Six Weeks To Fitness

Coach O’Neil Brown was born on the beautiful Island of Jamaica 48 years ago. He migrated to the States in 1981. Coach O’Neil grew up in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, and played multiple sports while in high school. Coach O’Neil developed a love for health and wellness by learning from his mother, the late Icilyn Brown. He has been a fitness and lifestyle trainer for over 15 years. He is the founder and CEO of OB-FIT. His greatest desire is to see everyone live in peace and happiness from within. O’Neil encourages everyone he trains to take their health seriously. Two of his many mantras are your health is your wealth and excuses don't get results. And joining me today on my 6 Weeks to Fitness Podcast to discuss his personal journey into health and his fitness philosophy is coach O’Neil Brown. Coach O’Neil, how are you doing today?

Vincent Ferguson:

Thank you for coming on the show.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Hey, thank you for having me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now in your bio, coach, you credit your mom, Icilyn Brown for getting you started in health and wellness. Tell my listeners about your mom and how she helped shape your views on health and wellness.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Well, my mother, was a hardworking woman and first and foremost, she always put God first in everything that she do, she always put God first. She made sure that everything that she does is lined up with the word of God. And the thing about it, the love that she had for us was amazing. I mean, words cannot explain. But one thing my mother took her health very seriously. And the foods that she ate, she made sure she ate foods that were healthy and nutritious. Now, would I tell you that, Hey, she wasn't the most expensive eater no, but she knew what to eat. She made sure she'd take time, cooking her own food and learning from her also set my life up to where, you know what, I use that same lifestyle that my mother taught myself and also my brothers and sisters. And it has helped me tremendously.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well, you mentioned your brothers and sisters. How many siblings do you have?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Well, I had four brothers, one passed away and I have 4 Sisters. So it's a total of nine of us. It would've been nine of us total.

Vincent Ferguson:

Man, that's a big family man.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yeah and the greatest thing about it, one father.

Vincent Ferguson:

You don't hear that too often today, man. So I credit good upbringing for that.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes Sir.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now, what was it your mother's influence that inspired you to become a trainer?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes. I love to play sports. I always loved sports. Sports is something that I really loved and I realized that working a nine to five and there's nothing wrong working the nine to five, I love to move. So I realized that you know what, this nine to five thing is not cutting it for me because I don't like to just stay in one place. I like to move around and I had to do something. I had to make a change.

Vincent Ferguson:

Speaking of moving, now I know you were raised in New York, but I understand you currently live in Tallahassee, what attracted you to Tallahassee? Was it the weather?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Well, one thing the weather is something for me, the beautiful scenery, Tallahassee is a tremendous place. Lots of history. You have the University of Florida, A&M you have Florida State, you have Tallahassee Community College. It's a great, small city that has a lot of history and moving here at the present time I was married and my wife had took an assignment. Unfortunately, we are not together anymore, but you know what, life is life. And then a person has to move on and just learn from his or her mistakes and better themselves and hoping that hey, they'll never make that mistake again. So here I am today.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. Life is about learning, right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

It's about learning, man. And we are all in this life together and we're here to learn and there's nothing wrong with that.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now you and your wife, your ex-wife, you guys still communicate, I would imagine, right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, we do communicate. We have great communication. We still talk to each other and everything. So at the end of the day, I learned from my mistakes. I learned from my mistakes, that's the most important thing. And the funny part about it, it was never infidelity. It was never alcohol. It was never drugs, gambling or money. It was just my ego.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

My ego and lack of communication.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's amazing, man. But to be able to speak to that, that's a beautiful thing. How has your health helped, being in the fitness world, how has that helped you to deal with your relationship with your ex-wife?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

If I wasn't taking care of myself from within, I also would've pointed the finger. I would not own up to my mistakes or own up to my responsibility. So I had to make sure my mental health was right because, in order for me to understand that I made a mistake, I had to own up to it. The only way you can ever, ever move on in life, you have to own up to your responsibility. And when you do own up to your responsibility, you must accept truth and once you accept the truth, change will come. And that's what I did. And it made me a better person today.

Vincent Ferguson:

Amazing. A better, man. Huh?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Amazing. That's awesome. That's awesome. Now you and I have a mutual friend, Patrice Rush from Rush Productions.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now Patrice told me about you. And she said, coach O’Neil, he's called THE FITNESS PREACHER. I was like, what? THE FITNESS PREACHER? So how'd you get that name?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I was in Miami. I was going to a wedding and it's a young lady, she knows me and she said, you know what, you just not a person who just talk about health and wellness. You look it and you live it, I have a name for you. You should call yourself THE FITNESS PREACHER. And from that day on, that's what I go by.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, from that day on, it stuck as they say.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

It stuck. It stuck, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now that's awesome. Cause when I heard that, right away, I'm thinking about, okay, this is obviously a brother who's talking about the Bible and God, but it can also take on the other connotation where basically you practice what you preach, right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Exactly. Life, life. It's so important when you put God in your entire life, whatever you're doing, he should always come first.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Whatever you're doing, he should come first. If God is not the head of it, then guess what, you're going to lose in battle. Then it's absolutely for the enemy.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now out of all the scriptures in the Bible, which one would you say motivates you the most?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I love Matthew 6, verse 33. It says, but “seek ye first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you.” So once you seek God first, and once you are following God’s words and once you apply his words, then if you want good health, you are going to get it because now as you seek it, it requires action. So now you're not just talking it, you're also living it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Do you share your beliefs with your clients?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes. Yes. When the opportunity comes to share my beliefs, I find ways of plugging them in. I just don't put it on them because, at end of the day, it's not about force. Everyone has a choice. And at the end of the day, it's your choice. Whatever you're doing, life is all about choices.

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly. I also believe that. You can make good choices or you can make some bad choices, right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, Yes. Absolutely.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Now, how important is faith and fitness to you?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

It's everything because you got to understand, this body that we're living in, it does not belong to us. It belongs to God.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

It belongs to our creator. We don't own anything. We came into this world with nothing, right?

Vincent Ferguson:

Right.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

So we shall leave with nothing. So naked I am as I came and naked I will leave. So at the end of the day, if I'm not returning back this body to God, then Hey, as I said earlier, I am losing this battle while I'm living on earth. And you got to remember with God, all things are possible.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's Powerful my brother. All things, not some things, all things.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

So if I want to be healthy, I can actually use that as part of my faith. My faith can help me to be healthy, right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

That's right. Because when you look at it, you go back into third, John verse 2, it says “beloved, I wish above all things, that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” So it's just not your finance or just your marriage or in school. God wants us all to prosper in every aspect and area of our lives.

Vincent Ferguson:

And speaking of that, one of your mantras is your health is your wealth.  That's what you're talking about, correct?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Right because good health, you got to understand, health is a treasure. And think about this. Everything that God has given to us is for a purpose and God gave us a perfect word.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

But, he also gave us the choice of how we should live in it.

Vincent Ferguson:

My question is, and I understand, I agree 100% with you, why is it so many of us abuse this body? Why is that?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Because one thing they aren't disciplined. You have to be disciplined and when you're disciplined, it's not saying that you're better than anyone. You're just setting up yourself to be in a better place.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. Now how do you get that discipline?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

The discipline is now you got to acknowledge that, hey, at the end of the day, am I doing right or wrong? You will know when you're doing right or wrong. You know, when you're eating healthy because guess what, the human machinery, this body, it's going to tell you, it's going to always give you signs. Before there's any disruption of the human body, you're always getting a warning. So if we're not taking heed to the things that we're putting in, later on, we're going to just, boom, collapse and there it is, that's the end of it.

Vincent Ferguson:

What you put in is what you get out!

Coach O’Neil Brown:

That's right. If you put junk in, absolutely, you're going to feel like junk. You're going to talk like junk. You're going to walk like junk, you're going to look like junk and you're going to act like junk. It doesn't matter how much money you have, because what's the sense of having a nice, big, luxurious home, nice, beautiful cars having money, which is all good. But you still eating like a pauper.

Vincent Ferguson:

Definitely. And how long are you going to be able to enjoy those fancy, those fine things, if you're not taking care of your health, correct?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Right and it all starts with what you put inside of your body because at the end of the day, food is something that, what controls the mind, it helps rejuvenate the mind, it stimulates the mind and also the body.

Vincent Ferguson:

And do you talk about, I mean, you talking about it right now, but do you talk about nutrition and prepare healthy meals for your clients?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Absolutely. Because that wouldn't be the fitness preacher, just by preaching it. You have to live it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I am one who loves to show it. I'm not one who will recommend my client, hey, eat kale and then you go on my social media page, you don't see not one salad. You don't see not one healthy meal on there. All you hear, I'm talking. You ever hear of the "Show-Me" State? Hey, I'm from the "Show-Me" State.

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I'm not just going to also tell you, but I'm going to show you how it's was done because I'm going to live it. You got to see it. Not just in words, but in also action.

Vincent Ferguson:

In action. So what would you say on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the most important, where would you put nutrition?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

At the top.

Vincent Ferguson:

At the very top.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Because at the end of the day, God is number one. It's two things food can do for us. Food can be our medicine, or it can be poison.

Vincent Ferguson:

So true. And so many of us have poisoned our bodies because of the foods that we eat. Right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Right.

Vincent Ferguson:

And would you say that the biggest contributor now to obesity and heart disease is basically the food that we eat?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because it's not the air. It's not the sunlight because those things are free. Those are the things that God gave us.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Why would God give us things like those and harm us with it? So when we're not putting anything inside of the body, that's clogging up the human machinery, then it won't happen now. But later on at a certain age. When we get older, we start to find out that you know what our digestive system is not working properly. And it's not, even when you get older, even the young ones are having issues with their digestive system.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. That's true.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

So if you notice its poor lifestyle, I've always said this. We don't have, we don't have a hereditary problem, we have poor eating habits problem

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. So many people want to blame their family history. That it runs in my family. So that's why I'm like this.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

It's funny because even a few days ago, I was showing someone that called me and I explained it plain and straight to them. I said the opportunity that my generation and your generation have to better ourselves with health, is 10 times better than what the generation before us had. My great-grandmother, their great-grandmother their great, their great grandmother. Because at the end of the day, you have to look at it like this. Some people never had got opportunity to even read a book because if they did, they would have been killed. And now we have the opportunity to read all the books. We have social media, we have smartphones, but we’re not taking advantage of it.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's so true. How do we get people to think the way you think and take charge of their health like that? How do you get them to realize that their true wealth is their health?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Continue to be an example. Continue to allow God to use you. Continue to live the life of Christ. The only way I could live it is by him. I allow him to abide in me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. You have, and another one of your mantras, another one that I really like, excuses don't get results. Now explain what that means to my listeners.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Now we all have 24 hours in a day, right?

Vincent Ferguson:

That's right.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Every human being has 24 hours in a day. So what I do with my 24 hours, if I'm wasting it then, and I'm not seeing any results out of it. And I'm spending my time on social media and I'm spending my time lollygagging, then you know what, at the end of the day, I won't be progressing. Now, if I take my time and I struck out my morning, my afternoon, and my evening, and I find time for myself, I wake up, I prepare myself in the morning to make sure I'm going to get my workout in. I'm going to eat properly. Then, you know what, I won't have any room for excuses because excuse is of the enemy.

Vincent Ferguson:

Definitely. Definitely. What excuses do you hear from people when it comes to exercise?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Oh, I don't have enough time. Oh, it's too expensive. Oh, you know what, it's too expensive to eat healthy, but it's more expensive when you don't move your body. It's more expensive when you go out to eat, it's more expensive even spending one night in the hospital bed.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh man. Oh, most definitely. If you don't pay now, you're going to pay later. Right?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Exactly.

Vincent Ferguson:

I Hear excuses all The time. But meanwhile, that same person making excuses is at home, watching Netflix for four or five hours.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Right. And the funny thing about it, as I said, everything that we need is right in front of us. If we want to know how to eat healthy, guess what? Google it. Even for those who aren't able to read, you could at least, press that Google button and say, how do you eat healthy? Healthy meals, it's right there.

Vincent Ferguson:

That is so true. Now what about goal setting? Do you talk to your clients about setting goals?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Absolutely. Small, realistic and reasonable goals.

Vincent Ferguson:

Have any clients come to you with unrealistic goals? Like I want to lose 50 pounds in two weeks.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

And I'm like, hey, I'm unable to do that. I can't do that for you. And I've always let my clients know that, you know what, here's the thing about me. I don't do weight loss because the reason why I let them know that I don't do weight loss, it's more than weight loss. It's more than about losing weight. I want you to understand this is a lifestyle. I want you to feel good from within. How are you going to feel good from within, by making simple changes one day at a time, let's just focus on today. Let's not look at next week, next month. Let's focus on today.

Vincent Ferguson:

You're the first trainer I've had on that said they don't focus on weight loss. That's amazing.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Because when you talk about weight loss, it's a lot of times, it's all about people who want to make money, and don't get me wrong, this is a ministry, but it's never about money for me. I want to see young men, young women, adults, I want them to live and be happy and understand at the end of the day, that someone out there cares about them. And they're not in it for the money because I always said, I always say this, people, before profit.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. People before profit. Awesome. How many people were saying that? That's awesome, man. That's a blessing right there. You put people first before you put making money first.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yeah, people first. If we put the people first, I'll tell you, the money will come. That's why I never say, hey, I want to make $100 000 this year. No, that's the last thing on my list. If I could touch 100 000 lives and hopefully that 100 000 lives that I touched, they could also plant seeds to touch another 100 000 lives. That's even better than me making $10, $20 million.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. That's awesome. Yes, I like that.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

It's all about helping people, man, helping people. Can you share a success story from one of your clients?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I have so many, so many and even when people call me that aren't my clients, I give them information. Like, I'm going to give you one, not even a client. Individual call me and they was like having an issue with glaucoma and I've never healed anyone. I don't claim that I heal anyone. Now I can point you to the one that can heal and restore you and I recommended what that individual is supposed to do. And I also made a few drinks and everything and also bought it to them and I said, if you do this, I promise you this, watch how your body reacts. And I can tell you that, hey, in a couple of days you're going to be here. But if you practice this on a daily basis, watch what's going to happen. A week ago, when that individual came back to me, they were like, I have good news. When I went to the doctor, my last visit, my doctor said, I have glaucoma and they went back and all of a sudden the glaucoma is gone.

Vincent Ferguson:

Gone, really?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Gone.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now how long did that take?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

About a few months.

Vincent Ferguson:

Was she following your plan that whole time?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

And it was just simple, simple, simple, simple foods. Foods that come from the earth.

Vincent Ferguson:

There you go. Did you tell her how to prepare juices?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes. How to eat? I said, if you really want to get rid of this, I'm not here to soothe whatever symptom you have. Let's get to the head of this. Let's cut the head. The only way you could get rid of the snake, right, is what, cutting the head off?

Vincent Ferguson:

And she stopped feeding that snake.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

That's right, she stopped feeding that snake. So now she doesn't have to worry about that snake biting her.

Vincent Ferguson:

And she wasn't even one of your clients.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

No she wasn't.

Vincent Ferguson:

So she never paid you. She's never paid you for this service at all?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

No. The only thing, I may have requested, charge her for a few of the things that I made, but it wasn't anything weird. Like, Oh my goodness, I have to pay 200, 300, no, nothing like that. Not even, nowhere close to that.

Vincent Ferguson:

So you actually made the juice for her?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's awesome, man. Was she in Tallahassee?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir. Yes. And then there are more stories, especially one of my clients, in August, it's about to be two years and she came to me, she had high blood pressure. She was suffering from so many illnesses and I was like, listen, you have to change. You have to change how you eat. I said, the problem is, what you're putting inside of your body.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

And I let her know, I'm not here to turn you into a vegan, that's not what it is. That's between you and God. But for us to start, I want you to make simple changes with one specific thing in the morning when you wake up, you have to avoid all of that heavy food that you're eating.

Vincent Ferguson:

Did you give her something to eat?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I said nothing is wrong with having some fresh fruit in the morning. Nothing wrong with having a salad. Nothing is wrong with drinking herbal tea. Nothing is wrong with drinking your spring water with some lime in it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Drink those, take those things. Start your morning off properly.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's the key to jumpstart your metabolism. You are feeding your body properly and I understand, and I believe that your body was meant to heal itself.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Oh yes, absolutely. It can absolutely heal itself.

Vincent Ferguson:

But you have to give it what it needs in order for that to happen.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Awesome. Now, do you train most of your clients in the gym or at home or virtually?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I do it all. I do it all.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. So someone can actually reach out to you from another State and you can actually train them and give them fitness advice as well.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Vincent Ferguson:

Perfect. That's very good to know. What advice would you give people who are sitting on the fence right now and haven't decided to make fitness a part of their lives?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Well, if they don't move it, they're going to lose it.

Vincent Ferguson:

There you go. If you don't move it, you're going to lose it. I like that.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

And your body was designed to move.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

It's not a sedentary lifestyle. We weren't made to be couch potatoes. Yes, we were made to move our bodies and we get a good night's sleep and come back again the next day. But we're not supposed to be sitting down 18 to 20 hours out of the 24 hours all day.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. Now from your experience, are people starting to take their health more seriously now because of this pandemic?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Oh, absolutely. I'm going to tell you something. My brother and I, right? My brother and I Vaughn Wilson and I, we started last year when the pandemic hit. He and I decided that, hey, we're going to do this walking group. And it's called the OB-FIT/Mega Ace 45 challenge group and we said, the month of March, we just want people to walk 45 miles. We have over 6,000, participants-

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

In this group. Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

All in Tallahassee?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

From different areas, from around the world.

Vincent Ferguson:

Around the world. Oh, my goodness, 6,000.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

6,000. Started it last year, March. In the pandemic, yes. When they shut down everything, and I'm telling you, we decided that, hey, this is not about us, this is about the people. Because you know people were getting, they were panicking. They didn't know what to do.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

So we came up with that and we removed ourselves. We said this is not about us. This is for people because you got to understand. People are getting COVID. People are losing their jobs. People don't know what to do. So we had to find a way of helping these people to make sure that these people are doing something for themselves. Okay. Don't worry. We got a group for you. We're not asking for any money. We're not asking for you to donate anything. You don't have to send any information to us. All you have to do is focus on putting 45 miles in it for a month by just walking and the amount of testimony that we had. People who were on medication are now off medication.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. That's amazing. Really? Just from walking more?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Just by walking, because one of the greatest exercises is what, walking.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, Yes. I often say that, man. It doesn't cost any money.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

No.

Vincent Ferguson:

And it's no stress on the joints. Just walk.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's amazing. 6,000 people.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

You're making the difference internationally.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir. And I take, he and I, we both take no credit and I am just fortunate and blessed that when you can connect with people who have the same positive energy and you can put it together and allow God to take the lead, it's amazing.  On the 30th, he and I will be, we'll be meeting up with the mayor to receive a proclamation.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

And we never did it for any rewards or any awards. We did it because we care about the people.

Vincent Ferguson:

Because you care about people. You don't find that today. Unfortunately, not enough. Coach where can my listeners find out more about coach O’Neil Brown, THE FITNESS PREACHER?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

My Facebook page, O’Neil Brown. I don't really have a private page. I keep it right where it is, I'm just one who straight forward, O’Neil Brown. O N E I L B R O W N. And if they type in the word on their Facebook page, #excusesdontgetresults, they'll see me. If they type in boom with three Os and an M, B O O O M they'll find me and on my Instagram, it's O B F I T_THE FITNESS PREACHER.

Vincent Ferguson:

O B F I T_THE FITNESS PREACHER.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

THE FITNESS, that's my Instagram and a beautiful thing that my brother and I, we are doing also, Kelvin Frazier owner of Kingz and Queenz Fitness. We are doing a 30-day fitness challenge. 30 Day Transformation Fitness Challenge. We're starting it up in April and it's only $25 to join. And last month we finished up one that was in February. We gave away $500.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

To the winner.

Vincent Ferguson:

So tell me this fitness challenge starts in April. Do you have a flyer?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes. I have a flyer. Yes, sir.

Vincent Ferguson:

Where can you send that to me?

Coach O’Neil Brown:

I could send it to your messenger. I could email it to you.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

With all the Information.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah. Send that to me. I like to promote that, maybe even with the interview, that'll come out next week and even separately, because this way people can know about the challenge.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

And here's the thing about it. The exercises are only for 10 to 12 minutes. They could do it in the confines of their home.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice, nice. Which is easier for most people.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Everyone can participate in it and we have modifications, we have advanced.

Vincent Ferguson:

I think people like challenges like that. Something that they can do at home.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

Because so many of us have gained weight, during the pandemic, during the shut-down. And you got to get moving to get rid of that extra weight.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

That's right.

Vincent Ferguson:

And having you guys, being accountable to someone or sharing it with one group is sometimes the best way to do it, you know.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

That's right.

Vincent Ferguson:

I'm excited about that.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

It's about helping people and when helping people you don't have to be charging an arm and a leg. You could do it to where everyone is benefiting from it, everyone. So, the beautiful thing about what I do is this. At the end of the day, you know what, if 10 people who were struggling with health and wellness, and a few months later, as they get into your program, and they realize that, you know what, this person, what he or she is bringing to me is absolutely true. And once they start applying it, that's the key they got to believe. And once they believe they just got to apply, and once they apply, they take action. Hey, it's beyond the sky, it's beyond the sky.

Vincent Ferguson:

No limit to what you can do, once you take action.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well, this has been great, man. I tell you, this is one of the best 30 minutes I spent in a long time.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

I appreciate it. So coach O’Neil Brown on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and 6 Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Coach O’Neil Brown:

Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I appreciate it. And I would like to leave the people with this, one of my favorite motivational speakers says this, Mr. Les Brown, he says, “you must be willing to do the things today that others won't do in order to have the things tomorrow that others won't have.” And “life is a fight for territory. And once you stop fighting for what you want, what you don't want will automatically take over.” And I always say this, my mother always said this to me. She said, “son an ounce prevention is better than a pound of cure when you think right thoughts, you will perform right action.” And I say this to all the listeners out there. I say, embrace the mindset that excuses don't get results. “Boom!”

Vincent Ferguson:

Boom! Awesome. To my listeners, I truly hope this program was informative and encouraging and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to my 6 Weeks to Fitness Podcast and if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my 6 Weeks to Fitness blog at www.6weektofitness.com or email me at Vince@6weeks.com and don't forget to subscribe. So you don't miss any future episodes like this one.

