How Pain Turned To Power with Jessica Finn - Founder of GPA Activewear

Summary

Stay Tranquilo Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Stay Tranquilo
Host: Stay Tranquilo Network
Episode Title: How Pain Turned To Power with Jessica Finn — Founder of GPA Activewear
Guest: Jessica Finn
Date: January 24, 2026

In this heartful, laid-back episode recorded in Staten Island, the Stay Tranquilo team sits down with Jessica Finn, personal trainer, influencer, and founder of GPA Activewear. Jessica discusses her transformative journey from struggling with body image and an eating disorder to building a career in fitness and launching her own activewear brand. The discussion dives deep into the theme of turning pain into power, overcoming adversity, the importance of mindset, and operating as an authentic, positive voice in a fast-paced, often harsh social media world.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jessica's Early Journey & Fitness Transformation

• Background:
  • Raised in New York, studies psychology, played sports from an early age.
  • Struggled with weight fluctuation and body image as a teenager, reaching 175 lbs at age 16–17.
  • Quit softball, battled an eating disorder, and rebuilt her relationship with food and fitness.
• Turning Point:
  • Jessica: "You need those rock bottom moments in order to get right back up. It’s like your life is like a heartbeat...You can’t get up unless you have those moments at rock bottom." (06:54)
• Career Progression:
  • Studied psychology, considered interior design, worked at a law firm, then pursued fitness certifications.
  • Full-time personal trainer after a position at Dog Pound.

2. Pain Into Power: Mindset & Personal Responsibility

• Discussion on how personal pain and adversity fuel growth.
• Host observes, "Your pain points turn into power...You kind of dig a little bit deeper and you kind of go into that pain, and it turns out into, you know, something better." (06:08)
• Victim mentality vs. taking action:
  • Jessica: "Is it uncomfortable? Because it seems like they are comfortable. Because if you were uncomfortable, like, I don't want to be here. How can I get out of this?" (08:04)
  • "You have that power to make the choice. It could be a scary ass choice." (08:20)

3. Overcoming Eating Disorders and Social Pressures

• Jessica shares her battle with an eating disorder, bullying, and the long road to self-acceptance.
• Jessica: “You find yourself—and it sounds so cliche...why was I ever doing this to myself? For other people’s approval? For other people to notice us? I felt like I was in the shadows. I got bullied a lot when I was younger...I don’t want people to go through this.” (09:42–10:28)
• Emphasis on healthy over “skinny”:
  • Jessica: “Skinny doesn’t mean healthy. That’s the biggest thing. It frustrates me so much...‘I just want to be skinny.’ I’m like, no, you want to be healthy.” (11:38)

4. Fitness in Modern Life: Routine, Recovery, and Adjusting

• Day-to-day as a trainer: Early starts, back-to-back clients, prioritizing own workouts.
• Shift away from extreme strength training post-car accident to balanced routines incorporating running and Pilates.
• Jessica: “Switching it up is really important...as a woman, our bodies are always changing...So I do things that make me feel good.” (29:41)
• Host and Jessica discuss aging, recovery, and listening to one’s body:
  • “You could think you’re doing everything right but, like, to your point, your body’s hurting.” (29:19)

5. The Launch of GPA Activewear

• GPA Activewear began after her car accident, initially focusing on booty bands, then branching into apparel.
• Inspiration and mentorship from fashion designer Danielle Guizio.
• Jessica: “People being fearful and not wanting to take that chance on themselves. I was like, I really have nothing to lose...Your life can change like that in a second. So why not take that risk?” (34:32)
• Commitment to quality and affordability; every product tested and worn by her—a deeply personal, hands-on operation.
• Deep gratitude for support from friends and customers; products named after supporters.

6. Authenticity & Impact on Social Media

• TikTok growth centered on relatability and honesty about life’s struggles.
• Jessica: “I always felt like my voice was something that I wanted to use and impact people...I try to relay the message in a way that reminds people that we’re human. Nobody’s perfect...you gotta make the most of it.” (41:50)
• Purposefully shares stories (her own and anonymized versions from clients) to destigmatize struggles and mental health.
• Recognizes the toxicity and comparison trap of online life.
  • Jessica: “There’s so much societal pressure to be something specific that everybody’s starting to look the same, be the same, act the same. I’m like, for what?” (43:55)
• Host notes: “Just be you. Be who you are. Do what makes you happy...Without having to try to impress anybody.” (44:20)

7. Mental Health, Mindfulness & Self-Discovery

• Discussion about therapy access, stigma, and the nuances of finding the right therapist.
• The importance of meditation, present-moment awareness, and overcoming generational trauma.
• Book recommendation: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
  • Host: “The concept of that book is… not being stuck about what happened...all about being here and now, being present, being in gratitude in this current moment.” (23:10–24:01)
• Social media: Encouraging vulnerability, honest emotional expression, the power of one authentic message or connection.

8. Community, Support, and Spreading Positivity

• Importance of peer and community support, both in business and personally.
• Jessica: “As a small business, networking in that sense...means everything. And I take note of everything. Every single person that’s ever bought something from me, supported me...” (38:04)
• Desire to be a force for authenticity and kindness online, despite negativity:
  • “If you’ve helped one person, you’ve already done a ton.” (47:52)
• Reflection on how outward appearances may differ from internal struggles.

9. Fun Staten Island Sidebar — Iconic Local Food Picks

• For visitors: Royal Crown (classic sandwiches) and Philoncino (alternative, preferred by Jessica); best enjoyed with a pastry. (48:44–49:34)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jessica (on rock bottom, resilience):
  “You need those rock bottom moments in order to get right back up. It’s like your life is like a heartbeat.” (06:54)

• Host (on choice & change):
  “You have the power to make a choice. It could be a scary-ass choice. But would you rather make that choice to potentially get out of it or just be stuck?” (08:20)

• Jessica (on societal pressure):
  “There’s so much societal pressure to be something specific that everybody’s starting to look the same, be the same, act the same. I’m like, for what?” (43:55)

• Host (on self-awareness & authenticity):
  “Just be you, be who you are. Do what makes you happy, what feels authentic to you, without having to try to impress anybody.” (44:20)

• Jessica (on helping others):
  “If you’ve helped one person, you’ve already...done a ton.” (47:52)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 – Jessica’s background and beginnings in fitness
• 03:15 – Weight struggles, discovering fitness, and quitting sports
• 05:10 – Law firm years, switch to personal training
• 06:54 – Life’s heartbeat analogy; rock bottom and resilience
• 08:04–08:44 – Victim mentality vs. agency and making tough choices
• 09:42 – Overcoming eating disorder and bullying; empathy for others
• 11:38 – “Skinny doesn’t mean healthy”
• 25:49 – Day-in-the-life as a personal trainer; new approach to fitness
• 27:00 – Car accident as catalyst for life and career changes
• 34:31–36:25 – The GPA Activewear story: risk, learning, and intent
• 41:50–43:55 – TikTok, positivity, and combating comparison culture
• 47:03–48:14 – Impactful messages, helping individuals, and personal fulfillment
• 48:44–49:34 – Staten Island’s best food spots revealed

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Conclusion

This episode is a blend of uplifting advice, personal storytelling, and frank discussion about mental health, body image, and entrepreneurship. Jessica embodies the Stay Tranquilo ethos, showing how adversity and vulnerability can be leveraged to create personal power and help others. Listeners are left with a hopeful, practical reminder: it’s possible to transform pain into purpose and live authentically—even (and especially) in a noisy, critical world.

