SHAWN STEVENSON: Welcome to The Model Host Show. When you use the word icon, you've got to use that word very selectively. When it comes to the domain of dance, there are very few icons, but today's guest definitely fits the mold perfectly. Today's special guest set a new standard for what dancing can truly mean, the impact that it can make, and one of her most iconic roles was that of Beyoncé's lead dancer and dance captain.

Our special guest today is Ashley Everett, and she set a new bar for the potential of what dance can be, what it can communicate, and the impact that it can make. And today you're gonna discover some of the behind the scenes, not only behind the scenes in performance, but behind the scenes in her thinking, in the thinking of somebody who is an iconic dancer and somebody who has truly influenced the dance culture.

And dancing is something that is uber valuable for human beings in general. This is something that has been a part of our history since we've had a history. As soon as a person realized they had a booty to shake, they was shaking that. All right? And so this is a way for us to communicate, this is a way for us to share story, this is a way for us to express, this is a way for us to emote, this is a way for us to process and release stress and energy.

The list goes on and on. We've got multiple studies affirming the value, the, the positive changes in our biochemistry that come from this expression of moving our bodies with the label that we put on it as dance, and there's so many different diverse ways of dance and what that can look like.

And so I wanted to provide this powerful insight and this very, very special guest for that purpose as well. Hopefully you get more interested if not inspired to move your body more frequently in this expression of dance because it's truly valuable and we have access to this all the time. Even as you might be sitting and listening to this episode, you could be bobbing your head, you could be moving your body, or if you feel inspired you can even get up and do a full-on percolator.

You can do a full-on tootsie roll. Tootsie roll, Macarena, whatever you're into if you should be inspired. But truly, this is a very special episode and filled with incredible insights, and I cannot wait to share this with you today. Now, as of this recording, I know that it's summer, and I know that we're outside right now, but winter is coming.

The cold and flu season is coming. We want to be prepared this year. Be prepared for the White Walkers. Be prepared for those things that are going to be attempting to influence our immune system in a negative way and take us out of the game. Recent science has revealed that you do not have to get sick as much as the average person does.

For instance, a meta-analysis published in Exercise and Sports Science Reviews determined that regular exercise significantly improves human immune system response to infections and reduces susceptibility to viruses. And within this, in building our own shield, our nutrition matters so much. Our nutrition is literally determining what our immune cells are made of.

It's providing the raw materials to make our immune cells, our lymphatic system, our brain tissue, our heart tissue, our liver tissue. Every cell in our bodies are made from the food that we eat. So that's level foundation, level number one. On top of that, the activity of our immune cells are deeply determined by our nutrition.

We want to avoid the things that create utter chaos within our cells, that create utter chaos within our immune system. And you know what those foods are. It's the ultra-processed categories. It's the Cheetos. It's the Pop-Tarts. It's the Funyuns. It's not gonna be fun when you're sick All right? Those things create, again, really abnormal chemistry to where we are forced to mount an excessive immune response and inflammatory cascade just by interacting with these types of things.

Now, can our system handle a little bit here and there? For sure. Easy. Easy. That's light work for an immune system that is not overstressed. But the average person today, our immune systems are deeply overstressed and deranged, and are often not mounting an appropriate immune response. Our symptoms when we get sick, that experience is our immune system responding to a virus, bacteria, fungi.

It's not those things that are doing it to us, it's our immune system that's creating the excess mucus and the coughing and the sneezing and the headaches. With the fever, our immune system's trying to cook it out. All right? So it's about having an appropriate response, not an overreaching response or not under-acting as well.

We want an appropriate response from our immune system. And so again, our nutrition matters so much. Wanna prioritize eating real food. And right now, again, be prepared because winter is coming. I wanna share this recent 2024 study from the Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition. The title of the study is Propolis Supplementation Can Reduce Serum Levels of Interleukin 6, C-Reactive Protein, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha.

What does all that mean? Propolis has been utilized for thousands of years, is now clinically proven to reduce this inflammatory cascade and reduce our susceptibility to illnesses, to infections. And so this is helping us to mount an appropriate immune response. This is something that I've been utilizing for years myself.

My family utilizes propolis, and in particular, we utilize the Propolis Immune Support Throat Spray from Beekeeper's Naturals. This is your daily dose of immunity for proactive immune support during these back to school/cold and flu seasons. It delivers antioxidants like flavonoids and polyphenols that fight free radicals and combat oxidative stress while helping to defend against these pathogens on the spot.

And when the pathogens start to increase during the cold and flu season, Propolis immune spray is gonna have your back as your daily routine that provides defense for the whole family. And right now you're gonna get twenty percent off of their superstar propolis immune throat spray when you go to beekeepersnaturals.com/model.

That's B-E-E-K-E-E-P-E-R-S naturals.com/model for twenty percent off. Use the code modelhealth all together as one word. Take advantage. Be ready. Have this in your medicine cabinet. Have this in your superfood cabinet. My son, who's in the studio with me right now, this is something that he uses on a regular basis as well.

He knows that w- it's right there in our cabinet, right in the kitchen. We go grab that bad boy, and this is that proactive immune system defense that we use on a regular basis. So again, beekeepersnaturals.com/model for twenty percent off.

And now let's get to our special guest and topic of the day. Ashley Everett is a trailblazing force in entertainment renowned for her remarkable contributions to dance and performance.

For nearly two decades, she's played a pivotal role as Beyonce's lead dancer and dance captain, infusing creativity into countless iconic projects, including music videos, commercials, live performances, and global tours. Her artistry has graced prestigious stages such as the Grammys, the World Music Awards, and three unforgettable Super Bowl halftime shows.

Ashley's talents have also led her to perform with artists like Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Shania Twain, and Tina Turner. And beyond her celebrated dance career, Ashley has made a mark as an actress. She's appeared on popular shows such as Glee Hit the Floor, Good Trouble, and The Sex Lives of College Girls.

