Athleisure Mag MAY ISSUE #89

ISSUE #89

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@AthleisureMag

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PUBLISHER

Paul Farkas

EDITORIAL

Kimmie Smith

Co-Founder, Creative + Style Director

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table of contents

issue #89

may 2023

141

STYLE FEATURES

THE PICK ME UP

156

112

IN OUR BAG

165 ROCK THIS FOR YOUR EPIC

LONG SUMMER WEEKENDS

BEAUTY FEATURES

CALENDULA BEAUTY

Waves of Change

Kai Lenny

This month, we’re excited to have 8X SUP Champion and waterman, Kai Lenny! We

talk about how he has a passion for the water and the modalities that he competes

in, the importance of taking care of our oceans and upcoming projects!

16

169

ATHLEISURE BEAUTY

TM

9DRIP

Jesse McFaddin

Singer/Songwriter, producer, rapper, and guitarist Jesse McFaddin shares his 9DRIP

with us on what he purchased for himself when he made it, his go-to style, and how

he gives back to friends, family, and mentors.

52

142

LIFESTYLE FEATURES

ATHLEISURE LIST

FILTHY FLATS

Center of the Plate

56

Chef Matthew Kenney talks about plantbased

being on the center of the plate,

Ntidote and more!

9LIST STORI3S

76

Danielle Lombard of The Bachelor/Bachelor

in Paradise shares her must-haves

in beauty, style and fitness.

®

144

ATHLEISURE LIST

ROOF AT PARK SOUTH

AthleisureMag.com - 10 - Issue #89 | May 2023

Connect This Summer

Ferry Corsten

We caught up with EDM DJ/Producer Ferry Corsten who recently released his latest

single Connect from his upcoming album that will drop later this year. He shares

how he is inspired to create his music, his musical aliases and upcoming projects!

78

Love and Attention

Carissa Moore

92

We caught up with 5X Women’s WSL

Champion and Team USA Olympic Gold

medalist to chat about the season, her

Hurley collection and more.

Welcome Home!

Governors Ball

100

Governors Ball is back Jun 9-11th with 3

stages of music in its new home, Flushing

Meadows at Corona Park. We found

out more from founder, Tom Russell.

TM

9PLAYLIST

John Newman

116

EDM DJ/Producer and singer/songwriter,

John Newman shares the songs that he’s

listening to on his playlist now.

63MIX ROUTIN3S

Kai Lenny

TM

This month, our MAY ISSUE #89 cover

Kai Lenny, shares his must-haves for

Morning, Afternoon and Night.

146

Issue #89 | May 2023

- 11 - AthleisureMag.com

This month's cover is with 8X standup

paddleboarding (SUP) champion, and

accomplished legendary waterman, Kai

Lenny. He has mastered big wave surfing,

windsurfing, bodysurfing, hydrofoil surfing,

kitesurfing, SUP, prone paddling, and

more. Where there's water, he's there enjoying

all that the elements can give him

as he utilizes his athleticism to navigate it.

He's known as a hydrofoil surfing pioneer

and was one of the first wave riders to self

propel himself into a wave, ride it, kick

out, pump his foiling gear back in the sea

and then catch another wave! He has had

a number of accolades from winning the

WSL Men's XXL Biggest Wave Award and

the Men's Overall Performance Award in

2019, in the same year he was inducted into

the Surfer's Hall of Fame and named Surf

Industry Manufacturers Association's Waterman

of the Year, in 2020 in addition to

winning the Men's Wave of the Day, Team

Champions trophy at the Nazare Tow Surfing

Challenge at Praia do Norte and also received

the Biggest Wave and Performance

of the Year at the 2020 Big Wave Awards to

name a few.

We caught up with Kai while he was in Bali

to talk about how he became a waterman,

his career, his partnerships and the projects

that he's working on from the Life of

Kai to his focus on sustainability.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall

in love with the ocean?

KAI LENNY: I think that the ocean – I feel

like it was just in my veins when I was

born because it comes down to the circumstances

of where I emerged into this

world which was in Hawaii, in Maui, to

loving parents that had a real passion for

the ocean. When you’re that young and

you’re just kind of taking in basically the

world that your parents have created or

that you’re a part of, you end up becoming

your environment. I knew no better

then to have a love for the ocean because

the culture of just being in Hawaii and it

was like being outside, just playing in the

waves and riding in the wind – that was

just normal. My love, I think it was there

before I even knew. I mean in the description,

I knew that my parents loved

me and I knew that I loved the ocean.

That was how I found and felt loved.

AM: When did you decide that you loved

doing all of this, and that you wanted

to take those passions and make it into

a career?

KL: You know, pretty much early on!

Obviously, there was no social media

back then, you had DVDs, VHS tapes,

magazines. My super heroes to me

were not comic book heroes, because

I actually have real life ones that were

these incredible athletes that surfed,

wind surfed, kite surfed, rode giant

waves because the people that I was

looking at in the magazines and in the

movies, because I was able to see them

also in person, because I was growing

up in the mecca of watersports, it really

was something that I immediately

wanted to do! I remember when I

caught my first wave by myself when I

was 4 years old, it was like, that’s what

I want to do for the rest of my life. I

don’t care what it takes, I just want to

be able to do this. It’s just that my life

has just evolved in that direction. I’m

totally living the dream right now!

AM: We love to hear that!

As a waterman, you have mastered so

many modalities from being a wind

surfer, SUP, and more! Why is it important

for you to be this versatile and to

use the water as such a big canvas?

KL: I just think that I looked at a waterman

and a waterwoman as being

somebody that can do anything in the

water – ride waves from 2ft to 100ft,

also being able to go below the surface

of the water and to be a fish in a

way! So, the ocean really is a place that

can provide everything for somebody

to survive and to live and to enjoy. I

think that that is really a testament to

ancient Hawaiians and how they sort

of figured out one of the best ways of



living life and their whole culture was surrounded

by the ocean and not only – very

few cultures in the ancient world allowed

time for leisure and play and fun. The Hawaiian

culture did that so kind of just taking

what the ancient Hawaiians did before

and fortunately, we live during a time of

modern advancements and technology

so that all of the toys and the fun equipment

evolves and there’s more opportunities

to see sort of a different face of the

same sort of book or cover. You can ride a

wave 50 different ways and it can feel like

50 different experiences, but the spot is

the same exact one. So it’s all about perspective

and how you come into it and at

the end of the day, it’s about riding waves,

riding wind and having fun and making

the most of our time on this planet!

AM: Well, do you remember your first big

wave or what you felt at that time was

your first big wave?

KL: Well I mean, going way back, I think

that waves are relative you know? When

you’re I don’t know, 8 years old and you’re

riding a 15ft wave, that’s a big wave! My

first wave when I was 4 years old, by today’s

standards, it would have been maybe

chest high for me now which is very

small! But when you’re 4 years old, and

you stand less than 2 feet tall, it felt like a

giant wave! I think that that’s what I love

about surfing and what I love about wave

riding in general, everyone is a big wave

surfer in a way. You only discount yourself

as a big wave surfer when you start comparing

yourself to others. Because there

is always someone out there who’s going

to ride a bigger wave probably. You know?

AM: Right!

KL: It’s not something that you can get

in on any given Sunday, there’s a bit of

luck involved in getting the single biggest

wave, but I have always found that at a

certain point, above 50ft, it all just feels

the same. It just feels gigantic. But yeah,

my first legitimate big wave which would

be my career starter was when I was 16

years old and it was at Pe’ahi also known

as Jaws, on Maui. It's the Mount Everest

of big wave surfing, the best big wave

in the world with my heroes, Laird Hamilton,

Dave Kalama – they took me up

there for the very first time. I was riding

a hydrofoil board, but back then it involved

snowboard bindings and so the

consequences were extreme, but that

sort of was the first day of my big wave

career and so I have been surging giant

waves every single year since!

AM: If you had to choose, what is your

favorite watersport?

KL: I think that that is a really difficult

one, it’s like, picking a finger for me, you

know? It’s like, which one would you

want to chop off, you know? I sort of like

all my fingers, but you know at the same

time, trying to describe the sensation of

these sports, is like trying to describe to

somebody a color that they have never

seen. It’s hard to explain as each one in

their own way is very special and unique

and in the right conditions, that sport

that I would be doing is my favorite in

the entire world. Sometimes when you

try to force a sport and not in the right

conditions, it can still be fun, but it’s not

like when the conditions line up. If I considered

myself an ocean mechanic, and I

had a tool chest of all of these different

tools, one wrench is not going to help

me fix the entire car necessarily or work

on the entire car. So, it takes having

many tools to kind of get to the point of

riding the wave in the best possible way

that I could imagine.

But that being said, if I could choose at

this point, the most ideal condition to

be in, it would be the culmination of every

single sport that I do which is riding

a giant wave on a tow-in surfboard going

55 miles an hour – I think that that

sport is born of every sport that I do on

a daily basis and it’s the type of sport

that doesn’t happen every single day.

You only get a handful of times per year

to participate in something like that. So

that’s like the pinnacle or the culmination

of every sport that anyone has ever

invented in the water.

AM: Wow!

You have competed in a number of tournaments,

you surf the unsurfable, and you

have such legendary status, what drives

you to continue to do this?

KL: I guess beyond the desire to win competitions

or to get another sponsorship

deal or whatever, it’s the love of actually

doing it! I often think that if I lost all of my

sponsorships and I couldn’t be a professional

surfer or athlete, I’d probably just

be working a regular job as hard as I could

so that I could literally go do exactly what

I’m doing! I don’t think that I would have

the opportunity to be able to do the extent

of what I do at the frequency, but I

pinch myself everyday that I am able to let

my mind and imagination go wild! People

support me to be able to go do this. It almost

feels like I’m cheating at something

in life! I try to just work hard every single

day to make it happen. It’s something that

I would do no matter what. Even if I had all

the money in the world, I was the richest

person on Earth, my actual life probably

wouldn’t change that much. I’d probably

not be on social media much and I’d be

surfing even more. But for the most part,

I’d be riding the same waves and doing

the same sports.

AM: Do you have any routines that you do

before or after competitions that are always

your go-to’s to get in that mind set?

KL: I always try to go to the basics, I try to

go to my foundation which is not thinking

about the result. Obviously, I know the result

that I want which is to be #1! Sort of

less about like, comparing myself to others

and I always feel that if I put in my best

performance, I’m going to win and I don’t

necessarily need to compete against anyone

because surfing, and the collective

surfing sports, are judged so it’s kind of

a subjective view and you can ride the

way that you want to ride, but at the end

of the day, you kind of have to conform

yourself to what the judge is looking for.

That’s just the art of the game. If you’re

playing a game of chess, there's the way

that you want to play and then you’ve

got to do what your opponent is giving

out and you sometimes have to consider

your opponent is the judge too. You’re

kind of doing a dance with the judges to

kind of get their approval.

I think that for me, the lead up to an

event, it’s all about doing everything

that I can, all of the training, all of the

hard work, so that when the day comes,

I don’t have to worry. I can fall back on

my training rather than feeling like I

didn’t do enough. I would say that the

categories are, physical training, mental

preparation, and then making sure that

my equipment and the technology that I

got is the best possible stuff that I could

be riding. When all of those align, you

kind of just have to see what happens.

Most of the time, you can come out on

top when you do it right.

AM: What is a typical day like when

you’re surfing? How many hours a day do

you surf?

KL: Before children, probably 8 hours!

Now that I have kids and they’re really

young, it’s a lot less because obviously,

daddy duties and all that! I would

say that now, I’ve become a better athlete

because of it. In a way, in the past,

I would overtrain. I would spend too

much time in the water and my body

would get fatigued and mentally, I would

be drained. It’s pretty intense to be in

an environment of these situations, but

also just being out so often and pushing

your body and never getting a rest day,

that also holds you back! Less time on

the water has actually meant that I have

gotten better, faster because resting is

actually training as well. Resting is just as

important as lifting really heavy weights

or doing your sport. It’s about finding a

balance. You can’t be resting too much

and you can’t be overtraining.

In a perfect world, I would be out there

100% of my time, but that’s just not the

world that we live in!

AM: Clearly, surfing is a total body workout,

but are there other workouts that you

do either in the water or out of the water

to maintain your physique?

KL: Absolutely, you know, it’s difficult

when you’re traveling, because you’re

just adjusting to time zones and you’re

probably spending more time in the water

then you have the ability to go to let’s

say a gym. The types of gyms that might

be around, they may not be existent in the

surf world because of the remote places.

When I’m at home, my training routine

is to get in the ice bath before bed every

night to kind of recover. I have a hyperbaric

chamber that can kind of cut down a

rest day from 2 rest days to just 1 rest day.

Doing hot and cold which is going through

a sauna to the ice bath is very important.

That’s just on the recovery side of things.

I would say, that as far as training and beyond

getting the workout in from being in

the water, it’s going to the gym and doing

different kinds of exercises and working

out and actually doing enough heavy lifting

with some heavy weights. I would say

that it’s not about stiffening up because

most people think you have to be as flexible

as possible and that’s really important,

but you don’t also want to be too flexible

because you can actually break joints in

the occupation that I participate in. So,

it’s building up the muscles around the

knees, the VMOs (vastus medialis oblique

muscle), strengthening the shoulders, the

hips and being able to handle the power

of a big wave that crashes onto you. I do

that 5 times a week, also going on trampoline

training to get bare awareness.

That’s a great workout and no more than

30 minutes will do the job! Underwater

pool training, so carrying weights under

water and holding your breath simulating

a big wave wipe out. It’s hard to – it’s difficult

to do all of those things in one day.

Depending on the season and depending

on the time, you can be very well trained

if you play your cards right. They’re all fun

activities to do anyway.

AM: What competitions are you focused

on for this year that you’re excited about?

