013: Authenticity in a World of Fakes with Cassey Ho

Hi, I'm Natalie Jill, fat loss expert turned high performance coach. When odds are stacked against us, how do we shift and create everything from nothing? How do we level up when we aren't feeling it yet or we've had a big setback? On this podcast, I'll be talking to some of the most inspiring and courageous men and women on this planet who at their worst, learned how to achieve success greater than they ever dreamed possible. Leveling up and creating everything from nothing. In a world of social media and drive perfection, authenticity is sometimes hard to come by. When we do spot it, we want more of it. Cassie Ho has made a name for herself being truly authentic and real with her audience. A few minutes with her and you quickly realize that there's so much more to her than just being the number one female fitness channel on YouTube. Creator and founder of Blogilates, Pop Pilates, and Pop Flex Active, Cassie shares with us today how focusing on being a teacher and adding value has worked for her over and over again. How being authentic, vulnerable and real has helped her grow her audience to millions. How she's turned pain into purpose and takes negative comments and energy and turns them into something positive and constructive. How she's learned to shift quickly when something is adding no value or help to others. And how problems fuel her creativity and how believing in her vision has worked for her time and time again. Listen in and learn from Cassie how she continually has leveled up and created everything from nothing. I'm so excited because I have my friend Cassie Ho today who is founder of Blogilates and of Pop Flex Active. She is an entrepreneur extraordinaire. She's a good friend. She is the essence of somebody who has achieved amazing things because she finally believed that she could. And she's so inspirational when you follow her on social media, when you follow her on her blog, anywhere you follow her, you watch her on YouTube, she just exudes this huge amount of motivation and it's like you want to be her best friend. So, hi, Cassie. Thank you for being here. I'm so excited for my audience to chat with you.

I am so excited to be here too, Natalie.

Yay. So, Cassie, I first met you at an event for YouTube years ago and you spoke about how you created your business. Literally, if I remember this correctly, you created your business because you had moved and you wanted to stay in touch with a class you were instructing. Tell us about that. Because that story stuck with me so long and encouraged me in so many ways.

So I had just graduated from college with a degree in biology. But I didn't want anything to do with becoming a doctor because that's something that my dad always pressured me to do against my passion. And for those listening, know what I look like. I am of Chinese and Vietnamese descent. And so that whole Asian thing is that in a career, you really only have three choices. Either you're a doctor, a lawyer, or you're a failure. So my dad wanted me to be a doctor. Anyway, I decided that's not something that I really wanted to do. And so after I graduated from college, I ended up solidifying or securing a job in fashion buying. And I've always wanted to be a fashion designer. So it was the closest thing I could get to fashion right out of college. And during this whole time, though, I had been teaching Pilates throughout college as a certified instructor, and before the big move from LA to Boston, I was really sad that my students wouldn't be able to take class with me anymore. And they were really sad because no one else taught pop Pilates. And at the time, I was the only person teaching that format, which is Pilates to pop music. So it's kind of like a dance in that feeling. Anyway, so I thought, okay, well, why don't I record a little video of a workout and put it up on some website called YouTube and they can go see it whenever they miss me? And that is literally when the first Vlogilates video got posted. It was May 2009, and literally it wasn't supposed to become anything else except for a video for 40 people at 24 Hour Fitness.

Oh, my gosh. So it's crazy because people would. If you Google, like, top fitness person, like, you come up, you are the top Fitness influencer on YouTube and in so many places. So what's crazy? It's like you never even set out to do that.

It was just.

It sounds like it was by accident. Connecting with people, sharing your video.

Yeah. You know, it's always about leading with your passion, leading with what your gut tells you. And a lot of times you don't have a plan, and you just keep doing more of what feels right and doing less of what doesn't. And it sort of leads you to the right place. Because oddly enough, posting that YouTube video and then creating this audience and having this community eventually led me back to fashion design. And so now I'm designing activewear. Like, it's. It's crazy how the. How life can really work. They just gotta trust yourself, trust your gut, and just keep doing what makes you feel good.

So you Never. You never sat down initially with a business plan, if that's what I'm hearing. You didn't, you didn't have that. You just knew of.

All right, now we run four international brands and I never wrote a business plan for any of them.

Wow. So you are the definition of ready, fire, and then aim.

I mean, look, in this day and age with social media, you try something, you get feedback, and then if it works, you keep doing it. If it doesn't, then you don't. But, like, I mean, any business plan is great. I think it's really good to know if you're gonna be profitable. But for me, I just felt like, let's just give it a shot and if it fails, like, they will stop, and if it doesn't, then, like, let's keep going. So that's kind of how everything just starts growing for us. Yeah.

Now, people look at you now as this incredible success. Like, they, they look at you as an empire. And this, this, it's just an incredible. It looks like you're just so incredibly successful. And I know that it wasn't always like that. Like, did you ever imagine it would be like this? And how, and if you, if you did, I want, I'm curious about that mindset. And if you didn't imagine it, what do you think shifted to get you there?

