Mari Llewellyn: A Journey into Taking Control of Life 

00:00:06:03 – 00:00:33:05
Claudia
Hello and welcome. This is season two of my podcast Shift Happens. My name is Claudia Mahler I am your host and I invite you to celebrate women’s voices and stories with me. With this podcast, I’m creating a space for women to share a pivotal moment and turning point in their life. We are in episode 12 and I am so happy and proud to share that shift happens is now on YouTube.

00:00:33:07 – 00:01:12:11
Claudia
Check it out and please leave a comment. Today I’m talking to Mari Llewellyn. Mari is a Texas space multiple entrepreneur, a leading force in the health and fitness industry, and a mental health advocate. Mari’s story of self recovery and discovery is truly mind boggling. In November 2017, she started sharing her life publicly and began documenting her journey from a very low point in her young life, mentally and physically, to owning her body and shifting her mindset.

00:01:12:13 – 00:01:43:17
Claudia
Mari was totally transparent on her ups and downs, struggles and successes in the gym and at home. Her social media followers exploded. Millions of people now relate to her, feel connected and trust her. Mari is the co-founder of bloom and a traditional supplement powder. The founder of the fitness platform Strength by Mari, and she most recently launched her podcast, The Pursuit of Wellness in 2022.

00:01:43:19 – 00:02:12:21
Claudia
Mari landed on Forbes 30 under 30 list. And before we get started, just a quick fun fact on how I met Mari. It’s not through fitness. I just say rule of six degrees of separation. So listen to this. My younger son’s best friend’s mother and Switzerland is best friends with Mari’s father’s wife, Alexandra, who we mentioned in our conversation.

00:02:12:23 – 00:02:36:00
Claudia
And Alexandra is also a friend of mine in New York. And so the circle closes. Enjoy. Episode 12 of shift happens.

00:02:36:02 – 00:02:39:06
Claudia
Thank you so much for your time. I’m so excited. Oh my.

00:02:39:06 – 00:02:42:17
Mari
Gosh. Thank you for having me. I’m so sorry for my delay, but we’re here.

00:02:42:22 – 00:02:53:08
Claudia
Yes, we made it. I am so excited to be in conversation with you, Mari Llewellyn. Do I pronounce your name correctly?

00:02:53:09 – 00:02:54:12
Mari
Yeah, you said it perfectly.

00:02:54:16 – 00:03:08:07
Claudia
Okay, great. Thank you. And it’s so funny how I got to know about you. The many corners from America to Switzerland. And now here we are. Connected.

00:03:08:09 – 00:03:13:08
Mari
Yeah, I know, I’m Alexandra. Let me know all about you. So love that. Yeah.

00:03:13:11 – 00:03:43:02
Claudia
Very funny. So I’m really excited because as you know, when shift happens, my podcast, I’m talking about pivotal moments in life. And originally I started and I wanted to focus on women in midlife and beyond. And then I heard about your story, and I thought, one doesn’t need to be on this planet a certain amount of time or years or decades to be able to talk about a pivotal moment and a turning point and to live through it.

00:03:43:03 – 00:03:58:04
Claudia
And you, of course, will be sharing what you’ve struggled with and how you turned it around. But before we get started, I wanted to ask you a few warmup questions. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

00:03:58:06 – 00:04:30:13
Mari
Oh, such a good question. I think it’s sort of ever evolving. You know, like what I thought was pure happiness when I was 21 years old is nothing near what I think it is now. but for where I’m at in this moment, pure happiness for me is, I think, a lot of outside time being outside, connecting with nature, feeling really connected with the people around me and also practicing a lot of gratitude for the people I have around me.

00:04:30:15 – 00:04:54:02
Mari
I’ve been with my husband now for ten years, which is pretty insane. That’s a large chunk of my life, and I’m so grateful for him. And, sort of appreciating the more simple things. I feel like the older I get, the more I enjoy the small, simple moments, because you kind of realize that the bigger, grander stuff really doesn’t make you feel much at all.

00:04:54:02 – 00:05:03:20
Mari
And when you really lean into those simple moments and just practice enjoying them, those those are, you know, where I’m finding the most joy and animals have always brought me a ton of joy, so I have to mention that too.

00:05:03:22 – 00:05:10:17
Claudia
Yeah, yeah, I can relate to that. What do you most value in your friends?

