Slickster: Is there a correct way to prepare a pineapple?

KVB: That’s a tough one!  I mean, If you search the internet, you’ll find plenty of practical ways to cut a pineapple, but that’s just plain boring.  You can’t eat the best fruit in the whole wide world without a little creativity!  My preferred method is cutting a little face out or even different shapes and patterns, because, why not?  Pro tip – pineapples also make great jack-o-lanterns!

Slickster: You have some amazing rock climbing photos on your IG page.  Any advice for guys who want to involved with the sport but don’t know where to start?

KVB: Well first of all, thank you, and second, just do it!  I get an absolute thrill from scaling the sides of a giant boulder with nothing on either side of me.  I honestly wouldn’t even call myself a rock climber, I just love putting myself in precarious positions that give me an insane adrenaline rush!  Boulders, ridgelines, cliffs, you name it!  I started with hiking, and the more intense the hikes got, the more it required me to climb higher and steeper rock faces.  If you want to get started, it all comes down to your resources and your comfort level.  That could mean going to a designated rock climbing gym or scaling your first 10 ft boulder out in the wilderness.  Whatever sounds best to you!  No matter how you start, just don’t come back and blame me if you injure yourself! 🙂

Slickster: Your bikini body is amazing and natural!  How do you keep in such good shape?

KVB: Thank you, that’s so sweet!  For me, my physical shape is determined by the connection between my body and mind.  Everything from the food I put into my body to the thoughts I think all have an impact on the way I look.  I do yoga every day when I wake up followed by either a gym session of weights and/or cardio or some kind of outdoor adventure (hiking, slacklining, acroyoga).  I would say my diet is probably the most important factor though.  I’ve been fully vegan for 2 years, and it’s insane how much easier it is to be at my ideal body weight when I’m not putting junk into my body.  I wasn’t even in this good of shape when I was a Personal Trainer and eating what I thought was “clean”!  The aesthetics are just a byproduct of the way I feel about and treat myself.  The more I do things that truly nourish and benefit me psychically and mentally, the more my body naturally looks and feels the way it’s supposed to.

Slickster: Anything goes!  What message do you want to share with the world?

KVB: Anything?!  Wow, I could write a whole book on this!  Well, let me say this:  there is already entirely too much hatred in the world.  Political parties, races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, you name it.  There is so much effort that goes into keeping certain people at a distance and keeping the down.  For some, it might be too hard at this moment for me to ask you to love every single human being in the entire world, so I won’t.  What I will ask is that you just love YOURSELF.  That’s it.  Just love YOU.  Before you dismiss me as just another self-help lunatic who just wants the world to live in eternal peace and harmony (which, let’s be honest, I do), think about it this way: are you getting the proper nutrition for your body?  Are you getting adequate exercise?  Are you sleeping enough?  Are you pushing yourself to be the best damn version of you possible?  Do you have personal, career, financial, and family goals that you’re working towards and accomplishing every single day?  Do you like the way you look and feel?  Do you speak kindly to yourself?  If you truly and deeply loved yourself, would you not want to create the most amazing, fulfilling, prosperous, happy life you could possibly imagine?  If you honestly and fully loved yourself, would you even care about the differences of others?  Let’s stop worrying what the rest of the world is doing for just a second and come back to square one.  Life is way more fun when you’re focused on your own positives instead of other people’s negatives.   You have the unlimited and unrestricted power to change one human in this world, and that human is you.  You got this 🙂