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Live Fun of Experienced Columbuses. Live Forward Live podcast introduces you to a new

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frontier of undiscovered possibility. Columbus is a city with an energy of its own.

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Joined boxer Kelsey and their guests for an insider's look at a destination that

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invites visitors and locals alike to share and explore. We'll go behind the scenes

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of popular attractions, uncover best kept secrets for things to see and do,

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and meet people who embody what it means to live forward. Welcome back to

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another exciting episode of Live Forward, Live and Experience Columbus podcast. I'm one

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of your host Boxer along with Kelsey's joining us today. Hello, look at

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you. You already look like a figure skater today with your wardrobe. Well

0:55

talking about maybe it's the red, Maybe it's the red, Maybe it's the

0:58

red. Well, I'm ready for the holidays. I know that Austin is

1:03

here, so I'm ready to get some tips more. Oh so you wore

1:07

this? You wore this to get Austin's opinion. No, I want to

1:10

suck up to him like I wanted to like me. I wanted to think

1:12

I'm fun. Of course he thinks your fun. Kelsey, come on Well,

1:19

we want to welcome our guests this week on the show, Austin Toodle,

1:23

fashion designer and Cca d Grad, a costume designer. What I think

1:26

this is exciting for the US figure skating costume one Austin or a few?

1:32

How many are you doing? I'm doing one right now? Just do a one. Well, we're gonna get into that just a sec. And someone

1:38

I've known for a long time, someone you She's one of those people you

1:42

do not want to upset because you'll never see yourself again. No, I'm

1:46

only kidding, just kidding. Linda Logan, who's the CEO and President of

1:49

the Greater Columbus Sports Commission. And an exciting position you have, Linda,

1:53

because of all the great things that have come to town and are coming to

1:57

town. Absolutely so lucky to be here today with all of you to talk

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figure skating and Columbus. That's right, And Linda, I can't wait to

2:06

dive into some of this that we're going to get into, especially with the US Figure Skating Championships. Why don't we start there first, Linda, if

2:13

you don't mind, let's start with you on your involvement and how the heck

2:16

did Columbus Land this event. So to set the stage, I think this

2:21

is one of those marquee events that's never been held in Columbus before. It's

2:24

been on our radar for our twenty one year history, on our wish list,

2:29

if you will, and probably it's been a dozen years or more that

2:32

we've been courting US Figure Skating to bring the event to Columbus, and I

2:37

think a lot went into it. We had several stakeholders that we needed to

2:42

engage, whether it was nationwide arena, the Blue Jackets, of course they

2:46

need to go on the road for us to host this big event, representatives

2:51

from the hospitality community, the city, of the county, of the state of Ohio. So really, if you think about it, we've probably been

2:58

trying for this event for a very long time. We have hosted two US

3:01

Figure Skating Board meetings, if you will. They're governing council meetings were here

3:06

back in two thousand and five and then again maybe ten years ago. So

3:09

that was the best in the brightest and their leadership was here. About a

3:13

thousand of their board members came to Columbus got to see, hey, maybe

3:16

this footprint could work. They stayed at our local hotels. They stayed at

3:21

our convention center. They got to walk to see nationwide arena. We showed

3:23

them the Shottenstein Center. So again they thought, oh, Columbus, we

3:27

were planting that seed several years ago just to hopefully come up with the opportunity

3:31

to bid on the event. In twenty eighteen, we took a bus of

3:36

people to Detroit to see the event. We left at eight in the morning,

3:39

we got back by five o'clock, but we were able to walk around.

3:43

We got to be a part of the Kiss and Cry room. We

3:45

got to show people. They got to see it up close and personal to say, this is an event we want in Columbus. And finally all the

3:51

stars aligned and yeah, here they'll be in twenty twenty four. That's incredible.

