TERRIKA KNOX: Peripeteia Podcast
Heather Lowe: [00:00:00] Welcome, Ika next to the P Patia podcast. I'm so happy to have you on. I'm thrilled to learn more about you. You caught my attention on LinkedIn and I think for your new. Drink Na, wine, herb and orchid. So that is what got my attention. And then I started calling you as a person and I started to learn more about you.
And I got more and more fascinated the more I learned. So finally I was like, get on my podcast. This is a way for me to bully you into having conversation with me. I think we had one call and I'm like, okay, there you are layered and there is more to you and I want to know all about it. So what I know is that you're an army veteran.
Terrika: Yes,
Heather Lowe: You are a history buff. You're a wellness entrepreneur. You got a lot going on. So can you share a little bit about your multifaceted life and what's gotten you to where you are today?
Terrika: Oh yeah. That's a lot.
Heather Lowe: Yes, it is.
Terrika: Yeah. As you [00:01:00] stated, army of that so a lot of traveling here about 14 years. Yeah. In, in the military active duty. I was also in the reserves.
Heather Lowe: Why did you sign up for that?
Terrika: Oh, yeah, that's a cool I my dad was in the Navy,
Heather Lowe: Okay.
Terrika: I grew up in that background. My, my mom and my dad were divorced, but I would, every summer I would go to Norfolk, Virginia, spend time with my dad.
So I did see that aspect of the service. But then when I went to college, I didn't want know what I wanted to do, so I was undecided, essentially failing outta classes
Heather Lowe: I love it.
Terrika: And I was like, Hey, I can't keep on doing this, so what's the natural progression? So I joined the service. It was one of the best things, truly Heather, that I ever did.
I wasn't scared about it, seeing my dad in the Navy, but it was just, it just allowed me to explore the world, on someone else's dime.
Heather Lowe: And that's how you [00:02:00] saw it? Yeah. 'cause it like terrifies me because I don't have a family with a military background.
Terrika: Yeah, exactly. And same with my husband. He who was like, yeah I never would've thought about that, but yeah, no, I already had that background, so I was like, it's not so scary. It just will allow me to travel. They'll pay for, they pay for my college. So I was in ROTC when I was in college,
Was, it was just a. A way for me to travel and to make money at a time. And it was a very good experience. Yeah.
Heather Lowe: It made sense for you at the time.
Terrika: it definitely did. I got a chance to live in South Korea for two years
Also I went to China, Vietnam. Oh, it was pretty fantastic.
Heather Lowe: And you're a history buff, so you were delighted to get your own eyeballs on some of the places you had read about or researched about or
Terrika: yeah,
Heather Lowe: yeah.
Terrika: Learning about another culture and just like seeing how they really cherish their elderly and they have a great family dynamics. So it was just really [00:03:00] cool to be in the shopping.
Heather Lowe: I wanna do a whole podcast on elders and culture. What a good topic you bring up. What a, I don't know. I was basically like born in a nursing home. My grandma and my mom worked in the nursing home, so as a baby I was just passed around to the elders all the time. And even as a young child, I had a birthday party where I only wanted to invite my grandparents and my elderly neighbors.
I was like seven years old. I was like, do you wanna invite friends? I'm like, those are my friends. And they entertained me by coming and sitting up couch and eating cake, so yeah, you saw a lot of different ways, a lot of different ways of living. A lot of different cultures and family life and value systems and music and food and culture, shopping, the whole thing.
Terrika: The whole thing. Yes. Yes.
Heather Lowe: And where did you go from there then?
Terrika: So from South Korea then I. I actually went to South Carolina, so I spent some time in the south. So South Carolina. I deployed to Afghanistan, which actually happened to be [00:04:00] my, and I know this sounds crazy, the best duty station I had outta my whole time being in service outta South Korea too, because it was just the community of people that we had there.
Like I had the best supervisor. We had like really cool. I spent my 30th birthday in Afghanistan. They bought me a pizza and we had cake. I know it sounds so weird, but. It doesn't matter the environment you're in, it's the people that you're surrounded by.
Heather Lowe: It's really powerful. Yeah. Community is everything. What a,
Terrika: everything. Yeah. Yeah.
Heather Lowe: then from Afghanistan, you came home, when did you come home?
Terrika: From Afghanistan then I was stationed in Georgia.
So I was in Augusta area. And then my final duty station was here in the DMV where I'm from Maryland. Born and raised. So came back home and. Met my husband and retired out of the service and here we are today.
Heather Lowe: So civilian life, what a change. Was that a big transition for you?
Terrika: it was a fantastic transition [00:05:00] because even though I was in the service, like I, I'm a girly girl and I love color and I love, we already talked about shopping and it was like I was tired of wearing green all the time.
Heather Lowe: So like your outfits? No, I think, I know it is so important to have cute outfits. This, if anybody needs to rent from newly, that's what I do to get my cute clothes. I know here's a plug. This is not sponsored, but. I'll give you a code and you'll get money off. I think cute clothes are so important.
I'm with you on,
Terrika: such a newly fan. My husband is always here's your newly packaged, did you get that from newly? I'm
Heather Lowe: Yeah
Terrika: stand my business.
Heather Lowe: Exactly. We need cute clothes all the time and we need to switch 'em up.
