to be supporting their skin revision journey.

Vincent Ferguson :

Nice. But how do you determine what facial procedures are best for someone's skin?

Katherine Amato:

We have to discuss their budget. I think that's something that's really important when we're creating this program for a client, also, what their commitment is going to be. If someone is willing to come in two to three times a month for a micro current treatment or let's say, a cleaning every two to three weeks, that's also plays a big role in what treatment they're going to get. Also, what conditions they have. Also, if they're pregnant or if they're breastfeeding, so many different factors play into what treatment they're going to get. Someone that is not ready to stop being in the sun. Sun is such a big environmental factor for so many things such as sun damage, inflammatory hyperpigmentation. I really have to get a sense of their lifestyle before determining what the best treatment is for their skin.

Vincent Ferguson :

What type of equipment do you use in your practice?

Natasa Billeci:

We have a couple of different types of equipment that we rely on. Firstly, we very rarely rely on just eyeballing someone's skin. The first part of the process is using technology to allow us to really see the structure and function of the skin. We use a skin analysis device where the patient actually puts their head in this little unit and the unit changes different lights and what it does is it allows us to see things like pigmentation that hasn't come up to the surface just yet. It allows us to see areas of the skin that are maybe hyperactive with the sebaceous glands. It allows us to see a lot of the stuff that's going to come to the surface down the line. And so with that in mind, we take that information, all of the information that we gather from the health questionnaire, the skin questionnaire, and we bring that together to help guide that treatment routine and that regime. Again, it's going back to that very personalized approach to the person's program.

Vincent Ferguson :

Because I know, I've mentioned that you don't use just a cookie cutter approach. You're giving individualized support, attention, consultation to your clients. Do you have clients who stick with you for the long haul?

Natasa Billeci:

Yeah. And that's one of the big underlying variables in our practice. We are building a lifetime relationship and program for each of our clients. So we're going to age with you. We're going to take you through all of the processes of your life, whether it's menopause, whether it's a terrible divorce, whether it's the stress that was caused by something like COVID 19, we're always there for you, helping you modify and adjust so that you age in the best way that you possibly can. And when we look at what equipment we're going to use or what interventions we're going to use, they're also going to be based on your preferences. As a nurse and an injector, I have clients that come in that are maybe not interested in doing hyaluronic acids or fillers, so that's a client that I would take down a vampire facial route or someone that I would do something called platelet-rich plasma on. Each of these programs is going to be completely individualized to the client, allowing them to age in the best possible way that they can in a way that's appropriate to them.

Vincent Ferguson :

Well, aging is a very important issue as you know. We all get older, but we don't want to necessarily look old.

Natasa Billeci:

That's right.

Katherine Amato:

And I also think a lot of our equipment that we carry and the treatments we do, we really try to focus on increasing cellular health and just strengthening the structural integrity of the skin. I think that's what it comes down to. I think a lot of people forget about working on their actual skin and they focus so much on like, I hate to go off on a tangent, but like Instagram, like everyone's focusing on getting high cheekbones and bigger lips and the different shape of their face. I think it's really focusing on building, optimizing your skin health. And that's what we try to focus on the most first, at least primarily. And then from there, we kind of tweak whatever they want to enhance or make better.

Natasa Billeci:

And to your point, Vince, none of us like the fact that we're aging, but what we can do is have that target that when we're 40, we should look like we're 30 and when we're 50, we should look like we're 40. And that's a reasonable goal to have in terms of the aging process itself. And that's something that we help our clients achieve every day.

Vincent Ferguson :

Awesome. Because the skin is our largest organ, right? The largest organ in our body.

Katherine Amato:

Yes.

Natasa Billeci:

That's right. And it's very much impacted by all of the other organ systems in the body as well. A lot of times people look at the skin as, it's kind of hanging out on an island by itself, but it's really not. It's deeply influenced by everything that's going on within as well. There's a lot of communication there.

Vincent Ferguson :

Most definitely. And earlier you mentioned COVID-19 and I can't let this conversation go without asking you, has this pandemic affected their skin? The stress, the worry that's going on right now?

Natasa Billeci:

Absolutely. It goes back down to the fact that skin is not an island. And so now that we've officially reopened here in New York, it's been a huge challenge. We have a lot of our clients that due to the stress, their inflammatory factors were elevated so much in their skin that we're seeing them developing other conditions that they didn't have previously. Their skin is a lot more reactive. They're getting acne when they never had it before. There's a lot going on in terms of compromised skin health right now that has been a huge challenge. It's definitely impacted our clients significantly. And it's impacted us as a small business in the middle of one of the most highly populated cities in the world that was hit really hard by this pandemic.

Vincent Ferguson :

And that was my next question about how were you being impacted. And you just answered that. Amazing. I know you're located in New York, but actually where exactly in New York are you located?

Katherine Amato:

We're right in midtown on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, right in the heart.

Vincent Ferguson :

That's the heart, but the heart has been affected.

Natasa Billeci:

It has indeed.

Katherine Amato:

It has.

Natasa Billeci:

It's been a very, very challenging time period. We've also seen a change in a lot of our clients’ lifestyle. We have a lot of moms that are clients that are now at home and homeschooling their children, which has been impacting their ability to care for their skin. Coming in for regular treatments has become an issue. We have really shifted our approach and we are providing a lot of support to our clients through virtual conversations and consultations, just helping people stay centered and balanced, keeping them on their skincare routines, modifying their skincare routines, giving them a lot of nutritional recommendations as well. We're being a bit more agile and we're kind of shifting and pivoting a little bit as a business and as a brand. And we've definitely been focusing a lot more on the self-care and wellness element of things since COVID-19 started.

Katherine Amato:

Also, with clients during COVID, we've seen some common beauty mistakes that I feel we've seen very, very much has been them trying to overcompensate for not coming in and not coming in for their treatment. And they're kind of tending to their own skin and their own way and being their own aesthetician. And that's been a big issue because, like how Natasa said before, they're coming in and they're extending their issues and creating a cascade of just problems in their skin now. They're coming in now after months and months of missing their treatments.

Katherine Amato:

And some it's like, "Oh, my God, I saw you six months ago and your skin was amazing. We did so much work on it," and six months go by and it's like, we're back to square one. It's hard too. We're trying to just be their support and guide them the right way with everything. And at home, I feel like at-home tools has been a really big upcoming thing now, buying these self-care device and rollers and all these different devices that they can use at home. Trying to just really optimize as much as possible if they can't come in for their treatments.

Natasa Billeci:

And just providing education too to that point, because some of this equipment like, for example, we're big supporters of medical needling or dermal rolling, which helps to increase skin products penetration. And we've been finding that a lot of people because of this need for self-care buying inferior devices, they're not being trained on how to use the device and they're actually creating a lot more harm than good for their skin. We've been finding ourselves really emphasizing the educational element and talking about things that we don't even sell in the practice, but that we know are out there on the market and that people have been purchasing during this time period. Just teaching them actually how to use these devices safely and effectively.

Vincent Ferguson :

Would you say there's a lot of harmful products out there that if you don't know what you're doing, you can harm your skin?

Katherine Amato:

Oh, yeah.

Natasa Billeci:

Absolutely. Oh, Yeah.

Katherine Amato:

Very much so. I have clients all the time telling me, "Oh, I'm..." They go into Sephora, they go into these beauty stores and they kind of self-prescribe themselves and they rely on maybe the retail people to sell them stuff that may not be right for their skin. And it's getting to a point where it's like, I have clients come in, I just had a few clients last week, she's like, "I don't even know what skin type I have. What skin do I have?" And it's so important because educating is so crucial before you go and start prescribing yourself stuff. You have to know what you have, what you're trying to achieve, what you're trying to correct. And I think self-prescribing is a huge downfall when it comes to going out there and just stocking off your own skin pantry and buying all of these different products.

Katherine Amato:

Clients tend to also, they purchase a lot of stuff that just exfoliates their skin. They have a cleanser that has acid in it. They have a night cream that has acid. They have a scrub that has these little mini, micro beads in it. You're just exfoliating, exfoliating and when they come in, we have to work on kind of bringing their moisture and acid mantle back into play and their skin is so compromised over time. It's definitely a big beauty mistake.

Vincent Ferguson :

When you train, when you consult with your clients virtually, is there a difference in costs from them having to see you in the clinic?

Natasa Billeci:

Typically, it really depends on what they're looking to discuss. If we're doing a full consultation, normally it'll be at about a 75% price difference. It'll be 75% of the normal cost of in-office. If we're doing something that's just focused on skin and nutrition. If we're doing a more comprehensive consultation that will require them sending in photos, and they're looking to do more advanced medical treatments, such as injectables or platelet-rich plasma or vampire facials, then that's going to be typically around the same cost as in-person. And if they are coming in for treatments, there will be a subsequent consultation when they come into the office where we take photos and we really do a full on hands-on assessment.

Vincent Ferguson :

Very nice. But what recommendations would you have for anyone who's listening to this podcast and just want to know how to take care of their skin. What recommendations would you give them?

Katherine Amato:

I would definitely say simple, impactful routine. Something that is going to cause some sort of instant, not really an instant gratification, but something that's impactful such as we have our core four products at Katan and it's definitely consists of a vitamin A serum, sunscreen, a skin supplement like a facial oil or an essential fatty acid supplement and then a great cleanser. And I think those four are really going to cause an impactful routine in the skin.

