Episode Transcript

Julia Landauer 0:04 Hello everybody, and welcome to the first guest episode of season three of if I'm honest with Julia Landauer, I am so thrilled to have Ash Kalita, who is known as Ashvandelay, on the show today. Ash is a motorsports Twitch streamer and a creator who works with Oracle Red Bull Racing, NASCAR, Fanatec, GT, World Challenge America. Her love of the sport is the foundation of her community, and she aims to inform and inspire anyone who wants to learn more about the industry, about racing, or is just looking for a safe space to be yourself from Formula One to NASCAR to Indy and all wheels in between. We're big fans of racing around here, and let me tell you, Ash embodies that to a T. It was really cool, not only to discover that we have a lot of background similarities from being from New York and going to specialized public high schools, we have been navigating the motorsports field as women for many years. She shared some of the things that she's really excited about for women in motorsports, and some of the things that she has seen changing. We talk about how she creates content in her creative process. We talk about what it's like to be a streamer, and we jump into a lot of really fun, honest, vulnerable Conversations. I'm in awe of Ash and how she uses her platform to advocate for things that she cares about and to keep it honest and to really create an incredible, safe and entertaining space. And I love her content so much. So I really hope that you enjoy this episode with Ash. Ash, thank you so much for joining me on, if I'm honest with Julia Landauer.

Ash Kalita 1:32 Thank you so much for having me. And I also love the podcast title. It's, uh, I think there's gonna be a lot of honesty flying around. So I'm pretty stoked.

Julia Landauer 1:38 We like to keep it real. So I appreciate that, and I'm gonna just jump off, because I did not learn this until just before we started recording. But we are both from New York City. We both graduated high school in 2010 we both went to specialized public high schools in New York and guys, that is so monumental, I think, to have two women who are in motor sports, who are from New York City, who then also went to these public nerdy high schools. So this was so cool to discover.

Ash Kalita 2:03 Yeah, it's a small world. I mean, in motorsports specifically, but yeah, it's cool in New York City, with, like, a city of 8 million people that we found the two folks in the same year, specialized high school life going through it. It's

Julia Landauer 2:13 so cool. And my sister went to the same school as you and your brother went to my school. So I mean, just really, really cool. And bring so many things together synergistically. So I want to get into some details about that later. But first for our listeners, who, many are not necessarily motorsports fans. Can you get into your background and how you got into motorsports streaming and just your foray into motorsports?

Ash Kalita 2:38 Sure, so my parents are Polish immigrants. They immigrated to New York City, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in the late 80s, and they opened up Polish Deli. We grew up around other immigrants and children of immigrants and whatnot. So, you know, grandparents in Poland, so big Polish family, the the usual shenanigans. If anyone's from Greenpoint, they know. So when Robert Kubica started racing in Formula One in 2006 it was a it was a decently big deal. And my dad is like, that Father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where, if any Polish person does something cool, we all know about it. We're all emailed, we're all texted that he emailed us about this person that we need to read up on it. He knows that everyone's percentage of Polish ancestry who's famous be like, Oh, that person's great, great grandfather's polish. Did you? Did you know that? And amazing. So we had a route for Robert Kubica in our house. We started watching Formula One. And, you know, student six just been watching Formula One, and I went to college in Florida, so that kind of introduced me to NASCAR and IMSA. And we what is the Daytona 24 a little less for the racing, a little bit more for the infield partying. But was familiar with what IMSA was. Daytona 24 um, fast forward to 2020, the pandemic, which I'm, I mean, everyone went through, you know, mental health here, nor there of some kind. I was in a DC basement apartment. My my window view was our dumpsters of the apartment building. So it was just, I was just not having it was just not a good apartment, I know, from New York City, but they were, like, their roaches involved. It was just I was not having good it was I had to sit there and to be in that apartment, and I was like, fighting for my life. So I found communities online, like on twitch or the video games that I played. So I would interact with the people in a live chat, right? The streamer would be responding to folks you would come together to play a game together. And my therapist recommended that I do that similarly to, like a motorsport community. And she's like, to talk about motorsport. She's like, I don't know how this Twitch thing works, but you know, they're yapping to you. She's like, you talk about what you love. And I was like, Okay, that's a goal we work towards. So I started streaming the Formula 1 2021 season as a watch alongs and qualifying and such, and then as kind of start simmering, because it just kind of goes hand in hand. In hand when you're looking for audience to cross pollinate, right? And eventually people are like, oh, you should do other you should cover other racing, like you should do watch, like we would watch, if we watched NASCAR, if you watched IMSA, if you watch WEC, like, let's, let's just watch races together. So that's kind of where I started growing in the motorsport realm and learning all of. Products. People wanted more information or wanted me to talk about it.

Julia Landauer 5:03 That is really, really cool, that it was, it was grown out of, like, your own mental health journey, and, you know, growing personally and finding those outlets. And I think that's really powerful. Were you transparent with that kind of as you were building your community and as you were kind of hosting these online communities, or was it more just, this is racing. Let's talk about racing.

Ash Kalita 5:27 Oh, I'm pretty transparent, pretty open about it. I do set some boundaries right between because, like, there's parasocial relationships where people have come up to me on racetracks and they're like, oh my gosh, and they know a lot about me, because I tend to talk a lot during the three hour NASCAR watch alongs, right? And then I'll be like, I'm so sorry. I don't know who you are. And they'll be like, I'm Matthew. And they're like, I don't know what that is like, I only know you by your username, so unless your name is like, Matthew on my Twitch chat, yeah, I know what your name like, I don't know you. Like, that's trippy. It's a little strange. Like, I there's like, obviously no, usually no, ill intent of like this, but like they know you, or like they know me through the camera. They see my motions. They see my basement here, my decor and everything. And I talk about, like, my workday and stuff and the races, but like, I don't know much about them. Like, they'll tell them, like, yeah, my day went well. Work a little bit in the chat, but to the extent they know me. So it's always interesting when it's, like, a very one sided conversation, right? And I'm like, What's I need? Like, name tags of like, usernames and real

Julia Landauer 6:28 name, right? Like, you knew that, like, Hello, I am whoever this is the this is the community I'm part of. This is,

Ash Kalita 6:35 yeah, I'm snowglobe446 am I really with Matthew. Like, I need some kind of, yeah, but it grew out of just community, love and engagement, stuff like that. So I greatly appreciate them for always, not only educating me, because I don't know everything about motorsports, which is kind of why, right? I love it. So I feel like, out of college, you kind of stop learning, you kind of stop being forced to learn. So motorsports, I'm always constantly googling things. I'm always like, you know, getting an aerodynamics degree one race, so then maybe, like, a physics degree in the next so I know a lot of folks who either work in the series. I have someone who works for thorsport and NASCAR. He's one of my community members and has really helpful information. I know someone who works for Firestone and IndyCar really helpful information. And, like, they just answer the questions the community and for myself. So it's become kind of like a team effort here.