And after nearly two decades at the forefront of Beyoncé's creative empire, Ashley is now channeling her passion, discipline, and artistry into a new chapter as a creator. She's pursuing a range of ventures that expand her reach beyond the stage in ways that fuse her love for storytelling, style, wellness, and empowerment into work that inspires and empowers others, starting with her new hit show, NDA: Next Destination Ahead with Ashley.

Let's dive into this conversation with the one and only Ashley Everett Ashley This is about to be epic. I'm excited. You ready? Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Of course. Of course. I wanna ask you about the value that dance has brought to your life. Like, how has dance helped you to grow as a person?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my gosh, I always say this. Dance has taught me discipline, and discipline, I think, will get you anywhere you want in life. Yeah. In a solid one-sentencer, that's gonna be a clip. No. I love it. No, but yeah, I really, I feel like dance gave me that discipline to now do what I'm doing now, and the discipline to focus and learn new skills like basketball, like we were talking about-

Right, okay ... off-camera earlier, yeah, it gave me that. I- along so many other things, too. How to pay attention, how to work hard, how to show up on time, how to, take directions- ... and follow instructions and perform and be a character and stuff like that. It's taught me so many things, but the discipline is the number one thing that I'm like, yes.

Yeah. And specifically, probably, the ballet. Yeah. Say more. 'Cause I'm like, I have I started with ballet. Ballet is my foundation of everything, and I did it all throughout my career, and I kind of stopped when I went professional with Beyoncé, so yeah, ballet is always, I'm always gonna be a ballerina- in my little heart,

SHAWN STEVENSON: I love this. I love that you led off with discipline. And even the root of discipline is disciple, and the meaning, if you dig into it, means to be committed to something, specifically within yourself. So it's like being a disciple of you, and what is your path?

ASHLEY EVERETT: We have a dictionary right here

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so, just to lead off with that, because a lot of people have a negative associations with discipline.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. I think of discipline as such a positive thing.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: It's brought a lot of positive to, to my life, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I guess it can have a negative, association, too, but

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah

ASHLEY EVERETT: for me,

SHAWN STEVENSON: It's the fra- it's the perspective.

ASHLEY EVERETT: It is the perspective.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So within that, and the growth, because the things that you shared, it's been such a rich experience with dance, and it's brought so many gifts and I'm sure challenges as well.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: What has dance taught you about- your emotional capacity, mental capacity.

Has that helped to grow you in those c- departments?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, especially when I became a dance captain and I had to be a leader in this role, in, in this world, this dance world. I had to really learn how to take myself out of stuff and not take things... The industry really taught me how not to take things personal, but leadership and being a dance captain definitely taught me how to kinda take my feelings and personal things out of it.

And honestly, this probably isn't super healthy, but it taught me how to be numb a lot too. And probably the industry as well. Everything I've just been through, I can be numb to some things and be like, "Okay, we can ignore the chaos and just push through or whatever," and yeah, I know how to throw the blinders on and focus and be get through it, yeah. Yeah. Did I answer it?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Of course, yeah. I love it, and I love that you're again the term and just saying, for example, numb to certain things. Some of these things, like-

ASHLEY EVERETT: I know it's I know it can be negative.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right. It's- But ... a- again it's levels to this stuff. And it's developing certain tools and capacities to be able to get a job done.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know what I mean? Yeah. It's just, again it's the framing.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yes, because it is just to get things done and push through and, the greater outcome or whatever.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So in talking about, and this is one of the things I wanted to ask you about, that leadership role. Right? That leadership capacity because this isn't necessarily something you might think about when you get into dance, right?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And it's a very, it can be very individual. It can be kind of a group dynamic as well.

And I've been to several Nutcrackers now- ... that, my son is in. Going to middle school and high school and all that stuff. And but then to emerge as somebody who's in a leadership role, it's also got me thinking about the creative capacity too. So what has dance taught you about...

Let's stay with leadership first. I'm very curious if there's some specific things that dance has taught you about leadership, and then we'll talk about creativity.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Specifically about leadership well, working so closely in a leadership role with a superstar, a mega star, Beyoncé- she is, was our ultimate leader and boss, and she led really beautifully in my opinion. I feel like I was just very inspired by her and I loved what I saw. I was, I always say this, be a sponge in the room. Like I've said earlier too, I'm like, "I wanna be a sponge and learn from you." I did that with her. I was like, "Wow, this is leadership. This is talent.

This is discipline. This is, you know a superstar and an icon and a legend. So she was a great leader in that role, and I learned a lot in that space. And then that role and dance captain space taught me leadership outside of it. And I feel like I carry it in everything I do, and I feel because of that role and title that people associate with me, too, they already look to me for answers.

Yeah even still. Other dancers are like, "Ashley, I saw you are doing your podcast now," or whatever it's about. Yeah. And are looking for advice, knowledge direction. So I don't know if I really answered it, but it has, it's just carried me through my career, leadership, and I feel like that's a part of my purpose probably.

SHAWN STEVENSON: My purpose probably. Right before you got here, my daughter texts me. She was like, "Dad, please can you answer the phone? I really need to vent."

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay.

SHAWN STEVENSON: All right? And she just has taken this managerial role- ... at her job.

ASHLEY EVERETT: How old is she?

SHAWN STEVENSON: She is 30.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay. Okay.

SHAWN STEVENSON: All right? And I know you're looking at me like- I'm like,

ASHLEY EVERETT: okay,

SHAWN STEVENSON: okay

how are you a vampire?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Period.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But she was sharing that, in this position when she was, just working with everybody as, kind of a equal team member- ... everything was kinda cool. But now, and sh- she's being empathetic, she's "I don't wanna, big sis people or act like I'm better," that kinda thing.

