I didn't really lift consistently before I got to the NBA. In college, I would skip out on it or not do as many reps because, honestly, I didn't like it. I was like 'Man, I'm not going to put on weight, I'm always going to be skinny, I'm not going to be big as the sky.'
I have been a big guy all my life, I am not going to lose a bunch of weight, because then you're like that weird fat person that got skinny but still has a big head. I don't want to do that. So I'm just trying.
I always go heavy and I always go to failure. Even when I tell myself I'm gonna go easy, once I get to the gym and start working, I never end up going easy. I hate leaving the floor feeling like I could have done more weight or more reps. I just love working out and going further than I ever did before.
And like, I think when I was 14, I was like, OK, I'm going to go to college. I'm going to get out of college when I'm, like, 21, 22, then I'm going to get married. Then, I'm going to, like, be, like, rock star-musician-scientist.
I see so many people in the gym just slinging weight around. You can accomplish more if you squeeze the reps out in perfect form, instead of going big and trying to kill it every time.
My partner, Jeff Ullrich, and I always thought Earwolf was going to be big. There were a couple of studies before we launched saying podcasts were going to really grow. But I remember so many conversations at the beginning where people would say, 'How are you going to make money with this?'
I made, like, five records as Dirty Projectors before I got out of college. And then I put a band together when I got interested in going on tour around that time.
Fame is a funny thing. I like doing normal things. I like going to fairs. I like going to ball games. I like going to Disney World or a big field on the Fourth of July and having picnics with friends. The problem is you're either worried you're going to be recognized, or you're thankful you're not. It's always there.
I definitely want to continue being an actress. I love it. The reason I'm going to college is because I do want knowledge in another field. College isn't the college experience for me. I'm not going to be in a sorority. I'm not going to network. I'm not even really going to make my lifelong friends.
Coming out of high school, I think it was good for me instead of going to college because college and the NBA are two different things. You can dominate on the college level, but the NBA is a whole different story. The dudes that do the best are the ones who work hard.
I was going to college for broadcast journalism because I knew whatever career path I would take, I knew I wanted to be talking to as many people as possible and inspiring as many people as possible, particularly girls. When I was in college, I was like, 'I know I'm going to be on camera a lot when I'm older if I fall into my dream job.'
It's almost like going to high school before you got to go to college. You felt a little bit better before you got to college. That's how I feel about Brooklyn.
My parents made me finish high school before I started acting, and I did, like, two weeks of fine arts college before I was like, 'This sucks. I'm going!' I got a few small jobs, and then I booked a big-for-Canada feature.
Whenever there's a red carpet event coming up my trainer in LA that I see, I always come to her like three days before and go, 'Can you make me really thin in three days?' She's always like, 'If you come to me consistently all throughout the year, then yes I can. When you come to me with three days and ask to lose 10 pounds it's just not going to happen.' I'm like, 'Do your best. Please. Make me skinny.'
I really feel like I came out of the water when I graduated from college, because I wasn't really aware of what was going on. If certain people tried to take advantage of me or whatever, I never really realized it until I got out of school.
I think you are going through so many 'firsts' as a teenager, and it's a charged time because of that. You don't have much autonomy in life. Everything is just kind of crazy, and there are so many huge decisions to be made, like where are you going to college or who you date. These things can really affect your whole life.
Work hard, because it's obviously not always going to be easy. It's a really hard industry. Put yourself out there and put videos online, because that, honestly, is what changed my life.