Pivot With Purpose Season 4 Episode 4 Full Transcript

Pivot With Purpose, a podcast that highlights the unique stories of professionals that pivoted their careers to align with their work lives and personal lives more purposefully and with more joy.

Pivot what purpose is hosted by Megan Hall, a globally accredited career and business coach and creator of the Megan Hole Method. 

[00:00:32] Meghan: Welcome back to the Pivot with Purpose podcast. I'm your host, Megan Ho, and in this episode we talk to husband and wife dynamic duo Alyssa and Mike Pini, Boston Base fitness trainers, content creators, and TB 12 

[00:00:46] Meghan: athlete.

[00:00:48] Meghan: Thank you for listening to Pivot With Purpose with host Megan, who you can find out more information about each guest, including full transcripts at Pivot with purpose podcast.com. And if you'd like to share your own pivot with purpose. Click on the share button and add your story to the conversation.

[00:01:08] Meghan: Finally, be sure to subscribe and share your comments wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Your support amplifies our voice. And now this week's episode,

[00:01:22] Meghan: Alyssa and Mike are full-time fitness professionals on a mission to change the way people feel about themselves. One inspirational class, A message at a. Alyssa is a superstar content creator, and you can find her keeping it real on all social media platforms. Sharing her day in the life adventures as a mom and full-time professional athlete, showcasing how she balances it all after leaving his career in education to pursue, helping and coaching others in a different way.

[00:01:53] Meghan: Mike found his pivot with purpose by following his passion for helping people get stronger through physical. He's fully immersed in the Boston Fitness community and is a trainer at Revved Indoor Cycling and instructor at Berries, and also a personal trainer. Alyssa and Mike, welcome to the Pivot with Purpose Podcast.

[00:02:13] Meghan: Thank you guys so much for taking the time to be with me today. How are you both 

[00:02:17] Alyssa: doing? We're good. Thank you for having us. We're excited to be here. Doing well. 

[00:02:23] Meghan: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm really, really looking forward to. All your stories, careers, otherwise, and have you guys drop some inspiration into the ears of our listeners.

[00:02:33] Meghan: I feel like I have a million questions for you, so I'm just gonna dive right in. Are you guys ready to get this party started? Let's get it started. Let's do it. Let's go. Okay, . Okay. So Elephant in the room before we dive into you individually. How did you guys both meet? Can we just get the union of Alyssa and Mike story out there?

[00:02:48] Meghan: Like what did that look like? , 

[00:02:50] Alyssa: Mike, I'll let you take that one. There's 

[00:02:52] Mike: this app called Tinder. I don't know if you've ever heard. So back in the day when we met, it was a little bit less stretchy. It was still stretchy ish, but that's how we met. I lived in Connecticut at the time, but I was home in Rhode Island for the summer and Alyssa was living in Massachusetts and so we matched and went on a date to Fenway Park was our first date for a red so jam and yeah, the rest is history.

[00:03:14] Mike: We were long distance For the first year, I would come up every weekend, I would drive from southern Connecticut up to Massachusetts to see her. So it was meant to be beautiful. 

[00:03:22] Meghan: That's awesome. I love it. See true love out there as possible. Still on the dating apps, right? We can still, it's make it happen

[00:03:30] Meghan: Aw, love. Yeah, it was awesome. Aw, and I'm sure your love for fitness and both of you guys have such great energies, so, so happy that you found each other and we're doing all the things. As we jump into stories and career pivots, I always love to start off with what's going on in your world today. Tell us before we dive into some history, what's the background of a day in the life look like for you both?

[00:03:53] Meghan: What are you up to today career-wise? I dunno, Alyssa, if you wanna go first, I'll call you out. So if you wanna start and then we'll go 

[00:03:59] Alyssa: to Mike. Yeah, yeah, sure. So my day-to-day is I'm the Director of Talent for RevD Indoor Cycling, which is a spin studio. We have four locations currently. It's so funny when people ask what a day in the life looks like, it's very hard for me to answer because every day is very, very different.

[00:04:16] Alyssa: I have a full-time job working on the business side of RevD and also train anywhere between 11 and 15 times a week as a spin instructor there as well. So a lot of the day-to-day is helping to manage the business, keeping the forest studios alive, all work all day with meetings with trainers, making sure that everything's good with their schedules, and then I will go teach between one and three spin classes.