"I'm thinking about this very empathetically in how I'm relating to people- ... and their different personality types." But she's dealing with people, and so that's why she wanted to vent. She's just "Dad, this pers-," da, da. Yeah. And then da da, da. Yeah. And she's just going on and on and getting it out.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so she shared, and also I was able to give her a perspective, a solution. Which sometimes, again, with women, my, my daughter, sometimes she just wants to vent.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yeah. It's like, do you want a solution or do you want an- ... an ear?

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so I was able to also give her a pointer in the direction of a solution as well.

Good. And I'm saying all this to say that in the position of leadership, you're dealing with different people- People ... who have different aspirations- Personalities ... different personalities. So what have you learned about that, how, especially something so creative, something so expressive, so- something so emotional.

How are you able to manage being the captain with so many different personalities?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my gosh. I think part of my job is dealing with, or working with I said dealing, but both working with so many different types of people, and in order to be successful in this industry and have longevity, I feel like I talk about this a lot also, you have to kind of be able to work with a lot of different type of people and know how to get along with people, be easy to work with, be nice, just be enjoyable to be around. So I think my leadership role and my career in general has taught me that very early on. I also sometimes tell this story to some friends and stuff, but I was a peer mediator in middle school. Which is so random. I don't know how I got, like-

SHAWN STEVENSON: But is it?

ASHLEY EVERETT: ... Nominated. It was manifesting.

Because clearly it played a role into my adulthood, too. But yeah, I was a peer mediator in middle school, and I remember sitting there between two kids who were fighting or whatever and being like, "So how did that make you feel? And how did that make you feel?" And I'm like, "How did I get here, and why, what teacher nominated me for this?"

But then cut to years later, I have to do that in work settings, so it was all preparation, obviously and alignment. So I've just, I've learned so much about leadership and how to deal with people, how to be empathetic but also still get the job done- ... and not take things personal and not be personal to people, too.

Yeah. Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: That's the thing. Life was qualifying you, as it does for certain situations. Because I was gonna ask you what is it about you that made you so successful in that role? And then you go back to, that moment.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Childhood things.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: It's so crazy. I don't know if I've ever even mentioned this before in all the years we've been doing this, but in high school, I was nominated to be a teenage health consultant, right? See. And so we would go to the different classrooms and talk about different health issues. I didn't have no business- doing that. Who, why would you nomin- I don't know what it was about me then, but it's again it's these little, the, the little sprinkles, yeah, little sprinkles. The little trail of what is possible.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so this leads me to another question, if we could dig a little deeper.

What do you feel is your superpower?

ASHLEY EVERETT: My superpower? Ooh. That's a really good question gosh, I f- I think that it has something to do with my discipline and determination because I've always been determined and disciplined, and I think those two things are a good pairing. So if there's a word that could come that could, a baby word that could be the two of those-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Determination and discipline

ASHLEY EVERETT: Maybe that would be my superpower.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I was gonna say double Ds, but- ... that maybe will-

ASHLEY EVERETT: I don't know about that

SHAWN STEVENSON: ... blend them together. These truly are this the thing about it and you stating this as your superpower, it's rare. It's rare to have those two things.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Do you ask most people this?

SHAWN STEVENSON: I'm asking you.

Okay. I mean, I do it- I wanna ask it back too ... in, in different ways. In different ways.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Okay. But of course, you can ask me anything.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But f- for you, I'm trying to get to what is it about you that you see that makes you so exceptional? Because it is obvious to all of us. And it's just pointing to the, putting the spotlight on it.

Because that thing that you have It's not it is unique of course, but it's not that it's not accessible for all of us too.

ASHLEY EVERETT: And we can all tap into it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so by being, like for you to really put a spotlight on discipline ... when, again, we're at the all-time high of not being disciplined right now.

You know what I mean? I know. I know. There's so many things, so much, distraction and fo- what if you can really cultivate your discipline-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my gosh

SHAWN STEVENSON: ... get clear on the thing that you want and just really,

yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: So- Go on.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: You better preach. Yeah. You better preach. Okay. What do you think your superpower is before you go into the next question? 'Cause I just wanna know and reverse the question.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Oh, for sure. I think that my superpower is my ability to make complex things simple.

ASHLEY EVERETT: That is a superpower ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: to make it attractive and easy to understand. Because life really is, we overcomplicate things as well. A lot of people do that to sound smart. So just to make things approachable, all these life things that we all wanna know. So I think I just make it accessible, easy to understand. I think that's my superpower. I'm a metabolizer-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah ... I guess. That's a superpower.

Yeah. Indeed. We need that. Yeah. I'm one of the people who needs it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I wanna ask you about, obviously you've done so many different types of things. I was spending time, I think you were, like, in the desert somewhere, and then of course you're on stage, and then-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh ... you're on my social media or something?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Yeah. Just all this different stuff that you've done.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. I'm all over the place.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And I know this might be a hard question, but what do you think was the most challenging experience with dance that you've ever had? A specific show or- Ah ... a specific experience.

ASHLEY EVERETT: I mean, there have been loads of challenges.

But one that comes to mind is... I mean, I don't think I wanna say

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know what? We could

ASHLEY EVERETT: What the Yeah ... what the job was or whatever, but it was, there was just a lot of miscommunication on the job, and it it just was, like, a toxic work environment. And so that for me was very eye-opening and challenging, because a lot of people...

And I was also there were new people in the room, new dancers, and older OG dancers and stuff who know right from wrong, and know what a toxic work environment is- ... and what isn't. And so the new ones are like, "Oh, is this normal?" And now that I'm, like, older and I'm not the new one anymore and I've been a leader for so long and stuff, I just, I, it's very hard for me to sit back and accept, like- the toxicity in some work environments, so- Yeah ... yeah, that is very challenging to be in. But that's emotionally and mentally challenging, and on top of physically challenging, but if we wanna talk physically challenging or, like

SHAWN STEVENSON: For sure.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, what about that? Physically challenging, gosh, I remember, oh, the... Well, I've always said this too. I was a Rockette. Do you know what the Rockettes are?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Of course.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay. Radio City Music Hall. Like the Radio City Rockettes? Yeah. Yes. The ladies who kick. Like the little kick line. I was a Rockette in 2008, the same year that Single Ladies came out, 'cause I was on tour with the Rockettes doing Christmas shows, and Single Ladies came out at the same time.