Julia Landauer 7:20 That's great. So before you started streaming, and like, had your face on camera, did you, were you kind of open about your identity as a woman in motorsports? And I asked that from the lens of, you know, I got really into web three and nfts and, like, joined discords, and, you know, there were a handful of women who were in the space as well. It was not it was predominantly men. And I had a few people who were really active in these chat rooms saying that they kind of had an ambiguous username. And then, like people seemed to be surprised when they found out that they were women in the space. Did you experiencing anything like that? Or were you kind of transparent about who you were?

Ash Kalita 8:03 I browse lurk the Reddit sometimes for like, Formula One, sports car racing and things like that. And, yeah, my name is just ambiguous, not by fault. It just, I just happen to, like, make it that way. But everyone, yeah, there's always that surprise when it's like, oh, okay, I've never been meant. Sorry. Excuse me, met with any kind of like weirdness, luckily, either, because I've made my privacy settings very strict, it's just like, I just let that like crazy fester into the dark of void of the internet. Usually everyone's like, Oh, and then we move on. So that's nice, yeah, yeah. But otherwise, yeah, I've been pretty known and like social media, my personal social media growing up and like going to various summer camps or work or internships, people definitely knew about it.

Julia Landauer 8:47 Okay, that's good. So rolling it back to Kubica. So he was my favorite driver for a long time in Formula One. And part of my racing background was that in 2007 I raised Formula BMW USA, so we were the support races for Formula One at Indy that year and Montreal. And so that year at Montreal was when he had his horrific crash, like the barrel roll crash going into turn 10. And that happened after we had our two races, which I was 15 years old at the time. And so it was pretty monumental to see such a dramatic crash in person. I'm glad I wasn't before my race. I think not that my races went well that that weekend, but that's besides the point. And just like really admired his his comeback, and, you know, his class and style, and I think that the way the drivers carry themselves away from the racetrack or off the racetrack, I think is always really important. Have you have you been a die hard covid to fan the whole time? Or were there other drivers that you then, obviously, he stopped racing in Formula One, but in that time, were you also rooting for any other drivers?

Ash Kalita 9:53 Yeah, always been a Kubica fan. Still am usually when people are like, yeah, gosh, there's some people coming to the Twitch chat. They're like, who's your favorite f1 driver? And like, do. Way they ask that. You know, they're trying to start. So my safe answer is always like, Kubica, because that's one, that's just like a correct answer. And then two, they're always like, and then I'll know if they're like, a newer fan or not. Who is that? I'll be like, nice try. Pass me. I do for f1 I mean, Lewis Hamilton is just, not only is he the best, I just think I appreciate what he stands for, what he said, he speaks up about a lot of issues that I we aligned similarly on. So there's no doubt that he's just a overall, I think, just 10 out of 10. And just, I mean, he's just a great driver. And I get frustrated when I see, like, these little Twitter analysts trying to be like, Oh, Hamilton's losing it at his old age. She was like, Please, you have no idea. You know nothing. You cannot say that.

Julia Landauer 10:47 And like the machine, I am also a big Lewis fan, which was interesting, because in 2020 I raced in the Euro series for Anthony Kumpen, who's related to Max Verstappen. So I was like the black sheep on that racing team. But I agree, like the machine, like preparation and execution and and dealing with adversity. And I came across the quote, I don't know who is attributed to, but it says that privilege is invisible to those who have it, and I think that that's really important for people, especially white guys in motorsports, to remember that like you, you know you don't know what it's like to walk through the world in someone else's shoes, even if you try to be empathetic, even if you try to do research, you'll just never quite know firsthand. And so I think people who kind of understate or underestimate the barriers that he has had, or that women have, or that other people of color have, or any other you know, you know, stray from the you know, norm, if you will, in air quotes, it's just hard. So yeah, it's hard to see that. So if you're a Lewis fan, talk me through streaming the 2021 season of Formula One, particularly that last race, which for those of you who have not known or watched Formula One, the 2021 season was an incredible nail biter between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and the winner was not decided until the very last race, and Hamilton was dominating the clear favor to win the race. There was a whole kerfuffle with lapped car crashing, restarting red flag safety cars, and basically it got restarted and Lewis Hamilton didn't have a chance. Max Verstappen got the the win in the championship. That's a very simplified version. But as a Lewis Hamilton fan, as you're streaming this, what was that like for you?

Ash Kalita 12:37 The race itself, a confusion, right? I just, you're just like, What is going on within the rules, and this is, you know, etc, I think, I mean, I gotta feel bad for both drivers, because, right, Max forever. Like, can't enjoy that win for him the first one. And like, he probably, like, maybe he does when the back of his head is just like, annoying and everyone's always commenting on it, or they're like, asterisks, or there's always something. So both of those drivers just like,

Julia Landauer 13:01 oh, right, that's a great way to describe it,

Ash Kalita 13:05 like there's no easy way. And I really want, I really want Lewis to break the record for number of World Championships. He doesn't owe that to any of us, but I he just keeps breaking them. And I think for some reason, people I in my head, I would think that people would stop questioning his ability, whatever his age, if he just won nine for some reason in my head, I'm like, oh, maybe people would stop. They probably wouldn't, because that's too logical. But yeah, that was, it was just confusing about the rules, clear cut. You know, being an American motor, American stickball sport fan, you know, it's sometimes refs make very judge like, not easy calls. But I feel like for that one was, like, a pretty black and white. Like, why do we do it this way? This was very confusing. So it was definitely frustrating,

Julia Landauer 13:46 yeah? And like, why you deviate from the rules that are there so that in this situation you don't deviate from them? Like, you know what to do? Yeah, yeah. Was there. I'm not as familiar with being a community member in streaming. But like, is there a lot of engagement? What were your community members like or like,

Ash Kalita 14:05 oh yeah, oh yeah, the chat was, I think that's one of my, definitely one of my bigger streams, just because there's right, you mentioned, it was a nail battery of a season. They were head to head so close in points, they just needed to win. One of them just needed to win that race to be champion or finish ahead champion. So yeah, a lot of people just, were just watching, and, you know, try to make it a big deal, do a pre race show and stuff like that. So that was, that was fun. It was just like an unfortunate ending to the season. We were like, you're you're like, done with it, and you're like, I don't know what I am, just sports is inherently for entertainment, and I was not entertained, nor happy, nor any kind of,

Julia Landauer 14:42 yeah, do you watch drive to survive?

Ash Kalita 14:45 I did watch the first season, and then afterwards, I don't know because, because I guess I watch, I'm so into watching the current season, with what I do, yeah, it's just like, I, I'll just get the highlights. You don't need the drama. Oh, and like, you know. Some of it's just not for some of it's just not for me as an audience member, so yeah, as a consumer so I don't need that fake radio messages or incorrect layovers on certain racetracks. So it's like, I'm all set here

Julia Landauer 15:13 for we do watch, I haven't watched, I think, the most recent season or two, but we did watch that one, and so to like, be so upset with how the 2021 season ended, and then to like, relive it afterwards, during during the show, was agonizing, and it's crazy, because I don't think of myself as like a true like, Die Hard, like big fan of very much, like, I'm not like a die hard fan for a lot of things, but like that just seems so deeply unfair and so deeply problematic and in a sport that I absolutely love. So, yeah, just like, always gonna be a little rough spot. Yeah, it

Ash Kalita 15:53 was like, unjust, and I was like, trust this is not being served. Like no one's getting their redemption. Ah, great way to say it wrong here, and it's just like nothing you can do about it, just so helpless watching from the other side of

Julia Landauer 16:04 the screen, and totally unjust. That's a great way to say it.

