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#532 - Every Body Tri with Kate Watt Kuo — Inclusion, Representation & the Future of Triathlon
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In this week’s feature interview, we sit down with Kate Watt Kuo, founder of Every Body Tri, to explore how true inclusion, representation, and authentic storytelling are reshaping the future of endurance sports. We also cover upcoming Grit2Greatness events, including Velocity Live and our free March 24th hydration & nutrition webinar, plus a gritty Ask‑A‑Coach segment and a lighthearted round of “Every Body Cry.” Powered by our show sponsor Vespa Endurance and supported by our Ask‑A‑Coach sponsor.
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction to Episode 532
00:00:36
Rich
All right, and welcome episode 532 of the Grit to Greatness Endurance podcast. We are your hosts, coaches Rich Soares, April Spilde and Lauren Brown, and we are on a mission to help endurance athletes train smarter, race stronger, and build the grit it takes to achieve greatness.
00:00:55
Rich
Coach April, are you ready to get gritty?
00:00:58
April
I mean, I got my grit, get gritty green on. How can I not be? It's Friday. We're having a party up in here. We got Kate. I'm my good friend. I'm so stoked.
00:01:08
Rich
Coach Lauren, you ready to get inspired?
00:01:10
Lauren Brown
I absolutely am and no no pressure, but I'm like super excited to have a conversation with Kate and feel inspired and always happy to spend my Friday nights with you guys.
Meet Kate Kuo: Advocate for Inclusivity
00:01:22
Rich
Welcome, Kate, we're glad you're here. I'm gonna pitch to April here to lead you in, my friend.
00:01:27
April
Yes. So today we are talking about something that me matters deeply to me personally, but also to the future of endurance sports, true inclusion.
00:01:38
April
And we couldn't ask for a better guest to lead this conversation with us than Kate walk quo. She is the founder of the rapidly growing YouTube channel. Everybody try. Kate is an Athena triathlete and advocate for representation and a powerful storyteller who's helping athletes break free from perfectionism comparison. And the idea that triathlon has to have a certain look. So through her work and her collaboration with team Zoot, we're actually wearing Zoot get gear tonight in honor of her. She is pushing the sport toward a more inclusive future where all athletes feel welcome. So whether you're new to triathlon returning after a long break or questioning where you fit in, this episode is for you. Kate, welcome to the show. We're so happy to have you.
00:02:22
Kate Kuo
Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here. And yeah, I'm excited to get into it.
00:02:26
Lauren Brown
So before we jump into the conversation, we just have a couple of announcements that we'll
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
00:02:33
Lauren Brown
cover. So now all of our upcoming events can be found on our event calendar page. Our next event is Saturday, March 14th, Velocity Live with Coach Rich, PaceLine PowerUps.
00:02:51
Lauren Brown
Again, Velocity is live, so you can join for group rides every week with the Grit to Greatness coaches.
00:02:56
Kate Kuo
Thank
00:02:58
Lauren Brown
So grab a free two-week trial. It is $79 per month. Our Grit to Greatness premium and ambassadors 25% discount on Velocity.
00:03:11
Lauren Brown
This platform allows you to develop shifting, cadence, smoother pedal strokes and power control. We do have three live classes per week. So Saturdays at 8 a.m. Mountain Time, 90 minutes with Coach Rich, threshold short a little letter Threshold Endurance, Pedal Efficiency, Tuesdays at 6 a.m. Mountain Time.
00:03:31
Lauren Brown
see That is a 60-minute ride with me, Coach Lauren, which is triathlon-focused. And then Thursdays at 6 a.m. Mountain Time, a 60-minute ride with Coach April, mountain bike-focused. So you can join now. The link will be in the show notes. You can get access to three live classes per week. Again, $79 per month.
00:03:54
Lauren Brown
Grit to Greatness, ambassadors, premium athletes, chat with your coach so you can find out about the discounts. And hopefully we will see you guys there, grab a trial and come ride with us.
00:04:07
Rich
Come do some threshold, but but you know?
00:04:11
Lauren Brown
I was like, somewhere my tongue got tied in that. I don't know.
00:04:14
Rich
Hey, I think that's awesome.
00:04:15
Lauren Brown
That's
00:04:16
Rich
I actually want to name the next workout that because that's what you might be doing at the end of it.
00:04:22
Lauren Brown
how you'll feel.
00:04:23
Rich
I gotta tell you though, no, in all seriousness, honestly, i really do feel like some of the work that we're doing, we're really focusing on cadence and smooth pedal stroke and holding power.
00:04:34
Rich
it's just It starts to translate into a smooth pedal stroke that you start to notice when you're out there riding on the road.
00:04:39
April
Mm-hmm.
00:04:40
Rich
So come join us. We're gonna sharpen those skills up. And come join us on March 24th. We are hosting a free webinar. This is a really educational you know event.
00:04:52
Rich
One of the most underrated performance makers in endurance racing, hydration, and nutrition. You guys train, what, six, seven days a week. one to three four hours a day depending on you know what you got going on that's a big volume of training you might be doing that for months on end why do all of that work just to dork it with on race day by not getting your hydration and nutrition right we are going to take you through how to assess your hydration needs at different temperatures intensities
00:05:28
Rich
at different in different modalities on the on the bike and the run we're going to figure out and dial in your sodium concentration how to know how to get tested how to know how much sodium you're losing every hour when you're out there racing and training and we're also going to help you figure out what your plan needs to be and how to figure out your nutrition needs and what nutrition you know carbohy carbohydrate sources are gonna work best for you and how to you know just put it all together on race day so you have a risk free from a nutrition perspective, at least as close to zero as we can get, take the guesswork out of nutrition.
00:06:07
Rich
So join us, can't wait to see you there. There will be a link here in the show notes. Plus you can also go to the events page on our website at grit2greatnessendurance.com.
Kate Kuo's Journey into Triathlon
00:06:19
Rich
Now, the moment that you've all been waiting for, we are excited to do our feature interview with Kate Kuo. Kate is the founder of Everybody Try, a YouTube community built around celebrating athletes of all shapes, sizes, and abilities and journeys.
