California Golden Bears basketball star Mia Mastrov is using her well-earned down time to get some rest and relaxation in Tulum, Mexico. Mastrov shared a picture of herself posing in a dark blue bikini in front of a pool, against a background of lush ferns. “Swipe for a kiss 💋,” she playfully captioned the post. Mastrov is a student, an athlete, and a social media influencer. Here’s how she makes it work.
1. Social Media Influencers
Mastrov became a social media influencer seemingly by accident. “I honestly was just doing it for fun,” she says. “I remember in high school just putting some things on there, there wasn’t any pattern as to what would go viral per se. My teammates who aren’t necessarily wanting to build up their socials and start out I always tell them, I’m always on their heads like ‘why aren’t you posting more, why aren’t you posting more,’ like why not?”
2. Pickleball Player
Mastrov enjoys playing pickleball for a fun workout. “Since pickleball is a low-impact sport and easy on the body, it’s a great way to get movement in and maintain healthy bones, joints and muscles,” says Kaitlyn Jacobson, Physician Assistant at Renown Urgent Care – Ryland. “By playing pickleball, you’ll reduce the rate of bone loss and help conserve bone tissue.”
3. Careful Partnerships
Mastrov is thoughtful about the brands she teams up with. “I try to stay true to myself in that sense, and pair and partner with brands that I think reflect my beliefs as a student-athlete, as a woman, as an entrepreneur,” she says. “It’s tough to figure out which brands I want to work with because it could be in other people’s eyes, a great brand or great company, but because it doesn’t match me and my brand, it’s something that I might have to pass up.”
4. Outdoor Running
Mastrov loves running outdoors on hiking trails. "I tell patients that I'd much rather you wear out your knees than wear out your heart and lungs, because your knees are much easier to replace than your vital organs," says Dr. Carlos Uquillas, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in injury prevention at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute. "If you really love running and you can't imagine not doing it, then it's obvious the benefit outweighs the risk.”
5. Getting the Right Balance
Mastrov works hard to balance her work and student life. “There’s times when I’m up super late just finishing a homework assignment or forgetting that I had content due that my agency’s reminding me about,” she says. “So I’m still figuring it out, and I think every student-athlete is going through it just trying to figure it out together, so we’re kind of all in the same boat just navigating it since it’s still so recent and new.”
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
Shutterstock
Strength TrainingOlivia Ponton/Instagram
Shutterstock
