Interview with Krystalore Crews

Krystalore Crews founded Crews Beyond Limits (www.krystalorecrews.com) after suffering some big set backs in life including Rheumatoid Arthritis, a big military move with her husband that left her unemployed (military spouses know), and then a skin cancer diagnosis. She knows how difficult it is to pick yourself up and she's fought hard to thrive as a coach and fitness leader. Krystalore is also up for an award for a military spouse entrepreneur award and is sharing her tips for how to survive and thrive.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

Brandy (00:00.866)
This is Brandy Schantz, and you're listening to Living Chronic. Today, I'm speaking with Crystal Orr-Cruz of Cruze Beyond Limits. She is an Air Force veteran. She is a military spouse. She is also currently up for the Military Spouse Entrepreneur Award this year. And today she's gonna be speaking with me about her life, living with chronic illness, overcoming those...

problems and rising above it all to be a successful entrepreneur. So thank you for being with me today.

Krystalore Crews (00:36.525)
Thank you, Brandy. I'm excited for this conversation.

Brandy (00:39.598)
So, you know, I've learned so much about you. You've had a lot happen over the years, starting with a rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. So tell me a little bit about that, what it was like, and how long it took you just to even get the diagnosis.

Krystalore Crews (00:56.897)
Yeah, so this happened actually back in 2005. I was an NFL cheerleader for the Buffalo Bills. And at that point, I thought I had made it, quote unquote. And at the young age of 22, I made it to the NFL. I was in my senior year of my undergraduate. I was like, I'm ready to go into corporate America. I'm good. I had just started my military career a couple of years prior. And...

Brandy (01:09.216)
Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (01:25.301)
I was also in a 6-year relationship with the man that I was living with and what I found really quickly is that I was in not only a toxic relationship with that person but I was in a toxic relationship with myself and my health. So I found myself burned out, overworked, overtrained, just not taking my health and nutrition seriously and I ended up being spending 6 months.

in a wheelchair while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me. And it started actually with some irritation in my right baby toe after I did a runway show for a Halloween like runway show. And my right baby toe was like bigger than my big toe and it was bright red. And so the doctors, I went to the doctor and they were like, well, you know, just don't wear those shoes. You're doing too much. You're working out too much. Slow down.

You know, go sit in the corner, like whatever. And so I was like, okay, well, I'll rest. But I couldn't put a shoe on. And then really quickly, my right knee started hurting. Then my left knee started hurting. Then my right shoulder started hurting. Then my left shoulder. And I ended up having a locked jaw for three months. And I had to drink out of a straw to be able to eat smoothies, basically.

And this was before social media. This was before really Dr. Google. We had dial-up internet, you know? And so I didn't really have the tools and resources and the community support. So I felt very alone, very confused, overwhelmed. And I had to do some research. And my mom bought me arthritis for gummies when they finally figured out like, hey, there's something wrong with me. Like they almost put metal plates in my jaw.

They're like you have TMJ. We're doing we gotta do surgery. We got to put plates in your job opening up I'm like this gotta be another way and so I started advocating for myself and my health and learning about the power of anti-inflammatory diets power with movements. I learned real quickly what depression and mental health it was And that overwhelm and what that feeling was so at the young age of 22 when I was at the height of what I thought I

Brandy (03:27.403)
Right.

Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (03:49.837)
had made it in the height of the start of my next chapter, I went to, I couldn't even walk. And so life as I knew it was like done. And my whole life for the rest of my life, according to the doctors, I was supposed to take all this medication. I took a chemotherapy pill, steroid injections, endless amounts of prednisone. I tried all these medications which were disqualifying from the Air Force. So they tried to kick me out of the military.

Brandy (03:56.642)
Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Yeah.

Krystalore Crews (04:19.141)
I had to get out of the toxic relationship I was in. I was no longer an athlete. I couldn't be a runner. I was single in a wheelchair and I shot for my first apartment in a wheelchair. So like, it was a lot all at once.

Brandy (04:28.887)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. That's, you know, it's something I think so many of us can relate to. Certainly, I can relate to that moment where you lose your ability to walk. And I, you know, it's so difficult to explain to people just how scary that is when suddenly you lose your mobility, especially at a young age. Of course, you know, I was in my 40s when it happened to me at only 22. It's, I'm sure, devastating. But either way, you don't expect to lose your ability to walk.