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For more about Jessica or GPA Activewear, check out her TikTok or follow Stay Tranquilo for future episodes featuring inspiring guests and real-talk on mindset, wellness, and finding joy in the journey.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host]

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[Jessica]

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[Podcast Host]

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[Jessica]

Circle.

[Podcast Host]

You were big into the fitness journey on the personal side for yourself, but never really looked at it as a way of an occupation or making money or anything of that nature.

[Jessica]

I worked with one of my best friend's moms who actually got me the job at the law firm. And she was like, jess, I don't see you doing this for the rest of your life. And I was like, I don't either. I like it. I love learning new things, and I'm very open to absorbing that kind of information. But it's like, I can't sit behind a desk my entire life. Like, that's not me. I want to help people, and that's why I studied psychology. I was like, I want to help people. I want to be able to, like, change their lives. How can I do that? Oh, my passion. What's my passion? Fitness. Why don't I do that?

[Podcast Host]

What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the State Tranquilo podcast. We are doing our third episode here in New York City. We're actually in Staten island, which is home of my mom, where she was born, but. Huh? Yeah, exactly. But also home of Jess as well, who is our guest for today. Thanks for allocating some time to do this today.

[Jessica]

Thank you for having me.

[Podcast Host]

I think it was something long overdue. I know we had been kind of back and forth trying to do this at some capacity, but I think you got an awesome story to tell, which we will definitely get into, and I'm excited for you to share it, and then you can give us a little insight around New York City, Staten island, food, and whatever else comes about.

[Jessica]

Sounds good.

[Podcast Host]

Please give the people a little background about yourself, what you do, who you are.

[Jessica]

What's up, guys? I'm Jessica. I'm from New York here. Even though I don't sound like I'm from New York, I practiced on that. But I'm a personal trainer. I am the CEO and founder of an activewear company called. Called GPA Activewear. And I'm also a. I guess you could say somewhat of an influencer, but I Have a tick tock. That kind of blew up.

[Podcast Host]

Yes, you did.

[Jessica]

I give some advice on. So I do that. Some ugc thousand other different things, but love it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yes. Your TikTok, I've seen it. It's blown up and I think last two years, but with really good reason. And we'll get, we'll get into that because I do want to talk about some of the things that you mentioned on your TikToks and just kind of how you carry yourself in that manner, which I think is. Was awesome. And we need a lot more of that. Kind of like social influencer, I guess you can say. Right. But it's good because if it's blowing up on TikTok, that means people are receiving. Yeah, receiving that. Well, but before we get into that, I want to get into how you got into the fitness journey. Right?

[Jessica]

Fitness journey.

[Podcast Host]

Because it is a journey.

[Jessica]

It's been a journey.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

So yeah, I used to weigh about almost 175 pounds. And this is when I was about 16, 17, I was in high school. Got into a little bit of a place where I don't even know how it happened. I think it was more so just like my eating habits not being the best, but I played sports. I was always active. Just a weird fluctuation of weight increase. But I got into a point where I was like, I'm not happy. I'm not happy with anything. I don't even want to play sports. I didn't want to do anything. So I was like, I got to take advantage of this. And at that time, when you were a kid, you can't go to the gym without your parent being involved. So I quit softball, which my dad was super sad about and reasoning I've been playing since I'm 4 years old, not to toot my own horn really good. But I was like, I need to really take care of my health. And lo and behold, went into fitness. My mom joined the gym with me. I went to Planet Fitness, like a starter gym, not knowing what the hell I was doing. I was like, cardio 45 minutes, cardio 45 minutes, abs. And I would do that constantly. Lost weight, but it really wasn't, I guess, staying the way that I wanted to. And then I also, like, unfortunately got into a position where I was really struggling with my body and I had an eating disorder. And it became really hard for me. And it took me some years, but I got myself out of it and I found a place where I was comfortably loving food, loving my body, loving the gym, loving the environment, and it kind of led me down that path, but I wasn't doing personal training. So when I lost all this weight, I was about in college getting into weights, but learning from my friends at that point. And I was actually going to school for psychology and then graduated with my degree. Still not training. I was kind of doing a little bit on the side, but I went to school and I was like, all right, you know what? I think I'm going to be an interior designer.

[Podcast Host]

Interesting.

[Jessica]

Okay, Gemini. We're never satisfied. I was going to be an interior designer, but when I come home, because I studied abroad that summer after I graduated, wound up doing real estate law for two and a half years.

[Podcast Host]

Wait, what?

[Jessica]

I'm all over the map.

[Podcast Host]

I didn't know this.

[Jessica]

You need a guy or a girl. Got you.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Jessica]

But real estate law for two years, and then as I was doing that, I got my certification to be a trainer.

[Podcast Host]

Got it.

[Jessica]

So from that, I was training before work, after work, really keeping myself busy. And then I got a job offer at Dog Pound after that, and that's when I went full force with training.

[Podcast Host]

Wow, that's crazy. So, yeah, you were big into the fitness journey on the personal side for yourself, but never really looked at it as a way of an occupation or making money or anything of that nature.

[Jessica]

I worked with one of my best friend's moms who actually got me the job at the law firm, and she was like, jess, I don't see you doing this for the rest of your life. And I was like, I don't either. Like, I like it. I love learning new things, and I'm very open to absorbing that kind of information. But I was like, I can't sit behind a desk my entire life. But that's not me. I want to help people, and that's why I studied psychology. I was like, I want to help people. I want to be able to change their lives. How can I do that? Oh, my passion. What's my passion? Fitness. Why don't I do this?

[Podcast Host]

And it's crazy, right? Because through the journey that you were on that you felt like you were overweight, you had a bad relationship with your body and with food, and. And it turned you into what you are today, where you're now extremely passionate about fitness. And I. There's a common denominator in all of this, right? Where your pain points turn into power, you know, where you don't really see it in that moment, you're going through it. Nothing makes sense. You're like, what am I supposed to do? But you kind of dig a little bit deeper and you kind of go into that pain and it turns out into, you know, something better. And it's hard when you're in that moment to realize that you don't even.

[Jessica]

See the way, like you don't see the light, but you're like, I gotta keep moving forward.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Jessica]

Like I always tell people. It's like you need those rock bottom moments in order to get right back up. It's like your life is like a heartbeat. This is my favorite analogy that I tell people. It's like you go up and you go back down, up and down. You can't get up unless you have those moments at rock bottom. Because that's what's gonna teach you how to get up there and how to be a genuine good person when you're up there. When you realize people around you are down there gonna be able to help lift them up. Like it comes with the territory. But it's that vulnerability, it's that fear aspect. Able to address your fears.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Jessica]

Without that, you're not getting up there.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. You're going to be stuck. And I'm curious what your thoughts on this are. Right. There's like the, the victim mentality that exists out there. What's kind of your perspective on that? Right. Because people, when there are at that low point, they love to kind of place the blame on everybody and everything else but themselves. Right. It's like I'm unhappy because, you know, my boss thinks, or unhappy because is, you know, I'm working 20 hours a week and I don't have time for my fitness or, you know, whatever the rationale is. But they like to put the blame elsewhere, but don't like to look at themselves in the process of, okay, how can I get out of this uncomfortable situation and get out of the better?

[Jessica]

But is it uncomfortable? Because it seems like they are comfortable. Because if you were uncomfortable, like, I don't want to be here.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Jessica]

How can I get out of this? So you'd actually force yourself in some way or another to surround yourself with better people? Sure, yeah. Your boss might suck, but you're doing your job. If you don't love your job that much, go find another job.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. You have, you have that power to make the choice. That's. That to me is where you can really snap out of it. Right. Where you have. People don't realize, like they have the power to make a choice. It could be a scary ass choice.

