kj (00:02.117)
Hi everybody, this is Kelly Hart with Heart of the Matter. And today we have a wonderful, wonderful, dear friend of mine by the name of Tina B. She is my creator, my designer, my lady in the know. She makes all my merchandise. And you can find her at my website for Heart of the Matter. So Tina B, thank you for being with me today. You are my first official guest on the podcast of Heart of the Matter. Yay!

Tina (00:31.094)
Yay! Yay! Thank you for having me!

kj (00:33.49)
Oh, thanks for joining me. Thank you so much for opening up today, telling us a little bit about yourself and sharing your wonderful designs. Thank you for being with me.

Tina (00:44.214)
Very welcome. I love talking about myself, so it's easy. This is gonna be an easy day. Yeah.

kj (00:49.568)
Well, I love talking, so we're together. So tell us a little bit about yourself and how this whole journey of design started for you.

Tina (00:52.52)
Yes.

Tina (00:57.226)
Yeah, so I'm originally from New York and I grew up with very creative women and I have a grandmother who she bakes, she used to when she was a little bit more agile, she used to bake all of the kids cakes for every occasion, birthdays, communions, she did the fondant with a little people and a little like Bible on the cake. I mean, she would go,

so beyond anything you can imagine. And the cake inside was nothing like below the outside aesthetic. And I remember always going to her house and she would have the science book and we would do projects in it. And I would go downstairs to her sewing machine and she was also making bread at the same time. And she had the, the, the,

popcorn like manual thing going. And it was just like always so tactile. And on top of that, my mom herself, she went to college for photography and she had such beautiful portraits of my sister and I around the house. And I just always felt that flow of creativity, being hands-on with things and seeing the world through a certain lens. And that really...

kj (02:21.703)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (02:24.322)
from a young age got me to where I am now.

kj (02:29.037)
Oh, that's amazing. Well, I know I have appreciated all the mock-ups you've done for me and I can't wait for people to see them on the website. They're awesome and we'll kind of get into that a little bit as we go further, but first I want the audience to kind of learn a little bit about you and how amazing you are. So let's kind of delve into it a little bit. So why did you move from like the heart of fashion in New York, or I mean where everybody kind of goes.

Tina (02:37.661)
Mm-hmm.

kj (02:58.173)
into like get in design and modeling to North Carolina, which is where you're at right now.

Tina (03:04.546)
Hmm. So it's a really good question. Most people who go to school for fashion have their eye on New York City or Los Angeles or somewhere abroad. I myself grew up in New York, not the city, but an hour away from and I had been there many times before and though fashion was my it is my

kj (03:07.797)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (03:34.978)
big interest in life. Something about New York City just felt a little too crowded and as a kid it made me really anxious to be there and even though I have my mom who is such like a representation of that New Yorker who is like way too like

tunnel vision of herself to see anybody off to the side. And if you're walking too slow, why are you walking that slow move out of the way? Like, it's funny, I have that part of me, but I also have that timid, anxious part of me. And New York City always felt a little bit just like not what the heart of me was, even though it was the heart of fashion. And I've always been the person who, if somebody else is doing it, I'm gonna do it.

like as far away as the potential of me doing it as possible. I just, I don't want to do it until it's necessary. Cause I want to, I want to do my own thing. I might be stubborn. I think that's where it comes from. But I ended up going to school in Savannah, Georgia. And after college, because I reside in New York, it was very easy for.

companies to get in contact with me and say, hey, you're local, you're in fashion. What are you doing for your job? Can we interview you? And it ended up sucking me in. Pay is really good in New York. I had another position I was trying to go for in Florida, and then just didn't end up working out. And I...

kj (05:04.047)
Yes.

Tina (05:23.786)
went to New York City, I said, okay, I'll give it a try for right now. I know it's definitely what I wanted to avoid, but I did it. My conscious was right. I was not pleased by it. It personally wasn't for me. Other people sink right into it. And that's just, you know, differences in personalities and lifestyles. And I...

kj (05:31.642)
Mm-hmm.

kj (05:35.449)
Hmm.

