Back to Home: An Interview with Tristan Prettyman

Way back in 2005, on the other side of the country, I was working in the music department of a Borders bookstore. One day, one of the label reps came in and handed me 10 copies of an EP titled Love. He started talking about the artist, this girl from San Diego named Tristan Prettyman, and I can still remember how enthusiastic he was when he told me I was going to absolutely love her.

He had no idea how right he was.

Sunflowers and Watermelons

watermelon maxi dress c/o: Q.HEART // sunflower head wrap c/o: Zealand Boutique // polarized sunnies c/o: SportRX

If there's one place that's in my Top 5 travel wishlist destinations, it's Bali. Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in trying to pray and love my way over there, but the eating part sounds great. As does the partying, shopping, and beaches.

To me, Bali evokes an easy, happy way of life. So when Maai, the entrepreneur and designer behind fashion label Q.HEART, contacted me a few months ago, her easygoing, happy personality confirmed what few suspicions I had about this beautiful place. And much like San Diego or Sayulita, many of the people who exemplify Bali's magic aren't necessarily from there. Rather they are attracted there, seeking to reflect what the place exudes. 

In Maai's case, her road to Bali began in Japan where she was born. After attending a fashion college in Tokyo, she moved to London to perfect her English and study European fashion. She spent a year there before moving back to Tokyo, where she worked as a fashion editor. But all the while, she dreamed of starting her own line. Today, that dream is a reality in the shape of Q.HEART, her fashion line and boutique located in Bali. 

Over the past few months, I've gotten to know and become inspired by Maai's talent, vision and positivity. And since she shared some of her designs with me, I decided that I'd share a little of her story through a short Q+A with the designer herself...

Friends Who Sweat Together...

Tanya Maslach, founder of GOTRIbal and ActiveBudz

There is no aspect about running that I complain about more than my lack of a running buddy. OK, that's not true. Some of my other complaints involve it being dark too early, me being too tired, too achy, it being too chilly... BUT! I do in fact complain a lot about having to run alone, which is why I'm so excited when I get to run with my friend Anjali or when I meet potential new running buddies like Kate over at SoCal Runner Gal. Because let's face it, it's BORING to run alone ALL the time.

Cue: Tanya Maslach, the San Diego-based entrepreneur and founder of GOTRIbal and ActiveBudz. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of getting to know her a bit and wow, is this a woman to admire. A marine biologist turned executive consultant turned entrepreneur, Tanya's list of accomplishments is dazzling and that's just her resume. She's also a fitness icon, having been a collegiate athlete and more recently, a kickass triathlete.

More importantly, GOTRIbal found a recent MIT study that showed that participants in online health communities are 166% more likely to change behavior when they receive reinforcement from multiple online health buddies. That's certainly true in my case: when I was training for my marathon, nothing motivated me more than seeing encouragement and accountability questions from my fellow runners on Twitter each day.

GOTRIbal has created their own amazing community for women who want an accountability group, a coach, or a long-distance training buddy. And the recently launched ActiveBudz app brings it local, matching you with workout buddies in your area who have the same goals, pace or interests as you do. I told Tanya that I thought a little Q+A was in order to help spread the word about the app, since I know it will benefit so many people just like me!

What was the inspiration behind ActiveBudz?
Tanya: I found it odd that as wildly connected to other active people as I was, and as my friends were, we were all still searching for someone "just right" to work out with: someone who shared our fitness level, our sport, and even our lifestyle habits! People would email and send messages to GOTRIbal looking for introductions to other coaches and training buddies, and then I'd hurry to find just the perfect connection for them -- no matter where in the country or world they needed it. 

Have you had any memorable workout partners who've inspired you?
T: It was really three women. They swam with me back in Hawaii, and each of them were accomplished long-distance triathletes. We had a blast in the pool, goofing off quite a bit. But when I wanted to hang out with them, they were always out on their bikes or running, too. (Or sleeping!) Despite my naivete they took me under their wing and showed me the ropes of multisport; inviting me on rides and helping me get signed up and ready for all my events, including finding me connections to people who had gear and equipment. It was always about the Connections to awesome people!

What is your favorite fitness event in San Diego?
T: I'm embarrassed to say I haven't done too many events here! I travel a lot so I can see family (while I race) and see a different part of the country. I did really enjoy the Carlsbad Tri though -- I did it with two girlfriends as a fun race, and I just smiled the entire time. It was so awesome. 

