The Sonya Looney Show

Eliot Jackson is a former Motocross rider and World Cup Downhill bike racer and is now a presenter for Red Bull TV and an entrepreneur. He is a published author in multiple national and international magazines. He is also the Chairman of the Grow Cycling Foundation, created shortly after the 2020 George Floyd protests. With the knowledge that the cycling world is not immune from a culture of exclusivity and racism, the foundation was created to deliver new avenues for inclusive community building and career development in the cycling industry and work to tear down barriers to entry in cycling for marginalized communities. The Grow Cycling Foundation promotes education, access and opportunities to increase diversity and inclusion in cycling. The foundation believes cycling has a unique ability to address intersecting areas where specific communities have been underserved. They invest in programs that build belongingness in cycling by creating inclusive cycling spaces. One of their first initiatives is building

Can you be plant-based and an elite athlete? Matt Frazier says absolutely yes.  Matt, a vegan ultra marathoner, author, and entrepreneur is a plant-based diet advocate, but he also knows it’s not for everyone. Founder of No Meat Athlete, Matt is all about providing the tools for thriving on a plant-based diet and how athletes can be at their very best with this type of nutrition.  Matt is known for his No Meat Athlete Radio podcast and his books, which have sold over 125,000 copies in five languages. His work has also been featured in books by Rich Roll’s Finding Ultra, Brendan Brazier’s Thrive Foods, and Seth Godin’s What to Do When It’s Your Turn. In addition, Sports Illustrated called The No Meat Athlete Cookbook one of the best Health & Wellness books.  Now he’s back with a new book The Plant Based Athlete, written in collaboration with Robert Cheeke. This book guides those interested in making the important shift to a plant-based diet in how to do so with the best, most transformative results.

Are you trying to create a good habit or break a bad one? That’s Dr. Jud Brewer’s speciality.  Dr. Jud (MD, PhD) has over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training and a career in scientific research. His interest in how the brain works has led him to work with people to make deep, permanent change in their lives. He has developed mindfulness programs for habit change, including in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. Earlier this year, Dr. Jud released a new book, “Unwinding Anxiety - New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind.” His book is a clinically proven step-by-step plan to break the cycle of worry and fear that drives anxiety and addictive habits. Dr. Jud explains how to uproot anxiety at its source using brain-based techniques. Check out Sonya’s previous interview with Dr. Jud in early 2020 about how to overcome bad habits and cravings using the power of the mind. In this episode, Dr. Jud talks about looking at

We all have ideas of what we want our life to look like. It could be something like weight loss, improving speed on the bike or running, or even cooking more at home.  When you set those goals, how do you go about doing it? You may have heard of S.M.A.R.T. goals.   Specific Measurable Action-Oriented Realistic Timebound Answering the where, when, and how as specific as possible (and making sure the goal is just outside your reach rather than a pipedream) is a great place to start.  Where do you go from there?  Making sure that you have a system for tracking the goal is also of utmost importance. Research shows that it's very difficult to improve in something that you don't measure. But measuring can also get out of hand. More on that later. Four Ways to Track Goals with an app (I like the Strides App- no affiliation- I just like them). using a google calendar For workouts, use something like Strava or Sufferfest use an actual large paper calendar Another important part of goal setting is sett

Do you ever feel like you are losing focus and can’t find the energy to do what needs to be done?  Charles Clay is a published author, dynamic speaker, men’s empowerment coach, breathwork facilitator, and more! He joined me to talk about his Laser Focus Method and ways to best utilize your energy. Founder of M Powered Men’s Group Training and Mastermind, Charles helps men and women understand and heal aches, pains and injuries in order to experience more joy, love and creativity. He helps people conquer anxiety and subconscious blocks in order to manifest their dream lives. His desire to do this work started after sustaining a devastating back injury while snowboarding. Instead of the doctor’s recommendation to have spinal surgery, Charles began a self-healing journey. He combined ancient healing practices and eastern philosophy with modern day science and Neurokinetic therapy to allow for optimal healing and wellness. In this podcast, Charles not only talks about healing, energy, and focus, but also

