Quest Squad Highlight: Meet Emmalouise Brown
One of the pillars of Quest that we share around the office is fierce interdependency. Every town hall company meeting champions this pillar because it’s at the crux of everything we do. One branch of our fiercely interdependent tree is one of the most pivotal, and that is our incredible Quest Squad.
Quest Squad is a program where we give the biggest Quest fans a voice, community, fun freebies and the opportunity to coordinate with like-minded individuals to network. In addition to those benefits, we oftentimes ask members to help out with events Quest attends if they’re happening in their area. One such Quest squad member is the one we’re highlighting today.
Emmalouise Brown has been a member of the Quest Squad since before it was an official program. Born in England, Emmalouise struggled with weight issues throughout her younger years. Coupled with the fact that she’s asthmatic, she believed a life of fitness and nutrition was out of reach. Then she tried a Quest White Chocolate Raspberry Protein Bar and everything changed.
“I never really enjoyed ‘health foods.’ They never tasted right, but one day I was in GNC and I saw a sign talking about Quest Bars and I tried the White Chocolate Raspberry Bar and I was hooked.” I asked Emmalouise if that’s changed since that day and she informed me that it’s still her go-to. “I have four boxes right now just to make sure I don’t run out!”
As cheesy as it sounds, it really does feel like a family. I’ve met people in Quest Squad that have become personal friends who I talk to and text frequently.
After falling in love with her favorite flavor, in 2014, Emmalouse decided to contribute to Quest as a volunteer for Fit Expo, helping out with the Quest booth. Six years later, she’s one of the longest running members of Quest Squad. When I ask her how she decided to make such a dramatic change in her life from being overweight and lacking in exercise to a person who trains for marathons, she gave an unlikely answer.
“I honestly believe that distance running helped with my asthma, as crazy as that sounds.” Not only does Emmalouse train for marathons, she’s currently working on a qualifying time for the Boston marathon. Even under California’s lockdown orders, she finds time every day to hop on the treadmill and perfect her distance running abilities. One day hoping to qualify, and even possibly run in, the Boston Marathon. So if any readers would like to house Emmalouise during her hopeful Boston Marathon run, you’d make her year.
Like everyone who decides to make a transformational change in their lifestyle, it wasn’t easy for Emmalouise, “I was overweight and tried dieting, but it never seemed to work. I was depriving myself of food and that never works. No sweets, no chocolates and I was getting nowhere. I’d lose weight and then gain it right back. I felt stuck.” That’s when she came across the White Chocolate Raspberry Quest Bar. “I’d never had something that tasted so good, but that also wasn’t horrible for me.” It’s not every day where you can work for a company that makes a product that can fundamentally transform someone’s life, but that’s exactly what I discovered when chatting with Emmalouise.
When the conversation came to what she enjoyed most from being a member of the Quest Squad she paused and took a deep breath, “As cheesy as it sounds, it really does feel like a family. I’ve met people in Quest Squad that have become personal friends who I talk to and text frequently. It’s such a wonderful supportive group of people and I’ve made lasting relationships.”
That’s the thing about habits, they don’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and a lot of failure and finding out what works for you.
For our Quest Squad members, we oftentimes send out products that members get to try before the general public. Along with that are missions — basically postings using the new products, which Emmalouise has been (mostly) consistent with. When I ask her what has impeded her ability to complete a mission she laughs and tells me “I get so excited to try the new products that sometimes I finish them before I can complete my mission.” Which, as a brand, is a good problem for Quest to have.
What I really wanted to know is what really drew her to Quest over other brands. “The taste, by far. But also the ingredients you use and the macros of the bars and other products are so good that I sometimes catch my husband, more of a computers and technology guy, not into fitness, stealing my White Chocolate Raspberry bars.” This is something we hear from a lot of Quest Squad members, so there’s another community link that binds our fans.
I had to ask Emmalouse what advice she has for people (maybe you reading this!) who are interested in joining the Quest Squad. Her answer was simple, “Do it. There’s lots of opportunity to meet people who can help you advance, achieve or set whatever fitness goals you may have. And if you want to make a transformational lifestyle change, there’s no better group to help you hit your goals.”
You can enjoy so many of the foods you love, especially desserts, if you use the Multi-purpose powder. You can bake, make smoothies, add your own ingredients, whatever you want.
I followed up with a question about her personal journey and how long it took her to get on track, and her answer was surprising. “I’d say it took me years of trying different things before it finally hooked me. But that’s the thing about habits, they don’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and a lot of failure and finding out what works for you. That’s my biggest piece of advice — if you’re trying something and doing workouts that you hate, switch it up. Find something that makes you feel good and something you look forward to. That will make the change that much more meaningful and easier to stick to. Set little goals along the way. It’ll change your life.”
Before we ended our conversation, I asked Emmalouse if there were any other Quest products she would choose over her go-to White Chocolate Raspberry Bar and her answer surprised me. It’s not one you hear every day, “The Multi-purpose mix protein powder. It bakes so well. I make waffles, pancakes, brownies, anything I can. You can enjoy so many of the foods you love, especially desserts, if you use the Multi-purpose powder. You can bake, make smoothies, add your own ingredients, whatever you want. And you guys have so many recipes available that you can have a different meal every day.” Not a bad ingredient to have in your repertoire, especially under our current covid-19, stay-at-home lives.
It was a pleasure to speak with Emmalouise and her dedication to her lifestyle is truly humbling. If you take anything from our interview, take the advice of Emmalouise and apply for the Quest Squad. You can gain access to a community of people dedicated to achieving their personal goals, get free Quest goodies, and, if you’re lucky enough, maybe you can become friends with the endearing and inspiring Emmalouise.
For more information on joining up, click here
