Margaux Alvarez shares how she balances it all to live a life without restriction or fear of failure.
Thank you Margaux for being so open and honest in this episode. She shares what inspired her to aim for bigger and never give up.
How little things done daily lead to more success and how she balances being a professional athlete AND making wine.
Of course we chat good wine too!
Connect with Margaux:
https://www.margauxalvarez.com/
https://www.instagram.com/321gaux/
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Kindal Boyle has been a personal trainer for nearly 20 years focusing on women's strength and fitness. She'll teach you how to combine strength training and cardio for a hybrid approach to build the fittest body and life no matter where you are in your fitness journey.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) What's up guys, welcome to a brand new
episode of the Fit Women's League Podcast.
I am so stoked for this episode.
I'm not going to do the chitchat like
I normally do at the start of episodes
because I want to get right into this
interview that I recently did with Margo Alvarez.
Margo is a complete package of a badass.
Now those of you guys that might be
unfamiliar with her, she is a seven-time
(00:21):
CrossFit Games athlete.
She is a winemaker.
She is a Titans athlete.
She has done high rocks.
She is an American Ninja Warrior.
And so much more.
We talk about fitness, we talk about athletics,
we talk about future goals, how to balance
it all.
And of course, we're going to talk about
wine too.
So without further ado, let's jump into this
episode, but just make sure to do me
(00:43):
a favor.
Make sure that you're subscribed to whatever platform
it is that you're listening to this on.
And if you are watching on YouTube, make
sure to give it a thumbs up.
Alright, let's go jump into the show.
First off, before we get started, I had
to say welcome to the 40 Club.
I know that you just had your birthday.
Yes.
Thank you.
How do you feel about it?
I don't break it in my head.
I know.
I turned 41 on Sunday.
(01:05):
Oh, awesome.
Happy early birthday.
Oh, thanks.
We're not, no, we're not talking about it
because 40 was so much better than going
into your 40s.
Yeah, that's funny.
Mentally, did you handle it okay?
Were you like, oh my God, or were
you excited?
Yeah, no, I think like I didn't really
do much.
I just kind of like kept it low
key, just like did some work and stuff.
I think, yeah, I think I wasn't like,
(01:27):
oh my gosh, I'm 40.
Like I'm like, all right.
It's just another year.
Like I just, again, I think my mind,
I'm just like 26 on my head.
So I'm like, my back feels a hundred,
maybe I'm 40.
So maybe that kind of evens out.
I don't know.
Yeah.
That's what people are always saying.
Like, do you feel 40?
I'm like, no, I feel like I'm in
better shape than I was when I was
20.
The only thing is I have to warm
up and cool down now.
And I have to make sure that I
(01:48):
don't sleep on my back or on my
stomach.
Yeah.
The recovery aspect, I would say is just
a little bit longer.
But again, I think it's all, I think
a lot of it's mindset, like your mental
attitude, like how you tell, like how you
talk to yourself, like, oh my God, I'm
so old.
Like what you say has a direct impact,
impact to the body.
And it's like, if you are a negative,
you are like, man, like bah humbug about
(02:08):
it, then your body's going to pick up
on that.
But if you're more like, Hey, I have
another year of experience underneath my belt, like
I think it's going to go in a
positive manner, at least my mind.
Yeah, no, totally right there with you for
sure.
I've just been doing a lot of introspection
since, like I said, 41 is coming up
in a few days and exactly right.
When people are like, do you feel 41?
I'm like, first off, you know, when you're
(02:28):
15, you think of your 40s like, oh
my God, she's so old.
And then when you're here, you're like, what?
I totally remember being 15 was like yesterday.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Well, the podcast is super laid back.
I've already even got it reporting.
It's just two women talking about the things
that they love.
And I've been following you since, I mean,
your early days of CrossFit and especially knowing
(02:50):
that you are a wino.
I was like, Oh my God, this woman
is showing what it's like to be so
serious with her sport, but also show balance
when enjoying not only having other passions outside
of sport versus being like so tailored in,
but being like, Oh my God, she drinks
wine.
That's okay.
Like, yes, it's interesting because I think a
lot of people don't, they go together.
(03:16):
And for me, it's about a balance about
moderation.
And that's something I've always kind of talked
to people about, like, whether you drink or
don't drink, like it doesn't, you don't have
to drink it.
If you don't drink, that's fine.
I totally respect that, but it's about balance
and moderation and finding that balance in life.
It's like, you know, are you able to
disconnect at the end of the day?
Can you, you know, wind down on your
couch with your kids?
Maybe you're eating, you know, bonbons on the
(03:36):
couch, hanging out, watching a movie, like it's
about, it's more about kind of philosophy and
approach in life as like, we are not
guaranteed tomorrow, next month, next year, you know,
next week, we don't have that guarantee.
When I think in our mind, like, okay,
we're going to be around for a while,
like things can change at the drop of
a hat.
And so for myself, it's all about that
balance.
Like, yes, work hard, yes, grind, but also
if you constantly push that envelope and you're
(03:58):
not able to at least maybe disconnect or,
you know, unwind for a little bit at
the end of the day or the end
of the week, like it'll compound and I
think, and that's just my philosophy.
And again, everyone has different approaches.
Um, but I think it's really important to
kind of find that balance in life, because
if not, then, you know, you look back
and you're like, I spent all that time
and all that work doing X, whatever it
is.
And if you didn't enjoy it and you
(04:19):
didn't have a, uh, maybe a good experience
with it, then it's like, was it all
worth it?
You know, and correct me if I'm wrong,
but I feel like a lot of times
when you are a professional athlete, that can
sometimes be a very lonely activity, whereas food
and wine is something that brings us together.
So it kind of fills that social cup
up a little bit for sure.
And I think there's a lot of sacrifices
(04:40):
that are made, like whether it's professional athlete
or you're trying to build your business, you're
trying to grow your brand.
There's so much time and energy that you
have to pour into it.
Like it made people may think of it
as a being selfish, but like you have
to be able to selfish to make sure
you are thriving or building what you need
to at the same time.
Like food and wine and beverage, it brings
a culmination of things together to be able
(05:00):
to spend time with family or friends, to
be able to relax and celebrate those moments.
And I think that's what for me is
important.
Like I love being around people.
I thrive in that energy of people and
communicating and having a time to share stories
or make jokes or share memories.
And I think it's really important.
I think you're opening up a bottle at
the end of the day and you're sharing
(05:20):
a glass or two.
Again, if you're not drinking, maybe you're sharing
donuts.
So whatever it is, I obviously love donuts,
but it's about that balance and about coming
together and finding that.
And I think that's, you look at the
two sides of it, right?
Kind of the yin and the yang, right?
It's important.
It is, I would say it has its
time and place.
So it's about where you can tap into
that for yourself or for your goals or
(05:42):
your life.
For sure.
Now let's rewind a little bit.
So for people that aren't as into you
as I am, what is a little bit
of your backstory?
How did you become a professional CrossFit athlete?
And then I also want to break down
a little bit about your fitness journey didn't
end when you stepped away from the CrossFit
games.
You've been crushing so many different things, but
I want to pick your brain up, like
(06:02):
why, why keep going and doing all these
fun challenges and some people are going to
be like, sure, that's fun.
Yeah.
I know it's great.
So I grew up in Montana, um, was
pretty much raised there.
I was interactive with kind of activities.
I did like horseback riding, taekwondo ballet.
I just tried to be outdoors and act
(06:22):
as much as I could when I was
younger.
Um, and then once I graduated from high
school, I moved to Hawaii Pacific University.
I wanted to play either golf or volleyball
there.
Um, but I was too short for volleyball
and they didn't have a golf team.
We tried starting it, but it didn't work
out.
So I focused on study of broads and
being able to travel a little bit, had
the opportunity to study broads.
And then I found my way into our
river canoe pedaling, which is very popular in
(06:45):
Hawaii and kind of like in the coastal
areas, um, did that.
I ended up actually doing the Molokai challenge,
the Nahuahin challenge, which is essentially where you
pedal from one Island, Molokai to Oahu.
