From Calorie Deficits to Marathons | Holly Brooks | Ep 60

0:00Holly Brooks, welcome to the podcast. Hi, thank you for having me. For the people that may not know who you are, would you just be able to describe yourself? Yeah, in a nutshell. So hi, I'm Holly. I create fitness and food content online, mainly focused around running. That's kind of how it's transpired. And I also have my own personal brand, Strong Girl Society, which is like my app. And then I have my podcast as well. So kind of doing a multitude of different things online. And you're English? I am and I live here in LA which is crazy I feel like it's everyone's dream yeah it's it's like my dream like I feel like there's I've been here for three years now and I still drive around and I'm like how am I here like you just feel like I mean LA does feel like it's not a real place so hopefully it always feels like that yeah I want to take it back to the start where did fitness really become a big part of your life yeah well I mean I feel like it's always important to kind of go back to childhood because I think that's where you pick up so many like habits and like you learn to love things I was very sporty as a child my family was very sporty my dad loved tennis so we were like a family of like tennis players I think his dream would have been for me and my sister to become like pro tennis players unfortunately that was just never gonna happen we were decent but we were never gonna make it to like elite level so we kind of stopped doing tennis I went I played a lot of netball people out here don't know what netball is but I feel like if you're from England like, you'll know what netball is.

1:26So I played a lot of netball, but then kind of naturally when I hit like 16, you know, when you just get like bored, other things become more important. You start thinking about boys, you want to go out with your friends. Like I kind of fell off of like enjoying exercise and sports. So I stopped playing netball. And honestly, I didn't really pick it up again until post-COVID was when I kind of started to think like, oh, maybe I should like get back in the gym because I mean, as so many people did through COVID, all of my healthy habits went out the window like I was drinking too much and eating a lot and I honestly came out of lockdown and I just remember thinking like I don't even recognize myself and the way I'm treating myself so I was like okay why don't I look into getting a PT or like start training I had no idea what to do in the gym I felt like it was such a scary place for me but I found this amazing PT I started working with her online and then honestly it just like snowballed from there I feel like I started to really understand nutrition and the gym and fitness.

2:23And yeah, it just kept going from there. I feel like when you start learning and understanding something, habits become pretty easy. And you kicked this off in Manchester, right? Yes, yeah, when I lived back in Manchester. So you're not originally from Manchester? No, from down south, from Kent, if you can't tell from like the southern accent. So what made you move to Manchester? University. All right, okay. Yeah, so I actually went to Southampton University first, hated it. And was like, cool. My mom was like, I'm leaving. She was like, you can't leave. And I was like, no, I've told them I'm leaving.

2:54Like I'm going. And I wanted to study fashion. And one of the best colleges or universities for that was Mamet. So I went up there and studied there. And I just, I loved Manchester so much. So after university, I was like, I'm not moving back down south. So I stayed there. I think I was in Manchester for like six years. Did you have like a big fitness community there? I would say, yeah, definitely. Especially when I started running, that was kind of what built my like fitness community I think when I started to kind of have like more of an online presence which very much started like in the gym and then when I started to do running obviously run clubs started to become a thing so that was more towards like the end of my time now which is kind of sad because I feel like I started to like build this community and then I was like okay I'm going to LA um which is kind of sad but I feel like it's nice whenever I go home I always host like run clubs so I get to kind of like lean into that community again what social media did you start off on tiktok yeah I was a tiktok kid it was when tiktok was like huge during covid and that was all anyone had to do it was honestly it was so random because I was honestly consuming so much content like as everyone was and I was kind of in this phase of my fitness journey where I was in like a very big calorie deficit and I was trying to make it more interesting by coming up with like fun meals and I remember I would like post them I posted one on a private Instagram I had and one of my friends was like you should put one of these on TikTok and I was like oh I don't know about that but I was like okay like I'll give it a go I posted one video it got like 10 ,000 views and at the time I was like this is amazing and I was like okay I'm gonna do another one and then honestly like my first three videos hit like over a million views and it just kind of grew from there I think I just caught this like really incredible wave of like fitness and like TikTok kind of like taking off at that time yeah and then from that obviously you're building up like you're following when did you start strong girl society that was oh my goodness I feel like maybe like a year or two years into my social media because like I said it started with like me posting like calorie deficit meals and you know I was basically everything that I was posting was towards like dieting strong girl society's values are very different to that like it's all about focusing on being like the strongest version of yourself so I feel like I grew a lot within myself over that like year and I kind of started to focus on becoming stronger in the gym and that was when I was like okay I want to build a community that is also focused on like feeling stronger not smaller so yeah I feel like when I look back at my beginning on like social media I'm like oh like I don't really resonate with that girl anymore but it's all I suppose it's all a process yes like a lot of people start off in the gym to wanting to get in better shape and that might be trying to improve your body composition which might be a calorie deficit or it might be like say a calorie surplus to then get stronger but it's cool that you kind of like started off like that and you can like acknowledge that and then where did like this um big female following come from like did they relate with the calorie deficit at the start yeah I mean I feel like when we came out of COVID obviously that was when I was posting a lot I think a lot of people were in the same boat that they were feeling like they'd kind of like neglected their health and they maybe put weight on that they wanted to lose so I think around that time a lot of women started to follow me because they were like oh I'm also feeling the same and then I think as my content kind of like matured into the way of being like okay well I've done the diet thing now like what's next and it was like oh like maybe I'll go into a calorie surplus and I'll start to try and put muscle on I think a lot of girls again were kind of in the same phase of life so I feel like it's always been I love it it's always been like my pages like for the girls um but I feel like it's nice it kind of feels like everyone's always been on the same wavelength as me I feel like we're always on the journey together yeah no it's good because you're creating longevity within the fitness space you can only diet for a certain amount of time yeah you can only be in a calorie deficit until you become either the weight that you want to be or you continue and potentially become unhealthy exactly it's great that you've shown how like through your your years of of kind of working that you can continue it and get strong.

