On Appetites: Lauren Leavell

Sharon Salomon, 80, is a competitive powerlifter. She and her coach, Tricia Lucero, join Julia Turshen for a conversation about lifting, training and more.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.

Le Carr is the co-owner of Rain City Fit in Seattle, Washington. They are also the director of Pride Deadlift Party, an annual block-party style deadlift competition and fundraiser for the Seattle LGBTQIA+ community that has raised tens of thousands of dollars. They joined Julia Turshen to talk about powerlifting, running gyms, competitions and more.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Follow Le on IG right here!Follow Rain City Fit on IG right here!And follow Pride Deadlift Party on IG right here!

Elazar Sontag is a James Beard and National Magazine Award-nominated writer and editor. He's also a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient. Most importantly, he is currently trying for a 400-pound deadlift. He joined Julia Turshen to talk about powerlifting, eating, queerness, bodies and more.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Follow Elazar on IG right here!

Alex Lau is a food and travel photographer from San Francisco. When not sitting in car rentals and airport terminals, he is the proud owner of three dogs named Rocco, Ellie, and Nina. With the rest of his free time, he trains and competes as a nationally ranked powerlifter. He joined Julia Turshen for a conversation about his lifting.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Follow Alex on IG right here!

Gabi Dixson, a Multi-World Record Breaking Athlete, has been named the 5th Worlds Strongest Woman. She is also a model, public speaker, musician, and social worker with over a decade of experience. She joins Julia Turshen for a conversation about her life and strength.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Follow Gabi on IG right here!Watch her do the “Hercules Hold” right here!

Ashley Dyce, a Para Powerlifter, joins Julia Turshen for a conversation about athletic career and what drives her.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Follow Ashely and her lifting on IG at @ashleiie225!

Corinne Fay, the person behind Big Undies, a Substack newsletter about clothes, and @SellTradePlus, a peer-to-peer plus size resale community, joins Julia Turshen for a conversation about powerlifting, bodies, queerness and more.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Read Big Undies right here.Follow everything Burnt Toast right here.Check out @SellTradePlus.

Casey Johnston, the writer behind She’s a Beast, Ask a Swole Woman and LIFTOFF: Couch to Barbell, joins Julia Turshen for a conversation about lifting and writing about it.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.For more about Casey and her work, head here.For more about LIFTOFF: Couch to Barbell, head here.To signup for She’s a Beast, Casey’s newsletter, head here.Follow Casey on IG right here.

Laura Khoudari, a trauma-informed wellness writer, coach, and storyteller, is the author of Lifting Heavy Things: Healing Trauma One Rep at a Time. She joins Julia Turshen in a conversation about lifting heavy stuff, knowing when to stop lifting heavy stuff, and how to approach it all from a holistic, embodied lens.Follow-up links:To pre-order Julia’s new book, WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, head here!To sign up for Julia's weekly newsletter, head here.BUILT FOR THIS: THE QUIET STRENGTH OF POWERLIFTING, Julia’s long-form essay, can be read here or listened to here.Watch the video about the Queer Barbell Club Julia started at her gym.Order Laura's book Lifting Heavy Things: www.laurakhoudari.com/lhtOrder Laura's zine Top 10 Things I Cooked Last Year www.laurakhoudari.com/cnfFollow Laura:: @laurakhoudari on Instagram and on Medium at laura-khoudari.medium.comRead Laura’s Substack here: Tender at the Desk and Stove

Virginia Sole-Smith, journalist behind the Burnt Toast newsletter + author of The Eating Instinct, in conversation with Julia Turshen.Follow-up links:To sign up for Julia's newsletter, head here.For more about Virginia, head here.For more about Burnt Toast, Virginia's newsletter, head here.