Episode 29: Lifting Heavy and Living Boldly | Courtney Evors | Powerlifter & Entrepreneur

Sep 4

Courtney Evors is living proof that you can do it all. She’s a Senior Project Manager in footwear, a competitive powerlifter, a holistic life and nutrition coach, and the founder of her own granola business, Courtney’s Kitchen. Originally from the U.S. and now living in Germany, Courtney has built a life that blends high performance, travel, and passion projects. From competing on the world stage to championing female athletes, she shares her perspective on making time for what matters, turning bold ideas into reality, and refusing to let limits define you.

“The thing is, when you have a goal and there’s something you really want to do, you make the time and energy to do it.”

— Courtney Evors

Adidas
Nurnb erg
Compet itive Powerlifting
Germ any
Por tland, Or ego n
N YC
Ca poeira
C rossFit
Oxygen Magazine
Dave C astro - Crossfit Games Director
Mi chae l Ko rs
F ila
Fast Food Nation - read and changed her food for ever
The China Study
W hole foods minimally processed diet
Cou rtney’s Kitc hen
Dolly Parton
Mind Pump Podcast
Marie Forleo
Marie TV
The Daily Skimm fo r news
The Daily Show
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Late Show with Steve Colbert
Gabriell e Bernstein the Universe Has Your Back
Paul Chek & C.H.E.K. Certificatio n
Crossfit.com
Barbell Shrugged - podc ast
Gir ls Gone WO D - p odcas t
Beyonce
Sou l Cycle
Zumba
Jug gernaut Podcast
Rich Roll Podcast
Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters
00:00 Meet Courtney Evors: Powerlifter, entrepreneur, and global citizen
01:30 From the U.S. to Germany: Building a life abroad
04:15 Career journey in footwear and project management
07:50 Discovering CrossFit and stepping into competition
12:05 How powerlifting became a passion
16:20 Balancing corporate life with elite athletic training
20:40 Launching Courtney’s Kitchen granola business
25:15 Nutrition and holistic life coaching insights
30:10 Travel, competitions, and managing a full schedule
35:00 Advocating for female athletes in sports and business
40:25 Lessons from starting and scaling multiple ventures
45:10 The mindset that makes “doing it all” possible
50:00 Finding rest and recovery as a high performer
54:15 Courtney’s advice for chasing big goals
The thing is like when you have a goal and when there's something that you really wanna do, you make the time and energy to do it. I'm never one of those people like, yeah, you can always make an excuse, but if something really matters to you, you'll come home from work, even if you're tired and you'll do a little bit that you need to do to get it done.
That's Courtney Evors and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Hey guys, I'm your host, Kara Duffy, and this is The Powerful Ladies Podcast where I invite my favorite humans, the awesome, the up to something, and the extraordinary to come and share their story. I hope that you'll be left, entertained, inspired, and moved. To take action towards living your most powerful life.
Courtney is the senior product manager at Adidas working in footwear, a competitive powerlifter, a nutrition holistic life coach, and has just launched a granola business. She's doing all of this as an American living in Germany just outside of Nuremberg with her boyfriend and her really cute dog, hear how she does it all while traveling the world for work and competitions.
On this episode, she shares her tips for how there are no limits to what you can do or take on and what it means to be and speak up for female athletes, all that and so much more coming up. But first, do you know the number one thing that you can do to keep this podcast going and to help us get more kudos out in the world and to have more people know about us?
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Hi. Thank you for being on The Powerful Ladies Podcast. Thank you for having me. Let's start by introducing yourself and telling people all the things that you're up to. My name is Courtney Evors.
I, uh, by day I work as a senior project manager for Adidas, um, helping make shoes better. I used to be a designer for Adidas or Adidas, depending on your, for your customer.
Yes,
uh, or listener. And then on my side, uh, career gigs, I am a competitive power lifter. So I just recently competed for the German national team. Don't ask me how, uh, in the 57 kilo weight class somehow. I'm German now. Um, I live in Germany. Uh, I am a nutrition holistic life coach and I am starting up my own granola business.
And then I also have a puppy. I'm a dog mom and I live with my boyfriend in outside Nuremberg.
And that's how we met. 'cause we were both in Nuremberg at the same time. Yes, yes. Team America in Nuremberg. There was, there was a few of us there, but yeah. Um, so what I think is so interesting about you is that.
You took the chance like I did and a lot of other of us did, of being one of those crazy people that moves abroad for work, not knowing what the hell you're walking into, not speaking the language. And you've been there for how many years now?
Eight and a half.
Which I think eight and a half means that you're almost German at this point.
And, but yeah, so like I, I am really impressed with how you've carved out a life of your own making in a foreign country while still having a full-time day job and still going back and forth between Germany and the US and the rest of the world. Um, so how did you end up being, let's just start with how did you get to Germany?
Well, the long story is. I've always wanted to live abroad. Like that was always a goal of mine. Since college, I studied at, uh, Lenon College of Fashion, um, as a semester abroad through Syracuse's design program. Um, so that was always a goal of mine. And when I was living in New York, I got a job working for Adidas in Portland, Oregon.
Moved to Portland, was working there for two years, two and a half years. Uh, had no desire to move to Germany 'cause I was like, Nuremberg sucks. This is like a little town, which not, it's not exciting, it's not like Munich or Berlin. Um, but there was an opportunity, so they were redoing a reorg as they always do at, uh, I don't know if that's good to say or not, but they do.
And the opportunity came to move to Germany. So I was like, you know what, instead of getting moved into a position that I know I'm not gonna be happy with
mm-hmm
I'm gonna go for it and take the job in Germany. So. I kind of just said, yeah, move me.
Mm-hmm.
This is what I want. Basically asked for it. Like, it was like, I wanna move to Germany.
I know there's a position there.
Yep.
Transfer me back over. Transfer me over. And after interviewing they did, they relocated me to Germany and you know, I came with a plan to stay for maybe three years, four years, and eight and a half years later I am still here.
So you moved to Germany because you didn't want to have to go into a, a role that you didn't want and you, if you moved to Germany, you got to be a designer still.
Yes. So they, they basically, they, the irony is, um, they basically were setting up an innovation team.
Mm-hmm.
But the way it was set up, I used the term innovation team with quotations 'cause um. It wasn't really set up. I couldn't see it set up for success. Like the guys that ended up staying and being in that role or within that team were just working on PowerPoints all the time.
And I was like, I don't want that to be my future.
Mm-hmm.
So I went through a role that was still within design, still doing what I was doing. I was assigning running apparel all the time, and the position was still running apparel, but it was just back in the motherland.
Yeah. And, and then one day you just show up.
Right. They just, time comes and it's move day and suddenly you're in Nuremberg. Yeah. And you can't read anything. You don't understand anything. And they're like, yeah, just go to work. It's like a regular day. Yeah.
I didn't have a, like, I had a car for like the first month, but then I had to try to figure out, okay, how do I get to work?
How do I, how does this place work? It's like a massive campus. Um, but it actually wasn't as hard of a transition as I thought it might be. Yeah, and I'll tell you why. So like, luckily, you know, working for an international brand, it wasn't like the first time I'd ever been to Germany, so I'd been there several times for work trips.
Mm-hmm.
So I kind of already knew people. And then also because it's such a, such an international community, everybody is coming from someplace else and they all kind of are in, you're, you're, it's like going to college again.
Yeah. It
like, it literally was like being back in college. Like you are, you're going out all the time.
Like, I was going out like Wednesday nights, Thursday nights, Friday nights.
Yep.
I was partying on the weekends, like not really sleeping a whole lot, but I was making new friends and experiencing new things and trying to get adjusted to this totally new culture of, you know, the land of meat and potatoes and beer.
And when you're trying to live a healthy lifestyle, it can be challenging at first. Like, I remember being really excited when they opened one of the first vegetarian restaurants in Nuremberg. And then because it was, you know, in the US especially in California and on the west coast, it's so easy to get like a to-go salad salad.
And when there was no place to get to go salad, you're like, wait, what my, what are my eating options?
Yeah. I, I was, I was slowly transitioning into becoming a vegetarian when I moved over to Germany. So I was doing like the whole meatless Mondays and everything, and I remember just trying to find vegetarian food or vegan food.
It was really difficult.
Yeah.
Uh, you're looking for like the, uh, bio organic food shops and trying to discover like, okay, where do I buy food? Like what is the German equivalent to this thing that I get all the time?
Mm-hmm. In
America? And it's like trying to adapt to like different foods, different ways to shop different.
Different everything.
I remember realizing and then trying to like,
okay. Oh, go ahead. Yeah, no, I was gonna say, and then like, trying to read the ingredients on things. You're like, okay, like you spend like half an hour just like being a label with Google Translate. You're just like, okay, I don't even know if I don't, I don't even remember if I had Google Translate when I first moved to Germany.
I remember carrying a little mini dictionary with me mm-hmm. Everywhere. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. But I, I, it felt it was cool though, because the first words I started to learn were food words.
Yeah. And the, and the best thing about like eating a whole natural food diet is you can identify foods because cauliflower still looks like cauliflower.
Yes.
And like, zucchini still looks like zucchini eggs or eggs. Like, so you're just like, okay, uh, I'll buy this meat that looks like chicken. Like, you, you know what everything is. Mm-hmm. Because it's, you know. Still the same,
and there's a lot less processed things in the grocery store versus American stores.
Like, I remember having to even make my own hummus because they didn't have pre-made hummus. And I was like, all right. Yeah, no, there's
lots of hummus now.
Oh, good.
It's, it's changed. It's changed a lot. Like I used to make a lot of things, like I just recently posted on, um, Instagram. I was like, if you live in Germany and you want vanilla extract, here's what you do to make it.
And then somebody was like, they sell it at et canal. I was like, oh, well, just in case.
So when, when you were, did you start, when you moved to Germany getting into the power lifting, like what was your fitness level like in your, your inclusion in athletics prior to moving to Germany?
So I played sports since I was.
So we had required sports in my school.
Mm-hmm. I
did everything from field hockey to swimming, diving crew, lacrosse, softball, gymnastics, you name it. I did it. And then when I lived in New York, I got into Capra.
Mm-hmm.
And like kind of fitness bodybuilding type of things. I was like really big into reading Oxygen Magazine.
And I worked with like a personal trainer. Um, but I was like a big KERA person. And then when I moved to Portland, that's when I got into CrossFit.
Mm-hmm.
Um, it was back in 2008. Uh, and my boss had gone to this ranch in Aroma and met this guy who did this thing called CrossFit. Um, one of the design directors, he was friends with Dave Castro, who was like the CrossFit director.
Our games director and they're like, we did this thing called CrossFit and you should go check out this CrossFit Games. It's amazing. And like it's, it'd be really good research. 'cause at the time, uh, when I first moved to Adidas, I was doing women's training apparel.
Mm-hmm.
And then we did like a team fitness.
Class or something. 'cause we were the training team, and the training team always has to work out together. And my boss, 'cause that's what you do, uh, Adidas. And then my boss was like, you're really fit. You should, you should compete in this CrossFit games. I was like, what? Signed up as a competitor? I was like, is he serious?
Like, he can't be serious. So I asked my friend, I was like, what should I do? She's like, I don't know, ask him. I'm like, okay. So Louis, I'm, I'm signing up. Uh, spectator or competitor. He's a competitor. I'm like, okay. So I registered, I, I'm like, all right. So I registered as a competitor for this thing called the CrossFit Games in 2008.
