How to Use Your Passion to Support Others with Alex Richardson

This week we bring on Alex Richardson. She is a mom, wife, teacher, non-profit director and hemp advocate with Green Compass! Alex tells us how she has been able to leverage her talents and passions to support those around her in many different ways. You will love Alex's story and the wisdom she drops on this episode! 

How to reach Alex:
@lexrich89

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Transcript

Chris: 0:31

welcome back everybody. I am Chris Kellum with my constant co-host Tyler, y'all. And this week we bring on a winner of one of our giveaways, Ms. Alex

Alex: 0:42

Richardson,

Chris: 0:43

And we just wanted to thank you guys for listening to us, and Alex didn't have a choice, but we chose to bring on some Johnny Walker Green Label for us to sip on. This is supposedly the best bank for your buck when it comes to Johnny Walker. From the

Tyler: 0:57

Whiskey Connor Store himself, Ryan Payne will tag you. taught Dennis everything he knows about whiskey at rounds. Lidos over there and made for a town center. Yep.

Chris: 1:09

So if you didn't know, green Label is a blended, a blended whiskey from Scotland and it actually is blended of four different single malts. If you don't know what a single malt is, join the club. But they get four different single malt whiskeys from around Scotland. I am horrible and don't speak Scottish. So it's Taki Lincolnwood cra andmore. And it looks like K O A C a O L space. I

Alex: 1:39

l a. I could put a Spanish twist on it, but yeah.

Chris: 1:44

Cool. Anyways. But it is age 15 years, so it's kind of cool. Something a little bit different. Has a very nice classic color. Mm-hmm. But let's have a sit. Cheers.

Alex: 1:54

Cheers. Cheers. I feel like I need to do Anthony's way of sipping.

Tyler: 2:00

Yeah, I have to The four. Yep. That's pretty good. That's the first time that I've actually had green label. Ooh, that's smooth. That is

Alex: 2:07

really smooth.

Tyler: 2:08

Mm-hmm. I would say it is a good bang for your buck. Mm-hmm. the blue label still definitely beats it out, but I'm not sure if it beats it out three times the price.

Chris: 2:17

Yeah. This one definitely has more earthy aromas. Mm-hmm. It says it's supposed to be garden fruits, married with florals. You kind of smell, it's a little bit lighter scent. You're supposed to taste some rich wood notes with oaken cedar and it has obviously a smoky ped finish.

Alex: 2:34

I just tried to do the under the tongue hold. Yeah. That

Tyler: 2:37

burns you out. Yes, it does. That burns you out when I do that. The first time I was like, whoa, I've never experienced whiskey like this before. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Chris: 2:46

Wow. What do you think?

Alex: 2:47

It's good. It is smooth. I'm tasting a lot of things. I, I wish I could tell you what I was tasting.

Tyler: 2:54

That's what, so when you start getting into whiskeys more, cause I know we talked about this prior to the podcast, the more you start picking up flavors, In different whiskeys, the more that you can start pinpointing the notes that you have. And then also, like if you've never had figgy pudding before, you won't taste a figgy pudding note for sure. No

Chris: 3:15

I'm still trying to figure out what Figgy pudding is. But the real thing is introduce yourself,

Alex: 3:22

Alex Okay. So I am Alex Richardson. I was born and raised in Wilmington, which is awesome. I'm so happy to be home. Mm-hmm. I left for nine years, was in Virginia. Yeah. And my husband and moved back here. Happy to raise a family at the beach. Yeah. I'm a wife, a mom, a nonprofit founder and executive director, high school Spanish teacher online and hemp wellness advocate. So I got my hands in a lot of things. Yeah.

Chris: 3:50

I gotta ask you to start with, what is a nonprofit

Alex: 3:56

That was a great question. So a 5 0 1 Nonprofit is a charitable organization. The majority of the funds are fundraised and then the majority should be going back into your programs for the people you're serving. So for us specifically, we work with women in early postpartum, so that really zero to six months after having a baby is where we focus our time. And then we also invite some pregnant women along and what we're doing as well. So it's really, it's really been such a fun adventure. I never saw myself being a nonprofit director. I never saw myself being really a founder or like a, a business owner. Mm-hmm. I think being married to an entrepreneur kind of did that to me. But it has been a really, really fun ride. I originally was a high school Spanish teacher and pictured myself doing that until I was old, you know, an old lady teacher in my classroom. But life has other plans, you know?

Tyler: 4:55

Certainly. So how did the nonprofit start? Like what kind of got you into

Alex: 4:58

it? So, I'd been teaching for eight years. I was in Virginia for five, taught here at Laney for three years. What, what? Yeah, I, I really loved my experience. Laney. I graduated from Ashley. All my friends were from Hoggard. So Laney, I didn't even know that end of town until I moved back to Wilmington and really enjoyed being there. But then I had my daughter in 2019 and it was, it's just a tough transition into motherhood and she was not the easiest baby. It was a very lonely time, even though I had family. I was the first of all my friends to have a baby. and my doctor, I went in at six weeks and she's like, oh, you know you're good to go. Yeah. And I had a third degree tear and I did not feel good to go Oh no. And fortunately, I love physical fitness and I had worked with a pelvic floor physical therapist mm-hmm. while I was pregnant. So I knew outta my own just knowledge and experience to go see her. And she took one look at me and she's like, you are not good to go. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, why did my doctor not tell me about this resource that could help me so much? I would definitely not have a second kid, you know, Right. if I did not go see her. And so that experience happened and I was a little disappointed in our healthcare system and just kind of the care that I had postpartum. Mm-hmm. And then I had my son in. 2021 and tough transition going from one to two. Definitely felt like I struggled with some undiagnosed, probably postpartum anxiety with probably both of them. Yeah. And again, just got cleared four weeks postpartum. I wasn't told about any resources. Never once was I told about lactation support or postpartum doulas or really anything that really can servee women. And I was like, we gotta do something. And so I sat on it over the summer and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna start a non-profit. I had never done non-profit like I had volunteered Yeah. With nonprofits before. Right. But that's like a one day thing. I had never sat on a board, but I was like, I think it'll be easy to fundraise which is jokes on me, but it's okay. And. I dove in, I did the paperwork and I got a board together with some people locally who I knew really cared about women. And we launched officially in January of this year. And really what we do is we do home visits. So anyone can sign up to get a home visit and they get a meal sponsored by Kleenex and a nice little gift bag. And we go and we just sit for 30 to 45 minutes and just check in on Mom, how are you doing? How's feeding going? How's sleeping, going? You know, are you taking care of yourself? Is there anything you really need to feel supported? And then just connect her with those resources. So we're really trying to be a bridge between the mom and these other resources that maybe the doctors aren't sharing about. You don't want

Chris: 7:54

to be the one who's like, oh, hey. Yeah. You can find resources. Goodbye.

