Modern Fashion: Maria Loria of WearMyWardrobeOut On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful…

Modern Fashion: Maria Loria of WearMyWardrobeOut On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Time and money — self funding your business will only take you so far. To scale up fast after successful proof of concept it takes more time, resource and money to do this. I’ve worked contract jobs for 9 months on and off to fund paying my graduate staff, to be able to open my studio and to fund essentials like technology and PR. Its exhausting being two people and working two jobs but if you can sustain it then it’s worth it in the end. On 1st March I’ll be back to one job and will have opened up a rental and repair studio all self-funded.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Maria Loria, from WearMyWardrobeOut.

We are the UK’s first fully circular sustainable fashion-as-a-service brand. We rent out handpicked, timeless vintage and pre-loved items from Maria and Co’s wardrobe sourced only from items already in existence. We alter, repair for re-wear and upcycle to enable the ongoing recycle of fashion items, unwanted upholstery, household items and just about anything that we do not want to see go to landfill by making one-of-a-kind dresses for rent.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

Both a blessing and a curse… being born from Italian Irish heritage, I inherited a very odd body shape that meant standard retail shop sizes didn’t fit me. I’ve always had to adjust my own clothes, nipping in the waist or letting out the hips. My mum would help occasionally but she had two jobs and my two brothers to look after so never had the time, which meant I’d had to teach myself basic sewing skills by the time I’d reached 12 years old!

At age 14, I landed my first paid job working in my hometown as a Saturday retail shop girl. I was so obsessed with fashion that I actually lied to the shop owner, saying I was aged 16 to get myself the job!

Every Saturday, the first thing I’d do when I got to work was rummage through the latest stock arrivals, and reserve my choices. At closing time I’d blow my entire wage on new outfits where after school each day I’d hand sew and alter these clothes to fit me perfectly . I was the only girl among my friends who had the means and independence to buy my own clothes every week.

Pretty soon, I was lending clothes out to friends and had quickly developed an obsession for picking out items for the women shoppers that came into the shop on a Saturday.

Then I discovered vintage! I remember in 2004 going to visit my cousin in NYC and walking into Cheap Jacks Vintage Store in Midtown (sadly now closed). It was like nothing I’d ever seen before, an emporium of wall to wall vintage and thrifted one-of-a-kind fashion pieces. I’d literally died and been reincarnated that same day in that shop! Beside myself with excitement, in awe of how aesthetically pleasing these vintage items really were! I left there with a 1980’s Dynasty style glitter jumpsuit, the kind you’d have seen in British Vogue or imagined a New York socialite wearing to a cocktail party in the mid 80’s. I imagined who had worn this undeniably exquisite outfit before me, what was their story. It must have been worn a handful of times since it was in immaculate condition somewhat 20 years on! Fashion altering and wearing Vintage was always just a necessity and a hobby to me, it was never a viable career choice.

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Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

It was becoming very clear that throwaway fashion was a real thing and that cheap fast fashion retailers were gaining market share by mass producing trend items. Items made from cheap, offensive materials created in ill-fitting poorly designed styles. When I looked further into this it was frightening to see the amount of over produced clothes being dumped in landfill. I was further appalled reading about the unethical exploitation of workers in the countries that these brands were sourcing their products from.

It simply was not sustainable to continue to allow these brands to operate in this way. Yet to move the dial away from the fast fashion culture of today there needed to be alternative, accessible, affordable operating models developed to enable fashion lovers to shop consciously and to support a future circular fashion economy.

So, I decided to take my business experience, my life savings, quit my finance job and launch WearMyWardrobeOut.

I wanted to give everyone access to a fully circular wardrobe experience by only wearing clothes already in existence, by extending the life of these clothes and by ensuring that they got re worn and reinvented for years and years to come. Ultimately, permanently turning their backs on these unethical brands who are not only harming the plant but that are cheapening and disrespecting the skill and craftsmanship of dress making, tailoring and fashion art by producing their clothes at such a devalued discounted price, on mass. I also wanted to make it affordable for people who really did only want to wear something twice (but that did not want to wear something new each time) and give them the ability to consume fashion in a way that suited their lifestyle but that didn’t compromise their values and that gave them value for money.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

12 months ago, I was sat on back-to-back calls negotiating bids for a large Corporate telecommunications company 45 hours a week having already spent 18 years in a Finance career.

A career in fashion was always completely out of reach for someone like me. I didn’t live in London, I hadn’t been to Fashion School, I knew no one in the Industry, I didn’t have any rich socialite friends that would give an ‘inning’ to their world or any famous influencer’s that could promote my idea across social media.

The barriers to entry were just so high that it was just completely unimaginable. Yet just last week I was invited to a closed Vogue Business Event in London where I was surrounded by fashion people from the Industry sat just 8 feet apart from Vogue business editors, the VP of Farfetch, the former CEO of ASOS and the Creative Director of Klarna!

I guess me even typing this answer to a potential fashion article is the most interesting story that has happened to me because I never dreamed that I’d have the opportunity to run my own meaningful fashion brand or be part of such a hugely important change to the fashion industry challenging the way that we as a society consume fashion.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Transparency, passion, and likeability are key to being a successful leader, if you aren’t able to connect with your audience by showing real authentic emotions and the real you then I think people see straight through this.

I was incredibly lucky that in August 2021, I put out a boosted post on Instagram for an Internship and found three of the most talented and loveliest people who wanted to come and work with me for three weeks. Between us we shared my sustainable brand story and mission with the community and asked people to volunteer to help us produce our first ever AW 21 Look book photoshoot. They believed in the brand and our purpose because they could see that we had a true and honest end goal that they connected with. We had volunteer models, photographers, coffee runners and were even given the photo shoot location venue for free for the entire day! Since then we’ve shot three other campaigns of which most have produced with community creative volunteers and models that see us as leading the way to a more sustainable fashion future.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I am the only truly circular and sustainable service brand in this space in the UK where I curate, hand pick, rent, repair, reinvent, recycle, upcycle and tailor the clothes under one service and one brand. I only rent and source items that are already in circulation or that are headed for landfill by extending their useful wearable life.

My competitors trade off the back of already established concession fashion brands (Rixo, Vampire’s Wife, Rotate) under the guise of sustainability, with a message of ‘Rent this dress from £15 per day instead of buying it for £250’ omitting that there is a 3-day minimum rental period, plus a cleaning fee, plus a postage fee, plus insurance fees. Most items of which are sourced as managed wardrobed directly from brands last season dead stock and not actually worth a RRP of £250. The brands they work with have dead stock because they have over-produced, and they are brands that are not always using sustainable materials. My competitors have opened up a new channel for brands to continue to bring new items into circulation and over produce because they can rent out their deadstock and recover 400% of their original RRP by renting a dress for £50 up to 20 times! And to sell the 2nd hand items on Depop for £70 as a residual value. This is not affordable or good value for money for young consumers.

I offer an equitable, affordable end to end experience which is concession brand agnostic and asks the end consumer to really alter the way they see fashion by looking beyond the fashion ‘brand name’ culture and look at whether they love the fashion item for its ascetics, and it’s fit. (Because most of these brands still over produce and still source their items from China)

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Never underestimate the power of nostalgia”. I heard this quote from the Creative Director of Moschino whilst watching an episode of ‘Making the Cut’ . He was talking about one of the designers that was sourcing items from 18th century carpets and upcycling along with thrift shop military jackets to create one-of-a-kind catwalk pieces for that week’s challenge. He was debating with Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn about which designer should go through to the next round and was deeply unhappy that the other judges just didn’t get the designer’s magical creations. The opinions were so diverse that it made me realise that fashion really is art and that I just had to curate a story about the vintage and upcycled items I had and not to take it so personally when not everyone got my brand.

A PR agent that I contacted in March 2021 was the most incredibly rude person I’d ever corresponded with. She made me feel small and that I had no place in the fashion world and that clients were only looking for luxury or established brands to work with. It was a lesson for sure. It wasn’t until I heard this quote that I felt better about how belittling the email exchange with her was and decided to re-visit PR and thank goodness I did and found someone fantastic to help me, if I hadn’t then I would not be writing this answer right now.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

I can see more and more marketplaces arising where the traditional supply chain shifts from a supplier and D2C model, to an organic localised peer to peer supply chain model. Made up of community creatives with amateur sewing skills and emerging designers sharing their services with their community via marketplace apps. I see upcycling designers becoming more mainstream via marketplace apps where people want customisation and want one off items that are unique and statement like. Fast fashion brands will be held more to account and I really do see a gap in the market for a world leading fashion-as-a-service brand to take the lead in slowing fashion down. Consumers are looking for a frictionless online and offline experience and a community curated experience. They no longer want fashion to be functional or online only. The metaverse will or will not become a major thing, who knows but I think for luxury brands this is a real opportunity for them. I see more and more collaborations between brands just like we saw with Gucci and North Face last year. I can see consumers really turning the dial on sustainability but to do this they’ll need to let go of the cheap price points they’re used to, but this will happen as more and more people shine a focus on fast fashion brands.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

This is our social responsibility mission: we exist to:

  • Challenge the long-term buying behaviors of people in the UK which contributes to increased consumer debt, driven by social peer pressure. Through enabling a platform for people to affordably rent pre-loved stylish outfits instead of buying them.
  • Contribute to slowing down throwaway fashion by renting out pre-loved items until they have reached the end of their economic life through the ongoing love, repair and upcycling of preloved items.
  • Contribute to the reduction of fashion waste by recycling and upcycling (where feasibly possible) end-of-life, pre-loved fast fashion and vintage items.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

I only source items that are already in circulation from vintage to damaged items that need minor or major repairs. I take donations and other people’s wardrobe items and rent them out. We never buy new and we never accept items from brands unless they are pre-loved and from local small businesses that have the same mission and ethics as we do.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

The power and influence that fast fashion brands have gained in the past 2 years is frightening.

It is simply not sustainable to continue to enable the over consumption of fast fashion items and encouragement from fast fashion brands through constant ‘70% off’ messages being pumped into people on a daily basis.

We have an obligation to enable alternative ways of consuming fashion and hold accountable the brands that continue to over produce ‘trend’ items on mass and then dump their unwanted stock in landfill.

Until there are other proven consumption models available that are easily accessible, the fast fashion brands will carry on. I just need to believe that at some point the legacy consumers that blindly buy at this low price point will start to question why they can be priced so low and realise that their need for the latest trend items ultimately enables modern day slavery and the out right exploitation of other human beings in another country. Currently most consumers feel divorced from this, yet the harsh reality is that they are complicit. Its not about shaming people into turning their backs on fast fashion, it’s about helping them to understand how their clothes are made, how some items take 100 years to degrade and giving them a frictionless more conscious ways to consume fashion.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

  1. A true calling — I physically couldn’t eat or sleep in the last few months in my corporate job because my entire body was telling me that I needed to start this business. I was waking up in cold sweats every night! The day I resigned from my job my body just knew and and went back to normal immediately.
  2. A gap in the market — I said to many friends over 5 years ago that repairing and altering clothes was not accessible or affordable. I’d talked about creating a mobile tailoring business that I’d drive around doing on demand alterations because all of the clothes that fast fashion and high street brands were selling were ill fitting and cheap. That there was gap in the market to buy off the peg and then get a couture fit for your clothes on demand. Today there is a real need for this and for renting clothes — so timing is everything. 5 years ago would have seen the wrong time to start this business, the market and consumers wouldn’t have been ready for it.
  3. A talented team — one that is diverse in their opinions and ideas and that you empower and trust to have the same ethics and passion as you. When you find these people, look after them and hold onto them as they are very hard to find. I was lucky enough to find three amazing Interns that are now close friends and work for me part time as graduates. I trust them implicitly.
  4. Sheer determination — start up life is hard and it’s always going to feel easier to just work for someone else especially in the fashion industry where it is very saturated and impossible to break into. Don’t compare yourself to other brands unless it’s for market research otherwise it will just grind you down and you’ll lose focus clouding your mind with what others are doing. I see the other rental brands in the media weekly in WWD, the Guardian and its soul destroying wondering why my story hasn’t been heard, but I just have to trust that at the right time it will happen.
  5. Time and money — self funding your business will only take you so far. To scale up fast after successful proof of concept it takes more time, resource and money to do this. I’ve worked contract jobs for 9 months on and off to fund paying my graduate staff, to be able to open my studio and to fund essentials like technology and PR. Its exhausting being two people and working two jobs but if you can sustain it then it’s worth it in the end. On 1st March I’ll be back to one job and will have opened up a rental and repair studio all self-funded.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

By weeding out brands that are only interested in making billions of profits each year for their already wealthy shareholders all at the detriment to our planet and our people. By trying new ways to consume fashion, whether it be digital, IRL, online or in the metaverse — change is coming, and we should embrace it. Supporting emerging brands and designers is key.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I’d launch a one stop shop App for sustainable fashion that integrated bike couriers, scooters and a true end to end peer to peer platform. Enabling consumers to divert their disposable income to each other instead of to large greedy corporations and already wealth shareholders. I’d enable a platform for people in the UK to reinvent tailoring and dress making as a skill and an art and remove the need for exploiting overseas workers

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Via instagram @wearmywardrobeout or via our website, or IRL at our studio

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Modern Fashion: Maria Loria of WearMyWardrobeOut On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr Christina Burns of FABORM on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Dr Christina Burns of FABORM on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Slow down: Moving fast all the time puts us in fight or flight mode. We need balance with the two parts of our nervous system. I had a patient recently who felt puffy, tired, anxious, and bloated. I asked her about her routine, and she described rushing from one thing to the next. She would inhale her food just to get onto the next task. I told her to sit and chew and take a few mindful pauses throughout the day between commitments. Nothing crazy, just adding an extra five minutes to basic needs like eating. It’s critical to be in “rest and digest mode” when eating. “A few days into her new routine, she felt less agitated, less bloated, and happier.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Christina Burns.

