A room with a view

I realize how cruel I am being to all of you right now: posting this picture I took mere moments ago from the patio of my hotel room. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’m not in Toronto anymore. I left the -22 degree weather in the earliest of am’s yesterday morning to fly to Santa Monica, California. Five hours, one Mimosa (I was trying to be good) and two movies later, I find myself here:
The Loews Beach Hotel. Have any of you ever been to Santa Monica? Beautiful, isn’t it? I’m here on an exclusive for
ELLE Canada, a press junket for
Reebok EasyTone. The sportswear brand has expanded their offerings in their EasyTone line. First came the shoes; you know which ones I’m talking about, or at least the competitor brand (Think: Platform sneakers.) Reebok has taken this technology and tweaked it. The shoes I’ve been given have "balance pods" built into the heel and forefront, so each step I take creates natural instability. The result? Increased muscle activation in my legs up to 28%. Have you heard of the
Bosu Ball? Exact same premise. Beyond the shoes (and hence the reason I’m here), EasyTone has branched into workout gear; a full line of clothing that also promises the wearer a more lean physique. My task in these next several days (and one I will be sharing with you on our
blogs and in the June issue of
ELLE Canada) is to test-drive the technology to see if there is truth to their claims. Noreen (our editor-in-chief) asked me to go on this trip, likely because of my experiences
here. Apparently I can handle a bit of sweat and tears. I’ll admit it: I’m skeptical.
Beyond my fitness pursuits, I’ve also been told that the company has aligned itself with a major
Hollywood celeb to be the ambassador for the brand. I’m excited to interview "her" today, but because of strict embargo laws (that’s journalist-speak meaning I can’t name any names) I’m not able to tell you any of the juicy details until later this afternoon.  All I can say is that it’s someone big. Very big. How do I know this? Reebok has invited over 90 journalists from all the major glossies and newspapers from across the world (20 in Latin America alone!) on this two day press trip and this celeb-in-question has a 10 minute interview with each one of us. Any guesses? More coming soon …