In Episode 9 of Don’t F*ck This Up, Lauren links up with Nike Global Trainer and the Founder of Made Of Protein, Kirsty Godso. Kirsty and Lauren talk toxic enlightenment, the downside of Erewhon smoothies, LA vs. NYC, and why it’s always a good idea to bet on yourself. Kirsty also shares why it's okay to work in private, how not having boundaries literally broke her body and the reason she considers herself a professional cheerleader.
Download, review, and follow the podcast so you never miss an episode.
Follow Don’t Fuck This Up on IG: @dontfckthisup.podcast
Follow Lauren Alvarez on IG: @LaurentheAlvarez
Follow Kirsty on IG: @kirstygodso /
Train with Kirsty | @nikewellcollective
Try Made Of Protein: @madeof_____ | www.madeof.life
Email the show at advice@dontfckthisup.com for your questions to be answered on an upcoming episode!
In Episode 9 of Don’t F*ck This Up, Lauren links up with Nike Global Trainer and the Founder of Made Of Protein, Kirsty Godso. Kirsty and Lauren talk toxic enlightenment, the downside of Erewhon smoothies, LA vs. NYC, and why it’s always a good idea to bet on yourself. Kirsty also shares why it's okay to work in private, how not having boundaries literally broke her body and the reason she considers herself a professional cheerleader.
Download, review, and follow the podcast so you never miss an episode.
Follow Don’t Fuck This Up on IG: @dontfckthisup.podcast
Follow Lauren Alvarez on IG: @LaurentheAlvarez
Follow Kirsty on IG: @kirstygodso /
Train with Kirsty | @nikewellcollective
Try Made Of Protein: @madeof_____ | www.madeof.life
Email the show at advice@dontfckthisup.com for your questions to be answered on an upcoming episode!
Lauren Alvarez (00:01)
Welcome to the show today. I'm so excited to welcome to another episode of Don't Fuck This Up. And especially excited because I'm joined today by Kirsty Godso, Nike Global Trainer and founder of Made of Protein. Kirsty, welcome to Don't Fuck This Up.
Kirsty (00:16)
I'm so excited and happy to be here. And I think it's important that everyone knows that our first meeting had to be rescheduled because of a surprise birth, which we love.
Lauren Alvarez (00:25)
Yes, and to clarify me, I dropped a baby in a podcast. Yeah.
Kirsty (00:28)
Yeah.
which I think is such a cool, I'm like, yeah, let's do it. Let's do this. Let's do this, baby. Let's do this podcast.
Lauren Alvarez (00:36)
How are you doing before we dive into everything? How's it going?
Kirsty (00:40)
It's going great, thank you. I've just got back from being in New York and London. So, you know, that's amazing. I love both of those cities. I think, you know, New York for me is like the epicenter of fitness. It also was my previous home. I love it there. And then London, you know, Commonwealth vibes. So it feels good for me to be in London, but I'm happy to be back in LA. The sun is still shining, you know.
Lauren Alvarez (01:02)
Absolutely. And you know, I am also a lapsed New Yorker and I've been really, you know, enjoying this time at home just kind of like hanging out with our new baby and but I really miss New York in the fall and it's been it's always a time of year where I start to get the like, oh, I really want to go I want to go do a little so shopping I want to have some coffee and then yeah, I'd love to take a shorter flight to London. So, you know, it's a great jumping off point.
Kirsty (01:25)
It's always the coffee. It's the coffee for me in New York. Like I don't drink coffee in LA anymore. So I quit coffee at the start of last year living in LA. I was just like, I just don't need to be that on here. Like that fast. It's very LA of me. And as soon as I go back to New York, I'm like, oh, wow, and like every gear firing and, you know, it just brings out the best and the worst in me. And I love it.
Lauren Alvarez (01:37)
It is very LA of you. That's a very LA thing to quit coffee.
Ha ha ha!
I love it too. And I think that it's also like, you mean, you're just walking so much more in New York, right? And I think that that's interesting. And it's like my step counter, my aura ring is like, are you okay? You've walked 15,000 steps and it's noon. You know, it's like.
Kirsty (01:56)
It's incredible.
What I love about the New York walking though too is you just like don't even think twice about it, you know in LA You're like, oh probably can't walk that far but in New York you would cover it crazy spans of distance just going from here to here to here and You just don't even think about it because the commute is just part of being a citizen there, you know
Lauren Alvarez (02:08)
That's right.
Absolutely. And with LA, I mean, if you start walking, you'll either end up under a freeway or you'll have to walk back up a tremendous hill that you didn't know you were going to have to go up and yeah.
Kirsty (02:32)
when I first moved to LA, tried to not get a car for like the first four or five months. And everyone was like, you really need to get a car. And then I was like, okay, I get it now. Granted it was still like COVID, but then I was like, yeah, shit, this is tough. Like you really can't just walk everywhere.
Lauren Alvarez (02:46)
Absolutely. I mean, so talk to me a little bit about what was the impetus for your move from New York to LA? You mentioned it was during COVID. That is a wild time to make a move. What was that like and what was the driver for that?
Kirsty (02:53)
Yeah. Well, listen, I always thought that I would move to LA first from New Zealand. And originally when I was coming over, I'd signed, I would already have been working with Nike for quite a few years, but I'd signed a contract with the West Coast team. So I was meant to be based in LA. And then I got this opportunity to design a gym for Equinox and Soho New York. And I love New York. And my best friend, who's also from New Zealand, Georgia Fowler, who's a model, she was living there. And I was like, you know what?
Lauren Alvarez (03:01)
Mm-hmm.
Kirsty (03:23)
Like, I'm just gonna go to New York. Like, what's the worst that can happen? Well, let me tell you about what the worst that can happen is. I took a gamble and I dated an American. Probably won't do that again, but I dated this, you gotta learn. I dated this guy for like 15 months who lived in New York and lived with him. And then when I broke up with him, I was like,
Lauren Alvarez (03:29)
Yeah, what was the worst thing that could happen?
You got to learn somehow.
Kirsty (03:50)
I was going to leave, I'm going to go live with my best friend in her one bedroom, whatever, while I figure it out. And you just, you really can't get like an apartment lease, like when you don't have credit history. And so I ended up living with her for three months and then I could finally get my own place, this tiny studio. And you know, it's just so small, but washing dryer and unit, which is lux.
Lauren Alvarez (04:00)
No.
I mean, that is absolute luxury. Wow.
Kirsty (04:15)
And I just remember for the first year of living in New York, I was like, yo, this shit is hard. Like, this is like, ah, what is the New York dream? You know, I'd visited New York so many times and been obsessed with it. But when you first moved there, it's different. But once you get through that first year, you're like, whoa, this is crazy. I just felt like I really became myself. I got such, it was like doing a second degree, you know? And...
I was obsessed with New York. I didn't ever really want to leave. So then I used to come to LA sometimes for a month at a time for Nike things. And then a lot of my friends lived out here as well. But, and you can enjoy LA a lot, you know, when you don't, when you live in New York too, cause you can come out and you can have more sunshine and you have Aero on and you have all these different things, way more space in people's houses and things. People live in houses, you know, it's crazy. We have closets, multiple. And then...
Lauren Alvarez (05:01)
Yes. We have closets, like what is that? Yeah.
Kirsty (05:09)
Basically, I did the first year of the pandemic in New York and I'd still always floated with the idea of maybe moving to LA, but it's hard to leave New York. It really takes something in the end to kind of like shove you out. And I did the first year of the pandemic in New York. It was great. I've got to be honest. It was really fun. I had a ball. I was running a lot. I was filming a ton for Nike from my apartment and just for Instagram content, things like that.
Lauren Alvarez (05:17)
It is so hard.
Kirsty (05:36)
And for me, it was a really important time. And this will probably come up later on, but I'd really blown out every hormone in my body and my thyroid and my adrenals. So COVID really, I got to rest and I got to sleep in the same bed every night. And I just felt like myself for the first time in a long time. I really got to repair my body. And...
So I just was having this amazing year in New York, but then my lease ran out the end of November and a lot of my best friends who were living in New York also had made the move to LA and I was like, listen, I can't be staying here without my girls. And it's winter coming. I really don't know how much longer this is gonna go on. I have filmed every millimeter of my apartment and I feel like I have a little PTSD here. And I, you know, this LA COVID situation looks quite nice. There's a lot of outdoors happening and things. So I was like, you know what?
Lauren Alvarez (06:10)
That's right.
Kirsty (06:26)
I'm gonna move to LA. I get the apartment right next door to one of my best friends who moved, Amrit. She's an amazing DJ. So I'm like, cool, this is like, we're back at like boarding school or something. And it was really fun, but it's different. You just have to not compare the two. You're gonna get one thing from New York, one thing from LA. And for me, I really was just like, I think I met a point in my life where I need a little more balance because in New York, I have no boundaries.
Lauren Alvarez (06:31)
Amazing.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm.
Kirsty (06:56)
Absolutely none.
