Hurdle

Denyelle Bruno was born to stand out. The California native realized a couple of life-shaking things in her teen years: that she was a lesbian and had natural passion for leadership. Today, the President and CEO of fast-casual favorite Tender Greens has a remarkable resume that includes impressive gigs at big brands like Peet's Coffee and Tea, Macy's, Apple, and Drybar. In episode 46, Denyelle talks with me about owning her “executive presence,” something she was heavily criticized for throughout her rise to the top, and the ah-hah moment that changed her life forever when she was running around a lake in Oakland. With nuggets of wisdom like “it’s the things that make you stand out that make you successful, not the things that make you fit in,” it’s no wonder that I walked away from our conversation in Los Angeles with goosebumps. SOCIAL@denyellebruno@tendergreens@hurdlepodcast@emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary. Jaybird | Head to jaybirdsport.com to get 20 percent off the new RUN XT True Wireless headphones and free shipping through the end of March with code “HURDLE” at checkout.

The second you meet bubbly personal trainer and Training Mate founder Luke Milton, you’ll want to be his best friend. It’s no wonder he attracts great celebrity clientele like Khloe Kardashian, Elle McPherson, Rachel McAdams, and Teri Hatcher. One night in 2011, the former Australian professional rugby player was working late when he was involved in a serious hit and run car accident. It landed him in the hospital, temporarily unable to walk. This frightening #hurdlemoment made him reevaluate his life and goals. Soon after, he proposed to his wife (she said yes!) and the couple relocated to the United States where he would open his first studio. In episode 45, the E! Revenge Body star talks to me about setting a solid foundation for better health and shares his biggest regret in launching his company. SOCIAL @milts1 @trainingmate @revengebody @hurdlepodcast @emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary.

In 2015, Rachel Drori was hangry. Working at Gilt Groupe, she didn’t have enough time to recipe plan and cook healthy meals every single day. Come 3 p.m., she’d grab whatever was available for convenience sake—like a bar or trail mix—instead of putting good, clean food into her body. She felt totally depleted, and to make matters worse, was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Hashimito’s disease. In episode 44, she talks to me about this #hurdlemoment which encouraged her to start smart meal prepping and eating healthier, enabling her to manage her disease, forgo prescription medication, and concept a brand new company. Today, farm-frozen favorite Daily Harvest has expanded to more than 50 recipes including smoothies, harvest bowls, oat bowls, chia bowls, soups, activated lattes, and cookies (yes, please). Rachel dishes on the truth behind the fruits and vegetables you see in the grocery store, how she manages to run a 100-person company while raising her two boys, and explains what a “shiggle” is. SOCIAL @dailyharvest @racheldrori @hurdlepodcast @emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary. Headspace | Head to heaspace.com/hurdle to get 30-day free trial of the entire Headspace library, no code necessary. Daily Harvest | Head to daily-harvest.com to get $25 off your first box using the code “HURDLE” at checkout.

There’s no better way to describe Alex Williamson than kind. The Chief Brand Officer at Bumble has had more than her fair share of #hurdlemoments. From dealing with her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis to finding out she had fibromyalgia in her early 20s, these challenges have help shape her into the woman she is today. Williamson even tells me about a recent divorce that drove her to try a digital detox that forever changed her for the better. In episode 43, she shares what it’s like being at the helm of a tech company which now boasts more than 50 million users in over 150 countries. We get super vulnerable, talking about powering through persistent pain, the power of positive thinking, and that sometimes—it’s OK to go looking for a “quick swipe.” SOCIAL @williamson @bumble @bumblebizz @bumblebff @bumblehoney @hurdlepodcast @emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary.

Today, GT Dave is often referred to as the “king of kombucha.” But in late 1994, he was brewing small batches of the fermented tea in his parents’ kitchen. At the time, his mom was diagnosed with a highly aggressive form of breast cancer. When she healed, she shared with doctors that she’d been drinking her son’s very pungent, homemade tea that experts said helped her fight the battle. As a teenager, GT became one of the first people to mass market the beverage. Today, kombucha sales exceed $600 million globally according to Inc., and GT’s commands about half of that. In episode 42, the California native talks to me about everything from gut health to changing food trends, and confesses just how much tea he’s drinking every single day. Spoiler alert: It’s a lot. SOCIAL @gtskombucha @gtdave3 @hurdlepodcast @emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary.

