Month: October 2019

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09. Smoke, Mirrors, and (UN)Filtered Health Careers

LOVE THIS CAST! KO sits down with Lara McGlashan, Brand Director and Editor-in-Chief of Oxygen Magazine, to rap about print media now, its future, and the all-around impact of showcasing fitness influencers/athletes on culture and society today . They get into all the burning questions around Lara’s journey in the print (and fitness ) world, social media, the power of marketing, fitness influencers and the impact on consumers (young women in particular), and so much more. Lara is a special being with unique responsibility and power, she is quite literally one of the few filtering out the “not so real” so Oxygen Magazine can highlight the real, unfiltered. Very few marketing and/or magazines can claim that truth. Including unedited magazine covers, hand picking talent (not based on social following), and living the lifestyle herself… she is a long-time fitness competitor and current competitive CrossFitter! We discuss knowing your value and being direct… print world, write this down, do the right thing, share the truth. It’s good for the world and the bottom line, we promise:) AND because Lara already does. 

Highlights

No office required. In fact, they are not allowed:) Evolution of the print world. Advertisers and standing moral ground. diversifying the mag from fitness to lifestyle, social following vs. ROI. Impact vs. celebrity. The “magic middle” and finding the budding star. Creating the platform. And again, knowing your value and being direct in what you want. 

Lara McGlashan

Lara McGlashan is the Brand Director and Editor-in-Chief of Oxygen Magazine. She has been in the health and fitness industry for more than 20 years and has worked for the majority of the large publications and brands in some capacity, from writing to editing to technical advising and photo editing. She is a lifetime athlete and has participated and competed in all manner of sports including skiing, mountain biking, Spartan races and beach volleyball, and is currently a master’s CrossFit competitor and full-time mom. She lives in Connecticut with her son, Alex. 

Oxygen Magazine @oxygenmagazine 

IG @laraoxyeditor

FB larafitnesseditor

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08. Mental Wealth (Health)

Mental Wealth (Health)! KO sits down with NeurOptimize Founders, Rachel Ragsdale and Carli Streich, and Laura Mahony, professional photographer, mom, and currently getting her Masters in mental health counseling. Mental health is becoming quite the conversation these days, finally! So, we called in the pros to chat on it all. Discussing mental health overall, what is, what stigmas are around it, what options there are to address it. We touch on the different angles as well: concussion in sports, learning abilities, behavior, brain waves and make up. Understanding your brain will help you understand yourself- exponentially. 

Highlights

Options around medications, sports performance, human optimization, young people and mental health, impact on the whole family, identity based on strengths, function vs. fixing, a great start to a much larger and very important continuing conversation!

Rachel Ragsdale, LPC, BCN

Rachel, Founder and Owner of NeurOptimize, studied Psychology at Baylor University where she earned her undergraduate degree. She went on to earn her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary. Rachel oversees all clinical operations and team specialists across all locations, while serving as a licensed professional counselor and board-certified neurofeedback specialist and handling all qEEG analysis, treatment planning, and protocol creation. Rachel’s own life was transformed by neurofeedback more than 10 years ago. She has unique insight and personally values each and every client’s own journey thanks to her own experience with neurofeedback. In her free time, Rachel is an avid golfer and adrenaline junky. She loves spending time with her dog and her two-year-old son, Jordan. Rachel would tell you that NeurOptimize is her other baby and she cares for it as such.

Carli Streich, LPC, BCN

Carli, Founder and Owner of NeurOptimize, graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of New Mexico with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. She went on to earn her Master’s in Clinical Counseling from Colorado Christian University. In addition to overseeing all clinical operations and clinical team of neurofeedback specialists, Carli is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified neurofeedback specialist, handling treatment planning, protocol creation, and qEEG analysis. Carli believe that communication and clear expectations are key contributors to the exceptional client experience she strives to provide at NeurOptimize. She believes that life, especially the challenging parts of it, are not meant to be done alone and she works to offer that support to each and every client who walks through the door. In her free time, Carli loves to hike, do yoga, and spend time outdoors with her family and her puppies.

Laur Mahony

Laura is an intuitive that combines different modalities to connect with spirit and to provide guidance and healing. Laura is also a portrait and commercial photographer. Laura uses natural light, studio lights, strobes, small flashes, ginormous lights, itty bitty lights, existing light, no light, and just about any kind of light she can get her hands on. Her style is playful, warm, and comfy, and she focuses on movement and relationships in her photos. Her photographs range from ethereal to dynamic and always portray the genuine and personal. Laura works with schools, political campaigns, famous people, not so famous people, businesses, professionals, people in Colorado, people outside of Colorado, and anyone who wants exceptional photographs. She feels privileged to capture each amazing slice of life. All sessions are held on location, whether natural light or other. All sessions are fun and playful, whether portrait or commercial.  Laura can be reached at www.thejapaneselantern.com or laura@thejapaneselantern.com.