3:55

Austin Tootle, what about you, we kind of touched on a little

3:59

bit. You were involved with the US Figure Skating Championships. It's about fashion,

4:02

It's about the costume. It's about the costumes. Yeah. So I

4:06

graduated last year from Columbus College of Art and Design and they reached out and

4:12

they were like, they want someone to make costumes, and they immediately thought

4:15

of me. So that's kind of like how it came about? But how

4:18

does that happen? Like, how do they have no idea? I could

4:21

probably shed a little light and Okay, so knowing that we wanted to make

4:26

the championships special to Columbus, what are we known for? There's so many

4:30

great things, our great footprint, the fact that everything is going to be so close together, but also our fashion scene, our arts scene, and

4:35

how can we tie all of that together? So several conversations happening to what

4:41

makes us so unique? And of course the College of Art and Design was

4:46

right front and center, had some amazing conversations about how could we do this

4:51

with these amazing athletes? This is such an artistic sport. So from there

4:56

we let the experts take hold of it. Many of the key leadership at

5:00

the schools said, why don't we pair an alumni with a student or a

5:04

class and come up with a way to make this very special. So that's

5:09

just the background story. So I guess Austin you could take it from there.

5:12

Yeah, for sure. So when they reached out to me, they

5:14

really wanted to do like a classroom like work with the students being at CCAD.

5:20

The biggest thing that you can do is your portfolio so that when you

5:23

go out for a job, you are able to you know, get jobs

5:27

essentially. And so having real life experiences I think makes it more personable for

5:32

the student to basically drive themselves to do the best that they can. And

5:39

so what we're doing is there's going to be groups of two and they kind

5:43

of have the same when I go into the class, they'll have the same

5:47

like criteria that I got when talking with the skater, and then it'll kind

5:54

of give them a chance to take that knowledge and then make it themselves.

6:00

So they're not actually making garments as much as they are just doing the sketches and the overall concepting, so everything that leads into it before you actually go

6:06

and design it. I just feel this is so Columbus. This is what

6:10

we do. You know, we have this event and then we find ways

6:14

to just make the team effort to bring in all of the you know,

6:17

all of the things that make us so vibrant and special and like to have

6:23

you hit sitting here Austin and I wouldn't even have thought of that, you

6:28

know, reaching out to our local community because we have this amazing fashion scene

6:32

and now you get to be a part of it. Yeah, could you

6:35

tell us a little bit about who you designed for and what you designed?

6:41

Yeah. So the skater that I'm designing for is Isabeau Levedo, and she

6:48

is sixteen years old and she's like when I first met her, I think,

6:51

if you know, I think she was top three in like the USA,

6:56

and then as we started designing and talking more, she moved up to

6:59

number one. And so back in August, I got to go to Vegas

7:02

to meet her. They were doing like a little like sports camp, and

7:06

I was kind of going into this very blindly, just not really knowing what

7:11

to expect. Which I think that's better because I feel like it made me

7:15

more into it in the moment, and it is way more in depth than

7:21

I ever thought. And I think until you're in it, you can't wrap

7:25

your brain around it. Cause this girl is one week in Japan and then

7:29

she's home for two days. Next week she's in Germany, And so when

7:31

we would have to go do fittings, I was just in New York.

7:33

It was like we have one hour, and it's like you have one hour

7:36

to do this fitting. Next thing we know, she's gone. So it

7:40

was a really unique experience to see that. And it also, like when

7:44

I mentioned you can't prep yourself for it until you're in it. It's like

7:46

you have to hound in in that moment to be able to get all your

7:49

measurements, all your questions asked. And because she's gone, she's kind of

7:55

like a magician exactly. So Austin, I have to assume that you are

8:00

prepping it down to the tee, down to the second what you're gonna do

8:03

when you're with her, right like you you've got it all mapped out.

8:07

Yeah, I mean it's very much like wake up three am, go to

8:09

the airport, like make sure you know, hopefully nothing's delayed. If something's

8:13

delayed, there's no changing it. So wow, all your questions, you

8:18

know, if I have a specific measurement, I need to make sure that

8:22

I get that, you know, any questions with her? I mean I

8:24

think so designing for like you know, my normal brand or my collection,

8:31

they're on the runway for thirty seconds to forty five seconds and they're standing in

8:35

your signature model pose I have to take in consideration she's moving and so seams

8:41

have to be stronger, it has to be stretchier. You know, when

8:45

you rhinestone something, it shrinks because of the glue. So it's all these

8:48

things come into it. And then we have to look at the whole picture.