Natasa Billeci:

And also from another nutritional aspect of some of the new research coming out on the hydrolyzed collagen supplements is really positive. For anyone that's really looking to help heal their skin from within, especially now, I think that a really good hydrolyzed collagen supplement would be excellent to add into their routines. And most people are really deficient in B vitamins and vitamin D, so those would be the two supplements that I would definitely bring into the mix. Of course, especially with vitamin B and any fat-soluble vitamins, you do want to make sure that you're working with a health care provider to make sure that you're taking the appropriate dosage, but these are things that you can absolutely do at home. And those two things will allow you to support your skin health from within.

Natasa Billeci:

Additionally, sleep is one of the biggest issues when it comes to skin health in particular, so getting those seven to nine hours of sleep every night, and if you can't do that, make sure to give yourself some a lot of time for catch up sleep, whether that's on the weekends, whether it's sleeping in a little bit during the week. A lot of current research on sleep deprivation shows us that it accelerates the aging process. We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can on our own to help us age very gracefully and helpfully.

Vincent Ferguson :

Hmm. Very good. Excellent advice. Now, how can my listeners find out more about the Katan Klinic?

Natasa Billeci:

They can visit us on our website at www.katanklinic.com or they can email us directly at concierge@katanklinic.com. And Katherine and I are very much engaged in getting clients set up with the consultation process, even if you want to have a quick introductory call, just to get an idea of whether or not we're the right fit for you. We're happy to do an intro call complimentary for 15 to 20 minutes with anyone that calls and references your podcast.

Vincent Ferguson :

Nice. Can we follow you on social media?

Katherine Amato:

Absolutely. @Katan Klinic.

Vincent Ferguson :

That's on Instagram and Twitter?

Natasa Billeci:

Instagram, and Facebook right now. Twitter will be down the pike and we're working on Pinterest as well. But right now we're on Instagram and Facebook.

Vincent Ferguson :

Nice. Excellent. I really appreciate this interview. Do you have any final words for my listeners. You said a lot.

Katherine Amato:

Always wash your face at night and change your pillow case every week for anyone that's suffering from maybe some acne. Drink lots of water every day. I know it's a very kind of a cliché tip, but hydrate, hydrate, hydrate so important.

Natasa Billeci:

And eat your greens, get your sleep and make sure that you incorporate some form of movement into your everyday routine. Whether that's getting up and taking a walk for 10 minutes, doing jumping jacks in place, whatever your fancy is, just make sure that you move your body.

Ron Laikind is the CEO and inventor of the Extreme Mist Personal Cooling System (PCS) and Extreme Mist Portable Sanitizing System (PSS). He has hiked the globe from the Sahara to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Siberia, Turkey, the Himalayas, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, South America, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and more. In other words, he is a world traveler and the author of "Drifting Through the Sands of Time: A Saharan Adventure."

Being the world traveler that you are, Ron, where are you right now during this interview?

I am in Scottsdale, Arizona, and at the Extreme Mist headquarters at the office.

Were you born and raised in Scottsdale?

I wasn't, but I lived here for a better part of my life. As a kid, I was raised in Tucson and then moved away and then came back over 30 years ago to Scottsdale and landed here in Scottsdale with thirty years under my belt.

Where did your desire to travel the world and seek adventure come from?

It started as a little kid in Tucson going out to the old Adobe forts that were melting away out in the desert sun and the little bit of rain over the eons looking for arrowheads and artifacts from that era. Then I got into gold mining as a young guy and started dredging up in Northern California. I've always kind of had that desire, so it was just natural for me always to be outdoors, and it just continued throughout my adult life and turned into Trekking the globe.

What was your greatest takeaway from hiking all over the globe?

Well, for one, it was very difficult to get anyone to go with me on these trips. For most people to be able to take off from their families, their job or school, or whatever it is throughout the decades is difficult. At one point, I was a student too and still was taking off and doing these things on my downtime, but it's difficult to get someone to go with you.

It's nice to go by yourself because you're not encumbered by someone else, but at the same time, if I can talk someone foolish enough to go with me, then I end up seeing more, and it enhances the trip even more. There are pluses and minuses to both of those ways, so to answer your question, it's just something that gets into your blood, and you just really got to get out and do these things. If you're into it, just do it.

How were the people you met on your journey hiking across the globe?

People are people, no matter where you go. People always wonder when I go into areas like Pakistan and some of the Middle East places, how dangerous it is. Of course, if I go to downtown Phoenix at night, it can be dangerous too, so you have to be wise, but most people that you meet don't discuss politics. The government and people are totally different. I've had some of my best experiences in what we call enemy territories where the people could not have been nicer to me and more accommodating, so people are just lovely no matter where you go for the most part.

In addition to being a hiker, you're also into extreme sports. What type of sports are you into?

They come and go all the time, whether it's white water rafting or skydiving. I'm not much of an organized sports guy because I tend to do a lot of things alone. I tend not to join in the marathons and things. I do my own trail running. I think I'm just used to going out on these trips by myself that I just end up doing things on my own.

We know the importance of hydration when working out, but what was your "Aha" moment that inspired you to create the Extreme Mist Personal Cooling System and explain to my listeners how it works?

Sure. When I first did this, I went to the hardware store and bought a bunch of parts, and I got a Camelback, which is a hydration system and I installed a pump system into the back, and I shared the reservoir by wiring it off from the drink hose, so I had the drink hose coming over one shoulder, and over the other shoulder I had a smaller quarter inch hose with a Mist nozzle on the end and it ended at my chest and points out directly in front of me so whenever I walk, run, cycle, I always move into a nice, cold Cloud. So that was my intent and the aha moment to design that was in the Sahara trip I did, and that was on a thousand-mile Journey.

I left out of Mali in Africa, and I took with me a Camelier, who owned the camels, so I rented the camels and him and then I found a kid in Timbuktu in Mali, who spoke a little bit of English and talked him into going. After about a week and a half and maybe a couple of hundred miles into this trip, my Camelier, who spoke no English, every day at around 11 or 12 o'clock, we have to take our saddle blankets and drape them over us like a little tent, a little lean-to and just sit there for 3 to 4 hours and wait for the sun to go by; the most boring miserable thing you could ever do, and part of the way into this, all of our water was boiling hot because it was kept in inner tubes that we get from the wells that we have to go to every 3 or 4 days. If we miss a well, we would die.

So luckily, he knew where the wells were, we only got lost a few times, but we would scoop the water out of these wells with our buckets tied to a camel and haul it up and fill up these inner tubes. They were black and absorbed all of the heat, so not only was it blistering hot, but your water was just short of boiling as well, and he showed me a trick, a thousand-year-old Bedouin trick where you take a bowl of water, indent the sand, put it in the sand, tilt it towards any Breeze and towards the sun outside of my shadow from my little lean-to and within about 15 minutes due to the evaporation process, what was left behind was almost ice-cold water, and that was my aha moment. I will never forget that first sip of cold water going down, which changed the whole journey.

I know about mist systems because in Scottsdale and many other places in the south areas, we have misters all over the place, from commercial shopping centers to our own backyards, and it's nothing new to me, but then I thought about the evaporation, the cold, and I thought how about we put this into a hydration system so you have a two-in-one drinking and misting system and that's how the aha moment came to me.

I understand that there was another Aha moment in your life during this current pandemic, which created the Extreme Mist Portable Sanitizing System (PSS). Explain how that came about?

Well, that's the mother of invention story right there because my gym, as I mentioned earlier in the interview, is in my parking lot about 50 feet away from my office. I went into the gym to work out, and they were having a meeting, and I know all of them because I work in the same Center. So I said what's going on, and they said, "we're going to shut down." This was before the mandatory shutdowns came to the country when COVID had just started up, and I said, really, you're going to shut down now, and they said: "Yeah, people aren't secure in the fact that we are sanitizing and disinfecting the gym properly." They always have the squirt bottles at all the stations as everybody knows with the disinfectant that you're supposed to do it yourself when you leave a station, but they also have to do their job too, and they said people weren't confident, so everyone was dropping out; so I said you know what, before you make that decision give me 10 minutes, I walked back to the office. My system is a delivery system no matter what fluid I put into it, so I took off the drink hose, and I extended the chest-like mist nozzle hose down to arm's length and walked back over. I took the chemicals that they use for disinfecting and put it into a two-liter bag (which is made for runners), gave it to the manager (it's the most comfortable sanitizing backpack in the world because it's a natural runners vest style), and he put that on, walked around the gym started sanitizing on full speed which really itemized the solution which made it last three to four times longer than his squirt bottle. Everyone broke out in applause, and they went ahead and kept the gym open for a couple more weeks until the mandatory shutdown came.

It's not my passion, but we just decided to give some away to some of the COVID centers. We sent some out to Elmhurst Hospital, which was in the news constantly at ground zero in New York and a couple of the other hospitals and some locally, then some of the sanitizing companies saw it and the next thing I knew, 3000 units later within the last five months we've been selling those systems as well, and we've added some accessories.

We are selling the system to everybody. Some people use it for home use, but it's a pretty robust system for that, but people buy them for the house. I have people that buy them when they do have to travel, and they take it with them to the hotels and things to spray them down, so it's an easy, convenient tetherless system. You're not tethered to anything, and you just put in whatever of the two thousand different chemicals that are out there into the system, and you've got an instant COVID killer, hopefully.