Alex: 7:58

Yeah, exactly. So it's been nice and it's been really fun connecting with different providers locally and really being able to be that bridge. And then we also have new mama meetups for those who are pregnant to six months postpartum which Teller's wife has been too. Yeah. And it's just so fun to get women together and just have a safe space for them to get outta the house. A lot of these women, it's the first time they leave the house by themselves with their baby, cuz just that alone is such an overwhelming thing. And to give them a safe space where there's gonna be other moms and some food and drinks, and it's gonna be, you know, very relaxed is it's just been so incredible. So incredible.

Tyler: 8:34

It's amazing. There's, there was never anything else like that out there. Mm-hmm. Especially after having our first kid too. They hand you the baby and you're like, good luck, have fun, Oh my God. And you're like, oh, okay. How, how's this gonna happen? I have to keep this thing alive, Yeah. And after a couple weeks typically like for myself, like dad gets to go back to work. Yep. And then mom's still with the baby going, okay, now I have to keep it alive by myself. Yep. And going through the whole process, I can just only imagine. And I'm sure there's a lot of undiagnosed postpartum anxiety. Oh, for sure. And especially not having that support system, because we were one of the first in our friend group too. Mm-hmm. had a baby. It's like, okay, who do we, who do we ask how this goes? Like you can talk to your parents, but it's not Yep. It's, it's different. And like you can get a lot of help and support from them, but just to be able to go to your peers and talk to them, I think makes a huge difference. For

Alex: 9:24

sure. For sure. We had a mom last week who was coming. She's been coming to the meetup. She's from Brazil, and her husband's American, and she knows nobody here. She moved here during Covid, which is a lot of our moms, and she's like, this is the only outing that I do. Yeah. I know nothing else. And she's like, what you've done is everything I have. And it just like, it just blew me away. Mm-hmm. you know, to be able to provide that is just such a huge honor, you know? Yeah.

Tyler: 9:55

That's amazing. Huge, huge. Good for you to have like the gumption and ability to stand up and say like, Hey, like this need, this is needed around here and going for it. Major

Alex: 10:04

props. Like I feel like we all have things that we're innately passionate about, and I feel like we owe it to ourselves to chase those passions, but also to the people who can benefit from that. Mm-hmm. you know, and even if it's like a whiskey and wisdom podcast, you know, and you're sharing camaraderie with people, someone could listen and it could like, Change their day or change their life, you know? And so I feel like not listening to that call would just be such a detriment, you know?

Chris: 10:36

Yeah. So my question, cuz I, I'm, I'm a person who likes those movies where they give you the sneak peek at the front end and then they are like, oh, let's show you how we got here. So how did we get here? You went to Ashley? Mm-hmm. unfortunately.

Alex: 10:51

I won't disagree.

Chris: 10:53

No. We hit Sean on here over the summer and he went to Ashley too and I still gave him smack for it. And I, I always laugh cuz I grew up, I'm from Rocky Point, so I shouldn't have gone to Laney, but I did mm-hmm. so I didn't know of all the people in Ashley. Yeah. how'd you end up going to school to be a teacher,

Alex: 11:11

you know, or were you a teacher? I knew from the time I was like a child, that I was gonna be a teacher. I have a younger brother and younger sister and I would make my brother sit down and do school with me, And I was the teacher and like every career day I just like innately knew that I wanted to be a teacher, but I always thought I wanted to do elementary education. And then I got to school and I was working with Young Life, which is like a high school organization. Yeah. And I was volunteering and I really fell in love with the high school age group. And I also was looking at the major, and for elementary ed, you had to pick two focuses and take all these like high level classes, And for high school you just had to pick one focus. And I was really torn between science and Spanish because I. love science. I love the body. I could totally see myself doing like bio or kinesiology or something like that. And the Spanish, my dad's parents were missionaries, so he grew up in Bolivia for a while. Oh, okay. So I was always had some like Spanish kids books and some stuff around the house. Yeah. Like he didn't speak it with us growing up except for like numbers and, you know, colors and stuff. But I was like, Spanish will be easier, And so I just picked Spanish not knowing I was gonna have to live in Guatemala for two months. Oh wow. And oh yeah. I like for a month lived with a Guatemala family and had to like shower in Rainwater outside of the house. Yeah. Like it was, it was a experience, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. And I'm happy to have this skill now. Yeah. Cause I feel like it's just opened so many doors and teaching an elective is just way more fun than something that's gonna have all the like, core tests and stuff. So yeah, I kind of shifted directions in college and I'm so happy I did

Chris: 13:24

so. Wait, how'd you end up in Guatemala? So we're not gonna skip

Alex: 13:29

right past, right? I was like, oh this happened So I went to Liberty, which is a Christian university. Mm-hmm Yeah. And you have to do a study abroad program. My brother was a business international studies major at U N C W. Also had to do a study abroad program. His was in Spain, So he literally partied for a whole semester in Spain while I was showering in Roaring Water in Guatemala, cuz that's just where you went with liberties program. So like all the Americans would stay together on this kind of nice base for a month and do like service projects in different cities. And then you had to live with a Guatemala family and nobody has running water and you know, it's just, it is really a life changing experience. But I would, I would do it again. I mean, I've gone back multiple times. Yeah, but I'm a little jealous. I couldn't go to Spain,

Chris: 14:20

But I feel like it's a great thing. Like, let's be real. A lot of Americans assume that you're either really great off or really bad, and I feel like getting placed somewhere where you actually have to experience without having to be in a war zone. Yes. Mm-hmm. officially is something that people

Alex: 14:40

should experience. I think every person should have to go stay in a third world country and experience what it is like. Like as soon as my children are old enough to kind of grasp. that a little bit. I will be taking them on service projects to third world countries cuz we just have it so good here. I mean even, and I understand there is a lot of poverty. I understand there is a lot of homelessness and I don't wanna belittle that at all. But in general, this country has it so good. Mm-hmm. so, so good. So I, I do, I wish so many of my high school students, I'm like, I just wanna sh wanted to shake them like, you have it so good go shower in rainwater and then complain. They come back

Tyler: 15:27

then complain.

