- 11 hours ago
Malika Andrews is an Emmy Award–winning sports journalist and host of ESPN’s NBA Today, NBA Countdown, and WNBA Countdown. Not only is Andrews one of the most prominent sports journalists in the industry, but she’s also a trailblazer. In 2018, she became ESPN’s youngest sideline reporter, and in 2022, she became the first woman to ever host the NBA Draft—a position she’s held every year since. On this episode, Andrews tells us about her relationship with money growing up, why she only wears women-owned brands when covering the WNBA, and what advice she would give to her younger self about on-camera work.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00This episode of Nice Talk is sponsored by Nexus.
00:04And since we love talking about power on Nice Talk,
00:06it feels fitting to say power isn't always loud.
00:09Sometimes it's the quiet confidence of walking into a room and knowing you're ready.
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00:38Nexus, long live hair.
00:41I was dressing like I took Nana's curtains, cut them off, and wrapped them around me.
00:48I was like, I will be taken seriously if it is the last thing I do.
00:53I am 25, but you will be thinking I am a ma'am.
01:00Malika Andrews, welcome to Nice Talk.
01:03Thank you so much for having me.
01:04I'm obviously so excited to have you here to talk about money and style and power,
01:09but first, I want to give our audience a quick rundown of your amazing accomplishments,
01:14for those who may not know.
01:15So, as the host of ESPN's NBA Today, NBA Countdown, and WNBA Countdown,
01:21Malika is one of the most prominent names in sports journalism.
01:24In 2022, she won a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality, Emerging On-Air Talent,
01:30and that year was also the first woman to host the NBA draft.
01:34That's true.
01:35An event that you have hosted every year since.
01:38And this January, Malika's also added tennis to the broadcast roster,
01:43covering major slams for ESPN.
01:45Malika, are you ready to jump in?
01:47I am ready, Nikki.
01:47Let's do it.
01:48Okay, so taking things back a bit in time,
01:50I want to know about your relationship with what we like to call the big three here,
01:53which is money, style, and power.
01:55Can I separate the big three?
01:57Yeah, let's do it.
01:58Because my relationship has changed with each one of them
02:01and has been different, I think, over the course of my life.
02:03So, money was never something that my family shied away from,
02:07and I didn't realize early on, just discussions about money and budgets
02:11and, in a lot of ways, lack of money sometimes.
02:15I remember my mom balancing a checkbook and doing that at the kitchen table
02:22in front of my sister and I when we were really young.
02:24I distinctly remember money being something that we talked about as something that you need
02:30and something that, no matter how much that you have,
02:33it's always going to feel like maybe it's not enough.
02:35And don't allow yourself to fall into that trap.
02:38And I remember when I was 10,
02:41and my mom and I did a little modeling gig for a friend of ours.
02:47Okay.
02:48And they paid each of us $100.
02:50And I put my $100 in a little bumblebee wallet.
02:54And I thought that I was rich, girl.
02:56Like, I thought that that money was going to take me from my 10-year-old self
03:00all the way into my adulthood in some ways, right?
03:03I remember asking my mom a couple weeks later,
03:06Mom, what are we going to spend that $100 on?
03:09What are we going to do with our big money?
03:12And she said to me,
03:13Oh, Malika, that was half of our groceries for our family of four for this month.
03:19And it blew my mind to think about what I thought of as so much
03:25and the reality of how far money can stretch.
03:29And I appreciate the transparency that my mother had with me
03:34because I think that as a woman being able to talk about money,
03:37it's part of harnessing your number three, power.
03:40Yep.
03:41And style for me was a way that I stepped into power.
03:45My aunt is one of the most powerful women that I know.
03:49And she's also one of the most stylish women that I know.
03:51My aunt, Sagra.
03:52And she has this fabulous, she's a banker.
03:54Such a chic name, by the way.
03:56She's Spanish.
03:56Oh, I love it.
03:57She's Sagra is Spanish.
03:58And she lives in London.
03:59And she has this wonderful Carrie Bradshaw-esque closet.
04:03And when I was a kid, nothing was off limits.
04:05She took the boundaries away and let me go clomp around and play
04:09in her crazy, beautiful Manola Blondes.
04:12I felt so powerful when I got to play dress up.
04:15And now I think that when I am stepping into power,
04:19having conversations about money, it's dressing the part for me.
04:23And I think that that has been,
04:24Sagra was my very first style icon.
04:26And I don't think I connected until later.
04:29I felt powerful when I was in her shoes.
04:33Ooh.
04:33You know?
04:34Yeah.
04:34I love that.
04:36I want to talk a little bit about your high school experience.
04:39Because you have spoken a bit in the media about attending a therapeutic boarding school.
04:44I did.
04:44Did you feel isolated or different than people your age?
04:47Like, how did it impact your perception of power and power dynamics?
04:51I think that feeling different, especially when you are a young person,
04:57can be an isolating experience.
04:59When people asked me when I went to college,
05:03well, how did that affect you?
05:05What was it like to be in a graduating class of eight
05:09or only having experienced high school through this lens?
05:13It's the only lens that I ever had, right?
05:16And so not having these points of relatability with my peers,
05:21prom night, or being able to have a cell phone.
05:25I didn't have one in high school, right?
05:27They take away, you don't have electronics, you don't have social media.
05:30I left before iPhones and came back
05:32and my little sister had to teach me what Instagram was.
05:34Stop.
05:35Yeah, so for me, I think that it was anytime you feel different
05:39and feel othered, you have a choice to make.
05:42You can choose to allow other people to fill in your blank space
05:47and tell your story or, and this sounds very simple,
05:51but you can choose to be the voice and fill that.
05:55But it took me a long time to be able to do that.
05:57For a long time, high school was a very sore spot for me
06:00because I wasn't, as black women, looking for other ways to be different.
06:04I wasn't looking for other ways to be othered.
06:06I was looking for ways to be able to find what is being human.
06:11It's finding human connection.
06:12You want to have sameness and celebrate the ways in which we all can relate to each other.
06:18And I feel like when I didn't have a lot of life experience, right?
06:22You're 18 years old, this huge chunk of four or five years,
06:26mine was signaling to the world that I wasn't like you.
06:30I see the world through a lens that could only have been shaped and formed
06:36through going away to therapeutic boarding school,
06:40going to wilderness therapy, being in a mental hospital.
06:44Like I could only have come to know myself
06:48and I think know other people through that walk.
06:52But at the time, I was just wondering why I was on this path snowshoeing
06:58while everyone else was skipping down the yellow brick road.