Are these products affordable for the average consumer?

Yes, they are. The sanitizing system is under $300.00, and most of the good systems on the market start at $700 to many thousands of dollars for the commercial systems, and our drinking and misting systems are under a couple of hundred dollars.

How can we find out more about the Extreme Mist Portable Sanitizing System and Sanitizing System?

You can find out more information on my website at www.extrememist.com for the misting and drinking systems, which we call the PCS (Personal Cooling System), and for our Portable Sanitizing System (PSS) at www.portablesanitizingsystem.com.

This was a fascinating interview with an extraordinary inventor. Please listen to the podcast to hear the full story.

Liz Grantham is the founder of TheOptimal.me, an extensive online collection of proprietary Integrated Movement Routines (IMRs) and wellness content developed specifically for people 50 plus who want to make life easier, feel younger, stay active and live with less pain. The Integrated Movement Routines are based on functional movements and take a whole-body, timeless, and natural approach to improve mobility, stability, flexibility, balance, and strength. Liz has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and advertising, providing innovative, integrated, thoughtful solutions for global clients such as Visa, Shell, and Sony Mobile, working on projects including the Olympics.

Before we discuss your App, TheOptimal.me, let's talk about you, Liz; where were you born, and what was young Liz's childhood like growing up?

I was born in a small town in South Africa called Port Elizabeth. I had a fabulous childhood. It was very long ago. I grew up in the days of analog. A telephone was a luxury almost, so a television only arrived when I was in school. We would watch the television at the neighbors' home; not everybody had them. I grew up and went off to Boarding school and ended up working in marketing and advertising as a young person.

So Your Career Path was in Advertising Prior to Starting TheOptimal.me Fitness Program?

I worked in advertising for over 30 years and had my own Agency for more than 20 and what's been wonderful is that during my career, I've really been able to work on some fantastic, big Sports sponsorship properties and worked on Olympic games. I worked on Rugby World Cups and Football World Cups, so I had a keen interest in sports and sports development. We are currently working on women in sports on a fantastic program for one of our clients that involves women in sports, so sports have always been something that's been a part of my career, but it wasn't always part of my personal reaching and my life.

Was there an Aha moment that inspired you to get into the fitness space?

Absolutely, I'm sure Vincent, that you know many stories like mine; I work in advertising, where it is a high-pressure, high-stress career. I do a lot of running around but really just hard work, the clock is ticking all the time, and one of my health advisors said to me that they were concerned that I was going to suffer from adrenal fatigue and as you might know, if adrenal fatigue goes too far and you have adrenal burnout, it's not really something you can fix, and one of the solutions that were put in front of me was that I needed to include exercise in my daily life and I was like I hate exercise, and I'm really not going to be doing that. So they said, well, you have a choice to make, so I did quite an amount of research. I'm a real follower and believer in functional medicine and thankfully found a real functional medicine practitioner, and they started talking to me about finding a different way of exercising, not just running on a treadmill or doing weight circuits. I can't concentrate long enough; I get quite bored. I think our bodies get so full of stress and tension. I use to live on Ibuprofen every afternoon just to get through the day with the headaches and sore neck. I found a fantastic trainer, and well, I took the plunge. I actually heard about him. I heard that what he did was quite different, and I went into a class one Friday evening with massive trepidation into this class that was full of people who all knew each other and were chatting. It was really quite scary almost, and the people were young and old. Anyway, I did this class, and 15 minutes later, I could not believe how my body felt. In 15 minutes, I felt like a completely different human being, and I then started doing three classes a week, and that literally changed my whole life in terms of how my body felt and how I was able to get through my day. People started asking me, what were you doing, what's going on with you, you're in a much better mood, you're full of chirp, you're not moaning and groaning all the time, and I honestly put it down to movement, so it was a really startling change for me, and I have been kind of a disciple ever since. So much so, I started a whole business around it.

What Can Someone Expect to Experience When Trying TheOptimal.me App?

Our vision was to build out a platform where people of midlife, whether that's 45 or 50, 55, 60 or 65, can find a solution that is tailor-made for our stage in life because I think as you get into midlife, our objectives in terms of our bodies and wellness often change. We're keener on being fit for purpose, in terms of Aging well, really being active in order to do the things we want to do, then looking beautiful. I think for many people, that is really a shift from when you were in your 20s or thirties where how you look is often more important than how you feel. So what they will find are our integrated movement routines, our wonderful trainer, whose name is Jennie. He is a highly qualified physical education teacher. He is an accredited trainer. He is really a master in the body and in movement. He actually turned 60 early this year. He is extraordinary. He's always been a dancer and a gymnast. He never suffered any injuries because he believes we should move our body the way we were designed to move, because while our world might have changed, how we move is still the same whether we were cavemen, hunter-gatherer and unfortunately in our daily lives now, what do we do now, our environment and our world is created for efficiency and our time and convenience, not for us to move like we use to. So, our integrated movement routines are all about moving in movement patterns, some of which are very familiar. There are movement patterns to really optimize our ability to be aligned, to be strong, to have good posture, to be able to twist and turn and not be afraid of injury really because we are strong and stable and able to do that. We have hundreds of workouts on our site, and they are all exclusive, and we approached everything we've done not to be flashy but to really give an experience that somebody in midlife whose eyes maybe were not as good as they were in their 30s.

We've focused on the fact that it's not about being fancy and modern. Even our music, we get all of our music tracks composed and commissioned so that even the music experience is joyful and fun and not necessarily hard on the ears. We worked really hard to provide something that works for our age group. It's not competitive. It's very progressive. You start where you start and move along. What you really want to do is get everyone moving. We also have fantastic nutritional information and health information and all specific to midlife and beyond because our bodies go through all sorts of changes, and we don't produce the same enzymes and amino acids. We need to look at things differently as we age, and we don't need to put all of our ailments down to old age. There are other things that can be quickly resolved.

How long are the exercise routines?

We recommend you do the routines at least 15 minutes per day, but you will find 5-minute routines, 15-minute routines, and 30 minutes and there are a beginner and intermediate classes on the site. I think it's difficult to find an excuse not to do 5 minutes or even 15 minutes of movement in a day.

Why is Functional Fitness Important as we age?

Well, think about it; if you are not able to do the 7 or 8 basic functional movements, you know, you squat, lunge, reach, push, pull, you walk. For instance, when you sit down, you're going into a squat, and when you stand up out of your squat, you need to do that to get out of your chair, and if you can't do that, you're going to need someone to help you do those type of things. If you just think about balance as we get older, what people don't know is that you start losing your balance in your 20s. It's not something that goes pop when you get to midlife. I think 1 in 4 people over the age of 55 ends up in the emergency room from a fall. If you're not working on your balance regularly, chances are you're going to roll your ankle; you're going to tumble at some point and trip on the stairs. If you're taking care of yourself, it doesn't have to be that way.

Where do you see TheOptimal.me in the Next 5 Years?

I have big plans, Vincent. I am excited about talking to our age group because I think that this is a program that's built by mid-lifers for mid-lifers. Simone, our consulting physiotherapist, she's also about to turn 60, Jennie's 60, I'm 53, the guy who composes our music is in his 50s. We are not pretending to know something that we don't. We really understand because we live it. We live this midlife time, and we're all excited about life. We want to be healthy, travel, and able to see the world, and if COVID has taught my friends and me one thing, it's how we took getting on a plane and going off somewhere exciting, inspirational, and beautiful for granted. We didn't think twice that we wouldn't be able to travel a couple of times a year, so I think we all want to be ready for when we can and when it's safe for us to get out there when we can. We will be looking at a regenerated planet because I think this might be one of the upsides of COVID. We've given our planet a bit of a rest.

It's been amazing. In South Africa, we have an amazing wildlife and bush life, and when we were in major lockdown, we couldn't do that anymore and often a lot of it was very expensive so we would have a lot of international travelers who go to our wildlife parks and when they lifted some of our restrictions, and we were allowed to cross state boundaries again, all of those beautiful places kind of needed people to visit so that they could keep going and the animals have come out to play, it was quite a remarkable thing. Everyone who came back from Safari is like; we've never seen so many animals, we've never seen animals like this before. I think maybe that's going to be the whole world for us. The animals and the planet will be excited to see us all again, so we need to be ready.

How can we find out more about Liz Grantham and TheOptimal.me?

Well, they can go along to our website at www.theoptimal.me and they can go and have a look around and get a taste of what we do. We have a 30-day free pass. They can take the time to really make sure they like the program, and if they enjoy it and want to commit, they can access all of our articles and written content, they can access it without having to buy a subscription. So there is a lot for them to see and find at TheOptimal.me. I think there is something there for everybody.

Rachele Jaegers is the Founder and CEO of VFit Studio, a fresh approach to online, group fitness. She is passionate about functional fitness training and teaching people how to use their bodies in the safest way possible. At VFit Studio, Rachele has pioneered and trailblazed a virtual gym format that weaves together effective live workouts, a positive community, and accessibility to help people from all walks of life reach their fullest potential.