Terrika: Yeah, so it wasn't a, it wasn't a, a horrible transition for me transition outta the military. Like I said I what I needed out of the service, so it was like a really nice transition. Plus I had young kids and I saw that too. It's moms being away from their kids. There was, I was stationed with a young lady [00:06:00] who was in Afghanistan with me and she had small kids and it was really hard.
So it was great because my kids were so small when I transitioned out, so I didn't have to leave them for long periods of time.
Heather Lowe: So when you signed up, you it was gonna be a temporary thing for you and not a life thing.
Terrika: be, Hey, I'm not doing so well in college. They'll pay for the rest of my school when I return. It'll be my first job out of college 'cause those are hard to find. So they offered a great salary
Get to travel. So it was gonna do that four years then be done. But it ended up going on longer than expected.
Was fine, but. It was good to transition to,
Heather Lowe: Endings must end, right? Yeah.
Terrika: Absolutely.
Heather Lowe: Okay, cool. So then you come back to Maryland, home
Terrika: Yeah.
Heather Lowe: meet, fall in love, get married, have kids. Yeah.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: Yeah. And then what?
Terrika: And then yeah, and then it just, the turning point was when I lost my dad in November 22. [00:07:00] So everything was going, with marriage and the babies and so forth. And then my dad, I got a call it was just a lady hysterical on the other line. I was like, what's going on?
Because I was calling him about, something happened in my career. And because we always used to talk and joke and she was just like, he was, he had passed out,
He was in the hospital and yeah. Went out to Washington State and like he just never woke up.
So that was hard. Yeah.
Heather Lowe: It's so hard.
Terrika: I'm already getting upset, but I'm not gonna get up.
I'm not
Heather Lowe: I think you sh I cry every day, at least once a day, so Yeah, you, of course there's a missing.
Terrika: about, about,
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: losing your dad too. It's just the fact that it was unexpected and he was 60, which is just so wild and just unexpected.
Heather Lowe: I always say my dad's 60 years old too. It's ripped from you without warning. It's a different kind of grief. It's a different kind.
Terrika: Very much. [00:08:00] And what's so interesting is that just because I still have a nine to five while I'm like doing the whole urban orchid thing. And I've seen like some folks that I used to work with throughout the ages and they're like, oh, such did, such passed?
And they're in their like late fifties. I just, it's just I don't know. It's. It's, it is a shock. It's a shocker when someone passes that early,
Heather Lowe: yeah. And it's a missing that will never be filled. You learn to have grief walk alongside you, and you learn to have it hit you at unexpected moments. Even when you're on a pack podcast and you know you're gonna say this out,
Terrika: exactly.
Heather Lowe: to say it out loud takes your breath away. Yeah. It's like you're reminded of how much you're missing,
Terrika: yeah, because he was such a, he was such a great cook.
That's what he did in the Navy. That's what we used to do. Like we would cook together, especially Thanksgiving. That was like the things that we, so it really hits hard Heather in the fall,
Heather Lowe: I hear you. I did a podcast with Barry Lerner, [00:09:00] who, who is a grief counselor, and I actually did a support group with her myself for grief. And one thing we always do is say their names. So what is your dad's name?
Terrika: Clifton.
Heather Lowe: Clifton. Okay, then we'll have that here where we'll at least say his name, right?
And remember him
Terrika: yes,
Heather Lowe: that we can. So he was a cook and you're a drink maker. Now is there a correlation there? He inspired you to, he was in the Navy, you joined the army. He is
Terrika: know and
Heather Lowe: a cook and you're a drink.
Terrika: the Army because he was like, why would you do that? So that was something that we always talked about, was possibly doing a food truck. So we love food like the food truck race, like that show on
Food or beverage, it was. I know that was something that I had a passion for and actually it's so interesting is that I keep these little journals, and back in 2016 I wanted to start a vegan cheese. It didn't take off the [00:10:00] way food course, but it's just been something that I've continually wanted to do in this industry, and it just happened to be beverage.
Heather Lowe: Okay, so what inspired you with this? Tell me when were you like, hit, did like lightning strike and you're like, I know it's alcohol free wine.
Terrika: No.
Heather Lowe: Okay.
Terrika: no. What happened was when I lost my dad, that was November 22, 23 was horrible, Heather. I was, and because you've been there I was doing a lot of drinking, right? Like that, when people talk about hidden rock bottom I could if something could have happened I'm by the grace of God it did not.
Heather Lowe: Say tragedy was lurking around the corner for me when people say You weren't that bad or something, I'm like my inner knowing the way it was escalating because of grief,
Terrika: yes.
Heather Lowe: grief of my dad, was like this was spiraling much faster than it had for 30 years of my drinking career.
Terrika: Yes,
Heather Lowe: last few.[00:11:00]
Yeah. Coupled with grief, it looked different and tragedy was lurking around the corner. So
Terrika: absolutely right.
Heather Lowe: it didn't happen. That didn't happen, but it would've, there's no doubt in my mind
Terrika: Because let's be frank, like I love that you said that I was a drinker. I drank, I was in the military for goodness sakes. There's a
Heather Lowe: the requirement.
Terrika: around
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: So I was a drinker, but. When I lost my dad, that drinking was on a whole nother level. Plus we're talking about a 40 plus year old woman.