Direct download: Episode_169_-_Coach_Oneil_Brown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:20am EDT

Yvette Frith-Raymond is a strong woman of faith who has dedicated her life to service, with an intention to change the life trajectory of those within her sphere who are vulnerable and living beneath their potential in Christ. Yvette possesses more than a set faith. Her willingness to step out into unchartered territory without readily available resources or known end is a prime example of Yvette's audacious spirit and her total dependence on God. Best known for her commitment to excellence and ministry, coupled with a servant's heart, Yvette has worked tirelessly in several capacities at the Rise Church International, formerly known as the Brooklyn Christian Center. She is always willing to share her gifts and talents with those who serve alongside her, mentoring, training and loving the people of God. Equipped with a bachelor of arts in modern languages and literature and a masters of social work from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Yvette has traversed the four walls of the church for over 19 years to advocate for underserved children and families throughout New York City. She is a social worker by profession and is employed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. And I am pleased to have Yvette Frith-Raymond on my Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. Yvette, how are you today?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I am doing well, Vince, thank you very much for having me. How are you?

Vincent Ferguson:

I'm great, thank you. Thank you for coming on the show today.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

My pleasure, my pleasure. Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now, before we discuss your story and the reason why I asked you to come on the show today, tell my listeners, where did you grow up, Yvette, and what was your childhood like?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So I was born and raised in the beautiful Island of Jamaica. I was born in Spanish Town, but raised in Maidstone, Manchester. And Maidstone is one of the very first freed villages and it's in the rural part of Jamaica. I was raised by my grandparents, as my mother worked as a caretaker, she worked and lived outside of our home. My grandparents raised my brother and I, along with some of my cousins. We were raised in a large family, my grandparents had 14 children.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So yes, yes. And I was raised in a village, not just in the family village of my aunts, uncles and cousins, but in a village where people outside of the home took care of each other. My village is a farming community, so we had land to roam and run around and I just remember having a childhood where there were rough days, but as a child, you didn't even know what that meant, because my family gave love.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Every time I think about my childhood, I just think of family and love, even the days when it didn't seem as if you had enough, you had more than enough. Because, again, I was raised in a village, so the village took care of us and my grandparents took care of the village, just because it was just how the community was. So every time I think about home, I think about love and I think about family. My grandmother has since passed, but my grandfather is still alive and he's 102 years old.

Vincent Ferguson:

Whoa, God bless him, 102?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Goodness. Healthy living.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes. Healthy living, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh my goodness.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

And that is the longevity I desire to have.

Vincent Ferguson:

Sounds like you're on the right track.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I pray I am, I pray I am.

Vincent Ferguson:

And so when they say it takes a village, it really does take a village doesn't it?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I really do believe it does. And I can say that the foundation of my life started in that village and that's what actually drives me today. My foundational beliefs and values came out of that village.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow, and speaking of which, you are a person of faith and very active in your church, correct?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes, I am. Yes, I am.

Vincent Ferguson:

So how important is faith to you and why?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Faith, the truth is, Vince, I don't know of a life outside of one of faith. I was raised in the church. And even though I did not always go to church, but again, the foundational values, it's just a part of who I am. It doesn't mean that I didn't have to learn what that was for myself as an individual. I had to grow. You learn about faith growing up, but you had to grow to experience certain things for yourself.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So as I became an adult and matured I think life experiences kind of forced you to go a little bit deeper to find for yourself. And that is when I know I can say I definitely know that faith helps to get me through life. There's just an inner... Faith is just as important as the air I breathe, right? So I need air to breathe and I need my faith to live, because my faith in God is what guides me daily. I'm not sure if I know how to express it any other way. It nourishes my heart, it really drives my soul to be here, it's just fundamental to my existence.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, most definitely. And like you said, it's like you need air to breathe, you need faith for today. And I think it's more important today than any other time that we have our faith.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

It sure is. You have to have something to stand on, something to believe in, something that's going to propel you to go beyond where you are and help to guide you to that place. Otherwise, you're at a place where you're like, "I'm not sure I can do it. Can I do it? I'm not sure." And that's me relying on my own inadequacies. And when I do that, I'm not sure how successful I could be if I do live and believe that way.

Vincent Ferguson:

I see. I see. And in addition to your faith, you also live a very healthy lifestyle, right? But were you always into health?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

You know what? If I am honest with myself, I can go back to maybe even my childhood with how we were raised. We were raised on things from the farm. It's very rare that my grandparents prepared meals that were not from the farm. It was very rare that there were things from the supermarket, when you go to the supermarket, certain aisles, it was very rare that those things were at the dining table. And so, I guess I would say I was always fed that way. Did it mean that I knew what it was like until I became an adult and kind of matured into expecting a certain lifestyle? But I would have to say that there was a foundational piece to it.

Vincent Ferguson:

When you came to the States, did you notice that most of the people here were not eating as healthy?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So I migrated to the States at 15 years old and I have migrated to live with my dad, my stepmom and my other siblings, and my parents also prepared healthy meals, so I just think it's the way my family was and I think culture has a lot to do with that. But I think my changes actually started in college.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I went away to school in Buffalo, University of Buffalo, and it was in my second year in college. No, it's maybe transitioning into the third year that I actually went vegan. I started to eliminate meat within my freshman into sophomore year. And then in my junior year, I actually just started doing total no meat.

Vincent Ferguson:

No meat?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yeah, no meat. I started out doing more vegetarian and then I transitioned into vegan. There was a transitional period, but I would say in college is when I made the total shift to how I actually eat.

Vincent Ferguson:

But something happened, okay, because again, you're living a healthy lifestyle, you're eating vegan, so you're relatively healthy, but something happened that caused you to change the way you eat. Please share that story with my listeners.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So I went vegetarian, vegan in college and I did that for most of my adult life. And when I became pregnant with my children in 2008 and my second child in 2010, I maintained more of a vegetarian lifestyle, not a vegan lifestyle, because during my pregnancy, I found that I needed more than I was able to really do being a vegan. Fast forward later in life and I realized that that time that there were things that I was eating that really was not in agreement with my body. Not that it wasn't healthy eating, it just wasn't what my body needed. And so, you grow to learn that as healthy as one can be, is not always the best option for that person. So today, we're in 2020, transitioning into 2021.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So I could say in 2017, I had a drastic shift in life. And what that did, I had to be open to understanding that as healthy as I was Vince, I was really also very unhealthy. So the vegan food that I was consuming was not the best option for my body. So what I will say is I am hyperthyroid and my thyroidism is an autoimmune disease. And I had to learn over time that when you have an autoimmune disease, that there are certain foods that's not the best choice for your body. So I became sick in 2017 and I was on a journey that was rather painful, but it was a life altering, painful experience. And so, I had ended up seeing the specialist for my stomach. It was just one point when it really got to the point where I had to stop, I had to pause and I really had to figure out what was going on.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I saw my doctor, because I was not able to eat and digest. There was nothing that was really digesting as I ate. I got sick and I just was not able to eat. And I called my doctor and I said, "You know what? I have an issue and I don't know what it is and I think it's a GI issue." I went in to see her and I explained what was going on, she gave me a referral to a GI doctor, but everything takes time. And during that time that I was waiting to see the doctor, my symptoms and my issues just kept on getting worse. By the time I was able to see the GI doctor and schedule the necessary tests that I needed to get done, the endoscopy, the colonoscopy, et cetera, I learned that I had gastritis and my stomach was so inflamed that I was not able to eat, to digest the food, that was necessary for my body.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

After getting that diagnosis, I was told I could go back to my normal lifestyle, but the truth is, I had not been able to go back to my normal lifestyle and it's been over three years. Yes, and it didn't stop. And so, it took me, I think, a good nine months between going to the GI doctor and having to see another GI doctor and then allergist then, a bunch of just different doctors, because then I realized I had all these food intolerances, food sensitivities, just a lot of stuff. I lost a lot of weight, because I was not able to eat. I was not able to digest the food. And so, when you're not able to digest, you are afraid to eat, because you don't know what is going on.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

In the process, I was very stressed. It was very overwhelming, because there's a lot going on and you don't know what is going on in your body. I can fast forward and say, I'm grateful now, looking back, for the medical team that I worked with, my primary care doctor who gave me the necessary referrals. She never, one day, asked, "What is wrong with you?" Doctors may sometimes think that you're overreacting. She never, one day, said that. She gave me the necessary referrals. And I have to tell you those referrals were always the right referrals. And what I can encourage people to do is to get your diagnosis, know what your diagnosis is, so that you know what you're working with. If you're not armed with the information you need, you're not going to know what your right course of treatment is.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So when I saw the GI doctors, and I'm not one to take medication, I don't like medication and medication somewhat contributed to some of the pain I ended up experiencing, because I have some disc issues in my neck and I have rotator cuff issues. So there was pain there that I was taking some ibuprofen, Advil, and I did not know I was one of those people who cannot take NSAID, because that was horrible for my stomach. So in addition to what was going on with foods that I was eating, then that stuff also contributed to that as well. So the right referrals helped, because the doctors did the tests that they needed to do. And it was in that process I found out that, yes, my stomach was inflamed. I was not able to eat right. Some of the foods that I was eating, I was not able to tolerate. So I had learned that while I don't have celiac, I do have sensitivity to gluten and soy, and as a vegan the alternatives were all gluten or soy.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah, I see. Yeah.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yeah, so for years as a vegan, I was consuming those meat alternatives, because they're very high in protein and to be honest with you, they're very tasty. And I love to cook, so I really enjoyed fixing meals, preparing meals and the flexibility that I had to be able to do that. I ate a lot of browns, I hardly ever do anything white. So I did the wheat, I did the different grains, but what I was not understanding is that the browns, which were the gluten grain, was just not the best option for my body.

Vincent Ferguson:

For your body.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Right, and so, as I was consuming those for years and years and years, it was taking a toll on my body. And that's something that I didn't know. And then for some people who have autoimmune diseases, they do have some type of motility issue and I learnt that in the process. So my stomach processes my food a little slower than most people, so yes, so that contributed to some of the challenges that I experienced. And having said all of that, what was important to me was to be armed with the information that was necessary. It was important for me to know my diagnosis so that I could develop a treatment plan for myself. And the beauty about it is, the doctors that I saw, they all knew I was not one for medication. So the options-

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, they knew?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes, we had that discussion upfront. So the option was always on the table to find out what are the natural alternatives for whatever that medication is or was that was going to be prescribed, or what are some of the other lifestyle options that I could have actually engaged in to support my health?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

And I started doing yoga, something I heard about over the years, but never tried. And that thing about you will do anything to get better. I remember the very first time that I did yoga, I didn't know what I was going into and I ended up doing hot yoga.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, Bikram, yes.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Bikram, oh my goodness, what an experience. And I have not gone back to Bikram, I have done Vinyasa, I've done a bunch of different forms of yoga, but I did not go back to hot yoga.

Vincent Ferguson:

You didn't go back to hot yoga? It's too hot for you.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

No, I did not go back to hot yoga. No, I just couldn't do it. But it was a very great experience, that I will say, because it helped me to start to think differently about my body and bringing my body back into alignment. And I mentioned growing up in Jamaica in a farming village, as a little child, we ran around outside with no shoes. So we were always connected to the earth. And so, we were practicing natural grounding without even knowing it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Interesting, yeah.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes, yes. So yoga brought me into a different awareness, managing stress, because I became very stressed, not knowing what was going on in my body, so I was really not in a good place when it came to being stressed. And I had to learn what we call mindful living. So I had to learn to manage my stress. I had to learn to find my breath. I had to learn to become more grounded. I had to learn to give up what I could not control and still managing what the diagnosis was. And the managing the diagnosis was for me, eliminating a lot of the foods that I used to eat that was causing pain in the body, because one thing that people need to know is gluten causes inflammation in the body.

Vincent Ferguson:

Gluten?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes, inflammation causes pain. When you feel pain, there's inflammation somewhere. So I had to learn to eliminate the food that I loved, because it didn't love my body or my body didn't love it. So I went back to my foundation. I grew up on a farm where my grandparents planted their own and we ate what was raised on the farm and I had to go back to the root food. I've always shopped at farmer's markets, just, that became what I go to more now, the farmer's markets every weekend. And I go and I get root foods. I get foods that are grown in the soil that is really good for the body. A part of that process included probiotics so that you could get your gut flora in check so that you're developing a healthier GI system, so there were just a lot of different things that helped me to be where I am today.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

But one thing I can share with your listeners, is you have to know your body. You have to work with your professionals to get your right diagnosis. And once you get your right diagnosis, you can develop a treatment plan that's best for you. I did a lot of free webinars Vince to learn about natural alternatives. And again, back to the farm, we grew up using a lot of herbs and I always have herbs, I now just have a better understanding of what those herbs actually do for the body. So I do use a lot of herbs and I use spices for healing. I use a lot of essential oils, so my medicine cabinet really is more my essential oils than my herbs. But again, that might not necessarily work for everyone, that works for me, making the necessary adjustments that I needed for my body.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very nice. So now, are you back to basically a vegetarian lifestyle?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I am back to a vegetarian lifestyle, because I cannot consume the vegan options that I really loved. There are days when I wish I could, but it's just not the best thing for my body. So I have come to terms with it and we have closure on that area of my life, so I do mostly vegetarian now and I'm satisfied with it. For the most part, I don't do dairy, I don't do soy and as best as I can, I don't do gluten, because I need to remain balanced in what I consume and how that affects my body.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. And like you said, the gluten caused a lot of inflammation.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes. Yes it does.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. Yes. And again, what's important too, you said you recommend that my listeners know their body, get to know their bodies.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I think it's so important to get to know your body. As much as we think we know our bodies and as much as we accept... There are a lot of fads and there are a lot of things that people tend to gravitate to, because, "This looks good, I think this might work. This sounds great." But the truth is, it might not be what's ideal for you as an individual. And, I mean, I didn't get into vegan and vegetarianism because if it was a fad or…….. I got into it, because that's something that I'm naturally propensed towards, so it's something that I enjoyed. It's just that my body was really not able to manage it. And for years, if I might, for years, as much as I ate that way, I was gaining weight over time and I always liked to work out.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I mean, there were a couple of years in between that I wasn't as active in the gym as I would've liked to, but I was never one of those people who over ate or over consumed certain things and I really started to gain weight that I was really not able to move. And in hindsight, if I was to really look back at when those things started to happen, I would have recognized that something was going on in my body that I needed to pause and really take a look at, but I didn't. In hindsight, I would have, but you learn later.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. They say hindsight is 2020. You look back, you can see clearly.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes, you learn later.

Vincent Ferguson:

So do you do any other types of exercise besides yoga now?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So I don't do as much yoga as I used to in 2018 and part of 2019. In 2020, believe it or not, I started running again and I used to do track and field in high school. I used to do volleyball. I was actually an active sports lover and I participated in sports. So in a 2020, this pause has really given me an opportunity for reset as well. I live close enough to Prospect Park and my husband and I would take our children for walks in the park and they actually wanted to start doing trails and just kind of exploring the park a little differently. And we started to do that. But what I realized is when I was taking them out, I really wasn't doing much for me. And so, I decided that I would start going out in the morning when the weather, it was still fairly cool, started changing, and I started to go for walks.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

And my brother, he's in the military, one night I was speaking to him and I mentioned, "No, I haven't been running. I really wish I could go back to running." And a part of the reason why I wasn't able to do that, Vince, is because on my journey, I lost so much weight and my muscles became so weak and I was not as strong as I used to be. And I wanted to be healthier, I wanted to feel better, but I was always so weak. If I lifted something that I thought I would have been able to manage in terms of lifting, I would feel pain. That's because my muscles were so weak and I needed to do something to strengthen them. In 2019, I started to go back to the gym, but even then, lifting the weights, it hurts. So I had to start out at bare minimum and I would just go and I would just do the walk on the treadmill, because I couldn't do the running on the treadmill. I just did the basics.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

And then in 2020, I remember just speaking to my brother and I said, "Oh, I really wish I could go running." And that morning after I spoke to my brother, I was walking and then I decided to, "Maybe let me just see what I could do." And I think I did half a mile of a jog. And the next morning I did like a mile. And I think by the fourth morning, I just took off when I went in the park and I just started running and I have not stopped.

Vincent Ferguson:

And you haven't stopped?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

I have not stopped, except for now that it's winter, I'm not out running. If the weather is not too bad, I will go out and I'll do a half walk, half jog. But I love it. I truly, truly love it and it has rejuvenated my body and I love it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Excellent. Well, I'll tell you, Yvette, this half hour has gone so quickly and I just thank you so much, because I think you're adding a lot of value to my listeners about what you went through and how you were able to get your health back. What advice would you give my listeners when it comes to taking care of their own bodies?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Number one, know your body. And if you don't know how to know your body, work with someone who can help you to get to know your body. And a part of getting to know your body is really listening to what your body is saying to you. When I didn't know what my body was saying, I went to my doctor. When I started to become overwhelmed with anxiety and stress and I thought I was having heart palpitations, my doctor referred me to the cardiologist. Turned out I did not need a cardiologist, but that was the way stress was manifested in my body. So learning your body, working with someone to help you understand what is going on with your body and knowing your diagnosis, if there is one, and developing a treatment plan for that diagnosis for a very favorable outcome.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

And it is okay to know the diagnosis. I think one of the things that we have to understand is, we cannot start to treat something we don't know what we're treating. We could try to develop a treatment plan and it's totally off. So you have to know your diagnosis, know what you're working with, develop a treatment plan that works for you, works for your body, develop a network of support who is going to be a great source of encouragement. You need cheerleaders in your life. You need people who understand. When I went to the cardiologist and he sat and he listened to me, he recommended that I read the book Dropping Acid. Never heard of it, did not know what that meant. And you know what was so funny, Vince? When I went to the allergist because of some of the food sensitivity issues I was having, he also recommended reading portions of that book that I was already reading. So there was a network of doctors who could give recommendations and it was like confirmation and it was consistent.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So developing a way of living in a mindful way decreases stress. It reduces anxiety in your life. And once you create a balance in your life, there is harmony. And I can tell you, once you're at that place in your life, there are things that's happening around you, that you will recognize. The things that you used to major in has now become your minor. They're not as bothersome anymore. You're able to become more carefree. You're able to just release a lot of things that you have no control over. And that helps to really bring your body into alignment, because your body can heal itself, but you need to give your body what it needs and your body needs to be at peace. Your body needs to be whole. You need to be well. And that is some of what I would recommend to your listeners.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's a lot, let me tell you. That is awesome recommendations, Yvette. And the name of that book was Dropping Acid?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Dropping Acid, yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

Man, that sounds like a powerful book to get, okay? Because your body builds up a lot of acidity.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

I get it. I get it. And tell me, Yvette, about your family and your church. Tell me how important they are to you?

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

So I am an active leader in my church, Rise Church International, where my pastor, Dennis Dillon, is our leader. He is a community activist. He is such a leader who encourages us to really just be the best we can be. And he's really one of the reasons why I even feel as confident as I am speaking to you today, because he recognized something in me when I did not know I had it in me and he pulled that out of me. So I'm as confident speaking with you today, because of what he saw in me. So I want to be able to say thank you to him and the work that he continues to do in Rise Church here in New York, as well as international with our communities in Africa and across the globe.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

And the next question you wanted was to know about my family. Well, I am married. I dated my husband for five years before we got married, so we've been married now for 14 years. September 2020, we've been married for 14 years and we have two beautiful children Malachi and Elaysha Raymond. We serve in ministry together and he's a great source of support to me and the children, they're just growing well and I just thank God for the work they're doing. So, they've been doing school all virtual for this whole time and they actually both made the honor roll for their schools and I'm really proud of them both.

Vincent Ferguson:

Congratulations.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

Beautiful, yeah. Yvette Firth-Raymond, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Yvette Frith-Raymond:

Thank you, Vince, this was truly a pleasure.

Vincent Ferguson:

You are a blessing. And to my listeners, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast.

Vincent Ferguson:

And if you have any questions, comments or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.6weekstofitness.com or email me at vince@sixweeks.com. And please don't forget to subscribe, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Direct download: Episode_168_Yvette_Frith_Raymond.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:37am EDT

Jacqueline Selesky is a professional dancer and choreographer. She graduated from Montclair State University with a BA in dance education. She was the lead soloist in Martha Graham's Daughters of the Night, performed at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Jacqueline appeared on Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have it Netflix series, as well as a dancer on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly and Ryan. And she also appeared in various television commercials. Jacqueline has recently started her own YouTube channel called “Fit for Faith with Jacqueline,” where she streams praise and worship dance cardio classes, and all things fitness, dance and faith. Jacqueline's experiences have allowed her to not only advance her skills as a dancer, but also as a well-rounded performing artist and educator.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well before we talk about your Fit for Faith with Jacqueline YouTube channel, tell my listeners more about you. Where did you grow up, and what was your childhood like?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I grew up in Long Island in a little town called Central Islip. And I actually grew up doing a lot. My mom had me in so many different things. She had me in basketball, Girl Scouts, and I was always doing something after school. And I'm so grateful to my mom for giving me all of these opportunities. Baton twirling too. I'm forgetting things, there's just so much. And then eventually my best friend was doing dance, so my mom allowed me to go with her to dance class. And then from there, dance took over everything. So I stopped basketball, I stopped everything else. And I just fell in love with dancing and performing. And as I grew up in that studio, I was actually afforded the opportunity to perform in Puerto Rico, perform all over the city and in Long Island. So that's my bringing up, is basically dance took over, and it was a blessing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Amazing. So it was the exposure to different activities that led you to dance.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yeah, it definitely was. I know that everything that I was exposed to was definitely physical and social. And putting all the physical and social together, dance has made the most sense to me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Did you have any role models in the dance world?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes. So my dance teacher Jerilyn Diaz, actually. She basically became my sister. She was my role model all throughout my childhood. She basically wanted to be a professional dancer, but she actually ended up being a speech pathologist. So she kind of lived vicariously through me and poured everything into me. And not only did she teach me how to dance, but she taught me how to be confident, how to speak my mind. And yeah, I give a lot to her. Also my mother, she was a single mother. And as I said before, she gave me all the opportunities possible, and just seeing these powerful women in my life just do it, and go for whatever they wanted, and be confident, independent woman, really, really molded me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. Excellent. Excellent. Now has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work as a dancer in regards to employment opportunities?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yeah!

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Any dancers listening will be like, "Oh yes, please. Open back up." But I mean, I'm grateful that everybody is staying safe. But it's definitely been harder. I have an agent and usually I'm sent on auditions, so I'll be running all over the city auditioning for auditions, being virtual now. Which I don't mind, because living in Long Island, I really don't want to travel to the city. But the energy is different. I'm not able to ... you're not able to connect with a casting director via a video, but it is what it is. And it's actually allowed me to pour more into what I want to do for myself with my YouTube channel. So it's been a blessing in disguise kind of thing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, most definitely. And having a YouTube channel really doesn't hurt, because if anything, it increases your exposure, doesn't it?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Oh, yes, by a lot. Reaching people from all over the world, which is amazing, which you can't normally do just from a dance studio. I love the fact that YouTube has been giving me more exposure, especially during COVID, because everybody's on the computer and on their phone right now.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, exactly. Most definitely. And now you call your YouTube channel Fit for Faith with Jacqueline. Now tell my listeners where the name came from and what can they expect to experience participating in your program?