Tina (05:52.074)
really wanted to be around a place that's less city and buildings and more greenery. And I was looking for new jobs and my friend who worked down here at the company I work at now, I saw that she had posted something on LinkedIn and I had just tried to apply to a job there. And so I said, hey, you're working here now. Do you mind just giving a nudge to someone that I just applied?

which I highly encourage anybody who has a person that can give you that edge. It's about the people, you know, so luckily my friend was able to, uh, nudge enough and I got my job down here and I moved here with no people that I really knew except for my friend and it was a risk and I'm really glad that I took it.

kj (06:47.153)
Well, awesome. That's a pretty tenacious spirit. Very much of a strong woman move. I really like that. So tell me what you love most about design and fashion. What's your, what's, like what's your heartbeat say about it?

Tina (06:57.812)
Yeah.

Tina (07:08.723)
When I was in school, we had both the technical side of fashion and the conceptual area of fashion and both are so different and so just extraordinary to whoever clicks with one or the other more. And for me...

I never ever was good at math until I got in front of a piece of pattern and a ruler and it was like nothing to me. It was so easy and it really clicked with me. And then the conceptual part of it, I feel like when I was younger, my imagination,

kj (07:44.957)
Thank you.

Tina (08:03.966)
was a lot stronger, which I know a lot of adults can relate to. And so I think younger me would have identified more with the conceptual part, but adult Tina, she is definitely more of just like an absorber of it. And I think it is so crazy amazing how certain concepts

can be translated into garments and they don't have to be like super wearable and they could be really wearable. And there's this huge spectrum of it and it is so incredible to see. And for me being super into the technical part of it, when I see certain things coming down the runway, it makes my brain go to places that I don't know, just like...

pickle my fancy spot. Like it just really makes me think in not like I'm hurting my brain, I'm tired now type of way. I love it. I just love that type of side. Yeah, so there's such a combination of things with fashion that I love and I could go on and on and on about it. But.

kj (09:13.027)
It's a cat.

Tina (09:26.506)
I just have an overall appreciation of it in general, especially for those who are also in it.

kj (09:33.329)
Well, I'm glad you've kind of found your passion in life so early. That's that's amazing. Good for you What do you think are the biggest challenges that you face as a young professional? And why do you think that you're facing them?

Tina (09:38.123)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (09:49.054)
I believe that a struggle as a young professional for me, I'm 26 years old, so I'm not the oldest or the most experienced in my field. I do think, though, multiple things, like one, everybody's got to have a college degree and many, many people are now...

striving for their their masters and graduate school and it's very competitive. So for me, I have my bachelor's. I'm not looking to have any more education. I am very at work. I put myself on a very like high pedestal in my head.

so that I can walk in and really dictate what my day and how my colleagues see me is like, because being young and being in the field, that's when you're new, you can be easily kind of just fading in the background or you could be not taken as seriously. It's tough when you aren't.

having such a, like an amount of years under your belt, especially with the coworkers that you have. And so for me, I just, I think of my mom being very independent. She raised me to be very independent and she raised me to take every opportunity and to not back down from things.

And it's scary because you don't want to, as a younger person, step on any toes or be too loud, make noise. It's intimidating. So it's a struggle of how do you appear like you know what you're doing while still trying to figure it out?

kj (12:08.337)
Right? And also kind of knowing your worth and asserting that while not offending somebody who's in a position of authority and kind of managing up. Yeah, I can understand that. It is a hard balancing act at times, isn't it? Gets a little overwhelming. Yeah. So what are some of the biggest life lessons you've learned both?

Tina (12:18.695)
Exactly.

Tina (12:30.26)
It definitely is.

kj (12:36.093)
personally and professionally in this journey.

Tina (12:39.962)
Oh gosh. Yeah. That's a big question. I

Tina (12:48.67)
I think some big life lessons are too...

Tina (12:54.978)
Give yourself grace. I know I have been very bad about that. I know you know that I've been very bad about that.

kj (13:04.634)
Grace is always important.

Tina (13:06.598)
It is and when you're trying so hard, I actually, I went to New York for Mother's Day this past weekend and we saw, God, are you there? It's me, Margaret. I think that's what it was called. And in the movie, I resonated with the girl so much, even though she was a young middle schooler and.

kj (13:13.764)
Yeah.

kj (13:22.737)
Yeah.

kj (13:32.474)
Mm.

Tina (13:34.326)
gosh, what's her name? Rachel McAdams was the mom in the movie. And at one point in the movie, she goes...