Like my body was just not, it was doing different things with alcohol too. So
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: it was around the corner. So when I actually, I met a young lady, there was a sobriety group here, and she was talking about her DUI being the best thing that ever happened to her, and I was like, I. Like I was right there, yeah, I was definitely lurking, but it didn't happen. Thank goodness. But so that happened 23 and then late 23 closing in 24. My husband was [00:12:00] like, okay, we can't continue down this road. You have to do something. So I did the 90 days, so I was doing 30 days here and there. Those never worked.
And
Heather Lowe: Oh my gosh.
Terrika: your post, I saw your post about that, and I was like, she's so spot on. It was just like the 30 days was like, okay TikTok and get my next drink. It did not work 90 days.
Heather Lowe: as a coach, I scream at like you were doing the hardest part over and over again. You're not getting the benefits or the results Sobriety. Does not look like the first 30 days of being free from alcohol. Like that sucks. Those first 30 days just absolutely suck. They are so hard.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: sitting and waiting to drink again mostly, right?
Yeah
Terrika: it's just okay, I'm on day 14. Ooh,
Heather Lowe: right. And boy, this proves I don't have a problem.
Terrika: right, exactly. I can do 30
But then once that day, 31.
Heather Lowe: You're like, I'm gonna reward myself for not drinking with as much boo as I can stomach. Yeah.
Terrika: much as I can consume, [00:13:00] right? So 90 days like that was hard. Like I never, if you would've the Tika of 23, 24, if you would've told me that I would be here, I would've said no way. Because I thought that you couldn't have fun without drinking.
That there's no way I can have fun. There's no way I can go out to eat without drinking.
And there I just thought there was all these things I could not do without alcohol. So the
Heather Lowe: But your husband was like, enough of this.
Terrika: he was
Heather Lowe: You gotta go a little longer.
You did 90. Okay.
Terrika: then I was tasting different products that didn't quite prefer. We've gone date nights and it's still the same in some places. They don't have any options, which is absurd in 2025, but, okay. So I decided to create my own and. I did Deia Alcoholis wine to start launched in January of 25, but now I'm reformulating, so the Deia Alcoholis wine that will be going away, but it's still gonna be a fantastic beverage I'm [00:14:00] so excited about because it's gonna add in functional ingredients for
It's, I'm working with a formulator in New York. She's a certified herbalist, and I'm, this is where I'm supposed to be.
Heather Lowe: Oh, this is the vegan cheese of the future. This is your, I call it Dare to Dream because my first little business was called Dare to Dream, which turned into be ditch the drink, DTDA different form of DTD from my third grade self. But it's basically the same. So I love this. You knew it was gonna be food or beverage was something you had a passion and a calling for, and then you knew it was gonna be an alcohol free drink because you had your own story with alcohol.
Terrika: Absolutely.
Heather Lowe: also coupled with something I've heard you alluding to a couple times. It's like this midlife, perimenopausal time for women,
Terrika: Absolutely.
Heather Lowe: alcohol is affecting you differently. We need different supplements, herbs, help hormones, something right.
Terrika: absolutely, because it was just like, you're right. Like how you said, like [00:15:00] you started something a long time ago and then it transitioned to Dish to drink. This is the beautiful transition because at first I was saying to myself, oh, I'm not drinking wine anymore. I'll create a ized wine. It one for one spot.
But then as I started down the journey, it was like, that's not actually what I want anymore. What I really want is something that's functional because I was, what I was doing, and I still do it at night, is like tart cherry with my tincture. And I was like, what if I had created something that you could, that was ready to drink,
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: beautifully crafted.
Like how
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: And
Heather Lowe: is so good.
Terrika: where this came out of. And I was like I'm gonna do it.
Heather Lowe: I love it. So just before we reported this, I was telling you I had a call in my insider community and it was how to enjoy a wine when you want the real thing. And the main takeaway was when we have chosen a life of sobriety, we are choosing not to drink because. It was very hard in the beginning, but we figured out new ways to [00:16:00] cope and reward ourselves and have fun and go out to dinner and we figured out all these things.
We don't need alcohol anymore. We don't want alcohol anymore. We want what sobriety brings us. But the same thing is we want an adult sophisticated drink, but we don't need a drink that tastes like what we were drinking when we were our saddest selves. Sprite, like when I finally found a wine and alcohol free wine that tasted like the red wine I was drinking on the couch.
I was like. This tastes like sadness to me, this tastes like depression. Like I don't wanna go back to my lowest points, so now my palate has changed. I want a different taste and flavor that I do find in alcohol-free beverages. But now you're saying add in the things that we need as women at this age,
Terrika: Yeah, absolutely.
Heather Lowe: that is.
Maybe magnesium or,
Terrika: Oh
Yeah, no,
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: working with the formulator calcium is gonna be in there. Black osh for hot flashes is in one of the S skews, also a beauty skew with Ella [00:17:00] Mushroom, which is a great mushroom for collagen production. So I've really we've been very deliberate. This is like my passion project right
Heather Lowe: It's turned into a health drink. It's a cocktail, but it's also a health drink
Terrika: absolutely.
Heather Lowe: for women like us.
Terrika: Yes, Heather.
Heather Lowe: I
What a good idea. Okay. This is awesome. This is awesome.
Terrika: you're so right about that. I love what you said, like tasting non out. I don't wanna, I don't wanna, muddy any waters with anybody who still loves it or have you, but you're right. Like I tasted a brand recently and it was like, this is not what I want anymore.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: was what I, it was what I wanted early on in my journey, but not now.
