How SoSuperSam Rebuilt Her Fitness Routine After Having a Kid

A fun conversation with DJ and all-around cool person Samantha Duenas about dialing in her goals, chicken adobo as a health food, and making space for creativity—all while raising a toddler.

Welcome to the HEAVIES Feelgood Routine, a series that talks to cool, interesting, and creative people about how they design their busy schedules to accommodate good habits.

Birks are gym shoes.

Last week, I was trawling the depths of my Gmail inbox for an email for Samantha Duenas, aka SoSuperSam, one-time maestro of the bodyrolliest slowjam party in Los Angeles history, when I stumbled on an amazing artifact—her Trigger Happy trap mixtape from 2012, which our close mutual friend Kym had forwarded along. 

That tape—which, YO, that tape—got so much daily play from me, and re-listening to it transported me back to a slightly more romantic era when Flocka was a revelation (and not a Trump guy lol). I was brand new to journalism, rolling into the office in Midtown smelling like PBR burps and working a lightly soul-destroying job that paid $36,000 a year. At my desk I’d slip on these comically huge headphones and just wreak untold destruction on my eardrums. I’m surprised I didn’t get tinnitus. 

Over the years Sam and I became online friends (because LA and Filipino) and it’s been comforting to witness someone go through a similar 40ish-year-old life trajectory: the fashion-adjacent creative worker to parent-of-a-toddler pipeline. 

Recently, Sam’s been going hard in the gym again, and how she attempts to balance quality time with her daughter with fitness and healthy eating and new music and her own excellent Substack about parenting made her a dream first interview subject for HEAVIES.

Chris: Bro, this has been a long time coming.

Sam: I feel like we’ve known each other forever.

[REDACTED SMALLTALK.]

So what time are you waking up these days with the two-year old?

I wake up between 5:45 and 6:00 a.m. with no alarm naturally. That’s just my body. I like to wake up before everyone else because it just gives me a second to collect myself. 

Is that something that you always did? 5:45 a.m. sounds out of step with the rest of the DJ industrial complex.

I think that's always been my professional existential dilemma, in that my job went against my body's natural rhythms. So it was always in conflict. And in fact, I didn't even know that I like to turn in at 9 p.m. because I just never did. You know what I mean? But I think now that I've started to tune into my body and what my natural rhythms are, between nine and 10 is a sweet spot. But I'm a morning person! I like to get up, have water with my vitamins.

Walk me through the SoSuperSam morning supplement stack.

I’ve been taking these vitamins that are so yummy and luxurious. They even have a smell factor. Do you know about Ritual?

I haven't tried!

It's a women's supplement, but I think they also make men's as well. It was started by a mom who decided to leave her Silicon Valley job to start her own company. And it's really beautifully packaged. It has nice counter appeal. They're pretty subdued and chic. And then when you open it, each type of vitamin has this olfactory user experience. I take one that's for skin and it smells like vanilla. And my multivitamin, that one tastes smells like mint. It’s just a really cool detail. And then I also take a probiotic or synbiotic, get the gut going. 

Are you someone who's had tummy problems in the past?

Nah, I think I just like to keep things flowing. And then I go downstairs, get ready a little bit, and then walk the dog. During my walk, that's when I'll give myself a little pep talk, like, Okay, what are we doing today? Are we going to forget a Zoom call? Okay, got it.

What do you say to yourself during this pep talk?

I do the whole: We're going to try our best today. We're going to be honest and grateful for the sun or grateful for my legs. And then just get my head and then go back in. And usually that's about when my daughter wakes up, around seven. The dog walk is only like 15 minutes. I think in a full house, usually the dog gets neglected, so this is good quality time for the dog. You have a dog too, right?

Yeah. My bulldog Hank is so sad these days. He's very patient. Gets harassed by the toddler nonstop.

So they have a dynamic.

Yeah. So your daughter wakes up, are you making breakfast? 

We do her morning routine. She's getting ready to go to preschool, so we've got a little checklist and then to get ready, we go downstairs and make breakfast, and that's when I'll make my coffee and eat with her. And then our nanny rolls in around 7:30. It's like a nice pocket of time to spend with her and then sort of transition into nanny during breakfast handoff. The handoff’s go to be so gentle. [laughs]

The way you've got her eating, I'm like, damn, I wish my son was as adventurous. I saw you had a Story of you two making a three-course dinner menu...

Yo, you know why I did that? It was a quick move because she wanted ice cream. She wanted ice cream, and it was right before dinner started, and I was like, Oh, we can't. I'm trying to explain to somebody who doesn't know why we can't have ice cream before, like, the salad. 

And she's like, Yeah, I don't know what the fuck you’re saying, Mom. I was like, Okay, what do I do? We’ve got to course it out. So I’m just going to make a menu. 

That’s smart.

That was my way to buy time and a little bit of patience for the ice cream. You’ve got to think on your toes.

What happens after nanny handoff?