00:06:34
Rich
as the As an Athena athlete and an outspoken advocate for representation endurance sports, she encourages athletes to stop waiting for the perfect moment and instead take that brave first step.
00:06:46
Rich
Today we are going to dive into Kate's unexpected triathlon journey, why she created Everybody Try, her partnership with Team Zoot, how inclusive design and storytelling can change the sport, and what she wants every not-sure-I-fit-in athlete to hear today. cat Kate, welcome to the show. We're glad you're here. And I am going to turn it over to Coach April to...
00:07:10
Rich
I don't know.
00:07:10
April
Screw this up with our icebreaker.
00:07:11
Rich
Let us get to know you a little bit better. Yeah, let's go.
00:07:13
Rich
Yeah.
00:07:14
April
You know, when I worked with Kate on this a little bit, I, I sent her, Hey, we do this icebreaker.
00:07:21
April
Three truths and a lie.
00:07:23
Kate Kuo
Thank
00:07:24
April
Yeah. I totally botched that. It's, I know it's two truths now, but Kate came prepared. So we're going to play it as is.
00:07:30
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:07:32
April
So Kate, We love to get to know our guests a little bit before we just dive right into the the interview. We would love to hear from you three truths and a lie and myself, rich and Lauren are going to try guess the lie.
00:07:46
Kate Kuo
Well, it was hard to come up with this because not just because I had to add it in an extra truth, but also because April and I are good friends and I was worried that she would just know all of the things if I tried to sneak in a lie. So it was hard to come up with, but I've got them.
00:08:05
Kate Kuo
So here goes. I, number one, have two younger brothers. I have a love-hate relationship with riding my trainer I drink decaf coffee in the morning and I've never broken a bone.
00:08:20
Lauren Brown
Whoa.
00:08:22
Lauren Brown
What was the first one again? Okay.
00:08:24
Kate Kuo
I have two younger brothers.
00:08:27
Lauren Brown
Oh man. You made this really hard, Kate.
00:08:31
Kate Kuo
Well, there's a strategy for two for three truths that a lie.
00:08:31
Rich
did
00:08:34
Rich
did Did you say that you do drink decaf coffee only?
00:08:39
April
In the morning.
00:08:40
Rich
In the morning, okay.
00:08:44
Lauren Brown
I'm going to go with that you have two younger brothers is the lie.
00:08:51
Rich
Is the lie? Okay.
00:08:54
April
Rich is like, I don't know about that.
00:08:56
Rich
No way, man. Decaf. I don't know. i de I drink decaf in the morning. That is such a lie. There is no way.
00:09:03
April
I know her coffee machine too. She's got a She's got some good stuff i and she loves her coffee.
00:09:06
Rich
I'm just, yeah. I'm not. That's.
00:09:09
April
She stinks it out.
00:09:10
Rich
Yeah.
00:09:12
April
But I do remember, i do remember after the Boulder sunset try, I believe she had decaf. So I think that might be a truth here. I'm, the oh, look at that.
00:09:25
April
Poke her face. Oh my gosh. I think the lie is I've never broken a bone.
00:09:32
April
That's where I'm going. That's where I'm going. Kate?
00:09:35
Kate Kuo
Okay. The lie is I have three yeah or i have two younger brothers because I actually have three younger brothers.
00:09:42
April
So Lauren got it right.
00:09:43
Rich
Wow, you win.
00:09:44
April
Lauren got it right.
00:09:44
Rich
Yeah.
00:09:45
Kate Kuo
She did.
00:09:46
Lauren Brown
I got it right.
00:09:48
Lauren Brown
I was like, that seems like such a basic thing to say. So going to go with that.
00:09:53
Kate Kuo
It's funny because I chose that one because people, my youngest brother is nine years younger than me. And so people kind of just always forget about him. Like they always think I have two brothers.
00:10:08
April
You got us.
00:10:08
Rich
rely
00:10:14
Kate Kuo
Yeah, I just caffeine really upsets my stomach, but I like coffee and I like the ritual of it. And I like the taste and you do get some caffeine with decaf.
00:10:21
April
Mm-hmm.
00:10:22
Rich
I get you.
00:10:24
Rich
Yeah.
00:10:24
April
Yeah.
00:10:24
Kate Kuo
So, yeah.
00:10:25
Kate Kuo
Yeah.
00:10:25
Lauren Brown
Yeah. How funny.
00:10:27
April
I think I could drink it if it was with your fancy coffee machine.
00:10:27
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:10:29
April
and I think I could do it, but I'm not as cool as you.
00:10:31
Kate Kuo
Totally.
00:10:32
Lauren Brown
There's something nice about like rituals too, where it's just like the process of doing it.
00:10:38
April
Yes.
00:10:38
Rich
Yeah.
00:10:38
Kate Kuo
Totally.
00:10:40
April
Well, that was awesome, Kate.
00:10:40
Rich
That was awesome.
00:10:41
April
You got us. You got us, Lauren. Ding, ding, ding.
00:10:43
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:10:43
April
Way to go.
00:10:44
Kate Kuo
Yeah, impressive.
00:10:47
Lauren Brown
All right. Well, then I will kick us off.
00:10:51
Lauren Brown
We'll move into the the fun stuff. I mean, that was actually fun. So the whole thing is going to be fun today, you guys. So stick around. All right. But so here on a serious note, Kate, for our listeners who are possibly meeting you for the first time, can you share a little bit about your journey and how triathlon first entered your life?
00:11:11
Kate Kuo
Yes, absolutely. So growing up.
00:11:16
Rich
So sorry. So sorry. Please ignore my button pressing.
00:11:20
Lauren Brown
Very excited.
00:11:24
Kate Kuo
No, that's good. We can make mistakes on this podcast. I like that.
00:11:28
April
We are mistake heavy here. We love it.
00:11:34
Kate Kuo
so yeah, so my so how I got into triathlon, my mom actually did triathlons when I was young. And growing up, there was a triathlon that the start line was probably 50 yards per house.
00:11:47
Kate Kuo
And my mom used to set up her transition area in our driveway and not just my mom, but other people too. But she had her transition area on our porch and we used to sit on our porch and watch her come back from the swim and then come back from the bike.