Heather Lowe: So this is evolution. This is all evolution. Like you, you're a vegan cheese idea has evolved. You've evolved from being in the army, right? You now are getting a's in your class, if your class is entrepreneurship and wellness, right? When
Terrika: Yeah.
Heather Lowe: you are [00:18:00] like funking out before, like we're allowed to change, we're allowed to grow.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: We're going through the change, the big change, let's celebrate that and let's look at what worked for us in the past. Might not be what we need right now.
Terrika: absolutely. And you know what? I think it's so cool. Like I can't recall the statistic off the top of my head about like women 40 plus starting,
Heather Lowe: Yes.
Terrika: so much, right?
Heather Lowe: Yes.
Terrika: like you being here in coaching folks on sobriety 'cause you've been there, like you have to go through some things
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: And it, now it's your, it is your better self.
And
Heather Lowe: Totally.
Terrika: Is my better self, my be my best product. Like I'm giving you the best.
Heather Lowe: Yeah. Your life experience, your background, the education experiences, travel, tasting, everything that you've had, your own drinking journey, right? That has, that you're bringing to the table and your own menopause journey that you're bringing to the table.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: It's personal. I love that. So did your military background or any of your other [00:19:00] jobs like shape, the way you approach business and wellness, when did the wellness factor come in for you?
Terrika: Yeah. So like I, I will say a lot of that happened with the military
Heather Lowe: Okay.
Terrika: because. You have to do with the army pushups, situps, two mile run, the whole nine. So especially when I was in Afghanistan, I could not drink. So that was like the longest stretch. I went without drinking. And I was in the best shape of
Heather Lowe: And you like it was such a positive memory and alcohol wasn't included with that, and you got pizza on your birthday.
Terrika: know Afghanistan was so beautiful, but yeah, so I, I loved fitness at that
Being in the service, so that translated over. So that was one thing. I love being in Asia, so it's huh, I love all the herbalism and the things that are like homeopathic ways.
To heal. So that, that traveled along with me on this journey. And just the resilience too, I will say that I was very timid prior to being in the [00:20:00] military. I still don't like confrontation, but like the resilience of it all. And you really need that as an entrepreneur. There's some days that I'm just like, oh my gosh, why am I doing this? But I'm like, just keep on. Girl, you were in Afghanistan, you're in the military. You've done a lot tougher things, so
Heather Lowe: I say if you don't question quitting, once a week, then are you really an entrepreneur? You're just like, am I really doing this? Do I keep doing this for how long am I gonna do this? Maybe should I start a job search on the side? Like what is going on? Yeah. Because it's tough.
Terrika: yeah, it is tough, but it's but the other thing is tougher, right? Because we talked about this like
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: HR
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: when you decided to become a coach, like it was just like, I don't really wanna do that thing anymore,
Heather Lowe: No, I can't go back. I got sober. I have to listen to myself now and I have to do something that lights me up and I can't go back. We're changed people now, right? [00:21:00] Just, we're not gonna go back to those drinks. We need new, better, different drinks. We're different people now, yeah, definitely. When you describe your brand as like functional and feminine.
What does that mean to you and how does that show up in your products?
Terrika: Yeah, so functional, because I'm adding the functional ingredients the herbs and the different ingredients there. But also feminate because. It's for women. Like I'm not trying to, I know that there's
Products out there for everybody. I'm not, that's not what I'm here for.
I'm not
Heather Lowe: I love that.
Terrika: I'm here
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: my community of women who I know are gonna just adore this product. So that's
The functional and effeminate come together.
Heather Lowe: I love that. I always wanna wear a t-shirt that says I'm not for everyone, which is really hard for me 'cause I'm a people pleaser. I want everyone to like me, adore me, but, and I coach men and women and I, some of my favorite clients have been men. But when I started my community, I. I had to kick the men out so I could [00:22:00] say it was women only because I was saying like, it's mostly women, but I had a couple men and finally I'm like, I'm sorry dudes.
You gotta go like this has to be a safe place for women. That's only women you know? And even though I love you and I've looked coaching, this is gonna be a women only community. And so I had to kick you out. So I think we have to attract and repel and it's okay to not be for everyone, right? We are,
Terrika: Yeah.
Heather Lowe: yeah.
Terrika: I totally understand what you're saying. I love people like, oh, I love Tika, but I'm not gonna be for everybody, and it's okay. Because I, I think that's the way you lose in CPG too, trying to be for everybody. I can't, I don't even have the market spend to be for everybody.
Heather Lowe: Yeah. Speaking of, I love your branding, so we were laugh. We're laughing because we love our clothes. We were laughing because I'm wearing a green shirt that matches your that matches your drink. And it's a shirt that you had on earlier today.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: So clearly we both have great taste. Yeah.
Terrika: sets. Yes.
Heather Lowe: Your branding?
My favorite [00:23:00] colors. How did you come up with the brand?
Terrika: Oh yeah. So I am an AKA Alpha Cap Alpha Sorority incorporated. So it's a part of Divine Nine African American sorority. So those are my colors, pink and green. So I was like, I love those colors, but I just love that emal green tone. So I was just like, this is what I have to go with. So that's how that came about.
Heather Lowe: Those are my favorite colors too. I love it. I love it. The idea, tell me about drinking with intention because that feels different than the kind of drinking that we were doing when our dads died.