It was like the second annual CrossFit games. And I was on the internet and the website@crossfit.com looking for like web, uh, gyms in, uh, my area. Found a CrossFit box went in. It was like, hi, I'm Courtney and I'm going to the games. And they just looked at me. I'm like, I, what is CrossFit?
They're like, all right, well let's, let's see what you can do. And that's when everything just kind of started. I got really into, really into lifting the things. Um, did that for two years, moved to Germany, and then there was no CrossFit. Nobody knew what it was. So I started doing my own version of CrossFit.
Mm-hmm. Like I would like with my friends. Um, I remember I'd take my friends, Nina and Carly and some other people, I think you probably know.
Yeah.
And I was like, let's go on the track and do some workouts. And I'd made burpees and sprints and jumps and squats and all sorts of stuff. And before I knew it, I had like five designers training with me, like at lunchtime.
And then they told their friends in marketing or development and they were joining. And then I had like an email list. And then I had 20 people, and then I had 60 people that were like joining me every day. Three days a week at lunchtime. Mm-hmm. On the track. And I became CrossFit Courtney at the, at the last campus, like, I literally would be in meetings and people were like, oh, you're, you're Courtney?
I'm like, yeah, the American Courtney. Are you CrossFit Courtney? Yes, yes. That is me. Um, so I had this huge identity around CrossFit, uh, for the last like 10 years. Mm-hmm. I, I did, I had a friend, she got me in triathlon. So for a little bit after moving to Germany, I did triathlons. I was cycling, I was running swimming.
Swimming was the only part of the triathlon I was good at because I would get outta the water and I'd be all ahead of everybody. I'm like, yeah. And then everybody would just start passing me on the bikes and I was like, yeah. And then I'd be in the run and I'm like, Elise, I'm a good swimmer. Yeah.
Recently I got into power lifting. Um, over the last two years or the last year, I'd probably say.
Mm-hmm.
Because after so many years of CrossFit, I had a shoulder injury that just, um, was like just nagging. It was recurring every, every three months. So I would just need to take a break.
Yeah.
And so finally I was like, you know what?
I'm gonna stop doing all the things that are messing up my shoulder
mm-hmm.
And not do them anymore. So I had to stop CrossFit, and I was like, you know what? This is also not gonna help me because it's always like snatches or burpees or
mm-hmm. Ki
pull-ups. And as much as I, you know, love all the things that CrossFit brought to my life, I also realized that, you know, the injuries and things were not helping me.
Yeah.
In that situation. And last Easter, my boyfriend and I were. Um, in Austria, and I was like, I really wanna, I wanna compete in something. I really wanna have something I can work towards.
Mm-hmm. But
I wanna be good at it. And he is like, well, you'd be really good at powerlifting. I'm like, yeah. He's like, well, you're slow.
So, because I've done Olympic weightlifting,
I was
like, thanks. He's like, you got the good lEvors for it. I'm small. Mm-hmm. So I've got little arms, or not little, apparently I've got monkey arms. He told me today, he's like, you've, you've got really long arms and that's why your bench is weak. Um, but I've got little legs.
So he is a positive
enforcement. Um, yes. Yeah.
I get a text that figured out why your bench is weak. You've got monkey arms.
Thanks, sweetie. Is that sexy or is this,
am I turning you on? Uh, but I think it's
important to speak to your size because how tall are you?
Five foot two.
Five foot two. Right. So you're five foot two.
So you're in the petite class of women and you are Yes. A elite athlete. And so Sure. Well, but really like, um, you can't be not an elite athlete and teaching 60 people how to do CrossFit and competing and recently trying out for the German national team. So, um, but I think it's important for people to know that size has nothing to do with your performance abilities and it's really about finding the sport that you love and that you get excited about because that's what's gonna keep you going on.
Um, there was National Women in Sports Day and I posted this picture I found of. It's all, it's one class of female Olympic athletes from the US and they're all in bathing suits. And you see the diversity of sizes and shapes. Yep. It is wild From women who are like six foot something to women who are five 11 to like, it's crazy the difference that of Yeah.
And all of these women are pr, are Olympic athletes.
Well, the crazy thing is with, uh, with power lifting, it's funny because this is the one place where actually most of the women, least in the, in my weight class mm-hmm. Like literally all the same height and similar build as me.
Yeah.
And I'm like, why didn't I get into this sooner?
Because like, I'm made for this. Like, it I did, I tried Olympic weight lifting, which is the clean and jerk and the snatch. And I, I got mm-hmm. I was doing that through CrossFit. Again, not so great for the shoulder, but you need to be really explosive and really fast.
Mm-hmm. And in
power lifting, you just need to move the weight.
Like either down and up or, you know, push it down or you pull it up. Uh, but you don't need to be fast.
Mm-hmm.
You just need, you just need to be able to move the weight. So, like, that's what I mean, like when my boyfriend's like, you're slow, he's like, you're like a tractor. Because I'll go down on a squat and then when I go to stand up it's like, like eventually it comes up.
Yeah.
But I, I'm not explosive or fast, but Yeah. But I, my, my size and my stature does really help because for me being five two to deadlift like 130 kilos, I have a lot less distance to go Right. Than somebody who's say five 10.
Yep.
And trying to lift the same weight they have just longer to go.
Yep.
And that's, that's where the arms come in handy because I got longer arms.
So,
so when I probably make myself sound crazy.
Not at all. Not at all. And we'll have pictures of you so people will know what you actually look like, like, um, but you, so you're in Austria on holiday, he says You should be a powerlifter. Did you come back that next Monday and you're like, powerlifting Google, and like, found one in Nuremberg or what happened next?
So we, he, he Googled and looked at, we were looking at the, um, the totals
Yep.
From the girls in Germany. And it's like, okay, what, what, what are their lifts? What are they doing? And could I actually compete? And he's like, based off of what you can lift today versus like. What the girls have from last year's competition, you could do pretty well.
I was like, well, shit, let's do it. Like,
I have to say, I get the power
lifting.
I love that he, um, took such a German approach to the decision making of like pulling out a spreadsheet and comparing numbers and being like, this is a very logical approach. It's approved. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, he's, well, he's very German,
so Yeah, it's adorable.
Um, so yeah, so we started, I was like, let's, let's do it. And so we found a competition, um, found a club that I could join. So I, you have to, in order to compete, you need to belong to a club in Germany.
Mm-hmm.
And the closest one is in Biro. So that's like, um, in location wise, for those people who don't live in Germany or anywhere, or never heard of Nuremberg, it's about an hour drive away.
Mm-hmm.
So all I need to do is just like pay membership fee. But I don't even train with them. I've never trained with them. I've only seen them at competitions.
Yeah.
And yeah, I signed up for my first power lifting meet last May, and I've been hooked ever since. I'm like, yeah, this is awesome.
How cool. And it, it's, um, you know, I think about the, the buckets of German words.
I never learned, like medical terms. No. I cannot talk to a doctor unless I just have like, it's broken. All I can say is it's broken, like that's a kaputz. Mm-hmm. And then you, they have to figure out the rest with like pictures and visuals. Um, so I don't know any, any German in medical terms. I don't know any German in like it or computers.
Um, food obviously we talked about already, but I think about mm-hmm. Every time you take on a new sport in Germany, you have to learn the whole vocabulary behind it. So. It's not just that you have to now learn how to be a power lifter. You have to learn how to speak power lifting in another language. So, oh yeah.
Like what is that like?
It's really weird. So like they, they give you cues, right? So when you go into squat, like first they call your name and they tell you when you can go. Yeah. And I'm always just looking at somebody like, okay, can I go now? Can I go now? And they never say my name, right? They're like, K Evors.
And I was like, oh, K, like who's K Courtney? So, and then I walk up and, you know, when you do your squat, you have to, you unrack the bar and you have to show control of the bar on your back before you can squat.
Mm-hmm.
And they say bogan. So in German, a squat is knee. Boy can bogan. So you're bending your knees.
Mm-hmm. Because it's a very logical way to explain something. Yes. And same thing for, and then like, so like when you're allowed to step it back, it's like up even or something. Yeah. I'm probably saying that wrong, but they like have to call you back. So you, you, you, boy again, you stand up and they go, okay, GaN good.
And then you just wait, and then they, you know, if it's a good lift or whatever, like that is good or whatever. So you have to like, kind of look for the score or look for lights. I always look at my boyfriend. I'm like, was it okay? And he's like, yes. I'm like, okay. And then I walk off and then with the bench, like the same thing you have to, um, like they tell you when to lift, um, and bench is bank.
So you just go and then they tell you to lift it. I don't even know what they say, like, I'm always in the moment, but you, you, you're not allowed to push off your chest until they tell you to. So you, they hold control. Mm-hmm. Show control. And then when you're. Done. You have to hold it above head and then ReRack it and then deadlifts the easiest.
'cause they just raise their hand and then they lower their hand when you're allowed to put the bar back down.
That is easy.
But still, I'm always like, am I allowed to go? And they're like, you can go like somebody's always in the background
lifts. But what I want people to get out of this part of the podcast is that it, it doesn't matter what you think you need to know to do something.
Like you don't need to know how to speak the language to do anything. Anything. No.
Like I, speaking of hospitals, like when I first moved to Germany, I got bitten by a dog like I was running in the pigs. And this dog bit me
and the pigs is a, yeah, it's a beautiful park that runs through Nuremberg that's a stream and running paths and yeah, it's a nice place to hang out.
So you're running through this beautiful safe park.
And I get bitten by like a dog. And like, I didn't, you, you, you find yourself in like a situation. You're just like, what the hell just happened to me? Your dog just bit me. These people are not reacting. You don't know how to be like, give me your insurance information and all this stuff because you don't have that vocabulary.
Mm-hmm. Like insurances for sicker own. Yes. And then it's like, has I know, or, or another kind of rum and you're like, you know, oh yeah, I've been here eight and a half years, so I can say all the rums now.
Right.
But you know, six months after living in Nuremberg, no.
Yeah.
And I get myself to the emergency room and I was like, um, I didn't know the word for bite, so I couldn't say I got bitten by the dog.
I was like, for ing,
I'm laughing because that means that the dog ate me. Like he had me for food
and I just lifted up my shirt and pointed at my stomach because he hit me in the stomach and they were just like. Okay. English.
Oh, that's so good. No, I, I had my last year in Germany, I was there four years. I had to have surgery on my sinuses and, oh, no, I didn't think about it because I spoke enough, you know, broken German that it was fine. Like I, I did enough to get through and that most doctors speak English, and it was okay until I realized that the, like a supportive staff didn't speak English.
And yeah, so I, they, the day before the surgery I had to have a, a prep talk with them because I was going to have to answer questions in German. While I was going under sedation and while I was coming out like when you are least coherent. And I was like, wait, what? They're like, if you don't say these things, like we're gonna have to do X, Y, and Z, which is like emergency version.
And I'm like, sorry, what? So the night before going into surgery, I'm like quizzing myself on these words that I don't even remember If I knew what they meant. I just know like say this one and say this one and just so I could get through that part. It all worked out fine, but I remember being nervous, like if I don't answer this correctly, they're either going to like put me into a coma or they're gonna cut off my other arm or like something's gonna happen.
And it was wild. And like all things like it works. It worked out. It was no big deal. Um, but then there's like a few other moments when I'd be with like a random nurse that would come in or staff who were checking on me and how's everything going? And just them not either being comfortable speaking English or just not knowing any.
