Q&A WITH KATE GLAVAN
Wednesday Zine’s Wellness Columnist Stella Brown and Editor-in-Chief Emily Blake sat down with Kate Glavan, multi-hyphenate wellness influencer and podcaster to discuss everything from consumerism to TikTok to Hot Girl Walks. Glavan has experienced fairly long-term internet popularity, whether it be as a climate activist, Bernie campaigner, or stylist of insanely good Outdoor Voices ensembles. As avid followers of both Glavan’s educational resources as well as more humorous and fun visuals (see: her “Men Are Fans” baseball cap), we couldn’t wait to hear more about everything that makes Kate, Kate.
You’re walking down a busy NYC street, you bump into someone and only have 30 seconds to introduce yourself. What would you say?
My name is Kate Glavan — I’m 22, originally from Minnesota, been in New York for almost 4 years now and graduated from NYU in December 2020. I focused on politics, law, and environmental communications in my academic studies. I’m big into topics like climate change, wellness, political advocacy, and sustainability. I have a health/wellness podcast called What the F*ck is Sea Moss? with my best friend and work as an editorial assistant for a climate/weather newsletter called Currently.
Tell us more about your podcast and Instagram for Sea Moss. We love it because it’s so funny and in-tune with meme culture /2021 pop culture but also communicates really useful wellness information in an unpretentious way. Why did you start it?
My best friend Emma and I started the podcast back in November as a way to cut through the BS in the wellness industry. We became friends after bonding over being plant-based, gen-z introverts living in New York City — both of us are originally from the Midwest and had experiences of ED in our pasts. We felt all of the health podcasts we listened to were not digestible to the average wellness consumer, plus the conversations were likely not being held by women or anyone Gen-Z. We have found such an intelligent, passionate audience from starting the podcast and meme page (@seamossgirlies) which has translated to a beautiful community.
We have been watching your TikTok blow up, can you tell us more about why you started making videos and what you hope to communicate?
I honestly wanted a place to be more unfiltered. I also wanted to find funny content to consume, as I feel Instagram and Youtube are both so boring these days. My FYP page on Tiktok is extremely wack and I truly love it! I haven’t really put pressure on myself with my own content creation on Tiktok, it’s just your average shitposting of me on a walk or a run to fill the void whenever I have downtime.
How would you define wellness?
Wellness exists outside the bounds of consumerism or capitalism for me — it’s not a singular product for a quick fix or a label of a lifestyle that I prescribe to with my diet/fitness. Growing up playing volleyball my whole life, I never had autonomy to determine my own movement and felt my dietary patterns were fairly complicated while I was experiencing the worst of my eating disorder. Wellness for me is built by my rituals and routines that I have created for myself over time. With the choices we make each day, we are either contributing to our health or taking away from our health — this has been the most useful outlook for me to live by.
How do you avoid harmful narratives around health that are disguised as wellness?
As an example, I never post how often I work out or what I eat in a day. I never give workout routines or tell people what supplements to take. This type of advice is extremely destructive, in my opinion — especially “What I Eat In A Day” videos add no value, as the content tends to lead young, vulnerable people into disordered eating behaviors. I advise those looking for wellness tips to not seek advice from any influencer or internet figure — myself included. Listen to professionals in their applicable fields.
What’s your favorite form of movement? How do you find motivation to move your body?
Running and jump roping — I have to diversify movement in order for it to remain exciting to me. Movement is the best part of my day because it’s where I can go to be completely alone and push myself based on my own mental and/or physical needs. Movement should never feel like torture — if it does, seek out something new!
We love watching you always just walk around NYC; tell us more about the power of the Hot Girl Walk.
I never have been able to be chill. Lol. Walking is very meditative for me and ritualistic to help me clear my mind or manage anxiety. I often will listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks depending on my mood. For the complete Hot Girl Walk, I wear my Hoka One One Bondi 7, a skort, vintage T Shirt, and always have a pack of Juicy Fruit gum on me.
What are your current passion projects?
From the podcast, Emma and I are now in the early stages of developing a community-first, direct-to-consumer supplement brand for Gen-Z to help them establish consistent wellness routines.
Between being an influencer, living in the city, and having meaningful partnerships with brands, it seems like you’re very tuned in to fashion. What brands have you been loving, and what will you be spotted in this summer?
My favorites are Outdoor Voices, Saks Potts, Eckhaus Latta, Hoka One One (always a jock) — the rest are likely thrifted or vintage which makes my outfits original to me. I’ll be seen in lots of athletic skorts, sneakers, crocheted tops, vintage T shirts, and bold prints.
Our publication’s audience is meant to be young people, especially women. If you had advice for your younger self, what would it be?
Never stop reading and listening. Google everything you’re curious about — you can probably teach yourself a lot of the things you want to learn! Become a specialist, not a generalist. Put yourself first, trust that feeling in your gut we often try to avoid. Stop trying to control your future — every time I’ve tried to control the path of my life, something extremely unexpected has come into the frame. Don’t worry about if you make sense to anyone else -- you got this!