07:01So what was it like for you when you got to college?
07:03Oh girl, it was so weird.
07:05Because when I went to college,
07:07what I was looking for was a place to be and belong.
07:11I think that it took me a second to figure that out
07:14because I went from a class size of six kids in a trailer in Utah
07:21to real lecture halls.
07:23And I think I always also, I love listening to people.
07:27I love to learn.
07:29And I think a part of me wondered
07:31if I'd gone to normal school in quotes,
07:36could I have pushed myself and my education
07:38and would I have ended up at the University of Portland
07:42in the same way that I did?
07:43And I'm glad that I did.
07:45But for a while, my education,
07:47I wanted to be able to say like my mom
07:50who went to UCLA and then did a teaching course at Harvard.
07:53And I think that for me,
07:55I always wondered what I could be a little bit.
07:57So I had to find my way.
07:59You joined the school newspaper and it was through journalism.
08:02And that's where the belonging came in.
08:04Yeah, right, exactly.
08:05And so it was through journalism and landing on a sports beat
08:08that you developed a love of sports reporting, right?
08:10Why journalism?
08:11Why the school newspaper?
08:12Barbara, talk to me about that journey a little bit.
08:14For me, it was writing, right?
08:17I made sense of the,
08:18when all these things that I'm sort of speeding through
08:21at a very, you know, 30,000 foot level,
08:23I made sense of the world by stopping,
08:27opening pages, writing it down,
08:31editing my story,
08:33playing with phrases
08:34and coming to a common language
08:37and coming to a common language that I felt
08:37that I could bring my otherness to a place of likeness.
08:41That's how I made sense of the world.
08:44And so I always knew that I wasn't going to be math,
08:47but it was going to be,
08:49that's how I was going to be.
08:50It wasn't going to be math for me either.
08:51And by the way, that broke my heart
08:53because remember Ansagra?
08:54Yeah.
08:55Ansagra was a whiz at math.
08:56Okay.
08:56And I wanted to be Ansagra when I grew up.
08:58So I was trying to find what it was for me
09:00and writing I knew was going to be it.
09:02And when I joined the paper,
09:05the only opening they had was in sports.
09:07My dad's a personal trainer.
09:08I grew up loving sports.
09:10And so I'm the person who says,
09:12I want to try something.
09:13And when I try, I have a Yoda to me.
09:15There is no try.
09:16There is only do.
09:17And I'll take it even one step farther.
09:19There's not only do, there's only excel.
09:21Yes.
09:21I was ready to no longer be seen
09:25as the broken kid who got sent away.
09:29I wanted to be successful.
09:30And I think that reframe is so powerful.
09:33Deciding that you want to be good at something
09:35and to step into effort and work
09:40is a really powerful thing
09:41that I think that every young person in college,
09:44you go, you get to that moment
09:47where you decide, I'm ready for hard.
09:49Yeah.
09:49And I'm ready.
09:50I know that everything, there's a phrase that I love,
09:52everything he wants on the other side of hard.
09:54I'm ready to go and to put in that work.
09:57And that for me was like this, the shining, the beacon,
10:00literally it's called the beacon
10:01is what it represented for me.
10:02Oh, that's incredible.
10:03So talk to me about sort of the discovering
10:06like the love of the intersection of journalism and sports.
10:10Did it come immediately where you did?
10:12It did.
10:12Sports has everything, right?
10:14It has entertainment.
10:16It has triumph.
10:17It has defeat.
10:18It has protagonists and antagonists
10:21and those two switching roles
10:23and money struggles and power struggles.
10:26And it's an allegory and it's a mirror for the world.
10:29That is sport.
10:31I did still feel that in a world that rewarded seriousness,
10:35sometimes sports were relegated to the little brother
10:40or little sister of the newsroom.
10:42And I wanted to be taken seriously.
10:43So I immediately fell in love with sports
10:46and there was a small piece of me internalizing.
10:51I'm sure, haven't you, you know,
10:52you walk around and you hear fashion is wonderful.
10:55Oh, of course.
10:55But fashion is the, that's the candy floss
10:57before you get to the real world news.
10:59But you're like fashion and sports,
11:01like these are real businesses.
11:03Yeah, exactly.
11:04And so I do think it was getting through that,
11:05but yes, I fell in love with it.
11:07I mean, did you immediately fall in love with fashion?
11:08I always like fashion.
11:10I always like getting dressed, that sort of thing.
11:12But when I realized the storytelling
11:15and what you can learn about people through fashion,
11:18whether they like it, whether they opt out of it,
11:21whether they say they like it,
11:22but they're apprehensive of it,
11:24what they like to wear, those sort of things.
11:25It's more of like the psychology of fashion.
11:27And I imagine for you,
11:29like the psychology of sports and all of that together.
11:31The psychology of sports.
11:32Yeah.
11:32And writing is a medium where you get to be,
11:36you get to both have and be a first draft.
11:39So if you are a person
11:41and you are in the first draft stage of your life,
11:47writing is a very,
11:48it was a formative place for me to be.
11:51Yeah.
11:51Because I got to take my thoughts to the page
11:53and walk away from them and come back to them
11:56and edit them and ask a friend about them
11:59and read someone else's words
12:01and be inspired by this turn of phrase
12:04and edit that and then bring that to the world.
12:08And I think in a world where so often,
12:10now I work in television,
12:12television is the first draft at times on TV
12:15and you feel eyeballs and the feedback of that.
12:20Yeah.
12:20To have the luxury of being able
12:23to not be your first draft in the eyes of the world,
12:25I think was something that I needed
12:27coming out of boarding school.
12:28That's so wise.
12:30That's so wise.
12:31That's what I, you know,
12:31that's what I try to be around here.
12:33It's just the wise one.
12:34You know, I want to talk to you about,
12:37you know, you got your fellowship at New York Times
12:39and then you moved to Chicago Tribune.
12:40So this is the writing part of your early story.
12:44And you were covering the NBA in the Midwest.
12:47What are you learning from those New York Times,
12:49those Chicago Tribune days,
12:51working at those newspapers that you're still working,
12:54that you're still using today?
12:55I try to really listen to people.
12:57And the New York Times,
12:59every day I was walking into a collection
13:02of the best in the world.
13:05Totally.
13:06And you walk through Pulitzer Hall
13:09of the New York Times building
13:10and I would eat my lunch up there sometimes.
13:12And sitting in that history
13:15and feeling so very small
13:17and wanting to be able to put your own mark
13:21on a really big, really storied institution.
13:23I wanted to make my mark.
13:26And the New York Times told me
13:27that I wasn't ready to make a mark yet.