Lauren Alvarez (06:56)
That's right. Yeah. Well, it's so interesting you say that because I think living in New York also really, it tests you. You know, it does, it kind of pushes on every corner of your person. And at the same time, you know, you said something that really resonates with me is that it really, living in New York for me, I feel like most people should do it because it puts you in touch with the truest version of who you are. You have to be very honest. There's kind of nowhere to hide. You're certainly, if you're in your apartment, you're gonna, like you said, see every millimeter of the place.
And then you're also, you know, forced to go outside because we don't have enough space there. And so the interactions, you can be as anonymous or as, you know, friendly and meet a bunch of people as you want. So it's really about curating that experience. But I think it lacks judgment there in a really positive way, you know, because you could leave your house with, I mean, quite honestly, your underwear on your head. And I don't think anybody would look twice at you. They would just be like, whatever, it's fucking New York.
Kirsty (07:38)
Yeah.
No.
Lauren Alvarez (07:50)
And LA is like, there's a dress code. It's athleisure, but there is a dress code.
Kirsty (07:55)
It's funny because I'm like, yo, I get paid to be dressed like this. Like, what are you guys doing? Like I've been at work. That's why I'm in my Lycra all day, but like blessed. It's funny though, cause in New York, I just thought of this one reference. Like, you know, my friend who I referenced Georgia, who's a model was like, I have to go to this Prada event. She's dressed by Prada. She looks amazing. She's like, you got to come with me. I'm like, babe, I'm in my gym gear. I've just finished my shift at Nike. And she's like, who cares? Just come. And I'm like, okay, go. We get photographed.
Lauren Alvarez (07:59)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (08:24)
crazy together and I'm like, here we go again. Like, I'm like this dusty sidekick. But then we stayed out, I think, till like four in the morning. And you're absolutely right, not one person cared. Not one person a product, not one person. Everyone was just like, it's so good to see you guys. You know, cause you just get the lifestyle of you leave your house and anything can happen. It.
Lauren Alvarez (08:41)
Right.
Anything can happen and you're probably not gonna be home for 14 hours, so you better have your shit in your bag.
Kirsty (08:49)
No, it's the spontaneity of New York that is such a turn on. And I do, like my clients are young. They're anywhere between 20 to 22, 23. And I say to all of them, I'm like, listen, some of them have already lived in New York before. I'm like, you must live in New York because it will teach you so much about yourself and you will meet some of your best friends. Like that's what really true friendships happen there and great connections. And I'm so grateful for my time there. Sometimes I like...
Lauren Alvarez (08:54)
Yeah.
Yes.
Kirsty (09:19)
You know, I really wish that I had a bit more, but you know, I love going back. And whenever I go back, all my friends, they're like, come on, KG. Like, you know you gotta move back. You're so not LA. I'm like, yeah, but guys like, I sleep good in LA, you know?
Lauren Alvarez (09:22)
Yeah.
That's right. Yeah. And I think that is part of it too. I mean, there is, you know, really something about being rested and, you know, there was something sort of thematic in a lot of what you shared already about, you know, leaning on, you know, your girls or, you know, people in your life. And there's a bit of a summer party vibe too. You had three months where you were post breakup living with your best friend. You've also like, you know, I think it's great.
Kirsty (09:51)
Yeah.
It was amazing, by the way. She was like, don't move out. I was like, babe, I think we need our own bedrooms, you know?
Lauren Alvarez (10:02)
Yeah, and I think also, you know, being, you know, a woman in a space that is so subjective, you know, as the fitness industry, you know, oftentimes you don't see that support, you know, shown to other people. So I love, I mean, I consider myself a girls girl and definitely came around to the idea as I got older, you know, I used to think it was like really cool to be like, my friends are guys and I don't, you know, women are rude and bitchy and that's actually not true. Like I think that really being a girls girl and having like
true girlfriends that you can really count on is something that's also been like, you know, have kind of like a group chat of like our like mini CEOs of, you know, just my hype queens. Like when we're having an event or going to a panel or doing something, it's like we're gassing each other up. We're on we're on the text thread. Like, you've got this, you know, and it's like that is necessary. And I'm not going to ask a dude to do that for me. I just don't even my husband is a great cheerleader, but I don't need the same things from him that I need for my girlfriends.
Kirsty (10:31)
Yeah.
It's the best.
Yeah, it's interesting because I've, I mean, I always was a bit of a tomboy growing up. So I've always had a lot of like guy friends close to me, but I'm really lucky. Like I have, I'm obsessed with my friends, male and female, I am just obsessed. Everyone's like, just jokes. They're like, you're like the person, if there was a meme of you, you're like high-fiving everyone. Like, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, yeah, I'm like a professional cheerleader that actually isn't coordinated in that way. But I have really amazing guy friends and that I'm super, super grateful for because...
Lauren Alvarez (11:09)
Yeah.
Kirsty (11:28)
Sometimes I can just go to them with things that I might not want to talk to my girlfriends about because I want a very level, just answer without like loaded emotions and like someone getting overprotective and whatever. I'm just like, what do you think about this? And I really value that. And the way that they show up for me, I'm like, damn, like you're gonna be a great husband for some lucky glass, you know? But my girlfriends, I will say, and especially like the friends that I made in New York, I just...
Lauren Alvarez (11:39)
Right.
That's amazing.
Kirsty (11:57)
Yeah, they're my ride-o-guys.
Lauren Alvarez (11:59)
Absolutely. Well, I mean, you also mentioned, you know, that you grew up, you referred to yourself as a tomboy, which I like. So when did you realize you were strong and athletically inclined? I mean, come on, like I've tried to keep up with some of your fitness videos and, uh, admittedly postpartum cannot, so won't. Yeah. I'm not allowed to do your, I'm not allowed to do your workouts right now. Sorry. Yeah.
Kirsty (12:05)
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Perfect timing not to do my stuff postpartum, but...
No, it's not for you right now, hun. But I will drop some postpartum content actually. I'm like, damn, I really gotta get pregnant at some point. So I do some like pre and postnatal, but not sure when that's gonna happen for me. I still feel like a bit of a kid myself, but.
Lauren Alvarez (12:36)
you're just manifesting it, you're just putting it out there and just, you know, if anybody's listening, just, Kirsty's trying to have a baby sometime.
Kirsty (12:42)
If you want to trade passports, you know, I've got a New Zealand passport. Apparently we're great if the apocalypse hits. Um, but I was always a tomboy. I have an older brother. So very much like my hobby is sort of followed him around from skateboarding to rollerblading, this also includes like splitting my chin open, cracking my head open, you know, when you're just trying to be a boy and do some of these things that maybe you weren't quite as good at them as, but, um,
Honestly, like I only I always played sport at school because I realized the more sport you played the more class you could skip It was great. So I was like, you know in New Zealand we play netball It's not a lot of people don't actually know what that is that I always is it like basketball I'm like, no really like not because you can't run with the ball. You can't bounce the ball You don't have a backboard the whole thing, but I played a lot of sport and then my brother and I did motocross But I had a really bad accident when we were younger and had knee surgery at 15. So
Lauren Alvarez (13:18)
Oh, clever.
Kirsty (13:39)
I was on crutches for three and a half months and the way that they pinned my knee back together, I had to quit water polo and I had to quit some other things that I was doing. But that was when I started going to the gym because I had to do rehab. And I remember observing the gym. I was like, yo, the gym is weird. And then I got to the point where I was like, yo, the gym is weird, but I'm like kind of into it. And I wasn't doing cool stuff, you know, it's knee rehab. You're just trying to walk. And from then on, I sort of started like...
Lauren Alvarez (13:39)
Mm.
Right.
Kirsty (14:09)
have to be a certain age to get into the gym. And my high school boyfriend, his mom had bought him, he was a year older than me, a gym membership and he didn't want to go. So I would go into the gym on his thing and they'd be like, um, so your name is William? And I was like, yes. Anyway, I would go into the gym and I was just like, Ooh, like group fitness is like fun and like these people are interesting, whatever. And I didn't really know what was like seeding within me at that time. And, um,
Lauren Alvarez (14:12)
Okay.
Yeah.
Kirsty (14:39)
Yeah, I just then even all throughout university, I was just so obsessed with the gym that I structured my entire university timetable around like what my favorite classes to go to work. So that meant Sundays had to go to 7am calculus in order to make the nine o'clock body pump class that I liked with a certain instructor. And I was like, this is tragic. 7am calculus shouldn't happen for anyone. But yeah, it was, I think more for me, it's always been like
Lauren Alvarez (15:00)
No.
Kirsty (15:04)
I've worked with a lot of people who were athletes. They were serious football players and things like that. I never was that. I just was a, I just love movement and I love how it feels and I loved being part of team sport. And I just love, I grew up on a farm, like, yo, it's lonely. You go on walks and you just do things, activities, keep yourself busy because there's nothing to do out there. Exactly. Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (15:12)
Yes.
except motocross. Yeah, now I get it. Now I see the picture, yeah.
Kirsty (15:29)
So I think that movement for me was always like a bit of a friend, not to sound sad, you know, but like, I just wanted to do stuff both my parents were pro golfers. So, you know, I watched a lot of discipline and dedication from them with sport. And I think that definitely embedded in me because I am very disciplined. And I love the art of learning something new, whether it's a different sport or a different training style. And yet, but for me, it was always just like, man, like, I just feel so good.
when I'm doing activities. And that's really what like led me this way versus being like the best at a sport. And because I think a lot of people think you have to have been so good at something. I'm like, no, you just have to love it. Like that's the first important step.
