Authenticity And Accessibility

by with No Comment communitylifestylepersonal

Don’t trade your authenticity for approval – hello October 

The topic of oversharing and toxicity has come up a lot lately in my personal conversations and it’s something I don’t think we openly talk about enough. I do recall drafting up an entire Ted Talk about Instagram and how affected we all are, leaving that for you here so you can come back to it. Pssst, enjoy a stiff drink while you read it 😉

So a lil back story on how oversharing went from being just for funs and turned into my full time job. I launched my YouTube channel back in 2010, began writing for my blog shortly after, hosted different shows, got on every social media platform, and taught myself how to edit-ish. So after about five years of scripting, blogging, filming and figuring it out I began working with brands. I collaborated with them for free at first (hey, we gotta start somewhere), then set rates, created a one-sheet … la la la, here we are at present day and the grind of that side of things still makes up 90% of my income.

And even though so many things evolved and I learned so much through trial and error, the judgements and comparisons never ceased. Eleven years of figuring it out, I can feel the word vomit coming up…

I just wanna say, I love my job. I want to say that before the word vomit makes its way out and it reads otherwise. I love that I get to work with brands I support, travel with my loved ones, and talk about whatever the hell I want… mostly. But what I don’t love, where my frustration lies, is with social media. That part can be a real shit show and I haven’t completely learned how to navigate the politics of it gracefully. I know that we take from it what we make of it, but at some point anything that pays you to do the thing, becomes the job. And it’s not always my job to be real about things, hence I’ve passed on many ‘a brand deals. The reality is that creative blocks come often, people pass judgments on the parts of your life you share, and those things become gospel… people really think THAT is your whole life. We get boxed in and sometimes the box is pretty and shiny when sometimes your box is actually tattered, a lil rough around the edges, and has been kicked around a few times.

Ah the love of the Likes! Again, read up on my Ted Talk I referenced earlier for more on this, but I have learned that people see you do ONE thing and it’s ALL they want from you. For me, it’s beauty stuff like videos and tutorials, it’s Corrine and my story about how I was a single teen mom, and it’s fitness. When I divert from those expectations and share my love life or my mooky days people are quick to unfollow. It’s super suspect and feels gross when people leave but honestly it’s better than some of the crude remarks left behind in their place. Aside from being boxed in, the mob mentality of the internet, and cancel culture, what cuts deeper and feels more personal to me is the competitiveness of it all. I want to level up just like everyone else, but not at the expense of belittling anyone. Being dismissive is detrimental.

people want you to succeed they just don’t want you to be more successful than them

I’ve heard that quote before and I really want it to be untrue. I do belive there’s room for everyone at the top and that no one does it alone. I mean, we’ve all had help getting to where we are today. A mentor, a team, a partnership, a lucky break, some good timing, and a whole lot of hard fuggen work. I like to think that we do it better together so it’s strange to me when people are unsupportive… so where’s the balance between being authentic by speaking our personal truths and the desire for accessibility from the rest of the world? It can feel confusing and despy to post post post but not know why.

That is the reason I share so much of my life publicly, because there is SO much more to our lives that no one sees. Granted, it’s up to us to determine what we talk about and what we choose to keep close, but for me- my love life, my highs and lows, the real shit we should be talking about, that’s the kind of stuff I want to see and refuse to stop sharing. 

I look at it like we’re all creating tribes and the more I know about your real life the more I’m invested in your real life. Am I alone in that feeling? To cultivate communities of support and inclusivity and tryyyy not to compare our lives to anyone else’s… well damn, that’s a hard one I know but I’m trying. I have to remind myself that young minds are impressionable (as are not so young ones), and that IG is the highlight reel, it’s life all cleaned up and presentable. Imagine what it would look like if we posted our crummy days, crying melt downs, frustrations, fiery love stories, and real life traumas. I guess that’s why I started blogging in the first place <3

If sharing your life on a public platform is part of your job (i.e. you’re in sales bc you’re a real estate agent, fitness professional, actor, producer, restaurant owner or the like) how do you manage? How do you navigate? Did any of this land on you or is this specific to the “influencer world”. Oh how that word has gotten me into some trouble ha!

