When one thinks about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition — the locations, the fashion, and of course, the stunning models — it’s known that it’s a major coup in the modeling world to be chosen to be in an issue, and the cover is the Holy Grail. New Hamptons denizen, Kate Bock, debuted within the SI pages in 2013 as Rookie Of The Year, and ultimately landed one of the truly stunning covers in 2020, after sharing the 2019 cover with Jasmine Sanders and Olivia Culpo. She was also the first to announce that she would return to the pages of the issue for 2021.
Bock puts her hard-earned stature towards causes she loves — with her love, Kevin Love, a professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom she is engaged to since January. Their relationship has transcended the standard day-to-day to include several ventures together that align to their own core values within the health and wellness space.
We Zoomed with Bock to learn more about the incredible story of her modeling career, her childhood, and especially about the many businesses that are organically turning this superstar into a venture capitalist.
There is so much to learn about Ms. Bock. So. Much. More.
Congratulations on your engagement, Kate! You and Kevin are aligned on so many levels. Can you tell us about how you find yourself getting involved with various companies that impact your lives? And why did investing with Kevin make sense to you?
We both like balance. We go to a wine tasting after a morning work out, then a healthy lunch to take care of our bodies. We obviously have different careers, but they don’t last forever and it’s important to be your best self at all times physically and mentally. We both wanted to make sure that we’re aligned to the kind of companies and brands that we wanted to work with. Kev’s portfolio is a little bit more around the mental health space and wellness, and mine’s more physical health and wellness — and they really go together nicely so it’s really just lucky.
Let’s start with Pompette! How did you get started with this brand?
I was introduced to Pompette because they did a little partnership with Sports Illustrated. They sent the team bottles. I was in the Hamptons and kept getting texts and packages from the editors. I’ve been working with this team for a decade now, so they know me quite well. They said, “this brand could not be more you.” It’s light, clean, it’s a beautiful bottle, the aesthetic is so me. I love the product and I asked, “How can I get involved?” Things have been really weird in the world and we’ve all pivoted because of Covid.
So true. You really drilled down on philanthropy and backing companies you love. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.
I had more time to invest myself creatively with brands. I’m Pompette’s chief brand officer. I’m helping with social media, PR, branding, working inside the company helping to promote it, which is so different from just attaching your name on it or an Instagram post.
I’ve been involved in the distribution meetings with Jeremy Smith, who’s the founder, and he’s amazing. I think it’s a really cool kind of duo where he’s really the brains behind the business and I’m really like the consumer who loved the brand so much that I wanted to get involved.
I also took over the social media where I’ve been shooting it with a friend of mine who I hired to do all of the content. We’re doing ads and pushing the brand, getting the messaging out, while talking about the brand as much as I can. It’s natural because I like it and I do drink it. My entire team drinks it now too. We all love it.
Are you bringing Pompette out to the Hamptons?
We’re trying to figure out the distribution right now for Long Island and there are a few hotels that I just feel like this is perfect for like Gurney’s. It’s perfect for Navy Beach. I mean, hello? [She raises the pretty bottle up with a chef’s kiss].
What does Pompette mean?
Pompette means a little bit tipsy in French, which is perfect. Like when you go to the beach with your girlfriends and want to get a little bit tipsy without going overboard.
Love that! What are the different flavors people can enjoy?
Cucumber lime, clementine berry, lemon mint, rosé hibiscus. What’s nice about Pompette is that you can drink it on ice, and it’s just light and clean. You can also use it as a mixer so you can make cocktails out of it. It’s quite light, just five percent alcohol, so if you want to add a shot and ginger ale, or a lime you can make a cocktail of it.
Sounds like a bar menu is in order! It’s amazing to us that during the pandemic when so many shut down and locked down, you took it in a completely different direction. You got engaged, you’re modeling, and you’re building a business empire within the health & wellness space. The life of a founder is not easy.
I definitely get overwhelmed.
I’m really lucky. I grew up with my mom going to farmers markets. We didn’t have anything but organic food in our house — we weren’t allowed anything processed. As a child, I was like, “this is so boring, I want Honey Nut Cheerios and Rice Crispies” — we were not allowed any bad food. We even had something called “Birthday Cereals,” where once a year you were allowed to pick out like a chemical cereal. She was very strict with that, so I didn’t realize it as a child, but as an adult I crave things that are healthy now.
Good food is food that’s clean and not very processed. I think partially because I grew up on this diet . . . it made a difference in clear skin and maybe partially my height. I’m lucky that I learned that early.
