Ash Kalita (known as ashvandelay on social media) is a motorsports Twitch streamer and creator who joins me on this week’s episode of If I’m Honest with Julia Landauer. A fellow New Yorker who also went to one of the specialized public high schools, we immediately bonded over our similar backgrounds that unexpectedly led to careers in motorsports. Ash shares how her Polish heritage led her to root for Robert Kubica in Formula 1, how she found online communities through playing video games during the pandemic, and why she sets boundaries around parasocial relationships online. We also dive into the beauty of the community of women content creators in motorsports, abandoning internal misogyny, and the increase of brands advertising to women in motorsports. I ask Ash to share how she got her gig with Red Bull Oracle Racing, to which she emphasizes the importance of in-person face time and gives a pro-tip for working in corporate. Lastly, we touch on her approach to content creation, her role models in motorsports (shout out to Lyn St. James!) and we end with a rapid fire If You’re Honest.

Follow Ash on:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashvandelay

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashvandelay

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AshVandelay

X (Formerly Twitter): https://x.com/ashvandelay

And you can visit her website here: https://www.ashvandelay.com/

Articles Referenced: https://www.femalesinmotorsport.com/post/female-fan-abuse-in-f1-was-drive-it-out-just-hollow-words

Grid Clique: https://www.gridclique.com/

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode of If I’m Honest with Julia Landauer dives into our first topic around the mental side of human performance: emotions and emotional intelligence. Historically, emotions were seen as a hindrance to success, and only recently are we shifting that ideology. Prompted by a David Brooks op-ed that explains how we actively need emotions to make good decisions, I dive into the benefits of properly processing and regulating emotions. I share Marc Brackett’s RULER Method of emotional processing, explain why I think it’s important to lean into negative emotions in order to drive change, and I share a potentially-controversial Instagram post from Dan Koe.

Articles Referenced: David Brooks Op-Ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/15/opinion/emotions-feelings-intelligence.html?searchResultPosition=1

Carroll Izard Research on Emotions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2723854/ Dan Koe

Instagram Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-0J3_PP6SY/?igsh=NTc3dmV5azFuNTV0

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If I’m Honest with Julia Landauer is back for Season 3! In this episode, I give a recap and opinion on recent NASCAR, Formula 1, and Olympics news. I dive into why I’m bummed that Hailie Deegan isn’t racing full-time anymore, Lewis Hamilton’s comeback, and why it felt so important for USA Women’s Basketball to take the Gold Medal in the Olympics. I also address the fact that we are a mixed-allegiance household, with me rooting for the USA and my husband Ben rooting for France, and what that drama is like. I also share the new cadence for Season 3 of a new episode every other Wednesday and give a sneak peak into the theme of Season 3 solo episodes, which is human performance.

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 50 of If I’m Honest with Julia Landauer marks the end of Season 2! In this episode, Julia recaps her annual Sibling Trip to Iceland, including all of her recommendations for restaurants and things to see and do. Julia then highlights some of her favorite moments from Season 2, specific episodes that listeners loved, and shares what’s yet to come.

Restaurants Julia referenced:

• Otto Matur & Drykkur: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g189960-d14205062-Reviews-Otto_Matur_Drykkur-Hofn_East_Region.html
• Berg: https://www.stayinvik.is/?lang=en
• Vedur: https://www.vedurbarinn.is/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=wix_google_business_profile&utm_campaign=2498517376740315429
• Krons: https://www.krons.is/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=wix_google_business_profile&utm_campaign=8459319218968687359
• Amma Don: https://ox.restaurant/

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the only person to host and compete on American Ninja Warrior, Alex Weber knows a lot about storytelling and competition. He joins Julia Landauer on this week’s episode of If I’m Honest, talking about his journey from D1 Lacrosse player to entertainment host and competitor to keynote speaker. Rooted in grit, perseverance, diligence, and persistence, Alex explains how he trains for American Ninja Warrior, what he calls “fear training,” and how to minimize fear. Julia and Alex compare American Ninja Warrior obstacles with SURVIVOR obstacles and discuss what it’s like to come off the high of being in the zone for competition or performance. Alex also shares how he got involved in keynote speaking, how he prepares and assesses his performance, and shares the fun and creative way he found his style of speaking.

Learn more about Alex Weber at https://www.imalexweber.com and follow him at @imalexweber.

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes team members feel secure enough to push boundaries? How does leadership style impact a team’s willingness to take risks in the pursuit of progress? A lot of this comes down to “psychological safety,” a term coined by Amy Edmondson. In a recent virtual keynote, after being asked about psychological safety as it relates to team dynamics, Julia had to admit that she hadn’t heard the term before and would have to do research. So in this week’s episode of If I’m Honest, Julia Landauer explains what psychological safety is, how it relates to team member success, and how she’s incorporated the concept into working with racing teams.

Harvard Business Review study referenced: https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety

McKinsey article referenced: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-psychological-safety

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Does Julia miss racing? What does a good relationship boil down to? What are the metrics and measures it takes to build a team in NASCAR? What podcasts do I listen to?

You asked great questions, and Julia hopes she delivered satisfactory answers to these questions and more on this week’s episode of If I’m Honest with Julia Landauer.

In this Ask Me Anything, Julia tackles the questions you sent in over social media, ranging from racing questions to relationship advice to Taylor Swift.

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many athletes have a ritual they perform before competition. But why is that? In this episode of If I’m Honest, Julia Landauer explores why pre-competition rituals are so important for performance. Julia shares research from the University of Toronto that explains the effects rituals have on brain activity, she hypothesizes what happens if we don’t perform our rituals, and describes her own pre-race rituals. Julia also reached out to some of her racer friends to hear their pre-race rituals, which they generously shared via voice recordings.

NASCAR crew member pre-race ritual TikTok referenced: https://www.tiktok.com/@nascar/video/7350349479742164267?lang=en

University of Toronto study referenced: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452956/

Thank you to the drivers who shared their pre-race rituals:
Katherine Legge: https://www.instagram.com/katherineracing/
John Edwards: https://www.instagram.com/_john.eddy/
Zach Herrin: https://www.instagram.com/zach.herrin/
Rajah Caruth: https://www.instagram.com/rajahcaruth_/

Learn more about Julia Landauer at https://julialandauer.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.