And of course climbing out of that can be difficult. Prednisone, my least favorite drug in the world. It's almost like insult to injury. Not only are you feeling terrible and you can't do the things you wanna do, but they're gonna blow you up like a balloon while you're there. So thank you, doctor. But you did climb out. So tell me about some of the strategies you use to pick yourself back up again and find your way back to health and happiness and where you are today.

Krystalore Crews (05:32.149)
Yeah, so I think the biggest thing is during these time periods, we tend to cocoon, we feel very overwhelmed, very alone. And what I found is that we lose control. We lose this sense of control. And in any shift, any injury, everything is like flash before your eyes, like, oh my gosh, my life is over. We catastrophize. And I say that we because it's been through it several times.

from experience and I only know my lift experience and those that I help. However, what I found is that when we feel that loss of control, we want to try to gain it in other ways, right? And so that to me was the power of education. Really learning about what was happening in my body, understanding the science behind it, and then advocating for myself. Like I literally stalked my doctor.

Brandy (06:14.818)
Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Krystalore Crews (06:31.109)
I did a sit-in like, what do they call it? It's called a sit-in, right? When you protest, right? I was like, no, I'm not leaving this office until someone sees me. Like there's something wrong with me. I sat there like, and it wasn't, it was in those moments. Like literally I would be there at 7 a.m. the office would open at eight. I would literally be outside the door. And my mom was this close to taking me to the Cleveland Clinic because we were just kept.

Brandy (06:35.446)
Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Brandy (06:44.97)
Yes.

Krystalore Crews (06:59.929)
kept getting no answers, no like just tried so many things. And so really gaining the control of, I literally read arthritis for dummies and just started learning what the heck was actually happening in my body. So that's one tip, really truly dig deep and you can find anything on the internet and then you can, motorcycle, my apologies. I hope you didn't hear that.

So I live downtown Louisville and they like to dry grace here. Not the brightest thing. Anyways, so when we have this loss of control, we want to try to educate. And when we go to the internet, now that we have Dr. Google, you can find anything that is going to meet the needs of what you're looking for. So one of the things that was really interesting is there was no bias back then, right? It was like...

Brandy (07:32.086)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Brandy (07:50.466)
Yes.

Krystalore Crews (07:56.649)
Okay, I'm going to read this book. I'm going to ask a lot of people a lot of their opinions. And I really did the research. And I found that, you know, especially now, nowadays on the internet, you can find the complete opposite opinion. And there's so many other options out there. And it wasn't until I went to the emergency room when I, my whole leg was full of joint fluid from like, it literally was like the top of my leg all the way down. Like I had cankles and I'm not five foot yet.

Brandy (08:10.697)
Yes.

Krystalore Crews (08:25.857)
So I grew sideways in the wheelchair. I blew up, like you mentioned. And so I went to the emergency room and she's like, this doesn't seem right. Something doesn't seem right. I was like, I know, this just doesn't, like I'm an athlete, I'm in the military, I'm an active, I'm an NFL cheerleader, like I'm a performer, I'm a dancer. This doesn't make sense. And it was her, this angel who said, you know what?

Let's see what else is possible. Maybe there's another medication that you can get on that isn't disqualifying from the military, that is a little bit less abrasive and not burning holes on your insides, that probably is making you infertile as well. So like, these were big deals for me back then. And so not only that, I had to get therapy to get out of that toxic relationship and recognize what was happening in my body.

Brandy (09:12.759)
Hmm.

Krystalore Crews (09:22.837)
and the grief of the identities that I was losing. And it was all happening all at once. So of course, you know, it's like, yeah. So I had to get help. I asked for help. I got coached. I got mentored. I got support. And I started to build the advocacy for myself and my health and started to ask the questions. Like not only like, am I, is this possible? What is the rest of my life look like? Is it going to look a little differently?

Brandy (09:27.894)
Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Krystalore Crews (09:51.957)
And what else is possible that I can challenge and change and get a second opinion and say, hmm, this still doesn't feel right. And one of the things that I recognized, and this is not to neck any doctors out there, however, if you're an athlete, and you can probably test to this brand, if you're an athlete, finding a sports therapist, someone that is an athlete or has been an athlete, it's a different mindset, it's a different recovery.