Alex: 15:29

Oh,

Chris: 15:29

so you went to Liberty. Hmm? You

Alex: 15:32

met your hubby? Yeah, but not at Liberty. So he was actually, I was five years into teaching when we met. He was in the military. Oh, okay. Got medically discharged because he blew off some of his fingers, which is a. Story for another time, I'll let him tell that someday and we have

Tyler: 15:51

some schedule to come on too. Yeah,

Alex: 15:54

he's got pretty good, he's got a pretty good life story and he was working at a gym that I was going to and I spotted him and I was like, oh, he's cute. And kind of like creeped. He was running the gym's like Twitter account at the time, And I was like totally stalking him. But then I ended up dating this other guy that was just like a really bad relationship, but also really good for me to experience that bad relationship before dating him. Right. And we ended up moving into the same apartment complex after I had had that not so great relationship and I noticed him walking his dog in the morning. So I had time leaving so that we could like say hey to each other in the morning and. At the time he was dating a girl long distance and he like invite, they would watch UFC fights. Like he was, he's real big into MMA stuff. Yeah. And he like invited me over to hang with all his friends and his girlfriend one weekend. And when I met her I was like, oh, she's not gonna last And she didn't they broke up like, I don't know, a month later. And then a month after that he asked me out. And I mean, I, I don't know, I just knew from the get-go I knew what I wanted. So you were the reason I might have been The reason he would never say that. I don't think

Chris: 17:08

I'm gonna remember to ask you Right?

Tyler: 17:10

Right. And Chris will remember too. Don't you worry.

Chris: 17:14

I am a true elephant.

Alex: 17:16

Yes. I love that. I have a horrible memory. Horrible I'm with you.

Tyler: 17:20

Yeah. Chris is my memory for the most part. Yep. Between him and my wife, they, they keep me straight. So one of the things that I'm sure many people think of, if they were to just. Jump onto your Instagram page and look at it. How does hemp and being a director of a nonprofit, go together? Because me knowing you and knowing both of the worlds, mostly through my wife, I understand how there is a, there's really more of a correlation than not. Yes. There. But can you explain?

Alex: 17:51

Yeah. So I actually started with Green Compass is a company that the founders are actually from Wilmington. Yeah. Wanted to have a really good organic cbd. D they got, it started, started in 2019 when I had my daughter. And I was like, I had said so lonely. And I saw these girls were getting together every week and having coffee. And my husband had used C B D before for his he doesn't say that he has P T S D, but he was struggling to go to sleep every single night. Mm-hmm. he has to fall asleep with the TV on. And he was doing like melatonin and NyQuil and I was like, listen, will you just like try some CBD D for. Some of those anxious thoughts and feelings and, you know, to help you get to sleep. And he's like, sure, I'll try it. But he's really like not a natural kind of guy at all. And he's very like, like me, I'm all about medical marijuana. Like, you know, let's make it legal and help some people out. And he's like, whatever. But so anyway, got'em on board with it, saw this company was launching, saw these girls. I was like, you know what? I need people to hang out with. So I was like, I'm just gonna sign on and hang out with these girls. And it was just so life changing to be a part of that community and also have a really high quality product. Well, I, I've been doing it since 2019 and it's just kind of been a slow growth and I've really just fallen in love with really learning natural methods to help yourself feel better. And, you know, if people can get off pills even better. Mm-hmm. you know, just looking at holistic wellness, I've. Really just taken this deep dive into like the crunchy world, it is dangerous. But then I've got all these moms who are struggling and honestly, I really try to keep it separate because I do not ever want someone to think that I am trying to leverage my platform with fourth trimester mission and my moms to further my hemp wellness business. I really try to keep that separate and I don't ever try to like, push anything on the moms in the program or, you know, I, I really try to keep that separate, but it is such a helpful tool for women who are struggling postpartum. Yeah. To have a natural way to alleviate some. Anxious feelings, some of that stress, some of that sleep struggle, because I know for me, I wasn't sleeping at all. And you can't take NyQuil because you're not gonna wake up and hear your baby. You know? And so you need something where you can be lucid and CBD was really helpful with that. So I do try to keep it separate, but I also know it can be a very helpful tool for Yeah, certainly really anyone, not just women in postpartum, but anyone. Right. Yeah,

Tyler: 20:30

that was something that I've always been on for a while too, is mm-hmm. Cbd I've, like, you're your husband mixed martial arts wrestler, all of that. So What comes with that is a lot of aching in joints and all of that stuff. Yes, yes. And that has helped a lot with that. I also used to have incredibly horrible migraines. Oh, wow. And was on daily medication from that, was able to get off the daily medication just by taking cbd. That's amazing. So it's just incredible. And I can't speak highly enough of it too.

Alex: 20:56

Oh. I love hearing stories like that,

Tyler: 20:58

Yeah, exactly. And anytime I can have someone else kind of share an experience with that as well too, I try to. Cause I, I think it is such a huge thing, especially like medical marijuana. I can't believe it took so long to finally get to where it is now. Which just isn't that far. I know.

Alex: 21:12

Got a long way to go.

Chris: 21:14

Can't believe it took that long.

Tyler: 21:16

really. Well, I can because I know how this world works, but it's, it's mind blowing that anyone would keep it from getting

Alex: 21:23

here. a patient cured is a customer lost. Yep.