So as a kid, I've always been the super ambitious one in school. Sometimes a little bit too ambitious that my fellow students wouldn't like me. That's a whole nother thing. So I always knew that I wanted to do something big. I didn't know what it was, but that's kind of why I have this fire inside of me, to just create impact, whatever that means, obviously, positive impact, because that's the type of person that I am. So, you know, I didn't know what it was gonna look like, but I knew what it was gonna feel like. And I'm definitely, like, feeling it. And I'm just so, so grateful for any opportunity that comes my way because I know that without that first YouTube video, I would not have the chances that I, you know, the experiences that I get to have today, especially being a person who is not the typical, you know, Caucasian, super fit, like, woman that you see, like, all over Instagram and on the magazine covers like that' and luckily, because there aren't agents and managers and people playing a game to see, okay, who's gonna be the face of whatever this year. It's like, no, the audience gets to choose who they connect with and for me, it hasn't ever been about looking like a model. It's always been about being a teacher and going back to that. The reason why I posted that first YouTube video is because I was a teacher who wanted to continue teaching my students. And that mentality and heart of wanting to continually. I think it's really been the force behind why things keep growing. It's from that integrity.

So what I'm hearing is a theme is about the gratitude first and foremost, and then always coming from a place of giving and teaching and adding value versus like what's in it for me, it's almost like you had a vision, but you weren't even looking at how it would benefit you at the time.

Yeah, no, I mean at the time we. The only thing we had going on besides when I say we say me and my now fiance, we met in college and the only thing I had going on at that time was I wanted to design a yoga bag. And so I like manufactured like tiny lot of like 100 in this, like with leftover fabrics. And I was like really trying to make it as a yoga bag designer. I know that's super niche, but I was like, yeah, this is gonna be it. And so that kind of was like my plan, if any, it was for those yoga bags. And what ended up happening was kind of eventually like years. It took years, a couple years to like sort of quote, unquote, take off. But even so, it's always been a very gradual progression. And then through that vehicle, social media, I was able to expose my designs to more people. So kind of worked hand in hand.

So have you always had a. You mentioned that you always were interested in fashion. You had this idea of the yoga mat. Did you always have a vision of building a, a brand around clothing?

I have always wanted to be a fashion designer. Like if you go to my parents house, you'll see I have binders and binders full of evening gown designs, wedding dress designs, like red carpet. Like I always wanted to be like a, like a flashy fashion designer. But as I got into pilates and fitness, I realized there was a need for fashionable activewear, which back in like the like 2007, 2008, like that didn't really exist. Now we have Lululemon, hour, yoga, we all, with Lauren and Jane, like so many options. Back then there really wasn't anything. And so I wanted to get into that, but I wanted to start with yoga bags so I didn't have to deal with sizing because I didn't come from an Educational background with fashion design. So I thought, okay, I could work with the architecture and geometrics of a bag. Like, I think I can understand that. So that's where I started. But in terms of, like, fashion, it's something that I had to grow into. And still continuously growing every day. It's really hard. The whole fashion industry has been exciting because of the fan base that's so excited to have a piece of not just the clothing, but really be a part of the entire blogilates community. Having a piece of that fabric on your skin really, you know, connects them to the entire journey and entire community.

Okay, my gosh, I have so many questions now. Okay, so first of all, I want to go back to. You originally said you were in school for biology and your parents wanted you to be a doctor. That's what they wanted. And I also remember you sharing that they didn't want the whole fitness thing. When you started taking off with that, how did you, you know, how did you talk yourself into being okay with your decisions and what you were working towards? Because so many people get trapped in what other people want for them. How were you able to master that?

It was really hard. And I was flailing and unsure of myself and thinking that I was making the wrong decision the entire time. Now I was in college, and I had never gone through a rebellious phase with my parents, like, ever. So this was a one to start with. And what ended up happening was I was just so, so incredibly unhappy, thinking about my future and thinking, wait, if I have this one life, like, why am I doing something that I don't like? Like, why? Like, what is the point of that? And my parents were like, well, you know, you gotta make your money. And then you got. And then you do the fashion design thing on the side. It's like, no, that doesn't work for me. I got a tip from an entrepreneur that I met who came to speak at our school. And I talked to him afterwards and he cassie, like, if you never give yourself the 100% chance to succeed, you will never know. And that hit me so hard. And I was like, right, I just gotta go for it. I gotta go for it. If I fail, at least I knew it wasn't meant to be, right? So that's the moment I decided that I need to stop even trying to explain to my parents why I don't want to do this, because clearly they weren't listening to me. And I'm talking about, like, two and a half years of screaming and yelling and crying on the phone and Trying to explain to them, like, I really don't want to do this. What I ended up doing was telling myself, cassie, don't be weak. You got to sabotage yourself so you never have to step into this again. So the last class that I needed in order to take the MCAT was organic chemistry. And I decided that I was two weeks into class and I was like, and I'm going to drop out. Wow. This was going to ruin my entire perfect scheduling for the testing and applying and all of that. And I just did that. And my parents were like, what is happening right now? And we basically didn't talk for a really long time. And they really disappointed in me and I was really upset too, and not sure, like, did I just do the right thing or not? But you know what I did, because it was like freedom. The moment I did that, I knew that there was an entire world of possibility around me.

Wow. Now, what would you tell somebody else about that? Because that is a theme. It's like a. The people pleasing theme, you know, and my parents or my husband or my friends, they're not accepting or not wanting it. How. What would you tell somebody else in that situation? Because just like that entrepreneur said to you that you'll never actually know. You know, you'll never actually know if you don't give yourself this chance. How. What would you tell somebody else that's struggling with that?