Lauren Alvarez (15:59)
Yeah.
Mm.
love that. And I think if somebody had laid it out to me that way, it would have probably called some of the self competition that I had when I was younger and you know, maybe less confident, you know, when I was a teenager, especially like, we're all so awkward as teenagers, or at least I was, I was very awkward and trying to figure out. Yeah.
Kirsty (16:24)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's hard though. Think about it. Your hormones are changing, your bones are growing, stuff's happening, boobs are coming, not for me. But it's like, why are we not really taught about that? To be like, yo, it's all good. If you're not a good swimmer at school, your life is not over. The fact is you can not drown in the pool. And I think it's, I always loved.
Lauren Alvarez (16:38)
I think I got yours and mine, yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (16:54)
like having foreign PE teachers. And I kind of used to think, oh, that'll be fun one day to like go and be a PE teacher at a school. And I guess I'm like just like a PE teacher for the universe now.
Lauren Alvarez (17:04)
Yeah, I think that that's really interesting. I mean, so Nike Training Club did the Ignite Inspire series on Netflix. And I did check it out. And you're guiding viewers through like these really fun and super thoughtful workouts, you know, really. And it also seems like there's like this level of motivation that you're introducing kind of, yeah, like a PE teacher or like, you know, I think back to like loving SoulCycle when I lived in New York and that kind of...
Kirsty (17:11)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (17:28)
coaching and really kind of hyping people up. I mean, it also, is it ever strange to think about how you're beaming into someone's living room in Beijing or do you like that?
Kirsty (17:36)
Yeah, no, it's super weird because, so like in New Zealand, like, and by the way, just as a reference, I'm not referencing myself as a celebrity, okay? So in New Zealand, we do not have celebrities. We have our rugby team and we have Lorde, the singer, you know, but we really like, there's nothing like that. So, and we have this thing called tall poppy syndrome, which is like a very like New Zealand, partly Australian thing as well, where it's like, don't shine too bright, bright kind of thing. Like you should just be humble and be whatever.
Lauren Alvarez (17:51)
Mm.
Kirsty (18:04)
So I think for me, I still even find it weird if anyone's like, you're okay, Jean, like I love your workouts, like, or something. And I'm like, oh, like, and I like, I'm like, oh, thank you so much. And like, I get kind of like awkward and I'm like, oh. And you don't realize sometimes they're like, no, I've spent hours with you. Like, I feel like I know you inside out. I've had people invite me to their weddings, like from, especially because of COVID, people went crazy following the Nike Training Club workouts, which is funny because for me, that was like a, there's been so many stints of my career.
Lauren Alvarez (18:25)
So yeah.
Kirsty (18:34)
You know, like I used to do, I started in fitness DVDs, which kind of indicates maybe my age, but DVDs before they were apps.
Lauren Alvarez (18:34)
Yeah.
I mean, also mine because I'm like, I did those. Yeah.
Kirsty (18:45)
So I used to work for this company called Les Mills and we did a lot of, and I was always known for high intensity, like very hard, very, very hard. So when Nike asked me to film Ignite and Inspire, which was my second program on the app, my most popular program and the most used program on our app is called Burn. We don't have that on Netflix because it's just really hard. And it's all body weight, it's all high intensity. We go.
Lauren Alvarez (19:04)
Yeah.
That's when I looked at it and I was like, oh, I'm not allowed to do this yet because I'm postpartum.
Kirsty (19:12)
That one is like, yo, if you, if you've got to rent some stuff out of your system, just jump in the burn program. It's perfect for you. But ignite and inspire was interesting because when they, when they asked me to do it, they're like, we want you to do a beginner strength program. And I was like, no, I don't do beginner. And then I was like, wait, how can I be a coach and a trainer and say that I don't do beginner, like just because I'm known for high intensity, I was like, hang on, let me flip this, like maybe this is a really exciting challenge. And I remember at the time being like, oh,
Lauren Alvarez (19:18)
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Kirsty (19:40)
Like, oh my God, this feels so slow. Like, I don't want to do this. And then you're doing the workouts. You're like, oh, this feels really good. And then the number of people that loved that program that I didn't expect, I was like, oh, that was so worth it because you helped them, right? You got to get someone to stage one at least. And I snuck a little more intensity into the program. They probably should have been there, but that's what I love about a program versus just random workouts. Take people on a journey, get them confident. Like teach them skills, develop the skills.
Lauren Alvarez (19:47)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yes.
Kirsty (20:08)
give them repetition so they feel that confidence. Because a lot of people, that's ideally why we're working out, right? We're trying to feel confident. And when you're jumping random class, random class, sometimes it's just like, maybe there isn't enough repetition for you to actually get the confidence of trying something. You're not gonna get it right every time. And I always say that to people, but you shouldn't, that's not the point. That's like a really like easy game. If you get everything that you want straight away. I love getting shit wrong.
Lauren Alvarez (20:15)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (20:37)
I love getting frustrated in the gym. I'm like, oh, I can't do that. Or like, this could be better, you know, cause then you want it and you have to want it. Like that's the thing. There's gotta be a little bit of challenge in there. So yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (20:45)
Yeah.
And once you get to do that thing that you couldn't do, like the progress is always like the biggest reward. It's never like an end destination. Like, and I'm not somebody who weighs myself or who like goes off of like, I'm like, how do I feel? How do my clothes fit? Like, you know, it's not like what size am I? Because we all know that is different depending on what brand you buy or what country you shop in. But exactly.
Kirsty (20:59)
No.
Yeah.
Yeah, exactly, or what time of the month it is. Like, it's different all the time.
Lauren Alvarez (21:16)
I mean, yeah, try like the pregnancy thing. If you go through that, it's wild. You're like, wait, my body's doing what? And then now it's like, my body's doing what? Like it is, it's what? Yeah, but there is something like, the thing that like, I think that really, like I love so much about fitness is like the feeling capable in my body, walking around being like, I'm fucking strong. Like feeling like I can feel like within, it's like there's like something in me that I'm like, oh yeah, I could like fuck someone and shut up.
Kirsty (21:25)
Yeah, my body's... What is my body?
Lauren Alvarez (21:44)
came and tried to mess with me. I'm like, if you must, but also, you know, now picking up this baby who weighs 10 pounds, like a thousand times a day, I'm doing all kinds of workouts. It's like having a kettlebell that sleeps and screams.
Kirsty (21:45)
If you must, you know.
I love that you know to focus on the feeling of fitness. And like, I think for me, honestly, I can say, at least when I was first getting into training and stuff, and even when I was first sharing stuff about training on the internet, I was like, this is awkward. Like my friends are like posting like cute photos and all this stuff. And then I'm like, here's me doing chin ups or like whatever. And aggro. But it, for me it was always just like, I felt really good. I'm like, this is my happy place. Like, I love this. Like, and it wasn't.
Lauren Alvarez (22:24)
Yeah.
Kirsty (22:27)
I didn't even think about the aesthetic component of it. Like I just really wanted to feel strong and feel good in my body. It was more, I think the more social media came into everything and you know, you get everyone's opinion on bodies and what body should be and body dysmorphia is like a rampant issue. And I think the more, I always tell people, I'm like, yo, mind your own body. Like it's none of your business to comment on someone else's especially if you're gonna say something nasty. And
Lauren Alvarez (22:44)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (22:55)
It just screams loudly, like whatever your insecurities are. If you even need to be vocalizing about someone else's body, I'm like, that's sad. You're losing that attention on your own life in a sense. But the more that you can take fitness back to being about, how does this feel versus how do I look? Because if your metric of success is just how you look, you're probably not even gonna see yourself, how much you're changing. You'll be kind of constantly disappointed because,
Lauren Alvarez (23:05)
Yeah.
Kirsty (23:22)
If you are in a body dysmorphia range of some description, you're never fully seeing what you look like. And I speak from personal reference. In my 20s, I wish I had celebrated and loved my body more. I hid my body. I felt, I was like, I'm so muscly. People say things to me if I'm in a bikini. I was so lean. I was just so, but I felt great. That was the thing. I felt really good. And then, but I was so insecure. It was, it's funny. It was the leanest I'd ever been in my life and really fit and strong.
Lauren Alvarez (23:27)
Mm.
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Kirsty (23:53)
And I was hiding it, you know what I mean? I didn't even have any of the confidence that you think you get from this look or whatever it is. And it really comes back to being like, okay, I know a lot of people, their goal, they're like, my goal is I wanna lose weight. I'm like, no, your goal needs to be I wanna feel good. And maybe part of that is you're like, okay, I need to lose like a couple of pounds or something, but you need to find a metric that is, or a goal that is less looks oriented.
Lauren Alvarez (24:00)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (24:20)
You're allowed to have aesthetic goals. You should feel good in your body, but you can't make that be the only thing, or you'll kind of constantly be disappointed.
Lauren Alvarez (24:21)
Yeah.
