In this episode of The Good News, Angie Austin shares uplifting stories and insightful interviews, including a heartfelt segment with PETA’s Sarah Britt on veganizing wardrobes for a sustainable future. Tune in as they break down the benefits of choosing vegan alternatives, not only for animal welfare but also for their environmental impact. Both inspirational and educative, this episode offers practical advice on integrating compassion into everyday choices.
00:00:00 Introduction to The Good News with Angie Austin
God’s word on the mighty 670. KLTT Commerce City, Denver. In high definition digital radio and streaming online at 670KLTT.com. Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hello, friend. Angie Austin here with The Good News along with Scott Montgomery. And we are discussing how did you get here? Lessons of unconventional success. And today we are talking about self-care and mindset as we work our way through his book. Welcome back, Scott.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, Angie. It’s such a pleasure. I love being back with you. And this is a fun chapter. I think this is good. Yeah.
SPEAKER 05 :
In fact, you were saying that you’re putting this chapter into action. You’re like, yes, I’m leaving for Florida for a few days to do a little self-care. I’m like, oh, man, you go guy. I don’t think guys are normally big self-care guys. My husband’s not like my kids make fun of his clothes all the time. And they’re like, what are you wearing? It’s like my uniform, his Bronco shirt and it’s like Adidas shorts or whatever. I mean, he still dresses probably like, you know, an 18 year old kid, but Because he’s always going to the gym training our kids. And self-care is not really something I don’t think he’s ever really done. He doesn’t have time for it.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love that you bring that up because this chapter is actually mindset and self-care. And mindset in men is very different than it is in women, to your point. And I’ll tell you something I’ve been tapping into lately that it’s going to really shift the mindset. And, you know, the mindset of I can’t do that or I can’t do that yet is really important because a lot of people live in the I can’t do that. I can’t do that yet is a growth mindset, and it does sort of shift what you do for yourself and self-care. So if I can use myself as an example of late, I have started yoga.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, nice. It’s so good.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and now I’m in this I can’t do this yet mindset because it’s amazing what I’m learning. I’ve been in about five sessions now. And I’ve invited my oldest to his home for Thanksgiving to join us because he’s having PTSD from his fraternity and he’s in this new world of on his own. And he just came home and he’s like, I’m overwhelmed. I’m like, we’re going to yoga. Let me tell you, I’m discovering this thing called yoga. And it’s so not typical for what you just said about men in the circle that I live. Yes. The men are actually like, you’re doing what? And then here’s the fun part. When can I try it? Is the new mindset that is shifting. Wow. And as I pay attention to yoga, just move this along really fast, my son’s baseball coach has him starting yoga in high school as part of their training for baseball.
SPEAKER 05 :
It also is so good for the stretching. It’s good for your muscles. And my dad, of all people and of all things, taught Tai Chi to the basketball team. And they had a very successful basketball team in college. I think they’re D2. But anyway, he… i did tai chi and you know the guys laughed at first but my dad was scary you know and he would just scream at them he might have been short but his voice was big and um and so he was teaching him tai chi and it has to do with you know calming your mind and balance and being at peace and it really helped the team of the coach believed and uh yeah so i see that you just said it you just said it angie perfectly mindset
SPEAKER 03 :
It literally is about the fascia and stretching and controlling your emotions and controlling your body and focusing on your breath and realizing you deliver the reaction. No matter what’s happening to you, you deliver the reaction, which sets the outcome. And if you can take an hour of your day, I’ve been doing it three days a week now the last couple weeks, and really learn to bring your crazy mind, your monkey mind, your human mind to a center place, It helps you control the reactive state that a lot of people often like to move into, which is why I grew mindset with self-care. Self-care of stretching is opening up my hips. It’s opening up my shoulders. My back isn’t hurting as much. I’m more flexible. And the results of the mindset are in a structured conversation at work now, and I find myself less reactive. And my son left last week going, I’m coming back at Christmas. This was good.