7:08Oh, 100%. Because I didn't even know what the plan was when I started the diet. I was like, I think I'm just, I genuinely used to think, okay, we just diet forever. So I was like, okay, like I'll just start dieting and then like I'm going to be in a deficit forever. Thank goodness that is not the case because it's way more fun when you're not in a deficit. In this time period, was you primarily just like in the gym, lifting weights, kind of like a real bodybuilding kind of? yeah I mean I was trying to fit that like narrative for a long time I think that was what I felt like I had to do because I felt like that was all that was really kind of being promoted on socials and I think at the time I was like okay well if I want to feel strong and I want to like put muscle on like I have to be in the gym I was like yeah dead lifting squatting RD I was like all of the big lifts I was trying to do like a lot of those and I think I really tried to honestly push that for like a good like year or two I was like really leaning into that but it was never something that I like truly enjoyed I felt like I was just going through the motions of what I should have been doing it was kind of the in thing oh 100 % yeah yeah it's so it's so different like when you actually look back and and you think and I feel like LA are a little bit behind before I feel like you walk into a normal gym and people are still doing a lot of kind of like a bro split where they've got the headphones in the walking into the gym and for girls they might be focusing on building the glutes or building legs and lads it's you know building the shoulders and bench press and stuff like that yeah I agree with you but it's so good how it has transitioned into I don't know probably just more of a social environment 100 % yeah I think running really opened that door for like so many people I think people started running and then realizing that wait we can actually run together which was really nice because I mean I don't know about you but when I started my running journey I was like solo running all the time and now it's like the majority of runs I go on I'll be with at least like one other person yeah no it's so good so was you back in Manchester was you doing a lot of running or was it just lifting weights or I was lifting and then when did I honestly running was very random for me it kind of came out of nowhere I did the like 5k challenge in lockdown you know when everyone was like run five donate five I did that and I remember I ran 5k and I hated it like and I finished that 5k and I was like that was the worst thing I've ever done but I did it for charity I'll donate my money and I'll like throw the trainers away like I'm never doing it ever again like I ran in like converse because I had like no idea what I was doing and then I think just honestly randomly one day I remember I woke up and it was really sunny outside and I was like I bet going for a run would be really nice in weather like this and then like didn't go for the run didn't even think about it again and then a week later I had the thought again and I was like okay like maybe maybe I'll give it a go and my dad's a huge runner so I think that was kind of where I'd always grown up around running and I was like okay maybe I'll give it a go and I was like I think the only way I'm gonna do it is if I uber to the gym and I have to run back otherwise I have no other way of getting home because I was like I knew I knew I'd get out the door and turn around so I uber to the gym I did like a little bit of a weight session and then ran home and I was like heaving like stopping like every oh my goodness probably like every like kilometer I was just like so out of breath so unfit hated it but for some reason when I stopped I was like I want to keep going and see if I can do that and make it easier and I think it was a really measurable distance because it was on the way back from the gym so I just kept going again and again and eventually it got easier and I think that is like the addictive feeling of running when you kind of finally start to feel it like click and you're like okay wait this feels good and now I understand what everyone's talking about and then you're like okay well if I did five I wonder if I can do six and then I ran my first 10k and then it just snowballs from there doesn't it and it has snowballed because yeah how many marathons of your run now?

10:48Four now. Oh yeah. And you're training at the moment for Berlin is it? Yes number five Berlin yeah. That's gonna be good. I'm excited I've not been to Berlin since I was like a kid so I'm excited to see Berlin. I've also never set like a goal time for a marathon so I'm like scared because I've done that for the first time but I'm excited to go out with like a bit more intention behind it and like a bit of a focus while I'm running yeah when did that you start working with brands because I remember when I first met you it was actually at my protein shoots back in the day in Manchester in rainy Manchester I think it was horrendously cold at that gym do you remember we were drinking like boiled water to keep us warm yeah fighting fit yeah the gym in Manchester which I say a little gym I'm sure that's why they get that kind of like 200 people oh I bet yeah it's huge now um huge fitness community there um but I remember obviously meeting you there uh and you was considering the move to LA um but when did all that start like you know brands becoming interested in you and your work I think it was kind of in my final year of university so I think I was like 22 23 I've been posting very consistently for like maybe about like nine nine months but like influencing was very very new I didn't really understand any of it and it was actually my protein were the first brand that ever approached me which I always love because it's nice I still work with them now but I remember they messaged me and they were like we want to make you like an affiliate which obviously where you just post and you earn commission off a link and I was like this is the craziest thing ever like it was the best thing and then again I think it's one of these things sometimes it just snowballs from there like I think if you start working with one brand like another brand picks up on it and I remember my first big kind of like brand contract was with Tala Grace Beverly's brand and I was like their first ever fitness ambassador and that was really huge for me because that was the first ever like proper paid brand contract I had and I remember I was like I think I could quit my job and like do this if I can get a few more contracts like this and I remember my family were like no I just started like a new grad scheme that I'd worked so hard to get and my mom was like I don't think you should do that like that doesn't sound like a real job and I was like no I was like I think it is and I think I just took the chance on myself and it's crazy how it grows isn't it like I think I'm sure you have this when you look back like the first few brands you work with and now brands you work with now it's it's insane the journey is crazy what gave you the confidence to do that and you know quit university just delusion I think I I was kind of looking back at what I'd done and I was honestly just in this phase of life where I was like I never even thought I would hit like 100k on TikTok and I was like I didn't believe that that was possible and then I did it and I think I was like what else can I achieve I just remember that phase of my life I was just like the world is my oyster like that was how I was feeling because I felt like my life was just turning into this incredible thing that I could never have even dreamed of and I think I was also like if I don't go for this now I don't know if this is going to be the same situation in a year's time so I was like let me just go for it I know that if worse comes to worse I have a backup plan I have my degree I had my grad scheme I would like to think maybe they would have taken me back if I needed to but I think I was like I might as well just give it give it a go and I'm so grateful that I did yeah no for sure because I feel like a lot of people look at your life now and dream of it like I mentioned before what made you want to make the move from Manchester to LA I could name one maybe the weather yeah the weather is definitely the biggest one that yeah I think that transition was crazy because I'd never lived out of the UK and I honestly when I was younger I'd always had this dream of like living abroad and living in the sunshine but I just never thought it was something I would ever actually be able to facilitate it was always just like a very distant memory and I think when I kind of had the realization that maybe I could again it was that thing of like well why don't I just like go for it and just give it a go because I think I loved Manchester so much and I would say if I had to move back home I would definitely go back to Manchester like that's like I love that so much I feel like I love the people I love the city and I remember being in Manchester and I think I was ready for a change I've been there for six years and I was like right where am I gonna go and London just never really called my name I think I grew up going in and out of London so I feel like I'd kind of done it I didn't really I don't know I just didn't I've never like loved London I've never considered it home and I was like okay well why don't I look to go somewhere like where it's a bit sunnier where I can run a bit more like all year round where like you know there's a lot of like outdoor training it's very active so I looked to Australia and then I looked at LA and I'd only been to LA once when I was 18 and this is so silly but it really sticks in my mind and I remember me and my sister did one of those like Hollywood tour buses you know they take you around like Rodeo Drive and all of that stuff and I remember being on that bus at 18 and we drove down Rodeo and I remember watching