Tina (13:45.258)
it's not easy trying so hard all the time. And I was like, oof. Cause I feel like it's been, and it probably will continue to be an uphill battle of me trying to get recognition and still trying to stay humble and getting what I need, what I want, and earning my spot. And...

that's been a big struggle of mine, is to sit back and say, hey, breathe, give yourself grace.

You are having a hard day, you're having a hard week, you're having a hard month, you're having a hard year. Guess what? You're human and you're trying and that's all you need to do. You don't need to have someone award you a plaque because you're feeling that you can give yourself that plaque and say, hey, I love you. Thank you for pushing me to...

me talking to myself pushing me to...

fight for where I want to be and where I am today. So I think, yeah, the biggest struggle, a big struggle has been giving myself grace.

kj (15:12.793)
Yeah, and I think we do that a lot to ourselves, right? We box ourselves in and we hold ourselves to this incredibly high standard that like nobody else is doing, but for some reason, man, we're gonna nail ourselves to the cross. We can't do it.

Tina (15:27.447)
right.

Yeah, you can't be your own biggest enemy. That's exhausting.

kj (15:33.065)
No, it's so exhausting. It makes us so tired. I think we just can do the best that we can do. Yeah, yeah, I think that's insightful. Look at you growing up.

Tina (15:38.174)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (15:47.178)
And I feel like that can both relate to personal and work related. I've definitely had like not giving myself grace in both fields.

kj (15:57.193)
Yeah, I get that. I totally get that. Let's see. Do you... And my next question was, you know, what are some of the challenges that most young professionals, especially women face? You think that's similar for most women that are around your age that are in this kind of like ecosystem right now, not giving themselves grace?

Tina (16:20.306)
I definitely do think that 100%. I think women particularly have a really difficult time, first of all, accepting themselves, having the courage to be in a room with other people who may be above them or are male. It's sometimes intimidating.

Tina (16:50.062)
plenty of situations where they have been put down or they have been in a situation where

Tina (17:05.042)
it's made more difficult because they are female. And there's so many examples that I could say, but I'll hold back on that, but it is.

kj (17:19.653)
Don't hold back, girl. Don't hold back. You just let it rip if you would.

Tina (17:23.778)
I mean, it is intimidating.

kj (17:28.829)
Well, and I do think it's difficult because I believe women, you know, even though I think a lot of the The the roles are a little bit more neutral when I was your age Nobody needs to guess my age, but at any rate when I was your age, you know It was a little bit more defined but still I still think that there's this fallback that

women still have to raise children, women still have that primary responsibility. And it's difficult to say, well, what do I want? Do I want to go to school? Do I want a career? Do I want to have children? And the answer is yes. Like I want that all. Why can't I have it all? You know, and I think like your generation is now facing the question of I'm just going to have one of them.

Tina (18:15.904)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (18:24.115)
Mm-hmm.

kj (18:24.461)
without realizing you could have it all.

Tina (18:26.99)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think it's very...

Tina (18:34.858)
it's difficult for.

Tina (18:45.142)
I lost my train of thought.

kj (18:46.621)
That's okay. You can kind of think about it. You know, just thinking about these, these different roles and the expectations and how they're placed on us.

Tina (18:54.718)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. I also think it's easy for stereotypes to still be living. Like, if a woman has something that they wanna say, an opinion, and if they feel strongly about it, a lot of the times it's looked at differently if a man were to speak his opinion. And, what?

kj (19:03.973)
Okay.

kj (19:20.101)
Oh, you're being hysterical. You're being hysterical.

Tina (19:25.546)
Oh, you're just, you're having that time of the month. Oh, you're just, yeah. Women are so. Yeah. It's all that stuff. Yet, you know, if we think about to like,

kj (19:29.893)
You're too much. Calm down. You mean you can't handle it? Hehehehe

kj (19:43.569)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (19:48.118)
what is a maternity leave. That's a big problem in the US. I actually just was having a, not a conversation, we were in a meeting and she was speaking out loud, my boss, and she was saying that after two months of having her baby, she was expected to go back in and start working. And having a baby is one of...

kj (19:50.051)
Oh, yeah.

