Athleisure Mag JAN ISSUE #109

ISSUE #109

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Paul Farkas

EDITORIAL

Kimmie Smith

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Co-Founder, Artistic Director + Tech Director

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table of contents

issue #109

jan 2025

126

STYLE FEATURES

THE PICK ME UP

150

112

IN OUR BAG

150 ROCK THIS WHEN

COURTSIDE FOR ALL-

STAR WEEKEND

BEAUTY FEATURES

BAMBOO BEAUTY

Surfing the Next Chapter

Carissa Moore

We’re excited to have 5X Women’s Champion WSL and Team USA Olympic Surfing

Gold Medalist Carissa Moore who is our 2X cover! We talk about her incredible career,

navigating being a mommy-to-be, and the importance of giving back.

16

155

ATHLEISURE BEAUTY

Sweet Success

Chef Dominique Ansel

We had the pleasure of chatting with and trying phenomenal bites with noted Pastry

Chef, Dominique Ansel who is the creator of the Cronut, Frozen S’mores, and Cookie

Shot! We talk about being a chef, his career, his creativity, and what’s next.

30

Each yea

Athleisu

celebrit

N3W YO

ADD and

140

LIFESTYLE FEATURES

ATHLEISURE LIST

SALTDROP

9PLAYLIST

®

40

We’re honored to have Kendrick Lamar +

SZA share with us what they’re listening

to right now.

Blessed Ice

46

We sat down with Simone I Smith creator

of the namesake line to talk about

her designs and her creative process.

142

ATHLEISURE LIST

CANOPY BY HILTON

CANCUN LA ISLA

AthleisureMag.com - 10 - Issue #109 | Jan 2025

On the Court

Shakira Austin + Danette Leighton - WSF

62

We caught up with WNBA Washington Mystics and Unrivaled Lunar Owls BC star

Shakira Austin to talk about her love of the game, recovering from injury, and more.

We also talk with the CEO of Women’s Sports Foundation, Danette Leighton to find

out more about this organization as well as its initiatives and advocacy.

Outdoors Everyday

Eric Hui

84

We took some time to chat with Eric

Hui, founder of Terracea during our Athleisure

Mag Summit Series. We talked

about the brand and its innovations.

r in Dec and Jan,

re Mag interviews

ies to discuss their

U: THE GOOD, THE

THE BUZZ.

NEW YEAR

N3W YOU

Art of the Snack

Dilli Dilli

This month The Art of the Snack takes

us to the Theater District at Dilli Dilli

which is a blend of Old Delhi and New

Delhi dishes!

114

NEW YEAR

N3W YOU

126

In NEW YEAR N3W YOU, we talk with our

cover star, Carissa Moore, 3X X Games

Medalist Hailey Langland, and STARZ

Outlander’s Charles Vandervaart.

THE 9LIST

9M3NU

®

136

This month’s THE 9LIST 9M3NU focuses

on the NEW YEAR, N3W YOU with 3 chefs

sharing their findings and dishes we

should enjoy.

Issue #109 | Jan 2025

- 11 - AthleisureMag.com

We always love when we get the chance

to chat with 5X World Champion World

Surf League Women's World Tour and the

1st ever Team USA Surfing Gold Medalist

in shortboard at the 2020 Summer Olympics

- Carissa Moore! We had the pleasure

of having her as our cover for our FEB IS-

SUE #86 and we're glad to have her as this

month's cover as she is someone who is not

only a talented athlete, but she is someone

who cares about her legacy in and out of

the sport as well as giving back to others.

In addition, she is navigating a new chapter

in her journey, being a mother! We talk

about this part of her life, what it looks,

like and what she'll do next!

ATHLEIURE MAG: We've had the pleasure

of having you as our cover in Feb '23 and

we interviewed you again later that year!

So it's always a pleasure to chat with you.

You're in a great period of your life as

you are expecting a child! What were the

thoughts and decisions that you grappled

with as you looked at stepping back from

competition?

CARISSA MOORE: The decision to step

back from competition wasn’t one that

was taken lightly. It weighed on my heart

for several years, but it took me awhile to

find the courage to take the leap. Competitive

surfing has been a huge part of my

identity and drive for most of my life so just

dealing with the unknown of what’s on the

other side and the fears and anxiety that

comes with that was something that took

some time to process and work through. I

eventually got to a point where the fear of

staying the same far outweighed the fear

of failure and what other people would

think. I know in my heart it was time to

pivot and to step outside of my comfort

zone. This last year has really challenged

me physically, mentally, and emotionally

but as hard as it has been at times, it feels

good to be pushed to evolve in different

ways. There was also the importance of

starting a family and the stress of tour life

for so many years that factored into my

decision at this time. I needed a break to

recharge and also give myself the space

and grace to prioritize my family.

AM: What does this next chapter look

like for you?

CM: It’s pretty cool because as much as

this next chapter is up in the air and a

little scary, it’s also so exciting because

there are so many possibilities. There

is a dream to maybe come back to

competitive surfing when I’m healthy

and ready, but I also don’t want to put

any pressure on myself. It just feels like

there is a little left undone for me in

that space especially as a mom. I am

super passionate about helping young

girls and women thrive through my

charitable foundation, Moore Aloha.

Our mission is to support females as

they navigate the waves of mental

health and wellness by educating, empowering

and inspiring through sport,

mentorship and culture. Our events

and programs have really blossomed

into something special and super

meaningful so I would like to continue

to pour my heart into that and see

where it goes. I’d love to get better at

public speaking, maybe do a TedTalk

and write a book one day. But honestly,

just working on being the best wife,

mom, athlete, human I can be.

AM: I know that family is so important

to you and now that you will be bringing

a little one into the mix, what are

you looking forward to?

CM: I am just looking forward to doing

life with our little. All the things, walks

with the dogs, days at the beach, adventures

around the world... I'm looking

forward to seeing the world through

her eyes and being bewildered by the

magic around me all over again.

AM: In terms of surfing, we've seen you

on the waves as a mama-to-be! How

important is surfing to you in this transitional

to enjoy what you love?

CM: Surfing has kept me sane during

this time. Being pregnant is beautiful

and miraculous but a massive transformation

in all aspects. The changes

have been so dramatic over such a short

period of time that being on a board has

helped me feel like myself while losing myself

if that makes sense. Surfing has been

a source of peace, comfort, joy through

so many different phases and transitions

in life. Even though my wave riding looks

very different at the moment, just being

able to stand up, glide across a wall of water,

feel the sun and salt water on my skin,

is so refreshing and makes me so happy.

Happy mama = happy baby!

AM: How has surfing been for you as you

enjoy it without focusing on competing

while you prepare for motherhood?

CM: It’s been weird to be honest. I’ve had

to fall in love with surfing in a whole new

way. I’ve always found joy in the challenge

of working on something every time I paddled

out or pursuing the next goal in competition.

For the first time, kind of ever,

I can’t do what I used to so I have been

going surfing to just ride waves because it

makes me feel good. There is no agenda.

No feedback from a coach. No pressure!

I’m so used to doing, creating, going, going,

going. This pregnancy has forced me

to slow down and look at things differently.

Take a different pace and know it’s

okay. This isn’t forever and to embrace

this season I am in. I think it’s super important

to be present for my daughter,

for her to feel calm and at peace coming

into this world.

AM: How has it been balancing work, life,

and your passion for this next chapter?

CM: It’s been fun to pursue other passions

like my charitable foundation Moore

Aloha, spend quality time with family and

friends, settle into a home routine and get

creative on ways I can use my skills and

talents to remain and involved. Grateful

to have a super supportive husband and

great village to help me navigate this time

and redefine a new balance.

AM: What have you learned about yourself

in this stage of your life?

CM: Oh man, that is loaded question. I

have learned so much at every stage.

It feels like every other week I have

had to face a different part of me,

process it and move through it. I still

struggle with self-worth. I’m working

on it. Time away from competition and

outside validation has forced me to really

value myself. I’m learning to love

my body. I look back at pictures from

before I was pregnant, when I thought

I was ‘big’ and I’m like, “Damn, I look

strong and lean! What was I thinking

being so hard on myself?” It has been

a challenge to love my reflection as I

grow and gain weight but I’m changing

that inner dialogue and doing a better

job of appreciating what my body is

able to do. I am making a human! How

cool?! I also realize that I have a lot of

fear around the unknown. Learning to

let go and trust. Trust my body, trust

the timing, trust that it’s all going to be

okay. I like being in control and stress

too much over the things I can’t. It’s

been a great time for self-reflection

and evaluating who I want to be for my

daughter. What kind of relationship do

I want to have with her? What kind of

role model do I want to be? What environment

do I want her to grow up in?

Becoming someone’s mom has given

me the extra motivation to look at my

weaknesses and do the work to be the

best I can be for her.

AM: Do you plan on returning to competitions

in the future?

CM: Maybe… we will see. Like I said,

don’t want to put any pressure on it,

but it’s not out of the question!

@rissmoore10

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Red Bull

Photo Pool - FRONT COVER Domenic

Mosqueira /PG 16 +24 Ryan Miller/PG

18 Trevor Moran/PG 22 Jeremiah Klein/

PG 26 + BACK COVER Zac Noyle | PG 21

Hurley |

Who doesn't love an epic pastry and when

you're in NYC, James Beard winner Chef

Dominique Ansel is known for making

pastry moments with being the creator of

the Cronut, Cookie Shots, DKA, and Frozen

S'mores to name a few at Dominique Ansel

Bakery. You can also continue to enjoy

his artistry at Dominique Ansel Workshop,

Dominique Ansel Las Vegas in Caesars Palace

and Dominique Ansel Marché in Paris

Vegas. He is known for creating magical

moments in each bite.

We had the pleasure of attending an editor's

event to see him make memorable

breakfast bites in partnership with Honey

Bunches of Oats Chocolate Cereal that

was perfectly decadent as we navigate the

Winter season. We also sat down with him

to talk about how he came to the world

of pastry, his creative process, and more!

ATHLEISURE MAG: We’ve wanted to chat

with you for a number of years for Athleisure

Mag so it was such a pleasure to taste

your treats and creations at today’s event!

I’m sure my trainer is not going to like it

ha!

CHEF DOMINIQUE ANSEL: Ha, don’t

blame it on me!

AM: I’m not going to blame it on you! I was

the person who ate everything haha!

When did you first fall in love with pastry

and when did you realize that you wanted

to be a pastry chef?

CHEF DA: That’s a good question. I was

not expecting this question. So, you know,

when I left school I was barely 16. My parents

couldn't afford – I lived in a project,

my parents couldn't afford to send me to

school. So, early on, I decided to get a job

to help the family, like to provide for food.

So I didn't know what I really want to do.

My mom was a terrible cook. She was so

bad and my grandma was good. My mom

was horrible and oftentimes like, I will end

up in the kitchen trying to save dinner. I'll

try to put something together so you can

eat something not fancy at all, but just ed-

ible!

AM: Right!

CHEF DA: When I was that age, I was

like, maybe I'll work in the kitchen. Maybe

I'll be a chef. I'll try. And I found like

a school that was free that welcomed

me and I was doing an apprenticeship.

So I would work in a restaurant for 3

weeks and go to school for a week,

every month, it will be like this. So at

first, I was a chef, a savory chef for 2

years. And you know, I love cooking. I

love it today as much as I love baking. I

don't do it as much, but I do baking for

a living. When I was cooking, I would

often do the desserts. So that was the

only time where I'd pull a recipe, I'd

read the recipe, and make this pastry.

I remember it was like a Walnut Cake,

very simple but really good. I would

make this Walnut Cake and every time

I'd make it, it was coming out perfect

because I'm scaling and measuring everything.

AM: Right, yeah.

CHEF DA: I love that! I love the science

behind it. I love the precision, I love

the details and I love the fact that, you

know, you could be creative with pastry.

You can take like, raw ingredients,

like sugar, flour, butter, and build that

beautiful showpiece like chocolate.

You can’t do this with cooking. Cooking

is more intuitive. Cooking is more

intimate and it’s about knowing the ingredients.

AM: Yeah.

CHEF DA: It’s about how to season

them like if they are ripe or not.

AM: Yeah.

CHEF DA: It's a lot different. It’s different

skills but I fell in love with baking

then and I was like I'm gonna do a 3rd

year of the apprenticeship. I'm gonna

do it with baking so I did that and you

know, I've been baking since then. It's

been like 30 years.

AM: I mean that's so fantastic. And to learn

that your initial culinary training was in a

free program like that's that's amazing.

So how did you make that jump to being at

Daniel which is amazing.

CHEF DA: So while I was in France, after

my apprenticeship and completing my

military service, I bought a small car and

I drove to Paris because my boss at the

time, talked about Paris every day. I was

like, I need to go there. I'm gonna go to

the capital. I need to work with the best

and I eventually found a job there which

led me to another job, and I eventually got

the job at Fauchon (Editor’s Note: Fauchon

is a legendary French Pastry shop), which

was the leader in terms of products imported

from all over the world, from spices,

oils, like anything you name it – fruits

and vegetables, like anything that they all

came in that was exotic from all over the

world. The pastry department was huge.

It was a time where it was growing very

fast and I was a hired as one of the pastry

cooks there.

I worked there for 8 years. I was supposed

to stay for 4 months. I stayed there for 8

years.

AM: Wow.

CHEF DA: In 2006, Daniel Boulud was

looking for a pastry chef, so he called

me, I was in Paris at the time and I was in

charge of the International Development

of the brand. So I was traveling a lot and

he asked me if I wanted to come to New

York to, you know, for the Pastry Chef job.