people walk around and thinking I don't want to be the person on the bus like I'd love to be the person like living here and for some reason I think that thought just always like stayed in the back of my head so when I was like okay where do I want to go I was like well why don't I just see if I can be one of those people that lives in LA so I kind of just took a bit of a risk I came out for a month just to see if I liked it I think when I think back to that I'm like that was insane I just came out didn't know anyone just lived in a house by myself for a month tried to figure it out and I just fell in love with it like it's hard not to love I think like you kind of get that as well like it's just it's such an inspiring and motivating place I think that's what I loved about it is everyone is like working on something here everyone's like driving towards something and they want to help you also achieve your goals I just feel like yeah it's just like that general atmosphere here is like addictive yeah it's very positive and I must admit it's the craziest place on the planet for good things and bad things like it's so fun I feel like it's probably the most fun place in the world yeah um obviously the traffic's chaotic yeah um the homelessness probably isn't the best yes situation and stuff like that so and the food quality probably it could be better yeah but uh it definitely is fun yes and uh there is like i have friends out here that have moved again from manchester like yourself and uh there's always pros and cons with everything yeah i think it's going to be like that anywhere you live i think like you said i just think it's like one of those places you can wake up and have the most insane day that you would like never have dreamed of like just like the events that can like transpire here are like crazy and you're like how am i in this situation and as well like just being in like central or southern california you've got ski mountains two hours away yeah you've then got the desert an hour away you've then got san diego if you want to go down there if you want five hours away there's mammoth yeah you can do you know the best mountain bike trails or in winter uh skiing there's Yosemite and they're all a drive away you have every yeah everything in one state which is crazy because I think one thing that we love to say as Brits is like how Americans like never leave America and we're like oh they don't even like travel but I I truly feel like if you're born in California you actually don't need to leave it's obviously nice to leave but I'm like you like you said you have everything you have the snow you have the beaches you have the desert like and it's all a drive away which still blows my mind have you ever seen where people do they'll do skiing in the morning and then they'll drive down and swim in the ocean in the evening they do all in like one day it's crazy yeah it is mad what about uh sharks are you scared of the sea yeah like terrified because one of my friends that have it's actually uh george and mike who live over here they um they've got me onto this page and it's apparently a guy that just basically sends up a drone on Malibu Pier and he sees sharks every single day just off the pier which is like probably 15-20 meters from the land.

18:56That terrifies me. I think I've seen some of those videos. They're huge and like they get like great whites just like swimming around. Yeah I'm not a big ocean girl like I will go in it but I'm not swimming in it. Like I went to Laguna Beach the other weekend Ryan my boyfriend he grew up here so he's like swimming out like loving it like no fear and I'm like up to my kneecaps like terrified for him I'm like you're gonna get eaten and somebody said they were like oh yeah we saw a shark like not that long ago it's just like a normal thing for people that live here but yeah I watched Jaws when I was like seven and it's like ruined the ocean for me put you up so uh being over here how is the fitness scene different I think obviously we have the luxury of being able to train like all year round so I feel like it never really stops which is like the great thing I know obviously in the UK you can train all year round but I feel like there's always that like winter kind of like slump I think when you're in Manchester and you're dealing with like the rain and the cold like no one's as motivated I feel like here just like it just is like that hub of like motivation and like I said I feel like there's such a huge source of community out here it's kind of crazy like I feel like if you ever want to run with someone like someone will always like drop something to run I think also a lot of people are very like self-employed in LA so any time of the day you need to like train with someone I feel like someone's always available but I think the gyms are amazing I think it just does have that like general like health and wellness is such a big priority somewhere like there so there's just always like new opportunities high rocks I feel like is I almost feel like slightly newer here there's not as much high rocks here I wouldn't say as the UK I don't know if you would agree with that yeah I'd say within like fitness culture i think la and america in general is probably like two years behind yeah the rest of the world definitely i feel like the forefront is probably australia and like the uk slash europe yeah america always seems to be like on the back foot a little bit but it's cool that it's coming over here now like it's popping off at the moment yeah i feel like in the uk everyone's sick of hyrox at the moment it's yeah i feel like we've like done it to death over in the uk well high rocks anaheim is obviously in december here and the wait list was like 22 000 people for tickets the other day online and i was like that's i mean it's great that it's like obviously taking over here i had a meeting the other week and someone was like do you think it's like a fad and i was like no it's it's not a fad it's just like new here so i think people are just like learning to like understand it yeah no uh like you say the same conversation i have been in over here just a couple of years later um so you've done high rocks right yes yeah i've done two now yeah how'd you find them they were very different experiences the first one that i did was high rocks new york i think it was the first it was the first time they'd done it at like hudson yard yeah which was the whole like venue is amazing it's so much fun but i think it was very i mean number one like my training i didn't really train for that i didn't really have a training block i had a back injury that year so i think i was like i don't know if i'm gonna be able to do it i did it with my sister we managed to do it but we did like one session before so we just went in like let's just do it for fun like that's going blind and it was like the best experience but I also think because it was very new to the area they're like coaches not the coaches like the do you call them referees yeah judges judges that's the word they like didn't really know the rules so like me and my sister were like we swear we did like 20 war wars and then she was like yeah you're done because I was like we it was not very well like yeah judged but then I did Miami this year and that was very different because me and my sister like okay that's actually trained for that one so I did find a good gym out here and I trained there and that was way more fun like when you are actually like going through and you're pushing and you're actually trying your hardest it's a lot more fun than when you can't even like push the like sleds so it they're they're great I feel like the like post high rocks like adrenaline rush is like one of the best feelings ever and it's just it's like over so quickly because I feel like you're just like oh you just blink and it was like almost done do you think you'll do one again yes I think I'm gonna do Anaheim with my friend Cambry out here in December which will be fun because she's like an insane runner so I'm like excited to like see what time we can actually get and again train intently and then going back to the marathon how's training been have you had a coach or have you been self-coached so I have like all of my plans on the app so I just follow those um I feel like training honestly this this block's been probably the hardest one that I've done I did LA at the beginning of this year and I it's so funny because I feel like I had such a messy training block for LA like I was in Australia and then I was here and then I went to Austria like I was kind of all over the place so I was really just doing like my long run every week but for some reason I was just killing the long runs and I ran LA and I think I got like an 18 minute PB and I wanted to do four or like just sub four and I just like crushed that so I think when I finished that I was like okay well what if I really dedicate myself to like an intense training block like focus on speed so that's what I'm trying to do this time but I just think I think for me the part that I love about running is like just getting out there and running and like just going with how you feel and like feeding off of your body and I think that when you're going out there and you're focusing on different paces and different times and speed sessions I don't personally love that because I think it's kind of taken away my like safe space that running like is for me so it's been an eye opening training block we'll see how Berlin goes but I think it's just kind of like open my eyes to like okay like I'm not somebody that really enjoys that style of training like I like having like discipline and regimen in it but I don't like having my long run split up into like different paces and different times because I'm like I just want to go out there and just like run yeah you you run for fun and that's why you go into it maybe for mental health yes hugely yeah it is a bit stressful when and it's hard to not let a session result