Mm-hmm. And being like, well, I don't know what she just wrote on that chart, but uh, you know, if I just stay here, I'm sure somebody else will come in if there's a question. So yeah, it's a wild experience to go through that. And I know that there are people who have been at Puma or Adi who have gotten into like, accidents in, um, like Vietnam and China or had like, had to have an emergency appendix surgery in China when they've been there on a, on a factory trip.
And in my head I'm like, oh God. You would, I I would be more nervous about that than anything else. 'cause you just don't know what it's like there. Not that, not that it's, everyone came up fine, everything worked out right. Like doctors are usually doctors everywhere and it's no big deal. But you get so nervous 'cause you don't know what it's like there and you don't know if it's gonna be at the same expectations that you would have in what you're comfortable with.
Mm-hmm.
I knew a girl, she, she, I think they came, she down like when Scarlet Fever broke out in, in Germany like a couple years ago.
Mm-hmm.
She was on a trip to China. Some of the team managed to get out, but she was starting to get sick and they were trying to get her into Hong Kong and she got stopped at the border in Hong Kong and they're like, oh no.
Yeah.
Back into mainland China. And so she was in like mainland China Hospital, like, not even like big city. Like I like, I don't know if it was WAN or what, but Right. For two weeks. Had no idea what they were putting into her, like what they were giving her. Like nobody could speak any English and she was like, I have to take this medicine.
I have to just
let them stick
me. Like
yeah,
you have to trust.
Yeah. It's so wild. So wild. Yeah. And, and for people who haven't been to Hong Kong, when you are going through the customs process, they, it's not just, I need your passport, they're taking your temperature. Like if you are running a temperature, you are not allowed into Hong Kong.
I think I once had somebody like come and stick something in my ear once. I was like, what? Oh, okay.
Yeah, you probably had a little temperature like, oh, let's check. Phase two. Yeah. That I, you look sweaty and weird. I'm like, I just came off a plane. I don't know. Yeah. I was traveling for 12 hours. Let me go.
No, it's always e The few times I've had to travel where I haven't, I've been like coming off of an illness where like I'm, I'm no longer con contagious. I'm fine to go, but I don't feel awesome. And I've had to go to, on Asia trips, I'm always like, please let me get through customs. Yeah.
I got sick in China.
Once I got food poisoning, I went to Starbucks in Indonesia and then by the time I landed in China, everything went wrong. And I went to see like the doctor in the hotel. Yeah. They had like a, he was like poking me in the stomach. He gave me probiotics. He's like, no greasy food, no McDonald's, no Burger King.
I was like. I know I'm American, but I don't eat those things, but thank you.
Yeah.
He's like, eat vegetables. I'm like, I ate vegetables and I got sick.
That's how we got
here. Yeah. And I got like all the probiotics and like a little Burberry tote bag. I was like, this is
really weird. That's hilarious. It was.
It was kind of hilarious.
So when you look at your athletic career and how it's been running parallel to your career in sports through, through adi, like how, how much has sports been an influence in you finding your confidence and you feeling powerful as a woman? And how much, um, has it been. By the fact that you work in athletics as well.
I, I got everything up until the impact
and
then,
oh, well, how much has, how much has being in sports your whole life impacted you knowing how you feel confident and how you perceive yourself as a powerful lady? I,
I think being in sports has everything to do with the fact that I'm confident and driven and like everything that I've gotten after, like I, I've done sports and team sports since being such a small girl.
Mm-hmm.
And like, I always had a drive to like, do really well and like I was always super competitive and there was nothing that, or nobody could tell me that I couldn't do anything.
Right. Mm-hmm.
Like, I remember when I told my mom that I wanted to go into fashion, she was like, it's really competitive.
And I was like, I'm an athlete. I'm okay with competition. Yeah. Like I, I'm, I'm going into fashion. And like it, it was always been like this part of me, like I, it, I was able to really manage my time well 'cause I had to play sports after school.
Mm-hmm. So
it, there was always all these things I learned about teamwork and you learn about how to play up your strengths and, you know, you learn about discipline and, you know, you become more self-aware of like things that you're good at, self-aware of things that you're not so good at and you kind of get this confidence that you probably might not get otherwise.
Mm-hmm
Like just from being in sports. And so like, that's why I think sports has had a lot to do with how shaped my life. I never thought to get into athletic apparel.
Yeah. '
cause I always wanted to work in like high end fashion. Like I did an internship with Michael Kors when I was in college and like, I really was like all about, you know.
Fashion. Fashion.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but it wasn't until I had a, a colleague at one, one of my jobs, my old jobs, he went to Fila and he was like, we have a job for designer, you should apply for it. And I did this application, and you have to do, when you apply for usually fashion job, you have to do, um, project and design within that project.
And it was like a training outfit or for like, I think it was like for one for men or like a training outfit for women. I don't remember what it was exactly. I just remember, like, I started designing and I was like, oh my God. And I had all these ideas and I was like, it could be like this and this and this.
And I like 10 collections. And it came so naturally and so easily.
Mm-hmm. Because
I was like, and I was like, this is what I should have been doing from the beginning is I should have been, I should have been working in like the sports industry. And ever since then, like anytime I would work on something, I would always think about like, you know, what would the, what would the person who's wearing this need
mm-hmm.
Like, I had a gap of sports, obviously, like team sports. In high school I did, um, a year of sports in college, uh, for crew. I was a coxswain. Mm-hmm. And then after college, there was like a couple years where all I did was like typo videos in my
bedroom.
Yeah. Uh, but nothing really serious. And I was designing training apparel and I was like, I should be going to the gym.
If I'm working on this project, I should be in the gym. If I'm designing clothes for somebody who's in the gym, I should be going in the gym.
Mm-hmm.
Just so I know. Okay. What do, what do you need when you go to the gym? What are the things you looking for? Like, what are you, what do you wanna see when you're in the mirror?
Like if you're sweating like you, do you wanna see here?
Yeah.
When I designed training apparel, did that, when I designed running apparel, I was like, I should start running. Like, you know, like, what, what do runners need? What, what is a, what's important for a runner? What, what about pockets? Like, oh, I've got a lot of crap in my pockets, and this pocket position's horrible.
Or like, yeah, everything inside of it, it's like all wet. Like, what can I do to help solve that problem? And I always kind of looked at everything of, um, from the eyes of, you know, what am I trying to solve?
Mm-hmm.
And I always just kind of threw myself into every sport. Like, like Adi, I did running apparel.
I was on the team for, it's called Harpy Sports, which basically is like all the little sub smaller sports.
Mm-hmm.
So you've got field hockey. I did field hockey apparel, I did volleyball. I did table tennis and badminton. I have to be honest here, I did not get so far into the head of a table tennis player.
No. Shocking. No, I was like, can't they just wear a normal polo? Um, but you, you still think about like, okay, the movements like, okay, what would a, a table tennis t-shirt, how would that be different than a badminton t-shirt? Um, and then yeah, with, with training I did men's training as well, so like I, you know, it was again like what are the, some of the pain points for guys as well with when it comes to training and
mm-hmm.
And it's just, it's, it's helped me shape how I, how I go about my job.
What I loved working in the sportswear industry is that there is such a amazing blend of science and, um, creative always being combined between, you know, science and design. Science and design and, you know, you get to be inspired by whatever you want.
And then. Bring that inspiration to the actual athlete needs. And when they meet in the middle and you create this thing, you're like, holy shit. Like this is better than the last one. And it's really cool to see that progression, especially, you know, working in footwear for so long. Like so often the shoe is a tool that you used to perform.
Like if, if, um, you know, I played field hockey most of my life and the equipment I needed were cleats, shin guards, a mouth guard and a stick. I was before they had any head protection, which is how I broke my nose. But, um, so I, I was a little bit, um, before the curve unfortunately, but like, those are the things I needed to play.
I also
did not have that position.
Yeah, it's, I mean, I don't know why it took so long to realize that giving young girls weapons and without a helmet like. Yeah. I, they really, or lacrosse, right? They really just misjudged how dainty we are for a very long time. Like it was
or not dainty.
Not at all. I've
leveled people on the hockey field.
Seriously. Like, I remember we, I went to college in Worcester, which in our, where our college was, was in the most ghetto part. I remember walking home from the field to our apartment, and this kid was like seven or eight on his bike rolling by, and he's like, damn, girl, no one's gonna mess with you with that stick.
And I'm like, that's right. Mm-hmm. And like he was seven. He got it. And yet we had people who were in charge of the sport that weren't getting it. Um mm-hmm. Plus we, we were, I just remember being vicious about even like doing a ponytail and braiding it. So that was, if somebody was on your back too much, you could like whip 'em with it.
Just being like, I mean it was effective, not nice, but effective. Um, different generation, I think maybe. Yeah. Um, so where was it going? Oh, but, but how footwear is part of your equipment and so mm-hmm. So is your, what you put on your body, depending on what sport, like if you're a swimmer, that swimsuit is a technical piece of equipment.
It's not about covering you up that you're wearing clothes. It like, it has to be something that modifies your body so that it can be better than it would've been without it. And it's such a crazy thing to think about, like we're talking about, you know, AI now and like how we're changing the brains and capabilities of humans.
But we've been doing this for a long time in regards to modifying what we put on our body in order to be better at something than we would've been on our own. Mm-hmm. And nobody, mm-hmm. We didn't talk about that a lot. Like all the signs that goes into, I think it's easy for people to see the signs that goes into a golf club.
Because like, that's a much more talked about in a, in a mathematical way or like a baseball bat. But that same science is getting applied to everything that that athlete is using. Yeah. If
you just think about how, like designing a bra, like for instance, instance like a sports bra, uh, you think about like movement of the breasts and how they move when you're running or different activities.
Yeah.
And it's like, okay, how do you stabilize? How do you lock down? How do you
Yep.
You know, not flatten out, make a unibo, but also maintain like a feminine shape. Yep. But make sure it's comfortable and the straps aren't digging in and you're not cutting off blood without like Yeah. And then like cups, cup sizes, different like athletes and you gotta think about like, you know, back to your picture of all the Olympic Olympic athletes.
Oh yeah.
You know, every, everybody is different.
Mm-hmm.
And so then how do you create a product that can suit all body types? Yeah. But also give the same level of support and. You know, comfort and, and you know,
I'm still looking for that infamous bra that, that's like good. Yeah, because like I've gotten some that are, and even just thinking about like the amount of back muscles somebody has is gonna change so much of like how that fits.
Um, I have a couple that are like, that are for running specifically that are pretty good for like stability, but they are really wide in the shoulder, so they end up like digging into my armpit. Like they're too, they're too wide. And I'm like, who, okay, who did they design this for? Like yeah, it blows my mind time.
It just wasn't me a lot of
times. Yeah. Well, and, and a lot of times, like a lot of the times what happens is every company has their own like, kind of avatar that they are like Alvin on like general universal sizing charts, right? Yeah. So like to get things in like a, like a. A cup size for bra for instance, especially for a sports bra, is so much more complicated in terms of like a distribution breakdown.
Um, yeah. 'cause
there isn't small,
medium, large.
That's not how
easy it is. No, no. And then you'd have to like invest in like different cup molds and you'd have to have like, like just from like a skew count and colorway and the complexity to be able to do, like what Victoria's Secret does is a lot of times a lot of companies just don't wanna invest in that.
And then you have to consider okay, who's the fit model Yeah. That we're trying things on. So a lot of times, even though they try not to, you end up fitting to this one person
Yeah.
Who may or may not be even athletic.
Mm-hmm.
And then it doesn't really fit the general population.
Yeah.
In the end, like, I know I've complained about things that our team has done and I'm like.