00:12:01
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:12:03
Kate Kuo
And then we would walk down to the boardwalk and watch her do the end of the run. And i think that was amazing. how I learned what triathlon was. And was just a local FDNY triathlon that they would do every year. And yeah, she, I don't know if she ever did. I think it was a sprint distance triathlon. And she,
00:12:26
Kate Kuo
inspired me to want to do one one day. and then i got a little older and my brother, one of my brothers did a triathlon and I went and spectated it. Him and my mom did one together. and i thought I'm going to do this someday. and then when I graduated law school and I was studying for the bar, I thought, this is a great time to study, to train for a triathlon while I'm studying for the bar. And actually it was a great time because it held me accountable to something outside of just studying and it gave me something else to look forward to. And it meant that I had some balance.
00:13:07
Kate Kuo
And I, Think about that time a lot, actually, because when you're studying for the bar, they tell you as long as you do 80% of the course, you'll be okay. And the the bar course. And I feel like...
00:13:23
Kate Kuo
there's a, there's kind of that mentality with training too sometimes, right? If you, you can have some balance, you can miss some sessions, you know, you want to aim for doing about 80% of your training. I think, you know, training peaks is set up that way, right? Like the, the workout turns green if you do 80% of it. So I think about that time a lot. but yeah, that was, and then that was my first sprint distance triathlon and I was kind of hooked after that.
00:13:49
Lauren Brown
Very cool.
00:13:49
Rich
Love that. So what does hooked mean? Like, did you like start, yeah did you do like five more that season or, you know, what, what, what, what was the, what was the traction like?
00:14:01
Kate Kuo
Yeah, no, I feel like the traction was a lot slower than that. i The first sprint distance triathlon I did was at the end of the season here in Colorado. So it was, I think, the end of September.
00:14:15
Rich
Oh yeah.
00:14:15
Kate Kuo
And so, yeah, it's at the end of September. and I just was like, oh, I want to do one of these next year. So I did one the following year. and then i think at the time... i don't I think I sort of had a pipe dream that maybe I could do something longer distance, but that didn't quite feel real or tangible to me. It was hard to imagine that kind of training or that that level of training, I guess. And then COVID hit and I...
00:14:45
Kate Kuo
Kind of was, you know, my actually, my husband, I met my husband, my now husband, and he introduced me to blogs on YouTube. And i didn't really know that that was a thing before I met him.
00:14:53
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:14:56
Kate Kuo
i mean, i I had used YouTube, but like in college to listen to music that I wanted to listen to or like watch music videos. I didn't really know the blog side of YouTube. And he introduced me to that because he was really interested in watching van life, YouTube and live aboard sailing, YouTube.
00:15:14
Kate Kuo
And then I thought, well, there's got to be a triathlon YouTube on here. And sure enough, there was. And that was how i started getting more interested in longer distance triathlon.
00:15:28
Rich
Interesting. So here you are on your journey. Now you you're you're becoming a consumer of triathlon content. At what point did you realize that you had content to share and a message to share of your own?
Creating Inclusive Triathlon Content
00:15:43
Kate Kuo
Yeah, I think I was consuming a lot of YouTube blogs and content and i was seeking out triathlon content and I was feeling really inspired by the content I was seeing, but I was mostly finding professional triathletes posting their journey on YouTube or really fast age groupers. And i feel like Body positivity was a big thing at that time.
00:16:09
April
Bye.
00:16:10
Kate Kuo
and I just was surprised that there weren't more plus size triathletes or athletes, I guess, in general, sharing their journey on YouTube.
00:16:21
Kate Kuo
And i don't know, I just so kind of started to think, could I... do that. Could i put myself out there in that way? And that felt really big and scary. I've never thought of myself as a creative person. So that seemed like a really foreign idea. i didn't have any experience really with filming or photography or editing or any of that. But I was really interested in consuming YouTube. And I thought,
00:16:52
Kate Kuo
A lot of people who have become successful on YouTube just sort of figured it out. Like they're they're not, they didn't go to school for this. They just sort of picked it up. And aye feel like maybe I could pick it up too.
00:17:05
April
And boy, you did.
00:17:06
Rich
That's awesome.
00:17:06
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:17:07
Rich
Yeah. Did you?
00:17:09
April
And one of one of the things that, you know, that's how I met you, Kate, was finding you on YouTube.
00:17:09
Kate Kuo
And I did.
00:17:15
April
And when we originally started this podcast, I reached out to you and it was it was such a
00:17:25
April
an amazing moment for me too, because you know, with my own struggles with body image, it was such a breath of fresh air to have someone advocating in this way. And the name of your, your YouTube channel, everybody try immediately captured my attention. And I i know after talking with you and and following your journey, there's other people that feel the same way, but I want to hear from you. What does everybody try mean to you?
00:17:57
Kate Kuo
Yeah, I think that, you know, when I started my channel, I really thought hard about what did I want to call it? Did I want to just put my name? Did I want to come up with a creative name?
00:18:09
Kate Kuo
And how did I want to talk about the channel? And to me, I felt like... Bodies change and that's normal. Through the course of a person's lifetime, bodies will change for various reasons.
00:18:23
Kate Kuo
And i didn't want to be tied to, i didn't want to make it like plus size triathlete necessarily or Athena triathlete because not I felt like I wanted the message to be more broad than that and not attached to my body size, if that makes sense.
00:18:40
April
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:18:41
Kate Kuo
I wanted it to be more open to interpretation for myself and for other people as well that, you know, your body can change. And and that's not the point of the channel is not,
00:18:52
April
Mm-hmm.
00:18:54
Kate Kuo
That body should never change or can never change, but just that no matter what size you are, you can start today. And, you know, whether you want to change your body or you don't want to change your body, that there can be a place for you and triathlon. And so that...
00:19:11
Kate Kuo
name just kind of came to me one day and I texted it to one of my friends, whose name is also Kate. And I said, you know, what do you, what do you think about this? And she said, oh my gosh, I have chills. Like you, you have to do it. That's the, that's a great name. so I went with that and yeah, and I love that it can be versatile and it can be open to interpretation.
