Jeana Anderson Cohen: Have you ever heard of the CrossFit workout, MERF? Think what you want about CrossFit. This workout is tough. It's a one mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, and 300 squats followed by one more one mile run. Challenging as it is, there's a version of it that's called the weighted MERF, where the athlete adds a weighted vest to the workout just for fun. And never in my life have I considered putting on a weighted vest, but when the Amorfo team reached out, and asked if I wanted to try the product, which weighs much less than a typical weighted vest. I was quickly intrigued. Oh, and by the way, this is the Sweat Lives podcast. We got goals and I'm Gina Anderson, co-founder and CEO. And joining me today is Stephane Olander, the co-founder and CEO of Amorfo, a gravity sportswear solution focused on making you stronger, fitter and faster. Stephane, before we jump into the episode, in 45 seconds, what does that mean? Stefan: Uh, what does what mean the getting fitter faster stronger? Jeana Anderson Cohen: The gravity, the Stefan: Oh, Jeana Anderson Cohen: gravity Stefan: gravity. Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: of it Stefan: Well, Jeana Anderson Cohen: all. Stefan: yeah. Well, I mean, you know, so gravity sportswear is, uh, the simple notion that by adding a little bit of weight to your body, when you're moving, when you're working out, you make better use of their, it's gravity, making it just a little bit harder so you get a little bit more back. That's Jeana Anderson Cohen: I Stefan: as Jeana Anderson Cohen: love Stefan: simple Jeana Anderson Cohen: it. Stefan: as it is. Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Efficient with time to spare. Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: And so at A Sweat Life, we start every day and every episode of the podcast with one good thing. It's our way of expressing gratitude and just being in the moment. So what is one good thing? Stefan: Well, I mean, I think it's in your title for me. I think, uh, sweating, I genuinely feel if I'm, you know, having a rough day or, uh, you know, I just need to clear my mind, whatever I do from, you know, to get a good sweat and whether that's a run, a walk, play tennis, go to the gym, go lift weights, I always feel better afterwards. So for me, actually physical activity and sweating is, is I'm grateful for that. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah, I love that. Oh man, this weekend I was at my soon to be sister-in-law's bachelorette and I made it a point to get up before the day's activities started and take a little walk before the Arizona heat hit. And just adding a little morning movement and a little, in my case, I added some meditation, like took my shoes off, got ground. It was so lovely. I'm all in on your good thing. Stefan: Good. Jeana Anderson Cohen: My good thing. Are you ready? Stefan: I am. Jeana Anderson Cohen: lightning. So I love the phenomenon of lightning. I think it is so interesting that we live on a planet where bolts of electricity come down from the sky. And yesterday I was flying home through a thunderstorm, which is scary depending on who you ask. I mean, scary to me because there was a lot of turbulence, but you look to your left and you look to your right and there was It's just a lovely reminder that the world is so much bigger than us. Stefan: It's majestic, you know, you look at that and you feel, and especially if you have, like if you're seeing it from above, or if you're in a place where you have real, really, really good views, it is, Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: there is something so incredibly powerful about it. So I'm with you, I love a good ThunderStorm. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah. Have you read the book, Awe? By Docker Kelter? Stefan: I don't think so. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Ooh, I highly recommend it. Stefan: Oh yeah? Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah, so he talks about how awe is the sixth emotion. It's essentially this wonderful thing that we can tap into as human beings that is just the existence of human kindness, of like majestic mountains, of hiking, all of those things allow us to experience awe, which actually releases oxytocin, the love chemical in our brain allows us to feel those wonderful things. So awe is... Stefan: I will... Jeana Anderson Cohen: Also produced by Lightning, add it to your list. Stefan: Amazing, I love the list for sure. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay, let's talk about simulated hypergravity and amorpho. How'd you get into this, Stephane? Where did weighted apparel become something that you really wanted to pursue? Stefan: I mean, you know, like all stories, they tend to be like, multiplied over time, right? So I worked at Nike for a long, long time. I was over two decades at Nike, started in the Nordics, then I was in Holland, then I came here to the US. And while I was there, I got to work on all sorts of innovation. And it was actually something that had nothing to do with Nike, but you know, you kind of learn to look for things that sometimes... Obvious improvement might be staring you in the face and I actually for me it started with a birth like you said that workout I had done it a few times and The proper way of doing the Murph is actually with a weighted vest and I've never done it that way So my buddy BJ brought along a weight vest. We did it the right way, which almost killed me Jeana Anderson Cohen: Hehehe Stefan: But but but it was just this I had this You know, sometimes you just have an epiphany as I put this thing on I had never worked out with a weight vest before I played sports my whole life, but that wasn't really my thing. And I was like, I just feel different when I put this on and you sort of strap it on and you feel powerful. And then at the same time, I was exhausted, right? Because the workout was so intense and it just something completely changed. And it triggered this idea in my mind. I was like, why is this so ugly? Like, so I went and did some, you know, some very sophisticated Google research where you just start looking for way to best. And I'm like, they all look like sh**. And I Jeana Anderson Cohen: You Stefan: thought, Jeana Anderson Cohen: can Stefan: why Jeana Anderson Cohen: swear Stefan: is Jeana Anderson Cohen: on this Stefan: that? Jeana Anderson Cohen: podcast. Stefan: Yeah, that's all right. So and also no one had ever designed it for women. Like there was no women's way to, it was all for dudes. It was all, you know, black and bulky looking and almost like a badge of honor. But I was like, this thing works. And I started doing more research around the science behind this, what happens when you load the center of gravity the right way with the right weight. And we'll come back and talk more about the right weight a little later. But. But for me, it was this, I had this, aha, I'm like, wait a minute, and why has no one actually taken the time to create a solution that shows you how to use, if you were to make a weight vest, by, and we embed NFC tags in our vest near field communication. So if you hold your iPhone, it just fires up a workout that tells you how to use the vest and get a good workout in 10, 20 minutes. So. But that was sort of the genesis of the idea. I just had this like, wait a minute, this would be so cool. And then I forgot about it. This was years before I had left Nike and then eventually left Nike because I had this burning desire to just go create something and teamed up with a remarkable group of people. First one I talked to was our designer, Natalie Kendrian, who I said, you know, I wanna make this amazing vest and can you design it for me? And we started talking, she's like, well, we don't really start with a design, we gotta develop it. And for that we need the developer. talked to Irina Ilcheva who joined our team and then, and that just became the beginning. What was a vest in the beginning, because you asked me about gravity sportswear as a whole, because we have a whole collection, right? That ranges from shirts to shorts to tights. It was this notion that the same simple insight, that idea of loading the body with the right weight was so powerful, but no one had thought about it through the lens of what we call micro loading. So a traditional weight vest, you know, 15 pounds, 20 pounds and you can't, you move, it's really hard to move naturally when you load your body without much. So we took the other approach, which is what if we created a collection where the weight was so small that you forgot that it was there, you could move the way you were intended, but you could still get the benefits of doing it. Jeana Anderson Cohen: For the listener who can't see me, I'm nodding wildly because that was my experience, but we'll get to that. And weighted vests, just like you're saying, Staphon, they are usually marketed as 12 pounds to 140 pounds. And they look like combat apparel, but the vest that you've created in a suite of other apparel... are five pounds for women and 10 pounds for men. So why lighten the load? What's the benefit of that? Stefan: You know, this is so fascinating and I can't tell you when we launched how many times we had especially guys to be honest with you coming well This doesn't work It needs to be this or that heavy because they were told by someone that it should be and there was no real Science to that it was more a badge of honor, right? And they were we were getting criticized for having a vest that was lighter than the other ones and also priced at a higher price point because we spent an enormous amount of time making sure that it was comfortable, that it was durable, that it had the digital connection. And those things cost money, not the weight itself. You know, people get obsessed, like, yeah, I can throw in sand in this and say it's 40 pounds. That doesn't make it better. But there is this notion that you equate weight with price value versus the right weight is what matters, not heavyweight. Right? So But we started looking at this and when I got connected with Dr. Erin Faser, who had spent her PhD researching micro load and this idea that it doesn't have to be actually, it shouldn't be 15 pounds or 20 pounds. It should be heavy enough that you get the rewards, but light enough so that you can move naturally. And ironically with women, this is less of a problem because women don't have the same need to be like. Yeah, I can pack on more weight. They're more asking out of curiosity. What's the right weight for me? Right, so we don't run into encounter this misconception as much with women as we do with men but And the women's vest we deliberately chose to make it five pounds and create it organically anatomically for the female body Because the it's just you have to realize that you can't put weights in the same places uh, you know, we're just our body shapes are different and what Natalie and Irina and Liz and our product team really spent time on was how do you make it comfortable for her? And the right