00:05:10:19 – 00:05:40:13
Mari
what do I most value? My friends, I think. Showing up on the good days. In the bad days, I feel like the people I’m really close with have been there with me through my best moments and my worst moments, and have really supported me through that. And I think also just being in the industry that I’m in, there’s a fair amount of people who connect for, you know, a business purpose or, you know, what are you doing for me?

00:05:40:13 – 00:05:56:05
Mari
And I don’t I don’t love that. I feel like in my pure friendships, it’s just about enjoying each other’s company and supporting each other. And it’s it’s not about favors or, you know, helping each other business wise. It’s about like, who we are at the core.

00:05:56:07 – 00:05:59:08
Claudia
What is your most treasured possession.

00:05:59:10 – 00:06:04:13
Mari
Oh my gosh. An item or can it be alive.

00:06:04:15 – 00:06:06:17
Claudia
Whatever comes to mind spontaneously I.

00:06:06:17 – 00:06:13:12
Mari
Guess I mean spontaneously I think of my dogs. Lulu and Arnolds are my prized possessions for sure.

00:06:13:14 – 00:06:18:17
Claudia
And, what is your greatest fear?

00:06:18:18 – 00:06:42:05
Mari
Oh, my greatest fear. Another one that has evolved for me over time. I think I’ve always struggled with a fear of being alone, and I think during college, like that became me surrounding myself with people at all times. And I’ve really been trying to get better at being alone and enjoy it more, which I have, as I’ve evolved.

00:06:42:05 – 00:06:51:15
Mari
But I do think I have sort of a deep rooted fear of being alone and like, not being connected with people. So I would say that.

00:06:51:17 – 00:06:54:03
Claudia
I guess. And you’re not alone with that, I’m sure.

00:06:54:08 – 00:06:56:05
Mari
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. No pun intended.

00:06:56:06 – 00:07:00:18
Claudia
No. What would you like to come back as?

00:07:00:20 – 00:07:02:15
Mari
Oh, like an a different life.

00:07:02:17 – 00:07:05:22
Claudia

00:07:06:00 – 00:07:08:08
Mari
Probably a horse.

00:07:08:10 – 00:07:09:20
Claudia
Okay.

00:07:09:22 – 00:07:13:08
Mari
Yeah. as long as I was having a good life as a horse. Yeah.

00:07:13:10 – 00:07:19:06
Claudia
True.

00:07:19:07 – 00:07:45:15
Claudia
And now, we know your a little bit better. I would really love to hear your side of the story. I mean, now you are so successful. You’re a multiple entrepreneur. You’re a super successful podcaster. You’re a bloom business, which you will tell us about is not only blooming but booming. And all this happened over the past, what, seven, eight years?

00:07:45:15 – 00:07:46:10
Mari
Yeah.

00:07:46:12 – 00:07:54:21
Claudia
Yeah. So how and where did it start and this pivotal moment that you will share with us? Where did that begin?

00:07:54:23 – 00:08:29:13
Mari
So my story started from a pretty low place, around 2015, 2016. I think I’d always kind of struggled with my mental health and things just kind of escalated for me. Around that time, I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, which I no longer meet the criteria for. But back then, it’s considered a trauma based disorder, and I had a lot of really unhealthy coping mechanisms.

00:08:29:13 – 00:09:00:07
Mari
I was self-harming, drinking, basically anything that would numb the pain I was feeling. So I had a very unhealthy like lifestyle. I was also prescribed a number of medications to assist with the BPD. So, you know, antidepressants, anti-anxiety, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, a lot at once, to the point where I really couldn’t feel anything at all. And that numbness can be helpful in the short term.

00:09:00:09 – 00:09:22:08
Mari
But in the long term, I think I just lost complete sense of reality. And, that I was drinking and just living in a fully dissociated state for over a year now. And at that point, I gained, you know, I’d never really thought about my body before. I grew up pretty lean, you know, I ate well, like it wasn’t something I thought about.

00:09:22:10 – 00:09:52:11
Mari
But around that time, it took me a while to notice. But I realized that my body looked completely different, and I had probably gained over 60 pounds at that point and just felt awful. Like the food I was eating, everything I was doing was just kind of adding to the problem. So I was a semester out from graduating from Drexel University and ended up having to kind of put my hands in the air and be like, this is not working.

