Peptide Nation

Summary

Fashion People: "Peptide Nation" – Episode Summary

Podcast: Fashion People
Host: Lauren Sherman (Puck)
Guests: Amy Schultz & Jessica Alexander (Founders, Contra Sports Club)
Date: July 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this insightful and vibrant episode, Lauren Sherman dives deep into the intersection of fashion, wellness, and fitness with Amy Schultz and Jessica Alexander, founders of LA’s Contra Sports Club. The trio explores the nuances of bringing a high-performance, holistic approach to fitness for creative communities, the burgeoning trend of peptides in LA (and beyond), and why Contra’s approach resonates in today’s fashion-obsessed, health-conscious culture. From the evolution of gym aesthetics to the science and social swirl behind "peptide nation," the discussion offers an inside look at what truly moves LA’s creative elite.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Contra Sports Club: Origins & Purpose

[09:05–20:03]

• Amy Schultz's Background: Physical therapist and strength coach, extensive career with Red Bull’s high performance team and world-class athletes.
  • "I oversaw all of their rehab in the facility. I was also able to travel with skate, surf, and snow at the time..." – Amy [11:07]
• Jessica Alexander's Story: From a rough-and-tumble, non-athletic upbringing to self-discovery and eventual recruitment by Nike.
  • "Not to be corny, but it [fitness] pretty much saved my entire being." – Jessica [13:51]
  • "I just decided I wanted to develop the athlete, a high performer, people that really wanted to move." – Jessica [15:44]
• Contra’s Ethos: Created for “the creative athlete or the creative human”—a space where holistic wellness, athletic performance, and creative culture intersect.
  • "Everybody is an athlete. So looking to that community to bring that sport and that wellness and education around that, to the fashion community, athletes and everybody under one roof." – Jessica [19:24]

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2. Making Wellness Cool for Creatives

[20:03–24:30]

• Fitness wasn't always embraced by creatives—once seen as “for jocks.”
  • "Not only that they weren't...it was almost anti." – Jessica [20:32]
  • "It was like, that's for jocks...if you didn't grow up doing sport, then that's not for you." – Amy [20:38]
• Contra’s mission: To shift perceptions, making health and wellness aspirational (and accessible) for trendsetters, not just traditional athletes.

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3. Why Contra Feels Different

[23:12–24:30]

• Immaculately clean, aesthetically unique—there's no sweaty gym smell.
  • "You walk in and you can't smell sweat, and I don't know how you're doing it." – Lauren [23:12]
• Importance of environment: A beautiful, inviting, and comfortable setting was non-negotiable for both founders.
  • "We clean this place so much. So much." – Jessica [23:12]
  • "We want to make sure the space is super clean, super inviting...should smell like a candle." – Amy [24:05]

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4. Contra’s Customized Interdisciplinary Approach

[26:14–31:15]

• Fully individualized intake for every client—physical therapy, orthopedics, strength, nutrition, and recovery all under one roof.
  • "It did feel like the first session was...physical therapy. It was figuring out the right routine for me..." – Lauren [26:14]
  • "We do it all, but...there's a lot of wellness. We look at whether it's performance or rehab or regeneration." – Amy [28:47]
• Interdisciplinary communication—team approach for a cohesive, empowering client experience.

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5. Contra’s Aesthetic & Location Strategy

[31:15–39:28]

• The only LA facility (outside of a few exceptions) to fully embrace a high-design, curated gym environment.
  • "It doesn't feel right to call it a gym..." – Lauren [31:15]
  • "Most gyms...it's very dingy, it's very masculine, it's very dark, smelly...there's a certain color scheme...bright green...tacky." – Amy [32:45]
• Location: Choice of Melrose Hill was both intentional and kismet, aligning with emergent creative and fashion-forward communities.
  • "We were noticing...certain people popping up and we're like, what's going on over here?" – Amy [36:23]
  • "It was really community driven...everybody's working together, we're doing collabs with each other." – Jessica [37:49]

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6. Clientele & LA’s Creative Migration

[39:28–41:35]

• Attracts a transient, international crowd—models, creatives, athletes in LA part-time.
  • "We do get a lot of transient people...you get to spend a lot of time with them...then they get to go do something really exciting and come back..." – Amy [40:58]
• Community is tightly knit, word-of-mouth driven; creates a family feel and supports authenticity.

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7. Peptides: The LA Wellness Craze

[43:02–56:36]

What Are Peptides?

[44:30–45:40]

• "Peptides are the precursor to proteins, and proteins make up all the building blocks of our body...our body is full of peptides and hormones." – Jessica [44:47]

The LA Peptide Craze

[43:15–44:38]

• "It’s hilarious being in Europe because everybody’s like, does everyone really shoot themselves with peptides?" – Lauren [43:09]
• Peptides now central to LA's wellness scene—personal, social, even party culture.

Responsible Use & Education

[45:41–48:13]

• Sourcing is critical: Only use reputable, USA-based, tested peptides.
  • "Don’t order them on TikTok Shop. Don’t order them on Facebook. No Amazon purchases." – Amy [46:51]
• Individualized protocols, thorough bloodwork, and doctor supervision are musts.

Why Peptides?

[45:50–53:38]

• Targets: Anti-inflammation, anti-aging, faster recovery, cognitive function, skin, and digestion.
  • "Our goals with peptides, we again, really like to educate...there's so many [kinds] for so many different things." – Amy [45:50]
  • "NAD for cognitive function. That’s a really big one." – Jessica [51:36]
• Peptides like NAD, BPC157, TB500, and GHKCU featured for different use-cases.
  • "[NAD]...really helpful for if you’re getting sick, just like flooding your system with all the good juju." – Jessica [51:36]

Injection Over Orals

[53:38–54:47]

• Injectables best for absorption and efficacy.
  • "...any peptides that you are ingesting...your absorption is not gonna be as high as if you inject it." – Jessica [52:52]
• Overcoming hesitancy: Education and supervised training make self-injection safe and approachable.

Caution and Personalization

[54:44–56:36]

• "Please go through the right sources. Don’t cut corners for cost...it will change your life...but not if you’re injecting something that’s not what you think it is." – Amy [54:44]
• Bloodwork before and during use is recommended to tailor and monitor impact.

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8. What Are Fashion People Wearing to the Gym?

[57:16–59:56]

• LA’s gym style: Athletic wear meets streetwear; vintage tees, sick sneakers, functional but cool layering.
  • "A lot of vintage tees. A lot of like, nobody actually wants to wear training shoes. Everybody's in some type of sick sneaker..." – Amy [57:31]
  • "...that, like, 90s Princess Diana look, you know, the athleisure." – Amy [57:49]
• Demand for gym wear that’s both supportive and fashion-forward (especially sports bras!).
  • "It’s so hard to find a cute and supportive sports bra." – Jessica [58:47]
• Contra hints at a future in product design: sustainable, functional, and stylish activewear.