define you yeah I think that's ruin your day if you don't get it exactly and like I'll go out and do a speed session and I'm like well that like sucked and I didn't hit this pace and I'm like well I just ran 15k so I'm like that used to be like the huge achievement but now it's like oh I didn't get this pace in it and it's just it's been very different for me but I think it's been good to give it a go and I'm intrigued to see like how it pays off in Berlin have you said out loud your time no I'm happy I'm trying to aim for a 340 I did a 348 in LA and I'm like with the amount that more that I'm training now I'd like to think that it would pay off but it's also one of these things I'm very much like if I get there and that doesn't happen like doing this training block has been such a challenge for me that i will be proud that i completed that and i'm also always going to be proud that i ran a marathon like i'm never going to finish and be like oh no like i messed up my time like i just ran 26 miles like i'm happy with that i've got a feeling that you'll you'll smash it especially the difference in courses from la to berlin i've done them both and la is so hilly so hilly yeah yeah when you did berlin was it when there was the heat wave no it was the year before it was kind of like perfect conditions i'm really hoping for that this time because it was like 30 degrees last year i think yeah it's very hit and miss uh berlin but uh yeah nice time of year beautiful the streets is like so wide as well like there's no like sharp bends or like uh yeah it's great okay nice i'm i'm excited because i've only ever run i did chicago last year and that was flat and it was the contrast in like experiences to when it's like hilly to when it's flat it's like you just have such a better time when it's just nice and like easy what's been your favorite marathon i think it's tough i i feel like i've loved all of them paris i loved that's my first one because i did it with my dad new york i loved because like have you done new york i've never done it but everyone says it's the best experience yeah the crowds are electric that was like technically i would say my worst personal experience like i wasn't having that good of a time but around me was so much fun that it actually didn't matter how I felt because I was like I'm in New York and I'm running the marathon like this is insane and the crowds are the crowds are literally there from beginning to end so it's like you're never kind of left alone I think there's one bridge where it's like silent and everyone kind of like gives up on that bridge but then after that everyone like comes back and it's amazing and but then I loved LA I feel like I'm just like oh I love all of them but I loved LA because I got to do it here and I think that was so fun.

27:22Chicago is probably like my least favorite just because I feel like it was a bit like meh whatever but I'm excited for Berlin. I think it'll be a good one. Have you done much traveling in the US? I honestly haven't done as much as I wish I had. I feel like when I first came here I was like I'm gonna go to a different state every month and do all of this stuff but it's like we were saying everything is in California so I feel like you do kind of get like stuck in California. I just did a road trip here which was really good fun and I've done. where did you go we went up so we went all the way up the pch so the motorway basically motorway highway that goes like all the way up so we went through california went to oregon and then ended up in washington which was insane it's just so like it's so beautiful here i feel like there's just so much to see yeah it's crazy so you you finished in washington yep and then drove back down yeah so so your boyfriend ryan was explaining the other day he was like Like we drove nonstop for 19 hours.

28:20Yeah. It was like, you could have done the UK like five times, like up and down. Literally like lapped around the UK. Yeah, we woke up that morning and he was like, I think I can do it in one drive. And I was like, I don't know why you would want to do that. It was like something like possessed him. And he was like, I'm going to challenge myself to do this. And he did it. We had like four In-N-Out burgers in one day because that was like the only place that they have to eat. We felt disgusting, but we got home by 11 p.m. It was great. that is crazy so you started up 4 a.m in the morning got in at 11 yeah it was a long long day of driving yeah and then uh what's kind of like a typical week look like for you kind of like training wise and life-wise over here yeah is it different to the UK yeah yeah I think the biggest difference I would say is I spend so much more time outside like I think again just like having the nice weather like I mean my days honestly I feel like when I if I write them out like they're really not like as exciting as I think people would hope but I feel like it's normally just like walking Nala like my dog like every day starts with that like I feel like getting outside in the morning is like my number one like rule I feel like if I wake up and I end up like stuck inside my head is just like cooked for the whole day so like getting outside with Nala and then honestly I feel like influencing and like owning a business is a lot more admin I think than people like to think so I feel like I end up doing a lot of that but I always end up training in the morning so at the moment I'm running four times a week and then trying to weight train three times a week weight training has been kind of like bumped when I'm like busy that's like the one thing that kind of goes out the window because I just like to prioritize running um but yeah I feel like my days are pretty much like very very similar obviously being in LA sometimes you get like really fun like influencer events and things like that so I like to go to some of those um especially when they're like fitness orientated like run clubs and things like that I love going to those but yeah I feel like my days are just wake up work on Strong Girl Society walk my dog go for a run eat well go to bed that's literally it I feel like it like you just mentioned there like a lot of people think our influence is a lot easier than what it actually is yeah I know for a fact that you'll be switched on all the time and you'll be thinking about things replying to stuff and kind of like working throughout all of that yeah it won't just be kind of like one or two hours in the morning or whatever I yeah I think it's a very consuming job just because of like the nature of it which I think is you know it is I would say like the best job in the world like I feel so grateful every like every day I wake up and I'm like I can't believe I just get to do this like especially if I'm like oh I just have to film a YouTube video today I'm like it's crazy that that is like part of my life but yeah it can be very consuming I think social media is like a big numbers game as well so I think like that's sometimes like the negative side of it is like you're constantly thinking about what's performing what's not performing what you need to do next what you need to be creating and it can be hard to kind of switch off and be present in certain moments when you feel like you're like oh should I be filming this like should I be documenting this like that that part of it can be a bit taxing mentally what's been your biggest struggle with social media which and probably the move over here have you struggled at all I think with the move yes like it honestly like it has been tough I think year one was definitely the toughest part for me I think you know when I first got here I feel like I remember I just like woke up on that first day and I was like oh wait like this is actually like my life now and I think you kind of sometimes I mean I definitely had so I was like oh it's going to be so similar to the UK like I feel like it's not even going to feel different the culture is very different like it felt like I did have a big culture shock I almost had like a bit of an identity crisis as well because I felt like it was so different that I was like it really put a spotlight on like well who are you as a person and I wasn't expecting that side of it especially when you're constantly meeting new people you're out in different social situations it makes you reflect on yourself a lot so I feel like that bit was tough I also think I just for a lot of that year one I focused so much on like have I made the right decision and I felt like that was really tough because there's never an answer for that like you're never gonna know and I think I was always like well what if I'd have stayed would this have been different and would this have been different but what I've kind of learned is that there's no point in fixing on that because ultimately like like I said you're never gonna know and I think you can only be where your feet are and you need to try and be present that's something that is hard when you have family and friends in the UK and then you're over here I think for a lot of that first year and second year I was like never really present in one place because I felt like my brain was always split between the two and I feel like something that I still struggle with now is feeling like you're always letting someone down like I feel like when I'm here I feel like I'm letting my family down because I'm not able to be as present or like available for things like it was just my dad's 60th birthday and I'm going home next week so I'm like okay well I can't go home that soon because it's expensive it's like a lot of travel so it's like you have to miss out on things which makes you feel like yeah you're letting people down but then when I go back home I feel like I'm letting people down here because it's like you're not as present here so I think you kind of have to just adapt to being almost like a split person and trying to like exist in both worlds and keep both people happy while keeping yourself happy.