I really didn't want to go back to a restaurant

but it took me half a second to say

okay, let's try.

I came to Daniel here in New York in 2006

with two suitcases. I folded everything

back in France. I left everything. And I

came with 2 suitcases, slept on a couch

for like, 3 months – I didn’t have time to

buy a bed!

AM: Right.

CHEF DA: I worked at Daniel for 6 years

as the Executive Pastry Chef there

and it was amazing years. Of course,

in 2011, I decided to jump on my own

and to take the next step and start my

business.

AM: Why did you want to do that?

CHEF DA: Why? I always knew. I knew

from when I was young that I want to

be an entrepreneur, I want to own my

own business. I want to do my own

thing. I like the challenge of multitasking

and wearing different hats. I like

the challenge of making beautiful food

but also like the business side. Having

the interaction with the guests and

knowing how to express yourself. It's

all these like, things combined together,

makes it very exciting to me.

AM: I mean, you have created some

amazing pastry moments. I mean, the

Cronut, which, I remember going in

many times trying to get one and it was

gone. I was just like argh foiled again!

CHEF DA: Haha I’m sorry!

AM: Then your Cookie Shot comes out

and it’s another craze around that.

What does it mean to you that you've

created like these little niches that

are always going to be etched like you

know, in the culinary world.

CHED DA: You know, it's overwhelmingly

humbling. When I look back

sometimes I'm like, I don't realize how

much of an impact I left within the

pastry world. I'm still walking around

and I don't take it for granted. One of

the best moments for me was When I

was in Japan, we had a shop there. We

were selling the Frozen S’mores which

is our small version of the ice cream

version of a s’mores.

AM: Yep.

CHEF DA: We were selling up to a 1,000 a

day.

AM: Wow!

CHEF DA: 1000 a day! We couldn't keep

up like we were making them and we

were always selling. I stepped back for a

second. I was like, this is amazing. I grew

up in France. I learned my job in France. I

came to America in 2006, barely knowing

what a s’mores was.

AM: Yeah.

CHEF DA: Or what the tradition, or the

meaning of it was.

AM: Yeah.

CHEF DA: Like I loved it so much that I embraced

the culture, the American culture,

the fact that people were coming together

around the campfire, and friends, and

family, and sharing this moment in time,

where something as simple as the s’mores

had so much signification for people

and meaning of like getting together.

I took this as let's do something fun with

it. Let's do something different. So of

course we're having ice cream. that is surrounded

by the honey marshmallow and

chocolate wafer with crispy wafer and a

little sea salt and we torch it in front of

people. And that was really enjoyed by

the Japanese people. People were mind

blown and they were like, what is this? It’s

portable. It's small. It's torched and finished

in front of you. It's chewy. It's like

crunchy. It's like not too sweet. It's like it's

so much fun. It's ice cream inside. They

love, love loved this so much that s’mores

became a trend in Japan right after we

opened our shop there. I took a step back

I'm like, “my God. I'm a French man who

lived in France, came to America when I

was in my late 20s, and I managed to bring

something so cultural from our country

to another.” I feel very fortunate to have

a chance to express myself through that

and to cross cultures together and it's,

it's amazing. It's a once in a lifetime.

AM: Oh 100% I mean, s'mores are serious

business! I'm from the Midwest and

we are serious about our s'mores and

our bourbon –

CHEF DA: And bourbon!

AM: And Bourbon for those that want

that adult version!

So how did this partnership come up

with you and the Honey Bunches of

Oats and Chocolate? That is just so fun

to see and to taste that pairing today!

CHEF DA: Well, you know, they reached

out asking me if we want to do something

together and I think that is a natural

connection and extension. It's a

natural extension of what we do.

AM: Yeah.

CHEF DA: It's sweets, pastry, it's, you

know, breakfasty.

AM: Yep.

CHEF DA: It's just a natural connection

and creating something new and

fun with Honey Bunches of Oats and

especially launching thei chocolate flavor.

I mean, it's like exciting for me and

something fun that we did together.

AM: I mean, the French Fries. I love

that. I mean, I love potatoes.

CHEF DA: I mean, isn’t it every kids

dream for breakfast?

AM: I could definitely enjoy having this.

Will you do anything else with them?

CHEF DA: We're just doing this event

today. We're not playing to do anything

else - yet.

AM: Your latest cookbook is Everyone

Can Bake. Why did you want to do that?

CHEF DA: You know, I've always been like

working in the best kitchens, the most intense

kitchen with the most professional

chefs and they are strict, rigorous, and

organized. Since opening the bakery, people

have been coming in and they have

the love of baking. They are bakers without

being professionals. I think, you know

that the bakery has done so much. I always

compare my time to when I was at

Daniel, but we see people coming to the

kitchen and be so amazed, or mind blown

by the kitchen, the lights and the people,

and they were saving in many cases a lifetime

of their savings to come to Daniel for

that meal at that restaurant and I wanted

to give similar experience with my bakery

through the food through the welcoming

of people to experience different types

of food. So, throughout the years we've

welcomed like, you know, hundreds of

thousands of millions of people passing

through the door with food and I see so

many people like bring me treats. Baking

their own stuff. Running to me sometimes

and I’m like, hmm should I eat it haha?

AM: That’s pretty ballsy for people to bring

you their treats because you’re amazing!

CHEF DA: I always wanted to get close to

you know, everyone not just to the elite

of people I’ve served over the years, but

to everyone and I wanted those recipes

to connect with people. So I want to do

a book that is humble and about home

baking. I actually practiced a lot of recipes

with my son at home. They're simple,

their easy, and quick. It's not too intense,

not too difficult. Baking can sometimes

be scary for people because you're precise,

you’re scaling everything, but there

are ways you can do some things that

are easy and casual recipes. That's what

I wanted to talk about for this last book.

@dominiqueansel

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | PG 30 - 32

Paris Las Vegas | PG 35 - 39 Honey Bunches

of Oats

We love a bling moment and when we

were first introduced to Simone I Smith's

line in 2011 and 2012, we loved her lollipop

pendant, creating a line that is filled with

statement jewelry that includes earring,

necklaces, and rings! She has collaborated

with Celebrity Fashion Stylist Misa Hylton

as well as 9X Grammy Award winner (32X

Nominated), 8 multi-platinum albums, 2X

Golden Globe nominee and SAG nominee

Executive Producer and actress, Mary J.

Blige (Power Book II: Ghost, Respect, How

to Get Away with Murder)! Her line empowers

those who wear it and she continues

to expand her design aesthetic so that

we can put our best foot forward. We sat

down with Simone to find out more about

her namesake line, her creative process,

her recent launch of Majesty, her men's

jewelry line where her sons and husband,

Todd Smith aka LL Cool J (Oz, Deep Blue

Sea, NCIS: Los Angeles) participated in her

campaign, and more.

ATHLEISURE MAG: I love the earrings, of

course. Well, thank you so much for taking

the time I met you briefly at your launch

event with you and Misa Hylton last Spring

which was amazing and you debuted your

Denim and Diamonds collection which was

beautiful. I've been a fan of yours for a

number of years, so I'm just so excited to

chat with you.

SIS: Thank you, I'm excited to chat with

you too!

AM: Well, when did you first fall in love

with fashion and accessories?

SIS: When I was a teenager, you know, like

17, 18 years, when I met my husband and

that was in ‘87 and it was right when they

called it back then, it was called Truck

Jewelry (Editor’s Note: Truck Jewelry is a

Hip-Hop style of jewelry representing the

intersection of religion, faith, and the culture.

It showcases wealth, power, and social

statsus. It’s often associated with large

hoop earrings, rings, chains, watches, and

medallions. It has influenced fashion globally.).

But it was, when the Doorknockers

were out there and you know, I had the

Triangle Earrings. Todd gave me my

first pair of Doorknocker Earrings and

I was 17 years old and that's when I like

fell in love with big hoops.

But fashion was always something

that I've just always loved! I was always

in my mother's closet always trying

to wear her stuff. You know, I would

love to, you know, just like put really

cool fashionable things together. But

I would say my love, definitely started

around 17.

AM: What led you to decide to design

jewelry?

SIS: An opportunity was presented to

me and I ran with it. I just grabbed it

and I was like the opportunity was presented

to design the jewelry line and I

was like, absolutely. But the first things,

first things, first is Hoops! It's gonna be

hard to find.

AM: Yeah.

SIS: They were hard to find, it was a big

void in the marketplace. You couldn't

really find good quality hoop earrings

that were affordable. At that time, I

was actually able to find like sterling silver

hoops right?

AM: Yeah.

SIS: Just the color sterling jewelry

ones. Because all of my jewelry is sterling

silver. But the gold ones have a

sterling silver base with 18K, plating on

top of it. Just to find good quality gold

hoops without having to spend $5,000

because they're 14K gold which is good

quality hoops and I just wanted to be

that designer that just blessed women

with really fabulous, good quality, affordable

hoops which I have been able

to do.

AM: Which have a good wearable

weight to them too.

SIS: Right, they’re not too heavy. We

have a few pairs that may have a little

weight to them, but that's because of the

design and thickness, but even my thickest

earrings, aren't that heavy because

the base is sterling silver and not Stainless

Steel.

AM: I remember the very first jewelry

piece that I had seen from you was your

Lollipop Pendant, which I remember when

those came out. What was the first piece

that you remember just designing?

SIS: The first piece I designed – okay, the

first earring that I designed was my logo

earring and It was because I fell in love

with my logo. When I decided and I chose

my logo, I said, “oh my God, these are going

to be the hottest freaking hoops! This

is going to be a hot hoop.”

AM: Yeah!

SIS: That was my first earring that I designed,

and we named, well, my husband

actually named it Infinite Love because

if you look at my logo, it looks like an infinity

sign, you see a heart, and you see a

butterfly. So, Todd actually named those

earrings for me and they're called Infinite

Love. And then my second design was my

lollipop and that's, because by the grace

of God, thank you Jesus. I am a 20-year

cancer survivor going on 21.

I had a lollipop tattoo on my left leg. Let

me back up, they found a chondrosarcoma

in my right, tibia bone. So I had to have

Microvascular Reconstructive surgery, so

they had to remove my whole tibia bone

and replace it with my left, fibular bone.

So when they had to go into my left leg

to take my fibula bone out, the surgeon

said, “Simone, you may wake up and your

lollipop tattoo may not be there." And I

was like, “well if there's any way you can

avoid from messing up my lollipop tattoo,

I would really appreciate it.” I woke up

and a part of the lollipop tattoo was on

the front of my right leg because they had

to do a skin graft -

AM: Oh wow.

SIS: To cover the scarring on where

they had to open up. So, when I had

created my lollipop pendant, my lollipop

tattoo actually looked like somebody

took a bite out of it. So I designed

my lollipop, exactly the way it looked

after my surgery and I called it A Sweet

Touch of Hope.

AM: Yeah.

SIS: Because the candy represents how

sweet life is and the bite represents

what cancer does.

AM: Yeah.

SIS: In the bite, my logo, emerges out

of it because it's just a reminder of me

being a cancer survivor, getting well,

staying well, and it's all a part of my

journey because life is really sweet.

Life is a gift. Because everybody's cancer

journey is different and I praise

God that I'm here 20 years cancer free.

I can walk. I can wear heels.

AM: You surely can walk in those heels

as you looked great at the event!

SIS: I can’t chase dogs or anything, but

I’m here. You know, praise God. And I

can workout and I can wear heels and

And, you know, and I'm just healthy.

AM: Where do you start in terms of

your design process? Where do you get

the inspiration from?

SIS: My inspiration comes from nature,

you know what I'm saying? Like, I remember

one day, I was eating some

strawberries, and I was like, you know

what, I want to make it, I'm gonna

design an earring, that's the shape

of a strawberry. So, anything inspires

me, you know? So with the strawberry

shape, like I came with the earring

called Precious Fruit. So Precious Fruit

is one of the classics. It was in the first

collection of my earrings that I designed

and it's still a very popular piece

because the earring is actually shaped

like a strawberry. My inspiration comes

from fashion, my inspiration comes from

my children.

AM: Mmm

SIS: If I look at flowers, it’s like, it's so many

things that my inspiration is also women

always just want to make sure that women

have like great earrings. My inspiration

just comes from the culture. My inspiration

comes from just growing up in New

York. You know the New York fashion to

me, I don't think anybody has it. New York

fashion is amazing.

What else inspires me? Like growing up

being a teenager, you know, in the late

‘80s and meeting my husband. And when

I think about sister love and me and Mary

J. Blige coming together, and creating Sister

Love the whole Sister Love brand is

about creating big bold jewelry for women,

because that's what we grew up on

big bold jewelry!

AM: Right.

SIS: So, Hip-Hop is definitely an inspiration

when it comes down to certain designs

on Sister Love like all of the Fly Girls

and the Bam Beauties (Editor’s Note: Bam

Beauties are earrings and hoops inspired

by bamboo), and bringing back the Doorknocker

Earrings, but recreating them

and modernizing them, and making them

high polished with beautiful crystals and

all of that. Even though I create that, I

don't want to be pigeonholed as just an

urban jewelry designer.

AM: Right.

SIS: Because when you look at all of my

pieces, it's like, they're not all urban, but

they like to pigeonhole me as an urban

designer because I'm a Black female designer.

If I wasn’t Black and I was designing

all of this stuff, I wouldn't be called an

urban designer. I'm a jewelry designer. I’m

Simone I Smith that happens to be a Black

woman.

So that’s my inspiration. It’s inspired by

life!