Ash Kalita 16:07 I was scrolling through through Tiktok and unfortunately, reading the comments, which I really should stop. Someone was saying that you're not a real fan. A classic, classic way to start that I know you don't know what you're talking about. If you support, like, multiple drivers or different, like, a driver, and then, like, a team, you should only support teams. I don't know, some shenanigans. And I was like, there's, I obviously have my favorites or people I root for, but I also don't inherently dislike anything. There's, like, two people I have problems with on the f1 grid, like, I dislike and then everyone else, I hope they do well, like, I hope everyone's having a nice time. Like, yeah, I don't understand, like, why I can't root for everything. Same thing watching endurance racing, like I have my Kubica, my Iron Dames, etc, Heart of Racing, etc. But I hope I just want to see good racing, and I hope everyone does well. I didn't want anyone to crash out or get hurt or injured or anything like that.

Julia Landauer 16:57 And you can feel for someone when something goes really wrong. Or, like, even, we're recording this at the end of July, and so there's just a race where, you know, George Russell absolutely had this, in my opinion, brilliant strategy that was risky, that ended up paying off, and he won the race, and he ended up being a little underweight. And, like, although I'm happy that Hamilton got a win, because I am a Lewis fan, first, it's like you absolutely feel gutted for him, and you feel gutted for the team, or, if you are a supporter, you feel gutted for them. And just like you know, especially as a racer like you know, how devastating it is to have something taken away from you and then to have all of your performance question because it was related to weight and so, you know, could that have affected, you know, his performance? So, yeah, it's a lack of empathy in the comments, it seems to be the theme of social media. There's, like, a

Ash Kalita 17:52 lack of, I don't know what it is. I feel like racing fans are masochists, and if you don't like because there's so many variables outside of everyone's control at that point when you're racing right, because we because when you watch sticking ball sports right, like, you have your foul ball lines, like thinking baseball, you hit the three bases, and then you hit the home plate, and you got the ref and, well, you can't ask the ref to review the play in Major Leagues, but you know, you got your strikeout bot. Like, there's very, like, very strict, either hit very well or you don't, someone's out, like, very this makes sense, right? And then in motorsports, your car can break. Something's going wrong, the pavements bad, the tire rubber is wearing. There's all these things. Like, you can practice as much as you can. You can build the best car, and then someone crashes into you, incitement your fault, like, lack traffic. And it's just the fact that we're okay with all of this. We're like, Yeah, this is our sport. Like, anything can happen. But someone who has anxiety, and I hate lack of control, the fact that I'm into motorsports, maybe makes sense, but it also doesn't make sense, because, like, it's a race of attrition. Always. It could be a an hour sprint and it could be a 16 hour endurance race, and it's all about surviving.

Julia Landauer 18:58 You know, I never thought about this until you just said that. So as I you know, through my keynotes, I talk about the importance of taking ownership, and I think that kind of one of the most unfair things about growing up is that you can do everything right, and the outcome is far less predictable. You're much less likely to get what you want, whereas, like in school, if you study really hard, or you get to like you'll if you put in the effort, you can probably get the grades that you want, you know, and all this stuff. And then you go into the real world, it's like, it doesn't work like that, sweetie, like you can do everything right and still goes wrong. And you're really on the point that with racing, they're exponentially more factors that that get in the way. And I think, you know, I remember growing up just feeling a little jealous of other athletes that got to practice all the time, or the fact that practice, you could practice the craft of your sport, whereas in racing, you can't really practice the craft of racing unless you're in a race, because people don't want to crash or risk their equipment. So it's just, oh, you have given me some new perspective. Okay. Well, on that note, we're. To take a quick break, but we'll be right back with ash.

We are back on, if I'm honest with Julia Landauer, with Ash. So we have talked a lot about motorsports. I want to specifically dive into women in motorsports, because I've been in motorsports now for 23 ish years, and I feel like we've really seen the landscape for women change, and I think it's been pretty positive, overall, a little slower than than I might like, but in your entire time, kind of being involved with motorsports? Have you seen anything in particular that you find particularly profound about women's roles and the perspective of women in motorsports,

Ash Kalita 20:55 in terms of, I mean, we do a really good job of making our own communities and like infiltrating and like the most positive aspect of that word, right? People, motorsport fans and all their glory, the men are like, either gatekeeping or whatever, and they're like, no, then we'll create content to learn about it. I see a lot of Formula 1 101 videos be like, I'm learning about this because you won't teach me. So I'm going to teach my community about it, because you won't so being able to just, like, take the reins and just trudge through like you're gonna let us in, or we're gonna come in, whether you like it or not, which I really appreciate. And then I've seen recently, which is incredible to see, because sometimes it's internal misogyny in women that we fight every day, especially depending how we grew up, etc. And seeing a lot of women working in motorsports now and bringing each other up the ladder of either inviting motorsport content creators, either giving them advice and making sure they have time for them, and messaging on LinkedIn and doing all that stuff to just further the knowledge of how to get into motorsports or working, or just general curiosity questions like, How does this work? And stuff? It's been cool to see that kind of happening and unfold and just coming to fruition. A little bit more so than I have a deep dive, not other sports, but this has been, when you find the right people, they'll there's like a little community of folks here and there that will help out. And it's been really, really great. When

Julia Landauer 22:17 you talked about taking the reins, that gave me goosebumps, because I think especially since, in general, women and girls tend to wait for permission or wait for an invite. And I really love this, this trend of taking more ownership over it and being okay doing what we want without, like, the explicit permission. And I, too, you know, across social media, I'm really impressed with the knowledge level and also the I really like the mixing of other interests with motorsports. I think something that you tend to find with with Die Hard sports fans, like, Okay, well, if, if you're not talking about motorsports in a motor sports community, like, you're not authentic, you're not real, whereas, like you can dive into other things, like attractiveness level, or things they do off track, or the relationships, like any other kind of human interest that might be interesting to you as a consumer of this sport and of this, this, this culture, to be comfortable talking about it. And I think that space is really special, and I'm so glad it's growing. I'm so glad that you're having that experience of it being more it's also

Ash Kalita 23:27 nice to see advertisers more dedicated towards women, because if I have to see another like Viagra car on the NASCAR track or commercial, I was like, this is all right. I know most of your target audience is probably for for this, but I love seeing the elf collaboration, the bikini zone with Natalie Decker. And I was like, yes, these are things I can actually use, and I relate, and I know exactly this is great. Like, I'm loving this well,

Julia Landauer 23:49 and it's crazy, because the NASCAR audience is, like, 40% female, and so the fact that there's not more of a push to kind of capitalize on that, like, to me, that's always been the like, What the fuck are we doing? Why? Why is this not being, you know, capitalized on it. I don't get it. And you're seeing the power. And I thought that the elf activation around the Indy 500 and for those of you who weren't familiar, Katherine Legge is a very accomplished woman in racing who raced in the Indy 500 this year, and she had e.l.f. Cosmetics as a sponsor, and they did huge activation on Wall Street at the track, you know, on social and it really brought awareness it, I think it from afar, at least, it seemed to build incredible community and excitement amongst female fans and families and everything. So it's just, it's like, how do, how many times do we have to prove it over and over again that this is really valuable to invest in, and I'm hoping we see more of that with F1 Academy. And, like, I was really disappointed when the W series kind of was no more. And, you know, I'm cautiously optimistic about F1 Academy because I want to see, I want to normalize seeing women on the podium throughout the field, making passes. You know. Well, being in the garage and being peers with other male racers, right? And it's, it's, yeah, I think it's really important to really emphasize that representation that they're showing.