Tyler: 21:27

Exactly. Yeah. We have a lot of mutual friends that I do in that space too. Mm-hmm. So, mm-hmm. it's I like seeing it grow, especially in Wilmington. Oh yeah. And we'll have more of those people on as well too, I'm sure. Cuz there's some big people doing some big things.

Alex: 21:40

Yeah. Sarah Ald. Yeah. With upper, oh my gosh. Mm-hmm. I'm so excited for her platform.

Tyler: 21:45

Yeah. I'm excited about what she has going on too. We try to get her on podcast as well. Yeah,

Alex: 21:50

for sure. I live in a bubble.

Tyler: 21:53

Chris is like, what are you talking about?

Chris: 21:55

Well, I, I do when I don't because I, I have a friend I met on deployment who started her own nonprofit, hippie and veteran mm-hmm. And she's totally into not just natural remedies, like, oh, everyone just smoke weed. But she's also into like just true natural. Things to help mm-hmm. whether it be microdosing or shrooms or just things that are better for you than drugs. Yes. Which is how I know why it's gonna take so long to get weed legalized. Mm-hmm. until they figure out how to profit from

Alex: 22:30

it. I'm ju can't you just tax the crap out of it and like make some money that way?

Tyler: 22:36

So there's actually a article on CNBC that I was just reading the other day and they were doing a case study in California and they were saying, why are everyone still going back to the drug dealers? And like, we have all these places that are legal, it's because it's way priced out of rain. So like, oh, that makes sense. Go, go get it from someone that just came across the border in Mexico and get it for like nothing. Or you can pay four times as much because of how much it costs. And then also banks, you still can't, it's considered. Funding the drug trade? Yes. By having your money held at a bank. If you are a what are they called? Not distilleries. Oh, dispensary. Dispensaries. Yeah. Yeah. So that's why there's ATM machines outside of the dispensaries that aren't owned by the dispensary.

Alex: 23:25

Yeah. Cuz they're my Wells Fargo account got closed down and I don't even like, I'm like, there's less than$2,000 in this account, but because it was called her Hemp Empire, l l c Oh. Way to go. They're like, this is a cannabis related industry. We're gonna have to shut you down And I was like, I'm gonna go to another bank. Right. And they're like, well, yeah, yeah. Not, not great, but I'll tell you what, I would not trust the drugs on the street these days. It is not the same as when I was in high

Tyler: 23:57

school. I was gonna say, yeah, college is not the same anymore. I mean, nope. I

Chris: 24:01

knew people like back then, you knew every once in a while some you would end up with something that was. Not right, but it was like few and far between.

Tyler: 24:12

Yes. And it also usually wasn't something that would kill you. That's what

Alex: 24:16

I was gonna say. No, you'd have a real bad

Chris: 24:18

trip though, right? Yes. Like I had a friend who did shrooms one time, and apparently they stayed in like a, an old school apartment and she was tripping and just saw the mold on the wall just slowly growing. Oh my God. I was like, and this is why I can't do shrooms Like, I'm not trying to have one of those stories in my life. No.

Alex: 24:39

CBDs a different story. Yes. Yeah. I never, I mean, my friends did literally everything under the sun and when we were in high school, I mean everything, but it was just like not my jam. Mm-hmm. I was, I was like a alcohol party girl. smoke a few times, I'm good. But yeah, I just, I would not trust it these days. Mm-hmm. I would not, not trying to get loaded with fentanyl, No, no. Thank

Tyler: 25:03

you. Especially around here. You say it a lot too.

Chris: 25:06

Nope. So, My random thought process. Cuz we're talking about getting loaded. Oh God. What do you think about this

Alex: 25:16

alcohol? It is really good. Like it is really good. Is

Chris: 25:20

it still as smooth now that you've had it a little bit longer? I

Alex: 25:23

think so.

Tyler: 25:24

Okay. Because we were talking to you prior that you've had like some whiskeys before and then like a super expensive whiskey, but nothing kind of in between. Mm-hmm. So what do you think this would be? Like? A good thing to kind of have on a daily basis? Kind of something?

Alex: 25:39

I would take this and sip it nicely. Yeah. and, I mean, we just did, we had Angels Envy at our house and that's not something I would just like sip nicely, you know, it's, I mean, it's nice.

Chris: 25:53

So what do you, what would you do with Angels Envy then?

Alex: 25:55

I don't, I don't know. My, my husband mixes it. Mm-hmm. and I would like it too. Yeah. Does like a whiskey ginger or something, but I just, I want it to be smooth. Yes. I really don't want like any burn Yeah. So if that means I gotta have something really expensive, I'll do it.

Chris: 26:10

Yeah. Well that makes sense. How much was this one, Chris? Mm. Upon it in South Carolina, so it was probably true. Okay.

Alex: 26:18

Is that cheaper or more expensive?

Tyler: 26:20

It's usually a little bit more expensive because it's not run by the state. Oh. So it doesn't have to be msrp? I didn't know that. I'm pretty sure green label is abundant enough that it's probably pretty darn close to MSRP though. It was like 80 bucks or something.

Alex: 26:34

Yeah. Yeah. I feel like I gotta go like 75 and up for something I wanna sip on.

Chris: 26:41

Yeah. It was, I, this is actually really smooth. I like the log of oin. Mm-hmm. that just had a lot of flavor. But this, I feel like is just a casual, like, you know, you're sipping it, but you're not like mm-hmm.

Tyler: 26:55

Yeah. It's not gonna burn it the whole way down. Yep. Yep. Let's put it under your tongue. Yeah.

