RECESS: Juliet & Kelly Starrett on NCAAs, Healthy Aging, Dean Potter, and the Meowfia

Welcome to the first episode of RECESS, a new, more personal series from us, Juliet and Kelly Starrett. In these shorter, looser conversations, we’re pulling back the curtain on what’s going on in our lives, what we’re learning, what’s making us laugh, and what we’re thinking about across health, movement, longevity, performance, parenting, and everything in between.In this episode, we talk about Kelly’s experience coaching Cal Women’s Water Polo at the NCAA championship and what it’s like to compete at that level. We unpack the “bronze medal mindset” and some of the biggest lessons we’ve learned from elite sport. We also dive into the Dean Potter documentary and reflect on our own experiences in 90s extreme sports culture. Plus, we share why we’re concerned about nicotine being normalized in wellness and what stood out to us at the Stanford Healthy Aging Conference.And of course, we get into some lighter moments—including Kelly’s definitely-not-a-cat-group: the Meowfia.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy we’re still debating whether Kelly is in a cat groupWhat Kelly learned from coaching at the NCAA championshipHow we think about loss, silver medals, and the bronze medal mindsetWhy the Dean Potter documentary hit close to home for usWhy we’re concerned about nicotine products in wellness cultureWhat stood out to us at the Stanford Healthy Aging ConferenceHow we’re processing our youngest daughter’s senior-year milestonesKey Highlights: 00:00 — Why we’re starting RECESS01:17 — The Meowfia, taco cat, and the funny-off03:15 — Bringing fun back into health and longevity03:58 — Kelly’s reflections from the NCAA women’s water polo championship09:03 — Losing gold, winning silver, and the bronze medal mindset13:51 — Red Vines, fat-free diets, and 90s athlete nutrition17:24 — Dean Potter, Dark Wizard, and extreme sports culture22:45 — Nicotine pouches, health washing, and wellness influence27:34 — Our biggest takeaways from Stanford Healthy Aging29:02 — Strength training, creatine, isometrics, and old cat syndrome32:28 — Parenting, graduation, and figuring out how to cook for two