by Jess Chester
Ladies and gentlemen this is a historically significant interview which will, in all likelihood, shape the future of the Shop, the Austin fitness community, and the world as we know it. Sure Rachel was funny and engaging and just the perfect sprinkle of weird, but the seismic revelation here is that the interview was conducted by someone other than Coach Chad; that’s right sports fans, our beloved yoga coordinator Jess Chester ran point on this one! After reading this breezy zany joyride, I think you’ll agree with me that Jess has a bright future interviewing future athletes and Rachel Mauch is just a flat out icon.
Coach Jess: OK lets start out with what’re you currently drinking?
Rachel Mauch: Gatorade Zero lime cucumber but I added some extra electrolytes to it which is chocolate. So lime cucumber and chocolate is not a great tasting or looking beverage but good for replenishing my body. Good for the body, bad for the eyes.
Good for the body, bad for the eyes, bad for the taste buds. So I guess we can start off with…you’re in an elevator. You have the whole Dane’s Body Shop clientele in there with you. You have to give a little blurby about yourself, what would your blurby be? Who is Rachel?
Man I could go into so much detail….about my ancestry.com profile (lol) but I am not going to. Um who am I? You know I am still learning who I am, but right now I am somebody who enjoys living in Austin after moving from Chicago even though it’s hot as balls out here (giggle) but I am someone who loves being outside so I think that moving to Austin has been a really good thing for me. All the people here are super kind and active so I feel that vibes with who I am too. I have never been a workhorse really, but now I am starting to really like my job. I am a proud dog owner-
Yeah you are!
Everyone knows Otoro. Ryan asked us in class the other day what are some boring facts about ourselves, and mine was I am left handed, and that I have had braces three times. I love to cook, I have a lot of recipe books, but I’m not really a recipe person, I don’t like to follow directions. So usually I’m more of a what’s in the pantry or fridge kind of cook-
Like a Chopped situation?
Yes! Everyday is like Chopped in my house. It usually ends with cauliflower and protein.
OK great! So you moved here from Chicago, how long ago?
We moved here right at the start of COVID, so April 2020. We left Chicago in March of 2020, couldn’t say goodbye to anybody since it was COVID, everyone was afraid of each other. We knew a couple acquaintances, I had only been to Austin once and it was to Dirty 6th st. so I don’t know if that really counts.
Where did you go?
Umm I don’t remember but I did get a slice of pizza somewhere.
Ropollos?
That sounds right. Lost my ID on the street.
And you decided “I love this place I am going to move here”?
Exactly!
Then you inserted yourself into the Cherrywood area and into the life of Dane’s Body Shop?
Yes! I really inserted myself! I lived down the alleyway for about a year so I always saw everybody working out and running, the tires looked super intimidating. And finally I gave it a go; I think I met with Chad for my tour and we sat on the turf just two kids shootin’ the sh*t, just talking about random stuff not even about the shop and I thought “I think this could be the place for me”. It seemed like it was more of a go at your own speed, but they’re going to push you to be your best. But the stretching, the yoga, the safety was what drew me in. It was a New Years Resolution-
Oh yessss “find a gym”
Yes! the ones that don’t stick, but this one did!
You are obviously at the shop pretty consistently, what drives you to come so consistently?
Mostly the community- all the members! I made some of my best friends like Jess!
*blushing*
Obviously the comedy-
Come for the weights, stay for the jokes.
It’s true! I laugh at every class. Either it’s a coach that is hilarious, all them are hilarious. Or we have class comedians in every class, which Dane loves I’m sure- Shout out Jose Luis (Guerra). In myself I have seen mentally and physically getting stronger. It’s the first time where I have actually seen results in the work that I am putting in so that always helps to continue to drive me there. I also live 60 seconds from the gym.
The convenience! So the Shop is great, what about your career? You mentioned you haven’t normally been a workhorse, but now you are, so what do you do?