8:52

How's the hair gonna look, how's the color gonna look under the lights

8:54

versus how it looks and you know, normal lighting, what color skates is

8:58

she having? Well does that clash with this? You know? So there's

9:00

everything that goes into it. So like even when you take measurements, you

9:03

have to see like if she's gonna about to go do a spin, she

9:05

has to get prepped for right before she does it when we measure her,

9:09

so it doesn't bust a seem when. So there's just so much that goes

9:11

into so many elements. I never thought about before. Is does it have

9:18

a lot of sparkles? It has a lot. I am hand sparkling hands

9:22

studying crystals onto the Yeah, is it finished, by the way, is

9:28

it not? It's not. So we essentially had a deadline to have it

9:33

done about the middle of October, and when we met the first week of

9:39

October, it was me and Isabe kind of looking at it and we were

9:43

just like, we can do better, Like you know, we want to

9:48

make Columbus proud, and I don't want to play it safe. In the

9:52

realm of like doing an easy design, I want to kind of wear something

9:56

or I want her to wear something to wear while I wanted to be a

10:00

wow but also you know, this could not only benefit Columbus but also myself.

10:05

So it's like, I don't want to play it easy. I've never been someone to play it easy. I remember at CCAD my senior year,

10:11

I did a whole rhein stoned cat suit and my teachers were like, have

10:16

fun doing that, and she actually told me after the fact that she had full doubts in me. She's like, I don't think you could finish it,

10:22

and she was like you just kept going and going and going and it

10:26

got done. And then you know, it kind of brings me to where I am today, is to like, you know, taking those risks get

10:31

you where you need to go, even though if it's not in your thought process or even in your realm. At that moment where with Linda Logan,

10:37

CEO and president of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission, and Austin Tootle, who

10:41

you were just listening to fashion designer and of course talking about CCAD, a

10:45

grad from there, costume designer for a US figure skating costume. This all

10:52

started before we started taping Austin. You were saying, did I hear you

10:54

right? A lot of this started during the pandemic, Is that right?

10:58

Yeah? So I graduated high school in twenty fifteen and had no idea what

11:03

I wanted to do with my life, and so I decided to pursue modeling

11:05

and acting and I hated it. It just wasn't for me. I wanted

11:09

to be able to make clothes on the runway rather than wear clothes on the

11:13

runway, okay, And so that kind of got me to go to CCAD,

11:16

and you know, freshman year and the beginning of sophomore year were great.

11:20

Then COVID happened, and so in my living room I learned the fundamentals

11:24

of fashion, sewing, patterning, draping, everything that you need to be

11:30

able to make a garment. And so when COVID kind of loosened up,

11:35

it was the beginning of my senior year in twenty twenty one, and it

11:37

was like make a collection. And so I am not one to like do

11:43

like normal types of like everyday clothing. So I was always in the realm

11:48

of performance where wanting to make clothes for Beyonce or Taylor Swift. I just

11:52

love that key detailing of everything, and never even thought of the glitz and

11:58

the glam of figure skin and so uh. Once graduating, I did Columbus

12:03

Fashion Week, which then got me noticed for New York. So I just

12:07

got down with New York and then brought the collection back for Columbus and then

12:11

on top of all that, I'm doing this as well. So so while

12:16

we were doing our shows or radio shows in our closets and yelling at our

12:20

kids to just shut up during the pandemic, you were just blossoming into this.

12:24

Oh no, I was crying on the Oh my gosh, because it

12:31

was in the moment. You know. As a student, I don't think

12:33

people understood that it wasn't just a phone call away if I have a question,

12:37

it was you're going to figure it out, or you're going to get a lower grade. And that's not necessarily anything bad on the school, but

12:45

it's like, I don't like wondering. I would rather figure it out myself.

12:50

And if it's the wrong way, I learned the right way and if it's the right way the first time. Great, you know, great.

12:56

So I'm kind of bursting with pride just hearing your story. I think that

13:00

because we've gotten to watch the Olympics and see the figure skating. I remember

13:03

myself being so touched by dating myself here about Peggy Fleming skated in this chartruse

13:11

costume, and I later read her biography where so much went into that costume

13:16

with her mother. They were in France, and her mother wanted her to

13:18

resemble the liqueur from that region, and just just knowing how special and how

13:24

much thought goes behind it. How was that talking to Isabelle about her vision.

13:28

Sorry, I'm asking you the question. Oh that's a great question,

13:31

but I just was curious to know how you learned about her personality and what

13:35

was important to her. Yeah. So, how it essentially started was we

13:39

just did zoom calls, and so when we were on the zoom call, we first of all got to meet her for the first time, and she

13:45

was just like any other, you know, fifteen sixteen year old girl.

13:48

And then our next zoom meeting was when we actually hounded on the questions I

13:52

had. You know, it goes into way more also about what music you're

13:56

doing, you know, like everything. I can't say the music, but

14:01

she would tell me the music and kind of like her vision for it.

14:05

She actually left the reins open to me, which as a designer people might

14:09

say, oh, that's great. It's not a good thing in my realm

14:13

because my brain just travels. And so I am someone that doesn't want to

14:18

have anything repeated. I want to be like the first person to do something.

14:22

And so for about a week and a half, it was just me

14:24

researching and researching and you know, what cuts in the fabric did we like?

14:31

What color Ryan stones? And so the only thing I asked her is

14:37

what don't you like? And that lets me kind of push myself from a

14:41

starting point as to what not to do. And then we got to about

14:46

five designs and we changed it. And I think as a designer you have

14:54

to pick the brain of the person you're doing. So they might explain something

14:58

one way, but they don't mean in that same way. And so we

15:03

did a little mock up, which is where you do it in the same

15:05

fabric, but you don't have it fully rhinestone yet, just to make sure

15:09

it fits right, the cuts are right. Yeah, and we hated it.

15:11

We didn't like how it was cut. It looked very sinister versus the

15:15

music's not very sinister. Actually it's not sinister at all. And so we

15:18

went back to the drawing board and so that was when we decided she was

15:22

supposed to skate with the outfit on for Skate America. And when we were

15:28

in New York, I had to have it done in a week, and

15:33

thank god, she was like, let's push it back and present the look

15:39

in Columbus rather than having it already presented out there. And so I'm very

15:43

grateful for that because I feel like that'll lead to a lot more build up,

15:46

not only for myself but for Columbus, kind of like debuting something.

15:48

So, yeah, this is a big deal, man, I know,

15:52

I know. I want to know Linda. So we got to interview Brian

15:58

Boitano as part of this entire you know, preparing for this huge event here

16:03

in Columbus. What was it like for you to meet him after you know,

16:08

trying to get this event here and then here he is in Columbus and

16:11

he's bringing his like cafe experience here. Pretty cool, I know what's like

16:17

And talk about an athlete that gives back to their sport. Yeah, someone

16:21

that so humble and just personable and will just do anything for a sport.

16:26

Though. He and Jason Brown both were here, and Jason is the bronze

16:30

medalist and of course going to be competing for the championship here, and I,

16:34

you know, I've been doing this a long time and I get to

16:37

meet a lot of athletes, but I was so impressed with Brian and Jason

16:41

and the fact that they are just They're willing to do whatever it takes to

16:45

make the championship successful in Columbus, and I think they had no idea what

16:48

goes into it behind the scenes. So I was really proud of the fact

16:52

that we were able to get him here a few months early. They got

16:55

to meet a lot of the key stakeholders, people from the arena, people

16:59

from our team, people from you know, experienced Columbus, and I think

17:02

they really have a different impression of the community because of that. You've talked

17:06

about our collaborative efforts, you know, all of a sudden, we had

17:10

Jason Brown, that bronze medalists talking to somebody from the Columbus Symphony and just

17:15

off the Cuffee says, I could skate live to the symphony and if you'd

17:19

want on that Sunday. So now all of a sudden, we've got the

17:22

Columbus Symphony that's going to be you know, live. At first I thought

17:26

they meant a recording, but they're like, He's like, no, I

17:29

could skate live. So then we had our Mike Ghetto from Nation wad Arena

17:33

happened to be in the room, so we got him right over there.

17:36

Can we make this happen? And so all of a sudden, within twenty

17:38

minutes of this brainstorm, it's coming to life. Much like what Austin is

17:44

doing. We're again trying to tie in different parts of what makes Columbus special.

17:48

So it just makes you very proud of the community. And this is

17:52

such a beautiful sport, so artistic, so and we are an amazing arts

17:56

community. So why not pair them haha intended, But it's so true that

18:00

we're trying to do these special things. Linda, no doubt all eyes will

18:06

be on Columbus Nationwide Arena in January for this event. How important is this

18:11

event with knowing how aggressive you are and your goals of what you want next?

18:18

For Columbus and other events to land here. We are very proud of

18:22

the fact that Columbus shows up. So by that, I mean people are

18:26

going to buy tickets here, and it is important to skate with a full

18:30

house, if you will. We want that lower Bowl to be just rocking,

18:33

so that these these athletes have an amazing experience that looks great on television.

18:37

We're also a community that watches television. We're always in the top five

18:42

in viewership for the Olympics, the World Cup, the Super Bowl. So

18:45

again we know that Columbus is going to show up in all different forms of

18:51

fashion, and so it'll be important to buy those tickets. You know,

18:55

come as a family, come see the best in the brightest of a sport.

18:57

And that's what makes our job so special is that we know that we're

19:02

going to touch families. One of the proudest moments I think for me was

19:06

when we hosted the Women's Final four. To see all those little children here

19:10

and maybe that never saw the sport before. I know. Merri Ginther tells

19:14

the story about his daughter had never really been a sports person, but she

19:18

was eight years old at the Women's Final four and saw those buzzer beater events,

19:22

and next thing you know, she's picking up a basketball and he's coaching

19:26

her team. So I think the old saying, if you see it, you can be it, And I think hopefully we're going to inspire a lot

19:30

of young people in Columbus. And we want everyone to buy tickets for the

19:34

holidays, for your family and your friends, and make sure that we get

19:38

out and experience this beautiful event here in Columbus. Right absolutely, tickets are

19:45

on sale now. There's all kinds of packages, all kinds of price points,

19:49

and there's just so many ways that you can get involved. And yeah,

19:52

I'm just very proud of that nation. Why to read it? Dot

19:56

Com has a nice page setup for this if you're looking for tickets Austin.

20:00

You know, are you a lifelong resident by the way of Columbus. I

20:03

grew up in Leiccaster. Oh okay, so look at you look at a

20:07

small town I okay, that's that just makes it even more amazing, though,

20:12

you know, a small town guy comes to Columbus, Cca d and

20:17

and I just think about your experiences with Columbus Fashion Week New York Fashion Week,

20:22

which, by the way, everyone talks about New York Fashion Week.

20:26

Was it ass amazing as what you always hear about. So it was the

20:32

most magical experience that I've ever done. Yeah, I also had to learn

20:36

to live in the moment because we blinked it was over. Okay, it

20:38

was a whole. I actually brought Columbus models. I flew them in and

20:45

housed them because I wanted them to be able to get the experience like finding

20:49

someone, so a signature thing that New York told me when they reached out

20:52

to me. Well, actually, let me backtrack just a tiny piece.

20:56

Yeah, when you do fashion weeks, you normally apply for them and then

20:59

once you apply, they go through the process of like do you have you

21:03

know what we're looking for this year or do you not? And so they

21:06

actually reached out to me, which I thought was a scam. So I didn't react to them when they reached out to me. And then they reached

21:14

out again and they're like, we want you, Like there's no one doing

21:17

the things that you're doing. So when they reached out, I actually wasn't

21:22

going to do any fashion weeks this year. I was I wanted to kind

21:25

of lay low. I had just graduated, and so they were like,

21:29

we will waive you know, your fees, so all you have to pay

21:33

is a minute, like a very minimal production fee. And I was like,

21:37

okay, let's do it. And so that kind of jump started me

21:41

being able to say like, okay, people are seeing me it, let

21:47

me know. And I think also fellow designers in Columbus, because Columbus is

21:51

number three for fashion in the United States, that the big cities are watching

21:55

us. They're watching up and coming designers and so you never know, you

21:59

know, something post on social media where it'll get you. Yeah, by

22:02

the way, is it New York La Columbus? Is that New York La

22:04

Columbus? Yeah, so like not even you know, there's still really big

22:08

fashion cities such as Chicago or Miami that are still behind us. So it's

22:14

definitely very unique to be able to say that I was approached to do New

22:18

York. I didn't have to ask for it, but right from the start

22:21

they were like, we want your six to tenant shields. We don't want you know, that is so signature because no one does that on the runway

22:27

and so I was like okay, and I was like, well, when

22:30

do I get to pick the models? And They're like, you'll get to

22:32

pick them the day of the show, and I said, there's no way that I can trust a girl to walk in six to eight ten in shields.

22:41

I think I ended up deciding on eight inch that, you know,

22:44

cause it makes me might look bad, you know, if they fall, it's like, oh, I put them in danger. And so I reached

22:48

out to fellow CCAD models that I had used back when I did my senior

22:53

thesis, and then I just had some friends that I was like, hey,

22:56

like, you guys want to walk in New York Fashion Week. I

22:59

think they thought I was kidding and then I was like, Okay, we're

23:02

doing it. They kind of just made my dream a reality, and so

23:07

it was so nice to be able to experience that with like all my friends

23:10

flew in, my family flew in, so it was like this amazing experience

23:15

to have them but also my friends modeling my clothes. And then we got

23:18

to come back a month later and do it in Columbus with the same models.

23:21

So it was kind of like we were on our own little like tour around the East Coast doing like shows and stuff. But from there it got

23:29

me kind of noticed to do shows in Paris and Milan. So yeah,

23:33

that's you know, that's just wow. And to what you just said about

23:40

relationships, I think of actors, directors, producers that like to continue to

23:45

work with that certain circle of people. I think of musicians that either like

23:49

to do duets with certain people or they have certain members of their band.

23:56

Is it the same way in fashion as a designer with models? So are

24:00

there certain models you're like, Oh, I click with this one, I

24:03

click with this one, Let's keep rocking it. Yeah. I think it

24:06

makes it more personable, like they know me from a friendship standpoint, which

24:11

I think, you know, I think when people have that or hear that,

24:15

they're like, oh, well, like they could, you know,

24:17

know how to bend and twist to not get what they want to do. But they the collection that I did for New York, I really I didn't

24:25

have never done men's wear, so I wanted to include men'swear in that and

24:29

the collection. I like to not cause a stir, but I don't want

24:33

anyone to ever expect anything from me, because I think once you expect something,

24:37

you get bored. And I think that's why studying pop culture, you

24:41

had mentioned musicians like Lady Gaga. Back when I was little, I went

24:44

to a little private Christian school. My parents are like, you are not

24:47

you are not allowed to listen to her or whatnot. And it's funny because

24:51

I never knew that she would come to be an amazing actress and basically what

24:56

my parents are saying be normal now. But I think that is something where

25:00

I had to sit down with the models and say, you know what, as a designer, I want to have my vision come to life, but

25:07

I also at the same time want to make sure you're comfortable. So doing

25:11

performance where or lingerie, I had to sit down with each model and say

25:14

what are you comfortable with? What aren't you comfortable with? And I think

25:18

that also allows the models to be confident in themselves. There's so many shows

25:23

that I see, even in Columbus, where it's like you can tell the

25:26

model doesn't like what they're wearing, and it portrays in the photos and the

25:30

videos and it's it's not you know, it doesn't get my point across.

25:34

So that I've definitely took that over with Isabe to make sure, you know

25:38

what, can we push the boundary of but still make you comfortable in So

25:44

that you can do the best of the best, so kind of like,

25:48

what was your question again? Sorry, no, no, no, you

25:51

you answered it. You answered it. It was about if you had you have the same favorite models that you like to work. Oh yeah, I've

25:56

already asked almost all of them to if you know. I was like,

25:59

hey, like, if I pay your fees for Paris and Milan, will

26:03

you pay for your plane tick? And they're like yes, of course, so you know it. Also, I think gives Columbus an opportunity to have

26:11

I mean, the models in New York is probably one hundred thousand during fashion

26:15

week and a lot of them will fly in from all over the world to

26:19

audition, to never get chosen. And so for me to be able to

26:23

say I have my models, I know the closes fit already right off the

26:26

bat like cover the charge for me to relieve anxiety and stress, especially with

26:32

the heels. That the stage was eight feet in the air, so one stumble they are they're down for the count. Can you imagine eight inch heels

26:42

marveling at it? Myself? I love me some flats. What are your

26:48

students responding to this class assignment too? Oh yeah, so they can watch

26:52

her skate r get inspiration. So we're kind of switching it up a tiny

26:56

bit because when we essentially were going to do the program with them, the

27:00

costume is going to be done, and so we're since I'm still working on

27:03

it, we've kind of critiqued some things, so like, you know,

27:07

they are starting it next next week, but I think that they don't know

27:14

how big this is not only for Columbus but for Cca D And so when

27:21

I was in CCAD, I always loved doing the more like real life projects

27:26

that could get you know, you somewhere. And so you know, I

27:30

was telling the teachers and stuff like, we have to push them to be

27:33

able to be the best versions of themselves. So a lot of them are

27:37

juniors, so I think this will also prep them for you know, it's

27:41

not about what you like when you're working for a client, it's about what

27:45

they want. And so that is something that I had to learn through this

27:48

process myself, because I had to basically differentiate my brand that I show in

27:55

New York from what I'm working on with Isaboe. And so my brand is

27:59

called two Tell, So I feel like it's just a little bit more boogy

28:03

than Tootle. So it's called to tell and that is your performance where lingerie

28:07

aspect. And then with Isabelle, she's working with Austin Tootle. So there's

28:12

how I can kind of differentiate that. But they, I think will definitely

28:21

get a different type. I hope they get the same thing out of it

28:25

as I did. Is that not everything you're gonna do is you're gonna be

28:29

comfortable with, especially in fashion, and that you have to sometimes push your

28:34

own self in this element to be able to be the best designer, you

28:38

know, the best business person. And so we I can give you more

28:44

information when we kind of like start the project. But I'm really excited for

28:47

them, and I kind of wish I was in their shoes because I definitely

28:49

I don't I can't tell you what I think their mindset is going into it.

28:52

Yeah, so well, look, we realized that the skating Championships the

28:57

US figure Skating is after the holidays. But I was curious with you guys

29:03

being a part of the columb fabric of Columbus for a while, do you

29:06

do you have some favorite things you enjoy about the holidays in Columbus. Linda

29:11

will start with you, Well, Columbus all year round is amazing, right,

29:15

but there's something very special about just being home for the holidays and just

29:18

seeing how the decor. You know, there's different neighborhoods that do different things.

29:23

Obviously figure skating or ice skating that we might do like as a family

29:29

is always fun to do. So maybe this year it has a little bit

29:32

more meaning. So maybe organizing your own little private skate if you will,

29:36

So I'm looking forward to that. It's also holidays are all about the food

29:40

too, so anyway that you can support our local restaurants, even our specific

29:45

our piemakers who all you know, pastries, all the things. So I

29:49

just love maybe just the environment and just a very visual person. So even

29:55

how we might celebrate New Years with the blue jackets, you know, that's become a tradition too, really some of the special things that happen around the

30:02

community. Austin. Sure you mentioned vision. So I used to live downtown

30:07

and having like snow covered streets around Christmas with like the lights in the short

30:11

and north. It's just a very like visual representation of like how beautiful Columbus

30:17

is. And then also I just I used to work at Easton so I

30:21

love Easton at night when they have all the lights up and stuff. So

30:23

and of course the zoo. The Zoo's always something fun to do with the

30:26

family lights. Yeah, you don't really have to be any certain age to

30:30

go or you're too old for it. It's always super cool to do that.

30:33

All right. Well, we wish you both the happiest of holidays.

30:37

Merry Christmas, and we're really excited for January and the US Figure Skating Championships.

30:41

By the way, you can get tickets at Nationwide Arena dot com.

30:45

Linda Logan and Austin Toodle thank you so much for your time and being a

30:48

part of our podcast We Live Forward Live and Experience Columbus podcast. Take care,

30:52

guys, thank you, thank you, good luck, thank you,

30:56

Live fun, and thanks for listening to Experienced Columbuses Live for Live. For

31:07

this podcast and others, go to Experiencecolumbus dot com.