SPEAKER 05 :
Wow. I like that.
SPEAKER 03 :
And my younger son’s going, I’m going to pay attention to this now because my coach I thought was crazy. Like your dad breaking the trends of stereotypes, he’s now paying attention. He’s going, well, geez, my dad is trying this, so maybe I should be paying attention. And so it’s hitting. Yeah. It’s really great, and I love the control of it all. And I think the important part about this is it all contributes to the people – who are making change and want to be more effective leaders and want to be more control of their life. And maybe they’re changing their careers. Maybe they just want to be more centered. And that’s really what this is about.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, when I talk to Dr. Roizen, he’s written a lot of books with Dr. Oz. And when we do our health interviews, he says one of the biggest, you know, detrimental things that you can do for your health. One of the worst things you can do for your health is stress. And I’m like, oh, my gosh, my poor husband, you know, because he’s always so stressed and he has a hot temper, especially when he’s stressed. And so, yes, yes. And I love the whole calmness is a superpower because we have so much control over how we react and we really do affect our coworkers, our bosses, our children, families by our reactions to things. And then your health as well, when your health isn’t good. I mean, he’s healthy in every other way, but that stress, I’m telling you. I just don’t think he has a great way to release it. I guess training the kids at the gym maybe, but I just don’t think guys either have as many friend outlets. Like I’ve got a couple of really good friends, and when I’m not feeling 100%, I call them, you know, but I don’t think they have that. Sam, the kids are like, Daddy, you don’t have any friends, but Mom’s got friends. And he’s like, Daddy only needs one friend, Mommy. That’s the only friend Daddy needs.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and you’re hitting on all cylinders around this because even in the book, paying attention to being in a reactive state, and the yoga is a good example of learning how to center your mind so when you start to recognize being triggered, you can default to this training you’ve had in a yoga classroom. Even if it’s by default, you’re going to respond more effectively. You’re going to respond more as a leader. And to your point about parenting and being – I have so many guy friends, and I’ve got a lot of friends that I do stuff with. But the yoga thing is like the piece I think you’re hitting on when it’s like, I don’t really have anybody I’m going to call and be like, do you want to come do yoga with me? You know, like, whereas girls are much more comfortable in that sort of environment.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right, right. They’re like, oh, I thought that guy was married with kids. He wants me to do yoga with them.
SPEAKER 05 :
I mean, it’s like, they think it’s like some kind of somehow like, maybe, yes, yes. And it’s like, I want to get rid of that, where you think that these things that women do to better themselves and to feel healthier i am seeing more men in like dance classes and in fact those are the ones that go viral where you’ve got like the overweight business guy who’s taken off his suit and he’s wearing some horrible outfit in the dance class but he’s like up in front he’s like a grandpa and he’s busting a move like those are the ones that go viral because people are like it’s unusual but it’s so cool that you know that they’re doing this and thinking outside of the box and finding ways to relieve their stress and to have fun and They might be the only guy sometimes in these classes. Although yoga, I do think there are a fair amount of men in some of my yoga classes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, that’s articulating very differently. But to your point, what if the opportunity – that’s why mindset goes with this. What are the opportunities of the viral videos for the guy who’s in them now? And what if we didn’t snare our nose at it and make it – I thought he was married with three kids and now he’s dancing around in a tutu. What if we made that look at what he’s creating for himself and we changed that narrative, which is why I threw mindset into this. Because I think together you can evolve in what your self-care looks like. I’m a gym guy. I’m like your husband. I have my three close friends, and I have a bunch of guy friends. But I’m trying new things, and you’d be surprised at my reaction to the mindset that comes of it. And the conversations I’m having are different, and I’m able to apply them to other areas in business, in leadership, and where I want to be effective, like I said at home, with my high school kid who’s now going to plug in a little differently because dad’s doing it. and my college kid who’s now found an outlet to recover from his PTSD being hazed at a fraternity.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know what I mean? You know, when you said he stressed those fraternity, I had, you know, nightmare visions in my mind because I know they’re not supposed to go as far as they used to, but they still humiliate them. You know, I remember one guy was, he like had to carry around like a life preserver or like some kind of a, it was something big. I remember he had to drag around campus, you know, and, you know, that’s not harming him, but, you know, they certainly still embarrass them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, well, I think that they only embarrass them, but I think there’s also an element of if you’re a freshman coming home from a coddled helicopter in northern Virginia, a fairly wealthy household, and then you’re thrown into a dorm room and you’re learning how to drink and peer pressure is everywhere, and then you’ve got to go run laps at four in the morning, you’ve got a whole other level of PTSD, even if the hazing is appropriate, even if the hazing is not appropriate, but the inductions are appropriate. You’re still going to suffer some PTSD, and then you’re coming home six weeks later and life has moved on you need a minute to catch up to all yes yes which is again why mindset really plays a hand in self-care because being reactive is the worst place to be in any conversation and the more you can be proactive and responsive comes from more self-control and getting massages relaxing working out going to yoga communicating and having friends all part of the self-care spectrum