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9. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "Making health cool was kind of what we were Trying to do, you know, now it is cool, but we really set out initially a long time ago to do that..." – Amy [20:48]
• "There's no smell. You walk in and you can't smell sweat, and I don't know how you're doing it." – Lauren [23:12]
• "If you're a New Yorker, you're in Paris, you're, you know, it's a kind of an on the go city. You don't always have the opportunity to do a full get ready and change." – Amy [60:36]
• "People keep being like, why do you...look so good? I have a really nice life. And also peptides, straight up." – Lauren [55:01]
• "Get your peptides from the right person, from a real person." – Amy [54:41]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [09:05] – Contra founders' personal stories & mission
• [20:03] – Changing attitudes toward fitness in creative circles
• [23:12] – The importance of gym design and cleanliness
• [26:14] – Contra’s assessment and individualized plans
• [31:15] – LA’s gym aesthetic gap & Contra’s place in Melrose Hill
• [39:28] – Melrose Hill, community building, and client experience
• [43:02] – LA’s peptide culture exposed: science, trends, and word to the wise
• [57:16] – What are fashion people actually wearing to the gym?

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Tone & Language Highlights

The episode balances expertise with levity—a hallmark of fashion-industry “real talk”—and moves at a friendly, conversational pace. Candid confessions ("I have a really nice life. And also peptides, straight up."), and playful asides (party scenes with a “peptide dealer” in tow) keep the episode fresh and engaging.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Contra Sports Club offers a rare fusion of top-tier athletic science and chic, community-driven space for LA’s creative set.
• Peptides are becoming mainstream for wellness and anti-aging, but education and credible sourcing are essential.
• Aesthetics matter: From environment to apparel, the next wave in wellness is about holistic self-care—and looking good doing it.

If you’re fashion-adjacent, LA-bound, or peptide-curious, this episode is a must-listen for how the city’s culture of self-optimization is setting new standards in wellness—and style.

Transcript

[Lauren Sherman]

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[Amy Schultz]

Foreign.

[Lauren Sherman]

Welcome to Fashion People. I'm Lauren Sherman, writer of Puck's Fashion and Beauty Memo Line Sheet and today with me on the show are Amy Schultz and Jessica Alexander, founders of Contra Sports Club. We're talking the business of being in shape, peptides and plenty more. Before we get going, I wanted to remind you that if you like this podcast, you'll definitely love Puck, where I send an email called Line Sheets. If you're a fashion person, you get that reference. It's an original look at what's really going on inside the fashion and beauty industries. Line sheet is scoopy, analytical and above all, fun. Along with me, a subscription to Puck gains you access to an unmatched roster of experts reporting on powerful people and companies in entertainment, media, sports, politics, finance, the art world and much more. If you're interested listeners of Fashion People get a discount. Just go to Puck News slash Fashion People to join Puck or start a free trial. Happy Friday, everyone. Hope you're having a great week. I am back in Los Angeles. I'm settling back into life here for a while. It's been nice. I feel relaxed, I feel calm. I feel like I'm missing out always. But I did. I went to a really nice dinner on Wednesday night, hosted at a private home in, I guess it was the Hollywood Hills. I don't even know where it is. Like Woodrow Wilson. I had to go up Mulholland Drive, which is always scary for me. I'm still kind of a novice driver. Anyway, the home was designed by this from Omi Design and Omid. Sorry, it's called Omi Dozen. I know that's how it's pronounced. According to Omidzin. That's what it is. O M, E D E Z I N according to AI. That's how to pronounce it. Anyway, they threw this dinner party in partnership with Lumens and Louis Poulsen. I wanted to shout out Lumen CMO Dana Gurs, who is a Net, a Porter alum, who was definitely a reason I was invited to this. And I just went because I was like, the thing about LA is you go to dinner, you go to a fashion dinner. It's the same 10 lovely human beings at every single dinner. And I was like, you know what? Might as well go and meet some people, see some people I maybe know adjacently or. Or meet some people. And it was really nice. I got to see the fashion person adjacent, Chef Andy Barragani, who was there wearing, you know, who was married to Keith Pollock, who is like an OG fashion person. We all love Keith. Shout out to Keith. I doubt he's ever listened to this. He works in at West Elm now. He's. He doesn't care about stuff, but we all. He's one of those People everyone loves Tim Blake even loves him. But anyway, Andy was wearing. I don't know if we'd ever met in person. It was nice to meet in person. And also he was wearing an amazing Dario Vitali designed Versace T shirt. D sweatery thing. It looked, it was like peach and burgundy. I mean pinky, peachy pink and burgundy. Oh, was so good. He looked so good. And he had just bought it yesterday so it was fun. And then Jesse from Basic Space was there. He's been on the podcast and he was really the only other person that I knew. But it was honestly really nice to chat with Dana about how she ended up in the design world from fashion. And you know, all I do is follow the money and when I think about that, like the design market, all I see are dollar signs. I'm like, this is a huge opportunity. Jessica Alexander and Amy Schultz, welcome to Fashion People.

[Jessica Alexander]

Thanks so much, Lauren.

[Amy Schultz]

We're so excited to be here. To be here. Thanks for having us.

[Lauren Sherman]

I'm so happy to have you. So what did you each have for breakfast this morning?

[Jessica Alexander]

Ooh, that's a good question.

[Amy Schultz]

I haven't had breakfast yet. I'm not even going to lie to you.

[Jessica Alexander]

Quite early over here. Over here.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah. What time is, is 8am wow. Thank you all. I appreciate you.

[Ad/Other Speaker]

Thank you.

[Jessica Alexander]

We love you, Lauren.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah, we love you.

[Jessica Alexander]

We got you.

[Lauren Sherman]

What time do you. I feel like I've quizzed you all on this before, but what time do you us usually get to the gym? Like around 8 or 9?

[Amy Schultz]

8am Usually.

[Ad/Other Speaker]

Yeah.

[Amy Schultz]

8 or 9 is our first client because Amy and I are usually there all day. So if we go any earlier too much, but we both wake up at like 6, 5:30 much earlier to get ready for the morning.

[Jessica Alexander]

Yeah, we have our little rituals in the morning.

[Lauren Sherman]

I miss the la. I'm very happy being in Paris, but I really miss the LA time way of life. Like getting up at 5:30 and going to bed at 10:30 or, or 9:30 or whatever. Here I get up at like 7:15 and go to bed at like 12:30. It's not, it's not as fun

[Jessica Alexander]

as.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jessica Alexander]

LA really supports that like naturally healthy lifestyle.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah, I feel like it's true. It's, it's a very different.

[Amy Schultz]

Why the early bedtime is such a thing?