Dr. Christina Burns is the founder of Naturna, a naturopath, a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, L.Ac, FABORM, and host of the Fertility in Focus Podcast. Naturna is an integrative health center based in New York City, dedicated to the comprehensive fusion of eastern medicine and western science. With18 years of clinical practice, Christina seeks to empower women and men to achieve their optimal life and health goals through natural medicine practices, informed integrative nutrition, lifestyle management, and personalized mind-body programs. She is a licensed Chinese medicine doctor with board certification in Oriental reproductive medicine and nine years of postsecondary education. Christina has advanced acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, life coaching, and yoga therapy certifications.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I’m a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and a Naturopath. I embarked on my journey into wellness after dealing with a litany of issues growing up. Be it hormonal, skin, digestive, or mood challenges, these niggly issues severely affected my quality of life. I bounced from doctor to doctor, took all sorts of medications, and always ended up worse off without any insight into why.

When I was 19 years old, I ventured to Asia. I witnessed a different healthcare paradigm. It was a system that considered our daily choices, which affect our health, and incorporated herbs, nutrition, and mindfulness.

I returned to Canada and studied nutrition, martial arts, and herbal medicine. I became enamored with eastern philosophy and natural medicine. In this realm, I finally found solutions for the challenges I faced. Since then, I have addressed 99% of my issues naturally.

Can you share the most exciting story with you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Ten years ago, I had a patient desperate to have a baby. She was 39 and had a premature ovarian failure (POF). She had consulted seemingly every doctor in New York, all of whom said she would need to use a donor egg if she wanted to get pregnant. But she was determined not to take that route. With her hair thinning and her thyroid off-kilter, we overhauled her diet and got her off processed food. Although she had difficulty with the diet changes, she persisted. She also did acupuncture and took a custom blend of herbs. As miracles would have it, she conceived a healthy pregnancy.

Despite what all these doctors told her, she refused to believe it. It was her will that astonished me. The power of belief was what I took away from this experience. And the possibility of defying the odds. Statistics are not the be-all-end-all. Who says you can’t be that 0.001%? Stay the course if it feels right.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you started? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I underestimated the time it would take to get good at what I do. I started with a two-year program, thinking I would be ready to start my career. It became apparent quickly that it was the tip of the iceberg, and I needed to learn more. Next, I enrolled in another three years to perfect my skills which extended to five. I still didn’t feel ready to start treating patients professionally. I spent two more years in Asia treating patients before I felt qualified enough to return to the states and start getting compensated for my expertise. The lesson I learned is that there are no shortcuts. If you believe in something, expect to play the long game.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping make a bigger impact in the world?

My dream is to help transform the way we approach healthcare. I believe it’s upside down. We run to the doctor for our health concerns because we lack basic knowledge of how our bodies function. We struggle to figure out the best food to eat, what exercise we should be doing, and how to live a balanced life. When we get ill, we don’t know how to recover. As a naturopath, I firmly believe in the physician as a teacher. I teach and empower all my patients to take charge of their lives with the right tools to guide them in eating, exercising, and integrating wellness practices to prevent illness and treat it. It’s not as though western medicine isn’t helpful or necessary. It’s just that western medicine tends to use more aggressive methods that are overused and not practical for a variety of subtle imbalances that affect our quality of life. If we learn more about lifestyle choices and natural medicine, we will lead more enjoyable and healthier lives.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1) Finish eating before 7 pm: You will sleep deeper and feel more refreshed. I had a patient that was self-medicating with coffee to get through the day. She had to peel herself out of bed every morning and couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t at her optimal weight. She felt puffy and bloated. Within a week of not eating late, she lost pounds of water weight, and even her mornings were more productive without the caffeine.

2) Eat protein for breakfast: Low blood sugar will trigger a crash at some point. I had a patient who felt anxiety all through the day, worse at night. She would also crave sugar in the evenings. I told her to include protein in her breakfast, and within days she felt more balanced emotionally, and her sweet tooth and evening binges disappeared.

3) Get outside every day: People need nature. I had a patient that stayed inside for months during the earlier part of the pandemic. When she finally came to see me, her anxiety was through the roof. My prescription was to get outside, walk daily and see the sky. After a week of the new routine, her anxiety decreased tremendously.

4) Eat cooked foods: Digestive issues are rampant and cooked foods are often a good solution because they are easy to digest. I had a patient who described being so bloated that she looked six months pregnant. When I asked her what she ate, she said salads, yogurt, fruit, and ice water. I told her to cook everything for a week, including poaching an apple or pear if she needed something sweet. Her bloating decreased dramatically, and she felt much better.

5) Slow down: Moving fast all the time puts us in fight or flight mode. We need balance with the two parts of our nervous system. I had a patient recently who felt puffy, tired, anxious, and bloated. I asked her about her routine, and she described rushing from one thing to the next. She would inhale her food just to get onto the next task. I told her to sit and chew and take a few mindful pauses throughout the day between commitments. Nothing crazy, just adding an extra five minutes to basic needs like eating. It’s critical to be in “rest and digest mode” when eating. “A few days into her new routine, she felt less agitated, less bloated, and happier.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would integrate natural medicine with western medicine everywhere possible. For most people, their first point of contact for a health visit is their doctor. While the doctor has a lot to offer, they don’t provide much nutritional or lifestyle advice or natural options to address health complaints. When I lived in Asia, I worked in hospitals and offices where we worked as a team with an assortment of approaches — acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, western medicine. It was glorious! Not to mention practical. If only we had a more integrated approach here, we would reduce dependency on pharmaceuticals and surgical interventions by starting with the basics. Even having doctors referred to for nutrition or mindfulness counseling would be a huge step forward. But doctors are busy and don’t necessarily seek out these resources, so I would like to start a movement that makes this a reality.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1) There aren’t many quick fixes in a pathway to health. I thought that I could fix things immediately. It turns out that the body doesn’t always listen to our type A brains. Sometimes it takes time, and we must honor that. There is only so much we can control.

2) You can’t do everything on your own. I wish I had recognized that being a good clinician doesn’t make you a savvy businessperson. It’s overwhelming, and I would have appreciated more guidance to reduce stress and save myself from mistakes I made early on.

3) Not everyone is open or interested in natural medicine. I used to take it to heart if someone didn’t embrace my practice. I’ve made peace with the idea that it’s not my role to convince every person I encounter about the value of natural medicine. I can educate and hope they will want to open their minds to other options, but I don’t take it personally if they don’t.

4) Failures offer to lead to your most significant opportunities. Failure taught me to think more critically before moving forward with business decisions.

5) Consistency is the key to success in business and health. Stick with the program, and it will often bear fruits.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dear to you, and why?

Mental health is dear to me now, personally and professionally. I have struggled my whole life with anxiety and depression. I’ve seen so many patients facing the same issues, particularly in this era of the pandemic. Mental health is a big issue. I developed an herbal formula that got me through my postpartum depression and applied a more comprehensive application in my own life. Many of my patients have had great success with the formula. It is called “junk juice” due to the murky nature of the beverage and has worked wonders for me and many others in addressing anxiety and mood issues.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

https://www.instagram.com/naturna_life/

https://naturnalife.com/

https://www.instagram.com/junkjuicemagic/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fertility-in-focus-podcast/id1544999680

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Dr Christina Burns of FABORM on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sarah Nielsen of SG Wellness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Exercise wakes us up by pumping oxygen rich blood throughout our bodies. When we don’t move for long periods of time, we may begin to feel like a stagnant pond. Even brief moments of movement have the ability to flush our whole body with a fresh supply of ingredients needed for us to focus, interact, and thrive. By choosing to carve out moments for intentional movement, we travel away from pond territory and take on the flowing characteristics of an oxygen rich river that’s full of life and vitality.

As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sarah Nielsen, NBC-HWC, M.Ed., a Pillar National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

Sarah is a national board certified health & well-being coach with over 15 years of experience in health education. She holds a Masters in Health Education, and specializes in working with adults wanting to improve their wellbeing, particularly those who have recently experienced a health scare or received a chronic condition diagnosis. Her unique coaching approach leverages lifestyle medicine, mindfulness, nature-based insights for personal growth, and self-compassion. Sarah’s private practice is based in Austin, TX. When she’s not working with clients, she picks up weekly volunteer shifts at two urban farms in her community.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?

Thanks so much for having me! I’m fortunate that wellness has been a golden thread throughout my life, weaving through an array of fitness and outdoor recreation pursuits. I grew up outdoors, and have vivid memories of wandering around my grandparent’s farm like a free-range chicken. I also have a dance background, and upon starting college, I found myself naturally gravitating to the choreography and energy of group exercise classes offered by the campus’ recreation program. When I realized fitness and wellness was something I could study and do for a living, everything clicked into place and I aligned my coursework accordingly.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

In a previous role, I had an opportunity to join a team of delivery drivers for a “ride along” day of delivering furniture to customers throughout San Francisco. As a wellness professional, it was an opportunity for me to gain a keen understanding of the physical feats delivery teams muscle through each day — not to mention the mental challenges that come with maneuvering incredibly heavy, bulky furniture up multiple flights of stairs. It was a one-of-a-kind tour of the city that allowed me to witness a pair of humans achieve nearly impossible deliveries, only to turn around and do it again and again.

Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

Prior to my formal coach training, I used to blame myself as a health educator if someone wasn’t ready to make changes for their health and wellbeing. I thought that if I could just convince them of all the reasons why they should get healthy, they’d see the light and we could really move mountains together. It’s humorous now because that’s not the way behavior change works at all. I’m thankful for the knowledge my coach training gave me; not only am I skilled at helping others change deeply seeded habits, but I have a better understanding about human behavior as a whole.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

I have developed deep roots and a bird’s eye view of the wellness field. I’ve spent my career cultivating a unique blend of knowledge and professional experience that has allowed me to be nimble in my private practice and in consulting for larger organizations’ wellbeing needs. As a behavior change expert, I’m able to intuitively align with my clients and quickly understand the unique terrain of their priorities and pitfalls. Health Coaches are not therapists, but we do have an affinity for casting a light on those big ah-ha moments that are unique to your behavior blindspots. I believe my unique contribution to the world of wellness is to act as a learning bridge between the scientific communities of traditional fitness, health education, and outdoor education, while holding space for the not-so-scientific moments that occur to each of us as we navigate the path towards change. I teach my clients that struggle can co-exist with success, because ultimately, we are here to learn and grow.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have several mentors to thank for the role they played in my career, but meeting my academic advisor at the University of Minnesota Duluth definitely changed the trajectory of my life. His name is Dr. Ken Gilberston, and after we sat down to talk nothing was ever the same. In me, he saw someone who understood the bigger web of wellness. Traditional kinesiology and outdoor education felt like two different worlds to most, but because of my varied background, I was able to see them as two branches of the same “improving your quality of life” tree. He helped me create a major that blended Fitness, Health, and Outdoor Education. Once my launchpad was built, the rest was history. Dr. Gilbertson remains a mentor to this day, and I’m grateful our paths crossed when they did.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

Emotions are potent drivers and they can easily sway our choices for better or for worse. Typically, when I see people not quite ready to integrate meaningful change in their lives, it trickles down to the following root causes…

1. Thinking you can put it off — Our bodies are actually pretty resilient. They do amazing things each day to keep us alive, despite how poorly we may treat them with a lack of sleep, water, or beneficial nutrients. It can be easy to think “I’ve made it this far, why change now?” But I encourage my clients to view their health as a different kind of savings account. Lots of us know the value in saving money for retirement, but we don’t hold the same perspective towards our health. It can be uncomfortable to reflect on, but what will you do with all of that money if you don’t live long enough to enjoy it? Or worse, what if all of the money you worked so hard to save goes towards treating preventable medical conditions instead of financing your actual goals and hobbies? In the practice of building health and wealth, we want to avoid the gut panic feeling that comes with worrying you’ve waited too long and are too far behind to catch up. Remember, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.”