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07. Memories > Macros

A THROWBACK CAST! KO, Amanda Pettas, Tera Pettas, and Jenn Ryan sit down to share their fitness journey over cinnamon rolls… is there any other way? We get to life as we know it and how fitness has played a major role in the journey- from training, to career inspiration, to self-discovery, to sacrifice. When we find the balance in too much and not enough… it just might not be about fitness after all!:) Here are 4 different perspectives on navigating life inside and outside the gym and how staying mentally and physically fit (most days) complimented our lives thus far. Two married, two CrossFit games athletes, all sticky, sugary, carb lovers. 

Highlights

The joys of eating, cinnamon rolls, balance, love, life, fit biz, dedication, pulling back, the CrossFit Games, fitness making friends, self discovery. Priorties, this cast might help you organize your list!

Jenn Ryan

My story starts as a teenager, obsessed with playing sports and kinda being one of those people that just never quite felt like I was good enough, like there was more I should be doing.  I was the kid that would play a sport every season of the year, and after practice each night, would go run for an hour on the treadmill in my grandparents’ basement.  As much as I was concerned with my athletic performance, I was paying a lot of attention to my body image as well.  And it wasn’t a good one.  Sure, I had an athletic build, but I didn’t like the way I looked in my school uniform and I would rather wear stretch pants than jeans.  I thought cutting out certain foods like milk and red meat would help me be ‘healthier’ and ‘skinnier’ – of which this did neither. I lived through some of the crazy fad diet times and believed them all at one point or another throughout my 20’s.  You wouldn’t find many days that I skipped going to the gym, but that doesn’t mean I had the best lifestyle habits.  I was a student and a bartender, and there were more often than not late nights of heavy drinking.  Sometimes I would eat very little, sometimes I would binge eat because I restricted myself so many other times from the foods that I thought were ‘bad.’  All the while, I stressed about the way I looked and couldn’t do enough working out (a.k.a. cardio) to make the changes I wanted.  I read every magazine and article out there that I could find during all of this, yet wasn’t putting it all together. I started doing Crossfit the Summer of 2009, and during my second year, I competed in my first Crossfit-style competition. I was hooked. I loved being an ‘athlete’ again, and focusing on my performance. I learned more about the Paleo and Zone diets that were the big things in Crossfit nutrition around that time. I finally started to understand that I should be trying to put on some lean muscle mass and learned how to get stronger with both bodyweight movements and the barbell. Things were starting to make more sense, and my body composition was changing. But I was still lost as to what my body truly needed, a bit scared of eating too many carbohydrates, and still having many days when I didn’t want to ‘overeat.’ I was definitely too self-conscious to be the girl at the gym or competition working out without a shirt on. In 2014 I started focusing more on fueling my body for performance, learning about macronutrients, and how food could be viewed as fuel instead of something to be afraid of. Finally!! I had a breakthrough in what led to me breaking the cycle of disordered eating and a low self-image. I felt empowered, and my performance in strength and metcons went up, as well as recovery and mood. Lots of areas of my life were benefitting from this, and with the structure I now had, I found what I was looking for: freedom. Freedom from being afraid of food, freedom from a negative self image, and the freedom to teach others as well. Looking at food from a performance standpoint was such an exhilarating experience that I was set on helping anyone else interested in finding a healthy relationship with food and consequently themselves.

Tara Pettas

Tara is a  head coach, personal trainer, NASM certified nutritionist, and helping sell all the stretchy pants over at a local lululemon here in Pasadena, California! She loves being able to share her knowledge and her story with anyone who is willing to listen and learn.

Amanda Pettas 

Amanda is currently a 3rd year Doctor of Physical Therapy Student at the University of Southern California. She got into Physical Therapy to help people get back to their lives following an injury, no matter how big or small. Outside of her passion for Neurologic Physical Therapy, she loves fitness, trying new restaurants, and hanging out with her wife and pup!

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06. Bleeding The Brand

KO and LONG-time lax homie, Katie G., sit down to discuss bleeding the brand- for yourself, your team, and your business. From the sports field to the boardroom: same mentality, different outfit:) We cover the importance of trial and error, the people around you, and getting to know yourself before anything else. We also highlight embracing your personal idiosyncrasies and the things that authentically give you your competitive edge- and letting those drive the impact, wins, and sales. AND the importance of the relationships in business, thank you sports!

Highlights

Varsity vs. JV, Maslow’s hierarchy, sharing energy and passion, building your team post college, the power of connection, Madonna, getting uncomfortable, beer, and verbal vs. body language.

Katie Gerhard

Katie is a Colorado Native who was a tiny yet tenacious multi-sport athlete growing up. As the youngest of 5, her competitive nature and do-or-die mentality helped her earn a Division I lacrosse scholarship where, like KO, she played at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. She later transferred to Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT where she earned her undergrad. Katie studied marketing and minored in both business administration as well as sports management with the hope of one day becoming the brand director for Under Armour. Today, Katie is a sales executive for MillerCoors—a Fortune 500 company and a respected powerhouse within the beer industry. This kid is known for her loyalty and can often be seen supporting the brands she sells via wearable’s and/or consumption. Katie’s still active, recently getting back into CrossFit, and comes back to Colorado every few months to not only breathe in Rocky Mountain fresh air but also crush some authentic Coors Lights. Cheers!