[Jessica]

Very scary.

[Podcast Host]

You know, and you don't know what's really on the other side. But would you rather make that choice to potentially get out of it or just be stuck with where you're at by not making that decision? Right.

[Jessica]

Yeah, it's miserable.

[Podcast Host]

It's. It's gonna. It's gonna kill you. You know, it's gonna lead to depression. It's gonna lead to, you know, maybe an eating disorder. Who knows what it'll lead to? But it's gonna lead to, I think, a larger problem in the long term, rather than just a little bit of fear that you might feel.

[Jessica]

It's gonna reflect if you want kids in the future, like, how you're around them. Like, are you around them?

[Podcast Host]

True.

[Jessica]

You're miserable at work. You're coming home miserable. You know, like, your relationships are with people, your family, your. Your spouse. It's. It all adds up. So I think, especially, like, your job is one of the main things that you do every single day. That's your number one priority. So you gotta love it.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Jessica]

Or at least try to love it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

And make the changes.

[Podcast Host]

What for you was like, that turning point when you had the. The eating disorder and, you know, kind of just like the. The bad connotation towards. Towards your body, where was that turning point that you felt like, okay, I'm on the other side of this now. You know, I could see myself feeling better. I could see myself, you know, thinking better and probably share more mental clarity, all of that.

[Jessica]

I can't really pinpoint the moment that I was like, all right, we gotta change things. But I guess I was just surrounding myself with better people, maybe feeling a little bit better with the schoolwork that I was doing, like, knowing my path of what I kind of wanted to do. In a sense, it's like, you find yourself. It's gonna sound so cliche. You find yourself and you're like, why was I ever doing this to myself? Why was I putting myself through this? Like, obviously, I was battling my own demons and dealing with my own issues that I. I guess studying psychology really helped open my eyes a lot. But, you know, you find at the end of the day, it's like, what we put ourselves through. For who? You know, like, for other people's approval, for other people to notice us. Like, I know for me, it was like, I felt like I was in the shadows. I got bullied a lot when I was younger. Like, I had girls that would draw cow udders on my stomach on pictures on social media. Like, it was bad.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

So, like, for me, it's Like, I know how it feels to be on that end, and I never want people to feel like they're on that end. So, unfortunately, I got to a point where I was low, but I don't know, I just snapped out of it. And I was like, I don't wanna be like this anymore. I wanna live a happy life. I wanna help other people that are going through this because I knew so many people that were also going through it, and they wouldn't even say it. Cause you can tell when someone's going through it. I think when you go through it too. But you notice who gets up after they eat, who runs to the bathroom or who has the puffy cheeks. You can see little things with girls, especially men as well. It's not limited to just girls that have eating, that you can pick up on things and you're like, damn. Like, I don't want people to go through this. Like, if I can help somebody, if I can inspire someone and be like, listen, I know what you're going through. I know you're not talking about it, but I'm here if you need help, I'd rather do that. And I kind of went to the approach of learning how food is beneficial for you and the macros of it and how we use it as energy. And it's such a beautiful thing. And my relationship with it today is so different that I'm so willing to talk about it and so open to talk about it, because I see so many girls that go through it, social media especially, gotta be skinny. You gotta be this skinny doesn't mean healthy.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Jessica]

You know, that's the biggest thing. It frustrates me so much. There are girls like, I just wanna be skinny. I'm like, no, you wanna be healthy.

[Podcast Host]

I tell that to people all the time. I'm like, it's not about being skinny or being big. It's like, just be healthy. Right? Make conscious choices. Eat better foods. Eat whole foods, you know?

[Jessica]

Yes. You know, like breastfed. No seed oil.

[Podcast Host]

But I mean, you really could do your part to be better, you know? I mean, I think we get a little bit, especially on the food side, you know, we get a little bit, like, complacent and lazy with it sometimes. Right.

[Jessica]

Everything's processed. It's easy.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Again, it goes back to the job aspect of, like, you work a miserable job, you don't want to go home and cook. What's easier to pick up fast food. The worst thing you could do.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. Yeah. You think about it, and this is a whole other Conversation.

[Jessica]

But he's coming back to Staten island for part two.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, you think about it, right? You see, sit at a modern day America, for the most part. Right. Is you sit at a desk from 9 to 5. You probably have about an hour to two hour commute where you're sitting down. Whether you're in New York and you're sitting on the subway or you're in Miami and you're in your car.

[Jessica]

It's true.

[Podcast Host]

But you're still sitting down in a transportation. Right. So you're talking about 8 hours plus commute, 10 to 12 hours a day sitting down. And then what's the first thing you do? You go and you get fast food. You sit down, you eat it and then you pop on the couch and you do it again and again and again and again. And people do that for 40 years of their life.

[Jessica]

Yep.

[Podcast Host]

Imagine why there's so many problems of depression and anxiety and obesity and diabetes and this. And heart problem. Right. It's like we're not doing anything. Nothing about that is empowering.

[Jessica]

Nope.

[Podcast Host]

You know, and I get it. Like you have to make a living and you have to feed your family and you have to pay your bills. Right. That's the society.

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[Podcast Host]

Hey Sal. Hank. What's going on? We haven't worked a case in years. I just bought my car at Carvana and it was so easy. Too easy. Think something's up? You tell me. They got thousands of options, Found a great car at a great price. Uh huh. And it got delivered the next day. It sounds like Carvana just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank. Yeah, you're right. Case closed.

[Jessica]

Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.

[Podcast Host]

We live in it and those are the social responsibilities that we carry. But at what cost to our overall mental and physical health? Right.

[Jessica]

And then they make it so hard for us to afford things like mental health.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Going to a therapist.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. That's. I think we're going to get on the other side of that curve sooner rather than later. Right. You have to assume that like insurance will get involved in that.

[Jessica]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

And hopefully help with that. And they're starting to offer more programs and things like that. But even that, it's tough, right? Like finding the right therapist, like finding someone that you can actually emotionally connect with. Right. It's not like, okay, hey, you, you're going to be my therapist. Call it a day.

[Jessica]

And that actually like steers people away from doing therapy because they'll try with somebody. Like, I don't connect with this person whatsoever. I don't. This is freaking me out.

[Podcast Host]

I actually have a crazy story about a therapist that I went to one time. So I found him online. He was close by my house. And the reason I picked him was I'm very big into like meditation and kind of like Western medicine. Right.

[Jessica]

Love.

[Podcast Host]

And he was big into that too, from what I was reading based off his biography. Right. So I go, I show up. I'm like excited to. Just. Because honestly, what I was looking more of, what looking for more at the moment was obviously a little bit of like the therapy, but more like someone that I can connect with in, in terms of like that curriculum and learning more about how to practice meditation at a, at like a higher level. Right? So I'm like, shoot, this guy can like coach me up. This guy can help me, right? When I get there, a guy opens the door and he's got like glasses on, right? And then he's kind of got something like in his hand and he goes, oh, come on in. I have no idea what he looks like.

[Jessica]

Oh, God.

[Podcast Host]

Right? It's like, I come on in, I sit down. The guy comes into the room too. And I see he's got like, he's like using his hand. And I'm like, this dude's blind.

[Jessica]

Amazing. Incredible.

[Podcast Host]

I was like, this guy is blind. The guy that's about to do my therapy is blind.

[Jessica]

Why not?