00:19:34
April
Yeah, it it appeals to everybody, honestly. And that's the thing about the message here that that resonates is that triathlon isn't just for the elites. It's not just for the top age groupers. It's it literally is anyone who wants to start on a growth journey on a new adventure on something they find fun.
00:19:54
April
And it should be that it should be accessible to everybody.
00:19:58
Kate Kuo
Absolutely.
00:19:58
Lauren Brown
I love the message. And it's funny. So when I first started doing triathlon, I was like, my background before being in triathlon was more like the the bodybuilding space. And I'm really short, so you can't tell on Zoom, but I'm five feet tall.
00:20:12
Lauren Brown
And I used to joke around that there should be, aside from like the Athena category, there should be like a peanut category. So because I've got like short legs, short arms, so it's like a little bit harder for me to move.
00:20:22
Kate Kuo
right
00:20:24
Lauren Brown
And I would sometimes feel out of place because I was like, when I first started, i was a little bit more muscular than I am now. And I felt like i I did not in my mind, I was like, I look nothing like a triathlete. I'm short and stocky and nothing like anybody here that's racing. So I love that you point out that it's not just if you're Athena or if you feel like you're not though the right weight or whatever for a triathlon. It's like, I speak to so many athletes who,
00:20:53
Lauren Brown
don't feel included because of beyond weight, but it could be because of gender or or because of race and all of these things that can impact feeling inclusive. So i just wanna to say like, thank you for for saying that and for for doing what you're doing. And also like kind of going back to how you created this space, you created this platform.
00:21:18
Lauren Brown
What challenges did you experience that made you want to change the conversation?
00:21:24
Kate Kuo
Yeah, I think that it's interesting because i feel like there definitely are challenges with inclusivity in triathlon. But also, i really felt like a lot of the challenges were things I was feeling internally. And i feel like I said this to April before, but I had this epiphany, you know, weighed have weighed more than I weigh now, and I have weighed less than I weigh now.
00:21:55
Kate Kuo
But no matter what weight I have been showing up to a triathlon, I have always felt that sense of I don't look like a triathlete. And I've spoken to so many other people, especially women who are of all different body shapes and sizes who feel that way, right? They just feel like I have a certain image in my mind of what a triathlete looks like. And i don't fit that mold.
00:22:22
Kate Kuo
And I think it's really hard to show up, especially to your first race ever.
00:22:27
April
Mm-hmm.
00:22:27
Kate Kuo
And, you know, you you don't know what to expect. And I felt like when I first showed up showed up to my first race, that sprint distance triathlon, was so all consumed by my fear around feeling like I wasn't going to fit in.
00:22:45
Kate Kuo
And honestly, that was the thing I was most scared of showing up was not, I didn't train enough or I don't feel prepared for this, but people are going to look at me and think that I don't belong here.
00:22:58
Kate Kuo
And at the time i was pretty straight sized if we want to call it that, but I just still felt like I'm not super thin.
00:23:57
Kate Kuo
There is a place in triathlon for people at every size and ability and pace. And it doesn't have to be all about being fast and an elite athlete.
00:24:10
Rich
So Kate, in every interview, there's somebody who takes us off script. Guess who's that's going to be? It's gonna be me. So, you know, one of the things that troubles me when we put labels on things.
00:24:23
Rich
And I've always been troubled by the fact that there is a special category for Athena and for Clydesdale. They don't make a, I mean, there's some people that show up to races and like their, their fear is I'm poor. I don't have the equipment that, you know i can't afford the equipment that the fancy people can afford. You know, they don't have a special category, you know, you know, the poor kids.
00:24:46
Rich
Does that label trouble you at all? And, And and have you ever looked at it you guys ever looked at the definition of Athena?
00:24:55
Kate Kuo
That's where I was going to take my answer in this.
00:24:55
Rich
You know, it it's powerful. Yeah, please.
00:24:59
Kate Kuo
Yeah. Getting controversial. No, you know, I don't, I wouldn't say that it troubles me. I feel like it you know, I think it's a recognition that it takes more energy to move more mass, right?
00:25:13
Kate Kuo
That's what people say about those categories.
00:25:14
Rich
Okay.
00:25:22
April
Mm-hmm.
00:25:36
Kate Kuo
I think for the women, it's 165, 165 pounds. And for the men, I think it's two hundred and twenty pounds I think that there are there are people on one side who say those, you know,
00:25:52
Kate Kuo
those thresholds make sense. and you know, Athena and Clydesdale are not the quote unquote fat categories. They're just this recognition that it takes more energy to move more mass. And, you know, I don't know how those numbers came to be. i feel like i've I've kind of tried to look into it. I don't feel like I've found a a good answer to that. But,
00:26:17
Kate Kuo
To me, i do think it's a little odd because 165, I mean, for a woman, especially if, if the woman is tall, that's a very low number to, to me.
00:26:34
April
Mm-hmm.
00:26:34
Kate Kuo
and I think that, you know, all is fair in terms of if you qualify, you qualify.
00:26:39
Kate Kuo
So in terms of like someone racing, i i think the sometimes there gets to be controversy. People will say like, oh, there's like what looks like a straight size woman, like podiuming in this category.
00:27:01
Kate Kuo
But I do think that the the numbers are interesting to me, I guess, is is what I would say. And so i think what I like about the Athena category, and I can speak to Athena more than Clydesdale because I'm part of that community, is that I do think there's a community aspect. And I do think that it's sort of like...
00:27:24
Kate Kuo
in a sense, what I'm trying to do with everybody try at races, right? I mean, the first race that i showed up to, I slotted myself in the Athena category, I believe.
00:27:35
Kate Kuo
And, you know, someone came up to me and made conversation and, oh there's, there's a whole Athena community here. And we have this Facebook group and you should join.
00:27:45
Kate Kuo
And, you know, and I think that, There is a it does create a space for people who feel like maybe they don't belong in the greater triathlon community.
00:27:53
Lauren Brown
Okay.
00:27:53
Kate Kuo
Now we can connect with one another and have, you know, similar concerns and similar stories or, issues that face, you know, Athena's different triathletes. So I think the community aspect is positive and is good, but, I do find the, the threshold weights controversial, controversial. And, I don't know if they're linked to BMI, uh, but I would find that controversial if that were the case as well. so Yeah.