You know, obviously I want to say, go with your heart and do what you want to do. And, you know, if you fail, then, like, try again. But the reality is you got bills to pay. Maybe you're older and you have kids to take care of. So what if you follow your passion and it doesn't work and all of a sudden you're on the streets? You know what I mean? Like, so it's one of those things where it's like, follow your heart, but be smart about it. So, like, do it a little bit at a time. So maybe if you do have a very stable job, maybe start, I don't know, like, taking a little bit of extra time towards what you like. I don't know if you need to stay up later at night to like, start a different project that you like, but, like, start in little bits again. If it feels good, if it's working, do more. If it doesn't, do less. But as someone that is older now and responsible for other people, I feel like you also need to be responsible about the decisions that you're making. And so it's hard to really give. Like I said, I Want to say just go for it, because that's kind of what I did. And I, too. I mean, I had a job in line. Like, I applied to become a fashion buyer, and so that was kind of there. I knew that wasn't my end goal, but that was, like, the next step. And so I think you got to keep progressing towards what you want to do. Maybe it's not like the next step may not be the perfect step, but it's the next step forward. So I hope that makes sense. Yeah.

So you had a backup plan so you could feel safe and secure, but.

You still sort of. But I mean, like, okay, look, like, even when I got to Boston and I worked that first corporate job, it was not what I thought it was gonna be. And I. My boss made me feel really stupid. And I had just gotten myself into this place where I was like, this is not the glamorous dream that I thought this was gonna be. And I ended up quitting after eight months with no plan. Okay. Like, and me and Sam had broken up at that time, and he flew back to California. Now I was paying double rent with no job. And so at that point, I had to work group fitness instruction 12 times a week to make ends meet. And so here's the thing. It's like, sometimes when you don't have a plan, you make these big, drastic decisions, like, to quit your job without having anything in mind. It also forces you to survive. And in those moments, I think you make really important decisions, too. So either way, I mean, whether you want to play it safe or go hard, I think you'll be able to figure it out if you want it bad enough.

So, Cassie, was it. Can you remember a moment when you. You realized, like, wow, I'm super successful. Have you had that moment? When did you. And what was that like?

Yes. I mean, I've had. I definitely had moments where I realized, like, wow, I'm so grateful for what I have. Oh, my gosh, look at all this. And then, of course, I have moments where I feel like, this. I. What do I even want? All this. All these problems. Because, like, I forgot who said this, but it was like another level, another devil. And I just kept feeling that way. Like, it was like, can I ever just really enjoy this? Because I keep running into these problems, and they hurt. And, you know, you're having people that you can't even trust anymore. Like, it's just becoming such a. I don't know, just a big mess and. Sorry, the answer to your question is like, yes. I felt that way. And I think it's really important to remind yourself that you're doing a great job. And what helps me realize that is, like, taking a moment to stop. Like, literally stop. Because I'm constantly moving forward. Turn around and look how far you've come. Look at where you were last year or even like five years ago. And what do you want at that time? Look at what you have now. Look what you've created. And like, that always brings me to a place of such gratefulness. And then, you know, when it comes to, oh, look at all the problems I have now, it's like, well, these are different problems. These problems actually that you've earned so that you can get to the next level. And so, yeah, yeah, I felt that way. And it's always both. It's both.

But it sounds like from that gratitude statement, you look at problems as growth now. So it's like you have the problem. It stresses you out for a moment, but then it's, what's the growth in this? And just like you said, it brings you to the next level.

I mean, you have to. If you're having no problems and no mistakes, are you really going anywhere? And that always scares me, too, when things are too perfect. It terrifies me because either people are not telling me the truth because they want me to be happy with what I'm seeing or hearing and I'm living in a fantasy world, or I'm just not taking big enough steps. I'm not innovating enough. And so I actually don't like it when it's too perfect. I think perfection and momentary bits is okay, but too long, then you become complacent.

No, that brings me to something that I've really noticed about you. And this is so important for people. Listening is a lot of people go into their vision or what they want to create with. I have to look perfect. I have to look perfect. And you are so incredibly authentic. Like, I watch what you share when you're. When you're feeling something or when you're struggling or when you've been beaten up. You really share with your audience. And I found it seems like they really connect with you on that.

Yeah, I mean, look, like, I started blogging because it was like a diary, and then people started reading it. So that's why I've always been able to be so vulnerable in a public, private way type thing. And, yeah, you know what I think a lot of times people don't talk about things because they're embarrassed or, like, no one else has gone through this. But the truth is that there's a lot of people who can connect to what you're saying. And for me, reading the comments, it's also therapeutic just as much as the writing. And knowing that other people knowing that you're not alone, that's been really cool. That's been the power of social media. Obviously, there's a lot of positive and negative, but it's how you want to use it. And for me, it's been generally positive.

And, you know, a lot of people will hear what you said and say. And I've seen this with marketers. You know, it's like, okay, I have to share a vulnerable story, or they look at it as I'm going to share a vulnerable story so I can connect. And what you're saying is you just really were vulnerable. You really were real.

Oh, for real. You were.

Your journal. You shared what's going on.

And do you.

I mean, I find. Do you find that when people share what they're scared to share about, that's what works?

Yeah. And I think authenticity works. Being able to break down your walls and be like, hey, this is me and I'm broken and this is sucks. Like, people. That's human. Like, people want to know that things aren't perfect. And so, yeah, I think it works. But, you know, it's interesting what you actually just said. I had never really thought about that, about how sometimes people plan their imperfect moments or plan their. Even, like those. You know, those, like, before and afters where it's like, this is me and this is me three seconds later with, like, a food baby. But then it's like. I think the first few that came up on Instagram was like, wow, that's cool. And then it's like, now everyone's doing it, and it's like every week, and it's like the same people. And I'm like, are you really giving any more value with those types of posts? I mean, it's fine. I think it's good. But it's like, where's the authenticity of that? Because they saw it worked for someone else. So it's like, okay, I want likes, too.