Tina (20:15.702)
the most intensive things your body can do. Not only that, it's your child you just pushed out of you. You would want to spend that time nurturing and having those months with your baby, year, whatever, how much time. I wouldn't know, I'm not a mom. I don't know how much time it takes, but my best friend, she recently had a baby. And yeah, there's no way like your body,

is just starting to get back to normal at two months, barely. It's crazy. There are so many different issues as to how things differentiate between women and men in the work field and how they're treated or how they need to deal with certain situations. And it's all complex and different.

kj (21:11.637)
It is, it is. And I think that we could have a whole panel on to talk about that and how hard it is to navigate. But yeah, you're absolutely right, absolutely right. And that kind of leads us in to where you kind of, I have a mental health question that's attached to that, but I had another question I wanna ask first. So just know the mental health question is attached to that question. But before I go there, I wanna ask.

Tina (21:16.755)
Oh yeah.

kj (21:39.513)
Where do you see yourself in like five to 10 years personally professionally either one of those who can kind of like caveat on that

Tina (21:47.53)
Um, I personally really want to find where my roots are. If they're going to be in North Carolina, I don't know. Right now I'm loving it, but I am not one to just stick somewhere because it's comfortable. I do want to explore. And the only way to know where you're supposed to be is if you try to be in different places.

kj (22:08.389)
Right.

Tina (22:16.706)
So five to 10 years, I think I would want to possibly be traveling. I really want to maybe live in Italy one day, just for like a small amount of time to experience a different way of living. Maybe I will love it and never come home to the States. Uh, my mother is.

kj (22:36.679)
Yeah.

Tina (22:43.522)
going to kill me when she hears that, but, or she'll just come on over. Um, but yeah, or you know, I might be like, Hey, this is not for me. I want to go back to America. I want to give myself the opportunity to be able to answer that question truthfully. And since my dad's from Italy, I can get my dual citizenship, which would be really great. And it gives me any

kj (22:48.093)
She may.

kj (22:55.037)
Thank you.

kj (23:02.557)
Bye.

kj (23:10.503)
Yeah.

Tina (23:12.654)
even bigger reason as to why I should go and try out life in a different place. But it's always what life is going to bring you. I realized you can make plans, but that man up there, he is the ultimate decision maker. You have no...

kj (23:34.478)
Mm-hmm. It's gonna do.

Tina (23:40.366)
rules as to how your life is gonna pan out. So there, I have hopes, but I hold them loosely because life changes. I think I'll still be in fashion, but I still have to, I've realized it's not a need. It's a, it's a, or sorry, it's not a want, it's a need. I need to have my own side outlet.

kj (24:03.729)
Yeah.

Tina (24:09.954)
which brings us back to, you know, me doing your merchandise for you, which was a great start, a power boost for me to realize I have opportunities to be doing stuff in my free time. Not that I have a lot of it, but if I wanna do something, I can make that free time. And you can, and I think this relates to...

kj (24:27.558)
Right.

kj (24:32.273)
That's exactly.

Tina (24:38.398)
all creatives out there working at a company. You can be working for a company and doing the design there, but you're still gonna have that need of fulfillment, self-fulfillment for your own projects, your own designs. And I want to have it as a side thing. I'm not pressuring myself to make it like a business, business where I don't need to work in, you know, corporate America anymore.

That'd be nice, but it's a lot of pressure and I don't feel that it's appropriate for me to put that on myself. If I can get that outlet with my little projects here and there, I'm happy to do that with just a relaxed time and me enjoying myself.

kj (25:26.521)
Yeah, I think that's awesome. And we all need that. We all need creative outlets that feed us, right? Give us something. So that kind of brings me to my next question because you know, I'm a clinician and I help people with their mental health. And that's one reason you decided to partner with me so I could kind of like give people merchandise that tie back to what I do. So you could support me with that.

Tina (25:30.222)
Thank you.

kj (25:52.965)
So I always like to ask people, what's your definition of mental wellness? What do you see mental wellness? Because I hate saying mental health because that seems like something's broken. So we talk about physical health and physical wellness. What do you think about, what's your definition of mental wellness? So, what's your definition of mental wellness? What's your definition of mental wellness?

Tina (26:01.793)
Okay.

