What do you do when the career you want keeps saying not yet?

If you're Alicia Portelli, you open your own studio, close it when the universe makes it clear it's time, pack up your life and move to Singapore, build something beautiful there too, and then — nine years after first watching a coach on Instagram and thinking I want to work with that person someday — you move to New York and make it happen.

The plot twist? That coach is now her boss at AARMY.

In this episode, Alicia and Hannah dig into what resilience actually looks like from the inside — not the highlight reel version, but the fired-twice, start-over, teach-to-two-people version — and why hard things might be exactly the point.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Alicia Portelli is a cycling coach now based in New York, where she teaches at AARMY alongside Akin Akman — the coach who first inspired her back in 2017 when she watched a video of him riding to Our House with his hands off the handlebars. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Alicia spent years teaching across the country's top cycle studios before opening her own — JAMM — a community-driven studio that became known globally for the athleticism of its riders and the family it built. After closing JAMM in 2023, she moved to Singapore to lead the cycling division at one of Asia's largest boutique fitness studios, coaching across Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia, Mexico, and beyond — before finally landing in New York in early 2026.

In this conversation, Alicia walks Hannah through the full, beautifully nonlinear journey: the stranger who double-timed in her class and redirected her entire career, the two studio firings that didn't break her, the Lululemon ambassador call where she blurted out "I'm going to open my own studio" with zero plans, the noise complaints that eventually closed JAMM, and the twelve-month visa process that stood between her and the job she'd already been offered at AARMY.

But this episode isn't only a career story. Alicia gets honest about her long battle with bulimia — how it shaped her need for control, how she eventually found her way through it, and how that experience quietly became the foundation for the way she coaches today. She also opens up about the cost of being so tunnel-visioned on career that other parts of life can get left behind, and what she's actively working to change about that.

You'll also hear Alicia and Hannah go deep on the creative practice of building a coaching identity — how to pull inspiration from everywhere without just copying someone else's homework, why simplicity on the bike is sometimes the hardest and most powerful thing you can offer a room, and what Michael Jackson, Fred Again, and a Pilates teacher's vocal authority all have in common.

Plus: book recommendations, the "rapid river" metaphor that made Hannah tear up mid-interview, and the playlist conversation that will absolutely derail your evening.

If you've ever been told no, wondered if the slow build is actually adding up to anything, or needed permission to start over one more time — this episode is it.

Connect with Alicia

• Instagram
• AARMY

Books mentioned:

Want to level up your coaching abilities? The SPRING SALE is HERE for all Instructor Magic courses, including 1:1 coaching! Get up to 40% off online education with lifetime access in the Instructor Magic Academy and suite of courses for instructors who want to level up, fill classes, and change lives.

What do you do when your dream studio says no?

If you're Holland Scattergood, you email back, ask what it would take, go get the experience, and come back six months later — and now you co-own one of Arizona's most beloved cycling studios with a second location opening this summer. The plot twist? One of her co-founders is the person who originally said no.

In this episode, Holland and Hannah dig into the long, beautifully nonlinear road from spin-class lover to studio founder, and why showing up as your real, imperfect self might be the most strategic move you'll ever make on the podium.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Holland Scattergood is the co-founder of NYX Cycle and Fitness in Scottsdale, Arizona — a studio built on the idea that fitness should feel safe, joyful, and judgment-free. In this conversation, Holland walks Hannah through her full journey: the very first 6 a.m. spin class in college that flipped a switch, the audition rejection that didn't break her, the smaller studio that gave her the experience she needed, and the moment her former studio (The Madison) closed its doors with one month's notice — opening the door for Holland and her co-founders to launch NYX in April 2024.

But this episode isn't only a founder story. Holland gets candid about living with multiple autoimmune diseases — rheumatoid arthritis, celiac, and hypothyroidism — and how the stress of opening a business triggered her biggest flare yet. She talks about why she finally started speaking publicly about her chronic illness, the rider conversation that changed her mind, and how that vulnerability has shifted the way she shows up for her community.

You'll also hear Holland and Hannah swap notes on theme rides (and the great internet "theme slander" debate), what actually makes an instructor authentic, why she launched Swifty Saturday two years ago, the realities of opening a studio with three co-founders and an investor, the sound-system fiasco that accidentally birthed her Super Singalong rides, and how mentorship and traveling — including her upcoming trip to Sweat & Tonic in Toronto — became part of her story almost by accident.

If you've ever been told no, doubted your place on the podium, or wondered whether you're allowed to play Taylor Swift in a spin class — this episode is your permission slip.

Connect with Holland

• NYX Cycle and Fitness
• Instagram
• NYX online / subscription

Connect with Hannah & Yes You Can

• Podium Prep — Hannah's under-$100 mini course covering everything you need to know before your first audition (mic setup, audition track choice, studio outreach, full training manual, visualization exercises):
• Instructor Magic — Hannah's flagship mentorship program, with a new round launching soon!

Want to level up your coaching abilities? The SPRING SALE is HERE for all Instructor Magic courses, including 1:1 coaching! Get up to 40% off online education with lifetime access in the Instructor Magic Academy and suite of courses for instructors who want to level up, fill classes, and change lives.

Hot take: There’s no real argument about using themes as a fitness instructor.

Themes aren’t a personality trait or a crutch. They’re a tool. In this episode, I break down why they work from a psychological perspective for both you, as the coach, and the people in your room.

We unpack the fake conflict around themes in fitness and get practical: when they work, why they fill rooms, and how they help build a coach’s brand over time.

I also share psychology-backed marketing insights and real alternatives for when themes don’t fit.

We cover:
• expanding our work beyond fitness while still serving studios and instructors
• rejecting absolutist coaching advice and honoring context
• using scarcity and social proof to drive attendance
• building a distinct coaching brand through consistent themes
• reducing instructor self-doubt and pre-aligning your energy
• treating themes as low-stakes experiments (music, mood, audience fit)
• proof points from long-running theme series and community favourites
• when to skip themes and use co-leads or other levers instead

If you’re ready to build classes that feel intentional, confident, and yours, Instructor Magic doors are currently open. It’s where I teach the psychology, strategy, and systems behind coaching that fill rooms and sustain you.

Want to level up your coaching abilities? The SPRING SALE is HERE for all Instructor Magic courses, including 1:1 coaching! Get up to 40% off online education with lifetime access in the Instructor Magic Academy and suite of courses for instructors who want to level up, fill classes, and change lives.