AM: It’s clear in using, wearing, and styling

your pieces that they hold their own in luxury,

they illustrate a focus craftsmanship,

and it is something that is very versatile

that regardless of your personal style that

can be worn. So when I'm looking at your

pieces, I see a point of view for that person

who wants to wear statement pieces unapologetically.

SIS: Thank you, thank you!

AM: I will say that what I love most about

it is that I live in New York now, and have

wow since 2001. I was born in ‘79 and I'm

from the Midwest. So growing up watching

Salt-N-Peppa and all these people,

when I first saw the collection years ago I

loved the themes woven in them that took

Hip-Hop elements, but then elevating it to

be something that could be mixed in with

like your Gucci wear or whatever your style

is. It was just so exciting to see the homage

and where each person can take it to when

they wear it. As someone who's a stylist,

who really likes to infuse my looks with accessories,

there's just such a visual texture

to what you're creating in your line.

SIS: Thank you. Thank you. Look, it goes

with your Gucci wear, but it also goes if

you're wearing a beautiful gown. If you're

putting on a suit and going into the office.

Which is why, you know, we have the medium-sized

hoops and we have the large

hoops and then we have the extra-large

hoops and then we have extra extra-large

hoops. So, it's really about your fashion.

AM: Yup.

SIS: And fashion as you know, as a stylist,

fashion is personal.

AM: Very much so.

SIS: You know what I’m saying? Fashion

is your own identity. I encourage women

that come to my trunk shows like when

they go, “oh, you know, I work in Corpo-

rate America, I can't wear this size hoop.”

Well, who told you that?

AM: Exactly.

SIS: Who made up the rule that you can't

wear a 60mm hoop? You may not want to

wear 80mm hoop. But maybe you might,

if you have the boldness, and the security

to wear it. You could walk in that room

with your suit on with a nice big hoop

earring. As long as you're wearing it, nobody's

gonna notice it unless you feel uncomfortable.

AM: Exactly.

SIS: You understand what I’m saying? If

you’re working it and owning it, people

are going to say okay.

AM: Who is the Simone I Smith customer

and what do you feel that they're looking

for when they're coming to your site and

to your brand?

SIS: I think the Simone I Smith customer

is a woman who knows who she is. Who

loves hoops, who is looking for a good

quality piece of jewelry and who wants

to be inspired. Not only do I have hoops, I

have beautiful necklaces, I am a God fearing

woman. Women can come on to Simona

I Smith site and they can get beautiful

scrolls that reminds them of how good

God is. It reminds them who they are to

God, to give them inspiration. You know,

one of my famous scrolls is Let Your

Light So Shine and I think women shine

and I think women come to the Simone

I Smith site because they want to be inspired,

they want to shine. They want to

look good. They want to feel good and my

focus is making jewelry to make women

look good and feel good.

AM: As you go from season to season, are

there core pieces of the collection that are

essentials and carry over?

SIS: I would say that my jewelry is for every

season, I'm gonna be honest. It’s for

every season. I’m not going to say that

this is for the Fall. It’s classic, it’s timeless,

and it’s for every season.

AM: What do you look for in a collaboration?

Talking about before with sister,

love with Mary, J. Blige, obviously Misa

Hylton. You have another Misa Hylton,

collaboration that's come out. What do

you look for when it comes to collaborating?

SIS: I look for people who are just as inspired

with passion, and the love of big

hoop earrings. That's what I look for.

You know, if you inspire me like Misa

inspires me, Mary inspires me like we

have a couple of collaborations that

we're working on now that I can't announce,

you know, until you know, they

actually come into fruition. But everybody

that I work with that I'm going to

be working with they inspire me, they

love God, they love fashion, and they

love jewelry. They love the love of big

hoops. I think it's important to show

other women that women can work

together. That's so important because

you know, we know women can be so

catty and can be so competitive. We're

all flowers so we should all bloom and

we can bloom together. We make a

beautiful bouquet, right?

AM: 100%.

SIS: We make a beautiful bouquet so

it's about supporting one another and

then showing these young women,

showing these young girls, we're better

together, let's work together. So

that's so important to me. Just working

with people that you know that

are not necessarily like-minded but

right-minded!

AM: That’s a word, I like that!

SIS: Yeah and then have a love for accessories

and making women feel

good and look good, you know?

AM: Well, I received your Cosmic Ice

Hoops which are beautiful another

great collab between you and Misa!

SIS: Aren’t they so cute?

AM: So cute! When I got them out of their

duster bags it was so exciting to see them.

SIS: I'm so happy you love them!

AM: I can't wait to wear them as well as

include them in our next shoot, that comes

up!

SIS: You could have had them on today

honey!

AM: I should have but honestly I just finished

my hot pilates class and time got

away from me!

I love that this is called Cosmic Ice hoops.

So, what was the inspiration behind it?

SIS: The inspiration behind it was whoa.

Are you talking about the actual name?

AM: Well, the name and then also, this

particular collection in its design, yes.

SIS: Okay, so Cosmic Ice, you know, me and

Misa, we were in a design meeting and we

were just talking about, making a pair of

earrings that just kind of like reminded us

of like the solar system. We wanted to give

the women a little bit of ice and a little bit

of pearl. But then it winds up just being

kind of like balls with ice and how could

we create the earring that kind of reminds

us of the solar system? It's kind of like just

started, you know, Misa got to sketching

- it's so interesting the way these meetings

happen because they're kind of hard

to explain. We would definitely talk about

how can we make a solar system on a pair

hoops that’s not a dangle. We decided to

put it on the outside and then once the

samples came, a lot of times the samples

can come back one time, which it doesn't

always happen when you come back one

time, but the samples, you just take about

two or three times, and then when you

get that one sample and it's perfect - as

soon as we looked at it, I said, Misa, we

need to call these Cosmic Ice.

AM: Wow.

SIS: We got our solar system hoops,

but now, we're going to call them Cosmic

Ice because they have a touch of

ice and the circles.

AM: I love that.

SIS: I hope that that is a good explanation.

AM: I think it is. A lot of times, you

don't know until you see it. I mean I've

designed lines and you know it's in

your head but until like you said, you

get that 1st, 2nd, 3rd pass, you're like,

alright, that's what that is.

SIS: Until things are being sketched up,

you have your visual, and it's like, okay,

these are going to be dope and then

once you get them and then it's like,

oh, these are hot. Like you have the

visual in your mind. There have been

plenty of things that were sketched

out, you see the finished product and

you're like nah!

AM: Nope.

SIS: It didn’t come out the way I wanted

it to – nope, we’re not doing this.

This isn't what I envisioned.

AM: It's always about getting that tingle

in your skin when you see it, and everybody's

faces light up, but if it doesn't

happen, it's like, let's just put that to

the side. Rework it.

SIS: Some things can't even be reworked.

AM: Well, then there's that!

What are 3 pieces from your collection

like across your collection that if someone

says these are three essential pieces,

I need to have. What would you suggest?

SIS: The 3 essential pieces you need to

have, I would probably say let me think

because it depends on the someone.

AM: Oh well, that's true.

SIS: It depends on the someone because

if it's someone that likes a big hoop, if

it's someone that likes a really big hoop,

right? I would probably say the 3 essential

hoop earrings that you should have from

the Simone I Smith - are we talking about

Simone I Smith or Sister Love?

AM: Well that is up to you. It can be from

Simone I Smith, Sister Love, Denim and Diamonds,

Cosmic Ice – it’s up to you!

SIS: Okay, so let me think. So you have 3

essential pieces that you should have from

the Simone I Smith collection. If you're

a big hoop girl, I would say are the Brilliance

Hoops in XL because those are my

go-to's. Those are like my go-to. I would

say the Brilliance. I would say Precious

Fruit size L because Precious Fruit size, L

with the diamond embellishments, you

could dress that hoop up, you could dress

that hoop down. And I would probably

say, The Bangles. Yeah, I would say more

than 1 because I wear 10 of them.

AM: Nice, I love a good wrist stack.

SIS: You know, I would say an arm full of

Bangles, Brilliance XL - Gold or silver. Ooo

can I add a fourth one please?

AM: Yes ma’am you can.

SIS: I would definitely say my Blessed

Necklace. I think that women should

wake up and they should feel every day

that they open up their eyes that they

are blessed. Lord, thank you for waking

me up this morning to see another day.

Thank you for waking me up in my right

mind. Thank you for starting me, guide my

thoughts, guide my steps. I am blessed. I

want women to wake up every morning

and feel like they're blessed. And I think

my Blessed Necklace is definitely in there.

If you to narrow it down, I would say the

Brilliance Hoops, the Blessed Necklace

and an arm full of Bangles.

AM: Well we're giving you all four.

SIS: Thank you!

AM: You also launched Majesty. I'm loving

right now that jewelry lines that

I really love that maybe began with

women are now adding a men's collection

to it. So what was the inspiration

behind that?

SIS: The inspiration behind Majesty

was to create an affordable luxe line

for men to wear because everybody

can’t afford a $5,000 or a $10,000 chain

and a lot of those Cuban links with the

beautiful links with the ice with real diamonds

cost of a lot of money.

AM: For sure.

SIS: For so many years, many of my

girlfriends' husbands or if guys would

come to my trunk shows and buy

things for their wives, they were like,

“when are you gonna make something

for us guys?” Women would say the

same thing asking about jewelry for

their guys. The time was right to create

Majesty and really men inspired

me to do it. My husband inspired me to

do it. My son inspired me to do it. And

thank you Jesus, they were able to be

my models.

AM: Which is amazing.

SIS: They did a cool video and a photo

shoot and it was really just, you know,

blessing the brothers with some really

great good quality jewelry, so that

they could feel fly, they feel good and

they can have great bracelets and nice

link chains that are affordable, but look

good and make them feel good.

AM: What are 3 from the Majesty Collection

that you want to highlight that

are great, you know essentials to start

with to add to your style?

SIS: I would definitely say that The

Truth Necklace is a classic and it is

probably our number 1 seller. The Lion

of Judah, I believe it is 2 of 3 different

pendants. Lions represent strength,

royalty, courage, and all of that. It's

something about that lion pendant,

that men don't mind wearing. I would

probably say, the 3rd piece would be

like Divine Ice and it gives them that

touch of ice and makes them feel like

they’re blinging today and they have

some luxe on.

AM: Are there things coming up that

we should keep an eye out for?

SIS: Well, you know, I always drop

something exciting for my birthday so

you can keep your eyes out for that. I'm

not sure what it's going to be. We’re

still kind of like, working on designs

and everything. For Valentine's Day,

during the holidays, we dropped Couture

and I don’t know if you checked

that out yet, but it’s really beautiful.

It’s nice, big, bold chains for women.

AM: I'm going to check it out.

SIS: Check out the Guetty Necklace

and the Guetty Bracelet. So with this

Couture we have a piece dropping for

Valentine's Day that I'm excited about,

and my fingers are crossed that they

get here in time because I'm super excited

about that. So we had some really

cute stuff wrapping for Valentine's

Day. Something for my birthday. There

are some new collaborations coming

so I'm excited about that. Just stay

tuned, cuz you know, SIS always has

the products that I will continue to

bless you ladies with fabulous hoops

and fabulous bangles and all of that

good stuff just to make you feel good.

@simoneismith

@sislovespurple

PHOTOS COURTESY | Simone I Smith

We love watching our favorite athletes play

and with an exciting WNBA season coming

back later this year, we've all been introduced

to Unrivaled League, a 3X3 format.

In today's issue, we sat down with Washington

Mystics' Shakira Austin who also

plays on the Lunar Owls BC! We took some

time to talk about her love of the game,

what it's like playing for the Mystics and

also playing on Unrivaled. We also talked

about how she has been recovering from

her surgery and her goals as she is back to

playing on the court!

As part of TYLENOL® Greatness Hurts campaign,

the brand has partnered with the

Women's Sports Foundation®’s ‘Athlete

Recovery and Care Commitment Grant.’

THis provides much needed support and 10

elite women athletes were awarded this.

The aim to help women athletes overcome

pain and recover from setbacks to their

career caused by injury, ultimately helping

them achieve their career goals.

The grant continues the long-standing

commitment to demonstrate Care Without

Limits, not only providing support for

the physical pain but also the mental and

financial hardships women athletes face in

the hopes of positively impacting the outcome

of their journeys.

ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you first fall

in love with basketball?

SHAKIRA AUSTIN: I would say probably

around 9th grade, I started, when I was

about 13/14. My dad actually tried to put

me in when I was like 7 and he said, I did

not like it! You know, I come from a basketball

family. My uncle had played, my

dad kind of caught him, so he didn't force

it on me. But, you know, I eventually made

my way back around 8th grade and by 9th

grade, I was like, yeah, this is it.

AM: And that’s also when you were like, if

I can, I'm definitely gonna go pro!

SA: Oh yeah! By 9th grade, my dad was

convinced that I would be the #1 draft

pick.

AM: Wow, that's amazing! You've been

playing for the Washington Mystics

since you were drafted in 2022. What

does it mean to you to play with this

team?

SA: It's amazing. The opportunity to

be back to, you know, your hometown

team. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime

the opportunity, so I'm grateful! It

hasn't gone the way I would like it to

go. But, you know, I know my future is

going to be a lot better. So I'm excited

to see, you know, what happens.

AM: I know you've been recovering from

an injury from last season. What takes

place as an athlete, when you know

that you're injured? Do you still work

out on some level? How do you realize

what you're going to do in terms of not

playing for the rest of the season, but

getting yourself prepared to play again?

SA: You know, it's been my first big injury.

