ICYMI

Hello! Hi! Happy MSR Birthday Weekend, HSR!

I have been sitting with something all week as I prepared to turn 34 that came to me over the course of our OWN THE ROOM, Presented by HSR event and an unreleased podcast episode that I recorded this week that changed my mindset before my birthday.

"You are the only audience that matters. The best art divides the audience. If everyone likes it, you probably have not gone far enough. In the end, you are the only one who has to love it." - Rick Rubin

Once I started creating art for myself, I started booking guests I actually wanted to learn from. One of those conversations I had this week is with someone who has 8 million followers, $14 million in 5 years from content, and has gone from poverty to recently gifting his father half a million dollars to retire.

Our conversation completely changed the way I think about vulnerability, storytelling, and building a personal brand in a world where, like it or not, that matters deeply.

HSR has been on a rocket of undeniable momentum but my personal brand has been harder to articulate because I have been afraid to show the version of myself I have carried a lot of shame and embarrassment around. The version from my twenties. The way I looked. The health challenges that were not yet in the light. The parts of the journey that felt messy and unglamorous and very far from where I am now. The relationship lessons that took multiple tries to fix for good.

The birthday post I did for 34 was the first time I let myself make something purely for me. Showing the progression. Showing how far I have actually come. Reminding myself, and anyone watching, that this life has not been handed to me. It has been worked for. Chosen. Not settled for.

That is a core part of the HSR and MSR mission and something I have not talked enough about. I am going to change that. It’s the reason my new bio on MSR’s IG is “for the girls who refuse to settle”.

In terms of how I am entering my 34th year, it is with embracing, sharing, and being proud of all versions of myself. I am done carrying around shame and guilt, and that is the best birthday gift I could give myself and in turn, you. I think you will feel the difference.

Wedding culture is changing fast. Gen Z brides are rewriting the rules, Vogue weddings are becoming cultural moments, coloured dresses are replacing the traditional white gown, and the internet can turn a bridal designer into a global brand overnight.

If you’ve ever wondered what really happens behind the fantasy of building a global bridal empire, this is the episode for you.

Legendary wedding dress designer Hayley Paige joins me on Hot Smart Rich to talk about modern weddings, bridal fashion, internet culture, contracts, identity, and rebuilding after losing everything tied to her own name.

Before Hayley Paige became one of the most recognizable names in bridal, she was a young designer signing what she thought was her dream deal, helping build a $220 million bridal brand, and unknowingly giving away the rights to her own identity.

She shares the legal battle that changed her life, losing access to her name and social media accounts, postponing her own wedding for 7 years, and the $263,000 it took to buy back her name and IP.

We also get into Gen Z brides changing wedding culture, Taylor Swift dream dress discourse, the Bad Bunny Super Bowl bride moment, why weddings have become bigger than fashion, and the financial lessons every woman should understand before signing anything.

The conversation goes far beyond weddings. Hayley and Maggie dive into the red flags women ignore in business, the cost of being “too nice,” protecting your leverage, rebuilding after public loss, and why financial independence gives women the power to walk away from the wrong situations.

all the brands, people, places, things we’re gossiping about this week

Women’s Health & Beauty

Media, Entertainment & Creator

Consumer, E-Commerce & Retail

Tech, Business & Investing

How A Former VC Used Pattern Recognition To Build The Internet's New Status Symbol

Six months ago, most consumers had never heard of Loonen. Today, the brand's glass bottles are showing up everywhere from Erewhon shelves to influencer content feeds. In less than a year, the company has become one of the fastest-rising premium beverage brands in wellness, attracting attention from consumers, retailers, and investors alike. The speed of the rise is particularly not able because Loonen is selling perhaps the most commoditized product imaginable: bottled water.

Most people looking at Loonen's success see a premium wellness brand riding the microplastics conversation. I think the more interesting story is that a former venture capitalist applied investor thinking to consumer brand building. The result wasn't simply a water company. It was a company designed from day one around timing, positioning, distribution, and cultural relevance.

What makes Loonen interesting isn't that consumers suddenly became excited about water. It's that the company identified…