00:09:52:11 – 00:10:11:01
Mari
I was failing every class. I was super unhealthy, could barely get out of my bed. So I ended up dropping out and moving home with my dad, which to me was like a huge failure. You know? I was really embarrassed. I felt like I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I had no degree, I had no job.

00:10:11:03 – 00:10:30:11
Mari
And it was at that point that I, you know, I would like to say I’m not a doctor. I’m not recommending anyone do this. But I came cold turkey off the medication I was on, and it gave me a minute to have a really realistic view of my life and kind of where I was at at that point and honestly, take full responsibility.

00:10:30:11 – 00:10:55:04
Mari
I don’t think until this point I had really taken responsibility. I was living in a victim mentality, which I think a lot of people do. You know, looking at other people, whose fault is this? Why me? This must be because of X, Y and Z. And in this moment, I just took full responsibility. And I told myself, like you are the reason you’re in this position, and the only person who can get yourself out of it is also you.

00:10:55:06 – 00:10:59:19
Claudia
So can I ask you one question? Were you in therapy at the time?

00:10:59:21 – 00:11:35:09
Mari
So technically, I’ve been in therapy since I was 14 and I was originally put in therapy for ADHD. you know, family reasons. But when my mental health was really bad, I would like go through phases of not doing it. So I would go in and out. I was very kind of inconsistent. It wasn’t until later in my life that I found a specialist for BPD and for the things I’ve gone through, so I was kind of in therapy, but I definitely wasn’t using it for what I should have been.

00:11:35:11 – 00:11:58:23
Mari
So it was a long process of, you know, trying to figure out how to gain control back of my life and you know, I was dating my now husband Greg who has been bodybuilding for years, and he was my example of hard work and discipline. He was at the gym twice a day cooking every meal, which in college was, you know, pretty rare.

00:11:59:01 – 00:12:23:15
Mari
And to me, that was the epitome of hard work. And I felt like, you know, the weight loss was a part of it, but more so it was like, if I can have the self-discipline to stick on a routine and hit a goal, like, maybe I will become someone that I can be proud of. So health and fitness was the step that I took to just gain control back of my life.

00:12:23:15 – 00:12:38:20
Mari
And little did I know that it would snowball and become like a giant passion of mine and really build my identity and ultimately my career. So that was the moment that the shift happened for me.

00:12:38:22 – 00:12:59:15
Claudia
I was just thinking, I mean, 2015, 2016 was also not a time when mental health was discussed in the way that it’s being discussed now. Yeah, much more open. I mean, it’s still not enough, it’s still stigmatized and everything. But I can imagine that back then it was even one must have felt even more lost. Yeah.

00:12:59:17 – 00:13:36:20
Mari
Yeah. And it you know, I have some girlfriends that I would be hanging out with back then, and we even discuss now how all of us were struggling, but we never talked about it with each other because you’d never wanted to say it out loud. It was very much an internal battle for me, and it was really not until I got on social media in 2017, November, that I began sharing publicly about my mental health struggles, and now that’s kind of become the thing that I’m known for, is, like, I share a lot of my ups and downs and yeah, back that it was definitely not the norm.

00:13:36:22 – 00:13:47:07
Claudia
What was the moment when you said, okay, I’m going to share. I’m going to share this journey. I’m just going to be open about it. I’m going to be out there on social media and I’m just going to put it out.

00:13:47:09 – 00:14:17:11
Mari
So it was November 2017. I’d lost about 90 pounds at this point. the only people who were really aware of that were my husband, Greg, who had been helping me along the way. He taught me how to weight lift, my dad and Alexandra, who I was living with, and they fully watched my whole transformation. And, I hadn’t shared it publicly at that point because I would think I was nervous, you know, and at the time, I had 900 followers.

00:14:17:11 – 00:14:41:10
Mari
I didn’t know anything about social media, but I had this before and after photo that I was really proud of showing, you know, how much weight I’d lost, muscle I’d gained, you know, in reality, my life or who I was as a person had also completely changed. But Greg encouraged me to put it online, and when I ultimately did post it, it blew up far more than I anticipated.

00:14:41:10 – 00:14:59:09
Mari
It was getting reposted on much bigger platforms. People were reaching out to me. It just made a big impact, which I did not anticipate. And that was the moment that my platform began to grow, and I began realizing that this could become a career fabulous.