We are like 1% of the population. So the doctors look at me like, what are you? And I'm not an obese overweight person that isn't unhealthy like everyone else that might have these physical ailments. Right? And so I think that's one other tip that I might wanna share is that if the doctor is telling you to stop doing what you're doing, yes, listen. And there might be another way.

Brandy (10:44.331)
I think that's a good answer.

Yeah, you know, you're right. I often have said, I think it did take me longer to get diagnosed with my reaction to Humira with the drug-induced lupus because doctors couldn't understand what I was saying. I was training for Ironman Chattanooga, and then all of a sudden I'm saying, well, I can't get back to running. You know, I can only run short distances and going much slower. I'm running an 830 pace.

and they're thinking, well, that sounds great. You're fine. I don't know what's wrong with you. Rest something, take a nap. No big deal. So that's why I went, I think that's why I went so long or at least one of the reasons I went so long before I was finally diagnosed. It wasn't until I completely lost my ability to walk that a doctor was like, oh, well, maybe, yeah, she shouldn't be going from training for an Iron Man to not being able to walk. This is something wrong.

And the other thing I did learn is I couldn't really get somebody to listen to me and hear me hear me. And so I changed PCMs and my new PCM is an Ironman athlete and he could hear me, you know, when I said, look, I'm not myself. I want to get back to even if I can never do marathons and Ironmans again. I at least want to be able to compete.

Krystalore Crews (11:56.514)
Yeah.

Brandy (12:10.17)
at some level. Maybe I'm doing 5Ks now. Maybe I'm doing 10Ks, but get me back to health. So it is so important to find that doctor who understands you if you're an athlete, because not every doctor does. They really don't.

Krystalore Crews (12:25.869)
Yes, and we identify our identity is that is that competitive athlete, right? And so the loss of that is, is really hard that facing that, you know, I roll an ankle and I'm like, Oh, is it over? You know, every, and, but unless you're there, you don't quite understand that mindset, right? Of how big, like I literally walk around with, I call it hashtag bubble wrap. Like.

Brandy (12:32.013)
Yum.

We all do.

Brandy (12:52.642)
Yes. Don't touch.

Krystalore Crews (12:54.721)
You know, it's just a different way. It's not for everyone. But if you do resonate with that, an identity, maybe it's in, you know, maybe you're a dancer, or maybe you play tennis, and all of a sudden, you have a purple tunnel or a tennis elbow, and you can't do that anymore. That's a huge part of your life.

Brandy (13:07.863)
Yes.

Well...

It's amazing when you are diagnosed with some of these things, when you're going through these difficult situations. And of course, unfortunately, what I've learned over this time is we're not unique. There are people all over this world who are just like us, who go years, many times trying to get a diagnosis. And they're just losing out on their life. I look back and just view this chunk of my life as was I there? Did it happen?

Does it count? Do I get some sort of a credit for that at the end of my life? Like, well, that doesn't really count. Give her something back. But there's people who go through that. And we all lose something that we identify with. For me, I lost two things. The first thing I lost was my career. And I identified through my career. And I just didn't quite know what to do. So I grabbed on even stronger to the athleticism. So when I lost that,

That's when I broke down. That was my final, oh, okay, that's it. And I'm still building back and coming back. And, you know, of course, you know, it's not easy. You don't just go to therapy, move your six months, done, I'm cured, moving on with life. It's every day learning how to be a new person and be the best person you can be in this body that you own.

right now today. And that is what you do with Things Beyond Limits. You coach, you help people to get through those everyday things and understanding, hey, this is who I am today, so let me be the best person I am today. And I've heard some great stories from you about that, you know, especially about, you know, when we all kind of fall off the wagon a little bit, right? Because sometimes it's just too hard. The doctor made you go back on the prednisone, it's like,

Krystalore Crews (14:58.69)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy (15:12.118)
Give me a chocolate cake anyways then. But you know, you have some great tips for people when you're in those places to say, you know what? Let's get back up and go, right?