[00:04:46] Alyssa: Somehow also fit in there my own personal fitness, taking care of Mike and taking care of our daughter Parker. So yeah, it's very, very different every single day. But a day in the life is kind of just grinding in this fitness industry. Yeah. 

[00:05:01] Meghan: Oh, that's so cool. And I know RevD has been growing like crazy and loving all the boutique fitness that has come into our worlds over the past few years.

[00:05:10] Meghan: Remember when it. Equinox and Planet Fitness . Yeah, that, 

[00:05:14] Alyssa: yeah. It's very different now. Yes. 

[00:05:16] Meghan: Very different. So awesome. I just, I love it. So that's really amazing to hear that you're doing all of that and God bless you for teaching. And Cho, I know that requires lots of energy too. And Mike, I know you're doing the fitness thing as well across the board in a few different ways.

[00:05:32] Meghan: So what are you up 

[00:05:32] Mike: to? Yeah, so similar to Alyssa, there's no one day that looks the same. Uh, right now I'm teaching eight spin sessions a week with. And then I'm at 11 classes at fair's and then I teach there between all three different studios there. So I'm kind of all over the map in terms of locations.

[00:05:50] Mike: Um, and then I also do some personal training on the side. So, you know, depending on the day I'll have one, two, or maybe three different appliance that I'll see outside of a group. Fitness. That's 

[00:06:00] Meghan: awesome. Fit family. No pressure to Parker, right? ? 

[00:06:03] Alyssa: No, none. 

[00:06:07] Meghan: Well, talking all things career pivots. Where did you start off?

[00:06:10] Meghan: And Mike, we'll let you go first now, but did you always have a love for fitness? Give us some of your early career highlights. 

[00:06:17] Mike: I graduated college with a degree in education and I actually was a teacher for the first, what, seven, eight years of my professional career. I played baseball in college, so sports have always been kind of like a, a pretty important part of my life and I.

[00:06:33] Mike: First grade I taught sixth grade. I taught pe so I tried to resolve over the map with that as well. And then this past year, I decided after five years at the same school I teach in pe, which I loved that it was time to try to make a choice if I wanted to keep trying to balance teaching, you know, school and do a fitness or if I want to try to dive more into one.

[00:06:55] Mike: And Alyssa and I had a lot of conversations and we decided that what would be best for me would be to drove full-time into fitness. So I made a tough decision to leave school because, you know, I loved it and I loved the kids. I loved the people I worked with. I loved the environment, but it was just, it was destroying me.

[00:07:11] Mike: I would teach 10 spin classes a week, and I would also be a full-time teacher, and I would also coach. So I had no days off. I taught every single day, and it was just, it was just a lot. And I, you know, I didn't have much time with Alyssa and with Parker and with our family and friends. So Mehanna made that decision as a.

[00:07:27] Mike: But it all worked out. I don't know how it worked out this way, but the week that I left Stroll, I got a call from Barry's asked if I would be willing to interview to work there, which I hadn't even thought about. So it kind of all fell into place where I was able to do berries and RevD and make it all work pretty seamlessly.

[00:07:43] Mike: Yeah. 

[00:07:44] Meghan: Did you pivot before the pandemic or during 2020, or what was the year that you made this big move? Uh, 

[00:07:50] Mike: it was this past summer, so 2022, that summer we went through the whole pandemic and you. Being a PE teacher, like it's tough to try to teach that remotely. Yeah. So yeah, our department definitely was stressed out and was feeling a lot of hard times and it was challenging for a lot of people, but I think the kids was, it was the hardest for them.

[00:08:09] Mike: And just trying to, seeing them trying to adapt was, was tough for me. And you know, we tried our best, but I think at the end of the day I decided that school was not the place where I was gonna continue. 

[00:08:19] Meghan: Yeah, it takes a toll. You feel so bad for especially these young kids, right? And maybe Parker in this mix where they really didn't know school starting off without a mask or without being virtual.

[00:08:30] Meghan: Right? And how much did we miss out on? Or these kids miss out on developmental wise, but kids are so resilient, right? And yeah, it's probably hard to do virtual. I mean, I don't even like to do virtual class anymore, but virtual, like jumping jacks, you're like, no way, teacher. I'm tired. , we're not doing that.