I can't pull up my sleeves, which I always hate when I have a jacket and I can't
pull my
sleeves up. Uh, yep. Same rolled up sleeves right now.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. And they're like, yeah, but you're different. I'm like, excuse me? Like, well, you're like really muscly. I'm like, I'm not a medical anomaly, I'm an athlete.
I'm like, who do you think we're designing for athletes?
No. And it's it, and you are not like, people think power lifting and they think Arnold Schwartzenegger. When you, when you meet someone, you just see Fit Woman. You don't think that, you don't look like the Hulk. You don't look like, no. Like you are just a very normal looking fit person.
You are not an anomaly in that sense. Right. You are anomaly in how powerful you are in your size, but you don't walk down the street and like, you can't put your arms down. Like that's not what you look like. So No, like. You are a Yeah. Uh, in all the best ways, a normal looking woman, so thank you. Mm-hmm.
And I think that's also like culturally where you run into differences. 'cause I think like an athletic figure in the US is much more commonplace.
Yes.
Where like, when I first to Germany, people would be like, whoa. Like that. Yes. Like, I had people take my, my class, my CXT class and like, they'd be like, you're scary.
And I'm like, what? They're like, you're scary. Like, I'm like, I'm not scary. Like they saw me outside of the gym in like normal clothes. They're like, here you look all normal, but normally there you're really scary. I'm like, I, I think, I think you're confusing my motivational tactics, which aren't like military or anything like that.
Yeah.
Uh, with, I don't know what, but just like perceptions or different,
I was really surprised by, um, the difference in sports women played. When I moved to Germany, because I also grew up playing everything. Like I was never told I couldn't play something. So like you grew up playing baseball then softball and basketball since I was like six and there was cheerleading and field hockey and swimming.
Like we just did all of it because sports were fun and like sports were things I could do instead of doing homework and how I made friends. And not that I didn't, I was a nerd, so I also liked the homework part, but like, what else was I gonna do? Like stay home and be bored. Like no, like, yeah, get me into another sport so I can like keep doing something.
And then when I moved to Germany and I was like, who wants to go running? It'd be, it was me and a bunch of guys at first and then like what were women doing in the gym? And like be, if I was lifting in the gym, it'd be like me and guys lifting in, like women on the treadmills. And I'm like, wait a second, this is weird.
And so I started asking women like, what sports did you play growing up? And usually it would be. Dancing. And um, something else that would've been like a response from a woman from the 1950s of like, what sports were for women. Oh. I'm like, Jordan's like waving her arm. I'm like, whatcha doing? She's like, tennis was tennis.
There's some tennis. Um, but no, it was like, it was like maybe some gymnastics or ballet, but like things that, that still produced a very typical female, um, shape. Right. Like elongated. Yep. And slim. And it was, it took a while to find women who didn't grow up doing sports like that, like that played other sports.
And Germany has a pretty, um, successful field hockey team. Like the Netherlands always has like one of the number one field hockey teams in the world. Yeah. Um, but they did have a long time and I think a lot of European countries. Had a lot of bias longer than the US did, um, about women playing some of these sports.
Like you can see the difference in US soccer, women's soccer versus the rest of the world. Um, yeah, and how it's been kind of all the classic things that were happening in the US decades ago about like women in sports, I think lasted longer from my observation in Europe than it did in the US for like what type of women played sports and why you shouldn't.
Yeah.
Well I think like there's like, especially like an attitude towards women in sports and how women are in sports. 'cause like throughout like my European career, um, like I would be in meetings with guys and they would be talk, I would be the only female in the room and we're talking about female athletes in America.
And how to be, you know, aspirational to them like in like volleyball, whatever. Mm-hmm. And then all of a sudden there's like a picture of like an athlete in a bikini and they're like, oh, she's aspirational and here's another girl, she's Brazilian and this is her and her bikini, and she's also aspirational.
And I was like, what the fuck? I was like, okay. As the only female in the room. Only American in the room. Only former high school athlete in the room.
Yeah.
You guys should probably listen to what I have to say. And then like, you know, girls don't look for hot bikini clad athletes who are kind of bubbly as a role model.
No
girls wanna look towards strong, you know, strong-minded, strong athletes. Confidence with a purpose. Mm-hmm. And confident. Thank you. And like something to say as like a role model.
Yeah.
Like, like if it helps if she's pretty, yeah, maybe a little bit. But it's not the reason why. Young girls follow older girls who are athletes.
Mm-hmm. They follow the girls that are like kicking the ball, the bass or Yeah. Doing the bass in their sport or have the most confidence and the same as boys. That was the one thing that always Exactly. And that was the one thing that always kind of pissed me off about like, ran positioning, uh, especially towards women.
'cause it was always like, it was always kind of fluffy and light and like mm-hmm. Oh yeah, we're girls and we do sports. And I'm like, I've never had that attitude when it came to doing sports. Like,
no,
I was always like, you need to have like a different tone of voice. You have to have a different tonality.
And we speak to women as a brand and it's like, thank God, but. Also a little late.
Yeah. Have you seen the um, Serena Williams Nike video that came out, or commercial? Yeah. Yeah. Like I watched it and I'm like, is it weird to be crying and watching a commercial? Like it's not a Hallmark commercial. Those are approved.
This is a sports commercial. And I'm like, like having these like mm-hmm. Moments. And it was so funny because, uh, with all the stuff with women's soccer and how they're suing the US men Women's is suing the US Soccer Association or whatever they're called because mm-hmm. Men have been getting paid more.
Yeah, they were talking about Brandy Chastain in 1999 when they won the World Cup. And like I saw that live. And to this day, if you talk about that moment, I still get the same feeling of like, like the surge of adrenaline and that like anything as possible. And I didn't even, I'm not even a soccer fan at that time like I am now, but I wasn't, back then, it was just, I was home during the summer and I was watching it and I remember that moment was so visceral and like how it happened and like she's ripping her shirt off and not to be sexy just because you are like freaking out.
You're like, I need something to hold on to. Like, yeah. And so I still remember it so strongly. And. You know, I was at, uh, Reebok before I moved to Germany doing apparel, and it's when they launched their run Easy campaign, which came from a really good place of wanting, running to be inclusive and how running doesn't need to be.
You know, the Nike Under Armour like run or die mentality. Right? Like, 'cause it's so funny, I don't even know if people outside of our industry notice how, like the variations of the story that we're telling about sports the same way that we do sometimes being inside of it. But there are brands that are seen as like sport or die warrior level, and then there's like mm-hmm.
Everyone's inclusive level, right? And I think Adi Hass actually done a really good job of balancing between the lifestyle and the sport, right? And like, they're, they've always done a good job of blending the like party atmosphere of like inclusive and fun. And we're a team, um. But I, I remember they launched this campaign of Run Easy and I was like, you know, I really love that you're telling everyone that anyone can be a runner, but like, who wants to run easy?
Like even if you are just starting out, like why you don't take on challenges to be easy. Like, like you wanna get something out of it. Like even if you've never run before, you wanna run to the point where you're like, holy shit, I'm better than yesterday. And I was like, I'm like, how? I have a big problem with this.
Does no one else see this? And they had some great messaging like run at the speed of chat, which I thought was a great message because it tells you that you don't need to run to be like to the point of being out of breath all the time. Like it should be fun. Like part of the reason I ran so much is 'cause I was running and talking to my friends while we were running and now that we never pushed each other.
But that's kinda, it was not just working out, it was catching up. And um, I remember that campaign going out and being like, oh, I don't, I think we're missing it. Like it's so close and we're missing it, but like one degree to really make this impactful. Um, and I get, I bet in today no one else would know what I'm talking about.
'cause I don't think it made much of an impact, unfortunately. But, um, it's crazy how we think that the access to people wanting to participate more in something is to make it simple. Mm-hmm. And I don't think that's really what drives human nature to do much of anything. So we shall see. Yeah. But so since you've been, um, this, on this athlete journey throughout your life, you've, it's also been a journey that has been parallel to you with food and what you put in your body.
What has that journey been like? Yeah. And what have you, where are you at now?
So I started, oh, that journey started up when I was in my twenties so long ago. Um, basically when I started doing, like, getting back into working out and training and everything, I was also on a heavy drinking with your colleagues, um, circle as well.
Yeah.
So I would like go to the gym. I would like have like my membership at Equinox, and then I would go out for like happy hour and one day something clicked in my head. I was like, I am poisoning my body. I'm trying to do all these things to get in shape and eat well. I'm poisoning my body with alcohol and whatever happy hour food would come with the,
yeah.
Friday night happy hour, you know, happenings around New York City and I read Fast Food Nation.
Yep.
And that book changed everything. 'cause I was like, holy shit. Like this is what goes into food and this is how like food is made in the process of food industry and
mm-hmm. Like
where animals are coming from and like packaging and the chemicals.
And I was like, whoa. It was like, it was just so much that I started to like solely figure out, okay, what is it that I wanna start eating? I joined a co-op, like mm-hmm. I started getting into more like organic food and trying to understand what that was and eating more whole foods and cooking more foods for myself.
Like instead of just like grabbing a bagel and you know, whatever to go in the morning. I was preparing my breakfast or taking it with me and I was packing my lunch instead of buying my lunch. And like slowly over the years, like I started becoming more and more aware of what it was that I was putting into my body.
Um, I moved to Portland, like of course Portland has like a great food culture. I think I gained, like, I gained 10 pounds after I moved to Portland. 'cause I was like, this place is wonderful 'cause there's so much good food.
Mm-hmm. Like
everywhere you went was so delicious. And it was, you know, you could find organic and you could find like vegan.
You can find all these different things and
Yep.
Like I, I was just enjoying it all. And then again, I got into, that's when I got into CrossFit and then I got into the zone diet and I started like, you know, tracking my blocks of food that I was eating and becoming aware of like, you know, what kind of foods fuel my workouts and what don't.
And was like, started the food blog and then he took a sustainability course. And I learned about like food sustainability and like all that like, you know, the meat industry. And I slowly became a vegetarian.
Mm-hmm.
Through the whole course of that. Like I was doing meatless Mondays and then I was just doing meat once a week.
And then before I knew it, I was maybe only eating meat whenever I ate out.
Yeah.
And when I moved to Germany, I was like, I, like I heard somebody told me that the meat quality in Germany is really bad. And I was like, well I'm not, I'm not buying meat in Germany. The land of like pork and potatoes. And I became a vegetarian.
So like when I moved here actually I was like, I was basically vegan by default, so I'm lactose intolerant.
Me too. I've been
lactose intolerant since I was a, since I was born. Really? And so when you don't have any dairy and you're a vegetarian, you're essentially a vegan.
Yep.
Right. Except I ate eggs. Um.
Yeah, I did that for a couple years and I, you know, everything was fine. Like my skin was clear and I felt good for the most part, but after a couple years, something just felt off, like, and I got all like, fully into like a hundred percent deep dive and do deep dove into like vegetarian lifestyle and vegan lifestyle.
And I was reading like, diet for New America and the China study, and I was like, oh, meat's horrible for you and dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. And I was like, one of those people, I was one of those annoying people that's like, oh, she does CrossFit, you know, she does CrossFit. She's a vegetarian, she's a vegan. You should know she's a vegan.
Um, sorry to everybody I ever talked to about nutrition. No, I'm just kidding. Um, and I basically was like, full into this thing, but I was like, you know what? My energy levels weren't that great. Like, I, you know, had the worst cramps ever.
Mm-hmm.