And that job is very challenging and hard. And mainly because it's similar to Broadway, so you're doing up to eight shows a week or whatever, and sometimes four shows in a day.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Whoa.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Which is crazy. So, weekends are piled up, like Saturday, Sunday, four shows because that's when families are, like, coming to the shows.

So starting at like 10:00 AM up until 8:00 PM or whatever. And then we were doing ice baths and all that in rehearsals because we were just rehearsing so, so much. And it's just very precise. Yeah ... precision dance, which is not what you're taught in the entertainment industry. You're taught to have your own flavor and stand out- and all that, so that's another challenge on top of it, which is physically hard on the body. So that was a very challenging ex- job too. But, and I feel like not a lot of people know that because it looks very easy which I think dance is supposed to look like that-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Oh ... obviously ... that part. Never thought about that

ASHLEY EVERETT: You know? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, everything I've done is challenging, but- Right ... things, other things are harder than others.

Yeah. Physically especially ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: low-key, that's another... Some people got extra superpowers, you know what I'm saying? That's another superpower is making it look easy.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Making things look easy, for sure.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But yeah,

ASHLEY EVERETT: just- Even fitness stuff or whatever 'cause i've learned something ... that's a

whole another aspect too ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: something you said earlier too with, having this set of physical skills and physical literacy- ... and transferring that over into other physical things you picking up basketball.

Like there's a, there's, there's the saying, "Neurons that fire together, wire together." There are these patterns that we develop for movement- ... that if you have a base of movement and kinda athleticism- ... and creativity, it's much easier to pick up synergistic movements.

So you having this base built is really cool 'cause you could do all kinds of stuff, yeah. If you invest, again, the discipline-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Absolutely. The discipline ... to do it If you just stay disciplined, you can do anything you want. For real, and work hard and be a nice person and all the things.

SHAWN STEVENSON: With that part, yeah. Come on.

But the Radio City Music Hall, like of course, like that's something I saw on TV, whatever. But on my 10-year anniversary I took my wife there for, it was Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and-

ASHLEY EVERETT: They were at it?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Not the dancing.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh okay.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But it was a show there.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh, at Radio city.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yes, got it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And I was like, when I went there that's what I thought about. I was like, "This is so iconic for, the, the dancers- ... and the leg kicking-"

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah ... the leg kicking dancers, The Rockettes.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But I never thought about how, like it's the repetition-

Yeah ...

just like so precise.

Like you said, it's like you blend in.

ASHLEY EVERETT: It's so hard.

SHAWN STEVENSON: You're one, literally just one unit, one continuous unit. I can't imagine how challenging that might be,

ASHLEY EVERETT: it's tough. It's very tough. And it's a lot of rehearsals and a lot of training and a lot of auditioning even. The audition process was like- a whole boot camp kinda thing, have you ever seen the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders documentary

from whatever? Netflix.

Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I've seen it on Netflix. I haven't watched it though

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my God, if you wanna know what a dancer life is like, that is very relatable f- I think for any type of dancer.

I've never been on an NFL team technically, but- I'm like, "Oh, I'm triggered," so yeah, that'll tell you a lot.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And also you mentioned you were doing the ice baths. You know- Yeah ... that's popping now-

ASHLEY EVERETT: I know ... for the whole- I'm like, "I was doing that back in 2008." Oh, wait. But I think they've definitely been around way longer than that too.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Of course.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: My son, I think we were talking about it, was it today, B, about the ice baths, or was that yesterday? Yeah. We were working out and we were talking about, because he was like, "Should, is this good to do after you train?" Yeah. And what we know now, especially if you're trai- if you are performing.

Right? So if you have an event and you need to you need to recover really quickly for performance- great. But for adaptation, like if you're training, say, we were doing some weightlifting. That can blunt the adaptation. Yeah. Because it's essentially kind of blunting the process of the-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Of the growth and- Yes, of the growth stuff that you're trying to work on

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right? But if you need to, like you got a basketball game and you just played and you got a game the next day, yeah, and your

ASHLEY EVERETT: knee hurts or something.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Ice bath can be incredibly helpful- ... with helping to reduce these inflammatory biomarkers. But also, a lot of people are doing it for the mental health piece-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah

SHAWN STEVENSON: today as well.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Wait, but what does it do? Because it shocks your brain and forces you to what? Breathe and stuff?

SHAWN STEVENSON: As far as the mental health piece?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. I'm, yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: What- we, with, because it's painful. I mean, first of all-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Because we're forcing ourselves to be disciplined.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So there's, that part, come on.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay, that's what it is.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So there's a couple things. I'll just rattle them off. One of them is because you're doing something that is painful, like you're putting your body into this stressor, right? Yeah. A hormetic stressor potentially.

ASHLEY EVERETT: And shock, essentially.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So your body, what does it do when it senses something discomfort, discomforting?

It releases endorphins. It releases-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay, yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah ... chemistry to help you to feel better. That's why people, a lot of people feel so refreshed and good after doing something like that.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Interesting.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Okay. So that's part of it. Okay. And also, yes, it's being able to get into this kind of high pressure situation- and to calm yourself. Right? And it helps you to bring that- Have control ... out into the world to where a stressor might be happening, but you are staying cool.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Staying very cool. So just a couple of these kind of mental health related benefits, but.

ASHLEY EVERETT: I get that.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. I get that. But it don't look, when you, when I said it don't look like you're getting into a cold plunge.

ASHLEY EVERETT: I, I-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Awful choice ...

ASHLEY EVERETT: the gym that I was telling you about that I started going to this week has a cold plunge, and I've been looking at it. But there's also a sauna, and I'm like...