Jacqueline Selesky:

So Fit for Faith came about, it's funny, I wanted to start a YouTube channel six years ago. It's crazy. It's crazy how long we can put something off for, and just dream it up so much. And then the pandemic hit and it was like, well, this is the perfect time to do this. You know? So let me go ahead and just do this channel. And I knew that I wanted to do something about dance. So taking it back six years ago, hold tight. I want to do a YouTube channel about dance. And then over time I was like, well, what would that look like? That's really general. And then I started going to church. I was born again about three years ago.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And then every time I would go to church service on Sundays, I was actually in a Spanish church. I was the only English speaking person, but hey, the Word is the Word, right?

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So I go to church and they would always throw me in the center during worship, and everybody would just follow me. And I felt like it was a Zumba class, like a dance cardio class but worship music. And everybody was following me and it felt amazing. And I'm like, wow, what if I did a YouTube channel that had dance cardio classes catered toward praise and worship music? And it's a little dose of church on YouTube. And then I can also speak about the word, Bible verses, little devotional videos. And help grow my faith while maybe other people need to do the same thing. And this went on, so that's where Fit for Faith came in.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. I love that. Now how important is faith to you, especially in times like these?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Wow. I didn't realize how much I needed to grow in my faith until this pandemic hit. It's like, I mean, we could probably all agree that it feels like it smacked us in the face. And shook us to the core. And it's still doing that. We're trying to navigate and figure out how to live in all of this. And what I realized is that faith is the only constant throughout a pandemic, throughout a breakup, throughout a divorce. Whatever somebody may be going through, that's the only thing that we can really focus on and won't change for us. And what could only happen is it can grow and become even more beautiful. So faith is important.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah. I see. I see. And you're able to express it with your YouTube channel. Now, what type of music do you have on the channel?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I try to have a diverse set of music each time I do a dance cardio video, and I call it praise and worship cardio classes. And we'll have gospel, we'll have Kirk Franklin, and we'll put the Bachata and even Merengue and Salsa. It's crazy how many Latin praise and worship songs there are. I'm like, wow, I didn't even know. So many of them. And also what I've been falling in love with is Soca. Soca music for praise and worship songs, I'm like, whoa. They are serious. They're like stomp up in on me. Go to my channel and you'll see what I'm talking about. They are so much fun.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? Now how long has the channel been around?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I literally only started in August. So it's very new.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yeah, I started it on my birthday, I turned... Oh, I'm about to tell my age. I turned 29 on August 27th. And I'm like, you know what? This last year of my 20s I want to hit with a bang, and I want to start this channel and bring more people to the light, to God, to just goodness. You know?

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, and how long are the classes?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I literally do 20 to 25 minute classes. Because I know a lot of people don't have time to get a big workout in. And you know what? It sometimes only takes 20 minutes to get a nice workout. We don't have to do so much to get what we need and what we want. It's really how much you put into it. And I'm crazy. So on the channel, so as soon as the warmup starts I'm like, it's not really a warm up, let's go crazy. So 20 minutes, that's all we need. And honestly, every day I've been having a 90 day faith and fitness challenge. And in those videos, they're five to 10 minutes long. And I start with the Bible verse and then I give people an action step for your day. Like, open the door for somebody, something just nice to keep you in a good spirit and spread the spirit. And then we always end in a plank while praying.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? Very cool, very cool. Are these live fitness classes?

Jacqueline Selesky:

So I've done a couple of lives, but most of them are prerecorded and then I post them up throughout the week. But I've been thinking about doing more live videos. So I'm glad that you said that, because I think the connecting with people is what I miss about teaching live classes. So look out for the live classes coming soon.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well once you go live, do you have a certain day and time you'll do that?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I want to do them on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Those are days that might be tough for people. Monday's are always like, ah, Monday, I got to wake up.

Vincent Ferguson:

Right. Right, exactly. Exactly.

Jacqueline Selesky:

You’re dragging your feet Wednesdays, and then Friday is like a celebratory, we may it. So Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly. Would they be in the morning, afternoon, or evenings?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I would love to do it in the morning to start people's days off. And then hey, if they can't make the live version, it'll stay on there so they can catch it later.

Vincent Ferguson:

Right. Okay, so that's something that we're going to look forward to with your live classes. But now if I wanted to find your program, can I go to YouTube and just type in Fit for Faith with Jacqueline? That's how I find it?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes. That's all you got to do, is Fit for Faith with Jacqueline and you will see me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Perfect. Perfect. Now who would you say your target audience is?

Jacqueline Selesky:

That's an interesting question, because when you start a YouTube channel, all the videos, prep you say, make sure you are targeting your target audience. And to me, everyone is my audience. That's how I feel. I feel that anyone can get something positive from this channel, whether you just tune in for the videos and we do the little planks and we pray, or we do wall sits and we pray. Or you come in for the dance cardio classes. It's for everyone because the bible is for everyone, and that's what I'm talking about on my channel. And in general, just talking about living positively, spreading light and spreading love.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. Most definitely. Especially today. Do you see this as like a health ministry and a way to honor God with exercise?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes, definitely. Definitely a health ministry. And honestly, I'm just grateful to God that he gave me this because it's allowed me to be creative in how I produce content with dance too. You know? So it's definitely a health ministry, but you can go on there for a party too.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. Yes. Now there is a scripture in the Bible about our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit, but yet so many people defile the temple don't they?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Yes, so many. And you know what? I was one of them.

 

Vincent Ferguson:

Okay, yeah. There you go.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And I've always been an emotional eater. And I know I'm not only one, but I hid that for so long. I'm like, oh, oh, it's fine. Because nobody can tell because I have a fast metabolism. Let me tell you, when quarantine hits, fast metabolism went out the door.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, yeah. Oh, yes.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So it changed. And God giving me this vision to do this channel has helped me be able to stay healthy. Sometimes even though I want to eat crazy and what not, having to show up for him and be on it and do these videos. And it's not just about looking good, but feeling good while I do it, because that shows. People can see, you know? It's definitely helped me to stop defiling my body because you can put in so many ways.

Vincent Ferguson:

How are you promoting your channel?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I've been on Facebook and Instagram a lot. And I also just started a TikTok. I feel very old on TikTok, I'm not going to lie. Like, how do you do this stuff? But I'm learning. So basically on those  social media platforms, and I'm thinking about going on Twitter because I've heard that's a good spot to be. I sound old I know.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah. Yes. I mean the key is promoting on every platform that you possibly can to give yourself a nice little boost. And I think Instagram is hands down one of the best, obviously Instagram. The Facebook, the Twitter, the TikTok. Because again, you may feel like that's a younger audience, but trust me, a lot of the people on there and you want to grab as many people as possible. You know? That's great. That's great, and what we'll do, I'll tag you once this comes out and I'll also promote it in Facebook, on Twitter and Instagram. And I'll put it out there as well, because I like what you're doing-

Jacqueline Selesky:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

... for the people, for everyone. And that's important. Any age can join in with you. Correct?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Any age can join in with me. What's great is that a couple weeks ago my friend wasn't feeling great. Like her back, she's going through something with her back. And she came just to watch the video, because I have a bunch of girls who come and do the dance cardio video with me. And she's like, "Oh, I just came to watch today, my back really hurts." And I was like, hmm, because I'm crazy. "You can sit in the chair and you can do the warmup. And you just do arms." And I said, "I bet there's people out there who can't get up out of their chair and they want to participate, but I'm going all over the place that they feel they can't follow. Now they can follow you in the chair." And what's great is that someone definitely commented and said, "Thank you. This was a blessing that you had the woman in the chair. I followed her along the whole time." So everybody can join in no matter what age.

Vincent Ferguson:

You're right. Just being mindful that everyone, people who are watching you, they may not be as healthy, they may have certain conditions. And like you said, your friend who needed to be in the chair, there are so many other people watching who also are limited in their mobility and needed to see someone like them. That's so important. Awesome.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Exactly.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. And you don't have a lot of time on the channel, do you talk about nutrition at all?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I haven't spoken about it so much, I guess because I've been doing 90 days of faith and fitness challenge. So I've been into these little videos that I do every day. But that's something that I'm going to start doing in January, because I'm going to do a 21 day water fast. And I just want to be on the channel with everybody whoever wants to join me in doing that. But also I want to talk about regular nutrition, because that's not a normal thing to keep up every day, right? So just talking about nutrition and how important that is to couple alongside with fitness and then also faith.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh definitely, because nutrition, believe it or not. And I tell a lot of people this, and as a trainer, that 80% of your health depends on nutrition.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So true.

Vincent Ferguson:

So much. Okay? More than some people realize. Exercise is extremely important, but if you don't have that nutrition component, you're wasting your time.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Exactly. That's exactly how I feel.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. And that's good. And you're leading the way, which is awesome. Now, what would you say if I said to you, try to convince someone who's on the fence who needs to do something, needs a fitness program. They're in the church and they're concerned about their health. What would you say to this person if you wanted to convince them to give it a shot? To join your class, come in and see what you're doing and be a part of the program. What would you say to them?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I would say, because I get not wanting to work out. I get being skeptical if it's something you're new to. Because honestly, though I grew up as a dancer, I didn't workout. You know what I mean? I didn't do anything besides dance. So when quarantine hit I was like, I need to workout. My body is starting to slow down and whatnot. This was a great introduction for me, because it allowed me to have fun and forget that I was working out. Especially for people who already go to church, who already hear the praise and worship songs. It's basically like we are in church at a party.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And we're able to work out and forget that we're working out, until after when you're drenched in sweat. And it's amazing. And my friend said this really good thing one time. She said, "When we dance, we are praising him twice."

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow.

Jacqueline Selesky:

And that just explains it all, because that's what makes you forget about it too. You're in these songs, shouting out, "Amen. Hallelujah." And have fun. Even if you're alone and you forget you're working out.

Vincent Ferguson:

It's like making joyful noise unto the Lord, huh?

Jacqueline Selesky:

Exactly. And honestly, it's one step at a time. Hey, 20 minutes is too much for you, do the first two songs and call it a day. One step at a time.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice, one step at a time. Now I know you focus on the cardio, do you do any strength training? I know you mentioned planks, which is great.

Jacqueline Selesky:

So we've been doing the planks and we've been doing the wall sit while we pray, which is such a challenge. That's why we call it plank challenge, and wall sit challenge. To pray while we do those things because we literally do need to pray. I’m praying oh my God, please help me through these planks. But as of right now we're just doing the dance cardio and those planks and the wall sits. But as the channel develops more, I would love to do more strength training. I would love to even incorporate stretching and cool downs, and things of that nature.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Excellent. As you develop your channel you can offer so much more. Amazing. Tell my listeners how we can find out more about Jacqueline Selesky. Do you have a website? Can we follow you on social media?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I'm @Jay2reality, and then my full name for Facebook Jacquelyn Selesky. And I'm new on TikTok, so be kind to me there. But I am at Fit for Faith on TikTok. So everything is basically my name and Fit for Faith. And I'm going to be having a website soon. And I'm also going to be offering private lessons and classes, group classes for anybody who wants to personally meet me and have class one-on-one with me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Love it. Absolutely love it because you are an entrepreneur.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

Thank you.

Jacqueline Selesky:

I'm trying out here.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, you got to. You're doing that. And you're taking the right steps, you're doing the right thing. You're going to build a following, and people are going to be so into what you have to offer them and they will want to work with you. You'll lead the way Jacqueline. This is great. Any final words for my listeners?

Jacqueline Selesky:

I know it's hard right now out there, whatever you may be personally, in your career and your family, but just know God got you. You're going to be okay. And this is the verse I use every day, and you could use this for a man to just switch it to a he. I say, "She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future." Proverbs 31:25. We are going to make it. Let's dance our way through this pandemic, and we'll make it to the other side.

Vincent Ferguson:

Awesome. Love it. I'll take those words to heart myself. Thank you so much. Jacqueline Selesky, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Jacqueline Selesky:

Thank you so, so, so much for having me.

Vincent Ferguson:

And to my readers and listeners, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.sixweekstofitness.com, or email me at Vince@sixweeks.com. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. 

Direct download: Episode_167_Jacqueline_Selesky.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:29am EDT

Dominic Kennedy is a personal trainer in Hollywood, Beverly Hills. He has certifications from the National Academy of Sports Medicine for personal training, weight loss specialist, corrective exercise specialist, and in nutrition. He is also the CEO of the Dominic Effect app, a fitness and wellness app that launched in November of 2020. Dominic is also a luxury realtor with the Compass Aaron Kirman Group.

Vincent Ferguson:

Before we talk about the Dominic Effect App, let's dig a little bit into your personal life and talk about you, Dominic. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

Dominic Kennedy:

I grew up outside of Philadelphia, in more of a smaller town so it was about 20 minutes outside of the city. Growing up, I had a great childhood. I wouldn't say it was a cookie cutter, but there were challenges like everyone goes through. But I really enjoyed the area that I grew up in. I enjoyed the city of Philadelphia. Very athletic from a young age. Very involved in sports. Rarely ever would be inside. So very, very active from a very young age.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very nice. Do you come from a big family Dominic?

Dominic Kennedy:

I do. I come from a huge family.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? How many siblings?

Dominic Kennedy:

On the one side, there's four and on the other side, there's eight. So I was surrounded by a lot of people. A lot of different personalities.

Vincent Ferguson:

When did you know that your career path would take you into owning your very own personal training business?

Dominic Kennedy:

It was at my teenage years. I've had a very independent mindset since I was younger. I was always off on my own. I had jobs when I was 11 or 12 years old delivering newspapers, working at restaurants, whatever I could do. I just had this entrepreneurial mindset. I knew that when I first started working in corporate pharmaceutical, this wasn't for me and I quickly after college realized that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. And here I am.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very interesting. Did you have any role models who were entrepreneurs?

Dominic Kennedy:

I do. I worked at a restaurant when I was younger, his name was Michael. And he started from nothing, grew up very poor. He grew a huge franchise and I really honored, and respected, and looked up to him from a very young age. I was by his side watching his work ethic and it instilled in me because I have a very similar work ethic.

Vincent Ferguson:

So would you say that mentorship is very important for young people?

Dominic Kennedy:

100%, for young people. I'm 35 and I still have mentors. And I will always have a mentor.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. You're not only a personal trainer, but you're also a luxury realtor. How do you mix the two? How does it work out for you?

Dominic Kennedy:

Well, owning a private personal training business, I'm around a ton of different personalities in Los Angeles. Clients have been with me over 10 years in a row. So it's developed a really deep relationship, friendship. It's almost like family. But you get into the luxury real estate, and it is in Beverly Hills, my clients who have... They trust me. I work side by side on their body, mentally, emotionally. So if somebody wants to sell their property or look for a property or start an income property, they know I do this. Not only will they use me, but they'll also refer me to their friends. So I use both interchangeably because in personal training, just like hiring a realtor, you really have to trust the person that you're going to work with.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, most definitely. But why did you choose to become a personal trainer?

Dominic Kennedy:

I love helping people. Like I said, in the beginning of this, I worked in corporate pharmaceutical for two years behind a computer, on a spreadsheet and it does not reflect my personality at all. I have always been a personal trainer on the side throughout college. So when I moved to Los Angeles and decided to make a career out of it. It's so fulfilling to me to be able to watch somebody grow and also achieve their goals. I look at everyone as an individual and whatever they are coming for, that's how I designed their program. It's not my body. I'm just there with them along the physical and emotional process to help and guide them and be there for them.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. You mentioned your body and I've visited your Instagram page, and honestly, you have a phenomenal body. So when someone sees you, they can't help but wonder, "Wow, what does this guy do?" What's the most common question you get when people see you, whether on the beach or your Instagram page, they see you in a social setting, what do they ask?

Dominic Kennedy:

What do you eat and how do you attain a body like that? I get this question a lot at the grocery store. When I'm in line, "Oh, can I ask what's in your basket, what kind of food do you eat? I want to look like that." And I love it because it's a great question.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, most definitely. So what do you tell them when they say, "How can I look like that?" How do you answer that?

Dominic Kennedy:

That's a good question. It really depends on the person who stuck to me because I wasn't always... I'm 220 pounds now. So I know if somebody comes up to me and they're around 150 pounds and they're just into this. I really recommend to anyone, no matter what their goals are, to stay consistent and that it does not happen overnight. So many people expect I'm going to do this for four weeks and expect this amazing transformation. If you're a 160 pounds and you want to be 220 pounds of lean muscle, that takes time. If you want to lose weight, that's different. So if someone's looking at my body and they want that type of lean muscle, there's amazing things you can do in four weeks. But if you want a lean, dense quality muscle, and to really pack that on, I always say to stay consistent and focused and keep going, because it's what's going to get you to your goal.

Vincent Ferguson:

But what brought you out to Hollywood, Beverly Hills?

Dominic Kennedy:

I have wanted to move out to California since I was around 12 years old. I'm a huge beach boy. I love going to the ocean. I meditate at the beach all the time. I love sunsets. The energy out here really corresponds with who I am. I'm highly into meditation. I find it very peaceful out here on the hikes that I go on to really re-center myself. And the second I moved here, which was almost 11 years ago, it felt like home to me.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? Do you have any celebrity clientele?

Dominic Kennedy:

I do. I have such a wide variety of clientele from famous professors. Actors is something I can't disclose. Just really incredible top scientists and doctors that work at UCLA. I mean, I have a really amazing range of clientele who I learned from as well all the time.

Vincent Ferguson:

The actual name of your business, Dom, is what?

Dominic Kennedy:

The app is The Dominic Effect. And my business has always been called Dominic Anthony Fitness and Wellness.

Vincent Ferguson:

Dominic Anthony Fitness and Wellness.

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct.

Vincent Ferguson:

Okay, excellent. Excellent. And you said you've been in business now for how long? 12 years?

Dominic Kennedy:

Over 12 years, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Over 12 years. Now, this current government shutdown, the pandemic, how has that affected your personal training business?

Dominic Kennedy:

To be honest, I'm very proactive in approaching this or anything in life. I've always been like that. And when this happened, I quickly within two weeks converted most of my clientele onto ZOOM. And for me, I have to find a way around this not being able to physically train in a private gym with the restrictions. I'm so thankful for FaceTime and ZOOM and so are my clients, because it's made all the difference.

Vincent Ferguson:

What would you say makes you stand out as a trainer above the rest?

Dominic Kennedy:

I don't just meet a client and bring them on, and train them, and they leave. This is my life. I live and breathe this. And also when I meet somebody, I want them to feel very, very comfortable with me because it's not just about the physical body. There's so much more that goes into this. Why people have blocks with food, or working out, or emotional eating? There's so many things and fears to tackle. So I incorporate not just the physical aspect, but I really encourage affirmation, meditation. And I'm very hands-on so my clients don't just come in for an hour and then leave. The next day I'm going to text them, "How are you feeling? Did you do your cardio?" I'm very, very responsive and very hands-on. And I really like to keep open communication where they can reach out to me anytime, because I'm so passionate about this industry.

Vincent Ferguson:

So you really add that personal effect that people need to motivate them and to keep them going?

Dominic Kennedy:

I add The Dominic Effect, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

There you go, The Dominic Effect in the house. All right. Now, as a personal trainer, you're limited to the amount of people you can actually personally see and train throughout the course of the day, but you created a fitness and wellness app called The Dominic Effect. Tell my listeners about The Dominic Effect and why it's so special.

Dominic Kennedy:

So the premise behind this is, I want to reach as many people globally as I can. So like you just said, I can only reach a certain amount of people throughout the day that are ongoing or whether it's one-on-one training. However, coming up with this app, it's not just somebody goes on. They create that customized workout plan with video tutorials, there's customized meal plans with shopping lists. All the macro counts, the proteins, the carbs, the fats, how to cook the food. I've made this so user-friendly, which was so important to me because many people who use other apps and it's confusing to them. So this is so user-friendly for anyone of any age group who wants to use it over 17.

Dominic Kennedy:

And I also incorporated a big part of me which is the meditation and wellness. That section is on there. Where we have live meditation. I'm bringing in other people who I really respect, who will lead live guided meditation, yoga workouts. So I really want this to be a community where people feel safe, and where they feel they are benefiting from this app. And not just from the physical standpoint, but from the inside out. So it's really important to me that people feel really center grounded, especially during this pandemic right now.

Vincent Ferguson:

Let's talk about the nutrition because that's very important. So many people, they eat differently. Some are vegans, some are vegetarians. How does your app address those people?

Dominic Kennedy:

It does it for everything. So if a client signs up, they're going to be asked a list of questions. And one of the questions is your preference of eating. So whether you're vegan or vegetarian, you eat meat, paleo, you'll select that. And there's a whole bunch of other questions you're going to answer after that. From there, you'll be generated in 72 hours that much I look at the customized meal plan, where if you eat vegan, then it's just customized to you in that sense. And then it will still come up with all the macros, pictures of the food, how to cook it and a grocery lists.

Vincent Ferguson:

You said how to cook it as well, really?

Dominic Kennedy:

Right. So not only does it come up. It's a beautiful picture of what the food can look like and all of your proteins or carbohydrates, your fats and calories, but then there's a dropdown list and it'll show you the exact ingredients. And then the second list is how to cook step-by-step. So you don't even have to think about it. If you're not a good cook, then you can follow this. And it even has pictures so you know how it should look. You can print or email the grocery list to yourself or just on the app as you go to the store, pull it up and check each item off as you purchase it.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's incredible. This is definitely the type of app you need to explain to people. I don't think most people will get the full gist of it. When you just say The Dominic Effect app, it really encompasses a whole lot more than what the name says, which is great.

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now tell me about the fitness aspect, because sometimes some of these fitness programs can get stale.

Dominic Kennedy:

Right. So it's a personalized workout. So just like the nutrition aspect, where you have a list of questions, the workout portion as well, will come with a list of questions. So you'll answer all of your stats. There's dropdown menus with pictures. So you can pick where your body fat is because no one knows off the top of your head. So I have pictures of 12 different types of bodies with the body fat, and you'll select that. And then what your goals are, how often you work out and injuries. That's very important too. There's an option for that. So that's within the app, it'll pop up. If the exercise... If you have a shoulder injury, that'll let us know for that particular workout. So once that's submitted, then it will generate within 72 hours a workout plan.

