Meet Kristen M. Olson | Athlete, Entrepreneur, Podcaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristen M. Olson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristen M., we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Failure is a big part of success, so risk is everywhere if you are out here and actually living. As we get older and settled it’s easy to live in the path of least resistance and then find ourselves bothered by small things as our world’s get very routine and comfortable. Taking some sort of risk every day is critical- getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is the fountain of youth. I am a long-time competitive athlete, so being in front of a crowd and taking a risk was happening often- and so was failure. I was always good, but competed at the top level… top 20 D1 lacrosse player, multi-appearance CrossFit Games qualifier etc., so I was never the best out there and often times I wasn’t the winner… BUT, where I did win was with the daily practice of competing and showing up- no matter what. Every day there was a risk that I wouldn’t “win”, so it built confidence, resilience, and a growth mindset that I cling to, to this day and apply to all aspects of my life including my business, KO Alliance, LLC. In 2019, I didn’t hesitate to start a podcast, Turmeric & Tequila™, where I would be focusing on expression, positive change, community, and mental health. I knew nothing about podcasting, but I did know conscious conversations needed to be had amongst mission driven humans to inspire others to make positive changes in their own lives. The message and mission were bigger than my current skill set, but I knew how to show up and figure it out one day at a time. We are at episode 200 currently and are a growing community of amazing humans living on purpose, connected, and sharing our journeys with the world. If I had not taken the risks to start a KO Alliance, LLC and then see a need for transparent conversation and start the Turmeric & Tequila™ podcast- there is no way I would feel the fulfillment I do now about what I get to do on the daily. Lots of risk and failures along the way, but each was an arrow in the forest pointing me in the right direction to “success” or what I would consider success: positive impact for the greater good. Take those risks and keep doing hard things, you will stay agile in life and thrive vs. just survive. It makes all the difference.

What should our readers know about your business?
As a lifelong team athlete, passionate creative, and true believer in living a healthy lifestyle, the KO Alliance mission is to strategically align fitness, wellness, creative, and lifestyle forces (brands) with zealots to further spread the gospel of fitness, wellness, and lifestyle .

The KO Story:

As a professional within the fitness (and marketing) business arena and a high level competitive CrossFit athlete , I recognized a gap and lack of productive, professional strategic partnerships. This is a huge market with massive upside and is led by a small tight group of influencers. To gain entry to this fickle market a brand requires a well thought out strategy. With powerful partnerships, the fitness/creative passion spreads. Working together (brands and fitness/creative enthusiasts) everyone can achieve top results.

Culture. Companies. Influencers. Impact. If you are looking to establish or share your company, brand, mission, message, or voice- strategically and authentically, reach out to us!

The KO Alliance, LLC Team: KO Alliance is a dream team of exceptional human beings. They are experts in their respective sports that lead with their heads and minds. These trail blazers were hand-picked for these amazing qualities. This team can positively influence the local, national and global fitness consumer. They love spreading the gospel of fitness, wellness, creative, and lifestyle. We are the one stop shop to handle your business marketing and branding goals soup to nuts- in a cost and time effective fashion.

Why: With 20+ years of experience in the fitness, wellness, and lifestyle markets- we have seen some serious evolution ALONGSIDE some a deep need for responsible marketing and branding.

Social media, media, and digital influence consumption are at all-time highs, impacting our youth younger and younger. We believe in people and we know that great people make great companies, products, services, and missions. It’s more than business to us, it’s about doing our part to help spread the gospel of varsity humans and their companies the right way. We specifically work with mission driven companies, meaning they are Certified B corporations, 501c3’s, focus on DEI or sustainability, or give back in some capacity.

Because consumers are conscious and leveling up to expect more from who they are purchasing or consuming from… as they should! We are here to help those companies get to the next level and share their greatness with the world.

One partnership at a time we can do our share of contribution in making this world a better place- offering more, better, conscious options to live your best life.

We are different because we put the human first and have a humanized approach to every more that we make- we are directly connected the cause and are on a team with our clients. It’s not easy to turndown business, especially in the beginning, but we knew that leading with our core values and being very specific working with mission driven clients would allow for our potential and our client’s potential to actually be reached- and feel the joy and fulfillment during the whole process. We are in it for the long game. Starting the podcast, Turmeric & Tequila™, KO Alliance’s official podcast, was also a major undertaking… we’ll worth the work however. We are at episode 200 and have a thriving community with the ability to unite mission drive humans and supporting one another’s causes.

The biggest thing that we did right to overcome challenges was just staying in it and continuing to show up no matter what. this skill has helped us in business and in our personal lives- you have to see the goal and dream before anyone else and if you don’t grind to get it, it will stay a dream or a goal. There have been so many lessons along the way, but the biggest one we really knew and specialize in was building the right team and keeping the right people around you… hence we do strategic partnerships. We know the importance of finding the right fit, building authentic community, and not only shooting for success, but enjoying the process getting there. We are here to make money, but more importantly we are here to live purposefully, utilizing our gifts to initialize as much positive worldly impact as we can- being useful to this world is our ultimate mission.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, if it’s my BFF, then we are certainly starting the day with a workout, hitting a CF class to move some weight and have some laughs with my fitness family. We would likely get some fuel after that (something healthy, but also good… they are on vacation). Then we would swoop by my house and grab my 3 pups to take them on a walk and catch some pretty Colorado views. We would likely drop the pups back off and head up to Tennyson so shop/ hang and see that thriving community. Head back home to relax for a few before we made dinner or picked a good spot downtown. The rest of the wk would likely look like some variation of this with a concert at red rocks if possible and at least one night out downtown hitting some bars and a good dance spot. I often operate on the fly, but we love highlands, Five points, and the Denver preforming arts center- handing picking spots from there. Also might hit an sports game, depending on the season.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
If there is one thing in life that is proven true time and time again, it’s that it takes a village to get by- let alone find real success and happiness. I know I would not be here without the love and support of my family, friends, and fitness community. I cannot say enough good things about the ones close to me that we early adopters of my mission- showing up at lacrosse games and fitness competitions, taking a chance on a new branding company, KO Alliance, LLC, and not only downloading the Turmeric & Tequila™ Podcast, but also rocking the t shirt!! From a young age my Mom would always do the hard thing and go the extra mile- often the only female in the group being able to do longline barefooting, double black diamond skiing, and so forth. There were four of us kids, so it was a lot. My parents always believed in us, even when we didn’t believe in ourselves. They supported our decisions no matter how crazy they were and let us chase our dreams- for that I will be forever grateful, because none of us choose the easy path, but it was always the path.

Website: www.koalliance.com, www.turmericandtequila.com

Instagram: @madonnashero @koalliance @turmerictequila

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kolson23/

Twitter: @kolson23

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/koalliance

Youtube: https://www.instagram.com/turmerictequila/?hl=en

Image Credits
Robert Randel, Shots by Carl LLC,