KL: So right now, it’s a bit of my off season

at the moment. Winter has passed in

the Northern Hemisphere and typically,

my biggest events are in the winter. But

now that we’re in the summer, there’s a

lot of opportunities to do some events.

Of course, every event you enter, you

want to win. At the same time, my focus

is right now riding big waves. One of

the races that I want to do is Molokai 2

Oahu which is between one of the most

powerful deadly channels in all of the

Pacific. I’ve won it 4 times now across

different disciplines from SUP to foiling

and I’m going to go on a hydrofoil again

this next year. That’s a really great test

to see where your endurance lies. It’s in

the middle of the summer. It’s July 30th,

the last Sunday and that’s a good testing

block for winter. Because winter is not

too far off after that. In between there,

if there is a fun and exciting event, I’ll

enter. But right now, it’s about the winter

time events.

AM: That’s incredible.

It was really enjoyable to watch the first

and second season of HBO's 100 Foot

Wave which can be seen on Max. Why

did you want to be part of this show and

what drew you to it?

KL: Well, it’s really cool! I was really honored

to be on the 100 Foot Wave show.

That being a show that recognized big

wave surfers to a mainstream audience

when our sport is typically reserved,

or at least endemically for who’s riding

what – I think any big wave footage that

makes it to the mainstream, no one can

tell who’s really going down the wave

because we all look like specs. I wouldn’t

say that I wanted to be on the show, so

much as they sort of chose me. I was really

grateful for that. It’s not something

that you could really force unless you

produce the show yourself or someone

comes to you. The show wasn't about

me, but I was able to be part of it and

you know, that legendary figure, Garrett

McNamara, is leaving an indelible mark on

big wave surfing. His story is unique and

special. I’m glad that people are enjoying

it. It’s just bringing more eyes to this incredible

sport.

The truth of the matter is, riding big waves

is probably the most dangerous form of

surfing and it’s typically also where maybe,

people have the least amount of resources

to do it – to support it. The stories

that come out of big wave surfing,

I’m probably the most successful big

wave surfer, but there are so many guys

and girls who work hard jobs during the

summer months so that they can go surf

giant waves in the winter and spend all of

their money. It’s really a nomadic, mountain

man/woman – it’s just so hardcore

and those show really shines a light on the

hardest working people in surfing.

AM: What is it about Nazaré that you enjoy

being there?

KL: I think that Nazaré is a freak of nature.

It’s the perfect combination of monster

waves meeting in Europe. I think that if

you saw the show, it’s a wave that’s hidden

in plain sight. I mean, it was only

surfed in the late 2010’s and that’s just

kind of incredible because big wave surfers

are always looking for the biggest

waves in the world to ride. It just so happens

that there was one in Europe and in

Portugal, a surf rich country that it just

came at the perfect time for this town

where society and everything it dipped in

to, the world supply chain and the small

fishing village which once was supported

purely by fisherman – it was a dying town.

When the surfing world converged into

this incredible place, it definitely brought

so much new life that the town is now as

well known in Portugal as being a fishing

village as well as one of the most renowned

big wave surfing destinations on

planet Earth! It attracts tens of thousands

of people per day to go watch these magnificent

monster waves. Vertically, they're

some of the tallest waves on the planet

and some of the most challenging surf

that a big wave surfer will encounter. It’s

just that the story of the town itself, in

a way, is far more interesting than even

the waves that are being ridden out

there now. It is the one place on Earth

that you can go as a big wave surfer and

be recognized by people! Most of the

time I feel like as a big wave surfer, you’re

kind of like moving silently in society before

you step outside of the bubble to

go ride these monsters out in the ocean.

There, it’s a real unique place, and I look

forward to going back every year and

I count my blessings that I come home

safe. Most recently, we had a friend,

Márcio Freire, that died there and that

was the first death in modern big wave

surfing at Nazaré and it was tragic because

he was a pioneer and it just goes

to show you that no one is safe. You can

go and get really unlucky. You just have

to put yourself in the hands of a higher

power and if you really want it, you have

to commit.

AM: Last year, you released your movie

Pe’ahi. Why did you want to tell this story?

KL: That film Pe’ahi, was really inspired

by part of my life story, partly my director’s

life story and I think you know,

truly trying to shine a light on the realities

of Hawaii, I would say that it’s a yin

and yang. On one side, Hawaii gives you

the greatest opportunities to become

somebody and to do something great. I

don’t know if you watch American Idol,

but Iam Tongi just won and he is the testament

to exactly why we wanted to

make this film.

Coming from humble beginnings on the

east side of Oahu to being at the very

top, I’d say that our film really lines up

with his story because that’s a real Hawaiian

story. If you play your cards right,

you're passionate and you love what

you do, you can become the greatest

because everyone is looking to Hawaii

at all times. But, Hawaii in some ways,

is like a third world country. There's a

lot of poverty, there's a lot of homeless-

ness – on one side, there’s this billion dollar

tourism industry and there’s also locals

who can barely afford a tent. Cost of living

in Hawaii is just outrageous, especially for

the ones that generationally, have been

born and raised there.

Instead of just feeling sorry for ourselves,

there was this need to try to make a film

that would inspire kids who do come from

the most humblest of beginnings to go all

the way to the top and to be the best at

anything that they want to do. Surfing was

just a natural vehicle to carry the story.

It’s a story of hope and perseverance and

working hard to get to where you need to

be. It’s just wanting to tell that story that

we always knew existed, but that not a

lot of people outside of our community,

knew existed.

AM: Tell us about the Life of Kai? How did

this come about? You’re in your 3rd season

which is amazing!

KL: The Life of Kai is basically, adventures

that I’m very lucky to partake in. It’s about

the people that I’m meeting along the

way. It’s not just about showing my best

moments, but showing – I wouldn’t say

the struggle, but the uphill battles to get

to the ultimate goal and if you want to do

anything amazing in this life, there’s always

going to be a lot of work that is going

to need to be put in. There’s going to be

the ups and the downs. It’s showing that

with perseverance, you can overcome

any obstacle and you can do fun stuff and

that’s kind of like the whole idea behind

the series. I’m sharing this adventure and

at the end of the day, it’s about inspiring

the next generation and most importantly,

being able to entertain people too, you

know and letting people be able to takeaway

what they want from the show. Not

necessarily trying to sell them on anything

– not that they have to be a surfer or ride

giant waves. If they can see the passion

for what I like to do, hopefully, they can

translate that into what they want to do.

AM: As passionate as you are about the

sport and what you do, you’re also vocal

about the oceans and beaches. You’ve

partnered with A New Earth Project in

this effort. Can you tell us more about

this?

KL: I’ve been given so much from the

ocean that it only feels like my responsibility

to give back and raising awareness

is always great! We’ve done so many

beach cleanups. It’s only the tip of the

iceberg. What I really love about working

with the A New Earth Project is that

it's not just about bringing awareness,

it’s not just about cleaning up beaches

and rivers, it’s actually about going to

the source of the solution and A New

Earth Project is part of Atlantic Packaging

which is located on the East Coast.

Their whole goal is to change the plastic

wrapping that goes around every soft

drink or soda that is shipped around

the world into something that is environmentally

friendly. That company is

working on ways to produce product

that is not going to affect the end user

in any way. The end user won’t even see

a change, but behind the scenes, I think

that that is the only way that we can

save our oceans from plastic pollution.

Not trying to get people that don’t really

have a real relationship with the ocean

to change, why not just change the stuff

that has been delivered to them. They

can still enjoy it the same way and that’s

sort of the thought process.

So this trip that I came to Bali was inspired

by A New Earth Project. Bali is

one of the most beautiful places on the

face of the Earth, but it is plagued with

trash when western society reached

these islands, everything before that

was wrapped in banana leaves. Plates

were made out of banana leaves, wrapping

food was in banana leaves and traditionally,

you’d throw the banana leaves

into the river because there are so many

rivers here and it would flow down into

the ocean and it would biodegrade. It

was really a cycle of this place, a cycle of

life in Indonesia. Without educating the

locals and the public here that plastic

will stay for 1,000's of years, there just

seems like there is no education behind

that. So being able to come down here

with A New Earth Project, we got to link

up with a lot of local groups that are working

to basically educate the people and to

kind of figure out a way for waste management.

Any plastic that does end up

being produced is never going to end up

being net zero, can be picked up. Because

there is no trash service like we have in

the states. So it’s trying to find solutions

that help these people and help the environment.

We ended up getting in one

of the most gross rivers that I have ever

been in in my life because they have these

nets that catch all of these plastics and we

were just loading up bags. That was a real

eye opening experience because every

time that you travel to a beautiful place

like this, I never want to feel that I am just

here to take their waves or to take advantage

of anything so it really felt good to at

least clean up an entire river for the surrounding

people that make this place so

special.

AM: That’s really amazing to hear!

Travel is such a big part of what you do.

Where are your favorite places to go and

what do you do when you’re not in the

ocean?

KL: Yeah so, of course, my “vacations”

are going to waves! My family vacations

are just one tropical place from Hawaii to

another! Here we are in Indonesia! Truly,

I love to go to places that inspire me

and people find inspiration in a number of

different ways. For me, big mountains inspire

me, big waves inspire me, the ocean

of course inspires me! I’d say that 2 places

that I have been that have had the nicest

people that I have ever encountered,

which is really a draw and makes you want

to be a better person, is here in Bali in Indonesia.

I don’t know if people get any

nicer! You can literally drop your wallet

and I’m telling you, as beautiful as it is, it’s

a 3rd world country and there is a lot of

poverty. You drop your wallet with $500

in it, somebody will track you down and

give you back your wallet and not take any

money. That’s just – it can be the Hindu

religion here or just be the way that the

upbringing is here – everyone here is

just so gracious and kind. It’s amazing!

If there’s any kind of crime at all, it’s typically,

outsiders or foreigners that are

causing a ruckus.The other place is Fiji.

Some of the most amazing people and

I think that one thing stands out with

these 2 places for Bali, Indonesia and

Fiji, is that you can be gone for 10 years

and you can return and see the same

person, and they will remember your

name. There’s nowhere else on Earth

like that where they will remember you,

they will remember the experience that

they had with you and a lot of the people

in these areas, may not understand

the same way as we do in western society,

but they are some of the smartest

people that I have met – they speak 5 or

6 languages. If they can remember the

simplest of things like your name when

you return in 10 years, it’s really unique

and exceptional. The destination is one

thing, but it’s really the people that you

meet along the way that make the places

that you go to, what they are.

"Life of Kai is basically, adventures

that I'm very lucky

to partake in.It's about the

people that I'm meeting

along the way. It's not just

about showing my best

moments, but showing - I

wouldn't say the struggle,

but the uphill battles to get

to the ultimate goal and if

you want to do anything

amazing in this life, there's

always going to be a lot of

work that is going to need

to be put in. There's going to

be the ups and the downs.

It's showing that with perseverance,

you can overcome

any obstacle and you can do

fun stuff, it's about inspiring

the next generation to entertain

people too."

AM: You’ve been sponsored by Hurley for

a number of years and have done a number

of collabs with them as well. What is it

about this brand that is so synergistic with

you?

KL: You know, I try to always align myself

with brands and companies that I can relate

to or that are equal minded. Hurley

really embodies the surfing culture and

there is something so amazing and pure

about how in a way it is exclusive, but it is

also welcoming to anybody.

That’s the one cool thing about traveling

the world because you get to meet so

many unique people from different ethnicities,

creeds, and just perspectives. We

may be in sort of one group here on land,

but together in the water, we’re all the

same thing.

Surfing, I think, is a really great craft to

be able to gather people. Beyond Hurley

being a great brand with amazing product,

you know, their ethos is, just have

fun. That I think, a lot of companies want

to be hardcore like surfing is for surfers

and that’s attractive to many people, but

I have always been drawn to having a lot

of fun in the water with people that you

don’t even know and sharing this great

experience, because like the great Gerry

Lopez once said, “the one having the

most fun is the best surfer.” I think that

Hurley as a brand, embodies that ethos.

I think that if you can go out and get

some Hurley stuff – their trunks and

stuff, that literally makes you feel good

enough that you want to go out there

on the water and do something. That’s

the whole point of surfing – it’s sharing

this experience and sharing this

life. There is always going to be another

amazing wave and there’s plenty for

everybody!

AM: Tell us about the Kai Lenny Paddle

Series that you have with Hurley?

KL: I mean, the paddle series that we

have created with Hurley, was really inspired

by my trip here to Bali, Indonesia

in 2021. I learned so much about my

surfing and my athletic performance,

but I also realized that I needed certain

tools to allow me to surf longer and to

have more fun so that I didn’t have to

be stuck outside of the water with either

reef cuts, rash or sunburn! We developed

a board short that had a lot of

pockets in it so that I could carry stuff

like my GoPros, my sunscreen, basically

a snack and anything that I needed, but

also up to that point, no one had created

a board short where the pockets

wouldn’t turn inside out and you’d lose

all of your stuff or they became more

drag in the water as opposed to being

hydrodynamic.

Really, the idea was to have a board

short that was something that you

could wear on land, dry really fast while

you go from one adventure to the

next! Maybe it even means going hiking

in the woods because most of the

time, the best boardshort is one that

you only use for surfing. Whereas this

trunk is amazing for hiking, it’s amazing

for even going out to dinner, going

out to lunch, or breakfast. You can carry

all of your normal things, but then

you can go surfing and have something

that’s high performance. Then moving

to something like the rashguard or the

top that we use, it has a hood to protect

you from the sun when you’re trying

to surf for hours. It has a pocket in

the back where you can put sunscreen,

snacks, water, food, tools, and then it’s

also designed to not give you rash. But

it also has a cushion and a protective layer

around your body. Again, all of these

things are ideas that were put in that I

really wanted. I feel like if I needed these

things as a professional athlete, everyone

can benefit from it. So far, everyone that

sees it, wants a pair of both. I think that

that’s pretty cool and it feels cool to develop

something that people might want

to use themselves.