Tina (26:13.278)
I think the definition of mental wellness is staying self-aware with your emotions and regulation. I think that the ability to, which is so hard, the ability to feel mentally foggy or depressed or distracted or...

any sort of emotion when you have another element that's pulling you this way, say it's work or a family member or something. I think being able to be aware of this coming first, because you always need to come first and work at the end of the day is work. You are you. And I think having the ability to be aware of

taking care of yourself is a huge success with mental wellness. I think that's the first big success that anybody could recognize in themselves. And I think that mental wellness is committing yourself to practicing, and that doesn't mean that you can't fail.

kj (27:22.239)
I agree.

Tina (27:42.262)
take care of myself when I needed to, but I knew in my head, oh, I shouldn't be laying on the couch just staring into space right now. Like, I should try and help myself get out of this. But I know in my head it's there and you're going to have times where you can help yourself get up or there's times you just need to sit in it and that's okay.

Tina (28:12.174)
that life doesn't revolve around anything so much that it stops you from being a healthy person inside.

kj (28:21.761)
Yeah. And so do you have any habits that you would share with others that might be listening that kind of keep you on the bubble, so to speak?

Tina (28:30.578)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I, for one, I have anxiety and I have ADHD. And so my head, sometimes it sounds like a radio that's constantly switching stations. Sometimes it's the bout of anxiety that appears out of nowhere. So for like my anxiety, sometimes I'll be in public.

kj (28:46.533)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (28:57.07)
And if I'm overwhelmed with too many things going on, like if I'm in Target, we've discussed this before, it's a very overwhelming place with sound, with people, with visuals and smells and everything. And when I find myself getting that out of anxiety, for me, what works is to

kj (29:07.357)
Really? Yes.

kj (29:18.383)
you

Tina (29:27.334)
stop rolling my cart or doing whatever and taking a breath and examining what is going on or more what is not going on. Like what is not bad in the moment and just remembering everything's okay, nothing bad is happening right now, you're safe, you can go to your car if you want, or you could just take a second and being your friend.

instead of being like, oh my god, why am I feeling this? Why am I feeling this way? What am I doing? That makes it worse for me at least. But really just seeing how you can talk to yourself in a kind way helps. And then also for like, in my ADHD, I was trying to fall asleep last night for instance. And I was having a hard time.

but I found kind of a hack with my ADHD that if I kind of just, if I, yes, yes, if I let the radio stations just go and I just, it's a changing tune and I just sink into it, I fall asleep better than I ever do instead of me trying to just like think.

kj (30:31.225)
You're shaker!

kj (30:52.157)
control the channel.

Tina (30:53.886)
Yeah, if I start to overthink stuff, I'll start to try to listen to my radio station and it'll tune everything out. So it's a pain when you're trying to work and concentrate. Good for sleep.

kj (31:10.213)
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, I like that. Very nice. Well, I wanna ask you, where can we go to find more about you and learn about your services?

Tina (31:13.771)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (31:24.382)
Mm-hmm. So on the Heart of the Matter website, I have my Instagram and my Etsy linked. Etsy is where you can shop your Kelly accessories, your Heart of the Matter, fun... What? Oh yeah! Oh yeah!

kj (31:42.253)
Everybody needs it. I said everybody needs them.

Tina (31:50.09)
And there I will be balancing your merchandise, any of my side pieces I put up there, just little tidbits. And we've got t-shirts, we've got sweatshirts, we've got bracelets. Yeah, we have good stuff. And my Instagram is ArdenVittoria. And it is...

kj (31:58.889)
Mm.

Tina (32:18.114)
the beginning of my design page, still to kind of roll out its red carpet, but we're getting started and things are happening. So, and my brand's name is a combination of the name that, one of the names my mom was thinking of giving me, Arden, and then the second one, Victoria, my grandpa's name is Vito, and my mom.

to do a clever way of naming me after my grandpa. So she was thinking of like Victoria, but minus the C and the, yeah. So I, it's very inspired. Yes.

kj (32:57.117)
That's cool. Yeah, I love that. That's really neat. Well, that's awesome. And we'll also put all of that information in the link too so people can find you if they didn't catch it while we're talking. So if you had the world attention for five minutes, what would you want to share with them? What would you want everybody to know? What's important to you, Tina?

Tina (33:09.822)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Tina (33:23.239)
Oh gosh.

Um.