The handoff could take anywhere between five and 20 minutes. I've fed the dog somewhere in between, had a cup of coffee, and then I'll let go upstairs, start some emails and lists of things for the day. I do a little bit of desk work. I try to schedule things out so that I'm not too rushed. And then right around nine-ish is when I try to work out. 

What’s your workout these days?

This year I've been going to a studio that offers sprint intervals on a treadmill plus megaformer pilates in one hour. And it's very close to my house and it is exactly what the recipe that I need and want for the goal that I had this year for my fitness and nutrition. 

What was your goal? 

So I started this year out just kind of bumbling around and a little bit scattered. I had a lot of goals but also no goals, so I just felt like a little bit like… fuck! I was like, Okay, I like to run, so I want to run a 10k three times this year. And I want to get my distance up. And I want to just be a runner. But I also really want to get rid of my baby fat, and I want to be strong, and I want my ass back. And I had all these goals and I was like, How am I going to get all this shit done? 

So I was like, Let me get really focused first. What do I actually want? I don't need miles as much as I really want to just shred down, make getting rid of baby fat the priority. I don't need to be running five to 25 miles a week. I need to do sprint intervals. I need to be very condensed with my time and impactful with my energy. That’s the goal.

So I found the studio. It's 0.5 miles from my house. I'm done in an hour and I'm working on the one goal, and that's been pretty cool. So I've been doing that three to five times a week for the last 21 weeks.

Are you happy with your progress so far? 

It's been really good. Literally, I think it's like, How do you set really clear goals in your brain and then connect it to your body? So finally sitting down and coming up with that connection and then just following through has made it that much easier to stay consistent. Lowering all the barriers and the inconvenience. It's feeling really good. 

I feel like as a parent, you start thinking about your time in one-hour increments. I never used to kind of be that person, but now I'm like, Oh, when I work out, it has to be very much within this window.

I think what's also been a big challenge for me personally is making this a priority, especially because, in the last couple years, there have been other priorities that superseded my fitness. Working out was always the first thing to be sacrificed. And so I’ve been reprioritizing, going into the year with the mentality of: No, my workouts are just as important as everything else, if not more important, because if I'm not good in my body and my mind, then no one in the house is good!

I 100% get the grumpy trickle down. 

It trickles into the rest of your life! And so I’m just scheduling everything around it. Scheduling my week around it, scheduling my bedtime around it, making sure I need to be on my Ps and Qs. If I'm trying to work out tomorrow, I got to show up. So everybody out of my way, I'm going to bed!

We just went on a big family vacation with our kid, and I was saying to my wife that it’s weird that vacation isn’t what’s restorative. Being in a routine at home is restorative. 

Where’d you go?

We did Japan with the toddler. Honestly, it was very doable and super child-friendly there. The infrastructure is accommodating for kids. Indoor playgrounds were off the hook. Do you remember Discovery Zone from back in the day?

[singing the theme] D-Z, Discovery Zone.

Yo, I kid you not, in Kyoto they had what was basically a city-funded DZ but with all wooden Montessori shit. We were joking about how we need to get Eric Adams out here or something so he can build one in New York or something.

Let's do it. Let's talk off pod. Is this a podcast? Let's talk off the pod. Figure it out. Let's raise money for a Montessori indoor playground.

I'll cook up the deck. We'll get some VC funding. Anyway! After working out, what’s lunch usually?

I usually do a shake, also Ritual. They make a nice vanilla protein powder.

We gotta get Ritual to sponsor your Substack. Or do they already?

They send me a couple of things complementary, but no, I'm just a Stan. But if you guys want to sponsor your girl on that side…

After working out I come home. That's a nice time to have my dog come up with me to my room and then I shower, sit down at my desk—my dog’s here right now—and I’ll have lunch. I’m a Trader Joe's salad bag person.

Which one’s your goto?

Their avocado dressing salad bag. Do you know what I'm talking about?

We only get that one and the one with eloté.

That one’s pretty good too! But I think they recalled it and now I'm living on the edge. But it's very good—$3.99, you can't beat that shit. I'll throw a little protein on it. Usually my breakfast is a real protein packed kind of meal preppy thing. I always do two eggs in the morning. I'll meal prep some black beans or some hummus or lentils or pesto and then i'll or leftovers, and then I'll just make a bowl in the morning, egg bowl variation. But yeah, lunch is usually some type of salad bag. 

And then you strap in to work for the rest of the afternoon?

Yeah, unless I step out for lunch or have a meeting. I try to plan my meetings around when I feel like I would want to stand up anyway, and then I just kind of float out and float back. I think I'm kind of like a homebody. This [gestures at the room] is my zone.

So, real question as a washed dad: How do you discover new music to play in your sets?

I think with music and my work, it's creative and doesn't feel as tactile or important sometimes, but I’m learning to accept that it is important and I need to make time for it. When I’m at my desk from 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. that could just mean flipping around on the internet or listening to the new Tems album. That's actually worked for me. There is a small part of me that feels like that is not substantial use of time because of all the other things that I could be doing, but it actually is very important to my creativity.