SHAWN STEVENSON: Sauna, please.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Sauna it is for me. Yes. And it's a red light sauna, so I'm like, kinda same-same, right?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Give me all. Give me all.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: One more thing with this is, again, in our world of convenience- ... and everything is super comfy and creature comforts and all the things, it's another great implement or exposure to get us uncomfortable, to, to adapt to something. 'Cause we got the perfect climate control thing all the time, and so, but our ancestors evolved in different temperatures, and your body has to adapt.

What happens when you don't use those pathways for your brain, your nervous system, circulatory system? that stuff kind of starts to atrophy. You know what I mean? Yeah. So, and I know people who find it difficult to adapt. If it's hot, like they're flipping out or if it's cold- ... they're flipping out.

Like-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, same ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: just give yourself some exposure so you're- Some ... more adaptable.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, exactly. Some time, a little patience.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I mentioned this term earlier. I said physical literacy. Would you say that dance is a language?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, for sure.

SHAWN STEVENSON: How have you seen dance be able to communicate different things?

Like obviously I guess you can express different emotions, but like you being in this field for so long, how have you used dance in ways that we might not see as far as like express- expression and communication?

ASHLEY EVERETT: How have I used it? I mean, it's therapeutic. I think a lot of people, a lot of dancers use dance as therapy because it's usually a passion y- that you, that it comes from, and so it's an outlet, a creative outlet. Well, also, I mean, it's a great form now of communication through like social media, like engaging with people who are like you, other dancers who might wanna look up and do the things that you're doing, like me, for example, like I have used it for...

Well, I've gained a platform through dance and communicating with it on social media, how other, what other ways do I use dance to communicate personally that other people might not see? Right, you said? Gosh, that's, I feel like I'm thinking too deep about it now.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Let me ask you from, like can I communicate to you through dance?

If I was to, I don't know, do some type of dance, can I communicate and you would know exactly what I'm thinking?

ASHLEY EVERETT: I mean, yes. I think music can lead your movement, and then your movement. Or you don't even have to have m- music. You can do movement without it. If you did something right now, go ahead, do something.

Let's see. Yeah, see, I would say you're in a good mood, you're having fun, right?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Oh.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. You're not like-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Okay.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Right? That communicates- You hit that ... something different.

SHAWN STEVENSON: This is what people see when they're around you. You hit, whatever

ASHLEY EVERETT: you

SHAWN STEVENSON: just

ASHLEY EVERETT: did- And that's why it's just like a different- You hit that

It's like different, we're on a different journey. Or I'm like, ah. It's different. Communicates something different, right?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Krumping.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Right.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Wow. So y- this actually relates to how humans have been doing this forever. Yeah. Expressing, sharing story.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yes.

Expression.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Sharing emotion. Teaching.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Relating. Yeah, teaching.

SHAWN STEVENSON: That's powerful.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Relations.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So powerful.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Expressions. Yeah

SHAWN STEVENSON: So can I ask you, we mentioned the, the cold plunging aside It's obviously a, a very kinda athletic and skilled and intense experience dancing, especially on a tour situation.

So how did you take care of yourself through this?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my gosh. I mean, if I'm honest, I really didn't take the best care of my body and self in my early 20s and stuff like that, 'cause you're just young, and you're like, you bounce back, and you don't even really feel anything. You're like, "I'm good. I don't need a massage today. I'd rather go to the mall or whatever." So I wasn't really taking the best care of myself like that unless there was something bothering me, and then I would focus on it and take care of it immediately. I thankfully have not had too many injuries throughout my career.

I've injured my left ankle, the same ankle twice and recovered pretty quickly on that, so. But, what I would do was I got into fitness, I would say kind of later. Dance was always kinda my form of fitness- ... as a young girl and adult. I kind of would take Pilates classes here and there, some, you know, hot yoga, jump at the gym, and train with a trainer for a couple sessions, but nothing that I was committed to until I really kind of stopped touring and stuff like that.

So those were sprinkled in throughout just dancing. Dance was always my form of fitness, right. But your body takes a toll. And so eventually, I wanna say in, I think it was, like, 2013 or '14 maybe when they brought in a physical therapist on tour finally, and so then I was, like, introduced more consistently to caring for my body, and, getting adjusted, and working out knots, and deep massages, and, really actual physical therapy.

And so then I would carry that with me into, my life outside of tour and all that. So yeah, I kinda, I guess, started taking better care of myself in about 10 years ago.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So what about today? What are you doing to-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my gosh Yeah ... today I take the best care of myself I ever have, which is so crazy, but not because I have more time to invest in myself now, but I think I was telling you a little bit off-camera, my boyfriend's a personal trainer. And he's gotten me just into the fitness world in a different way than I was before. I'm just very invested in strength training. I like learning new skills, like basketball. I like, what is it called?

I don't even know the terms. That's people are like, "Are you a trainer?" I'm like, "Absolutely not. I just like to work out." But anything with just my own body weight, yeah. 'Cause I used to be like, if I was hanging off the edge of a cliff, would I be able to save myself? Or would I just- That's a good question be hanging there and be like, "Oh," 'cause then my hands are gonna give up. 'Cause I could never do a pull-up- ... until probably five years ago. So-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Tom Cruise.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: You know what I'm saying? He's gonna survive.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, exactly. Can you? We wanna survive off the edge of the cliff. Yeah. Okay? So- You never

SHAWN STEVENSON: know

hit the gym. I love it. So you're doing more body weight,

ASHLEY EVERETT: I'm doing body weight, I'm doing weightlifting ... training, weightlifting. I will still pop in some Pilates or hot yoga classes, 'cause I love the heat and the stretching. And then I'll still dance here and there, but dance is definitely not my main fitness thing anymore.

Yeah. And what else do I do? I honestly like to try anything. So if anybody wants to try something, I'm like, "Yes." Tennis, pickleball, like- Yeah ... volleyball, yep. I'm really in... I feel like dancers are athletes but- Yeah ... don't get the credit for it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: For sure.