It's like 41 miles.
One of my, I would say that's one
of my most difficult physical and mental challenges.
I was 20 years old, I believe maybe
21.
Um, and it was such a mental task
(07:06):
and physical tasks, but I think it was
very good for me because it set me
up for potential, you know, challenges and hardships
that I may be facing in the future.
Like winning the marathon row.
Yeah, exactly.
Perfectly available.
Yeah.
So I, yeah, spent time in the university,
um, graduated from there, moved to the Bay
area.
I was wanting to be in some sort
(07:27):
of health and fitness realm gym situation and
ended up working at a health club for
a while.
Found personal training.
That personal training I think was really important
for me.
I, um, I really wanted to help people.
I think that stem from, you know, not
being able to help my sister and my
sister passed away in 2008, my final semester
at university.
And as the oldest sister, I think in
(07:47):
my mind, it was my job to protect
her, to keep an eye out for her.
And I think I felt like I failed
her.
And so movements became very therapeutic for me.
Um, being able to maybe feel in my
mind that I couldn't help her.
So now maybe I can help others through
movement and through training.
And so I focus on personal training that
eventually led me to, um, CrossFit being introduced
(08:08):
to CrossFit.
I heard about it, didn't really, I was
like, I don't know if this is my
jam.
Um, then I eventually ended up taking a
class and I fell head over heels of
it.
Like I was just like, Oh my God,
this is amazing.
And I think I liked the personal challenge
of physically having to push myself, but also
the mental challenge.
And then the community for sure was like
that third pillar, like community for me is
very important.
I value that very highly.
(08:29):
And to be in that environment, I think
was allowing myself to thrive.
So again, I've kind of gone on some
tangents, but found myself, I love it.
And I think you admit, I think I
read somewhere your sister passed away from a
car accident.
Is that right?
If you don't mind me out, she had,
it was completely out of your control, obviously,
but again, that protective energy, my husband also
lost his brother in a car accident.
(08:50):
And anytime he hears about it, you know,
he'll hug people and be like, I'm sorry
to include you in this club.
No one wants to be a part of.
That's a great way to phrase it for
sure.
Like nobody wants to be part of that
100%.
And only people that have been there can
truly relate to one another.
Exactly.
Yeah.
I think it's a, it's very, it's obviously
difficult situation.
I've learned a lot.
I think it gave me a different perspective
(09:11):
in life.
Um, obviously I, I believe everything happens for
a reason, good, bad, and different.
Um, I wish that wasn't the case.
I think she had a higher calling, not
staying here on earth.
You know, she was called to maybe somewhere
else, but for me, it was a big
learning experience.
And it also pushed me to kind of
adopt the way that she lived life.
Like she made the most of every experience.
(09:31):
She like tried to make the most of
every time, every opportunity she had with friends
and family and anything that she did.
So it really pushed me.
And I think when I found CrossFit and
I, I felt that zest and that passion
and that ultimate desire, like I want to
compete on the floor.
Like these amazing women.
I, I just thrust myself into that.
And I think it was that experience of
losing her and not her having the opportunity
(09:53):
to experience that.
I felt, well, maybe anything that I experienced,
she's with me in spirit and maybe she,
she sees what I see.
So maybe she can get the experience, all
these amazing things in life that she didn't
get to physically, but maybe emotionally and spiritually
she's here with me.
So that was where I think I thrust
myself into something I really truly loved and
enjoyed.
(10:13):
And I think she maybe was just with,
with me in spirit there.
Do you also think that because you look
at life now as like anything can happen
from one day at a time, if you're
going to invest yourself into something, you're going
to give it a hundred percent and try
to be the best at that for that
time.
It was CrossFit, but everything that you've done
since.
For sure.
I think it's definitely the attitude.
I think I've put myself in or put
(10:34):
myself kind of too.
And like energy wise, uh, I think again,
through CrossFit and competing, competing, I was like,
you know, I let go of my marketing
job, I closed that door and said, I'm
going to focus all on this.
Did I know it was going to work
out?
No, I was definitely taking a gamble.
Um, you know, I said no to a
consistent paying job, to insurance, to health benefits,
(10:55):
to all that stuff.
But it, for me, it's like, if I'm,
if I put all my eggs in this
basket and it, and it works and I'm
successful and I make it, then awesome.
Then it was all worth it.
If I give it my all, I put
everything in there and I don't make it.
At least I could say I gave it
my all.
I didn't have any regrets.
And I think, again, through that situation, through
that experience that allowed me to do that,
not only through CrossFit and competing and being
at that high level for many, many years,
(11:16):
but as I started to build my media
company and my big, my line company and
my fitness brand, like to be able to
do all that, it's like, all right, I'm
going to give it everything I got.
And to say there are struggles, like there
are a lot of struggles.
There are a lot of hardships.
There are a lot of doors slammed in
your face.
There are a lot of times where you
maybe doubt yourself.
Am I doing anything?
Am I having an impact?
Is this helping?
(11:36):
Um, but I think you continue.
I mean, I know I continue to show
up every single day and there, obviously there
are successes and you celebrate them, but just
like standing on the podium, you're there for
a couple of minutes and then, you know,
it's onto the next.
So it's about enjoying the process, enjoying the
journey, embracing those struggles, celebrating successes, you know,
however far into they come.
I think I also tend to put myself
in challenging situations.
(11:57):
I like to, I like to have myself
grow.
And so I, I put myself in environments
and situations that have called me to rise
to the occasion.
And I think that's been beneficial and helpful
because for me, I want growth, but I
also want to hopefully impart and share my
story with others to hopefully help them.
If they're struggling with loss, you know, how
did I get through it?
Maybe that can help them.
(12:17):
If they're struggling with a challenge, if they're
trying to grow their business, their brand, they're
trying to build a family, like what struggles
and what successes have they had?
Maybe I can help with what I've gone
through and I can share that and hopefully
elevate others.
Cause I think at the end of our
days here on earth and life, where I
like time goes by so fast.
What can we do to help others?
How can we elevate people around us and
give back to the community?
(12:38):
For sure.
And during the time when you were doing
your CrossFit games, it was kind of that
transitional period where people were doing two to
three workouts per day, right?
At the kind of the start of it,
but still being able to get to that
top level.
And then that transition where we had like
the Frasier where he kind of turned it
into being like, no, I work out eight
hours a day.
This is 100% my job.
(12:59):
And you're talking about also building multiple businesses,
which at that time was very different.
Did you ever get any negative feedback for
that or how did you just balance it
as a whole?
Yeah, I think, I mean, in the beginning,
I mean, it got to the point where
near the end of my years of competing,
I was spending six, eight hours a day
in the gym because the level of competition
(13:20):
was rising.
Like my last individual competition was in 2018
and it was starting to turn into, Hey,
this needs to be a full-time job,
which it was.
And luckily I had the support of my
husband.
I had the support of the companies and
the brands are working with to help me
get there.
Um, but it takes a lot of time
and it takes a lot of energy.
And that was kind of the pivotal time
where, I mean, I launched my wine business
(13:40):
in 2017.
I started my media company in like 2015,
um, trying to blend and do them both.
Like it was doable, right?
But like, as time and time went on,
like come 2018, I was like, man, like
to launch my business in 2017, try to,
um, compete, be there physically mentally, but also
like I need to go by the booth
or I need to make sure my wine
(14:01):
launch is correct.
Like on Thursday in 2017, I did an
event and then I popped over to the
bar and restaurant that I did my wine
tasting at and wine reveal.
And it's great, but to do both at
a very high level, it's hard, right?
So the longevity of that, it was, I
would say the time was set, right?
Like it was, I was only able to
do it for so long because come 2018
(14:21):
after the individual competition, it was like, man,
to physically be here in the gym training,
but I'm mentally here thinking, okay, I need
to like email distributors.
I need to set up for wine events
and then, you know, physically be at my
wine event, like, Oh my gosh, I'm missing
out on training.
