Peace, Love & Matcha – An Interview with the Founder of Matcha Maiden, Sarah Holloway

First up, briefly tell us a bit about yourself and what you do!

I started off as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer but nowadays I’m a full-time funtrepreneur! I co-founded Matcha Maiden with my partner (in life, business and golden retriever parenthood), Nic, as a bit of a side project a few years ago and it took on a life of its own growing into a global business that evolved into a physical venue, Matcha Mylkbar, a few years in. So, I swapped the suits and heels for active wear and wake up every day pinching myself that I get to work in health and food – two of my greatest loves. We now have warehouses in Melbourne and LA, 1500+ stockists around the world, an ever-growing product range and so matcha more on the horizon. I also have my own brand, Spoonful of Sarah, (another accidental development along the way) speaking about business and self-confidence, content creation and lots of other fun things.

What time do you wake up most days and how many hours of sleep do you aim for?

Compared to many of my friends, I’m a “late riser” and I also tend to need more sleep than the average person. I used to get up at all sorts of ungodly hours when I worked in law with very little sleep most nights and thought I was totally coping until I ended up with adrenal fatigue. It’s taken some time, but I’m slowly learning to listen to my body and understand what it needs to function best – I do ask a lot of it after all! So, I rarely get up before 8am sometimes even 9am. I try to get about 10 hours of sleep and have let go of the idea that I’m wasting productive hours by closing my eyes. If I get any less, it starts to show after a few days – I do my best creative work when I’m well rested!

What’s your morning routine to set you up for a great day?

As mentioned, I’m not like many others who get up super early to smash out a gym session and whatever else before everyone is up. Rather, my most important morning routine is my daily brekky outing. I absolutely love going out for breakfast, it’s my favourite meal of the day (plus it’s also “research” since we have a café and stock many other cafes with our matcha, or at least that’s what I tell myself.) I could definitely make it myself at home, but I get so much joy from taking myself out and doing my emails to get on top of the day ahead that I consider it a worthy investment to get my in the right mindset. It also gets me up and out of the house as we often work from home, so I risk never getting out of my PJs ever otherwise! I also meditate for 20 minutes twice a day and the first round is first thing in the morning, which I have been doing for half a year now. I get quite bad anxiety and this has made worlds of difference to keeping it at bay.

Describe a typical day of eating for you.

I LOVE trying new things but I also love being a creature of habit. When we travel, I love to try everything and anything new but back home, even strangers who follow me on Instagram could probably answer this question for you as I’m terribly predictable. Breakfast is usually a big plate of eggs and sides – avocado, mushrooms, greens, tomatoes are the favourites. Lunch is usually some kind of protein and salad or roasted veggies with grains – usually fish as seafood is my favourite. Dinner is the same – some kind of protein and veggie creation depending how creative I feel. I love roasts and stir fries and I slow cook a lot in winter. Then I snack like it’s going out of fashion in between – snacks usually involve nuts and fruit as I adore nuts (especially in nut butter form), or yoghurt or something dip related. I’m not a big sweet tooth so most of my snacks go the savoury direction, but I will never say no to a thick slice of home made banana bread smothered in salted butter!

Tell us about your daily beauty routine! What are your non-negotiables for looking and feeling your best?

I’m pretty good with my skin as I had terrible teenage skin and had to learn to look after it. I cleanse, tone and moisturize twice daily as well as exfoliating and doing masks twice a week. I get a monthly or six weekly facial to properly clean out all the blackheads and congestion, which helps maintain the overall health of my skin. I wear sunscreen religiously as my Mum has drilled it into us since we were little and also try to keep hydrated through the day. I also don’t use any foundation, which helps the skin breathe. I use a very light mineral powder, which still provides great coverage somehow – my favourite is Youngblood, it’s so good!

Do you take any supplements, vitamins or special wellness elixirs? If so, we’d love to know!

Matcha!

Do you have an evening wind-down ritual?

I am a sucker for trashy Netflix shows – I love to watch an episode or two before bed to completely disconnect from work and ideas, otherwise I get way too carried away!

Your absolute favourite healthy cafe in Melbourne is?

Matcha Mylkbar!

What’s your fitness routine & favourite way to get sweaty and where’s your go-to?

At the moment, I’m on an F45 roll – I go through phases with my training and tend to just go with what my body feels like. Traditionally, I’m a yogi and pilates girl (my favourites are Happy Melon and Kaya Health Clubs) but at the moment I’m finding the more intense sweaty workouts more relieving and satisfying. Nic and I hit up F45 Port Melbourne or South Yarra a few times a week.

If you could only wear one brand of activewear for the rest of your life it would be…

Lululemon! I’m a legacy ambassador and I absolutely adore their gear!

What’s the one beauty or wellness treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

Massage! I used to think of it as an indulgence but now I see it as an absolute necessity for my wellbeing. We live a pretty high intensity life and can get quite a lot of tension built up in the body. I also travel a lot so there’s lots of time sitting on planes or sleeping on foreign beds. So I get a massage every month from the INCREDIBLE Joey at Still Beauty who, even after years of travelling the world, remains the best masseuse I’ve ever met. I don’t feel right without her monthly visits to just totally melt into an hour of bliss!

Are you into any woo-woo wellness trends? (think crystals, sageing, tarot cards etc)

Oh, I LOVE the woo-woo! I love crystals, card readings, all of it!

You’ve got a big event in 7 days time that you need to look incredible for. What’s your plan of attack to look & feel your absolute best?

Eat really well. Train everyday in the lead up. I tend not to really do much differently in the lead up to an event as I live a pretty healthy lifestyle, but one thing I do get better at is sleeping well and not eating late. I snack A LOT and generally later at night that is good for you, which I get quite bloated from. I’m also gluten intolerant but sneak in a bit here and there so I’ll avoid gluten properly in advance.