[Podcast Host]

And then I, I sit down, he's sitting in front of me and. And I'm sitting on the other side of the room and we start talking and he, he goes. And he starts. Well, he's like, I don't know if you notice, but I am blind. And I'm like, I did notice. Yes. And he's like, are you okay with that? And I, in the moment, I was like, obviously, yes. Right, right. No, but I mean, he might, he might have gotten that before, honestly, you know, which I don't know if that's fair in that moment, but I sat there and did like the 40 minute session. And after I was like, holy cow. Like, that was a pretty insane Experience. Right. Like, sitting there with a guy that can't see me but is hearing everything that I'm telling him. And I always think, like, if you're down, like, one sense, your other senses.

[Jessica]

Is, I was just going to say, even better than every other therapist out there.

[Podcast Host]

So I went to, like, two or three sessions with him. Right. I didn't end up continuing with him because I just. Although I felt like he could feel me, I couldn't really feel him because I'm like. I just know he's not, like, seeing me, you know, And I'm.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So. But I say that story because I'm like, here we are trying to find therapists, and you really don't know what you get. I think the infrastructure can be better of finding, like, a match that makes sense and not through, you know, online platforms. I do think those are good. Like, I've used BetterHelp in the past before, too. And they're really good concept. Right. Makes it accessible. Right. Which is half the problem right there. Right. Like, people can just drive to go to see a therapist. You can go. You can pick a therapist that works for you and you can talk to them online, which is good. I think there's a ton of value there. But you have to find what works for you.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And people have to realize that therapy is not like. Like, it's not taboo. Like, you can go and see a therapist and it's okay. You're not clinically crazy. Like, there's nothing wrong with you.

[Jessica]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

There's a big stigma around that. Well, that's a whole other.

[Jessica]

It's like, oh, no, I don't need therapy. I'm like, you need.

[Podcast Host]

You need it probably more than others.

[Jessica]

You really need therapy.

[Podcast Host]

On one of the podcasts that we just did, we were talking about that with men's. Like, men's mental health, overall, guys are not very vulnerable, and they're not willing to open up a lot about a lot of the problems. I'm. I'm one person that's like that myself. And, you know, I. I've learned to be better about it. You know, just like, not telling myself I have to figure everything out on my own, but also saying, like, if there's something on my mind, you know, say it.

[Jessica]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

And not be so worried about what, you know, what the outcome is. It's just like being true and authentic to what's going on inside. And to your point, I don't think guys do a good job of that.

[Jessica]

No. It's sad. I know a lot of men that really struggle. And it's like, listen, at the end of the day you have to do what's best for you. And this goes back again to what I mentioned before. Things get carried into your future. So your future spouse is receiving that. Like believe it or not, when you have sex with somebody, like you're transmitting.

[Podcast Host]

That energy like frickin men.

[Jessica]

She's going to feel it, he's going to feel it. Whatever you're going through, your future kids, it's genetics, like it's in your DNA. If you don't address these things, like you are going to affect your people that are around you 1000%. It's so sad because you guys genuinely like, there are such amazing men that you could just look into their eyes and you're like, wow, I know you're going through it and you're not telling anybody. And that's like the hardest thing because it's like a dark, deep soul that you're just like, you have life. I know you have life in there. And a lot of women, like I've been guilty of it, will try to help a man and like try to steer him in that path. And like we go through it in a sense of like trying to help and there's only so much you can do.

[Podcast Host]

That's exactly what I was going to say. It's like you want to obviously help, especially if it's someone you care about or see the potential of them, like getting to the other side of that. But reality is you as a personal human, you know, you have to take care of yourself.

[Jessica]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

And I think, you know, there's a lot of different things that, that everyone can do. For me personally, like what has worked for me tremendously was meditation. Like really getting into deep meditation and just like seeing what the hell is going on inside, you know, feeling, understanding emotions, the dissolving of the ego and really like studying like the concept of that and being like what is the ego? Why does it ex, what is it in the perception of like self? Right.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And when you start looking at that, I mean you, you almost create like a disconnect in, inside yourself where you're able to see everything and you realize everything's temporary. And you know, we, we like to hold on to things, we hold grudges or even on the other side, like you can't cling to the good things that happen in life. Right. Because the moment that breaks then like that's your identity. Right. So it's, I've studied Buddhism. Like I think that's you know, a concept that I think is extremely intriguing to me. And I think being in the United States, we don't gravitate to a lot of those ideologies over there.

[Jessica]

No.

[Podcast Host]

And I think we can. I mean, I'm not saying go be a monk, right? You know, we're.

[Jessica]

See you in a month. Like where'd you go?

[Podcast Host]

I mean, listen, when I went on radar, when I, when I was like in my deep meditation days, I. Not that I wanted to be a monk, but I did think about going to Thailand and like doing a, like a month long retreat.

[Jessica]

Why not?

[Podcast Host]

I might still do it.

[Jessica]

Why not?

[Podcast Host]

I know. I mean right now I'm in the middle of this, so I can't do that.

[Jessica]

Can't right now on pause.

[Podcast Host]

But 20, 25, I think it will happen one day because I am trigged. Like I just know the concept of self discovery is so important and to your point, I think about the future of my life and carrying that with, you know, my kids, my significant other and just my friends, you know, everybody.

[Jessica]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

Cuz I've seen the components of like what they call generational trauma and it's, it's a real thing.

[Jessica]

It is a real thing and I don't think people address it enough and like they'll blame themselves too. Like why am I so angry? Why am I so frustrated? It's like it might not be you. Like, you know, it sounds crazy to people.

[Podcast Host]

That is very true.

[Jessica]

It's true though. It's genetics.

[Podcast Host]

It is.

[Jessica]

And you can't blame yourself. You could be like, all right, listen, let me take a deep breath here. Like, let me catch my breath. Let me be in the moment. Which a lot of people can't do that. They can't be present. That scares so many people. They're always, again, like you said, thinking of the past, thinking of the future. No, no, no.

[Podcast Host]

Have you read the book the Power of Now?

[Jessica]

No. Oh, I gotta read the book.

[Podcast Host]

You gotta read the book or listen to the audiobook, whatever you prefer. As a matter of fact, I have like 60 copies in my house because the author's foundation, I sent an email saying, you know, I love this book. I have a podcast, I want to give it to people.

[Jessica]

That's awesome.

[Podcast Host]

So you went to New York and I didn't bring it. I literally have 60 of them in my, in my house. Yeah.

[Jessica]

He said no, none for J. Does she meditate?

[Podcast Host]

I don't know. You know, you know what I'm actually going to start doing and I'm not doing it with you, unfortunately. But for every guest that comes on, I'm going to give him a copy.

[Jessica]

All right. I guess you just to come back.

[Podcast Host]

I'll come back, I'll ship it. We'll figure it out.

[Jessica]

Don't worry.

[Podcast Host]

But yes, I highly recommend you read it and I will get you a copy. Because the concept of that book is about that, you know, not being stuck about what happened and holding on to the, the pain points of your past life. Right. And not being so fixated on what could possibly happen in the future. It's all about being here and now, being present, being in gratitude in this current moment, and only worrying about what's here right now. And to me, that's, that's where the power is. Right. Because if you're stuck two days from now or two years from now or what happened to you last week, you're never going to be able to take advantage of what's here right in front of you or even appreciate. Right. I mean, I don't know if it's ever happened to you, but like, have you ever been on a trip and you're like, you know, you're so caught up in like, okay, what are we going to do later today? What are we going to do here? What are we going to do here? And then the trip goes by and you're like, I don't even know, like, what even happened on the trip. It's like, it's like a blur.

