Trudy Koen is Apollo Neuro’s SVP of Marketing and the mother of two children, Nolan, age 11, and Quinn, age 9. While Trudy is an instrumental team member at trying out any and all new Vibes and providing our product team with feedback, she also uses Apollo at home with her kids and has found it helps them immensely. We sat down with Trudy to get the scoop on how Apollo helps her son and daughter in their endeavors. Parents - you’ll get some good tips in this one!
As a working mother, how do you use Apollo most often? Any favorite Vibes?
I LOVE Good Morning Vibe and Good Evening Vibe. I play Good Morning when I am dropping the kids off at school. It makes me feel awake and motivated, kind of like I’ve just gone on a morning walk in the sunshine. I play Good Evening Vibe as I wrap up work for the day and transition into “mom mode.” I find that it really helps me release stress from the day and turn off that “go, go, go” feeling that doesn’t set me up to be a relaxed and patient mom in the evenings. It takes the edge off.
During the day I let SmartVibes play. I think it’s fascinating and truly inventive that we have built an AI platform that listens to my body and learns what I need and then constantly mixes new Vibes just for me. It feels like a recommended Spotify playlist for my nervous system. How cool is that?!
How do you explain what Apollo does to your kids?
I actually find it easier to explain to my kids than some adults. Kids these days are into ASMR and they understand how it has the power to change the way they feel, making them feel more relaxed and in a calm state. I explained the soothing vibrations of Apollo in a similar way. Through different rhythms of vibrations, Apollo gives you more control over how you are feeling - you can feel focused, calm, sleepy. Now they love to come up with their own ideas for new Vibes.
What are the most common ways your children use the Apollo wearable?
My 9-year-old daughter Quinn uses Apollo the most. She struggles with bedtime; that is when all her worries from the day surface and she doesn’t want to go to sleep alone. With Sleep Vibe on, she falls asleep in under ten minutes. It’s incredible!
She is also a competitive gymnast and plays Focus Vibe before she competes to get into a flow state and calm her nerves. At Apollo, we heard a story from a top-tier sports brand about a professional athlete who credits Apollo and the Focus Vibe for helping him win a gold medal at a global event. I shared this with Quinn and now Apollo is a competition staple.
My 11-year-old son Nolan uses Apollo when we are on long car rides because he gets car sick. We alternate between Focus and Recover Vibe and it really helps him.
How do your kids feel about using the device?
We have Quinn’s Apollo set up on her iPad so it’s easy for her to control it and she likes to go in and choose different Vibes and set herself up before her bedtime routine of brushing her teeth, reading, and listening to her sleep playlist. Many people with kids will relate to every device their child owns always being out of battery and them constantly looking for or stealing chargers. That is our only struggle - having them remember to charge their Apollos on their own without me, along with all their other tech.
What is your advice to moms who may be considering Apollo for their kids?
To start, pick a couple scenarios or times of the day when your child could use the most support and work on habit stacking Apollo with that activity. For me, it’s during the bedtime routine. For someone else, it could be using Focus Vibe during homework time, or using Calm Vibe on the drive to school. From there it’s easier to find ways to fit Apollo into their day with different use cases that will have them asking for Apollo versus you feeling like you are pushing it on them. They will see for themselves how it makes them feel – Apollo becomes their secret sidekick of good vibes!