Helping With Hyundai

by with No Comment adventurecharitycommunityfamilyholidaysmom lifephilanthropy

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” – MLK

Ever since Corrine was little I’d try and do things with her that would teach her to be empathetic. I think one of the greatest things we can do for one another as humans (and to teach our children) is to practice empathy and selflessness. So whether it was donating some of her gifts to children less fortunate than her, serving meals at Thanksgiving, and mentoring children at The Mission together in downtown L.A., it was a way for us to give back to our community and practice gratitude even when we were struggling ourselves and graciousness didn’t come so easily.

I was a single mom, a teen mom… and I remember that even the smallest gestures of kindness made such a huge impact on my life. I worked two jobs when Corrine was little and on the weekends to make ends meet, I’d pull overtime where I’d bring her to work with me and I’d set her up in a sleeping bag near the foot of my desk. She’d watch SpongeBob (the ONE episode she had) on repeat while I’d work from 5am-noon. My manager Karen at the time was so wonderful to let me do that because over time was a privilege and she allowed me to do this for months.

Girlfriends of mine would bring extra lunch to work and share it with me, for Christmas my friends would give me gas gift cards and donate wrapping paper for me to wrap presents with… just a few of the sweetest things that would mean nothing to someone else meant everything to me. So I really try and teach my daughter to give back when and where she can because if we’re in the position to help someone, why wouldn’t we? They say it takes a village to raise a child, well it also takes a village to help keep your head up when you’re down and out. 2020 was a perfect reference point for that and we all came together to help one another. I’d love to keep that theme going.

You’ve seen on my Instagram how proud we are to be a part of the Los Angeles Hyundai fleet. My Kona boo and I bop around town, choosing a different organization to highlight and help each month. For December we partnered with Hyundai to provide infant and toddler essentials to the families in need at the Good Shepherd Shelter (to help end domestic violence and rebuild lives) and donate to the CHLA. For January I picked up your donations from all around the Los Angeles area to donate to the Good Shepherd Shelter (new and unused items) and to the Mission (used items and goods) and I just wanted say thank you for being a part of this with me.

You’ve helped to restore hope for individuals and families, provided essentials that we wouldn’t think twice about not having, and purged your closets for donations … I’m so honored to be a part of this community. Please join me in continuing on with this mission, for the month of February I’d love to pick up where we left off in November with the food drive. There are a lot of non-profit organizations around L.A. as I’m sure there are in your communities, so if you’re local email me or DM me! Let’s try and feed 100+ families together this month <3

Food, water, shelter, and safety … these are the things I believe to be a human right and the fact that so many go without in the world of abundance that we live in is just incomprehensible to me. So I’d love it if you’d help me by A) donating canned goods and non perishable food items for me to pick up B) list some of your favorite organizations that we can all help and highlight in the coming months and C) tell me what you’re doing in your local community that we can support you with.

Helping with Hyundai means helping in our communities, activating our neighborhoods to reach out and give back where we can. I appreciate you, I love that we’ve been doing this together, and I hope I get to see your smiling faces (through masks… smile with those eyes haha!) very soon as we make our way around town this month.

Was philanthropy something you learned as a child or something you got involved with more as an adult?

p.s. my email is [email protected] and my IG handle is here

Hoppin’ On The Hype Beast

by with One Comment community

that slippery slope between trendy and tragic

You know the one. The poppin’ hype beast that bops around trying to lure you into its current with promises of virality and relevancy … enter every Instagram and internet meme of 2020. Oh and the above photo of Acey and I paying homage to Megan Thee Stallion, “we can’t talk right now, we’re doing hot girl shit”.

My job as an over-sharer means I get to share my experiences, my advice and my choices with you even if you don’t want to hear about it and I love my job. Something I’ve always struggled with though is my desire for authenticity versus the world’s desire for accessibility. Full transparency, I’m not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, I have crummy days. I’m not all buttoned up and proper all the time, I love lounge wear and swear words (I actually accidentally dropped the F bomb in a Zoom meeting and turned bright red… to my relief the Producer was chill). I’m not perfect, sheesh I hope no one actually thinks that of anyone. So I guess I should tell you this now… I. am. but. merely. a. human. bean. <— this is not a typo. I’m a bean.