00:28:24
Rich
So you mentioned community.
Impact and Apparel Innovations
00:28:26
Rich
What surprised you most about the community that's built around, that's come you know built around everybody try?
00:28:32
Kate Kuo
Yeah, I think just how many people, have mostly women, but men too, have reached out and said, you know, i I never thought this was possible for me. i thought I had to lose weight before I could do triathlon or I always wanted to do a marathon, but I thought it wasn't for me. i think that When you're putting blogs out into the world on YouTube, it sounds silly, but it's easy to forget that there are people on the other side of that consuming that. And I sometimes forget until someone reaches out and says, like, you've inspired me so much or, you know, until I miss posting a week and people are reaching out like,
00:29:15
Kate Kuo
you know, i miss I miss seeing you this week. Hope you're okay. And then i'm think, oh gosh, like people really enjoy watching these. And it, that is like, I'm still, catching up to that mindset of remembering that people are enjoying watching this and I guess they are getting something from it and, like it's, it's helping them feel like maybe they could do this too.
00:29:41
April
I don't know if y'all know this, but Kate is prepping for her first Ironman, Ironman California. And i can definitely say I'm in the camp of watching and waiting every week to see how she's doing in her progress and cheering her on. And it's just been wonderful to see you blossom in this way, your own journey. And we get to be a part of that.
00:30:02
April
I want to bring it back here to team Zoot. One of the great things that you've done and accomplished in this community is creating more inclusive triathlon apparel.
00:30:12
April
Can you talk us talk through this and how this happened?
00:30:16
Kate Kuo
Yeah, sure. So couple years ago, I was at my local pool in Denver and I met two women who were training for triathlon. I think I had a that triathlon life water bottle and one of them recognized it and it's like, oh my gosh, you're a triathlete. I'm a triathlete too. And I love, you know, their blogs and i like to follow along with that triathlon life. And we just started talking and turns out they were on team zoot. And they, we became friends, my friend, Amy, my friends, Amy and Meg, who also have featured on the channel quite a bit and who I train with a lot. And, you know, they were like, we know we're on this team, you should join. And I looked into it. And one of the only really requirements that Zoot has for being on their team is that you wear their kit racing. And,
00:31:10
Kate Kuo
At the time, i didn't fit into any of their kits. So they do have sizing up to an XXL, but the sizing is and not regular. don't know how to put that. The sizing is not usual, what you would normally see, right? So an XXL in clo regular clothing, street clothing, or workout clothing would normally fit me or even an XL, but there's...
00:31:38
Kate Kuo
is a little smaller then than what you might normally see. And so I was like, you know, unfortunately, I i just couldn't wear one of their suits. And so I can't fit this really one major requirement to be on the team. And so my friend Amy, who is just like not someone to take no for an answer, and I love her for that, she reached out to the to the head of Zoot, I think, there's a couple people at Zoot, and said, you know, I have this friend We'd love for her to join the team.
00:32:06
Kate Kuo
This is why she can't. And Zoot really had an incredible response. And they said, you know, we actually have been wanting to work on this for years, but we really need someone to be what they call a fit model.
00:32:06
Lauren Brown
Thank
00:32:21
Kate Kuo
So i they had me send in their measure my measurements. And then based off my measurements, they created and scaled a what they call their Athena sizing. And so it's separate from their regular sizing because they basically said, you know look, some people have been wearing zoot for many, many, many years. And they know that in zoot apparel, they are a size medium or a size large. And we don't want to mess with that. And we don't want to you know throw people off in terms of what they know is their size. And so instead, they created this sort of like Athena sizing line, similar to what Blue 70 did with their wetsuits, where they created an Athena wetsuit. And so
00:33:04
Kate Kuo
Yeah, they created this. I'm the Athena medium. This is based off my measurements or what my measurements were a couple years ago. And then they scaled up and down for an Athena small and an Athena large. And they started offering it just in the team suit for the first year. And then that, you know, went well. And then they expanded that. And now they offer it in some of their kits that they sell to the public. And then just this past year, they've expanded that to running shorts and there's a running top and a tank that are offered in the Athena sizing as well. So yeah, I help, um, help,
00:33:47
Kate Kuo
model those suits. So whenever they offer a suit in the Athena sizing, I, we do a photo shoot, Amy takes the photos, and we do a little photo shoot and then send them the photos. And those are the photos that they use on their website to advertise the Athena sizing kits.
00:34:05
Lauren Brown
What an amazing like ripple effect that that one conversation had to get this community to where it's at. And i I mean, kudos to you.
00:34:15
Lauren Brown
I hope that you take time to be like, I mean, maybe you don't want to take all the credit, but be like, I did this, like you created this wave that happened and looking back and looking at where we're at right now, it's like the community as a whole triathlon is
00:34:21
April
Mm-hmm.
00:34:31
Lauren Brown
doing some things well, right with inclusivity. And again, I go back to it's not just inclusivity with Athena and Clydesdale, it's inclusivity as a whole with the entire community. So if you're like from your perspective, what are things that we're doing well, but even more so where do you see opportunity for work to still be done in that regard?
00:34:57
Kate Kuo
Yeah, I mean, and I think, you know, in terms of the the sizing or the the apparel, I guess, side of things, I do think, you know, other teams and other brands are starting to offer sizing, bigger sizing and and different sizing. And I think that's all really positive. I think that's all really important. You know, I think in terms of where we could be better, i definitely think that triathlon and especially triathlon,
00:35:25
Kate Kuo
when we're talking about Ironman branded triathlon and people who compete in half and full distance Ironman, there is definitely, I think, a sense of being like everything being really hardcore.
00:35:39
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:35:40
Kate Kuo
And, and,
00:35:41
Kate Kuo
and like it has to be your whole life kind of. And i follow this other creator. She thinks she's mostly on Instagram. I think her handle is try off Elise. Her, her first name is Elise. And, you know, she, she,
00:35:57
Kate Kuo
works a full-time corporate job and she, iy you know, did a full distance Ironman last year and she's training for adventure long distance race, Swiss man this year. And she talks a lot about, you know, she travels a lot for work and she misses a lot of her training sessions and she gets sometimes, I guess, hate comments, we'll call them of people kind of like, you know, you're not dedicated enough.