2. Thinking it’s a punishment — Somewhere along the line we accepted the idea that restriction and willpower were the keys to becoming healthy, when they’re actually the keys to burnout and defeat. Rating the quality of your workout based on how sore you are the next day is not an accurate marker of progress. Suffering through another round of Whole 30, just to swing the pendulum back on day 31 isn’t it either, y’all. If we lean too far into cookie cutter meal plans or unrealistic exercise regimens, we can end up feeling angry at ourselves that we couldn’t stick with the plan, when in reality, it was never an appropriate plan for you to begin with. Bottom line, we’re talking about lifetime health and well-being, not a chunk of time. It’s important to enjoy the things you eat and the way you choose to move your body, because if you don’t, it’s that much harder to stick with them for the long term. “Every plant has its own requirements to grow, and so do people.”

3. Lack of Support — Technically, you could cut your own hair. You’ve used scissors before and you know what the end result should look like, so it should be a piece of cake, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. There are finer techniques and knowledge that a professional brings to the table, so compared to them, your best effort wouldn’t be as successful. When it comes to the science of sustainable behavior change, the same logic applies. A professionally trained, board-certified coach will help you find success by identifying blind spots and providing steady, unbiased support through the ups and downs of behavior change.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

1. Zoom out. Shrizad Chamine, author of Positive Intelligence, shares the perspective evoking exercise of dividing your chronological age into fifths, and taking a few moments to objectively recall each of the five phases of your life by scanning for highlights, lowlights, and life-lessons gleaned. When we pause to zoom out and observe, we gain perspective on how far we’ve come, but we also gain awareness of our unwritten future, still open to the direction of our choosing. When it comes to envisioning your future wellbeing, consider how you’d like to feel one year from now, 5 years from now, 15 years from now. What are your priorities? Who do you want to be around for? Which life events or major milestones are you looking forward to? Your answers become your Whys. Some call it a north star, others call it a guiding light. When you zoom out and identify your Why, you activate the power of intrinsic motivation, ensuring that when you zoom back into your daily life, you’re able to align your actions to your goals accordingly, and with ease.

2. Refill your NatureRx. During the height of the pandemic we experienced a significant disruption to our daily lives that took a toll on our emotional wellbeing. But there were also daily occurrences that were not disrupted; animals continued to migrate, flowers bloomed, and seasons changed as they’ve always done, providing us with quiet reminders that there are still natural anchors we can attach ourselves to when life seems to be spinning out of control. Fortunately, gaining access to the calming effects of nature are accessible on a spectrum. Nature is the houseplant in your living room, a specific tree in your neighborhood, a community garden, or your yard. It’s something you can return to regularly to quietly observe the natural pace of growth and change. The Japanese practice of forest bathing or shinrin-yoku, teaches us to slow down and quietly observe examples of growth amid a living backdrop of natural stillness and resilience. As you pause to take in the colors and textures of whatever nature looks like for you, you’ll feel your heart rate decrease and your shoulders soften, and you’re reminded of why you came to refill your NatureRx in the first place.

3. Get along with your gut- The scientific community is only just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s known as our “second brain,” aka the gut microbiome. Made up of the bacteria, fungi and other microbes that live in our digestive tract, your second brain can influence digestion, immunity, and emotional regulation. Regularly consuming ultra-processed foods that contain few beneficial nutrients do very little to prop up the internal ecosystem of our bodies. Consider supporting your gut microbiome with fermented and fiber rich foods to ensure your healthy bacteria have the nutrients they need to flourish.

4. Experiment with intuitive eating and intuitive movement- I regularly cross paths with folks seeking out restrictive eating plans or punishing fitness challenges enticed by promises to jumpstart their progress or reset their metabolism. Often, these “results not typical” cookie-cutter programs do not factor in the day-to-day rollercoasters of our lives. Practicing intuitive eating and intuitive exercise means that you’re attuning to the needs of your body as they evolve in real time. You’re already practicing it when you feel thirsty and take a sip of water, why not lean into this practice a bit more to see what else you can learn about what your body needs? Do your legs still feel really sore from yesterday’s heavy workout? It’s okay to listen to your body and go for a walk instead. Expecting yourself to stay the cookie-cutter course no matter what your day throws at you can create a behavior change mindset clouded by obligation, guilt, and negative self-talk. Taking care of yourself should feel good. When we listen to our bodies’ unique emotional and physical needs and respond accordingly, we strengthen the most significant relationship that we can sustain for the length of our lives — the one with ourselves.

5. Establish a sleep routine to properly pace yourself for the relentlessness of modern life. To be honest, rest is exactly what the weary need. Instagram watercolor artist, Britchida, has a piece titled “Two Options” that illustrates a striking visual that reminds us of times we’ve pushed ourselves to deliver, produce, and perform, only to succumb to fatigue or illness later on. Pace yourself for modern life by allocating time for rest and regeneration. Our body is a living ecosystem that thrives best under conditions of nutritious foods, regular movement, and rest. An easy ROI for your long-term health is to establish a consistent sleep hygiene routine, or bedtime routine. Parents around the world keenly understand the delicate balance of maintaining their children’s bedtime routines, knowing the disruption that can unfold if routines are skirted for just one night. Our ageless need for restful sleep doesn’t dissolve once we’re the adults in charge of our own bedtimes. As with any change in behavior, experimenting with establishing a bedtime routine may take some trial and learning until you find the right combination for your unique needs.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

Absolutely. When our only perceived benefit of exercise is weight loss we construct a narrow tunnel around ourselves about what exercise is, and what it can do for us.

First, exercise wakes us up by pumping oxygen rich blood throughout our bodies. When we don’t move for long periods of time, we may begin to feel like a stagnant pond. Even brief moments of movement have the ability to flush our whole body with a fresh supply of ingredients needed for us to focus, interact, and thrive. By choosing to carve out moments for intentional movement, we travel away from pond territory and take on the flowing characteristics of an oxygen rich river that’s full of life and vitality.

Second, exercise cheers us up. We also know that exercise is a potent salve for our emotional health. The act of exercise can help us release the emotional and physical symptoms of stress that accumulate in us like a stack of pancakes each day, one stressor after the next. Under enough pressure we’re all susceptible to cracking, but after we exercise, we pivot the day by feeling physically rearranged and mentally shifted for the better. Our bodies are expertly designed to take care of us in that we already possess all of the necessary tools/equipment/parts, we just have to start the engine.

Finally, exercise is a multitasking immunity booster. For many of us, the last couple of years have caused us to become acutely aware of the role our immunity plays in our lives. Fortunately, regular doses of exercise can keep our bodies humming along in several key areas. First, there’s clear value in being the owner of an aerobically conditioned heart and set of lungs that do not fatigue easily. Yet, an often overlooked benefit that exercise bestows on us is its impact on our quality and quantity of sleep. We’re familiar with studies that demonstrate measurable decline in our cognitive and physical abilities after a poor night’s sleep. We also know that our cells can’t properly regenerate and repair for the day ahead without getting rest each night. For those managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, skimping on sleep can dramatically impact the direction of your day. Big picture, the immunity angle is just another testament to our bodies amazing ability to take care of itself if we let it.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

1. Walking — Walking is portable, affordable, and available in small to large doses. Physiologically, it helps to clear out our stagnant pond by flushing out stress, aiding digestion, and easing tensions of all sorts. Because it’s accessible to most, people of all fitness levels will benefit from adding a walking routine into their lives. Customization comes in the form of pace or speed, and whether the terrain is flat, hilly, or treadmill based. Few other forms of highly effective exercise are available as conveniently and as readily as walking, and it’s been right under our noses this entire time.

2. Strength Training — Our muscles are what prop up our skeletal system. If our muscles are weak, we’re setting ourselves up for an array of risks later in life. The benefits of strength training are many, and like walking, it can be customized to the user based on their desired goals.
Beginners should aim for three sessions of strength training per week, allowing for the proper recovery time needed for the breakdown and rebuilding of muscle tissue. Equally important is having the mindset that strengthening your muscles is a process that cannot be rushed. Pacing your reps and sets accordingly is the name of the game. People who engage in regular strength training can expect improvements to their resting metabolic rate, bone density, and body composition.

3. Stretching — If you’ve ever played with silly putty, you can recall how stiff it feels when you remove it from its classic egg-shaped case. But you’ll also recall how flexible the silly putty becomes with movement, warmth, and time. Our muscles can be viewed in much the same way. Our muscles get stiff if we’ve been in the same position for too long, but we’re also very pliable, and like silly putty, we can loosen and lengthen ourselves over time. Oftentimes, we reap the benefits of muscle flexibility at a moment’s notice — like if we slip on a patch of ice, or quickly reach for something before it falls to the ground. Fortunately, stretching is an ageless activity that can be done for the length of one’s life. In our faster paced society, lots of us have decided that we don’t have time to stretch after our workouts when our muscles are warmest, and able to be lengthened with ease. By overlooking stretching, we miss a critical opportunity to repair our bodies post-workout. Zooming out, you want the muscles you need at a moment’s notice to be ready, not cold out of the egg-shaped case. Take it slow, take deep breaths, and be patient and persistent with your progress as you start to literally loosen up.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande. Hindsight being what it is, I wish I would have read it prior to my grandparents’ passing. As humans, we try to avoid discomfort as much as possible, even if it means putting off critical conversations about loved ones’ wishes regarding the final chapter of their lives. Unfortunately, this avoidance-at-all-cost practice gives way to other problems. As with any form of procrastination, we eventually find ourselves backed into a corner with shrinking options to choose from. As we realize we haven’t taken steps to navigate uncomfortable conversations, a powerful cocktail of panic, sadness and regret takes hold, placing our next steps under heavy emotional influence rather than logic. Emotions aside, Being Mortal also gave me a greater perspective of the limits we have as humans in our physical bodies, as well as profound insight into how to navigate the turbulent waters of the aging process, whether it be our own or those we are closest to.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If I could start a movement, it would be for us to recognize the power of walking. Walking, especially outdoors, can be an incredibly potent tool for our emotional and physical well-being. Feeling restless? Go for a walk. Too full from dinner? Go for a walk. Angry? Walk it out, y’all. Walking rearranges us and reinvigorates us. You get to set the pace, and the dress code is irrelevant compared to many other types of exercise.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

Ralph Waldo Emerson says “Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.” In December 2019, I gave a mindfulness presentation to the Human Resources team at my job. The presentation was a success, and the next day I received Emerson’s quote on a thank you card from my boss. Months later, COVID’s turbulent arrival would shake us up like a snowglobe, and I found myself among the millions of unemployed. It was then that I decided to sow seeds to create my private practice, keeping Emerson’s quote within close view at all times.

Did you know that carrots take roughly 75 days to grow from seed to harvest? I find this humbling and comforting at the same time, especially if I feel myself expecting too much, too soon out of life. Often our need for instant gratification tricks us into expecting ourselves to grow faster than we’re physically capable of. When it comes to growing and changing, the carrot can’t rush itself, and neither should we.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

I’d love to have a meal with choreographer and dancer, Ryan Heffington, to thank him for the livestream aerobic dance classes he created out of thin air during the early months of the pandemic. As gyms and studios shuttered across the country, the fitness industry I’d come to know for the past twenty years was forever altered. I was elated to see thousands of people from around the world streaming his 60-minute classes on Instagram each week as we grapevined our way through the collective grief of losing so much, so quickly.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Readers interested in my urban farming adventures can follow along on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sg__wellness/ , and follow my coaching work on my website https://sgwellnessatx.com/.

Readers can also keep up with the amazing work Pillar Health Coaches are doing at www.withpillar.com and instagram.com/withpillar

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!


Sarah Nielsen of SG Wellness: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Denise Cartwright of CRUDE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Denise Cartwright of CRUDE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Always Be Flora-Focused — The skin barrier is teeming with natural colonies of bacteria and fungi which work directly with your immune system to regulate, clean and regenerate the skin. Your skin relies on its microbiome, or flora, but unfortunately that’s what we’re washing off our bodies each day when we use soapy cleansers. Don’t get me wrong, hand-washing (the whole 20 seconds!) is an integral part of basic hygiene as well as combating the spread of disease. But daily head-to-toe soap use is wreaking havoc on our bodies — and our biomes.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Denise Cartwright.