I'm doing that right. And you can tell when somebody's really being vulnerable and sharing.

Oh, yeah.

And that's what I feel draws people to your social media, your videos. You really, truly do share what's going on, and people really can relate. I mean, what stands out to me is even your. The video about the Photoshop. I love that video. And I'm going To make sure I put a link so people can see what that video was. But that was incredible with that. When you shared what people are trying to live up to.

Totally. That was like, a time when I was getting a lot of online harassment and people just, like, making fun of my body and saying, like, why don't you have a six pack? And why. Why do you even teach fitness if you're so fat and all this crazy stuff? I was like, excuse me. Like, you're gonna attack my career like that? When you attack my career, like, that goes on to another level. Yeah, okay. Because, like, my body is my body. Fine. Whatever. You can think whatever you want, but do not ever say that I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing because of the way I look. Like, no way. And so that got me so upset that I took all that negative energy and was like, wait, why don't I use their comments against them and create something, Something out of this? And so I took those comments that you see in that video of people saying, you need to have a smaller waist or blah, blah, blah, you need to have a bigger butt. I took those comments and I was like, okay, fine. I want to see what I would look like if I looked exactly how you think I should look. And so I worked with a director friend of mine, James Chen, and Smashbox Studios, and I pitched this idea to them. I was like, I want to take people's comments and Photoshop myself in video, and let's see what impact that makes. And they were so on board with the idea. We immediately got to shooting within a couple weeks and had the video out within, like, a month. Because we were like, this is so important. This message needs to be heard. And when I released it, it was really more of a cathartic moment for me. Almost like, you know, personal blog posts where it was like, ugh, people. Like, this is how I feel. But then, and this was totally unplanned, it started getting shared by a bunch of people. Ended up being on Good Morning America all over the news. And I was like, whoa, whoa. Okay. Like this, like, incredibly vulnerable, like, terrible time. And I was, like, curled up in fetal position, crying. It was just bad. Like, I hated this entire day. Like, should I stop? This moment turned into almost, like, a moment for a lot of women who are like, that's right. Like, I don't need to look like how society wants me to look. Like, screw that and screw you. Like, I'm doing me, because, wow, that is what makes me happy. It's not my Physical shell. It is who I am.

I just got chills. Because you truly, you've heard the quote about turning your pain into purpose. You live that. It sounds like, I mean, you do. It sounds like you're human. You have the pain and then you just completely turn it, re channel it into purpose. That's incredible.

Yeah. You know what it's like? It's energy. It may be negative energy, but it's still energy. So you can transfer it into something else and transform it into something else. And I just feel like either you're going to let that energy crumble you, or you've got to be like, hey, I'm gonna let it build me. Here we go. I think that's how you gotta live.

How do you, like, what goes through your head when you get those negative comments? And I know you know the power of like, let's channel into something else now. But what goes through your head instantly? Like, because so many people, they stop themselves from going for things because somebody says they're fat or they're. They can't do it, it's too late or too old. All these self imposed stops. Like, what happens when you're being attacked with that? Like, take us through that.

Yeah. Well, when I'm being attacked and I'm a very emotional person, I initially crumple, I cry. Like, that's my initial reaction. I start to look at myself and be like, why am I this way? You know, like, these are all the natural human initial reactions. Then give myself some time to really, like, feel that. Because I don't think it's safe either to pretend like it's okay and like, oh, whatever, I'm gonna brush it off. This is not okay. It hurts. And so I let it hurt. Then once you feel those feelings, I'm like, all right, gotta pick myself back up. I gotta get out of this hole. And luckily for me, my fiance Sam has been so. He is the perfect person that I need to get through all this because he reminds me, hey, you've done a lot of great stuff. Let's get out of this. And then this is a really cheesy. But things that make me really happy immediately is Disney music. And so he'll put on a Disney song and then he'll force me to get out of fetal position and force me to get up. And then maybe he'll try to like, dance with me and be really stupid. And like, that gets me laughing. And then, you know, I'm like in a better mental state. And then I get to think clearly, be like, okay, it's just a comment. What does this mean? How can I use it in any positive way if it wasn't a hateful comment and it was really just a constructive criticism? And, I mean, you know, you really, like, lay things out, and then you just move on from there. And that's kind of. That's kind of the process that I go through. But I think the most important thing from that whole thing is that you have to allow yourself to feel those things.

Yeah.

Or else it's gonna stay there and stay there and stay there until one day somebody does something real small that reminds you of that. All that hatred, you just blow up. Because that's happened to me before. So don't pretend like it's okay, like it's not okay, but find a way to get out of it.

So feel the feels.

Feel the feels. You gotta feel the feels.

I love that. Have you had. And I want to know about failures. Have you had failures? And I'd love to know if you. If you have your biggest failure and what you learned from it.

Let me see. I've had a lot of failures. I'm trying to pick which one now.

That makes me feel better. That makes me feel better. I want to know that you are human and have had failures. For sure.