Ash Kalita 25:13 And I think that's where sports cars racing kind of comes into play, which I really appreciate, because I I find it difficult to explain and pick my words obviously carefully. I appreciate F1 Academy because I know exactly right. These girls, these, excuse me, Well, see, that's the first thing these women, the background, the knowledge, the strategy, the support, the money and like, that's what I want to see. However, women don't have to be separated from men in racing in general. I know the point of effort with you, but Sports Car Racing has shown that. Samantha Tan, Sally McNulty, I mean, we have all these incredible emotion Ashton Harrison, etc, etc, etc. Iron Dames, we're just Lyn St James said, oh, a card isn't care if you're a man or woman. It just cares if you hit your breaking point. It doesn't matter like this. We don't have to separate out. I understand the point of F1 Academy, and you know, so I do want to see just more of supporting women, even though they race in a mixed series, like I understand I'm wearing a shirt right now, since everyone watches women's sports, but there's, there shouldn't be women's sports and motor sports. It should just be motorsports, and then we're supporting women who race in motorsports, and then they race in mixed grid like that. Support the women in motorsports.

Julia Landauer 26:19 I hear you and I will. So when the W Serieswas first announced, I was vocal that I didn't love it like I love that racing is co-ed. I love that girls can compete against boys in go karting. I love the women can compete against men. And that, you know, I acknowledge that there are definitely biological differences, and there might be some slight advantages or disadvantages in both directions, but there are virtually no other sports. There are some but virtually no other sports where you can compete to the highest level against men and women. And someone kind of brought the point. Well, if, if you're normalizing seeing a lot of women in the sport, even if it is an old woman series, like as a very primary level, primary step to kind of helping with overall ability to support women in more of a co-ed series or mixed series, that that can be a good thing. And that didn't completely change my perspective, but it definitely gave me new perspective as to some of the ripple effects that you can have. But I hear you. I mean, if, if a woman's climbing the ranks, regardless of what series, if it's in midgets on dirt, or sports cars or any of this, like talent is talent and and I think, I think also the sheer financial barriers to entry in motorsports is something that I think a lot of other people who don't follow motorsports can't quite grasp, because people will say lacrosse is expensive, and I'm not saying it's not expensive, but, like, Lacrosse is a very different level of expensive than millions of dollars needed to go race it right. And so, yeah, I don't know where I was going with that tangent, but I hear you. I hear you loud and clear,

Ash Kalita 27:55 and it's interesting to see certain I would say boys for this one, certain boys get upset at like, why are we emphasizing like a woman is racing and stuff like that. And I was like, I don't know how to bring across the how much representation matters to someone who's always been represented in a sport Exactly. Privilege is

Julia Landauer 28:13 invisible to those who have it. You have no idea the impact that it can have. I

Ash Kalita 28:17 always say the story I saw Captain Marvel. I was like, 27 / 28 when I came out. I'm 32 now, and I was like, Finally, like a female superhero movie where she's kicking butt and not falling in love. Like, finally. Like, I just this is all I wanted to see ever growing up, because I love watching superhero movies and stuff with my brother and comics and whatever. So just nice to have a woman on screen and they I remember Brie Larson has behind the scenes, like working out and she pushed her trainers Jeep up hills. She was like, deadlifting 300 pounds. I was like, This is awesome. This is exactly what I need. So just seeing all types of exactly racing to your point, whether it's dirt, etc, Toyota gr cup, sports car racing, Formula One, open wheel, and you're seeing all that like, this is a spot for you, and I it just hopefully gets more women and little girls interested in it, and it's like, Oh, finally, we can have more visible representation and be more vocal. Because I think we've also always been there in these spaces. We just haven't realized that we're all there together. And I think now that we have the social media and we're talking about it, we're just forming these communities, these alliances, and we're being more vocal and just standing up for what we want to see and what we want to do and what advertisers we want to what advertisers you want to go on. So

Julia Landauer 29:24 yeah, and to your point, I think that's, you know, there's a lot of downsides to social media, and, you know, we're only just going to start seeing some of the more long term effects, but that is something that is really, really incredible. And I think helping people not feel alone is really powerful, and it's something that, if done correctly, can be amplified in a really powerful way, I think, on social media and to your point, even, even, like, I think it was last year where maybe it was the Austrian Grand Prix where there were the complaints about, like, really sheer sexism at the racetrack. Towards. Female fans, and the fact that there were enough, I think they were all female journalists who did investigative reporting to figure out what happened, what what was going to be the consequence? How were we going to prevent it moving forward like I don't know that would have happened without social media, right? And then you have a an unsafe environment that a lot of women are going to and so I think just happy that there is that positive, powerful element of social media as well.

Ash Kalita 30:27 Yeah, absolutely. To build on that, they also started, you know, group chats at races. Or, like, certainly, I didn't know that many members and communities and stuff. Sorry. Group chats be like, Hey, I'm gonna be at this race. Like, do you mind? Like, are you some kind sit with you guys? It's just like, Yeah, of course, like, please, so just don't feel alone. Oh, I love that.

Julia Landauer 30:43 Can you, where can people find these group chats? If that is

Ash Kalita 30:47 a great question, I will have to send that to you. Post. Okay,

Julia Landauer 30:50 I will put it in the, I will put it in the in the description. But I just think that's really, really powerful, and I didn't know, and just being able to, yeah, be visible with people and be there in person. Oh, that's, that's awesome, yeah, so how many races do you go to in person? Ooh,

Ash Kalita 31:10 that depends, right? I work with SRO, so most of them, oh, I'm not going to two out of their calendar, but I'm going to the rest of them, which is about five races for them. F1 I've been with Barcelona, with Red Bull. I might be going to Vegas. It's a TBD. It just like all depends on certain stuff. Was lucky enough to go to an IMSA race at Laguna Seca, which I never been to before. Oh, cool. That's that was a cool track to to experience. Um, spa 24 probably go to an IMSA race. So it depends. I try to also just go to races on my own, I mean, like, with friends, but also not to work. All of us end up working anyway. So I'll be like, Oh, run into someone. But I think it's as a motorsport fan. I just want to go and be a fan, you know, yeah, just like, go and watch the racing and hang out with people too, in the infield. So me, my community members, which are now lifelong friends. We've gone to var almost every year. We won't be going this year, but we've gone to IMSA, oh, excuse me, IMSA Watkins Glen, which I had to miss, but we've always gone infield parking, IMSA Watkins Glen, and just like found people, or just maybe like Community Meetup and just hung out.