SPEAKER 05 :
And, you know, one of the easiest classes I’ve taken that I found to be as relaxing as yoga was stretching. They actually have stretching classes, and it sounds like, oh, that won’t do any good for you. No, stretching is tremendously beneficial. They even have these stretch labs now where someone else stretches you, and then you really get a good stretch.
SPEAKER 03 :
A friend of mine just sold seven of them. What? He has seven of them down in Florida. Really? Yeah, there’s a chain of them going around. He got out of it because I think he thinks it’s a fad, but. Yeah, crazy, right? You can’t learn how to stretch. But remember, you’re in self-control. You’re in mindset. You’re in calming. You’re in ping-dings and emails all day. So you’re learning a little bit of everything, stretching the body, releasing the tension, controlling the mind, focus on the breathing. You do that three or four hours in a week, you’re going to be able to do that in every meeting you’re sitting in.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Think about that.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, it’s amazing, too, the things that they give you to remind yourself to do these things. My daughter came home with something the other day, and it was a square. And on each side of the square, and it was sparkly, you know, the way like a teen girl would like was kind of sparkly. And it had… texture to it the sparkles had texture you know so as you worked your way around the square you felt the texture and it told you to do things and it would say like breathe hold five seconds you know do something something then breathe hold that so each side of the square had like a little bit of instruction on how to remain calm because anxiety with testing is a thing for her where she takes a little bit longer and if she’s running out of time she totally freaks out And, and I mean, freaks out, like starts hyperventilating. She did it at home over the weekend. We took a practice test, like an ACT practice test. And she comes down, she’s like, I couldn’t finish. Oh my gosh, like, what is wrong with me? And I’m like, and so this little square or her, one of her counselors or something gave to her. I thought it was a cool thing because now we’re so much more aware of mental health and things that can calm someone down. And I think that just having these little tools like this, she likes those fidget things. If you’re, if you’re concentrating on the fidget thing, you’re not concentrating on your anxiety, you know, in training her to breathe and to remind herself to do these things. And I can think of a lot of adults that could use those reminders when they just lose their minds and don’t think about the ramifications of screaming at coworkers or employees or you know it just doesn’t work none of that ever makes your workplace run better I’ve never understood why like the mean news director or general manager of a TV station why they went so far and I was like is it because people think because they’re so mean that they get things done because my best boss was a woman who was just so wonderful. She’d have the best parties for us. And then she went on to run, I think, Lifetime Network after she left NBC. And she just really treated us well. It was like the best boss I’d ever had. And she never screamed at us or treated. And I really worked hard for her. I just wanted to excel under her.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. And I think you’re totally right on that. And again, that ties back to how did you get here, right? Communication chapter. I had the best boss, too, when they would tell you what’s up so you knew how to respond effectively. not browbeat me so that I had to guess the right answer. And if it wasn’t on point, I was fired. It’s just not the way to run a company at all. And, you know, these leadership skills, and I think we have one more chapter to go over in the book about leadership. These all tie together for people and these bricks and the anxiety and the yoga, you know, we all have what they call human minds, right? But they’re monkey minds and they run all over the place. Learning how to center those for me requires guidance. That’s why I’m enjoying yoga. If you put me in the room with a box that moves around and told me to hold my breath for five minutes, I would easily move on to something else before I finished. But in yoga, you’re stuck there for an hour, and you have to listen, and you come out refreshed. And I’m not selling yoga. I’m saying for whatever it is for you, for your daughter.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes, you find, like my dad’s was Tai Chi, and then he did chess three times a day. He did Tai Chi three times a day because he had extreme anxiety, and those things calmed his mind. We’re out of time, so make sure that people know how to find you. The book, again, How Did You Get Here website.