For sure. I think on, like, a business level, I've had. I think this is maybe six years ago or something like that. I wanted to start the next, like, Facebook of fitness, but I am not a coder. I'm not a developer. I am a visionary and a personality and a teacher. But I knew exactly what I wanted. So we did end up hiring a developer who was like, yeah, sure, I can make this happen. And so we're going along and. And they're promising me all these things. And, like, you know, we eventually get to a point after, like, a year of, like, working together, I'm like, okay, this is cool. I didn't know anything about, like, servers and, like, how much. How much it could take at once. And so, of course, right when we launched, like, the entire thing just, like, breaks. And I'm like, wait, what? Cause there were too many people on oh, my gosh. And it was crazy. And now fans are getting really mad because they're like, you promised us we're gonna have this, like, community, and, like, doesn't even work. And it's just like, oh, my gosh, Like, I have definitely stepped out of my comfort zone, like, way too far. It looks like I don't even have the right professionals in place. So Anyway, we dabble with this thing, which is something. Something that people really want. And yet I couldn't figure it out because I think what ended up happening was for the amount of traffic that we got, for the amount of pictures that were being uploaded, comments, forums, like, the whole thing, I think I would have actually needed, like, a huge investment from. What do you call it? Like, those investment companies, like, even make this happen. So I was trying to make this happen based on the money that I had saved up. And so I think it had gotten to the whole website, had gotten to a place where it was completely out of my scope and my range of expertise, that I had to shut it down with hundreds of thousands of people wanting it so bad. I just had to kill it because I was like, I'm spending way too much time on this thing. First of all, hasn't even made me money yet because we're charging people. It was free. I wasn't running ads on there. And it was just like. And it's giving me so much anxiety and sucking away my money day by day. And I was like, I just can't. And so we shut it down. Fans are mad, but it's fine because it wasn't something I was good at.

How did you handle that, though? So they're mad. And how did you. How did you tell them the truth? What did you do?

I mean, I told them, like, this is not something that I can handle anymore, and I'm really sorry. Like, let's continue to talk on, like, Facebook. So, I mean, that's all I could do because it was out of my scope, not my expertise, didn't have the money. Like, it was like, this is not what I meant to be doing. Like, Like I said, what it meant to be doing is to be a teacher. So even in that sense, am I really still teaching? Like, I'm connecting, but I'm not Facebook, I'm not MySpace. I'm not any of these things. Like, maybe I need to step away from that and continue doing what I'm good at. And so that was something really hard that I had to do because I'm always like, we gotta figure it out. Everything has gotta be a way. But in this case, it was like, there isn't a way because of the manpower, the money and all this. All this kind of stuff in my time is not where I should have been putting my energy.

So you are authentic. You told him what happened. What did you learn from that? What'd you take from that?

I learned that sometimes you have to step Away from things, even when they're really good things, because it's not making anybody happy, right? Because it wasn't working. So I wasn't happy. It wasn't working, so the fans weren't happy. But it was still something somebody wanted. So sometimes you just have to be okay with it and just move on and do other things that you're good at.

Stay committed to your vision. It sounds like, wow, okay. How do you adapt to bad situations? I want to know that. So you told me about the Disney music. But how do you. Other than the habits that you do? Like, how do you. How do you. What do you do? What do you do? You have a habit. You do that?

Do you?

Then tell me your process with that. When your bad situation's coming up.

In a bad situation. Okay, Bad situations, when that happens, usually I need to talk to somebody about it to make sure that I'm seeing things right. Because a lot of times bad situations are unnecessary because it begins with a miscommunication from somewhere. So first I gotta talk it out. Usually it's Sam, because he's my life partner and my business partner. So we talk it out. If it turns out it is actually a very bad situation, then we need to figure out a plan to kill it immediately right there. And that happens with transparency and honesty and not playing around or dancing around at all. If it's with a person, we call them in. We gotta talk to them right then and there. Like, hey, what's going on? Why did you do that? Like, immediately, Like, I think, again, miscommunication. Also pretending like stuff is okay. Like, not okay. Gotta be honest and we gotta get through stuff. So for me, it's about finding a solution. That's how I get through bad situations. If I'm not being solutions focused, then all of a sudden I'm thinking about, oh, what did they say? Rich D Say, oh, look at all this. So poor me. It's like, no, no, no. Skip all of that. How do we fix it?

Yeah, so you're not great. You're not even letting the story develop. You're not even letting it.

Like you're.

You're just going right to the source. You're clearing it up. I love that.

So you don't have to, like, otherwise, like, we're just gossiping at this point. What is the point? There's no point.

Now on social media and with everything I see, you always seem so motivated, so focused, so driven. What do you. I know you have days where you just don't feel like it like, where you just don't feel like posting on Instagram, you don't feel like filming a video. Like, how do you shift that mood and get yourself to do it when you just don't feel like it?

Well, I think, see, it's really hard because I am a social media personality and some people want to see me on all the time. But there's, like, business tasking mode and then there's online personality mode. And a lot of the time I'm in business mode because I'm literally right now sitting at my desk in the. Gonna get some stuff done after this that doesn't require any real physical movement and being happy and bubbly anywhere on camera. But I need both of them, because the Cassie that you see on camera is true me. And the business Cassidy is also true me, but it's different versions of me. And now I perhaps have gotten a question. What is your question?

Oh, no. I want to know, like, when you don't feel like it. So, like, you're in business mode and you're working on stuff, and now you've got to shift to social media, Cassie, and you don't feel like it'.

How do you. What do you do? So I think what helps, too, is we also plan out when our shoots are. So I know what mode I need to be in so it's not all of a sudden on the fly. That's why I find it. I find it. I incredibly respect people who are vloggers because they are on all the time, they're performing all the time. Like, I. Okay, I tried for a week and I bought myself a little vlogging cam. They're like, cool, we're gonna do all this new content. And I was like, I can't, because I need to live my real life. Like, when I eat, I want to eat. When I play with my dog, I'll play my dog. And so even then, when we talk about going on Instagram stories or Snapchat, like, that's supposed to be raw and real, but then again, it's like it's also produced. It's also me not living life. And so for me, it's about planning out our content so that I know when we're doing a live. When we are filming a YouTube video or whatever. And then sometimes, sometimes I'm more loose and I'm like, okay, cool. I'm just gonna do whatever and show people what's, like when I'm traveling. I think that's a lot easier. Yeah, so that's how you do it. It's through planning.