Alex: 26:59

Yeah. That was, that's a burner. That's a burner. I know. I was jealous of last week. It sounded so good what y'all were trying. Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Chris: 27:09

I don't have a plug. I'm not like him. I haven't, we haven't hit that point. Everyone's like, oh, you love whiskey. I was like, yeah. What's your favorite? Well, I've only been drinking it for a year, so

Tyler: 27:21

But it's hard too. Something else I was talking about with a few other whiskey or self-proclaimed whiskey connoisseurs. When you first start drinking whiskey, you don't really know what you're tasting. Yes. And so when I started the whiskey club over at rounds, I was like, oh yeah, this, like, it's whiskey Yeah. And now finally I know what I'm tasting. Like I feel like I need to redo it again to actually know if I like it or. I won't. Cause it's expensive, but

Alex: 27:46

Yeah. Well maybe I can do the whiskey club at rounds while Tommy hits balls because he loves golf and I could care less

Tyler: 27:52

Oh yeah. That'd be perfect

Chris: 27:53

though. Totally do it. Yep. I'm down. I still group together. I still have like six left on my first round. You gotta ways to go. I do And talking about a ways to go even though you've just started, I feel like you've come a long way with your nonprofit. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But there's still a lot to do to like, get connected with other moms and like get better known in the space, I guess.

Alex: 28:18

Yeah. Right now our population is really kind of middle class to upper middle class moms and I really want to get into lower income communities. I mean, everyone needs the support, the support across the board. I mean, there's just, there's no discrimination when it comes to postpartum issues. Really what I need is a strong volunteer base because I have been connecting with all the providers. I have been fundraising, I have been doing all the home visits and the new mama meetups, and I have an incredible board who has helped kind of advise me. And I have an incredible team who will do our social media and our newsletter and a little help with fundraising, which is awesome. But I really do need some good volunteers to do some of those new mama meetups, just lead those and start doing some home visits so that we can continue to grow. I really wanna get into the Med North clinic and connect with them and the moms that they're working with, and even. get in with providers and you know, just at least be like, Hey mom, here's this resource that you can connect with after you have the baby. Right? You know, or while you're pregnant, start going to the new mama meetups. So really wanna grow, be able to grow that to reach the end goal would be like every mom that's having a baby. And then eventually be able to start chapters in other cities where someone can kind of head it up and connect with providers. And then what I really wanna have in Wilmington as a postpartum home where we have like five bedrooms each with their own bathroom, the living room is turned into a newborn nursery staffed with doulas and retired nurses. Kitchen is stocked with food. There's like a great backyard with a pool and moms can sign up for like six to eight hour increments and just come sleep. Cuz that's really what we need in those early days is like someone to take care of the baby. So we can. Sleep and feel like mentally stable. And then they can have a place where if they wanna hang out with other moms, they can do that, they can be fed and just have this whole home for women who are just in it in those early days. That's the dream. Yeah. That's the

Tyler: 30:23

dream. Hey, that's fantastic. Yeah. Have you listened to Emmy Gibson's episode yet? No. I highly recommend listening to her and getting connected with her. We can help you with that too. Yes. Because I think she'd be a good person in that space as well too. Is what's her official, very long title again? I'm

Chris: 30:41

not trying to record that thing. She's okay. Is it considered a startup? No, it's a

Tyler: 30:47

her position is a new position. Yes. That was created. But the organization's been around for a while, but very similar, basically trying to reach low income families. Mm-hmm. About just getting started on the right foot, having the right resources for them. Chris will look it up and let us know eventually Perfect. But yeah, we'll, we'll get you connected with her because I think that'd be a great resource. She's already very connected in that space as well. Oh yeah. I think that'd be cool. That'd

Alex: 31:10

be amazing. Mm-hmm. I'm really excited to see what happens this year, next year, you know, and have like, I feel like it's hard to have like, reasonable goals. Mm-hmm. you know, when you want to do big things and I'm sure you guys understand. Yeah. You know, when you wanna do something big and you have a vision for, you know, helping the world mm-hmm. to start like small and slow and just like make sense of what you have. I just met with the director of the business center at Cape Fi or something. Yeah. And he does some mentoring and he really helped. because I was like, what should a second year nonprofit look like? I don't even know, you know? Right. And when I don't know what something should look like, I'm like, I need to make steps. You know? And it's not really about what it should look like. It's what can you do with the resources that you have? Yeah. And really put a game plan into place that's gonna make sense and, you know, be able to use what you have.

Tyler: 32:06

You know, one of my favorite concepts that I always have to remind myself about too, which is similar to what you just said, is people tend to overestimate what they can do in a day and underestimate what they can do in a year, five years, 10 years. Yes. Yes. And just creating those, exactly what you said, create the small steps to get to the, the end goal for that year and then the, the 10th year. Yep. Right. So other than building the volunteer base, what would you say is the next goal that you're trying to reach or something that you could ask the community that you need help with?

Alex: 32:37

Yeah, I mean, fundraising is huge. A non-profit needs their donors. That's how they. Have money to do their programs. Right. And we launched a founding donor campaign. We're looking for a hundred founding donors. It starts at$15 a month. Oh wow. You know, and you can be a founding donor. We also have business sponsorship opportunities for the year that give you various levels of marketing. So that's really what we're looking for next so that we can make sure we can continue to fund our programs for our moms. Yeah. And just be able to build, build that community. Yeah. So definitely volunteers and fundraising are the two big things for this year to be able to see the growth that we want.

Chris: 33:19

For sure. Interesting. Have you thought about doing a podcast

Alex: 33:24

We actually have. Okay. A fourth trimester podcast with just horror stories or like funny stories, you know, just anything related to postpartum. Also like educational stuff, having. Sleep consultants and postpartum doulas and lactation consultants on. But that's just something I gotta have people to take some stuff off my plate so I can have time to do a podcast.

Tyler: 33:45

We have a studio,

Alex: 33:48

for Rent

Chris: 33:49

Yeah. I mean, the pricing isn't too bad either, you know? Yeah. Or we can do, you know,

Tyler: 33:53

and the whiskeys not locked up. and we don't measure it. So True.

Alex: 33:58

Oh, perfect. Get a bunch of drunk moms on here. Yeah. See That might be a great podcast.

Chris: 34:04

Emmy's title is the, is the Hop Em Healthy Opportunities Pilot Program Manager.

Alex: 34:09

Okay.