So my thing is, trendy or not, if it doesn’t work for me than I can’t work for it. Not the brand, not the hype, none of it. That’s why I’m so passionate about the brands that I work with, because they choose me and I choose them right back. Let’s be real though, in the beginning I said yes to ALL the things because you’ve gotta start somewhere. Here are some of the trends we saw in 2020 and how I tried to make them relevant to my life. lolz…

With a perpetually changing algorithm and every platform launching a ‘Stories’ feature, you can imagine how frustrating it could be for your job to ‘highlight’ trends when some of them feel quite tragic. I actually deep dive into this topic all about IG here… be ready for my Ted talk. The greatest thing though is that we can choose to participate or stand by, and the magical thing is that we’ll all do it so differently that there’s room for everyone. I choose collaboration over competition, highlighting my friends, brands I support, and focusing on discoverability and creativity.

authenticity vs accessibility

2020 made us feel a lot of things. We had some very mooky days where we didn’t know our butts from our brains or what day it was. I mean, we didn’t put on pants for almost a year. But some things that I really loved seeing and participating in was community and connection. A bright spot in all of it was just that. And the activism and solidarity from last year, I’m proud of us for being real human beans to one another and I hope this year brings more of that.

My advise is that we hop on the hype beast when it makes sense and don’t feel pressure to when it doesn’t. WAP and Animal Crossing just didn’t make sense to my life so I couldn’t talk ’em… hbu?

So tell me, what do you want to create and what inspired you from 2020’s Pandora’s box of ‘most popular trends’?

The Re-Introduction

by with One Comment communitymom liferelationships

we only let people see what we want them to see

Happy 2021 to you! Since we’re in a new year and a lot has changed, I thought I’d re-introduce myself. I’ll share some fun facts about me and maybe some things you didn’t know and I’d love for you to share some fun facts about you and how we know each other?

New media can be tricky. People think they know you by a flash of your smile or the furrow of your brow, but really we only let people see what we want them to see. If we show them that we’re crazy, they think we’re crazy. If we show them that we’re buttoned up with not a worry in the world, that’s exactly what they think. Well this year I’d like to be more transparent and talk about some things we haven’t talked about in depth before. But I’ll save that deep dive for next time, for now let’s have some fun.

  • <from the beginning> I’m the eldest of 3, I have a younger brother and sister. I’m an 80’s baby and a 90’s kid. When I went to middle school and high school artists like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and every girl band and boy band you can imagine were making music videos. Those were the days of MTV, Kids Incorporated, Fraggle Rock, The Smurfs, and 80’s teenage movies. They sure don’t make ’em the way they used to that’s for damn sure
  • <the real stuff> I was a teen mom. At 16 I had my daughter Corrine who is now 23 and thriving. We broke the statistic that says teen parents have children who then become teen parents themselves… buhbyyyeeee! I’m so proud to call her my daughter and even prouder of the independent woman she’s grown into. As for me, I’m still young at heart and I hope that never changes
  • <the not so glamorous real stuff> I got kicked out at 16, re-entered my home just before C was born, got married at 18, divorced at 22, went through an intense almost 6 year custody battle with no lawyer (this was one of the hardest moments of my life), slept in my car with my baby, couch surfed with people who I thought were my friends who used me and stole my furniture (can you tell I’m still not over this?), had my face bruised up by exes and my spirit broken down by many, had my confidence crushed like most people in life, and some how by the grace of God and that lil face looking to ME for how to cope in life … I kept my shit together long enough to get through each day. Honestly, I think I blacked out for like 18 years
  • <the dramatic af love life> I don’t regret any part of my life or any decision I made about love, even if it left me feeling like love was only a thing for romantic novels. My first husband gave me my daughter and I regret nothing. My first girlfriend outside of adolescence gave me a kind of love I’d never experienced. There were other boyfriends and girlfriends before my second husband. He showed me that love doesn’t have to be toxic or volatile and that calmness in a relationship is vital. My current relationship is such a magical mixture of love, passion, presence, calmness, craziness, and stability. I regret nothing
  • <just for funs> I have the greatest friends in all the world. I love tequila. Royal blue is my favorite color. Black, grey, and white make up 99.99% of my closet. I’m a sucker for sweets. I’m selfish. I love being a mom. I love LOVE. I love country music. I love being hyper feminine. I’m addicted to skin care and fragrances. I could eat rice every day of my life and feel complete. I’m Chamorro (my mom was born and raised in Saipan and we have family in Guam. Hafa Adai!) and Irish (my dad has blue eyes and dark hair with the fairest skin). I’m 39 and proud of that more than I was to be 29 … woof what 10 years can teach you. I like try to spend my money on experiences and not fancy hand bags though I really really love those too! I didn’t go to college until I was 26. I love therapy and I believe that mental health is everything. I’m an Aries. I’ve never had any face work done (though that’s not to say it won’t be in my future, I am 39) and my huge knockers are real too… real expensive. I’ll stop there for now

I’m an open book! Email me, DM me, find me and ask me… <3

Tell me some fun facts about you and how you found me. I love knowing where you’re fun and what makes you tick, talk to me.