And I also noticed about you, and I love that you share that because it's not one way. You don't have to be a vlogger. You don't have to be a planner. You could choose, like, what works in your lifestyle. What I love about you too is I've seen you many times, like, decide. Like, I remember when you did the vlog and I know, I remember when you've gone down path with something and I see how quick you will shift and everyone's fine with it if it's not working or you don't want to do it or doesn't feel right. It's an amazing skill you have with that.

What do you mean?

Like, I've watched like when. I remember you did the vlog when you did your vlogs.

Okay.

And then you went back to what you know, planning your schedule and doing more of that, and nobody skipped a beat with you. It was like, oh, that's amazing. She did a vlog and now she does this. So it sounds like you really are great at being. You're just committed to doing what works well with you and with your audience. Not like what somebody says I should be doing right now.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I need to, like, it doesn't work. We gotta shift quick. Yeah, there's no point.

And you're very good at that. And I've seen, because I've seen people drag out something because they think they should be doing it.

And you're.

I watch shift a lot quicker.

Yeah. I think a lot of times people get married to a certain idea and it may not even be what, what other people think they should be doing. They're married to an idea that they think they should be doing, which is even harder. And for me it's just like, if it's not giving value to me or anyone else, we just gotta stop, period. You know, like, move on. And there's so many ideas and like, I'm full of ideas every day. Like, there's so many things I wanna do that I'm not even doing right now. So it's like, then why not? Let's just, let's just move on to the next thing, see if that works.

Yeah, you're incredible at that. I've got questions about some of your. Some habits. Cause I wanna know how you, like, like, how do you start your day every day? Do you have a.

Yes. So I wake up around 6:15, 6:30. I'm trying to be a morning person and my new routine is that I'm a morning worker outer, which I'm so proud of myself for. Because if you just backtrack three years. I used to go to sleep at 3:00 or 4:00 clock in the morning, like bad, bad. And I had a major, like gut issues, like lots of acne, like, you know, bags under my eyes and just like literally killing myself. And that means I would still wake up at like 9. So it's not like I had like a lot of sleep. So anyway, when I started shifting my routine to become a morning person, now my digestive system is better, my skin looks better anyway. It's just been better for me. But it starts out with a morning workout. I usually do a pit routine or like a weightlifting routine in the morning. So Pitt is Pilates intense interval training. So it's Pilates moves and also body weight cardio moves I do. It's a 28 minute workout. Like, like done, done and ready to go. Especially when I have time. This morning, for example, I got to the gym and I did some sprints on the treadmill and then I did some back and arms because I'm trying to get ready for the wedding. And my dress is backless. So that's what we're doing right now. And then went home and got ready and drove to work. And normally I don't. I'm not a breakfast person right now. I'm not a breakfast person. So I don't eat and I'll begin my first meal for lunch. Yeah. But I drink a ton of water. So I mean, I drink like water is the first thing I chugged out right after I brush my teeth. And usually it's water with lemon.

I just realized we. I don't even know how we're friends now because I wake up so excited for breakfast. So we definitely don't have that in common. I get like excited.

You know what's interesting? Oh, no. And yeah, I used to too. But like I'm like changing, you know, Like I used to be a night worker out and I'm a morning worker out. I don't know. My body is interesting. No, but even as a kid, my dad would like force me to eat breakfast because he's like, you need it for your brain. And I was like, but I don't want to. If I ate breakfast, my stomach would hurt. So I don't think I've ever been a breakfast person.

Interesting.

Yeah, there was a period of time and you know, I was like into this whole fitness thing. Oh, gotta eat. The first thing in the morning. I was, like, doing that. I just realized, like, I just don't. I don't need it. Like, we're talking right now. I haven't eaten anything yet. Like, drinking coconut water. I'm just feeling fine. I feel good.

So you do your workout first. You get up early. You don't eat. You're drinking water initially. Have you touched your phone yet? Do you do any. What else is happening in the morning? Are you away from that?

Definitely touch the phone. Like, literally, I wake up and I have to turn off my alarm. And then I look at my phone right away. So I know, I know, but I just need to know, like, has anything happened overnight? And then it's get ready for the gym. My phone is on do not disturb all day long, though. I think that's something really important that I want. I used to have that. What do you call it? That clicker slider, like, on the other way. And every time I would get a notification or phone call, like, literally, like, it would disrupt my mission, you know, Like, I can't get my things done. And it's like, when I check my phone and someone has called me, I will call them back, but I'm not gonna pick up the phone. I'm not gonna text people back right away. Like, it's gonna be fine. And so that has been so important, too, during my workout. If a phone rings in my workout, I get so messed up. So I make sure I have my playlist ready, I have my workout ready. We're going. We're not disturbed. And then after I'm done, then I check my phone, and I feel like that has been really, really good for me.

Yeah. Now, does it distract your routine at all? Like, if there is something that transpired overnight or. You do see that thing when you check your phone in the morning, does that ever get in the way of your workout?