ASHLEY EVERETT: And we can learn things easy. Yeah.

Because we learn from watching, i- Right ... watch stuff and be like, "Okay, I think I got it," so-

SHAWN STEVENSON: That's what I was trying to say earlier. You just said it so well. That's ... we also have these mirror neurons.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And so, your mirror neurons are, like, on PEDs, you know what I mean?

Yeah. Your ability to to replay, to mimic- ... is just at a different level physically. Physicality.

ASHLEY EVERETT: I feel like that helps me with multitasking too. I'm, like, really good at multitasking, which is interesting to me, but I think that's probably has to do with what you're saying.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Incredible. Incredible. So, but also there are certain brains and certain people, women can multitask better- ... than men. Okay. Just off tops.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay. You know

SHAWN STEVENSON: What I mean?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Give us our credit.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So, I mean, it is what it is.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, we'll take that.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I'm curious as well, like you said you're not dancing as often.

I just seen you dancing with Brandy.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Ah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Was this a couple weeks ago?

ASHLEY EVERETT: It was. It was an appearance. It was just one. People were like, "Are you going on tour or back in?" And I'm like, "Absolutely not. No. Let's not get our, let's not get too excited, guys." No. It was just an appearance.

But what's the question?

SHAWN STEVENSON: With something like an appearance, like, because of your physical literacy, you still probably pick stuff up really quickly- ... in the assignment, right?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yeah. Yes, but, mu- the d- what am I trying to say? Dance and learning choreography and dancing, like, actively dancing is like a muscle.

Muscle memory. Yeah. It needs to be trained- ... and practiced. So, if I do take too long of a break, I will feel a little woo, not as sharp, but then I get back real quick. But yeah, that is something. If you don't keep sharpening your tool, it will not be sharp anymore, right?

SHAWN STEVENSON: For sure. What is your favorite performance of all time?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Wow. Great question. I really love this 2013 Super Bowl with Beyoncé. I just had a great time in that performance. I found every camera. I was like, "Da-ga, da-ga, da-ga." Like, finding them all, and it was just really fun. I think it was the first time I ever performed in a stadium at that time, and one of her biggest performances at the time, and so same for, like, all of us and the team and the camp and all that.

So it was really just impactful and big. But also, and I know this isn't technically a performance, but yes, it is, too, a performance, is Single Ladies. I'm very proud of that video, to be a part of it. But it's a video. Yeah. Music video.

SHAWN STEVENSON: It's iconic, though.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Thank you. Yes, it is.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So was that the s- the, that was the one where she almost, where she did the jump back?

ASHLEY EVERETT: She almost fell. That was the 2016 one. 2016. Okay. I love that one, too. Yeah. That one was iconic, too, and I was, like, eating it. Eating it. But I was in it, in that one, too. But she did do a little jump back. Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: I wanna ask you specifically about... Okay, so that is- One of your most iconic moments, one of your favorite moments, what about when things don't go according to plan?

Sure. This is something that I would love for people in general, but also aspiring dancers or people who, who dance, w- what about when you mess up? Like, how do you handle situations like that?

ASHLEY EVERETT: I mean, mess-ups are gonna happen. Beyoncé did this. Technically, in the one that I said, it was one of my favorites, I messed up, too.

And you can see it in the edit, which is crazy. But you can't really tell unless you're looking for it, and I know because it was me, but I didn't broadcast it to the world, so now everybody's gonna go look for it. But yeah, if you mess up, I mean, the show must go on. Yeah. It's not about that.

We're all human.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Even though AI exists, we are human, us, the, Beyoncé, she's human, too. So that's gonna happen. It's about how you recover. It's about how you get through. It's about how you keep going,

SHAWN STEVENSON: yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: I know that sounds cliché, but it really is true.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Come on

I mean- ... the show must go on, bars.

ASHLEY EVERETT: The show will go on. Yeah. So get on with it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Was such a great segue because you mentioned AI, aI is here, like-

ASHLEY EVERETT: It's here  to take  us all

SHAWN STEVENSON: ... heavy and it's just-

ASHLEY EVERETT: off of what we're doing

SHAWN STEVENSON: But as of now, especially now, AI, I mean, there are some robots out here dancing, all right?

ASHLEY EVERETT: I know.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But these are these human capacities that make us uniquely human- ... for the for- foreseeable future. And this is something that we have the ability to tap into, to double and triple down on, is being more human than we've ever been. And part of this, and this I don't think is an accident, your timing, when we need this, you are being more human than you've ever been and sh- opening your life up.

Opening your story up, sharing your voice.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Okay, you're giving a, it's a double entendre.

ASHLEY EVERETT: It sure is.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But you started NDA. Talk about that.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. I started NDA to give myself a voice, but also give other creatives a voice, and dancers somewhere to hear something, from somebody that they aspire to do or, wanna learn from or whatever.

And so NDA stands for Next Destination Ahead, because I'm just doing a play on it. I've worked my entire life on NDA projects, but I wanna talk about where we're going next. What's next for us and how do we use everything that we have learned for our next destination ahead,

SHAWN STEVENSON: yeah. So where can people find Next Destination?

ASHLEY EVERETT: It's on social platforms, but you will see the episodes airing on YouTube, and it's my personal YouTube, This is Ashley Everett. And then on socials, it's Next Destination Ahead, just spelled out. And then my personal social is ashleycmeverett,

SHAWN STEVENSON: Amazing.

And there's already a diversity of topics, and even the energies. There, you got the solo-

ASHLEY EVERETT: I got the solos

SHAWN STEVENSON: ... Which was super just, it was, number one, of course, it was, like, it was entertaining to watch. But also, it was just very revealing. A lot of the questions that, the average person might have about your story and your background.

And also, your interview with your parents- I know ... as well, which was just so special.

ASHLEY EVERETT: And so intimate too.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And bec- you shared with me already being able to ask these questions is so valuable. Because a lot of times we don't ask the questions until it's too late.

