Janai DID IT!! 🏆 After months of discipline, sacrifice, questionable moods 😂 and an insane bodybuilding prep, she finally stepped on stage—and walked away with THREE medals and a trophy!

But what happens when the thing you've spent months obsessively working toward is suddenly… over?

This week, we're getting into the side of bodybuilding prep you don't always see online. Janai talks about the reality of post-show blues, the hardest parts of prep, what surprised her most about competing, her biggest regret, and whether she'd actually do it all over again.

And because Kelsi had a front-row seat to the entire journey, we're comparing experiences: what prep looked like from the outside vs. what Janai was actually experiencing internally. And most importantly…

Did either of us actually like "Prep Nai"? 😭

This episode is about bodybuilding, but it's also about what happens when you dedicate everything to a goal, finally accomplish it, and then have to figure out who you are when the chase is over.

Enjoy!

UP FROM HERE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo.upfromhere
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xo.upfromhere

KELSI LEE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekelsilee
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@.thekelsilee

JANAI IMAN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaiiman
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janaiimann

Janai is away this week, so Laila is stepping into the group chat—and we're getting to know her on a much deeper level.

In this episode, Laila opens up about growing up as a Somali Muslim woman and how her culture, family, and upbringing shaped the way she views success, relationships, and herself.

As the youngest of five children, Laila talks about yearning for attention from her parents and eventually discovering one very effective way to get it: achievement.

Doing well academically became more than getting good grades. It became a way to be seen, celebrated, and affirmed—and we unpack how those childhood patterns can follow you into adulthood long after you stop needing anyone's permission.

We also talk about growing up within a community where Laila often felt aware of how she might be perceived or judged, and how that contributed to a desire for approval. What happens when being "good," successful, or respectable becomes intertwined with feeling worthy?

Then the conversation shifts to something we have in common: one of our best friends, Myka.

And we realize just how differently the two of us love the exact same person.

Laila tends to lead with softness. She considers feelings first, approaches difficult situations gently, and wants the people she loves to feel emotionally safe.

Kelsi tends to lead with directness. Logic, facts, accountability, and telling the people she loves what she believes they need to hear—even when it isn't necessarily what they want to hear.

Neither approach comes from a lack of love. They're simply two completely different expressions of it.

So we ask: What does actually showing up for your friends look like?

Is being a good friend protecting someone's feelings? Holding them accountable? Knowing when they need softness versus honesty? And how much of the way we love our friends comes from the way we learned to give and receive love growing up?

This episode is about culture, family, approval, friendship, and understanding that two people can love someone just as deeply while showing that love in completely different ways.

Enjoy!

UP FROM HERE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo.upfromhere
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xo.upfromhere

KELSI LEE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekelsilee
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@.thekelsilee

JANAI IMAN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaiiman
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janaiimann

What does it actually take to change your life?

In this episode, we talk about the part of transformation that doesn't always make it onto social media—the systems, thoughts, habits, and seemingly boring decisions that eventually create a completely different version of your life.

Janai reflects on how much bodybuilding prep has changed her outside of her physique. As someone who's always considered herself carefree, spontaneous, and admittedly a little chaotic, she's realizing just how much she actually thrives with structure.

Meal prep. Schedules. Routines. Planning ahead. Doing things whether she feels like doing them or not.

What started as systems she had to create for bodybuilding have slowly become systems she can't imagine living without.

Kelsi shares a different perspective on change: before you can change your life, you have to change your thoughts.

Before the new habits, new routine, new career, new body, or new version of yourself exists in real life, you have to be able to conceive of it internally. We talk about how transformation starts with the conversations you're having with yourself—and why wanting something isn't the same as thinking, behaving, and building a life that supports it.

Because maybe changing your life isn't one massive decision.

Maybe it's creating enough small systems that eventually your old way of living doesn't make sense anymore.

And because we can't be serious for an entire episode 😂, we also catch up on what we've been watching lately, talk movies, and Kelsi takes us behind the scenes of her recent Savage X Fenty shoot and what that experience was like.

This episode is for anyone who's been saying they want something different and is finally ready to ask: What would my everyday life actually need to look like to become that person?

Enjoy!

UP FROM HERE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo.upfromhere
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xo.upfromhere

KELSI LEE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekelsilee
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@.thekelsilee

JANAI IMAN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaiiman
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janaiimann

In this episode, we put the topics aside and turn the questions toward each other.

We each came prepared with a list of questions we wanted to ask the other—some about our friendship, some about who we're becoming, and some that forced us to go a little deeper than we expected.

After years of friendship, it's easy to assume you know everything there is to know about your best friend. But people change. Life changes. Your needs change. And sometimes being close to someone requires intentionally getting to know the person they are now, instead of relying on everything you already know about who they've been.

So this week felt like a temperature check.

We talk about the ways we've changed, how we currently experience our friendship, the things we appreciate about one another, and some of the thoughts and feelings that don't always make their way into our everyday conversations.

Some questions made us laugh. Some made us think. And some created space for conversations we probably wouldn't have had if we hadn't simply asked.

More than anything, this episode reminded us that maintaining a friendship requires curiosity. You don't just get to know someone once and assume the work is finished—especially when you're both constantly evolving.

Sometimes reconnecting doesn't require a huge moment.

Sometimes you just need to sit across from someone you love and ask, "How are we… really?"

If you've ever felt yourself growing and changing alongside a longtime friend, grab your bestie and listen together. And maybe steal a few of our questions for your own friendship check-in afterward.

Enjoy!