Yeah, definitely. Let me get an email that I don't want to see. And now all of a sudden, it's in my head, like, totally disrupts me. But again, I feel the feels. And then I'm like, okay, I need to go work out. And then you put on a good Taylor Swift song. And then I go. And then, like. And then we go back to the problem after the workout. But the workout is, like, my time to motivate myself to get ready for the day, to set the tone for the day. And it's such an important time for me, and I hate missing my morning workout.

You're super committed to it. I love that.

Yeah. Well, Unless I'm traveling and I just have no choice or whatever. We've gone shoot that day. We had a shoot yesterday and I mean, it was a Pilates shoot, so technically it's like a full day workout, so. Yeah. But in general, like, my morning workout really makes me feel so happy and so good.

Now tell me about who you surround yourself with. Like, how do you. Are you a believer in having the right circle of friends? Like how. What do you surround yourself with? Who?

Yeah, so I am a believer in the people closest around you reflect who you are. I think I forget who it was, but they said like, the five people closest to you are a reflection of who you are. And so for me, I like surrounding myself with people who are highly motivated and successful, but also nice, kind people who care about you. I think that's really, really important too because you put yourself around a lot of people who are super high achieving and just don't give a care about you and are egotistical. That's not the kind of people I want to be around. I love humble people. I love people who give. And I'm very fortunate, obviously to have Sam around me. My sister just moved to LA and she's around me and so those are like the family feel good vibes. And then within the YouTube community, I have a circle of friends who are just so wonderful, all from different crafts. We have singers, we have beauty vloggers, we have musicians, like, and we all will just meet up like once a month for a game night.

Oh, fun.

Yeah. Not even talking about business, whatever. It's just like, literally we are here to play games and have a good time with each other. And if we happen to have any problems that we need to talk about, at least we're in a circle of people that understands that. But it's just been so nice to be around other people, other highly motivated people in different crafts. I think it's so fascinating to meet talented people in things that you have no idea how they're doing that. So I have so much respect for my friends.

Cassie, how do you simulate creativity? Like you said, you have a thousand thoughts a day and you have all these ideas. Do you ever have those creative blocks? And how do you. Because you are so crazy creative. Like, I watch it. You've got all these, like, how does she think of that? Is there something you do to stimulate that?

Oh, man. I mean, right when you say that. I have so many things sitting in my head, but how I get creative is usually when I'm faced with a problem. It goes back to these problems with certain challenges, which are also, like, homework assignments. I just find that so fascinating. Like, you gotta make sure you get this as your end goal, but you gotta, like, be within these bounds or whatever. And so problems make me really creative if I feel like, oh, we're stagnant in followers this month, like, what can we do? Or like, oh, like, the fans want more pop flights, but they want it faster. What can we do? Like, I actually. This is the first time I've ever said that, but problems are what inspire my creativity.

Hmm. I've never heard that. And I think that's great. I just wrote that down. That's amazing.

Oh, I've never said that either. So I'm gonna write that down. Yeah.

Probably albums make her stimulate your creativity. That's incredible. All right. Two big questions that I ask everyone. I'm curious what your favorite quote is, if you have one.

Oh, my gosh. So many favorite quotes. I'm gonna pull up my phone right now. Okay.

Okay.

I don't. I don't want to make. I don't want to mess it up. Okay, let's see. Okay. As of recent, I've been following someone named Jay Shetty. Do you know who Jay Shetty?

Yep, I do.

Oh, my gosh. His quotes speak to me, like, hardcore.

Okay.

Hardcore. Okay. And because recently I've been. Okay, look, when you become an entrepreneur, or at least when I became an entrepreneur, I didn't think that it would be a lot of management of people and things. And that's something that's a place that I've struggled a lot with also because I'm a people pleaser, and it's hard to do that also when you try to be a leader. So I've had a lot of issues with that. And let's see. He posted something, and I'm gonna find it. It's in my saved. Okay, okay, okay. He posted, Stop giving 100% to people who give you 50%. That was really good. And another one. And again, my favorite quotes at the moment change with issues that I'm dealing with. So this is another quote that spoke to me so well. It says, thanks to the people that walked into my life and made it better, and thanks to the ones who walked out. It made it amazing. I know, right?

Yeah.

When I heard that, I was like, thank you for powering the situations I've been in. Yes.

Yeah. Now, I lied because I said I had one other question. I asked everybody, but I have to ask about what you just said now. First because that is actually very interesting. You said you struggle with managing people, and I feel a lot of creative people do have that same thing. Any insight on that, on what you've learned about that or what you. Where that struggle comes from?

So many things. So many things. I could say one. I think I've learned that being a good person who actually cares will always outweigh skill and talent when it comes to hiring. And that's a mistake that I made that I have learned now. So that's one.

Oh, so you said you would hire before because they care and they're a good person.

No, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry. The other way.

Okay.

I hire for. Or I hired for talent and haven't. Didn't give the time to develop.

Got it.

Like that. Or to see if they were a person that actually cared about your brand and your business or were they really. That has hurt me, and it has. Not just the business, but I'm talking about emotionally, spiritually. Like, it broke me and almost made me feel like, should I even be the CEO of my company? Like, it took me to a point where I wanted to just quit everything. Like, literally.

Wow.

When you have a snake or a poison in your. In your group, and my team isn't that big and you have one, it will really affect everyone and everything, and it will disrupt everything. And when it starts to affect you, me personally, and I'm no longer able to be creative because now I'm worrying about who's saying what behind whose back. It's just like, no, that's not what we're here to do. And so that's something that I've learned over the past few years. And it has also affected the way that we hire people, too.

