This week at The Kids Table, Gunnar, Jen, and the crew sit down with restaurateur and Olive & Thyme founder Melina Davies for a conversation that goes way deeper than food. What starts with stories about childhood Weight Watchers meetings, crash diets, and fitness culture quickly turns into a bigger discussion about discipline, identity, pressure, perfectionism, and the systems we build to survive.

Melina opens up about growing up in an immigrant family, feeling like an outsider in her own home, and how cooking became her way of trying to bring people together. She shares the unlikely path from the film industry to opening Olive & Thyme, the terrifying reality of risking everything to start a restaurant with zero formal experience, and the philosophy that turned it into one of LA’s most beloved spots. Along the way, the group dives into hospitality, leadership, burnout, standards, service, and why the best businesses are built around making people feel seen.

The episode also delivers classic Kids Table energy with old fitness modeling stories, chaotic gym banter, restaurant horror stories, and some brutally honest conversations about motivation, mental health, and learning how to stop chasing perfection. Equal parts hilarious, thoughtful, and unexpectedly emotional, this one is really about what happens when people decide to build something with intention and refuse to cut corners.

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Melina Davies:

Insta - (https://www.instagram.com/melinadavies11/)

Website - (https://oliveandthyme.com/pages/melina-davies?srsltid=AfmBOopmQGmbHH8n3OoGlu6HM_ZlBYIBmjPtuEKcn5GZgxOiot0ppHo9)

About Melina:

Olive & Thyme started in 2011 as a small restaurant born out of Melina Davies love for food and togetherness. It was a small open kitchen in Toluca Lake and a giant leap of faith for Melina. You could say the odds were against her: Melina, a movie producer, had no experience in the restaurant world—and this was LA, the land of thousands of eateries, wine bars and bistros. But what Melina had was a cadence in the kitchen. After a fourteen-hour day on set, she’d relish getting home to cook a meal for her family and friends. After a little soul searching and huge encouragement from her husband, Christian, Melina opened her first restaurant.

In those early days, you would often see Melina in the kitchen at the expo line, while her newborn daughter sat sleeping through lunch at the high-top counter. The restaurant was warm, vibrant, and always busy. Melina and her team whipped up dishes that were local, seasonal, and delicious. They spent time with each customer, introducing them to some of the most amazing cheese, charcuterie & wine from France, the delectable treats from local vendors and would guide them through a new culinary experience. People came—over and over again, and would tell their friends, and the buzz continued to grow.

Olive & Thyme grew to be a destination. Today, Olive & Thyme has two locations and are currently building their third. It’s where families gather over Melina’s coveted Fattoush salad, co-workers grab Spicy Chicken sandwiches or Lemon Bars to go, and friends can meet for glasses of sparkling rosé. It’s where the curious go to seek Melina’s latest finds, from global tableware to cookbooks to curated spices, all artfully stocked and for sale throughout the space.

Ultimately, it’s a destination for being in good company.

Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)

YouTube – (‪@TheCastCollective‬)

Instagram – (https://www.instagram.com/TheCastCollective)

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Trainer and IFBB Pro Colin Schoen sits down at The Kids Table this week for a conversation about what it really takes to build a career in fitness that lasts. From his early days working in physical therapy and grinding through slow seasons as a young trainer to eventually building a loyal client base and earning his pro card, Colin opens up about the reality behind a profession that looks a lot easier from the outside.

Along the way the crew dives into the business of personal training, why most trainers burn out early, and the difference between simply writing programs and actually coaching people. They get into mentorship, communication, reading personalities, client retention, and why understanding human behavior matters just as much as understanding sets and reps. Gunnar and Jen reflect on their own paths through the industry while swapping stories about gym culture, equipment obsessions, machine debates, and the moments that shaped how they coach today. It’s equal parts fitness industry masterclass, coaching philosophy deep dive, and classic Kids Table chaos.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the show!

TRAINHEROIC: Trusted by top coaches since 2012. Plans start at just $10/month– And you get your first 14 days free. Head to trainheroic.com/thekidstable to start your free trial now.