[Jessica Alexander]

It really is.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah. So I wanted to have you all on because you own this really amazing gym fitness lifestyle center in this very special part of Los Angeles and we talk a lot about things like peptides and fitness and working out on fashion people. It's very fashion people adjacent, I would say. And I thought it would be interesting because you work with a lot of creative people on their workout routines. And I, right before I came to Paris, I came to see you guys four times, which was very fun to set myself up for being here where, you know, I have found a really great lagree class that kicks my butt. But other than that, it's very gentle exercise here. But I would love for you all to kind of explain who you are and what you do and like what contra is because a lot of the people who listen to this that visit LA probably are going to stop by or like usually when they're in LA half the year. Like a lot of fashion industry people who live in Europe live in LA part time. And I'm curious how you kind of came up with your brand of fitness because it's so unique.

[Jessica Alexander]

Yeah, we would love that. Thank you Lauren, again so much. Also, we are very proud of you for staying on it so far away,

[Amy Schultz]

staying in the program.

[Lauren Sherman]

You know I would.

[Amy Schultz]

We do know you're very on it. We're excited.

[Jessica Alexander]

You're a dream to work with you really are.

[Amy Schultz]

You listen, you do.

[Jessica Alexander]

But yeah, I guess I'll go first. So I'm Amy and I am a physical therapist and strength coach. So I guess to start my career I was super athletic growing up. I was a big kid giant. I was pretty much the same size as I am now at 10 years old. So I was naturally very, very good at athletics growing up. But I also got injured a lot and so I was exposed to physical therapy and rehab at a really young age. Fast forward to college and my adult life. I ran track and field. I in college I was a pro cyclist. And at the end of my cycling career I was really lost. I didn't know what I wanted to do moving forward because I was just an athlete my whole life. And I went back to what do I want to do for the greater good of society. I guess it was really like I wanted to help the high performer. So I went to physical therapy school and there I actually ended up writing a research paper on surfing injuries that I was able to share with a lot of the rehab community. But also during that time I realized this was the first paper in research on for anything action sports with the surfing community. So I actually ended up cold calling everybody in the surf industry, from every coach to every trainer to every brand, et cetera. And the only person to take my call was actually the head of performance or Sorry, the head of rehab at that time for the wsl, his name's Tim Brown, and he sort of took me under his wing. And I was able to work with a lot of the surfers on tour for their performance or their competition series. And through that, I actually ended up at Red Bull. And so I was with Red Bull back in the day when they were under their high performance bracket. And with that, we were able to do so many fun, creative things. Any insane idea that they threw at the wall, we had the support and the backing to try to make it happen. You know, like, we worked on projects where athletes would ride their bike out of a moving helicopter and crazy, crazy things like that. And so I was exposed to a lot of fun, amazing projects and amazing people. And Red Bull's high performance facility at the time in Santa Monica, all the athletes were able to come, and I sort of. I oversaw all of their rehab in the facility. I was also able to travel with skate, surf and snow at the time, and through skateboarding. I actually met Jess, and I'll let her give her background for you guys. So.

[Amy Schultz]

Hi, I'm Jess. So for me, growing up, I was not an athlete. I was completely the opposite of an athlete. I was very much just not exposed to athletics. I grew up a little bit rough, if you will. Like, my background was just more like I was partying and out there and had no direction and was very, very lost and really didn't know what I was into. I was really into music, I was really into fashion, but I didn't. I just could never quite get it together. I didn't have the support to do so. And so coming into my adult life, I was feeling really lost, and I was really out on the fringes, if you will, having a good time at a very young age. And I actually found performance and athletics for myself just in feeling like my mental health was tanking and feeling like I was, you know, doing all this really fun stuff and going to all these shows and. But I really wasn't well inside. And so I was trying different things, you know, to move my body. And I found this performance gym in Atlanta. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia. And I just started going, and it was this old strength conditioning coach, and he was incredible. And I was just training and training. And then through that, I. Not to be corny, but it pretty much saved my entire being. I really found my own strength and my own power and my own. Through being physically strong and fast and all of these things that I was never able to be before. I was Like, I want to do this for other people. You know, I want to. I want to do this for a living. And I was able to then be inspired to actually go to college, which was something I wasn't going to do. And through that journey, realizing I was working with different types of people and humans and was really drawn to the athlete. So I am an ATC and strength conditioning coach. And so through that experience, becoming a practitioner and becoming a strength coach, I just decided I wanted to develop the athlete, a high performer, people that really wanted to move. And I was lucky enough through that experience post college to be scouted by Nike. I was working with a lot of high school teams and doing all these things, and I never thought I would get scouted by Nike. They were doing at the time something called ntc, which was these big activations in different cities. And long story short, they scouted me and brought me out to campus. And I did a big, you know, thing out there with a bunch of different practitioners and trainers. And I was like, man, if I could work here, that would be the dream, you know, way out of my, way out of my depth. And I just tried and interviewed. I was like, I want to be here. This is what I want to do. And I was blessed enough to get the position and so moved to Portland, started working at Nike world headquarters. And through that experience, I think being there was different than I thought once I got there. But what Nike did for me was open a lot of doors to be able to study under some really incredible people. So while I was there, not only was I doing things for Nike and activations, I was working with a man named Bobby Stroop, an APEC in Tyler, Texas. So I was working with a lot of NFL, mlb, NBA, NFL Combine, working with the Portland Trail Blazers. So really experiencing very traditional sport at a very high level and being able to work with those athletes. And I loved it. And I still felt like that environment was amazing, but it didn't speak to the other part of me, this creative part, this part that's super interested in music and fat. Like, just. It wasn't. They didn't align. And so through that, I've always loved skateboarding and been a fan of it and enjoyed it. I really have believed that skateboarders not only are moving the needle in human performance, but also moving the needle in fashion and culture and all of these places. And I was just noticing that they weren't being taken care of. And so in feeling burnt out in that way, I was like, you know what? These are the creative and elite performers that I want to help. And so I set my sights to do. So I was like, I'm going to do this or leave the industry. I want to help the people that originally that I was grounded by in my youth. Set out to do that, got a job with Team USA for the Olympics. Leading up to 2020, was working with Nike SB. And that's when I moved to LA and was traveling on the road a lot with those specific athletes by myself. And that's when I met Amy. Amy was also traveling with those athletes. And so through that experience, we were exhausted together on the road. So tired, like, beyond. We were really out there. There wasn't a lot of support in those arenas as well. Red Bull was pretty much the only one supporting that endeavor. And so when we came together, not only both of us just being female practitioners in this space and having the same passion and having the same heart, we were a bit frustrated, I think, with, you know, being in these. These different spaces. We were finding we've been blessed enough to work at the elite level of sport, you know, in whatever capacity. And we've also been blessed enough to work with just a range of different humans. And we saw that if you weren't an elite, you know, NBA player, you know, if you go to a Red Bull High Performance center or you go to, you know, whatever it is at the highest level, you're going to get a team of orthopedic surgeons. So if someone gets hurt, you get imaging right away, then you're gonna come see us as practitioners and we're gonna do your rehab, and there's gonna be a strength coach there to lead you back, and there's gonna be access to a sports scientist that's gonna take your data and a nutritionist and all of these things that make a human an athlete better. And we were seeing it done really wrong and really right. So we were, you know, and then in la, we were looking at some of our other creative humans and community. Cause we both are very inspired by art and culture besides sport. That's what we love. Just seeing some of our friends and community not have any idea about any of that. You know, just really like, oh, I'm just gonna go do Barry's bootcamp. And they were having fatigue and they're in pain. And so anyway, through that experience, Amy and I were just like, why is there not a space that's one beautifully curated that has all of these things that elite athletes get? Because we have the best information to teach people what's Right. And what's not right for not only the high performing athlete and the creative athlete, but also the creative human. Like a lot of those other gym spaces, not only didn't have those things that can make you better or can make you better, they also weren't that inviting. You know, it's either like a Pilates class or then you go to like a brute gym. And it was just very, a very stark difference. And we really set out with Contra to create a space that's not only aesthetically pleasing and beautifully curated because we want to work in a space that's stunning and architecturally a place you want to be in for a long time, it's more motivating, but also to create an ecosystem where we have a team. Just like at the elite level of all of these things, the orthopedics are us, everyone under one roof, working together to make the human better. So we say with Contra Sports Club, we really created it for the creative athlete or the creative human. And everybody is an athlete. So looking to that community to bring that sport and that wellness and education around that, to the fashion community, athletes and everybody under one roof and kind of working together. So that's like our backgrounds and kind of why we created Contra.