Local Discoveries – The Who, What, Where #DiscoverTorrance

by with No Comment adventurecommunityentertainmentleisurelifestylereviewsshoppingtravelwellness

Shopping, adventures, and foods oh my!

As you saw from my last article, I visited the neighboring city of Torrance last month and I’m so happy to share my discoveries with you. Where we shopped, our explorations, local eats … all the things! We stayed at the Best Western Plus Avita Suites and they provide a complimentary breakfast buffet so we only had to find lunches and dinners … and saucy sips … oh and desserts 😉 There’s so many options and I got so many of your recommendations from Instagram, thank goodness discovertorrance.com exists which helped me narrow down all my choices! Pssst and thank YOU for your recs <3

So day one was all about settling into our suite and enjoying dinner at our hotel, so the next morning after we enjoyed the buffet we visited the Farmer’s Market for some lunch and local goods.

It was such a beautiful day in Torrance that it was easy to walk around for three hours before I decided I wanted a mid-day pick me up. We headed to the best boba in town… 7 leaves cafe

That would be my macarons and cafe over there chillin’ next to the Moana tree haha. Sooo good, please go there and get the Taro milk tea boba! The Depot was high on your recommendation list as it was on the discovertorrance.com site so that’s exactly what we did for dinner and let me tell ya… I’m a martini kinda lady and their martini’s cannot be matched! So perfectly paired with a filet and mashed potatoes dinner. Umm and that would be pistachio butter you see next to that fresh baked bread *drool*

P.S. that’s the Chef! Of course I asked to take a photo with him, it was one of the best meals evaaaar! And what better way to wrap up day one than a night cap?! We walked over to a neighboring hotel bar and enjoyed one more saucy sip… can you guess what I got? And of course- a bar pretzel is the best choice duh.

Perfection ah. With time in the books I was already fully enjoying my time in this city. Day two began the same as the previous morning but we switched up routine by having some Hawaiian lunch for the first time. I learned that Hawaiian food and Chamorro food (it me!) are very similar! Think spam and rice haha This was The Loft in Torrance and they did not disappoint.

Musubi and Hawaiian fried chicken for the win! Since I’m the type of person who plots my next food venture WHILE still having the current meal (ha!) I decided we’d go to Brio for dinner AND dessert and enjoy some home made donuts… they had me at donuts let’s be real.

We wrapped up the day by finishing our holiday shopping at Del Amo Fashion Center, which by the way is just a hop and a skip away from our hotel… winning! It was such a perk considering I shopped ’til I dropped.

Why yes, I did purchase this camo cropped pull-over *hail hands* I ended up completing all of my holiday shopping AND shopped for myself so… treat yo self. Day two was a smashing success and when I tell you I slept like a baby, trust.

Before leaving on our final day in Torrance, I ran one last time at our hotel gym, enjoyed a homemade waffle and took time with every bite, and just had to make one last stop before checking out of my staycation dream. Enter Strand Brewing for some FUNS!


Ending my staycation in Torrance could not have been any more fun than enjoying a flight of local beers, playing some games, and sports!

I had the best time and feel so lucky to have partnered with such a welcoming and hospitable community to showcase some of the best places in Torrance to eat, visit, explore, and shop <3 I hope you get a chance to visit our new home away from home and I’ll link you to all the places that helped make our stay so memorable and easy to navigate!

Have you added ‘more adventure’ to your New Year goals yet? Let’s do this! 

https://discovertorrance.com/stay/

https://discovertorrance.com/hotels/best-western-avita-suites/

www.discovertorrance.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

TECHNOLOGY AND STORY TELLING

by with One Comment adventurecharitycommunityinspirationmommy diariestechnologytravel

I launched my brand back in 2009 and have developed an affinity of sharing my message through story telling. For me, it includes a side of comedy, always.