A Bay Area Native, Rachele moved with her husband to the Eastern Sierras to enjoy a more active life in the great outdoors. She is the mother of 3 and has received certifications through NAFC in Personal Training, Group Fitness, and Nutrition Coaching, as well as a certification in Level 2 will Power Method. Rachele lives her life by her favorite quote, "Exercise Because You Love Yourself, Not Because You Hate Yourself."

5 years before the pandemic hit, Rachele has been offering workout classes on Zoom. Many now call her the creator of the Quarantine Workout.

Before we discuss VFit Studio, let's discuss your personal journey into health. Where and when did your interest in fitness and health begin?

I would say I'm like many; I grew up very active in playing sports. I like the structure of being part of a team. I was very competitive with tennis and track. I went on to college, where I became a little bit more sedentary, and when you don't have sports in your life, you lose some of that structure and accountability. I was active. I called myself a weekend warrior. I would go on hikes, walk and do a lot of fun stuff around the campus but fast forward into adulthood. When I went on to my career, I found myself starting to sit at a desk 8, 9 hours a day and get out on the weekends or on a lunch break here and there, but I just wasn't feeling healthy, I wasn't feeling the peak of fitness, and when I really got into fitness it was after we moved to the eastern Sierras. As you mentioned earlier, my husband and I were trying to build a family and it wasn't happening, it was really, really a tough time for me emotionally and physically, trying to get pregnant, and I started to actually hate my body and just dislike it, talk very negatively and one day I had a friend from work say to me, you know what, let's go join a gym. It will help us feel healthy and empowered and you know, I never looked back. The first day we walked into the gym together, we just started on the elliptical machine, and we really had no idea what we were doing. I was not an active gym person. I was definitely more a sports or outdoors person. That was day one, and I look back because that truly transformed who I was. I started to learn to love my body and what it could do for me, and when I honored it and worked on it and put the effort and time on where it can take me, my journey went on from there. We got off of the elliptical machines and took some group fitness classes and just got hooked on the group fitness classes and boot camp classes and just got hooked on the group fitness aspect of being around other people and the energy and your coach calling your name and friends that you know were going to be there with you, and that's the end of the story basically. I just went on and got certified myself, which was the scariest thing I ever did. I'm a Business Major with a degree in Accounting.

I think I was close to 30 years old when I got my first certification, which now feels very young, but at the time, it seemed pretty old in the fitness world. I'm so thankful, though, because with age comes wisdom, and now 3 kids later and a business. I'll never forget that very first class I taught. This is where I was meant to be. This is my passion in life, it's a gift, and it truly is an honor to be able to teach fitness and share my love and passion for fitness. It's one of the best gifts in the world.

I began my group fitness journey probably about 9-10 years ago. My oldest daughter is now 7½, so even before I was pregnant with her, I started teaching at the gym. I started VFit Studio 5 years ago. In fact, this month, October is the 5-year anniversary of VFit Studio, which has now grown into this amazing team and community.

My journey into fitness was 9 years ago, but VFit Studio, 5 years, but before that to really date myself, I started doing one on one personal training through Skype with clients, and that's what led me to realize that this virtual platform really does work, and there are some Merits to working out live online with people, so I started Skype training when my daughter was born, that was one of the ways I was trying to kind of get out of my desk job and more into the mom fitness Balancing Act.

What inspired you to focus on virtual home fitness training?

Like I mentioned, once I found that aspect of group fitness and a community, accountability and motivation, it changed who I was. It changed my relationship with myself and, therefore, my relationship with my family and everybody that I came into contact with. After I had my daughter, I went back to my full-time office job to manage teaching at the gym, still something that I loved and fed my soul. Being a mom and working, there just wasn't enough hours in the day to do it all; something had to give. So I said to myself that there has got to be a way to pursue what I love and still be a mom.

I was so grateful to finally have my daughter, who we have been trying for so long to have. Somebody approached me back when a lot of the multi-level marketing started and wanted to know if I would be interested in being an online coach; I didn't realize she wanted me to sell shakes or something for their company, and that got my wheels turning. I'm an entrepreneur at heart, and that's where my business side comes from.

I said, wait, I can coach people online with fitness. So I gave myself a goal, put together a package if I have x amount of clients, I can leave my job. It gave me motivation. I gave myself a timeline, and in about 2 months, I worked it all out. I was waking up 5, 6 in the morning to train clients, then feed the baby and go to work. My husband had started a business and had a good foundation, so that gave me a little bit of wiggle room to take a little leap of faith. When I got to that x amount of clients, it was really from referrals, I started working with one person, and they said it was amazing. They would tell their friends, so it didn't take that long to build to that point, and my husband always said, you love group fitness, you have to figure out a way to do this on a bigger level, but at that time, I didn't know about Zoom. This was Skype. Luckily from day one, 30 minutes was only what I did with my clients. It was the magic number, especially when you're online, it's like it's only 30 minutes, you can't talk yourself out of it and we just really got to work and just started tugging away, and they became your friends fast forward, VFit Studio started when I was with my second of three children, one 7, 5½ and 2. I started VFit Studio when my son was 6 months old, so I had a 2½-year-old and a 6-month-old when I started the group fitness side of VFit Studio. That was crazy, but the more you're challenged, the more you grow.

Has Your business grown during the pandemic?

When COVID first hit in March, that second or third week, my partner and I (Maria) got together and said we're in this position, and we have been training for a year, and we have this opportunity to help and to serve others right now whose world got taken away from them so abruptly, so we literally overnight doubled our schedule and brought on a couple of other trainers whose gyms have been closed down and who have worked with us in the past. We added a bunch of kids programming, cooking, drawing, and we literally went from 65 classes a week to I think at the peak of that month that we opened up to the world, a hundred and thirty classes. It was like starting the business over, but it tested every system we have built from customer service to capacity to, can we still make this a personal experience, because that's what VFit is, a community, we can see you, and you can see us. It passed the test, and from there, we picked up probably about 150 new members that month, which was incredible, but like anything, it ebbs and flows, and then you hit June and Zoom fatigue. No one wanted to look at a Zoom screen. June was something I never seen in the 5 years since starting VFit and was the flip side of people being fatigued by having everything online and not wanting to look at a screen. We had to go back and get creative and discuss what our core values are and how do we keep everyone motivated. This isn't just a meeting you're logging into or something that you need to prepare for, so yeah, it was crazy, it was a big blur, it was a little like starting the business over in a sense, but we're out here now, it's October, I think we've grown in a way that aligns with our values. We're not this huge Peloton, multi-million dollar company. We've built everything from the ground up.

How Important is Functional Fitness in Everyday Life?

Functional fitness should be at the top of everybody's priority list when you are training because whether you're an athlete, and we have athletes, marathon runners or you're on team grandma, we like to call them, or you're just getting off the couch after 20 years, we are all training for life, to enjoy this life that we have to be functionally fit so that if you want to climb that mountain or if you want to paddleboard across the lakes or if you want to kiss your grandkids pick up your groceries, actually get out of a dangerous situation, you want to train your body and your mind to work together, and that's what we call functionally fit. We actually capitalize on the FUN because it also has to be fun.

We built a four-part functional fitness plan that is around 4 key areas, the first being cardio, and HIIT, which is high-intensity interval training, the second quadrant is strength training, the next two I found that most people are missing are balance and mobility, and the fourth, stretching and recovery, so we look at this as a four-part quadrant. This is all live 30-minute classes that you're logging into and taking with the trainer.

Who Are VFit’s Ideal Clients?

Our ideal clients are those who are willing to spend the time and energy, and that doesn't need to be hours a day, but truly believe they are worth taking care of and that they have this one body to live and this one life to live and they want to get the most out of it. We have the most amazing members like I said, every age, every walk of life, every season of life, and you know for any fitness level; you need to want it for yourself. As much as every trainer, I have wants every single person to be healthy and strong and fit, and we hope one day everyone finds that. You have to want it the most for yourself. As long as you can get yourself logged in and dressed, we'll take it from there and motivate you, encourage you and cheer you on, but you have to be at that point where you're willing to say I'm worth it.

Are Your VFit Classes Affordable for the Average Person?

Yes. Most of our clients (90%) are on an unlimited class pass, so each month, they are on an automatic monthly payment. It comes out to less than a couple of dollars per day for unlimited classes. They have the support of our trainers, and we do different add-on programs like those nutritional coaching. So my value is that we have this unlimited membership that most people can buy for an incredible value for unlimited classes, trainer support, a team, and then we offer a handful of add-on programs if you'd like to take your experience further or dive in deeper into different programs like the Reset. We have a fun game going on right now that involves a 21 Day fitness challenge. We just started a mindset coaching group, so we have these options if you would like to take this journey further, but our membership is worth its weight in gold for what we offer. We believe fitness should be for all. With group fitness, we can afford to have the prices a little lower because we can fit more people in my classes as opposed to one-on-one training where you're going to be paying a little bit more, and from that first day, I said try a free week. There are no strings attached to test it out and then decide if this is the right choice, the right fit for them.

You are a wife, a mother to 3 children, and a business owner; how do you manage all three very demanding responsibilities?