[Jessica]

Absolutely.

[Podcast Host]

And I started realizing that I'm like, dude, I gotta like, like slow down, be here, appreciate what's, what's happening. Because life's gonna go by and I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna even notice. Like, I, I remember being in after reading that book and like, I would open my front door and like the same tree was always there.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But it was greener than it was before.

[Jessica]

Yes. Being so mindful.

[Podcast Host]

The flower that was there, that's always there, was more yellow than it's ever been before. And I'm like, the birds that are always chirping in the morning were louder than they've ever been before. And it's just like you're super hyper aware and you're like, we're probably walking by things, people every day of our life, and we just completely miss what's actually right here in front of us because everybody's. Yeah. Stuck suck in a digital Persona.

[Jessica]

Yeah. It's like instant gratification. Put the phone down.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Look, look around you make eye contact. God forbid we make Eye contact, somebody. It's like, oh no, I'm so scared. Pick up your phone to call something. Like, we're on our phone so much. People are so scared to call people.

[Podcast Host]

I call people all the time now.

[Jessica]

I'm like, hey, what's up?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I love it.

[Jessica]

Phone calls.

[Podcast Host]

I love it. Me too.

[Jessica]

FaceTime someone. I'm like, I must really love you if I FaceTime you. But like, I love voice notes.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

My friends are like, oh, here we go. Another voice note.

[Podcast Host]

I'm starting to understand the concept of, of voice notes. It's hard for me to just get on the phone and do it right. But when I get them, I'm like, fuck, I can even start doing this. This is way more, it's way more efficient, you know, I'm like, all right, I got every information I needed to get and then I can say whatever I need to say and boom, we're done.

[Jessica]

You know? Simple.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, it's a voicemail through like a timeless voicemail, I guess you could say.

[Jessica]

It's not crazy.

[Podcast Host]

It is cool.

[Jessica]

Like, save it.

[Podcast Host]

So obviously fitness is a big component of your life now. So what does your kind of like day to day life look like today?

[Jessica]

So for example, Friday's a little bit easier, but I wake up a little bit later. So sometimes I wake up at 4:30 in the morning for some clients that are 6:00am, but my today was 9:00am to start, which isn't bad. So I'll be up at like 7, get out of the door by 7:45, drive in a car for an hour and a half because school traffic is horrendous now. But you guys know that, you've experienced.

[Podcast Host]

We experienced it on the way here.

[Jessica]

Which is crazy because it's not even that late yet.

[Podcast Host]

A little car fire too.

[Jessica]

Little car fire.

[Podcast Host]

Create a little hiccup on the way here.

[Jessica]

But yeah, I'm busy. I'm back to back. So I like to book up my clients if I can, back to back in the city. So I give myself enough time to get from point A to point B to point C, hit them, and then come back here, do more clients, and then do my own thing.

[Podcast Host]

So you usually work out in the evenings?

[Jessica]

No, mornings. So depending on the day, it's usually like midday, kind of like 11:30 ish to 1. That's usually my time frame. No one's in the gym.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly.

[Jessica]

It's great. Love it. And then I get my time. But you know what? Sometimes as of recent, I've been so into running, I've been doing Pilates. I'm kind of like steering away from the strength training as much as I used to do. I used to be really into it. I got into a car accident two and a half, almost three years ago.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, wow.

[Jessica]

And I had to stop training for a bit. And that's actually how GPA came to be. So I stopped training. And then I was like, all right, like, I can recomp my body now and like, try something new. And ever since then, because I injured my shoulder and my elbow, I was like, I can't lift as heavy. Yeah, can't lift as heavy. And I still to this day don't lift as heavy. But I was like, you know what? I prefer this. I feel better, like today than I did when I was lifting. So, so heavy. Going crazy, burning 800 calories a day. Like, it was so much taxation on my body that I didn't even realize.

[Podcast Host]

I feel it. Like, I honestly, like, I have felt it. Like I. I got injured. Same thing. At the time, I was running a ton and I had tore my calf. Yeah. But I. It was like a. It was a wear and tear injury. It was, you know, probably like 30 miles a week. And then pickleball twice a week, then golf.

[Jessica]

This is recent.

[Podcast Host]

Once a week. This was pickle ball. Yeah.

[Jessica]

Oh, my God.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, this was what, like a. A year ago? Like maybe less than six months. No, it had to been more than six months ago. No way.

[Jessica]

He was like, no, it was like six time.

[Podcast Host]

It had to. So what I wanted to do was do the Miami half Marathon.

[Jessica]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

So I. It was like summer of 23 when it happened. Yeah, it was summer of 23. It was an off season because we were bought when it happened. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So. So it was right before season had started. Yeah. Because we. I showed up to the golf course with, like my leg cast on and my crutches and I was like, Happy Gilmore. Exactly. But I remember after the fact, I was like, at that time, I wasn't doing a ton of strength training. I was just really running. So it was very one dimensional. And then I started. I started getting into the weight room after, like, I started therapy, and then therapy turned into the weight room.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But I could see, like, my body was not recovering the same way. You know, I was starting to lift heavy again. And. But like, my shoulder would hurt or like my, my hip, you know, and it was like, like the amount of maintenance that I had. And then I'm playing golf twice a Week, you know, so it's like the amount of maintenance that you have to put on your body with the. Like, you said you're burning 900 calories a day, then you're doing this and you're doing that, and then you're working and you're moving around. Like, to me, you have to find a sweet spot because you could think you're doing everything right, but, like, to your point, your body's hurting.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Like, you're not feeling right.

[Jessica]

Like 28, going on 80.

[Podcast Host]

Literally, I'm getting up and I'm like, I'm like, I'm like making noises to get up. I'm like, dude, come on.

[Jessica]

Like, it's getting colder. I'm like, oh, my, this is bad. But it's crazy.

[Podcast Host]

Do you. So you're saying when you've made that kind of transition more to, I guess, like, more body weight, Pilates, that your body has felt a lot better and has responded better to it?

[Jessica]

You know what? I've been lifting weights for so many years that I think switching it up is really important again. It is wear and tear for sure. But at the end of the day, it's like, as a woman especially, our bodies are always changing. There's so many different cycles that we go through four phases every month. Like, we, as we get older, like I'm in baby bearing years, my body's changing completely. Completely.

[Podcast Host]

True.

[Jessica]

And a lot of women don't realize that. Okay. Between specific age ranges, your body's already ready to have a kid. So, like, your hips are getting wider, you're holding on to fat more because you gotta hold and protect a baby. That's what we're made here for. Like, come on.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

But they see it as negative. So, like, I do things that I make me feel good, they make me feel better. Like, I love to go run maybe twice, three times a week. Doesn't have to be crazy, Miles. I'm not like a long distance runner, but it just makes me feel like I'm doing something that makes me feel better.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Pilates. Something new that I got into everyone's Pilates. Pilates, Pilates. But it hits those, like, small muscle groups that I don't normally target when I'm doing strength training.

[Podcast Host]

I've done a couple of Pilates classes.

[Jessica]

Yeah, they're intense. They're intense. But it depends on what you do and what class you're taking. And I don't know, I feel like it's nice to switch things up. Like, I, I agree. I. I got kind of it's redundant. Like, that sense of, like, you're always lifting the same weights, which is. I don't hate it. I love it's my life. But to switch it up a bit. So to come back to it and be like, I love this.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

You know, like, it's nice to do that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, that's true. I think you need a little bit of, like, diversity in your life just to keep them the mind sharp and just keep you a little bit on.