AM: It’s definitely really cool when that

happens and to get that feedback from

people!

You have all of these different sponsors including

Red Bull and Go Pro for a number

of years, what do those partnerships mean

to you?

KL: I mean, my sponsors, those partnerships,

they are the reason why I get to live

this life that I do and they all bring something

so amazing to the table. For example,

Red Bull has been – above the nice

paycheck to basically live and to afford being

alive - they are incredible at allowing

me to have opportunities to up my level

of performance and I mean most recently,

and we just filmed this for the Life of

Kai series, they brought me to the mountains

of Alaska with one of the greatest

snowboarders of all time, Travis Rice! I’d

always been inspired to ride giant waves

from and to look towards snowboarders

that they’re doing on giant mountains

and in particular, with Travis Rice and they

made probably a once in a lifetime dream

trip come true. The stuff that I was able

to learn by riding giant mountains with

my hero Travis Rice, is something that –

snowboarding is so far removed and different

from surfing. Something like that

would have never come up on its own

without kind of the support from Red

Bull. It’s opportunities like that that make

me a better athlete and I’m just always

so grateful to be part of that company

because they’re more than just trying to

give an athlete a paycheck, they’re really

trying to help the athlete become the

best that they can possibly be and to

support them. They do feel like a family

at this point.

With my other sponsors for example Go-

Pro, I love GoPro because they give me

the cameras to capture what’s going on

in my world and bring people into this

crazy environment – to take a camera

that no other camera could go into.

And so, those relationships, if I go down

the list even farther, Cariuma shoes,

they have been amazing. They’re this

environmentally safe skate shoe that is

the most comfortable shoe that I have

ever worn. But for every shoe that they

sell, they plant a tree in the Amazon Rain

Forest because they are based in Brazil.

That’s really cool and their shoes being

environmentally friendly is awesome

and they’re the best shoe that I have

ever worn!

Of course, the people that develop my

equipment, people like KT Surfing and

Goya Windsurfing, they make the equipment

that I ride today. It really does take

a village to raise somebody and it also

takes a village to allow a professional

athlete to perform at the highest level.

AM: How do you give back to those that

are coming up in the sport who are also

passionate in it?

KL: I remember being a kid and the mentorship

that I had from the best water

people on the face of the planet and

I'm only 30 years old, but every time I

do see a kid that’s coming up, I do try

to like help them in any way possible

to get them to accelerate their performance

or to help them not necessarily

make the same mistakes and to basically

get them to their ultimate goal quicker.

Certain things in life, you have to go

through yourself of course and you have

to learn on your own before you truly

understand it, but you know, I think that

at one point towards the end of my career

which still seems so far away, being

in a mentorship role will be probably more

exciting than doing it myself. To see the

excitement and passion of kids, that want

to become something great whether it’s

in the water or not, that’s inspiring. Having

that young and excited energy really

drives me to want to improve!

I may be 30 years old, but deep down,

I’m probably still that same 12 year old kid

that is just as excited or even more excited

to be able to do what I am doing. It’s

really important to be there for the next

generation and help guide them through

whatever passion they’re going in. The

next generation is going to be better than

whatever I can be and that’s just how you

know a sport remains healthy – when the

next generation overtakes the previous.

That’s good for sport!

"I think that that is the only

way that we can save our

oceans from plastic pollution.

Not trying to get people

that don't really have a

real relationship with the

ocean to change, why not

just change the stuff that

has been delivered to them.

You can still enoy it the same

way..."

AM: As someone who is always on the go,

being a dad, a husband, traveling – what

kind of self-care do you incorporate just so

that you can be present?

KL: I think it’s being able to really turn off

the switch. It’s so easy to be consumed

by your quest and your passion. You can

definitely feel like all of your focus is going

to one thing. I think that the way that you

get the best out of yourself is when you

get home at night and you can turn that

off.I can turn it off and just be a dad. I

can just be there for my little girls, be a

good husband to my wife, and just basically

be able to transition and to have

my focus be on my profession and then

being able to just do what I need to do

at home and do it with love. I think that

that is the real trick to finding balance.

You can’t overly consume yourself in

anything. You may be able to sustain it

for awhile, but eventually you might be

crashing down. Finding balance is the

key to life. So it’s learning when to turn

things on and turn things off.

AM: Are there any upcoming projects

coming up that you want to share that

we should keep an eye out for?

KL: There’s always something coming

up, I mean we’re in the middle of the

season of Life of Kai and like I said, we

just did this incredible trip to the mountains

where I was probably the most

scared that I have ever been in my entire

life. No big wave has scared me as much

as those mountains did and so that’s

going to be really exciting to share that

episode and to kind of share what went

down on this incredible trip. I’m really

looking forward to the rest of the series

dropping.

I’m in the works with new equipment

of course and nothing really that’s anything

yet, it’s all just ideas on paper, but

I’m hoping that by this next winter, I’ll

have it all dialed in and figured out and

I’ll be able to go out there and do something

that has never been done before!

AM: That will be interesting to see!

What do you want your legacy to be in

the sport?

KL: I don’t know if you can ever have any

say in what your legacy is going to become.

That’s almost reserved for everyone

else watching what they are going

to brand you as. I think that if there is

one thing that I would like to leave this

Earth being known for is just being able

to accomplish things and to do many

things that people didn’t think that you

were allowed to do necessarily. Having

that enthusiasm, that passion and that

love and that excitement for the sport

that I do. I would say, that as a whole, I

couldn’t say the one thing that I would

want as a legacy. If anything, it’s to inspire

the next generation to do what

they love regardless of whether it’s

surfing or not.

That’s the same thing that I have as

a goal for my kids too! I want to give

them every opportunity to be the absolute

best people that they can be

and to always go for it and sometimes,

just taking that leap of faith. So, I think

that’s what every great dad wants to be

known for is that. Maybe that’s my legacy,

raising the best kids I can. I want to

be known not as Kai Lenny, but I want

to be known as my daughters' father

basically – Senna and Willa’s dad.

@kai_lenny

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | XXXFront/

Back Cover + PG 46 Hurley | PG 16-41 ,

48 + PG 146 for 63MIX ROUTIN3S Red

Bull | PG 42-45 HBO/100 Foot Wave |

We are always up for a very flavorful plantbased

meal and we're truly excited about

this interview from a superstar chef that is

known for elevating the vegan, raw vegan

and plant-based space, Chef Matthew Kenney!

We had the pleasure of being introduced

to raw vegan at his restaurant Pure

Food and Wine here in NYC which was a

culinary experience. We also attended an

editor event where he was in attendance

at Ladurée Soho to launch the inclusion

of their vegan menu back in 2019. It was a

pleasure to hear him share his partnership

with them and unveiling his vegan menu!

As someone who has used his fine dining,

classical French training to elevate this cuisine,

we couldn't wait to talk about how

he got into culinary, his background, how

he entered the plant-based space, his journey

to creating restaurants that are all

over the world and how Matthew Kenney

Cuisine as a business model allows him to

focus on his passion for staying engaged

and creative! We also talk about one of his

newest ventures, Ntidote and well as upcoming

projects.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall

in love with food?

CHEF MATTHEW KENNEY: Well, my entire

life, I’ve loved food. I grew up in Maine and

it was all about seasonality and the ingredients.

It was all about wild blueberries in

the summer and wild strawberries that

grew across the street in our garden. We

made our own honey, maple syrup and apple

cider. I always loved food and I didn’t

realize that I had an affinity for cooking

per se until probably after college when

I moved to NYC. I just fell in love with the

diversity of so many amazing restaurants,

different cultures, and melting pots that

you could see through food. So this was

probably in 1989.

AM: That’s amazing!

It’s interesting that you decided later on

that you wanted to be a chef. I’m based

in NY as well, the first vegan restaurant I

went to was your restaurant Pure Food &

Wine.

CHEF MK: Oh wow!

AM: Yes, so it’s exciting to talk to you as

your food was my first experience in that

area. I'm not vegan myself, but when intro-

duced to it and getting to taste the flavor

profile it was a great experience. Tell me

about your culinary journey from where

you went to school and kitchens that you

started in.

CHEF MK: I basically moved to NYC right

after college because I knew that I had

friends there and I knew that that was

where I wanted to be. I had planned to

go to law school and instead, I took my

first job at Christie’s when it was on 5th

Ave. That was great and I realized that I

wanted something social in my life. I was

taken out to dinners and it was always

so exciting going out to restaurants.

I went to Hawaii for a little while and I

did some hiking to decide on what I was

most passionate about and I just had this

idea that I wanted to open a restaurant

in NYC. I had no skills or training whatsoever.

So I enrolled in the French Culinary

Institute (editor’s note: now called the

International Culinary Center) and studied

there and in the evening, I worked

for about a year at a really amazing

Southern Italian restaurant that was on

60th street I think called Malvasia and it

was a chef from the island of Lipari and

I just fell in love with the Mediterranean

diet and flavors, the non use of butter

for the most part, wild fennel and all of

the exotic but clean flavors. That really

resonated with me because that’s how I

like to eat and live, but I had never seen

it in that fashion. That had a really big

impact on me, even though it wasn’t a

4 star restaurant or anything, it was really

nice. The chef was kind of a known

chef at that time. Gael Greene and all of

the food critics from the NY Times, New

York Magazine came through there so I

got a real education at school, but also

at this restaurant because I was there

when it opened and I was able to see the

whole thing come together and what

was important in NY. I just got a massive

education in one year.

When I graduated from the French Culinary

Institute, some of my friends had

gone to work at La Caravelle, which I

think was a 3 star restaurant in those

days. It was one of the top French restaurants

like La Grenouille and so forth,

but La Caravelle had a new American

chef and he was hiring a new team and

I went there and worked – it was very

classic French. I then got a call from the

manager of the Sicilian restaurant that I

had worked at and I had only been out of

cooking school for a year maybe. He said

that he was hired to resurrect a restaurant

that had been doing great, but the

chef left and it had come apart. It was

really struggling and it was a very high

profile location and expensive restaurant.

He said that he told the owners that he

would only take the job if he could hire

me to be the chef! I had no management

experience, I had never been a chef, but

I knew that I could do it. I took that job

and I think that that was in 1991 and we

got great reviews. Somehow, I worked

around the clock and the owners were

Brazilian and they asked me to open a

second restaurant with them and then in

1993, a taxi cab went through the window

of the first restaurant. Nobody was hurt,

but it was full, but somehow, no one was

hurt. It didn’t go through the dining room,

but it smashed through the window and

ruined the store front.

I said to them that this was a good time

to change the concept. I wanted to do

something North African inspired, Mediterranean,

but not strictly Italian and they

said that they would do it if I put my name

on it. So, I did, we opened a Matthew’s in

1993 and that was my first restaurant. It

was really an intense, well my whole career

has been intense! It was very fast

moving. My life was all about food and

whatever exercise that I could get in. I

would go home after 10 or 12 hour days

and I would cook for my wife at that time.

It was really a love affair with food.

AM: That is an amazing story of how you

know, you got to have your name on the

restaurant and opening it! Did you think

at that time that you would be who you

are now in terms of writing 12 cookbooks

and all of these restaurants, concepts, and

partnerships that you have?

CHEF MK: Well, that was before it was

common for chefs to be able to do that.

Daniel Boulud at that time was the chef at

Le Cirque and Jean-Georges Vongerichten

was the chef at Lafayette and then

he opened JoJo his first restaurant right

around the corner from me at the same

time that I opened. So it was something

hard to visualize in those days because it

wasn’t very common for restaurant owners.

There was a guy called Tony May who

had a bunch of Italian restaurants – he

had 3 or 4 places, he was like the king, but

it just wasn't common in those days for

chefs to be licensing and franchising.

Wolfgang Puck did it a little bit, but that

was mostly relegated to California, Vegas,

and San Francisco. But there weren’t

any chefs that were doing it on a global

scale at that time. There may have been

1 or 2, but it wasn’t a thing like it is now.

AM: You are known as a super star chef

who focuses on vegan and plant-based.

Why did you want to go into this area?

For those readers and listeners who may

not be familiar, what is the difference between

raw, vegan and plant-based?

CHEF MK: Sure! Well first, I’ll answer the

last question first if that’s ok. Raw vegan

which is what I got into first, it’s an

entirely plant-based diet where nothing

is heated over 110˚ F/120˚ F which is

where enzymes are more active below

that threshold and so you have to get

creative with raw vegan because a lot of

things aren’t good raw. It prohibits certain

things that aren’t great for you. So

it’s a really good diet for the digestion

and great for so many things – elasticity

of skin, hydration, but it’s tough to do it

all year around.

Whereas, vegan, you can make anything

– pizza, muffins, scones, anything! Raw

vegan is more limited, but at the same

time, that limitation encourages creativity.

So they’re quite different although

we create raw components to our nonraw

food restaurants all the time.

AM: Very interesting and tell me about

Matthew Kenney Cuisine which seems to

be the umbrella that houses your restaurants,

partnerships, products, innovations

and concepts.

CHEF MK: Well as time evolved, even

after Matthew’s, we had a really successful

place and then the neighboring

restaurant that was a block away wasn’t

doing well so he said to me, “you’re always

full and I have this great space and

it’s not working, why don’t we do something

together?” So I opened a second

place, a casual place a block away. It did

really well, but the partnership didn’t

do so well and I left that. Matthew’s

was just a really hot place for the first

few years and I had a lot of offers and

I couldn’t help but say yes too many

times. I opened Mezze in Midtown next

to the offices of Conde Nast at that time.