[Ad/Other Speaker]

This is.

[Lauren Sherman]

I don't know how to ask this because it's like everybody's into working out now and being healthy and that's like

[Amy Schultz]

a part of culture.

[Lauren Sherman]

But it wasn't always like that with creative people. And I assume even like you work with like a lot of skateboarders, obviously that's very physical. But I could see a world 20 years ago where it wasn't like they were going to work out too. No, it was almost.

[Jessica Alexander]

Not only that they weren't and a lot of the creative community wasn't. It was almost anti. Anti as well.

[Amy Schultz]

Like that is for jocks. And if you're not a football player or basketball player, you didn't grow up doing sport, then that's not for you.

[Jessica Alexander]

Didn't seem cool.

[Amy Schultz]

It was like lame. And for us, you're correct. And that's why we were drawn to the skateboarders, the creatives, all of these people that are already in our community, people we're hanging with and you know, sharing all of these cultural interests with, but they're not healthy and they're not performing at the best that they could. Not only like, okay, skateboarders, sure, on their board and the way that they move and making sure they're healthy and really making health cool was kind of what we were Trying to do, you know, now it is cool, but we really set out initially a long time ago to do that, but also for our creatives because we were seeing, like, burnout and drop in cognition, and they're not excited about. They're not feeling creative, but they're not moving and they're not doing these things that actually enhance those creative pursuits. So you're correct. And that's why we were like, man, how do we make this attractive to the people that are actually moving the needle in society? Like, anything that is cool and that is on the cusp and creative and kind of makes the world turn and, like, why can't health be cool for them? And, like, all of these things that these pro athletes have for them. But we kind of, like, tricked it, if you will, you know, like.

[Jessica Alexander]

Yeah, we hid it.

[Amy Schultz]

We hid it. We made it look really enormous.

[Jessica Alexander]

Yeah, we tied it up in a little bow. So.

[Lauren Sherman]

Well, the funny thing that I said to you all, and I've, like, gone on and off of. I'm. I've always been, like, super active and played sports and have done every single fitness thing possible, basically. I'm not, like, obsessed with trendy stuff, but I'll try anything once just to see. And then, as you all know, I was a big fan when I was in LA of burn. I can't wait to go in June when I come back for the Hermes show. But I've done training on and off and had some really amazing trainers over the years and have gotten really into, like, Pilates, reformer and legree in the past two years or so. Being in LA and being older and my hips and I was a big runner and all this stuff. Anyway, the thing that was amazing, that's amazing about what y' all have done is it's like there's no smell. You walk in and you can't smell sweat, and I don't know how you're doing it.

[Jessica Alexander]

Thank you. Oh, my God, Lauren. That actually means more than you know, because we clean this place so much. So much.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, it.

[Lauren Sherman]

It gets wild. Like, you can't smell sweat. I don't know how you guys did it.

[Amy Schultz]

Well, thank you. That's why you are neat freaks. That's why. I think that's the other. I mean, again, thank you. Seriously, we're like, oh, God, yes. Goal hit. But I mean, that's exactly, like, just to our original points, like, there were so many spaces. They're nasty, they're grimy, they're so uninviting.

[Jessica Alexander]

They don't want to be there. We have people are there for five hours a day doing their rehab and working with, you know, the rest of the team that just has mentioned and you don't want to be in a disgusting environment for five hours. You know, you want to be somewhere that you're comfy and cozy and that's elegant and nice and yeah, I think

[Amy Schultz]

for us as maybe it's I don't know if it's being women or like just really ocd. Like I don't know. We are take a very. That's a really big part of like we want to make sure the space is super clean, super inviting, super. It's even it should smell like a candle when you come in there, you know, but it's the people are performing and sweating and moving. You know, you've been in there. It's like everybody's working really hard but we gonna make sure that that's cleaned up.

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[Amy Schultz]

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[Lauren Sherman]

So tell me, what are people coming to you all for? Because you have massive everybody. When you search this, you need to search contra Los Angeles gym for it to pop up. What are they? You have. You have a wide suite of services. So, like, you do physical therapy and you do. What I thought was interesting about working with you all is the fact that it did feel like the first session was. It was physical therapy. It was figuring out the right routine for me. And then it was also like, I over exercise. And you all knew it. And so you were like, one time I came and you were like, you're not. We're not going to exercise today. Because I had like, something crazy. I had like been on a plane or something, and you all, you were like thinking about my nervous system a lot, which is mental. Mental health stuff too. Or like, mentally connected to physical. But you have like, a lot of different things that you do and you offer. What are people. What kind of like customized packages are people coming to you for at this point?

[Jessica Alexander]

Yeah, that's a really great question, Lauren. So because we have so many services and because me and Jess have been around high performance for a really long time, we take a really individualized approach. So, you know, your goals and needs are going to be different than a pro basketball. Basketball player's goals and needs. Right. Especially day to day. And to your point, you know, one day you went hard in the gym, we worked out, and you sweated. And then the other day your nervous system was fried and you were laying under the red light and you took a nap. So we were like, we're not gonna wake you up and then go slam some balls, you know, just because. Exactly. And so basically what a first session with us looks like is somebody comes in and we just sit down with them and we talk and we're like, where are we at and where do we want to get to? And then we make a plan with all of our team. So. Right. Just mentioned. Cool. Like, let's say somebody's super injured or has this lingering thing that we want to get another set of eyes on. We'll send them to go see one of our orthopedic surgeons and just get imaging and just check in from a different medical lens. Maybe they're there doing rehab or they sprained their ankle or something like that. And so then they'll work with one of our practitioners from a rehab lens.