00:14:59:11 – 00:15:26:11
Claudia
I hosted salons for women. I’ve been doing this for a number of years in New York mainly, and since two years I’ve been doing it also in Berlin and Zurich. And the last topic I discussed at the salons in all three cities was serendipity. And now that you talk about your story and how life evolved and how this one change, it’s almost like a domino effect, right?

00:15:26:11 – 00:15:50:05
Claudia
Or the snowball, as you said. And we talked about that as well, that it’s also like suddenly then the stars are aligned and the own energy changes. And suddenly one is open and the good things are not happening. I mean, you know, luck is not falling into our laps. It’s hard work as you say. And you’ve shown but it’s incredible how energy can also then shift.

00:15:50:05 – 00:15:51:01
Claudia
Right.

00:15:51:03 – 00:16:13:00
Mari
I know because it, it really feels like my life’s purpose and what I was supposed to be doing in this moment, I’m fully doing it. But I if you’d asked me back in 2016 or 15, I was, you know, this close to making a really bad decision and this close to going down a really bad path. I even, like, tried it out.

00:16:13:00 – 00:16:21:19
Mari
And, it’s just interesting how these small decisions can really change the trajectory of our entire lives.

00:16:21:21 – 00:16:26:04
Claudia
What’s your favorite weight lift exercise.

00:16:26:06 – 00:16:50:20
Mari
I mean I just love weight lifting in general. I really like training shoulders and legs, but in general I feel like it’s transformative for your body. Very empowering and also fantastic as we age. It’s really good for your bone health. I think there’s a crazy statistic that says one of the highest reasons for death, as we age is falling.

00:16:50:22 – 00:16:57:09
Mari
And if you have enough muscle to protect your bones, it can actually prevent death. Anyway, that’s a little bit morbid.

00:16:57:09 – 00:16:58:01
Claudia
But yeah.

00:16:58:01 – 00:17:03:11
Mari
I really enjoy it and it’s very empowering for me. So honestly, any and all weightlifting. Yeah.

00:17:03:13 – 00:17:26:10
Claudia
So you then evolved into your platform the pursuit of wellness. Great name. That is you know like a perfect platform. And of course now super successful. And of course I listened to some of your podcasts and you have great guests in your shows and it’s so informative. One learns really a lot about the body and everything that connects with it.

00:17:26:10 – 00:17:50:22
Claudia
And it would be great if you could elaborate a bit on this, but what I want to know, what do you think is often in the way of people, and I guess particularly women, to take care of themselves and to see this pursuit of wellness as necessary, but also embrace it as something positive. And it’s not only a burden.

00:17:50:22 – 00:18:04:04
Claudia
Yeah. I mean, there are so many books out there on how to get into a routine and how to develop a rhythm. I have many of them, and I’m still not doing what I want to do and should be doing. So what what do you think is in the way.

00:18:04:06 – 00:18:25:17
Mari
I mean, I think everyone has their own reason, like same as me. Before fitness, I had so many excuses and I was so not in touch with myself. I think it’s a mixture of maybe ignorance being a part of it. You know, not everyone listens to informative podcasts. Not everyone has the knowledge to go off of it.

00:18:25:19 – 00:18:52:08
Mari
To me, fitness and health is the most important part of my life because it impacts everything about my life, my relationships, my energy, the way I show up for my friends, my work. But before my fitness journey, I really think I was living, as I said, in a victim mentality. And it’s really difficult to take care of yourself when you believe that it’s other people’s fault or that’s the universe’s fault or bad things happen to you.

00:18:52:08 – 00:19:16:04
Mari
It really is such a mindset that I think mindset is at the core of a lot of people getting in their own way. But I also think in the US we kind of have a really bad relationship with food and our bodies. You know, I think even I notice when I go to Switzerland or I’m in Europe, health is just more a part of life, like food quality.

00:19:16:06 – 00:19:36:21
Mari
being outside, walking, these things are innate to people, you know, like yourself, who grew up in Europe. And here in America. People aren’t even aware of the ingredients that they’re putting in their bodies every day. I mean, it’s it’s pretty frightening. The amount of processed food, the amount of medication people use, people are stagnant at their desks all day.

00:19:36:21 – 00:20:10:16
Mari
Work culture here is crazy. the stress level here is crazy. And I think people associate fitness and health with extreme dieting and, you know, what can I do to look as small as possible? It isn’t a lifestyle, and it’s not necessarily about longevity. Obviously, this is becoming more popular now. We have podcasts and we have, you know, well-known people speaking about it and how important it is, but it still feels like a very niche group, who are embracing health and fitness as much as they are.