I've never had surgery, never really

sat out more than a few days, so it's

been a new adjustment of when you're

not supposed to do anything, when

you're supposed to, you know, sit and

rest and when you're able to kind of

crank it back up. So for me it was all

about the timing of which part of my

rehab process, I was in. When I first

had my surgery it was shut down for 2

months at least.

It wasn't until month 3 that I was actually

able to slowly start building up and

that went into the season. I entered

my month 4 right when training camp

started. So it was like, I had to balance

rehab while also trying to get prepared

for the season and get prepared for

games. I had a new role with the team,

so it's been a long journey of trying to

understand my body and figure out

okay, when should you know to work

out more or should you allow yourself

to recover. So that's pretty much been

the process.

AM: How has Tylenol assisted in that re-

covery process for you?

SA: Yeah, I mean, it’s allowing me to have

a grant like this. It's going to just open the

door for, you know, everything that I've

been wanting for my future, for my career.

It's an amazing opportunity for me

to continue to kind of just vibe more into

my rehab process. Just to kind of figure

out how to get back to where I want to

be, you know, being injured for the first

time, I've had to figure out how to be a

professional honestly.

AM: Yeah.

SA: Before, I would just wake up, not practice.

AM: Yeah.

SA: I was just feeling great. So that's no

longer my life. So, having opportunities

with Tylenol, and with Women’s Sport

Foundation, this grant it's just been able

to open up new doors like I said and to figure

out what, what more can I help myself

with my body, with my mental, and things

like that. Just make me better overall.

AM: What are 3 workouts that you've been

doing in terms of your recovery that our

readers can know about? Maybe if they

have the same type of issue that can help

them as well.

SA: So you know, having a hip labrum tear,

it's a really big surgery. It's a lot to recover

from and for me, it's just been about

really being in the weight room and building

those small muscles that you might

ignore, you might, you know, neglect in

a sense. So now I'm just able to build my

hip flexor strength, focus on my glutes,

and figuring out, let's see how everything

is just really connected. For me, it's really

just been about staying in the weight

room. Understanding how to warm up

properly. My hip takes a lot to warm up

right now. So, just being intentional and

figuring out how to prepare, but also just

recover it, the best that I can.

AM: So obviously the WNBA season,

starts back up in May of this year, but

in looking at your IG, you're on the Unrivaled

League, which just started on Jan

17th of this year which is amazing. Tell

us about the league because I know our

readers are excited and you're also playing

for the Lunar Owls BC. So we'd love

to hear more about that.

SA: It's a whole new style game that you

know, no one has seen before. It's 3 on 3

full court, it's super fast - 1-on-1. It's just

been fun you know to be in this inaugural

season and be a part of something

new for just women's basketball but

also just women's sports in general you

know? This arrival, it just offers a new

opportunity for us specifically women's

basketball players. We typically have to

play year round. We have to go overseas

and go straight into our WNBA season.

So, you know, this is a great opportunity

for the best players to come in. We have

free agency starting. It's kind of neat

because we're kind of recruiting in the

same time.

AM: Yeah.

SA: It's been a super dope process so

far, and I'm just really happy that this is

kind of the next step for me. Coming off

of my injury.

AM: It runs for 9 weeks and I guess that

takes you almost into training camp before

you go back to the league?

SA: So yeah, we will have a little bit of

a break. So, that's the cool thing about

this gig. It's like eight weeks or about

two months. We'll still have a gap period

before the next season.

AM: Oh, nice.

SA: So it's really unheard of! Normally

depending on where you go, you play

year round. It’s amazing for us to be in

Miami, it’s warm.

AM: That's good too. We’re in New York

and it's so cold.

SA: When I left to come here it was freezing

so I’m glad to be here.

AM: What are you looking forward to in

terms of once the WNBA season comes

back again and you're playing with the

Mystics?

SA: Well for me, it’s about playing to my

full potential. I've been taken away from

the game with my injuries. I haven't been

able to showcase honestly, the type of

style that I'm wanna play. So, I've been focusing

on getting my health and really just

going out and showcasing what I can do.

@curlyhead_kira

@washmystics

@lunarowlsbc

We wanted to know more about the purpose

of the Women's Sports Foundation as

well as their initiatives for the range of athletes

that they work with! We were able to

find out about this as well as the history

of this organization via Danette Laighton

who is the CEO of this advocacy group.

ATHLEISURE MAG: After the pleasure to

speak with Shakira, we got to hear a bit

about Women's Sports Foundation. We

felt that it would be great to find out more

and it's so incredibly amazing. Can you

tell us a little bit about who you are, your

background prior to coming to WSF and of

course, we'll be digging into the foundation

itself.

DANETTE LEIGHTON: It's lovely to be here.

So thank you for having me. So I feel very

fortunate that I have had a long career in

the sports industry as you have probably

seen!

DL: My experience has been that you

know I have worked with athletes, teams,

and leagues my whole career. I have been

very much so exposed to recognizing the

resilience of remarkable athletes both on

the men's and women's side, but I really

spent a significant amount of time on the

women’s side. So, part of the very beginning

of the WNBA, with one of the original

franchises was the Sacramento Monarchs

running the business side, where I

spent almost a decade there. You know, I

was able to really understand and see the

ins and outs of what it takes. Not just to

run a franchise for a business perspective

but also what the athletes go through.

AM: Of course.

DL: It’s about really spending a lot of quality

time with our athletes and the challenge.

We have always known at WSF that

one of the greatest gifts you learn from

sports is resilience.

AM: Sure.

DL: I think nothing is more true to that

than when you watch athletes perform

at the highest level and they go through

challenges which is also another reason

why we are excited to partner with Tylenol

in this program. That was one of my

experiences.

I spent a significant amount of time in Collegiate

Athletics as a CMO for the Pac-12

Conference that used to represent universities,

like USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal

obviously lots of changes in the collegiate

landscape which is also another area of

focus in our advocacy work that we prioritize

in the WSF, we really have cared

and worked on the entire women's sports

ecosystem. Since we are founded by Billie

Jean in 1974. So we're 51 years old this year

so my experience is in Collegiate Athletics,

Professional sports, and I've spent time

on University campuses. Very early on, I

ran the Women's Basketball Final Four

which is really fun and exciting for me to

see the trajectory and the momentum in

that sport. Obviously, it's been a lot of my

career in women’s basketball and then

I've spent time on the brand side working,

very closely with brands and why they invest

in sports and sports properties. And I

had a chance to do that during my time at

Sony and particularly in the area of golf –

PGA golf. So, I feel very fortunate. I clearly

have a passion for sport.

AM: Clearly.

DL: And I've had a great career and this

was three years ago, I took the opportunity

to take over this position as CEO of

the WSF because even though I never

was an elite athlete myself, I know what

my youth sport, participation taught me,

and I don't think I ever would have been a

C-Suite leader without it and the principles

that come with sport and this is just another

example of why it's so important to

invest in girls and women playing sports.

AM: It’s an incredible career and how it

has led you to this point!

What is the WSF and how do they work

with athletes?

DL: Sure. So the WSF, like I said was founded

51 years ago by Billie Jean King. We like

to say we're not sure Billie Jean ever slept.

Because when she founded us, she was

also beginning to create the Women's

Tennis Association, equal pay at the US

Open - she just was doing so many monumental

things that now today for many

of us, none of us would have the careers

that we have without the work that Billie

did very early on. But the WSF is primarily

an advocacy research organization. We

really were one of the first champions

and leaders of the entire women's sports

ecosystem. But we’ve really been able to

make the connection through data and

research and our advocacy work and

community programming, which is an example

like this grant program, we do with

Tylenol to prove the important and vital

role that sports plays for girls and women

- from a societal perspective, cultural

perspective, and economic impact perspective.

So we've seen this for decades, I

feel very fortunate to take over the reigns

three years ago, but really we like to say

sports is not a nice to have for girls women,

it's a must-have.

AM: Absolutely.

DL: Because you know when girls play

sports they lead and we all win and that’s

really what the WSF is all about.

AM: As a CEO, what is your role? What

are some of your day-to-day or month-tomonth

focuses that you have?

DL: Well, as any CEO of a not-for-profit,

most of my time is to make sure that we

can be funded to do our great work. We

have been as part of our DNA, we don't

do anything without research and data.

So, one thing I've always really appreciated

about this organization is it's always

led by research. So we have hundreds and

hundreds of research projects that have

proven through the years of different areas

of why sports matter, why they matter

from an economic perspective, why

they're matter from a leadership perspective,

why they matter from a health and

well-being perspective for girls and women

where that aren't access points for

girls and women, so overseeing obviously

our organization and all of our core areas,

so our advocacy team can do their advocacy

work. Our research team can do the

research as necessary, to prove the model

and then all of our great community programming

that we do, which are essentially

outputs of that research and data,

which an example is obviously this great

program we have with Tylenol.

So we've been doing that for decades and

as it relates to Elite athletes, I mean obviously

being founded by one of the probably

most iconic female athletes of our day,

we do a lot with elite athletes even from

the very beginning. One of the most important

things for Billie was to make sure

that Elite athletes serve on our board. So

we had Elite female athletes since the day

of our existence serving as part of our

Board of Trustees, which is why I'm the

CEO and we always have an Elite athlete

president which currently is a Paralympian

athlete named Scout Bassett. And we

always have that as a part of our DNA and

part of our structure, really important to

give women at a very early parts, of their

careers opportunities to have board ser-

vice, which we know is parallel to society.

At the same time, we've worked for many,

many years with different programs, like

our Travel and Training Grant, which really

helped women athletes and Elite athletes,

prepare for elite competition, and

have some of the funding that's needed

and not a lot of people understand that

we're very thrilled about the momentum

in women's sports.

AM: Right.

DL: But it's been decades in the making

and this is not a coincidence because our

job has always been to protect Title IX and

we recognize and all of us know that none

of this would be happening if it wasn't for

that piece of legislation and now you're

seeing 5 decades of women that have had

the ability to play sport. And that didn't

start until Gen X.

AM: You've been speaking about the core

initiatives, can you dig a little bit more and

tell us about the advocacy, the research

and the community programming?

DL: So, you know, one of the primary roles

that we play in advocacy is obviously the

protection of Title IX and the importance

of that legislation, and an example of that

will be a program that we co-founded 39

years ago, that's called National Girls and

Women's Sports Day. It's now an iconic

day for everybody that supports and celebrates

girls participating in sports and

women. You see it kind of across the country.

We spend time in Washington DC putting

together a community programming

event in a clinic, with young girls, to expose

them to different sports, we spend

time actually working on key issues. This

year, we'll be spending a lot of time in the

Collegiate Athletics space talking about

the changing landscape there to make

sure that we can sustain, have the opportunities

for both men and women to continue

to have great sport opportunities

and go to college in our current system.

And so programs like NGWSD, in addition,

to spending time meeting with different

policy makers and legislators and talking

about the importance of why sports

should be not seen as a nice to have and

protecting legislation like Title IX are some

of the advocacy work that we do, but we

really focus in on where we see challenges

and barriers, which is really what our

research does.

Our research will point out different types

of areas of need. So one of the biggest focus

we play on is the access point for girls

to play sports. So some stats that people

don't recognize even in 2025, is that the

high school girl participation number is

exactly where the boys were in 1972 sitting

here in 2025.

AM: Oh wow.

DL: You don't realize we still have a long

way to go, which is why we care about

the whole ecosystem, which is from the

access point for young girls and women

through the high school and Collegiate

side, all the way to the Elite competition

and recognizing some of the barriers that

our Elite athletes have had especially in

the one that we're so proud of to partner

with Tylenol because of the importance

of recognizing what happens when you

get hurt and what they need to do to get

back to their greatness and it is a hard

journey, and for a partner like Tylenol to

understand that this type of program

would be a necessity and I'm sure you

heard this from Shakira, it is one of those

things that a lot of people don't realize is

very different from women, because they

have had, less opportunities have had less

investment, and so, this is an area to help

them get back on their feet, literally and

figuratively, and make sure that they can

continue on their Elite sport journey.

AM: Exactly.

Can you talk a little bit more about the

program? I mean, she talked about it briefly.

How did this come into being and why is

this important as we know that you gave it

to 10 athletes.

DL: You know, I think this is one of those

great examples of finding a partner like

Tylenol and collaborating on alignment

of issues that we recognize and that we

both carry deeply about. I think that's

where this all started. I think there's a lot

of parallels to what happened in sports

and for women, to the greater kind of

gender and women in society.

This is one of those areas. We know it's

incredibly important to go through hard

times. We know what resilience teaches

you. But when you're an Elite athlete

trying to compete, sometimes you run

into real barriers that you don't have

the funding mechanisms or the support

that you need to get yourself back up

and to be able to continue that journey

to try to really get to the highest level

you possibly can in your sport. And what

I love about this program is the diversity

of sports and athletes it represents.

It gives a really great example of how

many different sports opportunities are

out there for girls and women, and the

different sports that were obviously, and

the athletes that were going on their

different journeys. And I think that is a

really great example of just what sports

has been for so long for both men and

women. It's a broad-based nature of

the opportunities that you can find your

passion and you have lots of sport opportunities

and as long as there's that

access point for girls and women, to be

able to start to play and then through

their journey, they have programs like

this with Tylenol, it's really been a game

changer and a first of its kind and we're

thrilled to partner with Tylenol. We're

really looking forward to continue this

program into the future. It's the first of

its kind for us.

AM: For those, that they may not be

athletes, whether it’s Elite, semi-pro, or

recreational how can we support WSF,

whether it's an individual or even like a

brand like Athleisure Mag? We've actually

wanted to reach out to the organization

for years because I think it's really

cool. I was a cheerleader and I know

there's some debate on whether that’s

an athlete and did it through a couple of

seasons for MLS NY/NJ Metro Stars which

became NY Red Bull. I was in a tennis rec

league with a company that I worked for

and we even did charity runs so training,

competing, and using those skills is always

something that I have believed in.

