GUYS!!
I’m so so excited to share this interview I had with Elizabeth and Dale from Sweats & The City.
These two bad ass girls are taking the NYC fitness studios by storm! I found their blog around the time I moved to NYC and IMMEDIATELY fell in love with the girls’ personalities and their blog’s content. I even attended a SATC yoga met up and meet Dale!
Not only do they share honest class recommendations, but they also share relevant health & beauty tips and wellness hacks.
In this interview, we discuss the challenges these two have experienced as they grew their brand and following to nearly 60k!! We also chatted about their top blogging tips, fave hot spots in NYC, workout snacks, and skinny & beauty tips!!
♡
HAILS : What were you doing before Sweats and the City was born?
Dale was working at a fashion start-up called Style Lend and Elizabeth was at Bloomberg doing Ad Sales!
HAILS : How did Sweats and the City come about?
We started off as roommates and quickly realized we both had a passion for not only fitness, but exploring boutique fitness studios in the city. We would often end our days by coming home and eating a healthy meal together while we discussed classes we’d taken that day – every detail, including what we did and didn’t like. We decided to blog about these classes after we realized these tidbits would be useful for other people in the city just like us, who wanted to avoid blindly entering a workout. We were so passionate about starting it as a side project, but didn’t expect for it to become a full-time job. We had no idea what would come of it, when we first started we were just so excited that companies would send us product! After about a year and a half of Sweats and turning it into a business, we realized it made sense to go full time with it.
HAILS : What has been the biggest challenge as you grew your brand?
Sticking true to the brand no matter what, even if that means turning down a great offer. We’re pretty picky about who we choose to work with and saying no has become easier over time. However, it was something we did struggle with at first. We always thought we had to say “yes”, whether it was to work with a brand or to promote in a way that wasn’t authentic to us, or even engage with companies that tried to take advantage. We have since learned how to navigate this and put our brand first. We are growing and learned and getting much better at refusing whatever doesn’t feel right for us.
HAILS : What tips do you have for someone who wants to grow their blog and/or brand?
Really find your voice in the influencer world. There are so many influencers out there and it’s becoming quite saturated, so you really want to find your voice and your niche that separates you and again, learn to say no to brands that don’t share the same values as you. Those all play an important role in your branding. Additionally, consistency is key! Influencers that post a couple times a week and don’t care to engage with followers won’t grow their brand, it’s something you need to work at pretty much every day.
HAILS : You girls know ALL the ins and outs of NYC! What are your fave coffee shops, restaurants, O.T.G meals, and fitness studios?
For coffee shops, we’re big Bluestone Lane girls. Love an au lait or Matcha Latte from there! Our favorite fitness studios include: Project By Equinox (specifically Megan Roup Sculpt Society), P.Volve, ModelFit, BK Pilates, AKT, Physique 57, CorePower Yoga, Rumble, the list goes on and on and on! For restaurants, it’s pretty much the same thing in terms of having so many favorites, but for our go-to healthy spots include Westville, Butcher’s Daughter, Jack’s Wife Freda, Cafe Clover and Shuka. For a treat yo’ self meal: Sadelle’s, Nobu, Carbone, Via Carota, Bar Pitti and Mr. Chow. Can never go wrong with those!
HAILS : What is your go-to pre and post workout snack?
It depends what time of day we’re working out and which workout we’re doing. We usually workout after breakfast, which is generally our yogurt concoction (icelandic yogurt with low sugar/grain free granola, almond butter, and berries) or our famous homemade smoothie (which we’ve saved in our EATS highlights!). After a workout, we generally have our lunch, which changes daily, but salads with a protein, vegetable omelettes/scrambles, and last night’s leftovers are generally on the menu – nothing too fancy. We’re not big on pre/post workout supplements, we prefer real food.
HAILS : Fave workout outfit?
Very hard to choose just one: But we are obsessed with Alo Yoga, Koral, Outdoor Voices, Michi, and Splits 59.
HAILS : Top skinny tip?? Beauty?
Low impact workouts and walking is such a great combo. We find we are our best selves when we do more low impact/sculpting workouts combined with tons of walking and a sprinkle of cardio. We used to push ourselves constantly with running or spinning, but then would just overcompensate with eating. For beauty, we love an ice roller ( the one I use HERE ) to de-puff our faces in the morning, along with a great face mask.
HAILS : Where can we find you?!
@sweatsandthecity or www.sweatsandcity.com
Thank you both SO MUCH !!
Let me know what you thought of this interview on my latest INSTA!
xx hails
Wow, great article!! Enjoyed reading it very much.
I’m so happy to hear that! 🙂