All of those are so important to me. You can love everything you do and still get burnt out at times. You don't have to balance everything because then you're just giving a little bit to everything, so I try to swing the pendulum when I'm working, work, be present and do that when I'm with my kids, I'm Mommy. Right now, because of COVID what I need to work the most on is the life category because, with everything that happens sometimes parenting right now, you're trading shifts, trading meetings. My husband has his own business too, so it's kind of like tag you have the kids, I have the kids, so I think it changes season to season. I am so blessed; these are probably the three best dream jobs I could ever have. I love working, I love having a business, that is a part of who I am, and my family knows that about me, and so they have to keep me in check sometimes, but they know that that also fills me to be the best version of myself because I love what I do.

How Can We Learn More About You and VFit Studio?

The free week trial is always available. You can get that on our website at thevfitstudio.com, and you can read a little bit more about our studio, you can see the schedule pop-up subscriptions, read about my trainer team, and learn a little bit more about the program. We throw a lot on social media as well as a lot of fun fitness challenges and little workouts on Instagram and Facebook at thevfitstudio.

This is a condensed transcript of the interview.  You can listen to the interview in its entirety at www.6weekstofitness.com.

Naomi Rotstein is a personal trainer, podcast host, and business coach, as well as the founder of 1FitFuture, her signature 12-week program that helps women ditch the diet culture mindset, food obsession, and calorie counting with individualized coaching and group support. She is also the host of the 1FitFoodie podcast, where she facilitates conversations with other leaders around the struggles and triumphs of the entrepreneurial journey.

Over the past 12 years, Naomi has worked with hundreds of clients to help them heal their relationships with food, feel confident in their bodies, shed fat, and ditch diets for good. A former fitness competitor, who has experienced her own disordered relationship with food and body image, leading to some major health scares, Naomi knows all too well the vicious cycle of bingeing and restricting over-exercising cycle, and how overwhelming and all-consuming that can be.

Naomi holds a BS in Exercise Science with a minor in Nutrition from Ithaca College. She is a Certified Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and has a Precision Nutrition Level I Certification.

Naomi, where did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?

I grew up right outside of Boston in a town called Newton, Massachusetts. My childhood, I don't want to say it was pretty normal, but I have two wonderful parents, I also have an older brother who I was very close with, and I'm still very close with. He also lives currently outside of Boston, I see him often with his kids and wife and my parents are also close by.

So, a pretty tight-knit family always encouraged us to work hard, be independent, and no matter what we wanted to do in life, just to go all-in, really. They always stressed the importance of education so going to college was not really an option, not that I didn't want to go. It was kind of like the ultimate goal after graduating from high school.

I had a wonderful upbringing; it was there that I really got my love for living an active lifestyle through my parents.

When did you become interested in fitness?

I've been active as a child. I played soccer and softball in middle school and then in high school. I played field hockey, and while I loved field hockey, I really didn't fall in love with any other Spring sport, and I still wanted to be active, so I actually started going to Gold's gym with my mom, a super hard-bodied gym at the age of 15 and I fell in love with just being in that atmosphere. I loved strength training; I just kind of followed my mom around. I took some classes, I became friends with the trainers, and it was like a really no-frills bare-bones gym, but I just loved hanging out there; it was kind of my calling, and I started to see at a very early age the effects of exercise and how my body transformed and how I gained so much confidence.

I would have to say that my junior and senior years in high school is when my true love for fitness and learning more about it started, like why is it that we can lose body fat by not running all the time and we can lift weights, really diving deeper into exercise science. When I applied to colleges, I looked for colleges that had some sort of exercise science program because I knew I wanted to go into that field.

I see you are a certified health coach through Integrative Nutrition and you have a Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. Why is nutrition important?

I think nutrition is the key to healing all sorts of ailments. When you go to the doctor these days, and you say I have a headache and they say here's a prescription for a pill or I have acid reflux, here's a prescription, but really what I learned through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and I knew this before but it was really ingrained, is that nutrition can truly heal you from the inside out and there is a time and place for medication, of course, but choosing certain foods and nutrients and herbs and spices and teas and tonics and all that …. nutrition is so powerful and there are so many ways to utilize it.

You had a disordered relationship with food and body image, leading to some major health scares. Please explain this disordered relationship with food and how it affected your health?

When I was 25, I got immersed in the world of fitness competition. For those who don't know, for women, you put on a bikini, and you get all tan. It's essentially a fitness beauty pageant. I'm sure most people listening have seen pictures. It was when I was at Gold's Gym that I got exposed to this world because there was a trainer there who would coach women to compete so I always looked in at the studio, and these women had these heels on and bikinis. I said in my head, one day, I want to do that, and that looked amazing, and so when I was 25, I was actually in a really not so great relationship at the time, and that relationship prompted me to do something for myself. So, I signed up for a show, and there was no turning back at that time. I signed up for Cathy Savage Fitness, I thought I was going to do one show, and I continued to do six shows over the course of four years. I even became a coach for the team and so I got really, really immersed in this world. At first, my body completely transformed, but it was really the validation I was getting from the outside world, let's say, that really kept me going. I was getting compliments from men and women. I was pretty much terrified of gaining an ounce of fat. I tried to maintain my on-stage body year-round and which for those who have competed is not ideal and is not sustainable, so I did everything I could to just maintain the way I looked, so as you can imagine I had a disordered relationship with food, I had a lot of food anxiety in situations where I was not in control. It affected my social life, it affected my family life, so that's kind of the disordered part and I knew at the end of the day I was not going to do this forever and at the age of 26, I actually suffered from a perforated peptic ulcer.

Perforated means it burst through my intestine. I had emergency surgery and it was there that it was my kind of Ah-Ha moment, when I realized I needed to get my stuff together and begin this journey of just getting to a better place mentally healing my relationship with food and my body.

What are your views on fad diets and Why Don't they work for most people?

We can do another podcast on this topic, Vincent, but I will keep it short. Essentially fad diets are exactly what they say. They are fads. The diet industry is a billion-dollar or more industry, and these days it's super hard because every influencer is being paid to Market some detox tea or waist trainer or quick fix or what have you, and at the end of the day diets are not sustainable. They force you to follow food rules. Any sort of food protocol where you're following a set of rules is not going to be sustainable for life because if you go outside of those rules, you're going to have anxiety and it's going to force you to go down the slippery slope and by that I mean if you're told you can never eat chocolate chip cookies and then you have two chocolate chip cookies, two things are going to happen, you're going to have a lot of guilt around that and that's not going to be great for your mindset, or you're going to say screw it and eat the entire bag of chocolate chips then you're going to feel guilty, you're going to want to wake up and detox, you're going to want to over exercise and it's a vicious cycle that too many women I have seen get caught up in, myself included.

What is Naomi Rotstein's Exercise Philosophy?

I am a big fan of strength training, especially since most of my clients are women. I do work with some men one on one, but the men never have any problems with strength training, that's why they work with me (laughter). It's more the women who need some tough love and a little convincing. Some of my female clients actually love lifting heavy and love how it feels. My philosophy with my clients is strength training, a minimum of 3 days a week. That is a sweet spot for most people who work full time and have a life and a couple of days of cardiovascular and could be an activity that you enjoy whether that is a spin class or bodyweight HIIT workout or kickboxing or a run and then one day of something a little bit more mindful like yoga or a karate class or a long walk and then absolutely a minimum of one day completely off from exercise to rest and recover and continue to rest because your body cannot work overtime if you're not letting it rest. It will constantly be inflamed in a state of stress.

How do you Motivate Your Clients to Want to Work Out?

That's an interesting question. I am going to say that my ideal client is already motivated. In my Instagram bio it states that I help motivated women and I also do train men, lose body fat. I want to work with a motivated group of people, so my ideal client and because I work on my own, I have firsthand pick on who I do work with, so my roster of clients right now, they don't need a ton of motivation to show up and do the work. They might not like some of the exercises I give them to do, but most of my clients want to work out. They just are craving that structure. They are craving some accountability. I help them create workouts for their goals. I help them with their weekly workout schedule, provide accountability and support. My clients are the best!

Do you train your clients in person at a gym or virtually?

As we are recording this during COVID, I would say that most of my clients are virtual. I pivoted in mid-March when this pandemic hit. I contacted my clients to say that I am going to continue working and what time works for you? We will keep your time, etc., and I just pivoted all of my business virtual. There are a couple of clients I am seeing in person but previous to COVID I worked in boutique studios, I do not work in a big box gym anymore. You do not need a gym membership at the gym that I train, you just come to work out with me, I rent the space, and that's that. I am also training a couple of clients in the gyms of their apartment building.

How has this COVID-19 pandemic affected your business?

I'm going to say that my business has skyrocketed, and I also think that's due to a lot of gyms being closed. I get personal training inquiries almost every week. As we are recording this interview, I am not taking on any new clients. Although this always changes, my personal training schedule/roster is full. I am also pivoting my business a little bit, getting into business coaching for personal trainers. I am currently working with a business coach, so I'm bringing another leg to my business. So, I think that COVID for me at least, has been a really big blessing in disguise to access and to also really tap into some other passions that I have and one of which is helping other trainers with their business digitally and that is the next endeavor that I am working on.

Honestly, it's been great for my business. It's also forced me to slow down a little bit and not run around the city like a chicken with its head cut off. If you're a trainer, you know what that feels like.

You have a 12-week program called 1FITFUTURE, where did the name come from and what does it mean?