Your mom was before her time. Your childhood obviously guided your life in many ways. Let’s talk about the organization, Wellness In The Schools, that you’re involved with.
I was looking for a charity to get involved with and was Googling words like “wellness,” “kids,” “school,” and literally found Wellness In The Schools! Couldn’t be better and they are based in New York City. I was looking for creative ways to get involved because obviously [at the time] you couldn’t be there in person because of Covid. Normally, I would try to be there and help make lunches, or help by being involved with the kids directly, but we found really cool ways to contribute. I’ve been doing live cooking shows. For example, we did one trying to promote eating the rainbow where you try to have as many colors in your meals as possible. Or being active in doing workout challenges that you can do at home, so it’s been really fun working with them. I definitely look forward to doing more in-person! It’s exactly what I was looking for.
For Mother’s Day you curated a hand-repair kit for Tenoverten. It’s fabulous!
I thought this was perfect because, yes, we’ve all been washing our hands more than ever and we should keep doing that, but it does leave your hands feeling quite dry and crispy. When I was in my 8th grade sewing class, I remember my teacher saying to always have clean, manicured hands. That always stuck with me. I know it’s funny that I remember that specific thing. The Tenoverten hand repair kit [which is still available on Kate’s Verishop] is all natural, non-toxic products. The kit has a hand serum, a hand cream and a cuticle oil. Just three steps and it takes five minutes, it’s not a long process. Leave it on thick, go to sleep and you wake up with the softest hands. It really works and can be used daily. It has a light, nice fragrance. I don’t like heavy fragrances.
Another company you’re working on is Abby’s Better, such a fantastic brand of nut butters and an even more amazing backstory!
I know, it’s amazing! Abby was fifteen when she came up with this by wanting to find alternative healthier snacks. She loves nut butters like me. She’s now 21 and has at least 20 flavors at this point. They’re all really special flavors that are clean. They don’t have too many ingredients and are also plant-based protein, gluten-free, non-GMO, and paleo. There are options for dairy-free or peanut-free. And she’s a young female entrepreneur!
I just thought it was so exciting and this is something that both Kevin and I are involved in. He likes to promote it after practice as a great snack for on the go. I travel with these as a snack between meals. I make pancakes with it. I put it into my protein shakes. It was a natural fit for both of us — and we love the product. As a big coffee fan, my favorite flavor is the honey/espresso.
Did you and Kevin approach her or the other way around?
Abby actually had a stand at the NBA All-Star Game and we were there with Kevin’s manager and she ended up meeting her. She’s a young go-getter, now selling all over the nation. I think we all just fell in love with her story and the product and, of course, that she’s a young female trying to make it. There isn’t anything quite like it on the market. It just made sense and was a natural, easy choice for both of us. We just love it.
You’re growing into your own health-conscious VC.
I still love modeling and I am excited to get back into being in studios all the time, and slowly we’re getting there, but I think during this weird pandemic time it forces us to pivot a little bit. It’s been such a learning experience. It’s so much more rewarding to get invested in companies from the inside and promote them because you actually care about them, you actually know about them, and you actually know the founder in the story. I’m obsessed with “Shark Tank,” I could watch it all day!
Preaching to the choir! Where do you see yourself going towards after Covid becomes a memory? Will you be reaching out to companies or are you taking business plans?
At first, I would say we reach out to companies that we want to put out there, to see how we could get involved with them beyond just doing an Instagram post. I feel like people can smell when it’s just a post. It doesn’t sound engaging like when someone believes in it. That’s way more interesting. I also feel like I have a following that believes in me and really trusts my opinion on things and I don’t want to tell them about something that I don’t really care about.
Now that the venture ball is rolling, we’re getting emails and different kinds of brands that want to get involved with me and my team. We have three or four more investments that are coming in that we will be able to speak to you in the next couple months about, so that’ll be really great.
Modeling and business are such different business paradigms. Is it a challenging transition for you?
Normally, as a model you just show up and as long as I have worked out and have clean skin and hair and I showered the night before, I’m pretty much good. Now suddenly, I’m in lots of calls for investment deals. It’s such a different world of study and research. I’m now getting involved in companies in ways that I had never done before, so it’s been really exciting and rewarding. I just feel like maybe I was ready for this and the timing worked out.
It’s such a niche region here on the East End. Tell us how your ventures can or will be accessible out here?
Abby’s Better is already at Stop & Shop! We’re actually looking at a space right now for the summer so I think that there will be Tenoverten products soon. They did a pop-up with Onda Beauty last summer in Sag Harbor and I’m working on Pompette, so I think we’re going to get all of them out there for the summer.