Terrika: Yeah. I was really just like drinking to get
Heather Lowe: Turn your mind off.
Terrika: yeah, get my mind off of everything that was going on. And just to numb myself really. But with intention
Heather Lowe: off
Terrika: say again.
Heather Lowe: drinking, to turn off.
Terrika: Yeah, it's drinking to turn off. So with intention is that I want to produce something and create something that. not just consuming, but it's, it has the [00:24:00] ingredients that, oh, okay, this is gonna support my body. It's the functional ingredients oh, like I want my skin to look a bit a little bit better. I want, I wanna help alleviate some of these hot flash sore. We're losing bone density as we age.
Oh, this has calcium in it. Oh, this will support me in my journey. So I wanted. Support goals, right? Like our wellness goals. So that's intentional. I'm creating something very intentional for midlife women.
Heather Lowe: That's so good. That makes so much sense. It's just the opposite. It's like drinking made us feel so bad because it's a toxin and a car, and this is the opposite. Drinking that make you feel good
Terrika: absolutely.
Heather Lowe: better after their drink than before.
Terrika: Yeah. And.
Heather Lowe: no consequences the middle of the night or the next morning that are negative.
Terrika: absolutely none. Yes.
Heather Lowe: Many. It is I get whiplash with the news. I'll be honest with drinking up is up, drinking is down, women are drinking more, women are drinking less. The millennials are lowering the drinking. All the things. [00:25:00] But I think in general, we do see it on menus. We are seeing a surge.
It is a growing industry to have alcohol free drinks or alcohol free, or low alcohol free kind of lifestyles. What role do you see with functional beverages, like what you're creating, playing into that shift?
Terrika: So just just being another. noob like wine, beer, just different things. Because if you think about it, like T-H-C-C-B-D drinks are doing something too. To South Carolina recently, which was so interesting. I went into total wine and I went into not out session. It was just like this swath of T-H-C-C-B-D drinks too.
So just like it's just becoming. It's gonna just be another category was, long story short what I'm saying with the functionals, like still in, non out, but just,
Adding to the category.
Heather Lowe: Yeah. So is it okay, wine, beer. Spirits, let's say, and then functional drinks, and [00:26:00] then THC drinks or functional THC together.
Terrika: I wouldn't put 'em together because THC is something totally different.
Heather Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. I think that's where the danger is sometimes, like in, in no, because there's so many options and labels and marketing look however they look of not really knowing what you're getting. If not all is one category and all those things are lumped into it. THC is something very different than a functional drug, different point.
You know what I mean?
Terrika: very different. How do, what do you feel about the T-H-C-C-B-D.
Heather Lowe: I feel like in just informed consent, everybody needs to know what they're
Terrika: they're
Heather Lowe: doing and to, to each their own personally. You know what I mean? I. I made a decision my first night out when I was alcohol free for the last time. I wasn't drinking and it brought a lot of attention to people. And then somebody offered me some weed and for a minute I was like, oh, like that would be nice.
I could probably use that. And I just decided. [00:27:00] I'm not gonna have any substance to take me outside of myself right now. And so I didn't, and I continued to do that. That's my personal journey. So that's not everybody's journey and that's not the right answer for everybody in the world. So I'm really like to each their own.
You just have, there just has to be informed consent and the appropriate labeling so you can make those choices for yourself.
Terrika: yeah, absolutely. And I, what I think is so weird about this story too is like, why is it like a pause? Because I'm not drinking like it's
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: So crazy to me. Okay, I'm not putting a toxin in my body, but I think it's starting to become better and better. Like people are not like, oh, you're not drinking.
People are actually like, oh, okay. This is cool. To become very acceptable.
Heather Lowe: yeah. I got sober for the last time in 2018, and it was like, you really have to explain why you're not drinking. It's the only drug that you have to explain, not taking.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: and that seems wrong. And we just talked about this because Trader Joe's a beloved wellness health food [00:28:00] store. It's known for its good ingredients, clean ingredients, neighborhood community, feel all these sweet people, cashiers, right?
Terrika: know they're
Heather Lowe: chatty, talkative, friendly.
Terrika: I was talking to one of them, a young lady about my drinks. She was like, oh my gosh, that sounds cool. We just start riff
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: just, they hire like the best people.
Heather Lowe: They do. They're the best people. So it's just this lovely place. And I was there the other week and they have an entire end cap of rose and a big sign that says Mom's back to school. They coupled it with a face mask and some rose water spray, I think, and rose wine. Cases and cases of wine and an entire endcap with this huge chalkboard saying Mom's back to school, promoting this mommy wine culture, which is the culture I was.
I was there for it. And I loved that because it justified and normalized what I was doing, which what we've both admitted was at the end not normal at all, and in fact quite dangerous. But that's I [00:29:00] think, a dangerous message to put out there, that kids go back to school and moms should be drinking now, or moms have to drink.
Because alcohol, because it's so hard to raise kids, right? That we have to get out of our mind a little bit to do it. It's a bad message for the kids. It's a it's an inappropriate message for everyone. And I'm not here to tell people what to drink or when to drink or again, to each their own.
But I think that's a dangerous message.
Terrika: Oh, no I really enjoy that post too, and I comment it and you're absolutely right. It's just oh, this is the thing to do. To numb yourself with a substance.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: So I need that to parent.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: I don't think that's the answer, but you're right. I like that culture is, has been very prevalent.