I started my blog 1 Fit Foodie in 2009 and started my brand's name and everyone started recognizing me and calling me 1 Fit Foodie. I just picked it one day and fell into it. Different legs of my business are called…I used that 1 Fit so and so. I just created a workout program called 1FitBod. In my ID bio if you click the link "About Me", it says 1FitFoodie, so when I created this program, I was still trying to keep it on-brand. You want it to be catchy, you want it to be memorable, so 1FitFuture, that's where the name came from and I'm really proud of that name.

What can clients expect to receive from joining your program?

1FitFuture is my signature program. It's a 90-day course, and I work with motivated, driven, incredible women, all who have a common goal, they really want to stop wasting their time, energy and money and see results. It's a hybrid coaching program, it's built to teach and guide women through a 4, and I actually added a 5th module call the Quarantine Edition, so it actually has 5 modules. It's 12 weeks; it's a hands-on course with group accountability with individual live support. There are zoom calls every week; I have some amazing guest coaches. There is a 24/7 Facebook group for the women and me to connect and talk all day long, and the course is online. You can go at your own pace. It also includes a three-month strength training program, meal prep guides. There are lessons that range in everything from nutrition to binge and restrict cycles to self-sabotage to more mindset to workout recovery. There is a 25 recipe e-book, so there is a lot of content in this course and the women go through it together. And to your question as to what they can expect, at the end of the day I want the women who enroll in this course, to have a better relationship with food. We do not count calories; we do not use the scale. It's all intuitive eating principles.

I want them to have confidence in their food choices. I want them to never be tempted to do another fad diet again because that has gotten them nowhere and because of that, most of them don't lose body fat. This is not a guaranteed weight loss course, though. I'm not guaranteeing anyone is going to lose 10 pounds. That said, most of the women who show up and do the work 100% do lose weight. They lose weight because they do the work of getting out of the diet mindset.

Do You Have Any Success Stories on your Website?

Of course. There are tons of testimonials. There are testimonial videos. I have hundreds, literally hundreds.

Can Anyone Start Your Program at Any time?

Because I am the coach of the program, I actually run this 3 or 4 times per year.

I coach it 100%. It's not the kind of thing where you buy it, and you go through it with no guidance. You are doing it with the other women. Right now I am in the 4th round of it. There are 16 women enrolled. This course will go until around Thanksgiving, and then I will kick off a new class in January. Women can sign up months in advance because they are not locked in that spot. There is never a time you can't fill out the application, chat, and lock in your spot.

What advice would you give someone who is concerned about their health during the upcoming fall and winter months?

I would say the most important thing to me is sleep. Making sure you get adequate sleep is going to set you up for a solid foundation to keep your cortisol levels in check, keep your adrenals in check, not have anxiety and be productive during the day and it's so critical for your health, so I think sleep is number one. Try not looking at your phone before bedtime, keeping your room cool, and then finding ways to move your body and it doesn't have to be some hour-long crazy Cross Fit hip style workout, it could be a 30-minute walk, it could be a 20-minute yoga flow. Find ways to move your body every day, so you're not sitting at a desk all day and feeling cooped up and be sure to get a wide range of nutrients in your diet, so if you're used to always eating zucchini for your vegetables, put a new food item in your cart, try new foods.

How Can We find out more about Naomi Rotstein and 1FitFuture?

You can visit my website at www.naomirotstein.com, and on Instagram you can always shoot me a DM. I am super approachable and would love to hear from you. It's naomi.rotstein.

Tamika Harden is a personal trainer, life coach, owner of Body By Tamika, and a coronavirus survivor.  Growing up in South Jamaica, Queens, Tamika was no stranger to the harsh realities of inner-city violence and drug abuse.  She credits her loving mother for her strength and perseverance to overcome many of the hardships she faced growing up.  Tamika’s humble beginnings motivated her to strive for excellence, even at a young age.  Her own battles with childhood obesity and overcoming it have set the stage for her own platform of inspiring and helping others to transform and uplift their lives, mind, and body.

When did you know you had the virus and what were the symptoms?

“It started in March; it was right before the lockdown had occurred for the pandemic.  I woke up preparing for work, and I just felt lethargic and tiredness that I never felt before.  I’m used to hustling and bustling, servicing clients all day, morning, and night. Still, this tiredness felt different, so I began to cancel all of my morning clients, which is not like me and if I could just lay down and try to sweat this out or whatever I was feeling, so I rested, took off the weekend, tried to recoup using my regular techniques and tactics; exercise, rest, proper nutrition. I got my strength up, and by Monday, I was back to work, and by that Tuesday, I couldn’t get out of bed if I wanted to. I felt as if I got hit by a truck or something that just knocked me down.  I was fighting through that, taking over the counter meds, taking my vitamins, trying to juice on the days that I had enough strength to want to eat something.  I was fighting through it; I didn’t know what I had.  So, as the symptoms worsened and I wasn’t getting better, I said, let me call the CDC hotline because now I’m home in bed and watching the news and just not understanding what is happening.  I called the CDC, and at that time, I didn’t have all the symptoms. I’m telling them, I have a bad cough, it’s not going away. I was told I would get a call back in 48 hours to get tested.  That call came two weeks later.  This was at the height of the pandemic when we lacked preparedness.  There was a lack of medical supplies.  We saw that more in predominantly minority communities, so the help wasn’t there.  I never got the callback, my symptoms worsened, and then it was brought to my knowledge that somebody that I was with a few days prior had to be admitted to the hospital and have tested positive.”

It was then that Tamika decided she had to get tested.  “I went to my local testing site, and I was denied access that day because they told me, I’m sorry, I understand your concerns, but you have to have an appointment.  I tried to call again, and at that time, the wait time was approximately six hours, so I explained to the attendant, and I’m just pleading with them that I need to get tested, and if it weren’t for me pleading and pretty much begging them to help me, that’s when he said, tomorrow morning there will be a trauma unit set up at a certain site and your chances of getting tested on this site is greater.  He couldn’t promise me that I would be tested, so I went back that next morning very early.

I waited in line, and I was able to get tested and swabbed through a crack in my window.  The exposure is very limited and I was told that I would get a call back in a week if I tested positive, so I went on about my day, and that Friday I had gotten a call back stating that I have tested positive.

This was already ten days in, and if my body wasn’t able to fight it, it could have been a lot worse because of the obstacles I had to go through just to get tested.”

It took Tamika 2 weeks to get through the effects of the virus.  She then quarantined herself for about three weeks instead of the customary two weeks.  She focused on eating healthy, juicing, and exercise to help her get through the sickness. 

Not only was Tamika exposed to the virus, but her children and nanny were exposed as well.  This whole ordeal has made Tamika more determined to focus on her health because she believes that it is because of her health that she was able to fight off the virus.  She is also determined to help others within her community.

Being a trainer in top physical condition, Tamika shared that she was a little surprised that as a trainer, she would contract the virus.  She stated that “at the beginning stages of the pandemic we were told that only a certain group of people or ethnicity or health conditions would get the virus, but after I was able to dig a little deeper and understand what we were up against, I realized that this virus doesn’t discriminate and anybody could be infected.

What advice would you give to someone who is worried about contracting the virus?

“The advice I would give is to continue to wear your mask, continue to wash your hands regularly and practice social distancing, and just to be mindful because some of us think that it’s over, but we still have to take precautionary measures.

We don’t want this thing to reach the level of emergency that it was before.  I think people just need to continue taking precautionary measures as we’ve been told, and I think now is the time to focus on immunity, focus on health, making realistic changes.  I’m not saying go all green or do 5 miles a day like you’re going into the army.”

Coronavirus Pandemic and Body By Tamika

The Coronavirus pandemic seriously impacted Tamika’s business, which she started 3 ½ years ago. Even though she feels like she is restarting her business, she is more determined to see it succeed.  Tamika believes that in adversity, there is an opportunity; you have to reposition yourself.  She transitioned her business so that she can serve her community virtually, and she advises other entrepreneurs to “find other ways to reposition your business and your talent because many of us have several talents.”

What services does Body By Tamika provide?

“I provide in-person training, one on one personal training, small group training, virtual classes. I also have a Medspa, where I offer body contouring services.  We consider that non-invasive weight loss services. I do laser lipo, slimming sculpting, and massages.  We also do aesthetic procedures also non-invasive that can help speed up the weight loss process.  I am also Life Coach Certified with an undergrad in Psychology.”

Who Are Your Ideal Clients?“

“My ideal clients are women age group between the mid-20s to about 60, the working-class women juggling a career and children, the everyday women.  I have a lot of empty nesters whose children are off to college, and now they’re making time for themselves.  I service predominantly African American women, and they are all career-minded professional women who can afford services as to what I provide.”

Where do you see Body By Tamika in the next 5 years?

“A few locations. I want to take my business to different states for starters. I see a larger virtual community. I see all these things because they are more achievable for my business, and I’m more than capable of doing it, so now it’s just manpower and time. I see myself as a household name, and I’m just waiting for the day that all of it is showcased.”

Tamika’s motto is: “If they don’t open the door, kick it down, I’m not promoting violence, but if you got to kick it off the hinges, kick it off the hinges, take what is meant to be yours and just stay diligent, stay on course and God will send you the people that you need in your life. They will start showing up. Just stay positive and not stop despite the obstacles ahead because there are going to be several, but each one you knockdown makes you stronger for the next one, so just stay positive."

For more information on Tamika Harden, you can visit her website at www.bodybytamika, also Instagram: BodybyTamika and Facebook: BodybyTamika.