Now a Master Esthetician of 12+ years, Denise developed CRUDE in her kitchen in 2014 after an experiment with oil-cleansing cleared her acne breakouts. Within six months, she helped more people heal their acne using her oil-cleansing system than she had in six years using the industry’s most cutting-edge products and treatments. This reality got her questioning the foundations of our modern skincare protocols, and her research and experimentation led her to conceive and formulate CRUDE’s entire line of soapless, detergent-free, flora-friendly self care products.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

During my decade-long career as an esthetician, I became especially intrigued by inflammatory skin diseases like acne, rosacea, and eczema, and the conflicting science on the best way to treat them. Throughout much of my esthetics career, I personally experienced imbalanced, dry, patchy skin and regular acne breakouts, despite using some of the top skincare products available at the time. I started hearing about people using oil-cleansing to heal their acne, and decided to experiment with the method, despite it conflicting with what I had been taught in esthetics school. I was told oil was bad for the skin, that it should be stripped with harsh cleansers and exfoliants, and that oil-free products were superior. I was intrigued and desperate for healthy skin, so I washed my face with oil for a week, and it instantly improved my skin. I did a ton of ingredient research and perfected a system that kept my skin consistently clear, then started sharing it with my facial clients. One by one they wanted more, and it quickly made sense to create a brand and start a business.

I spent $30 on the ingredients for my first batch of oil cleansers, then kept reinvesting what I was making into larger and larger batches of product. Word spread quickly, and I helped more people heal their acne during those first six months than I had in the six years prior working as an esthetician. I continued to bootstrap the business, and CRUDE has now generated millions in revenue without any VC funding or large advertising expenditures.

In 2017, CRUDE launched the first truly soap- and detergent-free body wash available on the market. It received a lot of buzz as testimonials started to come out from customers who used it to heal their eczema and psoriasis, and surprisingly, their chronic bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

When I started CRUDE, I had a feeling the reason it was working so well for people had something to do with the skin microbiome. But nearly 9 years ago almost no one was talking about the skin microbiome, and the research was pretty limited. In 2021, our Wash was the first body wash (and baby wash) ever to be certified microbiome-friendly, passing the rigorous standards of MyMicrobiome, the world’s first lab to create a (much needed) standard of microbiome friendliness in personal care. It’s been fascinating to watch this research evolve and to start to see it becoming a standard in the beauty industry. This made sense to me intuitively nearly a decade ago, and I’m glad I followed that hunch and now get to be on the forefront of this movement and paradigm shift in skin and personal care.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I first started CRUDE I was really worried about everything being perfect before it could be seen, and overprotective of our branding and messaging. It was hard for me to release control and delegate, which left a lot of tasks that I wasn’t necessarily great at on my plate. This of course came from my own insecurities, an unrealistic view of perfection and an unhealthy need for validation. Therapy and self care are helping me work out the internal stuff, but since those early days in 2014, I’ve also seen how often my ‘perfect’ vision of something isn’t what actually performs or relates best to our audience. I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons and found a lot of freedom in learning to delegate, to trust my team, follow their vision and not over-edit or over-analyze things.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

CRUDE’s ultimate mission isn’t just about transforming our approach to inflammatory skin conditions, but our notions of cleanliness itself. Some of the very first major ad campaigns were led by soap companies with messaging that framed women and people of color ‘unclean’ and in need of correction. Countless ads depict everything from marital problems to job performance relating back to soap use with the promise that using the right product would improve their lives and their family’s futures. One of the other recurring themes in soap ads was the claim that soap was the ‘mark of civilization’ and that it was white people’s duty to enlighten and uplift colonized people of color through cleansing their bodies, quite literally washing them white. Those theories weren’t just used to sell soap but to justify colonialism, slavery, and eugenics. This level of propaganda has real world effects that stretch far beyond the health and beauty aisle. To this day we see advertisements framing light skin as preferable, pure, and morally correct. Afterall, cleanliness is next to godliness, right?

So, there is a real moralizing element to being ‘clean’ that has, obviously, no scientific base, and remains largely unaddressed in the skincare and beauty worlds. But these are the kinds of destructive attitudes that these billion dollar industries are founded on. They profit from fears and insecurities that they created and we are long past the point where enough is enough. It’s time to take stock of our personal values beyond what’s being sold to us and unpack a century of really damaging rhetoric.

That’s why we created our educational hub, SOUL, or the School of UnLearning. If something as ‘common sense’ as washing our bodies has all this weird baggage and misinformation around it, what else do we need to unlearn in order to connect with our bodies and each other in healthier, more honest ways? Through SOUL we’ve connected with a number of experts, activists, artists, and thought leaders who challenge us to dig deeper. With their guidance we’ve created a resource and space for these conversations while also building connections and expanding our communities through our event programming, the proceeds of which always benefit grassroots organizations supporting women and people of color and an amazing array of diverse, value-aligned content creators.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

  1. Eat More Fiber — The first step people usually take on their journey toward a healthy microbiome is to buy a probiotic supplement or fermented foods like yogurt or kimchi. While there are certainly benefits to consuming live bacteria, one of the best ways to support your gut microbiome is actually to just increase your fiber intake. Microbes feed on fiber, so this is a great way to keep them happy and healthy, while supporting the gut lining. When microbes are starved of fiber, they start to feed on the protective mucus lining of the gut, which can trigger inflammation and disease. Even occasional fiber deprivation in mice leads to a compromised gut lining, which gets thinner and weaker the less fiber they eat.
  2. Stop Over-Cleansing Your Skin — Just like your gut, your skin has a microbiome. The skin is teeming with living bacteria and fungi that work directly with your immune system to keep your skin and body healthy and in homeostasis — yet most of us wash off these crucial microbes, along with our skin’s natural moisture barrier, with a soap or detergent-based cleanser on a daily basis. Like the gut lining, the skin’s natural moisture barrier is intrinsically tied to the health of the skin and its microbiome. This naturally produced, oily shield protects the body from water loss and pathogenic bacteria, and holds essential moisture in the skin. So why do we strip this essential barrier and our flora from our skin with suds.
  3. Go Outside — A diverse microbiome is a resilient one — greater diversity of microorganisms is largely correlated with overall health and well-being. One of the best ways to expose yourself to a diverse array of bacteria is to get out of the house. Exposure to soil and a variety of natural environments can increase bacterial diversity and improve the immune system. People who live in urban environments with less biodiversity have a lower diversity of microbes, but access to more biodiverse areas such as green spaces and parks shows major biome benefits.
  4. Use More Oils — The outdated belief that oil is bad for our skin has led to an obsession with being “squeaky clean.” Most people in the United States wash with a sudsing, oil-removing soap or detergent-based cleanser at least once a day. This strips your skin of its naturally produced, oil-based “shield,” leaving it inflamed and unprotected and creating your reliance on synthetic moisturizers and creams to replace what was stripped. Once the skin’s protective barrier has been compromised, unwanted agents like allergens and irritants can penetrate the skin and aggravate symptoms associated with inflammatory diseases like acne and eczema. The right facial oil will help repair this protective barrier and help you lock in moisture.
  5. Always Be Flora-Focused — The skin barrier is teeming with natural colonies of bacteria and fungi which work directly with your immune system to regulate, clean and regenerate the skin. Your skin relies on its microbiome, or flora, but unfortunately that’s what we’re washing off our bodies each day when we use soapy cleansers. Don’t get me wrong, hand-washing (the whole 20 seconds!) is an integral part of basic hygiene as well as combating the spread of disease. But daily head-to-toe soap use is wreaking havoc on our bodies — and our biomes.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I’d call it the ‘Rewilding’ and it would be focused on getting people reconnected to nature and repairing their microbiomes — both of which have shown amazing potential for improving and restoring physical and mental wellbeing.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1 — You don’t have to be an expert at everything. Hire experts!

2 — Take weekends off. Seriously.

3 — Don’t be afraid to delegate. Trust your team!

4 — Focus on long-term, sustainable growth over short-term gains.

5- Don’t let work consume you. Prioritize your relationships.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Sustainability and the environment are hugely important to CRUDE. Sustainable packaging and ingredients are super important in personal care, but I think we need to take it a step further — reducing waste by simply creating less waste. CRUDE’s line is intentionally small, knowing our multi-use products (including our soapless cleansers which double as moisturizers) mean less waste in our landfills and oceans. CRUDE also uses recyclable glass and aluminum jars and bottles and 100% FSC certified paper.

In 2021, I founded Save Our Great Salt Lake, a coalition focused on building awareness for the fast-shrinking lake and namesake of CRUDE’s hometown, Salt Lake City. The coalition recently held a virtual rally just before the 2022 legislative session began to make it loud and clear that Utah MUST prioritize water conservation and saving the Great Salt Lake ecosystem in 2022. You can watch the full rally HERE, where hundreds of people heard from speakers on the history of the lake and Utahns relationship to it, including Brad Parry, Vice Chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and Terry Tempest Williams, an award-winning author and activist.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

https://livecrude.com/

https://www.facebook.com/crudepersonalcare

https://twitter.com/livecrude

https://www.instagram.com/livecrude/

https://www.instagram.com/dkcartwright

https://www.tiktok.com/@livecrude?lang=en

CRUDE Personal Care — YouTube

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Denise Cartwright of CRUDE On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Lyanne Hodson of StrongHer On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Lyanne Hodson of StrongHer On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

More people more problems — Now having a team of 20 people you would think it gets easier, but NOOOOOOOOO it doesn’t, the biggest misconception. It absolutely decreases the workload of the day to day runnings, but then you have to not only think about and deal with questions from all your members/customers but also from your employees.

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lyanne Hodson.

Lyanne is Co founder & Head of Brand, Marketing & Fitness London’s first & leading strictly women only strength gym. Over the past 5 years, she has built a solid purposeful brand and community that despite Covid, has flourished and are now at the point of expansion.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Absolutely! I’m from Stafford, the land of the oatcakes and grew up with my mum, stepdad and 2 siblings. As the oldest child, I felt I always had something to prove I was imbued with a solid work ethic from the tender age of 13 with my first waiting the job and this type of work was something I did, (and did well may I add) through to my early 20s. Along with this, I was a very active individual, I loved doing things, very athletic & sporty, you know that annoying person that was captain for the netball team but I also had a love for dance and so when it came to Uni and choosing a pathway I went with my passion and studied dance for 3 years and then lead me into the professional dance careers that saw me travel to New York, China, all over the UK and do incredible shows like Xfactor & The voice. However after a few years, I began to resent the industry which lead me into finding other work, and one of those jobs was as a receptionist in LA fitness where my reconnection with fitness began!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

It was a huge achievement when myself and my business partner raised £125,000 in crowdfunding on zero experience. Takeaways from this experience are that if you be you, and stay true to your purpose then you can genuinely achieve anything and also don’t have a million other jobs at the same time as raising capital, its 2x a full-time job and I’m not quite sure how we did it.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting?

Spreading myself too thin that it led to burnout. I was working in 7 different studios, it took its toll on me and I devalued my time. You have to strip things back and focus on the things that resonate and reflect worth.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

My purpose, mission the reason StrongHer exists is to give all women a place where they can thrive, feel confident, discover theemselves and be comfortable with their individuality. As a mixed-race woman, I didn’t see people like me that I could aspire to, nor did I feel there was a place I could be me and it was ok, as I didn’t “look” like other people, not to mention the intimidation I felt when it came to weight training and as a sporty youngster. Creating a space that is accessible to women from any culture, any colour, any background, any anything showing them that weight training can change your life will ultimately, in my opinion,” change how women are viewed in society, will change how women view themselves, allow them to be bigger risk-takers, get more women into higher roles in companies and ultimately bring gender equality.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
For women specifically

1- Tracking your menstrual cycle- This is the holy grail to mapping out what you do and what time in the month physically, socially, mentally and at work. I have personally now will not see people on my week 3 as my mood shifts and I go into conserve energy mode and it means my PMS symptoms are significantly less

2- Taking necessary vitamins and supplements- This is off the back of the previous one women are not educated on the necessary supplementation to support their hormonal changes- a very least taking Vitamin D, magnesium and Omega 3 daily will really help to regulate abrupt hormonal changes

3- Bedtime routine- so many people I speak to don’t have one, it’s just on their phone/watching TV then BOOM bed, with no sense of winding down- your mind and body needs and craves habits & patterns and so getting into the rhythm of turning off devices 15–60mins before bed and spending a little more time prepping for the next day, maybe reading a book/ journaling- will absolutely help those of you that are stress sleepers or get anxious through the night

4-Do something you truly enjoy everyday- now this can be as small or big, but I make it a mission to do something I enjoy, I recently realised that I had lost my hobby of dancing and as I have a keen interest in music I decided to take up DJING and WOW it fires neurons around your brain differently when you do something you enjoy, and that then seeps into other areas of your life.

