Puori Talks With Eniko Mihalik
The Puori team of ambassadors is growing! Initially from Hungary, model Eniko Mihalik now calls New York her home. Perhaps the first time she really made people stop and look was when she won the Hungarian Elite Model Look in 2002. She slowly climbed the fashion ladder, later walking on runways for designers like Givenchy, Versace and Diane von Furstenberg. Mihalik dominates print, too. Thus far in her career, she’s graced the covers of magazines like Elle, Bazaar, Vogue Japan, Marie Claire and Numéro.
Mihalik isn’t just looks, though. Maintaining a healthy life — mind, body and spirit — is a priority for her. Never one to settle for ordinary, she even took to training for marathons. She regularly makes time for a good sweat sesh and fuels her body with wholesome, nutritious food. We caught up with Eniko to learn more about her, how she stays healthy and what her guilty pleasures are.
Puori: How did you find your way into modeling?
Eniko Mihalik: As a teenager, I was very goofy. Looks and personality too. I was tall and skinny, but my teeth were all over the place, and I felt awkward. Modeling was the kind of dream I never thought could be a possibility for me.
Then one day, someone thought otherwise. I was discovered walking down the street in my hometown. At the time I must have been 14, about to turn 15. This woman said that I have the natural physique of a model and she insisted on taking me to a casting for a modeling competition, Elite Model Look. This was in 2002. After winning the Hungarian final and winning a spot in the first 15 finalists of the world competition… No. My career didn’t take off right away. But I got the opportunity to start exploring and learning everything about the world of fashion, which I came to love and has been my job ever since.
P: What does a typical week look like for you?
EM: I would say my days are not very different from other people’s, but there are definitely certain things that models need to get used to. For example, weekends and holidays just don’t exist. There is always someone, somewhere in the world, ready to work no matter the day or time of the year. Therefore, I live my life on standby. I can get a call at any moment, to pack and fly across the ocean. For that, I always need to be ready.
That means my everyday routine requires me to stay in focus to be healthy, to be energetic, and stay in the best shape possible. I usually wake up early and start my days with a nutrition-filled breakfast. Most of my days are very busy, filled with castings, meetings and when I finally get home after a long day, I squeeze a workout in at least four times a week. I travel overseas two times a month on average. I’m the kind of person who’s always on the go. Most of my days off are spent with my friends, at home baking or outdoors with my dog. I’m never bored.
P: How do you keep yourself fit?
EM: Over the years, I learned that being active and doing sports is the best gift you can give to yourself and your body. I’m not just talking about working out, but I’ve traded cars to walking and biking. Having a dog and spending time outdoors are all part of how I stay fit. I use all the benefits of the city I live in and what the cities I visit offer me. I love jogging outside every season of the year, and it’s a great way to discover new places I visit, too.
On top of that, I use my gym membership to the maximum. I usually do cardio on my own, which I switch up. From the elliptical and spin bike to the stair master and treadmill, I use everything. And I take classes. Yoga, pilates, boxing, dance… I always ask my body, “What do you feel like doing today?” I don’t get mad if that answer is, “I just want to sleep!” or “Can I just use the steam room today?” It’s all part of staying fit and getting ready for a new day, where I can perform to the best.
“I always ask my body, ‘What do you feel like doing today?’ I don’t get mad if that answer is, ‘I just want to sleep!’ or ‘Can I just use the steam room today?’ It’s all part of staying fit and getting ready for a new day, where I can perform to the best.”
P: How do you fit training into a busy schedule?
EM: The answer is quite simple. I make it a priority. Even when I am flooded with work or I am traveling to a different time zone, I always make time in my schedule for a sweat session. I am flexible to wake up an hour early or hit the gym in the last hour of the day before they close, to take classes, or zone out with my headphones on. Even if I only do stretching and five sit-ups. I just feel better if I don’t miss out on being active, so it’s not a huge effort for me. Luckily. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t born like this. It took me time to get used to this mentality, but now training to me means “me time.” A necessity that both my body and mind have the craving for.
P: How do you manage to stay healthy – and what does healthy mean to you?
EM: Other than the medical term of “healthy,” I think it is a relative statement, and the meaning of it varies for everyone. We all have to customize and adjust our lives to reach our individual health goals. I consider mental health and happiness a key part of my process, although for most of us, having a perfect medical record is a more than perfect scenario already. However, personally, I find it very important to be able to keep a generally positive attitude, good energy and motivation as much as possible.
To achieve that, I give myself plenty of time to rest. I’m not just talking about my everyday sleep cycle. As much as I love going to the gym and the sweet feeling of muscle soreness and physical exhaustion, I recognize the importance of recovery. Once, a trainer told me that the best athletes spend more time with recovery than actual training. I live by this. Sometimes I take a week off from hard workouts and once a year maybe even a month.
I try to enjoy my free time, both indoors binge-watching TV shows — because let’s be honest, we all have those days — and being outdoors to soak up the vitamin D or have a glass of rosé. To keep a good balance and health is not a race and isn’t a short-term, seasonal thing. I think about the big picture. It has to be maintainable and enjoyable throughout all the long years of our lives.
“To keep a good balance and health is not a race and isn’t a short-term, seasonal thing. I think about the big picture. It has to be maintainable and enjoyable throughout all the long years of our lives.”
P: What do you feel are the biggest challenges in achieving a healthy lifestyle?
EM: The biggest fight for me is to be able to fit health in with my environment. In an ideal world, where the air is always fresh, the water is crystal clear and meadows are green, maybe we wouldn’t need to take vitamins and supplements at all. This is not the case, though. In the fast world we now live in, work becomes a priority and we are always stressed. To achieve success in our careers gives us great satisfaction, but it often doesn’t leave us with much room and time to care for ourselves.
Even with all the healthy habits I’ve adjusted into my lifestyle, I find it really hard to make these two worlds meet in the middle and keep them balanced.
P: What achievement are you most proud of in your life?
EM: I have never felt the same euphoric satisfaction and happiness than the second I crossed the finish line at the New York City Marathon in 2017. A few years ago, when some of my friends were running races, I watched them amazed, and I thought to myself that I would never be able to complete a marathon.
But they were so inspiring and motivating that I soon found myself training for a half marathon. Due to a training injury, I couldn’t run that race, but a year later, I had the opportunity to challenge myself to something even greater — after the ups and downs of the getting ready period, a complete change in my lifestyle for the months of training. The early morning and never-ending Sunday runs. Skipping all the “normal” stuff like a birthday drink with friends or a fun Halloween party. I can confidently say that it was all worth it. The feeling of accomplishment is priceless and it’s something no one can ever take away from me.
It’s my new kind of high and as a matter of fact, I am planning on running it again this year! Can’t wait to cross that line again. This time even faster!
P: How did you first come across Puori?
EM: A healthy lifestyle comes hand in hand with healthy friends. When I saw one of my close friends who is a lifestyle blogger using Puori’s supplements, it was natural for me to unleash my curiosity onto her. She told me a lot of positive things about the products, and she technically praised them, so I had to give them a try. I have absolutely no regrets there. I am most satisfied since the first day I first tried them and recommend them to every person I know.
P: Why did you decide to become a Puori ambassador?
EM: First of all and most importantly, because every single Puori product I’ve tried has delivered to my expectations. I became a Puori believer.
“I became a Puori believer.”
After adding my research to my personal satisfaction, I soon recognized that what this brand offers for the people is wanted but rare to find. Mostly the great quality.
I was lucky to have met others on the Puroi team, who also educated me, but I’ve read the boxes, the web, reviews… I soon realized that there aren’t many companies who can deliver the same promises as Puori and stay persistent doing so. I wanted to make it my mission to introduce Puori to everyone I can reach out to. I want to educate people that taking a certain supplement or vitamin isn’t good enough to stay healthy, energized, in good shape or whatever your goals are. But it also doesn’t take an endless effort to find something affordable and better for you. Perhaps the best that is out there.
P: What is your favorite Puori product and why?
EM: I could think of four right now from the top of my head, but the one I was most surprised by when I tried it is the CX3 vitamin C formula. It’s not a supplement I take every day, but for me, it works every time I’m getting sick. One time, I was feeling kind of under the weather but I didn’t quite catch that cold yet. I took vitamin C and didn’t think much of it. I thought I was going to wake up with a fever and headache the next day. That’s how it usually happens.
Instead, I woke up feeling perfectly fine. Energized, ready to walk my dog, go to the gym, and work, like nothing happened. That is not how my body usually operates. It was like magic. I have not gotten sick since the first time I took this vitamin. No annual winter cold or flu and I have not missed a day of work. Like I said, I don’t take it every day. But I take it every time I travel, every time I feel tired or that cold is creeping up on me again. It’s my go-to and lifesaver. Oh, and did I mention it tastes like peach iced tea? Love it!
P: How do maintain balance in life?
EM: I think balance is relative. We are all different, and the key is to understand your own self and body. It’s not about following someone else’s lifestyle, workout and diet. Sure, I follow others, try lifestyle tips from them all the time, but it’s about using this knowledge and learning what is right for you.
So my balance might be working out five times a week in the afternoons, being on a low-carb diet, but indulging in ice cream and movie popcorn sometimes, while for you it might mean going to the gym twice a week, doing a yoga workshop on the weekend, eating vegetarian and having a delicious peanut butter smoothie every morning. I know if I have enough energy to wake up in the morning, keep going throughout the day with maintaining a mostly positive attitude, I am doing the right thing.
P: What role does supplementation play in your daily life?
EM: I take some supplements on the regular and some I just take as needed, when I feel like it. I have my daily vitamins because they help me stay focused on an everyday basis. Sharp at work, a good physical performance in the gym, recovery and even to get that delicious 8-10 hours of sleep at night. Other ones I only take when my energy and my smoothie needs a boost. I wouldn’t be able to keep up my daily, weekly, and monthly routine without helping my body perform at its best.
P: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?
EM: There are a few things! My biggest guilty pleasure and probably not the cutest of my habits is that I love to eat with my hands. Anything I can. Even peanut butter.
P: If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
EM: Cute, stubborn, competitive.
P: What book would you recommend that everyone should read?
EM: The last book I read was The Upside Of Stress by Kelly McGonigal. I recommend it to everyone. It helped me turn what I think is the biggest illness of the modern world — stress — into my ally and source of power.
P: What three things would you bring to a desert island?
EM: A machete, a match, and a photo of the people most important to me. That means also my dog.