What words of advice do you have for women who are tackling a major goal like starting their own biz or running a tri (or learning to swim like me!)? 
T: If you have that flame lit within you, it's a testimony to your passion to do something new, bigger, better and more challenging. Don't let the little voice in your head that represents "safety" or "fear of failure" or "I'm not going to be good" stomp all over that flame. The key is to find people who share that flame and can help you fan it to be lit brighter and brighter. That's why there is ActiveBudz. I've learned that when I'm trying something new -- or even trying to get better at something I'm already pretty good at -- I reach out first to people who are a bit better and can help me know what I don't know. That personalized connection is so powerful, and so influential, it's the one thing that catapults me to keep doing what I think is hard, challenging or just plain "impossible".

What do you hope ActiveBudz will look like a year from now? 
T: I hope there are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have discovered fun, meaningful and positive relationships with active buds they were introduced to on the ActiveBudz app. That these new friendships result not only in people living more adventurous, active lifestyles, but that they recognize that through those new friendships, they've reversed the rate of obesity simply by making one powerful connection at a time.

Be sure to add me on ActiveBudz if you live in San Diego! Especially if you're training for a half, since I just signed up for my next one, the Women's Running Series in San Diego on Saturday, February 22nd!

I wanted so badly to do the Women's Running Series half last year in San Diego and had a scheduling conflict, so when they reached out to me this year, I couldn't say yes fast enough. I am SO excited about this race. It's close to my house, gorgeous and flat and a perfect race for February. And since you know I am looking for running buddies, if you want to do it too, I have a discount code for you!!

Register: http://womensrunning.competitor.com/san-diego/register 
$15 Off Promo Code: WHYIRUN2

Email me if you register and we'll meet up before or after the race! Happy Hump Day!

Knee High Boots and Hot Pants

On any given night you can find us down at Aero Club, which feels more like an extension of our living room than a local dive bar. In the corner by the back pool table, there's a little shelf with a lamp in the shape of a rocket on it and above it, a framed photograph of the picture you see here. I love staring at this photo and I've spent plenty of moscow mules doing just that. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's one of my favorite pictures ever, but I almost feel silly because I don't know why. If I had to put my finger on it though, I'd say it has something to do with her casual confidence and how happy and relaxed she looks. It's calming somehow and always makes me smile.

Mostly though, I want to know what happened to this girl and who she is today, if she's still alive. I would hope so. She's got to be about 20 in the picture, which is only from the '70s. A quick Google search yielded nothing and on a whim I emailed Southwest, the airline where she worked as a flight attendant, but I doubt they'll know/write back. Was she as happy as she looked? How long was she a flight attendant? Did she hate the uniform or rock it? Does it make her happy that the photo is as iconic as it is? She would be incredible to interview.

I think the reason I seek out interviews from people who inspire me in some way, is because it's the most interesting form of writing for me. I love the challenge of drawing out what makes that person unique, of allowing people who are idolized to become human, of making them think about themselves from a different perspective. It's funny because so little of the interview is "written" by me, just the questions, but research has to go into the questions to make them effective. Maybe it's the recruiter side of me influencing the writer side of me that makes so interested in the interview form or maybe the writer side of me is what made me a natural fit for the work I do. Whatever the case, to me, interviews are like a scavenger hunt for a person's truth and when I'm inspired by a person, there is nothing I'm more curious about than what that truth is.

Inspiration: Lindsay Perry

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You know that glow that emanates from the people who inspire you? The kind of people whose energy you just want to soak up and emulate yourself? Well, there's a recipe for that and it's been perfected: Mix one part bravery, one part perspective, a healthy dose of self-knowledge, a dash of adventure and whole lotta love and you get the Billabong surfer, musician, model, blogger and artist, Lindsay Perry.

Something I learned years ago is that it takes courage to be happy, especially when you start out in a dark place. That brand of courage is immediately recognizable once you're familiar with it and that's how I knew I liked Lindsay when I first came across her art and music. She is a good reminder for me and for anyone really, that you have to take the risk, that fun is the point, that love is practicing selflessness. Over a series of Instagram comments, emails and text messages, we completed the short interview below, where I think you'll get just a little glimpse of how inspirational she actually is...

...

Where you are right now?
This is where I'm sitting, responding to this. It's my boyfriend's parents' house [in New Jersey]. We're here for the summer. I just love this back porch. The whole house is the same vibe, like beachy eclectic. So epic!

Have you ever been to San Diego?
I actually live in San Diego about half of the year - I stay in Encinitas or Cardiff. Love, love, love it there! So many memories. Soooo many. I have a lot of great friends in SD. I think some of the best memories were in the beginning of this summer. My boyfriend is a professional snowboarder, so our schedules are a bit conflicting, as you can imagine. He takes the summer off, so we spent a lot of time in SD, before NJ, just surfing and relaxing... enjoying life!

Any favorite places to eat here? 
In Oceanside, I love Hillstreet Cafe, Swami's Cafe, and Cream of the Crop market. There is this sushi spot in Carlsbad off of Avenida Encinas next to Ralph's... Todo Sushi. So good! Beach City Smoothies... Tender Greens is good too.