Eric Rice is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of Quanta (QuantaCBD.com). This company is using a new technology involving quantum mechanics that maximizes the bioenergy in natural products to help people. Their first product out is a CBD muscle rub, made 5x more effective by polarizing the CBD. Eric is also looking at other ways that organic matter can be optimized in areas including agriculture, vitamins, supplements, human cognition, anti-aging, food, and pharmaceuticals. Eric Rice is also a former professional baseball player.

Eric Rice, the Early Years

Eric Rice was born in Chicago and grew up in northwest Indiana, about 15 miles outside of Chicago. From the time Eric was five years old, he recalls being forced to play the shortstop position at baseball practice when he didn't even know what shortstop was. After a few minutes of fielding ground balls, Eric was hooked on the game and wanted to play baseball for the rest of his life.

While playing baseball in college, Eric found himself in constant pain due to an injury he sustained during his sophomore year in high school. He injured his shoulder, which affected his ability to throw the ball. He didn't tell anyone about this injury, so for most of his career, he would take from 12 to 15 Ibuprofen so he could perform without feeling so much pain in his shoulder.

The Birth of QUANTA

While running a venture studio, Eric had a ton of people pitching their companies to him, one of which was a small cannabis company.

Around this time, Eric's doctor told him that he could no longer continue taking Ibuprofen and that he needed to find another way to reduce the pain he was feeling in his body. Eric decided to try cannabis, and although the cannabis was helping, it wasn't helping nearly as much as the Ibuprofen.

A friend of Eric's from the Army's Special Forces told him about a brilliant scientist who has done work with cancer, autoimmune disease, and HIV using various technologies. The doctor also was researching cannabinoids. It was then that Eric saw an opportunity to partner with the scientist and build a business, and that's how Quanta was born.

Why is your Muscle Rub more Effective than other products?

What Quanta is doing to Cannabinoids is what they are doing to hundreds of natural, medicinal compounds. Plants are alive just like humans, and we vibrate at 100% and so do plants, but once you remove plants from the earth, its technically dead, losing 50 to 75% of its energy and every moment that passes, that energy depletes down to 3 or 4 percent. What Quanta has been able to do is take that dead or dying plant matter and apply quantum mechanics or quantum physics into the biological entity. When you are alive, you have a nucleus with electrons rotating very fast and far from the nucleus, high energy. As you age and die, those electrons slow down, and they become closer to the nucleus. Quanta is using electromagnetic frequencies to communicate with the molecules and excite those electrons to push them back out from the nucleus and get them spinning faster. This process increases the anti-inflammatory properties by 572%, making the CBD Muscle Rub much more effective than any other competing product on the market.

Why is Inflammation so Important?

Inflammation is the basis for most pain, just like when you break a bone, it swells up, and you suffer from the pain. Inflammation is the stem root of almost every physical problem, including cancer and depression. Inflammation also plays a crucial role in aging. Aging occurs when inflammation is increasing in the body, and cells reproduce themselves at a slower rate.

What other Products Besides the CBD Muscle Rub Are You working on?

In the CBD space, we have a tincture we just put out. We have a vape product that we sell and is doing very well. We also made an anti-aging cream with and without CBD, which is phenomenal for your skin. Our target for the rest of this quarter is to focus in on the launch of our beauty products, so we're polarizing Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, retinol, and all of the common, expensive beauty treatments and creating face masks and Vitamin C serums and all types of beauty products and in the research department, we're putting together a portfolio of 12 natural products that should replace 12 commonly taken harmful medications from the pharmaceutical space launching around late 4th quarter, around Christmas.

What has been the feedback from people who have used your products?

Two or three days out of every work week, I get emotional during the day because we get between 5 and 10 testimonials that are either written, audio or video unsolicited, and about once a week, you will hear one that just opens your eyes to how a tiny little product could help someone's life in every capacity. A neighbor of mine, she has diabetes, and her toes were completely curled up, she couldn't walk or put on shoes. Her daughter came by and asked me for some of the rub and literally watched in a matter of minutes, her curled up toes just relaxed on the ground, and everyone in the room started crying. It was one of the most emotional things I ever experienced.

Everyone calls our muscle rub the Windex because it has all these different usages. The most common is stiffness, joint pain, muscle pain. The most prevalent we see here in Los Angeles is recovery. There are a lot of active people working out really hard. Almost everyone says that their recovery time is quicker. They go to bed and wake up and feel like they never even worked out the day before. Other than that, arthritis is a huge thing for us; neuropathy. Almost all of our retail business is through medical professionals, hospitals and doctors and neuropathy, nerve centers.

That seems to be a pain point for most people. We receive letters or videos from people expressing their joy that they can walk without pain, and these little things improve people's moods. We even had a reflexologist tell us that if you put the rub on your feet and your toes, it acts like a sleeping pill because the vibration in the ointment is actually going into your nervous system up through your feet and legs and relaxes your whole body. So we tried it out because I am a 20 year Ambien user to try to fall asleep. I haven't taken an Ambien since probably February, and I have been sleeping as well as I ever have just by putting muscle rub on my feet.

Even with mosquito bites, you put the muscle rub on it, and the itching will stop in about two minutes, and the next day there are no bumps on the skin, so there are tons of different usages.

Are Your Products Safe for Children To Use?

Absolutely! We have youth hockey teams, my son's baseball team, everyone uses it when their arms get sore. There is no THC in the ingredients. All of the ingredients are 100% natural.

Where do you see your company in the next five years?

In a Utopian world, we will be working with all of the largest nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and beauty companies in the world to help make better products as well as safer pharmaceuticals with fewer side effects using natural ingredients. That's really our focus and goal.

How has the Current Pandemic affected your business?

We actually just did the breakdown of that, and between the first and second quarters of this year, we only lost 1.8% in a market where the retail was down 85%, so we did really well. We didn't outperform the previous quarter, but we only lost $6,000 during the quarter in revenue, and a lot of that came from our ability to see the pandemic coming and shift from focusing from retail and doctors to online sales and partnerships for digital campaigns. I think this coming year will be great, but the pandemic has absolutely affected us.

What do you say to someone who questions the cost of your muscle rub product compared to other topical muscle rub products like Bengay?

We get that all the time. The weird thing is 40% of our business is repeat customers. We always explain it this way, the potency in our muscle rub, it's a $45.00 muscle rub, and we do have designs to drop that price now that we've grown, it has expensive high-end ingredients in it, but to get the same type of relief just with pain, because Bengay only works on pain, it doesn't do inflammation and is terrible for your skin, to get the same type of pain relief, you will have to buy 4 to 7 tubes of Bengay. According to a study we did, the average person who lives in chronic pain, have about a $500 per month pharmaceutical bill for chronic pain prescriptions and they spend approximately $264.00 per month for other alternatives to help with pain.

We say instead of spending $264 on ten different things that don't work, you spend $45 on one that does, and not only do you have more relief, but you're also saving over $200 per month along with other supplements you're taking that's not working.

What is Quanta's Philosophy?

More than anything, we believe in a simple philosophy of taking quantum physics and all that confusing stuff so that our products will help you reduce pain and increase joy in your life. That's our whole premise to relieve pain, make you look good, feel good, so there is more joy in everyone's life.

To find out more about Quanta or purchase products, visit www.buyquanta.com and use the coupon code "6weeks" and get 20% off all the Quanta products.

Shia Joyner is a Registered Yoga Teacher, Licensed Esthetician, Reiki Healer, and Culture Consultant. She is also the founder of Zen & Boujee, a luxury wellness shopping experience featuring brands focused on women and wellness. Shia Joyner's pursuit of empowerment for the "new now woman" has guided her through every incarnation of her career. Shia is an entrepreneur with a passion for coaching "women" to manifest their dreams by sharing simple and gentle ways that inspire them to love, heal, and nurture their bodies by being fully engaged in the power they embody. A fierce advocate of accessible wellness, Shia is also committed to giving back to her community by helping women in underserved areas overcome mental illness and support the needs of domestic violence survivors. Shia's goal is to inspire women to be fully engaged in the power they embody and coach them in manifesting their dreams.

Shia Joyner, the early years

Shia was born in Raleigh, North Carolina but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.

Shia considers herself a "product of the south." Her role model growing up was and still is her older sister. Shia got the entrepreneur bug from her father, who worked a traditional 9 to 5 and was an entrepreneur at heart. When she was five years old, Shia and her sister started their first business called "Potato Creation," where they would make things out of potatoes and sell them to her father's friends.

Journey to Wellness

Shia was never interested in working out or going to a gym until she moved to Harlem and decided to attend a Yoga class.  While there, she met the most amazing Yoga instructor. That experience inspired her to make changes in her life, which consisted of changing how she eats, drinking more water, and becoming more mindful and meditating. This experience was Shia's introduction to wellness.

Yoga, Fitness, and Being a Domestic Violence Survivor

It wasn't until this year (2020) that Shia Joyner has come to accept that she is a domestic violence survivor. She left that part of her life 13 years ago and wanted to put it behind her, but over time, she realized that part of the healing process is to understand what journey and struggle really are.

Her journey with Yoga was initially for anxiety and depression, but after going through this journey, which included counseling, the underlying factor was that she is a domestic violence survivor. Yoga allowed her to grow and be the fullest version of herself.