[Amy Schultz]

Really, the. When you ask, like, what we do, we do it all, but in the sense of, you know, there's a lot of wellness. Like, we take wellness, we look at whether it's performance or rehab or regeneration. We call it instead of recovery, because recovery is just so overused, so being used. We want to look at the person and their needs. You know, there's so many facilities that offer all of these things. We know this now. You know, there's red light therapy and there's sauna and there's cold plunge and there's PT and, you know, and it's just there. It's.

[Jessica Alexander]

And it's not only there, it's overwhelming.

[Amy Schultz]

It's overwhelming, like, what do I do? What's the purpose? And so our entire initiative with Contra is to really look at the human and look at their wellness. Like, again, whether it's a performing athlete, a model, a creative, whatever it is, we're gonna do a really detailed intake like we did with you, and ask you a lot of different questions so we can actually kind of look at what you really need. Because someone might come in and be like, I wanna be fit. And we're like, great, we're gonna get you there. But what's your stress level? Like, what's your travel like? You know, we don't wanna say, okay, great, let's get to training. And then we know that your nervous system and your hormone, like, everything's down in the dumps. So we really like to back everything down, take a really, really specific approach and take a detailed approach and take our time so that we can make an actual plan and educate the person in front of us. Like, what do you actually need and how do we get you there? So that they feel empowered.

[Jessica Alexander]

Everybody leaves with homework.

[Amy Schultz]

So much homework.

[Jessica Alexander]

You know, the other thing too, that what we saw from before and really dictated the approach that we use now too, is instead of having a multidisciplinary team. So like Jess mentioned, all these gyms have PT and recovery and red light and sauna and yada yada. Instead of going from one modality to another, how do we all put all of our brains together and create this plan working together around the person in front of us? So instead of somebody going and seeing our dietitian, and then going and seeing a strength coach, and then going and getting blood work. Cool, that's great. But are all of those different people communicating together and making a plan together to achieve that person's goals? So that's also. We really, really strive to create an interdisciplinary approach to healthcare as well.

[Lauren Sherman]

So. So I'm sure that there are other gyms or facilities. It doesn't feel right to call it a gym in Los Angeles that tries to do this kind of stuff. Holistically or whatever. And they have different approach. But I would say from a like aesthetic perspective, it's interesting being in Paris. There are a lot of like very chic looking gyms where. Or there's like, there's this new sauna that just opened that's like interior design. Like there's like a real high focus here on the way that the, the facilities look. And I would say other than the springs, which is like mostly mat pilates and yoga and things like that and you all. I can't think of another place in LA that like looks good. I'm just curious from your perspective, like why do you think that's not as much of a focus in, in the city that is obsessed with aesthetics and obsessed with. And we're gonna get, we're gonna talk a lot about peptides. I'm very excited but, but you know, obsessed with the way you look. But then you go to these places and they're not like that cute. I'm just curious from your perspective, like why you think that's not. Because you know the community so well there, why that's not like the emphasis of a lot of places in LA

[Amy Schultz]

in particular being really transparent. I think the interesting intersection that Amy, the unique perspective that we are blessed to have, like we kind of drawing back to the beginning of the conversation, like sport and fitness and then fashion and culture have been separate in a sense, like yes, everyone needs to work out and be fit. But the culturally it's a very different, just different perspective, you know. So I think for us, we recognize that we had a unique perspective in the sense of like, okay, most gyms where you're to your point, it's where you're gonna go strength train or whatever, it's very dingy, it's very like masculine, it's very dark, smelly. And like there's a very certain color scheme that I don't know why people continue to use, like reds, green, don't use it. Please stop using bright green. Like just these things that I'm going to be really honest that we feel are really tacky. Like we don't even want to train in those spaces and we do this for a living. And then on the very flip side of that, you know, you have these other studios, maybe more like yoga or maybe to your sauna, cold plunge, the regenerative spaces, they, they're getting that where it's, oh, it's supposed to be beautiful because you're relaxing. And we were just like, why? Why we.

[Jessica Alexander]

Why the miss.

[Amy Schultz]

Why the miss. Where is the intersection here. So for us we also don't know that's literally why we opened Contra, because we were ideizing for we gotta do it better.

[Jessica Alexander]

Yeah.

[Amy Schultz]

There's just nothing. There's nowhere we could take our people and feel good. And so we hope we set the standard now in general that this should just be standardized.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah. And you're also in. You chose a really interesting area of Los Angeles right off of Western in this. It. It's called Melrose Hill. It's like used to be. It's. It's a really for people who aren't familiar with. With Los Angeles and I've written a little bit about it because I'm so fascinated by it. But it's in. It's very close to Hollywood. It's in a. It's pretty central. But it was underdeveloped from like retail and every perspective. And then this one family started developing it and now there's Etra, there's Bar Etoile, there's David Zwerner co has their store there. Spinelli Kilcallen has a store. There's Kiko is around the corner. Straight from London all the way to la. They opened a store. There's lots of Rocky's Matcha Pop Ups there. There's the grocery store. Anyway, it's a little fishes right around the corner. Anyway, if you're not from Los Angeles a, you should book. If you. If you come for a week, you should do something at Contra and you should go to this neighborhood and hang out. Like I kind of used it as my downtown coming from Eagle Rock and would kind of there and Larmont Village were like the places I would go around and get food and go shopping, go out to eat and all that stuff. But it feels like a different city. And I'm just curious like did you all target it? Did you see what was happening there? How did you end up?

[Jessica Alexander]

Short answer? Yes.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, we did. Yeah.

[Jessica Alexander]

We were really fortunate to find the town and be one of the first people to start renting space there because it's really to your point, like up and coming and it's booming now and we have amazing, amazing neighbors.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, we were really like intentional. You know, we were noticing it was interesting in trying to figure out LA is huge and vast and sprawling and if you go to one area it freaking sucks and you go to another area it's great. Blah, blah. And for us we were noticing just looking at areas, we were kind of looking in that area but we noticed some of these certain people you mentioned popping up and we're like, what's going on over here? And then we were really blessed to meet the Melrose and Western team, like going over there and starting to. They're so incredible. And Zach Lasseri and what he's done with the area and we were also very inspired when we found him and his team and then the space, it was so kismet because what his mission and their mission over there to do with that area and be able to culturally develop it but in such an authentic way, it's not forced and it's so we were like, oh my God, we found the most perfect place we could ever be. So yeah, it was really intentional. It was kind of kismet, kind of intentional. And then that way now our community is already. We're all together there and everyone walks the block and all of those people are our clients and we're able to kind of like co create and you know, we have a little, we call it our little living room space in the front and a lot of times people will take meetings from there and hang out and so it's cool to see all of these cultural minds come together and be together and then have.

[Jessica Alexander]

It was really community driven too because to your point, like Zach and his team just developed the entire neighborhood and block that everybody is a neighbor. Like you really, really feel that being there. Everybody's working together, we're doing collabs with each other. To Jess point, everybody's training at our space and then we go after work and we go get drinks and we go get food at some of these amazing bars and restaurants around. You know, it's. It's really, really community focused and it feels really good.