Wondering how to feed your toddler or baby a plant-based diet or if it's even safe? What about how you communicate around the relationship we have with food? Well, the Plant-Based Juniors crew is here to help. Enter Whitney English and Alex Caspero, Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainers, and Moms who founded Plant-Based Juniors (PBJ). Together, they created a community and incredible resource for families who want to raise their kids with a mostly plant-based diet. Relying on evidence-based nutrition advice, Whitney and Alex empower parents to make the best nutrition decisions for their families. And pssst, not only is safe to feed your children a plant-based diet, but there are many positive short-term and long-term health benefits. Studies show that plant-based children have a much lower risk of obesity, have lower levels of inflammatory signaling molecules, and they learn to love fruits and vegetables from an early age. Plant-based children are also exposed to much fewer environmental toxins

Podcasting is About Loving the Process You can't control the outcome of the podcast. It's well within my grasp to become the best interviewer I can be, do ample research on my guest and their work, put out high-quality content, and do my best to make sure people know about my podcast. I can't control the popularity of my podcast (I wish I could. I would love to be one of the very well-known podcasters). I also keep in mind that no matter how many downloads I get, it'll never be enough. This show has been ranked in the Top 100 in the Mental Health space and is in the top 5% in the world for widest-reaching. I am proud of that, but I always wish for more, just like anything else. I am a podcaster because I love sharing people's stories, asking them questions to help get interesting information or realizations from them through talking out loud, being able to help other people with this information. Podcasting has also helped me become an expert listener! Podcasting is About Consistency and Commitment My

In North America, you probably see female mountain bikers and think nothing of it. But what if you were in Iran where a woman's virtue is at stake if she is seen riding a bike? Or in Nepal where it's been forbidden by family (and customary for women to live with their family until they get married)? What if you had to be the first woman in your community to mountain bike like a woman I spoke to in Guatemala? There is a lot we can take for granted in our lives without even realizing the hurdles some women must overcome to even sit on a bike seat and pedal down the road. This podcast was one I was really excited to record challenging cultural norms and acting as role models for many young women.  Enter World-Ride. World Ride is a 501(c)3 non profit that works to empower women globally through mountain biking. They have established programs around the world where we work with local women to create bike libraries, assist women with leadership and guide training, and support women with their race goals. They

Robert Cheeke is 220 pounds of pure muscle.  As a vegan bodybuilder, author of x books, and motivational speaker, he has impacted many lives. He went vegan in 1995 when he was 120lbs and has built a physique naturally that shows his dedication to health, hard work, and consistency. And those themes not only show up in his athletic life, but in all aspects of his life. Robert is the author of 4 books, with his most recent book, The Plant-Based Athlete available for pre-sale now! It comes out in June and chronicles exactly how to succeed as a plant-based athlete. It also includes stories of plant-based Olympians, World Champions, and successful athletes. I was deeply honored to be featured in this amazing book and humbled to be on the list with some legends. Make sure you pre-order a copy of the book. It also has more than 60 scrumptious plant-based recipes (and a few of my own!)   "It all comes down to showing up. You gotta be at the starting line in order to achieve those things.  And what it means to

Dean Karnazes, aka the UltraMarathonMan, is an extraordinary human. If you have ever followed ultrarunning, no doubt you've heard of some of his adventures. He's been named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time Magazine, He has taken on many unthinkable feats like running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days finishing with the NYC Marathon where...get this... he ran a sub 3-hour marathon for his 50th marathon in a row. He has run 350 continuous miles, foregoing sleep for three nights. He’s run across the Sahara Desert in 120-degree temperatures, and he’s run a marathon to the South Pole in negative 40 degrees. His long list of competitive achievements include winning the World’s Toughest Footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer. He has raced and competed on all seven continents of the planet, twice over. Despite his many accomplishments, awards and distinctions, he remains most proud of