Dominic Kennedy:

The workout plan comes with all of your exercises for that day. So you'll just click on it. It's very simple. And then there's eight exercises for that day to complete. You'll click on it. It tells you the muscle group and what it's for. And then you can, if you want to know how to perform the exercise, so it's almost like I'm there with you, you click on the video and it's me performing the exercise. As well as explaining tips and techniques, keep your core tight, watch for this, so that you can follow along with me. And then you just hit complete when you're done.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, and now you said eight exercises. So that's approximately a 30 minute workout?

Dominic Kennedy:

Right. It depends on what the person's goals are. But eight exercises, if they're four sets and then there's cardio at the end too. So it really depends, you can do a half hour or hour. And that's one of the dropdown box question the user will be asked to set. Do they want a 30 minute workout, an hour workout? And you will also select would you like home only workouts or gym workouts. So if you are only able to work out at home that's okay, you can select that. And the exercises pulled in for your plan, are ones that do not need the gym equipment. So it's very intuitive. And then you can also change it. If you decide to go back to the gym a month later, you can select it so that for gym only. And then the exercises pulled in for your plan will then show exercises that you can perform, like a chest press, in the gym.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. And again, with the current situation taking place today, for instance, if gyms are closed again, you still have an opportunity, a way to work out and exercise. Correct?

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct. Yeah. And that's the beauty of this, you do not physically need to be in a gym. You also don't need a ton of equipment because I created a ton of body exercises as well to do at home, or with bands, or dumbbells, or kettlebells. Things that you can order online at Amazon. Pretty easy to get. But then if you want to switch it to the gym, you just do it on the app and then we will convert the exercises to equipment that you see in the gym.

Vincent Ferguson:

And because it's The Dominic Effect app, are you saying that the user will also have the experience of having you with them, doing the exercise? Are you actually demonstrating the exercise? Did you say that?

Dominic Kennedy:

Correct. So once you look at your plan for the week, you can click on day one. And if they are eight to 10 exercises, each exercise will tell you the muscle group and how to perform it. Then you can click on the video that pops up. So if you're at home or at the gym, and it's me performing say a squat. And also explaining how to do it, giving you techniques and things. To be able to keep your core right, exhale on the way up. Things is like that. It’s almost like I'm there with you during the step, because that can be very intimidating for people in the gym when you don't know what you're doing. So it's very user friendly and very easy to follow.

Vincent Ferguson:

It sounds amazing. It really truly does. Now another reason people hire personal trainers is not only because of the experience and the knowledge, but also for motivation or inspiration, does your app provide that as well?

Dominic Kennedy:

It does because that's a huge part of who I am. So if you go, for instance, to my Instagram page, I post affirmations, motivational quotes, things that inspire me throughout the day, throughout the week are all on there. And that is also being generated in the app as well. For instance, I have a meditation and wellness section. So I have a list, like psychologist, on there with how to live a happy life, how to get through a stressful situation. There'll also be meditation 101, things that you can do to really center yourself and live at a higher vibration, which is always the goal for me. So that type of motivation and inspiration is included in the app.

Vincent Ferguson:

Absolutely amazing. And again, when it comes to motivation and inspiration or even positive energy, where do you get yours, Dom? Where do you get your inspiration, motivation, and positive energy from?

Dominic Kennedy:

A really good question. There's definitely people that inspire me. I follow them on social media or whether... For instance, I'm extremely spiritual. And I go to a spiritual center called Agape.

Vincent Ferguson:                                                                                                      

Yes, I've heard of it.

Dominic Kennedy:

Yeah, with Michael Bernard Beckwith, for instance. He's a huge, huge inspiration to me. Before COVID I used to go every Sunday and it's just such a happy, positive place. It's really just full of love. You can feel the energy when you walk in. And now I just live stream it, since we physically can't go. But people like him and there's so many other, they're just at such a high vibration and I aspire to be like them.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. Back to the app. How much does the app cost and where can we download it?

Dominic Kennedy:

So you can go to download it. There's a few different ways, you can go to www.dominiceffect.com. This will bring you to a page that lists all the different programs because there's three different options. You can do a monthly meal plan and workout plan combination, and that's $27.96 a month, or you can do a workout plan only for $19.99 or a nutrition plan only for $19.99. So really it depends on the individual and what they're looking for. For me to have both of the combination is important because the nutrition, along with the workout, it's going to give you the best results. It's also available on the App Store for the iPhone.

Dominic Kennedy:

So you can go and put in The Dominic Effect and it'll come up there. And it's also available on Android, Google Play as well. But the best option is to go to dominiceffect.com. Look at the different options to become familiar with it, or to my Instagram, or any social media pages, and then pick it and then download it from the app.

Vincent Ferguson:

Perfect. Now, where do you see yourself, Dominic, in the next five years?

Dominic Kennedy:

In the next five years... I'm so confident in this app because I have put so much energy and love into it. And I'm really including a lot of other people because I want everyone to benefit from this. So within the next year, we need to grow this app. But I also see myself become a motivational speaker, where I can help others really live a life to their full potential, and realize whatever obstacles that's going on or challenges, your path is already there. It's already carved for you, so just keeping walking your path and trust in yourself. So this is really important for me to be able to reach as many people globally as I can. So I'm hosting seminars, motivational speaking, and continuing to grow the app, as well as of course working in luxury real estate as well.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh yeah, exactly. I almost forgot about that part of your life.

Dominic Kennedy:

Yeah. There's a few things going on in my life.

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly. So now where can my listeners find out more about Dominic Kennedy?

Dominic Kennedy:

So you can go directly to the website, the dominiceffect.com. And then if they want to find more inspiration, or who I am, or how I live my life, you can go to Dominick Anthony Fitness on Instagram or Facebook. I also have a Dominic Effect App Instagram as well. It shows more of what the inside of the app and everything looks like. So I post everything on my social media is very authentic. If you look at my stories, this is who I am. So it's broadcasted to show how my day to day life is.

Vincent Ferguson:

I've been to your Instagram page, I'm definitely going to recommend it to my listeners. It's full of life, vibrancy, and health, and happiness, and really shows you having a good time living man, which is wonderful.

Dominic Kennedy:

I am. Thank you for saying that.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. So Dominic Kennedy on behalf of Body Sculpt Of New York And Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Dominic Kennedy:

It's been an honor and I really, really appreciate talking to you.

Vincent Ferguson:

It's my pleasure. And to my listeners, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.6weekstofitness.com or email me at vince@sixweeks.com.

Direct download: Episode_166_Dominic_Kennedy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:35pm EDT

Caitlin Jones is a certified personal trainer, fitness coach, health and mindset coach and entrepreneur. She helps busy professionals create lean, toned physiques without cardio or crunches. With nearly a decade in the fitness industry, she has helped hundreds of clients achieve their specific goals. Her online course, Ditch Crunches Forever, helps people to lose weight, tone up and reveal the sexy abs they have always wanted.  Caitlin is also a professional dancer who has expanded her teaching specialties to function and strength, boxing and cycling classes. Whatever the methodology, Caitlin delivers to each class, her highest energy, excellent musicality, and a true love for helping others feel their best.

Vincent Ferguson:

But before we talk about your online course, Ditch Crunches Forever and how you help clients to build lean physiques without doing cardio and crunches... I really want to hear about that... But let's talk about your journey into health and fitness. Where did it all begin for you, Caitlin?

Caitlin Jones:

Almost on accident. I was in college. A bunch of girlfriends of mine, loved Zumba, and there was a group of instructors in the Pittsburgh area who did a class at a bar. But during the day, it was this party atmosphere, this party vibe. It was four different instructors throwing a 90 minute dance party up on stage. Huge dance floor, the lights, the music was so loud, it was awesome.

Caitlin Jones:

And some folks would go on to happy hour or dinner afterward. And it just made the most fun Wednesday night. So I started going to that with some friends. It was contagious. It was seriously a movement. Like the group of us that started loyally going to this class every single week grew to about 10 or 20 women from my sorority, going every week. Like no lie, we'd bring 20 people. It was crazy.

Caitlin Jones:

So it was just a lot of fun and I had grown up dancing. So it wasn't that much longer until the instructors sort of noticed I was doing a good job picking up the choreography. We built a relationship before and after class just chatting. They knew I was a big fan and they were like, "You're not too bad at this yourself. Have you ever thought about getting Zumba certified?

Caitlin Jones:

So I did. I was pretty quickly and easily able to get a job teaching a few classes each week on my college campus. So, it was very organic. I have this dance background. And then my first foray into the fitness world was teaching dance cardio, happened very naturally. From there, I went to New York City and I did start working as a professional dancer. And that's when the teaching dance cardio thing started to become more of a problem.

Caitlin Jones:

It was actually way too much on my feet and way too much on my joints. To be performing all night, Taking dance classes and going to auditions all day and then be jumping around and shaking my hips some more in between, at these dance cardio classes. It was just way too much on my body.

Caitlin Jones:

So, I started to get more interested in weightlifting, being that's lower impact on the joints. Started teaching in a few different studios, more along those lines. And that's when I really felt some incredible changes in my body. Was from lifting weights. So that's really where we focus a lot nowadays.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very interesting. Did you have any weight issues growing up?

Caitlin Jones:

I did not. I know I didn't have any issues managing my weight. Coming from the dance world, it's a little bit the opposite problem. It's more like struggling with body image and feeling like you need to lose weight or be thinner. I definitely had my hardship there when I was 14, 15. I had an eating disorder for pretty much the full year. For reference, I'm about five foot seven now and 145 pounds. And at my lightest, I was 99 pounds, at my sickest.

Caitlin Jones:

So with the help of a therapist and just a more positive outlook on food and exercise, I was luckily able to get out of that really dark place and in a way I'm so grateful that I had that experience when I did, because eight years later in the professional dance world, that's really, when I was getting a lot of feedback about my body.

Caitlin Jones:

I had a lot of other people telling me how I should look. And I had already sort of done a lot of this work of like, I had already gone to that really dark place. I was like, "You know what? No one's ever going to make me feel like that again. Like I am enough! I am worthy! I'm not going to starve myself to reach any insane aesthetic outcome." And so in a way I'm really glad I had that resilience with me in the professional dance world already.

Vincent Ferguson:

And I understand you actually moved to New York in 2014, correct?

Caitlin Jones:

Correct.

Vincent Ferguson:

So where are you originally from?

Caitlin Jones:

I'm from the Pittsburgh area. Born and raised. Went to high school here. Went to college here. Really the only places I've ever lived is Pittsburgh and New York. Even as we speak, this is December, 2020. We're about nine months into this coronavirus journey. And even for the last nine months, it's been bouncing back and forth between my New York apartment and different places in Pittsburgh, to spend more time with family.

Caitlin Jones:

So now that I'm building an online business, it's sort of the first... The light bulb is going off in my head where I'm like, "Oh, I can actually live somewhere other than Pittsburgh and New York City if I would like to." And so I'm starting to look at those options.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. Really? Awesome. And before we talk about the online business, I want to step back for a second because I run a nonprofit organization for kids called Body Sculpt of New York. And one of my community partners are the Brooklyn Nets organization.

Caitlin Jones:

Phenomenal.

Vincent Ferguson:

And I understand that you worked with the Brooklyn Nets.

Caitlin Jones:

Yes. Yes, I did.

Vincent Ferguson:

Tell me about that experience.

Caitlin Jones:

It was phenomenal. I really enjoyed dancing there. I danced as a Brooklyn Net dancer for one year. After my time there, I transitioned to coaching for the Nets kids dance team. They have a very, very talented kids dance team. So for three years I was part of the assistant coaching staff.

Caitlin Jones:

I think the best part of being associated with the Net franchise is dancing for them in particular. Really any New York or L.A. team, when it comes to the NBA or the NFL, obviously these teams are all over the country. But when you're in either New York or L.A. the dance scene there really converges with the professional sports scene.

Caitlin Jones:

So, we are working with famous choreographers to put our routines together for these 90 second halftime routines, t-shirt tosses, whatever it may be. That was really the value in being with a team like the Nets.

Caitlin Jones:

And I mean, the Brooklyn Nets have such a unique style. When I was on the team, it was their second year being in Brooklyn versus New Jersey. So, with their new rebrand and everything, we were on the forefront of some really cool trends in the space. Doing different styles, doing Latin dancing and Caribbean dancing.

Caitlin Jones:

And we would do like a traditional Chinese dance and bring in a traditional Chinese choreographer to do that. Every dance has a theme, a prop, a costume. The production value was just so high in a way that only New York City can do it. In a way that only Brooklyn can do it.

Caitlin Jones:

And it was phenomenal to really be seen as these trendsetters in the space. And to this day, I'm the biggest fan of the Brooklyn Nets. They still put on a show every single time, and it's amazing to watch.

Vincent Ferguson:

I'm glad to hear that. I too am a fan. How did you go from cheerleader to personal trainer?

Caitlin Jones:

Yeah. It really came with the... Going back to dancing, dancing, dancing all the time my first two years in New York. It's just a lot on the joints and I have a history of stress fracturing the ball of my right foot, which has been an ongoing struggle. And also, I'm grateful for it, because it taught me that you can get an incredible full body workout without your feet ever leaving the floor.

Caitlin Jones:

And that, you mentioned in the introduction Vince, about how I sort of promise my clients, "You can get lean and toned without cardio and without crunches." So I really come from this place of when I was in the professional dance world and I'm getting all this feedback, whether it was from my coaches on the Brooklyn Nets or from various casting directors or agents, everyone's kind of saying the same thing, which is like lean is in right now. Abs are a trend right now. We sort of need more abs.

Caitlin Jones:

And it's kind of funny because trends change with time, but it has nothing to do with true health and wellness, right? This is purely an aesthetic. Nowadays, it's sort of like for women, it's all about like the booty and everyone wants to grow the glutes. Right? And we've sort of seen that shift from more of a small waist and defined abs to really your butt being like the thing that everyone wants.

Caitlin Jones:

And yes, strong glutes are important for a healthy, strong body. A strong core is important for a healthy, strong body. But these aesthetic focuses, it's totally based on people's opinion, then it changes with the time. So I really want abs, right. Because everyone's telling me I need them. And I'm thinking, "Okay, well, I'm going to do crunches and sit ups and twists." That's going to help tone the midsection.

Caitlin Jones:

And I'm going to do a ton of cardio to burn a ton of calories, to hopefully shed fat so that you can see all of the definition that I'm creating in my abs. What that did was it caused undue amounts of stress in my body. It was way too much cardio. I think when you count up all of the dance practices, I was going to, all of the dance classes I was taking. The auditions I was going to plus the classes I was teaching. Plus, walking around New York City is a cardio workout in and of itself. I was doing moderate or higher intensity cardio for like 20 hours a week and I wanted to die.

Caitlin Jones:

Something had to give. So sort of, because I was just exhausted and burnt out and I couldn't keep running and I couldn't keep dancing and biking and all the things I was doing. And my foot was acting up. I was starting to have some concerns raised about having another stress fracture in my foot.

Caitlin Jones:

I was like, "Okay, feet need to stay on the ground. What can I do?" And I started getting more into weights and it was just radical, the change I saw in my body after three to six months of three times a week, strength training, full body, functional fitness.

Caitlin Jones:

I wanted to just shout from the rooftops like, "Hello! This is probably the thing a lot of you are neglecting because the cardio and crunches approach seems logical." It would make sense, but now I understand more why the weights work. I got my personal training certification so that I can teach others this methodology.

Vincent Ferguson:

Very interesting. So you created an online program called Ditch Crunches Forever. All right. So now this is what you're talking about. So you don't do as much cardio now. You don't even do crunches.

Caitlin Jones:

Correct. I never do crunches. I never do sit-ups. I never do Russian twists. And my abs are easily the most defined and visible they've ever been in my life. Cardio is an interesting definition. So I teach my clients that cardio is anything which elevates your heart rate above resting, super intensity. So we can focus on doing full body strength training exercises. Think squats, pushups, dead lifts, bent over rows, or pull ups. Something pulling, right?

Caitlin Jones:

We might throw in a few burpees for a few sets of 30 seconds. And by actually just minimizing rest in between these exercises, the client or the person in question performing the exercises is going to experience an elevated heart rate. So it's not that I'm saying there is nothing worthwhile about elevating your heart rate. It's more that I think someone who wants to lose weight is likely, potentially overvaluing cardio, in their entire approach.

Caitlin Jones:

If they're spending a lot of time doing cardio and then not really enough time doing strength training, which I would argue for minimum, minimum, two sessions per week, full body. Then it's going to be really hard to gain any momentum. We need muscle on the body. It looks nice.

Caitlin Jones:

When people say they want to look lean and they want to look toned, they want to build muscle. They want visible muscles. And also, it helps us move through life pain free. It makes everyday activities much easier, such as just simple things. Walking up and down hills, moving your groceries around, picking up your kids or your nieces, or your nephews or whatever it may be.

Caitlin Jones:

And having muscle increases your metabolism. So it's actually going to help you burn more calories at rest. And I think that's what really hits home for most of my clients is, you can research different types of workouts. What's the most effective, what burns the most calories until you're blue in the face. But we're at rest most of the time. We are a sitting society, unfortunately. We're a mostly sedentary society.

Caitlin Jones:

So I'm not really trying... I don't want a client to come to me... I'm not going to tell them, "Hey, you're going to burn more calories with me than you are with the other guy or the other girl or the other trainer. What I'm going to do is I'm going to help you put some really healthy, nice looking, good to have for all sorts of health reasons, muscle on your body. And what that's going to do is it's going to help you burn calories when you're not in the gym. So that you don't get stuck in this endless cycle, this endless loop of more and more and more cardio to lose weight and then even more cardio to sustain it." Because the second I stop running seven days a week, the weight just comes back on. We really want to break that cycle. And I know that strength training is the way to do it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Would you say your training is also partially high-intensity interval training, as well?

Caitlin Jones:

So high intensity interval training has been... How do I put this? There's several different types of workouts out there, that claim to be high intensity interval training. Some of which are Tabata approach. Some of which are just the bootcamp. That's very difficult, very challenging. What is an interval? It's some amount of work interspersed with some amount of rest. So, don't get me wrong. The programs that I write for my clients absolutely do incorporate intervals of various types.

Caitlin Jones:

I would say with regards to intensity, I take a holistic approach at my client's entire life, right? There are all sorts of stressors that goes on in a person's life, of which fitness is one. And also, sleep, and how well someone is sleeping is another. Their work, their relationships, their financial situation. COVID was a huge stressor for a lot of people.

Caitlin Jones:

All of these things affect our cortisol levels. Now, if someone is sleeping eight hours a night, pretty set in their career, in very happy, fulfilling relationships, eating enough and their cortisol is generally low or low to moderate, then they're someone who can handle high intensity movement. Whether we're dubbing it high intensity interval training or not. They can handle a higher intensity, longer bouts of training. And that will work just fine for them. And that will accelerate their results.

Caitlin Jones:

Some folks come into the gym and they hear that high intensity interval training is the best workout, burns the most calories. And it's how they should be spending their time. But if this person is sleeping, six hours a night, on their computer answering emails late into the night. Maybe they're under eating, right? Because they really want to lose weight. And they're really committed. But the lack of sleep is increasing their cortisol. Their boss is increasing their cortisol. Under eating is actually potentially increasing their cortisol.

Caitlin Jones:

And now I haven't even gotten into daily hormonal fluctuations of cortisol. Monthly hormonal fluctuations if this is a woman or a woman identifying person, whose hormones follow 28 day cycle, which also affects cortisol. High intensity is not for everyone. That's another myth I'd really like to bust, because it could be counterproductive if we're not taking a holistic approach to wellness and therefore cortisol. And we're feeling like, "Oh, high intensity every day. More is more." More is not always more. Sometimes less is more. And sometimes less intensity is going to bring you closer to your goals faster, by managing your cortisol.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. Now, do you work out of a gym?

Caitlin Jones:

Currently, oh my gosh. I would love to. Right now what with local guidelines and what not, I work totally digitally. It's really incredible space. It's been a learning experience, an overall positive one, learning how to build and maintain relationships with my clients without the in-person component.

Caitlin Jones:

I miss it, of course. I miss training face-to-face. I miss teaching to a packed room of people. It's just not exactly potentially a safe option right now. So, I think in the future, I'd love to settle on some hybrid of online and in-person, because they both have their advantages.

Vincent Ferguson:

Definitely. Now, in regards again, to your program, Ditch Crunches Forever, how much of it relies upon diet?

Caitlin Jones:

Hmm. So I actually have two sort of signature programs here. Ditch Crunches Forever is a free mini course. Anyone who's listening to this show right now, if you're interested in any of the methodologies, I just discussed, Why strength training over cardio? Where does cortisol sort of play a part into all of this? I highly recommend taking Ditch Crunches Forever. Like I said, totally free. Can usually be found at the link in my Instagram bio @Caitlin Jones.

Caitlin Jones:

So, Ditch Crunches Forever is just a three part mini series. In the first-video, we go over metabolism, how building muscle affects metabolism. Why don't you need crunches if you want abs and what do we sort of replace them with? So there's a 20 minute instructional video answering all those questions. There's two follow along workouts to pick from. One is entirely body weight. One is with dumbbells.

Caitlin Jones:

So whether you have equipment or not, you can participate. And then the third sort of the last video is really, "How do we take what we learned and how do we apply it to our training in all sorts of environments using these concepts." There's also a downloadable PDF. It's about 30 different exercises that will strengthen your core without doing a single sit up, cardio or crunch. These are effective exercises proven by science and approved by me to work for building a lean toned stomach.

Caitlin Jones:

Now, the more in-depth program that I offer, Fitness Fluency, that's a 12 week total life transformation. And of course, Vince, we do talk about nutrition in Fitness Fluency. I take a very... What's the best way to explain this? For me, nutrition is all about abundance. It's all about the steps that we do take, the foods that we do eat, the foods that we do include.

Caitlin Jones:

And I don't really like to cut out entire food groups or ban any foods for my clients. Because the second I tell someone I'm working with, "Hey, by the way, those cookies... I know you love chocolate chip cookies, but for eight weeks, we're going no cookies." All that client can think of when she walks out of a conversation with me is, "Cookies, cookies, cookies. Darn it, Caitlin said, no cookies for me. I can't do this."

Caitlin Jones:

We sort of start to take this all or nothing mindset. So I really prescribe habits for my clients. We'll do a three-day photo journal. For three days they just take pictures of whatever they eat. They upload it to a shared photo journal that I have access to.