5- Cut out people that don’t support you- this is a huge one, whether it’s family, friends, co workers. I have done this on a number of occasions and will continue to do so, protecting my space and my energy is no.1 if I wish to help others in the way I want to. So reducing the time spent with people that don’t serve you or your purpose is exhausting and counterproductive.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I’m already doing it haha, A movement that would empower women to embrace their strength & confidence.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

More people more problems — Now having a team of 20 people you would think it gets easier, but NOOOOOOOOO it doesn’t, the biggest misconception. It absolutely decreases the workload of the day to day runnings, but then you have to not only think about and deal with questions from all your members/customers but also from your employees.

Competition is ignition — I, like most, am very competitive and that’s great as it keeps you on your toes and pushing forward, but when competition turns into comparison it becomes toxic. I am noticing it more as a few other business come on the scene that are similar to what we do-but I’m not comparing what we doing I simply use as a catalyst to not settle.

Don’t settle or stay silent — if you don’t fit into the norm you have to be prepared to be loud, stand out and not be afraid of bounceback

You are the expert — You are the expert at what you do, nobody can take that a way from you. You often get greeted with lovely imposter syndrome at any given moment throughout your career, and you have to remember as long as you stay true to what you know and believe you will succeed.

That success comes in many forms — you always think you know when your most successful moments will be and then POW trivial happens and that actually becomes the most powerful thing. Yes returning clients and yes money are great, but actually seeing women that have gone from little confidence to fighting to lift a barbell with a weight they couldn’t initially conceive- is the most magical moment.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health for sure, its as important if not more than your physical health and your body follows where your mind leads it. I absolutely have my low days AKA dark days where I dont want to leave my house and the gym/movement or maybe a solo dinner date day is the only thing that will make me feel good again. Im also faced with women of all walks of life every day battling there mental health conditions and hearing from them how much they need a community & space like ours and how much it helps them

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

ooohhhh where do we start @be__authentig is my insta or you can also find me on @strrongherwomen

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Lyanne Hodson of StrongHer On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Linda Schlesinger and David Schlesinger of skinnytees On The 5 Things You Need To…

Modern Fashion: Linda Schlesinger and David Schlesinger of skinnytees On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be available to answer your customers’ questions. Brands are spending all this money on their products, and then they drop the ball when it comes to customer service. People want to ask questions and they want answers quickly to make sure they’re making a smart purchase. And, when they don’t get a response, they’re not going to buy your product.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need to Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Linda Schlesinger-Wagner, skinnytees CEO, and her son David Schlesinger.

Linda Schlesinger-Wagner was inspired to create a brand that filled a void she felt existed in the women’s apparel industry — launching skinnytees in 2009 with a single one-size-fits-most silhouette, the seamless camisole. She didn’t stop there and quickly rolled out a complete line of essential styles that helped redefine the smooth wear industry and offer a product for women of all sizes, all colors and all ages. She currently lives in West Bloomfield, Mich., and she continues to be the heart and soul of the skinnytees brand with a passion to make every woman feel special, gorgeous and accepted.

David Schlesinger has nearly two decades of experience across marketing, tech and fashion, and, at skinnytees, he has been instrumental in growing the brand into a multi-million dollar company. From “Best in Category” placement on QVC to vast celebrity and media exposure, he has rolled out exposure tactics that have helped make the brand a household name. He currently lives in Los Angeles and continues to drive the skinnytees brand toward the future with innovative and creative tech initiatives.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

Linda: My grandma taught me how to sew when I was a little, little girl, less than 10 years old. And my aunt went on to teach me that it’s better to be really great at one thing than to be okay at 10 things. So, I decided that fashion was my thing. I have always loved beautiful fabrics and beautiful fibers, and I talked my dad into letting me go to fashion school in Ohio. But, after my first semester, the school went bust and closed. So, I packed up, went home, and started working for my dad’s business in tool manufacturing. Even though tool and die was not what I wanted to do with my life, my dad taught me how to run a business, and it was probably the best education I could have ever received. I’m lucky to come from a family who taught me that women can do anything.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

Linda: In 1977, after getting married and having my son David, I had the idea to open up a children’s boutique in Birmingham. It was called Rainbow Lollipop — I asked David to name it when he was only 5 years old. And, a year and a half later, I got a call from Sam Frankel — the real estate developer behind Somerset Collection — about moving my store into the mall. Then, I decided to teach myself how to knit and hired a crochetier, and we started making these wonderful, whimsical vests for children that we would sell at the store. A fashion sales representative from California found out about this and called me to say she wanted to represent my line. So, I made a deal with her, and she took the vests to a kid’s fashion show in New York — and Neiman Marcus bought all 200 vests we had made. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that would happen. That’s what put me on the map, and this knitwear line — named Annie’s Antics after my daughter — went on to be featured in every high-end boutique in the United States.

So, I had Rainbow Lollipop, later called Kidz Kloz, from 1977 until around 1990, and Annie’s Antics from 1981 to 2005. That was around when I got divorced, and I wanted to start fresh. So, I got different jobs for the next four years, like being a respite worker for Jewish Family Services and working in party planning. Then the economy tanked, and I had to pay my bills and I wanted a more stable schedule. So, I decided I wanted to start a new business. And that’s how skinnytees came to be in 2009.

David: My mom and I had talked about working together forever, but there had never really been the right fit. Since the late 1990s, the internet and e-commerce have pretty much been my world. So, when my mom told me about skinnytees, it seemed like such a great business idea, and I knew I could attribute a lot of my talents on the marketing side. So, the day after my mom called me — telling me about her idea — I created a website for skinnytees. It was such a great business name that I didn’t think it would be available — but it was! skinnytees quickly became a very fertile platform for me. Our products can be used as workout wear, casual wear, intimate wear — it can fit into many buckets, so it’s not difficult to find an influencer who will wear it on their social media. We have a super loyal customer base and a really great product.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

David: Two or three years after we started skinnytees, I met a woman who was a legacy host on QVC. Her and I hit it off, and I told her all about skinnytees and what we were doing with the brand. And I introduced her to my mom, and they became best friends overnight. QVC receives hundreds if not thousands of pitches for different products each day, so they very rarely say yes. And we were able to get pushed to the top of their list. They paid attention, and they liked our product. And, with our first airing, we exceeded their expectations.

Linda: Everyone gets eight minutes to sell their line on QVC, and we sold out in three minutes. And that led to our next appearance and the next and the next. That’s when things really took off for skinnytees. That changed our lives. From that, we were approached by ABC, and, for the last five years, we’ve been featured in Good Morning America’s “Deals and Steals” and in the View’s “View Your Deal” segments. We’ve been featured 47 times now! It’s a magical story; it really is.

David: Another cool story was when I met Britney Spears at my 40th birthday party in 2012. She was dating one of my close friends from college. Afterward, she tweeted about skinnytees and was featured in People Magazine, wearing our stuff. Yeah, that was wild!

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Linda: *Laughs* I don’t know. What would you say for me, David?

David: I would say honesty, loyalty, and creativity. When you’re honest, people trust you. If they don’t trust you, they’re not going to see you as loyal partner. My mom goes above and beyond in treating people incredibly. And the creativity piece — it kind of goes without saying. If you’re not creative, how can you design a fashion line?

Linda: Thank you, David! And, you know, another thing, is being approachable. If we get a compliant or a question, I will respond to each one. And then they see CEO in my signature, and I can’t tell you how many people say, “I can’t believe you are taking the time to answer me personally.”

One woman emailed me, saying she was worried our shirts would be too snug on her. And I said, “They are snug; they’re body hugging. But they also hold you up and smooth you out. I’m 74, and I don’t even need to wear a bra with them.” And then I sent her a picture of me in the shirt so she could see. After I talked with her, she felt better, ordered our product, and then wrote me back, telling me she loved it and thanked me for taking the time to be honest. Without exception, I have always turned those disgruntled or skeptical people around because I’ll do anything I can to make our customers happy.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Linda: The name. People love the name. Where Spandex is “shapewear,” at skinnytees, we call ourselves “smooth wear.” Our clothes are 8% spandex. They’re comfortably snug, not uncomfortably. Our customers tell us it smooths out their lumps and bumps, and they’re cut a little longer so you won’t see anything when you bend over or reach up. A lot of people love that. Of course, now we have a lot of younger customers, so we offer shirts that are cropped short too.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

Linda: My thing is “Be the Change.” Don’t talk about it. Just do it. When I got divorced, I would get really sad in my new little house all by myself, and my daughter would call me to ask how I was doing. Finally, one day, she said to me, “Mom, you need to be the mother again. I’m not the mother. Pick yourself up like you always told us. If you don’t like it, change it.” And, because of her saying that to me, skinnytees was born three weeks later. I was done with the pity party.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

Linda: I’m excited about the growth of online shopping — which is just going to get bigger and bigger. So many stores got caught with their pants down during the pandemic because they weren’t online. Stores I know — great stores — didn’t have an online presence. But, because of David, we were already there.

David: Yeah, with the unfortunate advent of the pandemic, obviously wholesale needed to make some changes too. Stores still needed to find a place to buy products, and, with tradeshows being cancelled for a couple years, they all had to be moved online. So, there’s these wholesale platforms that exists — NuORDER is the one that we use — and it really acts as a virtual showroom and it’s a meeting place for brands and buyers. You can really present a whole line to a brand without ever having to attend a tradeshow. There are more than 20,000 retailers on there, using this service to find brands, and brands can go after stores too, tailoring it by niche or zip code to discover potential wholesale relationships.

I’m also excited about exploring new marketing channels. SMS has become a huge game changer for us in the last year. Text messages have become ubiquitous to use for sales, and it’s a way to get in front of people really quickly. And our customers have been really into it. One great feature is that it’s a two-way conversation, and we use it as a customer service tool. With SMS, customers can respond to the message, and I’ve created automated responses for frequently asked questions, and I can also respond in real-time. People are blown away when they find out there’s actually a human behind our text messages.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

Linda: Philanthropy is very important to us — whether it’s helping animals, people who are homeless, single mothers, etc. Like with Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017, we donated 20,000 shirts and the National Guard distributed them to families in need. We’ve also done a lot with The Cavalier Rescue — because I have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Nancy Farris, the head of operations for skinnytees, has five. And in December, there was a fire in Detroit, and a pregnant woman, her husband and their six children — they lost everything they had. We hosted a GoFundMe for that family.

Also, every October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we select one woman — our annual Breast Cancer Fighter — and raise money to help her afford her expenses, donating 20% of the proceeds from the sale of our pink shirts to her. The goal of this sale is to make a big difference in one woman’s recovery process. We try to give back whenever we can.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

Linda: I am 100% against child labor or slave labor, obviously. I partner with contractors in the United States, China, Italy, and Vietnam to make the clothing. And I have a wonderful rapport with the other countries I work with — they’re like family — and I have personally met all of them, visiting their factories and their homes. I also have independent people check out these factories unannounced to make sure they are adhering to ethical standards.

I also make sure all the factories are buying the yarn from the same company, and I have them show me their certified bills to make sure. Before any bulk items are shipped, they send me random items from the shipment so I can feel them and make sure they’re up to par.

One time, I had a manufacturer in the United States send me a shipment, and I could tell they made a loose knit so they could save on yarn. I called them out on it, and they denied it. So, I told them I was going to send it to be tested, and that’s when they said, “Oh no, we’ll redo it.” They knew they were caught. When you’re honest with people and hold them accountable, they have no choice but to also be honest with you.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

Linda: I’m not into making cheap crap that will fall apart. I’m not. I have a reputation to uphold. And we’ve been able to make quality products while still keeping our prices affordable. We’ve been in business for 11 years, and we’ve only had two price raises in that time — which is because the cost of shipping and the cost of yarn have increased. But, even so, we’ve managed to only make small price increases. And it’s not by cutting corners when it comes to the product; we will never wiggle with the product. Instead, we’ve found ways to reduce costs when it comes to packaging — the bags, the boxes, the tape and the labels. For instance, I recently found a company that makes sustainable bags, and it was half of what I was paying previously.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

David: 1. Create a brand that’s straightforward. Describe it on your website, explain the fabric content, and show some great photos. I think that’s why skinnytees has been so successful — because our product is very obvious. It’s a tank top or a camisole or leggings, and it’s super cute, and you can see what it is in a photo. Very rarely do people ever return it and say, “It’s not what I thought it was.”

2. Be on top of the new platforms that exist for marketing your brand.

3. Reward your customers. We have a loyalty program where you can collect points from shopping on the website, sharing our brand on social media or leaving a review — and then you can use those points to buy products. I think that’s a great way to show people that we care about them and that their participation in the brand is important.