[00:08:47] Meghan: Well, I'm glad. It seems like seamlessly it's all led you to where you are now and you seem like you're crushing it so more to come. But Alyssa, where did you start off? Was it same? Were you teaching other places and then fell into fitness or what's your story? 

[00:09:01] Alyssa: Yeah, mine's a little bit different. I went out to San Diego for grad school where I got my MBA in sports management.

[00:09:08] Alyssa: So when I was working out there, this was. 2012 to 2014. I went out to grad school in 2011 and I was working for a professional athletes foundation and was basically just helping different athletes. Take their desire for wanting to give back and pair it with their fame and clout and helped athletes with their charitable efforts.

[00:09:37] Alyssa: Mm-hmm. , I started with one professional athlete in working directly with his foundation, and then I decided to leave and start a company with a couple friends where we decided that if we could do that for one athlete, we wanted to do that for a lot of athletes. So to make a long story short, I was in California, we had started this company.

[00:09:57] Alyssa: just decided that I wanted to get back closer to home, to be around. My parents we're from Nita, Massachusetts. Mm-hmm. . So California is a little bit far moved back and, uh, almost within probably a week of moving back I found revved and had kind of fell in love with indoor cycling back in California and wanted to continue it here in Boston.

[00:10:21] Alyssa: and at the same time I took the company that I started with my friends in California to Boston was doing pretty well, right from moving back to Boston. Landed with a couple sports agents who had some Patriots clients and mm-hmm. had a couple big events planned here in the athlete marketing event space.

[00:10:42] Alyssa: Mm-hmm. and much like Mike have a similar story where everything kind of fell into place where I had this huge, huge. Event planned with one of the Patriots and the event was planned for October and he got cut from the team in September, so the event kind of went off to the side at the same time. In that exact same week, I had my audition to be a spin instructor at RevD and also met Mike.

[00:11:11] Alyssa: So kind of was a, a really big week where obviously losing the patriot. was a bit of a pivot in changing from where my life was in one direction, thinking I wanted to work specifically with athletes and giving back, and again, helping them pair their philanthropic efforts with their athleticism. And then kind of started to put that to the side while diving more full-time into teaching spin and then realizing, hey, I can kind of do the same thing that I was doing with these athletes before, but almost.

[00:11:44] Alyssa: I'm the talent this time, if that makes sense. So figuring out how I can be the one to give back and help people versus me helping the people back then. And 

[00:11:55] Meghan: isn't it crazy how, and I just talked about this recently, and the newsletters and the things I put out with working with people, finding jobs and making career moves and all of that is like we get so down and out when things don't work out for us and it's so easy.

[00:12:10] Meghan: As I was saying earlier, like in this like victim mindset of everything's bad happening, it's just not making, but it's like wow, sometimes things actually happen for us that don't wind up working out and there's like rejection or whatever we go through is either protecting us or kind of pushing us in a different path.

[00:12:26] Meghan: And that's a cool story. Yeah, definitely a big kind of learning taking takeaway there. So, and you're right now you guys are both building. Yeah, you're only personal brands and how lucky Mike has an agent, basically with them too. Yeah. You guys are just a super dynamic duo. Hello. What do you feel like continuing on with you, Alyssa?

[00:12:45] Meghan: We'll go to Mike, but what are you most proud of? Career to date? 

[00:12:48] Alyssa: I think just how far I've come and how much. I've built slash we've built. And watching Mike dive fully into this space has been really fun. Mm-hmm. as well, because now it's our entire lives. Mm-hmm. and I had a conversation with a friend the other day talking about how, I don't even think I've shared this with you, Mike, but how thankful I am that we're both in this together.

[00:13:13] Alyssa: Oh. And we both have the same goals. You know, there's a lot of couples where one person is focusing on one thing and the other's focusing on something else, and there's potential to hold each other back or not be completely aligned with where you want to go and what you wanna do. And I think that's something really important and special about the two of us, is that the more we both grow together, we're just building something.

[00:13:38] Alyssa: So I'm really proud of where I started as a spin instructor. It's. Almost seven and a half years now at RevD, and it's really just the beginning. So it's been amazing to watch my own growth as well as watch the growth of the company and again, knowing that there's just so much further that we can go and we're up for the challenge of that.