Krystalore Crews (15:21.761)
Yes, and so what I always say is do what you can with what you've got. And that's been the most powerful question in any season of change, identity shift, injury, illness, whatever. What can I do right now with what I've got? And that gives us a sense of hope and direction. You know, so we start with gratitude, of course, like you're still breathing, right? So there are some things that we can

Brandy (15:27.936)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (15:49.633)
be, sit in gratitude with and have faith and hope for the future because your heart is still beating, you're here to tell the story. So there's that. So that is something that to be proud of, right? And it's one step forward. Now it's really taking those baby steps and loving the journey that you're on to recovery.

Brandy (16:06.722)
Yes.

Krystalore Crews (16:17.302)
Right? Be owning the part of that journey too. Like hey, let's not compare ourselves to our old version of us when we were, oh you know, I expect here this picture of this was my 2013 down here finishing the reggae marathon. You know, I had my hand in the air, my favorite marathon, you know, like and sometimes it's really easy to compare myself to that fast.

Brandy (16:25.835)
Mm-hmm.

It is.

Krystalore Crews (16:42.893)
you know, that person, that smile, that zest, that six pack, that, you know, and right. And so really owning where you're at and falling in love with every step towards that next level version of you, the wiser, you know, version of you too, because we learn through these journeys. And so it's in this, in the hard stuff that we really learn more about.

Brandy (16:47.978)
All the stuff. Yeah.

Krystalore Crews (17:12.773)
who we are and trying to find a lesson. Like I always, you know, I'm always like, there's a lesson here. And so it brings, it kind of shifts that perspective. So I try to say, okay, let's move one day at a time, one step at a time, one repetition at a time. And so we modify and we do what we can and then we don't do it alone. And that has been a huge piece of my puzzle because

Like I said, we tend to cocoon in these seasons, right? And cocooning is an actual term. I had a coach tell me once, she's like, you're cocooning, you're cocooning. I'm like, what the heck is cocooning? And I'm like, okay, let me be a butterfly. How do I get out of this cocoon? Right? And one of the pieces is that, you know, education to build that confidence and getting in community because like the way that we met, you know, it's, we have a very similar story.

Brandy (17:57.035)
us.

Krystalore Crews (18:10.293)
And it's in community and it's in those connections and in that vulnerability, in the conversation that says, wow, I'm not alone. And there's other people out there that are going through these hard things too. And finding someone that has made it out and give you hope, maybe brainstorm some ideas and get you back up again, because they get it.

Brandy (18:24.749)
Yes.

Krystalore Crews (18:35.117)
You know, just like being in the military or being a military spouse like us, we connected on so many different levels where we get it. And it's just, it's so much more beautiful to be in a space for people get it, just like being in the doctor's office with an athlete, you know, they get it. So it's just finding that good community is, is powerful. Sorry.

Brandy (18:40.616)
Yes. Get back. Mm-hmm.

You know I have.

I think that is probably one of the most important things to tell people. You know, I ask everybody, what do you wish you knew when you were first diagnosed? Most people say there's hope. But I think the second thing is find your community. You know, find the community. It's amazing how many people are going through the same thing you are. And I know we all have gone through similar thought processes, right?

Oh, I'm nobody else has gone through this or responding to this in the wrong way. You know, you always see on the news, I always talk about these, the inspirational stories. I just hate them sometimes, you know, like stop showing me this inspirational person because I feel worse. I haven't wrote a book yet. I didn't, you know, stand up and overcome. I'm still in the darkness. Um, so find your community because that's where we find out that other people too have felt worthless.

suicidal, like they've lost who they are as a person and can never get it back, have felt hopeless. And when you can connect with those people and understand that you're not alone and feeling that way, I think it's a great help and a support system. I always say I don't think I would have made it through what I just went through this time. I picked myself up before, but I don't think I would have made it through this past time if I had not started the podcast.

because it's helped me to meet people like you and understand we're all in this together. So find your community, join a group, reach out, you know, look through the notes of all my podcasts. There's so many great people. Contact Crystal or about her cruise beyond limits, you know, get out there. It really is helpful. It makes a difference. And you, oh, go ahead.

Krystalore Crews (20:51.189)
I was just going to say one more thing to add onto that into the community. Like you got to find your recipe of your daily non-negotiables because you have to hold yourself accountable to and open yourself up for the opportunity to learn and grow one day at a time. Right? So yes, we have to feel and deal with all the emotions, but in order to heal, we have to take action.