weight was for her is five pounds because it's enough that you can get the benefits from it but it's not so heavy that you start hurting your joints and tendons and ligaments and you move like a robot. Same thing for guys and right now we're having so many elite athletes because elite athletes are not bound by that same I just want to affect. So we have Alexander Madison, who is one of our ambassadors, who's a running back for the Vikings, who says 10 pounds is perfect. And I tell these guys who are claiming that they want heavier stuff, I'm like, you know what, he's in better shape than you are. And if 10 pounds is enough for him, it's enough for you too. But anyway, long-winded answer to your question, but for her and for him, it's like finding a weight that is comfortable for you to wear, whether you're going for a hike or a run or a walk or a high intensity workout. so that you can have it on the whole time, but not, you know, enough so you get the effect, but not so heavy that you start risking injury or, you know, can't move naturally. Jeana Anderson Cohen: You forget as an everyday athlete or probably athletes don't forget because it's really worked into their training that load is progressive. That's what a personal trainer will tell you. That's what Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: a physical therapist will tell you. You get the movements right first and then you add load. Adding a 40-pound vest, a 50-pound vest when you're not necessarily perfected in your movement patterns isn't going to do you any good at all. Right? Stefan: I think you're spot on and you know if you were you're better off lifting weights than putting 50 pounds on your body quite frankly unless you are especially if you're in the military it's different story they have different needs for having to be Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: able to carry those loads but for everyday athletes it's just nonsense to think that you need anything more you know it's just you just you're overloading you're not moving naturally and you're actually cause running the risk of causing damage. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah. And I worked out in the G-Tight, which is one pound, and the G-Tank, which is 10 ounces. And I was honestly, I put it on, couldn't feel it. I was skeptical because the weights are exactly to your point distributed so evenly. So you really don't feel it in the moment. However, I was using the G-Suite, the G-Tight, and the G-Tank. in a studio fitness class that had a treadmill sprint and a treadmill set. And as soon as we turned on that treadmill and we were running and sprinting, I realized really quickly that my speeds were a little bit lower, that my legs felt heavier, that I really could feel it. So I actually did feel like I was working harder in particular when running. Is that sort of what you're hearing from your athletes? What are they telling you? Stefan: Yeah, exactly that. You know, it's really funny. Like we have, we work with any Coons who is an amazing heptathlete, Aila Tomljanovic, tennis player. So what they use, what they often say is like, it sneaks up on you. So it's not like you, you know, sometimes you, you, you, well, if you go to a gym and you lift a heavy weight, you immediately know that, okay, I'm gonna maybe be able to do five reps or 10 reps. This is different. So you take our tides to your point and you're like, wow, I don't really know if this is gonna make a difference to which I say, Why don't you take them for a spin? And then people go out for a run or a fast walk. And like, amazing. Like after a while, this accumulation of weight over time creates a resistance that causes an overload on your body, which in turn makes you stronger. But it doesn't do it in that immediate way. It's more, and I like that whole, the idea of it sneaking up on you. To your point, when you pick it up, you're like, oh, this is not so heavy. I don't know if this is gonna work. Every single person that comes back from a workout, they go, oh man, I really felt that at the end. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah, they're like, actually. Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: And it was also, it looks interesting too. It looks good, it's fitted to the body. It was a conversation topic. The instructor asked me about it, the front desk asked me about it, people on the street asked me about it because I was like, if I'm going to wear this, I'm going to wear this. I walked to the gym in it, walked home in it, and I got stopped and asked about it. But it wasn't like, ew, what are you wearing? It was like, whoa, what are you wearing? Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: It's like space age. And so it started a lot of conversations, which was really fun. Stefan: You know, it's really cool. We launched this. We developed this during COVID and and launched it at the tail end of it. And the weird thing was when, when we were wearing prototypes and this was a time when everybody were a little scared of, you know, contact, people would walk up and be like, can I touch it? It's amazing. Cause it has that what we call the G spheres, which are the weight, right? That are, there are hundreds of them distributed. People would come up and touch and at the beginning Jeana Anderson Cohen: Hey Stefan: it was Jeana Anderson Cohen: you. Stefan: like, ah, yeah, I don't know. But it is really, so I want to touch on the design because you mentioned this is something that Natalie, obviously our designer has done such a great job is how do you create something that has that magical intersection between form and function? Because we knew we had to add weights, but if it didn't look good, or it didn't feel nice when you put it on, or if it wasn't washable like any normal shirt or type, no one would ever care. So Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: that, you know. We know that the first three things on the list is how does it look, how does it look, how does it look. And then you can Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: get into, you want the function and the benefit as well. And it has an arresting look, it just does. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah, it is. It's really interesting. If you told me it was for NASA, I'd be like, yes. I was also thinking about the other applications of how you could add weight. I think you chose the best one because you could make the garment thicker, but then you're too hot. You could add a belt of weight, but then it's not evenly distributed. It does the job and it looks good. Stefan: Love it. Jeana Anderson Cohen: All right, should we talk about science? Stefan: Let's talk science. Jeana Anderson Cohen: I mean, we've been talking about science, but there are Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: studies upon studies that your team sent me, like one done in Finland where participants had reached what everyone had assumed was the upper limits of their potential in things like vertical jump. Then scientists had the participants wear a weighted vest and surprise, surprise, they jumped higher. And another one involving soccer players who warmed up wearing resistance and they perform better. with resistance in their workout, it enhances golf swing, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Why hasn't anyone brought this technology to the masses in this way before? Why were you the first one to do this? Stefan: You know, it's so fascinating to me. One of the first questions we get, especially from elite athletes, is like, I can't believe no one's done this. Now, there have been a couple of companies that have done versions of this. They're modular systems that you could, you know, attach. I don't know if they used Velcro or something like that, which, you know, is the same general idea has been around for a while. Ankle weights, wrist weights, you know. I think your dogs are angry. I think you're muted. Anyway, yeah, no worries. The most common words these days is you're muted. But either way, so where were we on this? Yeah, so there's sort of the idea of adding load had been there. Weight-bests have been around forever. Ankle weights, wrist weights and some other... But... But it's that you have to execute it in a way that, like we talked about, it's gotta be, it's gotta look nice, it's gotta be user friendly. If you introduce a bunch of friction where someone has to change where stuff is placed, or you can't wash it, or it doesn't work or function like a normal piece of clothing, it's really, really tough for that to ever take off. So I think, I think we're the first ones that have done this in a very thoughtful, beautiful way that also is functional. And that's why we're so excited about this entire category. The idea of training, weighted training gear is so incredibly intuitive and obvious that we know this is gonna grow into an entirely new category of its own. You know, things take time. It was way back in the day when Under Armour introduced compression base layer. No one had actually thought of that as a category. That's a category. Yoga pants, that wasn't a category. That's an enormous category. And then the same way we view gravity sportswear and the idea of weighted training gear is an inevitable category because why would you not, if you could get more effect from any workout that you do by changing only what you wear, why wouldn't you? It's like, you know, we all love working out or many people love working out, but we do it for a reason. Why we want results? Well, if I told you, you get results quicker by just changing what you wear, why wouldn't you? And it's so obvious that we're pretty confident in this category. Jeana Anderson Cohen: I love it. And you really handled my dogs coming to say hello like a true champion, master of the pivot. Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: That was Maverick and Bertie the dog, and they did come to say hello. They were sort of angry. We'll see. Okay. So what I love about everything you just said is the fact that you're right. You've developed a category, you've pioneered a category, and everything you said made me go like, oh yes, yes, yes. Even now, folks will say, how compressive are those yoga pants when they're looking into a new brand? So it's true. We start to accept that compression makes us feel better, makes our muscles a little less sore, and then we look for that in everything that we wear. Now we know that athleisure is what we're going to wear day to day, so we're looking for the yoga pants that make us look and feel and perform our best. And now we're just going to add weight to our clothes. with Stefan: Yes, Jeana Anderson Cohen: Amorfo. Stefan: exactly. Jeana Anderson Cohen: All right, let's talk about community. We are obsessed with community at a Spotlife, and I know you're making content for the Amorfies. Is that what you call your community members? That's what I call them. Stefan: Yeah, I like that. We might adopt that. We Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay. Stefan: call them the amorphous