[00:14:01] Meghan: It's so beautiful to witness this in your relationship too. You guys seem to have a. Beautiful partnership where you are lifting each other, combining forces, not going against the grain, which gosh, if anything, 2020 showed us. Like, God bless you guys living together, working 

[00:14:17] Alyssa: the same industry. 

[00:14:19] Meghan: I, my poor husband, I'm like, get, can you dress like, go somewhere else?

[00:14:23] Alyssa: First, yeah. Yeah. . 

[00:14:25] Meghan: But that's just such a, a truth to hold it. In terms of like you guys and your, your true pure connection, what are you most proud of career today? I 

[00:14:33] Mike: think I'd probably have to go back to the person I became as a teacher. Mm-hmm. And kind of how I've been able to transfer that to my life now.

[00:14:40] Mike: I've always said the hardest audience to talk to is a group of kids and that if you can talk to a group of kindergartners and like hold their attention, then you know, you can will talk to a room full of adults. And I think that's kind of how. Been able to build my confidence as a, a spin instructor and now at Barry's.

[00:14:57] Mike: And I think just relationships has always been super important to me. I've always wanted to be that teacher who did that extra thing that really made that student feel a connection. Whether it's like going to watch them play a game outside of school or having a conversation with them about what they did over the weekend or asked about their, their family, and not just being the teacher who shows up to class teaches the class and that's it.

[00:15:18] Mike: Right. And so I think that kind of mentality that I've. That I've developed as a teacher in school has kind of helped me develop as a fitness teacher, an instructor. Yeah. Because, and I see it with a Alyssa all the time, like people all the time will ask her, how do I get to your level? And she'll always say like, it takes a little work, but you have to be present.

[00:15:40] Mike: And I think one of the most important parts about being a fitness instructor is being present and being somebody people feel they can talk to, even if they've maybe like only met one. ? Um, yeah, because anyone can teach a great class. Anyone should have a great music. But I think it's that connection that makes people trump bad because they wanna hang out with you, right?

[00:15:58] Mike: Like when you think about it, yeah, you're gonna show up for a workout. You're trying to get out what you put in, right? If you go to a class and whether or not it's the best class, if you worked hard, you're gonna work hard and you're gonna feel like you gotta do a in. But I think if you go and you show up and take somebody's class for 45 minutes or an hour because you wanna hang out with them for that,

[00:16:17] Mike: I think that that's what really builds that clientele and makes people come back day after day because they're like, oh, I get to hang out with my friend Alyssa for 45 minutes. She's so cool and I wanna go do it again tomorrow and hear what she says tomorrow. So I think that that's something that I've been able to steal from her and use, and we've been able to develop on her own as well.

[00:16:37] Meghan: Yeah. And I feel like caring about people beyond just the surface level. . Yes. And building communities and being approachable. I talk about this all the time, being a huge fitness junkie, as all my listeners know, I've been years and years and years working out. You show up for those instructors that you absolutely feel a connection with and you can talk to, and that.

[00:16:58] Meghan: Ego driven. In this industry, it's about the clients, not necessarily about our agendas and in a lot of industries. So when someone can say like, oh, Mike was so nice and he could hold a conversation with me, versus, like you said, punching in and out and just showing up and collecting paycheck and leaving.

[00:17:14] Meghan: There's something to be said and that's how you build a community. So good for you guys. I love it. Yes. 

[00:17:19] Alyssa: Yeah. Very important. 

[00:17:20] Meghan: Well, I'm gonna put you both on the spot to ask a yes or no question, and then we go to a quick little break. I just love the suspense. Okay, so you guys ready for yes or no? And all you say is yes or no.

[00:17:31] Meghan: Maybe you can do it collectively and then we'll go to a, a break. All right, so yes or no is your life now, how you envision it would be growing up.

[00:17:43] Alyssa: Yes. Woo. 

[00:17:45] Meghan: Alright. Yes and no. Okay. I'm so excited. We'll, we're gonna dive into both. All right, everybody. Well, with that, stay tuned. We're gonna be going to a quick break and we will pick this up when we get back.

[00:18:09] Meghan: All right. So Alyssa, I'm gonna start with you now. So before the break, you said yes. So how has your life as you would envisioned it now for yourself early on, what do you feel like is on track on. 

[00:18:20] Alyssa: Well, so now of course during the break, I just was thinking, is it actually yes or is it actually, no, you can do your answer.