00:20:10:16 – 00:20:19:12
Mari
So I think that’s, you know, people have so many different reasons why they don’t do it. But I think at the core of it, it’s about shifting the mindset.

00:20:19:14 – 00:20:42:18
Claudia
so and then you did your first social media post and many others followed. And how was it for you? I mean, you decided to go on this fitness and wellness path, and this developed as really the core of your life. Were there weak moments and what did you do to, pick yourself up again?

00:20:42:20 – 00:21:05:18
Mari
Yeah. I mean I have weak moments now. I feel like they’re inevitable and I feel like what I like to base it off of is how quick is my bounce back. Like how quickly do I get back on my feet. And I feel like as I developed over the years, like from the beginning of my fitness journey to now, my bounce back rate has gotten better and better and better.

00:21:05:18 – 00:21:26:22
Mari
I mean, I was still dealing with BPD during my fitness journey, still having self-harm episodes. Even so, it was just about how quickly can I recover and what are those tools? And now I feel like I’ve become so much better at pulling those tools out quickly that my weak moments are not anywhere near as weak as they used to be.

00:21:26:22 – 00:21:46:23
Mari
It’s just about practicing and developing habits. And even like with the with our thoughts, you know, when I have negative thoughts creep in or I have insecurities creep in because that happens to me all the time. It’s about correcting the thought pattern and over and over again, each and every day, getting in the way of those negative thoughts taking over.

00:21:46:23 – 00:21:53:09
Mari
Because if we don’t practice, it will never become our reality.

00:21:53:11 – 00:22:08:17
Claudia
Yeah. So the pursuit of wellness was the foundation correct. That’s like your first business so to speak. Or tell me a little bit about the businesses that have developed and evolved from your pivotal moment.

00:22:08:20 – 00:22:33:16
Mari
Yeah. No, it can be a bit confusing. So the pursuit of wellness is actually my most recent venture. So that’s the newest business that I have. So the first ever business I had was technically called Maori Fitness. So the demise fund that I was getting from my followers, from my community was, please, can you put out a workout plan, a nutrition guide?

00:22:33:16 – 00:22:53:04
Mari
We want to know exactly what you did to lose weight. So the first product I ever made was a PDF workout guide that you could download. And it was $5 and I would me and my husband would manually email it to anyone who asked for it and they would PayPal us $5. So this was a really unsustainable business plan.

00:22:53:06 – 00:23:17:18
Mari
we were on our phones all day emailing this PDF guide. Yeah. but eventually figured out how to make a website. And I have to say, the PDF guide is the whole reason we were able to afford to launch a supplement company in the first place. It was, you know, still, when people ask me for business advice, I always say PDF guides are a fantastic way to start because you just need to be an expert in something.

00:23:17:18 – 00:23:41:21
Mari
You create your guide and it just exists online. There’s no overhead, there’s no employees. It’s a really simple way of making extra money. So we invested everything we made for Maori Fitness and put it into sampling for food nutrition. So we were sampling for bloom all of 2018. And if you ask my dad and Alexandra, they will remember this time.

00:23:41:21 – 00:24:10:09
Mari
Well, because there was boxes all over their house and they were like, what the heck are these kids doing? This is crazy. so I was basically running a business out of my dad’s house. and ultimately we launched Bloom in January of 2019 and bloom has become, you know, our child, our most successful business. It has bloomed more than we could have ever anticipated.

00:24:10:11 – 00:24:17:20
Claudia
So just for our, for our listeners, too, sorry to interrupt you. to clarify, bloom is the supplement that you developed.

00:24:17:22 – 00:24:44:07
Mari
Yes. So bloom is our supplement company. the reason we developed bloom was because I felt like at that time, there were not many supplements on the market for women, particularly, who were new to fitness or just trying to get more into wellness. Everything was very masculine, very intimidating. So I wanted supplements for myself, and I felt like my community needed them too.

00:24:44:09 – 00:25:12:09
Mari
So Greg and I did everything ourselves. From the beginning. I was making the labels, he was doing the marketing. I took every photo for the website. It was, a very much a passion project, and we partnered with a manufacturer in New York, local to us. And, we were able to go in and try the products. So we developed a pre-workout, which was supposed to be taken for the gym, and that was our first ever product.