33:32That bit is quite difficult sometimes. Did you ever have periods where you felt lonely? Yeah, I think that that first initial few like months of moving, I feel very fortunate because obviously having a presence on social media, when I said that I was moving out here, a couple of girls reached out within the first week of me being here that are now like some of my closest friends. So I feel like I met people initially, but I think the evenings I'm sure you get this I feel so lonely because that's when everyone in the UK is like asleep and I remember like the first few months of being here like that's when I like to like sit down and like talk to my mom and like talk to her about my day like the evenings felt the worst because I would just kind of be in my apartment by myself and like I didn't really want to go out in the evenings because I was a bit too scared because I didn't really like know what was around me so I think those parts of it feel tough and I think when you move away from home and you have lows the lows feel so much lower because you don't have your initial like support system around you and it's nice now because I think three years in I'm like okay well I've almost like you kind of rebuild that out here so I feel like I've definitely got that now but initially there was periods of that for sure yeah I think you've done pretty well though considering we came around for barbecue you invited us around the other day for a barbecue thank you for that it was amazing but what shocked me was that the amount of good people you've got in your life over here i feel like a lot of people that make that move struggle to make friends yeah um i know uh the people that i knock around with they've moved over here and they're still only friends with either english people or australian people and they really struggle to i think just because of the culture yes yeah kind of befriend americans it's funny we always like stick to our bubbles like and i definitely i definitely did that for the first year like my one of my best friends she's scottish and then my other best friends like british so i feel like we kind of like stuck to each other a little bit more and then I met some really lovely like Australian girls and they were actually the ones that kind of introduced me to like this big American friend group that they had um so they were kind of like my bridge but it's funny because there's like the culture difference between us and Americans I think is like the sense of humor that we share a lot more with like Australians and like anyone that lives in Europe so I think that's why we kind of like huddle together um but it's funny you do sometimes get that like divide but yeah I've met like so many amazing Americans now well you're with one right yeah yeah my boyfriend is American so yeah I think he's also like I mean we definitely we definitely have like our culture differences sometimes like even sometimes like even when I say things like we'll just say things he's like what and I'm like oh yeah forget like you just don't understand like you're American um it's been fun introducing him into like British culture like I took him to England for the first time last year and like that was just really fun like seeing him experience like fish and chips for the first time like a sunday roast it like blew his mind no it's so funny um what what about um obviously with my protein uh as of recently you did like a full clothing line with them right yeah how was that because that's incredible by the way oh thank you feel like that's kind of like the pinnacle of what you what you're doing yeah it it was insane And I think, like you said, I think even growing up, like I would like look up to fitness influencers like Whitney Simmons who like do their collections with like Gymshark.

36:52Like that was always something that I was like, wow, like that is amazing. So to be in that position with a brand that I've worked with since the beginning was crazy. I feel like when that conversation even started, they were like, oh, like we could do like an edit. I was like, we are. And like to see like my brand, like Stronger Society on like their hoodies is so fun. and I feel like that whole process I think it's so nice that I've been with them since I started influencing because it's like so incredible how that journey went from like being an affiliate to being an influencer to being an athlete for them and then doing an edit it's it's really fun and it's fun to kind of like work on not only the edits but also like the photo shoots and the campaigns and I think doing that but then also seeing girls in the clothes I think that is like the craziest thing or like someone will message me and be like I saw a girl in like her SGS hoodie like at the train station today and that's the part that like really like blows my mind with all of that is like the fact that people are actually like wearing this stuff yeah no it's insane how much time did you put into kind of like the design and stuff like did you have a big role in that yeah I mean obviously so with an edit it's more like my kind of like touch on things so it's their existing styles which was really fun because I got to basically kind of look at everything that I love from my protein pull anything that I love and then like basically design like my own colors we design my own hoodies so that's kind of the like creative touch that I get and then we have a lot of input on like photo shoots and all that kind of stuff like they just came to LA in spring and we shot like out here and that was really fun because I got to take them to all of like my favorite places we shot at my house went to like my favorite running location we got Nala involved so that was fun because I got to kind of like have my touch on like the creative aspect of it yeah obviously like you said you went to university for fashion so obviously you have a big kind of interest in that yes do you think you're what's the future looking like in that would you would you want to create something yourself I would love to I think like that's like always been a huge stream of mine I just know how much like work and money and like everything that entails so I think it's a decision that like I wouldn't want to take lightly and I think because of having my background in fashion I know the quality that I would want to bring and I also know how saturated the market can be in certain areas so I'm like okay I would never want to bring something to the market unless I was like this is like so unique so individual so incredible and so I'm right and I think unless I've like kind of got that like on lock it's not something I would want to do it's definitely something that is in my brain but I think maybe not for like a couple of years if you didn't start like influencing and fitness influencing what do you think you'd be right now?