Then, I opened a restaurant in Soho across

from the Mercer Hotel and another one

on 22nd street and one in Atlanta and in

Maine. These were pre vegan days. That

kind of got in my blood not just creating

menus, but creating experiences through

design. Whether it’s through music or uniforms,

I just really fell in love with the idea

of building restaurants. Running them is a

different kind of challenge! Up until 1999

and 2001, I was running this decent sized

company from my late 20’s to my mid 30’s.

You also asked me about vegan! I had gotten

more and more into longevity and I

have always been interested in fitness and

exercise. In college, I made my own meals

that were really healthy. They weren’t vegan

because it wasn’t a thing then. It was in

NY when I started to get more into yoga

and more aware of how I felt and I started

talking out loud to friends saying that

I thought that I could be a vegetarian. In

Maine, I grew up hunting by the way and

fishing. But I just felt drawn to it – I liked

foods that were clean, less stimulating,

earthy and balanced cuisine. I felt that,

but I didn’t know how to translate that

into my career. I was also at a point where

I was doing food that was more comfortable

American like Truffle Mac & Cheese

– these things that were trendy then. I

didn’t really enjoy that because it wasn’t

creative enough and it also wasn’t what

I wanted in my body. I was disconnected

a little bit, there wasn’t an alignment between

my profession and my personal life.

So, my old girlfriend at that time, made a

reservation to go to a trendy restaurant

at that time in Tribeca with a friend of

ours. He called us after we made the reservation

and said, that he had only been

eating raw food which I had never heard

of as a type of cuisine and he wanted to

take us to a place called Quintessence

which happened to be a block from our

home – we didn’t know about it. We went

there and the food was kind of weird and

it wasn’t particularly exciting and it had

strange names, there was no music, no

wine, but everyone in there was so passionate

about their diet and their lifestyle.

They were just glowing with health! I had

not seen people like that and it was full!

It was just a lightbulb moment where I

thought, that if somebody could actually

make plant-based cuisine or raw cuisine

sexy and fashionble and contemporary

by applying classical culinary training to it,

that could really change the way that

we eat. So that was the moment where

I pretty much went vegan right away!

AM: Wow!

You have a number of restaurants around

the world. What goes into your thought

process when it comes to deciding where

you want to locate next, a partner that

you want to have, the kind of concept

and aesthetic that you want to bring forward?

CHEF MK: Well, we’re changing that

model a lot. Basically, I always felt that

focusing on the brand, the mission, the

narrative and forming a team that can

enhance that vision and keep creating.

Just keep innovating because this space

has so much runway and so much opportunity

to make a difference by adding

new styles, new recipes, formulas and

new science. I really wanted to create

a brand that would be attractive to the

outside world that was looking for solutions

and was looking to transform their

business or their real estate property or

to bring plant-based into their schools.

So really, it’s all about the innovation aspect

and the content and it stems from

there. We’ve been fortunate to have opportunities

that approached us for the

last 5 years constantly from all over the

world. But I’m making a shift.

I’ve been opening a lot of restaurants

and have sold or closed a few restaurants

over the pandemic because I want

to be able to reach a larger audience

and really expedite the shift in the global

food dynamic and having plant-based

be the center of the plate. That’s why

we launched education during COVID,

we had over 4,000 students in over 80

countries online at the Food Future Institute.

It’s why we’re doing media projects

and a bunch of partnerships with different

brands and companies that serve

food or products in different ways and

experiences. Lastly, with restaurants

we’re shifting towards more of a licensing

model because it’s very hard to run

restaurants in multiple states much less

other countries and so pretty much at

this point, we’re partnering with larger

groups, developers, hotels, and brands

that we think can grow a relationship at

scale.

For example, we work with Kushner International,

they’re based in Duabi. They

have 15 or 20 properties and we work with

them, we have a full service restaurant at

one of them and we’re opening a second

and then we’re working with them on 8

or 10 of their properties to do enterprise

training by providing their chefs with tools

and content to add plant-based to their

existing menu. So those are the kinds of

situations where we develop relationships

where we can grow with them and

we don’t have to do things that we’re not

good at such as dealing with construction

and all of that. So we’re really shifting to

be entirely of that model within the next

year.

AM: Which I think is really smart. Like you

said, it allows you to focus on the things

that you’re good at and that you want to

be able to spend more time on.

CHEF MK: Yeah, it’s not our skill set. I

grew up and my dad was a contractor, but

I can’t be on a construction site and running

a company doing a lot of things. The

people that are really best at culinary for

example, they don’t have experience with

this type of thing. It’s just not practical

for us and when we have the opportunity

to do it through the licensing platform,

that’s best.

AM: I actually met you back in 2019 in the

fall at Ladurée’s event here in NY when

they released their vegan menu at an editor

event at their Soho restaurant. It was a

fun event and it was inspiring to hear you

talk about that at the luncheon. What does

it mean to you when you are instituting

plant-based menus in restaurants that still

have non-plant-based dishes on the menu?

People such as myself who eat plant-based

half of the week or certain meals are able

to be exposed to these innovations.

CHEF MK: Well, that’s where I see it going.

That’s why I use the term “shift the global

food paradigm,” because really what I’m

looking at realistically is that the whole

world will not go vegan. But I do believe

that there will be a major shift to plantbased

being 70-80% of what we consume.

Therefore, we’re in a world where we’re

all connected one way or another. So, I

don’t have a problem with that as long as

we’re not promoting or serving the nonplant-based.

I’m not an activist per se.

I'm not an activist per se. I'm an activist

through art and that’s how I do it.

"I want to be able to reach

a larger audience and really

expedite the shift in the

global food dynamic and

having plant-based be the

center of the plate."

AM: We’ve been enjoying some of the

new items from your brand, Ntidote

which you launched at Expo West. The

Pizzalmonds are amazing. Why did you

want to launch this company which

focuses on nutrient dense, functional

foods, and supplement powders?

CHEF MK: Well, I just like Dr. Amir

Marashi. He’s passionate, we have the

same taste and he’s wonderful to work

with! I know that whatever we do is

going to be aesthetically pleasing, he’s

committed to quality and I like where

he is coming from as a doctor. He’s a

very passionate person and that’s a big

part of it. That’s the thing about Ntidote,

I had the Trail Mix for breakfast

and they’re very functional foods and

also foods that really help us eliminate

toxins that go into our bodies. It’s a big

market segment and I felt that we had

a perspective on where to get the best

ingredients and how to activate them

through the sprouting process and it’s

really quite straight forward, but it’s

meant to be very high quality, straight

forward, non challenging for people to

understand and I think that it can grow

in a lot of different ways. I love the brand

itself. It started off as an idea in doing a

bar.

AM: Oh!

CHEF MK: We did a Ntidote Bar. It had

ingredients that no other bar had like

pine pollen and some really cool things

and it was hard to produce them for a

reasonable cost. So then it was higher

to sell them at the right cost. We pivoted

and then this is where we are now.

I’m really happy with it and we did a nice

job I feel. I love the branding and I’m just

really pleased that it’s simple.

AM: I like that you were talking about

that. I love the packaging. I’m a huge fan

of almonds myself, so having these different

flavors was really great to enjoy. I also

received Golden Magic Powder, and I have

found that to be lovely as well.

What’s your process like in terms of onboarding

the different assortments that

you'll eventually have and are there new

things that you’re looking to add later in

the year?

CHEF MK: We’re launching with a pretty

large portfolio of products, so I think that

a lot went into that and the branding and

now, a lot will go into developing relationships

with retail outlets or whoever will

be carrying it. We want to nurture those

relationships first and then once that

part is stable, we’ll certainly look at other

ideas as I have too many ideas and I have

to learn to shut them down a bit because

I really want to be able to do it right. So

I want to be able to do this first phase in

the right way.

AM: That’s exciting and I will definitely

keep my eye out for it. I like how clean it

tastes and then you begin to think about

how you can incorporate it into things like

my salads and other dishes. I think you

guys did an amazing job with that.

How did the two of you come together to

decide to do this? Had you worked together

previously?

CHEF MK: No, I had a restaurant at the 1

Hotel in Miami and Amir came to a talk

that I was doing. It was just a sunny weekend

day and I gave a talk and maybe there

was a demo. He approached me after and

we just started talking and he asked me

if I wanted to do something. We talked

about what we wanted to do and he mentioned

that we could do a bar because

he’s a doctor and he really wanted to add

value to his patients health by focusing on

food. We decided to collaborate to do it

together.

AM: Are there upcoming projects outside

of this brand specifically or anything that’s

coming up that we should keep an eye out

for?

CHEF MK: Yes, we have a lot. We’re involved

in a new company called Mates

Brands and Jamison Ernest is the founder

and he’s a very talented entrepreneur,

he has a great eye and a really great

style a great way of bringing people

together. Mates is a company that will

take experts in their fields and celebrities

and pair them with a producer of a

certain kind of product or service that

they co-develop that will fall under that

umbrella. The initial group is Venus Williams,

Kate Hudson, Vanessa Hudgens

and somehow, I got in there.

So that’s really exciting and we’re working

on a few TV projects and I’m excited

about both of them at production studios

here in California. We just recently

opened our restaurant in Doha it’s beautiful!

They created this gorgeous green

restaurant for us and that just opened.

The next opening is in Palm Beach and

then in the fall in Monaco. These are all

licensing and strategic partnerships and

we’re working on a sort of bespoke alcohol

line where we just partnered with

an influencer Sean Wotherspoon and

then Matt Fontana my friend that owns

BESTIES, the best vegan convenient

store in the country and we opened

Vegan Coffee, but it’s actually a curated

sneaker shop in East Hollywood. We’re

partnering with a group that has a yacht

it’s solar and electric sustainable beautiful

yacht that will have charters with

high end plant-based cuisine. We’re actually

training the chefs here today that

have been with us here all week and

we’ll be on the boat. So, we do a lot of

different things probably involving 70 or

80 different types of projects!

AM: That’s great! I was literally going

to ask you if there was anything that

you would want to do that’s on your list

of things to do and in just hearing you,

you’re covering so many different verticals.

How do you take time for yourself

because I’m sure you’re traveling a lot

and you’re checking on projects. But

what do you do to kind of center yourself

and to get back to self-care?

CHEF MK: Good question! Well we look

at the entire spectrum from food growing

to when it’s served and actually beyond

that. My partner Charlotte, she is

also my Creative Director, she has 5 towers

and some of them are in the ground

and she grows more food then what we

can eat here at home and she starts everything

from seed. So we look at that and

we partner with different groups that are

going to be sustainable growing methods

and we get involved with them. But on

the back end, we work with Lomi which

is a really cool composting machine for

the home and they’re developing one for

the business. It’s really cool because you

put all your waste in there, press 1 button

and 12 hours later, you have your compost

which goes back into the garden. So we

look at the whole spectrum, anything

that is sustainable and promoting longevity

not just for humans, but for the planet

that is pleasurable, well designed, and

stylish, that’s when we really get engaged

into that whole entire process.

It used to be strictly food and I used to

stay in my lane on that, but then I realized

that sometimes that’s not enough

because a lot of people are environmentalist

and other people only care about

their health whether it’s vegan or they’re

not. Some care about animals. So we really

have to embrace the whole thing and

that’s why we leaned out our model to the

point where we’re not physically going to

be running business because instead of

us being 70% operational and 30% innovation

– it’s going to be 90% innovation and

maybe 10% supportive of the various partnerships.

That’s why I made that change

because the other way of doing it which is

what I have been doing for the last many

many years, it wasn’t sustainable for me.

I’m 59 this summer, I’m healthy, but I

don’t sleep enough and I don’t feel like I

give or work to the best of my potential

when I’m not rested and taking time for

yoga and meditation and so forth. That’s

why I’m taking this model so that we will

remove the majority of that operational

aspect and I feel like we’ll be much better

and we’ll add more value to society that

way. I can also take care of myself better!

"That's why I use the term

'shift the global paradigm,'

because really what I'm

looking at realistically is that

the whole world will not go

vegan. But I do believe that

there will be a major shift

to plant-based being 70-

80% of what we consume."

AM: You touched a little on TV projects

that you’re working on. Do you envision

doing a TV series or there are so many

interesting culinary shows beyond the

competition ones that are a travel meets

cooking experience. Do you forsee or do

you have plans for that?

CHEF MK: We do! I’ve been approached

many times over the years for competitions

and reality shows and it wasn’t really

my thing. I’m more reserved. I’m comfortable

on camera, but I don’t have the

desire to be on camera. If I can tell a story

and make a difference then I’m happy

to do it and it’s also good for our company

and for exposure. So, I get excited

for that reason and the reason that we

can make an impact, change habits, and

inspire people hopefully. We’re working

on 2 shows. 1 is more of a 1-on-1 type of

solutions based talk show almost with

celebrities and athletes that are looking

to become plant-based. I don’t want to

drop names, but I have names but I have

had experiences with quite a few in the

past and we want to do a show like that,

because we believe that will be entertaining

and the known figures will draw

an audience, and people are interested

in them, and also they will be influential

in changing habits because watchers,

viewers will see that and see them taking

that initiative and then we’ll support

it. I have a really large global network

and one of my really good friends is an

expert in hydration. It’s simple, but it’s

not. So we have a lot of contacts like

that that we will bring into the show.

The other one will be more travel. I always

loved No Reservations.

AM: Same!

CHEF MK: It would be around food travel

and food technology. The innovations

in the food space globally. We might go

to Finland where someone is creating an

alternative protein with air or whatever!

But it’s not about running into a laboratory

it’s more about another person,

what inspires them, what their back-

ground is, their local culture and the team

that they built. So it will be great. I could

drink a bottle of wine with them and who

knows. So that will be the 2 shows that I’ll

be working on.

It's not out of a desire to be on television.