So how can people support?

DL: Well, you know, I like to say cheerleading

is a sport too. I know what

cheerleaders did so I would not count

yourself out as an athlete!

I think you know for us obviously, we

want everybody to support girls and

women in their communities in whichever

way they can. You can do it from

the most basic fundamental level of supporting

and coaching a youth sport. It's

really important for girls to see women

coaching girls. Some of our other

research we recognize this as a critical

component. If you can see her, you can

be her! Understanding the nuances of

coaching girls to boys and there's differences

encouraging your daughters

and your sons to play sports and realizing

the power of it. Supporting a local

high school, supporting your local professional

team, buying a jersey of your

favorite professional women’s sports

team. It's really, really simple to support

women's sports. Everybody can invest it

in their own way and also gain the benefits

of recognizing the power of it. But

like many of us, I was never an Elite athlete.

What I think is really important for

everybody to understand is that when

girls play as long as possible - the biggest

barrier that happens with girls is

they quit in Middle School for all the reasons

that you can imagine.

We need to continue to push them to

play as long as possible, it doesn't matter

what level they play at because when

they do, it impacts them from a physical

health, and well-being, and mental

health, and well-being. It's a very preventative,

way where their life will continue

in a great journey as adults, but it

also drives them to be the next leader.

And I think that's one of the things that

we see is so powerful and one of our

latest research reports that we did last

year, which is called Play to Lead – 71% of

women cross-generationally from their

20s, 30s 40s, 60s, 70s - all of had a position

of manager or hirer. All recognize

what is applicable and the intangibles

that they learn when they play sports.

It’s discipline. It's competitiveness. It's

resilience, it’s all these things and those

are not what you get taught in school.

What makes you a powerful leader and

no matter what profession you choose.

That's why we like to say women's sports

is not a nice to have for girls. So for us

you can support us in many ways. Obviously

we're always looking to have people

who want to have the treasure or the

time to support us. We're looking for as

many people as possible to support us in

our fundraising efforts, but really also to

engage and amplify our work. That's important

to us. I always like to share with

everybody who may not have the means

to support a not-for-profit, yet amplify,

our work talk about us, share, why this

is so important. Engage your community

and be one of those role models that

other girls can follow because we have

a lot of challenges for young women still

not having the access that they need to

play sports.

AM: What is the Annual Salute?

DL: So our Annual Salute is our largest

fundraiser, but it has been one of these

and very early on where it’s one of the

places that we support and celebrate

the women’s sports community and

Elite athletes from every single sport

imaginable. One thing I love about the

WSF, which is similar to the recipients of

the Tylenol Grant is we showcase every

sport, every type of from Paralympians

to Olympic, to Elite athletes in Track

and Field to professional athletes in the

WNBA and NWSL you name it, we support

it. But we talk about it and we celebrate

them. And we showcase what's

so important about sports for girls and

women. At the end of the day, you may

never ever get to that Elite level and we

know it's incredibly hard, it’s a less than

1% that these types of athletes ever get

to that level but 99% of us are all athletes

if we have the ability to play throughout

our youth, middle school, high school

and those lessons will give us the greatest

gift throughout the rest of our life.

And I know it's done it for myself, and I

wouldn't be sitting talking to you today

if it didn’t.

AM: Is there anything that you would

like us to keep an eye out for that WSF is

doing or any initiatives?

DL: What I think is just helping people

understand who we are and what we've

done. We like to say we've been around

a long time. We’re very proud of that

being a not-for-profit that's 51 years old

and have had the success that we've

had. But like any not-for-profit, we all

know it's really, really important for people

to not just support us financially, but

support our work again, by amplifying

and promoting us and just being able to

share our stories and what we're doing

and to find a way that they can do it in

their own Community. We're a national

organization. We have many programs,

you know, just like National Girls and

Women's Sports Day, you'll see us all

throughout the year across the country

doing different clinics.

We have incredible Grant programs like

you're learning about with Tylenol and

I think it's just one of those things that

we want to continue to make sure that

girls are invested in and that people understand

the power of sport and how

transformative it is for women throughout

their whole lives. And we want people

to invest in girls and women and

make sure they have the access to both

sports.

@womenssportsfoundation

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 62 - 74 Unrivaled

| PG 76 Tylenol

We always like sharing great brands

with our readers and when we found

out about Terracea, a performance elemental

outerwear and accessory brand,

we wanted to know more about how

they started, the ethos of the brand, and

what we can look out for as we continue

through 2025. We found out about this

and more while chatting with the brand's

Founder and CEO, Eric Hui during our recent

Athleisure Mag Summit Series that

was held on New Years Eve, 2024

ATHLEISURE MAG: It’s so exciting to

have everyone here for our Athleisure

Mag Summit Series which is a great way

for you to get to know about a great

brand and in today’s fashion show we’re

going to talk about a number of topics

and delve into what this brand is, what

they are doing, and what we can look

forward to as we’re looking at it season

to season. As the Co-Founder/Creative

+ Style Dir of Athleisure Mag, we love

talking about fashion, entertainment,

sports, wellness, fitness, food, beauty,

and all of these things that sit inside of

Athleisure Culture.

When you talk about sports we focus on

a number of areas and Action Sports is

one that we’re so thrilled about. We’ve

had various athletes representing surfing,

skateboarding, and motorsports

that have been our covers as well as inbooks

and features from those in the

sports mentioned, as well as snowboarding,

climbing, freediving, bouldering, etc.

What we love about this brand before we

talk more about them is that we like to

take things that are technical that have

specific fabrications that are meant for a

sport and to style them in shoots where

they are being worn for the everyday,

Out + About, running around. So when

we heard about Eric Hui and Terracea,

it made sense to sit down and chat with

him. The pieces look great, it’s wonderful

that there is an assortment for women

and men and it’s always tough when you

see outerwear brands that only focus on

mens or womens as it can be tough to

use them if it doesn’t cover the area of

interest. As someone who has snowboarded,

I love the assortment and what

you’re doing.

Eric, thank you for taking the time to hop

on with us today!

ERIC HUI: Thank you Kimmie, it’s a

pleasure to be here and I’m excited to

be able to talk about my story and the

founding of Terracea and I’m excited to

hear that you’re a snowboarder as well.

I am too and that’s actually a big reason

why I started this company!

AM: Oh wow, I do want to preface it by

saying it’s not like I’m on an athlete level

or anything, but I do love doing it, falling,

and having beverages after!

EH: That’s the best part obviously! It’s

all about having fun and being out there

right? That’s really the core of it.

AM: Exactly!

Before we delve into the brand, what

was your background before coming into

this and since you’re a snowboarder, we

know you have a passion for this sport.

What was the nexus of how this came together?

Did you grow up in a snow community?

EH: Crazy enough, no, I’m actually from

Hawaii!

AM: Haha that’s what my research told

me!

EH: Yeah, I am born and raised there.

It’s kind of an interesting story where

I came to the East Coast in 2010 which

wasn’t that long ago, but I was not exposed

to any kind of cold weather until I

was about 18 or 19 years old!

Funny enough, the observation for Terracea

was that certain clothing worked

for the cold and the elements around

here, especially in the Northeast where

you have not just cold and snow but

wind and freezing rain as well as sleet

in between where you have to deal with

them. In a lot of ways, my Hawaiian upbringing

got me to thinking about things

from more of an athleisure lens. From my

eyes, I’m not the most active, but I love

being outside, I love snowboarding and

I like to say that I'm kind of a permanent

mid-tier beginner. Truthfully, I don’t get

to go out all that much. I love it, but it’s

not something that I grew up doing or

something that truthfully I grew up having

the money to be able to do it and to

go every single weekend. I like doing it

but it’s something where the idea of me

starting a snowboard brand is not true.

It’s something where I was just doing

things and clothing that made sense for

the weather around here. That’s kind

of the foundation of where I came into

this. I’m not from the cold, but I do live

in the cold now. I have learned to thrive

in it.

AM: When you say here, that’s in New

Hampshire, right?

EH: Yes. I live in a small town called Kensington

which is surrounded by a lot of

farms and not too much, but it’s a great

place and I have my wife and 2 kids here

now. It’s been really nice.

AM: Have you previously been involved

in fashion or design before?

EH: No, I worked in business and pharmaceuticals

funny enough. Part of my

foundation journey and I’m very grateful

for all the learning that I have had

now as it has been 7 years. It really has

been something that I have started

from scratch and not having any real

connections in fashion at all. Not having

grown up around the apparel industry.

I take that back, I had one uncle that

worked in T-Shirts back in the day and

that really helped me kind of guide a little

bit into sourcing and manufacturing.

I didn't really have any kind of hands on

knowledge into this industry at all. It’s

something I learned from scratch and

through perseverance and networking

to get to where I have gotten to now.

AM: That’s amazing.

What was the first piece that you designed?

EH: Funny enough, it’s actually siting

on my chair. It’s this fleece jacket that

is actually made of Wind Pro. So it’s

actually a water and wind resistance

fleece. There’s regulations now where

unfortunately, this type of resistance

doesn’t quite work because of PFC regulation

(Editor’s Note: Perfluorinated

Compounds or PFCs chemicals that repel

water and oil and are use often in outdoor

clothing. They have been linked to

negative health effects and environmental

damages which is why they are not

rules and regulations that limit the use of

PFCs), but it’s one of my favorite pieces

and I still wear it around the warehouse

as an everyday kind of product. We did

that and it also zipped into an outer layer.

Back in 2017, I did a Kickstarter for the

company which is where we got our initial

bootstrapping for the company. We

kind of started our first manufacturing

run from that. It was a shell, a mid-layer,

and also another outer layer that was

also an insulator. So it was actually 2 layers

of insulation that you could actually

wear when it got really cold. I went to a

place called Jay Peak up in the Northeast

to test it in -28°F weather which is pretty

cold around here and it was great. So it

went from there to just kind of a brief

rain for the shell and I just kind of wear

this for everything in between. From the

onset, Terracea is meant to be a system

of products that work together to help

you enjoy the outside.

AM: That is pretty impressive that that

would be your first piece as it’s such an

ambitious one to make and then not

being in the industry and doing that is

amazing. This is such a fashionable and

technical forward product to create for

the first piece of your assortment.

What do you feel sets yourself apart

from other technical brands that are also

in this space.

EH: I like to say that my approach has

never really been rooted in the mountain

in a lot of ways. Despite Hawaii having

mountains, it’s not a big part of what

you think of when you think about the

big brands like The North Face or other

brands that are rooted in the mountains

and out in Jackson Hole. I never grew

up in the mountains, in the cold, or even

being in temperate spaces that needed

mountain clothing. In a lot of ways,

the brand itself is really based around

water which is interesting. I grew up

around the ocean and understanding

that precipitation – snow, rain all comes

from the ocean in the hydrological cycle

and then comes back down. So it’s

all based around the elements moreso

than mountainous conditions. It’s just a

little bit of a differentiated look at how

we navigate this space. Also, not coming

from this industry, not having the background

of working in fashion and making

super technical garments, I made

things around basic everyday wearability.

So it's all about comfort, stretch, and

quietness things like that which people

don’t really quite grasp when you are

looking for performance. I’m not going

to summit Mt Everest. A lot of people

want to and I’m probably not going to

do it myself. I want to make things that

you can wear and transition from. If

you go in the mountains, you will have

a product that works, but you can also

wear the same product outside of the

environment as well to be comfortable

and to wear it in your everyday.

A lot of our products are built with really

comfortable materials. There’s stretch

and they all have water resistance. They

all have really good wind stopping properties

which is really awesome. I can say

that 1 big differentiating element is that

we have really high collars which is great

because you can actually tuck yourself

in.

AM: Exactly.

EH: If you wear it correctly, you can actually

cover all parts that would let wind

in your body. So that’s very important.

When I was living for Boston for a little

bit, I was walking to work and I found

myself wearing a ski jacket actually – it

was a Burton jacket. I wore it to work

because previously, I was wearing

a men’s Peacoat at the time and I felt

that it didn’t do anything for me when

it came to protection. I was walking to

work and I was having to go outside and

it did look better, but it just didn’t work.

I found that more and more, the trend

was that people were wearing products

around functionality, utility, and usefulness.

So they were wearing mountain

wear which is interesting because there

are these big brands designing for the

mountain, I’m not near a mountain, but

I am wearing those items and it makes

sense. I would say that Terracea is the

evolution of that to say that it is blending

a little bit of that athleisure aspect

of it for that everyday lifestyle and activity

to also include the technical side

of garments that have hard shell capabilities

whether it is lamenated, water

proof jackets that actually block water

to products that actually resist and have

a bit more comfort around it. I have to

say that it is the best of both worlds and

it kind of transitions seamlessly from reactive

based mountain stuff to your everyday.

AM: You have a commitment to sustainability.

How does that flow through the

brand?

EH: I’ve always been conscious of the

impact of our carbon footprint on the

world. First of all, we’re a very small

company truthfully. So we do not make

anywhere near the volume of some

of what these bigger players do. Even

then, we do our best to offset as much

as we can for the environmental impact.

A big thing is that we have been PFC free

since early 2022 before all the regulations

happened just because I felt that it

was the right thing to do knowing that

there were harmful chemicals going into

the ground and I want to avoid that as

much as possible. The truth is that some

of that stuff does work better and you

look at brands like Goretex that have

changed their technology because of

this. Switching to something that is not

harmful has always been part of our

DNA. Anything that we use for insulation

and people don’t know this, but it’s

all either recycled or repurposed products

for insulation materials.