Empowering female athletes and creating media around female heroes is the first step to bringing more women into sport. Sara Gross is a two-time Ironman Champion, founder of Live Feisty, and has her PhD in Women's History. Her advocacy for women's sports drove her to create Live Feisty. Live Feisty's mission is to create media, information, and support for female athletes. It's a media company that has a network of podcasts, articles, events, and more to help women move toward their potential. "The first thing that came to my head was around how we create hero culture, especially here in North America. It’s really good to have heroes to look up to. But I think we sometimes emphasize talent over hard work or people that we see at the Olympic Games or elite athletes as having some kind of special talent that we don’t have. And then we underestimate exactly how much work has gone behind that elite athlete." Sara Gross We covered a lot of interesting topics in this podcast. Personally, I enjoyed Sara's pers

Kyle Warner is an incredible mountain biker, down-to-earth, and an amazing mountain bike coach on his YouTube Channel with his girlfriend, April Zastrow. You might know of Kyle Warner from his incredible race results as a professional enduro racer or because of all the mountain bike tips you've learned from his Youtube Channel.  What you may not know is that Kyle's background and rise into the sport of mountain biking is far from traditional.  He grew up helping care for his mother while she battled sickness and depression. At one point, he and his mom were even homeless, living in an abandoned house.  As a teen, Kyle started working in a bike shop, and at age 16 he got his first mountain bike. The mountain bike was like the key to a door he didn't even know was there and it changed his life.  It gave him time away from life's major stressors.  He ended up meeting a local group of riders that saw his passion and potential.  They mentored him and took him on his first trip out of state to race and meet othe

Mindset for athletes is one of the secret weapons that separate good from great performers.  Most people don’t realize that you can actually train your mind like you can train your body.  Mindset for athletes is a growing field of relevance and importance, and my personal passion. In this podcast, I’m actually on the other side of the mic with Molly Hurford, host of The Consummate Athlete podcast asking me all the questions.  We talked about many of the topics in my Moxy & Grit Mindset Academy that is a 22-module course.  Please enjoy! Mindset For Athletes to Up Your Game! “Extrinisic motivation can help you get out of the bed some mornings and help you stay committed to your goal. Generally, you will stay motivated for longer if you can also focus on the person that you’re trying to become with the goal of mastery, well-knowing you’ll never actually master a task.  You’re always going be climbing the mountain to all these different false summits, so learning to enjoy the hike itself is the key, not jus

What does it take to overcome personal limits?  Former Professional Triathlete and Entrepreneur, Izzy Fischer knows all about it. From bumping up against limiting beliefs as a young swimmer to overcoming an eating disorder, Izzy has figured how to thrive.   Who is Izzy Fischer?  Izzy Fischer the co-founder and formulator of Plant Bites – a plant-based no added sugar workout fuel – perfect energy replacement for gels and gummies, and head of Enterprise Development for Complement, a business that delivers high-quality products to complement lifestyles who eat a plant-based diet.    Izzy is originally from Boulder, CO and has always had a love for the outdoors, cycling, and hiking.  She was a swimmer at a young age and discovered the biggest limits she faced were the ones she placed on herself.  Eventually, she moved on to triathlon and has raced in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Nice in 2019.   Her plant-based roots actually stemmed from an unhealthy vegan diet geared toward losing weight as fast as po

An often overlooked part of endurance training is strength training for cyclists. Many of us just want to ride our bike, but we don't realize that strength training helps us prevent injury and actually ride stronger!  Enter Derek Teel-  founder of Dialed Health and podcast host of strength training for cyclists. Derek Teel believes in leading from the front.  From racing as a Professional Mountain Biker in enduro races to building his online and in-person fitness company, Dialed Health- he is definitely leading from the front.  Consistency is the most important thing when it comes to success, and strength training is no exception.  Derek says you need to strength train a minimum of two times per week to see results.  He also said these sessions need to be full-body sessions. Dialed Health's mission is to take people to a higher level in their health and fitness through honestly assessing current health efforts and evaluating future goals. While strength training is a major focus, Derek also regularly helps pe