I'm, you know, I didn't get my accessory
work and I didn't get that second conditioning
piece and it became a lot and it's
challenging.
So I wouldn't say initially got pushed back
(14:42):
from people.
People are like, Oh my gosh, it's incredible.
You're doing this.
Yes, it is incredible.
Like I didn't give myself credit to like
years later to say, look what you did
at the same time.
It was like, if I'm going to continue
to elevate as an athlete and, you know,
try to get on that podium and compete
and win and be at the top, but
then also try to build my businesses and
be at the top there and grow and
scale and increase my wine production.
(15:02):
Like it's hard to do both.
Like you can juggle, but at some point
something's going to drop.
Something's going to need to be adjusted or
something will, will fall.
And so you felt after 2018, like it
was like, all right, let's step back from
this world of competitive CrossFit, but you haven't
given up on professional sports, I mean, I'm
(15:24):
looking at your stuff and I'm like, okay,
American Ninja warrior, the Titans, um, the tactical
games, why, and what has, has been your
favorite from each of those?
Yeah, great question.
Um, yeah, I think after 2019 or 2018,
as an individual, I started to say, all
right, you know, as an individual, I'm going
to come, you know, this is kind of
my time done competing.
(15:45):
I did the rogue invitational 2019 as my
last individual competition.
And then doing teams in 2019 was a
great experience.
Um, I did near American Ninja war in
2019.
I was like, all right, this is something
different, right?
Like this is the box that I've been
in or the bubble that I've been in
in terms of my training.
Like, how can I expand my bubble?
How can I push that out?
Like I said earlier, I tend to put
myself in uncomfortable situations or different environments.
(16:07):
I'm like, well, I'm going to grow and
get better.
I got to have to push myself.
So I think that's just something I've always
had as a young, young girl.
Like I want to challenge myself.
I want to push myself where that comes
from.
I'm not sure.
Um, but I think, you know, doing that
allowed me to get that experience in Ninja
and then that allowed me to connect to
the NBC Titan games.
(16:29):
And I think that was one of my
greatest experiences because it was a completely different
experience where obviously it's TV and they want
to tell a story and it's a different
aspect versus just the competition.
Um, but it was something different and unique.
And a lot of the things are a
little more up my alleyway.
Like you've got to pull a heavy sled,
um, or ball.
You got to like, you know, do a
sledgehammer, like crawl through a cage.
Like a lot of those odd object stuff.
(16:50):
I think I gravitated towards, I think that's
why I really liked that.
I really thrived there.
Um, I, it was just one of the
greatest experience.
And obviously I think what I really liked
about it was that the rock wanted to
Dwayne Johnson wanted to give his platform to
other athletes and other individuals to tell their
story and hopefully elevate and reach other people.
I think a lot of people have had
struggles in their life and that was maybe
(17:11):
a way to communicate with more people out
there and give other people hope and inspiration
and talking to him and understanding that like
the amount of viewership we had was specifically
was in the women community and like female
viewership was incredible.
It was almost 50 50 where typically a
lot of those, um, shows are more kind
of geared towards male, male audiences.
So to be able to see that have
(17:31):
an impact and hopefully inspire other young women
out there, young girls, um, it was really
cool.
So that was one of my most favorite
experiences I think so far.
And then pivoting from there, you know, doing
the tactical games was really cool experience.
I never really had much firearms experience up
until maybe like 2020 with everything that happened.
Safety was a big concern for me and
being able to provide for myself and protect
(17:52):
myself and other people.
Having someone break into my garage and steal
stuff.
It's like, all right, if, if I need
to protect myself, like, am I capable?
And I think that put me more in
an environment like I need to learn how
to handle a firearm, um, be relatively comfortable,
right?
Cause you always handle firearms with safety and
precaution, but you also want to make sure
that you know how to handle firearm.
(18:13):
And I think for myself, myself in another,
again, an environment that I didn't know much
about, but I'm going to learn, I'm going
to become better, having the opportunity to do
the hunter games and understand the hunting aspect
of glassing and you know, looking for the
animal that you're going to, again, in this
situation where like you would essentially get to
be able to provide for your family food
and all that.
And I think that was a really unique
(18:33):
experience.
Cause that led into the tactical games and
that again, fitness and firearms, you're having to
run then shoot and run a lot of
the accuracy and timing components come into it.
And I really liked that.
Um, I plan on doing another one this
at the end of this year in, in
October in Arizona.
Um, and I think it's really grown in
popularity over the past couple of years.
(18:54):
Yeah.
I think it has.
I definitely think it has.
And I think it's, I think it's good.
I know, I know Matt Chan, we actually,
Matt Chan and I did, um, that's well,
he did that tackle games as well.
I think the year after or year before,
but we also did tighten games together.
So I think it's really cool to see
people, you know, seeking and wanting to improve
their, their knowledge about certain things.
And I think it's, I think it's really
cool.
(19:14):
I think if anything, I can like tell
people that are listening is that you embody
what I always say about living your fitness.
Like it's amazing to get into the gym
and work out.
But what are you doing with that?
Get out there and live and challenge yourself
in these fun ways and make fitness fun.
Make it reset.
Like, you know, as a kid, if you're
running these obstacle courses, that's just post lunch
fun, right?
(19:35):
Like as an adult, we're like, Oh my
God, why would she do that?
Exactly.
Why make, make it a fun event, make
it part of your lifestyle and give it
purpose to why you're training every day, no
matter whether you're doing it in the sense
of school CrossFit games or going out and
doing a high rock from the weekend.
Exactly.
I think for me, and that's my, that's
been my shift the past, I would say
like four or five years is what's the
(19:56):
functionality that you're doing in the gym to
transfer outside the gym.
Like I plan on doing a hunt.
I want to be able to go and
like hike up, you know, mountains that have
huge incline and to be able to do
that, like I need to make sure I
have the functionality and the training that I'm
doing in the gym to have it transferred
outside to real life.
And I remember a couple of years ago,
I went with a girlfriend.
We went antler shed hunting.
(20:17):
Um, we're walking on a path and she's
like beers right to like, to the left
and like, Hey, this is where we're going
to go.
And it's like straight, like uphill again, to
be able to have the ability fitness to
go outside and have that right.
That maybe doesn't, maybe you're not going to
go antler shed hunting.
Maybe it's like to pick up your kids
or run with the kids in the park
or you know, the ability to the, Hey,
if something happens and I need to be
(20:37):
prepared and I need to be able to
endure like certain situations, like what is my
fitness like, or what is my, my physical
capacity to do that?
And I think, um, I think more people
are maybe hopefully seeing that.
I try to communicate that my biggest thing
is like, how can I give some education,
maybe a little bit entertainment in there, but
also inspiration to others out there to see
the value of movement, see the, see the
(20:59):
value of mindset, um, and also say, Hey,
like, what can I do to help make
sure I'm in a good position, but also
help people around me.
Whether it's your family, your friends, your community.
Absolutely.
I was actually up in Western North Carolina
this past weekend with my mom for like
a little girls trip.
And, and one day I woke up and
I went hiking and then we went canoeing.
In which case, like I had to take
(21:20):
the canoe off by myself.
Cause my mom's 65.
I mean, she tried to help, but it
was one of those things I like to
move mom, went canoeing.
Then we came home and then we went
pickle ball.
Uh, we played pickle ball and then I
played basketball and then we went for another
hike.
And I just looked at my mom and
I was like, for every time that anyone's
ever questioned why I live this lifestyle.
It's because of days like today where I'm
(21:40):
41 years old and I could keep going.
I'm not sore.
I'm not tired.
And I'm having just a good time with
my mom.
I love that.
Yeah.
Is the best amazing.
Yeah.
So I do want to change gears up
a little bit.
Cause I know that we don't have a
ton of time, but tell me how did
the whole wine industry and wine business come
about?
So I've done home production wine for a
(22:00):
number of years.
Um, I love the process.
What does that mean?
Like you literally are just making wine at
home.
Yes.
You make wine at home.