Brandy (21:00.31)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (21:18.861)
Right? And so finding out like what small actions can I take? And that might just mean like, I'm going to take a shower, right? I'm going to move my body. I'm going to get outside and get some vitamin D. I'm going to go for a walk if you can. Right? There's things that you can do. You're going to walk the stairs twice today, you know, something small because the brain, right? If when you're in those moments, you're comparing, you're in the depths, you're in the, in the trenches, you feel very alone.

We tend to beat ourselves up like we're not moving forward and we're going backwards. So we need to trick our brain in a sense to say, hey, let's do a couple of good things today that can feel like a success. And then piece those together, piece seven of them together. And then your brain is gonna start to fire differently, especially if you're moving your body and getting your heart rate up. That will change and you know, as an athlete, we impact it up. Yes.

Brandy (21:53.784)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Brandy (22:15.926)
walk outside and get that thread MND, even if it's just a walk, get that thread MND every morning. I also learned something new myself recently. I did a podcast episode with a yoga instructor who also deals with chronic illness and she taught me the word ahimsa. And I don't know if you've ever heard that, but it's Sanskrit and it means no harm. And so she uses that principle.

Krystalore Crews (22:20.366)
Exactly.

Brandy (22:45.83)
No harm. So don't be too hard on yourself because that's harming yourself. If you're already down and you've got the prednisone and you're feeling bad and you're blowing up, don't add to it by just sitting on the couch drinking a whiskey and eating a chocolate cake. Try to eat something that might make you feel a little bit better. Try to do that little extra. But you know what? If you do shovel the cake in your mouth, that's okay, that's been done.

Do no harm, don't be too hard on yourself. And I really loved that concept. Don't you think that's just really insightful? It really is. I just really loved that concept. It meant so much to me. It was something, I have to say it was life-changing. I thought, yes, that is the right attitude to have.

Krystalore Crews (23:17.605)
So beautiful.

Yes, it's a fine line of that grace, right? That grace and space, as what I always like to say, and that really that self-love journey, and just it's a fine dance, right? Of nourishing the body, the only one you get to live in, right? And so you're with it for life. And I always say, like I'm an emotional intelligence coach as well, so the longest conversation is the one that we have with ourselves.

Brandy (23:34.562)
Thank you.

Thank you.

Brandy (23:46.786)
Yeah.

Brandy (23:57.003)
Yes.

Krystalore Crews (23:57.741)
And we could be really, really nasty to ourselves. And so we were trying to be conscious of flipping the script on some of that negative self-talk and just really giving yourself grace. And it's a fine dance. Like good, we're not gonna have, it's not rainbows and butterflies every day. In fact, most even athletes, and maybe we can talk about this too, is most athletes at their best, their...

Brandy (24:00.726)
We can.

Krystalore Crews (24:26.193)
They typically have more bad days than good days.

Brandy (24:28.854)
Yes, that's true. There's always that day where there's a bad run, you know, just you aren't moving the way you want to, something happens and you've just gotta get up and make it better the next day. I have to say, I think the military, something else we share and being an athlete are two things that have prepared me for having to pick myself up again and make it work because you do have those bad days. And you know,

Krystalore Crews (24:42.318)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy (24:59.754)
I've realized as I've gone through this that the most important lesson you can learn in life is failure. I never had children, but I tell my friends now who do have children, let them fail. Let them fail. Let them figure it out on their own. They still need a boost, walk over there boost to boost it a little bit, but they gotta learn how to fail because it's the only thing that's kept me going. Honestly, it's the only thing that's kept me going because I know how to fail. And I may take a moment.

and you don't want to talk to me, leave me alone. But let me take a nap. I'll get up and I'll be fine. Those are the important lessons to learn. And you, like I, you've had to pick yourself up multiple times because you had that terrible experience with rheumatoid arthritis and the wheelchair loosening your ability to walk. And you build yourself up and then cancer.

Krystalore Crews (25:37.176)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy (25:57.326)
so you had to do it all over again. And I know how hard that is. That's not easy. It's one thing to pick yourself up from a really difficult situation once, but twice, that's hard.