And so that was so beautiful to see, you know- Yeah ... and it really inspired me too to ask more of the questions for the people that are in my life right now. It also gave me a little bit of regret too of- ... not asking the questions. And so I really appreciate you doing that.

ASHLEY EVERETT: You're welcome. I think that's another thing that goes into my superpower, inspiring people. Yeah. Being an inspiration

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah

ASHLEY EVERETT: In many ways, I think.

SHAWN STEVENSON: That part, yeah. And so now we get to, can like kind of, the NDA-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: is like getting torn up in a way.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: We can see behind the scenes, we can get these stories.

Exactly. We can hear these experiences.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And, again, like truly if we're talking dance, like icon alert for real. So in closing, I wanna ask you about the beginning. I wanna ask you about the superhero origin story of what inspired you to start dancing in the first place.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my gosh. Well, my mom put me in dance when I was just two, so I wasn't- I was just a little girl who needed to get her movement somewhere, yeah. And my mom was like, "Let's put her in dance." My mom always loved dancers, and she came kind of from the arts. She sang a little bit, and she can move too.

People don't know this, but she was, like, on the same dance team as me when it first started in our hometown and we went to competition. She was on it for the first year and when I was, like, eight. And then I quit, and then I kept going, and we grew. It was because it was very small. Hometown stuff, very small town stuff.

But the reason why I started dance is because of my mom. She put me in it when she had her first baby girl, first and only baby girl, and I just fell right in line. It was like it made sense for me. I loved it. I never complained about going. I was never like, "Eh," sure. I just was ready every day, and I worked hard, and I stayed focused and- And then, yeah, as I got older, I would see dance, I would see videos, and I would see professional ballerinas and things that I would be like, "Okay, so I th- I can be a pro.

This can be, like, a real career thing," but I didn't know how to get there, s- especially industry stuff. I knew more concert world, like ballet and competition, which is, ends after high school, basically , so, yeah, I didn't know how to be a music video dancer or work with an artist, but I learned that very quickly.

And moving to New York opened up a lot for me, too. And when was that? When I was 16.

SHAWN STEVENSON: So how does that work? Like- ... were you in high school still? And-

ASHLEY EVERETT: I was in high school, yep, and my mom moved with me. My parents work in real estate, so m- my, they got a place. They bought me a apartment, essentially, and we were, like, bi-coastal, and my dad and mom came out there and- set it up, and then my dad went back home to work, and the rest of the family and me and my mom stayed in New York while I finished high school, and I started dancing with Beyoncé when I was in my senior year. So It paid off.

SHAWN STEVENSON: That is incredible. That just the investment- ... with your parents is, like-

ASHLEY EVERETT: They definitely invested

amazing. Whoa. Yes, that's why I wanted them to tell their story.

SHAWN STEVENSON: But when I think about New York and the, and also you going there for... Was it ballet was the focus, or like-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, I was. I had went to go train at Alvin Ailey, so it was modern dance.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Right

ASHLEY EVERETT: But we do ballet and different types of modern. I'm getting

SHAWN STEVENSON: Fame vibes.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yeah. Kind of. But Alvin Ailey, it's barefoot. You're, like, the very grounded- ... dancing. And it's known for being an African American company. They have their little sprinkles of others, but it's a Black company. So Alvin Ailey is Black man who started it.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: And

SHAWN STEVENSON: so he veteran- And by the way, when I say Fame for people that don't, it's a, it was a TV show.

Icon. Debbie Allen.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: When I was a little kid. She's

ASHLEY EVERETT: icon and queen herself.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, shout out. Yeah. But, so again, you're you're there for that, which is, I mean, probably the-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh, like the story of

SHAWN STEVENSON: Fame? Yeah, the, the top aspiration- Yeah ... might be, like, leading the dance company-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Right

SHAWN STEVENSON: potentially. But then how do you-

ASHLEY EVERETT: It's crazy ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: how do you end up-

ASHLEY EVERETT: I know. Well, I thought, when I went to Alvin Ailey I thought I was gonna be in high school, and then they would be like, "Yes, we want her in the company." And so then I thought I'd be in the company and be, like, a star company member. And that's, like, when I was training there, that's what my goal was 'cause I saw the company members, and I was like, "I could be her."

"I could be the next her." Yes, exactly. I could see myself there, and it's crazy how it all plays out because I auditioned for Juilliard, which is a very prestigious performing arts school, and college, and I got accepted there. And that was, like, always a dream school of mine.

And I technically did not get accepted to the college that was in association to Alvin Ailey that I was already dancing at in high school.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Ain't that a-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, because that college was more, like, academic driven. It was, like, very, like, prestigious and that, and I was like, "I don't care about these academics.

I wanna dance," so, like I was counting on my talent, okay? And I got into the most prestigious dance and art school, but I didn't get into the college that was in association with Alvin Ailey. So that was very interesting to me because I was like, "All right, gotta pivot my thought process 'cause I'm probably not gonna be an Alvin Ailey Company member unless they ask me before I get out of high school and go to Juilliard or whatever."

But then I got Beyoncé, and I was like, "Oh, wow, we're really switching gears here,"

SHAWN STEVENSON: how did they find you?

ASHLEY EVERETT: I auditioned. I auditioned, but I ran in... Well, I met her choreographer in the hallways of Alvin Ailey, the school that I was training at, because Beyoncé was there to rehearse for a performance that she had at Radio City Music Hall.

All this is, like, all tying in. And her choreographer was in the hallway, and me and my friends were, like, walking and passing by or something too, and he just stopped me and was like, "You're very pretty. Do you do other styles of... than besides ballet?" 'Cause I was in a leotard and tights and my little bun and ballet bag.

And I was like, "Oh yeah, I do everything," which was true because I come from a studio that I was doing competitions and all that at. And he invited me into the rehearsal and introduced me to her and took my information and then never called me. In a nutshell, that's the story. Never called me. But then I wanna say a couple months later was an audition for her, and m- my other friends were going.