00:25:12:11 – 00:25:48:20
Mari
And it did well right away. It sold out. So we were like, okay, I think we have some momentum here. So we just kept making products and I was posting about everything to my community really treating my social media as a diary. and then right before Covid, we launched the Greens. And the Greens were something that I really wanted because I wanted an all in one supplement with fruits, vegetables, something that was great for my gut health, had prebiotics, but didn’t taste disgusting because a lot of the ones on the market tasted like grass.

00:25:48:22 – 00:26:10:22
Mari
So we were trying, sampling greens. And I took them on vacation with me, and I found that they were really helping my bloating, really helping my hangovers. And I was like, oh, I think this product, you know, I think it might do well. I felt like I loved it. So we launched right before Covid and sold out.

00:26:10:22 – 00:26:42:02
Mari
And at this point, Greg and I are 100% self-funded. So it’s all of our personal money in bloom self owned everything, so we couldn’t afford to keep enough greens in stock to supply the demand we had. So we kept restocking, selling out, restocking, selling out. The hype around the greens was far bigger than we could have anticipated, and now we are pretty much known as a Greens company and now we have over 100 employees.

00:26:42:02 – 00:26:51:03
Mari
We’re in target, we’re in Walmart launching in Sam’s Club. Costco just unbelievable. You know, that’s the story.

00:26:51:03 – 00:26:55:14
Claudia
That is incredible. I mean that’s like the dream story.

00:26:55:17 – 00:26:56:19
Mari
I.

00:26:56:21 – 00:26:56:23
Claudia
Off.

00:26:57:05 – 00:27:17:07
Mari
And even when I yeah it’s wild. Even when I think about it now it’s pretty pretty amazing. And I never could have anticipated I mean, when you, when you think about where I started, I had no. And that’s the biggest thing that I hope people take away from my story is I had no I was not a special person.

00:27:17:07 – 00:27:33:15
Mari
I wasn’t particularly good at school. I was starting from a really bad low place. And just by changing my mindset and figuring out my full potential, I was able to create a life that I have always dreamed of. so yeah.

00:27:33:17 – 00:27:44:23
Claudia
Incredible. Really incredible. So you must be very, very busy all over the place. I saw, I saw on your Instagram that you had just recently launched Bloom in London.

00:27:44:23 – 00:27:47:04
Mari
We did, which was crazy because I’m from.

00:27:47:04 – 00:27:49:15
Claudia
The in the UK I mean. Yeah.

00:27:49:15 – 00:27:51:01
Mari
Very full circle for me.

00:27:51:02 – 00:27:51:22
Claudia
Fantastic.

00:27:52:03 – 00:27:52:18
Mari
Thank you.

00:27:52:20 – 00:27:55:16
Claudia
Yeah I was just going to say probably very emotional.

00:27:55:18 – 00:28:01:08
Mari
It was. And we also had a lot of Swiss people who came to the meet and greet which was also really fun.

00:28:01:09 – 00:28:07:11
Claudia
Oh cool. Yeah. Right. Yes. Well let me know when you plan to expand to Switzerland or Germany.

00:28:07:11 – 00:28:11:04
Mari
Oh I know Switzerland’s tricky. They’re tough to get into.

00:28:11:06 – 00:28:19:23
Claudia
Tri Germany. Yeah. So you’re very busy all over the place. What’s your favorite way to calm down?

00:28:20:01 – 00:28:42:22
Mari
I’m a little bit of a unique answer. I have a few answers. I have a big passion for horses and horseback riding, and I think horseback riding has been such a gift for me. Because when I go to the barn, I just stop thinking about everything. When I’m grooming my horse, when I’m riding, all I’m thinking about is being in the moment.

00:28:42:22 – 00:29:15:07
Mari
And that’s been a really special thing for me. So I think, you know, finding a hobby that you feel so passionate about and gets you to stop thinking about everything else can be so beneficial, especially when you’re outside or you’re with animals, or you’re exercising. I’m really into activations. So they’re essentially active meditations. And I have an app that I love called superhuman, and it’s basically like a meditation, but you can do it while you’re walking, while you’re cooking, getting ready, driving.

00:29:15:09 – 00:29:32:07
Mari
And it’s like a pep talk for the day or a way of practicing gratitude. And it really puts my mind in a good place. So I really love that as well. And sleeping a lot like getting a good night’s sleep, is extremely important to me.