00:36:25
Kate Kuo
to your training And her and I have talked about this in direct message, but also she's talked about it on her platform, just, you know, that she is trying to show thought you can be a triathlete without it being your whole life and without being an amateur who trains like a pro. And I think that that's one area where triathlon could do a better job. And I think it's just like more the the community, right? Like no one in particular, but just as a sport, we could do a better job of being more open to people who just want to dabble or who love triathlon, but they have other commitments and they have families and they have jobs and like not everyone. i think it's great to be passionate about something. I think, there's part of all of us or most of us who wishes that we could train like pros sometimes. I mean, I certainly like some someday I love my day job, but some days I feel like, man, I just wish I could train for triathlon all the time and have that be my whole life. Right. But I think having, you know, that other perspective of like, it doesn't have to be so intense all the time.
00:37:33
Kate Kuo
i think that we could do a better job opening up that aspect of the conversation too. Because I, you know, i and I think pace kind of goes along with that, right?
00:37:45
Kate Kuo
And how slow or fast people are. I think there are some people who are like, well, if you're not trying to podium, if you're not trying to get as fast as you possibly can be, what are you even doing in this sport? And it's like, you know, some people just love swim, bike, run, and they want to do it.
00:37:58
Kate Kuo
And it doesn't matter to them how fast or slow they're going. And that's okay. Like, I don't know i don't know why we wouldn't welcome that as part of the sport too.
00:38:03
Lauren Brown
Amen.
00:38:08
Rich
Yeah, that's awesome. All right. Well, listen, you know, there are people who are listening to this podcast, they're sitting on the sideline watching all this happen.
00:38:19
Rich
They're waiting to know when they're ready. What would you tell those folks?
Advice for Aspiring Triathletes
00:38:24
Kate Kuo
I think that I would say you never really feel ready. And I think that's cliche, but it's true. I think it's especially true about triathlon.
00:38:36
Kate Kuo
I think it's always going to feel kind of overwhelming. You're always going to feel like you could have trained more or you could be fitter. But i I like to say like, I think it's important to be a little bit delusional about what you can do and a little bit delusional about your goals. and And who cares if you if you fail, right? I mean... I think for me, it's like, I put myself out there a little bit more than most people. Because if I fail, right, if I don't achieve, you know, finishing the Siren Man, for example, like other people are going to know about that. But I think that that's a price I'm willing to pay because I think
00:39:16
Kate Kuo
even that is an interesting story in and of itself. And I think that I'm, I am a perfectionist. I'd like to think of myself as a perfectionist in recovery, because I am trying to recover from being a perfectionist. But, you know, of course, I don't want to fail. And I don't want to fail publicly. But I am trying to appreciate what failure teaches you and what it brings. And my coach always says, you know, failure is not, you didn't succeed. It's that you stopped. It's when you stop trying. And so I really try to lean into that. And so I would say, be a little bit delusional, go sign up, start training and you could do it.
00:39:59
April
I love that Kate.
00:39:59
Rich
Love that. Thank you.
00:40:01
April
yeah That's really good advice. not to be delusional and everything, but you can be Delulu and triathlon.
00:40:10
Rich
lulu
00:40:12
April
Delulu got the Gen Z.
00:40:12
Kate Kuo
Yeah, let's not take it too far.
00:40:13
April
Yeah. No, I love that. I think, is some incredible advice, especially when we can make every excuse not to do it, not to start because we're not here. We don't have this. We, don't know this. We don't have this friend. i think just taking the plunge literally in metaphor metaphorically here is so important for, for our audience to hear, because there might be someone that's just been sitting on the fence for a while. And this prompted them to start. And I think that's, that is the true beauty of triathlon is that it's not about getting it right out the gate. It's about learning and growing and becoming better and, and better doesn't mean faster.
00:40:59
April
better means here, right in your heart and what, uh, what the experience is for you. So Kate, you shared such a beautiful message today and I really appreciate it. And I can't wait to jump in with you on this next segment because we're going to do a total one 80.
00:41:16
April
So I thought of you today, I usually write these segments and i have a lot of fun with them. And I was like, you know what? I think Kate's going to enjoy this. I hope anyway, but we are, it is now time for our favorite part of the show are totally unserious, highly scientific segment. That's inspired by NPRs, not my job, but this time we're going with Kate's version. So you founded everybody try.
00:41:46
April
we decided to put a slightly emotional twist on things. Tonight's game is called everybody cry
00:41:54
Kate Kuo
gosh Oh
00:41:55
April
That's right. That's right. Triathletes are tough, but we all have those moments when something unexpectedly hits us right in the feels.
00:42:03
Lauren Brown
Bye.
00:42:04
April
Kate, we're going to run through a few categories and we're going to all share in this emotional journey. Okay. It's not just you. So we got backup, but I'm going to ask you,
00:42:14
Kate Kuo
Okay, I'm an empathetic crier just to let you know, so.
00:42:19
April
That's perfect. So you just have to tell us what has made you cry in each one. so I'm going to give a category and then you tell us what, uh, what's made you cry. So there's no judgment. This is a safe space.
00:42:31
April
Although depending on your answers, we may judge you just a tiny bit. Is everybody ready?
00:42:36
Kate Kuo
Fair enough.
00:42:39
Rich
Ready as I can't be.
00:42:39
April
Okay.
00:42:39
Kate Kuo
Ready.
00:42:40
April
Yes. Here we go Question number one, what movie has made you cry the hardest?
00:42:48
Kate Kuo
I feel like not to be cliche, but the notebook gets me every time.
00:42:53
Lauren Brown
Oh, that was a good one.
00:42:54
April
It's rough.
00:42:55
Lauren Brown
Good one.
00:42:56
April
Mine is steel magnolias
00:42:58
Kate Kuo
Oh, yes, absolutely.
00:42:59
Lauren Brown
Another good one. oh,
00:43:01
April
blasted me. I could not, I had to take days to recover from that one.
00:43:06
Lauren Brown
Oh yeah. Mine is that the Family Stone.