13:30I needed to go get more experience elsewhere.
13:33And I think that that was really a powerful lesson for me
13:37because it was my first real no in journalism.
13:40Interesting.
13:41It's the first time I really wanted something
13:44and was so close to getting it
13:46and then was told,
13:49not this isn't for you,
13:51but you need to go get some more experience.
13:53And we've all heard that at some point.
13:55Of course.
13:55But I was afraid of redirection
13:57because I'm a planner
13:58and I am a,
14:00this step we need to,
14:01I write down my goals,
14:03I write down my plans
14:04at New Year's 2026.
14:06Okay.
14:07And so when somebody else takes the wheel
14:09and says,
14:10no, you're going to take this turn,
14:11I need my GPS.
14:12I don't drive around LA without it.
14:14And so I do think it was valuable for me to learn.
14:17The art of storytelling carries you anywhere.
14:21Writing is always going to serve you.
14:23And if you listen,
14:25there are always stories to be told.
14:27But I was so focused on here
14:30that I was afraid
14:31when they pushed me out the door
14:33and said,
14:33go try something else.
14:35Not knowing that it was going to make
14:36for a more powerful yes later.
14:37I want to switch gears a little bit
14:38and talk about your move to being on TV.
14:41So in 2018,
14:43you moved over to ESPN
14:44becoming one of the youngest
14:46sideline reporters ever at that time.
14:48Yeah.
14:48I came to sideline reporting
14:51in such a,
14:52I hope once in a lifetime way,
14:54which is the pandemic.
14:55And we had an operation
14:57at the NBA restart
14:59when the NBA decided to play its season.
15:02And the operations were only 20 people
15:04for ESPN,
15:05which we have 250 people
15:08in just on the upside
15:10at the NBA finals.
15:12So 20 is tiny.
15:13So I was asked to wear all these hats
15:14that I wouldn't have gotten
15:16the opportunity to otherwise.
15:18Yeah.
15:18I wouldn't.
15:19Luck favors the prepared.
15:21And I got very lucky.
15:23That is so true.
15:24That is so true.
15:25I got very lucky.
15:26I was ready.
15:27Yeah.
15:27I didn't know that I was ready.
15:29And how often does that happen
15:30where someone else has to give you
15:31a little push
15:32and a sprinkle of confidence.
15:35But I was there,
15:37I was ready
15:37and I got lucky.
15:39Yeah.
15:39And I got lucky at a time
15:41where there was so much unluckiness
15:43and unhappiness
15:44and a horror in the world.
15:46And I was getting to take a foray
15:48into some of my dream jobs.
15:50And so that was something
15:51that you grapple with at the time.
15:52You're literally in a bubble.
15:54Yeah.
15:55On the inside being sheltered
15:56from this plague
15:58and this sadness
15:59that the world is facing.
16:00That's how I got to be
16:01a sideline reporter.
16:02Now, when I got that opportunity,
16:04I was lucky enough
16:05to be surrounded by bosses
16:06who there's a difference
16:08between having a mentor
16:10and having a sponsor
16:13and an advocate.
16:14Yes.
16:15Right?
16:15We talk about this all the time
16:16in NABJ.
16:17Yeah, yeah.
16:17Of course.
16:18Mentors, sponsors, advocates,
16:20the people who talk about you
16:21in rooms you're not in.
16:22Mm-hmm.
16:22Mm-hmm.
16:23And I was, you know,
16:26the Amy Poehler,
16:26I got talked well about
16:27behind my back
16:28and got to have the same
16:31people push for me
16:32to keep that opportunity
16:33and I got to run with it.
16:34So, that is how I became
16:36the youngest sideline reporter.
16:37Were you nervous, though,
16:38about, like, the age
16:39or anything of the sort?
16:41Like, were you like,
16:41I'm, you know,
16:42no one has ever like,
16:43I'm so young, I'm doing this.
16:44I was dressing when I was doing that.
16:46I was dressing like
16:47I took Nana's curtains,
16:49cut them off,
16:50and wrapped them around me.
16:52I was like,
16:53I will be taken seriously
16:55if it is the last thing I do.
16:57I am 25,
16:58but you will be thinking
16:59I am a ma'am.
17:00I was so nervous.
17:01I didn't want,
17:02first of all,
17:03I think that women
17:04are told that we need
17:06to justify the reason
17:07that we are in a room
17:08instead of walking in
17:09knowing that our qualifications
17:13will speak for themselves.
17:15I inherently care entirely
17:16too much what people think about me.
17:18I'm working on that.
17:19And it's caused me
17:20at different times
17:20to be a person
17:21I really didn't like.
17:22I've had to say some sorries
17:24that I'm embarrassed
17:25that I had to say.
17:26But yeah,
17:26I felt like I was acting,
17:28I was trying on a role
17:30that I needed to convince people
17:31that I was old enough
17:32and mature enough
17:33and wise enough to have,
17:35which seems so silly now,
17:36but at the time,
17:37heck yeah, I was nervous.
17:38Yeah.
17:39Did the reporting, though,
17:41come,
17:42like the sideline reporting,
17:43did that come naturally to you?
17:44Were you like,
17:44I'm ready to be on camera,
17:46I know how to do this,
17:46I'm...
17:47Yes,
17:47and I was also nervous.
17:50Yeah.
17:50I was so sweaty
17:51on my first hit.
17:52Like,
17:52I was nervous
17:54to admit
17:55that being on television
17:56was something
17:57that I aspired to do.
17:58Ooh,
17:59tell me more about that.
18:00I had internalized
18:03a understanding
18:04of myself
18:05as being smart
18:06because I was a writer.
18:08And that was the way
18:09that I was comfortable.
18:11I was comfortable
18:12being,
18:13telling myself the story
18:14that I was
18:16a worthy person
18:18because I'm smart
18:19and people know that
18:20because look at these...
18:21Because I write the words.
18:22Look at these written words.
18:24And I was so afraid
18:26of admitting
18:28that I wanted to walk
18:29into a visual medium
18:30as a woman.
18:31And...
18:32Because some may look at that
18:33as like vain
18:34or,
18:35I don't know,
18:36frivolous
18:37or whatever it may be.
18:38I'd allowed myself
18:40to have
18:41some of that
18:44be something
18:44that I told myself.
18:45Meanwhile,
18:46it's like one of the hardest
18:46things you could possibly do.
18:47Oh my gosh.
