It’s time for episode 26! Today’s guest is Weston Carls , an entrepreneur and photographer specializing in the fitness industry based in Austin, Texas. He gives us a fun look into the fitness photography world, gives some tips for aspiring “influencers”, how the pandemic has affected his business and some pretty entertaining stories he tells from some of the thousands of photoshoots he’s conducted in the past 13 years. Weston has a great eye for photography, he’s done shoots for some fun brands ...
Nov 06, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Welcome to episode 25! I know I say every episode is a fun one, but this one was especially entertaining to bring my sister, Maddy Blankenship, on the show to help me out with an Ask Me Anything. You submitted your questions on Instagram, and I answer them on this episode. Maddy throws in a few more questions, and we also catch up on everything from what’s stressing us out these days to what shows we’re watching, what workouts we’re doing and the best things we’ve purchased recently. In this epi...
Nov 05, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Welcome to episode 24! This episode’s guest is Allison Ellsworth, the co-founder and chief brand officer of Poppi , my absolute favorite bright & happy sparkling gut-healthy drink. Allison is also a Dallas-based entrepreneur who runs her business with her husband, and their story starts in their kitchen experimenting with apple cider vinegar to now selling Poppi in major retailers around the country and expanding. You have to hear her story of how they went on Shark Tank, got an investment, ...
Oct 09, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Episode 23 is an entertaining and inspiring one— Mark Shipman , a personal trainer and now sales specialist at Peloton has had quite the fitness career (and he’s not stopping now)! You’ll get to hear about all of the studios he’s been a part of in Dallas, Texas, how he got to travel the world to consult and help others open spin studios, how he met Jillian Michaels and began working with her and more. He’s now at Peloton (Northpark Center in Dallas), so we of course touch on our favorite instruc...
Sep 25, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Episode 22 is a story of an entrepreneur that started a Pilates studio from the ground up, was building momentum, and then boom. Coronavirus happened. Jaci Spagnolo, the founder of Feel Good Pilates in Austin, Texas walks us through what it was like leading up to the opening of her studio, how Covid impacted her business and ultimately, what she did to tackle the issue and stay afloat despite having to “close” her original brand. Don’t miss this inspiring story of being smart, scrappy & coll...
Sep 11, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Episode 21 is one of those episodes you’ll walk away with several tid bits and things to think about throughout the week. This episode features guest Antoine Howard , master trainer and founder of a virtual fitness company called Lifted that mixes physical health with mental health. I met Antoine at a HIIT class he was teaching at a local boutique fitness studio, then asked him to be a part of a photoshoot for StudioHop to which he accepted. It doesn’t take long to realize what a fun, inspiring,...
Aug 28, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Episode 20 is here! In this episode, I sat down with Natalie Holloway, the co-founder and CEO of Bala . She’s a fellow Austinite, now living in Los Angeles where she and and her husband Max own and operate the company they started in 2018 together. Natalie and I connected for the purpose of this podcast, but we actually have quite a bit in common, so I am looking forward to getting to know her better. She has a fun story to share about how Bala came about, and how they got to appear on Shark Tan...
Aug 14, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In Episode 19, I interviewed Phillip White , the founder of a stylish, size-inclusive activewear brand called Phit Clothing . I met Phillip several years ago at a boutique fitness studio in Dallas, and he quickly became a brand ambassador of my company, StudioHop. I got to hear his idea of Phit Clothing back in the day, and I’m so proud and impressed with what he’s done with the brand now. Phillip opens up about how he had the idea of his clothing company, how he got started and he even tells a ...
Jul 31, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In Episode 18, I interview Alex Snodgrass , the blogger and NYT Bestselling author of the cookbook The Defined Dish . I’ve met Alex a few times in Dallas running in some of the same entrepreneurial networking circles, and she is so kind, honest and real. I’ve also been cooking recipes from her blog and now cookbook for years and love pretty much everything she’s created. Her specialty is making comfort foods a little healthier without sacrificing flavor (in fact, I think her food is more flavorf...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 18
Episode 17 is an interview with Rachael Phillips, the founder and owner of GOGA & Yoga in Austin, Texas. She’s a California girl who moved to Austin blindly, became an Uber driver, then worked at Home Away, and then naturally opened a goat yoga business. I mean, who doesn’t!? She tells us quite a few crazy stories that you won’t want to miss hearing—the first one is all about her professional experience and how she entered the world of goat yoga. Scrappy and bold are two words I’d use to des...
Jul 03, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Get ready to be inspired and to start considering what’s going on inside your head! Episode 16 features guest Kami Blease, a fun, upbeat and uber positive vibin’ trainer and self-love coach residing in Santa Monica, California. Kami is the creator of the Worth More Than Your Weight program and she has a lot to say about those internal dialogues we’re all having about our outward appearances. She tells us how she works with women to make them feel better and have more confidence, dishing out tips...
Jun 19, 2020•59 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Episode 15 is an interview with Mimi Blankenship, an inspiring, full of wisdom and plant-based goodness, mom of 4 adult children and wife to husband Matt, my mom. She’s a National Marketing Director for The Juice Plus company and a certified health coach through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. She talks about the power of fruits and veggies, what she does on a day-to-day basis with Juice Plus and how she continued learning even in her 60s— to become a health coach! Mimi dives into one of the t...
Jun 05, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 15
For episode 14, I check in with you and give you updates on how studios are reopening and how they’re looking different now. What changes are they making and what challenges are they facing? I also lay out my health and wellness routine for you—little tips and hacks that I’ve picked up and put into motion some well before covid craziness and some new habits too. I also go over survey results on what YOU (my listeners) what t hear more of and some topic ideas. I hope you find this to be informati...