At age 15, Juice Press founder Marcus Antebi entered a 3-month drug rehab program, and he’s been sober ever since. In episode 41, the Brooklyn native tells me about how he leaned into athletic interests like skydiving and Muay Thai in his young adulthood and became really focused on the quality of the foods he was putting into his body. In 2010, the vegetarian opened up the first Juice Press in the East Village—arguably the world’s largest organic, plant-based grab-and-go health food provider. Today, Marcus and Juice Press CEO Michael Karsch have 89 locations in seven different states. We chat about how scary it was expanding beyond that first shop, the one thing you need to cut out from your diet today, and how they decide what stays and goes on the 120+ item menu. SOCIAL @juicepress @marcusantebi @hurdlepodcast @emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary. Headspace | Head to heaspace.com/hurdle to get 30-day free trial of the entire Headspace library, no code necessary.

Forty. Episodes (!!!). This live pod comes from a discussion I had last week in collaboration with WeWork Labs, featuring past Hurdlers Adam Kallen of Jane Motorcycles, Jessy Dover of Dagne Dover, and Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi of Shine. We laughed a lot, and we talked about a lot of great stuff—from what it means to live a balanced lifestyle (and what that looks like for busy entrepreneurs) to really rad book suggestions and what “joy” is all about. SOCIAL @wework @shinetext @janemotorcycles @adam_janemoto @dagnedover @jessydover @hurdlepodcast OFFERS SHINE | Head to shinetext.com/hurdle to get 50 percent off a premium plan. DAGNER DOVER | Head to dagnedover.com and use the code “HURDLE20” at checkout for 20 percent off your purchase, now through February 31, 2019.

To say that Carolyn Kylstra has had an impressive career path as a journalist would be a total understatement. From stints at Men’s Health and Cosmopolitan to Women’s Health and BuzzFeed, now she’s the editor-in-chief of SELF at Condé Nast. But her rise to the top wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. In her #hurdlemoment, the new mom shares that she found out she was pregnant around the same time her entire career was about to shift, and how she managed to keep it together despite abundant—sometimes overwhelming—amounts of responsibility (plus, morning sickness). In episode 39, we talk about everything from the scary climate of the publishing industry to how she manages to take time for herself. She also tells me an insane story about how she almost died from a tick bite and offers up a ton of insight about what it means to be “healthy,” no matter what size you are. SOCIAL @carolynkylstra @selfmagazine @hurdlepodcast @emilyabbate OFFERS Athletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary.

When we feel like we’re waiting for instructions (gimme a sign!) we can forget our power. That’s just one example of the you-got-this texts that more than 2 million Shine users receive on a daily basis. App co-founders Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi met working at a non-profit just over 8 years ago, and they immediately hit it off. Becoming fast friends, the duo leaned into each other to get through #hurdlemoments like speed bumps in their relationships and hard-to-have conversations at the office. In 2016, they left their jobs to focus on Shine full-time, raised millions of dollars in funding, and began to grow their team. In episode 38, we talk about the challenges they’ve faced as women of color co-founders and they offer-up best-practice tips on how to silence your inner critic. SOCIAL@shinetext@hurdlepodcast@emilyabbate OFFERSAthletic Greens | Head to athleticgreens.com/hurdle to get 20 free travel packs ($99 value) with your first purchase, no code necessary.

Special episode alert! Live from the Tory Burch store on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, I’m sitting down with Nichelle Hines—the chief ride officer at Cycle House—and Sarah Larson Levey, the founder and CEO of Y7 Studio. This conversation is about as real as it gets. Hines shares how the writer’s strike of 2008 turned her life upside down and lead her down a path she never expected, and Sarah dishes on what it was like in the early days of creating her hip-hop yoga empire alongside her husband. In episode 37, talk about everything from our worst days as entrepreneurs (negative Yelp reviews, anyone?) to the best lessons we’ve learned with a side of sweat, sharing a bunch of laughs and a few tears along the way. This is one you don’t want to miss. SOCIAL @hurdlepodcast @sarah_ayako @nichelle @y7studio @cyclehouse @torysport OFFERS TORY SPORT | Head to torysport.com/ and get 20 percent off your purchase using the code “HURDLE20” at checkout.