LETS GET SOCIAL:

Collin Schoen

Instagram - (https://www.instagram.com/bigschoen_coaching/)

TikTok - (https://www.tiktok.com/@bigschoen_coaching)

Website - (https://bigschoencoaching.com/)

YouTube - (https://www.youtube.com/@Bigschoencoaching)

About Collin Schoen:

Collin Schoen is a certified strength and conditioning coach and Pro Natural Bodybuilder. Specializing in bodybuilding and athletic development, he has a wealth of experience in helping clients achieve their fitness goals, whether it's building muscle, improving performance, or just feeling better in their own skin. With a focus on individualized programming, nutrition, and recovery, his coaching style is tailored to the specific needs of each client. He has successfully trained competitors to qualify for national level competitions and is also a nationally qualified bodybuilder himself. He is committed to helping clients reach their full potential, both in and out of the gym.

Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)

YouTube – (‪@TheCastCollective‬)

Instagram – (https://www.instagram.com/TheCastCollective)

TikTok – (https://www.tiktok.com/@castcollective)

Season Johnson pulls up a chair at The Kids Table this week for a conversation that hits home for Gunnar and brings you inside a world most people never see. Working closely with children battling cancer, Season shares what her day-to-day actually looks like, from building trust with kids and families to showing up in moments that carry real weight. It’s not just about care, it’s about presence, consistency, and being someone people can lean on when everything feels uncertain.

Along the way the crew gets into the emotional reality of the work, how you learn to communicate with both kids and parents in high-stakes situations, and what it takes to stay grounded while carrying stories that don’t just stay at the hospital. Season also shares her experience caring for Gunnar’s daughter, Monroe, offering a deeply personal look at what that relationship meant on both sides of it and how moments like that shape the way she shows up in her work. She opens up about the lessons these kids have taught her, the perspective that comes from being around that kind of strength, and how it’s changed the way she approaches life outside of work. It’s honest, human, and full of the kind of perspective that sticks with you long after the conversation ends.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting the show!

TRAINHEROIC: Trusted by top coaches since 2012. Plans start at just $10/month– And you get your first 14 days free. Head to trainheroic.com/thekidstable to start your free trial now.

LETS GET SOCIAL:

Season Johnson:

Insta - (https://www.instagram.com/seasonjohnson/)

Facebook - (https://www.facebook.com/seasonmjohnson/)

Website - (https://seasonjohnson.com/)

About Season Johnson:

Over a decade ago, our family walked through 3.5 years of childhood cancer, and what began as one mother desperately searching for answers has grown into something I never could have dreamed. Today, I have the profound honor of supporting thousands of children and families around the world navigating cancer with the same integrative roadmap that changed our son's story. It is not lost on me for a single day, what a privilege that is.

But before any of that I was just a girl who married her hot husband. Twenty-two years later, I'm still convinced I got the better end of that deal. Together we've built a life that has always found itself near something wild and beautiful, whether that's mountains or the ocean. We've called Mexico home, navigated life in a second language (my Spanish is enthusiastically broken, bless everyone who's had to listen), and landed where we are now, soaking up the sunshine of San Diego.

We have two teenagers who keep us humble and laughing. Our daughter Selah, whom we had the honor and privilege of adopting at birth, is one of the greatest gifts our family has ever received. Her little brother Kicker rounds out our crew and keeps things wonderfully loud, and we celebrate his healing daily. Our home is full, full of faith, full of yummy healing food, an overly crowded supplement & remedy drawer and full of people we love deeply.

This life, every hard and beautiful chapter of it, is what shapes how I show up for every family I work with. I'm not just a practitioner handing you a protocol. I'm a mom who has walked the hardest road and come out the other side with a map. And I want to hand it to you.

Produced and Edited by: The Cast Collective (Nashville, TN)

YouTube – (‪https://www.youtube.com/@TheCastCollective)

Instagram – (https://www.instagram.com/TheCastCollective)

TikTok – (https://www.tiktok.com/@castcollective)