Oh we'll do wine. It is just like, why are we not addressing like the issue, right? Like, why do we need something to numb ourselves? I don't get
Heather Lowe: Right to tolerate our lives. And I don't know about, I wanna do better than tolerate my life. I wanna love it. You know what I mean?
Terrika: And I saw another one of your posts that was [00:30:00] so funny. The gentleman when the young lady was like, so what do people do on the weekends when they don't drink?
And he was just like, going on and on. So I stopped drinking and I did this, and I did
Heather Lowe: Literally everything. I became a model, a photographer, a bodybuilder. Now I quilt so.
Terrika: I do this like I do, I was like, oh my gosh, is list gonna, but it's so true though. Like it was like an unlock for me too because it was like all these things I wanted to do, but then it was just the weekend would get in the way and my drinking, right?
And then I'm recovering on Monday and then I'm not working out the way I want to. And it was just all of the things. So it was this unlock when I stopped, right?
Heather Lowe: I love that. I love that. The unlock. Yeah, and I didn't have the confidence to do things because I hated myself. I was walking around with so much shame, a hangover and so much shame and a complete compulsion and preoccupation with where am I getting my next drink?
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: You know that I did have energy or space, but I'll tell you yesterday.
I just took my first drum lesson, like rock and [00:31:00] roll drum set lesson, and I had the guts to walk in, take a lesson, pound a drum. Maybe I'll do it again. Maybe I'll keep doing it. Maybe I'll have a rock show. I don't know. But I feel like so proud of myself because it's one of many things that I've gotten to try new, including starting my own company like you.
Like we would've never had the guts to do that if we were drinking. We've
Terrika: never have done that
Heather Lowe: hit the company.
Terrika: I used to and same thing Heather, like when I was, it was like, okay, when am I gonna get off of work so that I can get to a happy hour to get my next drink so that I can beat traffic to be at home at a decent hour. So I won't get questioned about why I came home so late.
And then it was the recovery actor, and I was carrying so much like puffiness. When I look at the pictures like. The puffiness oh, I want to work out. But it was just like, what am I trying to say? Just con it's continual, de it was defeat
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: right? I'm not doing the things I know I should be doing.
I wanna workout, but [00:32:00] I'm recovering from a hangover.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: it's just, it was just so defeatist
Heather Lowe: I'm so sad. Yeah, I call that, I think that's sadder than death. I call that a life unlived
like I was not alive in my own life. I was the walking dead myself really? And I think that's sad. I think that's even more sad than an actual death where you say goodbye to someone,
Terrika: is. It is.
Heather Lowe: living, but they're not really living their life.
Terrika: You're not living, you're not at a 10.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: And even not drinking doesn't mean you're at a 10. Like I'm at nine some days, but I'm way better than I ever was when I was drinking all the time. And then I think about it too, losing my dad, would he not love to have another year, another day, another hour here and I'm here gonna, I'm gonna do everything like, so the wheels fall off right.
While I'm here.
Heather Lowe: It was a wake up call for you.
Terrika: is I'm not going to live days and regret I'm gonna, I'm gonna do things that I want to get done and
Heather Lowe: I love that
Terrika: I wanna spend time with [00:33:00] and be present for them. Yeah.
Heather Lowe: you are gonna do it till the wheels fall off. I love that because there's this saying that says i'm gonna slip, slide in the grave woo-hoo. What a good time. And it relates to not being healthy and well, not being a prude, not making good choices, like being a badass and like drugs, alcohol, partying.
That's the way to do it. And. I don't believe, for me, that is not the way to do it. I wanna live so big, so bold, so awake, so alive. So feeling as good as I can for as long as I can, that I am full speed ahead until the wheels come off in that way. And positive productivity and good energy, and happiness and joy, and the full spectrum of emotion instead of dumbing myself down.
Terrika: Exactly. Yes.
Heather Lowe: Thank you for giving me a twist on that till the wheels fall off in that positive way.
Terrika: And I'm a mom of a four and a 6-year-old since [00:34:00] I'm 43. I'll be 44 in November, so I'm like thinking too, like I have a lot of time to go
Heather Lowe: They're still very young. I have a 20-year-old and 17-year-old, so my life looks different.
Terrika: Yeah. It looks different. Like I have these little ones at later in life and I wanna be here for my grandkids, and I wanna be in really great health. I wanna be mentally strong. I wanna be physically strong. So that's the reason why I do these things now. Like anybody who's listening, who's in their T twenties, I'm telling you like you need to. Like for in midlife, you need to play the long game. So I, that's the reason why I do live, that's the reason why I drink my water. That's the reason why I do the things that I do too. 'cause I, I wanna live here or as long as I can and I wanna see my grandkids.
Heather Lowe: I love that and make it count and feel good. And you want to live this life. You're not trying to escape. Avoid numb, distract yourself from being alive in the life that you have.
Terrika: [00:35:00] Yeah.
Heather Lowe: think that's a total testament to sobriety for sure. Okay, so you have a day job and you have a business and you have little kids and you have a husband and you.
Like you're in the military, what is going on?
Terrika: I don't anymore.
Heather Lowe: Okay. You just are buff.
Terrika: Ad.