18:48By the way,
18:48these women
18:49who are,
18:50have been on the sidelines
18:52for years and years
18:53and that's,
18:54that's by the way
18:54what ultimately
18:57shadowing
18:58and learning
18:59from
19:00the sideline reporters
19:01that I
19:02really deeply admired
19:03and the hosts
19:05and the...
19:06It is so challenging
19:08and so difficult
19:09and the level
19:10of preparation
19:10that you have to have
19:11and knowing
19:13that you're not
19:13going to get into the game
19:14as much as play-by-play
19:15or color analysts
19:16nor should you
19:17but you need to be
19:18just as prepared.
19:19Right.
19:20Learning from
19:21the Doris Burks
19:22and the Cassidy Hubberths
19:24of the world,
19:25it,
19:25it helped me
19:27see a different truth
19:30in that
19:31these are the hardest
19:32working women
19:32in the business
19:33and it's a sorority
19:34that I would lucky
19:34to even be
19:36considered to be a part of.
19:38You've been the first
19:39or the youngest
19:40like so many times
19:40in your career
19:42but I can't help
19:43but think about
19:44or I want to talk
19:46to you about
19:46is there pressure
19:48that comes with that?
19:49Do you feel pressure
19:49that comes with that?
19:50Tell me about it.
19:51Of course.
19:52Being the first
19:53means you don't want
19:53to be the last
19:55and we have
19:57still
19:58a
19:59prove-it society
20:00of
20:01oftentimes
20:02when you are
20:02the first person
20:03to do something
20:04especially
20:05when you are
20:05the first woman
20:06let alone
20:07the first black woman
20:08you are looking
20:09to give
20:10people a reason
20:12for this
20:12to continue.
20:13I absolutely
20:14felt that pressure
20:15especially with the draft.
20:17I take on
20:19those assignments
20:19not from a place
20:20of pressure
20:20but a place
20:21of joy.
20:22I was talking
20:24to someone
20:24recently about
20:26I've been hosting
20:27MBA Today
20:27for five years
20:28now
20:28which is
20:29such a blessing.
20:31I don't
20:32necessarily get
20:33butterflies
20:33for
20:34walking into
20:36that show
20:37anymore
20:37because it's
20:38what I do
20:38every day
20:39and there is
20:40a ease
20:41and a comfort
20:42that I feel.
20:43I'm chasing
20:45butterflies now.
20:47I look
20:48for the
20:49draft
20:50or tennis
20:51or adding
20:52these new
20:53assignments
20:54that give
20:56me the feeling
20:57of being
20:58nervous
20:59and alive
21:00and like
21:00there's stakes
21:01and it's
21:02why players
21:03want to play
21:03on the biggest
21:04stages.
21:05Being able
21:06to be in
21:07a place
21:08of enough
21:08comfort
21:09to then
21:09step outside
21:10of it
21:10is
21:11that is
21:12my ultimate
21:13what I
21:14couldn't have
21:14imagined more
21:15for my career.
21:16Yeah.
21:16At MC
21:17we call that
21:17an ambitious
21:18woman.
21:19My kind of gal.
21:20We love
21:21ambitious
21:22women.
21:22My kind of gal.
21:23So I heard
21:24you talk in an
21:25interview about
21:26how women
21:27often get asked
21:27about like
21:28work-life balance
21:28which we
21:29talk about
21:30at MC
21:31often
21:32but that
21:33doesn't exist
21:34and that is
21:35you know
21:36it's real.
21:37The juggling.
21:38Instead
21:38you prefer the
21:39term work-life
21:40recipe
21:40which I think
21:41is like
21:41fabulous.
21:42Tell us a little
21:43bit about that.
21:44I know that
21:45I can't be
21:46a perfect
21:47wife
21:48and perfect
21:50sister
21:50and perfect
21:51daughter
21:52and perfect
21:53MBA host
21:54and perfect
21:55sideline reporter.
21:56I think
21:57that every
21:58day you
21:59are building
21:59a recipe
22:01and it's
22:01cooking not
22:02baking
22:02because it
22:03is a
22:04art not
22:04a science.
22:05It's not
22:05exact.
22:06Exactly.
22:06You are not
22:07measuring out
22:07that teaspoon
22:08leveling out
22:08the top.
22:09Work-life
22:10recipe to
22:10me is
22:11this analogy
22:12that I
22:13heard
22:13where you
22:14are always
22:15juggling
22:16and you're
22:16juggling balls
22:17that are glass
22:17and you're
22:18juggling balls
22:18that are plastic
22:19and on any
22:19given day
22:20you can
22:21drop a
22:21plastic ball
22:22and it's
22:22not going
22:22to shatter.
22:23You drop
22:24a glass
22:24ball and
22:25you're going
22:25to be in
22:25trouble.
22:26Some days
22:26it's okay
22:27that work
22:27is glass.
22:29It is okay
22:30that you
22:31are delaying
22:32your family
22:33dinner,
22:33your drop
22:34off,
22:34you will be
22:34a better
22:35wife,
22:35a better
22:35mother,
22:36if you
22:37prioritize
22:37what you
22:38need in
22:39that moment
22:39and it's
22:39okay to
22:40not apologize
22:41for that
22:41glass ball
22:42being work.
22:43It's what
22:43has helped
22:44me make
22:45my career
22:45what it is.
22:46On the flip
22:46side,
22:47it also
22:47means working
22:49to not
22:49apologize
22:50when family
22:51is that glass
22:53for you
22:53or whatever
22:54the case
22:54may be.
22:55For me,
22:56the balance
22:57will never
22:57exist.
22:58The recipe
22:58can change
22:59every day
22:59and you
23:00are baking,
23:01not cooking.
23:02Play with it
23:03a little.
23:03Sometimes you
23:04need a little
23:04bit more cayenne,
23:05sometimes a little
23:05more seasoning
23:06and some days
23:07you know what,
23:07your tummy's a little
23:08achy,
23:08it needs to be a
23:09little bit less
23:09of all.
23:10Yeah,
23:10it needs to be
23:10a little bland.
23:12Always seasoned,
23:13but a little less.
23:14Okay,
23:14so you're still
23:16extremely young
23:16and you've
23:18Exactly.
23:19I was so,
23:19I think also
23:20the thing is
23:21for so long
23:21I was told
23:22you're the
23:23youngest person
23:23to do this,
23:24you're the
23:24youngest to do
23:25that,
23:25you're the
23:25first to,
23:26I remember
23:27asking Dave,
23:29my husband
23:29one time,
23:30will I still
23:31be good enough
23:31when I'm not
23:32just good
23:32because I'm
23:33young?
23:33I think he
23:34probably said
23:34yeah.