Caitlin Jones:

At the end of three days, we sort of work our way up the health pyramid. I personally believe and prescribe that the foundation of any healthy diet is an abundance of colorful plants. Is someone's diet colorful? Because it's not just macronutrients, fats, proteins and carbohydrates that matter. It's also vitamins minerals, antioxidants, fiber. All of these wonderful micronutrients that keep us young, that prevents us from getting sick. That give us energy. That make our skin and our hair appear healthy. So we start there.

Caitlin Jones:

Now we sort of then move on to protein. The first macronutrients I really check for is, is a client getting enough protein? So usually just with those two sort of big check marks alone will create habits. I might say to a client, "Hey, all I need you to do... The only thing you're going to change for us this week is at your lunch every day, I don't want you to change a thing, except I want you to add two cups of leafy greens."

Caitlin Jones:

This could be on the side of a sandwich. This could be you're having a rice dish or a noodle dish. Whatever it is, it's small enough that you can commit to it. Maybe it's a handful of baby carrots in the afternoon. Maybe it's a few cups of berries with your oatmeal in the morning. If you're having plain oatmeal, I might say, "Hey, I want a cup of berries on there, or maybe an apple, if it's the fall and berries aren't in season. But let's get some fruit going in there."

Caitlin Jones:

So we sort of just layer on these really small changes. Small, but consistent. I need something that my client is confident they can maintain 80 to 90% of the time. Because we are what we repeatedly do. And if we try to change too much all at once, we're in this all or nothing mindset, the second someone slips up, they go, "Oh, I can't do it. I'm a failure. I'm just going to go back to my old way of eating." And then that's really the cycle again, that we're trying to break here.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. Now this is part of the 12 week program, correct?

Caitlin Jones:

Correct. Yeah. So Fitness Fluency, we absolutely dive into nutrition because... I'm so glad you asked that, Vince. Fitness isn't really necessarily the place to start, if you're looking to make a radical change to your health and wellness. I actually teach that sleep is where most folks should be starting. If you're not getting at least seven hours a night, we really need to start there. Sleep is just nature's medicine. It's an incredible thing.

Vincent Ferguson:

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your fitness business?

Caitlin Jones:

It's a totally different landscape. Completely different. Prior to COVID, I was spending a lot more time in a group fitness environment. So I worked for someone else. I taught for a cycling company, but in terms of clients, my reach was, no exaggeration, in the thousands.

Caitlin Jones:

Over a month's time, I would have taught to thousands of unique riders just through those classes alone. My personal training business, that wasn't a major focus of mine. I did have a handful of clients on the side, who were just friends or residual from earlier days where personal training was a larger focus of mine. But when COVID hit, everything entirely shut down. Pretty much anyone who was interested in cycling, got on the Peloton platform or on a more equally established platform such as that.

Caitlin Jones:

And my employer didn't really have that same setup. So to be honest, I tried a lot of different things just to see what stuck. I did some bootcamps on Zoom. I did some dance cardio classes on Zoom. At one point, I was sort of teaching cycling class.

Caitlin Jones:

I had bootlegged a cycling methodology together, and you could do it on any bike. You could do it on a recumbent bike. That went on for about a month or two. And it was sort of the same thing. I wasn't necessarily offering personal training at the start. I definitely wasn't offering Ditch Crunches Forever, Fitness Fluency, but it was more people approaching me and really asking for what they wanted and what they needed.

Caitlin Jones:

And when enough people came to me and were like, "I'm looking for personal training." I said, "Okay, I have this package." We sort of arrive at something that they're willing to pay and I'm willing to work with. And we go from there. After about my fifth client approaching me for training, I was like, "Okay, this is it." This was all really effortless up until this point. So I think that this is probably the thing that works for me right now. And that's where I started pouring my focus into.

Vincent Ferguson:

Nice. Nice. And as you said, this is something that you can do.... You don't have to be in New York. You can be anywhere and conduct these online programs, right?

Caitlin Jones:

Yeah. It's so cool. It's honestly really cool. Because in this last year, I have spent more time with family than I've ever been able to do. And I can go to Mom's house for like a week or two and then spend half a week over at my sister's, helping babysit her kids.

Caitlin Jones:

And as long as I just take my computer with me, if I have a space that I can move in... I drive places now. I haven't been flying anywhere. It's all places within driving distance. I can bring a few kettlebells. As long as I have that pretty simple setup, it's like, "I'm the business. I show up. I give the sessions. I program." But so much of it is online. People would be surprised to see how much time I spend at my computer nowadays.

Caitlin Jones:

We're educating on social media. That's a big one. I'm keeping my online community engaged. I send out email blasts and I'm building out my website and I'm working on the backend and even accounting and insurance. There's a lot more that goes into it than people realize. And it's absolutely changed from the days of just show up, keep the class on the bike to a room of 70 people. Go home. That feels like archaic. It's crazy. Crazy to think just nine months ago that that's what I was doing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Where can my listeners find out more about Caitlin Jones and give us your social media handles. Everything we need to know about your programs and how we can reach out to you.

Caitlin Jones:

Absolutely. So my Instagram is just my name, no spaces, no underscores, no nothing. It's Caitlin C-A-I-T-L-I-N Jones, as in keeping up with the Jones's. It's an amazing way to stay in touch. Really, everything that I have to say, everything that I have to share, Instagram gets it first.

Caitlin Jones:

Generally the link in my Instagram bio will lead you to Ditch Crunches Forever, my free mini video series. Oh, please, please message me if you're trying to get access to Ditch Crunches Forever and you can't find it, or you just want to say hi, or you have a specific question about your own nutrition, fitness, whatever it may be. I love expanding my online community and I will voice memo you back and forth until the day is done. Listening to where you're at in your fitness journey and just purely asking how I can help. I would love to know. So please, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. Sounds really good. I'm sure you will hear from somebody. Caitlin Jones, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Caitlin Jones:

Of course, Vince. Thank you for having me. It was really an enjoyable conversation.

Vincent Ferguson:

To my listeners and readers, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.sixweekstofitness.com or email me at Vince@sixweeks.com. Take care. Bye, bye.

Direct download: Episode_165_Caitlin_Jones.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:55pm EDT

Dr. Francoise Sidime is a neuroscientist and assistant professor at the College of Staten Island, Helene Fuld School of Nursing and Wagner College. She obtained her PhD in neuroscience at the Graduate Center CUNY in New York. Francoise currently lectures and teaches extensive skills employed in the field of biology and neuroscience. Francoise is also the founder and president of Ekarus Global Science, a program dedicated to providing academic advancements, mentorship, and research opportunities to high school students in the STEM discipline. Dr. Sidime is also the co-founder of a sister company called PreMedPro, a program that offers pre-med high school students training skills in the field of medicine.

Vince Ferguson:

Before we get started discussing your research into autism, tell my listeners what inspired you to go into the medical field and become a neuroscientist.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, there were several reasons, but the one that actually sticks out was my mentor. At the time, when I was trying to pursue a medical career, we were all required to basically do research in labs because that's part of the requirement in order to get into medical school. So, when I went and I worked with my mentor, he did a lot of work in neuroscience and he had extensive knowledge and just really, really well-versed in the subjects. As a result, I admired everything that he was doing and the work he was working on. As a result, I felt that that's where I should be. Of course, when I started to operate on brains, opening them up and seeing all these intricate structures, I knew there was no turning back at that point.

Vince Ferguson:

At that point you were hooked?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Oh, I was hooked after that. Yes, that was it. That was it.

Vince Ferguson:

Wow. So, how did you get involved with autism?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So my mentor, that was a field that he was actually working on. So, his mentor prior to that worked with him when he was a PhD and a post-doctoral student. So they worked on different areas, Fragile X. And so he continued working on autism as well. When I came into the lab as his student... This particular mentor, by the way, has a name. His name is Dr. Abdeslem El Idrissi. So, when I started working in his laboratory, I found that he was working a lot on autism cases. As a result, I ended up jumping on those topics as well and I realized I liked them a lot, and that's how I got involved in the research as well.

Vince Ferguson:

Okay. Well, did you get involved in any particular area of autism?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Yes. So, the particular area that we actually focus on is called the Fragile X. So, because autism has a vast spectrum, as most people know, they particularly worked on a single area, which is on the Fragile X. It's called the Fragile X syndrome. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Fragile X?

Vince Ferguson:

No.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

No. Okay. So, they worked on the Fragile X syndrome and the thing about the Fragile X is that, because autism is very vast and there's so many areas that could be contributing to that particular disorder of autism, one of the things about the Fragile X is that you can actually pinpoint exactly where the issue is, and that issue usually is on the X-chromosome. So, there's an area there that's very fragile and it looks like an arm that's basically broken, and that area has this gene, which is called the FMR1 gene. That gene is basically silent. As a result, when this gene is silent, it means that whatever that gene is responsible for, it will not do. So, that area is going to have issues, of course. So, some of the symptoms you see when this gene is silent, that patients have anxiety, hyperactivity, depression. They have increased sensitivity to epileptic type of seizures.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

As a result, you can really pinpoint that, "Okay, this part is silent so it's missing. This is what we see." So, it made it very easy to pinpoint where the issues are basically happening when you focus on this one particular niche, and that's what we actually did, so we focused on the Fragile X.

Vince Ferguson:

Sounds very interesting to me, as a layman. Wow. It really does. Now, your research has looked at phthalates or plasticizers and how it can cause neural behavioral abnormalities, similar to what is seen in individuals on the autism spectrum. Can you tell my listeners what phthalates are and why are they of concern?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Sure, absolutely. Right now phthalates, they're actually a huge hot topic, especially in the news. So, phthalates are plasticizers, and they're used to basically soften plastics. So, an example of a common phthalate that most people are aware of is bisphenol A, which is normally abbreviated as BPA, and this is the plasticizer that's sometimes used in baby bottles. So, there's a lot of commercials that say, "Oh, we're selling BPA-free bottles for babies." So, the phthalate we worked with, obviously it's in the same family, and this phthalate was called DBP, and that's dibutyl phthalate. This phthalate is an organic solvent, and this phthalate is used basically to mold a lot of plastics. So, plastic bottles like Poland Spring bottles, for example, toys, plastic plates, hospital supplies like catheters and tubing. They tends to use a lot of this DBP to basically help to mold it.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Now, the concern with these phthalates basically, like DBP, is that they're not stable, especially when you subject them to high temperatures. So what do I mean by high temperatures? These would be extreme conditions, like if you leave a plastic bottle with water and it's outside, for example, or if you heat up food on a plastic plate in the microwave. So, what happens is that that DBP becomes destabilized because it's actually in the plastic, so it becomes destabilized, and as a result, it leaches out of the plastic and into the environment. Now, in this case, the environment would be the water that you're consuming or the food that's basically on your plate. So, the reason why we picked DBP over BPA, bisphenol A, because there were a couple of studies that were done in 2000 and they found that there were high levels of DBP that were found in urine of the general population. So, that's why we focused on this particular phthalate.

Vince Ferguson:

Wow. That sounds amazing to me, because again, you talked about the microwave. So many of us have used microwave ovens to heat up our food.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Yes. Especially because a lot of food is delivered in plastic Tupperware, it's so much easier to throw that food in the microwave and eat immediately as such. Most people feel very lazy taking it out and basically putting it on a glass plate or ceramic plate. So, you could see how this could also be a problem.

Vince Ferguson:

Is it more of a problem for younger people or for adults?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Well, that's a very interesting question. So, what we did when we basically looked at our studies, we wanted to see, does it affect adults? Which generation does it affect more? So, some of the data that we basically got were different because when you become an adult, your brain has already been formed. So, what we found was that DBP would cause individuals to become sterile. So, it created different types of problems compared to a child. Well, maybe I shouldn't use a child. I should use mice because we did the study in mice. So, the offspring of mice basically exhibited behavior alterations that were similar to autism when they were exposed to this DBP. So, if you basically get exposed to it early on in development and your brain hasn't formed, then there's a possibility that you'd have these symptoms that may be related closer to autism.

Vince Ferguson:

And you guys used mice as an example.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

That's right. So, the reason why we use mice it's because their bodies are similar. So, their anatomy is pretty similar to ours. The structures inside their organs are similar to ours. So, of course you won't go ahead and do these studies on humans because I mean, that could be dangerous. So, as a result, we did them on mice. So, what we did was we took pregnant mice and we targeted a particular window. That window was around, I think, gestational day 10 to 20, because that particular window is when the brain of the pups in the womb of the pregnant mouse, their neurons starts to connect.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

As a result, we wanted to make sure that we gave that injection of DBP prior to their neuronal networks being formed so we could see, does this DBP really affect neuronal connections? And when they do get exposed to that DBP, what happens later on when they become grownups when we have to run studies on them? How are they going to behave? What's going to happen to some of the key proteins in their brains? So, that's what we were actually investigating.

Vince Ferguson:

So, what were your findings?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, what we did, of course, as I said, we injected the mice and we waited until they were born. What we did was we looked at their brains at different time points. At first natal day one, when they were just born on day one, day seven, and then also at two months of age, just to see where the changes were occurring. Behavior-wise, what we noticed basically was that their brains, basically, the way the neuro behavior was similar to what we see in autism. So, we did a couple of tests because when you're dealing with mice, you run different types of tests to see, how are they behaving? How do you see hyperactivity and anxiety and so on and so forth? So, what we found was that they had increased locomotive activity. They were extremely hyper. They had anxiety. When we did a learning and memory test, they had decreased in this test.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, in the test, you could teach them a couple of things and later on, they wouldn't remember. Also, they had a reduction in social interaction, meaning that when you presented... So, normally mice are curious. When you give them a new mouse, a stranger mouse, they will play with that mouse because they're trying to figure out who this mouse is. But when they were exposed to DBP early, they weren't really interacting. They would just sit in the corner. They won't socialize. So, the symptoms that we were obviously observing were consistent with the fact that they had this altered inhibitory system in their brain, or what we call the GABAergic system as well was actually affected.  And then what we did also after that... So, we noticed the behavior. So we wanted to see, well, the proteins that are responsible for making sure these behaviors are intact, what's going on with them? So, when we looked at them, we found that they were significantly down-regulated, meaning that the expression of them were less or they were basically affected as well.

Vince Ferguson:

That's amazing. Would you say that genetics play any part when it comes to autism in children?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Absolutely. I think it's basically both of them, environmental factors and genetics as well. Just like the way I've just mentioned, the Fragile X, so that's the particular area on the X chromosome that's affected. That would be genetics. And then obviously environmental, it would be something like dibutyl phthalate being exposed to the pregnant mother, for example, and then the child getting exposed to this DBP or dibutyl phthalate. So, it's definitely an interplay between both genetics and environmental factors.

Vince Ferguson:

Based on this study, you can safely say that humans should also be mindful of what we're putting in the microwave when it comes to heating up our food.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Absolutely. I mean, definitely we haven't run these studies in humans, but as I said, the anatomy of mice is very, very similar to the anatomy of humans. So, I would say one should be mindful of not heating up food on plastic plates. The other point that I would like to bring up while we're in that, because you just brought up a very good point, is that this DBP doesn't only penetrate our bodies orally. It could also go through the skin and inhalation as well. The reasons why we did these studies in low levels, because we wanted to see, because most people are not living by factories where you're making huge amounts of plastics, so how would these individuals get this DBP? So, clearly they have to be off low levels. So, what we also found is that, according to our research, is that DBP is used as a solvent as well.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

It basically helps to make makeup, especially for young women, right? Because young women are using a lot of makeup in their young age bearing childbearing years. So, they use makeup and as a result, if there's DBP in it, it has a potential to cross the skin, cross the placenta, and then target an unborn baby. Because the molecule itself is hydrophobic, and therefore it can cross very, very easily through all these areas and target the baby. So, we did some studies just looking to see, well, if the mother was exposed to DBP, how much of that does the mother get in her brain versus how much the child gets or the pup gets? What we found was that the mother does get significant amounts in her brain, but definitely that DBP did cross the placenta and it does go to the brain itself as well. So, that was proof that it actually does reach the brain of these pups, the mice.

Vince Ferguson:

Wow. So, how would someone know that there's DBP in the product that they're using? Is it in their ingredients?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

It should be listed. Right now, I believe by law, they should be listing whether products have DBP in there or not. That's why the baby bottles will say BPA-free. But most of the time, like when I buy my nail polish, for example, I always look for nail polish that says DBP-free so that it doesn't have it in there. The only thing is that I don't know what the rules and regulations are here in the United States, because I know that they're very slow in implementing some of these policies to stop DBP from being used as a solvent. I know in Europe, a lot of them have started to ban DBP as part of a solvent in terms of softening these plastics. But I think the U.S. hasn't quite gotten there yet, but hopefully eventually they will get there where they can ban this DBP from being used, and try and use alternatives that they can, just like what they're doing with the BPA, to see how they can soften plastic in a very different way.

Vince Ferguson:

Most definitely. This is very important. I can stay on this topic for a little longer, but we don't have that much time. Thank you.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Sure.

Vince Ferguson:

But also, I understand you are awarded the Marshall Plan Scholarship to conduct research in Austria at one of the hospitals in a town called Graz. Can you tell my listeners about that experience doing research abroad and also outside of the United States?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Yes. That was a phenomenal experience because you do all your research here in the United States, and you're always curious, and you're always wondering, "Well, how are things done elsewhere, abroad? Is it the same? Do they follow the same paradigms?" Because obviously the way that we get to graduate school and the way we apply with our GREs and the process is a little bit different than it is in Europe. So, I was really curious to see how this is actually done abroad. So, I did go to Austria first in 2011 to conduct research. At that time I was working with a team that were collaborating with seven EU countries on a project called biothane. So, they were looking at how food would affect the kidneys, and I was part of that team. And then a year later, I basically secured a scholarship to return back to Austria and work with another team, an amazing team in that same hospital in Graz and what they were working on was the brain.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

They were looking at the brain kidney axis and seeing how contrast media, this is the media that's used when you're doing a scan, like if you want to scan the kidney, for example, you'd use a contrast, so they were looking to see whether that's safe for the kidneys and is the kidney basically excreted that contrast without being harmed. I learned a lot because I moved, it opened me up to other areas instead of just focusing on the brain, but looking at how the brain can work with other areas as well and other organs in the periphery. So, yeah, as a result, I was really impressed with that time when I was over there, that I decided I could come back here and encourage other students in the university to also try and apply for that scholarship so they could have the same experience and opportunity that I had.

Vince Ferguson:

Wow. We're going to talk about that a little later on, but how long did you stay in Austria?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, I spent my summers there. So, the first, 2011, I spent about three, three and a half months. And then the following year, I also spent about that time as well, because I was still working on my research work back in the States. So, I couldn't stay out there longer than that.

Vince Ferguson:

Very nice. Good experience though, I would say, right?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Phenomenal. Yes. Really, really phenomenal experience.

Vince Ferguson:

Now, some of your other lab work has looked at the amino acid taurine and how that can reduce plasma glucose levels. Can this be a potential aid for those with diabetes?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, taurine's a great amino acid. Some people heard of it's been added to Red Bull, right?

Vince Ferguson:

Yes.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

People drink Red Bull, but most of the time they don't normally explain what the taurine actually does. But the thing with taurine is that it's a sulfur containing amino acid, and it's one of the most abundant free amino acids in many of our excitable tissues in our brain, skeletal muscles and cardiac muscles. One of the things about taurine, it's actually been important to prevent age-dependent decline of cognitive function. So, as a result, it's been shown and proven that when there's reduced taurine, and they've looked at that in mice that have a knockout for one of the steps that makes taurine, right? Because I'm trying to keep this very much in layman's terms and not use all of these fancy words.

Vince Ferguson:

Please, please, please. Thank you.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, when there's a reduction in taurine in mice, they've been reported to show severe functional histopathology in the visual system, skeletal system, the heart, the pancreas and the brain. But if you increase supplementation that's shown increased benefits acting through the same organs as well. So, what we wanted to do was we wanted to look and see what would happen if we gave our mice taurine. So, we had two groups of mice, one that weren't fed taurine chronically for two months and then the others that were. We wanted to see how would they deal with glucose or diabetes. So, what we did was that we injected both groups of mice, ones that had taurine and the other ones that didn't have taurine, with a glucose shot. It's called a glucose tolerance test.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Basically we wanted to see what the results would be. So, what we found basically was that the mice that were not fed with taurine were not able to handle the glucose very well. So, they started to have huge spikes in their plasma glucose levels about 30 minutes into the test. Where the mice that were fed with taurine, they gradually increased, but not to the level that the mice that were not fed with taurine got to, and they were hypoglycemic, closer to baseline levels through the entire two hours of the test that we conducted. So, these were great findings that we found. So, I'm hoping that at some point this would be work that we could look at in humans and see whether we could get the same findings as well, because again, most of our findings are being conducted in mice.

Vince Ferguson:

Based on these findings, would you advise individuals to take taurine?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, yeah, that's an interesting question. So, there was an individual that I knew that used to take taurine and consume it. He would state that, "You can use me as an example when you present your lab work because I'm living proof that taurine actually works. I'm a walking specimen." He used to have tremors, and he mentioned to me that when he took taurine, basically these tremors were reduced. Now, I think that's amazing. However, I can't give that type of medical advice nor am I allowed to, because we do our studies in mice. Most of these studies that we do in the lab, of course, like in any laboratory there's series of steps that one has to take. You do studies in mice before you move on to humans and you have a board that basically approves these different steps. But I'm hoping that, depending on how far this research goes, that maybe one day we try out human trials. That's something that I'd have to speak with my still current mentor, because I still work with him, Dr. El Idrissi.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

But the exciting thing is that we're part of a taurine society. It's called the Taurine Society, and we're part of a team that, every two years, we meet up to look and see what the benefits of taurine in research, and we share our data. So, we go to different countries around the world every two years, and we share our data. So, hopefully yes, that this one day would take place where we actually do some human trials.

Vince Ferguson:

Yeah. Because I know that taurine is also available in certain foods, right?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Yes. So, some foods will actually add taurine into their food because they believe that when you give it, it has benefits. But what we also found with taurine is that when you give it for a short period of time, we see the benefits. But what tends to happen if you give it chronically for too long, then the reverse happens. So, the mechanism changes. So, that's why it's important to investigate this further because chronically the mechanism is different from when you give it acutely for a short period of time. That's why I wouldn't be comfortable to recommend and tell anyone right now, because of the studies that we're running, that this is exactly what one should be doing as a human, and I'm not licensed to do that anyway.

Vince Ferguson:

Right. Right. Okay. So, I won't mention that you recommend this to everybody, so my listeners don't go out there and run out there and get a run on the taurine market. We'll stay away from that.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Yeah. For the meantime, until we've ironed out all the kinks, if any.

Vince Ferguson:

Yeah. Well, let me know, okay? Please. I want to know.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Absolutely. Absolutely. For sure.