When I was young, Bobby Flay and I used

to share a summer home in the Hamptons

for 2 or 3 years in a row. He really wanted

to be on TV and I really wanted to be behind

the scenes. But now that I’m closer

to 60, I feel like that I have a story to tell

about longevity. It’s not just about people

who are older, it’s about preparing for longevity

when you’re young. So I think that

there is something to tell in this show and

to share. There will be cooking involved,

but it’s not just that.

AM: I think that is awesome and I would

definitely watch something like that.

When you’re cooking for yourself, what

are 3 ingredients that you tend to have on

hand and feel is so versatile to the dishes

that you cook?

CHEF MK: Lemons, good olive oil, and sea

salt. It’s not just that, I love Fuji apples,

broccoli and greens but Charlotte grows

them here so they’re always here. I love

having a nice pantry. I love oils and seasoning.

I love yuzu. I could give you a really

long list but the first things that come

to mind is great sea salt, lemons, and olive

oil.

AM: As someone who has done so much in

this space, have received a number of accolades

and you have such a passion for it,

what do you want your legacy to be seen

as when people look back to the work that

you have done?

CHEF MK: It’s not really about me. I don’t

care about the legacy of me. But, I do

want the work that I have done for so

many years, because there are much easier

things that I could have done, and I really

want that to be able to carry on and

to see plant-based to where it should end

up. Having it at the center of the plate. I

want people to be able to understand it

and hopefully, it’s part of our education

to kids. We learn the capitals of states,

names of countries, algebra, and so forth,

but we don’t understand our own bodies

where food comes from and I don’t want

to see a society that’s ill unnecessarily. I

want people to be able to enjoy their

lives much longer into their later years

and to feel better while they’re young to

have more of a productive society and

hopefully one that’s also more emotionally

balanced because of what foods can

do for our well-being. So, I want to do

everything that I can to put that momentum

out there and to be part of it.

That’s my goal. I don’t have any personal

aspirations.

AM: As a personal question and one that

we have talked about throughout our issues

- so many people are talking about

gut health and some eat gummies, take

supplements, drink tonics etc. From your

point of view, what are ingredients or

items that people should be eating for

their positive gut health.

CHEF MK: I think that most people are

dehydrated, including myself because

water can get boring and even when we

do drink enough water, it’s not always

assimilated in the right way – certain

types of water, certain types of pH balances.

Supplements we can do to kind

of cover that. I think that's probably

#1. I would say that #2 is chewing food

because our digestive system doesn’t

have teeth and it’s really critical. Those

2 things, can make such a difference

to our digestive system. But then also,

some things digest more quickly. We’re

not animals so that’s why plants are so

valuable. But understanding food combining,

and what to layer and not to layer,

eating watermelon on top of a big

meal for example is not a good idea. Digestion

is everything. Removing toxins

and potential toxins from our body is

everything and it’s critically important.

I never thought about it. As young people,

we don’t think about it. But when

I got into plant-based, I did a cleanse

with this really quirky doctor and it just

changed my entire digestive system. I

felt like I was flying! Ever since then, I

have been acutely aware of how my digestion

is, what I eat and how it will impact

my digestive system. I love sweets,

I love ice cream and I indulge. I eat whatever

I want. But I’ve trained myself to

eat what’s good for me without much

effort, because I already like these foods

anyway. I’m always excited to walk into

a health foods store, but I think that it’s

a big subject and it’s definitely everything.

Because you can be on the most

beautiful place on the planet, gorgeous

sunny day, and be on vacation and if

you’re digestion is not working properly,

you cannot enjoy it!

@matthewkenneycuisine

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | This feature

+ PG 150 63MIX ROUTIN3S - Chef

Matthew Kenney

This time of year is always fun as a number

of our favorite DJs are all over sharing

their music and creations with a number

of fans. Whether you see them in person

or stream them on your favorite platform,

you have the opportunity to experience

their sound and what they're working on

at that time!

This month, we caught up with Ferry Corsten

who shared his 9PLAYLIST with us last

year and with so many projects going on

and a busy schedule ahead, we wanted to

find out more about his artistry as well as

what he's been working on. With a career

that spans over 2 decades, we wanted to

know more about how he got into the industry,

what his creative process is, how he

decides which alias will embrace his sound

and so much more. We also talk about his

upcoming album under his name with it's

single Connect.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in

love with music?

FERRY CORSTEN: This must have been

when I was about 9 or 10 years old. My

dad installed a car cassette played in my

room and that’s when I became fascinated

with music.

AM: When did you realize that you wanted

to be a DJ/producer?

FC: When I was about 15 years old, I had

already learned that you could do all

these cool things with cutting and pasting

tape and make edits of songs. I also

had learned that with 2 turntables and

mixing 2 songs together you could create

something new. Soon after that I started

clubbing and that’s when I met some guys

who had a little studio. They asked me to

come by one day and from that point on I

was hooked on making or producing music.

To be honest, I never really wanted to

be a DJ but after my first few successes in

the UK the opportunity arose for me to

play at the biggest clubs and festivals. Obviously,

I grabbed it with both hands and

I’ve never looked back.

AM: In your career that spans over 2 decades,

you have performed under a number

of aliases and have had chart-topping

success while also embracing an array of

genres, how do you decide what project

will go under what name or the need to

create another name?

FC: My interests in music or electronic

music as a whole have a pretty wide

range, so I love to go into the studio and

keep myself pumped and challenged by

not always making the same type of music.

This may be easy for me to understand,

but not always as easy to follow

for my fans. Therefore, I created these

aliases so I can keep making different

music without confusing my fans. They

now know what to expect when they

see a new Ferry Corsten track is coming

or when a new Gouryella or FERR track

is coming. Each project has it’s own distinct

sound, one is more techy, deeper,

more diverse and the other is either

more trancy or more ambient.

AM: How would you define the Ferry Corsten

sound?

FC: I’m always on the hunt for a very

strong and recognisable melodic hook.

That is the main thing. But I also look for

opposites. For example, a beautiful melody

played with a nasty sound or with

a tougher drive underneath. Combining

elements from different genres and

blending them together is also something

you can expect in a Ferry Corsten

track.

AM: What's your process when you're

creating new music and where do you

look for inspiration?

FC: I always go for the melody first.

When I have my hook, the rest of the

track builds itself around it. I know a

lot of other producers who go for the

groove first, but for me its melody first.

I get inspired by all kinds of things. Of

course, from new synths and sounds

when I’m in the studio, but also from

other music, from people, places, happy

accidents and wherever the universe

takes me.

AM: You have collaborated with a number

of DJ's including Paul Oakenfold as well as

Armin van Buuren - when you're approaching

working with other artists, what is that

process?

FC: It’s always great to work on something

together. The one thing you need for this

however, is an open mind. Being set on

your idea without the willingness to compromise

is not going to work. Usually, it

starts by goofing around in the studio

and bouncing ideas off of each other until

something sticks. If being in the studio together

physically is not possible, sending

ideas back and forth is also an option, but

not quite the same fun.

AM: Tell me about your latest single that

you dropped this month, Connect. The futuristic

sound of this song has been one

that we have enjoyed listening to!

FC: Thank you. I like where music is going

at the moment. It’s an amazing blend of

techno, trance, and house. All the sounds

I personally love to listen to as well.

AM: What is the meaning behind the name

Connect for this song?

FC: I am fascinated with what music does

to people, how it connects us all, what it

does to our mood and its ability to connect

one’s creative outburst with the

world. It can also instantly turn a bad day

into a good one. Everything is strung together

and that is what is being reflected

in Connect. Connect is also the first single

of my next album which will see the light

early next year.

AM: Connect is the debut single from your

upcoming album, what can you tell us

about the album and will you have any

other songs that you will be releasing this

summer?

FC: It will be an album full of tracks blend-

ing the above mentioned genres of music

emphasising the togetherness music

brings to us all. Over the next month’s

various singles will be released leading

up to the final release of the album. Towards

the end of the year, you can also

expect a new tour in light of this upcoming

album release.

AM: With the summer officially starting

in a few weeks, what festivals will you be

part of and where will you tour?

FC: I will be playing most of the big festivals

in Europe, North America and Asia.

I will also host my first Resonation Radio

stage at Dance Valley in The Netherlands

this summer.

AM: Tell me about What the F which allows

your fans to enjoy your music reimagined,

remixed, and with a futuristic

approach?

FC: What The F is a must for everyone

who has been following my career. It is

an open to close set in which I will only

play my own music including crazy mashups

of my tracks, updated versions,

and remixed versions of certain tracks

which you can only hear at this show.

Obviously, I will play music from my biggest

aliases as well. The name What The

F stems from the idea of someone being

on the dance floor hearing me play

a track he or she didn’t know was mine

and thinking…’He did this too????……

What The F!!!’ …..F for Ferry of course

;-p

AM: You also have your weekly radio

show, Resonation Radio! Why did you

want to do this and what can fans hear

when they tune in?

FC: I have been doing radio since 2007.

My first show was called Corsten’s

Countdown but after episode 700 this

was changed into Resonation Radio.

This name change was because of the

change in format of the show giving me

more freedom to play a larger variety

of genres. Expect the best in melodic

house, melodic techno, and progressive

trance.

AM: You released Connect on your imprint,

Flashover Recordings. Tell me about

this label and what artists or projects that

you're excited about that will be released?

FC: Flashover is a label releasing progressive

trance, melodic house, and melodic

techno. We also like to tease our audience

with a quirky release occasionally. Our

current focus is on US based DJ/Producer

Dustin Hussain and hot new Ukrainian talent

Cubicore.

@ferrycorsten

PHOTOS COURTESY| Ferry Corsten

Earlier this year, our FEB ISSUE #86 was

covered by Team USA Olympic Gold Medalist

and 5X Women's World Surf League

Champion, Carissa Moore! Since we spoke

to her, she's halfway through the season

and at the time of the release of this issue

is #2 in the World Surf League, won the

Billabong Pro Pipeline as well as most recently,

winning the Margaret River Pro in

late April!

She is a force on the water and we also

enjoy how she gives back to women by

empowering them to be who they want

to be as they navigate their lives and take

on wherever their goals lead them! In the

midst of training and making her own

goals, we caught up with her to find out

about her recent win, the second half of

the season and her latest collaboration

with Hurley for her May Moore Aloha collection

by Hurley.

ATHLEISURE MAG: What did your recent

win at Margaret River mean to you?

CARISSA MOORE: It was a very validating

and empowering win. It had come

after a string of average results that had

me questioning my process and formula.

I feel like things start to fall into place

when I reconnect with what’s most meaningful

to me and let go of everyone else’s

expectations. It’s very easy to get distracted

on the journey and this win was a

nice reminder to trust in my preparation,

process and believe in my purpose. I love

Margaret River and winning with my team

there made it really special.

AM: Why do you enjoy being at Margaret

River?

CM: It feels like things are more simple in

Margaret River. There isn’t a lot of fuss,

bells and whistles. People are kind, the

towns are small and there is a ton of open

space. The nature is raw, the waves are

wild, you can still find an empty beach or

watch the sunset all by yourself. That is

rare. It is a place that brings you back to

yourself and the present moment.

AM: What tournaments are you looking

forward to this year?

CM: The second half of the WSL Championship

Tour season, I am truly looking

forward to all of the events but especially

Teahupo’o, Tahiti (SHISEIDO Tahiti

Pro).

AM: What’s your routine on the morning

of your competition?

CM: I wake up around 5am, kiss my

husband good morning, make myself a

warm drink, activate my body for about

45 mins and then head to the beach for

a surf before the first horn blows usually

around 8am.

AM: When you finish competing, how do

you switch gears into relaxing mode?

CM: I like to relax after competing by

taking a hot shower, eating a healthy

meal, going for a nice beach walk, reading

a book, journaling or putting on a

good tv show.

AM: Tell us about your May Moore Aloha

collection by Hurley!

CM: This Moore Aloha X Hurley collection

is my favorite one yet! Created from

start to finish with love and attention to

all the details, this collection celebrates

Hawaii, femininity and combined woman

power. So grateful for the opportunity

to work closely with local Hawaiian

artist, Aloha de Mele, on all the prints

and the incredible team at Hurley Women

to create a line that combines function

with fashion. It is my goal with every

collection to create pieces that spark

joy, empower females to feel comfortable

and confident while chasing their

dreams. To add, one of the things I’m

most excited about is this is the first of

our collections available in girl sizes!

AM: What does it feel like for your collaboration

between Moore Aloha and

Hurley to come together like it has?

CM: It is so cool to see my favorite pieces

come to life, displayed at my hometown

stores and being worn!

AM: What is your process of designing

your collection?

CM: I’ll start by sending the Hurley Women’s

team “inspo” pics and they’ll create a

mood board, pick a variety of prints and

colors for me to choose from. Once we

nail that down, they’ll create a line up of

silhouettes for me to look at. There is a bit

of back and forth refining the selection

and giving feedback. Then, they will make

samples and I get to product test! I’ll send

some suggestions until we get the fits just

right.

AM: Tell us about your next Moore Aloha

event.

CM: I am planning the next Moore Aloha

event for this fall on the island of Oahu.

Our work focuses on Mental Health, Education,

Community Relations, Culture,

and Environmental Conservation. Our

main goal is to share valuable tools and

resources with girls and women to create

a positive life driven by passion, fueled by

purpose. We integrate the Hawaiian culture

to promote mindfulness and community.

The ocean and surfing is a tool to empower

girls to step outside their comfort

zone and live fearlessly. Our welcoming

atmosphere allows for open, honest conversation

and soulful connections. Some

of the activities we include are a tag team

event, lei making, yoga, journaling, hula,

a beach clean up and surfing. Depending

on our group and our focus we will sometimes

include a goal setting workshop,

CPR and water safety courses, work in the

lo’i (taro patches), plant trees, and invite

other empowering females to talk and

share their inspirational stories.