Julia Landauer 32:18 That's so fun. It's good to be able to enjoy motor sports in a non professional sense. You You remember kind of, like, why it is that you like the sport in the first place?

Ash Kalita 32:28 Yeah, exactly. Because sometimes you get so bogged down. I've recently been bogged down with, like, the algorithm and the likes and the engagement stuff, and it's just like, Ah, you just gotta remember what's important. Because I can't take that to the grave. Yeah, just like, I choke. And end of the day Hakuna Matata, so, yeah, no,

Julia Landauer 32:45 I hear you memories and stuff I am especially, like, you know, I was pushing to try to make racing work, basically through 2022 beginning of 2023 and so it's like, every time I was at a NASCAR race, in particular was like, How can I put my face in the right place? Like, the stress of trying to make sure you get something or that you are serving, you know, serving yourself towards your future goals and the professional goals, and to just show up at a racetrack, and I go to a couple of them for work at NASCAR now. And just like, I just get to enjoy and kind of getting paid to be here, which is different, and just just enjoy the the racing and like, see what we as a sanctioning body can do differently or better as a so more relaxing way to go to the racetrack. I miss racing. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but it is, it is nice to take that slight break you had mentioned Red Bull, and that you go to race for Red Bull and you do a lot of really cool content with them. Can you explain how you got that professional opportunity? Sure.

Ash Kalita 33:45 So I mentioned the sim racing on my channel. The Oracle Red Bull sim racing team reached out to me, looking for like creators to partner with, and they, luckily, just started working with me, which works out beautifully, and I've been doing a lot of eSports with them in the sense of getting more women and girls into sim racing. So one of our partners is rock. So we call it Rock the rig, and we're just starting a female f1, like lobby competition, sim racing, tips, things like that. So whether it's someone who's new, there's no equipment to buy, or someone who's who's great and like no setups, it's just like a little community aspect, and that we've, we're doing for this year. And then last year we they found six development drivers to, like, train with our esports drivers to up level their skills and stuff like that. So just on the sim racing side, like eSports wise, like, that's also like a path in motorsports which is wild. So it's, it's been cool, and the f1 Academy stuff at asking teams to sponsor f1 drivers, f1 Academy driver, excuse me, it's been, it's been great to partner with them on that as well. And just like, get that, it's just so much easier, right? So, like, email, like cold emailing, they're like, Yeah, this. These are our driver sponsored by Red Bull. Here you go. Great. Like, have that door open stuff. It's uh, yeah, motorsports, not so bright. Like, a lot about connections and who, you know, that's probably just life, but it's probably life, yeah, that's just life. Oh, you know, it just can get you in the door or give you cool experiences and stuff. So you mentioned going to the racetrack and trying to get your face seen and known. And it's interesting that I, I've, I'll interact with teams or series on social media, but it's not till I go to the racetrack and they see me face to face to face that like deals and like stuff starts happening. It's crazy, like there's some disconnect between the screen, but it's like, oh, you're you seem like a normal person. Now we can work with you. It's just going to the racetrack open so many new doors. And it's, it's wild.

Julia Landauer 35:33 It's a credibility thing, and it's a showing. I think that you know your stuff, that you're putting the time in. And even just like, you know, I think people still need a real in person, face to face, kind of just like confirmation that what you are expecting or seeing is real, and especially if you're representing a team that's so you know, such a high importance, high priority, like I it makes a big difference, and people remember how you make them feel. And so you can, I think it's a lot easier to do that in person than it is virtually. She

Ash Kalita 36:04 used to working from home and, like, doing my twitch stuff. I'm just like, Oh, yeah. Just, you know me through Twitter. What

Julia Landauer 36:08 are you talking about, right? I'm totally legit. Just gonna do the job, yeah? Just a

Ash Kalita 36:13 contract over another big deal. That's

Julia Landauer 36:14 right, I'll sign it right away. That's, that's, yeah, it's, um, in person is really it's also interesting. Like, for me, this is my first time working in a corporate setting, and it's the same thing, like, I'm very efficient at home, like I've always worked from home, like I get my shit done. But you do see the value of just, you know, relationship building and and the importance that that has especially to develop a team as you're going to be working with people in a more long term scope. So kind of like I knew all of that conceptually, but then to see it in practice and in person is interesting growth.

Ash Kalita 36:47 Yeah, in corporate America, I call it walking the floor. It's every morning. This is a pro tip. If anyone's in the in working in an office,

Julia Landauer 36:54 tell me everything I'm still learning I'm not hearing yet. Yeah, oh yeah. If

Ash Kalita 36:57 you, if you're working in an office, and let's say, if you get there early or something, just wait till like 8:30 / 9 everyone rolls around and gets settled. You gets settled. You just grab a cup of coffee and just walk the floor, say hi to people, start little small talk conversations, and it's wild how people's perception of you will change. It's just like, oh yeah, of course. She's so engaging, like she's she's here all the time. She always like, it's just, it's just something about being seen and just saying good morning, and then maybe the rounds, like in the afternoon. Do you need anything you good? Let me give you like it's just walking the floor leaps and bounds. And I'm very much I did. God, I hate the game sometimes, but you just have to play it. Just part of life again. So I would very much just rather do my work, go home, call it a day, right? Just collect my paycheck and see you later. I hate the work happy hours. I don't want to go mini golfing with you. You don't care what I did this weekend. I like, I, let's just give me the Excel spreadsheet. We're here to do a job, get our benefits and get paid so we can put your bills up on the weekend. But yeah, the the walking, the that doesn't get you any promotions, though, so walking the floor and stuff like that. This is simple, just saying, Hello, yeah,

Julia Landauer 37:58 yeah. And I'm also seeing the value in you know, especially with teammates or people that you're working more regularly with more closely, how you can if it's the right combination of personalities, right combination of values, like help each other elevate. And I think that that's really cool, and especially coming from so much experience with the team dynamic where it's like, I gotta get the team to invest in me. I gotta get the guys to want to work as hard as they can so that we can go try to win the race, and whether they have preconceived notions about who I am or not, I need them to do I need them to work really hard and so like that, trying to bring out the best in people. But then, to your point, with the games, it's like, well, if someone else does better, does that hurt my ability to climb? And it's like, it's a reality, but it's definitely a delicate tightrope to walk. Yeah,

Ash Kalita 38:49 end quote, and that's it, yeah, that's all I got for you. My advice was just to walk the floor. No,

Julia Landauer 38:55 that's that's so fair. Um, we're gonna take another quick break, but we'll be right back with ash on if I'm honest with Julia Landauer,

we are back with Ash on if I'm honest with Julia Landauer, I want to dive into your creative process a little bit so you have a really nice, I think, combination of motors, like very technical motor sports content filled in with, like, some life advice content. Do you have a fairly strict way that you kind of plan out what your content is going to be? Do you have spur of the moment ideas? How does that creative process work for you in terms of the content that you post.