[Amy Schultz]

We feel very honored to be the place that everyone gets to come play if you will. Because it's like yes, our space is wellness and we're training and all of these things. We're getting better. But it's like we keep it very playful and very light because really that's the only time a lot of any of those people have to put their fab down, you know, enjoy and be in a space of like minded people. So, so it's, it's fun, so supportive.

[Lauren Sherman]

It's crazy how fast it happened because the. I've seen attempts at developing things before and I think a. It looks good like they didn't, they didn't eff up the, the storefronts. Like they all. It's all different and, but it doesn't feel super overdeveloped like those Zwerner buildings. Look like they should be. The Zwerner building building. The Telegram and ETRA is in is very unique. Like those, the little shopping center over there. It, it feels like they didn't, they didn't with them that much. And I think that's part of it too. Like.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, right.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yep. When you go to some other areas of LA and you see the development, you're like, oh, I know who did that development. Because like aesthetically, you know, and sometimes that's fine, but in, in this case it feels like a real like walking neighborhood too. Which is, which is really nice. Do you have a lot of people who are kind of transient who are coming in and out and live in LA part time and, and that sort of thing? Because when I came to visit you, there was a well known model there. You had some athletes. Like, it felt like people who probably only live in LA three months out of the year or what have you.

[Amy Schultz]

We get a lot of that. All of our, I mean, as you know, even we don't have our address on there because we do have a lot of high level people. We try to keep it, it's very tight, you know, and very closed and everything we have done has been word of mouth. So it's been really awesome to see the clients we do have then telling their friends and their friends and we have a lot of people that will fly in and do a stent. Getting read for a show or getting ready for, you know, whatever it might be and then tour and stuff. Yeah, tour. And so it's, it's cool. We have a lot of in and out. We've got our mainstay neighborhood people that live in la. And then yes, we do get a lot of transient people. And it's fun because then you get to, they come through and we get to spend a lot of time with them. Then they get to go do something really exciting and come back and they

[Jessica Alexander]

leave with their homework, always their homework,

[Amy Schultz]

and making sure they're on the road taking care of.

[Jessica Alexander]

But the other point I think that Jess brought up is because it's word of mouth, you just naturally have this community aspect. Yeah, everybody kind of knows each other. If they don't, they are like one away from knowing each other. And it really, really creates what we call our contra family, so to speak. So it just supports all of that. Everybody's there for common goals and wants to get better and it's really hats off and everybody's just there to play and learn and it's comfortable.

[Lauren Sherman]

It feels very international to me. Like that's the thing. It is, that is, is so great about it. And, oh, I remember I was just in Milan for design week and I got to see Dr. Wu's new brand and I think his new studio is near you guys. So it is like that kind of person. I don't know if he, he ever visits you. He, he's so under the radar. I'm sure he wouldn't want his name anyway. But he, like, it's a similar. I feel like it's like mindedness, like it's the same kind of like circle of people.

[Amy Schultz]

Correct. And what he's building within his industry and has built, same idea, same energy, keeping the authenticity, keeping the community up, leveling people, keeping it quiet, you know, doing it. But it's the word of mouth piece. So, yeah, very similar brand, very similar feel. We just feel like so many, I don't know, so many brands, especially in wellness, I guess I could say that just overdo it and try so hard and push, push, push. And we really have tried to take the opposite approach and just do what we do and do it well and the right people will, you know, come.

[Jessica Alexander]

Staying authentic to it. Yeah, staying authentic and real and. Yeah, cutting all the bullshit out.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, kind of go.

[Lauren Sherman]

Okay, so let's talk about what everyone wants to really hear about. Peptides.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah.

[Jessica Alexander]

Where do you want to start?

[Lauren Sherman]

It's hilarious being in Europe because everybody's like, does everyone really shoot themselves with, with peptides?

[Amy Schultz]

I said, yes, they do. There's needles everywhere, guys, careful.

[Lauren Sherman]

I love my peptides. It's, it's. But it's funny because they just, it's. I have one friend who found like someone here who has a peptide list and sent me the sheet and I was like, yes, this is how it is in la. Like, there is.

[Amy Schultz]

Oh, it's moving to Europe now, but

[Lauren Sherman]

it's going to take, it's, it's definitely here. They're like, I'm just going to drink and smoke and that's going to help me stay thin and, and not think about my problems. But you haven't been open for that long, so, like, I assume you had them from the beginning, but, like, what is your experience of like, the peptide craze in LA in particular? What are people looking for? What are the ones that they use a lot? And like, how do you, I know you all work with medical professionals on this stuff, but like, how do you incorporate that into the program?

[Amy Schultz]

I think the first step, Amy, I'll let you take this. You do it so well. But I think what we should do first for everyone, which we love to do, is educate on what peptides actually are, please.

[Lauren Sherman]

Thank you.

[Amy Schultz]

You know, it's like nobody actually knows and like, fair, whatever.

[Jessica Alexander]

Like we all think they're this magic concoction, the elixir of life. Like, yeah.

[Amy Schultz]

And it's like, yes, but like, what is it? Right, so let's, I think us talking about that and then what are you

[Jessica Alexander]

actually putting into your body?

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah.

[Jessica Alexander]

So going back to science class, back to like us in elementary school. Peptides are the precursor to proteins, and proteins make up all the building blocks of our body. So if you really, really, really break it down, our body is full of peptides and hormones and all of these things. Right, right. From a cellular level. So our bodies naturally produce peptides. And these peptides create different processes throughout our body, whether it be help with digestion or help build new tissues and specific tissues, whether it be the circuit that helps put down more blood vessels or put down more connective tissue. So that's sort of what peptides do. There's peptides for our brain, there's peptides for our skin, there's peptides for inflammation and weight loss.

[Amy Schultz]

Weight loss.

[Jessica Alexander]

Going back to it, what is that person's goal and what tool can we use, whether it be peptides or a different modality, to achieve that?

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah. And so now knowing that we're fans of peptides, we think they're incredible. We think they're something that is really like actually cutting edge. You know, there's a lot of things that we're like, yeah, it's cutting edge and it's useful. But these are extremely. Because your body is. Is already naturally producing it. Yes, it's groundbreaking, but it's more groundbreaking because it's a tool to be able to help your body produce at a level when you were 25 or, you know, whatever it may be to like make you better and make you function at a higher level as we age. That's why it's so valuable and groundbreaking. But our goals with peptides, we again, really like to educate. Okay, this one does this, this one does this, this one does this. Because there's so many. For so many different things. The first thing we do with our clients, one, we work with a very specific team of doctors in lab that we make sure is like from the United States. Because the first thing we're seeing with peptides is you can get them anywhere right now, which is dangerous. Sorry, guys, don't order them on TikTok Shop. Don't Order them on Facebook.

[Jessica Alexander]

No Amazon purchases.