@rissmoore10

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | This feature +

9PLAYLIST PG 118 Hurley

We love attending music festivals and here

in NYC, Govenors Ball kicks off our summer

season! This 3 day festival has a number

of the hottest artists across 3 stages and a

number of genres! Over the past few years,

we've attendend this event on Governors

Island, Randall's Island and Citi Field. This

year, it settles into its new home in its 12th

year at Flushing Meadow Corona Park in

Queens from June 9th - 11th! This year's

acts include Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Diplo, Kendrick

Lamar, SOFI TUKKER and Kim Petras

to name a few! Over the 3 days, people can

celebrate their favorite artists, have Instagram

worthy pictures, enjoy fabulous food

and beverages and more!

We caught up Tom Russell, Co-Founder and

Partner of Founders Entertainment who

puts on Gov Ball from his vision of creating

a music festival that also honors the spirit

and diversity of NY! We wanted to find out

how Tom got into the music festival industry,

his passion for music, how Gov Ball was

created and what first timers and veterans

can expect when they come to the show

this year! We delve into partnerships and

the future of this festival. Make sure you

read next month's JUN ISSUE #90 which

will have our recap of this 3 days of music!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we delve into

Governors Ball, how did you get into the

business of music festivals?

TOM RUSSELL: I grew up in NYC and was

obsessed with music from a young age

and I was going to concerts at a young age

starting in middle school. I got really into

punk rock going to concerts on St. Marks

Place. As I got older, I went to high school,

got really into jam bands, went to New Orleans

for college and got really into funk

music and world music and all of that of

course Hip-Hop since I was young.

I went to a festival called Bonnaroo and

had the time of my life and I had the best

time ever! I said to myself after that weekend,

“I need to work in music festivals."

This was my passion. I was living in New

Orleans going to Tulane and I discovered

that the company that did Bonnaroo was

based in New Orleans. So, I wrote them

an email, wrote them another email,

and another one and they finally wrote

me back.

I somehow managed to wiggle my way

into there and get an internship. I did

it for a semester and then they offered

me another internship and then Hurricane

Katrina happened and they evacuated

their offices to NYC which is where

I was born and raised. I was in NYC for

that semester as well. They offered me

a full-time job and I had to make a decision

at that time. Did I want to go back

to college, or did I want to take a job

with the company that I wanted to do

more than anything? I decided to drop

out of school, drop out of college with

1 semester to go and take a job with Superfly.

I worked with them for 6 years

until I hit my ceiling at Superfly, and I decided

that it was time for me to leave to

pursue my long life goal of bringing my

hometown and beloved city a music festival

they they could call it's own.

At that time, you had Lollapalooza in

Chicago, Austin City Limits in Austin,

Outside Lands in San Francisco, but

there was no cultural institution in NY

and I felt that that was just wrong and

it didn’t make sense to me. So I left Superfly

to start Gov Ball with a couple of

friends of mine. It was good timing and

we really hit the nail on the head with

our programming and we really tapped

into this growing festival culture and

this demand for really good live music in

NYC. It was kind of off to the races from

there!

AM: I love that and that is such a great

story!

What I love about Governors Ball is that

you have different types of genres that

are playing in the same space across 3

different stages. You can obviously see

artists that you enjoy that you're already

fans of as well as other genres and artists

that you weren't familiar with and

you always leave adding more to your

playlist after going which I think is really

cool.

TR: Well that was a huge thing for us. We

all looked at our Spotify, Apple playlist,

iTunes what have you and we saw that

we weren’t just listening to Hip-Hop, rock,

or pop, we were listening to everything

and it was important to us to put together

lineups that had artists that we loved

and that we knew were amazing live musicians,

but also we had something for everybody.

People just have tons of different

tastes. We carry that on to this day where

we’ll have an EDM headliner, a Hip-Hop

headliner, and we’ll have a pop headliner,

and everything in between. I think that it

just speaks to the variety of tastes that

not just music lovers have, but also New

Yorkers because it’s such a diverse city.

AM: Absolutely.

What is your process like when you’re

sketching out a year ahead or whatever in

terms of the different types of artists that

you’re bringing in?

TR: So we’re always looking for the biggest

and the best. We certainly know

what bands have new records coming

out. We certainly know what bands have

a desire to tour around the Gov Ball time.

We know what bands we would love to

have, but they’re definitely not touring

and we kind of go for all of it and see what

sticks. We start out with the headliners

and there are artists that we have made

offers to every single year in the hopes

that it will pique their interests and sometimes

we just throw something crazy out

there and they come back to us and say

yes. Other times, it goes nowhere and we

just fall back on artists that really want

to play the festival and are releasing a

record around that time of year. But for

us, it’s important to have the biggest and

best things. Because one of the beautiful

things about NYC is that New Yorkers have

access to the best of everything. We have

access to the best food, the best music,

the best parks, and there’s so much to do,

that it's essential for us to put together a

lineup that is the best and that people

just can’t say no to because there are so

many other things to do in this city. We

have to stand out. So, it’s always, how

do we put together the biggest and

best lineup that will get people to have

a double take and say, fuck, there’s no

way that I am missing that.

AM: Well this year, it’s going to be at

Flushing Meadows, Corona Park. What is

the thought process behind finding the

ideal space because it is 3 massive stages,

plus all of these other activations that

are also on site?

TR: I would say that for any great music

festival, the venue is almost as important

as the artist. It really defines the vibe

of the overall event and for Gov Ball over

the years, we’ve struggled to be honest.

We’ve moved. We started out as a 1 day

festival on Governors Island, we moved

to Randall’s Island where we grew to a 3

day festival, and we moved over to Citi

Field coming out of the pandemic. But

we never really had a large greenspace

venue that is iconic and lent itself well

to live events and that led us to Flushing

Meadows at Corona Park. A park that

was built and designed for events many

many decades ago. It’s easily accessible

by subway and LIRR. It is full of iconic

structures, museums, and tons of trees.

It’s such a unique greenspace. We’re so

excited for this year and for our fans to

see it because the festival will take on

a whole new life and a whole new vibe

and one that we have really wanted to

have since our start. You look at Lollapalooza,

they’re in Grant Park. Austin City

Limits is in Zilker Metropolitan Park.

With Gov Ball, we haven’t had that yet.

Flushing Meadows is truly an incredible

and special place that we just can’t wait

to bring it alive!

AM: I’m excited and looking forward to

it!

Food is always a huge component of music

festivals as well and you guys have

incredible vendors such as our favorites:

The Halal Guys, Taqueria Diana as well

as food partnerships by bringing in the

Queens Night Market. Why was this important

to have such a diverse series of

foods?

TR: So for us, we wanted to have the best

of everything! The best music lineup and

of course, the best food. People need to

be able to eat and drink and to listen to

great music. With us being in Queens, we

couldn’t not think of the Queens Night

Market which is such an institution. It has

such an amazing collection of vendors

from all over the world. We reached out

to John Wang, founder of Queens Night

Market and he’s so brilliant and what he

created there and it’s so special. So we

said, “look, we’re coming to Flushing

Meadows and you’ve been there for so

long and we have created this amazing

amazing event, we would love for you to

be able to help us curate some vendors

that really speak to Queens and speak to

what you have built and to help us give

more variety to what we are offering.”

He was kind enough to make a number of

introductions and help us to feature food

that will really be additive to the festival

and to get people super super excited to

have food from around the world. From

Mao's Bao to Twisted Potato, La Brasa for

those folks that go to Queens Night Market

like myself, it’s really going to be great.

So they’re going to go from seeing one

amazing act, to having an amazing meal,

to seeing another amazing act to having

another amazing meal. What do people

want in life? Good food, good music, and

good drink. That’s all that you need.

AM: It’s a full experiential opportunity to

have all of these things together. What are

some things that are being added to this

year’s event that may be different from

last year? For those who go every year or

may have missed a few, what can they expect?

TR: I think that the biggest thing this year

is our new venue. I mean, this is going to

be a Gov Ball experience that’s unlike any

other because it's a brand new site which

is full of lush trees and iconic elements

like the Unisphere. How we’re bringing

the park to life with lighting and décor

and art installations. What we’re doing

to enhance the trees, it’s really going

to be super duper special and for those

folks that have been to Gov Ball once,

twice, 5 times or 10, they truly have no

idea what they are in store for because

this venue is a whole new ballgame and

it’s so exciting. We just can’t wait for

people to be able to see it and to experience

what Gov Ball has wanted to be

since it’s iteration.

AM: In addition to all of the things that

take place on Gov Ball’s festival site, it’s

great that you also have After Dark. We

love the idea of people being able to continue

the party and to see a number of

the artists that are performing at other

venues around the city and to expand

your footprint. Why is this an element

that you love including with Governors

Ball?

TR: Well look, the festival ends at 10pm

because the NYC Parks tell us we have

to end at 10pm and I don’t want to go

to bed at 10pm! It’s way too early, it’s

summertime in the city on a Fri., Sat.,

and Sun. night. So we reach out to the

artists that are playing the festival and

we tell them that we want to work with

them some more, feature them in an

After Dark show, keep the party going

and we know the fans will like it. So we

have events with Saba, Metro Boomin’,

SOFI TUKKER, and tons more. So, for us,

it’s giving the people the opportunity

to keep the party going. We’re predominantly

a NY festival because most if the

people going are from NYC and the tristate

area. But there are tons of people

that come in from around the country

and around the world. So we want to

give people the opportunity to see the

festival at the park, but also to experience

these great venues in Manhattan

and in Brooklyn and elsewhere.

AM: That’s smart!

TR: Yeah. We just want to be able to have

something to fill out there whole weekend.

AM: For those that won’t be able to attend

the festival themselves, is there a way that

they would be able to listen to the lineup

whether you partnered with a streaming

platform or anything else like that?

TR: So we aren’t livestreaming the event

this year. If you want to get a take on this

year’s music, you can hop onto Spotify

and look at our official playlist. But that’s

what we have in store for this year and

I can’t say enough about this venue and

what we are doing there. For those folks

that are on the fence for going this year, I

can’t sell it enough. It’s going to be super

special and super new and Gov Ball unlike

any other.

AM: You also have an entire philanthropic

component to Gov Ball that involves the

community which is amazing. Can you tell

us more about that and how you’re supporting

these particular initiatives?

TR: Since we started the festival, we’ve

always wanted to give back to the local

community. When we were in Randall’s

Island for years in East Harlem, it was important

for us to work with local East Harlem

institutions because we were impacting

that community the most. The flow

traffic from the festival was going right

through the East Harlem neighborhood.

We started to build these relationships

with local non-profit partners.

When we moved over to Queens, we

brought that same goal in mind. This year,

working with super local organizations

such as Chhaya and ECRC (Elmhurst/Corona

Recovery Collective) we’re giving

them the opportunity to expose their

amazing causes to a brand new audience

and we’re also giving our audience an opportunity

to work towards tickets to the

festival by volunteering at those organizations.

So for a few hours of work and

volunteering, you can get a Gov Ball ticket

and we’re fundraising for these organiza-

tions. These are super small and local

that truly need exposure. They truly

need funding so for us to be able to give

back to them, it’s a really important initiative

of ours. Over the years, we have

worked with really large organizations

too such as Everytown and Planned

Parenthood and we’ll continue to work

with those bigger organizations, but it

is always important for us to be hyperlocal

and to help these smaller organizations

that have these great causes who

have less awareness and to give them a

means to benefit.

AM: Just looking at the future, do you

ever see Gov Ball to be the same as a Lollapalooza,

an EDC or a Tomorrowland

that pops up in other cities around the

world? Do you ever think that that would

be a journey that Gov Ball will take at

some point?

TR: I don’t. I think that Gov Ball is NYC

born and bread. I think that the ethos of

the event is NYC, we feature NYC artists,

it’s NYC food vendors, NYC graffiti artists,

NYC contractors and vendors and

non-profits. The whole vibe of the event

is NYC and we don’t really have the desire

to stray from that. I think that the

NYC works in NYC. I don’t think that you

could plop that down anywhere else

and we just want to continue to be able

to make Gov Ball the best that it can be

and now with us at Flushing Meadows

Corona Park. I think this is only the beginning

and we’re just super excited to

go down this path of this incredible new

home and new venue that we’re bringing

to life and to just continue to bring

NYC the very best in lineups whether it’s

food, music, or what have you that we

can!

@govballnyc

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 100

Charles Reagan | PG 102 Aaron Ricketts |

PG 105 Roger Ho | PG 106 Carter Khowe

| PG 109 Downs |

THE ART OF

THE SNACK:

ARCHER

& GOAT

This month's The Art of the Snack takes us

to Archer & Goat in Harlem. With a menu

that merges Latin American and South

Asian flavors as well as a number of beverages

that will be perfect for the upcoming

season, we know that this will be a good

time! We took a moment to sit down with

Chef/Owner, Alex Guzman to find out more

about the meaning behind the name,

the ambiance, menu and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Please tell us about

you and Jenifar Chowdhury's culinary

background and what led to opening Archer

& Goat?

CHEF ALEX GUZMAN: I grew up in the

hospitality industry and have worked in

both front of house and back of house

positions in restaurants in Miami and New

York. My wife did not have much prior

experience in the restaurant world prior

to opening our place but we both share

in our love for food and reverence for

restaurants which led us to opening our

own place, Archer & Goat.

AM: What is the significance of this name?

CHEF AG: The name, Archer & Goat, is

based on our zodiac signs, I am a Sagittarius

(Archer) and my wife is a Capricorn

(Goat). We feel that our personalities align

well with our astrological signs, which

means that though we are very different,

we make a great partnership in both our

personal and business lives.

AM: What cuisines are offered here and

how do these play together?

CHEF AG: My mother is from Ecuador and

father is from Puerto Rico, my wife's parents

are from Bangladesh. We were both

born and raised in the cultural melting pot

of New York. Our cuisine is a mashup of all

of our backgrounds including Latin American

and South Asian flavors. Our chicken

vindaloo arepas with cucumber raita and

cotija cheese is a classic menu item that

reflects the mashup really well.