Wow. I'm so glad you just shared that, Cassie, because really, you're not alone with that. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs beat themselves up thinking that they have to have that all together. Why did I do this wrong? And I think it's a common theme. So I love that you shared that and learned that. I'm sorry, you experienced it. I can share. I, for one, have definitely experienced exactly what you're talking about, and many that I've interviewed have as well. So I'm glad you shared that. Okay, so the final question that I ask everybody is I. Because people, somebody listening right now is for sure thinking, I, I love what you shared. However, I'm in a really bad place right now. Whether it's financially or nobody's believing in them or their business failed things are just not working. And I'd love to know your take, what you would tell a friend. There's three pieces of advice you'd give to somebody that is in that rock bottom place right now, that has a vision.

Okay? If you have a vision and you're in a rock bottom place, first off, find someone that you really trust and that cares about you. And, like, just talk it out. Talk out, like, what's going on? Why are you feeling this way? And then also this person, whoever you talk to, maybe a few different people, someone who can truly support your idea and give you that little boost of confidence to just go for it. Because that's so important. Because we are affected by what people tell us, by what we think people think of us. And it can become really dangerous because you may never take that next step because you think it's a stupid idea just because somebody said something. And so you got to get someone who's on your side and will believe you, but also not blindly and stupidly believe you. Like, if it's a bad idea, I hope that your friend or whoever will tell you, hey, you might want to rework that. That's really important, too. So that's step one. Surrounding yourself with positive people, supportive people. And then step two is take the leap. Now, look, it doesn't have to be a huge leap. It could literally be like, hey, start that Instagram account and don't even post. Or, like, get that URL and don't even do anything. Like the little things. And little by little, you build. And maybe every day you do one more little thing. I think sometimes people think it means I have to drop everything and start a new. And here we go. But it's not. It's like, even if you post a YouTube video, you can can still keep doing what you're doing and then make another YouTube video. It's not like this huge life shift, because I've met too many people who will ask me, cassie, like, can I pick your brain? Can I loose it down and can you mentor me? It's like, so what? And I've gotten tired now of doing that. Because anytime I get it, give advice, and they don't do it. It just makes me feel like, what was the point of that? And usually it's them being like, yeah, yeah, I'm going to do it. They just don't do it. So literally, step two is just do it. And those are the steps. Because then after that you figure out, hey, did that work or not? Should we keep going or should we not you know?

Yeah. So find someone that you trust that cares about you, that can give you. That can believe in you and give you some confidence to go for it. If it's a good idea, take a leap, take a little step forward. Anything else that people can do to help shift them because, you know, they've lost the business. They've, like, nothing's working right now. They're like, I don't even have the money. I don't even have this. What would you tell them? Third thing?

Well, if you don't have the money, sometimes you've got to. Maybe you got to get a job to make the little money that you got to make to take that first little step. I mean, it's like, let's not think about poor me. I'm a victim. What can I do? It's like. It's like, hey, this is where I am. How am I going to get out of it again?

Got it. So find a solution. Find a solution.

Whether. Just find a solution, and it's going to suck. It's good. And sometimes it means you just got to put that ego, like, out. Like, forget it. Like, just get through this moment, and it's gonna be okay.

Wow. It's powerful. Cassie, you are so powerful. And so if you guys are not following her, this means she is. You have to follow her. She's amazing. Her energy, she's so motivating. She's so real. She's so authentic. Can you share with everyone, like, what's coming, what's out there where they can find you? Like, about your app? Everything.

Yeah. Well, first of all, Natalie, I want to say that this is a really fun interview. Like, I love the questions that you ask because it's really different than the other interviews I do because everyone's like, well, can you tell me how you got started? And da, da, da. It's like, you know how it is. It gets really boring. You're just like, okay, every time. But I like that you made me think and that you inspired me to learn something new about myself, which is that whole thing about how problems inspire my creativity, which I had never, ever, ever, ever thought of. I love it. Thank you for that. That's like a gem for me. I'm gonna write it down. Okay. Sorry. So how can you find me? So I am at blogilates on everything. So that's B L O G I L A T E S. It's a mixture of blog and Pilates because I started out as a blogger, and I'm a Pilates instructor, and you can find my activewear@popflexactive.com and then also we just released a new app called Pitt Pocket. It's piit Pocket. And basically with this app you can drag and drop your own hiit routines to be whatever you want it to be. And that's been really cool. And also customize your own meal plans that are 28 dairy set friendly, which means they're gluten free, dairy free. And I know a lot of your followers, Natalie, would probably really do that. Yes. And it's free to download, so Android and iPhone go for it.

Amazing. And I will stand behind. Anything that Cassie puts out there is like top notch. She goes all in. You're like high performance on everything. I mean, your yoga mats that you. I've seen, they're like incredible. You don't do anything average. You do nothing average.

But you know what, you know what, it's interesting because when you look back and you're like, oh, those were really bad. But in the moment you do the best that you can. I think these mats right now, I love them so much. I love them.

Go follow her, everyone. Look at her stuff. She's amazing. And her active clothes, everything. I stand behind all of it. It's. It's incredible. Thank you so much, Cassie, for being here.

Oh, thank you, Natalie. Hope to see you soon.

Thanks for leveling up with us today. Please share this episode if you found it helpful so others can join in. And don't forget to hit that subscribe so you don't miss out on future shows. And if you want, would leave me a five star review. I appreciate those so much. I read all of them and it's how I know that I'm giving you information that you find valuable. And come interact with me over on Instagram at Natalie Jill Fit. I read all the direct messages and comments over there. Make it a great day. Creating everything from nothing.

Sam.