Tina (33:31.154)
I think what is really important that everybody needs to know is that today is a day, tomorrow is a new one, and if you did something that has you really in a rut, as I've gone down

Tina (33:56.886)
we'll go back and think about a conversation I just had and think it over and over and over again. Realizing tomorrow's a new day, start over, don't think about the day before. You can always, always, always begin anew. And I think that that and that things happen for a reason and to just let go and...

It's a really difficult one though, because I know that a lot of people will go back and say, well, then why did wars happen? Why did my grandpa die? Or why did my brother die? And it's always a terrible thing. But I think as you go on in life,

you have to have something not good in your life to really enjoy the happiness. And like, I can't eat Taco Bell every day of my life, otherwise it wouldn't be my favorite fast food. So, but of course, you know, anything really, really tough in your life is going to take a really long time. And it's gonna be a lot of...

kj (35:02.934)
Thank you.

Tina (35:16.582)
mental struggle to get past but I think just having that thought of you know

This is, you know, something that happened. There is a reason. Do I agree with it? No, but. I'm sorry.

I think at least it brings me some peace and it's something I believe in. But it's not for everybody, but I agree with it.

kj (35:49.129)
I think that that's good and it's kind of a form of perspective. It's a nice way to reframe and I think it's a good way of understanding that, you know, this too will pass. Right? It's a good message to hear. I like it. So I wanted to ask you, we kind of talked about it a little bit in our little pre-chat.

Tina (35:53.803)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (36:15.147)
Mm-hmm.

kj (36:16.345)
Like what's your favorite failure? You kind of looked at me when we talked about this a little bit like, oh my gosh, are we really?

Tina (36:25.295)
Ehh! Carly, don't you know I don't think about failing?

kj (36:28.725)
I'm rolling in the failure over here. But yeah, yeah, that's what I do. I live in failure. But really, what is it? Can you think of anything that you're like, oh, I screwed that up? That wasn't so bad. Kind of taught me a lot.

Tina (36:31.052)
Oh yeah.

Tina (36:39.958)
Mm-hmm. Um.

Tina (36:50.826)
I've

Tina (36:56.386)
It's a hard question because I can think of little failures and then I can think of bigger failures. And I think that a bigger failure of mine...

kj (36:58.64)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (37:25.838)
I don't know, it's so hard because...

Tina (37:33.034)
Like as you get older, you realize the failures aren't really failures. They're more of growth points.

kj (37:38.833)
Yeah.

Tina (37:48.102)
I think of a failure of a big failure of mine or just a failure I should say.

Tina (38:09.938)
I think letting the voices of others kind of dictate who I was trying to be, especially during college, I think is where I realized it the most. I think a lot growing up because my mom was my best friend. She still is.

It's really hard to separate yourself out from you versus the person you're closest with. And a lot of the times it would have me knowing what I wanted and what I liked and then not doing it because it felt like. The other person that I was thinking of, whether it be a friend or the guy I liked or.

kj (38:40.442)
Right.

Tina (39:02.418)
a parent or you know goes on and on and on could be whoever wouldn't like that and they would choose the other thing and it would win. It would win all the time and my senior year we had our big

at like our fashion show and we had our thesis and it was your time to do what you wanted. And I'm never going to have an experience like that again where I can just have a year to create my own thing. But I got so in my head and it was a just year of fighting what I

kj (39:40.908)
Mm.

Tina (39:46.966)
should be doing versus what I want to be doing versus Does it actually what I should be doing if it's not what I want to do and I had like the biggest block in my head and Self-doubt was just everywhere and I think a lot of people can relate to that and they overcome it as they get older and start to release those

kj (40:12.733)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (40:13.806)
feelings and restrictions within them. But definitely just like altering myself in any way to be what anybody else might like better, it's a big failure to me and I'm glad I'm growing out of it.

kj (40:17.309)
Yeah.

kj (40:32.805)
So what have you learned to do instead?

Tina (40:36.222)
Um, I've learned that nothing is critical that you do. I mean, seriously, if I buy, if I wear an all black outfit versus so-and-so thinks that I should dress more girly and they like more girly thing and I, you know, I'm not doing anything that's gonna affect anybody in a hundred years from now. What?

kj (40:43.549)
Thank you.

kj (41:02.685)
First of all, I love all black, so you're getting my vote. That's all I wear. My husband tells me I'm completely European. I don't know. You can dip into the color palette. And I'm like, I will never. I will never. Although I did wear pink today, but black under pink.