AM: When did you open and why did you

want your location to be in Harlem?

CHEF AG: We opened four years ago,

about one year prior to the pandemic

shutdown. We have lived in Harlem

for over a decade and there really is no

neighborhood quite like Harlem - the

diversity and sense of community here

is really special, and we are humbled

to have been able to contribute to the

neighborhood with our restaurant.

AM: Tell us about the design aesthetic

for those who are coming in to dine?

CHEF AG: Archer & Goat occupies the

garden level of a townhouse in a beautiful

historic district in the heart of Harlem.

When designing the space, we

wanted to create an intimate convivial

vibe, with a long bar as well as an open

kitchen. When walking into the space,

we always tell people to look up to see

one of our favorite design features - the

pendant ceiling light fixtures which are

in the pattern of the Sagittarius and

Capricorn constellations. We also have

outdoor seating areas in the backyard,

which is great for small private events

as guests have the space to themselves,

and front patio, which great for people

watching!

AM: What are the spices and ingredients

that are specific to the cuisines that are

at Archer & Goat?

CHEF AG: Our sauces are key ingredients

to making our dishes unique and pop

with flavor, including our cilantro chimichurri,

sofrito, mint mojo, and panch

phoran mayo, which is made with panch

phoran Bengali five spice blend.

AM: What are 3 appetizers that we

should try when we come in?

CHEF AG: The Crispy Brussels Sprouts,

Plantain Chips with mint mojo and panch

phoran mayo dipping sauces, and our

A&G Preservation Platter with house

pickles, marinated olives, and candied

pistachios.

AM: What are 3 entrees that we should

have in mind when we pop in with friends

and family?

CHEF AG: We love every item in our tightly

edited menu so it would be hard to pick

just three! If we did have to choose, it

would probably be the A&G Burger with

Fries, Roasted Duck, and the Shrimp Curry.

AM: Brunch is always our favorite meal of

the week. Tell us about your brunch offerings.

CHEF AG: On the weekends, we offer both

our brunch and regular dinner menu all

day. Our brunch menu includes American

comfort brunch classics with our own

unique Archer & Goat twists. Our Breakfast

Arepas which is a version of steak and

eggs crossed with eggs benedict includes

a very unique pickled cilantro hollandaise.

We also have a Hot Chicken Sandwich with

pickled strawberries and maple aioli, and

Spiced French Toast with orange marmalade

and rose whipped cream.

AM: Cocktails are always a must to enjoy

with any good meal. What are 3 that we

should have our eye on?

CHEF AG: The Archer, which is hibiscus ginger

agua fresca spiked with mezcal; The

Goat, a turmeric margarita, and The Naz,

which is a masala old fashioned.

AM: In terms of dessert, we love sharing,

what are 3 that might be great for the table?

CHEF AG: Our Tres Leches Panna Cotta

and Flan are always on our menu - both

are a light and refreshing end to a meal

at Archer & Goat. We usually have a third

dessert that rotates, such as our Chocolate

Tart with a tea biscuit crust and pomegranate

whipped cream.

@archerandgoat_harlem

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Michael Tulipan

Since 2017, Athleisure Mag has been a media

sponsor in partnering with NYC Pride.

During June there are a number of events

that take place that bring the LGBTQIA+

and city at large together to celebrate as

well as to draw awareness and to highlight

the talents, interests and passions of this

community. We always enjoy Pride Island

which is a fun musical festival that will

be headlined this year by Christina Aguilera.

There are other events that also take

place in this calendar from The March, The

Brunch, PrideFest and so much more.

We sat down with Executive Director Sandra

Perez of Heritage of Pride, the parent

organization of NYC Pride to find out about

the roots of the organization, a quick history

of Pride here in NY, events taking place

next and how they are drawing awareness,

celebrating, education and raising money

for small businesses. In our JUN ISSUE #90,

we will talk about the actual events that

took place!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we delve into

this year’s theme as well as events that

are slated, can you give us some historical

background on Pride in NY starting with

The Stonewall Riots that took place in

1969?

SANDRA PEREZ: NYC Pride is an outgrowth

of The Stonewall Riots. So the

first organizers The Gay Liberation March

that emerged from The Stonewall Riots,

was a loose coalition of organizations

that continued to really emerge from the

activist perspective. They were focused

on basic human rights, recognition within

our community, but also really, Stonewall

was about people being persecuted and

that they didn’t exist publicly.

The cause feels very present. In the last

few years and this year in particular. BY

1984, there was a decision made to formalize

a pride organizer, we became and

were named Heritage of Pride and we’ve

been organizing the Pride March and all

related events since then!

AM: Which is a huge job!

SP: Yes, we’ll be turning 40 next year! It

is a big job.

AM: What is your role and what are the

things that you do that are specific to the

events for NYC Pride and then what do

you do in terms of Heritage of Pride, year

around?

SP: Oh my goodness, as Executive Director,

it’s always funny because I say that

I do everything and nothing, right? Because

you have your finger in every little

pot! But for the most part, I’m charged

with overseeing our events, our fundraising

efforts and our advocacy. For me, a

big part of what I have been doing since

I came onboard in Nov of 2021 so I’m not

here 2 years yet, has really been working

with the organization and learning. But

also, reinforcing our activists’ groups. I

think a big part of the story that never

gets told about Pride is that so much of

the work that we do goes on behind the

scenes.

People will think, “oh a march just

happened.” No, it didn’t just happen.

We rely on 1,000’s and I mean literally

1,000’s of volunteers that help to pull

off our events every year. They’re very

committed and people come from great

distances. They take off of work to volunteer

because it is that important to

people. I was just talking about this with

a staff person, but they were like, “oh

my gosh, we’re responsible to the community

and making sure that everything

goes well.” I was like, “yeah, welcome to

Pride!”

AM: Absolutely!

What brought you to Pride and what

made you want to work there and to be

in the position that you’re in?

SP: I spent a lot of time in the not-forprofit

sector. I had run a Latinx organization

for many years, I’ve worked for

the Ms. Foundation for Women as part

of their fundraising and development

teams. So for me, my goal has always

been mission work. I feel very strongly

about being connected to a mission that

resonates with me personally. This is a job

where I am able to bring every single aspect

of myself to work.

AM: That’s great!

SP: Right? You don’t always get that! I can

be the Bronx girl that I am, I can be a Lesbian,

a Puerto Rican, an American, I can

be all of those things. I can do that and be

of service to a community that I am part

of and I feel strongly about that.

AM: We love that this year’s theme is

Strength in Solidarity. What does that

mean and how are we going to see that

throughout events that are offered this

year?

SP: That’s so great! You know, one of the

things that continually amazes me is that

we open up our themes for nominations

which are across the board. So this comes

from volunteers, from the general public

and this year we landed on Strength and

Solidarity, because we felt that it captured

the call to action that we need to

issue this year. The way we’re seeing that

and the way that we’re trying to live into

that theme is really looking to bring in all

segments and to speak to all segments

of the LGBTQ community. There are a lot

of differences within the community, but

I think that the challenge that we are all

facing is very clear. For me, being able to

work hand in hand and to work across different

organizations is really a big part of

what we try to do.

So for example, in The March, you’ll see

that we’re looking forward to it. It’s our

signature event and in there, it highlights

our community partners this year. So you

will see organizations that are celebrating

big anniversaries this year – PFLAG and

The National LGBTQ Task Force. Lambda

Legal is being honored as community heroes.

We have people from every sector

that we also lift up as Grand Marshalls.

The Brown and Black trans community is

also very prominently represented as our

drag queens who are in the front lines

now every single day. For us, it’s also

challenging. For the floats for example,

what we try to do there with corporate

partners that have a float, we try to

marry them to one of our community

based groups that they can share that

float and to really expand that opportunity

to get people to be involved and

represented in The March as well as not

just a corporate partner.

AM: That’s amazing. We didn’t realize

that.

SP: I know a lot is made of corporations

that are involved in Pride events. I am

very clear that we vet our partners. A

number of them we have asked point

blank - what are you doing in our community

and how are you living into your

DEAI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) at

your institution. It’s just a really important

moment for us to look at not just

unity and solidarity within the community,

but to also place and emphasis on

allyship and what needs to show up for

us at this point in time when so many of

our rights are being attacked, violence

is an ever present risk that we’re faced

with, our volunteers are faced with as

well as our staff. It’s a celebratory moment,

but it’s also a somber one.

AM: I couldn’t agree more. When we first

approached by your team back in 2017 to

be media sponsors, people asked why

we would want to participate. The first

response was that I think it is important

to be an ally. As Co-Founders, I’m Black,

the other co-founder is a white man and

we are a heterosexual couple. On various

sets, our teams have had those who are

part of the LGBTQIA+ community as well

as we have covered those who are as well

throughout our issues.

I have always felt that you should be a

good ally and be able to share those stories

within your pages as representation

is important. It’s always been important

to me as I want to be able to see myself

when I'm out in the world. I've had very

close friends that I knew of over the years

whether it was being sent to conversion

schools/therapies, having a hard time coming

out to various people in their circle or

simply just not being able to navigate their

lives who committed suicide. For me, these

were people that were my friends and

even in the midst of their struggle there

were such a rich fabric in terms of what

they offered to the world and each time I

always felt so sad that they felt that that

was what they had to do and that there

wasn’t enough that they could stay and either

increase their circles or find community

that they could navigate differently.

From those experiences, I have felt that it

is always important to be an ally and to

have representation reflected. I appreciate

that your organization is looking to embrace

and work with those that are in your

community as well as outside of it. It’s also

great to know that when you are with corporate

partners which is necessary to put

on a production of this nature, that you

do create accountability and that you ensure

that the benchmarks align with it being

done in a way that works for what you

need. I really appreciate that.

SP: Yeah, I think that in part and parcel

of that, is really looking at engaging. We

don’t just have sponsors, we call them

partners. We call them partners for a very

specific reason. We want to go beyond

the exchange of a check. It’s about what

are you doing to our community, what are

you doing for our community, are you engaged

in dialogue? How can we facilitate

the dialogue and how can we educate you

as to what kind of support our community

needs.

I have one of our Co-Chairs, Sue Doster

who always says, “we set the table so that

people can sit down and have the discussions

that need to be had." I say yes that’s

what we do and that we go a step further

by providing people with the opportunities

to do better. For me, that's a real important

part of what we need to be doing

in the future.

AM: Who are the Grand Marshalls this

year?

SP: I'm excited about this year's Grand

Marshalls: Billy Porter (American Horror

Story, Pose, 80 For Brady), Yasmin Benoit,

AC Dumlao, Hope Giselle, and Randolfe

"Randy" Wicker. We do have our

Grand Marshalls, once again nominated

by community members which is really

great. I think that they reflect a lot of

the community, they reflect the very

best of advocates, and they reflect the

very best champions that are out there

and we look forward to having them

take the spotlight and stepping off The

March.

AM: For those that may not be able to be

there in person, will you guys still have

The March broadcast on WABC and will

there be other ways to access this event

if they miss the live airing?

SP: Yes! I’m very happy to say that we just

renewed our partnership with WABC!

AM: Nice!

SP: So you can see us for the next 4 years

on WABC!

AM: That’s fantastic!

SP: We’re really happy about that. The

March is a live broadcast for 3 hours.

You can also see it on ABC7NY.com, ABC

News Live, and ABC7 New York's Connected

TV apps on streaming platforms

Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV,

and Roku. We love for people to know

that they can watch this in person, live

at home or at another time!

AM: Pride Island has always been one of

my favorites! Our team enjoys going –

we loved when we saw Madonna back in

2019 – such a great performance. People

were losing their ever loving mind! Christina

Aguilera just got named as the headliner

this year and I love that you guys

will hold this at Brooklyn Army Terminal.

What can we look forward to in terms of

this event?

SP: I mean, I think you can look forward

to the great music that has become part

of Pride Island and it originated as Dances

on the Pier! When we first started way

back when, the community had no place

to dance because it was forbidden right

(Editor’s Note: Dances on The Piers started

in 1986). They threw whole parties on the

pier and those have morphed into things

like Pride Island and so many other events

that happen that Fri. and Sat. So Pride Island,

you can see a lot of activations, we

have talent, we have a few surprises I’m

sure and great fireworks which always

is fun, we have food and Christina’s set!

We’re very excited to have her onboard,

she’s such a great champion for the community

and I‘m just as excited as you are,

let’s just put it that way!

AM: When I saw the release pop out, I was

like, “what?!?”

SP: I did squeal as well! There’s no jadedness

here! We get very excited over the

talent that we have on stage for Pride Island.

But equally at all of our events.

We have PrideFest which is our street

fair that takes over downtown and that’s

3 stages going on there. We have Family

Fest, we’re going to prominently feature

members of our community on stage

with lots of local talent because this is

where they grow and we want this to be a

showcase of our community as well as local

talent as well. We’re doing Youth Pride

this year again in Brooklyn which is an important

event for us because we know

how much pressure young people are under.

We know that it is not a safe time for

them. So to be able to partner with Target

over many years and they have been the

ones advocating for this being a totally

free experience for young people to celebrate

in safe spaces. That is going to be

a fantastic event. I’m really proud that we

do that.

AM: I love that when you’re looking at

the different events, that you present, The

Brunch this year has Black chefs from the

LGBTQIA+ community or that TEAZE focuses

on women – you create programming

where you can really showcase

representation so that people can step

forward and see something that can interest

them. Why is it so important to

do that and it’s so complex because you

only have so many days but you’re targeting

so many demographics?