Ash Kalita 39:43 Seat of the pants. We're just doing it live every morning. To my detrimen, it is I you get all this advice from creators or videographers and like, schedule, batch, content, batch. Schedule, pre schedule, all the schedule. Like, and I was like, I have ADHD and 60 things to do, and I, and I, I'm pretty easy to read. Don't play poker with me, or

Julia Landauer 40:08 do win. Don't play poker with me, because I'll so I'll

Ash Kalita 40:11 lose everything, but I guess, I guess you'll win everything. So maybe do play poker with me. It's just, if I'm not interested in a topic, a series, a race did reach out to me in Formula One, and they're like, We want you to talk about this race. And I was like, I genuinely and I was like, I genuinely cannot with, like, a serious face and like, yeah, like, check out these gi tickets. Like, I like the video dead inside eyes, just nothing's happening in the brain. Lights are on. Nobody's home when I'm talking about it. So I definitely be interested in the topic, if so just can't be I don't know, I then sometimes I just lose interest, or I'm just not happy with the way it came out. And it turns out, just like talking to the camera a little more colloquially, always seems to be doing a little bit better. And so, yeah, it's just whatever I feel like doing. Sometimes I'll try, like, new editing stuff that I saw someone do, and I'm like, Oh, this is cool. And they try to incorporate that, but usually it's just by seating my pants, whatever, whatever sounds good that day, or what I want to talk about, well,

Julia Landauer 41:05 you stick the landing every time, so it's working for you. And I think it's interesting. Like you said, you take advice. I think there's no right way to do anything, but especially with creative endeavors, it's like everyone's brain works so differently, and so like, Yes, I'm sure, from a scheduling perspective, it could be great if you can have things done ahead of time, and then you don't have to stress about it. But, you know, the way your brain works is the way it works, and so to kind of like, Be okay with doing it your way, I think, is really important for young content creators. And whether that's like social media content, you know, my storytelling is through keynotes, and it's like, how I put together keynotes going to be very different than how other people do that and owning it and being okay with it is how you make it good. Yeah, when

Ash Kalita 41:47 I talk to my boss in my corporate jobs, like, you don't say, like, it's due eventually by end of the week, it's like, No, give me a date of time, because I will, the way, just my burger. Like, I

Julia Landauer 41:56 need a time. Need a deadline. I

Ash Kalita 41:58 need a deadline. So being my own boss in this motorsports space, I'm like, the worst and best boss ever, you know, like, Yeah, whatever you get, the route to it. I don't care. Oh, no.

Julia Landauer 42:09 Do you feel that? Sorry. I cut you off a little bit. Do you find that your experiences in corporate are helping you at all on your content creation?

Ash Kalita 42:20 Yeah, in interesting ways, in like, the professional setting, like just being professional via email. That's interesting, because I've been on emails with either younger or older content creators, or maybe, like, by older content creators. I mean, they've only been doing like YouTube or content where it'll just be very like, sounds good and everything's lowercase and professional. I was just like, my brother in Christ, like, let's just put in some efforts. One more typing. I think it's just not and it's just very interesting to see. And just, you know, I I'm aware of, like, the the stakeholders, like, I know they have to hit KPIs. Like, I know this is a business at the end of the day. I know we would all love to be on a racetrack, racing for fun, for shits and gigs. I we we be in those machines every single day, but we can't, because there's someone's got to pay for it, and someone's got to be making money, otherwise they're not sponsoring or happy, or need to be winning and marketing. So usually, when I work with the series, like, I'll get down to it, I'll be like, what are the KPIs you were judging for? Like, what is your boss going to come to you at the end of the day and be like, this wasn't good enough, because it's one thing to just invite me and be like, enjoy the race. Because at the end of the day, you're probably looking for something. There's no way you're fighting me to be like, have fun. It's like, No, we're looking for views, engagement clicks on this link that you want me to promote. There's something that you need for me. So knowing that kind of back end stuff, because I do it for my job, yeah, is has been really helpful. Just clear communication has been very helpful, things like that. So

Julia Landauer 43:45 that is such a pro tip to ask what the other party is trying to get out of the relationship. Because obviously you get to create content your name out there, you get paid, but what are they looking for? And then that, I that's got to be refreshing to a lot of these people that hire content creators to like know that the the talent wants, like, wants to know what the what they're judging the performance off of,

Ash Kalita 44:07 yeah, and meeting with them, because motorsports, to me, is still pretty behind on the whole working with creators, YouTubers, podcasters, right? I mean, everyone still doesn't have a credential for podcasters, not that we think we deserve one. But there's, it's just very still old school media and things like that. So

Julia Landauer 44:24 that is fascinating, because I think a Formula One is being more advanced, maybe some other series. Oh, it is not. Maybe I am mistaken.

Ash Kalita 44:34 That's a story for drinks. So there's, we're saying, wait this,

Julia Landauer 44:41 like, how you podcast, how the media, how engaging with social influencers or content creators is a little behind,

Ash Kalita 44:48 Oh, little behind and such. So I remember working with series, and I'll I'll attend. I'll be like, All right. Like, what do you need from me? Who your sponsors? And like, Oh no, just go do what you do. And I was like, I don't think you know what I do, because I Twitch streaming. I can switch stream in Sebring, because there's only one internet tower that we're one cell tower that we're all sharing right now. So Right? And I also need their help to schedule interviews. Like, I can't just walk into a garage. They won't know who I am. So if you can make those introductions or connect me to or like, the PR person that I can then tell my questions to. Or is there a z, is there a topic you want me to hit on? Like, is there a tech partner? Because I would happy to research it. And like, I need a little bit of guidance of, like, what's important to you and your values. And like, I can make that into mine, and we can, yeah, I can make the content creatively mine, but I need a little guidance of what you're looking for. Do you want more people attending? Do you want more people being like, Oh, this is cool. Do you want to be exclusive? Blah, blah, blah, blah. And then we can get to the nitty gritty, but, and then what KPIs are, your boss? Is your boss judging you on at the end of the day? Yeah,

Julia Landauer 45:47 that's, I mean, it's mind blowing that those questions aren't being asked necessarily from the get go. And it's really great that you're bringing them up. And, yeah,

Ash Kalita 45:57 literally a difference. I think they think so. The word influencers that everyone it's right, they think of the ones that have, like, a lot of follower counts and like, go drink champagne in the paddock, and they can do you tell them to go do whatever, because they're dependent on that kind of stuff. Yeah. But I would very much like, would prefer to be in the garage with you, man, if you handed me a wrench, I would love that. Like, I want to work for your team, or whatever it is. Like, I would love to do that, and then talk about it afterwards, and be like, yeah, just 24 hour race, man, I don't know how these mechanics do it, you know? And just be like, I was holding all I had a job. My one job was wrench or tear offs.

Julia Landauer 46:32 And I jump over the front of a NASCAR car and rip that tear off.