SPEAKER 03 :
www.HowDidYouGetHere.com HowDidYouGetHere.com.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks, Scott.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you, Angie.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
Littleton is listening to the mighty 670 KLT Denver.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey there, friends. Angie Austin here with the Good News. I thought I’d do a few good news stories because I used to do those all the time when I started this like 13 years ago. And I every day would have some. And, you know, the format’s changed over the years. But some of these stories are so sweet. And I saw a Steve Hartman story. And he’s been on my show. He’s the CBS News correspondent. He has my dream job. It has all those good news stories that he does around the country. And he just flies around and follows good news stories. And he’s just so wonderful. And it’s interesting because if you want to look into him a little bit more, he just found out this mystery background because his mother had been adopted, but it was never official or formal. And it was back in the time when like it was, you know, really forbidden secret to, you know, have a child at a wedlock. And so there was not even any paperwork involved. And through a DNA test, he found all these long lost relatives. And it’s just so wild because his mom’s passed and she didn’t even know the story. and so or was it his grandmother however it worked out it is crazy because he ends up being jewish and he had no idea because i think he was raised in a christian household um with possibly catholic parents but anyway just the whole story is so wild because he’s always telling stories about other people and then he finds out he has this whole background that No one even knew about. And some of the people that, you know, would would have been very interested have already passed away. So while that he figured all that out just through a DNA test, I guess a significant amount of people like maybe a quarter or a fifth of people that do these DNA tests get some little surprises, you know, find out about relatives or a background, etc., I think someone in my husband’s side of the family found out because they changed identities and names in order to escape Nazi Germany. And so some of them changed names and left countries. And so people don’t even necessarily know their background a couple of generations later. So very interesting. All right. So Steve Hartman had the story and it just caught my eye because this guy got, you know, do you have cameras on your house? We do. We have like, oh gosh, it’s like Fort Knox around here. We have cameras everywhere and we can even hear people. One time this guy was fixing our lawnmower and he didn’t fix it. And then he called my husband with, you know, the bill or whatever. And my husband’s like, you didn’t do that. I saw you came, came into the driveway and basically looked at the, you know, um, you know, added some oil and looked at the, the, the lawnmower and left, you know, and he said he did like two hours and it’s like, it was like 10 minutes. So anyway, and then he just verbally threatened my husband on the phone, but realized we saw him on camera. So he couldn’t cheat us. That’s not good news, is it? But the cameras are. So anyway, Steve Hartman, He does the story of this guy that got cameras on his driveway and he kept getting that ding going off while he’s watching his Netflix. And he’s like, oh my gosh, someone’s on my driveway. Someone’s going into my house. Someone’s breaching my property. And it ends up every day on this walk, this three, four year old kid would drive his like little bike with training wheels in his driveway when he was walking with his family. so finally he decided that he would change things up after several you know evenings of this and he drew a track on his driveway for the kid to drive around and he figured it out he’s like oh my gosh that’s like a road like i’m supposed to drive around that and so he started doing that and then steve hartman did a story on him and then it went viral and now other people are coming to his driveway on bikes and motorcycles and skateboards to drive his track and people are starting to do it all over the country to like welcome kids you know to like say like hey i’m a good neighbor go ahead and drive around my driveway our driveway is super long so that’d be quite a track actually but i thought that was really cool and one other good news story that caught my eye is this 10 year old deaf girl and she’s i just love it when they can help people integrate into life and just be able to function in a normal manner where they don’t have to always use so much energy to try to read lips and use sign language and figure out what people are saying and look at their