I don’t know if I would call myself a work horse…
Maybe more like a work Li’l Sebastian then!
When I started going to Dane’s I was at a job where I was remote all the time and was coasting, so I think going to the gym every day was great for my mental health. Then after I left my last job I was unemployed for 8 months just to figure out what is the next thing for me. I was in consulting for a long time, and in consulting you get to a point where you need more. I came across Skygrid, which is not only a start up, but it is funded by Boeing, so it felt like a safe start up. I don’t know if you watch John Oliver but I call Boeing Skygrid’s Business Daddy.
*LOL*
I thrive in smaller and more personal communities and this company (and Dane’s) is just that. Unless you wanna sign an NDA I can’t share fully what we do-
SOOOO secret!! What do you do in the company?
I am in Corporate Strategy. I just started learning I like external business development and strategic partnerships. So I am trying to lead our strategic partnerships to understand this product that I can’t tell you about
The super secret laser beam, yes.
But what I can tell you is that what we are doing is building an air traffic management for air taxis of the future. To prevent sky highway crashes.
Not only do you enjoy being strategic in aviation, but you also like to use aviation to travel right?
Oooooh look at that transition!!! I do use aviation for travel! You know what’s funny about this? I am actually afraid of flying. I love to travel!
Tell me about your travel life! What is your favorite or most memorable place you’ve been?
The most recent and memorable one would be the trip that we took to Japan. We were there for almost 3 weeks. We got there the day the borders opened so it wasn’t full of tourists just yet, so it was cool to see Japan not crowded with American tourists. I love trying new food and seeing new cultures and obviously sushi and ramen are some of my favorite foods. I think I thought the trip would be more zen, but I will need to go back for that. We ended up in Tokyo twice. And even Kyoto and Osaka were larger than we thought.
I went to Costa Rica last February. I have been to Costa Rica a few times-
DID YOU SEE A SLOTH?
I did see a sloth!
AWWWWW I love sloths.
It was really high up in the trees so I didn’t see it face to face
But you saw one!
I saw one! Costa Rica is super beautiful. We went bird watching (aka Birding) at 4am. I discovered how much I liked birding on that trip. It was very therapeutic. You have to stand still and listen, you can hear the birds and the calls. There is the Merlin Bird ID app that you can use as well.
I have that app!
Yeah I have gone a few times in Texas but it’s not as cool. There are no toucans in Texas, only cardinals, I swear.
OK Japan and Costa Rica. WELL…speaking of Japan…where did your dog’s name come from!!
*Otoro squeaking his toy and barking* HAHA. His name is Otoro, which is a different cut of fatty tuna when you get sushi at a tuna restaurant (LOL). It’s just a cut of the tuna belly, the fattiest part. I love sushi and that’s the name we decided together on!
Obviously sushi is fricken delicious, does your interest in Japanese culture have an influence on that?
Yeah I think so! Plus, you won’t run into an Otoro on the street! You may run into a Murphy…or John…and that’s boring.
I honestly thought his name was El Toro for the longest time.
Most people do. My parents still call him El Toro.
Now you know, you heard it here- his name is OTORO not EL TORO. So you take Otoro around Austin a lot- what are your favorite places to take him? for all the dog walker lovers out there…
Any of the greenbelts. Lady bird lake *Otoro sneezes* (simultaneous) Bless you. He can do 6 miles and he is dead. And in the summer, we have little dog crocs for him.
Where do you like to get away in Austin?
I like to go to Lady Bird, the Barton Creek greenbelt, I like to go on super long walks with my podcast in. That is my favorite thing to do right now I think. I like Barton Springs, but not so often. I want to say I like Deep Eddy but I have never been. Obviously the car wash! I am at the Washaroo Car Wash every week because they scammed me into a membership, so you will see me there. Just so you know, they don’t actually wax your car on every visit. I love going to Central Market, or any farmers market. Local produce and goods, then playing Chopped when I get home. In the summer, Alamo Drafthouse has been a great savior.