Yeah. And the times I've looked my best are always when, you know, if I'm working out with a trainer, when I'm like, they're like, what's your goal? And it's always that I want to be strong. It's never that I want to look XYZ way. Also, like, I'm thick, I'm juicy. I want that part of my body to, like, remain intact, you know? And I like that I have some softness. And I really, like, I was literally saying to my husband last night, I was like, I feel so good in my body, knowing that, like, I was able to, like,
Kirsty (24:38)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (24:55)
have a baby and go through this and I'm not staring in the mirror and poking at something that looks one way versus another. Yeah, I'm like, holy shit, I'm so strong, I'm so good. And it's a different way of feeling strong than I did when I was working out four times a week at Dogpound because that was a thing too, right? But it's the same vein of that strength, that trust in yourself that you can do it. And I think that there is, I mean, you talked about social media and kind of going back to confidence, I mean, there is such a...
Kirsty (25:00)
Yeah, you're like, what's this?
Lauren Alvarez (25:22)
There's a parasocial component where people feel like they know you and they don't, right? But then there's also the other side of it where they feel like they know someone's entire life by just seeing what's posted. And I mean, it's really hard to, if you're seeing someone aspirationally and you're looking at yourself and trying to set appropriate goals, that's really complicated because you're viewing someone's aspiration and then you're not able to see that that's just a highlight reel, right?
Kirsty (25:50)
It's a highlight. It's funny too, cause I always say to people like, the odds aren't always gonna be in your favor. Like I filmed Ignite and Inspire in complete hormone failure. I felt the worst in my life, like terrible. Then I got food poisoning also during that shoot. And yeah, I was filming. I was like, you know what, here we go. And I was just like, you know what? I could go about this filming two ways. One.
Lauren Alvarez (26:08)
The universe was like, can you just chill the fuck out? And you're like, no, I gotta get this shoot done.
Kirsty (26:19)
I could just be so insecure and make it about me and I don't feel good and like, oh my God, this is the last, I don't wanna be on camera right now. I really just don't wanna be on camera, I'm embarrassed. Or I actually just do my job and I make it about other people. That's what I'm here for. I'm here to make them feel good. I'm here to make them move. And I think for me as a trainer, that's what I've always had to do. I like disassociate almost with myself. I'm like, I am the last person this is about.
This is about you. We are doing this workout. Like I am gonna push you. I'm gonna care for you. And it's really learning cause I think a lot of fitness now is like entertainment. And a lot of it is, there's some really charismatic trainers and it's not to, because that's great. And I love that. But it's still at the end of the day, it has to be about the user. They are the people coming for a workout. So it's finding that sort of balance. But yeah, you can't let...
Lauren Alvarez (26:58)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Kirsty (27:13)
you're gonna have bad days where you just don't feel your best and you gotta get over it. It's totally fine. Like you're still a great person. Like everything's okay. You know, you just gotta like figure out how to get yourself off the ledge. You can't let that appearance factor mean the most. And the funny thing is, you know, we've all had this where you think sometimes you're like, I looked so bad and blah, blah. And then you look back on a photo and you're like, wow, I looked great. And you're like, why didn't I think that ever at the time?
Lauren Alvarez (27:19)
Yeah.
Yes.
Yes, and I feel like we just need to like have that clip just be selling people can put in their pocket for like those days because yeah, I mean, even like I look back and I wish I could go back and give, you know, high school me a hug because I...
but always thought, oh, I'm fat or I'm comparing myself to other people. I was a cheerleader. I was a swimmer. I was like all the things that were like exposing too many body parts and like an awkward age, right? And I just felt so insecure about that. And I look back at photos and I'm like, I was so cute. Like I wish I could just tell her how cute she is and have her believe it because it's hard.
Kirsty (27:50)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's true. I think that's the thing I love the most about like having such a close relationship with my clients and at the age that they are, because even though they are wildly mature for their age, you know, but they're all in the spotlight. And I just like being a safe space for them and being someone to be like, you look great. You are great. Like you're you are a strong young woman, you know, and like the cool thing is all of them come into the gym. They're like, I really want to look and feel strong.
Lauren Alvarez (28:15)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Yeah.
Kirsty (28:35)
Like that's their goal. And when they said that to me at the start, I was like, I'm so proud I could cry. I'm like, this is great, you know? And it's such a positive start.
Lauren Alvarez (28:35)
Mm.
Yeah, that's incredible. And I thought you said like 1920, they're kind of like that younger age group. And that is a time where, yeah, wow. Me too.
Kirsty (28:47)
Yeah, some of them I started when they're 18. I'm like, I wish I had a trainer when I was 18. But the really special thing too, is you just like, I get to speak to them about things that I'm like, oh, I wish I kind of had someone like helping me with that when I was at that age. Or just like, just to be able to be like, open up about something and just, you know, get through it. Because everyone is going through their own things. And you're gonna go through it at all these different ages and stages and things are gonna change.
Lauren Alvarez (29:05)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (29:14)
And I think like you referenced earlier, it's like that's where maybe that female friendship circle can be really helpful. Cause you know, bless your guy friends. Sometimes you're like, oh, I feel like, and they're like, what are you talking about? You look great, you know? They don't get it. They can't like empathize a little bit more.
Lauren Alvarez (29:25)
Yeah. Right. Well, I think also, I mean, so you were, if my research serves me right, you were on the cover of Women's Health magazine in New Zealand. Is that right?
Kirsty (29:36)
I was, yeah, on in Australia. Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (29:39)
Oh, in Australia. So what was it like seeing yourself on the cover of a magazine? Because talk about like dissecting yourselves. I can't imagine like I see people on billboards or magazines. What was it like for you? Did it feel like it was a goal that you had that you accomplished? Was it something that you had even kind of had in your in your, you know, line site or what was that for you?
Kirsty (29:57)
Well, it was really funny. I mean, first of all, it was nice because I'd been on a couple of other fitness magazine covers before, but like one in Turkey and like a smaller one in New Zealand and stuff. And I was like, I feel like they did so much glam on me. I like didn't even look like myself. And what was cool with that woman's health cover, and this was in like 2018. And it was really interesting because I think I had a lot of amazing work things happen across 2017, 2018, when I was in that period of my life where I was like, I don't have an apartment and I don't, you know.
Lauren Alvarez (30:05)
Yeah.
Oh yeah.
Kirsty (30:26)
like smoke and mirrors and people like, wow, you're the face of this clinic, like clinic fit line and you're on the cover of this magazine and stuff. And I'm like, I don't have my shit together, you know? Um, but what I loved about that women's health shoot in the cover was. They made me be me. Like I was wearing my own shoes and stuff. And then even when they dressed me in the shoot that was within the magazine, I, there was some photos where I was actually shooting with a proper model and the score was super confident in her body and she's really lovely Australian girl.
Lauren Alvarez (30:36)
Yeah.
Kirsty (30:56)
And I remember being like, oh my God, this is gonna be terrible. And then when it came out, I was like, well, I like really held my own. And I was like really proud of myself because maybe as confident as I appear to people, like I'm still a little shy. And in my head, I'm like, I feel like I'm in the backend. You know, I'm the one getting the models ready. I'm not the model. And even when I'm doing my stuff for Nike, I'm like, no, I'm just your trainer today. I'm just KG, you know, it's not like.
Lauren Alvarez (31:14)
Mm.
Mm.
Yeah.
Kirsty (31:24)
not a fitness model, I'm not like, and so it's still always a little bit nerve wracking, but yeah, I think it's just, you have to be grateful for all those moments, you know? And then I shot for Vogue Australia at the start of this year, which was really cool, because I was like, I don't know why I need to be in Vogue, like, but okay. And they, yeah, and they dressed me like really cool and in clothes that I never would have put on myself, and I was like, oh wow, I feel great.
Lauren Alvarez (31:45)
But I'll do it. Yeah. Twist the arm.
Kirsty (31:54)
This is just a good wake up call for me to like maybe get out of my men's oversized soccer jersey that I'm wearing right now and like, you know.
Lauren Alvarez (32:01)
I mean, I think it's cute, but yeah, I like it. We're a soccer jersey household over here, so yeah. I mean, yes, exactly. And we learned that in the pandemic, didn't we? I'm like, I didn't wear, what would we call them? Hard pants, you know, for several years. Yeah, no, what is that?
Kirsty (32:07)
Comfort is key.
Yes.
Oh no, absolutely not. Wasteful.
Lauren Alvarez (32:19)
Yes. I mean, thinking about like the fitness space, you know, and advice you might give to people who want to pursue a career in the fitness space, is there, you know, is there kind of a point of entry that you would recommend someone pursue a path because it does feel, I'll be honest, a bit random, you know, in some ways, you know, and I think that that's can be intimidating. What advice might you give somebody who's like, I'm really passionate about fitness. I think I want to make this a full time thing.
Kirsty (32:37)
It is random.
Okay, well, first of all, let me tell you, there is no perfect path in. And Lauren and I actually spoke about this before we jumped on the podcast, but it's really cool, these unexpected entries into careers. And that's what you'll learn. If you're listening right now and you're going to university, you've just come out of university or something, they're like, I don't know what I wanna do. Guys, I did a double business degree with finance and marketing to become a trainer. And I actually got a job, I was so paranoid.