We can’t gloss over the amazing accomplishment of your involvement with Sports Illustrated. Tell us about the issue due out in July, and the reveal and announcement for your 2020 cover.
Yes, I was the first one they announced. I think they started announcing March 1. We were lucky that they figured out how to shoot in a Covid environment, though it was like being stalked by the Covid tester man who really made sure that everyone was tested very regularly. You just make it work. They shot in beautiful locations and as much as I miss traveling abroad, I didn’t get jet lag. I felt great at work. I’m really excited for it to come out, though I’m so sad that we never really got to celebrate last year’s issue, which is my cover year, which was an absolute dream to get. It’s a funny story how I found out. I was in the Hamptons at our house and Kevin’s manager emailed us and told us we have some interviews that we want you guys to do together as a couple in quarantine. He said we’ll just have questions ready and we’ll get you guys answering them with each other. I was trying to practice with him the night before. It was like getting ready for the Dating Game where you have to know things about your partner. So I was like, “Kev, what’s your favorite meal? Let’s go!”
So he asked me, “who’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated?” I was like, “I don’t know?” Then Kev handed it to me, and it was such a fun and cool moment. I was then told to go to the door and welcome the camera crew in, now that I knew it was a reveal. When I went outside all of the Sports Illustrated staff was there, my agent, there were streamers — my heart was beating out of my chest. It was the best day ever!
Such a fun reveal. Congratulations! It’s lovely to know you’re here, on the East End, one of us. Can you tell us a little bit about your connection to the Hamptons?
I’ve lived in New York for twelve or thirteen years and I always came out for like a week, or a weekend, depending on who had a share-house, or weekends with my girlfriends, or getting a hotel room, or staying with friends. Kevin and I, together, had been to the Hamptons, we rented houses for like a week or two a few summers before. When the pandemic hit, we realized it meant we wouldn’t be traveling to see family or friends, that we couldn’t really go anywhere. The Hamptons was the perfect place to be. It was safe, it was comfortable, it still felt like a vacation, even though we were close to the city when the city was a scary place to be at the time.
We rented a place from May through October so we were really out there for a long time and during that time I think I had looked at every single property available online. To see if they’re as good as the pictures look, we started touring them. We ended up finding our dream house and closed in November — we’re so in love with it. We’ll be out there this summer and we’re finishing decorating it. That’s also been a really fun, creative process for both of us. Luckily, we have the exact same home decor style.
We promise not to stalk you, but where are your favorite places out here that you go to enjoy your down time?
They sound similar but they’re not — Calissa for Mediterranean food, and Carissa’s Bakery. Both are favorites. Grindstone Coffee in Sag Harbor — so good! Moby’s, I love. Crow’s Nest in Montauk with the view. Date nights at Tutto Il Giorno. The Mexican restaurant in Amagasett, La Fondita — amazing! We drove by it about ten times without realizing and when we finally went, we said to ourselves, “we needed to know about this.” Kissaki Sushi is great. Topping Rose House — so good. Obviously, Duryea’s.
We also did spa day at Shou Sugi Ban house in Water Mill. We did tennis lessons, a yoga class, massages. It’s such a beautiful, Zen space with super organic, clean food. Loaves & Fishes is a favorite, we do big pick ups when we have people coming to town. Also Estia’s for when we have people visiting.
You’re like a local girl! Such a great list.
It’s a huge list because it’s such a fun place to be.
What is it that you like about it out here?
Our dog, Vestry, I think her happiest place on Earth is the beach. She likes to run around the waves. I can just see how happy she is. We just love going on big beach walks and she likes to sprint circles around us with the biggest smile on her face. We got bikes and I got a sidecar for my bike so now we can go to the beach with some bottles of Pompette, and Vestry is in her life jacket in a harness strapped in. It’s the funniest thing ever, and everyone who sees it thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world and they wave as we go by. You can strap in kids, too.
In the Hamptons you can have a social life, like eat at someone’s house or just hang out in their backyard. I grew up going to summer camp, and it’s something about being in the Hamptons and having all your friends nearby feels familiar. Like I’m just going to bike over or I’ll just stop by because I’m in your neighborhood and we’re all outside and it’s just so homey and nice.
You’re really such an inspiration as a woman founder, a burgeoning venture fund, and amazingly beautiful human inside and out. So many congratulations to you on so many wonderful things!
Thank you so much.
To learn more about Bock, visit www.katebock.com.
Credits:
Photos by Alexandra Martin
Makeup by Lisa Aharon
Hair by Adam MaClay