You are a self proclaimed foodie, if you have 2-3 most memorable restaurant experiences, what are they?
I like the Peacock Hotel downtown. They have a good Mediterranean menu. In the winter time, Dip Dip Tatsuya is really good and very memorable. Jester King. The pizza! When we first moved here we went there a bunch because it was outdoors. They were thriving during COVID! Bufalina is so good and the pizza is amazing. Those are probably my favorites.
In the spirit of the season and since your birthday is in October, what’s your favorite memory from either your birthday or being spooky/halloween?
I love halloween. My mom always loved halloween decorations. So she would really decorate our place. And she keeps trying to give them to me every year and I don’t want them LOL. But my mom is super creative and would always do themed parties for us. One year, did you ever have one of those American Girl Dolls?
Yes I did.
I had Samantha-
Me too!
The OG Samantha. And also Molly, the nerdy one who liked books. One year for my birthday, everyone brought over their American Girl Dolls, and it was a sleepover. And my mom sewed everyone’s doll nightgowns that had their names on it. So that was a really great birthday memory. The other one I have is 5th grade, having the first boy/girl party and playing spin the flashlight on the trampoline.
Well did you kiss anybody?
I will never tell. I don’t kiss and tell. You know for halloween women tend to dress in less clothing?
Yeah.
I’m not that girl…and I don’t think you are either-
Absolutely not, I was grapes once in college.
I was a GORILLA. When I was little I liked to do some Chopped but with costumes, figure out what I can be with what I have, and one year I was a fat grandma. I put a pillow in my nightgown, I had gray hair and glasses. And some older woman answered the door and was offended that I was a fat grandma! So that scarred me.
In middle school, my best friend to this day and I went trick-or-treating as siamese twin Elvis’. We went to Goodwill and found Elvis masks. Both of us being Elvis is too easy, so we looked for the biggest sweat pants that we could find and each took a pant leg (we were 11), got a giant cardigan and voila!
I love this so much.
I am still laughing at the gorilla though.
I was a gorilla in like 8th grade, kept the costume, and used it again in college. I was a recycled gorilla.
Ok I have lots of this or thats. Roll with it. Would you rather lose the ability to cry or cry every day for 20 minutes randomly?
Oh cry everyday. Just let it out baby.
Would you rather be reincarnated as a sea creature or an airborne creature?
Ooh that’s tough. My first instinct is to go airborne, but I feel like I’ve read articles that we have explored less of the ocean than we have in space so what if there is some cool stuff down there? Nah I am still going airborne.
Would you rather your only mode of transportation be a donkey or a giraffe?
Giraffe. obviously. But wait, would you slide off the whole time?
I think they have a flat back, no?
Does it? I feel like they have a slant so you’d have to hold their neck…
They have a horse-like back, they’re not one big triangle? *googles what a giraffe looks like and Rachel was right*
Oh there isn’t a lot to hold onto there huh, it’s camel-y. I am switching. DONKEY IT IS!
Oh my gosh….Would you rather get your wisdom teeth pulled (again), or have your butt cheeks pierced?
Oh my gosh what?! Wisdom teeth. Who would answer get their butt cheeks pierced?! And would they be pierced together?! Is it two hoop earrings?
I am picturing a barbell. Or maybe two baby barbells one on each.
I am picturing gold hoops. Gold hoops only.
Would you rather be able to control animals or be able to see into the future?
See into the future for sure. I can’t control my own animal as you can see, so I am ok with it. I live life like this every day. *Otoro barks and squeaks toy*
Would you rather be smacked in the face with a fish or farted on?
The fish. Do not fart on me. What kind of fish though are we talking about? Is it a puffer fish or-
a cut of Otoro?! It’s the fattiest part 🙂 OK any last words?!
Last words, are you killing me or something?
LOL Anything else you want to add?
The shop has had a super positive impact on my life in so many ways. Thank you all for everything!