Lauren Alvarez (32:58)
Mm.
I'm sorry.
Kirsty (33:14)
to disappoint my dad and not have a job out of university, that I got my first job before I'd even sat my last exams. And I was like, okay, this is such a random job. I was a media buyer and I did it for a year and a half. And I was like, I really don't wanna do this. I don't wanna go to these boozy media lunches and stuff. But I learned a lot in that time. And whilst I was doing that, I started my fitness career on the side. So that worked well for me in a sense where I was like, let me dip my toe in, let me get my education, let me get my practice. You need to get hours under your belt.
That's what I'll say. So COVID kind of changed, and obviously how easy it is for people to make their own fitness apps and different things like that now, it kind of changed the way that people can jump into fitness. You know, there's a little bit easier to like, we can all broadcast ourselves in some way, right? But I think what's really important is you want practice in person with people. So like teaching in a gym, not a glamorous job all the time. You're getting paid not great money, especially like back in the day when I was doing this, but you...
Lauren Alvarez (33:44)
Yeah.
Right.
Kirsty (34:14)
learn so much. You learn how to control the room. Like we created a high intensity program that's meant to be for 12 people. We would end up with a hundred people in a class and I'm like, oh, this is not the vision. And you're like trying to adapt and like whatever. And I think people don't realize that this is a lot of the time, but like I had multiple jobs before I ever went full time just into training. I then, I was teaching in the gym. I was working for Nike on the side. I had a full-time job as a brand manager.
And then I was doing another job and I was just like, this is a lot, but I'm getting all my practice in. And then when it came the scary time to jump ship and like quit my full-time job and be like, I travel way too much for Nike. I just cannot hold it down doing all these things. And I kind of felt like I was worried I was disappointing people. And you know, like I actually loved being a brand manager. I loved it. And I just decided to myself, I had like a really hard decision to make with
Lauren Alvarez (34:46)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kirsty (35:10)
the company that I was working for on the program we'd created that I felt really proud of and really loved. But I had this huge opportunity with Nike and I hadn't even been in a big campaign yet, you know, or anything. And I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna jump. I'm literally just gonna go for it. And then I have to act like the odds are in my favor. Like I am living in New Zealand. I, we are at the bottom of the world. A lot of people don't even know we're our own country. But I am going to make it somehow.
because I have dreamed of working for Nike since I was five. That's not a joke. Like, you know at school, when they'd be like, what do you want to be when you grow up? And someone's like, on the news, or like an astronaut. I was like, I want to work for Nike. And my teachers were like, oh my God, very specific. And so I was just like, you know what? I've talked about this for so long. Like the little girl in me will not forgive myself if I don't just like really try. Like what's the worst that can happen? I can always come back and get a full-time job again.
Lauren Alvarez (35:50)
Yeah. Ha ha ha.
Kirsty (36:06)
And I think because I then just so unapologetically believed and focused on it, and it wasn't even like, I didn't do any shady hustles or anything to get anywhere. It was just like, I really was like, I want that and I'm going to work so hard to get it and I want to work to get it. I don't want to be given it. Like, I always want that. I always want to have been like, I deserve the job, you know? And I'll tell Nike too sometimes, I'm like, hey, listen, this sounds great. You should obviously use this trainer for that because it seems way more authentic for them. And they're like, wow.
Lauren Alvarez (36:28)
Yeah.
Kirsty (36:36)
It's kind of crazy that you'll pass off a job. I'm like, yeah, I don't want it to be me if it's not the best fit. You know? And it's crazy because now it's like, I'm in my 11th year with Nike and I don't know where all the time went. And I have to say, like, I grew up with them. You know what I mean? They're like my family. I'm obsessed with them. I've turned down so many other contracts to stay with them. Even if it was more money or whatever, I was like, I'm not gonna feel happy working for that brand or, you know?
I just want to feel like I can be myself. And so I think for anyone, long story short, wanting to jump into fitness, get your people time in. You've got to be great with people. You can teach anyone to be a great trainer. You can't teach anyone to be great with people. You got to care from the bottom, bottom up. You know, you've got to start. And I still go and do workout classes with the first people that ever came to my classes in New Zealand over 10 years ago. I'm like, these people backed me when I was terrible, you know?
Lauren Alvarez (37:28)
That's amazing.
Yeah.
Kirsty (37:33)
terrible and they will forever be so important to me. And, you know, like I'm so grateful for that. And it don't, I think it's just people get people, we get misled sometimes to believe like, oh, you need celebrity clients. I would never even call myself a celebrity trainer. I don't let people ever write that in a bio. I hate that. I'm like, I train everyone. I'm free on Nike training club. You can work out with us on Netflix. Yes, I have some celebrity clients. They're not celebrities to me.
I talk to them in first name basis. They're a person to me, you know? But you have to care. If you wanna be in fitness, just know the job, the assignment is you're caring for people.
Lauren Alvarez (38:03)
Yeah.
I love that. And I think like, I mean, also you slipped in there. I mean, happy decade plus with Nike. That's casual. Holy shit. I mean, I think that it is so interesting, you know, talking about like where you come from because I think there is like a dangerous, you know, misconception that people make that, you know, something is just given or that you can just break in. And I do think that like we have the tools now so accessible to us to like create our own videos and create our own content and really put things out there.
Kirsty (38:19)
Thanks.
Lauren Alvarez (38:41)
But when you're considering something like fitness and training, that is something that could seriously have implications if it's not done correctly, if you're not certified, if you're not being safe. And so I also think that you're right. There is that in-person education that is absolutely critical. And I mean, I'm sure you've seen a lot of evolution since the early days of partnering with such a global brand like Nike. I mean, what's changed the most working with Nike since those early days? Everything.
Kirsty (38:51)
Yeah.
Oh man, well, I basically used to work a lot kind of on men's fitness when I first started because I was doing such intense workouts. And I think for them, they're like, we have this hyper maniac, like from New Zealand with this thick accent that we can barely understand. And like, what do we partner her with? You know, and like, I was so intense, like with my workouts. And then we made, we had the Nike app used to be actually really only for women.
years ago and then we had Nike training that was for men and then we decided to put them together and then the app became more dual gender, Nike training became a category for like men and women. It wasn't separate and we still have the Nike woman account.
Lauren Alvarez (39:38)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, because where the fuck do you train if you're non-binary? I mean, you're just like, what? I guess I just don't get to train? Come on. Like, yeah. Bring it forward, yeah.
Kirsty (39:53)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And, but what's been cool now is I think with Nike, even like in the past, you know, we used to be master trainers. Now there's some of us that are called global trainers, and we're expanding our network a lot more to have a lot more local people on the ground. And we're really like, going deeper, really like not just like, okay, we're in, we've got trainers kind of in these five gyms around the city. It's like, no, we want to be everywhere. And we want to be hitting a lot of different modalities. So we're,
Lauren Alvarez (40:14)
Mm.
Kirsty (40:23)
We recently kind of rebranded Nike Training to Nike Well Collective because the point being was we're like, we need people to be well. And it's not, that's not just training. We're realizing that people need support in so many other areas. And also, you know, if you're someone that people respect with training and they trust you with their body, they then wanna know what books you're reading. They're like, what food are you eating? What's happening? So we've been expanding not only the content we share and the education.
Lauren Alvarez (40:31)
Mm. Yeah.
Kirsty (40:51)
but the trainers that we have as a resource to factor in all these things like mindfulness and sleep and recovery, nutrition and training. So that's been really cool just to be like, okay, can we kind of be a little more full service support for people and our stuff is free. That's what I always say to people. I'm like, you can pretend there's an agenda, but it's free and you're getting access to some of the best, like we've got Deepak Chopra on stuff, you know, and it's like, you're getting access to all these workouts for free. So.
Lauren Alvarez (41:06)
Yeah.
No big deal.
Kirsty (41:20)
just take it, take it or leave it. And I think that's something that I always feel really proud about. And there's a lot more conversation with women and we're trying to get involved with, how do we keep young girls in sport? Because we know how important that is for confidence. And obviously there's unfortunately like a huge dropout rate of young women in sport. And there's concerning things with obesity, especially in America. So we just wanna try and keep people really healthy and just give them the support and education that they need. So.
Lauren Alvarez (41:22)
Yeah.
Kirsty (41:50)
That's been really cool on this, on the side. What's awesome with Nike too, is they acknowledge they're like, you know, I, it's my creative craft to build. So I'm now creating my own online platform that will go alongside the work that I do with Nike and the content I filmed for them. And that will have sort of a lot more of the training programs that I really do with myself, my clients. And I'm so happy to be building that out and also doing it in a way where it's like, it's harmonious with what I do with Nike because I want both.
Lauren Alvarez (42:17)
Yeah.
Kirsty (42:19)
And it's designed that you can have that all together. And so I'm really excited because with all this time in the fitness industry, I love being part of a team. As much as I do so much by myself, because I'm a control freak and a may type, like I run made off by myself, my protein company. And I really want to highlight some of their most amazing trainers and people and practitioners that I've met across my time in this industry through this platform as well.
So it's like you might subscribe to me, but then you might be like, oh wow, this person was amazing. I'm so happy that now I can do yoga with them or whatever. So that's kind of the goal.