And so I started, this was a couple
of years ago, started planning some binds, um,
with my family, just on a small piece
of property and you're allowed in Utah, you're
allowed to make up to 200 gallons yourself,
right?
Which is still a good amount of wine,
right?
Um, you can't sell it and you know,
you can like drink it for yourself.
(22:21):
You can give it as gifts, whatever, like
for free, but you're not able to legally
sell it.
So I love the process for me, being
outdoors was important.
Growing up in Montana, being outside was a
very valuable aspect in my life.
And I still value it today.
So to be outside and you know, to
pick grapes, to harvest the grapes, to go
pull the barrels or the, the, I would
(22:43):
say wine barrels, not the wine barrels, but
the barrel, like wheelbarrow, wheelbarrow, like grapes, right?
Wheelbills are grapes down the row.
Like for me, like that was hard.
Like that was fitness in a way, but
I was also like, this is just real
life, right?
So I really loved the physical aspect of
it, but also it mirrored a lot of
things that I'd done in the gym for
years, trying to get to the, compete at
the high level within the games.
(23:03):
Um, a lot of time in the gym,
like all that time spent to try to
get a muscle up or a snatch, I
feel like that mirrored a lot of stuff
in terms of the wine making is very
similar, right?
You don't just plant grapes and then you
harvest the grapes and then you like squish
the grapes and make wine.
Like it's a process.
So I really liked that.
So started out the first couple of years.
And then in 2015, after I finished ninth
at the CrossFit games, I thought, well, this
(23:25):
is great.
I love it.
I want to continue.
But I know my athletic years are not
going to always be there, right?
Like there'll be a point where this chapter
closes and what happens then?
Like, how do you pivot?
How do you adjust yourself?
So I thought, all right, well, if I'm
able to build a business and build a
brand off of two things that I really
love fitness and wine, then maybe it's something
that I can continue to, you know, continue
(23:48):
what I'm doing in terms of helping others,
but in a different facet, continue to share
my message.
And so I decided, all right, well, let's,
let's look into this and see what I
can do legally.
Utah has a very strict with the licensing
laws.
It was going to take a while.
So I looked into California and there was
a custom crush where I could essentially bring
my grapes crush from there, make the wine,
and then sell it.
So I ended up doing that.
(24:09):
And within that process, learned that not a
lot of people distribution-wise, specifically restaurants, they
don't necessarily see the desire to have wine
from Utah.
So I started sourcing some grapes and wine
from Paso Robles in California and started doing
that.
So obviously I'm leaving a lot out, right?
I'm just trying to do it.
Yeah, yeah.
This is so interesting.
So originally you were growing your own grapes
(24:32):
originally.
Yeah.
So just a little bit of grapes again,
home production wine, doing that.
I loved it.
But if I'm like, if I'm going to
do a business, there's a lot more legality
and wine is very difficult, right?
It's alcohol.
So every state is like a different country.
Every state, you need a specific license.
If I want to get that, that wine
of my wine into the restaurant, I have
to go to the distributor, then I have
to pay for the licensing fees.
I have to pay for each different label.
(24:52):
So if I find labels, that's another $500
on top of licensing.
So like investment of money and resources and
capital was a lot, right?
So how to do it small and strategically.
And for me, I thought about, oh, I'm
going to do this more of a grassroots
kind of backwards.
I'm not going to just open up a
wine shop or a wine tasting place in
California.
Cause one, it's saturated, but how do I
go about this differently?
So that's why I decided to launch a
(25:13):
2017.
And I had my wine tasting after one
of the events, the first event competition in
2017.
I can't remember what the event was, but
yeah, so it was a great learning experience,
but figuring out that if I want to
grow, I need to get into distribution.
And so to get to distribution, I had
to focus more on Paso Robles wine.
And so I focused on more sourcing wine
(25:34):
from Paso doing the next production.
I was able to grow from 300 cases
of 2,400 cases, which is great.
But again, it takes a lot of time
and effort.
I ended up doing a lot of wine
events, grassroots effort, taking the wine on the
road, was able to get the wine to
multiple locations in Montana, Colorado, California, and Nevada.
Again, it's hard.
(25:54):
It's difficult, like myself and I, right?
I don't have a skill to, I might
cut the wrist to the wrist, I'm the
fulfillment, but again, it was, it was a
really unique experience.
Like I love the physical labor.
I love the physical work of working in
the farm.
Like I love that.
I think a lot more than the marketing
and sales, but I've seen the value of
marketing sales is how do I connect with
people?
Cause the biggest hardship I've seen in terms
(26:14):
of sales is like, you know, why is
someone going to buy your wine or a
company in Brown that's already established?
Like what is different about you or your
product that's better than this.
And it depends, right?
When it comes to wine, people, you know,
they're going to buy either based off a
label or if you're like, Oh, I like
a pretty label, right?
They're going to buy on word of mouth.
Like, Oh, I know this product is good
because so-and-so are my family told
me, told me, my friend told me.
(26:35):
Um, but then also people maybe are like,
I only like red blends or I only
want a cab or I only want a
Sauvignon Blanc.
So they're going to be specific to what
they want based on, you know, the preference
of their, their taste portfolio we'll say.
The wine in Utah, the grapes from Utah
tastes different.
Once you switched over to the California, did
you have to like redo your recipe testing
(26:55):
or anything?
So I had, yes.
You have different grapes and those different grapes.
So like Sauvignon Blanc, right?
Is one grapes.
You have a Sauvignon Blanc wine.
Um, I spent essentially essentially had to keep
them because of where they're grown and all
that, this legality of like what you put
on the bottle.
And so I had the Utah grapes and
then I had the Passo Robos grapes, but
I wouldn't be blending them together.
I would keep Passo, just Passo.
So the wine that became very popular that
(27:16):
I got into distribution was called the goat
was greatest of all time.
It was a Patissera blend, red blend, um,
Patissera, Ross Raw and Gurnacha.
And so that was the wine that I
thought.
Gurnacha is my favorite red.
I love, like I love temperanillos.
I love Gurnacha, Gurnacha depending on where you're
coming from, but Spanish Frido is my favorite.
Um, but yeah, so for me is about
not just the wine, but also the messaging
(27:37):
and like the community and the story behind
it.
Cause again, if I'm going up a lot,
going up against a large company that has,
you know, a lot more resources in capital,
you know, why is someone going to bring
my wine in versus that company or that
brand?
So for me, it was very important to
build myself around the community.
and showcase the story and have a message
and that's where my motto came from you
know work hard wind down or earn your
(27:57):
grapes it's all about the balance of that
moderation.
So where what's going on with the wine
now are you still working on distribution are
you yeah so up until like so 2020
when 2020 happened it took like a big
nose dive I couldn't really do events I
couldn't travel it became very difficult to do
anything because it was a shutdown and all
the like half the locations that carried my
wine then closing down the restaurants unfortunately which
(28:20):
was difficult but I ended up selling out
which is good but then I needed to
change some things had some changes with the
business I started a new label I started
a new brand and I'm working on that
now so I have barrels to bottle but
there's a little bit of kind of delay
a lot of the stuff that happened in
COVID in 2020 kind of pushed everything back
(28:40):
so like distribution kind of took a pause
cost went up obviously bottle prices capsules all
that stuff so I had to pause so
now things are slowly changing which are good
so I'm working on the next production hopefully
the biggest thing is finding obviously getting it
timed up so that it can bottle and
then once I can bottle I can get
it out but I'll change a little bit
few things in terms of how I do
that I'm going to focus solely on Nevada
(29:02):
and Vegas and California because in some licensing
California it makes a little bit easier I
don't have to have find a distributor or
go through a distributor to sell and what's
your personal favorite bottle from it could be
one of yours but also like for someone
that's just going to total wine which obviously
right now we don't have access to yours
but what if you're like oh you just
(29:22):
want a good wine that's like $15 a
good dinner wine to take to a friend's
house what would you recommend oh it kind
of depends on like on what you want
and what you like there's a I think
it's Harriet and Harvey I'm totally spaced on
the side part of it but that's a
cab that's a that's a pretty good wine
blend to me it's a cab blend I
believe that is probably one of the better
(29:45):
reds that I enjoy right now obviously I
love my wine but I think it just
depends like I go for typically if I
tell people like if you're looking for a
red blend red blends are a little bit
easier to introduce to someone's maybe not tried
wine before
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) What's up guys, welcome to a brand new
episode of the Fit Women's League Podcast.