Um, like I, my mood was kind of like, not. I wasn't sleeping through the night and I was wondering like, Hmm.
Is like, does it have to do with my diet? And I was, my CrossFit gym is doing a paleo challenge.
Yep.
And of course that's like all CrossFit gyms it like, welcome to Paleo.
Yes.
I was like, what's Paleo? So I said, okay, I'll try this 30 month, 30 day paleo challenge. And I'll just reintroduce fish into my diet and see how I feel.
Oh, and the other thing I noticed is like my muscle tone was like non-existent. Like I've always had like muscle.
Yeah.
And I was doing cross again. I went from being a triathlete back to CrossFit, and I was like, I should be, I should be firmer in my bicep and I'm not. And it wasn't until I started like reintroducing the protein, after doing the paleo challenge, like
mm-hmm.
I
started feeling really good and after the 30 days I ended up eating bacon. At the, uh, 30, the end of the whole life challenge or whatever we did.
Yeah.
Um, and I was like, oh, where has this been for the last three years of my life? And that just basically was like, okay, meat. And I think like shortly thereafter I went to Indonesia for a work trip and I was like, I'll have the chicken.
Like I'm in in Asia and I'm like, gimme the meat.
Yeah.
And literally within a month of reintroducing meat back into my diet, I felt my body just like that. My muscles just like swell back up and like Yeah. Like I was like, there we go. This is the Courtney that I know. Yeah. With all the muscles and like with the protein back in my diet and meat back in my diet, I still was very aware of where I bought it from.
Mm-hmm. Like
making sure it was still from a good source. I pay extra money for organic quality.
Yep.
Like I'm not gonna skimp on that stuff. Um, all those values that I got from my many years of reading up and learning about sustainability and organic and all that good stuff. Um, so then I was full on paleo for three years.
And of course like just, you know, grains are horrible and legumes are horrible, and you shouldn't eat a peanut because that's not a nuts a legume. And you know, that's not paleo and which is like, you're just all in stupid when you think about it. I was all in, but I love peanut butter too much. But, um, I couldn't, I couldn't give it up forever.
And then finally, I, I realized like I, I decided to do, um, uh, nutrition coaching
mm-hmm. With
working against, uh, gravity wag and like, kind of like counting your macros and checking like, you know, macronutrients and I reintroduced carbs back into my diet. Yeah. Like more starchy carbs like rice, quinoa.
Mm-hmm.
Um, buckwheat, like I still am gluten free. Yes. Because I actually found out the one, the one thing by cut cutting gluten outta my diet. I used to have the worst cramps every month. Debilitating would have to take ibuprofen, like 600 milligrams every four hours on the dot for like three days. And one day it occurred to me that I didn't have to do that anymore.
Mm-hmm.
And I was like, interesting. And it wasn't until after my dad passed away at his funeral, I was like, fuck it, I'm eating the cookies. Yeah. And the cake and the bread and everything you're allowed to when you're in that moment had worse cramps. Yeah, I thought so too. And the cramps came back super bad and I was like, okay, so maybe it is, it is the gluten.
Mm-hmm. Like
that's definitely something my body can't handle. So I cut that out like so I pretty much don't eat any gluten unless there's some crazy circumstance like I'm in. France and there's a donut and I really have to eat it. Like a beignet? Yeah. Or a al. Yeah. Or like something where it's like worth it.
Yes. And I have a little bit of it. Yeah. And I can, I can tolerate soy sauce and a little bit of gluten, but I basically avoid gluten and now I eat just a whole foods diet. Minimally processed.
Mm-hmm.
Meat grains. I love to cook.
Yeah.
I still eat chocolate. I bake
well and I, I think one of the biggest things, 'cause there's so many different.
Diet streams and you know mm-hmm. People telling you like, cut this out, cut that out. But the one thing that they all have in common is cutting out the junk. And Yeah. Like no one, like even the people who are like the super fit vegans are still the ones who aren't eating processed stuff. They're not the, what's the joke they're called?
Like the fat vegan, where they're like eating all the stuff. Oh yeah. That's like chemically made Oreos are
vegan.
Right? You're like, oh god, what's in this? Um, so it's everything. Everyone keeps coming back to eat what's real and that's it. And then it's, it is a personal journey. Like you do have to test things out because everybody is different.
Like, you literally don't know how the universe of you functions best. And it's frustrating because you just won't want someone to tell you so that you can feel awesome and look awesome, but. That's not how awesome works. You don't get there the easy way for anything. No. Usually
not.
No.
So, but that's, that's part of the thing.
Like people, people always ask me, they're like, well, what do I need to do? Like, what should I eat? It's like, it depends, right? Like, what, how, how does your body handle stuff? I'm like, can you handle dairy? Then you can eat the cheese and the yogurt and all the things like, I wish I, I miss Greek yogurt.
Mm-hmm. Like if
I, I, no matter how many times I can get like the different varieties of non-dairy, coconut milk, yogurt, they have a cashew milk yogurt. Now they have almond milk yogurt.
Yep.
Germany's getting very progressive these days.
Awesome.
Or at least like you can
find these things, but at least Bavaria that, at least Bavaria is becoming progressive.
Yeah. Well, I'm sure Berlin's been progressive or you can go up north and there's more
Yeah.
Or variety, but. It's slowly coming.
Mm-hmm.
But you know, like if I could have like regular full fat Greek yogurt, uh, I would eat it.
Yeah.
And I can eat it, but then my face will break out.
Mm-hmm.
And that's just not worth it.
No. Nope. And now you've started Courtney's Kitchen, is that mm-hmm. That's your Instagram, correct?
That's yes.
And
that's one of my Instagrams. I have two.
Yes. And they'll all be available in the show notes, um, and also in the outro. But, um, you've started doing your own granola, correct? Mm-hmm. And how did you start doing that, and what is that all about?
So Granola's always been one of those things that I've made when I lived in Portland. Like when I lived, when I first moved to Germany, I would always make it and have a jar of it. Mm-hmm. And I honestly, I stopped making it because I would eat it all the time, like. I like, I'll just have a little bit of granola.
I'm like, oh, I'm hungry. I have a little bit more granola like, Hmm. And so one day my boyfriend was like, he's like, I need to put on weight and I want something that I can eat with breakfast. And he was trying to look for something to eat and I was like, Ahaha, I have an idea. I'll make you my granola. And so I made sure I mixed it up real good.
I made sure I had like healthy fats, so I had olive oil and coconut oil and you know, no refined sugars. He doesn't really care about that, but I do. So I, yeah, try to make it healthy. I added like pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I'm like, okay, what's gonna add a lot of protein?
Mm-hmm.
Uh, he needs carbohydrates, so we need to make sure it's sweet enough.
It's got oats. And of course they eat just gluten-free oats because it, you can eat it my kitchen, so I wanna be able to eat it too. And I made it for him and he was like, this is really good. He is like, you should sell this. And I was like, ha, ha ha. Okay. And he is like, no, seriously, you should sell it. So like a, like a good German.
He's like, well, okay, well what do your ingredients cost? And he was like, listing out Yeah, like all the ingredients. Like, like what did you put in this? And like, he did like a, an Excel sheet.
Yep.
And we did the account. He's like, okay, what's a batch? How much did it those away? And like, we put in the ingredients and how much you buy everything from, and he's like, okay, well you could probably make a, he's like, you can get your prices down.
You can make a decent margin off of this. And I was like, okay, so I should sell granola. And so I started making it and kind of like seeing if I had, if my friends would buy it.
Yeah.
And they did. And they started buying it. And they're like, yeah, this is really good. They're like, this is really good. Like I, I sold one to my old boss and he's like, he's like, that was amazing.
Amazing. I gave it to my neighbors for Christmas, and my one neighbor was like, my daughter's asking for more. When are you gonna make more? So, and I, I gave it to my American friends. I was like, okay, like this is like the Germans maybe, maybe they just don't know any better. And so I gave it to my American friends and I'm like, this is actually really good.
And I was like, okay, well maybe I, maybe I start my own business and see how that goes. So I decided to go all in. I, I finally like, so in Germany you need to have, um, permission to be self-employed.
Mm-hmm.
You can't just start shit. And. I've been here long enough that I can be self-employed, but I had to have it in my, so you have, you get a little green card.
At least when I moved to Germany. You probably had one when you moved to Germany. Yeah. They changed it since then.
Mm-hmm.
You get your seats flat, which is like a little green piece of paper that says what you do, and on there it said kind self staite, which means no self-employment.
Yeah.
And even though I'm technically allowed to be self-employed, because this little green paper said I couldn't be, I couldn't be self-employed.
Mm-hmm.
So I asked the people when I was renewing my need lossing loudness or my, um, my green card, my EC card, I was like, what can, or my blue card, what can I do to be, to get rid of the self chaite? They're like, well, you can apply for your residency permit.
Mm-hmm.
So I was like, all right, let's do it. So I filled out the paperwork and then like sent some things in, had to wait a couple months.
Like, they send me an email being like, or send me a letter, you forgot something, which was like three months ago. And I'm like, great, thanks for not emailing me right back. 'cause it's Germany. So you send like an email and then like, they're like, oh, you forgot to add your attachments.
Yeah.
Like three months later.
And then I had to send more things in and then wait another couple of months to get like an answer that they want more papers or more proof that I've paid into the, um, pension funds or my social security before Germany, et cetera.
Yeah. And then
I moved to ft. So I've been in FT for the last year outside Berg.
Mm-hmm.
And so moving to ft you have to do the whole process over again. So I was like, oh man, I, yeah. And they're like, you need to have your proofing. Oh. I was like, I have to take a German test. Yeah. So Nuremberg, they're like, I, they're like, no, you can speak German. You don't need it. But in for, they're like, no.
You can speak German, but you still need it. So I had to wait for the next test location in Nuremberg. Then I had to wait the six weeks for them to read the test. Mm-hmm. To get the results. Then once I got that, I had to apply, send that in, and then wait three, four months to get the approval for the need lasting alumnus.
So finally after like a year and a half, I had my residency card that I can be self-employed. And in October I went and got myself a business consultant.
Mm-hmm.
To help with, you know, all the, to how do you do business registration and all that things within in Germany, which is very complicated. And he is like, oh yeah, you could start producing granola in like a month.
No problem. So I got everything all set up. I'm like, I'm gung ho website and I've got an online shop and I'm
doing
all these things, and then it's like, I still need a kitchen.
Oh.
Yeah, so finding a kitchen to rent is a lot harder in Germany than it is in like the states.
Yeah.
So I finally found a kitchen, but because of my day job and work travels and things, um, I've been like kind of like trying to like find a time to meet in this one, meet up with this one American who's here.
She has a restaurant, so she's gonna let me use her kitchen.
Very cool. And then
I, I reached out to another German girl who I know she's got a kitchen that's gluten free, so I was like, probably better to be in her kitchen. But right now I'm just like, I just need a kitchen.
Yeah.
Because you could see behind me.
I have bulk ingredients ordered.
Oh yeah. And, and for everyone listening, we're doing this recording over Google Hangout so I can, I can see Courtney and see her piles of ingredients and sacks of things that look bigger than you are of food. Yeah.
And, and this is the main reason why I can't do anything in my apartment.
'cause I have a giant furry dog.
Yes. And that would probably be not too health code. No. And
it actually, the, the health inspector came to our apartment one day because it was the address for the business.
Mm-hmm.
And my boyfriend opens the door and Bentley, who's now awake, comes and greets him at the door.