Lauren Alvarez (42:49)
Yeah.
Yeah. And I think also like having that many, you know, different modalities at your fingertips, you can also probably cross reference to your client and say, you know what, you should take yoga once a week or you should start doing the stretch class because it's going to really help you improve in this area. So there's like a cross functionality to it. Yes.
Kirsty (43:15)
Yeah, definitely my clients have a very like, yeah, they and they're so funny. They're amazing. They really like follow the rules and like we'll do some classes together or like, you know, I send them their homework and they're, they're always making me proud. They're like, they're so sweet. I feel so lucky to have them. But yeah, I, that's a big goal for me always is teaching people. I think there's so many fitness platforms out there that say, this is the only type of training you can do. You can only do Pilates, like no high impact, no this, no that.
only yoga and stuff. I'm like, guys, let's be realistic. We don't need to outlaw anything. You need to do what feels good for your body. Everyone has a unique circumstance. We know that most women need strength training. Okay. It doesn't have to be high impact. We know that people need a certain amount of intensity. You don't need to go and abuse high intensity, but you also don't need to cancel that entire category of fitness. Pilates is great for everyone. Yoga and mobility is really important. Do we all need to work on our breathwork? Absolutely. Me included. You know?
But there's no need to demonize like one or the other because that for me is what I don't like about the wellness industry. It becomes such a money play. I'm like, if you really care about people and wanting the best for them, you're confidently telling them to go to that yoga class or follow this other instructor because then your person's getting a much more well-rounded experience, you know?
Lauren Alvarez (44:20)
Yeah.
Yeah, I was going to ask you your least favorite part of the industry, but I think you just said it perfectly. It's, you know.
Kirsty (44:38)
least favorite part of the industry is the toxic enlightenment. It's the kind of charade of like you know, there's countless people you might see on the internet and you sort of meet in real life you're like, that's a doozy, but I just try and I'm like listen like I'm I went to a class today I went to a class at the street and I love it and I love talking to the trainer I'm like yo that was an amazing class like thank you like thank you for the posterior chain work whatever blah
I love being part of a community. I think there's room for it to go around. A lot of, I always believe you can tell with great trainers, they're not threatened by other stuff. And they're not like giving you, you're not gonna ever see a before and after image on anything that I share. There's gonna be no false promises. There's gonna be work, you know? But I think with the fitness industry sometimes there's a little bit of like, there's a bit of bullshit, but with everything, you know? And with everything.
Lauren Alvarez (45:14)
Mm.
Yeah.
I mean, with everything for sure. With everything. I mean, let's talk about boundaries because you touched on it earlier. You know, and also moving to LA, like, you know, there is a kind of a difference in what that feels like. You know, from New York, the boundary might be like, I can't stay out till 2 a.m. three times this week. And in LA, the boundary is like, I can't even have that conversation. Or maybe you just stopped drinking coffee. I don't know. What would you say has been like the biggest eye opener for you with boundaries in this industry? And also maybe we could
talk about a little bit of advice, like sharing with our listeners, because I think people do struggle with boundaries, generally speaking, but especially when it comes to like, what we're working on, we don't always have to announce it, is my thinking is like, if I'm working on a goal for myself, I might not be ready to share it yet, and that's okay. Yeah.
Kirsty (46:06)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Exactly. Like, it's, it's funny you say that too, because it's like even me saying I'm doing a platform. I'm like, I'm only saying that now because it's actually in the motion. I've been wanting to do this for years, you know, and I could have said that for years and maybe, maybe harness it. But I always believe I'm like, you can work in private, you know, and that can be a goal. It can be a business thing, if anything. But because the problem sometimes is when you tell people stuff, you're going to get a lot of like unwanted feedback. Maybe you want feedback, and that's an appropriate time to share it. But
Lauren Alvarez (46:25)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Kirsty (46:45)
I would just make sure that the audience, you feel comfortable sharing certain things with, make sure that there's someone that have your best interests in heart. And that doesn't mean just placating you and telling you, oh yeah, great idea. Like let them be someone that can order that and be like, oh yeah, interesting, but, and that's what I love about New York because New York is very good for that. People will be like, actually, you should meet this person. They're gonna help you with this, whatever.
Lauren Alvarez (46:52)
Yeah.
Very direct.
Kirsty (47:09)
In LA, a little wishy washy sometimes. Not everyone, it's just a different beast here. So for me personally, I just fucking hate drama. Excuse my language. I don't have the time for it. I have other shit I wanna be doing. I'd rather be activating my glutes on a sanity walk, anything. Do not text me and be like, yo, what's the tea? I will smash my phone. There's no tea. If there's tea, it's Breast and Digest by Natasia, our after-bucket risk. There's...
Lauren Alvarez (47:20)
Mmm.
Oh, I love it. A little product placement, Natasia. Ha ha.
Kirsty (47:39)
Yeah, there's guys for real. It's such a good tea and she's the best ankymoncturist. She'll change your life. But like, I don't care. I have shit to talk about. Like for me, I love business. You know what I mean? I'm like, you want to shoot the shit on business? Let's go. You want to talk about drama? I don't care. Not my problem. Not my problem.
Lauren Alvarez (47:42)
It is such a good tea.
Yes. And I also like, I feel like there is like, kind of like this moment that we're in, of people pretending that they don't talk shit. There's like, you know, it's like, okay, everyone talks shit, but just like, don't make it like the day to day. Like, you know, there's, in that movie, bridesmaids, there's the great part where she's like, you know, why don't you just go home and talk about me behind my back like a normal person? It's like, I do feel like there's like,
Kirsty (48:15)
Yeah. Oh, I'm like, yo, I'm a double fire sign. If there's a problem, I'm gonna tell you, I will come to you. That's yeah. Let's.
Lauren Alvarez (48:22)
Yeah, exactly. Let's just squash it now instead of like making me chase you to find out what's wrong. It's like, I'm good. I'm good. I need to be resting and digesting as well. You're right.
Kirsty (48:33)
Literally. Well, I think that the thing is too that I've learned and boundaries have always been really hard for me because I am in an active service job. So I've broken my body multiple times from overdoing it and not having any work boundaries, you know, or things like that. And then since I've sort of been on that and I identify all of those moments as blessings, you know, I'm like, oh.
Lauren Alvarez (48:42)
Mm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Kirsty (48:59)
Okay, probably went too far when I got the shingles. So like, well, definitely didn't need to take down every hormone in my body, you know? And like, um, I think for me emotionally with boundaries, what I've realized too, is I always, I'm quite level in my head. So I always tell people too, I'm like, yo, if you're getting really heated about something, if you can take a lap, like literally go take a little walk before you fire off about something, because you need to figure out what it is. That's really annoying you. That's why I remember reading this thing and it was like,
Lauren Alvarez (49:26)
Mm-hmm.
Kirsty (49:29)
be mindful for your triggers because that like lets you know where you're not free. It was something like that. And I think we're so quick to always be like, well, that really triggers me. You're like, that's a boundary for me as if that's enough. No, if it's a trigger for you, that's actually not about the other person potentially. If they're directly doing it to your purpose to press you, that's one thing. But if it's just a trigger that you have, you've got to do the work to unwind that little beast. Otherwise, that's going to keep tripping you up. Then the boundary.
Lauren Alvarez (49:33)
Mm hmm. I like that.
Mm.
Yeah.
A thousand percent.
Kirsty (49:59)
I, when I first started doing boundaries, like, well, this is a boundary for me, just thinking someone's going to respect that. No, someone's going to bulldoze your boundaries all the day. You have to uphold your boundary. So you have to honor it and you have to put the work in around that. If it's like a certain way that you want to be treated in a relationship or friendship or something or some things with work, you just be like, no, whatever it is. And I've also learned it. When you say no, you don't need to over explain why you can just say no.
Lauren Alvarez (50:09)
Mm.
Kirsty (50:29)
My friend does this amazing thing. She really does know and does a heart and I love it. It's so good. But I think the boundaries, you get momentum. The more you set that, the more that you kind of actively uphold them, the better you feel and then it's really easy. Then you've got that momentum.
Lauren Alvarez (50:33)
Yeah. Well, I.
Yeah, and I think what I would add to that too is there was this really interesting article earlier this year from Bustle about therapy speak. And it was like, it's like, is therapy speak making us selfish is the article. And it's a great read. And I would recommend it to anybody. But it talked about the importance of boundaries, but also having compassion when setting the boundaries. Boundaries don't need to be announced to the world. And this is my boundary, and you're violating my boundary, especially professionally. Sometimes we just need to set them for ourselves and say, you know what?
Kirsty (50:57)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (51:16)
of my work brain and pivot to my personal life because I've been neglecting that. For the next two weeks, I'm going to do this at this time of day and I'm gonna stick to it no matter what. And yes, there are exceptions that come up. There are things that we can't foresee, but if we can be able to honor that for ourselves versus trying to honor all these boundaries that other people are asking us to violate, we're gonna do better when we're in service of ourselves. And especially when you're in a,
service industry where you're constantly putting that energy outward for other people, you've also got to be able to refill your cup, right? Like you cannot, like you said, like your body basically shut you down and was like, all right, I'm going to put you in timeout because you have no chill, double fire sign, like, come on, get in bed. We're staying here until we're better, you know, but it's like, that is a real thing that like, sometimes we just need to be told flat out, like, okay, enough is enough.
