Letter From the Director

In my mind, the "Holiday Season" begins on Halloween and ends on Valentine's Day.

There’s something about how this month is dedicated to expressing how people feel about their partners — or simply to their friends and family. It’s the final lap around the holiday season, intertwined with love and gratefulness for the ones that fill your life with love and joy.

Ever since I was young, I have always been a sucker for ‘90s-’00s rom-coms, filled with cheeky (and most often, cheesy) one-liners and fairytale-esque happy endings. I adored anything where a star like Julia Roberts would end the film valiantly, with their one, true love. Yet, so many of these films usually only show the beginning of a love story — and not so often what happens after two people meet and get together. It left me wanting to know, “Well, what’s the happily ever after like?”

In this issue, we’re exploring the nitty-gritty of relationships — the stuff those early ‘00s rom-coms didn’t typically cover, and who better to grace our cover than one of the most honest couples in Austin?

In this month’s cover story, (literal) power couple Zack Blakeney and Julia Rene describe how they work together to foster support and success within their relationship. Both coaches and local fitness influencers, the couple also dive into what it’s like to prioritize fitness and even start a podcast, The Fit Couple Show, together. From keeping each other accountable and motivated in the gym to having open communication in their relationship, Blakeney and Rene are candid about life’s realest moments and share how they work through them together.

Not only are we looking into many different kinds of relationships, such as those between business partners, people and food, patients and physicians, a person and their workout and even the relationship one has with themselves, but we are also rolling out some exclusive content on our new app — available on iOS!

If the last year has shown us anything, it is that relationships play a major — and better yet — vital role in our lives and often keep us afloat emotionally. Even if you’re not celebrating Valentine’s, take some time this month to recognize and celebrate the relationships in your life that bring you happiness and joy, whether that be from a friend, family member, yourself or even the local, smiling barista that greets you when you pick up your coffee.

Keep Austin Fit,

Emily Effren

Director of Content