00:43:11
April
Oh, that's a good one too.
00:43:11
Kate Kuo
Oh.
00:43:12
April
Lauren,
00:43:13
Rich
Oh, I've seen that one. i haven't, i gotta, i gotta do some movie watching.
00:43:15
Lauren Brown
watch it every Christmas and it's just for like...
00:43:15
April
you got to watch steel magnolias. Dang it. You got to watch it.
00:43:20
Rich
Mine's ghost.
00:43:21
April
Oh,
00:43:21
Lauren Brown
Oh my God, these are four really great ones.
00:43:24
Kate Kuo
yeah
00:43:24
Lauren Brown
That's such a good one too.
00:43:27
April
I love it. love it. Okay. What song instantly hits you in the emotions every time you hear it?
00:43:35
Kate Kuo
my, my husband and i always say that our song that reminds us of our wedding and honeymoon is the otter by camp. And he always puts that on whenever I'm having a bad day, it makes me feel better.
00:43:44
April
Oh.
00:43:48
Kate Kuo
So kind of like and a, better emotional spin. I'm not crying, but I'm happier after I hear it.
00:43:52
April
That's beautiful.
00:43:53
Lauren Brown
love that
00:43:53
April
That's beautiful.
00:43:55
Lauren Brown
I struggled on this one. I was like, I don't know. What the heck is Sarah McLachlan's song when there's the animal rescues on the TV?
00:44:03
Kate Kuo
In arms of an angel.
00:44:04
Lauren Brown
I was like, that was the only thing I could think of that would bring
00:44:04
Rich
Oh yeah. yeah
00:44:04
April
In the arms of an angel, angel.
00:44:06
Rich
Oh yeah. That's a good one. I didn't see that coming.
00:44:08
April
hu Rich.
00:44:12
Rich
Mine is Heart of the Matter by Don Henley.
00:44:16
April
Ooh. Rich, I don't think I know that one. I'm going to play it.
00:44:20
Rich
There you go.
00:44:20
April
I'm going to play it.
00:44:21
Kate Kuo
That's a good one.
00:44:21
April
Yeah.
00:44:22
Kate Kuo
The other one I was thinking of is, I don't know. i don't know if this is more of an East Coast thing, but growing up, there was always a song around on on around Christmas time about a little boy who like comes into a store to buy shoes for his dying mother.
00:44:34
April
Christmas shoes.
00:44:34
Kate Kuo
Such a sad song. So sad.
00:44:39
Rich
What?
00:44:39
April
That's terrible. Yeah.
00:44:41
Kate Kuo
so sad.
00:44:41
April
Terribly sad.
00:44:42
Kate Kuo
And there's like children singing in the background.
00:44:42
April
want to buy these shoes. Yeah.
00:44:45
Kate Kuo
God, it's so sad.
00:44:46
Lauren Brown
Oh my god.
00:44:48
April
Oh, it hurts.
00:44:49
Kate Kuo
Yeah.
00:44:49
Rich
That sounds like torture.
00:44:51
Kate Kuo
Yeah, it's awful.
00:44:52
April
Oh my gosh. Okay. What food has made you cry either because it was unbelievably good or it was painfully spicy.
00:45:02
Kate Kuo
Well, i don't really choose to eat a lot of spicy food because I don't have a high spicy tolerance. But April took me to a really amazing Italian restaurant a couple weeks ago.
00:45:16
Kate Kuo
And i have really high standards for Italian food because I'm from New York City originally. So yeah, that one made me feel, yeah, emotional.
00:45:24
April
Oh, my heart.
00:45:26
Lauren Brown
ae
00:45:26
April
I'm glad I could share that with you, Kate, and you approved. That's big
00:45:30
Lauren Brown
So I first was like, well, cookies make me cry because I always get cookies at the end of a race because that's like my, like I get burgers and cookies.
00:45:36
Kate Kuo
Thank you.
00:45:37
Lauren Brown
but But I was in Philly once and at a place that had really hot wings and there were wings called face sweaters. And I, at first, for some reason, when I was reading it, I was thinking of like sweatshirts, like sweaters for, you I'm like, and then I was like, oh, face sweaters, got it.
00:45:56
April
but
00:45:56
Lauren Brown
like hey I mean, that was like brutal. And like water just makes it worse. Just makes it worse. So yeah, face sweaters, wings. I don't remember the place in Philly, but brutal. Probably the hottest thing I've ever eaten in my entire life.
00:46:13
April
I mean, that sounds torturous, Lauren.
00:46:15
Lauren Brown
It was, it was, it was like a fire in your mouth.
00:46:15
April
how
00:46:17
Lauren Brown
And I, cause it was like ghost pepper sauce.
00:46:19
April
On your face, too.
00:46:20
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:46:21
Kate Kuo
Oh.
00:46:21
Lauren Brown
Like, and literally, you're like, all of a sudden it just feels like, like heat just coming out of you. So.
00:46:27
Rich
Oh, yeah.
00:46:28
April
No.
00:46:29
Rich
All right. So who has done like the first experience with the spicy Chinese mustard or the the the wasabi sauce, right?
00:46:37
April
Never.
00:46:37
Rich
that That was me like age 12 in Chinatown, authentic Chinese restaurant, took that egg roll and just dunked that sucker, popped it in my mouth.
00:46:38
April
Never.
00:46:48
April
no
00:46:49
Rich
And I just think, I don't know what happened. I think I passed out. It was pretty, pretty bad.
00:46:55
April
but
00:46:57
Kate Kuo
Thank you.
00:46:57
April
Okay. I got that reminded me of a story real quick. so, This made me cry, but it wasn't because it was hot. Okay. So we used to go to restaurants called country kitchen when I was a kid and ordered pancakes. And this is how gullible I am. Okay. The pancakes came out, had this amazing dollop.
00:47:17
April
I thought it was ice cream. Cause it was so like beautiful, this beautiful dollop. No, it was straight butter. i Put this whole dollop of butter in my mouth and swallowed it. And I was like, but this that made me cry as a kid. Yes. but Never again.
00:47:35
Lauren Brown
Oh my God.
00:47:37
Rich
It's awesome.