39:35I think probably working in fashion like that was like always the dream like I when I was in Manchester I the grad scheme that I just got was actually would like look fantastic and I was working beauty and I didn't really love that because it wasn't very like product focused and I loved working on product in fashion like that was what I loved doing so I was working my degrees in fashion buying so I love like looking at pieces like looking at trends so I would have liked to think that I was probably working for like a fashion house doing that one of my dreams was like to work for like a big designer like fashion brand I would have felt like that would have been really fun and like traveling around with them doing something like that it's fun to like think about because I'm like wow I wonder what my life would have been like but yeah hopefully something like that and moving back to the Strong Girl Society what is the main message that you want to kind of like get across to people I think our core value is number one that we're stronger together like community is everything like lean on the women around you to help support you and number two is just stepping away from that narrative of being small and focusing on being strong and that was kind of the catalyst for creating it like I said I'd gone from being this like very heavy like calorie deficit and then suddenly was in the gym like lifting weights and I was trying to hit pbs and I was actually going on a holiday I remember I was going to Barcelona and the gym session was a week before that trip and I was trying to like hit my like deadlift pb and I remember thinking like wow like this is so different to like a year or two ago because a year or two ago, if I was going on a trip, I would not have been lifting a weight.

41:02I would have been on a Stairmaster or even trying to like do some kind of cardio to like lose weight for the trip. But here I was, I hadn't dieted. I was trying to lift more weights. I was in a calorie surplus. And it was a really freeing moment of being like, wow, like I've really shaken off that narrative. And I think in that moment, I was like, wow, I just want all women to feel like this. And I was like, I don't know how to do that. And I ran home and I was like trying to brainstorm. And I was like, how do I like kind of get this across to people? Because it's like this really amazing feeling and I actually created like a Facebook group because that was like all I really know how to do at the time and I was like I called it like Strong Girl Summer because I was like I'm gonna set everyone challenges every single week to try and help them not focus on their bodies and focus on like maybe like athletic goals or like different just kind of things in their life that they can like enjoy um and then after the summer ended I was like okay I want to keep this going so then I made it Strong Girl Society and it kept going but yeah I think the big focus is on you know focusing on what your body can do rather than what it looks like have you found like developing that from obviously just like a facebook group so what it is today yeah it's crazy it's it's been such a fun journey i think it went from facebook group and then from the facebook group i started running then we started creating like running pdf guides and then the pdf guides have now like transpired into an app we've done run clubs we've done run tours we've done events it's so nice and I think my favorite aspect of it has always been like the run clubs and the events like getting to meet people in real life I think you know like this job can be a little bit lonely sometimes like we're just posting on social media and only interacting with people through dms so I think actually getting to like go out there and meet people learn about like their stories kind of like give them advice in real life like that is by far like the best part and I think when we did the run tour through the UK that was like the most surreal moment because I was like this was a Facebook page and now there's like girls in every single city traveling out in the evening to like come on a run with us it's been really nice to see it what's next for kind of like the app and the community I mean honestly just keep keep growing keep expanding the app has definitely been like one of the biggest like learning curves I've ever done like how much of an input have you had into that do you have someone building the app for you do you so I'm basically kind of like steering the ship on all of that which is why it's been like so interesting to kind of like learn I have a team who does the development and then have a brand manager who helps me kind of like manage day to day so with the development team it's kind of like anything that I go we kind of design together and we build together so I feel like I've really been there and had input into like every single part of the app um that's why it's been such an interesting journey because it's not one that I ever thought I would be on like I have a degree in fashion I never thought I'd be like running a tech business like it's kind of crazy um but it's been amazing to like learn so much but I think yeah just keep building the community I definitely want to do more in the US I think that's something I felt a bit shy on almost I think you kind of feel like you go from being a bigger fish in a pond in the UK and then you come out here and you're like oh I'm the smallest fish of all of the fishes because it's like there's so many run clubs there's so many like different people in different spaces doing amazing things and I think I've definitely let that intimidate me a little bit out here so I'm trying to like be a big girl and be like okay like I can host a run club out here and I can do more stuff out here so I would definitely like to do more stuff like in the US it makes more sense because I'm over here now yeah no it's interesting one thing that I found really interesting when I found out this is for a long time you've managed your own kind of like deals how how do you even go about that because for me I struggle with the awkward conversations and not like it's awkward but you've got to kind of back yourself yeah because whoever you're making the deals with they're trying to get you on the lowest price possible or the most bang for their book and then you're trying to obviously fight against that yeah it's it's definitely interesting because you're trying to like advocate for yourself and almost like sell yourself which can feel like very strange very alien I think because I don't know I think more so in the UK like we're not very good at like selling ourself I feel like the Americans have that stuff down like you meet someone they give you an elevator pitch within like five seconds of meeting them but we're not quite as good at that so I feel like it it was definitely tough in the beginning but it definitely built up my confidence because I really had to learn my own value understand my own value and like help pitch myself in that way but I worked with a manager for I think two years and it was just me and her and it was it was great but I think I love the business side of stuff like I really enjoy the business side of like SGS and all of that stuff and I think I kind of fell into content creation and yes I love it but I don't want to just do content creation like I always love like doing fun little things on the side that kind of like it's my brain in different ways so I think I kind of felt like I was just falling into creating content and I was like okay I want to do something a bit different and I was like what if I just take over like the brand negotiations and I start kind of working on that side of stuff and I was like I don't really know what I'm doing but I'm sure I could figure it out and I just let her go she's now my brand manager for Strong Girl society so we still get to work together which is really nice um and she gave me like really great advice before I went off and started doing everything by myself but I think it was like one of the best things I've ever done I think it really built great relationships with the brands as well because you're having that one-to-one conversation with them and as well as that like you get to work a lot more collaboratively on campaigns rather than being like here's your brief this is what you need to do they would kind of send it to me and I'd be like okay this is great but what if we did this as well and I think they really respect that too so yeah it was definitely interesting it was a lot of work like trying to like do all of that negotiate read contracts and then create the content was a lot I recently have management now and it's funny how much more like time I immediately have um I do kind of miss it already though but it's it's definitely fun and I think it's if anyone has the opportunity to kind of do it for like a small portion of time I think you learn so much through doing it especially about like brands and what brands want I found that really interesting um so yeah it was a learning curve for two years but it's it's nice to kind of pass it over to someone else now and then fitness wise what's next like obviously you've got the marathon you've got the higher ox but is there anything else that you want to kind of delve into I think I feel like it's funny because after Berlin I'm like okay I'm going to take a break from like marathons but I know what I'm like I feel like as soon as like one thing's my