00:29:32:09 – 00:29:44:04
Claudia
and when you are exhausted or, you know, just have maybe a moment like we all have, what energizes you?

00:29:44:06 – 00:30:06:04
Mari
for that, I would say that’s why I have the health routine. I have, you know, the nutrition, the eating, whole, nutrient dense food, taking my supplements, working out, getting outside. Like those are the things that keep me sane and grounded and energized. You know, like, I, I’m someone that goes crazy if I sit at a desk all day.

00:30:06:04 – 00:30:16:10
Mari
I’m not like a big office person. I like to be taking my calls on walks and, you know, having some balance. So, yeah, being active for sure.

00:30:16:12 – 00:30:23:09
Claudia
And can you share a few important health hacks with us?

00:30:23:11 – 00:30:23:22
Mari
health.

00:30:23:22 – 00:30:26:06
Claudia
Hacks. What’s your favorite with your favorite?

00:30:26:06 – 00:30:48:02
Mari
Three okay. Number one protein. Protein is so important. It keeps me full. It keeps me energized. I don’t think enough people eat enough protein. So, if I’m building a plate, I’m building it around the protein. Like I have a steak or chicken or fish, and I’m adding vegetables and maybe potato, but protein is the bulk of it.

00:30:48:04 – 00:30:53:16
Mari
And also starting my day with a lot of protein. So I actually eat a steak for breakfast. You just kind of funny.

00:30:53:16 – 00:30:54:04
Claudia
Oh, wow.

00:30:54:07 – 00:31:26:22
Mari
Okay, I know it’s not very Swiss of me. then another health hack. I really like red light therapy for inflammation for skin. I find it’s really beneficial for, like, healing. I’ll often do meditations or, like, you know, some podcasts in front of it. And then another health hack. I really like my aura ring. So this ring tracks my steps, my sleep.

00:31:27:00 – 00:31:37:04
Mari
currently I’m trying to conceive, so it’s helping me track my ovulation. so I really enjoy this ring. So protein, red light or array?

00:31:37:04 – 00:31:53:12
Claudia
Okay, great. I’m out tomorrow to get it all and stack up on my protein. Well, I really thank you for sharing your story on my podcast. I’m still starting out, but it’s it’s I mean.

00:31:53:14 – 00:31:54:21
Mari
Podcasts are not easy.

00:31:54:21 – 00:31:55:12
Claudia
No.

00:31:55:14 – 00:31:58:08
Mari
I applaud you for doing it because it’s not easy. Thank you, thank you.

00:31:58:08 – 00:32:22:10
Claudia
You know. Yeah, but it’s fun. Not only fun. I find it really interesting. I made for me. It’s been a journey. I mean, the first time here to hear my own voice on this, I was really like, oh, Jesus. But anyway, you know, as you said, it’s a mindset. You just gotta keep doing it. And I just think it’s so important for women to share their stories because we need to practice.

00:32:22:10 – 00:32:51:23
Claudia
It’s something that used to be, you know, thousands of years ago for women so natural to be together and to openly share their stories and, and stick to each other and stand up for each other. And I think it has gotten a bit, forgotten, you know, over the modernization, industrialization, the modern Western way of living. So that’s why I think it’s important to have a platform where we can share this greed and, this was very inspiring.

00:32:51:23 – 00:32:54:05
Claudia
Thank you. I thank you for your time, Mari.

00:32:54:05 – 00:33:05:10
Mari
Thank you so much for having me.

00:33:05:12 – 00:33:36:07
Claudia
This. Wow. This is something. Actually, I am now already lifting weights while recording this truly impressive. Mari is the living proof. It is all about the mindset and perseverance, and I’m very happy that we got to listen to a shift happen story from a very young woman. One doesn’t need to be around for half a lifetime to have maneuver through challenges and difficult times.

00:33:36:09 – 00:33:51:23
Claudia
I’m thankful for Mari’s wisdom, and I’m sure you are too. And don’t forget, you can watch this podcast now on YouTube. Let me know what you think.

00:33:52:01 – 00:34:16:16
Claudia
Shift happens has been created and is hosted by me, Claudia Mahler editing Andy Boroson Social Media. Magda Reckendrees. I hope you felt connected and heard by listening to Shift Happens and please leave a review and a rating wherever you listen to podcasts.