[Jessica]

Your toes as a kid. Oh, my God, me too. Playing sports. You run all the time. I play basketball, softball. I'm like, yeah, this is fine. Whatever. But I hated it. Now I'm like, oh, I want to go run.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. What shoes do you used to run in?

[Jessica]

Hoka.

[Podcast Host]

You're a Hoka girl.

[Jessica]

I'm wearing New Balance right now.

[Podcast Host]

I'm wearing my dad's shoes. I. I ran in Hoka for a little bit. Actually was running in Hoka when I was training for the half, but damn. I. I think I'm more of a Brooks guy.

[Jessica]

I do like Brooks. Brooks and Asics, I feel like, are.

[Podcast Host]

Very classic, but I. I actually don't like Asics. Yeah.

[Jessica]

How about Saccony? Do you ever try those?

[Podcast Host]

I do like Sakoni.

[Jessica]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

I like them more for shorter distance runs.

[Jessica]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

More for, like, road running or trail running.

[Podcast Host]

They actually do have a very good trail shoe.

[Jessica]

O good.

[Podcast Host]

They do. So I actually know a ton about running shoes because my college job was at a running store.

[Jessica]

Oh, sick.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. And we did the whole gate analysis of fitting. We had Asics, Brooks, Saccony on Cloud, Hoka, Nike, every running brand. And then based off of your running stride, we would recommend which shoe is for you.

[Jessica]

That's.

[Podcast Host]

And I worked there for, like, two years, and then I started doing expos. So I. I started learning a ton about running. It was crazy. I was like, I don't know anything about running. And now I know everything about running. So if you ever have questions or if anybody has questions about running shoes, he's your guy. I can. I can definitely answer. But they. The. The shoes is very important. I realize, like, that is key to longevity.

[Jessica]

Your mattress.

[Podcast Host]

The mattress is crazy because those two. Yeah. You spend, you know, hypothetically, eight hours a day for the whole.

[Jessica]

Your whole life, if you're lucky, if you're smart.

[Podcast Host]

Right. Let's call it six, maybe. Yeah.

[Jessica]

That's another thing. We fail as I think Americans asleep, everyone again. We're all even out of America.

[Podcast Host]

Do you have problems like falling asleep? Are you an easy.

[Jessica]

Honestly, I do. I wake up a lot. So, like, I might fall asleep fast, but I'll wake up in the middle of the night a few times, which is horrendous.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

I'm like, all right, two o'.

[Commercial Announcer]

Clock.

[Jessica]

I'm waking up.

[Podcast Host]

I'm blessed. Knock on wood. I just knock out. Ask him. We'll be, like, in the Airbnb, like, on these trips, you want to, like, watch a movie or something? Like, we'll put on a movie. And, like, five minutes into the movie, I'm already like, damn. Yeah.

[Jessica]

No, see, I'll. I'll stay up, but I'm, like, going to sleep. Fine. Wake up in the middle of night three, four times. Damn. What a nice restful sleep.

[Podcast Host]

I wish that for everyone, because it is amazing.

[Jessica]

Probably bad that I don't, but.

[Podcast Host]

So with your whole fitness journey, you started your own apparel line, gpa.

[Jessica]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

Tell us a little bit about that, where the inspo came from on that. I'm sure there was a lot of thought that went into it.

[Jessica]

Yes and no. Honestly, no.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Jessica]

It was pretty cool because I originally was doing the booty bands. You know those thick bands you put above your knee?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

So when I got into my car accident, I was like, all right, I have to be a little bit more smart here because I can't train right now, so that means I'm out of commission for making money. So I was like, okay, what can I do that's within my niche still that I love, that I can expand on? And I was like, well, I'm always in activewear. Why don't I kind of look into that? But at first, I was looking into the booty band, so I was like, okay, this is easy, right? Find a supplier, put my logo on it, boom, done. But then I was like, why am I going to stop there? Like, why not do more? And that's the fear aspect. We go back to that. People being fearful and not wanting to take that chance on themselves. And I was like, I really have nothing to lose. I got into a car accident a couple of months ago. I'm a okay. Everyone was a okay. But your life can change like that in a second.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Jessica]

So why not take that risk? Why not take that chance? So I actually trained a girl that went to dog pound with me. She was one of my clients, and I love her. I still talk to her this day. She's a fashion designer in New York City, and she's a sweetheart. Her name's Danielle Guzzio. She posts all the Time about different brands, things like that, like how to get yourself started as a fashion brand or any person wanting to go into fashion. I reached out to her and I was like, listen, like, I really want to do this. And she gave me some advice of, like, how to, like, scout places and people overseas, try fabrics, find people that I could work with, and it went from there. So, like, I kind of have thanks to her for like, gearing and like, putting me down the right path because without her, I. This wouldn't even be. And I'm wearing it right now. Like, this is one of my.

[Podcast Host]

It looks, it looks super good. And I mean, that's one of like the complexities when it comes to apparel is obviously quality. It's got to look good. Yeah, you want to feel good in it.

[Jessica]

Like, I was.

[Podcast Host]

It's easy to just go to the, you know, T shirt printing shop across the street and pick something up, but you're not going to get the quality that you want.

[Jessica]

And that's something that I'm very big on because I, as someone that was in this industry for as long as I have been, I've been wearing leggings for 10 years now. I'm like $100 for a pair of leggings. That's insane. And as a kid in college, I was like, I can't afford it. I mean, I can, but I don't want to be spending so much money on this. So my whole thing is I want to make high quality products for affordable prices. That's going to last you. You know, you're not going to rip them when you're pulling your leggings up, or you're not going to feel like you're popping out, or they're not see through or you could squat on them, you could sweat in them and still feel confident. So finding the materials, finding the suppliers that I like, like, it's. I think people think it's just like, oh, you're putting your logo on something, right?

[Podcast Host]

Exactly.

[Jessica]

No, no, I. Doing it down to the stitch. Like, I didn't like the way that this was fitting my arm. It was a little too loose. So I was like, all right, we're taking it in a half an inch. I'm changing the stitching on this to be a little bit more. It goes down to the small. I'm very anal, so I'm not releasing anything that I know somebody else won't like because I won't wear it as a concealer.

[Podcast Host]

That's crazy. That's pretty awesome.

[Jessica]

And being in the position that I am, I'm like, I wear it every day.

[Podcast Host]

Day.

[Jessica]

So I'm like, if you wear it.

[Podcast Host]

Every day better than me, 100%.

[Jessica]

And then I was just like, you.

[Podcast Host]

Know, if you can't even wear your own product, like, that says something.

[Jessica]

That says a lot. Yeah, but it's like, at the end of the day, it's like, we have such fast fashion, which I bought stuff. I bought stuff on TikTok shop. I'm like, all right, let me see what these people are selling. Yeah, zip ups, $3. I'm like, okay, how do I compete with that? But at the same time, I try it on, I'm like, okay, it's fraying. It's really thin.

[Podcast Host]

It's not sustainable. You know, people. People may buy it, but, you know, within a month, they're probably like, why the fuck did I buy this?

[Jessica]

Let me go buy another one, because it's already garbage. But it was only $3.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly.