I am so stoked for this episode.
I'm not going to do the chitchat like
I normally do at the start of episodes
because I want to get right into this
interview that I recently did with Margo Alvarez.
Margo is a complete package of a badass.
Now those of you guys that might be
unfamiliar with her, she is a seven-time
(00:21):
CrossFit Games athlete.
She is a winemaker.
She is a Titans athlete.
She has done high rocks.
She is an American Ninja Warrior.
And so much more.
We talk about fitness, we talk about athletics,
we talk about future goals, how to balance
it all.
And of course, we're going to talk about
wine too.
So without further ado, let's jump into this
episode, but just make sure to do me
(00:43):
a favor.
Make sure that you're subscribed to whatever platform
it is that you're listening to this on.
And if you are watching on YouTube, make
sure to give it a thumbs up.
Alright, let's go jump into the show.
First off, before we get started, I had
to say welcome to the 40 Club.
I know that you just had your birthday.
Yes.
Thank you.
How do you feel about it?
I don't break it in my head.
I know.
I turned 41 on Sunday.
(01:05):
Oh, awesome.
Happy early birthday.
Oh, thanks.
We're not, no, we're not talking about it
because 40 was so much better than going
into your 40s.
Yeah, that's funny.
Mentally, did you handle it okay?
Were you like, oh my God, or were
you excited?
Yeah, no, I think like I didn't really
do much.
I just kind of like kept it low
key, just like did some work and stuff.
I think, yeah, I think I wasn't like,
(01:27):
oh my gosh, I'm 40.
Like I'm like, all right.
It's just another year.
Like I just, again, I think my mind,
I'm just like 26 on my head.
So I'm like, my back feels a hundred,
maybe I'm 40.
So maybe that kind of evens out.
I don't know.
Yeah.
That's what people are always saying.
Like, do you feel 40?
I'm like, no, I feel like I'm in
better shape than I was when I was
20.
The only thing is I have to warm
up and cool down now.
And I have to make sure that I
(01:48):
don't sleep on my back or on my
stomach.
Yeah.
The recovery aspect, I would say is just
a little bit longer.
But again, I think it's all, I think
a lot of it's mindset, like your mental
attitude, like how you tell, like how you
talk to yourself, like, oh my God, I'm
so old.
Like what you say has a direct impact,
impact to the body.
And it's like, if you are a negative,
you are like, man, like bah humbug about
(02:08):
it, then your body's going to pick up
on that.
But if you're more like, Hey, I have
another year of experience underneath my belt, like
I think it's going to go in a
positive manner, at least my mind.
Yeah, no, totally right there with you for
sure.
I've just been doing a lot of introspection
since, like I said, 41 is coming up
in a few days and exactly right.
When people are like, do you feel 41?
I'm like, first off, you know, when you're
(02:28):
15, you think of your 40s like, oh
my God, she's so old.
And then when you're here, you're like, what?
I totally remember being 15 was like yesterday.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Well, the podcast is super laid back.
I've already even got it reporting.
It's just two women talking about the things
that they love.
And I've been following you since, I mean,
your early days of CrossFit and especially knowing
(02:50):
that you are a wino.
I was like, Oh my God, this woman
is showing what it's like to be so
serious with her sport, but also show balance
when enjoying not only having other passions outside
of sport versus being like so tailored in,
but being like, Oh my God, she drinks
wine.
That's okay.
Like, yes, it's interesting because I think a
lot of people don't, they go together.
(03:16):
And for me, it's about a balance about
moderation.
And that's something I've always kind of talked
to people about, like, whether you drink or
don't drink, like it doesn't, you don't have
to drink it.
If you don't drink, that's fine.
I totally respect that, but it's about balance
and moderation and finding that balance in life.
It's like, you know, are you able to
disconnect at the end of the day?
Can you, you know, wind down on your
couch with your kids?
Maybe you're eating, you know, bonbons on the
(03:36):
couch, hanging out, watching a movie, like it's
about, it's more about kind of philosophy and
approach in life as like, we are not
guaranteed tomorrow, next month, next year, you know,
next week, we don't have that guarantee.
When I think in our mind, like, okay,
we're going to be around for a while,
like things can change at the drop of
a hat.
And so for myself, it's all about that
balance.
Like, yes, work hard, yes, grind, but also
if you constantly push that envelope and you're
(03:58):
not able to at least maybe disconnect or,
you know, unwind for a little bit at
the end of the day or the end
of the week, like it'll compound and I
think, and that's just my philosophy.
And again, everyone has different approaches.
Um, but I think it's really important to
kind of find that balance in life, because
if not, then, you know, you look back
and you're like, I spent all that time
and all that work doing X, whatever it
is.
And if you didn't enjoy it and you
(04:19):
didn't have a, uh, maybe a good experience
with it, then it's like, was it all
worth it?
You know, and correct me if I'm wrong,
but I feel like a lot of times
when you are a professional athlete, that can
sometimes be a very lonely activity, whereas food
and wine is something that brings us together.
So it kind of fills that social cup
up a little bit for sure.
And I think there's a lot of sacrifices
(04:40):
that are made, like whether it's professional athlete
or you're trying to build your business, you're
trying to grow your brand.
There's so much time and energy that you
have to pour into it.
Like it made people may think of it
as a being selfish, but like you have
to be able to selfish to make sure
you are thriving or building what you need
to at the same time.
Like food and wine and beverage, it brings
a culmination of things together to be able
(05:00):
to spend time with family or friends, to
be able to relax and celebrate those moments.
And I think that's what for me is
important.
Like I love being around people.
I thrive in that energy of people and
communicating and having a time to share stories
or make jokes or share memories.
And I think it's really important.
I think you're opening up a bottle at
the end of the day and you're sharing
(05:20):
a glass or two.
Again, if you're not drinking, maybe you're sharing
donuts.
So whatever it is, I obviously love donuts,
but it's about that balance and about coming
together and finding that.
And I think that's, you look at the
two sides of it, right?
Kind of the yin and the yang, right?
It's important.
It is, I would say it has its
time and place.
So it's about where you can tap into
that for yourself or for your goals or
(05:42):
your life.
For sure.
Now let's rewind a little bit.
So for people that aren't as into you
as I am, what is a little bit
of your backstory?
How did you become a professional CrossFit athlete?
And then I also want to break down
a little bit about your fitness journey didn't
end when you stepped away from the CrossFit
games.
You've been crushing so many different things, but
I want to pick your brain up, like
(06:02):
why, why keep going and doing all these
fun challenges and some people are going to
be like, sure, that's fun.
Yeah.
I know it's great.
So I grew up in Montana, um, was
pretty much raised there.
I was interactive with kind of activities.
I did like horseback riding, taekwondo ballet.
I just tried to be outdoors and act
(06:22):
as much as I could when I was
younger.
Um, and then once I graduated from high
school, I moved to Hawaii Pacific University.
I wanted to play either golf or volleyball
there.
Um, but I was too short for volleyball
and they didn't have a golf team.
We tried starting it, but it didn't work
out.
So I focused on study of broads and
being able to travel a little bit, had
the opportunity to study broads.
And then I found my way into our
river canoe pedaling, which is very popular in
(06:45):
Hawaii and kind of like in the coastal
areas, um, did that.
I ended up actually doing the Molokai challenge,
the Nahuahin challenge, which is essentially where you
pedal from one Island, Molokai to Oahu.
It's like 41 miles.
One of my, I would say that's one
of my most difficult physical and mental challenges.
I was 20 years old, I believe maybe
21.
Um, and it was such a mental task
(07:06):
and physical tasks, but I think it was
very good for me because it set me
up for potential, you know, challenges and hardships
that I may be facing in the future.