4. Reviews go a long way. Paying attention to your reviews and responding to them is super important.

5. Be available to answer your customers’ questions. Brands are spending all this money on their products, and then they drop the ball when it comes to customer service. People want to ask questions and they want answers quickly to make sure they’re making a smart purchase. And, when they don’t get a response, they’re not going to buy your product.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Linda: Well, I think big changes are happening in the fashion industry right now. COVID-19 definitely hit the fashion industry hard. But the industry adapted — hosting virtual shows, and you can go online and shop from hundreds of brands. But this also made it harder for new people to get into the industry and stand out. I love the fashion industry — it’s in my blood — and I want the young and up-and-coming designers and fashion representatives to have more opportunities. I would love to see that, and I want to be part of that — investing and educating to get young people — and not just young people but anyone who has a great idea or wants to dig their feet into fashion — more involved in this industry because I think we’re missing that right now.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Linda: I would start a movement just to be good and be kind. That’s what we’re about at skinnytees. Because if you can’t be good and be kind, then why are we here? Why are we doing all this?

David: And, playing off what my mom said, I think a lot of brands don’t know where to start when it comes to philanthropy. I think it would be really great to create a place — like an online marketplace for nonprofits — where businesses could find legitimate organizations they’re interested in and have the tools to easily partner with them. I learned early on from my mom how important it is to give back. We do such a great job at that at skinnytees, and I’d like to help other brands who don’t know where to begin find out how to dip their toes into philanthropic efforts.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

David: You can find us at https://skinnytees.com and also on Facebook and Instagram @skinnytees. You can also sign up for our SMS and email newsletters on our site for deals and more information.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Modern Fashion: Linda Schlesinger and David Schlesinger of skinnytees On The 5 Things You Need To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Heidi Anderson of Nox Health On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support…

Women In Wellness: Heidi Anderson of Nox Health On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

… Never turn down an opportunity to network. “Get” from your network, but also doubly “give” back by always making a point to pay it forward.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Heidi Anderson, President and Chief Growth Officer at Nox Health.

Heidi Anderson is the President and Chief Growth Officer of global sleep health leader Nox Health. In her role, she is responsible for leading all commercial efforts to promote, sell and manage relationships with employer clients, health plans and partnerships at the enterprise level. Anderson has spent more than two decades building businesses and driving growth in emerging and mature B2B and B2C markets, especially in the healthcare industry, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Strategic Clients and Initiatives and ASO Strategy at Teladoc Health. Prior to Livongo and Teladoc Health, she held senior leadership and officer positions at several start-ups, mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies, including Time Warner and WebMD. Anderson is an active board member of Solis Mammography, a strategic advisor at AliveCor and TaskHuman, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I grew up in the Midwest, a kid anchored in the values of hard work, love of learning, and kindness. My dad is an architect and I learned how business and creativity intersect by watching him navigate working for others and then himself. I spent the first half of my life in Minnesota and the second half in the Chicago area (or on airplanes!). After journalism school, I worked at advertising agencies and media companies, building brands and leveraging smart storytelling to drive revenue — always with a throughline in the fields of health and wellness.

My entire career has been in the wellness and healthcare transformation space, usually B2B/C with commercial leadership roles. Most recently, the focus has been on the intersection of tech platforms, telemedicine, and human-centric care. I love the balance of rigor and creativity — the art and the science — that goes into the strategic evolution of healthcare transformation.

My greatest joy is setting a vision and then building high-performing teams and businesses to go after it. I recently had the honor of joining my first board this year at a company called Solis Mammography. I have benefitted from incredible women mentors and I love leaning in to pay that forward through women’s leadership empowerment: Chief, Fortune Most Powerful Women, and I started Power Women Windy. I live in the Chicago area with my family. Our three kids and two dogs keep me both grounded and always learning new things, which I love.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

Early in my leadership tenure, I remember leaving an intense meeting with our C-suite and feeling like I’d been through the ringer. There were lots of tough questions and challenges to my thinking and presentation. My mentor and boss met me after the meeting and asked me “How do you think it went?” to which I replied “Wow. That was tough.” She smiled and said “Welcome to the big leagues. That was actually fairly tame, compared to normal.”

That was instructive. It taught me to embrace the pressure, be confident in putting myself out there, and embrace the learning that comes with tough questions. Through the years, I’ve definitely learned much more from the challenges than the wins.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I was first starting out in the working world, I had an overly linear view of advancement. I was convinced that staying for years at one company and working my way up one track or channel was the only way to advance.

Over time, I learned that can be limiting. I’ve learned to resist the forces of comfort and complacency. Strategic thinking and leadership skills are highly transferable to new leadership opportunities. The important thing is to not be afraid and enter new situations with an open mind, do your homework, and look for the opportunities. I’m a pretty quick study and look for where I can add value and grow as a human and leader. The important thing is to keep growing, be confident in your ability, and get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. I recently read a great book called ROAR by Michael Clinton about reinventing yourself to roar into the second half of your life. It’s an inspiring, smart read that I am taking to heart.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

After more than two decades in the healthcare space, I’m so honored to enter a new chapter by joining Nox Health, a dynamic company founded in Iceland that is reimagining the sleep space, a fascinating and new-to-me part of healthcare. So many of us struggle with sleep health, and it affects us in so many ways — mentally and physically. Most people don’t even realize the effects poor sleep has on their bodies and their lives, and I am excited to be part of a visionary team that is working to change that.

At Nox Health, we offer people-centered products and services that address the worldwide sleep epidemic. A big part of this is providing new levels of access to sleep healthcare with long-term treatment and support. It is inspiring and powerful to literally help improve millions of people’s lives through our comprehensive sleep-testing devices, technology, and sleep-health solutions.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

Getting good sleep is #1. We know from our Nox Health research that a good night’s sleep helps us stay healthier, think more clearly, and feel happier. There are so many evidence-based reasons to put down that device and hit the sack earlier. I’ve learned the hard way (I sometimes struggle with insomnia myself) that sleep is foundational to every aspect of a balanced life. Prioritize sleep and it will prioritize you.

Hydrate! Drink at least 2x more water than you think you need. It helps everything function better.

Move. I try to do some form of exercise every day. Variety makes it fun — running, spin class, yoga, and more. When I don’t exercise, everything seems to go out of whack, and the insomnia starts again. It’s all connected, I’ve learned.

During these past 2 years of COVID, I discovered what a textbook extrovert I am. At first, my system was shocked to not be on the go-go-go every minute, surrounded by colleagues, clients, friends and my family, and always on a plane. I’ve since learned to embrace the quiet times. I try to teach my kids that unplugging and sitting with yourself quietly to write in a journal, meditate and recharge — especially for those of us who thrive being around others — is fundamental to a balanced life. I’m still an extrovert, of course, but now I don’t flee from the quiet moments and use them to recharge and reconnect with my values and priorities.

Deliberately CHOOSE happiness.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

The Good Sleep Movement! Helping people understand the sleep-health connection and how small changes in lifestyle can promote really impactful improvements in their short-term and long-term wellbeing. Here’s why: We all need sleep but nearly half of us struggle with it. Humans are the only mammals who deliberately deprive themselves of sleep, and yet sleep impacts every aspect of our lives: how we look, how we feel, if we are sick or well, and how long we live. Obesity and most chronic diseases are tied to sleep issues, as is a weakened immune system. We know that people who sleep well are more productive, happier, healthier, and live longer. Getting good sleep has become a sign of status, yet it’s available to everyone. At Nox Health, we’re on a mission to help everyone wake up to a brighter world, simply by getting good sleep. I’m lucky that I actually get to be part of leading a movement that is so important to all of us.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

  • Know your worth and value what you have to give. Women too often undervalue themselves.
  • You become who you surround yourself with, so choose wisely.
  • Be comfortable with being uncomfortable. You can’t remain who you are and become who you want to be.
  • Always be willing and ready to pivot. Being nimble is vital.
  • Never turn down an opportunity to network. “Get” from your network, but also doubly “give” back by always making a point to pay it forward.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

While all of these issues are important, I choose to focus my energy on promoting better sleep, which is intimately aligned to mental health. We know that our work at Nox Health positively impacts peoples’ mental health and reduces the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other preventable illnesses that can cause immense strain on one’s mental health. Identifying the barriers to good sleep can produce a ripple effect to overall wellbeing, and we have seen time and time again the positive life changes that come from identifying and addressing issues related to sleep. Sleep is what we do for one third of our life, and my mission is to help everyone get more out of this essential human need that is core to our universal health and wellbeing.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Heidi Anderson of Nox Health On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Adrienne Enns of ‘May You Know Joy’ On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help…

Women In Wellness: Adrienne Enns of ‘May You Know Joy’ On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

I believe simplicity is key. The more we unclutter and keep things simple, the more ease there is to life. We can unclutter our minds through regular exercise and meditation. We can de-clutter our spaces and keep just what we need and what brings us joy. And, we can also double-check our calendars and keep our to-do lists and commitments simple. Let’s not overwhelm our lives with busy stuff.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Adrienne Enns.

Adrienne is the Founder and CEO of May You Know Joy Inc. May You Know Joy creates intention card decks to inspire our most intentional daily living. Adrienne’s creations are inspired by her journey of recovery.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Over 10 years ago, I had a career in advertising, a young family and a busy life. In hindsight, I can see how overwhelmed and stressed out I was. I had always loved to drink and at some point this crept in and became my go-to coping mechanism. I had horrible anxiety and debilitating panic attacks. This problem escalated until I landed myself in rehab wondering how in the world things had gone so wrong and also wondering what all of the ‘normal’ people were doing?

That was, by far, the worst and best thing that has ever happened. In the moment, it was a complete bottom. I was a shell of myself and saw no way out. It was also the best because it was a pivotal moment. Something deep inside me shifted and I decided to choose myself and create a new path forward. It’s very hard and slow going. Shame is heavy and living in this world sober is an entirely different ballgame. I sought out a lot of help. I realized how much energy I’d put into my own self-destruction and wondered what I could do if I used that energy for good?

I would ultimately leave that career to start May You Know Joy. It began as a small life coaching practice and I created some card decks to share with clients, family and friends. I created the card decks because similar decks had helped me. These simple daily reminders opened my eyes to new ways of thinking, to hope and to possibilities. I wanted to create my own to inspire people to connect with themselves and find joy in day to day living. The cards would ultimately take on a life of their own and here we are 7 years later with retail partners across North America and the globe.

Personally, this transformation has also taught me to find and cultivate joy. I make my personal well-being a top priority. It has allowed me to show up, to learn and grow. As a result, I have a strong relationship with my kids and beautiful friendships and relationships I could never have imagined. It has been a true gift.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

The thing that never ceases to amaze me is how far and wide the cards spread, who they reach and how people are touched. I often hear from people about how they chose a card, what it meant to them and how that shifted things. It’s so simple but, incredible at the same time. The cards are used in classrooms, in yoga studios, at seniors homes, by coaches and therapists. They’re in rural Africa and in retail stores across North America. I love their versatility and that they can spark joy wherever people are open to it. I regularly receive e-mails often or see social media posts to this end. It continues to blow my mind. I never get tired of it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite — I find it energizing and inspiring. It fills me with a lot of gratitude and joy. So, it’s a lot of little moments rather than one defining story per se and it reminds me that when we create from the heart and stay on a simple, consistent path, organic growth follows.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think the biggest mistake I made was doing things that made my business feel “legitimate”. I paid a lot of attention to my logo and branding and having an office space. I believed I had to do things that “real” businesses did to be taken seriously. It was just a façade. I believe this was also combined with continuing to “hide” myself as I’d done in my active addiction days. These things were a drain financially and never yielded the results I’d tied to them.

When I began showing up authentically — just sharing my personal journey and attending tradeshows, markets and events — genuine conversations took place. I shared the cards and met all kinds of interesting people. I could really share the essence of what I wanted to create and contribute. It was imperfect, very meaningful and brought me joy. I was able to get great feedback and talk to people about their journeys. This made all the difference. I could make smarter financial and creative decisions. I was getting on the ground market research and I was able to build my business organically and authentically.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Today, we have an ever-expanding line of intention card decks. The premise is simple — people can choose a card and have it inspire their day and their actions. We have decks focused on joy, gratitude, recovery, love and self-care — with many more exciting projects in the pipelines.

The mission of May You Know Joy is to inspire people’s most mindful (and joyful!) daily living. We want to inspire them to open their aperture, be curious and create their lives on purpose. We want to remind people that it’s the simple things they do consistently that make a really big difference.

We want the card messages to be universal and resonate at the heart level. We also work with an incredible designer to deliver the reminders in a way that is intentional, inspiring and very beautiful.