Red Flags of Domestic Abuse

Shia believes that women must get to a place where they love themselves enough to leave a domestic violence situation. Shia believes that the following is a list of red flags of domestic abuse:

• A mate that cannot control their tone (speaking loud and argumentative);
• Lack of emotional discipline and self-control, which could lead to emotional, verbal, and physical abuse;
• Economic or financial abuse; withholding financial support so that you are dependent on them.

Domestic Violence during the Pandemic

The number of domestic violence cases has increased significantly during this current pandemic. Shia shared how stress and anger play a significant role in domestic violence, especially if a spouse loses his job and decides to take it out on the person closest to him.

Zen and Boujee

Shia created the name Zen and Boujee while on a Yoga retreat with her mentor in Nicaragua. She recalled just finishing her meditation and looking at a lagoon that was filled with water from a volcano that recently exploded, and the name Zen and Boujee just came to her.

Zen and Boujee Giving Back

Having lived through domestic violence and seeing what women are going through has pushed Shia even more towards her purpose with Zen and Boujee. Although Zen and Boujee make beauty and wellness products, the vehicle that gives her meaning is the social impact company she is developing in her Goddess Box, which focuses on self-love and is a subscription business model. 10% of the proceeds from every box sold are given to nonprofit charities helping victims get away from their abusers.

Zen and Boujee are also partnering with a company called New Safe Start, which has started an amazing campaign that pledged "buy one, get one" where 10% of every box is being donated to New Safe Start to help women to understand how to break free from their abuser and establish themselves to have economic power and freedom. Shia believes that if you love yourself and are economically free, there is nothing you can't do.

Shia received inspiration from actor Chadwick Boseman, who was silently suffering from colon cancer until his death at 43 but continued to walk in his purpose. If he could go through all that he endured and still walk in his purpose, Shia believes she can do it too. Her aim is not just to build a beauty and wellness company, but to help all women find a safe passage to healing from domestic abuse.

All of Zen and Boujee's products are natural and organic. Shia continued to express how she does not want to build a beauty company that sells just cool products. Every product must help or heal someone. The products are plant-based and sourced ethically. Shia believes that plants are all your body needs when it comes to your skin and your gut. The Zen & Boujee products can be found online at www.zenandboujee.com.

Touchless Beauty

To allow the retail experience to come straight to the customers' home, Shia is launching Touchless Beauty. In this program, you take a skincare assessment on their site, and the company will send you the products for you to sample at home, and you can join them online for a Touchless Beauty product party. This pilot program will launch on October 1st, 2020.

Kelly Bryant is the creator and founder of Kelly Bryant Wellness. She is a Yoga instructor, Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), and a Pilate's instructor. Kelly is passionate about helping women through every stage of life, from prenatal to postmenopausal. Before quitting her job to travel the world in 2016, she worked at health & fitness startup, Noom, where she led content and community marketing efforts and soaked up everything she could learn about psychology and behavior change.

Journey into Health

Kelly grew up in Stuart, Florida. She was not an active child. She considered herself more of a book nerd than athletic. Rather than go outside and play, Kelly would go to the library and read books. She credits her being a nerd as the reason why she has been able to help people understand anatomy and the science of why they feel the way they feel.

Kelly attended college in New York City, and after college, she landed a job in Marketing at Noom, a health and fitness startup company. Working at Noom is fine when you are in your 20s, recalled Kelly, "but it is a recipe for burn-out." The stress from working at Noom and the pain she felt in her back, neck, and shoulder from a previous injury she sustained when she broke her collar bone at 16, led her to try yoga. Yoga not only relieved the pain but gave her balance and calmed the nervous system, and helped her to relax.

Expert in Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness

As with most women who become experts in prenatal and postpartum fitness, Kelly had to figure it out herself. She went online to Google and researched "what are safe prenatal exercises", and to her surprise, the information she received on Google was not acceptable. Kelly then went back to studying and listening to doula podcasts, childbirth educators, and to people who are teaching the physiological aspect of childbirth. She studied information on the nervous system, anatomy, and breath, merging this information for herself first and then for her clients.

Kelly's personal experience with pregnancy changed the way she approaches prenatal and postpartum fitness for her clients. "One of the mistakes pregnant people make is to assume that if they train hard when they're pregnant, that type of training will help them recover faster after pregnancy," stated Kelly. Kelly believes that is the opposite of what happens.

Kelly approaches prenatal fitness with "building a foundation from the ground up so you can look at what you need to do to support the easiest birth possible because the easiest birth possible is what is going to help you recover the fastest."

Kelly Bryant Wellness Classes

Kelly trains some of her clients on a one on one basis, but most of her training is self-guided and guided digital programming for prenatal and postpartum. Kelly's postpartum training is usually done in small groups, which Kelly believes is vital, especially now during the pandemic, to provide support.

COVID-19 and Kelly Bryant Wellness

As of December 2019, most of Kelly's business was online, so when the pandemic hit, it did not affect her business. It has been a problem for people looking to purchase online equipment such as webcams and digital microphones. These items are either sold out or purchased at a much higher price due to price gouging.

Kelly doesn't consider herself to be a "life-long trainer." Some of her prenatal clients will work with her for about 9 months during the pregnancy and then 3 to 9 months postpartum before going back to their usual training routine. She also has clients that will stay longer 3 to 9 months, participating in the online yoga and Pilate's program.

Kelly believes that postpartum fitness is similar to aging, where you reach a certain age and potentially lost a lot of muscle, have aches and pains, and bad postural habits that create a lot of pain.

Kelly's Unique Guarantee

On Kelly Bryant's website (www.kellybryantwellness.com), she has the following guarantee: "You will feel better, stronger, and more pain-free after 2 months with me or your money back". Kelly stands by that guarantee and as of this writing, not one client has asked for their money back. Kelly must be doing something right!

DeBlair Tate grew up in a small town in Mississippi with a population of 8,000 – 10,000 people. DeBlair's passion for fitness started when she was very young. She loved playing basketball and softball and remembered being very competitive, whether racing or arm wrestling. She was always ready to compete. After high school, DeBlair attended Mississippi State University, an hour from where she grew up.

DeBlair Joins the Military

DeBlair wanted more than just a college degree. She didn't want to attend college and then go home and try to figure out what to do next. She wanted more opportunities and exposure. She wanted to show people that just because you're from a small town, it doesn't mean you have to do what everyone else is doing.

DeBlair had to figure this out on her own. She came from a loving, single-parent home and knew her mom couldn't afford to give her the opportunities and exposure to the world that she desired.

DeBlair decided to use the military as a stepping stone that would allow her to branch out into the world. She is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Air Force.

Fitness Competition

After moving to Atlanta, DeBlair worked as a Loan Officer when she got word of a gym opening up in the area. While working part-time in the gym, a trainer approached her and asked if she competes? DeBlair, not knowing much about the female fitness competition world, said: "man, I am not going to walk around here looking like some dude". Later that day, the trainer had some girls stop by the gym to show DeBlair what they looked like competing onstage. DeBlair was very impressed with what the girls looked like, and because of her competitive spirit, she decided to give it a shot.

DeBlair became a professional fitness competitor in only two short years. She has competed for a total of six years. The experience as a competitor was challenging and not always fun because of the strict diet and training regimen. It also affected DeBlair's social life because of the time it takes to prepare for competition.

Fitness Coaching

DeBlair credits the military for instilling discipline in her life, which she lacked growing up in Mississippi. She also believes that serving in the military has made her a more effective trainer. She credits the military for being able to provide support regardless of what problems she was having. The military provided mentors to help her succeed, and that's what she can provide her clients, support, and mentorship to help them along their fitness journey.

DeBlair uses her "military training in a very intentional way." Before she agrees to take on a client, they must have a consultation with her to see "where the client's head is at," so a plan can be designed to help the client meet his or her fitness goals. DeBlair stated, "that she doesn't give her clients what she thinks they need, but rather what they came to her for."

COVID-19 and Fitness Coaching

The current pandemic has forced DeBlair to go to a more virtual platform. DeBlair shared during the interview that she is a shy person when it comes to getting in front of the camera and filming videos. She could easily do a photoshoot, but a video is something she is now getting used to.

8 Figured Brand

DeBlair has created her fitness apparel brand called 8 Figured, www.8figured.com. DeBlair shared that "if you turn the eight around, it means infinity. It also stands for self-confidence, self-acceptance, the ability to engineer yourself and the body God gave you." The 8 Figured brand has been featured on Good Morning America (GMA). The clothing line caters to everyone of all shapes and sizes. The clothes are created and designed by DeBlair and her designer.

DeBlair envisions her brand being in every store and every mall. She believes that the 8 Figured brand will be in the same lane as Nike and Lulu Lemon one day.

Balancing Business and Personal Life

Balancing business and personal life had been a hurdle for DeBlair. She would spend more time on her business and less time with friends and family. Focusing on business all the time became a problem when she noticed people were not giving her time. DeBlair realized that she had to restructure her life and get her priorities straight. DeBlair stated that "it's still a work in progress, but it's much better than before."

Trapping on Thursday

At 7:30 EST on Thursday nights, DeBlair conducts a 30-minute workout segment on Facebook and Instagram called Trapping on Thursday. Following the workout, there is a 30-minute question and answer segment where you can ask questions directly of DeBlair.