00:47:38
April
Okay. I got what, two more here. What book made you emotional enough that you had to put it down for a moment?
00:47:48
Kate Kuo
I feel like I try not to read a lot of heavily emotional books because like a reading is my escape.
00:47:56
April
Law books are not emotional enough.
00:47:58
Kate Kuo
Yeah. But when I was younger, I really, really liked the Anna Green Gables books. And they they get a little they get a little emotional at times. Also, what was that book series? A Series of Unfortunate Events?
00:48:15
April
Oh yeah.
00:48:16
Kate Kuo
That got dark sometimes, yeah. Yeah.
00:48:18
April
The Hunger Games for me.
00:48:21
Lauren Brown
Good one. I read maybe last year or two years ago, it was a book called The Measure. And it's basically about that everyone receives these strings and depending on the length of the string, that's how long you have left in your life.
00:48:36
Lauren Brown
And it's it's pretty wild if you read it because it it there's things about it where it
00:48:39
April
Oh.
00:48:42
Lauren Brown
It's not like today, but there's it's just it's a good read. But at the the end of it, there's like some people who choose not to look at their strings and it all obviously comes full circle. I'm not going to give away what happens in the book, but i was like that was a book that I literally was just crying at the end and was like, holy crap, I have not... like literally cried reading a book, but I got really emotional because it's basically the idea is like, it's not the length of your life, it's how well you live it and the people who impact along the way.
00:49:14
April
Hmm.
00:49:16
Lauren Brown
And it was, yeah, it just, it hit me.
00:49:22
April
Hmm. Hmm.
00:49:23
Kate Kuo
I read a book very similar to that last year, I think, called The Midnight Library. And it's a somewhat similar concept where it's the main character gets to like see different how different versions of her life would have played out based on different choices that she made.
00:49:38
Lauren Brown
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:49:39
Kate Kuo
And kind of similar, like the lesson is that, you know, it's not about. necessarily like whether you do this with your life or you do that but like sort of the meaningful relationships and things like that and it was a a really impactful book
00:49:55
Rich
Yeah. You like those books that make you grow and kind of move you and make you a little uncomfortable, you know, but the one that made me cry I, so fun. I'm like trying to think like what book have I read that make me cry? Cause read all these triathlon books and leadership books and like, they don't make me cry. They make me, you Charlotte's web.
00:50:13
Rich
I like, I went right back to like grade school and I remember bawling reading Charlotte's web when Charlotte died at the end.
00:50:14
April
Oh.
00:50:15
Kate Kuo
That's a good one.
00:50:21
Rich
I'm like, Oh, Wilbur is like, you know, like crying.
00:50:23
Kate Kuo
Spoiler alert.
00:50:25
Rich
Oh yeah.
00:50:25
Lauren Brown
Yep.
00:50:26
Rich
Oh,
00:50:29
April
Oh, that's a classic.
00:50:31
Lauren Brown
yeah
00:50:31
April
That's a good one, Rich.
00:50:33
Lauren Brown
yeah
00:50:33
April
Yeah. All right. Last question. What place in the world has moved you to tears? Maybe it's a race finish line, a beautiful landscape or somewhere deeply meaningful to you.
00:50:45
Kate Kuo
I love the Pacific Northwest.
00:50:48
April
Mm.
00:50:48
Kate Kuo
I'm a big like I grew up on the ocean and now I live in Colorado. So I love the mountains, but I really love where ocean meets mountains. So yeah, definitely like the San Juan Islands is a place that yeah, would move me to tears if I were to cry over that kind of thing.
00:50:57
April
Mm.
00:51:07
April
Mm.
00:51:11
Lauren Brown
I had a stupid answer. except bri so I was like, non-wetsuit legal swims.
00:51:16
Rich
ha Pretty good.
00:51:18
Rich
That's good answer.
00:51:19
Kate Kuo
That's a good one.
00:51:19
Rich
I like that.
00:51:19
April
That's good. That's a good one.
00:51:22
Lauren Brown
But I have cried at two of my 70.3 finish lines. So my first one, my friend who I didn't realize was there the entire time. i didn't realize until I was on the red carpet.
00:51:33
Lauren Brown
And when I saw her, I was, i just started like, like hysterically crying and then like hugging everyone. And then in Marbella, Coach K was the first person that I saw when I crossed the finish line.
00:51:43
April
my.
00:51:44
Lauren Brown
And I was like, I, I, I didn't think I was gonna cry, except for so I was like, hell yeah. I think that was really freaking hard. But then I saw him and I was like, you know, like, gosh knows what.
00:51:56
April
Oh.
00:51:58
Lauren Brown
But yeah, so, but non-wetsuit legal swim starts, I'll go with that.
00:52:03
Rich
I'll take inspiration from Lauren and I will say the starting the second loop of the Boulder Ironman 70.3 course going out there on that trail in the hot heat, no shade.
00:52:13
Rich
Let's go. There
00:52:15
Kate Kuo
I don't need to hear this because that's my next race.
00:52:17
Rich
there you go.
00:52:18
April
ha
00:52:18
Rich
Yeah. There's like, there's three, there's three, there's like three trees that give you a shade on that whole course.
00:52:23
April
Oh, it's rough.
00:52:23
Kate Kuo
Oh, gosh.
00:52:25
Rich
You get to see them twice. There you go.
00:52:28
Kate Kuo
Something to look forward to.
00:52:29
Rich
We'll be out there cheering for you. We'll be out there cheering for you.
00:52:30
April
Yeah, we will. We definitely will be out there, Kate. The place that makes me cheer up is definitely any place in Alaska, really. But Valdez and Homer are the two that come to mind. And of course, Juno, when I crossed my first Ironman finish line, that was that was it was amazing. Unforgettable. Yeah. I thank you all for this fun segment and, uh, going there with me on everybody cry. we learned that even triathletes who swim, bike and run through pain can still get emotional over a movie, a song, a really spicy egg roll.
00:53:09
April
so Kate, thank you so much for playing along and giving us a glimpse into your softer side. I wanted to ask you, how can people find you?
00:53:17
Kate Kuo
Yeah, so I am most active on YouTube, and that is the handle is everybodytri.