And it's like, oh, obviously we don't make granola here and sell it to anybody. That would be horrible. No, no, no. Only, only, only the food that we eat is made here. So, you know, obviously I like, if I sell anything, it's like to friends who know the conditions. But in terms of like official business, I'm still
waiting,
not up and running because I'm waiting for a kitchen.
What do you think your timeframe is gonna be to launch and have people who are listening available to buy your granola?
My, you mean your European listeners? Yes. Um, uh, I hope to have start baking next weekend. Okay. So next Sunday I have a kitchen and at least access for, maybe I take, um, the Monday off or the following Monday, um, from work just to be able to bake.
Mm-hmm.
And to see how much I can bake in the small kitchen. And then I need to still do like nutrition, um,
the labels,
like the official labels and the official like calculations and send it off to a laboratory.
Mm-hmm.
Everything just takes. A long time. Like when you're used to being an American
Yeah.
Where
you can kind of get based on like quickly and you're like, all right, let's, let's do it. Let's go for it.
Yeah.
And then living in Germany where everything is like, no, no, no. We have a process.
Mm-hmm.
You need to do this. And then you get like 10 different forms. Yes. And you have to fill out those forms all in detail.
And you're like, I don't know what this is.
So when you look at the struggles you have with your granola business, and you look at the struggles of living abroad, and you look at the struggles of what it means to be a fitness competitor and have a full-time job and being a relationship and be a dog mom, like how do you do it all?
Like w is it, is it not a big deal to you? Or how do you just make it work?
I just make it work somehow. I don't know. Like I, there's some days where, you know. Your the regular job, the one that pays the bills. Yeah. Like just kills you and drains you. And I come home and I'm like, I don't wanna do anything. I don't wanna look at any paperwork.
I don't wanna, all I have energy to do is cook dinner, which I even barely sometimes have energy for that.
Mm-hmm.
Take, take Bentley for a walk and, and just Netflix and passed out by 10 o'clock.
Mm-hmm.
And then a lot of it comes down to like, you know, Friday nights or weekends where it's like, okay, I'm gonna just go for it.
Like, I, luckily, I work for a sports company, so when I take a, a lunch break
Yeah.
In midday, I'm able to do my sports at lunchtime. So I take a lunch break and I train. We have like an amazing facility.
Mm-hmm. So I'm able
to get my sports in and like I had on my Instagram the other day, like, like one of those memes, like, this is me when I have to miss my workout for stupid shit.
Yeah. I was like. I totally missed my workout because I had to be like ready, getting ready for like a presentation we have next week. And I was like, I need to be in the gym. I have a competition two weeks. Yeah. I need a workout. Or you know, I, I literally, okay. So the thing is like, when you have a goal, I guess, and when there's something that you really wanna do, you make the time and energy to do it.
Mm-hmm.
And you know, I'm never one of those people, like, yeah, you can always make an excuse, but if something really matters to you, and it's like, if you really wanna build your business, you'll come home from work, even if you're tired and you'll do a little bit
or do those little
things that you need to do to get it done.
Yeah.
And I just recently went to China and I knew, like I had the European Master's Classic in power lifting. The week after I got back from China and we were arranging this trip and I knew the whole time, I'm like, we need to be back by this date. 'cause I have my competition.
Mm-hmm.
We need to, like, the whole thing.
I, I told everybody, I think the secret to success is tell everybody everything. Like when I, but really just go into
the factory. I, I, I wanna just pause on that. I think that's such an important thing that you just said. It's so big because people don't share what they're up to. And when you don't share what you're up to and what matters to you, nobody else in your world can help you achieve it.
Even in, even in small ways of being accommodating or, you know, connecting you to somebody else or like asking you about it and encouraging you. And I think it's so profound. That's why I'm pausing because there's something about when you tell people like, this is what I'm up to. This is the game I'm playing.
The end. It allows them to contribute or just be aware that that's what's happening in your world. 'cause. I'm guessing that where you're gonna take this next is that you were, they were able to work with you. Like if they know something's important to you, like there's ways to make it all work, but it won't if people don't know that that's what you're creating.
Yeah. I was like, I made the German national team. I'm like, I don't know how either, 'cause I'm American, but I'm on the German national team for power lifting. And so when we were getting ready to go to China before we went, I was like, before I go, I'm gonna need a gym. Not the hotel gym. 'cause that's shit.
Yeah,
it's got a Smith machine and that won't work for me. I'm gonna need a barbell, a squat rack, a bench, and 140 kilos worth of weight plates.
Mm-hmm.
And I need to make weight. Yeah. So don't be trying to feed me shit. Uhhuh. Uhhuh, I'm gonna need to lose weight in China. So I went there and they all knew that I was gonna lift the things and they, they found me a couple of gyms.
They're like, here's some gyms.
Mm-hmm.
And one of them looked like it could be good. Like, I looked at some pictures, I had no idea where it was on the map. Nobody can call the gym 'cause nobody was answering the phone. Yeah. I just had like an address and a rough like pin in a gray box. Yep. In this one section of Don Guan.
And I went to the hotel and they're like, we have, we have a gym. I'm like, no, your gym is not good for me.
Yep.
Sorry. So I, I took the subway because it was the easiest way to get there. Like, it was raining the first night I walked around. I, I went to like, what, like one of like two giant towers. And I was like, um, excuse me.
Uh, am I here? Yeah. And they're like pointing this way. And then I go that way and I'm like, mm. Where do I go? I ask somebody else and they point in a direction and I go and I come back and finally the security guard just kind of takes pity on me and walks me through the mall and around to this other side of the ball and then into this other building and swipes a security targeting just points up and like, okay.
I am like, I'm guessing it's on the 11th floor. 'cause it says 1117. And I go up and I see this sign that says Iron House.
Oh.
And yeah. And then I hear like an American podcast or something. Some Americans like on the loudspeaker talking.
Mm-hmm. And I
walk in, I was like, hi, I came to train to speak English.
And they're like, yeah. And I made it work. Like I was like, I, I'll pay whatever, you know? Mm-hmm. Like. It doesn't matter. Like I just need a lift. Yeah. And they're like, what do you do? I'm gonna power lifter. And they were so surprised to have like somebody who knew CrossFit. 'cause there was like a CrossFit Yeah.
Strength gym. They had power lifting there as well.
Mm-hmm.
Who? And a female who could lift that. They're like, oh, don't worry about the money. Oh, I was for real. They're like, yeah. So I, they let me train for free. And I was like, I'll be back on Wednesday if that's okay. And they're like, yeah. And so I went back on Wednesday and some people came and they're like, oh, you're the, you're the American girl.
I heard about you. I came to watch you train. I was like, for real? Okay, cool. So I had people taking videos of me and spotting me. And then I came back the next day or the next Friday and Yep. More people were there and like, they like came to watch me, like the, the, the American girl who's the power lifter.
So cool. And through this like crazy experience of like me being so demanding of like, I have this goal, I wanna do it. I ended up making friends in Don China, like, oh, do you, have you ever had proper Chinese dim sum we're taking you out for, for dim sum brunch on Sunday? Mm-hmm. I was like, okay. And he is like, I'm gonna take you, I wanna take you to my gym.
Come, come, come train with me at my gym. And like, you know, he introduces me to people in his gym and there's all these girls just standing around like, oh, like watching me and taking pictures of me. And I was like,
yep.
Okay.
So you, I was like, I I, you went on this trip and just now have this huge fan base.
'cause you, you, you went and found a gym. Yeah.
I dunno if it's a huge fan base, but Yeah. I have like a, like a small fan club in Don Juan. I made, I made friends
in the powerlifting community. That's so cool. You're on their stories on Instagram and everyone's like, who is this? I am I
That's so good. I am on stories on Instagram.
No, it's kind of funny. It's, but it's, it's such a great example of like being demanding. You're up to what you're doing. You're telling everybody you're not gonna stop, you're going to make it work no matter what comes in your way. And as a result you have this amazing story. Like, it just keeps, things keep opening up as a result.
Yeah.
And and then the same thing with like with work, like with the meetings and things like, okay, sometimes I have to adjust my schedule. 'cause if we have like a presentation to senior management that goes over my lunch break, I'm not gonna be like, sorry Eric. Yeah. I'm going to the gym. Yeah. Even though I know he appreciates me being in the gym.
'cause the last time he saw me there, he was like, I really like the passion that you bring. 'cause not that many people are doing what you do. Mm-hmm. Like, yeah. Not too many girls are lifting 125 kilos for reps. This is true.
Yes. You are special.
Ah, yeah. Thank you. Mm-hmm. But you know, I, you just gotta like, and that's the thing and that's the point.
Like, no matter whether it's with sports or with your career or with nutrition, like if there's something that you really wanna do
mm-hmm.
Then you, you have to just go for it.
Yeah.
And you have to let other people know. What is your, what, what's also in your plans? Because if you're like saying like from a nutrition standpoint, like
mm-hmm.
I'm a
weight class athlete. Normally I'm sitting between 57 and 58 kilos. But in order for me to compete, I need to be under 57 kilos pounds. What does that I cannot, 127, 1 28, I think 1 25. I dunno.
So you, you go from 1 27 to what? Roughly? Like,
let me, let me, let me do a little, so 57 kilos is 125 pounds and I'm usually between 1 25, 1 28.
Yep.
And in order to compete, I need to be under 1 25. So it's always better for me to be sitting closer to one 20.
Yep.
Three. Because if you're like one gram, like if you're, if I was 1 57 0.1. On the morning of the way in, I would've to be like, I'm gonna go pee and come right back. Right. Like, like you, you can't compete.
Mm-hmm.
Because it
puts you in a heavier weight class. So it was really important for me, especially when traveling, knowing that, okay, I'm not gonna have control over the food. I'm gonna get fed. Like, okay, I have control over what I eat at the hotel, but Right. I don't have control over what's available at the hotel.
I don't have a control over what, where they take me to dinner.
Yep.
Like, they're gonna wanna make me try things. Yes. Like they, they try to make me drink. They're like, oh, shots. And I was like, no. Yeah. I'm an athlete. I have a competition. I'm not drinking.
Mm-hmm.
And they're like, okay, next time. I'm like, probably not, but you can try.
Yeah. Because they're, um. There's a big hosting culture for all of the factories and vendors that we work with in other countries. And everyone's so nice and lovely and they really want us to experience their culture and to have fun and to wanna come back. And it comes from such a good place, um, that it is hard to like tell them no or be like, I don't like when you don't eat meat and you go to Asia, they're like, what?
Here's rice and here's beer. And you're like, what? But okay, so yeah. So it is hard and it's, it's, um, it comes back to the discipline that you have of always standing for what you're up to and not, not, um, making the impact of what that could be on others mean anything because there isn't one that, that them having to adjust is not a big deal versus the sacrifices that you're already making.
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
So that's, and that's just one of those things where I was like, okay. Like, and being like a nutrition coach on the side of my many things, like, and having tracked my macros and being aware of food and quantities and amounts, like I could kind of eyeball things and I knew okay, if I just ate until I was, you know, 80% full.
Mm-hmm.
And I guess being in a hotel is better than me being home. 'cause I don't have granola extract snack on every five minutes.
Yeah.
It's addictive. I still can't stay away and I'm like baking and I still have to weigh in, in two weeks for another competition. But, you know, you, you have those things where you're like, okay, I, I have the tools to kind of know about what I can do.
Mm-hmm.
Even though I know I don't have control over everything.
Yep. So how did your first competition go?
Um, well this was my first international competition.
Okay.