Vince Ferguson:

Now, you are also the founder and president of Ekarus Global Science and the co-founder of PreMedPro. Are these charitable organizations?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Well, I could call them charitable because I know it's not a nonprofit because I haven't been getting funds for it. So, this is something that I started because I saw the need for programs like this because at the college level, I was part of a minority program. Well, it was a program that was substantially increasing the number of underrepresented individuals in the STEM discipline. This program was called the LSM Program, and this was founded by Louis Stokes. So, it was called the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. What that program did for me was wonders, because it basically paid for my Master's at the time when I was taking my Master's and it made pretty much all of us who were in that program do extensive research, go and publish and not focus on working, but focus on our education.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

As a result, I realized the importance of programs like this. So, I wanted to start something at a high school level because I felt it's always good to grab the students while their minds are still young and we can still mold them. I figured that's the perfect time. I like to work with underrepresented students because sometimes we don't have the mentorships that other groups may be lucky to have. I've used my previous experience and said, "Well, it's important to set up something like this." So Ekarus focuses on exposing students to research at the college level, because it's much more... How can I put it? It's definitely of a higher level than you would do at the high school level, because some of the techniques that we use or we teach the students are very different. As a result, it makes them extremely competitive when they apply to schools out there, like colleges or even prestigious colleges.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Now, I didn't only want to stay within only doing the research component, so I also wanted to help medical students, so that's how PreMedPro came about as well. I was working with my colleague, Dr. Christine Bishara, and we decided that that would be something great, where we could bring in research and medical type of guidance to young students who may be interested. Bottom line is that when you expose students early on to touching the microscope or teaching them how to use a stethoscope or using a blood pressure cuff or machine, students get to feel what it's like to be in these particular fields and then they don't think that they're so far off. Also, when they see individuals like yourself, maybe they see a minority, a female wearing a lab coat, it doesn't look foreign and they could say, "This is something I would like to be, and I know it's possible because if she could do it, so can I."

Vince Ferguson:

Wow. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Thank you.

Vince Ferguson:

Really, role models are so important. Mentors, mentorship is so important and that's what you're doing.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Absolutely.

Vince Ferguson:

It's great.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

It happened to me. I've had great mentors. The process itself is very vigorous to get into, and that guidance is key because those mentors have walked that journey. They know what it takes. They know when these deadlines are. So, it's important that you also teach the younger generation that's coming about that these are the deadlines, so this is how you have to be vigorous. You have to start off in college with a 4.0 GPA and try and keep it at a 4.0, so you don't ruin your chances of trying to get into medical school, for example.

Vince Ferguson:

Do students working with Ekarus get the opportunity to conduct research abroad?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Yes. So, one of the things that we started with some of my mentors... So, there's one mentor I haven't mentioned who was part of the LSM program, Dr. Claude Brathwaite, who played a huge role as well in my journey in becoming a neuroscientist. So, he started the Global CUNY project that allowed college students to basically go abroad and do research. What we decided was we could expand that and start doing it in different parts of the world, of course. So, I thought that this would be great for Ekarus as well, if the high school students are able to do that, where they can go abroad as well and do research. So, some of the countries... My mentor, Dr. Abdeslem El Idrissi, from Morocco, so we usually send students to Morocco to do research out there.

Vince Ferguson:

Wow.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

We allow them to also experience the culture by going to cities like Casablanca, Fez, Taounate, for example. So, as a result, this is how I decided that high school students also should be given that opportunity to go abroad and start doing the research. Because if they're doing it here in the States, then there's no difference if they can do it abroad as well.

Vince Ferguson:

Wow. That is so amazing. That is so powerful. I really appreciate-

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Thank you.

Vince Ferguson:

Yes. What you're doing is awesome, and I actually have more questions, but I'm not going to ask them because I'll be on here for hours with you, Dr. Sidime.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

No problem.

Vince Ferguson:

But where can my listeners find out more about you and your work?

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

So, I have a website www.ekarus.com. That's spelled E-K-A-R-U-S.com. So if you go there, you'll be able to see information about Ekarus, and also the PreMedPro as well. If you go to www.premedpro.com, that also will lead you to the medical part for the high school students. I'm also on Instagram as well, and the Instagram handle is @ekarusglobalscience. So again, spelled Ekarus the same way, global science, all one word. So, we're on Instagram as well. When they go on, they'll be able to see young high school students like themselves, minorities as well, conducting research in a lab, presenting their research, doing dissections, so that they can get a feel. And also speaking as well because they teach other students what they're doing in the lab as well, so that they can get insights on what's actually happening at Ekarus.

Vince Ferguson:

Dr. Francoise Sidime, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Dr. Francoise Sidime:

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. The honor is really mine. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Vince Ferguson:

To my readers and listeners, I truly hope this program was informative, encouraging, and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.sixweekstofitness.com or email me at vince@sixweeks.com, and please don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes.

Direct download: Episode_164_Dr._Francoise_Sidime.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:47pm EDT

Brett Larkin is the founder of Uplifted Yoga, an online yoga and meditation community, empowering students to personalize their practice and ignite their best life on and off the mat. She's instructed at top studios, companies like Google and Pinterest, and leads the world's most interactive online yoga teacher training programs. She teaches to a social media following of over 400,000 people. Her content on YouTube is streamed for three million minutes each month.  Brett, how are you today?

Brett Larkin:

I'm well, thanks so much for having me. Excited to be here.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well, thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule to be here today. But before we talk about your company, Uplifted Yoga, tell my listeners more about your personal journey into health and wellness. Where did it all begin for Brett Larkin?

Brett Larkin:

I'm someone who has suffered a lot of anxiety, especially in my late teens and early 20s. I felt panicked all the time for no reason. It's hard for me to even really remember back on that period of my life, because I can't even remember how I was functioning, honestly. And for me, yoga ultimately became this doorway that led to a completely different experience of reality, where I was able to be fully present, let go of a lot of the fears and negative predictions, and kind of figure out how my mind had been patterned since I was really young and kind of rewrite a new narrative for myself. So for me, it's been very much both a physical practice, but also something that really changed the way I see the world. There's so much rich philosophy in this practice as well for those who are interested in that.

Vincent Ferguson:

So what was it about yoga that attracted you to that type of training?

Brett Larkin:

Well, it's interesting because I was a big naysayer of yoga, maybe like some of your listeners.

Vincent Ferguson:

Okay.

Brett Larkin:

As a child, I was a ballet dancer. I was very into kind of hardcore dance and very intense training. So I always thought yoga was sort of for losers who just wanted to stretch and sing, and I kind of naysay the whole thing, but then I had a dance injury and I started exploring Pilates. And I had a boyfriend at the time who said, "Hey, this is interesting. You are really into Pilates." And he and I have been kind of dabbling in a little bit of meditation. "So, Pilates and meditation, why don't we try yoga? That would be really great for you. It makes a lot of sense." But I was like, "Absolutely not. That's for weak people. I'm super strong, I'm a dancer." But he kind of encouraged me to go.

Brett Larkin:

And so, my first yoga experience was with Bikram yoga, which some of your listeners may be familiar with or have done, it's super hot, I think it's 105 degrees or more room to do a set of postures. There's a mirror so you can really analyze your form and it's a very intense experience. And so, that actually was the yoga that resonated with me the most at first, because it was kind of the most familiar to me in that it felt like a really intense dance or training experience type of class with the mirror and everything. So that was sort of my gateway, my first yoga experience.

Brett Larkin:

So it was very much about the physical and the sweat and everyone's different and is going to find a different style of yoga that meets you where you are in this moment. So I always really encourage people, don't write off yoga like I did until you try a lot of different styles because there's so many flavors out there. More than I think people are even aware of. And of course, that first Bikram journey led to then a much deeper exploration where I ended up eventually trying every style and studying with every school and it spurred a whole exploration from there, but that was my initial starting point.

Vincent Ferguson:

Bikram yoga. Wow.

Brett Larkin:

Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

Every time I hear it, I cringe, because I know it's very hot.

Brett Larkin:

It's so hot. It's funny because I mean, I haven't done Bikram yoga now in probably 10 years, but that was my entry point. So that's another thing I encourage people to be open to is the style of yoga you start with, or that you might be attracted to initially might not be the one you end up sticking with long-term. So it's important to have an open mind and kind of be ready to go on the journey.

Vincent Ferguson:

And I was going to ask you what type of yoga would you recommend for a beginner to try? Because I think if someone exposed me to Bikram yoga right away, that would have turned me off completely.

Brett Larkin:

Right. So my recommendation as strange as it sounds, would be to do a lot of experimentation. I think one of the things I see happen a lot is someone will go to the yoga studio closest to their house, or they'll do one YouTube video routine. And if they don't like it, they kind of just write off yoga as a whole, which would kind of be like writing off speaking when you've only sampled one language. Think about how many languages there are in our world and dialects and things. So I really, really encourage people to kind of approach it like you'd approach finding a mate. You're going to date a bunch of different people and sometimes it's going to work out and sometimes it's not and you just want to have fun. So, to kind of sample a lot of different styles... And I actually have a little challenge on my YouTube, where it's called “Find Your Style.”

Brett Larkin:

And I introduce people to five different styles over five days, because that was one of the things that I saw really prevented people from enjoying this practice. They just kind of have one impression of it and then think that was the whole story. When really, there's Restorative, there's Vinyasa, there's Hatha. Even within that Hatha word, there's Ashtanga, there's gentle yoga. There's Viniyoga. I mean, it just goes on and on and on. So I really believe there's something for everyone. And I think you need to really think about who you are, what your background is.

Brett Larkin:

If you're more that intense athlete person like I was, trying to do yin or gentle yoga, it's probably just going to be too far from where you are right now to maybe appreciate it. So you might want to start with a more athletic style, like Bikram or Ashtanga. If you're someone who has no fitness background whatsoever, those styles are going to be insane, right? You might want to start with yin, or even restorative yoga, or something very beginner gentle hatha, just to kind of gently get your body moving. So it's really like a dating game, I guess. Date all the styles of yoga. Try all the teachers in your area.

Vincent Ferguson:

I like that.

Brett Larkin:

Yeah. That's my biggest tip for everyone.

Vincent Ferguson:

Great tip. I like that advice, I truly do. Now, would you say that yoga is a lifestyle or just a way to exercise and meditate?

Brett Larkin:

Oh, that's such a loaded question. It's so interesting because when we look back at a lot of the ancient texts, what we see is that yoga was being written about as a means to achieve enlightenment. Right? Or a means to connect to whatever is beyond this plane of consciousness that we live in. And that the physical postures and the breath are all kind of a tool, a medium for that bigger aim. And then over the years, a lot of the physical piece of yoga got fused with a lot of the aerobics movement that was happening in the 70s and 80s. And there's sort of a modern yoga that's emerged that's in many ways quite different than what we see displayed in the yoga sutras or the hatha yoga pradipika or something like that.

Brett Larkin:

So, it's really what I think, is it's what you want to take out of it. If you just want to use yoga to improve your breathing and just really think of it as a breathing practice or a mindfulness practice that helps with stress reduction, you can view it through that lens by putting on that pair of glasses and looking at the body of work that is yoga through that framework. And there's so many great mindfulness-based programs or anxiety reduction programs, many that have huge scientific studies from major universities behind them now.

Brett Larkin:

For other people, right, you might be actually drawn to yoga because of the spiritual side of it. Right? You're kind of resonating with maybe the chanting or what's called Bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. You're looking to connect to something bigger, and that's available too. Then others are more, I just want to use this for cross training. Right? This is something that is going to improve my overall fitness and they're more focused on the postures. So it's kind of this buffet where again, finding the right teacher and the right style is so important because different styles bring in more, like Kundalini yoga, for example, which I do a lot of now is pulling in a ton of the chanting, the spirituality, all those things. So if someone's not interested in that, that's not going to be the right style for them right now. Right?

Brett Larkin:

So it's a buffet. And so I think you can make it a lifestyle, you can make it a religion if you want to, or you can really just see it as something like Pilates or breath work that is helping whether it's cross training or helping with anxiety. Pull out what works for you and try not to label the practice as a whole.

Vincent Ferguson:

So, basically yoga can be mental, spiritual, or physical.

Brett Larkin:

Yeah. And I think in its most beautiful form, it's all three, but that's not always... People aren't always either ready or wanting that. In which case you can completely divide it up. And like I said, it's like a buffet. Just take what works for you and leave the rest.

Vincent Ferguson:

Huh. Again, excellent advice. Now, do you associate yoga with Hinduism?

Brett Larkin:

Well, that goes back to a little bit what we talked about earlier, where, when we look at the origins of yoga, it did develop in India, Southeast Asia and these countries later, much, much later than when the yoga texts were written by the Brahmin sages. Much, much later, these are areas of the world that developed into different religions. Right? We see Buddhism, we see Hinduism, but most of the yoga texts, and I'm not as much an expert on this as some people like some of my teachers, but they predate a lot of what these religions look like now in the modern world. So, I think you can practice yoga without dabbling in Hinduism at all. For those that are interested in those connections, there are certain texts and gods and goddesses and chants where you can forge that connection. So again, it's really up to you.

Brett Larkin:

Again, I think the biggest maybe thing that I hope to share is yoga as a word, what does that even mean anymore? Right? It almost... It's like if we took a word like aerobic exercise, I mean, there's so many different forms of how that looks. A long time ago, we probably didn't even need to do it because we were hunter gatherers and running around all the time and then it emerged and it looked like fencing or something. And then it changed. And then it looked like a gym or kind of some of the stuff we see now. It's the same with yoga. Even the way yoga was practiced in the ancient times was so different depending on what region it was practiced in. For example, up in the Himalayas originally, where people were relatively safe, they were up in the mountains, cave dwelling, they practiced a very meditative type of yoga that was focused more on kind of the spiritual aspects and seated meditation.

Brett Larkin:

If we look at people who were living more at the border where the Mongols were at these times, thousands and thousands of years ago, their yoga was much more like what we see as Ashtanga yoga today. Very athletic because the military was actually doing it. It was training for them because they lived in a place where war was constantly breaking out and they needed to defend themselves. So even when we go way back in time, it's not like there's one style or one definition of what these practices are. It was very much variable based on people's kind of lifestyle and what, again, they needed to take out of the practice or what made sense to take out of the practice. I don't know if that's helpful to think about, but-

Vincent Ferguson:

It is, it is.

Brett Larkin:

It's a broad perspective. Keep a broad perspective is what I say.

Vincent Ferguson:

Amazing. Yes. So it's not just one piece, it's a broad potpourri or whatever they call it. You know what I'm saying?

Brett Larkin:

Yeah, exactly.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now in yoga, you often do you often hear the word chakra.

Brett Larkin:

Chakra, yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. What are they and how do they affect our daily lives?

Brett Larkin:

So chakra is, I think of them as programs, they're considered energy centers. So, some of your listeners may be familiar with traditional Chinese medicine or acupuncture, which is really mainstream now. I think most insurance even covers acupuncture. So, the Chinese medicine system, they work with these acupuncture... They call it meridians, right? These lines in the body. And the yogic system, instead of calling those channels meridians, they call them nadis. But it's the same thing. It's basically a pathway of energy in the body. So there's the heart meridian, the liver meridian, all these things. So the systems are the same, just using different words.

Brett Larkin:

And then in the yogic system, a chakra is where we see a lot of these meridians or nadis intersecting. So if you imagine a rotary in a busy street or town, right, where all the cars are coming together, all the roads are coming together in this big rotary. Those areas of the body get pulled out in the yogic philosophy as these energetic hubs. And the word chakra literally translates to wheel or disc. And I think of them as like a program, because each of them resides in a different area along your spine and sort of governs a different... Saying it's an area of your life is an oversimplification, but deals with a different realm of how you interact with the world.

Brett Larkin:

So for example, your root chakra at the very base of your spine is very much associated with your sense of safety. Your security. Are your needs being met? Are you getting enough food? Are you getting enough sleep? Things like that. While something like your throat chakra, which is obviously much higher up, is dealing with how well do you communicate? How well do you listen? Do you have trouble speaking up? Or are you kind of the over-boisterous type who doesn't let other people get a word in edgewise? Right? So each of us have these unique energy centers that are manifesting in different ways, that kind of result in how our life unfolds, right?

Brett Larkin:

So you might just be like, "Well, that's my personality. That's the way I am." But what yoga kind of teaches us is if you want to investigate these energy centers or work with them, you can kind of reprogram them. So just like when you sometimes get an update, I have an iPhone, but I think Android is the same. Every six months, there's a new operating system, right? Download the new system. So, we can be unaware of these energy centers and just operate the way we do. Or we can be like, "Hey, I want to rewrite my programming around safety and getting enough sleep. Or I want to rewrite how I act and give and receive love in relationships by working with my heart chakra."

Brett Larkin:

So it's just an opportunity to bring more awareness into your life. And then the beautiful thing about the chakra is you can work with them physically by doing Athena, you can work with them on a meditative level, on a spiritual level. So kind of like we talked about before, there's a lot of different ways you can tap into them. Or you can say, I'm not interested in the subtle body. This is, we're now in the realm of the subtle body of yoga. I just want to stay focused on the athleticism, the yogic postures. For those who don't resonate, they don't even have to go there. Right? It's kind of just this other layer of the practice that you can tap into if you choose to.

Vincent Ferguson:

I like it. I like it a lot. Can practicing a certain type of yoga, bring abundance into your life or the chakra bring abundance into your life?

Brett Larkin:

Oh, I definitely think so. Yes, yes, yes. I love working with this theme of abundance and abundance comes ultimately from gratitude. They're linked. So in order to attract abundance, we need to shift into feeling grateful and a sense of gratitude. So there's lots of wonderful practices that can help with that. There's classes on that specific theme. One of the biggest things that yoga helps with is just helping slow us down. So we can't be grateful if we're rushing or stressed. Or I don't know, maybe someone out there can be, but I know for me, when I'm rushing and stressed, I'm not in a state of gratitude or reverence. I'm usually not being very kind to my family members who are near me. So, counteracting that rushing and counteracting that stress and anxiety I think is so pivotal as a first step, to even allow someone to slow down. Right? Step into those feelings of, what am I grateful for?

Brett Larkin:

And what really separates yoga from all other forms of exercise is the focus on the breathing, the breath. So, no matter what style you use, if people are feeling overwhelmed listening to this, honestly it kind of doesn't matter because all the styles have this common thread of using the breath to calm the nervous system; to shift into what we call the parasympathetic nervous system, which is more of our rest and digest functions, instead of being always on kind of stressed out, orange alert, which is where we live most of our lives by default, just because of the way our society is set up and functions. So much is being asked of us, especially with technology, and we're bombarded with information.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, we are.

Brett Larkin:

So, that's the biggest thing. Just doing any kind of yoga, really doing the breathing. And if you commit to it, you'll see after most yoga classes you feel calmer. Right? You feel more grounded. You're feeling more in your whole body instead of just living up in your head with all your thoughts spinning. And that's usually how people are like, "Oh, I like this feeling," and how they end up coming back to classes.

Vincent Ferguson:

How do you find a good yoga instructor? What should you look for?

Brett Larkin:

It's a great question. I think someone who's talking a lot about the breath would be really important. I think someone who is constantly kind of challenging you to play, instead of saying the posture has to look just one way, kind of giving you a couple different options. That's what I really like and look for in instructors. So instead of it being really dogmatic and rigid, kind of being more about finding your personal edge, because a lot of these athena, these kind of an alphabet of the yoga postures are going to look different on different people. Right? Depending our height and our weight and our background and our prior athletic experience.

Brett Larkin:

So I think someone who's really encouraging you to explore rather than saying you have to get to this exact thing, is something that I would recommend looking for. Someone who's talking a lot about the breath. And then, honestly, just someone who resonates with you. That's the most important thing. We all are going to have different teachers who resonate with us at different points in our journey. So your job is again, to just kind of do that dating work I talked about and find the one who's going to meet you where you are right now.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, yes. That was really good. Now, Brett, you're not just another yoga teacher or instructor. You are what we call the gold or platinum standard, the creme de la creme of teachers. But from where and from whom did you get your training?

Brett Larkin:

So I studied with Alan Finger, who is such an incredible teacher. He was the original co-founder of Yoga Works, which is a huge yoga chain that some people may be familiar with. So he was the person I originally did my training with in New York, and he has just a wonderful background in Viniyoga, it's called. And he has a lot of knowledge about tantra, which isn't anything... You say tantra and people think like tantric sex and weird stuff. No, it's really a deep knowledge of the ancient yoga texts and philosophies. So I absolutely love his work. And Anodea Judith is another huge teacher of mine and inspiration. So she's kind of the world's authority on the chakra system. And she has a PhD. She's done a lot of work integrating the chakras into her work with patients as a psychotherapist.

Brett Larkin:

So, she is an incredible resource and has lots of books on the chakras for people who are interested. I love... Some of my other teachers Guru Singh, Kia Miller, Elena Brower. Different people again, who resonate with you at different moments. So I think it's really important to find that teacher who resonates with you and then learn as much as you can from them. Embody what they have to share, make it your own, and just keep building your own experience. So yeah, those are some of the people who've been highly influential for me.

Vincent Ferguson:

So everyone had someone to help them get to where they are today. Correct?

Brett Larkin:

Absolutely. And in the teacher training programs I run now, that's a lot of what we work on, right, is helping you find your own unique style, your own unique voice. Figuring out what different parts of this lineage and this practice you want to blend together. Do you want to teach something that's very spiritual or do you want to veer away from that? These are all choices that even as instructors, we end up needing to make. Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

I see. Now you call your business Uplifted.

Brett Larkin:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

Where did that come from? I don't know. Tell me.

Brett Larkin:

I don't know either. It's when I started my initial... I mean, it just kind of came to me when I was originally starting my own yoga community and kind of my own style. I noticed that one of the things I was really seeing within the community before it had an official name was just people being so encouraging of one another, kind of really lifting each other up. All the programs and everything I do online is extremely interactive. So whether it's through our app or the trainings, you're not practicing alone. It's always very community-based. If you're moving through a program, it's cohort based, meaning you're with the same students going through an experience at the same time, even though we're online. So there's just a huge comradery. And then, obviously Uplifted is how I feel when I do yoga or after I do yoga. So, that's kind of where the name came from. It just kind of came to me one day.

Vincent Ferguson:

You followed your gut, your feelings, and you went with it because now it's extremely successful. And how did you get to this point though, Brett? What inspired you to turn your yoga expertise into a business and make it so successful online?

Brett Larkin:

I think, life is so interesting because I originally started posting videos online because I was too nervous to teach in person. So originally-

Vincent Ferguson:

You, really?