In speaking to thousands of people, I see that many people have become very disconnected from the simple things that bring them joy. They deny themselves simple daily joys because they feel unworthy, like it has to be extravagant or they need to earn it. I have also seen that people want “big” joys or transformations and the magnitude of the desire often paralyzes them into inaction. So, our goal is to remind people that it’s the simple things we do consistently that create a life that we really want. If people need inspiration or ideas, that’s what we offer. We also want to encourage people to make the most of each day and remember to savor the simple things.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

  1. I encourage everyone to think about their intentions. When you’re starting the day or entering a new situation — this is a great opportunity to center ourselves and decide how we want to show up. In doing this, we’re aligning with ourselves and giving our energy and attention to what we’re choosing for ourselves. It won’t always go as we planned but, we also aren’t leaving things to chance.
  2. I believe simplicity is key. The more we unclutter and keep things simple, the more ease there is to life. We can unclutter our minds through regular exercise and meditation. We can de-clutter our spaces and keep just what we need and what brings us joy. And, we can also double-check our calendars and keep our to-do lists and commitments simple. Let’s not overwhelm our lives with busy stuff.
  3. Be kind to yourself. I’ve found that we can be our own toughest critics. It can be hard at first to be kind to yourself but, it can change everything. You can start when by looking in the mirror, smiling and say something kind. I know it sounds super hokey but, try it consistently and mean it. We can be kind to our bodies by moving them, hydrating them and letting them rest. You can text a friend, listen to a song you love or stop to smell the flowers. I encourage you to look for the many small things you can do in each to be a little kinder to yourself.
  4. Just being present in our lives is essential to our well-being. We can spend a lot of time stuck in the past or worrying about the future or generally distracted. We can miss our moments. A simple deep breath and a look around us can center us. Where am I? How am I feeling? What is here for me? Is there anything I need to shift? Let’s make our moments matter.
  5. And, last but not least, a tweak that can change everything is finding and cultivating our joy. I’ve spoken to thousands of people about this and joy can feel elusive or like something for later — once we’ve achieved things. It’s also common to feel like it’s for other people and we’re not worth it. I remind you that joy is already here and within you. Let’s stop and ask ourselves what actually brings us joy? What small activities, what people, what places, what music lights us up? And, can we look for little moments every day to find and cultivate joy. It’s this simple, consistent allowing for joy that really creates a joyful life.

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

That’s a big question! I really believe that it’s the simple, consistent things that we do daily that add up and shift our course over time. To me, being intentional is foundational. Checking in with ourselves and our values and from there, deciding how we want to show up today. This means getting off autopilot and taking mindful action. One of my core intentions has been joy. Can we choose to create joy and harmony in our bodies and minds? Can we infuse joy into our moments, our actions and our communities? If we all opted to be intentional and commit to bringing a little more authentic joy to this world, perhaps our shoulders could drop, our hearts could open, we’d smile more and we could create some meaningful change — together.

So, I’d love for people to take a minute every morning to check in with themselves and set a mindful intention for the day. I want them to love themselves a little harder and take simple steps to cultivate joy in healthy and nourishing ways.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. Simple and consistent actions will make the biggest difference in the long run.

2. Take time (frequently) throughout the year to re-assess and to re-connect to your bigger vision.

3. Make plans and be open to the unexpected opportunities to come your way.

4. Look at the numbers, assess the risk and trust your gut.

5. You will make mistakes and, more often than not, those will be huge opportunities for growth and transformation.

To be honest, there are some things I’m happy people didn’t tell me like how long it would take and how many ups and downs there’d be. I’m glad I didn’t know that!

Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is a top priority for me. As I answer your question, I have recently celebrated my 10th year sober. I understand addiction and debilitating anxiety deeply. Recovering has been my most difficult and rewarding journey. I sought the help of many professionals (doctors, therapists, counsellors, healers, yoga teachers) and also faithfully adhere to the lifestyle tips I shared above. It’s not like one day you figure it all out. It’s always a work in progress.

When I was getting sober, I found it difficult to search out resources. That’s why I’m happy to see so many options and diverse voices sharing their experiences now. When we know we’re not alone, there’s hope. We need to eliminate the stigma around mental health issues. We need to make resources widely available and accessible at every level — without waitlists. Mental health is something I believe everyone is confronting — at varying degrees at different stages of life. Understanding how we can holistically improve our individual and collective mental health must be a priority.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Website: mayyouknowjoy.com

IG: @mayyouknowjoy

Thank you for these fantastic insights!


Women In Wellness: Adrienne Enns of ‘May You Know Joy’ On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Eddie Andre of Grillo’s Pickles: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your…

Eddie Andre of Grillo’s Pickles: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your Business

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

We get messages from A list celebrities, pro athletes, musicians, designers and people who just LOVE pickles. Treating them all the same is what we do. We give EVERYONE special treatment. The way you respond to someone on IG is how they’re going to view you as a brand ongoing. Keeping it real and having solid customer service is something that has always been very important to us as a brand. The return of a repeat customer and loyal brand enthusiast is priceless.

As a part of our series about How To Leverage Instagram To Grow Your Business, I had the pleasure of interviewing Eddie Andre.

Eddie Andre has been with Grillo’s Pickles as the company’s first employee and worked the pickle cart selling 2 spears for $1 in downtown Boston. After over a decade of helping Grillo’s Pickles grow into the #2 refrigerated pickle companies in the country, he now is the Head of Brand Experience and leads lifestyle collaborations and product innovation.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was graduating from highschool in 2009 and got introduced to Travis Grillo through a mutual friend. I was playing in bands at the time and was looking for a flexible job so when I heard about this new pickle company that was starting it seemed like a no brainer. I became the first employee of the company selling 2 spears for $1 in the downtown Boston Common. After a few months we started getting a cult-like following and even got written up in the Boston Globe. That’s when Whole Foods found us. From that day on we decided to try and make Grillo’s Pickles the biggest pickle brand in the country. I’ve seen the company from just a small pickle cart selling pickles on the streets to now a national brand sold in over 12k retailers and have done major collaborations with brands like Ewing, Urban Outfitters and designers like Anwar Carrots, and Dee and Ricky. When it comes to Grillo’s I’ve done just about anything from working the pickle cart and sampling events to leading a 75 person ambassador program across the country and having sales meetings with major retailers such as Whole Foods, Kroger and Ahold.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

Some of my favorite memories of Grillo’s is when we would pull up to NYC for the Lower East Side Pickle fest on Orchard St between Delancy and E. Houston. We attended that festival every year for 6 years up until covid hit and it’s always been some of the best memories for me as a person but also as a brand. It was such a fun time, setting up our booth and being the loudest brand on the block. We’d bring megaphones and blast music, and every year, would sell out of all our products, gear and custom pickle jerseys. From this, we have met celebrities like Quest Love and Kate McKinnon at our booth, and even made friendships that have become some of my best friends to this day. The atmosphere and energy that Grillo’s brings to pickles is unmatched and that was when we really saw the hustle and passion, come to life. Some notable collaborations we’ve done at the Lower East Side Pickle Fest include Round Two NYC merch collab and limited collectable pickle jars, Lower East Side legend Mikey Likes It Ice Cream pickle flavored ice cream and Scarrs Pizza with a cubano pizza.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake I made was probably when I threw away my car keys and van keys at an event at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) on accident. I was cleaning up and must’ve thrown them away during the process. I searched through the trash for a good 30 minutes before giving up. Not only did I throw away my personal car keys but I also threw away the keys to the van which was parked in a pay-by-the-hour parking lot. I had the pickle cart with me and had no way of getting the van out of the lot so the museum was kind enough to let me keep the pickle cart in the Museum overnight!! We are probably the only pickle company to have an overnight stay at a museum. The next day I had to call a locksmith to come to the parking lot and cut me a new key. I finally got the van, loaded up the pickle cart and then went to my car and had another locksmith cut me a new key for my car. Moral of the story, don’t throw your keys away while working an event.

Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. For the benefit of our readers, can you explain why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?

Social media is always evolving and over the years, and some brands do it better than others. It can be challenging, but we let our fans do the talking and from that, get endless user generated content and cultivate strong relationships with our fans. We do our best to keep it as human as possible and talk to our community just like we did when we were selling on the streets. We want people to know that there’s a real person behind the screen that is enthusiastic about the brand and our fans, but we see this as a brand for everyone so want to make sure to keep the community feel.. As we’ve seen how social burn can happen to brands, what I’ve found works best for a brand like Grillo’s is to keep it as real as possible and don’t force things. We make pickles and we like to have fun and make people smile. Social media can be a great tool to reach out to people who you might not ever get the chance to meet in real life and connecting dots is something I love to do. We got a Grillo’s Gang forming and it’s all love!

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

Overall we lean heavily on Instagram as our main social media platform but the power of TikTok is real. Last year a video someone posted about how great our pickles were from Target and the following two weeks we had some of our highest sales ever at Target. It turns out the video went viral and because the person said “i got these at Target” that’s where the tiktokers went! Pretty wild how a trend, recipe or challenge can spark something so fast. I guess that’s why they pay the influencers big bucks! For us we’re lucky to have fans, influencers and celebrities that do it because they truly love our brand and product, which always feels good.

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share five ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

Step 1- We get messages from A list celebrities, pro athletes, musicians, designers and people who just LOVE pickles. Treating them all the same is what we do. We give EVERYONE special treatment. The way you respond to someone on IG is how they’re going to view you as a brand ongoing. Keeping it real and having solid customer service is something that has always been very important to us as a brand. The return of a repeat customer and loyal brand enthusiast is priceless.

Step 2 — Maintain strong relationships and use IG as a tool. For us, using the connections we have to help drive awareness on IG, is a major way not only for us to get the word out and more eyes on our brand, but also a great way for us to generate authentic, craveable content. Whether it be through partnerships we have with chefs, skateboarders or merch collaborations, we want to show up where other brands in our space aren’t. If you can connect with someone on a personal level it gives them all the more reason to want to buy your product the next time they see it.

Step 3 — Give the people what they want. No one likes to be oversold or yelled at from all angles to check out their brand or product. It can get annoying and can give the wrong impression of who you are as a brand. For us, we let our fans have the mic and love sharing their experience with the brand in our stories and posts. IYKYK has been a popular tagline our fans use when talking about Grillo’s and sharing Grillo’s on IG. It happened organically and created this FOMO effect and we couldn’t be happier.

Step 4 — Every brand and page has their own identity so it can vary from account to account but for Grillo’s it’s all about standing out and doing things our own way. As a food brand content and messaging can get stale pretty fast. Our goal is to always remember where we came from and keep that same hustle and quality product at the forefront while creating a fun, pickle loving community.

Step 5 — If you’re doing IG ads, get creative with them and try to make it feel the complete opposite of an ad. The goal is to leave a lasting impression and spark curiosity. Be smart about who and where you’re targeting to get the best returns.

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

Small acts of kindness every day can change the world. You don’t need to do much, a simple smile can go a long way, you never know what people are going through. I’d like to see everyone do a small act of kindness everyday until treating people with kindness is normal.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

I’d love to grab a coffee with artist Jasper Johns. He’s one of the greats and one of my all time favorite artists. I’d love to dive deeper into his thought process and hear stories about his early career and other legendary artists he came up with. I make art myself and have been heavily influenced by him. One day I hope to hang one of his pieces in my home!!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!


Eddie Andre of Grillo’s Pickles: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Kristy W Gilbraith of FLOH Wear On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashi

Modern Fashion: Kristy W Gilbraith
Of FLOH Wear On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

Know Your Audience: Like any business, a fashion brand should know their primary audience, who they are selling to, and also the “why” behind the brand. When a brand attempts to focus on everyone they sell to no one. Therefore, identifying who is buying and understanding what they like, what they read, what they watch, etc. This is key when it comes to leading a successful fashion brand. This coupled with the brands why is critical.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Kristy W. Gilbraith, MBA.

Known as the Menstrual Maven, Kristy W. Gilbraith is a veteran, licensed registered nurse passionate about women’s below-the-belt health awareness, and founder of FLOH Wear™ by UndiesLoft.com. She launched her undergarment brand after receiving a medical diagnosis that negatively impacts up to 70% of women in their reproductive years. Kristy has also been featured in Cosmo, on The Sharifah Hardie Show, and Morning Lazziness.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

Oh, thank you! Yes, certainly. I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which many may know for the Trail of Tears journey, and in more recent years the renewed popularity of the historical happenings of Black Wallstreet. Growing up, I was an extreme introvert, a self-described bookworm of sorts, and very inquisitive. These traits, at least being curious and a bookworm, has undoubtedly proven to be beneficial in my adult years, especially as a business owner. I also loved science and writing growing up, but I was an awful mathematician, Candice. Did I say awful? It is true! Nonetheless, it all worked out, eventually. Thank goodness for small miracles!