[00:18:27] Alyssa: It's fine. I think I always envisioned being married and having a kid and being happy. I don't think I ever knew that this life was possible, if that makes sense. But I think at a very quick surface level, I saw. How my parents provided for me and how they raised me. And I assumed slash always guessed that I would grow up and be able to do that for my own family someday.

[00:18:59] Alyssa: And I'm seeing the beginning of that. So I think that's probably why I said yes. Did I think I would live in this town and work in fitness and be married to Mike? Probably not, but. Did I think I would set up a foundation similar to the way that I was raised. Yes. All right, Michael. 

[00:19:17] Meghan: Well then what were you envisioning?

[00:19:18] Meghan: You were going be doing . 

[00:19:20] Mike: Now here's the thing. Now over the brain, I started to wonder if my answer was yes. So everyone's changing our answers. Oh, we can't. This is welcome to our life, I think, no, no. What and why? I said no. Well, first of all, like Alyssa's way outta my league. So I never would've thought that I would've been ended up with someone.

[00:19:36] Mike: But I love you guys. Yeah, but I. also, I don't know, like I wanted to be a teacher my whole life. Mm-hmm. and I want to be like a classroom teacher. And if I didn't, if I wasn't a teacher, if you don't even further back, I wanted to be a professional athlete. You know, like when I was eight years old, when they asked what you wanna be, it would be a professional athlete.

[00:19:54] Mike: And like come to think that like I sort of am now in a way where, you know, my job is fitness or mm-hmm. kind of indirectly an athlete, but I don't think that I would've ever seen myself where I am now in terms of my career because. Until I met Alyssa, I wasn't really into fitness. Like my idea of working out was like go to the gym and lift weights for a half hour and then go home and eat a chicken par sandwich.

[00:20:17] Mike: Like it was never, never really anything serious. And then I started dating her and I was like, oh man. I had like, I have to be had to shake because she's a fitness instructor and like I have to keep up. And I like would take three spin classes every weekend with her because I was like trying to stop talk to her and Aww.

[00:20:34] Mike: And so now I never would've thought that I would've. Trusted to help people with their fitness because I don't even know what I was doing half the time. So I think that that's different, but in the same sense, like mm-hmm. , the happiness I have is, is definitely where I would've hoped to be. 

[00:20:47] Meghan: I mean, both of you work for some pretty tough industries.

[00:20:52] Meghan: Industries you have to audition for, you know, show up. So good for you both, for navigating those pivots and truly feeling like you're landing in your passions. And I know there's so much more to. on top of doing all of that. I know you're super active on social and have a lot of other fun things in the pipeline.

[00:21:09] Meghan: So being my social friends, I have to say, I posted recently on Instagram that I shared some truth that I hold true from my life lesson. So one being that no one is going to come and save you. You have to be your own superhero, so to speak. So curious for both of you, what are some of the big learnings or big takeaway, or.

[00:21:30] Meghan: that you've held true within your own life, throughout career pivots or your journey, what's something that really sits with you or like a motto you live by? Whoever wants to go first. 

[00:21:41] Alyssa: I can start. Yeah. I think anyone who meets me would agree. My biggest thing is just being authentic. Mm-hmm. and being yourself.

[00:21:49] Alyssa: Mm-hmm. and. I grew up with two parents who were both in the spotlight in different ways, and it's funny. I see. So my dad was an anchorman and reporter for Channel five A, B, C for a long, long time. Mm-hmm. . And I see myself following in his footsteps so much in terms of being in the public eye and having people come up to you because they know you and they recognize you.

[00:22:13] Alyssa: And I always was so inspired and motivated by. Authentic he was. And if you knew my dad or if you know my dad, the first thing that everybody says is he's just so kind and so humble. And he retired in 2009, I believe. And recently A, B, C put. . They did a throwback video of him or something on Facebook, and I read through all of the comments and there were hundreds of them.

[00:22:42] Alyssa: I'm not exaggerating. And they all said the exact same thing, that Jim Boyd is just the nicest, greatest man. Aww. And it has always sat with me because how you see him at home is the same as how you saw him on tv, and the same that you'd say about him online. So I've always adopted that. . If you see me on Instagram, that's the exact same person you're gonna get in person as on TikTok as at home, I.

