Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anna Berzins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Anna, so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
My self-care has evolved in drastic ways over the past few years due to cataclysmic events in my life. Even as a pre-teen, I was conscious that moving my body via sports and exercise directly improved my mood and mental health. While I’ve integrated physical activity into my life for decades, I also started binge drinking, along with my peers, my freshman year of high school. And in middle school I was properly teed-up to become a textbook anorexic, which is indeed what transpired. Profile: 1) white girl; 2) upper-middle class family; 3) modeling aspirations; 4) demanding father; 5) anxiety disorder; 6) trauma due to tragic deaths of grandparents. Check, check, check.
My dad instilled a work ethic in me that I deeply appreciate, but his expectations felt impossibly hard to meet. As children of Latvian immigrants, the only path forward for my father and his sisters was Stanford Medical School. As a parent, my dad eschewed my hopes of modeling. Even as an elementary student I was grounded if I didn’t get straight A’s. I dreamt of fleeing Salem, Oregon for NYC or LA, to work as a model whilst earning a college degree. The threat continuously leveled at me throughout high school was, if you take a gap year to model, you will be financially cut off.
I obediently enrolled in a liberal arts college in LA. I continued to excel as a student and drove daily to castings before and after class. I worked as a model, I volunteered and studied abroad, I graduated summa cum laude. I was a high achiever, and popular opinion was that I had my shit together. When I think back on my college years they are largely positive, but also tainted with the knowledge that I was drinking too much and eating too little. I drove myself hard and was consumed with self-loathing.
Time passed, I gained some maturity, I transitioned out of modeling and my three other part-time jobs (at one point I was also tutoring, waiting tables, and working as Environmental Health Educator for the American Lung Association). I can mark the end of my eating disorder with meeting my now-husband, a man who was the lifeline I didn’t know I needed. And while my eating disorder died following our marriage and the births of our three sons, my drinking continued. I didn’t touch alcohol nor crave it during my pregnancies, but I distinctly remember the joy of a cold beer the day after I gave birth to my eldest boy.
Child-rearing brought common challenges known to all parents, and I felt like drinking in the evenings was the respite I needed. A close friend’s cancer diagnosis, at age 36, completely pulled the rug out from under me. During COVID excessive drinking felt normalized. I often felt hungover while parenting three young kids but couldn’t picture a life without alcohol.
In October of 2022, my husband and I took a rare trip sans kids to celebrate our anniversary. I didn’t feel like I was drunk, but looking back, I likely had five drinks over the course of the day and evening. A small spat ensued over our last drink at a bar, and I had an unsettling feeling that alcohol ruined the evening. Later on, as I cried in the hotel shower, I realized that I needed to make a major shift in my life. We went on to have a dreamy weekend, and I abstained from drinking without feeling bereft. I set a small goal for myself of abstaining from alcohol for three months, with the aim of integrating alcohol back into my life in a moderate way. Serendipitously, a woman I liked but didn’t know well thought I was a yogi and invited me to an upcoming yoga retreat. After years of avidly rejecting yoga, as I started practicing in anticipation of the retreat, something clicked. Quitting alcohol dovetailed with integrating a daily yoga practice into my life.
Almost exactly three months later, as I was contemplating drinking again, my father called me. I was at a birthday party with my 6 year-old son, in a snowstorm, when my dad delivered a brutal blow. He told me that he had cheated on my mom, his wife of 40+ years, and had become addicted to opiates and cocaine after COVID forced him to retire from his successful ophthalmology practice. In the coming days and months, as I grappled with the destruction that my dad’s addiction inflicted upon my family, the child of one of my closest friends became terminally ill. 2023 was the hardest year of my life. As I struggled to keep my head above water and function as a parent, wife, and friend, I knew in my heart that turning to alcohol was not the answer. There were innumerable times when I wanted to drink, but I recognized this desire was because I didn’t want to sit with the hard feelings I was experiencing. I also recognized that the ripple effects of addiction are akin to a tsunami of pain. I wanted to finally take care of myself in a way I had never done before in my adult life.
As I write these words, I am so proud to say that in 48 hours time, I will celebrate three years of life without alcohol (and with yoga!). I can say with conviction and experience that the cascading effects of sobriety are even more powerful than those of addiction. Post-alcohol, I have been more effective in nearly every realm of my life. I am practicing the tough work of facing discomfort and life’s edges head-on and not numbing my feelings. Giving up alcohol no longer feels like a struggle, but the ultimate act of self-care.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My husband and I became engaged when I was a graduate student at Cambridge. After graduation I returned home to the U.S., and within four short months I was married; a new homeowner; working in the environmental policy realm; and pregnant. I was essentially catapulted into adulthood! After the birth of my first child, and the subsequent second and third in quick succession, I took time off to be at home. I spent my free time volunteering at my kids’ schools and as a regional board member of a national organization called NatureBridge. I also was hired as Head of Business Development for LadyBugOut, a start-up that created emergency “bugout bags” with emergency supplies for children ages 3-12.