Brett Larkin:

Yes. Yes. So back in 2011, it was almost a cop out because I was still trying to build my confidence to audition for studios and that kind of thing. So I ended up teaching a lot online because for me that felt less scary somehow. I didn't really think anyone would watch any of the videos I put up. Now, the YouTube channel has over 400,000 subscribers.

Vincent Ferguson:

Amazing.

Brett Larkin:

So it grew madly over the course of time. But I think, kind of how I mentioned before, the community and the connection with the students and seeing how the training, whether it's a training plan they're doing in the Uplifted membership, kind of something smaller that we designed for students, or the full certification program. I think for me, what's most rewarding is really seeing how it affects all areas of their life. I mean, most people who come out of our programs or a part of the community say that the way they're speaking to their kids and their partner is different. The interactions, the relationship, it's a complete shift, not just on the yoga mat, but in kind of how they're experiencing reality, the world.

Brett Larkin:

Like the same thing I experienced as a young person, once I started having some of these breathing techniques and tools to help me cope with a lot of the anxiety and stress I was feeling. So, I think that's what really drove me. I never really set out to be, "Let's make this a business." It was always, how can we just help and serve more people and connect with more people and grow the community? And I think that's part of what ultimately has made the business successful because it was never really about building some corporate thing or the money or anything like that. It was always sort of just a passion of mine. Almost like a side project and then it just kept getting bigger. And now obviously, it's my full project, but that was never my intention. So, I'm just so grateful to the community because I think it's not just me. It's like A, the team; my team that now supports everything we do. And then our entire infrastructure of all our graduates, all our alumni, all our students. I mean, they're just the most incredible people.

Vincent Ferguson:

Do your students come from all across the country or any one particular area?

Brett Larkin:

They come from all over the world. It is so incredible.

Vincent Ferguson:

The world.

Brett Larkin:

Yes. I was in the Facebook group for one of our trainings yesterday and it's like, Poland, Russia. We've shipped our training manuals to Zimbabwe. It's crazy. And then, of course, I mean, we have a lot of people in the United States, but I would say 30-35% international and from everywhere. It's amazing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Unbelievable, Brett.

Brett Larkin:

Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. I knew you were a rockstar, but wow. That's amazing.

Brett Larkin:

Well, it's really fun because it makes the training experience so incredible because you're getting these perspectives from people all over the world, which is so different than just doing something that's local. I mean, that has a beauty to it too, but I think that's been something. I mean, every time we run a training, I learn so much from the students. I always tell them that. Right? Because they just have such different backgrounds and so many diverse ideas and it's just, really makes it really rich. Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

But is there a problem because of the language barrier?

Brett Larkin:

No. One of the things that a lot of our international students appreciate is everything is recorded. So, when you sign up for a training, you get prerecorded content, whether as a student or a teacher, there's a lot of prerecorded content. So they can re-watch, they can slow down. But even everything that we do live is, they also get recordings to all of that. And then they have the manual to follow along. So for a lot of them, they're more comfortable with written English as opposed to spoken. So obviously, you need to know English. I mean, otherwise it's not going to work. They've said it's actually really nice because if something's confusing, they could just rewind. Right? Or listen to it again, which makes it in some ways better than actually a live training where you don't have that option to press pause.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow. What an amazing model, business model, that you have going and I can speak for hours about it because it's just very, very exciting to me and interesting how you were able to do this. But at this particular time our country and the world is going through the Coronavirus pandemic, and it's been a very challenging time, mentally, spiritually, physically, and financially for some people. But are more people turning to yoga to help them deal with the stress of these times?

Brett Larkin:

I think so. I mean, just looking at pure data, we saw a huge spike in the interest in yoga, the interest in online yoga, the interest in online yoga trainings during this time of the pandemic. A lot of that is because a lot of people who I think didn't consider studying online suddenly were sort of forced to because there was no other option.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes, of course.

Brett Larkin:

But I do think there's a bigger theme of people realizing that we need support structures. We need a home practice more than ever that really supports us during these times of intense stress. And if you look at everything with yoga, from the 1950s until now, it has only grown, it has never dipped. Whether we look at the success of Lulu Lemon or yoga studios or the interest in the keyword online. I mean, it just goes up and up and up because I think it's just becoming more mainstream, and more and more people are figuring out that they can kind of connect with it in whatever way they want. And that it's really the ultimate life hack to deal with uncertainty, anxiety, and coming back to the breathing and all the science that's backing up how important that is. So, I think it's growing because of the pandemic, but it was growing before that, and I think it's just going to keep growing.

Vincent Ferguson:

Well, I think so, too. And as I shared earlier with you, before we started recording the interview, I run a nonprofit organization whose focus is on obesity prevention for families, especially children. Do you recommend yoga for children as well? And if so, what age should parents introduce yoga to their kids?

Brett Larkin:

I definitely recommend yoga for kids. I do yoga with my own. It's wonderful, wonderful and you can just introduce it simply by inviting... I mean, even when you just invite a child or anyone to take a deep breath, that's yoga. Right? That's a core yoga concept. So for kids, I think what works best is, or for little kids, is to do the different poses that relate to the different animals, like lion's pose or butterfly pose. They absolutely love that, because it's just like you're playing around on the floor and kind of introducing them to the idea of moving their body. And then songs and music are a wonderful, wonderful way. There's so many great yoga kids' albums that again, just get kids moving, acting like animals. And then before bed is always a really nice time.

Brett Larkin:

I always invite my son to do deep breathing with me before bed. He doesn't even know we're doing yoga. Right? We do deep breathing. I put my hand on his belly. I encourage him to breathe into his belly. Something we see with people who have different medical conditions or maybe are struggling with obesity is often that they're a reciprocal inhibited breather. So if you're a reciprocal inhibited breather, what that means is your diaphragm isn't operating in a way that's the most anatomically efficient for your body. And it means that you're not getting as much oxygen, as much breath, as you could be. It's like you're getting 20 or 30% instead of say 80 or 90% each time you breathe in. Which leads to short, shallow, rapid breathing over time, that can just end up feeling normal unless we kind of counteract and try to correct that.

Brett Larkin:

So, people can Google or look up diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing, but that's something that I would work on for yourself, but also really with your kids because it calms them down. And it's kind of insuring that they're going to have a breath pattern that... And what's interesting is breathing in this way has actually been linked to reducing obesity.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really?

Brett Larkin:

Yes, and restorative yoga as well. There's been great studies on this. So, I think a big takeaway for the obesity focus is it doesn't have to be hardcore athletic yoga that helps reduce or aids in weight loss, let's say. Actually these restorative, simply lying down, focusing on your breath-based practices, have a huge effect as well in weight loss. Yeah, it's incredible.

Vincent Ferguson:

This was an awesome interview, Brett. Where can my listeners find out more about Brett Larkin?

Brett Larkin:

So you can simply Google my name, Brett Larkin. You'll find YouTube videos, you'll find our website. Or upliftedyoga.com will get you to kind of our members' area. I have over a thousand free videos on YouTube, so you can practice with me any time. And then if you want to go deeper, we have so many courses and designed experiences with a lot of interaction for both students, the student community, and people who are looking to teach. So, that would be the next step. I'd love to practice with some of your listeners on YouTube. So hopefully they can look me up, Brett Larkin, and find a class that works for them. https://www.brettlarkin.com/300-hour-online-yoga-teacher-training/

 

Vincent Ferguson:

And on social media-

Brett Larkin:

Yeah. Mainly YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. So, yeah. And the same, Brett Larkin yoga will get you there.

Vincent Ferguson:

Perfect. Now Brett Larkin, let me just say on behalf of my organization, Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Brett Larkin:

Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

Vincent Ferguson:

You are amazing. To my listeners and readers, I truly hope this program was informative and encouraging and inspiring, and that you will continue tuning in to our Six Weeks of Fitness podcast. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the show, please leave them on my Six Weeks to Fitness blog at www.sixweekstofitness.com or email me at vince@sixweeks.com.

Direct download: Episode_163_Brett_Larkin.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:08am EDT

Mike Telem is the co-founder of Kemtai, a digital home fitness company using AI and computer vision to provide a virtual gym with real-time precise feedback. He is a serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in building and marketing digital products. Mike lives in Israel with his wife and their two teenage sons. He has a Black Belt in martial arts and is a master swimmer. I am pleased to have Mike Telem on my Six Weeks to Fitness Podcast. Mike, how are you?

Mike Telem:

I'm very good. Thanks. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, it's my pleasure to have you on the show. Before we talk about Kemtai, Mike, tell my listeners a little more about you. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

Mike Telem:

I grew up in Israel. I'm almost 45 years old, and had a pretty regular and good life here in Israel. I actually moved to the United States for a couple of years when I was in eighth and ninth grade. That was a very nice experience. I lived in New York, so I'm still a Giants fan and follow U.S. sports quite closely, whether it's the NFL now and the NBA a little bit earlier. Then I came back, I studied high school in Israel. Served in the army, as most of us do, and studied psychology in the university.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. What part of Israel do you live in?

Mike Telem:

I live in the central part, close to Tel Aviv, for those of you that know it. My town is called Giv'at Shmuel. Very nice place, about 15 to 20 minutes from the beach. Now the pools are actually closed, but we can still swim in the Mediterranean and the weather in Israel is quite comfortable for swimmers because we hardly get any winter here. Maybe just two or three months.

Vincent Ferguson:

Sounds nice. Well, I'm in New York and right now it's kind of cold and rainy, so we can appreciate the sunny weather you guys have in Israel right about now. Were you interested in fitness as a child? If so, were there any role models in your life that inspired you?

Mike Telem:

Yes. I loved fitness and as a child, I would obviously just call it sports. I played a lot of group sports around school and very early on, started doing competitive sports. I think I was five when I started practicing martial arts and judo specifically at that point.

Mike Telem:

That was together with my grandfather, who's probably that ideal person that I was always looking up to. He was also a Black Belt and we even managed towards ... He was getting older obviously, but we were able to practice a few times together as Black Belts at the same time. That was a very exciting and very emotional time. I also played soccer on a team in my town, and I played professional squash. I was actually the Israeli junior champion at squash. You could say that I was very much into sports.

Mike Telem:

There were a few years where I did all three of these things at the same time. I'm not sure how exactly, but I love doing sports since I was young. At a later age, obviously you start looking at it slightly differently from the fitness perspective, from the health perspective. Maybe you don't do the same things because of your body or because you don't want to go crazy, because if I do judo or play soccer, I might do things that I shouldn't do because you get excited. I definitely love sports and fitness very, very much.

Vincent Ferguson:

When did the entrepreneurial bug hit you?

Mike Telem:

That's an interesting question because as I was getting into high tech, which was kind of a fluke or a mistake, I was never interested in high tech. I didn't like computers, especially when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. I got into it because there were a lot of job openings and I thought, "Well, there's a limit to how many years I should be a waiter." Even though I was a pretty good waiter, but I decided that there are some opportunities there.

Mike Telem:

Even while I was in high tech and the whole startup concept and culture started in Israel following a little bit what happened in Silicon Valley and all the success stories, I always used to say it's better to have a good job, a steady job. I don't necessarily see myself opening up a startup. But after a few years in the market gaining experience, you start to see things that could be better, that could be done differently. I was lucky enough to have my best friends from high school also in high tech.

Mike Telem:

In 2009, without thinking about it too deeply, which is I think something good for an entrepreneur. If you think about it too much, you'll never do it because the chances are against you. The odds are against you. We decided to leave our jobs about five minutes after that 2009 financial crisis where everybody thought that the world was going down.

Mike Telem:

We decided that we're going to go after our idea, which was around personalization of websites. We went ahead and did that and that was the start of my entrepreneurship mentality I would say. Later on, I think I would look back at some of the things that I've done as I was an employee in other organizations and I guess I can see that I was always into trying new things and taking responsibility and being very committed to what I'm doing. I guess it started brewing back then.

Vincent Ferguson:

That sounds really good. Now, what are some of the pros and cons of being an entrepreneur, Mike?

Mike Telem:

Obviously one of the pros, it tends to be very interesting, very challenging in a good way. My father was an entrepreneur in a few companies as well and I saw the times that he succeeded and the times that he failed. You do get a lot of ups and downs and you need to be able to handle them. I don't mean that as it's going down, you don't care or you don't feel anxious or even concerned, but there's something inside you that tells you, "It'll come back up again if I do enough about it." But being able to take those times.

Mike Telem:

When you care about something, you feel very bad when it doesn't work well. In any business of your own, it doesn't matter if it's a restaurant or a high-tech startup, you care a lot. Then you have a lot of good times and a lot of bad times. I like to say that it's very similar to being a professional athlete I think because if you think about most professional athletes, most of the time they lose. They get to the semi-finals, they get to the finals. Maybe sometimes they don't even get there. They lose and they lose and they lose at a certain point, right?

Mike Telem:

Once in a while they win the whole thing. Even you look at the Lakers that have just won the NBA title and specifically LeBron James. Yeah. He has a lot of titles, but he lost a bunch of times. You look at people who have won gold medals in the Olympics. You'll remember that, but they also lost many times. As an entrepreneur, you have to be able to lose or not succeed a lot of times and keep on going. That's possibly one of the hardest things about being an entrepreneur. If you can do that, then you can do the rest.

Vincent Ferguson:

I think a lot of entrepreneurs who listen to this podcast would benefit from that advice. You know what I mean? Excellent.

Mike Telem:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now, most of your work has been, as you said, in the high-tech space. Was there an aha moment that motivated you to move into the fitness space and create Kemtai?

Mike Telem:

It was a combination between the fact that both I and my two co-founders, Mor Amitai and Naomi Keren, are very much into fitness and sports. Naomi is a Pilates instructor as a hobby, Mor loves running and working out at home. I had times where I used to work out in front of YouTube videos. The second piece of this equation is that Mor and Naomi have been dealing in computer vision for around 15 years. They actually had a previous startup that dealt with computer vision.

Mike Telem:

Now you have a group of three people that like sports, that like fitness, that know what can be done with computer vision and know what it takes to create a product, to create a company. We very quickly got to the idea of leveraging computer vision to see what you're actually doing and giving you feedback. As an amateur athlete, I've always been very aware of the importance of guidance and feedback. I always ask whatever trainer is around, "Look at what I'm doing. Tell me what I'm doing wrong. Don't tell me that I'm doing great. Just tell me what I'm doing wrong, how I can get better."

Mike Telem:

I like to get that advice, even if it's sometimes hard to follow. We thought, "Well, why can't we use computer vision to give that type of advice?" That is Kemtai.

Vincent Ferguson:

What does Kemtai actually mean? Where did the name come from?

Mike Telem:

The name itself doesn't have a specific meaning, but more of a feel. We hope that a feeling of something dynamic, an action that you can take, but also something that sounds calming and sounds connected to the whole concept of wellness. To some people, it sounds a little bit Eastern or Asian perhaps, but it doesn't have any specific meaning. We just really liked the sound of it. We spent some time looking for various names. It's actually not that easy to find a name that nobody else has used.

Mike Telem:

We were able to do that. We also always reminded ourselves that just like with children, products also make the name.

Vincent Ferguson:

True. The product, the name is very important. Now, explain, what can a user expect to experience from Kemtai and what makes it more effective than other fitness apps on the market today?

Mike Telem:

That's a great question. In terms of what makes Kemtai more effective, Kemtai actually sees you as you work out and can see if you're doing things right or wrong and can also give you a score so you understand your actual performance. As you're doing a specific exercise, let's say you're doing squats, something that everybody can relate to, Kemtai notices that your back is not straight and will tell you with audio and visual cues that you should straighten your back or that you shouldn't go so low.

Mike Telem:

As you follow the instructions, you start feeling the engagement, the connection to the technology that is helping you do the exercise in the best way possible so the workout is more effective and also more fun. The first thing that people typically get excited about is, as you just open up Kemtai and start the first workout, it scans your body and identifies all the data points in your body. Your shoulders, your elbows, your arms, your legs.

Mike Telem:

You feel that connection because as you move, you can see that Kemtai is seeing you, and you can see a visual of your skeleton on the screen. You see that Kemtai is following what you're doing and that is a very magical moment because you understand what the software has done and what it can give you.

Vincent Ferguson:

When I heard about Kemtai, I was so blown away by it. It's definitely a game changer. If I'm looking to build muscle or if I'm looking to increase my cardiovascular conditioning, can Kemtai help me with that?

Mike Telem:

Yes. Kemtai has most of the types of exercises and workouts that you would expect to find in other applications. This goes to your question about the difference as well. You'll find things like running in place and jumping jacks and other things for cardio and small or large weights or pushups or other core exercises to build your muscles. The fact that it gives you feedback, the fact that you can see if you're doing it well and how well you're doing it, means that each and every movement, each and every exercise is so much more effective.

Mike Telem:

If you want to build muscles, as we all know, doing the proper movement sometimes even more slowly and doing it correctly and seeing that you're getting a 90 and not a 70, immediately in real time, means that whether you have 10 minutes for a workout or 50 minutes, that time is so much more effective than what it would be if you were just following a video in YouTube or some other apps, or maybe riding a bike at home, which is very, very limited in terms of what you're doing and has practically zero feedback in terms of, are you doing it well?

Mike Telem:

You can practically sit on that bike and have a cup of coffee. Everything else will still continue the same.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's true. That's true. As a trainer, I'm always correcting the form of clients. As you know, technique, form is everything when it comes to performing the activities.

Mike Telem:

Yes. That is typically the most important thing. It also is very important in terms of avoiding injury, doing things the wrong way, or sometimes fooling yourself, thinking that you have improved while in fact, you're just doing more repetitions, but not in the proper way. Being able to be more effective in the same amount of time is so important. Everybody's very busy. Home fitness is great first and foremost because you don't need to spend too much time around it. You don't need to drive anywhere. Now, you can do so much more and be so much more effective in the same time period. That is very, very helpful for the users that are using Kemtai.

Vincent Ferguson:

Definitely. What do you need in order to use Kemtai? Do you need a laptop, desktop?

Mike Telem:

All you need is a laptop or a desktop, basically a computer with a camera. You don't need any special computer. You don't need to buy any $2,500 device in order to use Kemtai. Just your laptop and your browser and a decent internet connection. Your videos are not recorded, are not even saved anywhere. The system really looks at you like a human being and gives the feedback in real time. No information is being sent to the cloud about your workouts. The only thing you need is laptop and a little bit of room in your house to work out.

Mike Telem:

If you want to take it out and do it on the porch or in the garden, if there's good weather, you can do that too. It's relatively not sensitive to lighting and the space around you. It's very, very convenient and very, very easy to work out with Kemtai and also very affordable because you don't need to buy anything special.

Vincent Ferguson:

Can you also use Kemtai on mobile phones?

Mike Telem:

Not right now. We've decided not to develop Kemtai for mobile phones, because when you think about it, the user experience for something like Kemtai on a mobile phone is quite problematic. The screen is very small. You'd have to put the phone on the floor and it will be very difficult to interact with the system. If you think about it, it's similar to a Zoom session, right? That everybody's doing nowadays.

Mike Telem:

As much as you can control it, you would prefer having the Zoom session on your laptop. Yes, it can work on a phone, but it's not very convenient and you would never pick that in the first choice. Kemtai will run on mobile devices later on, probably next year, but we think that the better experience would always be on something like a laptop and later on, maybe on smart TV or on a device that's connected to a larger screen just because you can see what's going on a lot better and experience this interactive content. See exactly what the trainer is doing and follow their guidance and get the feedback and really make the most out of your workout.

Vincent Ferguson:

Awesome. How long are the exercise programs and how many exercise programs are in the app?

Mike Telem:

There are a few hundred different workouts. Some of them are 5 to 10-minute workouts with maybe just five to 10 exercises. Some of them are as long as an hour. You can do a few workouts one after the other. There are various trainers in Kemtai. These are not just Kemtai trainers, but external personal trainers can also upload their content to Kemtai and then Kemtai runs its processing and learns those movements to enable you as a user to pick a trainer of your choice. We have trainers from Japan, from Singapore, from Brazil, from New York, from Israel. From various places.

Mike Telem:

The idea is also to be a platform that enables trainers to bring forth their style of exercise, their types of workout. Just like in YouTube, you can choose, who you want to watch. In Kemtai, you can choose who would train you and you would get feedback based on their way of doing a squat. Not necessarily Mike's way of doing a squat. You can choose the trainer that you prefer.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now that again, is a game changer when it comes to personal training, because I do know some trainers who would be interested in learning about Kemtai. How do trainers get paid for their experience or their expertise?

Mike Telem:

Right now these are relatively early days with Kemtai but the idea is that trainers would get paid a percentage of the revenue that comes from people working out with their sessions. Similar to what music apps are doing, where if a lot of people subscribe and listen to your music, then you'll get a specific percentage of that. If maybe less people listen to someone else then that singer or songwriter will get a little bit less. The idea is to share a percentage of that revenue with them and also enable them to get to so many more customers.

Mike Telem:

If you're a great personal trainer, why should you be limited to the people that live around you specifically? If you're a great trainer, why not let users from around the world, work out with you? Get your type of feedback. This is really bringing you, the trainer, to life in other people's homes. If you're a very good trainer, not necessarily a celebrity, but a good trainer that provides good workouts and good feedback, a lot of people around the world using Kemtai will enjoy choosing your workouts.

Vincent Ferguson:

I like that concept completely, but you're still in the early stages of this though, as far as building this out, correct?

Mike Telem:

Yes. Because of COVID, we've launched an initial preliminary version quite early, around April. Just wanted people to enjoy it and be able to use what was available then. We're now getting close to a very substantial new version that include these workouts that I mentioned, and also studio workouts, where you can choose, for instance, Pilates for beginners or for advanced or high intensity training or yoga. Also, developing a concept we call the adaptive coach that changes the workout in the middle of the workout based on your actual performance at that moment.

Mike Telem:

If I see that something is too difficult for you, I might lower the level or the intensity in the next exercise. If I see you're doing very well, I might increase the intensity in the next exercise. This is even taking this whole concept of real-time feedback another step forward. Those things are coming out pretty soon. We would probably be announcing it in a couple of weeks. I guess you got a sneak peek here to these concepts.

Mike Telem:

We think that now in terms of having enough content, various types of workouts and exercises, the product has made a lot of progress and we're seeing users enjoy it more and work out with it on a regular basis.

Vincent Ferguson:

Do you think Kemtai will inspire more of us to actually work out at home?

Mike Telem:

I think so. Home fitness was huge before COVID. Home fitness was actually huge 30 or 40 years ago with Jane Fonda and DVDs and people buying bikes for their houses. Home fitness has always been a big market. People have always seen the advantages. What I think COVID has done, apart from a lot of bad things, is give people an opportunity to realize just how much progress was done in home fitness and the fact that in many aspects, you can do things at home today that are as good and in some aspects, even better than what you can find outside or in a gym.