[Amy Schultz]

Don't do that, don't do that. You don't know what you're injecting. And I know we all want it. It's exciting. But like, I think first really having the resource and making sure that it's from a lab that is multiple third party tested, you know where it's coming from and you know what it is. So that's number one. And then from there, just looking at each human, because everybody comes in, you're correct. Every single person's like, oh, my God, I want to do peptides, I want to do a GLP1 and I want to do this and do that. And we're like, cool, cool, cool, cool. Bet, bet, bet. What? Let's look at kind of like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Fear. But we want to look at, okay, first the baseline things. How's your sleep, how's your nutrition, how's your training? How is, you know, let's do a blood work panel and take a look at like how you're functioning on the inside. Then we can talk about the additives, you know, then we can talk about what's the other thing that you need. And so then it's case by case. You know, we have a lot of athletes that really benefit if they're post surgery or they're post injury. BPC157, a lot of research around it. It's incredible for decreasing inflammation. And so again, case by case and decision by decision, if they want to do that, we educate and then kind of pair them with that. Or if someone else is looking for more anti aging and IPA and you know, all these other different things, same thing. We want to educate and how to use it appropriately and do you really need it and things like that. Yeah.

[Lauren Sherman]

It's interesting because someone was like, is it like vitamins? So it's kind of. I'm like, it's like vitamins, but it works. I personally, I'm just, I'm gonna tell my story and I am not a medical professional. I know you all are physical therapists, but everyone should consult their, their either go to contra and talk to their medical professionals or go to someone's medical professionals, talk about this stuff. But anyway, I have like, this is tmi, but like eczema on my scalp and have had to deal with that for a really long time. And honestly, first time in my life since I was like 7 years old that I don't. I'm not dealing with it, it because of, and, and the, it's the inflammation thing. Like, right. And there are so many different examples of that. And you don't like, I'm not taking like 75 different peptides because you can do that. I was at a party, which I've talked about on this podcast before, but I was at this birthday party where everyone's like, smoking and totally trash and they're all like, the peptide dealers walking around. It was. That's a hilarious thing. That's like, how it is. It's great. It really is.

[Jessica Alexander]

Like, show up with the trench coat and like, open it up.

[Amy Schultz]

I got the supplies.

[Jessica Alexander]

What do you need?

[Lauren Sherman]

But it's one of those things that's interesting about la, that's like, there is so much stupid about la. Like, all the way people look in their plastic surgery and, you know, I've been here for two months and I'm like, well, I'm never getting a half facelift. I'm not getting all the other crap that I thought I was gonna do. I'm like, all of that stuff feels like so far away being here in Europe. But like, I think one of the good things about all of that is this idea of, like, we're all gonna live for a pretty long time and we might as well be healthy and feel good while we're doing it instead of like being fatalist and like, well, I'm gonna die. I might as well just totally not treat myself well. And that, I think is the positive thing about LA and being in this like, self improvement culture is that you actually can make yourself feel a lot better.

[Amy Schultz]

So much better.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah.

[Jessica Alexander]

I think one of the big trends that we're seeing right now is longevity. Yeah, everybody's talking about longevity and peptides really play into that.

[Amy Schultz]

Mm.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah. So what, like you mentioned the inflammation one. Like, is there. Are there any for. I know there's like a couple that are specific for skin. Right. Which ones? Like what? Other than GLP ones, which obviously a lot of people want to take, which

[Amy Schultz]

we can talk about that too. Safe ones.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah, yeah. What are. What are people excited about? Like, what are you seeing? A lot of good feedback.

[Amy Schultz]

Definitely. Anti aging.

[Jessica Alexander]

Anti aging.

[Amy Schultz]

Anti aging. Anti inflammation. Honestly, also digestive health. We're seeing a lot of people that, you know, have a lot of GI or digestive issues and wanting to be able to just be overall de inflamed, but mostly anti aging. Faster recovery. Everybody wants to recover and feel better when they wake up. But I would say I. We could speak to the ones like the main one nad for cognitive function. That's a really big One.

[Jessica Alexander]

And it also is really helpful for if you're getting sick, just like flooding your system with all the good juju.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, we're on. I mean, Amy and I speaking to that point as well. Just talking about nad, for instance, like Amy and I in running contra, we love it. And we're running a very. We're running a small business that we have more demand than we can handle. And it's me and Amy and our little team. And we're retired. We're retire. And so we've seen, you know, just going off of your experience as well. Like our cognitive function by doing NAD weekly is like enhanced by so much, like so, so much. And so grateful for it because I

[Jessica Alexander]

hear, as well as not getting sick,

[Lauren Sherman]

a big fan of nad.

[Amy Schultz]

We love nad. And so it's been really cool. I think what's really, really interesting and amazing about the peptide movement is, for instance, if we're usually exhausted, we're gonna go to a stimulant, we're gonna drink another cup of coffee, we're gonna, you know, whatever it is to which is actually gonna decrease our function over time, you know, it's actually gonna tear us down. So now eventually crash and burn. Yeah. And now we have this thing that's actually adding, you know, and helping our body function at a higher level. And then we do. So definitely the anti aging is the number one.

[Jessica Alexander]

Speak to NAD just quickly too, because there's a lot of different peptides out there and a lot of different processes to intake, especially Nadia. So what the small amount of research that there is right now out there found is that any peptides that you are ingesting, like in a vitamin or pill form, your absorption is not gonna be as high as if you inject it. Just because it has to go through your digestive tract and your stomach acid and all of these breakdown factors, you're gonna lose a lot of that. So if you have the opportunity and the availability, the best of action for the peptides is actually injecting it.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah, everybody needs to chill out with the. It's not a big deal to inject yourself. Anyone who's had to do any sort of trying to get pregnant with any sort of IVF right adjacent stuff. It's not a big deal. You should talk to a doctor and only do stuff you're comfortable with. But don't be afraid of shooting yourself.

[Amy Schultz]

Diabetics do it all the time. You know, it's not a. I think again, like. Like our biggest mission is to educate and teach. So when someone comes in, we have an entire system and a card and here's how you do it. And we're going to take them through and. Because injecting yourself is scary for the first time, but it's actually not that crazy. You get a flu shot. You know, these things are. It's just doing it yourself feels scary, but it's not. But just educating around sterilization and you know, like making sure you're just, you're just doing it in the right ways

[Jessica Alexander]

because of that too. Just really harping on. Please get your peptides from a credible source because injecting random stuff into your

[Lauren Sherman]

body is really scary. Really.

[Amy Schultz]

Do you know that?

[Lauren Sherman]

Get your peptides from the right person, from a real person. Yeah.

[Amy Schultz]

Please go through the right sources. Don't cut corners for cost. For the love of God, just do it the right way because this is amazing and it will change your life. It can change your life for the benefit, but not if you're injecting something that's not what you think it is. So please, please, please. That's all we can say.

[Lauren Sherman]

It's so true. People keep being like, why do you, why do you look so good? And I'm like, like I do feel good. I have a really nice life. And also peptides, straight up, we do the same thing.