SP: Yeah we do, because our community

is not a monolith. We come in every

shape and color and our interests are

varied. The event producers that we

bring on every year are from the community

and have a real commitment

to lifting up different segments of our

community and that’s what you see

when you see The Brunch. We’re celebrating

Juneteenth and understanding

that historically Black and Brown folks

have been marginalized not just in mainstream,

but within our communities.

So really lifting up that talent and really

lifting up our partnerships and what we

plan to do beyond The Brunch and beyond

the month of June.

AM: How far in advance do you begin

planning for the next upcoming Pride

event because it feels like you would be

working on this one as well as the next

one already.

SP: Absolutely! One of my big commitments

is to get us to a place where we

are planning this 2 and 3 years in advance!

Because that’s the time that we

would really need to be able to realize

the vision, right? One of the things that

we’ve done this year that’s different is

that we have lightened our calendar and

we decided that there are certain events

that we do usually in June that were not

getting the attention that they merited.

So for example, our Human Rights Conference,

it will move to Oct. We feel that

it will be a really great time to go from

the lighter aspects of Pride and really

dive into the issues that are facing the

community. Not just the issues, but the

people leading us and offering new an-

swers. So we’re very pleased that we’re

going to move and lean into what we call

Pride 365, which means that we will be

present in terms of having productions

year around. So we’re looking at having a

fuller calendar Oct. – Dec. that will allow

us to do our Human Rights Conference.

We have moved our Family Movie Night

and are looking at making it a monthly.

It’s really about targeting families and children

so that they can participate in a safe

theater experience with other parents

because I think that that is important to

be able to build up that community. Parents

who have children that are from that

community are also important as well.

AM: It’s great that you looked at what you

have done over past Pride months and

were able to segment what made sense to

stay in that period as well as looking at the

longer view by seeing how you can create

a fuller schedule that takes place throughout

the year. It allows for those that are

looking at what you do to understand that

these are ongoing initiatives and are not

designated for June only. Once again for

those that are allies, that we shouldn’t be

rallying around June but there are everyday

efforts that can be done and are available.

SP: It is an everyday effort and we realize

that we need to be banging that drum.

We have a very unique space within the

LGBTQ ecosystem, but organizations are

year around. It doesn’t matter the size,

we’re one of the largest Pride organizations,

but I’m thinking of rural communities

that are trying to put together their

first Pride, most of these things come

from people who want to create a safe

space and our programming allows them

to do that if they can leverage our work

in service of their community, that really

is the goal there. To teach that voice and

to keep that platform open for the people

that we serve.

AM: Are there organizations or charities

that a portion of the proceeds of the sales

of tickets/admission go to support?

SP: Actually, we’re very proud of our

Pride Gives Back Program! It is a grant

program wherein we award upwards of

$100,000 a year to a variety of different

groups that can apply to a grant program.

This year, I think that we’re just

sending out the award letters. There

may be 15 groups in our cohort and they

range from very very small organizations

to large organizations who are looking

for either support to stabilize. I think

that what I love about the Pride Gives

Back Program is that it really speaks to

the organizations that are at the absolute

grassroots. They’re not necessarily

being funded yet and we get to find

them, fund them, and incubate them.

We have some of our grantees who use

our space to carry out their events. We

really do try to support their work with

publicity as well as resources as well as

staff time. We want them to succeed,

we want them to feel that they are part

of our organization.

We’re doing that and we’re also expanding

our partnership that we have with

Mastercard which will allow us to pilot

a grant program for small businesses.

We’ll be making announcements for

that, later on this month.

AM: We were talking a bit about volunteers

earlier, is there still an opportunity

for people to be able to apply to be involved

in this year’s events?

SP: Absolutely! We are always looking

for volunteers. This is the time of year

where we sign people up and we make

it really easy. All they have to do is to visit

our volunteer page and what we do

there is provide information to come to

meetings and our training. Our volunteers

can be hybrid. You can be a day of

volunteer and you’ll get some training.

We have very experienced volunteer

captains and there is always time to hop

on board this train!

@nycpride

PHOTOS COURTESY | NYC Pride

Filthy Flats opened in March of 2023.

The name is indicative of the end result

after topping their crispy flat

bread with fresh, flavorful, and delicious

sandwich options. Also, one’s

hands and face might become slightly

filthy while devouring such a delectable

sandwich.

Founders Randy Narod and Joseph

Anzalone began the Long Island Bagel

Café chain over 20 years ago, but

it was Joe who has been working to

perfect their signature hand-rolled bagel

over the past 30 years. Realizing

they could keep the same recipe and

process, then simply flatten the bagel

to create a crispy base - Randy decided

to try a new open-faced concept. He

met with Joe who attended culinary

school and had a prolific background

in food preparation and presentation

as well as innovative chefs from Ele-

ATHLEISURE LIST: Brooklyn, NY

FILTHY FLATS

gant Affairs Caterers, which Randy also

co-owns, to create a diverse and delicious

ALL DAY menu putting a unique

spin on classic sandwich favorites.

They takie dietary restrictions and

preferences of its customers into consideration

when creating the menu.

They introduced a gluten-free cauliflower

flat bread as a substitute for

their flat bagel. This holds the toppings

well and is equally as tasty while serving

the dietary needs of its customers.

If you're swinging by for breakfast, we

suggest their Bacon Egg and Cheese,

Avocado and Feta, and Tuna Melt. For

lunch, their Cranberry Chicken Salad,

Cubano, or Mike's Hot Honey Pepperoni

Pizza is a great open-faced meal!

For dinner, we're thinking about Korean

BBQ, Reuben, and their French Dip

(roast beef melt). Of course, you al-


ways need dessert and we suggest

The Cannoli, The Nutty S'more, and The

Strawberry Cheesecake.

Each quarter they introduce new selections

which are their Philly Cheese

Steak and the Chicken BBQ Ranch.

To add to your meal, you can add Plain

Tots, Tots with Cheese, and Tots with

Bacon and Cheese. They also have grab-n-go

items like bagel chips paired

with Cranberry chicken salad, tuna,

and avocado, as well as sweet treats.

In addition to dropping by, you can order

online for pick up or delivery direct

at filthyflats.com or through Door-

Dash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats. They're

expanding and will be opening more

stores before the end of the year, so

look out for them to pop up throughout

NY!


FILTHY FLATS

32 Court St

Brooklyn, NY11201

filthyflats.com

@filthyflats

PHOTO CREDITS | Filthy Flats


ATHLEISURE LIST: NYC

ROOF AT PARK SOUTH

Nick Bathurst, Founder of TH/RST

Group, Food & Beverage Operator

Manager of the ROOF at Park South

talked to us about our new favorite

place that just opened for the season

on Apr. 27th. You can swing by Sun.

and Mon 5pm-10pm, Tues - Thurs 5pm

- 11pm and Fri + Sat 5pm - 12am.

The spacious roof deck has high-top

tables right by the edge for a bird’seye-view

of the Manhattan skyline as

well as lounge-y areas that are beautifully

decorated like the Umbrella

Lounge low-top tables under bright

orange umbrellas; the Flower Area,

the space’s focal point is at the roof’s

rear offering privacy, and Garden that

features potted plants including sunflowers

and a colorful live wall.

ROOF at Park South is also the ideal

location for semi-private and private

gatherings, ranging from 15 to 175

guests in vignettes specifically designed

for events that maximize the

guest experience. They also offer creative,

customizable food and beverage

offerings for parties of all sizes.

Shared plates are perfect for a rooftop

experience at the ROOF at Park South

as they create a relaxed and social atmosphere,

allowing guests to engage

in conversations and share food. With

a global menu curated by Chef Bryce

Shuman, guests can explore diverse

flavors while enjoying the rooftop

views. Shared plates are also great for

large groups who do not want to sit

for a formal dining experience.


Nick suggests 3 dishes that we should

order our Brisket Sliders with maple

BBQ sauce and pickled onions. The

combination of tender brisket, smoky

flavors, and the tangy sweetness of

the maple BBQ sauce creates a mouthwatering

experience. For those who

enjoy a hint of spice, the Spicy Mangalitsa

Pizza is a must-try. Topped with

chilies and drizzled with honey, this

unique pizza balances heat and sweetness

in a harmonious way. The spicy

kick is complemented by the natural

sweetness of the honey, resulting in a

flavorful and satisfying treat. Also, our

Shrimp Cocktail with cocktail sauce

and lemon is perfect for the summer.

plantation rum, passion fruit, and

lime. For a classic option, try the Bee's

Knees with Ford's gin, honey lavender,

and lemon. These refreshing cocktails

embody the essence of summer at the

ROOF at Park South.

Keep an eye out for the NY Pride and

Fourth of July Celebrations.

ROOF AT PARK SOUTH

125 E 27th St

NY, NY 10016

roofatparksouth.com

He also suggests 3 cocktails created

by Beverage Director, Ivan Papic - their

Famous Froze which combines rosé,

Singani 63, raspberry syrup, and lime.

The Passion Fruit Daiquiri features


@roofatparksouth

PHOTO CREDITS | ROOF at Park

South



Stay connected and follow us across our

social channels on @AthleisureMag!




Bingely Books

LODGE: AN INDOORSY TOUR OF

AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS

Gibbs Smith

Max Humphery, Kathryn O'Shea-Evans

In LODGE: An Industry Tour of America's

National Parks, this coffee table book

focuses on 10 National Park lodges that

have a rustic charm that you'll see as they

are today. You'll see images of large lobbies,

grand dining rooms, guest rooms

and more! You'll get a bit of history as

you read about what took place in these

spaces, architectural moments of note,

period specific furnishings and

more. You'll also find out about

historical figures and pop culture

moments. This book includes:

The Ahwahne (Yosemite National

Park, California); Crater Lake

Lodge (Crater Lake National

Park, Oregon), Curry Village (Yosemite

National Park, California),

El Tovar (Grand Canyon National

Park, Arizona), Lake McDonald

Lodge (Glacier National Park,

Montana), Lake Quinault Lodge

(Olympic National Park, Washington),

The Oasis (Death Valley

NP, California), Old Faithful

Inn (Yellowstone National Park,

Wyoming), Paradise Inn (Mount

Rainier National Park, Washington)

and Zion Lodge (Zion National

Park, Utah).

REGRETS ONLY

Gallery Books

Kieran Scott

In Regrets Only, we meet Paige

Lancaster who left being a writer

for a TV crime series that was

well paid in LA to come back to

the East Coast as a single parent

with an 8 year old daughter.

Being homeless and broke,

she moves in with her widowed

mother in her CT hometown.

She meets the Parent Booster

Association run by Ainsely Anderson

(who ended up marrying

Paige's high school crush, John)

and clearly they are doing well.

At a get together where she is


sound way to build your desired home.

Prefabulous For Everyone, shows 24

examples of homes built wholly or

partially off-site. Manufacturers have

seen the trend for house sizes to come

down, but increasing the quality of the

amenities. This books includes small as

well as large prefab homes from modular,

SIPS (structural insulated panels),

panelized, and kit builds. Homes from

across the US and Canada are included.

Sheri has included luxury, modest

as well as lower-cost homes in this

book. You will also get to learn about

manufacturers that have been in this

industry for a number of years as well

as those that are up and coming should

you be in the market to purchase one

for yourself!

found in a compromising position with

John, a series of events takes place

from murder, embezzlement, bribery

and adultery. As someone who has written

detective stories and although she

needs to be able to find a new writing

job, she believes that she has what it

takes to figure out who murdered the

PBA member, how far do all of these

activities go, being able to be close to

John and how she can get her life back

on track!

PREFABULOUS FOR EVERYONE

Gibbs Smith

Sheri Koones

Prefabricated homes are a cost effective,

time efficient and environmentally



Bingely Streaming

FATAL ATTRACTION

Paramount+ Original

Paramount

We remember seeing the original Fatal Attraction

with Michael Douglas (Wall Street,

The Game, Ant Man franchise) and Glenn

Close (Air Force One, Damages, Tehran).

We watched how emotions went

from an illict passion to aggression

to stalking and how those

involved navigate these relationships

which made this an epic

thriller!

The Fatal Attraction reboot brings

these concepts and feelings together

with Joshua Jackson (Dawson's

Creek, Dr. Death, The Affair)

and Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex,

Party Down, Fleishman is in Trouble)

pick up the characters of Dan

Gallagher and Alex Forrest. Although

the series is based on the

affairs, we see what happens after

and how those involved deal

with the fallout of his actions.

LOVE & DEATH

Max Original

HBO/Max + Spotify

This mini-series focuses on the

true crime story of the death of

Betty Gore by Candy Montgomery.

Whether you saw Hulu's version,

Candy or not, Love & Death

is worth taking a look at how this

story involving members of of a

small community interact with

one another when this crime and

murder trial took place. Elizabeth

Olsen (Avengers franchise, Wandavision,

Doctor Strange in the

Mutiverse of Madness) and Jesse

Plemons (Vice, The Irishman, El

Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie)

showcase these characters in another

light.

We suggest that as you watch the

7 episodes, you also listen to the

companion podacast of the same

name as it brings insight to the


series with those in front of and behind

the camera. In partnership with

Texas Monthly which reported the

story when it came out during the trial,

journalists share what took place

to those involved after the trial, the

Texas justice system, the culture at

that time and other insights.

THE FOXES OF

HYDESVILLE

QCODE

Spotify

On the request of her brother, she takes

them to where she lives and works to keep

them safe while realizing that they have

harnessed a power that is not only lucrative,

but ultimately creates the social religious

movement of Spiritualism in the nineteenth

century.

We always enjoy when QCODE drops

a new series that takes us into another

story that is guaranteed to be an

immersive audio experience!

In The Foxes of Hydesville, we go back

to the 1800's where Leah Fox (Carey

Mulligan) has been estranged from

her brother and teenage sisters. In

this true story about the Fox sisters,

we learn that they are not welcome

in their town due to being mediums.





Athleisure Mag MAY ISSUE #89

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