Kirsty (51:52)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (52:10)
But that's like us not hearing our own boundaries too, right? So that there is a point of learning there.
Kirsty (52:14)
Yeah, I do love that point about being the compassion thing too, because I do think sometimes we get a little like defensive or we get too hostile about it. And it doesn't need to be it can actually be a meaningful conversation, or it can be a learning experience between people, you know, and they can be like, Oh, my gosh, I, you know what, you have a newborn baby. I'm sure you want to spend the evening with your husband and your child and not answering emails and getting back to me, you know, just because.
Lauren Alvarez (52:23)
Mm.
Yes.
Kirsty (52:42)
people can contact you at any hour of the day. It doesn't mean you have to reply.
Lauren Alvarez (52:45)
Ooh, I heard that. Say it louder for people in the back. Yeah, I think that's a good one. I mean, coming up on thinking about where you are today, and I wanna talk about made of, you mentioned the protein powder, and I will be, truly, I have a confession. I am someone who generally despises the texture, chalky chunks of all protein powders, and I love made of. I tried it unsolicited. You did not tell me to try it. I tried it a year ago.
Kirsty (52:48)
Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (53:14)
And I actually love it so much. I've baked with it. I've put it into things. And I think I told you before we started recording, I've actually put it into things. My husband's like, is there protein powder in here? What are you making? Yeah, I'm sneaking it in. But I've adapted my famous chocolate chip cookies to have made of protein. And it's a pretty tasty recipe. But it is amazing to think about it. And also nutrition is such an important and.
Kirsty (53:25)
She's sneaking it in.
Honestly, that makes me so happy.
Lauren Alvarez (53:42)
often overlooked component of wellness and fitness. And you could be in the gym hours and hours a day and doing nothing but put garbage in your body. And sure, you can have some performance if you're exceptional, but like there's a price that you pay for that. So talk a little bit about made of protein. What was the impetus? How did this come to be?
Kirsty (54:02)
Well, it's interesting because I think there's like this synchronicity between me as a trainer and me as the founder of Madoff and not just because, oh, fitness and you do post workout recovery. When I first, you got to remember, like fitness was not cool years ago when I got into it, like absolutely not cool and definitely not cool when you just paid to do a double business degree and you're like, I'm going to become a trainer. You were like, wow, she's really doing that. But my goal was I was like,
Lauren Alvarez (54:17)
That's right.
Kirsty (54:30)
I think fitness is amazing, but why on earth is this entire category from training to nutrition and everything so tacky, just awful? The terrible wording, the terrible branding, everything was like this weird sell about before and after, and it was very bodybuilding dense and stuff. And I was just like, I just think that this stuff needs a rebrand. It really needs to be about you got to do things that feel good. We know that moving your body feels good. We know that treating your body well with food feels good.
Lauren Alvarez (54:38)
Yeah.
Yes.
Kirsty (54:59)
So there was definitely that like link of things that I wanted to clean up in the industry. And that was a big driver for me, jumping in to first being a trainer. And then it was 2016, it was my first year living in America. I'm from New Zealand, we have some of the freshest food ever. Your body feels great when you're there, you know? And you have, we don't have a lot of the terrible foods there. Like sure, we do have McDonald's and KFC and stuff, but our supermarkets aren't filled with all these crazy products. We have different food laws.
Lauren Alvarez (55:18)
Yeah.
Kirsty (55:29)
And I had still never really found a protein powder I loved, either when I was in New Zealand back in the day, or they definitely like the ones that were better, it still had horrible branding and big bulky packaging and you know the type, huge plastic tubs. And I started to work on made of around the premise of I was like, nobody knows what their food is made of. Like no one reads ingredients. So that's why it has the name made of, because I was like, first and foremost, regardless of if it's the protein powder.
Lauren Alvarez (55:34)
Mm.
Yeah.
Mm.
Kirsty (55:58)
You should know what your food is made of. You should learn to read ingredients. I always encourage people to cook their food so they know exactly what's in there. But I was like, stop going and reading fat, protein, carbs, everything like that if you're not even reading the ingredients, because that is gonna dynamically change how your body's responding to stuff. So, you know, it's a fun and expensive exercise creating a protein powder, but I was really committed to the cause, and I wanted to do a New Zealand grass-fed whey isolate. Now, I understand that
you know, maybe especially like five years ago, I feel like plant proteins were booming, you know, and everyone was like anti whey and they're like, what dairy is so bad and blah, blah. Guys, dairy is not bad. The food industry is pretty corrupt. So if you get high quality anything from the source, it's usually an innocent product. You know, it's a lot of these other things that are added in that we have a reaction. Obviously, some people are severely allergic to dairy, you know, like lactose intolerant.
Lauren Alvarez (56:34)
Yeah.
Yes.
Kirsty (56:59)
So what's interesting with the whey isolate is all of the lactose is removed. So that's why a lot of people that can't usually tolerate dairy can actually have a high quality whey isolate because it doesn't have that component in there. But what also happens is a lot of people's touch point with whey protein is that it's a concentrate, it's just cheap, it still has the lactose in there, and then there's a lot of other bad ingredients in it. So made of, the entire thing is about transparency. It's a very clean product. I want you to get more protein per scoop.
Lauren Alvarez (57:24)
Yeah.
Kirsty (57:28)
and we list every ingredient that's in there, including every protein powder is sprayed with some phyllolecithin. There's nothing bad with that. Nothing bad at all. It's not a bad ingredient. We list that as an ingredient. You do not need to. Most other brands, I never see them listed. Haven't seen one. There might be one, but I haven't seen it. And I just wanna give people confidence in food because...
Lauren Alvarez (57:50)
Yeah.
Kirsty (57:52)
We deserve to feel confident about what we put in our body. What we put in our body directly correlates to our moods, our energy, our output. Everyone around you is experiencing that. So you gotta be diligent with how you treat your body. That's not saying you need to be a robot and not have anything yummy that you want. But when you learn to treat your body well, you learn that healthy food is yummy. You feel really good, you recover really well, you sleep well. It becomes this really beautiful harmony in your life. So...
That's where Madoff came from. It was kind of something I made for myself at first. And then I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna give this a shot. And like worst case scenario, if it doesn't work, who cares? I tried. And then I know. And I remember when I started it, people were like, the world doesn't need one more protein powder. And I was like, that's cool. I'm gonna do it anyway. Like the world definitely doesn't need one more skincare brand, but they keep coming out. And what's been really cool is the number of people who were like, I was terrified of protein powder.
Lauren Alvarez (58:29)
Right.
Kirsty (58:46)
beforehand or like I never digested one well, I never felt good on it and I've got such an array of people using the product and that makes me so happy because I just want people to feel confident about their food. There's so much food anxiety out there and even people that if they're vegan or something, they're like hey I know that you don't have a vegan protein, but could you help me read the ingredients on this? Of course, you know and like I just want people to feel good. Just pay attention to what your food is made of.
Lauren Alvarez (58:49)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Yeah, and I think that that's so interesting because, especially living in LA, there's such a, people like to really tell you what their food preferences are. And I do think that you're right. I think a lot of it probably comes from a place of anxiety and whether or not folks are admitting that is a different conversation for a different day. But I think that just not knowing is oftentimes where we put up a wall and we say, oh, well, I just don't do any dairy versus understanding what's actually being put in dairy that might be affecting you. Yes, you may actually be.
Kirsty (59:29)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Lauren Alvarez (59:42)
quite lactose intolerant and not able to have any dairy at all. But also if you're lactose intolerant and it's removed, then as you said, they can actually enjoy this product.
Kirsty (59:43)
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's funny too, because I mentioned this earlier, but I grew up celiac. So there's no gluten free options. There's no, you know, I don't eat bread. I don't eat pasta. I don't eat all these things because I didn't grow up eating that. So why would I add it now? I don't think about it, but I very much respect allergies because I know what it feels like to not feel good and you know, to feel poisoned in your body. And one of the things we did was I had a few people when I was making made up and getting the formula right, they, they are lactose intolerant. They're like, yo, I will be a tester for you.
Lauren Alvarez (1:00:13)
Mm.
Kirsty (1:00:23)
And I was like, no, like, oh my God, don't like, you know, you're nervous in the beginning. And then they're like, wait, I'm obsessed with this. And they realized they felt so much better on it than the vegan proteins they'd been having. So that was a real big confidence boost as well.
Lauren Alvarez (1:00:36)
I love that. And what was the process of developing a product like from inception to launch? I mean, that's a huge one, but kind of overview. I'm guessing this is your first time developing a product and then kind of separate level of difficulty is something that people are ingesting. There's obviously the complications that comes from that. What was that like for you?
Kirsty (1:00:46)
Yeah.
Yes, it's scary. You know, like it's scary because you're also asking people to a lot of the whole company is basically based off people sort of trusting me as well. And, you know, there's a lot of even every time we do a new round of production, like we recently we just sold out quite a while, but and people like, why isn't it up? And I'm like, guys, I'm so uptight about making sure that I sign off.