crew. We're insiders, Jeana Anderson Cohen: Oh, I like Stefan: basically. Jeana Anderson Cohen: that too. Inside, okay good. Are your users working out together or forming community in any way? Stefan: It's a combination, you know, so what's really interesting about this when we do events with gym partners and we have a number of people wearing it, you could see there's this certain, you know, the nod. It's like, yeah, we're, you know, we're working a little harder than the rest. So that's kind of cool. It creates an energy and a vibe. But you know, I don't think you force community to happen. It creates itself because people are drawn into a shared passion or an energy or an interest. And we're trying to create the foundation for that by creating amazing content that is inspiring, our ambassadors, which we love that are inspiring, and then create great product at the center of this. And then, you know, we created our app, our, you know, where we have our gravity sessions, like I talked about, to give people a chance to come together around this idea of... What is gravity training or weighted training where you get a little bit more from it? So we love seeing that and that's a big, big focus for us is giving people a reason to, you know, using this whole idea of gravity sports who are at the core, give them, give them more from their workouts, regardless of what they are. So that is the way we, we try to create community, but also let community create itself. Because Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: I think you don't. force it, you create opportunities for it to grow. Jeana Anderson Cohen: It's a chemical catalyst that you just put the parts out there and you hope that the catalyst works. Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Are you planning on, I think I saw an amorphous pop-up on Summer House this season. Tell me if I'm wrong, but are you planning any pop-ups this year? Stefan: We are looking into it so we haven't decided yet and the reason for that is, you know, the reason we would do it is because we have, so we are a direct, predominantly a direct consumer brand, but it's hard to see 70% of people for the first time they see our brand, they see it on the phone. And you've had the products, you know, it's really hard to convey through a phone screen how beautiful they are and how they function, right? So we said... We would love physical touch points. A lot of that has been with gyms. So gym partners are way back in the day when we started, we started working with Dogpound out of LA and New York have been tremendous partners when people show up at their gym. And then we've since expanded that, and you know, great partnerships with other gyms, Equinox, Orange Theory, F45, et cetera. But for us, like that whole idea of a pop-up needs to be in the right place at the right time for the right. amount of, you know, and then we're a small team. So we're working on it. We'll see. I, you'll be the first to know if we open up. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Oh, amazing. Well, if you want any Chicago pop-ups, we can be your partners in that. Stefan: I like Jeana Anderson Cohen: Just Stefan: it. Jeana Anderson Cohen: planting the seed. Stefan: Ha ha ha. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay. So the definition of biohacking, according to medical news today, is people making incremental changes to their body's diet and lifestyle to improve their health and wellbeing. Would you say that a morpha or small wearable weight is biohacking? Stefan: Absolutely, yeah, because you know, like you just read the description there, right? But we Biohacking has been around for a long long long long time. It's gotten a bit more popular lately I had the privilege to work on so the quantified cell for the Side for many years at Nike with where we used sensors to try to derive more insight, but there's also nutrition there's a lot in rest and recovery and and this idea of overloading the right way is definitely, I would qualify that as biohacking. It's such a non-intrusive, yet incredibly impactful way of biohacking. You know, we joke about this. I mentioned to you, a lot of women, when we talk to women, don't know about weighted vest because it's never been made for her. It's never been designed, it's never been intended. And for the first time, we've done a weighted vest that is absolutely gorgeous, made by women for women. and it can increase her calorie burn by up to 8%. Now that is biohacking. Normally you would have to do way more intrusive things to get to that. All we're saying is put on a beautiful looking piece of equipment and go do whatever you're already doing. So yeah, I'd definitely put it in that category. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah, I love it. And honestly, design for women. I love that you all are doing it, including women in your design. We are the consumer, I mean, men are consumers of fitness too, but women are huge consumers of fitness. Come on. And now it's time for show and tell. Let's share a tip, a resource, or an article you referenced. It can be related to what we talked about today or outside of it. Do you wanna go first or second? Stefan: Um, I'll kick it off. Cause then that way, if you took mine, I wouldn't have to come up with something else. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Perfect. Stefan: Okay. All right. So, um, yeah, I'm going to talk about ice. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Stefan: I am a complete convert, absolutely love them and hate them. But, you know, obviously Dr. Huberman on his podcast talked a lot about it, Tim Ferriss, Vim who's the kind of, I guess, the father of it all, but there's a lot of talk about it. And it's pretty remarkable when you think about the physiological effects of cold plunges or ice baths, but also how it makes you stronger and allows you to conquer things that are really, really, really uncomfortable. So that would be mine. And I, so I found a really cost-effective, I bought this super small inflatable little plunge thing basically. And I go buy, you know, three packs of ice, throw it in, fill up the rest with water, jump into it, try the last for five minutes, three days a week. And I feel incredible. And once you get into that, I use music actually, that's my way to get through it, because it's so painful in the beginning. In the beginning I did two minutes, then three, and then et cetera. And now I'm telling everyone that comes over, that you wanna do a nice bath, and not everyone loves it. But it's really, and it helps me recover really, if I've had a hard lift or a workout, I really feel how I recover. Jeana Anderson Cohen: I love Stefan: So that's Jeana Anderson Cohen: that. Stefan: mine. Jeana Anderson Cohen: It took me a second to realize you were pronouncing Wim Hof in the actual way that it's supposed to be pronounced. So I went, vim, vim, vim. And I got there. I got Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: there. Do you know what's the brand of the ice tub that you're using? Stefan: Oh, that's a good question. Yeah, Jeana Anderson Cohen: That's okay. I put you on the spot. Stefan: I think it could be new and you recover and you recover, I think, but I'm not sure. Yeah, Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay. Stefan: I'll find it. Yeah, but it Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay. Stefan: was, you know, it was like 99 bucks and you get Jeana Anderson Cohen: Amazing. Stefan: this and it's just fill it up with water and ice and you'll have an amazing experience. Jeana Anderson Cohen: So you don't have to have an insane plunge tub. And do you go all the way to the neck? Yeah? Oh wow. Okay. That's when you really get the mental benefits too, Stefan: Yeah, Jeana Anderson Cohen: right? Stefan: and then, you know, there's interesting, I mentioned, I referenced one of the podcasts and I mentioned this, we have a no more fun newsletter, I brought it up and I had some links to it. There's a couple of people that have done a lot of research around it and the really, really max effect is if you dunk your head under the ice water. That part I haven't gotten to yet. Jeana Anderson Cohen: I'm not there either. I have done full body cryo in the Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: full door situations, which I enjoyed, but I was more afraid of it before than I normally would have been, just because of the idea of being in there and breathing in, but it was fine. And I did feel really energized afterwards. Okay, are you ready for my show and tell? Stefan: I am, yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay, so I went down a rabbit hole as I was researching, in particular, as I was thinking about the topic of biohacking. So I started Googling around scientific research that's been done on metabolism and adding weight in order to burn more calories, calories often just a unit of measure for how hard you've worked. And I found an article that I know I've read before, but I found an article in the New York Times that reported on a study that essentially... just really upended everything we knew about metabolism or everything we assumed about metabolism. Apparently there are four phases of metabolism in our lives and we've just really misunderstood them. Okay, do you wanna hear them? Stefan: Absolutely. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay, so newborns metabolism, I'm quoting the article by the way, resembles that of adults. Then when they are about a month old, their metabolic rate starts rapidly increasing until between nine and 15 months is more than 50% higher than an adult, the equivalent of a grownup burning around 4,000 calories a day. At that point between age one and two, the energy expenditure starts to decline and keeps falling until roughly the age of 20. from there and hold steady for 40 years, even during pregnancy and menopause. Then at 60, it drops. Men don't have an innately faster metabolism than women. Rather, they just burn more calories due to size and muscle. It's just interesting to me because women, men, everyone often talks about at age 30, 35, how their metabolism has slowed. And it just, science just says that is not true. Stefan: Hmm. Super interesting. Jeana Anderson Cohen: I could talk about Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: it all day, but that's not what we're here to talk about. Stefan: No, but you know what, I think part of the reason why people think that is you're going through other life changes and then you kind of blame it on metabolism because you know, Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: at that 30 to 40 people have kids and they're in the middle of their career and there's so much else going on that impacts that and I mean I know for myself, I was in my worst shape possible physically in my... I think in my late 30s, you know, little Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah. Stefan: kids working like crazy, eating like shit, and just Jeana Anderson Cohen: Mm-hmm. Stefan: I was not in a good place. I could blame metabolism, but it was actually not what was the issue. I was the issue. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah, and I'm 37 and I feel like I'm in way better touch with my body and its needs than I was at 20. I don't look the same, but I feel like I am burning just as efficiently, if not more Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: efficiently, because I'm Stefan: Yeah. Jeana Anderson Cohen: more muscular than I was. But I could talk about it all day. Okay, something we're loving this week as we wrap up this episode. Would you like to go first or second? Stefan: Oh no, I need to think about that, so I'm gonna go second and maybe steal yours anyway. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Okay, oh, so something I'm loving this week is shared photo albums. I know I'm not the first to say that this is delightful, but I love the experience of a shared photo album, either from a trip, I just went on a group trip, and just looking through the photos that everyone shared was so fun. And also all of my friends with kids, I do not have children, but all of my friends with kids share their photo albums with family and friends when I get to see these kids. even though I'm not seeing them every day. And I just think it's lovely. Are you on anyone's shared photo albums right now? Stefan: Yeah, I am. Yeah, actually we Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah. Stefan: do a lot when we go, you know with friends Whether it's vacation or short trips the idea of Shared albums is is so it makes it so much easier, you know And it's so much better than most of the fun sharing crap that's out there just Jeana Anderson Cohen: Yeah! Stefan: you click and you're at it. Yeah Jeana Anderson Cohen: Exactly. Stefan: Yeah, yeah Jeana Anderson Cohen: All right, what's your thing you're loving? Stefan: Uh, oh, that's tough. There's so much awesomeness. I mean, I have to say Mother's Day. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Go wine! Say more! Stefan: Well, you know, it's kind of funny. It's coming up this week and it's one of those where you should say you shouldn't really have to have a special holiday for these things, but it is a fun one. And then I think it's nice to pause and think about all those things that moms do that we don't really always see. So that's gonna be my thing. at Celebrating Mother's Day. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Celebrating the emotional labor of moms. How old are your kids now? Stefan: They are 23, 20 and 16. Jeana Anderson Cohen: No way. Okay, for the listener that feels impossible, Stevan looks, I would put you at like maybe like 40 Stefan: Oh, I'll take Jeana Anderson Cohen: and Stefan: that. Jeana Anderson Cohen: you don't, yeah, and you don't have to say what your actual age is, but you can if you want. I say my age all the time, who cares? Stefan: Yeah, it's Jeana Anderson Cohen: Now is Stefan: add Jeana Anderson Cohen: your chance. Stefan: 15 and you're in the ballpark. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Oh wow, I love it. I mean. So just so everyone who's listening knows, all of these biohacking things are working, he's staying very young. Before we go to find, what do you want us to know about amorphous? Where do we find you? Where should we start if we are just getting started with gravity training? Stefan: I think two simple things, omorfo.com and omorfo. People always ask me, so what? Well, that's a hard thing to say. It's like thinking of morph, right? And then add an O at the beginning, omorfo. Jeana Anderson Cohen: Easy. Stefan: Omorfo.com, our website, obviously. And by the way, I didn't mention this, but I'm half Greek and omorfo, the name comes from Greek and it means beautiful because we think we create beautiful solutions. So, and then our Instagram, you know, go check out omorfo on Instagram. We have, you know, a great energy coming out people that are sharing. To your point about community, there's so often we get tagged and Hannah who heads up our social media does a great job of reposting these stories. So those two things are really cool but I really really recommend doing a little bit of digging on the power of this idea of micro load and how beneficial it can be and also how good you could look doing it. So for me those things combined is I mean I love for people that because usually when they come and check it out they're like I can't believe I hadn't heard of this. But we're so new that just appreciate the opportunity to come on and talk to you and share more about OMORFO and Gravity Sportswear and hopefully it inspires someone to get a little bit more from their workouts. Jeana Anderson Cohen: And if you see me on the street wearing it, yes, you can touch the calf. That's what I'll let you touch with the pants. And Stefan: Hahaha! Jeana Anderson Cohen: this has been delightful. I will make sure that all of the studies we referenced are in the show notes so that our friends who are excited about Amorifo can learn more about those studies. You'll also be able to read more about calories and metabolism, and we'll link to the products we talked about. But this has been another episode of We Got Goals, which is in a sweatlife.com production. And another thing that's better with friends, thanks to Ryan Deffin for editing, Ryan Baryuga for audio or video production. Thanks to the Ryans. And thanks to Stefan Olander, the CEO and co-founder of Amorfo for joining me today. Stefan: Thank you for having Jeana Anderson Cohen: Thank Stefan: me. Jeana Anderson Cohen: you. Bye, goodbye.