23:35He's like
23:36enough.
23:36He's like
23:37I don't have
23:37time for this.
23:38I was like
23:38no,
23:39this is,
23:39we need to
23:40talk,
23:40this is existential
23:41but I appreciate
23:42you saying that
23:43because stepping
23:44into a,
23:46I was down
23:47in the Australian
23:47Open and I
23:48had a birthday
23:49when I was
23:49down there
23:50and John
23:51McEnroe,
23:52he asked me
23:53how old I am
23:53and he said
23:55what are you
23:55like,
23:55you know,
23:56what are you,
23:56what are you,
23:5721?
23:57I was like
23:58no,
23:58I'm actually
23:5831.
23:59He goes
23:59oh,
23:59that's a real
24:00age and I
24:01was like
24:03no one's ever
24:04told me that
24:04before.
24:04Got it,
24:05okay.
24:05I'm finally
24:06at the real
24:06age.
24:06Yeah,
24:07I was just
24:07playing.
24:08Exactly,
24:09that cracked
24:10me up though
24:10because I do
24:11think for so
24:11long I've had
24:12that qualifier
24:13that I did
24:14start to let
24:14the green
24:16monster of
24:16doubt creep in
24:17what happens
24:18when I'm not
24:18just the youngest,
24:19am I still
24:20good enough?
24:21and so now I
24:22get to play in
24:23the space of
24:24being,
24:25as you say,
24:25still young
24:28and I've
24:29grown up in
24:29this industry,
24:30I've grown up
24:30in front of
24:31people that
24:32now know
24:33me as an
24:3418 year old
24:34and a 22
24:35year old and
24:35I'm walking
24:36in the same
24:36halls I did
24:36when I was
24:3726 and
24:38when you've
24:39been that
24:40person,
24:41sometimes it's
24:42hard for folks
24:42to see who
24:43you are in
24:43front of them
24:43that day and
24:45shed some of
24:45the past
24:46versions of
24:47you so I
24:47appreciate you
24:47saying that.
24:48I'm curious
24:49what advice
24:50you would give
24:51to the past
24:52versions of
24:52you,
24:52the 18 year
24:53old,
24:53the 22
24:53year old,
24:54the 26
24:54year old,
24:55what would
24:56you tell
24:56her?
24:56Comparison is
24:57the thief
24:58of joy,
24:58you're going
24:59to get
24:59there,
24:59put on
25:00that Billy
25:00Joel song,
25:01slow down
25:01you crazy
25:02child,
25:03you're so
25:03ambitious
25:03for a
25:04juvenile,
25:05you have
25:06time.
25:07I was
25:08always worried
25:08and I think
25:09if I still
25:11at times
25:13the flip
25:13side of
25:14ambition
25:14is fear
25:16that you're
25:16never going
25:17to get
25:17there,
25:18you have
25:19all of
25:19this
25:19ambition
25:20and you
25:21want to
25:21chase it,
25:22ambition
25:22needs to
25:23be tempered
25:23by
25:23appreciation,
25:25you have
25:25to be
25:26just as
25:26ambitious
25:27as you
25:27are
25:28grateful
25:28and I
25:30early on
25:31in my
25:31career,
25:32I was
25:32so focused
25:33on getting
25:33there that
25:34I didn't
25:35enjoy where
25:36I was
25:36and I
25:37had to
25:38remind
25:39myself
25:39that past
25:40versions,
25:40when I
25:41start to
25:41look at
25:41the next
25:43thing,
25:43what's your
25:44five year
25:44plan,
25:45what do you
25:45want to
25:45do next?
25:46I
25:47couldn't
25:47have
25:47dreamed
25:48of a
25:50more
25:51blessed,
25:52big,
25:53beautiful
25:54opportunity
25:55than what
25:56I have
25:56and I
25:57don't want
25:58to miss
25:58it.
25:58And if
25:59you are
25:59talking to
26:00your younger
26:00self about
26:01showing up
26:02on camera
26:03specifically,
26:04what's something
26:05you wish you
26:05knew earlier
26:06about showing up
26:07on camera,
26:08whether it's
26:08confidence or
26:09pressure,
26:10like even
26:10hair or
26:11beauty?
26:11Wear the
26:12outfit.
26:12Wear the
26:13outfit,
26:13I love it.
26:14I didn't
26:15always wear
26:16the outfit.
26:17And what's
26:18the outfit
26:18for you?
26:19The outfit
26:19for me
26:20is evolved.
26:22A power
26:22suit with
26:23an excellent
26:24heel is
26:25where I
26:25started to
26:26find my
26:27power.
26:28I needed
26:29the suit
26:30to bring
26:30the power,
26:31I guess.
26:32But then
26:33now it's
26:34I love
26:35a bold
26:36color.
26:37I love
26:37a skirt.
26:39I was
26:39afraid to
26:40have,
26:41show too
26:41much personal
26:42style,
26:43distract from
26:43the story,
26:44become the
26:45story.
26:45I wear
26:46the outfit.
26:46Yeah,
26:47I feel like
26:47so many
26:47people are
26:48afraid,
26:49especially
26:49women or
26:50black women
26:50of color,
26:50are very
26:51cognizant of
26:52their hair.
26:52Let's say
26:53that.
26:53Oh,
26:54yes.
26:54It's been
26:54a journey
26:55for me.
26:55Yeah.
26:56Do you
26:56have that?
26:57Did you
26:57have that?
26:58I cried
26:59when I
26:59first got
26:59my hair
27:00cut this
27:00way.
27:00My hair
27:01was broken
27:01and I
27:02looked like
27:02a little
27:02boy and
27:03I wasn't
27:03sure I
27:04looked like
27:04a little
27:05boy.
27:06I don't
27:06know.
27:06It was
27:06a whole
27:06thing of
27:07if I
27:07don't have
27:08my long
27:08braids,
27:09who am
27:09I without
27:09all of
27:10this hair?
27:10Meanwhile,
27:11I got rid
27:11of the
27:11hair,
27:12I got a
27:13new man,
27:13I got a
27:13new job,
27:14things started
27:15taking off.
27:15I was like,
27:16no,
27:16I needed
27:16the haircut
27:16actually.
27:17You needed
27:18to step
27:18into that.
27:19to trim
27:19some things.
27:19Exactly.
27:20What has
27:21your hair
27:21journey been
27:22like?
27:22I have
27:23my hairstylist
27:24Sophie,
27:24I call her
27:24my hair
27:25fairy godmother.