Lauren Alvarez (1:01:03)
Yeah.
Kirsty (1:01:19)
every sample, everything has to be perfect. The flavor's got to be right, like making sure, you know, consistency is good. And I would rather take my time and make sure that is right every single time because it's, I'm really careful. And I know that there's so many horror stories out there with food things and there's so many brands, they just seem kind of reckless. I'm like, do you care? Like, because I'm like, my name is attached to this. So like, I very much care. And I also like, very much care about
Lauren Alvarez (1:01:41)
Yeah.
Kirsty (1:01:47)
how anyone feels. I want everyone to have a good experience. The branding and everything like that was actually super easy. It's more like finding the right production partners, making sure that it's consistent, because that's the hard thing. You're buying way. The cows are different. And you need to sometimes explain that to people. You're like, listen, it's different cows. Sometimes some batches might blend a little thicker in a smoothie than others or whatever, but you're like, the product is exactly the same. It's the same as every...
Lauren Alvarez (1:01:59)
Yeah.
Yes.
Kirsty (1:02:16)
thing of actual milk or yogurt is going to be ever so slightly different, you know, when people do runs of it. But we have a really supportive and like nice community with made of which I'm super grateful for. But I think it is. It's been a really interesting learning process. And I think for me, too, I was just like, I'm I was upset when I created I was really upset that companies cut so many corners. I remember a lot of the feedback I was getting when I was making it. They're like, you're making this in a very expensive way by wanting
Lauren Alvarez (1:02:40)
Yeah.
Kirsty (1:02:45)
that little ingredients in it. And I was like, well, that's tragic though, that people are just filling up these other powders with shit just to make it cheaper. And I'm like, people want protein. That's why they're taking this. You should give them the highest amount of protein per scoop that they can have.
Lauren Alvarez (1:02:53)
Yeah.
Yeah.
and not put a bunch of filler in there because that's not what they're asking for.
Kirsty (1:03:04)
No one needs that. And I always ask people, I'm like, why is there a gum in this? Why do you have three different sweetness? Why, you know, what's happening? Like, I'm sorry, but Arowan smoothies, guys, you've gotta stop. They are so bad, you do not need to buy them. Make your own smoothies at home. I promise you, you will save yourself. The Arowan smoothies are just going to town. It is just a glucose overlook.
Lauren Alvarez (1:03:11)
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm like, so do you need sea moss to have a good smoothie? Yes or no? Yeah.
Kirsty (1:03:32)
No. And it's like 12 ingredients of things and I'm like, okay.
Lauren Alvarez (1:03:37)
Yes, I mean, I will say taste can be good, but then you don't feel good after and
Kirsty (1:03:40)
Sure. You may as well just have a McDonald's stick shake at this point, you know, and it's cheaper.
Lauren Alvarez (1:03:46)
Yeah, that's true. You can just go through the drive-through. There's no Erawan drive-through that I know of, so yeah. Yeah, I mean, same. I'm a member, yeah. Yeah, save your $22, right? Yeah. I mean, aside, yeah, could you just make this for me? But I brought my own protein powder. Please put that in there.
Kirsty (1:03:51)
Probably coming soon. Listen, I also love Aeron, by the way, but you don't need to buy the smoothies. Yeah, same, same move.
Yeah, just cut the sugar.
Yeah, I have done that before and the place was like, uh, no. And I was like, oh, it was worth a shot.
Lauren Alvarez (1:04:12)
Yeah, it was worth a try. Well, you guys could just have this one here. Just sample it. Yeah. I mean, aside from made of, what are your other favorite brands right now? Other brands you feel like are doing business right? Because there is a lot of things that you've mentioned around the ethos of business and people kind of wanting to hide ingredients or hide kind of procedures, behaviors. What do you think? Who's doing it right?
Kirsty (1:04:17)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, a lot of my favorite things gear around, you know, caffeine or something like that. So I actually love since I quit coffee, super into matcha. And one of my closest friends, he actually helped me in my process of getting off coffee. And he always would like, he'd even come over and make me a matcha at my house or whatever, because he's, he's a big matcha guy. He is great. And.
Lauren Alvarez (1:04:55)
I need a friend like that, yeah.
Kirsty (1:04:59)
Same as how Madoff is like my passion project inside Hustle and Think, he ended up then, we were all like, you got to start your own matcha brand. Like you're so passionate about this and we don't know, like people don't really know what good matcha is and like we don't have a brand that we're super excited about, you know. So he started this brand called Rocky's Matcha, which is so good. If you're in LA and you want like a taste tester, you can go to Community Goods. They actually make the matcha there.
Lauren Alvarez (1:05:12)
Yeah.
Kirsty (1:05:25)
And if you're in New York, they make it at the Awake Store in Lower East Side, but the matcha is unmatched. And I know for a lot of, especially women, when they switch from coffee to matcha, they notice a lot of really positive differences for their digestion, just for anxiety, just helps a lot with sleep. You're not getting that crazy crash in the afternoon. So love Rocky's matcha. Other brands that I love, I love this brand called LDMA, which is...
Lauren Alvarez (1:05:26)
Oh, great.
Kirsty (1:05:54)
This is funny, the best underwear, so good. And they make these really cute little like off-duty bras, like comfortable, like super flattering little triangle bra, I'm wearing one at the moment, or like a ribbed kind of more square neck one. But the underwear is so, so good. I love that. I love this brand called Comcee, which are socks. Okay, I know this is different because it's not a food product or anything, but these are things you're wearing intimately, right? Like underwear, socks, whatever.
Lauren Alvarez (1:05:58)
Love.
Yes. And they become part of your everyday, so...
Kirsty (1:06:25)
They do. And I love these female founded businesses, you know, Rocky, obviously not female, but big advocate for females. And then we mentioned the tea before, Natasha, Dr. Stolberg, her breast and digest tea is my favorite end of the day routine. It's so good.
Lauren Alvarez (1:06:29)
Yeah.
I mean, she was on the show and she hooked up our listeners with a promo code, like an absolute queen. Yeah, it was very cool. And so I am such a fan of rest and digest. It's such a great, great product and tea. And everyone who tries it is like, I've never had anything like this before, which isn't that what you want someone to say about your product? Yeah, absolutely.
Kirsty (1:06:47)
That's so good.
It's so great.
That's what, yeah, you want it to, you want it to fill that void of what people are looking for.
Lauren Alvarez (1:07:05)
Well, I mean, I can't believe we're gonna be on time. I feel like we could talk for like four more hours. I'm like, can you just come over? We'll have a matcha, it'll be perfect. Yeah, perfect, a matcha smoothie. Where can people go to learn more about you, Kirsty?
Kirsty (1:07:11)
Yeah, yeah, I'll make you a macho and a smoothie.
probably best on Instagram and it's at Kirsty Gonzo. And if you're interested in Madov, it is Madov.life.
Lauren Alvarez (1:07:29)
Amazing. And I mean, what can we expect for you next? Do you have anything you want to plug anything coming up? I know you're busy. You're running the world
Kirsty (1:07:36)
Yeah, I'm trying. I've got a lot more exciting new Nike workouts coming out. So you can stay tuned to us on the app is where all of our workouts are. And then Netflix has a nice curated edit as well. But then dropping in January will be my own fitness platform. So if you stay tuned to my Instagram, you'll be getting the details on that one. And I'm really excited for that. I really just, I feel like it's my mission just to give people like some good accountability, like be there, feel part of a community.
and have a good time. You should have fun with your fitness.
Lauren Alvarez (1:08:10)
Yeah, I mean, I'm expecting that you're going to have some sort of launch event where people can come together. Yeah, we've got to have some feel good vibes.
Kirsty (1:08:15)
Yeah, yes, well definitely, definitely. I love, like I've been waiting to teach more in-person classes again, like till it was geared towards something that really like, you know, we've got to bring the pyro back, you know, I'm just saying.
Lauren Alvarez (1:08:31)
I mean, Kirstie, what's one final thought you want to leave our listeners with today? This has been, I mean, there's so many gems, but leave us with one.
Kirsty (1:08:31)
Okay.
just say, honestly, in honor of the name of this podcast, the only way that you can fuck things up is by not giving it a go. Like you really just got to like count on yourself. I think we do so much like work, like following other people, investing in the people, like you're like bet on yourself just a little bit. Because you are so much more important than you ever know. And you probably have some like amazing little desire in you that's waiting to come out. Like it's easier than ever, you know, with things like Shopify and stuff to just.
Try your little side hustle. You don't know where that's gonna go. And I truly believe so many great things will happen in your life if you release that. Let that little dream out. It can be as crazy as being from New Zealand and being like, I wanna be the lead of Nike. And anything can happen, guys, I'm just saying. But you have to let it come out. And even if it doesn't pan out, you probably end up somewhere amazing.
Lauren Alvarez (1:09:35)
Yeah, I mean bet on yourself. Fucking legendary. Kirsty, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been Don't Fuck This Up, the podcast answering the ultimate question, how the fuck did you land that cool job?
Kirsty (1:09:43)
Hehehe
Yeah.