And it was for the European Masters Classic. So last year during the German National Championships, I guess I did well enough that I got an invitation letter from the head coach for the German team because you have to have, be like, I guess one of the top three athletes in ways weight, weight class.
Mm-hmm. And I just turned 40 in January. So that puts me in the master's category of athletes.
Oh.
Which is nice because it's normally I'm competing in active class. Yeah. Which is with girls who are born in 1993 in 1994. And you're like, yeah. So I started lifting when I was 38. I started lifting when I was 28.
But it's a big difference when you start, when you're a teenager versus when you are an adult. Yeah. Um, but it was, it was a really cool experience. 'cause I think. Like I, the thing about power lifting is you, you are as strong as you could be on that day.
Yeah.
So there's, it's not like you can push a little bit harder and you can win.
Like you kind of know you're, you're going in at
mm-hmm.
And I was competing against seven women in the 57 kilo eight class, and I was on the bottom of those seven women. I was like, great. And like, which wouldn't be that big of a deal if we all had like, similar, you know, totals. If they were all like, roughly around the same area, then you'd be like, okay, maybe mm-hmm.
Strategically I could do a little bit better, but I think the top girl listed, she had a total of like 3 75 and I'm going in with a total of 2 95.
Yeah.
So that's, that's a bit of a difference. You're like, okay.
Mm-hmm.
You know, you can only lift so much. You're not gonna miraculously do like 20 kilos extra on a squat.
Right. And again, for your, for your listeners, 20 kilos is 44 pounds.
Yeah. You can't. So it's, it's, and that's on top of already lifting a ton of weight. So to Yeah. It's one thing to add on five pounds and try, but then to have to add on 40 additional pounds on top of, you know, a hundred. And whenever you're already lifting, you're like, um,
yeah, no, if I, if I pulled that off, I would definitely have it to pee in a cup.
They'd be like, hi, small little girl, you come with us. Yeah. Here's, here's this. Yeah. We're gonna watch you pee now. Oh my goodness. You remember that thing you signed? Yeah. Yeah. So the, the raw power lifting is, there's two different classes in power lifting. There's geared where you see like, with like all the straps and Yeah.
Like the special suits and like when they bench, they've got like a special shirt on.
Yep.
And this allows people to kind of get into the lift. So it's hard for you to move, like Yep. Make a normal person. Yep. And makes you more rigid. Makes seem more rigid. So like you have the knee straps
Yeah.
And you can't bend your knees, but when you have like a weight on your back, it's like, oh, now you can bend your knees and it's easier for you to stand up.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I don't do that. I do the raw power lifting where it's just like, yep. You, you do what you have. Mm-hmm. Based on what you have. And, you know, I've, I haven't been doing this for longer than a year and I'm, I'm doing my squats and everybody's like, well, where are your knee sleeves? You should have knee sleeves.
I'm like, I don't know if, I never thought to lift with them. They're like, you could be adding 10 kilos to your squat. I'm like, okay. I, I start that next week. And you know, you, you go in and you just, they slot you based off of where your opening lists are, and you go in a certain order and you just do the best you can and
mm-hmm.
You hope.
The thing I like about powerlifting is that everybody that I've met through my competitions have all been really nice. Mm-hmm. Like all the girls are in like the same kind of. Um, same either like similar level or like same kind of mindset. And they're all really friendly and they're like, oh, that was so crazy.
And how did your lift go? That's really great. I'm so happy for you. Or Yeah. You know, they're like, Ugh, I racked it too soon. I'm like, oh, I did that in my last competition. They're like, it's so shit. I'm like, I know. So like, it's, it's a different kind of community and a different comradery mm-hmm. Than anything that I've ever experienced.
Yeah.
But it was also really cool for me 'cause I was like, wow. I'm like the same height as everybody like it for the first time, just like a, for the first time. It's like a room full of like little more or less kind of stocky build girls and women. And I'm like, this is kind of cool.
Yeah.
And like, and they're all like fucking strong.
And I would be like, how the hell do you bench like 75 kilos? Yeah. Like, holy crap. Like these are just like. Super strong. And I'm like, I like, I was happy. I got my 60 kilo bench and I got a, I got a PR on my bench. I've been trying to get that for the longest time. I, IWI would like to say that I thought about my mom watching me, 'cause she actually was up at like two o'clock in the morning.
Mm-hmm.
Watching the live stream. She's like, okay, I'm gonna watch you now
from, from Pennsylvania. She's watching you from Pennsylvania? Yeah.
I'm in Hungary and she's in Pennsylvania watching me in the middle of the night and I'm like, do it for mom. Do it for mom. Mm-hmm. I go in and I just like, lock it out.
And I was like, yeah. And she's like, I'm calling you baby. So cute. And my mom, like, she, she's super proud of like, what I would've achieved and she's like super supportive.
Mm-hmm. But at the
same time, she hates the fact that I lift things and that I have muscles. Yeah. Like, she's always like, like if you, if you can see my Instagram feed and like I'm doing something, you'll see like every now and then, like.
A comment that's like,
no,
I mean, I'm laughing because it's so funny, but like how does that, how does that really impact you when she's equally your biggest supporter and the one being like mm-hmm.
Well, she's always had like a, like an old school view of what little girls should do and play. Yeah. Like I grew up in a neighborhood full of boys, so it would always be like, Courtney little girls don't play manhunt with little boys.
Mm-hmm.
Little girls don't play football with the little boys. Yeah. And I was always like, outside with all the boys playing football or I'd wanna go play manhunt. Yeah. Both super fun. I would wrestle.
Mm-hmm.
And do all these things. I remember once I was at a swim meet. And one of the kids in my, from my team was standing behind me.
He was like this tall, lanky kid. And I was like, I think my biceps are bigger than yours. Yeah. Great. Great conversation starter. I really knew how to talk to the guys and I was like flexing my arms. And I was like, yeah, I think my biceps bigger. And he's like flexing his arms and we're comparing biceps,
uhhuh.
And my mom is up in the stadium in the stands, watching this whole thing go down and she's like, Courtney, Courtney. No. Put them away. Put them away. And she's like trying to get me to stop flexing my arms. And she's just like, Uhuh. And in the car she's like little girls like, she's like, boys don't like girls with muscles.
They're not gonna go with their clothes. What are you gonna, you know, you're not gonna be able to wear dresses. And I was just like. Whatever.
Well, so, but, but how, so obviously you took everything she said and threw out the window
a little bit. Yeah.
But like, so how, but did that impact like you when you were dating and were you worried about that as you were getting older?
I never really worried about it. 'cause I always, I guess I always just kind of ended up dating guys who liked athletic girls or Yeah. Meeting guys in like that similar circle, right? Like my boyfriend loves the fact that I have an athletic figure. Yeah. And he is like, yeah, we're gonna make your ass bigger.
We're gonna put some meat or nose thigh. And I was like, um, I don't know. He's like, I think you should lift at the 63 kilo away class. We can easily put on like five more kilos. And I'm like, that's like 10 pounds am my, I'm like, no.
Yeah. He's making you into robo Courtney. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. But you know, like, I think it's just she grew up in a different generation where if you had your period, you didn't play sports that week.
Yeah.
Right. And. Like girls didn't really do, like, she played field hockey, but she was not competitive in field hockey. Like I was competitive in field hockey.
Well, and it started off as a very different sport generations ago too. Yes. I mean, only recently did some teams stop wearing skirts to play field hockey.
Personally, I loved wearing the skirt because it actually gave me more range of movement than like, if I had to wear like, the basketball shorts that were just like, how am I supposed to move in these sometimes? So I liked being tough and wearing a skirt at the same time. Um, I could too, but it's almost even like women's tennis used to be like dainty tennis.
Hmm. Um, but it's, I'm glad it's, you know, it's not that way anymore.
No,
I imagine that we might have swam against each other. Actually both. 'cause I was in Pennsylvania when I was swimming. Okay. So we'll have to, which school did you go to? Uh, we were in Bucks County. Okay. And I was, uh, we lived in Morrisville and so because of how some of the sports were, we did some with like Yardley and Pennsbury area there as well.
Okay. But we did a lot of traveling. 'cause our swim team was a club team, so we went all over the bottom right corner of Pennsylvania for swimming the bottom right corner.
Mm-hmm. That's where I, that's where I'm from. Yeah. No, because I did it, we were in interact, um, league. Mm-hmm. I went to prep school.
Mm-hmm. So it's possible, but I mainly, I, I mainly did, I was diving 'cause it was the closest thing to gymnastics. They're like, you can do like flips, but you just land in the water. I was like, all right, I'll do it. It's like gymnastics.
Yeah.
I really wanted to be a gymnast.
Well, you do have the stature for, for being a gymnast.
Right? This is true. So we ask everyone on the show, where do you rank yourself as a powerful lady? Zero being. Average everyday human and 10 being super powerful lady. Where do you feel today and where do you feel on average?
I would say probably today and on average, I'm probably around like an 8.5.
I like it and powerful lady.
Mm-hmm. And when you aren't feeling powerful and you don't feel like when you're in a valley, what do you do to get yourself out of it and back on track?
Um, first I'll cuddle with my dog and just be sad. Mm-hmm. And be like, oh, I need cuddles. And then he'll lick my face and make me feel better. Or I'll try to just like meditate and get into like a better head space and try to like, you know, get my crystals out and get those negative emotions out.
Mm-hmm. And just like focus on like, okay, why? Like why am I in like this? Headspace or why am I self-doubting or why am I having like a bad day?
Yeah.
Or you know, I go for a walk and if I'm having like a angry bad day, then I throw on some music. Like usually it's like Dolly Parton or Britney Spears, and then I lift some heavy weight.
I am loving the visual of you lifting to Jolene angry at the same time. Like that to me is so entertaining. Thank you for that. Mm-hmm.
You're welcome.
I really, uh, having Dolly Parton on this show is one of my, my goals.
That would be awesome.
Right. Who doesn't love it. She's awesome. Mm-hmm. So, um, we also ask our guests to share what they recommend in regards to books or podcasts or courses that you go to for inspiration and that you recommend for other people to, you know, learn something new and be motivated.
Wow. Okay. To think. Um, I'm, I'm constantly listening to podcasts. Like I, I love mind pump, uh, radio. Mm-hmm. Like, just in terms of general fitness. Like they're, they're a little bit grittier in terms of their language and whatnot, but they're really informative and their messaging.
Mm-hmm. Um,
I recently just signed myself up for Marie Forleo's B School.
Oh yeah. I love her. A big fan. Mm-hmm.
I've been kind of listening to her, like her Marie TV on and off Yep. For like a little while now. And while I was in China, I watched one of her videos and I was like, you know what? I could probably use, um, business schooling for my granola business and nutrition business.
And like, so I've been following her kind of course to see where that can take me.
Mm-hmm.
And that's been like a really good resource. Um, I'm trying to think like, there's so much. I've listened to and I'm like looking through. I dunno,
we can add things also. Like you can email me when you're like, people need this.
Right.
I, I, I get the skim daily in terms of news. I get helps in terms of,
yeah.
Uh, keeping up to date. Although, to be honest, I do listen, I, I do my morning, uh, watching of The Daily Show or Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert for the Real News of what's happening in America.
Yes. Yes. I, and then I
just
am thankful for Seth Meyers.
Yeah. As living abroad is always a little bit tricky 'cause you don't get all the, the same information Yeah. That you would normally get, like the deep dive. So like, I actually, I, I get the skim, which mm-hmm. I think I, I got from you sending out something. Uh, possibly. I've been following them. Yeah.