body I interviewed someone who was deaf recently and she said it takes so much effort to figure out what people are saying. It’s like a job, you know, it’s just exhausting because you’re always trying to figure out their body language and their words and look at their lips. And this 10 year old deaf girl is blown away with new caption glasses that actually are letting her see spoken words. They are glasses with captioning, just like you’d see on TV with closed captioning, which I use by the way now. Because, you know, there’s always a teenager talking in the room or coming in and out. And so I always have captioning on. And plus, I don’t hear as well as I used to. So they’re actually fairly reasonable. I’m sure insurance will cover part of it. But at this point in time, they’re $1,500. And he was like, $1,500? it’s life changing for her to actually be talking to someone and she could read what they’re saying on her glasses. I mean, how cool is that? And she’s been using American Sign Language since she was about six months old, which by the way, two of my kids are taking American Sign Language. So kind of cool that you can, you know, have this brand new way of, you know, I don’t know, communicating. How cool is that? All right. Changing gears totally now. If you want to like help the planet and you want to, you know, maybe make some changes and, how you dress that will help the planet and also save animals. If you’re just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the good news. And joining us is Sarah Britt, Associate Director of Corporate Responsibility for PETA, teaching us how to easily veganize our wardrobe. Welcome, Sarah.
SPEAKER 06 :
Hi, it’s so great to be here. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER 05 :
So I was reading a little about you and you’re not just teaching us, but you’re doing something else I think is kind of cool. You also are working with, you know, big name brands saying like, hey, here’s another way that you could make this item without using fur or without using leather or wool or whatever. So you work with big name brands and stores, et cetera, right?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that’s right. Trying everything that we can do to… You know, encourage big name brands and retailers and even designers to make kinder decisions for animals, which, you know, when it comes to clothing and accessories, you know, to use vegan alternatives instead.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, let’s talk about, you know, just the obvious benefit of the animal, you know, and not harming the animal. There’s also benefits to our environment. So let’s talk overall what’s beneficial about avoiding leather and other animal-derived materials to make our clothing or, you know, the items that we buy.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. So, you know, if we wouldn’t dare wear the skin of our dogs and cats, it really doesn’t make any more sense to be wearing the skin of other animals, to… also experience pain and fear and love. You know, every piece of leather means that an animal like a cow who ultimately just wanted to live their life ended up suffering and dying. But luckily in 2025, that is not how it has to be. There are so many fashionable vegan options available today that there really is no acceptable reason to be wearing the bits and pieces of someone else’s skin.
SPEAKER 05 :
You know, I think about my car. It’s an electric car. And, you know, I think it’s a fairly high-end vehicle. And when I was shopping for the interior, I got to pick what I wanted. And I wanted white. And it was this vegan, you know, leather. They don’t use leather. And when I think about some of the other high, you know, end brands, you know, for cars, a lot of them, you know, do leather interior, et cetera. So I kind of looked up on it. Oh, my gosh. It is… it’s a year and a half later it is still pure white it’s wears so well it cleans so easily and everyone’s like don’t get white it’ll get so dirty it is so bright white it is not dirty at all and it’s not leather i love that yeah i mean vegan leathers today and vegan materials are they they can be luxurious and high quality and and durable you know
SPEAKER 06 :
And they’re available just about everywhere nowadays, like even at your favorite stores like Target or Walmart, Macy’s, like so many places that you already shop. And if you want gorgeous vegan leathers, those companies have them, but it’s not just them. We’re seeing higher-end brands, even designers who are innovating big time in this space. They’re designing clothes from plants. made from soybeans or coconuts that can mimic wool even, creating vegan downed puffer coats made from recycled water bottles. So these choices not only save animals and the planet, but they look amazing too.