For example this is our Catnap Full Zip

Women’s Puffer it's a hybrid so the top

part is completely waterproof believe

it or not. The bottom half is actually

puffer fabric. I like to say like Canada

Goose, but honestly nicer and at a much

more accessible price point. The truth is

that this jacket has a technology called

Downlight which is actually taking used

down and taking them from places like

a duvet cover and they repurpose or

they pack the down to fill it on a certain

power level. So for example, we have

one that is 650 fill which is the equivalent

so what they do is take the down

and repack into the insulation type and

they are not taking from new products

or new animals to make this.

We also use Primaloft which is another

great technology. So, this is our Women’s

Camara Jacket which is essentially

what I like to call, the representation of

Terracea in a lot of ways. It's a full technical

ski jacket, but it really looks like

an every day coat. It’s great, it’s super

comfy, and it’s super quiet which is really

cool.

AM: I love that I’m not hearing a lot of

jangling when you’re holding it.

EH: That’s because I chose a lot of the

fabrics and I base a lot of it on noise.

Does your armpit go against your side

and make that crinkling noise so it

sounds like paper? If so, then we probably

shouldn’t do it. We also use insulation

that is fully recycled. So Primaloft,

the package that we purchase from they

source it from recycled water bottles,

discarded plastics, and things like that

which creates their Primaloft Eco which

is what we use. We have always been

conscious about the environment and

we do our best to not overproduce. Being

a small company we have the luxury

to be able to not over make stuff that

we would have to discard. We’re very

careful with what we make and trying

to sure that what we do so that we’re

not making an impact negatively on the

environment.

AM: You’ve been speaking and I love the

everyday factor of it all and I think that

that’s amazing. Are there pieces that if

someone is interested in doing a specific

sport, that lend themselves to a designated

sport?

EH: You know, that’s a good question.

I think the best way for me to say it is

to say that we try to stay activity agnostic

and just kind of let the product

do its own marketing in a lot of ways.

Because, a lot of people say, “well clearly,

you’re just making ski products.” It’s

a ski wear shell, it’s a ski wear bib, and

things like that. In a lot of ways, it’s kind

of true, but also it’s like – I never had the

ability to say that because I’m a skier, I

want to make things for ski. I don’t and

truthfully, I only skied once in my life

which is funny enough! In a lot of ways,

a shell is a shell. The way that I see it, a

3 layer shell is a thicker shell meant for

the Winter that blocks snow and sleet.

Sometimes you wear a shell over an existing

garment to protect you. In a lot of

ways, that kind of philosophy translates

beyond kind of any activity.

We do look at ski and that’s kind of a

big part of our inspiration because the

stuff built into ski and snow apparel really

does work. There’s things like hoods

that protect you, cinch cords and even

things like powder skirts – there’s not

that much powder in the East Coast and

I’m sure in the Midwest it’s the same but

it’s great for wind. In a final way to protect

as a gusset, your hip and waist area

actually prevents wind from coming up

which is actually a very big part around

here.

We’re kind of reframing things and taking

inspiration from mountain apparel

technology and try to apply it more into

an every day lens. I think that we’re getting

better and better as we go. Truthfully,

when I started out, I couldn’t break

the mold too much just because of who

we worked with and sort of the ways

that we had to sell our products, but the

more that we start to get into our identity

and what makes Terracea different

like you said – we’re going to lean into

this lifestyle athleisure lens I think for

our products which is exciting for me.

AM: That’s really cool.

Tell us specifically about the women’s assortment

and what are 3 key pieces that

we should know about?

EH: Of course! We do take a lot of feedback

from our women consumers and

testers who do wear our garments.

Knowing that we just can’t force a fit for

anyone and it’s a specific fit for women

in terms of body shapes. We have a lot

of products that I would say kind of cater

to women. I would say that this one

right here is our Vinda, a lightweight

puffer that truthfully is a really good

product. It’s got eco-friendly DWR which

is great and it actually repels water. But

it also has a lot of cool tech. We actually

have laser cut arm holes. We don’t think

about this, but this is also a waterproof

patch on the front of this as well. So

anything that you put in here you don’t

have to worry about getting water in

this zipped area because actually, you’re

protected which is great. It’s a hybrid

between mountain wear and that every

day wear kind of build. This one actually

uses another kind of recycled fill called

Thermal Cluster. It’s super super warm,

but it’s also quite light. I like to say that

it is our best all around jacket that we

offer. We have a men’s version of this

jacket which is the same and it just has

slightly different colors and is a boxier

shape.

Beyond that, the Camara has all of the

bells and whistles. This is kind of our every

day, I’d like to say that it’s an every

parka in a lot of ways.

AM: This is my favorite piece on the women’s

side of your collection. I love this.

EH: Oh thank you! I appreciate that and

I like it too truthfully. I wear it a lot especially

when it starts to get colder and

you don’t want to layer too much. I just

want to wear one jacket that will keep

you warm and if that is your thought

process, this is your go-to.

It has a 2 way zipper and it also zips up

from the bottom as well. If you’re taking

your jacket off and your in the car starting

it, I think about a lot of things when

it goes into the design. If you’re sitting in

the car waiting, you can take your jacket

off, but you also don’t want to sit with

it on and feel all bunched up. So I think

about things from a usability perspective.

I also have this cool element. All of

our products have this raised embossed

of our logo.

AM: I love that!

EH: I like to say that it is a little boring

for ski shops that are looking for flashy

outerwear. But that has never been my

purpose. I wanted to make a better jacket

which meant I wanted to wear it so

it didn’t look obnoxious and different

when it was off of the slopes. So we got

into embossments because it’s a little

more subtle. Lastly, we have the Women’s

Catnap which we talked about a bit

before. If you look at a system, it’s actually

warm, warmer, warmest, so it’s ac

tually our warmest product. I can attest

that this will keep you warm, dry, and

comfortable outside no matter what.

When it’s actually getting cold and you

can’t wear just a sweatshirt or something

that is knit and you want to repel

water – this is very warm. We do try to

do a bit of a tonal block. The top half is

made of a 20K waterproof fabric which

no one else does by the way. This will

actually block water like nothing else

and we take a top down approach. So

a lot of times when you’re standing up,

most of the water will accumulate on

the top half of your body. So you block

that with a waterproof fabric that actually

makes a lot more sense then having

it across the whole thing and the bottom

of this jacket has the puffy polyester

fabric. All of our zippers are also YKK

Aquaguard which means that they are

completely waterproof too. Our jackets

have that bit of utility wear where you

technically could wear it and I have worn

the men’s version when snowboarding.

We have tested it out in more cold environments.

Everything kind of works

seamlessly together. Those are the 3

women’s pieces that I wanted to be able

to show that are kind of a system product

that we offer.

AM: I have to say that the Vinda with the

embossed logo on it, that is such a high

end style aesthetic to put in. We most recently

did a photoshoot with a track set

that had this kind of embellishment and

there is something that is a bit of a hat tip

to quiet luxury about that which reads

differently than having a visually massive

logo that is a Colorblock or something of

that nature. It’s not to say that there is

anything wrong doing that, but there is

something understated and very IYKYK

when you're looking at the brand so

what brand so what a great style choice

that you included in there!

EH: I appreciate that and I thank you for

that. Kudos to our designer Mike who

had a lot of decisions that were made in

the aesthetics in the products that we

wanted to portray. I knew that when I

started this company, I didn’t want to

make the same non-apparel. Everything

looks kind of the same and things don’t

fit this more modern and stellar angle

that I really wanted to go for. I think

that with our designer’s help, he really

helped us shape the look and the feel on

these products that they look great and

that they look elevated and they look

quality no matter where you go.

AM: Let’s do the same thing as it pertains

to the men’s assortment and what are 3

key pieces that you want to highlight?

EH: Before we do that, I do have a few

unisex pieces that I want to be able to

show you. We have our sweatshirts as

well as the logo on this hat. It’s actually

a puff print which that’s really cool. It’s a

little extra which is pretty neat too.

AM: I love that!

EH: We also have a heavier hoodie which

has a little bit more weight. We also have

a tech hoodie which is also water resistant

too, but that’s more of a technical

product too.

For men, we have the equivalent of the

Magnus Thermal Insulated Jacket. I

love that you’re in my showroom seeing

all of this! So our Magnus for men has

the same thing with the embossment

on the soft shell. It’s the same thing as

well, really high quality zippers. We have

this things for the zipper which is called

a Semi Lock. When you have the zipper

tag flat against your chest, the zipper

will not go down which is great when

you have to partially unzip and you want

to keep it thermal regulated it won’t go

anywhere. When you flip it upwards,

the zip will move with your body which

is kind of cool.

AM: Once again with all of that zipper action,

it’s still so quiet.

EH: Yeah it’s great technology! It’s a great

looking product to as I put this one on. I

truthfully wear this every single day! It’s

a great piece to wear when you’re just

walking around town. It looks good and

you can size up if you want to layer underneath.

For me, if I wear it true to size,

I can wear just a sweatshirt underneath

it. But if you’re doing an activity and really

want to layer up, then you should

size it up. I’m sorry I like to geek out on

stuff like this.

AM: Oh no, I find this really interesting as

I love to get into the nitty gritty and to

hear these kinds of details. I find that it is

very important to understand the why.

Why does someone have the desire to

purchase a specific item from your brand,

what are the things that you’re doing in

your space, how is it differentiated so I

find this highly interesting.

EH: Awesome! I’m glad! I can go on for

hours about this and I have bored people

to death with me talking about details.

But that is what I really care about.

I just wanted to make products that

made sense for my lifestyle and also for

what I felt was kind of a gap in the marketplace.

A lot of times, you want something

that just looks better and feels better

on you and sometimes people have a

hard time finding them and I wanted to

be the place where they could.

Even things like this, there is a bit of

elastic around the hood. It goes around

your head or your beanie. So you could

sit it on there and kind of cinch it. Again,

there’s that high neck which we talked

about earlier.

I also wanted to show you something

that is different than the insulator, this

is a shell known as the Sorrel. We actually

just won an award too from Outside

Inc’s Ski Mag and noted us as Best Overall

Shell of the Year!

AM: Oh wow, congratulations!

EH: Thank you! It was amazing. We have

a really cool kind of storm flap that is

magnetic powered. It’s pretty cool and

people like that a lot. It’s a really good

shell for everyday and I layer this over

an existing sweatshirt sometimes when

I want to go outside, but I don't actually

want to be exposed to when it is windy

and cold. It’s actually a really good product

to wear. But again, it’s a 3L 20K waterproof

shell that is great for skiing and

snowboarding. But you can also wear it

out everywhere for other purposes! To

streamline it, we keep our cinch cords

on the inside because I want it to look

like a shell and not something that is intended

to wear only when you ski. On

the sleeve we have this zippered compartment

which is for your ski pass and

you can put in your RFID cards. I put my

credit cards in there sometimes too.

AM: The Metro Card here in NY!

EH: Yeah! I call my Ski Pass my T-Pass because

in Boston it’s your MBTA and they

call it the T. It kind of really makes sense.

AM: Yup!

EH: The last one is called the Men’s Bear

Hug which is a pullover anorak which

has some really cool tech built in. I like

the Women’s Catnap, but this is more

of a style/fashion piece. I want to show

you something that both the Men’s Bear

Hug and the Women’s Catnap both have.

It’s a magnetic pocket and it’s actually a

magnetic rod that we actually substitute

for the zipper pocket. It gives you easier

one handed access into it when you’re

getting your keys or things like that. It’s

really cool stuff and I would normally

put it on, but it would take awhile to get

in and get out of it. It has full side zips

and it’s also really a cool product. The

same thing, the top half has waterproof

and the bottom half is puffer fabric. But

it really really looks nice. It might be our

warmest product ever pretty much.

AM: That magnetic pocket it cool because

when you don’t have your gloves

on and you’re sliding your hand in there

sometime the zipper catches it and snags

your hand which is annoying. But having

the magnet, you have that easy slide.

EH: We have a little bit of a pull too just in

case you need the help and it just looks

cool! It’s very functional and since that

pocket is at an angle when it has a zipper

and it catches, it can be awkward. So to

prevent any kind of issues, we decided

to do something a little different and we

just thought outside of the box too.

That pullover style is a little tricky to get

into sometimes but once you’re in and

I can say for the Bear Hug especially, if

you’re going to be outside in the cold all

day doing something, you want to wear

this as you will be so comfy and so toasty

all day long. The response that we have

gotten by Henry Swinson who is a local

meteorologist in New England and he

is outside storm chasing and reporting

on the weather all day and he has been

wearing our Bear Hug when he does

that which is pretty cool!

AM: That’s pretty cool! You know if someone

is wearing it storm chasing, there is

something to be said for the quality of

your pieces!

What are 3 accessories that you have that

you would like for us to know about?

EH: I consider our sweatshirts as part

of our accessories for this line. We have

our hats and some neck tubes and

things like that. We’re actually developing

more accessories as we go. We have

a collaboration of socks which is pretty

cool. They are made in the USA right

here in New Hampshire which is pretty

interesting. We work with a local company

called Minus33 and it is a strategic

collaboration just because of the way

that we are going with both of our complaints

being here in New Hampshire in

this state. It’s probably the best Merino

wool socks that I have ever worn. You

can wear them all day and for a whole

week! They’re odor resistant and they’re

also thermal regulating so they actually

remove heat from outside. It’s really

cool and I recommend you checking

them out on our website.