I like them.
I think they're good. I like, I like what they literally do. Um, skim the news, give you the breakdown, and then you have all the links to decide if you wanna go further down the rabbit hole. Yeah. And one
book actually made a big difference or a big impact on me was, um, Gabriel Bernstein's, the Universe Has Your Back.
Yes. Yep.
It was funny 'cause I, it was just about the time when I was doing my Paul Check Holistic Life Coach course. Mm-hmm. I did, um, love Paul Check, just I love him too. I did his course in London two years ago and I, I kept on getting these things like every, like, it would just pop up like Gabriel Bernstein, the universe has your back.
Mm-hmm. Gabriel Bernstein, the universe has your back. I'd be in a bookstore and there it was. And like, it was just following me around. And then finally I was like, I'll just get the book.
Yeah.
Maybe these universe is trying to tell me something. And like, I listened to it and I was like, ah, the universe is trying to tell me something.
So like, kind of after doing the holist, uh, the Holistic Life coaching course, and the teacher who did it was really big on the law of attraction.
Mm-hmm.
And, um, Abraham and the, the preachings around that, like, I kind of got into that rabbit hole. Then I got into Gabby Bernstein and Yeah.
I love that Gabby Bernstein and Marie Folio are buddies.
Yeah. I, because I, I just love when like, women who are up to helping other people just keep coming together, which is why I like getting to talk to all of you guys, because even though we're approaching. Things in sometimes different ways. We're all committed to everyone living a life that they're excited about.
And like, you know, how, how can I help? Like, you know, whether it's like with you focusing on like giving people opportunities to train and to um, have healthy nutrition and to see an example of like what it can look like. Like different people are looking for different things. So like, how do we bring all of it up?
Like, no more excuses of like, I dunno how to start because we are going to provide you a way of how to start. Um, so for women who are looking to, um, get into a stricter fitness routine, to look into power lifting, to look into CrossFit, how should they start?
There's, there's. Just start, like there's different, um, channels.
Like if they really wanna get into CrossFit, there's crossfit.com, there's different podcasts, um, barbell Shrugged, and you know, even like Girls Gone wa if you wanna follow like, more of like a female aspect to it, like mm-hmm. In terms of power lifting, just try to find a gym. And like, same with CrossFit, like, or anything really.
Just try to find a gym and a community in your area
mm-hmm.
Where you can go and feel comfortable and, you know, welcome. Because I think the thing is like, there's like hundreds of CrossFit boxes, right?
Yeah.
And with CrossFit, the main thing is community. And that you go in, that you feel welcome, that people are friendly to you.
And you, you, most people always tell me, they're like, oh, I need to get in shape before I can do CrossFit. Or I need to get in shape before I can do your class, or I need to get in shape. And it's like, no. You need to just go Yeah. And do the things and then you'll get in shape. Mm-hmm.
It's like,
don't you worry about what other people are doing?
Don't you worry that you know they're doing all these crazy heavy weights? Yeah. Like, don't you worry that like if I went into the competition and was like, oh my God, this girl is squatting 150 kilos, I'm never gonna be able to squat 150 kilos. I'm not gonna compete.
Yeah.
You know, that's one way to go about it.
Mm-hmm.
Or I could say, oh my God, these girls are squatting 150 kilos. I'm gonna try to hit 112.5
Yep.
And get a new personal best for me.
Yep.
And then I'm gonna ask the girl, so what do you do? And mm-hmm. You know. So knee sleeps, huh? Yeah. I hear they're to sit.
Well, and CrossFit gyms are so, are known for like everyone being on a different level.
You, you're doing the same workout, but everyone's hitting a different level of weights or reps or something because everyone's expected to be at a different place. Yes. Right. So you really, you really can just walk in off the street and start.
Everything is scalable. And that was always one of the things about CrossFit, where when it began, it was something for everybody.
It was to get the general mm-hmm. Population into a healthier, better place.
Yep.
Now, if you look at the CrossFit games, that's a completely different beast. Yeah. And like, that's like the best of the best and people who don't have day jobs that all they do is train all day.
Right. Like
five hours a day. Or you think about, okay, you know, this athlete, like sometimes I have to remind myself, I'm like, okay, I'm competing against somebody who's 25 years old.
Mm-hmm. Who started lifting when she was 15. And has a different muscle strength.
Yeah.
That comes with starting so young.
Mm-hmm.
You know, and it's like, I could do the best that I can at my level. And it's the same thing with CrossFit. Like, you go in, it's, you know, you, you don't need to be the next Brook ENTs or Camille LeBlanc bassinet.
Like, you just do the best you can and you Yeah. Don't hurt yourself, and you move and you be happy when it comes to sports, like people think, okay, well I don't like, I don't like that thing, or I don't like lifting weights. It's like, okay, well you don't have to lift weights. Mm-hmm. I love lifting weights for me.
Yeah. Like, I am stronger than I've ever been in my entire life. I'm the sweetest I've ever been in my entire life. I'm the leanest I've ever been in my entire life.
And you're
40. And I'm 40.
Yeah.
You know, but the, the key is I do what I love to do.
Mm-hmm.
Like, if, if for you fitness is dancing naked in your bedroom to Beyonce for like an hour, then go for it.
You know? Yeah. Blinds open or close, like whatever makes you happy. If you wanna do Zumba, do Zumba. If you wanna do SoulCycle, do SoulCycle. If you wanna jump on a trampoline for 45 minutes, do that. Like
mm-hmm.
Walk your dog or just go for a hike, or, you know, and I think as long as you have, and like by doing those things, you can build yourself a community and you find other people who like to do those things too.
Then you become more aware of what's in that circle of mm-hmm. Whatever it is. Like, you know, I would never know half the things, like I, I started getting into powerlifting and then you start following different powerlifters on Instagram.
Yeah.
And then you're listening to all these things that you might not have listened to.
Now I listen to like Juggernaut podcast and Yeah. It's like, okay, what's Max ADA's tip for a stronger bench? Or what does Marissa do to, you know, get like a perfect arch position? Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know,
well that's a, that's also why I love the Rich Role podcast because he brings in people that are athletes and, um, nutritionist and food people, and you really get the whole 360 like mind, body, soul experience.
And you get to hear these crazy stories like this of people who have like, gone through these crazy fitness journeys or food journeys. Um, there's just a different perspective, but I think the point of you are making of, it doesn't matter what gets you excited, it's, it's still really important to find something that gets you excited, that involves moving your body and sweating and like expressing yourself in that way and finding a community through it.
Um. I know personally like that when I am not taking care of my body physically or what I'm putting into it, like I can't be successful at the rest of my life in the way that I wanna be. And you know, especially with this launch, I if working till 2:00 AM starting at seven, you know, in the beginning I was good about like waking up and like at least going for a walk or a run and coming back and doing like little reps at home.
And then that went out the window like the last two weeks because it was like, go, go, go, go, go. And I'm exhausted. And I'm like, I have to just keep reminding myself that like, no, like the energy comes from working out, like make time for it 'cause it's gonna give you more back. And so it's been great this week to get back into it and to just have my head space so much better than it was.
So I'm really excited to, um, get back into everything that I love doing because you get so much more out of it than you think you're going to, and it has nothing to do about. Like why you love it isn't about how it makes you look. That's just a bonus part of it. It's so my opinion, I mean, you can true it, you know, it's bigger than, um, just going for that.
Well, I think when you just go for like the beach body
mm-hmm.
Like, oh, I wanna, I wanna do something that's so look good in a bikini like that motivation is only gonna take you so far. Yeah. Like, and when you have something further than that or like a goal, like, I wanna get stronger or I wanna be able to do, like, that's what like Yeah.
You know, competition is a great mm-hmm. Thing. 'cause then you're like, okay, I have something to actually strive for.
Yeah.
And your priority shifts. It's like, okay, I don't think about, okay, I'm gonna get a bikini body. It's a side effect of being in 57 kilo weight class and lifting. Yeah. A lot of things. But I go, okay, like.
How do I get stronger? Mm-hmm. Like what am I, what am I gonna do next that's gonna like help build my lats more?
Mm-hmm. You know,
you, you start to embrace the shape that you have. It's like, okay, how do I get my bench up? Like what can I do to get stronger? Like, what am I gonna do?
Mm-hmm.
And I've got, I told my boyfriend after season's over, um, I'm gonna have to start doing training just to walk my dog.
'cause he's a 52 kilo puppy at 10 months old and I'm gonna need to do 70 kilo, like single arm sled pools. Mm-hmm. Just so that way when he tries to jump up and tries to pull me, I can say no. Yeah. And yank him back. So it's like functional training too and fun. But it's a goal.
Yes. Well, it is time to wrap up.
Unfortunately, we blew through two hours. Um, but
Oh
wow. What are your last pieces of advice or motivation for everyone listening?
My last piece of motivation, advice, you know, go after what it is that you. Wanna do. Like, if you have the passion behind it
mm-hmm.
And you believe that you can do it, then don't let anybody stop you.
Yep. Great advice. Well, thank you so much for being a powerful lady. Thank you for being on the podcast. You are always an inspiration to me, and I can't wait to see you in real life again and give you a hug and eat some granola.
I, I, well that's another reason why I trained so I can give big hugs.
Yeah.
But perfect. But thank you so much for having me on the podcast and thinking of me, and I'm, I'm proud of you and all the things that you've created and I can't wait to see what else you come up with next.
Thank you.
I am so happy to call Courtney a friend. She's fun and always a yes at taking on life and, and just meeting up and seeing what's possible. And as you've heard on this episode, she's a total inspiration as a fellow high performer. I'm amazed at how she does it all and continues to find ways to start new companies and new projects.
If you're inspired by Courtney and wanna connect and support what she's up to, you can first get a 15% discount for holistic life coaching or nutrition coaching when you reach out to her use code. Powerful Ladies. And for those of you based in Europe, you can get a 10% discount for the first time purchase of her granola.
Again, use Code Powerful Ladies. You can also follow her on Instagram at Courtney's kitchen de, or her personal one at ca E-V-O-R-S. And don't forget to visit her website, Courtney's Kitchen. Do de, if you'd like to support the work that we're doing here at Powerful Ladies, there's a couple of ways you can do that.
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Leave a review on any of these platforms. Share the show with all the powerful ladies and gentlemen in your life. Join our Patreon account. Check out the website, the powerful ladies.com. To hear more inspiring stories.
Get practical tools to be your most powerful. Get 15% off your first order in The Powerful Ladies Shop, or donate to the Powerful Ladies one Day of Giving campaign. And of course, follow us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies for show notes and to get the links to the books, podcasts, and people we talk about, go to the powerful ladies.com.
I'd like to thank our producer, composer, and audio engineer Jordan Duffy. She's one of the first female audio engineers in the podcasting world, if not the first. And she also happens to be the best. We're very lucky to have her. She's a powerful lady in her own right, in addition to taking over the podcasting world.
She's a singer songwriter working on our next album, and she's one of my sisters, so it's amazing to be creating this with her, and I'm so thankful that she finds time in her crazy busy schedule to make this happen. It's a testament to her belief in what we're creating through Powerful Ladies, and I'm honored that she shares my vision.
Thank you all so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. I can't wait for you to hear it. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
Hey guys, I'm so excited that you are here today to listen to another episode of The Powerful Ladies podcast. It's because of you guys that we are able to exist and survive and make this great content and have these great conversations. One way that you can really help us out is to go to the powerful ladies.com and sign up for our newsletter.
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Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
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Production by Amanda Kass
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