Like winning the marathon row.
Yeah, exactly.
Perfectly available.
Yeah.
So I, yeah, spent time in the university,
um, graduated from there, moved to the Bay
area.
I was wanting to be in some sort
(07:27):
of health and fitness realm gym situation and
ended up working at a health club for
a while.
Found personal training.
That personal training I think was really important
for me.
I, um, I really wanted to help people.
I think that stem from, you know, not
being able to help my sister and my
sister passed away in 2008, my final semester
at university.
And as the oldest sister, I think in
(07:47):
my mind, it was my job to protect
her, to keep an eye out for her.
And I think I felt like I failed
her.
And so movements became very therapeutic for me.
Um, being able to maybe feel in my
mind that I couldn't help her.
So now maybe I can help others through
movement and through training.
And so I focus on personal training that
eventually led me to, um, CrossFit being introduced
(08:08):
to CrossFit.
I heard about it, didn't really, I was
like, I don't know if this is my
jam.
Um, then I eventually ended up taking a
class and I fell head over heels of
it.
Like I was just like, Oh my God,
this is amazing.
And I think I liked the personal challenge
of physically having to push myself, but also
the mental challenge.
And then the community for sure was like
that third pillar, like community for me is
very important.
I value that very highly.
(08:29):
And to be in that environment, I think
was allowing myself to thrive.
So again, I've kind of gone on some
tangents, but found myself, I love it.
And I think you admit, I think I
read somewhere your sister passed away from a
car accident.
Is that right?
If you don't mind me out, she had,
it was completely out of your control, obviously,
but again, that protective energy, my husband also
lost his brother in a car accident.
(08:50):
And anytime he hears about it, you know,
he'll hug people and be like, I'm sorry
to include you in this club.
No one wants to be a part of.
That's a great way to phrase it for
sure.
Like nobody wants to be part of that
100%.
And only people that have been there can
truly relate to one another.
Exactly.
Yeah.
I think it's a, it's very, it's obviously
difficult situation.
I've learned a lot.
I think it gave me a different perspective
(09:11):
in life.
Um, obviously I, I believe everything happens for
a reason, good, bad, and different.
Um, I wish that wasn't the case.
I think she had a higher calling, not
staying here on earth.
You know, she was called to maybe somewhere
else, but for me, it was a big
learning experience.
And it also pushed me to kind of
adopt the way that she lived life.
Like she made the most of every experience.
(09:31):
She like tried to make the most of
every time, every opportunity she had with friends
and family and anything that she did.
So it really pushed me.
And I think when I found CrossFit and
I, I felt that zest and that passion
and that ultimate desire, like I want to
compete on the floor.
Like these amazing women.
I, I just thrust myself into that.
And I think it was that experience of
losing her and not her having the opportunity
(09:53):
to experience that.
I felt, well, maybe anything that I experienced,
she's with me in spirit and maybe she,
she sees what I see.
So maybe she can get the experience, all
these amazing things in life that she didn't
get to physically, but maybe emotionally and spiritually
she's here with me.
So that was where I think I thrust
myself into something I really truly loved and
enjoyed.
(10:13):
And I think she maybe was just with,
with me in spirit there.
Do you also think that because you look
at life now as like anything can happen
from one day at a time, if you're
going to invest yourself into something, you're going
to give it a hundred percent and try
to be the best at that for that
time.
It was CrossFit, but everything that you've done
since.
For sure.
I think it's definitely the attitude.
I think I've put myself in or put
(10:34):
myself kind of too.
And like energy wise, uh, I think again,
through CrossFit and competing, competing, I was like,
you know, I let go of my marketing
job, I closed that door and said, I'm
going to focus all on this.
Did I know it was going to work
out?
No, I was definitely taking a gamble.
Um, you know, I said no to a
consistent paying job, to insurance, to health benefits,
(10:55):
to all that stuff.
But it, for me, it's like, if I'm,
if I put all my eggs in this
basket and it, and it works and I'm
successful and I make it, then awesome.
Then it was all worth it.
If I give it my all, I put
everything in there and I don't make it.
At least I could say I gave it
my all.
I didn't have any regrets.
And I think, again, through that situation, through
that experience that allowed me to do that,
not only through CrossFit and competing and being
at that high level for many, many years,
(11:16):
but as I started to build my media
company and my big, my line company and
my fitness brand, like to be able to
do all that, it's like, all right, I'm
going to give it everything I got.
And to say there are struggles, like there
are a lot of struggles.
There are a lot of hardships.
There are a lot of doors slammed in
your face.
There are a lot of times where you
maybe doubt yourself.
Am I doing anything?
Am I having an impact?
Is this helping?
(11:36):
Um, but I think you continue.
I mean, I know I continue to show
up every single day and there, obviously there
are successes and you celebrate them, but just
like standing on the podium, you're there for
a couple of minutes and then, you know,
it's onto the next.
So it's about enjoying the process, enjoying the
journey, embracing those struggles, celebrating successes, you know,
however far into they come.
I think I also tend to put myself
in challenging situations.
(11:57):
I like to, I like to have myself
grow.
And so I, I put myself in environments
and situations that have called me to rise
to the occasion.
And I think that's been beneficial and helpful
because for me, I want growth, but I
also want to hopefully impart and share my
story with others to hopefully help them.
If they're struggling with loss, you know, how
did I get through it?
Maybe that can help them.
(12:17):
If they're struggling with a challenge, if they're
trying to grow their business, their brand, they're
trying to build a family, like what struggles
and what successes have they had?
Maybe I can help with what I've gone
through and I can share that and hopefully
elevate others.
Cause I think at the end of our
days here on earth and life, where I
like time goes by so fast.
What can we do to help others?
How can we elevate people around us and
give back to the community?
(12:38):
For sure.
And during the time when you were doing
your CrossFit games, it was kind of that
transitional period where people were doing two to
three workouts per day, right?
At the kind of the start of it,
but still being able to get to that
top level.
And then that transition where we had like
the Frasier where he kind of turned it
into being like, no, I work out eight
hours a day.
This is 100% my job.
(12:59):
And you're talking about also building multiple businesses,
which at that time was very different.
Did you ever get any negative feedback for
that or how did you just balance it
as a whole?
Yeah, I think, I mean, in the beginning,
I mean, it got to the point where
near the end of my years of competing,
I was spending six, eight hours a day
in the gym because the level of competition
(13:20):
was rising.
Like my last individual competition was in 2018
and it was starting to turn into, Hey,
this needs to be a full-time job,
which it was.
And luckily I had the support of my
husband.
I had the support of the companies and
the brands are working with to help me
get there.
Um, but it takes a lot of time
and it takes a lot of energy.
And that was kind of the pivotal time
where, I mean, I launched my wine business
(13:40):
in 2017.
I started my media company in like 2015,
um, trying to blend and do them both.
Like it was doable, right?
But like, as time and time went on,
like come 2018, I was like, man, like
to launch my business in 2017, try to,
um, compete, be there physically mentally, but also
like I need to go by the booth
or I need to make sure my wine
(14:01):
launch is correct.
Like on Thursday in 2017, I did an
event and then I popped over to the
bar and restaurant that I did my wine
tasting at and wine reveal.
And it's great, but to do both at
a very high level, it's hard, right?
So the longevity of that, it was, I
would say the time was set, right?
Like it was, I was only able to
do it for so long because come 2018
(14:21):
after the individual competition, it was like, man,
to physically be here in the gym training,
but I'm mentally here thinking, okay, I need
to like email distributors.
I need to set up for wine events
and then, you know, physically be at my
wine event, like, Oh my gosh, I'm missing
out on training.
I'm, you know, I didn't get my accessory
work and I didn't get that second conditioning
piece and it became a lot and it's
challenging.
So I wouldn't say initially got pushed back
(14:42):
from people.
People are like, Oh my gosh, it's incredible.
You're doing this.
Yes, it is incredible.
Like I didn't give myself credit to like
years later to say, look what you did
at the same time.