Ash Kalita 46:36 That's the dream, you know? I'd be such a good tear off person. Oh,

Julia Landauer 46:39 we'll see what we can do mine's my my goal like bring it to the content or the influencer marketing team, or I gotta figure out the right team within NASCAR that that is let her tear the tear ups. That's all she wants to let her take the tear off with a wrench in her hand. Yeah,

Ash Kalita 46:56 I think NASCAR or, I mean, excuse me, the NASCAR teams, I'm sure they all have pick her practices one way or another. And I'd love to be like, invited to one, and be like, Yeah, try to jack up this card. Five foot three body of yourself. And I'm gonna be like, yeah, because at home, like, just like, watching the Olympics. I'm like, Yeah, I could do that if I had 10 years of training, but I could do that. No, like, I can't believe she missed that the volleyball. You know, that dig ridiculous. I could do that in my sleep. There's no hustle there.

Julia Landauer 47:23 Pain cave.

Ash Kalita 47:25 How dare she so, yeah, I would like, love to do a video about, hey, this is me. This is my I've been trying to get red bull to send me like, Max recaps workout plan. I was like, let me do his workout plan with my trainer for like, a month, and let's see what the differences are like. Let's see, like, what you'll be ready to drive I do that neck training.

Julia Landauer 47:49 The iron neck is some real cute stuff. I was on the dating apps. I would definitely put a picture of me in the iron neck there, just to see what conversation starters they're gonna

Ash Kalita 48:01 be like, Is this in your apartment?

Julia Landauer 48:05 Oh, good times training. Yeah, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna be wrapping up soon. But I one more question before we get to the rapid fire, if you are honest, who are some of your role models in motorsports? Ooh,

Ash Kalita 48:24 in motorsports, particularly, I researched a woman in Camille du Gast who was, I think, the first ever woman to get a driver's license and the second woman to ever compete in motorsports. It was like 1896 her husband died, leaving her the wealthiest woman in all of France. Good for her, yeah, yeah, amen sister, that's

Julia Landauer 48:41 exactly what I thought is a business plan, right there. So her

Ash Kalita 48:45 husband, and then she also became, like a balloonist. So hot air ballooning, she like took up all these hobbies, archery, shooting, fencing. She had all of

Julia Landauer 48:54 the Co-Ed activities.

Ash Kalita 48:58 Well, it's interesting, because Benz reached out to her to compete in a race, but the race officials are like, No, you're women, you can't do it. Which is weird, because, like, the, like, she had the manufacturer back in this is why I was like, can you imagine right now that would happen? And from the Paris, Amsterdam, Paris race, she was out of 27th I think she was running sixth or eighth, but then she had a she stopped to help a competitor because he rolled into a ditch. Wow, did she like I mean, that's some good that's good teammate stuff. You know, I appreciate that. So, pretty cool woman, Lynn St James is huge because I've seen her TED Talks. And I just appreciate how, right? The quote earlier about a car doesn't care if you're a man or a woman, right? The car has no idea what you are. Like, the car just wants to work. So, yeah, I always appreciated that perspective. And I think that always when I bring that up to other to other people, when they're like, oh, women shouldn't be racing, I was like, why the car is not 00, ducks given by this car. He just, yeah,

Julia Landauer 49:50 have you met Lyn in person? I

Ash Kalita 49:52 have. I've been to the women in motorsport in North America. Okay, great. I've gone to meet Lynn. I've also went to a Skip Barber school, and she was there. I was in Sebring and. Doing Mustang GTs, and she was at this, I don't know who she knew or why she was there, and Not that I'm complaining. She's Welcome to be wherever I am, wherever she wants to be. But I was like, What do you see? What

Julia Landauer 50:11 are you doing here? Yeah,

yeah, she's incredible. I had a, well, she was pretty tied in with skip over for a while. And so, like, I that was my first racing series when I was 13. And one of the instruct, I mean, again, I was 13 years old. At that time, 13 year olds were not racing cars and aging myself there, wow. I feel like an old woman who just said that. That's when 13 year old woman, back in my day, back in my day, Jesus. But one of the, you know, I think my parents, my dad, had seen her women in the winner's circle program that she put on and applied and didn't get in, and one of the Skip Barber instructors kind of reached out to her, and I was like, I know she's really young, but you should take her. And she graciously did, and has been an incredible mentor, friend outlet when shit gets frustrating. And I could remember I had one season where I was, like, really unhappy with the team, and I explained, you know, you start to wonder, like, are they sabotaging me? Am I being a conspiracy theorist, like, is this going in my head? What's going on? And, you know, I told her, like, I don't know if they're out to get me, but this is kind of what I'm feeling. And she's like, Oh, let me tell you my experiences. And, like, she didn't even like question the validity of my feelings, right? It's just like, yes, this happens. This happens to minorities in any industry, but especially women in motorsports. So yeah, just big shouts to Lynn St James, because she's absolutely awesome, and she's such no bullshit. And we love No bullshit.

Ash Kalita 51:42 She had a really good story. When she's talking about she wanted to, I think, race with Ford. And she's like, I just emailed everyone every day, because I know is only known from that person on that day. And I She's like, I broke them down. They eventually said yes. And I was like, That stints is key. That is, that's, that's some bullshit. Or she's like, I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep emailing you. She's like, I don't care who I emailed. I was like, I can email the account. Could email the accountant afford and it was just like, not the email to send, but I was gonna wear people down. Oh yeah, get my name out there. Wiki

Julia Landauer 52:08 wheel does get the grease. That's a kind of icky statement, but it is so true. All right, we're gonna segue into our final segment of this conversation. But I feel like I could keep asking you questions forever, but the if you're honest, segment, so, okay, who is your favorite? F1 NASCAR, indie and IMSA driver,

Ash Kalita 52:32 um, Ooh, okay. F1 I'm just gonna say Lewis Hamilton, because amen, amen. NASCAR. Oh, NASCAR is difficult. I'm a ryan blaney. Blaney truther, so big fan. Support that IndyCar. Scott McLaughlin,

Julia Landauer 52:50 he's fun on x.

Ash Kalita 52:52 He's just so he's cool. I've, I've had a chance to interview him multiple times, and just, he's just chill. I mean, all New Zealanders are right. We see that with SVG now. Just like, yeah, they're like, shit happens. I don't know it's racing. And then they'll just go live their day and then go to the next race and then get p1 or p2 or podium whatever, they'll be fine.