SPEAKER 05 :
And how about, you know, how we, you know, go about shopping for vegan clothing and accessories in stores and online. Do you have any advice for that? Because obviously you’re an expert at that.
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s so easy. Everyone has so much power here. So we recommend that people check the label when they’re shopping. If it includes the word leather or wool, down, cashmere, whatever. If it indicates in any way that it contains the skin or feather or or bits or pieces from an animal, just, like, leave it on the shelf, leave it in your cart if you’re shopping online. Luckily, there’s so many fashionable vegan options these days. And PETA offers free downloadable shopping guides for vegan clothes and accessories at our website, which is PETA.org.
SPEAKER 05 :
Okay, I’m going to ask you a tricky question. I probably know your answer to this already. So my son’s a big time thrifter. He has a vintage business. And so the other day he found me a couple of coats, not fur, but a leather coat and a wool coat from the 70s. And so what are your feelings about that? He brought them home and said, do you want them? Because he was going to resell them. But if I want something, obviously mommy gets first pick. So how do you feel about vintage items from way back when?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, so of course we cannot bring those animals back to life, even if we wanted to, right? However, we really do encourage people to view that item as containing the body parts of an animal.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, that’s what I figured.
SPEAKER 06 :
And we encourage, yeah, because after all, that’s someone’s skin, right? That was someone’s hair. And so it really doesn’t matter if they were killed 30 years ago. for 30 minutes ago, I mean, we shouldn’t be wearing the body parts of animals. And when people see that, it kind of sends a message. And so what we encourage is people to gravitate towards these animal-friendly fashion items like vegan leathers and faux furs and plant-based wools that no one has to suffer and die from at any year or at any stage.
SPEAKER 05 :
All right, I have one more question for you. I love it when I talk to people who have a real passion for what they’re doing. What got you into this area? What gave you such a passion for animals and treating them ethically? And I’m assuming it started when you were young.
SPEAKER 06 :
That’s a great question. So I was born and raised on a sheep farm. Oh my goodness. Grew up eating and using animals in all the ways that any other normal person would, right? But what I saw on that farm, which we weren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, but the fact is, is that small farm, large farm, local farm, so-called humane or sustainable farm. I mean, at the end of the day, if animals are on it and you’re using them, it’s exploitative. It is cruel. And they always end up dying in the end. Like there are standard practices that are just very common based on farms that are extremely cool. Like, you know, mutilating animals without painkillers, um, and, and so many other things. And so, um, after kind of witnessing that as a child, um, as I got older and I had dogs and cats of my own, I, you know, kind of looked at them and I questioned like, why, why do we protect some animals, dogs and cats, but then here I am sitting down eating the body parts of maybe a cow or a chicken or a pig. And so it just felt kind of, it wasn’t in line with my values and I was being very contradictory. So that’s when I started to kind of explore what actually happens to animals in slaughterhouses and in other industries. And then I found PETA’s website, learned a lot more and went vegan.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I want to make sure that people can get info on this, and thank you for that answer. What’s the best website for us to go to?
SPEAKER 06 :
The best website is PETA.org, P-E-T-A dot O-R-G. It is the place to go to to learn more about how making leather from dead animal skin is not only cruel, but is destroying our planet. And, you know, it’s also chock full of information about eco-friendly products, animal free materials that will undoubtedly make other obsolete.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I appreciate all you do for animals. I have six pets. My husband says if I get one more, I need to get a permit for a zoo. So I’m very animal friendly. So thank you, Sarah, for the interview. Appreciate it. And I appreciate all you do.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