And it might just be mood boarding on Pinterest or shopping online for something to wear at an event. And again, there is this part of me that feels guilty or ashamed or it doesn't jive with my motherhood, and it's this inner dialogue that I have where it's like, No, this is part of your job. Carving out the time, and really space, to be kind of floaty and just kind searching around and having that time for myself has sort of informed my creativity lately, and I’m realizing how necessary it is. So I guess to answer your question, it's just looking on Instagram.

But really, it’s keeping up with DJs and what they're playing, and listening to new artists, watching Boiler Rooms. Asking my friends what they’re listening to.

And then when do you do the reverse nanny handoff? Does that also require a degree of gentleness?

I think it's a little easier to transition back to mommy, so it's not so bad. So half of the days we have a 5:00 p.m. transition. The other days we use her nap as the transition. Our nanny will put her down for a nap around 1:30 and she'll leave and I'll be here and wake up with her at three. And that usually takes us right into dinner time.

It's crazy how quickly the days go now.

Sometimes I feel like, Oh fuck, my day is done, I'm toast. Especially on a Saturday with no childcare, when we’ve already painted boxes outside and we've pretended, and we've done a parade, and done arts and crafts, and I fed you a meal. And then it's only 9:30 in the morning.

What do you guys usually do for dinner?

I'll cook once or twice a week, and then my partner will be responsible for dinner once a week. We'll go out to eat once a week.

We’re pretty much on the same schedule in our household. What's your go-to recipe that you're cooking up for everyone?

Lately it's a good chicken adobo and rice and then broccoli. Protein and veggies. I mean, it's not going to be crazy. And the amount of Trader Joe's produced meals that I put on the table… I don't know if it's good or bad, but I am procuring so many meals that are just straight up TJs. I'm like, we're going to have Korean night, but it's frozen scallion pancake and kimbap. What are you cooking?

A lot of adobo too. It's just so easy. We started adding cane sugar to ours, like a lightly adapted version of the chicken adobo that J. Kenji López-Alt makes. I used to use my dad’s recipe but Kenji’s might be goated even though he’s not Filipino. 

Really good. Kenji López and a spoonful of sugar.

It’s so funny how you can spend all this time cooking up something special and the kid won’t eat it. And then it’s when you totally phone-in a meal that your toddler eats all of it.

I knowwww. My daughter’s favorite meal is the Japanese-style fried rice. That's her treat meal, like her favorite thing. So we do that maybe once a week on fried-rice night. It has vegetables, it has tofu, it's got your starch, it's got a little cultural flavor and it's so easy to prepare. I also really like doing a Mediterranean night too. I think that's really fun. I love making homemade hummus. 

And we always some sort of salad because the girls [snap] can make salad. Making the avocado salad bag together is basically a kid's activity.

Do you have a sweet tooth at all?

I think I'm actually psycho. I do a sweet treat every four days.

Let’s fucking go dawg. What do you usually do?

I loooove a cookie or a donut. I love donuts. That's usually my breaking point. Four days. 

Do you find that it was easier to eat healthy before having a kid?

It was easier before. I think I'm such a stickler about being a good role model for eating, demonstrating how to eat. And so I think, for the longest time, the biggest challenge was that I'd make pasta or a bagel and we would eat it together. And that would be my excuse: Well, I need this. I need to eat four bagels for my baby because I need to be a good role model.

But this year I sat down and carved out some strategies around the carb intake, because I think kids need carbs, but mommy doesn't necessarily, at least not all the time. So it's like, Okay, a lot of cauliflower rice. Any time there's a pasta, I'll do the cauliflower gnocchi. So just sort of the small workarounds. 

We sneak the cauliflower rice into spaghetti and everything else here, too. 

Yeah, finding those workarounds has been pretty instrumental for making more nutritious choices. I also want her to try so many different things! Like, this shrimp tempura is not going to eat itself, you know what I mean?

We usually put our kid down around 8:30 or 9. What’s bedtime look like for you guys?

I try to get my daughter down and be out of her room by 7:45. And then for my nighttime routine, I really just try to turn off my phone and just clean a little bit around the house, make sure my kitchen is reset. And then I go up to my room and I do my whole decompression, which consists of taking a long hot shower, reading, and then pretty much just chilling. I have essential oils that calm me down, bring me down. And then a pillow mist. It's pretty chic.

Do you play many night gigs anymore?

I did a lot of auditing of my career. And I think the most glaring difference is that I don't DJ after 11:00 pm. I have a hard out at 10, which has driven a lot of my decision making.

That process has been very humbling and challenging. I mean, it's been hard to turn down the opportunities and the offers and the moneys, but I didn't like how I felt. I don't see any reason why I can't have fun DJing and doing my job before 10:00 p.m. And so I put that creative constraint on. I'm finding my way! It’s been an intentional shift and I feel good.

[REDACTED SHITTALK]

As always, thanks for reading HEAVIES. Let me know who else you’d love for me to interview for this series in the comments below or shoot me a DM on IG.