Heather Lowe: Okay. As far as I can tell what is going on? So what is like the challenge and the reward? Why now? Why urban Orchid now in the middle of this every and your menopausal premenopausal, like.
Terrika: Yeah. Yeah. No, because why not now? Because I can wait. I can sit on the sidelines and wait, or I can put myself out there and like with the first I, I call to call it urban orchid. Point one, like part
Right?
Ized one, I could have not done that and I've made some [00:36:00] mistakes along the way, but. But it's learning. And I, you know what? I'm not even gonna say mistakes. I've learned and I'm still learning, right? Because part two is gonna be that much better because I learned some of the mistakes in part one.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: so I'm just like. not now?
On saying, oh, I'll do it tomorrow.
It's not we don't know.
So I'm gonna do it today. I'm gonna do everything that I wanna do today. I'm gonna get it done. Yeah,
Heather Lowe: I love that. I love that. I have a dear friend who lost her dad and when they went through his documents he was a chef for restaurants in Chicago. They had an envelope. He had an envelope. He. It said Tracy's restaurant on it and it had all of his secret recipes. And after years of working part-time, raising kids, managing other people's restaurants, this or that, she opened her own restaurant and she did it and she loved it for six months.
And then she was diagnosed and she's no longer here, but she [00:37:00] did it. She did it. She did the thing. Her restaurant is there, right? She added a mocktail menu for me. So like her legacy continues. You know what I mean? And it's such a story of, you're right, we don't know what tomorrow brings and do the thing.
If that's your dream, you and your dad was a food truck, a vegan cheese, a drink. Do it. Do it now.
Terrika: Just do it. Just go out there and do it. What is it that you are passionate about doing? I was telling my husband like, what I want, you know how he always said what did you wanna be when you grow
I wanted to be a fashion designer back to fashion.
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: But now I'm designing my own drink, right?
So it
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: it's, I've always had this creative spirit
To cook and things like that. So it's like, why not? Just go out and do it. I love going and doing popups. I'm doing a tasting at Modern World here in Baltimore on Saturday, and I'm excited about that.
I just get so excited about meeting people and getting their [00:38:00] feedback and just, this is a beautiful community too. I think when people stop drinking, like just the I don't know, because all of the players, like all of the folks and like I've just met like some of the nicest
Heather Lowe: Yeah. Yeah. When we have this specific thing in common, it's like you get each other and our stories are so similar. What advice would you give to women who wanna start a purpose-driven company?
Terrika: Oh, that's a good one. Advice. Just do it
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: Like, there will be so many reasons why you shouldn't and why does it make sense? Like for sure, like when it came to the money, right? Because. It's not to do any of this stuff. I tapped into my 401k, right? Someone else would've told me like, why would you do such a thing?
I was just like I understand. That was what I was saving and I put that away. But why not? Tap into that and see what, what could happen, right?
Heather Lowe: Yeah, I did the same [00:39:00] thing. I had to bet on myself. You have to invest in yourself.
Terrika: That's exactly what I was looking for. Heather, you hit it right? I bet on yourself. And that's
Heather Lowe: And even though you've never done it before, and even though you don't have proven success at this thing, you have proven success in many areas of your life, and you just have to believe so strongly. It's a relentless belief in yourself, which is exactly what I needed to get sober too. I feel like everything I learned in business, I learned through my sobriety journey like.
I would tell people I wasn't, I quit drinking and they'd laugh their ass off, right? They'd be like, oh, you mean for good? Oh, you're being serious. Not just for right now, or whatever. And I, the first guy that did that to me, he turned out to be my lawyer who opened my company for me legally.
Terrika: Nice.
Heather Lowe: it's a year later, I'm like, remember when you laughed at me? I'm here and I had to believe it before anybody else would,
Terrika: that's what Sarah Blakely, I was listening to her story and I was so funny. She was saying that she was part of a mastermind group with these guys, and they were just like, whatcha doing? They just thought that she was so like wild. [00:40:00] Right
A billion. It has a billion dollar company, like
Heather Lowe: right. And that's why all our clothes look good is 'cause of those dark snake,
Terrika: Because she believes she could do it
Heather Lowe: right? You have to have that relentless belief.
Terrika: you have to have this I, I read a lot of stuff. It's like almost like a delusional belief, right?
Heather Lowe: Yes.
Terrika: someone told de Tell Ford, like we have like horse and buggies, like why are you creating this? Then
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: car. Like it's like
This delusional belief,
Heather Lowe: I love that. Yeah.
Terrika: having that imagination, like I love, like my kids, the way they. Wait, because they haven't been tainted by the world. So their imagin, like my daughter, she designs these be she's four, Heather, she designs these beautiful dresses, like for her doll babies.
And she just has this like imaginative spirit, like where like we've lost some of that.
Like just have that imaginative spirit that you wanna get some stuff done
Heather Lowe: You're tapping back into it though. You can see it, you're tapping back into yours. [00:41:00] So you can make colors, you can add ingredients, you can, and you're just re-imagining, I think, for women in midlife. What does celebration look like? What does self-care look like? What does connection look like without alcohol?
Terrika: Yes. And I actually have a lot of with Urban or part one, and I know they'll follow with part two. A lot of younger. Ladies like in their late twenties who, who love the brand too. So I love talking to them and I was just like, man, when I was 28, I didn't think about being an entrepreneur.
I meet a lot of young ladies who are starting their businesses, have businesses and they're like in their late twenties. And I'm like, this is so cool.