Chris: 34:10

That sounds awesome. But she used to do the baby steps, so she was the coordinator for Communities and Schools of Cape Fear for like the young parent

Alex: 34:18

support. Oh yeah. I'm doing, I think the polar plunge is for communities and schools, isn't it? Do y'all? Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'm doing that on the first Good for you. No. Cold plunges are so good for you. They're so healthy.

Tyler: 34:33

I used to do my face, I used to do a five minute, like ice cold shower. Yeah. And, and that's still not even close to what that is. Yeah. And I still can't, can't do that. I

Chris: 34:44

know. I have the constitution that I could literally, I could go out and hop in and get up. But the problem is the waiting into the water. Like if it was hopping at me, drop into a pool, get up and get out, I could do it. But the, Hey, you have to, I'm six foot something in order for me to You're

Tyler: 35:06

waiting. Go even

Chris: 35:07

wet. I, I, I'm going out

Alex: 35:09

there. Yep. You know? Yeah. I'm excited. Well, we do have a brunch and silent auction at Blue Water on March 25th. That is open to anyone. So would love to see you guys there. You can bring your wives. We can do that.

Chris: 35:28

I can definitely wait. You said March 25th. I will not be there. What's going on? You gonna be It's my anniversary.

Alex: 35:34

Oh, congrat. That's right to this. That's

Chris: 35:36

exciting. I'm, I pray I'm not in town for that day.

Alex: 35:41

do a fun weekend away. That's what my goal is. I was looking at Pinehurst as like a weekend away. So Tommy could golf and I could do like the spa, but it's like really expensive I'm like, we could go off, we could go to the Caribbean. Right? So like,

Chris: 35:55

so Pinehurst is, is quite literally like the golfing course there. They ho host like national competitions. Yeah. So that's why it's so expensive. But Pinehurst cuz my grandma used to live in Southern Pines and so it's like, well Southern Pines is right next to Pinehurst and you just like cross over and you're like, it's literally like driving across, crossing over like Car Avenue in Wilmington No way. Yeah, you're like. Interesting. Am

Tyler: 36:28

I still in the same

Chris: 36:31

area? Code But yes. Pioneers would be fun. I just

Alex: 36:35

don't golf. Oh yeah. Yeah. That would not be as enjoyable. Yeah. don't spend the money. Yeah.

Chris: 36:40

I, but I could golf. I'm just not, I haven't done it in my position at work. I would have to have like a stupid early tea time. Mm-hmm.

Tyler: 36:50

We'll have to get everyone together and all the guys will go out golfing and Tommy can teach us all how to golf and all of the wives can hang out and do what you all do. Drink. I'm good. Yeah. I was gonna say, I was gonna say that, but I didn't wanna assume

Alex: 37:05

I mean, I wanna assume for all the other women, but you know, I'm gonna drink.

Tyler: 37:09

I'll say I, I know Emily and my wife as well too, so they will definitely drink as well. So. Perfect. We

Alex: 37:14

all all have a good time.

Chris: 37:15

Yeah. We'll imbibe oddly enough, we will have. Yvonne from Kleen Eights on the podcast. Mm-hmm how did you get Kleen Eights to offer like a free

Alex: 37:25

meal that is, you know, I actually really need to connect with Yvonne to make sure we're still good for next year. She's so, she is so incredible and so giving, so a mom that I know I think from Instagram was like, Hey, you should really connect with her. She does a lot of stuff to give back. So we met at Port City Java one day and they were actually closing for some reason in the morning. It was weird. And we ended up getting in her Jeep and talking, and I told her what I was doing and she was like, yeah, we'd love to offer a family meal, you know, for all the moms that you're going to visit. And I'm like, oh, that's great. Well, she hooked me up with her back of house woman. Belinda, who is incredible, she puts together all the meals and I literally just text Belinda and I'm like, Hey, I need five meals. She's like, okay, I'll have'em ready. And I just go pick'em up. And I literally haven't talked with Yvonne since like, I don't know, March Yeah. They've had a lot of stuff going on. Oh my gosh. They give back in so many ways. They are so incredible. And it has just been so nice because from a liability standpoint for us, like they've got all the ingredients on there. I don't have to hand make all the meals Right. You know, so it's just really nice to be able to like pick those up. Here's your freezer meal. You know, do what you want with it. Yeah. So yeah, it's really, it's great to have. I'm so glad she's coming on. Yes, she'll

38:44

be

Tyler: 38:44

great. And that's also my 75 hard kind of meal of choice as well too. Oh, cleanings. Yeah. Oh, I love that place. So when I was doing 75 hard, that's where I would get 90% of my lunches. Oh yeah. They're so

Chris: 38:57

fantastic place. And you're right, they're quite literally one of the like. I've been working in Wilmington for years now, so I've had some clients who've shopped with me from like my Youngen days up till now. And knowing some people who are like, they're just really rude. Mm-hmm. because they have money and other people are like, you wouldn't know they have money. Mm-hmm. because they're actually so nice to people. Yep. And her and her husband are just super nice people. I met them when I worked at Buccal because she was in competitions for like body building. Yeah. And and she couldn't find clothes to fit, fit just because when you get to that point for like competitions, your proportions aren't normal proportions for jeans. Mm-hmm. And it was just fun trying to, like, she helped me learn stuff that would actually fit different body types. Yep. And then now she's just a really funny person to like chat with when she comes into the store. Yeah. At random

Alex: 39:50

jewelry. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. They really don't make clothes. I did a couple bodybuilding competitions. No, back in the day. just like, my arms are too tight for like, you know, certain B blouses. I had to like rip seams, you

Tyler: 40:04

know, just, it seems like Jim is the important for you as well too now.

Alex: 40:10

Oh my gosh, I, it helps me keep my sanity. Yeah. I do feel like I just, and someone, my therapist was telling me that we do store emotions in our body and just to have that release lifting weights and I've always loved lifting heavy weights and I feel like it's the best thing for my body composition is just lifting heavy. Just feels so good. Mm-hmm. if I go more than like three or four days, I'm like, I've gotta get a lift in. And my husband knows too. He's like, I will take the kids. You go to the gym. Cause it helps him too, you know, prefer me to be stable and I think everyone should lift. Mm-hmm. Yes.