27:26But I
27:27came to
27:28ESPN doing
27:29everything myself
27:30and I think
27:30a shared
27:31experience of
27:32so many
27:32black women
27:33is being
27:33afraid to
27:34sit into
27:35a chair
27:36for the
27:37first time
27:37and be
27:39told that
27:39your hair
27:41is too
27:41much because
27:42that then
27:43pulls on
27:43this thread
27:44of being
27:45too much.
27:46And so I
27:47always came
27:48to places
27:49done because
27:50I didn't want
27:51to be a
27:51burden on
27:52other people.
27:53That's so
27:53crazy when
27:54you bring
27:54your makeup
27:55bag with
27:55you.
27:56Meanwhile,
27:56the NBA
27:57finals,
27:58when I did
27:58the trophy
27:59ceremony,
27:59I did my
28:00hair and
28:00makeup myself
28:00just because
28:01I didn't
28:01know that
28:02I could
28:02ask.
28:03ESPN is
28:04so wonderful
28:05about my
28:06hair and
28:06my makeup
28:07now,
28:07but I
28:08came from
28:08a place
28:09of writing
28:10and didn't
28:10know that
28:10I could
28:11ask.
28:11So I
28:12didn't ask.
28:12I really
28:13wanted to
28:14wear my
28:14curls out
28:14on air
28:15and it
28:16takes time.
28:17It takes
28:17time to
28:18do it
28:18every day
28:19and I'm
28:20someone who
28:20has to
28:20do a
28:21pretty good
28:22refresh
28:22every time
28:23and defuse
28:24and that
28:24takes time
28:25that a
28:2635 minute
28:26hair and
28:27makeup slot
28:27doesn't have.
28:28So reframing
28:29that I think
28:30was important
28:30for me.
28:31But I
28:31just went
28:32through this
28:32recently where
28:34I've worn
28:35my curls
28:35for years
28:35and years
28:36and I
28:36wanted to
28:36try a
28:37blowout.
28:37I wondered
28:38if I was
28:38betraying a
28:39younger version
28:40of myself
28:40by feeling
28:41beautiful with
28:41straight hair
28:43and is that
28:43complicated
28:44and what
28:45does that
28:45mean?
28:46And I
28:46had to
28:46kind of go
28:47through that
28:47conversation
28:48with myself
28:49and now
28:49I'm wearing
28:50braids and
28:50my goodness
28:51is it easy.
28:52Oh my gosh
28:53it's so easy
28:53and so this
28:54feels very
28:54I feel very
28:55true to myself
28:56right now
28:56because why
28:57I was interested
28:58in the blowout
28:59is because
28:59girl it's easy.
29:00You blow your
29:01hair out
29:02you wrap it
29:02up in your
29:03silk scarf
29:03at night
29:04you do a
29:05couple of
29:05touch ups
29:05the next day
29:06I didn't
29:07need to do
29:07a six step
29:08routine that
29:08happens with
29:09my curls
29:09and I have
29:10in air quotes
29:11good curls
29:11right?
29:12Easy curls
29:13and so this
29:14feels like the
29:15kind of the
29:15perfect balance
29:16of I really
29:17curls are me
29:17and so I
29:18wanted my curls
29:19out but I
29:20needed that
29:20five minute beat
29:21I was not
29:22getting with
29:22those hair
29:22so we're
29:23gonna rock
29:23this for a
29:24little bit
29:24and it looks
29:25good
29:25it looks good
29:27you can tell
29:27that it like
29:28it feels good
29:28on you
29:29you're on
29:29camera like
29:30six hours
29:31some days
29:33wild right?
29:34Yeah
29:34how do you
29:35approach getting
29:36dressed for that?
29:37Like what is
29:38the what are
29:39the elements
29:40either color
29:40silhouette
29:41fabric that you
29:42like always
29:42want to wear?
29:43First of all
29:44not alone
29:46and I don't mean
29:46like I don't get
29:47dressed by myself
29:47I mean I do
29:49have help
29:49and I do think
29:50that's important
29:50to say
29:52that I have
29:53a Leon
29:55and a Leon
29:56Leon Gray
29:56has immaculate
29:58taste and is
29:58an extension
29:59of myself
29:59good tailoring
30:01and a very
30:02high shoe
30:03that elongates
30:04my legs
30:05and makes me
30:06feel like I
30:07can step in
30:08front of the
30:08camera and
30:09say this is
30:10my full self
30:11and my full
30:12body because
30:13there's no part
30:14of me on
30:14MBA today that
30:15is looking to
30:15hide
30:16I'm not looking
30:16to hide what
30:17I look like
30:17I'm not looking
30:18to hide my
30:19opinions or my
30:20more my
30:21reporting
30:21there's a
30:22difference between
30:22when you feel
30:23like okay
30:23and you feel
30:25great
30:25of course
30:26especially when
30:27you have to
30:27go on air
30:28and you never
30:29want to feel
30:29like you're
30:30tugging at
30:30something or
30:31something's like
30:31kind of off
30:33like you don't
30:33want to think
30:34about your
30:35clothing
30:35like you want
30:36to know that
30:36you look good
30:37and you feel
30:37good and so
30:38then you can
30:38get on with
30:39like what
30:39you have
30:39to do
30:40I wear
30:40jeans on
30:41air
30:41yeah
30:41I think
30:42that
30:42because TV
30:43has like a
30:44very specific
30:44or had or
30:45has I don't
30:46know I would
30:46love to hear
30:46your thoughts
30:47like very
30:47specific sort
30:48of like
30:49I think one
30:49of the biggest
30:49behind the
30:50scenes sort
30:51of dress code
30:51is that I
30:53don't dress
30:53like a
30:53television anchor
30:54and I think
30:55that there are
30:55wonderful
30:56television anchor
30:57outfits and
30:59I think that
31:00we've evolved
31:00to a more
31:01individualized
31:02place beyond
31:02the one
31:03color
31:05monochrome
31:05if you want
31:06to wear that
31:07and that's
31:07what you feel
31:07best in
31:08it's what
31:08you absolutely
31:09should wear
31:09but if what
31:10you feel
31:10best in
31:11and this is
31:11why Western
31:13Conference
31:13finals last
31:14year
31:15I did an
31:16entire jean
31:17series
31:17everything I wore
31:18was jean
31:18suits
31:19because I
31:20wanted to
31:20show that
31:21jeans could
31:22also be
31:22tailored and
31:24professional
31:26and something
31:27that people
31:27want to then
31:28style their
31:29own
31:29that's the