A common topic of conversation is nutrition tips for endurance athletes.  There are many different approaches, but understanding the basics of sports nutrition will help you make personalized decisions to find the right fit for you.  Enter: Anne Guzman- sports nutritionist. Anne is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, specializing in Sports Nutrition as a Sports Nutrition Consultant. She believes that athletes often undermine their training by not fueling their bodies with proper nutrition as well as not timing their nutrition optimally for performance gains. Anne has an interesting background as an athlete. She was a Varsity Freestyle Wrestler and also become a Professional Road Cyclist, racing both nationally and internationally. She has competed in World Cup Races, the 2007 Pan Am Games as well as in Europe. Anne's curiosity and love of learning enabled her to also use her own body as an experiment for recovery and race nutrition. "But when it comes time to get

The journey of being an athlete mother is an interesting one.  From being a pregnant athlete to navigating life and training with a baby, there are so many personal insights to be gained! This podcast is segment is supported by Wahoo Fitness who has been a great partner during my journey as a pregnant athlete and new mom! My husband, Matt Ewonus has joined me on many of these Athlete Motherhood series because parenthood is really what it's about! In this episode, we talked about how consistency is so key when you are an athlete mother. "It’s like the grinch, you feel your heart growing from that little crunchy pea up into the bigger.  You get wooed by this little person who is now looking at you with these adoring eyes and playing with you, and you just can’t help but melt.  It’s just the funnest thing. Each month that goes by, he’s more and more engaging and more and more fun. And then you know how to push is buttons and how to make him laugh and how to have fun with him. Each month that goes by for me as a

Kathryn Bertine is a retired professional female cyclist, an activist for equity in women's pro cycling, author, and documentary filmmaker.  You might have heard of the film,  Half the Road, which chronicles the inequality in women's cycling that also is a metaphor for life.  With Half the Road, Kathryn noticed that the women's road races were often shorter than the men’s events, prize money was pitifully lower, and in some cases, non-existent, the female pros had no base salary nor any sort of union to protect their best interests, and the governing body of the sport treated the female racers like second-class citizens. Kathryn couldn't help but wonder why this was so, and her voice as an activist got louder.  Things have improved since Half the Road came out in 2014, but we still have a long way to go. The powers that be continued to reject and shun her when her "why" got deafening loud, and she started asking big questions, but it didn't stop her from becoming a pro cyclist at the age of 37.  She raced fiv

Robyn Conley downs, author and podcast host of The Feel Good Effect believes wellness needs to be simplified into small shifts to create big changes in your mindset, behaviors and decision making. The Feel Good Effect takes Robyn's big ideas and makes them easy to execute with simple shifts. Her website, Real Food Whole Life is home to all things health and wellness and Robyn uses simple, science-backed strategies to help people cut through life’s clutter to uncover small shifts that create huge change. She believes in finding more calm, ease and joy in your life right now; and lives by her motto, gentle is the new perfect. Holding a Master’s degree in education with an emphasis in behavior change, and 4 years of public policy & health change at the doctoral level, Robyn's work taps into cutting-edge science around psychology, neuroscience, mindfulness, and habits. Recently named one of the Most Influential Women in Wellness, she helps people cut through life’s clutter to uncover small shifts that create

Nikki Brammeier is a cyclocross champion and had her first baby during lockdown in 2020.  Nikki has stood on many World Cup Cyclocross podiums (12 to be exact), has been British National Champion across multiple disciplines of cycling, and has had great success in road racing as well. She is also a cycling coach and founder of her company, Mudiita Coaching. "My aim is to inspire, coach, and mentor the next generation of cyclists using my past experience, creating happy, healthy bike riders" -Nikki Brammeier Topics Discussed in the Podcast  3 key elements to becoming a cyclocross champion (resilience, support, passion) how to avoid burnout as a cyclist Nikki Brammeier's decision to retire from cycling pregnancy, breastfeeding, and fluctuating hormones how Nikki handled training as a pregnant athlete post-partum healing, body image, and resilient parenting "I think that's one thing being an athlete teaches you is you learn to read your body quite well. Your mental well-being is important and your baby sense