On Jan 1, 2021, my family took a leap of faith during COVID and relocated from Santa Monica, CA to Boulder, CO. This felt high-risk, as my husband works in the film/television industry and always felt like we had to be based in either LA or NYC. Thankfully, although he was a bit of a Hollywood pioneer in venturing far afield, he has been more productive than ever since our move. In addition to my three boys, now ages 9, 11, and 13, I serve on three boards. I am serving my 4th year as a Trustee at the Boulder Country Day School, where my youngest is a current student. I also am the newest member of the Trust for Public Land’s Colorado and Southwest Advisory Board. Last May, I had the immense privilege of traveling to Washington, D.C., to lobby lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to keep public federal lands in public hands. Additionally, when I was still living in LA, I applied for and was granted a Leadership Advisory Fellowship with an amazing non-profit organization called Vista Del Mar. Vista started more than 100 years ago as a Jewish adoption agency, and now is an organization that offers a range of mental health services for disadvantaged youth and their families. Even though I no longer live in California, I’m still engaged with Vista as a leadership advisory board (LAB) member, and travel for our annual gala, sports day, etc.
On the career front, at age 43, I was recently signed by Wilhelmina Rocky Mountains. My best friend, whom I met on an Abercrombie shoot 20 plus years ago in Miami, is my modeling agent. As I told my first photographer (after an 18-year hiatus), now that I don’t need the paycheck and have nothing to prove, I’m so excited to be back in the industry!
Sauna and cold water therapy is a passion of mine, and I’m thrilled to be helping two incredible women in the nascent stages of their sauna business. Boulder is so athletic and fitness-oriented; the city needs a modern bathhouse. BASIN is slated to open 2027, and it will feature saltwater soaking, Finnish-style and infrared sauna options, cold plunge, and halotherapy. I was told by a mentor that one should invest in the people behind a concept as much as in the idea itself; I have so much faith in the two savvy business owners behind the BASIN concept. I’m currently helping to find additional seed investors (anyone interested?!), and this is the first time I’ve invested my own money in a startup endeavor.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three pieces of advice I wholeheartedly endorse include the following: 1. Create a rough roadmap of where you want your life to lead you. Of course, the ultimate archetype of life is the bold journey. Roadmapping one’s life can be done in stages to make the exercise less daunting: where do you dream of being in one year’s time? How about in five years? A decade? This exercise can be done in small steps and should be flexible. I think most people, myself included, are damn good at getting in their own way when it comes to achieving their goals. I believe the truism that if you don’t make choices, life will happen to you. Some external forces will invariably shift one’s momentum and direction, but thoughtful decision-making is an incredibly powerful tool. Taking control over what one can control is the opposite of passivity, and in my experience has led to my feeling less stress and anxiety. 2. Work hard. I’m rarely the smartest person in the room, but I know my work ethic has opened up doors for me both personally and professionally. I think a lot of people want to get the result they desire in life, be it that dream job/ fit body/money in the bank/fill in the blank, with that elusive silver bullet. Any quick fixes for difficult or nuanced issues should be scrutinized. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but I think most complex issues or goals worthy of attainment take diligent hard work. 3. Always have someone to look up to. It’s invaluable to have one or more people in your life to whom you can look for personal and professional motivation and growth. One person may provide inspiration for a finite amount of time, whereas other people will influence you for a lifetime. Most of us aspire to become self-actualized individuals, but we can’t become the best versions of ourselves without support. And pay it forward! Helping others in their life’s journey by providing inspiration is a win-win. I know when people tell me they admire a certain quality about me or appreciate me for any given reason, I feel compelled to keep cultivating that positive character trait.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
In terms of BASIN, the modern bathhouse I’m invested in, the founders are certainly looking for additional folks to collaborate with going forward! I’m so excited about the opportunity to help establish a highly desired community asset in Boulder County. As of this writing, the founders are looking to connect with investors who have the capacity to invest between $50k-500k+. If people reading this are curious about collaborating and are passionate about sauna, health, and community, then please email me directly for more info & BASIN’s prospectus.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wilhelminarockymountains.com/direct/all/2769208/anna-berzins
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anna.berzins/?hl=en
Image Credits
Monica Baddar
Scott Womack
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