[Amy Schultz]

You know, it's, it's seriously. Yeah. Our brain, you know, there's, there's, I guess the, the hot heavy hitters and the hot ones right now definitely NAD for cognitive function. Definitely BPC157 for overall inflammation as well as tissue healing.

[Jessica Alexander]

So. Right. A lot of our to justice point, a lot of our athletes use TB500 and BPC157 because it actually helps lay down new connective tissue. Like laying down new muscle and blood vessels and nerves. Yeah. So it helps after surgery, especially in orthopedic surgery.

[Amy Schultz]

And then yeah. Some of the anti aging ones is GHKCU and ipamorelin and ghk.

[Jessica Alexander]

GHK is really nice for skin.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah, really, really nice for skin. Everybody's like, oh, your skin looks amazing. I'm like, yes, it does. What products are you using? I'm like, it's peptide. But again, cautionary tale. This is all very much like, like this is what we're seeing. Just please get it from a good source.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah.

[Amy Schultz]

And it'll be great.

[Lauren Sherman]

Totally.

[Amy Schultz]

And each person is going to respond differently. So again, like one of the reasons we do a lot of the background intake is because they are incredible. But every single person's genetic Makeup and cellular makeup is different, so different peptides are going to work different for different people. So just really, again, educating yourself and going through the ratios.

[Jessica Alexander]

We really recommend getting a blood panel before you're gonna do it and then getting a blood panel while you're on it too, just to be safe and double check.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah.

[Lauren Sherman]

Okay. So that was very educational. I enjoyed it. It makes me want. Great to get some more peptides. My final question for you is, since this is a fashion podcast, what are people wearing? Like, you don't have to name brands. I'm sure you all have relationships with certain companies still, and I don't want you to feel awkward, but, like, in terms of style, like, you two dress very cute, so I like. I like your personal style, but what are you seeing people. Like, what's the aesthetic of going to the gym today?

[Amy Schultz]

Great question.

[Lauren Sherman]

In. In the. In Melrose Hill, this cool neighborhood that

[Amy Schultz]

you're in in la, Honestly, it's interesting you say that. It's a mix of athletic wear and street wear.

[Jessica Alexander]

A lot of vintage tees.

[Amy Schultz]

A lot of vintage tees. A lot of, like, nobody actually wants to wear training shoes. Everybody's in some type of sick sneaker, which we totally back us as well. You know, I mean, there's a time and a place to put on a training shoe, but they walk in with

[Jessica Alexander]

their very cool sneakers.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah.

[Jessica Alexander]

And they train in barefoot.

[Amy Schultz]

There's definitely more of. I mean, as we've seen in general, that, like, 90s Princess Diana look, you know, the athleisure. Like, there's more baggy pants and sneakers and like, with, like, a cute sports bra. And, you know, for the guys, they're still basketball shorts, but a lot of them are wearing, like, oversized pants. And so I think it. There's a. Definitely a trend towards what we would like to see. And we've actually talked about this a lot because, again, two separate things. There's a lot of brands that are athletic wear and, you know, good supporting sports bras and good supporting shorts, but they're not very cute and they're really hard to style. And so we're seeing more people gravitate towards street wear, but then, like, that doesn't function well if you're. If you're sprinting. So, yeah, it's. It's a combo of both. But we would love to see more brands. Like, how do you innovate to make it look even cooler but more functional,

[Jessica Alexander]

especially a sports bra.

[Lauren Sherman]

Oh, my God. I know.

[Jessica Alexander]

So hard to find a cute and

[Amy Schultz]

supportive person that makes it is gonna like, like change the world.

[Lauren Sherman]

They really are.

[Jessica Alexander]

Take all my money.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah, it's.

[Amy Schultz]

That's what we're seeing.

[Lauren Sherman]

It's. Yeah, it's interesting. I've been wearing, I still wear like a legging. I'm not gonna wear loose pants like cool like Chrissy Jones does or whatever.

[Amy Schultz]

But we need support.

[Lauren Sherman]

But yeah, but I do wear like, I mostly wear vintage T shirts now with a sports bra and leggings to, to work out instead of like a workout shirt. Unless I'm running. Then I'll, then I'll do that. But it is interesting. There is just so much opportun. You all ever want to get into products and things like that.

[Amy Schultz]

Oh yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, for sure.

[Jessica Alexander]

That is on the forefront. You know, one of the other trends that we see especially from the clothing side is how do we move away from plastic products into organic cotton. And yeah, just speaking especially to the sports bra side, how do you create a product that's good for your body to wear but also doing the job and also is cute? So that's sort of on the forefront of what we want to do eventually.

[Amy Schultz]

Yeah. And we really just like, you know, it's a very obvious answer but like how do we make everything cuter and cooler because like you don't want to have to put on your gym fit and then change. Honestly, like the more that you could interchange the pieces or layer and keep it stylish, the better it's going to be because everyone is in an active lifestyle now. You know, if you're a New Yorker, you're in Paris, you're, you know, it's a kind of an on the go city. You don't always have the opportunity to do a full get ready and change. You know, we are lucky enough to be a facility that you can, but not everywhere you can. So yeah, just like, I think a lot more people are layering and we definitely. That's kind of our next push is how do we create products that are actually really stylish and people want to wear not because they love us, but because it's actually good. Yeah. And cool.

[Lauren Sherman]

Well, I'm excited to see them because you both are very cute and cool. That's like the best descriptors.

[Jessica Alexander]

And cool.

[Lauren Sherman]

Yeah, I mean we, I, I just adore you guys. I'm gonna come visit you when I come in June.

[Amy Schultz]

Please. We miss you. We can always have you back.

[Lauren Sherman]

I can't wait. I'm gonna bring people. I might bring some euros. I think that would be fun. Maybe we'll do like a group class. I'll message you before. But. But this was so great. Congratulations. Anyone who lives in LA or goes to LA a lot should go see Jess and Amy. It's a really, really nice facility and we should all be exercising because it makes you feel good, makes you feel

[Amy Schultz]

good and look good. Thank you so much, Lauren.

[Ad/Other Speaker]

Thank you, Lauren.

[Lauren Sherman]

It's so fun. Congrats on everything. I look forward to seeing what's next.

[Amy Schultz]

Thank you.

[Lauren Sherman]

Fashion People is a presentation of Odyssey in partnership with Puck. The show is produced and edited by Molly Nugent. Special thanks to Puck co founder John Kelly, executive editor Ben Landy, producer Maya Tribbit and director of editorial operations, Gabby Grossman. An additional thanks to the team at Odyssey, Kelly Turner and Bob Tabador.

[Jessica Alexander]

This is the sound of captivity. This is the sound of rescue. And this is the sound of freedom.

[Lauren Sherman]

Give Armenia's captive bears a second chance

[Jessica Alexander]

by supporting International Animal Rescue. Call 508-826-1083 or search the Great Bear Rescue to learn more.