Tyler: 40:49

Everyone. I'm the same way too. So yeah. If I don't get a workout in, in like a couple days, it just, it completely throws me off and unfortunately it took me a long time to figure that out. Mm-hmm. One of the coaches that I have now, at the end of each month, he'll come to you and ask, what's something that you've done this month that has helped you, like, do more of that. Mm-hmm. what's something that you've done that has been a detriment to you do less of that. Mm-hmm. And we did 75 hard and I was just like on my stride again, like I was last. And then I got sick and I couldn't work out for a month. I just kept getting sicker and sicker. Yep. And you went through a very similar phase of My family went through as well too. But after that I was like, okay, I'm not gonna work out for a little bit. Cause I, one I couldn't and then two afterwards I was like, why am I in the slump? And started working back out again. And I was thinking about my coach cuz he we're going through our thing again and he was like, what's something that you've started doing? What's something that like hurting you? And I was like, you know what? Every time that I'm working out consistently and hard mm-hmm. I feel better. Not like a bullshit. I'm gonna go and like lift like a 20 pound weight a couple times and like Yep. Got my 45 minutes in. Like actually lifting heavy. Yeah. And getting that energy out makes such a huge

Alex: 42:02

difference for me. It's so true. I feel like I've been a little bit at like a maintenance standpoint cause I don't have any. Physical goals right now. Like I'm not power lifting, I'm not training for any kind of competition. I do wanna do a sprint triathlon one day that's like mm-hmm, mm-hmm. on my list, but I'm not like swimming, you know? And you don't really need to lift weights for a sprint, triathlon but

Chris: 42:26

you do.

Alex: 42:26

I mean, yes, it's definitely gonna help. Yeah. But I'm also not like gonna road biking around here just scares the crap outta me. So I'm, yeah. I'm not like doing that, you know, I used to teach spin classes and I feel like I'd be a lot more able to do the try then. Mm-hmm. I don't know. So I feel like I'm kind of half assed on my workout but for me, just getting there and doing something helps of course going heavy is like the best thing. But even if I'm just, making the muscles move. It's good. I'm sure

Tyler: 42:56

you've heard of the Spartan races before, right? Oh yeah. Have you heard of the Spartan Deca?

Alex: 43:00

Okay, so they're doing at, I go to oh two and there's some deca challenge that's up all the time. I have no clue what it is though.

Tyler: 43:08

Oh, okay. So the way that we heard about it was through a central CrossFit. We had the owner of that on, and so basically what deca is, is the race without the running.

Alex: 43:19

Oh, I like that. Yeah.

Tyler: 43:21

So you just do the physical elements of it. Yeah. So I was like, that's right down my alley. You tell me to run a 5K and they'll, it'll take me forever. But if you just put the weights in front of me and tell me to do some rows and some pullups and like muscle ups, like I'll do that all day long. Yeah. The next time one of those comes up, I'll let you know cuz I plan on preparing for it as well too, along with some other people.

Alex: 43:42

Yeah, that is definitely something I would train for. I won't do more than a 5k. Like I've done some fun runs Yeah. For a shirt and it takes me like 30 minutes, 40 minutes.

Chris: 43:51

That's a good time. What are you

Alex: 43:53

talking about? Probably closer to 40 minutes, but, you know, 30

Tyler: 43:57

minutes. I was running 30 minute fives ks when I was like in eighth grade. So like, if I'm not beating that now, well,

Chris: 44:03

so my, I'm putting it out there as both. We're laughing but being serious at this point. for people who were actively in shape, 30 plus minute five Ks is kind of slow. Like when I Okay, I see where you're going. Middle, like my middle of deployment, I ran a 5K in like 22 minutes. Mm-hmm. was I dying at the end of it? Probably. And I was like, why am I going this far? Yeah. And then I came back and I just did like maintenance five Ks, and I would run with my friends because my old unit had like a dash for cash up in Greenville, and we would do that every year. And that was just me, just like shuffling I'm like, Hey, 33 minutes, let's do this. Yes. But like my partner was pushing her kid in a stroller, so I'm like, 33 minutes is a decent click. So everyone has a like, here's a decent spot. So what's our next goal? I'm challenging you to add at least 10 pounds to all your

Alex: 45:05

lifts by spring. Oh, I love that I love that.

45:08

Yeah.

Chris: 45:08

So you got March 22nd, so before your event. All right.

Alex: 45:12

I'm

Tyler: 45:13

Travis. Remember he's an elephant. He will remember it. I'm down, I'm

Chris: 45:16

down. Because everyone's like, well, I'm not, I don't have anything to push me forward. Mm-hmm. I'm just like maintaining. Well, main maintenance is good, but. I feel like you always have to have something at least twice a year. You should have something that pushes you forward. So if we don't know when the Decca is, if you add 10 pounds minimum to all of your lifts, that'll be a good step forward.

Alex: 45:38

That won't be hard for my squat cuz I've not gone super heavy postpartum. Same with bench, but I love deadlifts and I can't remember if I have only gone to 2 65 or if I've hit 2 85 postpartum. I can't remember. So you need to do 300 Well, my max that I hit, like in my power lifting days, I did three 15. That was before I had kids. Yeah. And wrecked my pelvic floor. But and I honestly, I could care less to get that. I mean like I do not need to lift over 300 pounds again in my life. I feel good with that to go for 2 85. Cause I think I've only gone to 2 65. but I could definitely do 2 85.

Chris: 46:19

I follow this girl on social media. Like I found like years and years ago when I was on the fitness train and I was back under two 50 Oh. So long ago. But she had me laughing because she was working out, working out, and then literally at like six months, she found out she was pregnant and she was like, I just thought I was bloated this whole time. Oh my gosh. Oh, geez. Like she was that fit. And like, it literally went from like, you could see like the edge of her ab, so like belly bump. She was like, ah, shit, But I know now she currently is posting videos of like different workouts for moms mm-hmm. who are like, you know, postpartum, these are things you could do to help instead of just like, this is what the guy says, oh, just do deadlifts and Right, right. She's like, no, no, you, you should try this workout. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, I feel like there should be more people. Just cuz the fitness space is very crowded, but there's still so much space Oh yeah. For people to post workouts and help educate in ways to increase your mental and physical health mm-hmm. And not just have to be like, go

Alex: 47:29

hard. Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. And like I feel like switching up your style can help too. Cuz I know I've gotten in ruts, weightlifting and then I've done some CrossFit workouts. Mm-hmm. or, you know, I've done some swimming or I did some I'll take it, I'll do some, you know, whatever. Just find something that works for you and then do that for as long as you can, you know? Yeah. Whatever it is. Just to get your body moving. So important.