brain is like okay like what's next which is I think why it's nice that I have higher ox at the end of the year but I do think next year like I kind of maybe want to like reel it like not like in a bit like I'm doing too much but I really want to get back into my weight training like that was something that I never enjoyed just being my sole focus but I feel like I really really want to do improve like my strength I think it will help me so much with things like higher ox because I think that's the one thing with higher ox is like I can run those laps like all day but when it comes to like the lifting and the strength part of it like that's definitely where I struggle a lot more so I think I'd like to maybe just take the beginning of the year to like really focus on strength and just do like a really good strength block and I think I would like to this is like famous last words because I know I'll book another marathon like tomorrow but I would really like to focus on my half marathon because I've never really dedicated a lot of time to that and I think it's something that I would like to say okay like how far can I push that if I've like done all of these marathons now like why don't I just focus on like one half marathon maybe like halfway through next year and like really do like a good training block for that and try and like smash my pdp time but you know what it's like i feel like someone's like what about this marathon you're like okay fine yeah no it's definitely hard to come away from it but uh once you do i personally i'm loving kind of like the the five and ten k's like uh run marathons but like they're so like you know what it feels like after a marathon like you're cooked for like a month yeah yeah whereas like you can go and run a 10k or 5k or whatever and then the next week you're fresh again yeah and then you can go again so and it's like i don't know it brings together all the kind of like speed work and stuff like that yeah where do you do your speed work at the moment just down on the beach yeah i do it because i track it all on my garment so i don't need a track to do it so i feel like that just kind of tells me when i feel like my 800s or my 16 that 16 000 1 600 um miles over here my mom no i've not transitioned yet are you miles or do you do kilometers do kilometers yeah over here i try and fake it and say like mile pace i don't think i'll ever i think my uk audience would leave me if i started talking to miles they've like she's done we're done with her you mentioned like say you started off your channel with uh a lot of food and stuff like that what what are your favorite kind of like meals oh let's start for breakfast breakfast and like what's nutrition kind of like looking at like because it's so important especially over here so important yeah and I think that was definitely something that I neglected a little bit like last year I spoke about some of my socials but I basically went through a phase of like I was just training so much and I felt like I'm someone that knows my nutrition is important but I feel like I was just so busy that I really let it go and the side effects that I felt from that were awful like I felt so fatigued brain fog was awful training just went to like absolute rubbish so I feel like this year I've really tried to like put my foot down on my nutrition and be like okay this is priority number one and if you're not fueling yourself you're actually not allowed to train like that's like they just have to like parent myself sometimes so I feel like I've really locked in on my nutrition but I mean honestly I am such a creature of habit I feel like my nutrition is very boring I love creating like my fun recipes for like Instagram but I think for me when it comes to day-to-day breakfast is always sourdough avocado eggs and bacon like every single day are you having streaky bacon because that's the only yeah the bacon out here sucks it's so sad when i first moved out here and i went to like trade joe's i was like where's like the like thick cut bacon and they're like we don't do that and it's like it's so greasy but i just have turkey bacon and that feels like the better alternative and then lunch is always some kind of like i make like a burrito bowl like it's always like lettuce rice chicken i normally have a protein shake or like some kind of protein bar and then dinner it's so boring but i love like sweet potatoes with brussels sprouts and then like steak or like ground beef like that's literally like it's the grossest meal and i feel like i made it on my youtube channel once and everyone's like you actually eat that but i was like it's simple and it's quick and it works and i think if i'm like it tastes good it tastes good and like some hot honey on there done perfect that's like my like go-to weekly regime do you ever do you eat out much over here yes yeah i feel like it's hard not to i so i think that's why i like keeping my day-to-day basic because i'm like okay if i'm out and about all the time like usually on the weekends i do love eating out and me and ryan we are awful at being like should we just order something in like i think i was telling you we have like this place called tatsu ramen by us and we there was like one week where we're like we need to stop ordering because like they're actually gonna like I mean they're not gonna ban us because they love us we're probably like their favorite customers but I think there's so much amazing food here that like it's hard not to in my first year of me being here I definitely like took it to the extreme like me and Cheesecake Factory were best friends like I was so excited that Cheesecake Factory was down the road I was like trying all of the different cheesecakes all the time so I feel like that was kind of like that was fun for like my first year of being here but I think now it's just like going out for nice meals on the weekends is kind of like the best thing to do yeah no it's uh the food is like I don't know it's so good it's like say I don't know why it just makes me personally feel like shit yeah well we were saying like the breakfast burritos like obviously they're so great here and I feel like anywhere you go if you go for breakfast and they have one on the menu like well I have to try it it's almost like this thing like everyone compares them from different places so I feel like whenever you go somewhere they have one you're like well I have to try it but then yeah you will be in like a food coma for like a day have you had the dialogue beef brisket one have i asked you this yes i have oh yeah i did yeah it's the best yeah it is it is the best i'm actually sad this time around uh we're staying like near sunset strip and the one there i don't know if there's more is there more dialogues yeah there's one more that's like nearer to me now but the one near you shut down yeah sure yeah because it flooded is that what happened yeah there was a big like um i don't think it was a sewer i think it was just like a big pipe or something burst and flooded the whole of dialogue but there is one near brentwood so if you do need your dialogue fix you can still go there and get it oh it's great it's great no like i say it's it's the craziest place in the world you can get everything that you want yeah literally and like the click of your fingers yeah yeah like uber eats yeah even like doordash like but it's like anything you need like it's insane you can just want everything i need to stop do you think you'll what's the what's the future looking like do you think that you'll end up potentially moving back to the uk or do you think you'll be over here for a little bit longer it's hard to say i think with the visa situation like and i'm always really careful to be like okay like i like this is my definitive answer because anything can change and i feel like you know especially with the government over here they could turn around tomorrow and be like oh no more o1b visas like we're just going to get rid of them like they have the ability to do that but if I could choose and if everything went my way I think I would probably stay over here I think now I have like such a village around me in terms of like the community I built and the friends I built and obviously like being with Ryan having my dog out here like I think it feels more like home to me now now I have all of those things so I think it would feel hard to like uproot and move back home I think I would feel like I was like starting over again if I went back home because I don't even know like like I said like I would want to live in Manchester but like my friends are like all over the place now and I feel like there's not like a place that feels like I could kind of go back to in the UK that would be like okay like this is like home again whereas I feel like out here I'm like no I feel like I have my people now and I love my routine I love my life out here so if I could choose I would probably stay like living here by the beach what advice would you give to people that uh potentially wanting to do something similar to what you've done and pick up your life move it somewhere else I think like the first thing is cheesy is is like just go for it like it's like I said like you never know unless you try it and you don't want to wake up one day and be like oh like I really wish that I'd have done it in saying that I think you know really think it through like it wasn't something that I just kind of like said okay I'm gonna do this like you know