Mike Telem:

For instance, Peloton is a great example. You can get a great experience, some would argue even better than a spinning class, and you can do it at the convenience of your home and even do a class with a thousand people. Kemtai provides you the experience of having a personal trainer at your home, providing real-time feedback, personalized perfectly to you. Most people can't afford that, not even once a week, not to mention a few times a week. Logistically it's typically an issue. COVID pushed people to explore home fitness and to realize what advances were made in the past five/seven years in this market.

Mike Telem:

Now they're enjoying it and I think they will continue to enjoy home fitness even after COVID ends, which I hope happens very soon. People will have a hybrid approach where maybe a couple of times a week I go to the gym, another time maybe I go outside running, a couple more times I work out at home with Kemtai or any other technology that I find interesting and relevant for me. That's what you're going to see I think in the next few years.

Vincent Ferguson:

I agree. I'm totally sold on Kemtai and I'm sure a lot of my listeners will be as well. What is the financial investment? What does it cost?

Mike Telem:

It's actually quite affordable in my opinion. It's $19 a month. You even get a discount if you take an annual subscription, you get all the workouts, all the trainers, all the exercise. You can use it as much as you want. Other people in your household can use it. I guess for a year, you would still pay less than one personal training session and you can use Kemtai as much as you want. One day you can do Pilates, the other you can do high intensity or weights, anything you want.

Vincent Ferguson:

How are you guys getting the word out about Kemtai? I know you're doing podcasts, but what other advertising and marketing are you doing?

Mike Telem:

We have some social media campaigns that you can expect, but to be honest, we really believe in word of mouth. We think that as the product is getting better and better, more people are simply going to talk about it. I can see that more and more people are getting to us via simple search in Google because someone told them about Kemtai. We're now releasing a concept that we call a challenge where I can imagine that the challenge is maybe three simple exercises, two minutes long altogether. I do the challenge and I can see that I got a 75 and I can see my rank in the global leaderboard or how I rank with my country.

Mike Telem:

I can share the challenge with you and say, "Hey, you talk a lot about fitness. Let's see how much you can get. Let's see what you're going to score in the challenge." Those are the types of things that we prefer, where people simply enjoy it and share it with others. Strategically, that is the type of marketing that we want to do. You might call it more product-oriented marketing, where I just want people to get a chance to try Kemtai. Use it and if they're happy, tell their friends about it and that's going to be enough.

Vincent Ferguson:

I agree. I think that will be enough because Kemtai is going to sell itself. I really believe that.

Mike Telem:

Well, I hope you're right. I think you're right. We still have a lot of work to make sure that you're right.

Vincent Ferguson:

Right. Exactly. Now, Mike, I run a nonprofit organization for children, right? A health organization, but can kids use the Kemtai program?

Mike Telem:

Yes. Technically, at least from a certain age Kemtai picks up the body just as well and kids can use it. It hasn't been our focus right now, just because it's important to be a little more sensitive with things that you provide kids, but we love helping these types of causes. We want more kids to be active and keep their health and get good habits from a young age. I was actually not aware that you have something like that so I would love to learn more. We would love to provide access somehow to your audience so they'll be able to work out with Kemtai free of charge, of course, and enjoy home fitness.

Vincent Ferguson:

Great, we're looking to do some stuff for the children, because all the kids are home now and childhood obesity is a major issue. That's what we're trying to combat. I will send you some information through Margie about what we do and this way, perhaps we can work together on helping children to become more healthy.

Mike Telem:

That would be wonderful.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now, where do you see Kemtai in the next five years?

Mike Telem:

I think we will make a lot of progress on the technology on additional ways of adapting the workouts to your goals and to your performance, making it more effective, but also working on making it more fun. Adding more ways of really bringing to life the different trainers and the different styles. Supporting more types or categories of workouts, whether it's Pilates and yoga already, but later on, maybe some shadowboxing and some other types. A lot of people have asked us, can we help their golf swing?

Mike Telem:

Again, technologically, it's definitely possible, but every different category takes some attention. We're hoping to cover more and more of the ... Martial arts is something that's close to heart for me obviously. I would love to train karate via the application. Again, I don't see it replacing going to the dojo and working out, but it can definitely help and increase your proficiency in those categories

Vincent Ferguson:

I can see that as well. Kemtai is definitely a game changer. I'll stand by that.

Mike Telem:

I appreciate that.

Vincent Ferguson:

How can my listeners learn more about Kemtai?

Mike Telem:

The best thing would be to go to app.kemtai.com. That's A-P-P.K-E-M-T-A-I. com and try it out. There is a sample workout. Everybody can try, see what it feels like. It's a very easy workout. You can do it in your jeans. The whole idea is to get a feel for Kemtai and then decide whether you want to try it out. There's a money-back guarantee. It's very, very easy. It's a lot of fun. Just go to app.kemtai.com or www.kemtai.com and give it a try.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Excellent. Can we follow you on social media?

Mike Telem:

Yes. You can follow Kemtai virtual fitness on Instagram. We have a Kemtai user group on Facebook. You can join and follow either one of those. Get information from us and updates, and also connect with peers that are following up and working out with Kemtai.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Mike Telem, on behalf of Body Sculpt of New York and Six Weeks to Fitness, I truly want to thank you for coming on my show today.

Mike Telem:

I appreciate. It was a pleasure. I love talking about my job and I love talking about fitness and it's been great talking to you. I appreciate you having me.

Direct download: Episode_162_Mike_Telem.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:39am EDT

Kathryn Kelly is the founder and CEO of Taste Buzz Food Tours, a Las Vegas-based food tour company, providing guests with an exclusive local insider's perspective on the absolute best places to eat in the city. Guests can choose between two three-hour walking tour options, the Las Vegas strip option, and an evening option in downtown Las Vegas. Taste Buzz Food Tour guests are treated to five different foodie restaurants, where they can enjoy a mind-blowing sampling of one to four of the venues most popularized must-have dishes. Kathryn Kelly is also a fitness competitor, and she took first place in the Team USA 2020 Junior Masters Fitness competition and is now currently training for Miss Olympia.

Vincent Ferguson:

Before we discuss your amazing company, Taste Buzz Food Tours, let's talk a little about Kathryn Kelly's early years. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

Kathryn Kelly:

Las Vegas is my home. I was born here. Born and raised in Las Vegas. I did spend one year of my childhood in the Philippines because my mom is Filipino. So we came back here again. I would have to say that my childhood is probably not like most other children because I grew up in Las Vegas, I did spend a lot of time in the hotels and the casinos running around, playing in the arcades. And then as well, the city isn't like most other cities, it's definitely unique on its own.

Vincent Ferguson:

I've been to Vegas and I can't wait to go back. Now, were you involved with fitness at all when you were a child?

Kathryn Kelly:

I wouldn't say professionally or anything like that. Just like other kids, I enjoyed running around and playing around. This was a little bit different than I guess the way kids grow up now. I think a lot of children play video games and use their cell phones a lot more than I did when I was growing up. I have two brothers and we were very much out for the... We would run around the streets, we would climb walls, we would climb trees. We were always playing catch and shooting hoops. So I was always active and into fitness without actually playing sports or going to the gym or anything like that.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's interesting because even though you were not involved in any structured fitness activity, you still got into the fitness world. So how did you become interested in a fitness competition?

Kathryn Kelly:

Well, I was always active as a kid.  It was probably when I was in high school or college when I started actually doing classes. So I started getting really into yoga and I started going to this gym. And when I was about 18 years old, I started working at the juice bar inside the LVAC here, which is our local gym. And part of working for the juice bar, I got to use the facility as often as I wanted. So I got to go to any of the classes. I got to use the workout room. I got to use the steam room and the pool, which was really exciting for me because I had never had access to that before. So I started working out. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I would just be in there and using the machines and figuring things out myself.

Kathryn Kelly:

Ever since then, I just continued going to the gym. So after that, I subscribed to a membership at the gym. Actually, I'm still a member of LVAC today and that's where I train and work out. And I just love it. I love working out. I love bodybuilding and my passion for bodybuilding has grown throughout the years. So in the beginning, I was saying that it was more of just like go to the gym and do whatever I deemed fit for the day. It was in the last few years, I've really taken on this passion to where, or interest in how bodybuilding changes the way your body looks and how you can manipulate the shape of your body, and I find that very interesting.

Vincent Ferguson:

You went ahead and participated in a competition. Did someone encourage you to take part in that show?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yes. Let's see, it's been about five years now, I went to a different gym, the same gym, but there are five locations here in Las Vegas. So I started going to a different one because I had moved. And one of the trainers was like, "You have a great body to do the bikini competitions." She was telling me about, it took me a little bit to decide whether or not I wanted to do it. And so I said, "You know what? I think I'm going to." One day I was at the gym and I saw this girl and I was never really into really muscular look for a female. I liked more of that soft, feminine look. But once I was at the gym and I saw this girl and she was muscular, but yet she was still feminine and I thought she was gorgeous.

Kathryn Kelly:

So I told the coach, I said, "Yes. Okay, let's do it." So she trained me for a fitness competition and actually, I hated it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Really? You hated it.

Kathryn Kelly:

Yeah, I did. I hated the entire process. It was interesting, but I didn't like the entire process. I was starving. I don't think I was at the right place mentally. I was at the gym every day and I was still doing it, but I didn't enjoy the process. And I think a big part as well was the food. I didn't really understand the food concept of it, what I was supposed to be doing. And at this time, while I was training, one of the other coaches at the gym, he approached me and he's like, "What are you doing?" And I was explaining to him that I'm entering in this bikini competition and he was interested and he started talking to me and he let me do my own thing.

Kathryn Kelly:

And after the competition which I didn't do very well in, he was like, "Let me start training you." And for years I was like, "No, it's not my thing." I really didn't like it. And we've become really good friends. My coach is Jerry Anderson, so he's actually a 17 time Mister All Natural Universe title winner, and he's been training since 2001, really. So I look up to him and he took me under his wings and in the past year, I told him, "Okay, let's do this again." And he trained me and I have a new mental approach towards the competitions and fitness and bodybuilding in general. And the process is much more pleasant. I actually really enjoyed every step of the way. And a lot of it has to do with the food since that's such a big part of your life. And I took first for the Miss Bikini Diva National Team USA for Junior Championship.

Vincent Ferguson:

So what's the next step, Miss Olympia?

Kathryn Kelly:

Well, there's, yes, there's the Olympia, which will be here in Las Vegas as well. This is the natural competition and I will be entering into the amateur division.

Vincent Ferguson:

What's the date on that? Do you know?

Kathryn Kelly:

That is November 12th through the 15th. They haven't set the actual date for my competition, exactly. But it'll be one of those days.

Vincent Ferguson:

Still Miss Olympia. That's a big deal. You know what I mean?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yeah. I'm really excited to do this. Yeah.

Vincent Ferguson:

You learned about the training aspect of it. And you also know now about the nutrition aspect of it, which is also a pretty big deal, right?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yeah. They actually say that the food when you're training is probably like 60 to 70% of your body and the fitness aspect of it.

Vincent Ferguson:

And that's why it's so interesting that you started a food business. So that's what we want to talk about. As you said, nutrition is very important. Do you follow a strict nutrition plan as you prepare for the show?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yes. I do have a strict nutrition plan for the show. Correct. And I think, one of the reasons why I'm able to follow it so strictly, and I don't have these urges to cheat, is because my diet plan is built around the things that I enjoy to eat. So I know when people are asking me about the competition, they're like, the first thing that they say and this must be widely recognized is that if you're doing a competition, you're just eating chicken breasts and broccoli, because that's what everybody says. "Oh, so you're just eating chicken and broccoli, chicken and broccoli." And I have to tell you, I'm not the biggest fan of steamed broccoli and just plain chicken breasts. I probably wouldn't do very well if that's what I was told to eat. So my trainer gave me a lot of room to be able to manipulate my diet by following certain rules, and I created meal plans for myself where I actually enjoy the food.

Vincent Ferguson:

So that has got to be the key to be able to still enjoy yourself, enjoy the foods you eat as you prepare for the show. Correct?

Kathryn Kelly:

I believe so. Yeah. It's definitely, it's a mental thing and it's about balance. And if you're not enjoying the process, it's going to be very, very hard to be able to succeed.

Vincent Ferguson:

Now, let's talk a little bit about your business, the Taste Buzz Food Tours, which is awesome. I read about it. It’s amazing.

Kathryn Kelly:

Thank you.

Vincent Ferguson:

How long has the company been around and where did the concept come from?

Kathryn Kelly:

So we started doing food tours back in 2016 and the concept started because I really wanted to show off my city, which is Las Vegas, to visitors. So I love to travel and when I travel, I want to see, and I want to do, and I want to go where all the locals go. I don't love “let me just do sightseeing and let me do all these activities.” I love a more local approach. And I know that when people come to Las Vegas, it's a little bit harder to get that because this is a big city and you're overstimulated with lights and shows and nightclubs. And there's just so much activity. And if you don't know somebody that lives here, it's going to be hard to get that "Where can I really go? Am I getting ripped off?" Like, "Everything is so expensive." One of those kinds of vacations.

Kathryn Kelly:

I wanted people to really appreciate Las Vegas and see the charm that I get to see. So since food is my passion, I decided to show it off in a way that I would really enjoy. And luckily it came at a time when the foodie realm was starting to become really popular and people are exploring different food options. And at a time too, when Las Vegas started changing from a really big chain restaurant city to more of these local holes in the wall, chef-driven restaurants.

Vincent Ferguson:

That's interesting because all the time, the many times I've been there; I didn't know anything about that. It was all about going to the big shows, visiting the hotels, all the excitement that comes with it. If I would've known there was something like the Taste Buzz Food Tours, I would have definitely taken advantage of that. But prior to starting your company, did you have any experience working in the restaurant and hospitality industry?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yes I did. So I'm going to go way back and I'm going to say that, it's always been a dream of mine to own my own cafe or a little restaurant. I remember when I was really young, before I could even start working as a teenager, I would watch these TV shows and I would see the small-town girl and she was always tomboyish, but cute and she was always a server. It just always looked like a really fun job to me. And so for some reason, I always wanted to be a server in a restaurant. That was my dream when I was a teenager. I was like; I was going to be a server. And I started off as a hostess and then I became a food runner. This was back in the day when you had to have experience working in the food and beverage industry here.

Kathryn Kelly:

So I made my way up and then I became a food server. Then when I became a food server, I was like, "You know what? I want to be a bartender." And then I became a bartender. And then I was like, "You know what? I love bartending, but I think I want to do something different." "I'm going to show people around." And then I became a food tour guide for Taste Buzz Food Tours. I created the concept and it's been great. It really worked out.

Vincent Ferguson:

The response has been great so far then?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yes. As you were saying earlier, a lot of people come to Las Vegas and they're looking like, "Okay, I'm in Vegas. I have to do this big... I'm going to do the shows. I'm going to do the nightclubs. I'm going to do the pools." And that's all great. I definitely think you should come to Las Vegas, experience that because as a city, I think we're the best place for that. You cannot get this kind of excitement anywhere else in the world. And we have some of the most beautiful hotels and nightclubs that you'll ever see and you have that aspect of the city, but it's also really, really cool to see a different side of the city. In a city that's so big and grand that you can have this small-town feel to it as well, where everybody knows everybody and you walk around and people are like, "Hey, hi Kathy, how you doing?" And, "Hi, welcome to our restaurant." People really enjoy that.

Vincent Ferguson:

It’s a very intimate type of an environment.

Kathryn Kelly:

Exactly.

Vincent Ferguson:

Are there other food tour businesses going on right now in Vegas?

Kathryn Kelly:

With the pandemic, I think a lot of places have had to shut down. So I'm not really sure because everybody's kind of reopening and navigating the reopening on their own accord. But we started up right away, as soon as the city reopened. And we were ready to show off our restaurants and help build up the support again, because they really needed it.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, definitely. But how has this current pandemic affected your business?

Kathryn Kelly:

Well, restaurants were closed, so we completely shut down. And then the city reopened and business is slower than usual, but I think, in a way it's been good because I've had time to do some restructuring and reorganization, but at the same time, people are coming to Las Vegas and they cannot do the shows and a lot of other tour companies, like let's say Grand Canyon or whatever, they're not running as often. People are having to look to do other activities. And I think, just by searching what to do in Las Vegas, we're coming up and people are like, "What is that?" And we're getting a lot of guests who've never done food tours before, and just trying to experience something different. They go on our tour and they're like, "Wow, I'm so glad that we were able to find you and try something different."

Kathryn Kelly:

So it's been good. I think we're going to have a lot more guests and followers for the future years.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh yeah. It sounds like it. And also, it's a good time to market and promote your business too.

Kathryn Kelly:

Oh, for sure. For sure. I love the fact that we're working with a lot of the smaller restaurants and that we're able to promote and help them out at a time like this because we have a very strong food and beverage industry here and it's sad to see a lot of places having to close down because of the situation. And so it's nice to be like, "Let me introduce this restaurant to my guests." And my guests, they'll come back; they'll tell their friends about it. So the next time they come back to Las Vegas, they can say, "Try out this restaurant. We had a really good time on Taste Buzz Food Tours." It's promoting and marketing those restaurants as well.

Vincent Ferguson:

Excellent. Now I've been on many tours, but never a food tour. So explain what we can expect to see and do while on a tour.

Kathryn Kelly:

Yeah. Okay. Well, next time you come to Las Vegas, you're going to have to come check us out.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah. I promise.

Kathryn Kelly:

We do a little bit of everything. So I think what makes our food tours very unique is not only do we get to try the local side of Las Vegas, but we get to try the variety of it as well. You'll do something at a hole in the wall. You might do a food truck. We might stop by a coffee shop or a brewery, but you'll also do a nice trendy restaurant all in one tour. And you get to try those signature items. So you really get to see what makes that restaurant special through a local's eyes. You might be able to meet a chef. We're very close with the people that we work with and the restaurants that we work with. So if the chef is on duty, he might come out and say hi, and we could take souvenir photos for you to remember.

Kathryn Kelly:

We do some sightseeing as well. So the routes are walking tours, so you get to see the most out of the city, but we'll walk through some of the top attractions and we'll do some fun facts about the attraction, take more photos and some history.

Vincent Ferguson:

Wow, you said it's a walking tour. So you get some exercise in.

Kathryn Kelly:

You get exercise, you get food, you get sightseeing, and you get a little bit of everything. It's a really great concept.

Vincent Ferguson:

Goodness. That is awesome. Now, how much do the tours cost? Are they expensive?

Kathryn Kelly:

I think they're very reasonably priced. Our downtown food tour is $95 per person. And our Las Vegas strip food tour is $99 per person. So for under a hundred dollars, you get a three hour experience, which includes sightseeing, history and a full meal.

Vincent Ferguson:

How many people can you accommodate on each tour?

Kathryn Kelly:

We do small group tours, so usually there are 12 on a daily basis, but right now with the COVID restrictions it's reduced to 10, just so that people feel a little bit more safe.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh, I see. Yeah. It's very limited right now. Right?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yeah. So there are a lot of restrictions still here in the city. So we're trying to please everybody.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yes. It's been challenging, but I'm sure we're going to get through this, you know?

Kathryn Kelly:

Yeah. We will, we will in time. We just need a little bit more time for people to feel safe. And we got to do the right thing and prevent the spread and, eventually, we'll get through, we'll get through this difficult time.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. We'll be looking back on this and saying, "Remember when?"

Kathryn Kelly:

I know, right? Remember that crazy year?

Vincent Ferguson:

Exactly, exactly. The key is to keep going, stay focused and we'll get through it. We always do. And we always will.

Kathryn Kelly:

Yes.

Vincent Ferguson:

How long are the tours? How much time does it take?

Kathryn Kelly:

They are three hours long. So from the time we meet to the time we say goodbye, everything's about three hours long, which is a perfect time for an experience. You get that intimate feeling with your tour guide and you get to eat for three hours long, a little bit of walking here and there. And then, after the tour, you get to go on and explore more things in Las Vegas.

Vincent Ferguson:

I love it. How far in advance do you recommend customers’ book a food tour?

Kathryn Kelly:

I would say as soon as you know you're coming to Las Vegas and you've decided, "I'm going to take the food tour." Because, since our groups are small, especially right now, they're only up to eight people, they book out.  So definitely you want to get your tickets as soon as possible.

Vincent Ferguson:

Yeah, this is great! Sounds like it would be a lot of fun to bring a family; your friends, to go out there and make it happen. That sounds to me like a winner.

Kathryn Kelly:

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It's a really nice experience really, for everybody. And we've made it for all ages. So you could bring your family, you could bring your kids. It's a great date night. It's great for bachelorettes. It's great for wedding parties. It's great for friend’s night out. It really is a fun, wholesome activity.

Vincent Ferguson:

But how do you balance getting ready for a show and running your business?

Kathryn Kelly:

I won't eat on the food tours while I am getting ready for the competitions. And it is a mental thing. So I made my decision. I'm going to do the competition and you just have to stay focused. And it is hard because I have to meet with new restaurants or I'll be out at an event and there's all this amazing food coming out, and people are asking you to "Please eat," and I'm like, "I cannot. Not this time, but I'll be back."

Kathryn Kelly:

It's only, however long you diet for, so the last competition I dieted for 13 weeks, which is a typical amount of time for a diet, but it's stricter and stricter as the competition goes, so you just have to stay focused. And then I know as well, it's only for this amount of time and then afterwards I can go out and I can enjoy all these restaurants and all of this food once again.

Vincent Ferguson:

Oh yeah. After it's over, it's on.

Kathryn Kelly:

Exactly. It's time to celebrate.

Vincent Ferguson:

There you go. Exactly, exactly. But if you can say anything else to my listeners, what would it be about your business?

Kathryn Kelly:

I would say, just do it, it's just so much fun. You get to go out, get to meet great people; you get to experience something that only a small group of people get to experience. And it's fun for everyone. You get to try great food; you get to exercise at the same time. Life's all about balance. So while you're here in Las Vegas, you want to be able to enjoy as much as you can.

Vincent Ferguson:

Most definitely. So how can we find out more about Taste Buzz Food Tours and you?

Kathryn Kelly:

So visit our website, www.tastebuzzvegas.com and you'll have all the information, all the fun photos for our tours. You can also visit on Facebook and Instagram @tastebuzzfoodtours. And if you wanted to look me up a little bit more, I do have a personal Instagram, it's K_to_the_athy.

Direct download: Episode_161_Kathryn_Kelly.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:12am EDT

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.

Direct download: Episode_160_-_The_Katan_Klinic.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:31am EDT