31:30biggest compliment
31:30and if I
31:31walk around
31:32and someone
31:32says I
31:34thought that I
31:34could wear this
31:35because I'm
31:36like you
31:36didn't need
31:37my permission
31:37but go ahead
31:38with your
31:38bad self
31:38so yeah I
31:39do think
31:40TV styles
31:40change and
31:41I think that
31:41sports is a
31:42different realm
31:43of style
31:44I dress
31:45differently for
31:46the WNBA
31:46I wear all
31:47women brands
31:48when I cover
31:49the WNBA
31:50then I do
31:51tennis
31:52we sort of
31:53have a look
31:53book for
31:53each tennis
31:54major
31:55it was
31:56color blocking
31:56for the
31:57Australian
31:57Open
31:57because it's
31:58summer
31:59it's fun
31:59it's the
31:59first major
32:00of the season
32:00it's the
32:01happy slam
32:02and we
32:02wanted big
32:03bold bright
32:03happy colors
32:05Wimbledon
32:05is classic
32:07and traditional
32:08and polka dots
32:11and stripes
32:12and so we
32:13have an entire
32:13look book
32:14for Wimbledon
32:15and then the
32:15US Open
32:16is inherently
32:16American
32:17three distinct
32:18styles for that
32:18only women
32:19for the W
32:19during the
32:21draft we
32:22tried to
32:22distinctly
32:23the first
32:23year the
32:24story was
32:25I was the
32:25first woman
32:25to host it
32:26all female
32:27brands
32:27were a
32:27DVF
32:28suit
32:28jewelry
32:28that was
32:28all women
32:29I try
32:30to have
32:30my style
32:31be
32:31storytelling
32:32even if
32:32only me
32:33and Leon
32:34are the
32:34ones who
32:34know the
32:35meaning
32:36until someone
32:36asks
32:36but people
32:38notice those
32:38things
32:39we put a lot
32:40of thought
32:41into that
32:41are you
32:42on Pinterest
32:43are you
32:43lookbooking
32:44are you
32:44pulling things
32:46I am
32:46an Instagram
32:47save in a
32:49shared folder
32:49send screenshots
32:51I still
32:51buy magazines
32:52when I go to
32:53airports
32:53I love
32:54to look
32:55through
32:55September Vogue
32:56that is my
32:56Super Bowl
32:57I also love
32:58the Super Bowl
32:58but it's a
32:59thrill for me
33:00to be able
33:00to now
33:01pick out
33:01a pair
33:02of jeans
33:03or tell
33:04Leon
33:05I really
33:06enjoy this
33:06and sometimes
33:07I get to
33:08wear that
33:08actual piece
33:09I feel like
33:10Samantha Jones
33:11I feel like
33:11that to me
33:12is awesome
33:13yeah and
33:13you're a
33:13jewelry girl
33:14I am
33:15the jewelry
33:15girl
33:16I got some
33:17good jewelry
33:18for dinner
33:20please
33:20we got some
33:21good jewelry
33:21coming out
33:22I do love
33:22jewelry
33:22and I
33:23believe in
33:24commemorate
33:25yourself
33:25I
33:26bought
33:28my
33:29watch
33:29when I
33:30got
33:30a
33:31new
33:31contract
33:32with ESPN
33:32I got
33:33my watch
33:34when I
33:34got my
33:35job
33:35at
33:36Harper's
33:36Bazaar
33:36see
33:36and when
33:38you look
33:38at it
33:39you say
33:39look at
33:40me
33:40I was
33:40right on
33:41time
33:42so finding
33:43those moments
33:44treat yourself
33:44you know
33:45as we all
33:45know
33:45the sports
33:46media world
33:46is
33:47overwhelmingly
33:48male dominated
33:49I think
33:49it's about
33:49over 85%
33:51of reporters
33:52are men
33:52according
33:53to a study
33:54done in
33:552021
33:55it's also
33:56a really
33:56intense
33:57industry
33:57and you
33:58obviously
33:58know this
33:58how do
33:59you navigate
34:00being evaluated
34:00for what
34:01you say
34:02and also
34:03how you
34:03look
34:04without letting
34:04it shrink
34:04you or
34:05like really
34:05get to
34:06you
34:06sometimes
34:06it gets
34:06to me
34:07but I
34:07do
34:08think
34:08that
34:08those
34:0985%
34:10men
34:1183%
34:12are the
34:13most
34:13like wonderful
34:14helpful
34:15supportive
34:15my
34:16experience
34:17in this
34:17industry
34:18with my
34:18peers
34:19has
34:20largely
34:21been
34:22when I
34:23had doubts
34:23about myself
34:24other people
34:25giving me
34:27reminding me
34:28reasons to
34:29take that
34:30next step
34:30I don't
34:31feel the
34:32statistic
34:33on a
34:33daily
34:34basis
34:35I feel
34:36it when
34:37I walk
34:37into
34:37a big
34:39new
34:39room
34:39and
34:41I'm
34:41waiting
34:42for someone
34:42to say
34:43oh you're
34:44different
34:44just like
34:45you did
34:45in high
34:45school
34:46or all
34:46these
34:46places
34:47I think
34:48I'm in
34:48a position
34:49now though
34:50where I've
34:50been doing
34:51this for
34:51so long
34:52and I'm
34:52I hope
34:53respected
34:54for what
34:54I do
34:54that I
34:55think that
34:56my work
34:56walks in
34:56with me
34:57and that's
34:58a really
34:58nice
34:58feeling
34:59so my
35:00task
35:00now
35:01is just
35:01because
35:01I said
35:02oh it's
35:03that 85
35:03just because
35:04I don't
35:05feel it
35:06my task
35:07now
35:07that I
35:08have
35:08earned
35:09a ticket
35:10to hang
35:11with the
35:1285%
35:13or whatever
35:14is to
35:15work for
35:16other people
35:17to get
35:18in there
35:18to be
35:19able to
35:19change
35:20those numbers
35:20so I
35:22don't feel
35:22that on
35:22a daily
35:23basis
35:24but I
35:25do think
35:26that it's
35:26my job
35:27to pull
35:28up the
35:29people
35:29I try
35:30to spend
35:31time
35:31once every
35:32couple of
35:32weeks
35:33searching
35:33my email
35:34respond to
35:35all the
35:35students in
35:36there
35:37and take
35:37particular
35:38care
35:38of
35:40the
35:41women who
35:41look like
35:42like me
35:42yeah
35:43you know
35:43on this
35:43show we
35:44often
35:44speak to
35:45women who
35:45say that
35:46they're
35:46like fashion
35:47choices or
35:47their beauty
35:48choices are
35:48a bit of
35:49like their
35:50armor I'm
35:51curious if you
35:52feel the same
35:52way I think
35:53that my shoes
35:53were because
35:54I everyone
35:56thinks I'm
35:56really tall
35:57and I'm
35:57tall ish but
35:58I'm not tall
35:58for basketball
35:59I'm like
35:59five six and
36:00a half so
36:00people are
36:01surprised I
36:02think when
36:02they learn
36:03that you
36:04know even
36:04on TV I
36:05thought you
36:05look really
36:06really tall
36:07when I
36:07stand next
36:07to players
36:07because I'm
36:08wearing like
36:08you know a
36:09good I
36:09love a
36:10120 oh
36:11yeah give
36:12me a 120
36:12and I will
36:13do sidelines
36:14in a 105
36:15yeah so
36:16I don't I
36:17don't I
36:18think that
36:18that was an
36:18armor for
36:19me yeah
36:20was like I
36:20will project
36:21as big and
36:22tall and I'm
36:24just now starting
36:25to yeah kind
36:26of get
36:27comfortable with
36:28get comfortable
36:28at being
36:29literally looked
36:30down on I
36:32wanted to be
36:32eye to eye
36:33with people
36:33this episode is
36:34sponsored by
36:35Nexus so I
36:36want to talk
36:36about hair a
36:37little bit more
36:37deeply as well
36:38athletes talk
36:39about performance
36:40gear I'm
36:41curious if you
36:42think about hair
36:43care as performance
36:44gear too like
36:45something that
36:45supports you
36:46doing your
36:47job at the
36:47highest level
36:48absolutely yeah
36:49I always
36:50thank my hair
36:51and makeup
36:52team after
36:53the NBA
36:54finals or
36:55the draft or
36:56big events
36:57because they
36:59have made it
37:00so that I
37:01can focus on
37:03the work because
37:03I'm not worried
37:04about the
37:06other pieces
37:07because that's a
37:08part of it we
37:08are journalists
37:10but we are
37:11presenting and
37:12performing and
37:13sharing with the
37:14world it's a
37:15visual medium
37:15and they
37:16allow me to
37:17be able to
37:17focus on the
37:19content of my
37:20work as
37:21opposed to the
37:22package that it
37:23comes in yeah
37:24and the care
37:26that they take
37:27of me in my
37:28most worried
37:30vulnerable
37:30prepping am I
37:32going to get
37:32this right
37:32moments is how
37:34I get to
37:35where I want
37:37to go in
37:38front of the
37:39world so when
37:39they send me
37:40home and I'm
37:40like I gotta
37:41go I gotta
37:41go and so
37:41he's like yeah
37:42let me rake
37:42this mask
37:43through your hair
37:43really quick
37:43before we
37:44leave just
37:44throw it up
37:45and you'll
37:45be fine
37:45all of that
37:46is what allows
37:47me I'm not
37:49someone who
37:49likes to slow
37:50down I'm
37:51being in some
37:51ways right now
37:52the way my
37:53voice I'm
37:53getting forced
37:54to my body
37:55is literally
37:55telling me hey
37:58and your hair
37:59will do the
37:59same thing your
38:00skin will do
38:00the same thing
38:01your body
38:01keeps the
38:02score and
38:04doing that
38:05care is what
38:05allows me to
38:07keep driving
38:09this like
38:10Lamborghini
38:11speed I'm a
38:13little bit
38:13afraid of
38:13speed I'm
38:14a 10 and
38:142 but you
38:15know like I
38:15do think that
38:16that's a part
38:17of it yeah I
38:17completely agree
38:18before I let
38:19you go we
38:19always like to
38:20end this podcast
38:21with three
38:22questions about
38:22money style and
38:23power a bit of a
38:24lightning round so
38:25I'm terrible at
38:26lightning rounds
38:27because I'm like
38:28let me tell you my
38:29entire life story
38:30okay lightning
38:31fast speed
38:32Usain Bolt go
38:33okay what's one
38:34thing money can't
38:35buy happiness
38:37if you could trade
38:38closets with anyone
38:39who would it be
38:39and why if I
38:40could trade
38:41closets with
38:41anyone I would
38:42trade closets with
38:43Emma Greed do I
38:45have to say more
38:47okay and lastly
38:48what's your go-to
38:49song when you want
38:50to feel powerful
38:51I was about to
38:52start singing it
38:52do it
38:53yeah
38:55having a really
38:56good time I'm
38:57not complaining and
38:59I'ma still wear a
39:00smile when it's
39:01raining
39:02yeah
39:02I love it
39:04I love that
39:05I wish I could
39:06sing money cannot
39:07buy a voice if I
39:08could sing you
39:09wouldn't be able to
39:10tell me anything I
39:11would be just oh if
39:13I was Celine Dion
39:14oh
39:15Celine
39:15love her oh my
39:17gosh Malika this
39:17has been so great
39:18thank you for
39:19joining me on
39:20Nice Talk
39:20thank you for
39:21talking nice with
39:22me
39:23if you liked
39:23today's episode
39:24please subscribe to
39:25Nice Talk wherever
39:26you get your
39:26podcasts and don't
39:27forget to rate and
39:28review us we'd love
39:29to hear your feedback
39:30and suggestions for
39:31the show so feel
39:32free to reach out to
39:33us on Instagram
39:33at Marie Claire Mag
39:34or directly to me
39:35at Nikki Ogun
39:36we can't wait to
39:37hear from you
39:38I'm Nikki Ogunaki
39:39and I'll see you
39:39next Thursday for
39:40another nice talk
39:41this episode was
39:43produced by Hillary
39:44Kerr Summer
39:45and Natalie Thurman
39:46our production assistant
39:48is Raven Yamamoto
39:49our editor is
39:50Natalia Perez
39:51our audio engineers
39:53are at Treehouse
39:54Recording in Los Angeles
39:55and our music is by
39:56The Meth Club
39:57thank you again to
39:59Nexus for supporting
40:00today's conversation
40:01Nexus has spent
40:02decades studying
40:03what actually gives
40:04hair its strength
40:04the proteins that
40:05shape it
40:06protect it
40:07and help it
40:07hold up over time
40:08their approach is
40:09simple but powerful
40:10hair care built to
40:11repair damage and
40:12help prevent what
40:13comes next so your
40:14hair can keep up with
40:15everything you're
40:16asking of it
40:17because this isn't
40:17about chasing one
40:18perfect hair day
40:19it's about confidence
40:20longevity and showing
40:22up as yourself again
40:23and again
40:23Nexus
40:24long live hair
40:25you