AM: Are there new products coming out

that may not be available on the website

right now, but they will be that you can

share with us?

EH: We are moving forward to the true

era of Terracea which is all solutions for

weather which means all seasons. Funny

enough, being from Hawaii, we startd

working in the cold for this company and

making the best what I like to say is

the best technical cold weather apparel

that is out there. We’re actually moving

full circle and going back to where

it is warm as well. So when it comes to

warm, it’s about changes in weather

patterns where the cold is not as prevalent

as much as here in the Notheast.

The cold is getting shorter and the volatility

is getting higher. That means we’re

kind of missing a lot of pieces where it’s

about rain and UV. We deal with that a

lot more out of the year. So we’re actually,

making a small capsule of Summer

apparel which includes a rain shell which

will kind of be our next level product I

would say. It’s going to be designed

with a different ethos in mind, and I can

say that it will have some interesting elements

to it. It’s really all about storytelling

which is really cool and we will have

a tech shirt and a tech short which is going

to also be an interesting product for

us. To round that out, we said that we

would have a year around capsule collection

that really speaks to our ability

to enhance our experience outside no

matter where you are.

AM: That’s great to hear. The first thing

that I thought of when I was looking

at your site and its assortment and it’s

great to have categories in snow, but

what about rain as that is also a significant

part of the year. It doesn’t always

snow year around and you can go to places

where there is snow, but it’s a missed

opportunity not to think and include the

other elements as well.

What are you looking at in terms of 2025

whether it be innovation, technical fabrication,

tradeshows that you will be at

that we should keep an eye out for?

EH: We will have innovative technology

that is coming out on our garments

and unfortunately it’s a little early for

us to tease that out. I will just say that it

is really cool and something that really

speaks to our brand genuinely and more

so than other brands out there.

The fabrics that we choose will kind of

continue in the same mold. It’s always

a balance of performance for repelling

water and wind versus comfort and

sustainability. So that is always this intersection

that we always have to meet

as a business because truthfully, we did

look at options that were 100% biodegradable

and using bamboo and things

like that which were good, but there is

always a bit of a tradeoff when you consider

whether it’s good when you’re outside

and it’s raining all day or if it is really

cold, is it going to protect you? There is

always this bit of intersection where we

have to have balance and that’s part of

our thought process being Terracea. We

consider all of these things and not just

1 thing whether it’s the best performing

or the most sustainable. We really like to

be there right in the middle.

For tradeshows, we actually decided to

take a bit of a step back this year. We did

do a few tradeshows before. We went

to Outdoor Retailer, we did a couple

of local tradeshows around here in the

Northeast, but we are actually focusing

a lot more on building our online presence

so we are actually shifting to be

more of a DTC business this year which

has actually been working quite well.

We’ve been able to organically tell our

story and to reach a lot more people

through the Internet through our marketing

efforts. I would say that maybe

late 2025/early 2026, you may see us

again at these sort of tradeshows with

our new 360 brand and collection which

would make a lot more sense for us.

AM: I was going to ask as my fashion

background started first in visual merchandising

and then in wholesale, are

there places that people can purchase

your pieces outside of your website.

EH: We did sell last year to a couple of

retailers and at our peak, we were actually

in 35 retailers across the Northeast.

We also had one in Lake Tahoe funny

enough! We do sell some in REI in North

Conway and kind of in more local places

here. We’re kind of revisiting that approach.

Right now, the main point of

truth is our website terracea.com which

is where we are trying to really engage

our customers and trying to have that

conversation with them. What makes

our products different, how can you

find out more about us, and we have a

great customer service team as well as

a great supporting cast behind the website.

Anything that people have questions

for, we can always answer and

make it a seamless shopping experience

for them.

AM: You also brought on Vic Satir, the

former Global Merchandising Leader at

Nike which is amazing. How does this fit

into your brand and where you see it going

forward?

EH: Vic is awesome and we have been

working together for almost 3 years

now together. Kind of as a consultant at

first and now he is really a fulltime team

member leading the team as GM as well

as leading them as Strategic Thought

Leader for us. He has really been helping

a lot with me in terms of elevating the

brand and sort of bringing everything

together. We really have a full team now

in this business from all aspects and we

have really been kicking in on all cylinders.

Vic has been helping a full team

now in this business from all aspects and

we have really been kicking in on all cylinders.

Vic has been helping me reshape

on how to move the brand forward in a

higher level perspective. I can say that

I love doing that too, but my strength

has been guiding the business, how we

run, the operations and that has been

my strength in a lot of ways. He compliments

that by saying how do we think

and not just in next year, but in the next

3-5 years down the road? We’re looking

at where we can pivot towards and

we’ve been kind of working together as

a tandem on that side which has been

pretty good.

AM: That’s amazing and has there been

anything else that we haven’t talked

about that you do want to share with us?

EH: I’ve been talking to people a lot

about my journey and it’s really been

a story about hard work and perseverance

because nothing comes easy. It’s

like everything is stacked up against

you, especially when you don't have the

network or the capitol to push it early

on. Truthfully, I talked to someone that

had a luxury fashion brand and a big part

that fueled my fire is that he laughed at

me. He said I was never going to do this

right. He told me a number that I kind of

needed to start with and he said that I

would never get there. I realized that a)

I would never get there because I didn’t

have that much money to fundraise, and

b) I knew that I was going to prove him

wrong. This was 8 years ago when I talked

to this dude. I knew that I was going

to do my best to keep pushing. But you

know what? Truthfully, he was right! You

do need a lot of money in this industry

to break in as a brand because it’s not

just product, it’s marketing, it’s getting

the word out, it’s who you know, it’s

can you get deals and financing terms

at your factory, can you balance your

cashflow correctly? I didn’t know any of

that! I fell head over many many times

and I’ve actually suffered twice already

where we should have gone under as a

business. Just due to the passion of what

I’m building and the direction that I want

to go in for Terracea, I just kept doing

it. Maybe I’m just stubborn, but I have

a very supportive wife and I thank her a

lot for that as well as a family that cares

about me, but it’s something where it’s

not easy. In this business nothing comes

easy and until you make it, no one cares.

We’ve reached 7 years and that’s incredible

and to have 7 years of equity in the

marketplace is honestly a big testament

to how hard we have worked and to the

growth that we’ve hit. But it is also the

team that we have built from Jordanna

and Kate on the PR side to everyone on

our marketing team and really talented

digital marketers that we have worked

with to our social ambassadors. We finally

have a company and a brand that's

just very very cool to me! So, I’m never

going to give up and I am going to keep

going and I have reached the bottom in

a lot of ways in this business, so it can

only go up from here. I’m pretty excited

for the next chapter.

@terraceaco

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Terracea

THE ART OF

THE SNACK:

DILLI DILLI

No matter the time of year, we're always

looking for a satisfying meal, but when

we're in colder weather we really want

to have dishes that hit all areas of our

tastebuds and give us the warmth that

we desire on the inside and out! We took a

moment to chat with Abla Atoubi, General

Manager of Dilli Dilli which is located in

NYC's Theater District. She talked with us

about the restaurant's chefs/restaurateurs

Gaurav Anand and Vipul Gupta, dishes we

should have in mind when we're there, the

ambiance of the space and of course the

blend of Old Delhi and New Delhi that is

presented in every bite!

ATHLEISURE MAG: Dilli Dilli is led by 2

chefs! Can you share your background,

where you trained, kitchens you worked in

etc prior to opening this restaurant? We'd

love to hear from both of you!

ABLA ATOUBI: Our culinary maestros,

Chef Gaurav Anand and Chef Vipul Gupta,

are the heart and soul of Dilli Dilli. Chef

Anand, a celebrated name in the culinary

world, honed his skills simply by practicing.

His self taught journey took him

through different regions across India and

his international travel inspired him and

taught him how to blend flavors without

compromising the dish. He also worked

alongside the very famous Jiggs Kalra, a

food writer and celebrity chef who elevated

Indian fine dining cuisine. Chef Vipul

Gupta, on the other hand, brings a wealth

of experience from his time in some of

Delhi's most iconic kitchens, Hyatt, Marriott,

and ITC etc.. His passion for authentic

Indian cuisine is unmatched, and together,

they create a symphony of flavors that

tell the story of Delhi.

AM: What is the meaning behind Dilli Dilli?

AA: Dilli Dilli is a fun way of saying Delhi

twice - which at the same time represents

Old Delhi and New Delhi. It's a celebration

of the city's rich history and its dynamic

present. By bringing together the essence

of Old Delhi's timeless traditions and New

Delhi's contemporary spirit, we aim to offer

our guests an unforgettable dining ex-

perience that captures the heart of India's

capital.

AM: Dilli Dilli is bringing Old Delhi and

New Delhi together. Which chef represents

which and are the flavors, spices,

and techniques of Old Delhi and New Delhi?

AA: Chef Gaurav Anand embodies the

innovative spirit of New Delhi, infusing

post British era techniques and highlighting

dishes that were brought by this

occupation and by other Indians who

migrated from other states. Chef Vipul

Gupta, with his deep-rooted knowledge

of traditional Indian cooking, brings the

historic flavors and spices of Old Delhi to

life. Together, they create a harmonious

blend where age-old recipes meet contemporary

flair, offering a unique culinary

journey.

AM: For those that are dining here, what

is the ambiance that they can expect and

what can you tell me about the decor?

AA: Dilli Dilli offers a vibrant and eclectic

ambiance that mirrors the bustling

streets of Delhi. Our decor is a fusion of

traditional and modern elements, with

colorful textiles, intricate jaali work, and

vintage photographs that transport you

to the heart of Delhi. It's a lively, welcoming

space where every corner tells

a story.

AM: What are 3 Small Plates that we

should consider for the table when we

come in?

AA: You must try the Chili Cheese Toast,

a nostalgic snack that will take you right

back to childhood, the Goat Shaami Kebab

from Wengers - if you're from Delhi,

you will definitely appreciate this one - ,

and the Masala Peanut Bhindi, a modern

twist from Jahapanaah club, my personal

favorite. Each dish offers a burst of

flavors that are quintessentially Delhi.

AM: What are 3 Signature Dishes that we

should consider?

AA: Our signatures include the Seekh Mirza

Ghalib, a minced lamb shoulder kebab

with kastoori methi, the Gilafi Paneer,

homemade buffalo milk cottage cheese

with red onion and capsicum, and the Tandoori

Branzino which resembles the grilled

pomfret you would have in Delhi. These

dishes are a culinary journey through Delhi's

diverse food culture.

AM: What are 3 Large Plates that we

should think about ahead of our dinner?

AA: Consider the Pista Kofta, a golden

fried cheese dumpling wrapped in silver

foil dunked in a gourmet pistachio creamy

sauce, the National Mutton Curry, featuring

premium goat meat in a marrow

sauce, the Dehlavi Chicken Biryani, a fragrant

basmati rice dish with burrani yoghurt.

AM: What are 3 breads that you suggest

that we should enjoy?

AA: Our freshly tandoori baked Naan, the

rich and buttery Lachha Paratha which is

a multi layer hole wheat bread, and the

unique Roomali Roti which you can't find

anywhere else. Each bread complements

our dishes beautifully.

AM: To complete our meal, what are 3 desserts

that we can share?

AA: Indulge in the Royal Tukda, a golden

fried bread soaked in saffron and cardamom

milk, the Chavanni Jalebi, mini coin

Indian funnel cake with almond saffron

milk, and the Gajjrela, a traditional carrot

pudding served with rabri. These desserts

are a sweet conclusion to your culinary

journey at Dilli Dilli.

AM: Tell us about your Beverage Director

Jeremy Le Blanche. What is his background

working within the cocktail industry?

AA: Jeremy Le Blanche is a visionary in

the cocktail industry, with a background

in some of the world's top bars. His expertise

lies in crafting innovative cocktails

that resonate with the spirit of Delhi, us-

ing traditional Indian ingredients to create

unique and memorable flavors.

AM: What are drink profiles that are indicative

of the spirit of India's culinary

capital?

AA: Our cocktails are a blend of bold and

aromatic spices, refreshing citrus notes,

and rich, earthy undertones. They capture

the essence of Delhi's vibrant street

markets and the city's lively spirit.

AM: What are 3 cocktails that you suggest

that we should have on our next visit?

AA: You should definitely try our signature

Golgappa Margarita, a refreshing

blend of pani puri masala, lime, and bee

pollen infused tequila. It's served with

a little golgappa (poori craquer) which

you can eat!

Old India, which is our version of an Old

Fashion, it's a little bit on the sweeter

side, with smoked woodford reserve

bourbon, and presented in a theatrical

smoky container.

Our Golden Hour cocktail comes in a

beautiful amber coupe glass, and embodies

a summer drink during all seasons!

It also comes with an Indian mango

pickle which is supposed to be eaten

before the first sip.

AM: You are open for dinner service, do

you envision that you will have a lunch

service or Brunch?

AA: We are excited to announce plans

for a future brunch service post Valentine's,

where guests can enjoy our

unique flavors in a more relaxed setting.

AM: Are there any events coming up that

you would like to share whether it's Winter/Spring

events or a Valentine's menu?

AA: We're excited to host a special Valentine's

menu, featuring exclusive dishes

and cocktails that celebrate love and

culinary artistry. Stay tuned for more

details on our upcoming events.

@dillidillinyc

PHOTO CREDITS | The Art of the Snack +

PG 136 9M3NU Dilli Dilli

Each year in Dec and Jan,

Athleisure Mag interviews

celebrities to discuss their

N3W YOU: THE GOOD, THE

ADD and THE BUZZ.