[Jessica]

But I think it comes down to the fact that, like, you need to be so sure of the products that you're choosing. And, like, as a small business, it's really hard, I think, backing yourself and being so confident, it's hard. I sit here sometimes, like, am I doing the right thing? Am I going down the right path? Like, should I have started this? Should I keep going with this? I'm like, why am I stopping? It's in these moments, like, again, rock bottom, that I'm like, no, Jess, you're gonna get there. And having a supportive community of people is key. My friends, they are so supportive of me. Even if they don't buy something, they're like, are you doing okay? How can I help you? Do you want me to come to a show with you? Can I try something on for you? Can I post this about you? It's major. And people don't realize that as a small business, networking in that sense, hey, this is my friend's business. Like, she's got great stuff. It means everything. And I take note of everything. Every single person has ever bought something from me, supported me, like, I'm the one man show. Like, I'm doing everything. I'm packaging everything. I'm shipping everything. I take note of everything.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

And I'm like, I'm so grateful for each and every single one of you. Like, I've had girls purchase every single thing I've ever released, and I've named products after them. So I name products after people in my family or, like, really inspirational women that I come across in my life. So, like, I had a few girls that bought every single piece. I was like, I'm naming this one after you. And they're like, what? Like, why? Why me? I'm like, why not?

[Podcast Host]

What did I do?

[Jessica]

Why not you?

[Podcast Host]

But that just shows, like, how selfless they are. They don't even, like, realize how impactful what they are. Like, what they're doing is to. To you and people that are going through things like this.

[Jessica]

Exactly. So it's. It's like, I feel this.

[Podcast Host]

I feel the same way, like, when I see people, like, share our podcast or something like that, or even just comment, you know, whatever it is, and they show up to our events, and I'm like, you're a real one. Like, you don't have to do that. Like, no one's saying, like, you're. You have to be here, you know, or you have to do what you're doing. Like, I. You're doing it out of, like, the kindness of your heart and because you believe in what we're doing. And I'm like, I'm, like, extremely grateful for you. And then on the other side of it, you know, it's like you make it hypothetically, right? And you, You. You're. You achieve the goal that you wanted to achieve. You know, there's like a little subtle, like. Like, you know, one of those middle fingers at the people that, you know, you're like, I remember, you know, you.

[Jessica]

Said you're going to buy something, and you never did.

[Podcast Host]

No, it's not. It's not even that. It's more like, you know, they don't. They don't believe in you. They're like, like, what is this guy doing? You know, he's just trying to do this or he's trying to do that. And I'm like, well, you just don't see the vision, you know, So I do have a little bit of those.

[Jessica]

Yeah, of course. But you know what? They're the flame in your ass 100%.

[Podcast Host]

That's what I'm saying. It's a little bit of a spark. You know, obviously you find motivation in yourself. You know, I think that's my. My biggest source of motivation is doing something that I believe in. Right. But having those little haters along the way doesn't hurt.

[Jessica]

You know, matters. Like, Even on my TikTok, the amount of people that comment, like, such negative things. But I'm like, I don't care.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I don't care.

[Jessica]

Like, I need that. Like, give it.

[Podcast Host]

How. So how do you reply to those? Because I have a. I have a system for those type of things.

[Jessica]

It depends. Like, sometimes I'm like, just bless your heart. Like, I'll just say something, like, really sweet.

[Podcast Host]

That's what I do. Like, the killing with kindness. I love it. I'm like, you're an. So I'm gonna be a super nice person to like.

[Jessica]

I understand. I see your point of view, but I don't agree. Yeah, simple as that.

[Podcast Host]

It's true. You know Gary Vee?

[Jessica]

I do, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

He's big into that. Like, yo, you know, someone will be a troll and he'll just like, so many trolls.

[Jessica]

But you know what? I was. I grew up on Twitter, so I'm like, you can't.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, that's true.

[Jessica]

You can't tell me anything. I'm like, listen, I've already experienced this. I'm 12 years old. Like, you can comment the worst of the worst. I'm like, eh, all right.

[Podcast Host]

You've seen everything.

[Jessica]

I can't handle it.

[Podcast Host]

No, of course, no. Then you see that it's a war going on in the comments.

[Jessica]

Like, I can't.

[Podcast Host]

It's not for me. I've gone down the rabbit hole of just, like, looking at the dialogues between.

[Jessica]

People, and I'm like, the comments are the best section.

[Podcast Host]

I'm like, whoa, what is going on in here?

[Jessica]

The comments, it's like a war. Better than the video.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. The only time I'll maybe get a little sensitive is like, somebody comments about the dolphins, and we're like, yo, back off.

[Jessica]

Sorry, I don't have enough to comment about. Doesn't Alex Earl date one of them?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. There she is.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Hey, it works. And putting the dolphins on the map. I'll take it.

[Jessica]

Listen, balance 100.

[Podcast Host]

So I actually want to get into the Tick Tock thing. Right. You have been on Tick Tock now for a few years, and that world for you has evolved and you've built a big following there.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And it has come through a way of very similar to the dialogues that we're having today in the fact that you're trying to help people and you're really trying to shift the perspective of maybe how people think about themselves, think about certain obstacles that happen in life. Can you kind of talk about, you know, what it is that you do on your TikTok and the impact that you feel like you've made on there.

[Jessica]

Yeah. Which is weird to say because, you know, you get yourself behind a camera and you're like, all right, I have the control of putting my voice out there. I Don't know why. I always felt like my voice was something that I wanted to use and impact people the way that I can. So my own personal stories or even people that have talked to me, I kind of switch it up a bit so people don't know it's about them. Or like, I'll talk about things that others have confidentially said in private to me that I think other people can relate to. And I try to relay the message in a way that reminds people that we're human. You know, at the end of the day, nobody's perfect. We don't live in a world where everything's like, happy, go lucky, but you gotta make the most of it. So like, I try my best to kind of bring uplifting messages to people or just to remind them, like, it's okay to not be okay. It's okay to have moments of negativity and struggles and downward moments where you feel like, I don't know what to do. Because you're gonna figure it out what to do and you're gonna find the people that are gonna be around you, supporting you. And if you need that reminder, hey, go get help. Or like, go talk to somebody. Like, here you go, here's that reminder. But I think we live in a very toxic, very fast paced society where.

[Podcast Host]

People aren't very nice either.

[Jessica]

People are horrible and they hide their keyboard warriors, so they hide behind phones, they hide behind their computers. And it's like, well, I could say whatever I want. Like, I can be whatever I want. And that's the scary thing is like, you have kids on these apps, you got even adults that can't, like I said, can't handle it. Because no person was ever made and created to handle such fast paced, like, constant gratification. So it's like I kind of want to flip the script and I want people to understand that, like, it's okay to be this kind of person. It's okay to have these viewpoints that are maybe not as popular as everybody else, or maybe you're a little old school or you live in a different lifestyle. Like, that's cool too. Like, live your life, be yourself, be happy to be yourself. Find yourself in the process. Again, that's the part of the journey is finding yourself and finding the people that gravitate towards you. And if you outgrow people, you outgrow things. That's okay too. Like, I feel like there's so much societal pressure to be something specific that everybody's starting to look the same, be the same, act the Same. I'm like, for what?

[Podcast Host]

It's a, it's the concept of the, the, the comparison, right?

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

So we see what's on social media, we see what's on tv. It's like, I want to be that. So I'm going to do everything in my power to be that. Yet no one has any self identity. And it goes back to what we were talking about earlier, that self awareness. Right. It's like, just be you, Be who you are. Do what makes you happy, what feels authentic to you without having to try to improve, impress anybody. Yeah, right.

[Jessica]

That's another thing.

[Podcast Host]

It's. It's like, I got to, I got to do this so I can get this person's attention or I got to do this so I can be like this person. You know, it's because, like, they're the cool one. So I want to be like them. But we're in the process. Are you asking? It's like, what am I going to do to make myself happy?