When you're traveling, what's in your beauty bag?
Always hair oil! Moroccan is the best. Good face lotions. A travel face kit (Juice Beauty is epic and super affordable). Tinted moisturizer, concealer and blush. I actually probably carry too much. I'm a sucker for women's products.

And what's next on your travel bucket list? 
I want to go back to Europe and explore more there. My boyfriend and I are planning a trip for next month (September), before our schedules get crazy again. So I'm not sure just where we're going!!!

Do you have blogs that you read for inspiration? 
Hmm! That's a tricky one. For me, a lot of the inspiration I get is from imagery. My Billabong Team Manager, Megan Villa, runs a really rad blog (http://seagypsea.tumblr.com), and my best friend, Catherine Clark's is really inspirational too because she does a lot of Q&A stuff. Really inspiring to read her responses. (http://cateatscake.tumblr.com). Otherwise, probably Pinterest, design inspiration and fashion blogs.

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What inspires how you live your life?
It kind of varies day to day and situation to situation, for me. But I have my morals and principles that I live by. The thing that always keeps me motivated and on the right track, is losing my mother a few years back. She was an amazing and inspiring woman. She didn't get to do a lot of the things she would have liked to, so I try to live my life in a way that I can keep the flame alive for us both. My tattoos reflect that. The script on my side reads "Death is not the greatest loss in life, the greatest loss in life is what dies inside of us while we live." Life is too short to waste.

How did you overcome that? 
Losing my mother and stepsister in a car accident when I was 18, followed by my aunt being murdered five weeks later was kind of like the breaking point. My childhood wasn't remotely close to prosperous. It was a pretty weird struggle, especially for an American kid... mostly just not coming from money, and a lot of alcohol/physical abuse around my brother and I. I was adopted in 2001 at 13 and then moved out one month after I turned 16 and so that was kind of the start of my own journey. I wasn't able to come back, even if I failed, so I learned that it wasn't an option. I finished school, had a job, payed rent.
I would say the way to prevail through and triumph is just to find something that will drive and motivate you... a fire. Everything that I ever started, started because someone said that I couldn't or I wouldn't be good at it. I've always had an insane love for art, music, surfing and everything of creativity.

When did you learn to surf? 
One of the main reasons I wanted to be on my "own" [at 16] was because my parents didn't get surfing. I pretty much just became in love with the culture and what it meant. I couldn't even ride a wave, I just knew it's what I wanted to do. So I did it. The ocean is really magical. It's weird because my relationship with surfing is so much different now than it was when I was younger. Before it was more serious and, I don't know, just not as developed as it is now. Now I just think it's fun. The only reason anyone should start surfing, or anything, is to have FUN, and as soon as that stops happening, we should stop doing it.

Any advice for someone starting to learn in their 20s?
I'd say my advice would be to just go for it. Don't think about anything that puts boundaries or ties to what you think you should be like, or how it should look, or anything like that. Just have fun. Enjoy the time with your friends, laughing, catching a tan, falling, getting salt in your nose, cute surfer boys, road trips with your girlfriends to find waves... the whole experience.

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What is your favorite lyric that you've written and what's the inspiration behind it?
I have two. One was in response to someone that just wasn't getting the bigger picture.. about life or most anything I was trying to convey. It's also the header of my website:

it took a few years to be comfortable in my own skin and just like everyone else, I often struggle with it at times // so knowing my inner strength and worth, gives me the freedom to be who I am and realize I'm not always going to 'fit' everyone // but it's like music, or any type of art, if it makes you feel genuine and complete, it's always worth the risk

The second is about being genuinely happy for yourself and those around you.. Because that's what life is all about:

those who are truly joyous have no interest in one's shortcomings, insecurities, or turmoil // true joy does not thrive off of those things but is merely driven by the exploration of beauty, pureness and genuine happiness

If you could have one collaborator to work with on your music who would it be? 
Someone that would get my album done faster. Haha, this has been the most prolonged experience of my life. I feel like it's never coming.

The EP is tentatively titled L.O.V.E. What is your personal definition of love? 
I don't know if I've ever been asked that! Hmm. I think for me, love is just the most proper emotion. It's honest and genuine. It doesn't have to just be for companionship. Like, I love people that I've never even met. Reading these questions from you made me love you. I find things in people that I may not ever have face to face contact with. Love to me is sharing yourself with the world in the most pure and honest form. To give back something to someone that you may never hear a thank you from. To encourage and change. To just give yourself.

Is there one thing you wish someone would ask you so that you could have a chance to share the answer with the world? 
I'm pretty sure you nailed it. These have been the most insightful questions! Thanks for the opportunity to share innards with yah.

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Be sure to check Lindsay out on her blog, Lindsea, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more inspiration!