Being a creative in new media today means being able to do it all. To wear all the hats. Technology has been an especially vital tool in growing and conducting my business .. after all, it is entirely based online. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to engage with you all, across the globe, like we are now, time and space not stopping us! *says this while holding radio above head outside your window*

Celebrating technology and humanity came together this weekend when I was invited out to the Santa Monica Pier for the AT&T and TOMS #CelebrateGood event. To commemorate a decade of partnership between the two companies, I got to step inside a huge shoebox, and this is what they shared with us.

AT&T has helped TOMS grow their business since they began, 10 years ago, by powering their network and spreading their mission of one for one giving. Now, AT&T is giving fans a virtual reality experience that takes you on, “A Walk In Their Shoes.” I got to enjoy this incredible advance in technology that transported me to Colombia on an actual giving trip!

It’s pretty unbelievable how real it felt to be there along the giving trip. Being able to see the activities the kids were doing, and to look up, down, and around at everything they were seeing was unreal! I’m glad I was sitting down!

P7730271
I was immersed in experiences, after stepping aside from the VR station, I learned about the AT&T and TOMS partnership through this interactive 10 year timeline. Talk about being in awe of technology, I was using my feet to scroll through the years!

P7730301

Above is Blake Mycoskie, the Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of the company, who was on site walking around each station explaining the impact technology has had in sharing his company’s mission with the world.


I’m so happy to have shared this moment with you all, activating a shoe give, and being a part of this momentous occasion where technology and philanthropy came together. Fun fact, when you purchase a pair of TOMS, an additional pair is given to a child in need and the type of shoe gifted to them is dependent on where in the country they live!

I hope this inspires you to inspire and to view the 360 video and more, just click HERE for your VR tour!

If you could use your voice to spread a message, what would you say? We’re listening <33

 

 

 

 

 

This post is proudly brought to you in partnership with AT&T

Delivering Smiles This Holiday Season – A Family Tradition

by with No Comment communityfamilyGift Guidegift ideasholidayholidaysphilanthropyshoppingspecial occassions

This post is sponsored by Amazon, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Tis the season… the season of holiday celebrations, family time, and sharing traditions. So I want to share with you what this ‘season’ means to me and my family and what some of our traditions are.

This is my favorite time of year because it’s the one time that most of my family is in the same state, under the same roof. It happens only once a year, and it’s such a special time for us all to reconnect and spend time doing things that are traditional to our family. Traditions are so significant, they bridge time and distance and link generations. 

Every member of our family contributes to activating the rest of us to be philanthropic, especially this time of year, and we also all contribute to burning at least one thing for dinner… but of course. This year, it was my dad’s turn. This is my dad, Michael, he’s one of my heroes. He is a veteran, a loving husband, and humble father. This year he asked us to volunteer at the VA so most of us will be volunteering our time in person, but those unable to join us will also be participating in a different way! Amazon makes it easy to give back to organizations we collectively love and support. This way, we’re all in it together.

Our family realizes that a lot of families go without many of the things we take for granted this time of year and aren’t able to give back in this way, so it’s a privilege for us to come together and give back – and it brings us closer as a result. We also realize that we’re connecting to an entire community of families that give back with Amazon this holiday season.

Want in on all the feel good? Well, there are three really easy ways to do it, my personal favorite being through AmazonSmile Charity Lists. You can browse by cause or search for an organization’s needs and the items you purchase are donated and delivered directly to the charity. I love this method because it takes the guessing out of it for us, we simply see what they need and we’re able to purchase those items for them directly.  

You can also donate a portion of the purchase price of your eligible products on Amazon to the charity of your choice with AmazonSmile by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com –  and if you have an Alexa-enabled device, you can donate with Alexa to a registered charity simply by saying “Alexa, I want to make a donation.” Choices like this really do make it rewarding to give back when and where you’re able.  

The organization near and dear to us is the Best Friends Animal Society. We chose to purchase items for them, shopping from their list as they are a part of the AmazonSmile Charity List. As a home that has adopted two fur babies, BFAS has a mission that resonates so closely with our family. Their mission statement is, “Best friends – save them all.” They believe that just because cats and dogs don’t have a safe place to call home doesn’t mean they should be euthanized. They work closely with volunteers, shelters, rescue groups, and other animal welfare organizations to educate communities and encourage them to adopt, donate, spread the word, and volunteer to help reach their goals. 

Philanthropy practiced this way allows all members of our family to be connected, and I hope you join us in this tradition! Encourage your family members to contribute to your communities in person and virtually. Amazon makes it so easy to give back to charities you love. Start a new tradition that’s timeless and that connects your family the way it does ours, and please let me know which organizations you’ll be #DeliveringSmiles to so we can check them out! 

Happy holidays from me and mine to you and yours <3

 

 

 

For My Misfits – Welcome to One Month Mission!

by with No Comment adventurecommunityfitnesshealthlifestylemental healthmotivationpersonalsportswellness

This past Saturday wrapped up my first ever Reset Camp. I had the honor of being head coach alongside my friend and fitness Jesus Lacey Stone. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve seen me post a bunch about Lacey, The Wall, these Comeback Camps, and my excitement over coaching. So I wanted to take a moment to tell you why you’ve seen this flux in fitness posts and what it means to me to be a coach. 

this is not dejavu, this is a separate post on why I love coaching you

Lacey’s camps are so special because it’s more than just a bootcamp, these camps are about so much more than just the workouts. I really do believe that you can get a good workout anywhere, it’s all about how much effort you put into it or if you’re just phoning that session in. I’ve gotten the same results from hot yoga as I have from a bootcamp style workout because I hulk out no matter what I do … granted, I need to learn to chill TF out, but it really comes down to how present you are in that room right?

… we’re resetting our energy, not just refocusing on our goals

During my Reset camp I really tried to convey the message that we were resetting our energy, not just refocusing on our goals. Though it may be easier to remember why you started, I’ve realized that it’s more difficult for us to reset our energy because we’re so used to giving it away to everyone else. Our time together is more about: refill our energy, and then refocus and reset. That’s what we do in these camps. As time goes on and we evolve as people we change, so it’s completely normal that our goals do too. Here are some excerpts from my emails that I sent out to our squad last week and I want you to read them so that if you need to hear it, it’s here. Or maybe you know someone else who needs to hear it. Where ever you’re at and what ever your goal, it’s our mission as a team to help you get there. Here’s a little love letter from me to you about my Reset camp, what we did, and what you can expect during One Month Mission (1MM).

These camps aren’t for the faint of heart, they’re not easy, and there’s nothing soft or gentle about them

As a coach, I’ve observed your courage and how you move with intensity. These camps aren’t for the faint of heart, they’re not easy, and there’s nothing soft or gentle about them. I mean, these workouts have roughed us up and here we are still standing! That’s how we do. 

Lacey asked me what my favorite part of camp was and there were SO many memorable moments. And I’ll tell you, RESET was intense. Yesterday alone, you switched sides four times, you went TEN timed rounds, and you pushed more weight on the benches than in the entire camp combined. I left little room for you to catch your breath and onto the next move we went, performing combinations I’d never thrown at you before. Throughout all the madness, you showed no weakness or hesitation in your bodies…even after the 799 sprints. I want you to remember that the next time in life you want to tap TF out—you did all that! Memorable. 

These workouts are absolutely designed to make you stronger physically, challenge your stamina, and push you past your limits. But it is more about pushing so hard that you’re forced to tap into the place you pull from when you physically have nothing left to give, that place deep within our bellies where we’re confronted with our inner dialogue. That is when one of two things happens: You either doubt your abilities and let your minds wander, or you do what you did this week and step into your power. That’s true grit.

To paraphrase something from the film Game Changers, “It’s not about how strong you are or how much power you have, it’s what you do with that strength and power.” You sharpened your edges this Reset, you made one another better, and you spread that energy around like peanut buttah. Lacey and I were literally speechless after class and that says a lot about two people who always have something to say.

Something I’ve asked of you is to be willing to give your all, to be coachable, and to trust the process … we’re going to enter that room with purpose and we’ll leave it all on the floor. Get good sleep tonight, because…“There’s just one thing: we never, ever do nothing nice and easy, we always do it nice and rough.” – Tina Turner, Proud Mary. I am so proud of YOU.

that you’ll only find here at #TeamLSF

Those were just some pieces from our team emails that I wrote to our campers that I wanted to share with you because I do believe there is something we do in that room together that you can’t just recreate. Like I said, you can get a good workout anywhere. There are some FAN-FUGGEN-TASTIC trainers/coaches/teachers out there. But to have a team of badass, strong, warrior-women by your side doing it with you and 3 coaches to guide you, support you, and protect you along the way … that you’ll only find here at #TeamLSF. I do hope I get the chance to help coach you this month during 1MM, click here to claim your spot if you’re local to Los Angeles and if you’d like to join us virtually, you can do that HERE! You can’t escape me, I’m all over the VP and so is Kristin so go rep the virtual squad baby! Hop on the forums and say hello! <333

That was a lot of gushing on how special I believe our team to be, but honestly I think anyone would say that about a group of people they have infinite love for. I felt so sad driving away from the studio on our last day, like I truly wanted to write one last email and then spend every day with everyone haha But I hold that squad near to my heart and now on to 1MM we go! So LET’S GO!

Where will I see you? In person for camp and workouts? On the virtual platform??? Let’s just spend every day together! 

 

“Let’s push through the rough stuff and eat the good stuff”- Coach Jess

My desire to help others is bigger than my fear of failing…

by with No Comment communityfitnesshealthlifestylemotivationwellness

I realize this is actually the longest title ever in life, but I couldn’t think of anything more accurate than the statement itself. I said this in a recent video of mine and I meant it.

If you’ve been following along my journey to become a fitness instructor, you know it all began with my fitness journey for myself- but then it morphed into something way outside of myself. Bigger. Corrine had graduated High School, she was going to college and working full time… so umm what other hats did I wear when I took off my mom hat? I put that hat on when I was 15 to be exact.

And I’ve always been active, going through seasons of working out and seasons of not stepping foot inside a gym or studio for months/years. Then I reconnected with a friend of mine, Tiffany Morgan who was working with this fitness goddess, Lacey Stone. In summation- 2 years ago I joined her ‘come back camps’ (bootcamp style workouts + team building), I became obsessed with strength and empowering my teammates, and I realized it was a passion of mine to literally ‘work it out’ alongside others.

Lets eat the good stuff and push through the rough stuff

That’s what my entire brand has been about. Using pain for power, empowering others and giving my energy to the people I care about. Except I didn’t know there was something I could actually do with that, and where would I even start? How intimidating it all sounded, how intimidating the fitness industry was is. So many things could’ve stopped me from pursuing this new career (and almost did). But something was WAY bigger than my fear of failing, way more important to me than my fear of starting something new, of rejection and intimidation.. of training a room full of people ahhh! My desire to help others trumped my fear of failing, my fear of anything really. Oh the fear was still there,

but if you can make your purpose bigger, then you’re unstoppable

So here I am, still shaking (still human) but pushing forward and moving through that uncomfortable feeling. I wanted to share this with you because I learned that if you have something that tugs at you and that you always come back around to, do that thing. I promise you’ll never regret following your passion. Especially when you give of yourself because

that is your legacy

I really like adding in quotations can you tell? lol And I don’t even care how cheesy this is going to sound because I believe it with everything I am- I do believe that as fitness instructors and trainers we work in the service industry. I learned so much going through training and I value the statement that- we hold the space for people to move through whatever they’re going through. We guide and encourage our clients to step into their power, and it’s not about us. And that’s the ONE thing that got me through teaching my very first class this morning. To be a light in someone’s day because

sometimes people are silently struggling

We’ve all been there right? Who doesn’t struggle? But if I can leave my shit at the door, show up for someone else, help them push through the rough stuff, and show them how fuggen strong they really are- honestly that’s why I decided to pivot my career.

I just needed to get that out. And even though you may not be thinking of becoming a leader in fitness, whatever it is that you’re going after, keep going. You’re a leader just by being relentless and getting after it even when it seems too hard- especially when it seems too hard. So I’ll end this public diary entry with some real life images and video from today. A very special day that I’ll never forget. It’s not professional or polished but here it is and I’m so proud of everyone who showed up. Thank you for your energy, your smiles, and your encouragement. Lacey Stone, you already know! Ride or die baby! Mucho respeto <3

So tell me something scary af yet special that you’ve done that you thought was for you but you realized had nothing to do with you and it totes fulfilled you because it was bigger than you

xoxo- Jess