you have to go through the whole process it's a very expensive process so I think be sure that it's something you're willing to commit to for a period of time like I was like okay I'm gonna go my visa's three years even if I'm having wobbles I knew that I was going to commit to my three years because I was investing so much money into it and I definitely had a lot of wobbles in that year one where I was like I think I need to move home but I was like no like I need to just like stick with this but I definitely think that if you have the opportunity to move abroad at any point in time in your life you should take it I think just for the experience that it gives you of being in a new place having to meet new people being outside of your comfort zone like I think when I look back to me living in Manchester I was a very confident person in some ways but now I'm like okay like I'm far more confident like you can put me in like any form of social situation and I can make friends and I think it's nice to like apply like okay well if I moved all the way to the US like I can do anything like that's how I feel now and I think yeah you just gain so much more like perspective and understanding of like the world and of life when you live somewhere different like it doesn't even have to be like the US or like LA it can be anywhere I think it's just fun to kind of have that experience and it's just something fun to do like while you're young and while you're not kind of like tied down to anything at home I think it's definitely a risk worth taking yeah no for sure like I say it's paid off for you um although it took like say a couple of years um and what's the worst that can happen well that's the thing I think like when I moved I was like home is always there like home isn't going anywhere and I think I was like even if I had a huge wobble and I was like okay like this wasn't for me it's a mistake like number one like at least you tried like that's what I always thought like there is nothing embarrassing about trying and I think sometimes our fear of failure really holds us back and people are like well what if I go and I don't make friends or what if I go and it doesn't work out it's like but you still went and you still did something outside of your comfort zone and like that is a win in itself and almost if it doesn't work out it's still worked out because then you've just figured out okay maybe home is the place for you and then you don't have that burning question in the back of your head anyway um but yeah like literally what is the worst that can happen you go you're like oh like this isn't for me i don't like it you get to go back home like that's kind of like the perfect journey in the end it's still a cool story i always think like i always find it really fascinating when someone you come across someone and it's like oh yeah i spent three months in a place or i spent three years living in a different country like oh this person's interesting yeah and they've probably like learn so much and they probably have so much to share and like it just it adds to like your story as well which I think is really fun what advice would you give to well go women or anyone really like starting out a fitness career is there any pieces of advice you'd give I think like the main thing is figure out what truly works for you like I said in the beginning I was like really trying to be this like bodybuilder weightlifter and it just really wasn't for me and I feel like I used to feel so like down and hard on myself because I just didn't love this thing that everybody else like loved and I didn't really get it but I would just like go through the motions but it would make me feel kind of miserable and I just felt like I didn't really have a passion for it and I think ultimately if you're not enjoying what you're doing it's never going to stick and you're never going to want to show up for it so I think find a version of training that you enjoy and that you love like for me it's running like that's always going to be in my life and in my routine now and it doesn't feel hard to show up to run because I like it so much so it's like when I see runs on my plan I'm just like okay like this is great like I get to go out and I get to run like it's like something that I enjoy doing as part of my life so I think definitely find training that really you enjoy and that works for you I also think find like community I think that's something that really changed for me out here is like it's so much more enjoyable doing it with other people and I think sometimes we feel like we have to kind of like get down and like do it ourselves but I'm like you don't have to like there's so many other people that will also be striving for the same goals as you like find them and do it with them and I think again just like emphasis on like it should be enjoyed like you should be enjoying the process like when people are like oh my goodness I tried to go running and I hated it like what do I do and I'm like well stop running like if you don't like it like you don't have to do it just because everyone else is doing it no for sure I think uh what you said there about you know just finding people to do it with like yes it's impressive if you're say for example we're running and you go into a gym you've got your headphones on and you're running on a treadmill and you get your session done yes that's impressive but you could also go run down the beach with friends get a speaker or something put it in your back pocket yeah and have a laugh and then go for a coffee after or go for lunch after yeah and you can get the exact same out of both sessions just ones like super gritty and probably not very enjoyable and the other one is super enjoyable yeah and you're like feeling like your social cup as well like I feel like all of me and my friends now do some kind of activity like it's not necessarily the same thing I have friends I run with I have friends I go and do workout classes with like it's different but it's such a big part of our lives and it's so much fun and like it's just like a nice bonding experience like I met a girl out here last year and within like a couple of weeks of meeting we ran like LA marathon basically together we did like the whole first half together and I was like which now one of my closest friends because we just like bonded so much throughout that experience and I would not have had as good of a time doing it by myself and it's funny I just thought now when I said that like Chicago was the marathon that I was like meh that's the only one I've ever done by myself like every other marathon I've done with either like a brand in some capacity so I've run it with some people at some point like there's always been people around me whereas Chicago was the one that did by myself and I was like this sucks like it's just nice to have people around you to share the experience with.

1:00:59I think you bond a little bit more when you're suffering together as well. Yeah, you can go to a coffee shop and, you know, have a good conversation. But I don't know when you're both struggling. Yeah. And you're next to someone and you're in the bin, you know, halfway through a marathon. You're just closer with that person. It creates a deeper connection. And it doesn't matter what background people are from. I feel like fitness is this level playing field. Yeah. You could be in the room, especially here. You could be in the room with, you know, a CEO of a huge company or someone else. but like you're working out together and like it doesn't matter you're just working out together yeah exactly yeah that's funny yeah one of the first times i hung out with that girl can't be we ran 22 miles together and that was like the most because like we were both struggling at points and it's like you just like lean on each other you talk about everything like the whole world like i mean 22 miles is a long time but yeah it's just nice like everyone's kind of like in the same thing in the same experience and you're all just trying to like get through it but you get to do it together yeah thank you holly for today oh thank you so much for having me on what's your plans for the rest of the day i actually have a hair appointment which is so uninteresting but i have a hair appointment and then i have a run session to do later incredible last thing actually whilst being out in la has there been anything like any hobbies that you've taken up like obviously you can't really do in the uk i mean i think the main thing is probably like going down to the ocean and like dipping in the ocean like not that i'm swimming because like i said i'm scared of sharks but i think just like the beach walks in the morning i think that's something I never used to walk nearly half as much when I was in the UK or like if I did I was like okay like this is gonna be like a bit gritty but I think definitely walking I think I'm a far more social person here than I ever was in the UK I think everyone is just outside always doing stuff and I feel like I used to go through my week just like in my routine in Manchester in my apartment by myself I would maybe see like one friend on the weekend whereas here I'm like I see someone at least every day so I think it's it's definitely opened my life up to being more social which maybe wasn't an LA thing maybe it was like a me thing and maybe moving here just kind of forced out of me but yeah I think my life is different in that aspect now thank you no thank you