NEW YEAR

N3W YOU

CA

5X W

THE GOOD

Competed in the Olympics. Took my nana

to Japan for her first time and saw the

cherry blossoms. Got pregnant! Published

Hawaii Gold, a coffee table book.

THE ADD

I’m really happy with what I got done in

2024. 2025 will be full on baby mode and

becoming a mommy, figuring it all out and

finding my way.

THE BUZZ

Keep an eye out for fun events and happenings

with Moore Aloha Charitable

Foundation. My team and I have an exciting

2025 planned out! A full-length film

about my life that I worked on with Peter

Hamblin and RedBull last year will be

coming out in the spring of 2025!

@rissmoore10

PHOTO COURTESY | PG 126 Ryan Miller/

Red Bull Content Pool | PG 128 Domenic

Mosqueira/Red Bull Content Pool

1ST TEAM USA

RISSA MOORE

SL WORLD CHAMPION

OLYMPIC SURFING GOLD MEDALIST

HA

3

THE GOOD

This last year, I kind of fell in love with competing

again. And it really lit a fire under

me to ride the best I could, but still keep

it fun. It felt like I finally had that balance

of applying pressure when it was needed,

and standing up for myself when things

felt off or unsafe.

THE ADD

I would love to learn more tricks. I was

motivated this fall to learn as much as I

could, and then I unfortunately tore my

ACL at our fall training camp in Austria. So

now I will have to wait until next year to

try again.

THE BUZZ

The only thing on my agenda for 2025 is to

get my knee better, and stronger. I have a

return to snow goal of November of 2025.

@haileylangland

PHOTO COURTESY | PG 126 Christian Pondella/Red

Bull Content Pool | PG 130 2024

X Games Aspen/Joshua Duplechain

2X TEAM

ILEY LANGLAND

X X GAMES MEDALIST

USA OLYMPIC SNOWBOARDER

CHAR

THE GOOD

We wrapped up filming season 8 of Outlander.

It was a massive milestone in my

life. I’m very proud of our work this season

but it’s hard to say goodbye. So many

good memories.

THE ADD

I really want to make a plant terrarium

this year. I helped a friend make one a

few years back and I’ve always wanted to

make a few of my own.. test out my green

thumb.

THE BUZZ

Outlander season 8 is just around the corner.

It’s a good one. If you’re about 5, or

just love some silly fun cartoons, I’m in a

few episodes of Paw Patrol this year. Look

out for Sid the Pirate, bold and tough, sailing

the world and taking your stuff.

@charles_vandervaart

PHOTOS COURTESY | PG 126 Charles

Vandervaart/Instagram | PG 132 Dio Anthony

STREAM

LES VANDERVAART

ACTOR

S7 OUTLANDER ON STARZ NOW

ATHLEISURE LIST: Astor Place, NY, NY

SALTDROP

We kicked off the year by trying out

SaltDrop, a methodology that combines

music-driven, high-energy

sculpting and conditioning with intentional,

feel-good movement designed

to make you stronger, lighter and

more connected. We took our class

with Founder/Creator Dino Malvone

who launched it in Oct 2019, continued

in his apartment during the pandemic,

and then in March 2022 he brought it

to the current studio that he is located

in.

He felt that fitness felt intimidating

and exclusive and he wanted to create

a space where regardless of your

fitness, level, age, or background - you

could feel successful in this methodology.

His passion for movement, music,

and community and to celebrate who

are was important to him. We can

agree that in taking his classes, those

vibes come across as he encourages

you to listen to your body and to modify

as needed (even if those modifications

may be different then the ones

he suggests).

You can sign up for Signature which

is the core of SaltDrop. It's a high-energy,

music-driven class that blends

strength and cardio into a full-body

sculpt session where you will move

and sweat. Gravity is the Siganture

class but doesn't have jumping and is

great for a grounded, low-impact effective

option. We took Heated Sculpt

which is a no-jumping, strength-focused

class in a heated room at 90°.

The heat deepens the intensity and

helps you stretch, sweat, and release


tension. Heated HIIT is their take on a

low-impact HIIT class. It's fast-paced,

challenging, and powered by an epic

playlist, all while staying kind to your

joints. We can agree that we felt better

than we walked in after class and

can't wait to come back and add this

to our rotation of classes and we highlighy

suggest taking a class led by Dino!

If you can't come to class in person, his

classes are available on his digital platform

offers live-streamed and on-demand

classes to help you experience

SaltDrop from anywhere.

In the weeks ahead, you should check

out SaltDrop In February as they are

hosting a "Love on Yourself" Valentine's

Day event that combines movement

with self-care. Once Spring arrives,

keep an eye out for outdoor

pop-up classes and collaborations as it

is important to Dino to take SaltDrop

beyond the studio walls to connect

with their community in new ways.

Issue #109 | Jan 2025

We enjoyed this class so much that

we want to encourage you to book a

class. Use ATHLEISURE20 for 20% off

whether taking a class in the studio or

On Demand (code expires March 1st)

when booking your class with Atheisure

Mag Summit codes.

SALTDROP

61 4th Ave Third Floor

NY, NY 10003

thesaltdrop.com

@thesaltdrop

PHOTO CREDITS | SaltDrop


ATHLEISURE LIST: Cancun, Mexico

CANOPY BY HILTON

CANCUN LA ISLA

We chatted with Sofia Muguiro, Marketing

Manager of Canopy by Hilton

Cancun La Isla which opened in 2020.

This property has 174 rooms and is focused

on wellness experiences.

Guests will enjoy rooms that provide

comfort and convenience. Rooms include

memory foam mattresses, complimentary

Wi-Fi and 55" HDTV. You

can also enjoy the Wander Rooftop,

a rooftop pool with stunning views, a

24-hour fitness center, complimentary

bikes for exploring, and on-site restaurant

serving locally inspired cuisine.

The newly opened Spa Suites on property

is a peaceful and private setting

for guests to enjoy specialized treatments

aimed at enhancing both physical

and emotional well-being. The

treatments are 50 - 80 minutes, and

designed to rejuvenate and relax

guests. We suggest their Therapeutic

Massage, Sports Massage, and Aromatherapy

featuring a soothing blend of

essential oils.

When we're ready to grab a bite, we're

heading to Canopy Cancun that has

three dining options that cater to every

palate. Azulinda Cafe & Bar serves

artisanal cuisine sourced from local

markets paired well with regional wine

and beer, providing guests with an

authentic taste of the region. Canopy

Central serves as a laid-back extension

of Azulinda, offering refreshing beverages

and light appetizers. Wander

Rooftop is the heart of the property,

featuring an infinity pool and lounge,

where guests can enjoy cocktails, cuisine,

and local music plus a spa offering

relaxing treatments.


Chef Miguel Estrada is launching a

Chef's Special Series that brings traditional

Mexican dishes with a modern

twist and each month these meals are

prepared with ancestral techniques:

in February - Queso Prehispánico de

Bola Relleno (aged cheese stuffed

with sak kool, chicken, olives, raisins,

and a fried tomato-onion-garlic sauce,

March - Brazo de Reina Maya (Tamalstyle

dish with masa, chaya leaves, and

boiled egg, steamed in banana leaves)

and April - Mixiote de Short Rib (Tender

short rib marinated in achiote paste

and slow-cooked in maguey paper).

lime, orange, passion fruit purée, natural

syrup, and turmeric, embodying

the sun’s warmth, and El Tama (April) –

A playful mix of rum, tamarind purée,

sparkling wine, tamarind candy, and

worm salt for a perfect balance of

sweet, sour, and earthy notes.

CANOPY BY HILTON CANCUN LA

ISLA

Kukulcan S N-Km.12.5, La Isla,

Zona Hotelera,

77500 Cancún, Q.R., Mexico

To complement the Chef Special Series,

Andrei Cocom, Bar Supervisor

crafted 3 cocktails inspired by Mexican

heritage and local flavors: Ya Ax

Verde (February) – A refreshing blend

of white rum, lime juice, pineapple,

cucumber purée, and agave syrup,

symbolizing renewal and growth, Kiin

(March) – A vibrant vodka cocktail with

Issue #109 | Jan 2025

hilton.com

@canopycancun

PHOTO CREDIT | Canopy by Hilton

Cancun La Isla



Stay connected and follow us across our

social channels on @AthleisureMag!

Issue #109 | Jan 2025


Bingely Books

HAPPY HOUR SNACKS: SILLY-

GOOD FOOD FOR THOSE TIMES

IN-BETWEEN

Hardie Grant Books

Bec Vrana Dickinson

We always love a little something and in

Happy Hour Snacks: Silly-Good Food For

Those Times In-Between we are guided

through simple and delicious foods that

we can enjoy. This cookbook has 80 recipes

for the perfect bites. You'll learn

about techniques and chapters are divided

into Salts, Spice and Smoke, Zest and

Tang, Cheese, and Liquor-based

Desserts.

It's a great way to make these

bites solo or with friends and to

get a greater appreciation for

the variety that a snack provides

when it comes to gathering with

others around your favorite beverages

and great stories. We

have our eyes on Lazy Man’oushe,

‘Nduja with Super Honey and

Kimchi Garlic Bread.

SECOND GENERATION:

HUNGARIAN AND JEWISH

CLASSICS REIMAGINED

FOR THE MODERN TABLE

Harvest

Jeremy Salamon + Casey Elsass

Jeremy Salaman grew up a

2nd-generation Hungarian Jew

and spent a lot of time with family

enjoying great meals. He honored

both of his grandmothers

by opening up his restaurant,

Agi's Counter in Brooklyn where

he shares the culture, flavors, and

recipes of his heritage. He examines

these elements with a focus

on seasonality, market-driven ingredients,

American influence,

and his expertise working in

kitchens. In Second Generation:

Hungarian and Jewish Classics

Reimagined for the Modern Table,

Jeremy shares Hungarian

classics like Meggyleves (Sour

Cherry Soup), Chilled Buttermilk

Borscht, and Caraway Caesar


seen as a side to being a main by creating

recipes that are fun and full of

complex flavor when you begin to this

about veggie-forward meals.

WIth a focus on seasonality which includes

preserved and canned vegetables

that allow you to make your dishes

your own. This cookbook has over

100 fresh and unexpected recipes that

includes mushrooms, tomatoes, peas

and pods, starches, and greens. You

will enjoy 60 colorful photos that will

help you when you're at the farmer’s

market or the produce aisle.

Salad. He also includes Hungarian flavors

in dishes that one would not consider

as that part of the cuisine.

In this cookbook, you will find recipes

for mains, side dishes, desserts, drinks,

noshes, pantry staples, and remedies -

those recipes that you can enjoy when

your body needs assistance.

SUN-KISSED COOKING

Harper

Brooke Williamson

Im Chef Brooke Williamson's debut

cookbook, Sun-KIssed Cooking: Vegetables

Front and Center this BRAVO Top

Chef S14 winner, Food Network's Tournament

of Champions S1 winner, and

the network's Bobby's Triple Threat Titan

competitor takes a fresh eyed look

at how produce can play a role into the

meals that we enjoy! She wanted to ensure

that vegetables move from being

Issue #109 | Jan 2025


Bingely TV Streaming

THE NIGHT AGENT S2

Netflix Originals

Netflix

Over the winter holidays, we decided to

catch up on our favorite shows (hello Squid

Games) as well as watch series and films

that were new to us (such as Black Doves,

Carry-On, and Subservience to name a few).

The platform suggested that we watch The

Night Agent and we enjoyed S1 which takes

us into the world of espionage and shows

us what happens when a phone call changes

the lives of so many people as well as to

see the innerworkings of complicated con-

nections. With a satisfying S1,

we're excited that we can now

watch S2 to see how Peter Sutherland

(Gabriel Basso) navigates his

new role as he gets deeper into

the Night Action program. Who

will be his allies and who are the

adversaries this season? What

happened to those that we met

last season? We're excited to find

out and know that these episodes

will be full of twists and turns!

THE PITT

Max Original

Max

We love a good medical drama

and if we're honest, it was programs

like ER that let us see the

inner workings of a hospital and

the staff that makes everything

roll along! It created our love for

shows such as Grey's Anatomy,

The Resident, and so much more.

In The Pitt, we meet Dr. Michael

“Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle)

in a hospital in Pittsburgh. Over

the course of 15 episodes we get

to see a shift - so essentially, all of

the shows this season are seen in

"real time" hour by hour! We're

met with a range of patients, understanding

the dynamics of staff

as they navigate their personal

lives as well as their working relationship,

and so much more.

The Pitt is a progressive build

where you're very invested in

the residents, patients that span

over a series of episodes, and the

flashbacks that we continue to be

privy to of Dr. Robby who is dealing

with the angst that took place


during the pandemic. We're excitd to

see what this shift will look like and

we hope that they are renewed for

another season so we can see what

new topics will be tackled.

THE PRESTIGE TV

PODCAST

A Spotify Original + The Ringer

Spotify

a book or a movie, fan theories, what they

expect to see in upcoming issues, and they

stay away from spoilers. We suggest listening

to the episodes after you have watched

the show to get the most out of them and

to prep for the next episode of your favorite

series.

A number of the series we watch

has companion podcasts which tend

to be in partnership with the show

or network that they are on. We listen

to them in our feed, but we also

enjoy checking in with The Prestige

TV Podcast. We're able to hear their

thoughts on Severance, The Agency,

Yellow Jackets and more. Depending

on the show, it will either be broken

out with an episode per podcast

show or they will be groups.

The hosts will talk about what took

place in the show, how it ties into

source material if it is adapted from

Issue #109 | Jan 2025


Issue #109 | Jan 2025


Athleisure Mag JAN ISSUE #109

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