Tyler: 48:01

So by the time this episode comes out, it'll be 2023. Woo. And. I'm gonna steal one of Chris's questions that he started asking people, and I think it'll be a staple. So how do you define success? What does success look

Alex: 48:14

like for you? Oh my gosh, I love this question because I literally had never thought about this until I listened to a training like a month ago mm-hmm. and it was like, what does success look like? Like, what makes you feel successful? And I had never really thought about it, and I'm like, oh, because, you know, you think like making money or, you know, hitting your budget or, you know, buying X, Y, Z is success. But really for me, it's so not that like grandeur you know? Mm-hmm. It's like for me, when I cross off my to-dos daily, I feel successful. Yeah. Like when I have my schedule and know what I need to do and cross it off, I feel successful. So one of the big things I'm working on right now is attainable goals for fourth trimester mission, my nonprofit. For 2023, what can I do with the resources that we have and help my board, help my volunteers get onboarded and really feel successful with what we're doing with this organization. So I really wanna nail those down for next year. And then I also realize that I feel successful when my kids are healthy and my husband is happy. And when I feel that I am like, taking care of things in my home and not like neglecting things. So I have this, like, I'm gonna do this like master list for the house mm-hmm. And I'm gonna go through every room and write down all the little projects, whether it's like decluttering a closet or a certain drawer and have that list. And then when I have 30 minutes or an hour in my day, really attack that list for my home so I can clear some stuff out and have some things functioning smoother in our home. So I know it's not like super exciting things to feel successful, but just understanding what makes me feel successful and then being able to operate within that. So understanding that like I need my schedule for the week. I need to have dedicated times to work, which is hard because I am technically like a stay-at-home mom, you know? And I have babysitters that I use. Yeah. So making sure I really block my time well to be able to work well to see fourth trimester mission grow my hemp wellness business grow, you know, and then also take care of things at my home. So I don't know if that really answered the question,

Tyler: 50:28

No. Yeah, I think it did. I think you hit on something really important too for a takeaway for everyone listening as well, is knowing what success is for yourself. Yeah. And knowing what works best for you. Right. There's so much content that's out there right now. People see someone on YouTube or Instagram or on a podcast, they're like, oh, this works for this person. Mm-hmm. doesn't necessarily work for you because of your personality or what the case may be. So just finding those things that really help you is really important. I think that is a good sign of

Alex: 50:57

success. And I think just like understanding too, cuz I'm like not very cognizant of things, I just kinda like tend to gloss over a lot and going to therapy has really helped me, like mm-hmm identify some emotions and things I'm feeling in the moment. Like, when do I feel like a failure and what, when do I really struggle? You know? Cuz that's opposite of success, I guess is mm-hmm. you know, failure. Right. And for me, realizing like, I really feel like I'm failing when I feel like things at the house are falling apart or people who I'm working with don't know what they need to be doing to feel successful. Understanding that. To be like, okay, well then this is what makes me feel successful and this is what I need to do to accomplish this, you know?

Tyler: 51:37

Yeah. And I think we'll still stick with our original final question as well too. So if you could a, tell yourself your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Alex: 51:47

You know, but do you listen to your older self when you're younger? I just, I wouldn't, I would not change anything. what I did when I was younger and I think I loved on people well when I was younger, which I think it's always important to be like serving and giving and loving on those around you. I just, I wish I would've listened to my father and I would tell myself this to save money or look at investments. Mm-hmm. like I wasn't raised to think about investing or having like reading Rich Dad, poor Dad like changed my life. Yeah. And think about having your assets pay for things in your life. Mm-hmm. And now that I'm on that train, I wish I would've understood that in my early twenties when I was starting my career and I just threw away paychecks on like so much money. I know just threw away so much money on stupid stuff and I could have like five investment properties, you know? Oh yeah. Which hindsight's 2020 and you know, I probably wouldn't have even listened to myself, you know, then, but I, I wish, you know, cuz that's something I do wanna work towards is having those things. Yeah. That's great.

52:52

I

Tyler: 52:52

appreciate it.

Chris: 52:52

Well, I just wanna say thank you Alex for hopping on here. As per usual, you got anything that you wanna shout out?

Alex: 53:02

I mean you can follow my nonprofit. We're fourth trimester mission on Instagram and Facebook. I'm Lex Road 89. I love connecting with anyone and everyone about anything, whether it's fitness or health or just whatever. I love people. I really appreciate you guys having me on. This was

Tyler: 53:20

fun. Yeah, thank you so much.

Chris: 53:22

Appreciate your time, I'm glad you won one of our giveaways. Yeah, me too. Oh yeah, that's right. That was with Cass. Yes.

Alex: 53:28

Yeah. I went in there and I was like, help me dressed. And she's like, I was like, I need some staples. And she picked out a sweater and some pants for me and they just fit perfect and dropped some dollars in there. glad I had a gift card.

Chris: 53:44

I love that place. But yeah. Thank you everybody for listening. Just so you know, this week we did sip on the Johnny Walker Green Label. It's the 15 year. It is nice and smooth. One of the few ones I actually spent the whole episode sipping on. Yeah. I didn't just like, woo try and get rid of it. Shoot it. But I definitely, I enjoyed it. You still have that PD flavor to it. Yeah. It's not overwhelming

Tyler: 54:08

like some other SCOs though.

Chris: 54:09

No, it wasn't as, it was not a heavy peat. How about that? But yeah. Thank you everybody. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.

Tyler: 54:18

Cheer