[Jessica]

Right? Is this making me happy? Is this, is this who I am? Because a lot of the time too, it comes down to that where this, the Persona that you give on social media. I like to believe that who I am online is who I am in person and I'm just going to be myself. You like me, great. You don't. I don't care.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly.

[Jessica]

Like, that's it. At the end of the day, you're not paying my bills, you're not having babies with me. Like, I don't care.

[Podcast Host]

Your opinion really doesn't matter.

[Jessica]

It doesn't matter. But if you are in the same viewpoint as me or you agree with me, awesome. If you don't, blessings, literally, I wish you the best. I hope you the best. Like, scroll, keep going.

[Podcast Host]

Like, that's where the power is. You know, when you get, you, when you react to other people and you play that comparison game, you're. You're giving your power elsewhere, you're giving it to other people. Where in your case, like, you mentioned your powers within you. You're not going to let anybody mess with you.

[Jessica]

No. And there's not once in my life where in like this aspect of TikTok where I was posting a video that I really cared what other people thought, I was never like, I'm going to remove this video because they're going to think X, Y and Z, I'm like, no, it's okay. Like, this is how I feel. And like, again, if you agree, cool. If you don't, it's all right.

[Podcast Host]

And you know, deep down that you're helping people, which is the biggest thing.

[Jessica]

That's, I think, the main thing. I think that goes back to my psych degree. Working with so many different people with fitness and health, different spectrums of health. Who's overweight, who's underweight, like, you see so many different people. You get to appreciate people for who they are. Because at the end of the day, we're all the same. We're all made up the same thing.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Jessica]

And nobody's different. But yet this individuality is so far fetched in today's world that I'm like, no, be proud of who you are. Be happy to be who you are. Express it however the hell you want to express it. Like, life should be simple. We make it so complicated for no reason.

[Podcast Host]

We really do. It's crazy.

[Jessica]

It's so stressful. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Like, I don't even. Like, I meditate at night, so I'll listen to, like, meditation music and stuff like that. And I'm like, all right, I need.

[Podcast Host]

To like, yeah, you need to decompress.

[Jessica]

I mean, I. I'm practically a people's therapist. I train them. So I'm like, sometimes I leave sessions.

[Podcast Host]

I'm like, oh, yeah.

[Jessica]

Like, that was a heavy one.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

And it wasn't even from lifting weights. It was from, like the emotional, like.

[Podcast Host]

I need to the release. Yeah.

[Jessica]

And I'm blessed that I get to be that person.

[Podcast Host]

Of course, that's part, that's part of.

[Jessica]

The trade, part of the job.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

But, you know, in today's world, again, like, online, I see such negativity. Who's fighting who's. Who's making comments about another, like, why are we doing this? Like, I feel like there's nobody talking about positivity and spreading that.

[Podcast Host]

Not enough, that's for sure.

[Jessica]

And like, the very fair, like, few people that you do, it's like they, they blew up. And I'm like, thank God they blew up because we need that.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly.

[Jessica]

Like, I mean, I hope one day, like, I get to that point where I have enough, but I'm like, I want to be.

[Podcast Host]

But you want to really reach, you know, reach the masses and the people that need it. I remember early part of doing this, and I'm sure it's happened with you. The messages that I would get from people, and they were heavy. Like, like, I mean, obviously I can't even say it on camera, but I would be like, okay, like, how did I.

[Jessica]

How did I do that?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I was like, whoa, how did I get this out of you? You know, because obviously you're. I'm not even that close to you. You know, you're reaching out to me on Instagram. So when those things happen, and I'm sure, as you've seen it yourself, you realize what you're doing is right, and it's. And it has purpose, and it's that. It's that concept where if you've helped one person, like, you've done your job, you know, it's not about helping millions of people if you can. Amazing. But if you've helped one person, you've already.

[Jessica]

That's it.

[Podcast Host]

Done a ton.

[Jessica]

And, like, knowing that I have, I'm like, listen, I could die tomorrow happy. Like, I know it sounds a little bit morbid, but I'm like, I really am so proud of the life that I've created for myself and what I've went through, because I think people look at me sometimes. They're like, oh, she. She's got this or she's got that. And I don't act like that. So I don't. I hope people don't. But people think you got it all together, and it's like, you have no idea what.

[Podcast Host]

You have no clue. Yeah, it's true.

[Jessica]

You have no idea the dark thoughts I've had. Like, it's scary. And, like, that's the hard part is, like, I can relate to so many different people. Do I talk about it often? No. If people. I see them or I'm training them or, like, I know that they need help, I'll reach out to them. Like, hey, listen, I got you time.

[Podcast Host]

And place for that type of.

[Jessica]

You also don't want to budge into someone's life because that could be really, really bad.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Jessica]

But it's. It's necessary.

[Podcast Host]

It is. So before we wrap it up, I have to ask the question.

[Jessica]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

All right.

[Jessica]

Oh, gosh.

[Podcast Host]

What is, like, the iconic food spot in Staten Island?

[Jessica]

Okay, If.

[Podcast Host]

If I'm making my way to Staten island, you know, I left the city and I'm over here now. Where. Where am I? Where am I looking to eat?

[Jessica]

You have to go. Okay. There's two different versions of it because the main one is called Royal Crown.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Jessica]

It's like a giant sandwich. Like, if you come to Staten island, you gotta go to Royal Crown. But it's also. Another one is Philoncino.

[Podcast Host]

Okay?

[Jessica]

And Philoncino is like the off brand, like, the connected version of Royal Crown, which I actually do love Philoncino a little Bit better. There's one right over here. I'm just saying. But you gotta get a nice, like, chicken cutlet sandwich or prosciutto. Like mozzarella. Or mozzarella. If you want to not come for me. If you're Italian, Staten island, we say mozzarella, but the best. And, like, a nice pastry, which they also have.

[Podcast Host]

I'm sold.

[Jessica]

They also have it.

[Podcast Host]

Are you Italian?

[Jessica]

I'm Sicilian.

[Podcast Host]

Sicilian.

[Jessica]

My dad's Irish. German. My mom's Sicilian.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, wow. Okay. And were they. They were born there?

[Jessica]

No. So that's where. This is another thing that people might come for me for, because God forbid you say you're Italian and you're not born in Italy, they're like. Like gun to your head. Do you speak Italian? No. Boom. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

That's the Italian mafia vibe.

[Jessica]

Yeah. But I just. I love being Italian. Like.

[Podcast Host]

Staten Island's super Italian, right? Yeah, yeah, that's what everyone says. They're like, oh, Stan Island. Like, when I told someone that my mom was from state line, they're like, oh, you're Italian. I'm like, no. But I mean, I guess by association.

[Jessica]

By association, the blessing is now done.

[Commercial Announcer]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host]

Like, I guess so. Well, thank you so much for doing this and actually setting this up. Shout out to Justin.

[Jessica]

Justin Sakari.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Who put this together. Yes. Awesome spot. If you're in Staten island and you need some studio space, this is a great spot.

[Jessica]

Awesome, guys. Honestly, if you need anything, like, they are your guys.

[Podcast Host]

I mean, we met him today, and I can already tell how impressive he is and this place, so. Definitely.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

But thank you again for doing this. I'm glad we got to do it.

[Jessica]

Yeah. Finally. I think it's, what, like, four or five years in the.

[Podcast Host]

God knows. Yeah, it's. And then you got to start a podcast, but we'll talk about that after. But, yes, thank you, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you guys for tuning in, and we will see you guys on the next one.

[Jessica]

Yeah.