Heather Lowe: And they want their healthy drinks. 'cause they have their 12 step skincare routine by the time they're 12 years old now, your daughter will be going to Sephora in a a second to get
Terrika: yeah. Yeah, they
Heather Lowe: routine because TikTok told her to.
Terrika: My dermatologist, she is crazy busy all the time. Like with just all of the things like with in, with young women too. Yeah. It's [00:42:00] exciting times. It's exciting times for wellness. It's exciting times for burnout, not out. It's
Times for like women in midlife.
I was looking at golden Girls. Did you know that they were, I guess they were supposed to be in their fifties. That's crazy to me, Heather, like
Heather Lowe: Like Rh, right? Like basically, yeah, I know.
Terrika: and I just think about that. I'm like, that is so wild. And I look at like the new Sex in the City. 'cause I was such a Sex in the City fan. I'm like,
Heather Lowe: Same of course.
Terrika: age as the Golden, but they are like, so fly. And that's the type of those are the type of visuals I want for the brand too.
Like just these sassy midlife women
Heather Lowe: That's, I love it. I was just gonna ask you like what cultural or historical influences inspire you or help you like reimagine the modern direction?
Terrika: I was such a Sex in the City girl.
Heather Lowe: too. Me too, and all of 'em and the, and just like that series too. I don't care. I've got a lot of criticism. I'm like, don't tell me about it. I love it no matter what, [00:43:00] because look at Carrie's outfits basically.
Terrika: Yes. I wanna see the outfits. I
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: about the outfits and devil Wears, Prada, like
I just love like that. That designer, like culture meets wellness. This is where I, these are the things I love, so I get excited about that. So creating a beverage, but the visuals, I cannot wait to work with someone.
Cool. To work on the visuals.
Yeah.
Heather Lowe: it. I love it. If there was somebody in history that you could share your urban or could drink with, who would that be?
Terrika: My goodness. Who would I share with? Oh. Oh wow. Like you just hit, why didn't you like hit me with this before?
Heather Lowe: You didn't warn me well, you would share it with your dad. You definitely share it with your dad.
Terrika: would definitely share it with my dad. Definitely share it with my dad. It's always like a Josephine Baker [00:44:00] fan. I love that movie. Like with Lynn Whitfield back on HBO she was just so wild. And just like the furs and the just I love that. I love that 1920s like type of field.
That's what I wrote my college thesis on is pre-code films, so I love those like little, those 1920s, thirties films.
I would love to share it with Josephine Baker
Heather Lowe: And you can imagine all of them having that drink in their hand.
Terrika: like I would
Heather Lowe: With their furs.
Terrika: hear about her story and going to Paris, as a, it's one of the first black women going there and it is just so cool like this.
I would love to hear her stories. Yeah,
Heather Lowe: it.
Terrika: in fighting with the French resistance and, yeah.
Heather Lowe: Adding in your history there. I love it. Where can we find Urban Orchid? What, how can we support you and how should the listeners follow? They're gonna be obsessed with you now, like I am. How can they follow you, support you? Try your drink check check out your [00:45:00] outfits.
Terrika: Www dot herb, but it's Ann spelled out. A ND orchid, O-R-C-H-I-D. So urban orchid.com. And I also create a code for your listeners dish the drinks. So TD 20. So you get 20% off Yes. Of your
Heather Lowe: Amazing. I'm gonna put all this in the show notes.
Terrika: Yes.
Heather Lowe: Oh my gosh, how fun. Thank you so much for your time, for your energy, for what you're doing. So the, for the modern woman drinker like us,
Terrika: absolutely.
Heather Lowe: it. We get to try round one and then I can't wait to try round two.
Terrika: Am giving Heather, I'm gifting Heather a raising the bar box. So Urban Orchid is in raising the bars box this month in September. So Heather, we gifted a box,
Heather Lowe: I'm obsessed with it. Thank you. Thank you. I cannot wait to try it. I'll shout it from the rooftops, of course. [00:46:00] And I'm honest about my reviews. Everybody knows that. I don't ever say something I don't like because I don't wanna, it's same with books. I never give bad reviews. I'll always say thank you and I'll always say I had this.
But I don't say I love it if I don't.
Terrika: Oh
Heather Lowe: And I also don't say it sucks. I just don't say anything. And when I love it, I'm like, you'll know it because then I tell you
Terrika: But
But also you'll love the motif of
Heather Lowe: I'm like, I'm telling you right now, I love, I love your marketing. Those are my favorite colors, and I love the idea of bourbon, orchid, and the garden box.
It looks like it's a garden
Terrika: it's
Heather Lowe: type box.
Terrika: vibe. Enchanted Force or something. That fact for raising the bar. This one. So it's leche in there. It's Urban
Heather Lowe: Romantic.
Terrika: It's
Heather Lowe: Yeah.
Terrika: It's, it is such a, like the flavors are just
Heather Lowe: I am so happy that so many people can try it and experiment and get their first sips in that box,
Terrika: absolutely.
Heather Lowe: Thank you so much. Thank you so much for your [00:47:00] time. Thank you for our gift code DTD 20 urban orchid.com. Everything will be in the show notes. I can't wait to speak with you again.
Terrika: I can't wait. You too. Thank you, Heather.
Heather Lowe: you.
Terrika: See you.