It was like, if I'm going to continue
to elevate as an athlete and, you know,
try to get on that podium and compete
and win and be at the top, but
then also try to build my businesses and
be at the top there and grow and
scale and increase my wine production.
(15:02):
Like it's hard to do both.
Like you can juggle, but at some point
something's going to drop.
Something's going to need to be adjusted or
something will, will fall.
And so you felt after 2018, like it
was like, all right, let's step back from
this world of competitive CrossFit, but you haven't
given up on professional sports, I mean, I'm
(15:24):
looking at your stuff and I'm like, okay,
American Ninja warrior, the Titans, um, the tactical
games, why, and what has, has been your
favorite from each of those?
Yeah, great question.
Um, yeah, I think after 2019 or 2018,
as an individual, I started to say, all
right, you know, as an individual, I'm going
to come, you know, this is kind of
my time done competing.
(15:45):
I did the rogue invitational 2019 as my
last individual competition.
And then doing teams in 2019 was a
great experience.
Um, I did near American Ninja war in
2019.
I was like, all right, this is something
different, right?
Like this is the box that I've been
in or the bubble that I've been in
in terms of my training.
Like, how can I expand my bubble?
How can I push that out?
Like I said earlier, I tend to put
myself in uncomfortable situations or different environments.
(16:07):
I'm like, well, I'm going to grow and
get better.
I got to have to push myself.
So I think that's just something I've always
had as a young, young girl.
Like I want to challenge myself.
I want to push myself where that comes
from.
I'm not sure.
Um, but I think, you know, doing that
allowed me to get that experience in Ninja
and then that allowed me to connect to
the NBC Titan games.
(16:29):
And I think that was one of my
greatest experiences because it was a completely different
experience where obviously it's TV and they want
to tell a story and it's a different
aspect versus just the competition.
Um, but it was something different and unique.
And a lot of the things are a
little more up my alleyway.
Like you've got to pull a heavy sled,
um, or ball.
You got to like, you know, do a
sledgehammer, like crawl through a cage.
Like a lot of those odd object stuff.
(16:50):
I think I gravitated towards, I think that's
why I really liked that.
I really thrived there.
Um, I, it was just one of the
greatest experience.
And obviously I think what I really liked
about it was that the rock wanted to
Dwayne Johnson wanted to give his platform to
other athletes and other individuals to tell their
story and hopefully elevate and reach other people.
I think a lot of people have had
struggles in their life and that was maybe
(17:11):
a way to communicate with more people out
there and give other people hope and inspiration
and talking to him and understanding that like
the amount of viewership we had was specifically
was in the women community and like female
viewership was incredible.
It was almost 50 50 where typically a
lot of those, um, shows are more kind
of geared towards male, male audiences.
So to be able to see that have
(17:31):
an impact and hopefully inspire other young women
out there, young girls, um, it was really
cool.
So that was one of my most favorite
experiences I think so far.
And then pivoting from there, you know, doing
the tactical games was really cool experience.
I never really had much firearms experience up
until maybe like 2020 with everything that happened.
Safety was a big concern for me and
being able to provide for myself and protect
(17:52):
myself and other people.
Having someone break into my garage and steal
stuff.
It's like, all right, if, if I need
to protect myself, like, am I capable?
And I think that put me more in
an environment like I need to learn how
to handle a firearm, um, be relatively comfortable,
right?
Cause you always handle firearms with safety and
precaution, but you also want to make sure
that you know how to handle firearm.
(18:13):
And I think for myself, myself in another,
again, an environment that I didn't know much
about, but I'm going to learn, I'm going
to become better, having the opportunity to do
the hunter games and understand the hunting aspect
of glassing and you know, looking for the
animal that you're going to, again, in this
situation where like you would essentially get to
be able to provide for your family food
and all that.
And I think that was a really unique
(18:33):
experience.
Cause that led into the tactical games and
that again, fitness and firearms, you're having to
run then shoot and run a lot of
the accuracy and timing components come into it.
And I really liked that.
Um, I plan on doing another one this
at the end of this year in, in
October in Arizona.
Um, and I think it's really grown in
popularity over the past couple of years.
(18:54):
Yeah.
I think it has.
I definitely think it has.
And I think it's, I think it's good.
I know, I know Matt Chan, we actually,
Matt Chan and I did, um, that's well,
he did that tackle games as well.
I think the year after or year before,
but we also did tighten games together.
So I think it's really cool to see
people, you know, seeking and wanting to improve
their, their knowledge about certain things.
And I think it's, I think it's really
cool.
(19:14):
I think if anything, I can like tell
people that are listening is that you embody
what I always say about living your fitness.
Like it's amazing to get into the gym
and work out.
But what are you doing with that?
Get out there and live and challenge yourself
in these fun ways and make fitness fun.
Make it reset.
Like, you know, as a kid, if you're
running these obstacle courses, that's just post lunch
fun, right?
(19:35):
Like as an adult, we're like, Oh my
God, why would she do that?
Exactly.
Why make, make it a fun event, make
it part of your lifestyle and give it
purpose to why you're training every day, no
matter whether you're doing it in the sense
of school CrossFit games or going out and
doing a high rock from the weekend.
Exactly.
I think for me, and that's my, that's
been my shift the past, I would say
like four or five years is what's the
(19:56):
functionality that you're doing in the gym to
transfer outside the gym.
Like I plan on doing a hunt.
I want to be able to go and
like hike up, you know, mountains that have
huge incline and to be able to do
that, like I need to make sure I
have the functionality and the training that I'm
doing in the gym to have it transferred
outside to real life.
And I remember a couple of years ago,
I went with a girlfriend.
We went antler shed hunting.
(20:17):
Um, we're walking on a path and she's
like beers right to like, to the left
and like, Hey, this is where we're going
to go.
And it's like straight, like uphill again, to
be able to have the ability fitness to
go outside and have that right.
That maybe doesn't, maybe you're not going to
go antler shed hunting.
Maybe it's like to pick up your kids
or run with the kids in the park
or you know, the ability to the, Hey,
if something happens and I need to be
(20:37):
prepared and I need to be able to
endure like certain situations, like what is my
fitness like, or what is my, my physical
capacity to do that?
And I think, um, I think more people
are maybe hopefully seeing that.
I try to communicate that my biggest thing
is like, how can I give some education,
maybe a little bit entertainment in there, but
also inspiration to others out there to see
the value of movement, see the, see the
(20:59):
value of mindset, um, and also say, Hey,
like, what can I do to help make
sure I'm in a good position, but also
help people around me.
Whether it's your family, your friends, your community.
Absolutely.
I was actually up in Western North Carolina
this past weekend with my mom for like
a little girls trip.
And, and one day I woke up and
I went hiking and then we went canoeing.
In which case, like I had to take
(21:20):
the canoe off by myself.
Cause my mom's 65.
I mean, she tried to help, but it
was one of those things I like to
move mom, went canoeing.
Then we came home and then we went
pickle ball.
Uh, we played pickle ball and then I
played basketball and then we went for another
hike.
And I just looked at my mom and
I was like, for every time that anyone's
ever questioned why I live this lifestyle.
It's because of days like today where I'm
(21:40):
41 years old and I could keep going.
I'm not sore.
I'm not tired.
And I'm having just a good time with
my mom.
I love that.
Yeah.
Is the best amazing.
Yeah.
So I do want to change gears up
a little bit.
Cause I know that we don't have a
ton of time, but tell me how did
the whole wine industry and wine business come
about?
So I've done home production wine for a
(22:00):
number of years.
Um, I love the process.
What does that mean?
Like you literally are just making wine at
home.
Yes.
You make wine at home.
And so I started, this was a couple
of years ago, started planning some binds, um,
with my family, just on a small piece
of property and you're allowed in Utah, you're
allowed to make up to 200 gallons yourself,
right?
Which is still a good amount of wine,
right?
Um, you can't sell it and you know,
you can like drink it for yourself.
(22:21):
You can give it as gifts, whatever, like
for free, but you're not able to legally
sell it.