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

You know, higher education and entrepreneurship were very commonplace growing up. Most of my family were educators or education administrators. However, my penchant for entrepreneurship came from my grandfather. He was the first person of color in town to own a brand chain filling station. He was also the first person of color in a management role for the primary newspaper serving the northeastern and eastern portions of the state.

Part of my grandfather’s role as a District Manager included providing oversight of delivery teams. Despite being a kid, it was not lost on me that these people were, essentially, independent business owners. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! Owning a business, making money, providing a product people wanted, etc., who would not want that?

That left an indelible impression on me, so much so that my first legit business, where I was responsible for inventory, taxes, etc., was in high school selling an extremely popular direct sales make-up and skincare brand. I felt like I was helping people be a better version of themselves while also learning key business and life lessons. One of my most memorable lessons was “listen to your customer” and the other was “always keep impeccable records.”

I must admit, as a teenager I was not good at either initially, but eventually I got it down. I definitely credit my foray into business to my experience selling make-up and skincare, as well as observing my grandfather. Both were tremendous examples of what business leadership and entrepreneurship look like. These collective experiences were the start of the entrepreneurship bug for me. After having that make-up business, I knew I wanted to build a company someday that would make a difference for people, a company that would improve the lives of others.

However, it was not until I was much older that I experienced a situation resulting in a medical diagnosis that negatively impacted my health and quality of life. That experience was the impetus for me to launch FLOH Wear™ by UndiesLoft.com. I recognized my condition was not unique to me, as many others have similar experiences, and I wanted to provide an option that was quality and really delivered. So, I put my bookworm skills to work, and I started researching how I could support others with similar conditions and people in general with periods, postpartum, and mild bladder leaks.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The pandemic has undoubtedly been remarkably interesting for me as a business owner. However, I have to say I did not anticipate COVID impacting my brand in such a critical way. Because of the global supply chain shortage, we experienced a delay in launching our latest styles as planned. Now that all our styles are available, it has been interesting to experience receiving emails from competitors doing a terrible job at posing as “customers” inquiring about our products to get a competitive edge.

Although, Candice, I will say it is very flattering that we are causing a stir amongst those with whom we share the same space, mainly because we are relatively small in comparison.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Being resilient, agile, and a visionary has been tremendous for me as a business leader. These are traits you hear people talk about, and on the surface, it may sound like fluff. However, these three have truly been my saving grace from ideation to full-on launch.

For example, when I think about resiliency in business, what comes to mind is when my manufacturing partner indicated the fabric supply was going to be a problem due to the interruption of the global supply chain. This challenge stalled my launch of new styles for a year. I was really at the point of wanting to give up.

However, instead of throwing my hands in the air, I did the exact opposite. I dug my heels in after giving myself 24hrs to panic and sulk, and then I quickly readjusted my lens. The “lost” time became an opportunity to optimize operational tasks and processes versus viewing it as a problem.

Agility is also an important thing with me because it is a skill I learned both while serving in the military and as a clinician. As such, the carryover of the agility trait is ever-present in my business. There are things one cannot account for when it comes to running a brand. I have to tell you Candice, even the best-laid plan has a hidden fissure and being able to adeptly side-step those challenges in such a way that causes minimal impact is vital.

I am building my brand by leveraging transferable skills learned from my time in the military and as a registered nurse. One might question “what does the military or healthcare have to do with running a brand?” My standard reply will always be “everything.” For example, the cost of fabric has increased since the pandemic, and I am in a position where I have to assess what’s business-critical versus what’s nice to have, so that I can continue to deliver the quality my consumers expect from FLOH Wear™. No, it is not life or death but they are decisions that impact real people at the end of a purchase. So, decisions must be made with care.

Lastly, having a vision and staying focused despite hiccups is primary for fashion brands and businesses in general. Having a vision of where I see FLOH Wear™ over a timeline of years and knowing its impact on people’s quality of life has kept me hyper-focused on pushing forward. Having a clear direction and vision is like oxygen for a brand, especially during challenging times. It keeps the fire burning, you know. If you lose your vision, that passion for the brand, the business… it becomes that much harder to stay motivated and continue to push through difficult moments.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

FLOH Wear™ stands out because the very pain points our products address are relatable. Anyone who has ever had a menstrual period, baby, or even post-menopausal bladder leakage can resonate with the anxiety, stress, even fear of leaking. However, beyond that, I also shared my own relatable story on FLOH Wear’s™ IG Live because it is important people do not feel shame about bio-physiological happenings.

Neither my condition, uterine fibroids, nor my experiences managing symptoms associated with fibroids are unique. However, they are relatable. Very rarely do consumers experience the leadership of a brand being transparent in this manner. That said, it is this level of transparency that also differentiates FLOH Wear™ from our competitors and is one of the reasons we are gaining popularity with consumers.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” is one of my favorite quotes. It is relevant because when I launched my brand, there were others in the same space, and I had this self-doubt and fear that caused me to lack confidence and question, “who’s going to want my stuff?”

However, the reality is I would have never known had I not chosen to “shoot my shot,” so to speak. Just because a brand or business is more popular right now or has been around longer does not necessarily mean they are better. We already talked about it, but this is why being a visionary is an important trait to have, especially in the fashion world. Consumers are looking for what you are bringing to the table, but you have to be able to connect to set yourself apart. The love for a brand by a consumer is in the details, be it your fabric, your packaging, quality, etc.

I believe my personal story with uterine fibroids is what resonates with many seeking FLOH Wear™ as an option to manage their bio-leaks. The condition impacts up to 70% of people with menstrual periods in their reproductive years. Even if one does not have uterine fibroids, many have experienced the unpleasant challenges of managing the pain points FLOH Wear™ addresses at some point or another because of bio-leaks.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

Most definitely! When I consider where we are today and our direction, I predict we will see more fashion brands leaning into sustainable fabrics. Bamboo, increased use of recycled fabrics, and unconventional materials such as plastic bottles turned into garments are a few things that come to mind.

Additionally, I believe we will see supply chains become more optimized due to some rough lessons we all learned from the pandemic, along with the increased use of tech on the manufacturing end of fashion. Some examples of that would be technology assisting in predicting styles, popular colors, silhouettes, and patterns that are predicted to be fan favorites of consumers.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

More than 26% of people in the world have periods, many of whom are negatively impacted due to stigmas and period poverty. FLOH Wear™ is bringing awareness to these topics and other below-the-belt health concerns people born female experience to support informing people how to advocate for their health and wellbeing.

We address topics such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, fibroids, what is normal and what is not, to name a few when it comes to menstrual periods. We do this via our blog, our below the belt health commentary on social, and in the media. The more FLOH Wear™ can provide information to the public around “taboo topics,” the more likely it is for those experiencing these conditions can have open conversations, not feel stigmatized, and better advocate for themselves.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

Yes, absolutely! It is important I operate my company with a level of responsibility that benefits consumers and our ecosystem. As such, I partner with vendors who hold the same values and ethos as I do. When I am looking to partner with a vendor, I assess the following to guide my selection:

  • Employees (how employees are treated, wages, conditions, etc.)
  • Eco-Impact (sustainability efforts)
  • Manufacturing Processes (use of chemicals, waste, etc.)

Additionally, I may make an impromptu call to a vendor and ask them to put me on camera and give me a tour of the facility where manufacturing takes place so I can see for myself. This is an excellent practice for any brand to employ, especially when partnering with vendors overseas.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

The idea of fast fashion is concerning not only because of the finished product quality and environmental impacts, but also because of textile waste, treatment of employees, and their working conditions. As fashion brands become educated on the impacts of fast fashion and more selective with whom they opt to partner, I think we will begin to see a more significant shift in reducing these issues because the bottom line of those manufacturers will see their revenues negatively impacted. Therefore, they may be more inclined to course-correct.

To address these challenges, I seek out companies who voluntarily elect to be audited and certified by third-party organizations, including SGS, OEKO TEX Standard 100, and Global Recycle Standard, to name a few. These organizations ensure employees’ occupational health and safety standards are maintained, compliant manufacturing processes are followed, environmental impacts are limited, and transparency regarding recycled content of materials.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

Although not an exhaustive list by any means, I do believe the five points below are certainly a few of the main ingredients when it comes to the secret sauce, if you will, for fashion brand success.

1. Research Skills: Anticipating what is coming next and performing competitive intelligence to uncover consumers’ pain points is necessary. When launching FLOH Wear™, I made it a point to assess what consumers of comparable products complained about. From there, I evaluated the pain points to identify trends. This served as a jumping-off point for leveling up FLOH Wear™ before even getting up and running.

2. Know Your Audience: Like any business, a fashion brand should know their primary audience, who they are selling to, and also the “why” behind the brand. When a brand attempts to focus on everyone they sell to no one. Therefore, identifying who is buying and understanding what they like, what they read, what they watch, etc. This is key when it comes to leading a successful fashion brand. This coupled with the brands why is critical.

For example, FLOH Wear™ are leak protection undies. Although our undies serve those with periods, postpartum, and mild bladder leaks, we have a core audience that gravitate to our products. These are the people we lean into, focus on, and seek to cultivate relationships with.

3. Have Humility: Not everyone is going to love every style you launch or even your brand in general, and that is OK. As a fashion brand, one must realize an end of one is just that, one person’s opinion. They do not speak for all consumers. Take the feedback and be appreciative because the most valuable thing anyone can give you is their time and feedback. However, receiving feedback does not mean action must be levied at that moment. Assess if others have similar experiences and then act accordingly.

I recall before launching FLOH Wear™ sharing samples with several people. One of the people I provided a sample to offered feedback on a style designed for a particular absorbency. They shared “really liking” the undies, but they could not use them for the absorbency they were rated for, but they were great for other days during their period.

Of course, this was great feedback! However, I also recognized their feedback was an end of one. Had I heard similar feedback from others, I would have made some changes. However, when most consumers are satisfied, that is where one should be focused.

4. The Ability to Pivot: Being agile and shifting gears when something is not working or when unexpected events occur is necessary not only for a fashion brand to be successful, but for any brand or business. The pandemic was a real-life lesson for many of us in fashion, as everything from shortages to delivery times, etc., was negatively impacted.

For FLOH Wear™ by UndiesLoft.com, we took a significant hit due to a fabric shortage with the pandemic. Still, we acted quickly and refocused efforts on growing our audience and optimizing our internal processes so that we could move quickly when everything was back online.

5. Address a Need: The idea that a shirt is a shirt is a shirt, or all shoes are created equal, or in our case underwear, is simply not true. Informed consumers know this as well. So, a brand must do more to address the needs and desires of their core audience, whether it is ensuring quality, or the fabric feels amazing, drapes beautifully, etc.

For FLOH Wear™ by UndiesLoft, we meet our consumers’ needs by ensuring our undies are made with quality and sustainable fabrics such as bamboo. They are also made to feel extremely soft and luxurious for comfort because the reason for wearing them is not always comfortable and certainly not luxurious. In addition, FLOH Wear™ also addresses pain points consumers most often complain about when it comes to bio-leaks, per our research. As such, we provide confidence, comfort, and a conscious choice for feminine hygiene options.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Candice, it is no secret social media plays a pivotal role in fashion, be it bathrobes, belts, ties, or traditional clothing. Additionally, influencers on social media wearing fashion have a significant impact on those of us consuming the images we see. This sometimes creates an unrealistic expectation, especially for highly impressionable individuals.

Thankfully, the fashion industry is becoming more inclusive, and we see that with large mainstream brands to more niche brands. As an industry, I think we must continue to nurture this shift in showing diversity with the people chosen to represent brands, not only in skin color, but also in body types and size.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Well, thank you for that. Advocating for women’s below-the-belt health and ending stigmas regarding menstruation is a real passion of mine. There are more than 800 million people in the world at any given time with a period, that is roughly 26% of the global population. So, providing education to all, especially school-age people, regarding the bio-physiology of persons born female is a significant part of bringing awareness about what is considered normal and not normal when it comes to below-the-belt health.

In addition, ending period shame and stigmas is certainly a movement I would like to see gain traction. Frankly speaking Candice, menstrual periods is not a gender thing. Menstrual periods are a bio-physiological occurrence tied to public health and should be addressed as such.

As a clinician, I would love to implement programs starting in sixth grade that educate on female below-the-belt physiology. Why? Because this is about the age many young people begin to experience or become aware of menstrual periods. Everyone should understand there is nothing shameful about menstrual periods, whether it is happening to them or to people they know and care about. Information is the key to dispelling fears and empowering people to feel good about their bodies.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

FLOH Wear™ by UndiesLoft.com can be found at the following:

Site: www.undiesloft.com

Instagram: @flohwear and @undiesloft

Twitter: kgilbraith3704

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.


Modern Fashion: Kristy W Gilbraith of FLOH Wear On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashi was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.