UP FROM HERE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo.upfromhere
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xo.upfromhere

KELSI LEE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekelsilee
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@.thekelsilee

JANAI IMAN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaiiman
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janaiimann

In this episode, we have one of our most vulnerable conversations yet about our personal journeys with mental health—and how differently we understand our childhoods now that we're adults.

Janai gets candid about a period of her life that we haven't discussed in this much detail before: her experience inside a psychiatric facility. She shares the circumstances that led to her being admitted, why she felt like her mom had essentially "tricked" her into admitting herself, and what that experience looked and felt like from her perspective at the time.

Kelsi opens up about realizing she was depressed from a very young age and what it's like to look back at childhood and struggle to find many genuinely happy memories.

She reflects on her relationship with her mom, the environment she grew up in, and the difficult realization that when she thinks about that period of her life, there simply aren't many moments she remembers feeling truly happy.

We talk about what it's like to experience emotions as a child that you don't yet have the language, autonomy, or perspective to understand—and then revisit those same experiences years later as an adult.

Because sometimes growing up doesn't change what happened.

It just finally gives you the words for it.

This isn't a conversation about having perfectly healed from our pasts or having all of the answers. It's an honest look at where we've been, what we've carried with us, and how our understanding of our own mental health continues to evolve as we get older.

If you've ever looked back at your childhood through adult eyes and realized there were things happening within you that you simply couldn't name at the time, this conversation is for you.

Enjoy!

UP FROM HERE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo.upfromhere
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xo.upfromhere

KELSI LEE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekelsilee
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@.thekelsilee

JANAI IMAN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaiiman
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janaiimann

In this episode, we're letting our guests take over the group chat.

We asked you guys to send in the questions you REALLY wanted us to answer—and somehow, things got very personal, very quickly. 😂

From dating and relationships to sex, preferences, and everything in between, we're giving our completely unfiltered opinions and getting into the kind of conversations that usually happen when it's just you and your girls.

And, of course, we had to address the age-old question:

Does size actually matter?

We get candid about what women really care about in the bedroom, whether size is as important as people make it seem, and all the other factors that can make—or break—the experience.

No deep life lesson this week. No trying to have all the answers. Just honest opinions, questionable admissions, lots of laughs, and the type of girl talk that probably shouldn't leave the group chat.

So grab your bestie, pour something, and come hang with us.

Enjoy!

UP FROM HERE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xo.upfromhere
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xo.upfromhere

KELSI LEE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekelsilee
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@.thekelsilee

JANAI IMAN:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janaiiman
Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janaiimann

In this episode, we talk about the conversations that can either save a friendship… or never happen at all.

Kelsi opens up about recently having to tell a friend that she hadn't been showing up for her—and that it was genuinely hurting her feelings. It was uncomfortable, vulnerable, and necessary. But it also led to a realization: without that conversation, she could've easily allowed resentment and misunderstanding to build until she quietly phased someone she cared about out of her life.

How many friendships have we lost simply because nobody said what they were actually feeling?

We talk about the difference between a friendship that's truly run its course and one that's suffering from unresolved issues. Sometimes people aren't intentionally hurting you. Sometimes they don't even know there's a problem because you've never given them the opportunity to understand it.

And this week, we're not just pointing fingers.

We both reflect on relationships and friendships that have ended and get honest about the ways we contributed to their demise too. The things we could've communicated differently. The moments where our own behavior played a role. And the uncomfortable reality that growth sometimes requires admitting you weren't completely innocent either.

We also get into tone—because what you say isn't the only thing that matters. How you say it matters too.

There's a difference between communicating just to get something off your chest and communicating because you genuinely want the other person to hear you. We discuss learning to consider someone else's feelings when delivering a difficult message without abandoning your own truth in the process.

Because honesty without care isn't always good communication.

This episode is about having the conversation before you cut someone off, giving the people you love an opportunity to show up differently, and being mature enough to ask yourself one very uncomfortable question:

What part did I play in this?

If you've ever let resentment build, struggled to tell a friend they hurt you, or looked back at a failed relationship and realized you had some growing to do too—this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram:
🍒 @thekelsilee
🍒 @janaiiman
✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we question two things the internet has convinced us we need: a degree to be successful… and a "soft life" to be happy.

We start with ASU's new content creator degree program and debate whether higher education actually has a place in influencing. Can you really teach someone how to become a successful creator? Is there value in formally studying branding, business, marketing, and content strategy—or is this an industry where experience, creativity, and actually doing the work will always matter more than a degree?

As two women who have taken nontraditional paths ourselves, we get into the pros and cons of bringing traditional education into a career that was essentially built outside of it.

Then Kelsi has a confession: the "soft life" might be a scam. 😭

As a woman who has the privilege of being taken care of, she talks about the side of the soft life conversation that rarely makes it onto social media. What happens when you're naturally ambitious, love making your own money, and actually want responsibility? At what point does having someone do everything for you stop feeling freeing and start making you feel confined?

We unpack the difference between wanting support and wanting to be absolved of responsibility—and why femininity doesn't have to mean being passive, financially dependent, or uninterested in building something of your own.

We also get into what these dynamics can do to relationships. If one person is expected to carry everything so the other can live "softly," does that eventually create exhaustion? Resentment? And are we simply repackaging old gender roles with prettier branding?

This episode is about questioning the lifestyles we're sold online and figuring out what actually works for you—because maybe the goal isn't a soft life or a hard life.

Maybe it's a life that feels like your own.

If you've ever struggled between wanting to be taken care of and wanting to build something for yourself, questioned whether college is worth it, or wondered if the internet's version of femininity actually fits you, this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram:
🍒 @thekelsilee
🍒 @janaiiman
✨ @xo.upfromhere