And I, my mom encouraged me to go because she's "Why else are we in New York, girl? Go." And so I went, and I stayed in line, waited in line for three hours because it was an open call and all that, and cut with some friends and still waited for three hours. But the choreographer was still there, and he recognized me from that day in the hallway at Alvin Ailey.

So Alvin Ailey did play its role in my- Yeah ... success, obviously.

SHAWN STEVENSON: That's powerful.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. But I yeah, I... He recognized me from that day and then asked me to fly out and do music videos and flew to LA and yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: The rest is history.

ASHLEY EVERETT: The rest is history.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Sprinkles.

ASHLEY EVERETT: The sprinkles. Sprinkles. It really is all the sprinkles.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Last question. You've already shared so many different insights about the mind of a dancer and, again, the leadership role- But there's something really remarkable about you for, again, these breadcrum-crumbs, the, the trail leading you to these moments. Yes, being in certain positions, yes, life qualifying you but what was it about you that helped you to rise to a place of prominence, to a position of influence, to this position where so many people see you as this icon with dance? What is it about you that made that happen?

ASHLEY EVERETT: I think I've just never given up Like, truly. I think any successful person is always gonna hit with a no, and always gonna get a door slammed in their face, and always gonna feel bad about something, yeah. But successful people are successful because they push through the hard times even. I'm about to cry talking about it. But it's true. You push through.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Yeah.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh, why am I so emotional about this?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Thank you. Thank you for pushing through.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Because we wouldn't have this light, we wouldn't have this inspiration.

You've changed the world, thank you. It's powerful.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Wow. Yeah. I think I'll continue to always push through. Even when life is challenging, which it always is, right?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, that part. Well, thank you. Thank you so much.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Oh my God, sorry. No. I'm sorry.

SHAWN STEVENSON: No worries.

ASHLEY EVERETT: I know it wasn't supposed to be like that.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. No, thank you for sharing your experience, and also we're all here to support the new project, NDA-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yes ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: popping right now

ASHLEY EVERETT: And we are gonna keep pushing through, okay?

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yes. So again, can you share the socials, share the- Yes ... YouTube, where can people-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah ... subscribe? Hold on. Let me clean myself up.

Oh my gosh. I wasn't expecting that. Pushing through is tough, y'all. Takes courage. Okay, let's see. What am I saying? My personal socials are Ashley C.M. Everett, and then my YouTube is This Is Ashley Everett, and that's where you can find NDA, Next Destination Ahead, and also the socials are Next Destination Ahead for that- Let's go

if you wanna follow along. Wow, I got that pretty good.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Last question.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Okay.

SHAWN STEVENSON: What is the model that you're here to set for other people with how you live your life personally?

ASHLEY EVERETT: Whatever you want in life Be willing to work very hard for it, stay determined, and stay disciplined and I promise you'll get it. But always continue to lead with love and be a good person too, because I really believe in karma. I think karma's a real thing, and good people get rewarded, and disciplined hard workers are successful.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Come on. If I could say, I think that the good person factor is a huge part of your superhero formula. Thank you. And I don't want people to miss that because again, like it's not an accident you are who you are. It's that part, being a good person.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Here I go again.

SHAWN STEVENSON: And truly, especially in this world today where there's so many agendas, there's so many this, so m- so much of that.

ASHLEY EVERETT: So many.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Being a good person is like, it is so magnetic. It is such a light. And you're radiating with that. And so-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Thank you ...

SHAWN STEVENSON: yeah, I appreciate you.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah. Yeah, we need more of that. We definitely need more of the good people back out there 'cause it's, it can be a toxic world like I was saying earlier, too.

And I w- definitely wanna lead with love, positivity, and authenticity.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. And we're detoxing in this bitch. Yeah. We're detoxing.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah. Well, I appreciate you so much.

ASHLEY EVERETT: That was so good. Thank you-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah, of course ... for letting me- Of course ...

ASHLEY EVERETT: thank you for being a therapist. You're such a great interviewer. I was like, oh, my gosh.

Yeah, I can al- even your tone, I'm like, I'm about to cry just because he sounds like Sunday Night Slow Jams. It's crazy, but this is so great.

SHAWN STEVENSON: It's Quiet Storm, baby.

Here we go.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Yeah, Quiet Storm. Me and my man were talking about that. He said, "I grew up with Quiet Storm." I was like, "I grew up with Sunday Night Slow Jams."

But he's from North Carolina, so-

SHAWN STEVENSON: Yeah ...

ASHLEY EVERETT: it's out there your way.

SHAWN STEVENSON: That's what's up. That's what's up. Well, I appreciate you. I know. I cannot wait to, to see what you do next, to support-

ASHLEY EVERETT: Thank you

SHAWN STEVENSON: ... the next episodes coming out.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Thank you.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Make sure everybody's subscribed to NDA ASAP. Yeah. And we got much more to come.

Yeah. The one and only Ashley Everett, everybody.

ASHLEY EVERETT: Thank you.

SHAWN STEVENSON: Thank you so much for tuning into this episode today. I hope that you got a lot of value out of this and you went on a really cool journey. And listen, definitely check out Ashley's new show, Next Destination Ahead, all right? You can subscribe on YouTube, and also she's doing some amazing things on social media as well, so make sure to follow her because it's just gonna get cooler and more exclusive and awesome, and just, she's full of insights and super talented, so definitely check out NDA.

And listen, we got some epic masterclasses and world... Wait, hold up. This is one you need to share. Share on social media. Share your voice. Take a screenshot of this episode and tag Ashley. Let her see the love. Show her the love from the Model Health Show community. It will absolutely mean the world to her.

She's @AshleyCMEverett on IG, and I'm @ShawnModel on IG, so tag both of us, and it really does mean a lot. And we've got some epic masterclasses and world-leading experts coming your way very soon, so make sure to stay tuned. Take care, have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon.