WHOOP Podcast - Brittany Mahomes: Family, Fitness, and Partnership with the MVP

Episode Date: August 28, 2024

On this week’s episode, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by Brittany Mahomes. A lifelong athlete, Brittany played pro soccer briefly before shifting her focus to the fitness and wellness space. Brittany is the co-owner of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current, and she was instrumental in bringing the team’s home field, CPKC Stadium, to fruition this spring. Will and Brittany discuss a big announcement from the Mahomes family (1:04), Brittany’s passion for sport and fitness (1:39), Patrick and Brittany’s competitive nature (3:07), Patrick and Brittany’s relationship (3:44), Brittany’s fitness routine (7:02), recovery tips and diet (9:32), co-owning the KC Current (13:33), what people don’t see about the Mahomes family (16:05), and some rapid fire questions (18:44).Resources:Brittany’s InstagramFollow WHOOP:www.whoop.comTrial WHOOP for FreeInstagramTikTokXFacebookLinkedInFollow Will Ahmed:InstagramXLinkedInSupport the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

I would say last season, I really saw a lot in who he is as a leader because I think that was probably the hardest season that they've had in his career. And so every week it was, you know, when they were losing, he would never once blame it on anybody else. It was always like, what am I doing wrong? How can I be better as a leader? How can I make this team, you know, be better? And so I think him just being the leader that he is and having the dedication and discipline that he does behind closed doors is really what makes him great. What's up folks? Welcome back to the WOOP podcast. I'm your host, Will Ahmed, and we sit down with the very talented Brittany Mahomes. Brittany is a former professional athlete, model, wife to Patrick Mahomes. And we really talk about her overall career, what it's like to be married to Patrick, owning a sports franchise, tips for your pregnancy, and more.

That's the episode right now. Okay, Brittany. Hello. Good to be with you here on the WOOP podcast. Thanks for having me. Now you just shared some really exciting news. Congratulations. Yes, thank you. Thank you. Round three. Baby number three on the way. Yes. Pretty big, pretty big, but exciting. We're excited to have another little kiddo running around our house causing chaos. So you're kind of on an every two-year streak now. Yeah, we've nailed that down pretty well, honestly. So Sterling had hadn't turned two yet and so this one bronze will be two and then we'll have this kid so I'm like maybe it'll be a little bit easier than the last two but we'll see now you've always been into sports and fitness yes and was that something you just gravitated to right from early on in your life yeah so I started playing sports specifically soccer when I was like four years old but I did play basically every sport growing up t-ball basketball soccer and then I did run track as I got a little bit older

and junior high and all that. So in junior high it's like you can play every sport that the school allows and that's exactly what I did. Volleyball, basketball, track and field. I think that was it. And then when I got to the high school, that's when I quit everything else and then mainly focused on soccer.

And you actually went on to be a professional soccer player. Yeah, I played in Iceland for a summer. That was a pretty cool experience to be across the world by myself doing nothing but soccer. I think that's really where I fell into fitness. That's all I really had to do was play soccer and go to the gym. How old were you at that time?

It was 2017, so I think I was 21 maybe. Okay, so, you know. I just turned, I was turning 22. I think I had my 22nd birthday when I was over there. And at that point, you and Patrick were obviously together? Yes. And so what was it like being a professional athlete at the same time he's becoming a professional athlete? It was wild.

I think that's definitely not something that I expected. And so I think just both of us, you know, off across the world, you know, perfecting our crafts and following our dreams was pretty cool. It was wild, yeah. Do you think there's an aspect of you having become a professional athlete that's helped you be that kind of steady hand for Patrick? Yeah, I think it definitely helps, you know, having that competitiveness and all of that, you know, and my engraved in me, you know, in my background. And I think it definitely helps to have someone like that around you. And so I think I, you know, I may be a little bit more competitive than him at times. And I think I kind of keep that fire in him going just because I'm a little bit more fiery than he is.

But I think it helps a lot to have someone, you know, like that beside you, especially if you're a professional athlete. The two of you met when you're in high school. Yes. And so talk to me a little bit about that. How did, you know, who made the first move, so to speak? Yeah, so that was him. We were friends for a really long time, obviously, and he was trying to date me for a while,

and I just, you know, wasn't into it. I was, you know, staying in my lane, being my own thing, doing my own thing, and he, one day at lunch, because we sat at the same lunch table every day, was trying to be, like, corny, I guess you could say, and wrote me like a Valentine's letter and brought me a rose and was so cute, and I thought it was the cutest thing in the world, and he was just doing it to, I don't know, be something.

sarcastic and so I really liked that he like had attempted to you know do something super sweet and I think from there we just kind of started talking and then started dating and did it feel serious immediately I mean it's an amazing romance story in a way that you've been together for so long I don't think it was serious just because we were like 16 so we weren't really thinking about the future and what it would be like down the line because I mean he was only a sophomore and I was a junior and we were still in high school so I mean we definitely I don't think when we started dating thought it would turn into this. But I'm really glad it did, and we're really enjoying life together.

Well, the two of you seem to have an amazing relationship and kind of a support an hour for one another. And I imagine that a lot of it also comes back to the fact that you knew each other before each of you were famous, so to speak, or had these big personas. Yeah, I think we kind of got thrown into the fire together. And I think that's what's helped us, you know, do so well in the life that we are, we did it all together and so and he is a lot better at it than I am maybe because his dad played professional sports so I think he was around it and he

understood it a lot more than I did so having him to help me get through it has helped a lot because he's very good at you know managing those things and blocking people out and doing all that type of stuff so having him beside me kind of guiding me and coaching me through it has helped a ton and I think that's kind of how we've gotten to where we're out now What's been like a piece of advice that's helped you manage all of it? I think the main thing that, you know, he always told me is like stop caring about what people think, especially the people that don't even know you.

And so I think social media used to get to me a lot. And now it's just like, honestly, I don't give up FUCK what people have to say about me anymore. And I think he's helped me get to that point to where, you know, I'm strong in who I am. I'm confident in who I am. I'm confident in mine in his relationship, and I'm confident in our life. So why does what other people say have to matter at all? Well, it seems like that's a super healthy attitude. Yes, for sure.

Now, do you find that you're ever more stressed about games and stuff than he is? Oh, for sure. I don't think he gets nervous or stressed really at all. That's just what he likes to do. And I think he loves going into a new week, having new game plans, having new challenges, is having, you know, new people that he's playing, I think I'm definitely a little bit more nervous every week than he is. That's going to be kind of a fun thing actually to monitor on whoop.

Oh, my God, yes. Exactly how stressed you are during games. For sure. If you go back to fitness for a second, like, I think one of the things that's been quite amazing for you in the last four or five years is obviously you've had two children. You've done this Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Yes. Like, you're obviously very good at managing your fitness and your body.

Talk a little bit about your overall routine. Yeah, so I think it's just really important to take care of your body. As an overall health aspect, you only have one. So I think taking care of it is huge within myself and our family. And so I think, you know, being in shape before I had kids helped a lot. I think, you know, where you're at before you have kids will help a lot after you have kids. And I think that's why it was so easy for me to get back into fitness and get back into shape so quickly. But I love strength training.

So I'm obviously little, and so I've tried to gain, I love gaining weight, I love gaining muscle, I love, you know, doing all those things in the gym. And I think being in the gym really helps my mental capacity and, you know, staying, that's like my me time every day that I get. And so, you know, really putting my health and my body as a priority in my life has been huge for me. And if you think about your routine like over the course of a week, what might that include? Yeah.

So I try to base my school. schedule weekly off of my workouts. I do try to do it, you know, at the same time every day. I try, you know, 10, 10, 30 in the morning, often when the kids are out of the house because our gym's at our house. So getting the kids, you know, away while I can have that time is great for me. But, you know, the week-to-week things and, you know, taking the kids places, doing different things. I really try to get my workout in before I get my day started and before I, you know, start planning other things. When you're pregnant, do you find that your routine changes pretty dramatically or yes because i need naps so i like to work my naps into my schedule now because

when you're pregnant you're tired and i feel like as you know with the first pregnancy it was just me so i could you know take naps sleep all day i had nothing you know priority for me to do and so then with bronze it was like well i have to take care of this kid but i'm tired so i would just you know nap when she naps well now i have two kids to take care of so but they do nap at the time so I'm able to nap with them but yeah I'm definitely a little bit more tired and some days you know I wake up and I'm feeling absolutely horrible and I'm like I can't get in the gym today so I try not to get too many of those days back to back but it happens I give myself a little bit more grace when I'm pregnant for sure how about recovery like what are your tips to bouncing back

if you're feeling run down or sore like what do you like to do um I like to sleep so sleep is very very important in my life I'm a big sleep girl I love to sleep I don't like to miss my sleep. I don't like to stay up late. Even if I'm not working out in the gym, like I'm still doing active things, like going to the park with the kids, going on a walk, going on a, you know, getting outside of the house and doing different types of things with the kids. You know, I make sure, you know, the kids are staying active as well and they know, you know, this is the kind of life we live. We don't just sit in the house and watch TV. So, you know, even if I'm not getting my workout and I'm still being active, getting outside, you know, doing stuff

with the kids. Do you have a very specific diet? I wouldn't say I have a diet, but I do eat healthy. I like to put good foods into my body. I feel better that way. You know, when I was in college and stuff, I did the whole meal prep and eat specific things every day all day. And I've done all that. And so I feel like I've also done the opposite of that, you know, before I was in control of my own diet and stuff. So now I've found a pretty good balance. You know, I like to enjoy, you know, desserts, sweets, different types of things, but I also do really focus on what I'm eating and what goes into my body. What would be like a three meals and a day kind of thing? So in the morning, which I've had to change, tweak a little bit. I used to do banana peanut butter toast with

banana and honey and two eggs every morning. But my kids are allergic to nuts now, so I do waffles. I do two like protein waffles with eggs. And then for lunch, I love fit. so like a sea bass with a coconut rice and some type of veggie for lunch and then dinner either like steak or chicken with I always do a veggie as my side and then like some type of carbs so like kus-kous or rice or pasta with some type of veggie and who's a healthier eater you or Patrick oh my gosh me by far but he's came a long way so he used to be horrible but like when I used to cook for him I I would trick him into certain things.

He would never know. Like, I would give him mashed cauliflower and I would tell him it was potatoes. Or I would make spaghetti and it would be vegetable noodles and he would have no idea. So I used to trick him since then we've gotten a chef and so he tries to trick him in ways, but Patrick's diet and eating has gone a lot better

over the years for sure. And if it's like a game day or the night before, are there specific things that you'll want him to eat or do you just let him do it? He has specific things he eats, yeah. On game day, it's like a grilled chicken sandwich with french fries and ketchup. I mean, in previous it would be like a cheeseburger. But he's come a long way.

He has specific, the night before games, he's normally not home. So he's at a hotel or out-in-away hotel, and so they provide him dinner. But if he is at home on game day, he gets a grilled chicken sandwich with french fries every day. That's kind of his go-to. Yep. What about sauna, cold punch? You ever do these types of things? You know, I used to do sauna because Patrick loves to sauna.

He does it as much as he can in a day. We have an infrared sauna and he absolutely loves it. And I used to do it with him when we first got it. But ever since I've had kids, I just feel claustphobic in there. So I would prefer a cold plunge, but that also takes a lot in me to do as well. What's up, folks, if you are enjoying this podcast or if you care about health, performance, fitness, you may really enjoy getting a whoop. That's right.

You can check out whoop at whoop.com. It measures everything around sleep, recovery, strain, and you can now sign up for free for 30 days. So you'll literally get the high performance wearable in the mail for free. You get to try it for 30 days, see whether you want to be a member. And that is just at whoop.com. Back to the guests. If you look back on your career as a professional soccer player, what's it been like now owning a professional soccer team?

I mean, that's kind of amazing. Yeah, it really is amazing. I think that this was like definitely a good way for me to still be involved with soccer even though I'm not playing. And so the NWSL is growing and they are kicking ass. And I'm just so lucky to be a part of it and the opportunity and the organization that we're a part of. Angie and Chris who were doing it with are pretty amazing people, and so we got incredibly lucky to have some people like that to create an amazing organization. And what role have you played in helping manage the team?

Yeah, so when they first wanted to come to Kansas City, Angie and Chris found a way to get in touch with me, and so I met with them about it, and they were like, we, so the team that was previously in Kansas City got sold and moved to Utah, and so we bought them back and moved them back to Kansas City. And, you know, I'm just like at the beginning, I was there a lot, you know, helping create the crest and creating the team name and finding the colors and doing all that stuff. I think when you bring an organization back, there's a lot of hands and people that need to help to get it going. So I was there, but I'm just, you know, I'm here when they need me and they reach out and we talk about different things and, you know, they know they can

call me at any point for anything that they need. It's, it must be kind of fascinating to go. from playing professional soccer, owning a professional soccer team, also seeing all of the work that Patrick does and being a professional athlete. What's your summary of professional sports? If you met like an 18-year-old

who wanted to be a pro athlete, what would you say to them? Oh, wow. That's a hard question. Because you've been around all. Yeah, I would just say to make sure that like you love the game. So inside, it needs to be about you loving the game

versus what anyone else thinks. And I think if you love the game enough, then you'll really, you know, practice hard. You'll be confident in it. You'll want to, you know, follow your dreams in that. But I think you really, really, really need to love the game a lot on your own to play at a professional level. And some, like, insane level of discipline, right?

For sure, yeah. You definitely need to have, yeah, discipline and know how to do everything on your own. Because in the end, you know, if you do bring people around you, it's like up to you to hire the right people and make sure you're doing the right thing and make sure you're having the same, they have the same values as you

and they have the same goals. And in the end, y'all are all, you know, working together as a team. What do people not see about what it takes to be Patrick Mahomes or to be in this, like, deeply committed relationship? Yeah, I think on the back end that people don't get to see

as all the studying and all the dedication that he has, the amount that he studies and watches and has meetings with the coaches is honestly insane to me. But just the discipline, and, you know, I would say last season I really saw a lot in who he is as a leader because I think that was probably the hardest season that they've had, you know, in his career. And so every week it was, you know, when they were losing, he would never once blame it

on anybody else. It was always like, what am I doing wrong? How can I be better as a leader? How can I make this team, you know, be better? And so I think him just being the leader that he is. is and having the dedication and discipline that he does behind closed doors is really what makes him great. It seemed like an amazing attitude this past season. I mean, obviously winning the Super Bowl is the best you can possibly do. Like throughout the season, it was a lot of, it was a lot

more criticism than usual, I felt like. Yeah, and I don't think you listen to any of it. I don't think any of that matters to him. Like I said, again, it was him focusing on himself and, you know, what could he do better as a leader? How could he get better and like what you know he started studying more he started doing different things and I lost my husband in football last season but that was like as a wife it was like I understand like you know that's what you want to do and so I didn't I wasn't ragging on him I wasn't interfering with what he had I think it was so good for him to go through that experience you know as a person and as a leader just because he had never had any like adversities like

that last season so I think it was really cool to watch him like go through that and figure it out and still have an amazing season and how did you manage that like that's that's an amazing thing to be able to say like you know yeah wife you knew he was dealing with this thing and so you had to focus on yeah i think that's you know why we work so well it's like i understand that football is you know during football season Patrick's with football and so i take on a lot of the things that i can just to make his life a little bit less stressful outside of football and then off season it's all him buddy but during football i think that's why you know we work out so well it's because i understand that that's you know that's football that's what

that is and so i try to take care of as many things i can and take things off of his plate so that he can work on football and perfect that and do that what he loves okay we're going to do some rapid fire questions ready okay yeah it's really fun what's the one item that you can't live without, with a newborn? Oh, wow. With a newborn, a sleep sack. Sleep sack, okay. Yep. The swaddle, swaddle sleep sack.

Favorite female soccer star? Oh, I love Alex Morgan. That's a good one. She's the best, the OG. Most memorable football game you've watched? I would say the first Super Bowl that we won in Miami. because it just was the first one and it was just the best feeling ever for sure was that also the best party you know it was fun but take out till 5 a.m. was crazy because that's what they do in

Miami but yeah it was it was a good time but Vegas was a very good time too best tip for bouncing back after pregnancy pelvic floor therapy and really focus on your breathing techniques for sure or you will get injured So that's interesting. Talk a little bit more about that. What is that exactly? Yeah. So I recently entered my back because I've obviously worked out my whole life. So I've had kids and then I'm like, oh, I'll just keep working out how I've always worked out. I'm fine. Well, I hurt my back. And so I, you know, went to therapy, went to a chiropractor, went and got x-rays. And so in the end, you know, a lot of people talk about pelvic floor therapy and really strengthening your pelvic floor after you've had kids and how important that is.

And so I obviously started to do more of that because I was injured and that's kind of what my therapy was. And so I think people out there need to know that it is very important to work on your breathing and your core techniques while you're working out versus just, you know, lifting heavy weights and going through the motions. Like it really starts with the inside, especially after you've had kids. So, yeah, that's really big for me nowadays. I've learned my lesson. And did you used to do any type of breath work? or meditation or anything like that before? No.

So it's something you've developed more recently? Yes. Now, Patrick says he does some of the visualization and breathing work. Yeah, I'm sure he does. Bobby has him doing everything. For sure. Okay, so this is the Patrick versus Brittany question.

So who goes to bed earlier? Me. Who's a better sleeper? Me. Okay. You know what's funny is we're actually going to be able to fact-check those two questions on. Oh, God. Are you all asking him?

these same ones? Well, yes. Oh, on here, yes. Yeah, but on war. A lot by far. I know I'm confident. The data won't lie. Yeah.

I think we hit this one, but who's more nervous before a big game? Me. Who's more of a softie with the kids? Oh, me. Okay. Who's more excited when the first game's underway? Oh, him, probably. Yeah, for sure, him.

I would say we're pretty close, but I'll give it to him. But you get amped up for the season, too. Oh, yeah, for sure. Well, you find yourself, like, listening to what some football person says about the, you know. Yeah, I like to listen to people doubt them. You do. Yeah, I do. Will you ever kind of whisper it in his ear, or you'll just keep it to next thing?

Sometimes if it's, like, a big thing, I'm like, did you see what so-and-so said? And I'm like, yeah. And sometimes they say the wrong stuff, and it'll really. really piss him off and get him going, which is hilarious. So I know if it's pretty bad, I'll definitely make sure he's hurting. I get the sense that he doesn't, like, block that stuff out. He actually absorbs it, but it kind of just bounces off. Is that fair?

Yeah, that's fair. Yeah, that's pretty accurate. Because I feel like I know a lot of athletes who just won't even read that stuff. Like, they won't even look at it. I mean, if it's, like, I mean, if it's, like, all pretty bad and he's just, like, annoyed with it. He tries to stay off of it. But sometimes he does, yeah, use it as motivation for sure. Well, we're excited that we've got you on Woop now. Yes, I'm excited as well. What's drawing you to the product? You know, I think it's just most interesting to me is the recovery, because like

I said, I love sleep. So I love to wake up every morning and see, you know, if I'm going to, if I'm going to need a nap today and if I'm tired or if I'm going to have a good day. And when I can, you know, track my hours of sleep and my REM sleep, I'm like, oh, this is good. Like, I felt good last night. I slept good, and it's good to confirm it and know that I'm correct. Well, it's going to be exciting to work with you over the course of your latest pregnancy, too, because we recently came out with this whole new pregnancy feature, and you'll be able to see how your body evolves during it.

Yeah, I'm excited. That's going to be really fun to watch. So I think we're going to do this again in a few months, and we'll get to talk about some of that data. Awesome. I can't wait. Well, in the meantime, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Brittany. Of course. Thank you for having me. This was fun. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to Brittany for coming on the WOOP podcast.

If you want to learn more about WOOP, you can check us out at WOOP.com. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial, demo this product for free, and please subscribe to the WOOP podcast. That's it for this week, folks. We'll see you next week. Stay healthy and stay in the group. Thank you.