May 22, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Episode 13 is an interview with Erin O’Leary Stewart, the Houston-based co-creator of DEFINE body & mind and founder of DEFINE foods . Between hosting cooking classes and workshops, teaching fitness classes, working with DEFINE HQ and being a mom of two little ones, she’s a busy lady! You guys, she has the most fun background (she’s a trained chef and dancer), and she’s quite the entrepreneur— from her granola and cookie company to DEFINE foods and helping franchise the DEFINE body & min...
May 08, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Episode 12 is a solo podcast episode, just me, talking about how studios have been doing during this time, how my business StudioHop is faring & some brands I’ve discovered in quarantine that I love. ⠀ All about Natalie: Natalie is the CEO and founder of StudioHop. Born in Dallas, raised in Austin, she graduated from Southern Methodist University with degrees in journalism and Spanish. Natalie is in charge of everything from adding new studios to the platform to communicating with members an...
Apr 23, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Episode 11 is a virtual interview with Whitney Stuart, a Dallas-based dietitian-nutritionist and certified diabetic educator. She’s very involved in the fitness scene and we happened to go to SMU together, so she was a natural choice to chat with about all things nutrition. Whitney covers several topics, but we hone in on what it’s actually like to sit down with a dietitian-nutritionist, what people come to her for and how she works with them as well as typical goals and outcomes. We also touch ...
Apr 09, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Episode 10 is a very inspiring one! I interview Sandy Diaz Haley, who happens to be someone I worked with during a college internship and we reconnected a few years ago. Sandy has always been one of those energetic, hilarious, full-of-life people. Someone who’s fun to be around. Sandy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2014. Her diagnosis came after years of ignoring strange symptoms that ultimately lead to struggling to walk on her wedding day. Although she has had some major lows, s...
Mar 26, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 10
“The hardest thing about growing is relinquishing control. Things are going to happen without you being the first line of defense, so you have to set up the team to be able to handle it. It's all about the systems.” -Brittany Grignon, founder & operating owner of Session Pilates In Episode 9, I sit down with Brittany Grignon, founder and operating owner of Session Pilates based in Dallas, Texas. We talk about how exactly she got Session Pilates opened, how she optimizes revenue and creates h...
Mar 12, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Episode 8 is all about my journey through caffeine detox over the past 10+ weeks. This episode is not all about me and my high horse telling you all to give up your dearly beloved cup of joe, but rather, a fun look inside what my experience has been without caffeine. I walk you through my own coffee story, why the heck I would give up coffee/caffeine, the benefits of giving it up, what I replaced my coffee in the morning with and what actually happened to me as a result. I give you some tips for...
Feb 27, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In Episode 7 of The Fitness Insider, Natalie brings on her favorite guest of all time: her husband Ryan Wolfe. She and Ryan are co-founders of StudioHop and they operate the company out of their home office in Dallas, Texas. StudioHop just turned 5 years old, so we celebrated with this podcast by sharing the top 5 lessons we learned as a married couple running a startup together. We also mixed in some fun stories (while staying on task of course). You can find Natalie, Ryan & more on StudioH...
Feb 14, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Episode 6 is a one-on-one with Dr. Denisa Weber , chiropractor and founder of Serving Life Chiropractic . She’s a ray of sunshine ☀️ , a deep fresh breath of air and she has SO much wisdom that this episode was tough to stop at the 50 min mark. She was a gymnast, an exercise physiologist specializing in cardiac, a doula, a chiropractor, a mom of 2, a wife, and she’s even launched another business to be a resource for other chiropractors with online courses and frequently speaks around the countr...
Jan 31, 2020•56 min•Season 1Ep. 6
I had the pleasure of getting to chat with none other than Lil Crispy, aka Cristin Caulfield, owner of Caulfield’s Dance Fitness in Dallas, Texas. She just opened less than 3 months ago, but she is no newbie to the fitness scene here. She started at Flywheel, then went on to teach at Zyn22 where she developed her own barre/sculpt program. From there she made the leap and started her own dance fitness studio. She’s been a dancer for life and she shares a fun fact about a certain celeb she did som...
Jan 16, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 5
I love nothing more than lists, and these ones are super fun lists. I go over 2019 wellness predictions from MindBodyGreen and whether I think those predictions were on point or not. The second half of episode 4 I walk you through Well + Good's 2020 predictions. If you’re interested in what the health and wellness world has to offer and might be offering in the near future, you won’t want to miss this episode. The new CBD oil, the most popular workout, how your skincare is being made, the import...
Dec 29, 2019•35 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In this episode, West Gissinger, a career fitness trainer and manager at Session Pilates based in Dallas, Texas joins us for a fun conversation. We talk about her diet (you’ll love her JuiceLand order), how she got built those insane abs, how she trains herself and values recovery and more. Tune in to hear all about being a trainer for a full-time career: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Dec 12, 2019•50 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode, we sit down with Mai Lyn Ngo, founder of Fitness Ambassadors (www.fitnessambassadors.com), a fitness influencer network and experiential events marketing company based in Dallas, and author of Deep Fried Fit blog (www.deepfriedfit.com). We cover how Mai Lyn got started with her blog which then led to growing a community of fitness influencers in Dallas with a following of now nearly 20,000 people, what really being “authentic” on social media looks like, the term “pick your brai...
Nov 28, 2019•31 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Meet your host of The Fitness Insider, Natalie Wolfe. She's the CEO and founder of a tech startup called StudioHop and it's based in Dallas, Texas.
Nov 14, 2019•12 min•Season 1Ep. 1
