I was born in Juneau, Alaska. This small fact has had a huge impact on me and formed the way I live my life. I lived in Juneau until I was 10 years old and, in that decade, experienced things that most people won’t experience in an entire lifetime. In elementary school, instead of earthquake or fire drills, we had bear drills. Just ask me if you want to know what to do when a bear wanders onto the playground or into your yard. The cold, snowy, and rainy weather never stopped us from going outside. If we’d waited for warm weather, we would have been stuck indoors for months. You learn to adapt your life to your surroundings. During the particularly cold winter months, my parents signed my brother and me up for every team sport possible. Because of this, I grew up loving sports.

I moved to Scappoose, Oregon, (a small town outside of Portland) during the third grade, where I experienced major culture shock. Living in Alaska is quite isolating, especially from the viewpoint of a ten-year-old. To help with this, my parents signed me up for team sports again, specifically soccer. I made life-long friendships during that time. Team sports have followed me from city to city and been a constant in my life.

As I grew, I tried new types of exercise. I ran my first half marathon during undergrad and completed a full marathon in 2012. Between races, I started taking yoga classes as a way to cross train. While I don’t run long distances anymore, yoga is still a staple in my life. To supplement my exercise, I started researching nutrition. I wanted foods that I could eat to improve performance and help with recovery. If you’ve ever similar research, you probably found endless articles on the importance of protein in an active lifestyle.

I started buying protein powder to supplement my protein intake. After a few months, I finally read the ingredients and was appalled! I had assumed the powder would be made from safe and simple ingredients. But in reality it was full of artificial flavors and sweeteners. I ditched the powder and looked for something else. But my search for a convenient, safe source of protein was fruitless. When Sean mentioned his idea to me—protein water made from healthy, natural ingredients—I knew I wanted to get onboard.