Tina (41:05.046)
You too! I'm wearing a black.

Tina (41:12.71)
Yes. Um, yeah, it's a neutral palette.

kj (41:20.829)
I know, it's me, I can't help it, I'm with you girl. But yeah, but yeah.

Tina (41:22.882)
Yeah, yeah. It's like really it's not going to matter in a hundred years. It's not going to matter in a year. It's not going to matter in 10 minutes. It's what you want to do and just because somebody else doesn't like it. My rule is as long as you're not hurting anybody else by doing it, do it. And it's still hard for me to live by that rule but it's getting easier every day.

kj (41:35.505)
and whoop.

kj (41:44.986)
Yeah.

kj (41:50.122)
I'm sorry.

Tina (41:54.214)
It seriously is, yeah, the older I get, the more I realize that it's dumb to hold onto those things and worry so much, but we all do it.

kj (42:04.505)
We do all do it and I think it's good that you're finally starting to come to terms with it and let go of it a little bit. That's awesome. I hope other people can kind of see you and kind of emulate that a little bit. Well, awesome. So I want to ask you since we're kind of wrapping this up. Do you have any final thoughts? Do you have any final questions you want to shoot at me? Anything you want to share with our audience? Anything you want them to know before we go?

Tina (42:10.631)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (42:32.93)
Um, what I would want the audience to know is that taking care of themselves is the best thing you can ever do in your life. And that there is so much to try and to explore. And I highly encourage to do something you've never done before, even if you think it's dumb.

kickboxing this week. And it's not something I thought was dumb. It was just something I was intimidated by and I loved it. Do things that make you happy. Do things that you wanna explore. You never know when life is done. So do what you wanna do and do it now and have fun with it. Also, I wanted to say that

If anybody saw me a decade and a half ago, like they would never, ever, ever believe that I am who I am now. So I think it's super important, especially for people who have doubt within to just.

know that they have a little warrior inside of them and it's going to get bigger and pound that drum even more intense every day. And yeah, if you're going through something, I've gone through so much stuff and it's been really, really difficult and it's going to keep being that way. I'm not done with my challenges, but yeah, it's worth betting on yourself.

kj (44:22.381)
It is absolutely worth betting on yourself. Well, Tina, it has been a pleasure to introduce the world to a gym like you. Thank you. Thank you so much for partnering with me. Thank you for producing things that other people can hold on to. Before we go, I want just a brief little rundown of what...

Tina (44:32.866)
Thank you.

kj (44:48.837)
listeners and viewers can find on the website. Just a few of the things that you've created. If you could just tell us a little bit about them.

Tina (44:56.47)
Yep, so we've got Heart of the Matter t-shirts with the little HM emblem on the chest piece. We've got sweatshirts as well in a variety of colors. They're very, very, very nice quality. I did the research to pick out nice materials that feel good and feel like a t-shirt you want. So definitely.

kj (45:07.684)
Mm-hmm.

Tina (45:26.142)
If you want to represent Heart of the Matter, you've got your source. Also, we're coming out with what would Kelly do, WWKD bracelets. And I have an example of one. We did some different prototypes and variations that we thought of. And for right now, we're starting with

kj (45:37.533)
Mmm.

Tina (45:54.734)
elastic band and you've got your WWKD to remind you whenever you are having a bad day or you are contemplating what you need to do.

kj (46:09.433)
You just really remember. And what would Kelly do? What do you think? How she would say, get the hell up and quit acting stupid. That's what she would say.

Tina (46:11.198)
Yes. So what would Kelly do?

Tina (46:19.919)
EW!

Tina (46:23.122)
Oh yeah, but we are going to expand, you know, as time goes on, but those are our beginning products and really hope you guys enjoy. And thank you. Go check it out.

kj (46:37.675)
Yeah.

Yeah, please check it out and all the other wonderful creations that Tina has that she's created on the side for herself. And we really appreciate everybody who clicks, subscribes and purchases things for us. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Tina, for spending your time with us. We really appreciate it. Uh huh. Bye, everybody. Okay, now let me stop.

Tina (47:00.854)
Thank you so much, Kelly. Thanks, guys.