Krystalore Crews (26:10.945)
It was actually three times. So that's the third one. This, yeah. So, but to your point, it's hard. However, and that's why I really focus on creating your recipe for success of your non-negotiables because I've had to put this into practice, right? And one of the things I really loved about your share just now is your awareness of what you needed.

Brandy (26:12.398)
Three months, yes! Oh my gosh, yes.

Mmm.

Brandy (26:40.905)
Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (26:43.269)
And you're like, don't talk to me for a little bit. Like, I need to deal with this, right? And so as a patient, one of the things I learned, now that I have a loving husband who has been through stress and trauma and identity shifts as well in the military, transitioning out of the military, that was number two, was my transition off of active duty back into civilian life and moving away from my friends and my family and everything I knew. And

Brandy (26:45.841)
Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (27:10.637)
That's when I started my business, right? I started to ask myself that question. What can I do with what I've got? However, I have learned that I know what I need now because I developed my toolkit of resilience, right? And so that's what I train people to do is I give kind of a structure for those that don't have the structure and there are cocooning and they don't know how to get out. So I help them blossom as a beautiful butterfly.

Brandy (27:26.29)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Krystalore Crews (27:40.785)
And I always say, because I wear red lipstick and a red lip liner, I give you the lip liner and you get to fill in your own lipstick. So creating that recipe for success of those things that when life gets thrown at you, when you're faced with challenges, when you're faced with obstacles or injuries or illness, when you're faced with grief, you have your set of non-negotiables and you're able to articulate them to your loved ones. And thankfully,

Brandy (27:49.238)
Yeah.

Krystalore Crews (28:10.997)
My husband had seen me in this transition. He knew before I knew what I was going to go through because he had been through it. But he gave me so much love and grace and he just helped me articulate what I needed in these moments. And I just really needed his safety and his calmness and his love and listening. I didn't need him to fix anything. I didn't want him, you know, sending me job applications like the rest of my friends and family were.

Brandy (28:30.679)
Yes.

No.

Krystalore Crews (28:39.245)
Why don't you just get a real job? Like, why don't you, you're fine. Like you have a master's degree and all this experience. Like you'll be fine. I wasn't, I was grieving and I was hurt and I spent way too long, you know, struggling. And so I just love that you shared, you know, hey, here's what I need. A lot of times in these spaces, we don't always know what we need and we can't really voice it. So I help a lot of women.

Brandy (28:54.79)
Yum.

Krystalore Crews (29:07.865)
How can I support you is a really great question, but force them to answer the question too. Because a lot of times, especially women, what I found is that we're the doers and we don't wanna burden someone or we don't wanna take up too much time or too much space with your airing or grievances and crying and we're supposed to have it all together. So no, I don't need anything. I'm fine is what my old version of myself was. Now I'm like,

Brandy (29:13.133)
Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Brandy (29:25.079)
Yes.

Brandy (29:36.071)
Yes, me too.

Krystalore Crews (29:37.877)
Now I know what I need. I need some space for a little bit. I need to go for a run. I need good meal and good nutrition. And I need a beach. So my husband, like when he sees me, he knows now because we've developed this toolkit. So when I feel this overwhelm and this stress and anxiety, he knows how to meet me where I need to be with love and grace and a little challenge.

Brandy (30:02.026)
Yes, of course. You know, I think that is what's most important is understanding what you need. And sometimes it's very difficult because we don't, like you said, we don't necessarily want to take up that space, take up people's time. So we don't think about ourselves and, you know, how do we care for ourselves? I know how to care for others. You know, I've got my three dogs. I know exactly what they need at all times. Each one's different. And I understand that. I know what my husband needs. What do I need? And it did take me time to...

learn more about myself and understand that I'm a time person. I'm not a talking out immediately person. I'm a leave me alone. Let me settle in. Let me be far from everything for a minute. And then I'll reengage once I've had my time to myself, but I have to have that time to myself. And I think it took me a long time to learn that. So, and again, when you talk about space and grace, give yourself that while you learn what you need.

to get through these things, because you do have to learn how to fail. It's a lesson, it's a real lesson in life. It's not just, you know, oh, I failed, this is terrible. No, this is a big time lesson in life. You gotta fail, you gotta fail a couple times, keep going, because that's how you learn who you are as a person and how you overcome. And that's this hard stuff that I learned, you know? That's the real tough stuff. You just gotta dig in deep.