Julia Landauer 53:12 Real quick to that point, I'm gonna interrupt rapid fire, because I think SVG was racing at Coda this year and he or last year, and got, like, absolutely dumped, like, so angry, clearly, really should have been. And he gets off, he's doing his interview, and he's laughing and smiling. He's like, no one who just got the wind taken away from them should be that happy, you know, just oh gosh, Happy New Zealanders or Australians or that, that section of the world,

Ash Kalita 53:42 gosh, I swear someone, uh, bonked into him, gosh, in a recent NASCAR race. And he was just so, like, Yeah, same exact thing. He was like, you know, this happens. What do you what do you do about it? What you

Julia Landauer 53:57 gonna do about it? Oh, right. Uh,

Ash Kalita 53:58 any car. We said, Scott McLaughlin, uh, you said imza,

Julia Landauer 54:01 ooh, which obviously is a very big, yeah, racing, but

Ash Kalita 54:12 God, it is a lot of experience humanity. I was gonna go with Sarah Bovey from iron Dames and such. I've also had a chance to meet her the spa 24 hours. And, I mean, just all the iron Danes women are just like, also no bullshit. And they're like, we're just here to race. Like, this is so much like we're here to we're here to kick some butt and take names. I also had they do. I also had a chance to meet the FAF drivers, Jarvis and Kirk offer they were also, I mean, I just appreciate all the driver Gosh, what I really liked about and just like, right Gable challenges, like everyone's just in the garage, like we're working, like we're doing stuff, and then like, keep them away, or, like, hide them. Or just like, oh yeah, they're pretty cool. Like, but you can have their autograph sessions, you know, hang out and talk to them or ask them questions. And like, the mechanics want to ask, get asked questions. I asked them when they're working. But if you're like, hey, like, what engine is like, what I want to use it for my truck, bag, something? Yeah, you're asking, I'm a clarion GT three mechanic, what oil they use? You can use it for your Ford, f1 but yeah, everyone's just friendly and open. They just, they just like motorsports. And every single driver I've interviewed, and I've asked, What would you race? And they're like, I just want to race. They're like, I don't care what it is. I just want to be in a car. I just want to I just want to race. I just want to be on the track. And they're like, I will take any opportunity. Yeah, I just love

Julia Landauer 55:31 there's a humility to that sanctioning body series, I think. All right, What show are you watching right now?

Ash Kalita 55:39 What show am I watching? Um, I guess the Olympics doesn't count. That's exactly what's happening right now.

Julia Landauer 55:44 I mean, that's what we're all watching, but it's not quite what

Ash Kalita 55:48 I feel like I'm on some kind of, like, stock market exchange, like, live it's like, women's basketball finishes, and I have to switch over really quickly to, like, rugby sevens and switch over to swimming, then switch over to, like, everything's like, happening back to back

Julia Landauer 55:58 to back. I'm like, Oh, the time is tough. And like, some of the stuff's really early in the morning, which I'm not that committed to, but watching afterwards. Yeah,

Ash Kalita 56:05 I do like the Netflix real estate reality TV shows, like selling sunset and stuff, but recently their newest one, owning Manhattan, which is definitely more towards real estate, like more real estate focus. There is some drama in there, which I, you know, sometimes we just enjoy other people's trouble that's not yours, but I

Julia Landauer 56:21 drama when it's your drama, right? Like, someone else,

Ash Kalita 56:25 not mine, someone else,

Julia Landauer 56:27 someone else's. And

Ash Kalita 56:29 I just appreciate the the owner of the real estate, Ryan Serhant, he had some really good quotes that I was like, Oh, wow. Like, that's a good, good way to think about it. Or just, like, starting his business in real estate, and he's like, I'm the six best real estate now. And like, I want to be number one, like, it's this goal, so it's

Julia Landauer 56:42 really sharp. Yeah, yeah, cool. Who? Or, let me try that again. Who is someone or what is something you'd really like to create content with?

Ash Kalita 56:55 Ooh, that's a good question. Who would I like to create content with, I just want to say LeBron James, to meet LeBron James, but that doesn't

Julia Landauer 57:04 count. I mean, it can count. We're manifesting here. Like, does

Ash Kalita 57:07 he just want? Does he want to whip around in McLaren, in Circuit of the Americas? I'm sure he would actually, but be a two seater Indy car ride. I'm trying to think, who? Gosh, it's interesting. I don't want to do anyone in the motorsports space, I have a really big thing of, I don't watch other people's motorsport content too heavily. Like, I'll support everyone like their stuff, because I know that helps with the algorithm and things like that. But I don't want their stuff to, like, accidentally leak in the mind. Like, if someone has a topic or an opinion, I want to form my own first and get it out there before, like, I hear and get convinced, if that makes sense, yeah, I feel watch. I'll watch what hockey content creators are doing. I'll watch what baseball content creators are doing. There's one baseball creator I really like. Her name is Kate, K, a, I T, that says, Ask Kate. She talks about baseball a lot. She's doing a lot with the MLB and stuff like that. I think making like her style content with motorsports would be really

Julia Landauer 57:57 fun, cool. Well, we'll keep an eye out for that and support you when you do that last if you're honest, what's something that you're grateful for right now,

Ash Kalita 58:08 honestly, I think about this all the time. It's just my parents. I can imagine immigrating to a new country at 21 just starting a small business, and just sacrifice like they didn't get to do their hopes and dreams and, you know, all that fun stuff. I mean, my brother are now able to do that because they immigrated over and owned a business and woke up at 4am to open up the deli at six, and then came back home at 11pm and for gosh, they own the deli for 30 years. So I, I think about it all the time, because I was like, man. I was like, I hope I'm making them proud. Or like, I just want to, like, help pay off their bills. I want them to retire comfortably, and it's just like I just want to, I just want to make sure that they're taken care

Julia Landauer 58:45 of. That's so beautiful. And I'm sure that they are proud of you because you're doing really awesome, kick ass stuff and advocating for important things and clearly being transparent and vulnerable about what it is to be human and your experience. And that's all that anyone can ask for, especially for a public figure. So I'm sure I'm sure I'm speaking for others when I say thank you for being that kind of representation.

Ash Kalita 59:06 It's not easy. No, I'm

Julia Landauer 59:08 sure it's not. I. I can't imagine, like I'm, I don't have the largest following by any means. I can't imagine being that vulnerable to so many people from behind a keyboard like it's it seems pretty scary to me, and I'm all about doing things that scare you, but that seems scary. So ash, where can people find you? I will link everything and obviously share it, but we're on online. I had someone once say, What do you mean? You want my address? It's like, No, I want your address for people. Just, where can they find you online?

Ash Kalita 59:39 You can find me online at almost, I think every single social media, even LinkedIn, at ashvandelay, A, S, H, V, A, N, D, E, L, A, Y that is a Seinfeld reference for folks who might be curious and not my real last name,

Julia Landauer 59:52 which is funny, because I did not watch Seinfeld and did not know that reference, and so I just assumed it was your last name, and you're like, No. Yeah, that is not my last name. It's like whoopsies. But thank you for clarifying for all of our listeners, who may be Seinfeld noobs like me, but ash, this was so much fun. Thank you so much for giving us some of your time, and for all of your you know, raw and very honest. I loved all your honesty stories, and I'm excited to continue following you and supporting you, and cannot wait to see all of your upcoming content. Yeah,

Ash Kalita 1:00:23 thank you for having me on your podcast. I

Julia Landauer 1:00:25 really appreciate the time. Amazing everyone. Go give Ash a follow. If you can, like the podcast, share this episode with a friend who might also want to get involved in motorsports communities and watch ash as she streams. And as always, thank you so much for letting us be honest with you, and I look forward to seeing you in two weeks.