So I love the process for me, being
outdoors was important.
Growing up in Montana, being outside was a
very valuable aspect in my life.
And I still value it today.
So to be outside and you know, to
pick grapes, to harvest the grapes, to go
pull the barrels or the, the, I would
(22:43):
say wine barrels, not the wine barrels, but
the barrel, like wheelbarrow, wheelbarrow, like grapes, right?
Wheelbills are grapes down the row.
Like for me, like that was hard.
Like that was fitness in a way, but
I was also like, this is just real
life, right?
So I really loved the physical aspect of
it, but also it mirrored a lot of
things that I'd done in the gym for
years, trying to get to the, compete at
the high level within the games.
(23:03):
Um, a lot of time in the gym,
like all that time spent to try to
get a muscle up or a snatch, I
feel like that mirrored a lot of stuff
in terms of the wine making is very
similar, right?
You don't just plant grapes and then you
harvest the grapes and then you like squish
the grapes and make wine.
Like it's a process.
So I really liked that.
So started out the first couple of years.
And then in 2015, after I finished ninth
at the CrossFit games, I thought, well, this
(23:25):
is great.
I love it.
I want to continue.
But I know my athletic years are not
going to always be there, right?
Like there'll be a point where this chapter
closes and what happens then?
Like, how do you pivot?
How do you adjust yourself?
So I thought, all right, well, if I'm
able to build a business and build a
brand off of two things that I really
love fitness and wine, then maybe it's something
that I can continue to, you know, continue
(23:48):
what I'm doing in terms of helping others,
but in a different facet, continue to share
my message.
And so I decided, all right, well, let's,
let's look into this and see what I
can do legally.
Utah has a very strict with the licensing
laws.
It was going to take a while.
So I looked into California and there was
a custom crush where I could essentially bring
my grapes crush from there, make the wine,
and then sell it.
So I ended up doing that.
(24:09):
And within that process, learned that not a
lot of people distribution-wise, specifically restaurants, they
don't necessarily see the desire to have wine
from Utah.
So I started sourcing some grapes and wine
from Paso Robles in California and started doing
that.
So obviously I'm leaving a lot out, right?
I'm just trying to do it.
Yeah, yeah.
This is so interesting.
So originally you were growing your own grapes
(24:32):
originally.
Yeah.
So just a little bit of grapes again,
home production wine, doing that.
I loved it.
But if I'm like, if I'm going to
do a business, there's a lot more legality
and wine is very difficult, right?
It's alcohol.
So every state is like a different country.
Every state, you need a specific license.
If I want to get that, that wine
of my wine into the restaurant, I have
to go to the distributor, then I have
to pay for the licensing fees.
I have to pay for each different label.
(24:52):
So if I find labels, that's another $500
on top of licensing.
So like investment of money and resources and
capital was a lot, right?
So how to do it small and strategically.
And for me, I thought about, oh, I'm
going to do this more of a grassroots
kind of backwards.
I'm not going to just open up a
wine shop or a wine tasting place in
California.
Cause one, it's saturated, but how do I
go about this differently?
So that's why I decided to launch a
(25:13):
2017.
And I had my wine tasting after one
of the events, the first event competition in
2017.
I can't remember what the event was, but
yeah, so it was a great learning experience,
but figuring out that if I want to
grow, I need to get into distribution.
And so to get to distribution, I had
to focus more on Paso Robles wine.
And so I focused on more sourcing wine
(25:34):
from Paso doing the next production.
I was able to grow from 300 cases
of 2,400 cases, which is great.
But again, it takes a lot of time
and effort.
I ended up doing a lot of wine
events, grassroots effort, taking the wine on the
road, was able to get the wine to
multiple locations in Montana, Colorado, California, and Nevada.
Again, it's hard.
(25:54):
It's difficult, like myself and I, right?
I don't have a skill to, I might
cut the wrist to the wrist, I'm the
fulfillment, but again, it was, it was a
really unique experience.
Like I love the physical labor.
I love the physical work of working in
the farm.
Like I love that.
I think a lot more than the marketing
and sales, but I've seen the value of
marketing sales is how do I connect with
people?
Cause the biggest hardship I've seen in terms
(26:14):
of sales is like, you know, why is
someone going to buy your wine or a
company in Brown that's already established?
Like what is different about you or your
product that's better than this.
And it depends, right?
When it comes to wine, people, you know,
they're going to buy either based off a
label or if you're like, Oh, I like
a pretty label, right?
They're going to buy on word of mouth.
Like, Oh, I know this product is good
because so-and-so are my family told
me, told me, my friend told me.
(26:35):
Um, but then also people maybe are like,
I only like red blends or I only
want a cab or I only want a
Sauvignon Blanc.
So they're going to be specific to what
they want based on, you know, the preference
of their, their taste portfolio we'll say.
The wine in Utah, the grapes from Utah
tastes different.
Once you switched over to the California, did
you have to like redo your recipe testing
(26:55):
or anything?
So I had, yes.
You have different grapes and those different grapes.
So like Sauvignon Blanc, right?
Is one grapes.
You have a Sauvignon Blanc wine.
Um, I spent essentially essentially had to keep
them because of where they're grown and all
that, this legality of like what you put
on the bottle.
And so I had the Utah grapes and
then I had the Passo Robos grapes, but
I wouldn't be blending them together.
I would keep Passo, just Passo.
So the wine that became very popular that
(27:16):
I got into distribution was called the goat
was greatest of all time.
It was a Patissera blend, red blend, um,
Patissera, Ross Raw and Gurnacha.
And so that was the wine that I
thought.
Gurnacha is my favorite red.
I love, like I love temperanillos.
I love Gurnacha, Gurnacha depending on where you're
coming from, but Spanish Frido is my favorite.
Um, but yeah, so for me is about
not just the wine, but also the messaging
(27:37):
and like the community and the story behind
it.
Cause again, if I'm going up a lot,
going up against a large company that has,
you know, a lot more resources in capital,
you know, why is someone going to bring
my wine in versus that company or that
brand?
So for me, it was very important to
build myself around the community.
and showcase the story and have a message
and that's where my motto came from you
know work hard wind down or earn your
(27:57):
grapes it's all about the balance of that
moderation.
So where what's going on with the wine
now are you still working on distribution are
you yeah so up until like so 2020
when 2020 happened it took like a big
nose dive I couldn't really do events I
couldn't travel it became very difficult to do
anything because it was a shutdown and all
the like half the locations that carried my
wine then closing down the restaurants unfortunately which
(28:20):
was difficult but I ended up selling out
which is good but then I needed to
change some things had some changes with the
business I started a new label I started
a new brand and I'm working on that
now so I have barrels to bottle but
there's a little bit of kind of delay
a lot of the stuff that happened in
COVID in 2020 kind of pushed everything back
(28:40):
so like distribution kind of took a pause
cost went up obviously bottle prices capsules all
that stuff so I had to pause so
now things are slowly changing which are good
so I'm working on the next production hopefully
the biggest thing is finding obviously getting it
timed up so that it can bottle and
then once I can bottle I can get
it out but I'll change a little bit
few things in terms of how I do
that I'm going to focus solely on Nevada
(29:02):
and Vegas and California because in some licensing
California it makes a little bit easier I
don't have to have find a distributor or
go through a distributor to sell and what's
your personal favorite bottle from it could be
one of yours but also like for someone
that's just going to total wine which obviously
right now we don't have access to yours
but what if you're like oh you just
(29:22):
want a good wine that's like $15 a
good dinner wine to take to a friend's
house what would you recommend oh it kind
of depends on like on what you want
and what you like there's a I think
it's Harriet and Harvey I'm totally spaced on
the side part of it but that's a
cab that's a that's a pretty good wine
blend to me it's a cab blend I
believe that is probably one of the better
(29:45):
reds that I enjoy right now obviously I
love my wine but I think it just
depends like I go for typically if I
tell people like if you're looking for a
red blend red blends are a little bit
easier to introduce to someone's maybe not tried
wine before
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