Krystalore Crews (31:28.463)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy (31:29.822)
And your business of course is doing great. I believe in coaches, I believe in therapy. That's a lot of how I've gotten to where I am now. I'm still working every day. There's days I feel it's just monumental, just to get out of bed. So it's toolkit every day. So I believe in coaches.

and you have done so well that you are now up for the Military Spouse Entrepreneur Award. Tell me a little bit about this award. I love a good award.

Krystalore Crews (32:01.593)
Yeah, so a really great organization that I paired up with a couple years ago was the Association for Military Spouse Entrepreneurs. And in the military, we love acronyms, so it's actually pronounced AMC. And so it really provides, it's a nonprofit that provides a lot of support and tools and resources for military spouses to build their business. And that is PCS-proof.

Brandy (32:16.472)
Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (32:30.885)
For those of you who are not military, PCS means permanent change of station. So when you move, you have to get a new job. And a lot of times the spouse kind of takes, they always take the back seat, not always, but a lot of times their needs, their career takes a back seat. And in my case, that's what happened. And so when we moved away, I was stuck. And so these resources have really helped me.

Brandy (32:47.202)
Mm-hmm.

Krystalore Crews (33:00.197)
to be like, wow, there's other, hey, they get it. There's other military spouses out there that are like, I don't wanna keep moving and rebuilding my identity every time I move. Let's try to start a business so that we can have a legacy and I can have my own career and lifestyle and something that really brings me light, brings me joy and can make me a valuable partner in this relationship.

And so there is a lot of tools that this organization provides. And one of the things, they're going to a big growth opportunity right now, which is amazing. It's been beautiful to watch it as an entrepreneur, right? And as a military spouse, to be able to be with an organization that grows. And so I've been watching the growth and building my business and scaling my business. And one of the things that came up recently was this award.

Brandy (33:43.582)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Krystalore Crews (33:59.257)
which, you know, I didn't, there was an opportunity for you to self nominate, but what was really cool and really special was one of my team members, one of my assistants, is a fellow military spouse. And I employed her on my team two years ago. So she helps me with some social media and some tracking and, you know, analysis on the backside. And then she just recently, about five months ago, started her own business. So...

Brandy (34:11.694)
That's great.

Mm-hmm.

Brandy (34:21.893)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy (34:26.974)
Oh, that's great.

Krystalore Crews (34:27.885)
She's grown through the program and grown on my team. And she's the one who put me in for this award. She's like, hey, I just nominated you for this award. And I was like, holy cow, no way. And so I made it to the finals and here we are. If I'm, when I'm selected, right now it's a voting process. And so I made it to the finals and now we have to vote every single day. It's free to vote. And on July 6th, I believe.

is the end of the contest where they pick the winner. And the winner goes to Fashion Week in New York, photo shoot for Stars and Stripes magazine, spread a business incubator with potential for exposure or investments. So it is a really big deal. And I'm super honored to even make it this far. So we'll see what happens. I'm super excited.

Brandy (35:04.254)
Oh wow! That's amazing!

That's a-

Brandy (35:21.13)
Yes, well, good luck. I've already voted for you. I will put your voting link in the transcript of this podcast and on my website so everybody can find it. And in addition to that, where else can we find you?

Krystalore Crews (35:35.073)
My website is the best way just to see what I'm all about. There's a lot there. I have multiple areas of my business and ways to meet you wherever you're at in the world, wherever you're at in your fitness journey. I host the retreats. I have masterminds. So my website is crystaloracruise.com. It's K-R-Y-S-T-A-L-O-R-E-C-R-E-W-S.com. And I'm on all the socials.

So follow me, send me a message. I just love to connect and help support in any way. I am a human. I put my pants on today and just like you did. And so I really love when people reach out and just share their insight and I will respond and I will help address your concerns and meet you where you are or connect you with someone that can help you. So thank you so much. Let me share.

Brandy (36:27.97)
No, thank you so much. This has been so great. And hopefully I can have you on the show again and we can talk some more about what it's like after you've won this award and where you're going next. So thank you again for being on the show and I will have all your information on my website as well.

Krystalore Crews (36:48.518)
Thank you so much, Randy.