[00:23:09] Alyssa: Micah's probably shaking his head, being like, what is she talking about? She's very different. , no, very, okay. What at home poem? But he was laughing at me one day. He's like, if people could only see the Alyssa in her pajamas with her glasses on, I'm like, I try to show that stuff too. That's the, but I, I wouldn't hide it, if you know what I mean.

[00:23:29] Alyssa: Yeah. So I guess I'm, it's important for me to, Authentic. Mm-hmm. AF in all aspects everywhere because people can see right through that. And especially in this industry, it's super, super 

[00:23:41] Meghan: important. A thousand percent. I love that. Thank you for sharing all that. What about you, Mike? I 

[00:23:45] Mike: think for me, the thing that gets me up every day is just like go be yourself and be like, do what made you happy.

[00:23:54] Mike: Whether or not. What people expect you to do or what people would think when they see you. Mm-hmm. I've always said my entire life, I've kind of like gone against the grain like I was a teacher. There's not too many male teachers in elementary school. In college, I was a dancer. I was like three credited, shy.

[00:24:09] Mike: I have a dance minor. While playing sports. Like I went from, we came home from a baseball game one time and I had to go right to the dance studio because we had a performance that night. Wow. So I think those things, and now like being, you know, a, a male in the spin world is also something that's unique and we're seeing more and more guys getting into spin, which I think is great, but it's always had that stigma attached to it, which is like the dumbest thing in the world.

[00:24:31] Mike: I hate stigmas. I hate when people. Say, you should do this because you are this person, or you look like this person. You know? And then with fitness too, I've recently started to get into running and, and I think a lot of people would look at you or, you know, look at me and be like, Hey, you're not, you're not a runner.

[00:24:46] Mike: Like, you're too big to be a runner. You're too this to that. Right. And I think my whole thing is like, proven 

[00:24:52] Meghan: people wrong. Right. You're like, what does that even mean? Right. Well, I'll tell you guys, someone told me I didn't have a face for television once. I'm like, okay, thanks. Bye. . . So, so let 'em tell us what they wanna say, Mike.

[00:25:04] Meghan: We'll prove I'm wrong. Exactly. I'm right there with you too. I know I'm not a runner, so 

[00:25:08] Alyssa: I won't admit that. 

[00:25:09] Meghan: I think I said that to you the other day, Melissa. Like I find myself on a spin bike. I torn my ACL L years ago and I used to never spin cuz I was the opposite. I was like, I'm just gonna run and work out like a million times a day in one of those bad mindsets.

[00:25:23] Meghan: And then I was taken down to zero and I couldn't do anything for a very long. and it really humbles you and actually teaches you a lot about your body and actually you appreciate your body, I think a lot more when you go through that where it's so meaningful, you move every day and work out. I'm like, damn, when I show up to these classes and I put my own, I'm proud of myself.

[00:25:44] Meghan: Instead of saying, Ugh, I have to work out. It's like, no, I like get to work out. Right, right. So I kind of put myself in a different mindset. I love that we can beat anything we wanna be. That's true. That's moral of the story. But I know you have some other new things that have come up recently with some brand partnerships.

[00:26:00] Meghan: So tell us a little bit about what you're doing beyond the bike, beyond Fitness. Just seeing on social, you guys work with like TB 12, which is Tom Brady's programs, nutrition methods. Tell us a little bit about that. What are you guys doing? Some other sponsorships or 

[00:26:13] Alyssa: partner. Yeah. So I think that that's almost the, the next step of what we're working on is, okay, we have the foundation where in our careers, where we think we want to stay and will stay.

[00:26:25] Alyssa: So what's next? And about two years ago I started to really dive into social media, and Mike has been doing a lot of that recently. So we do have an amazing partnership with TB 12. Mm-hmm. and. Have a couple other couple ones like the partnership with us together and also our individual ones as well, just working on figuring out smaller, more meaningful brand partnerships, which consists of posting a certain amount of times and really fully believing in their products.

[00:27:03] Alyssa: Again, going back to being authentic. I would never promote something that I didn't fully believe in and that I use. I think a lot of people don't realize how much the creating space can be a really successful business for you, so we're really working on making more connections and more partnerships.

[00:27:24] Alyssa: Like I said, we have TV 12. I signed a year long contract with the Bold Bars, which is a company that's really near and dear to our hearts, and. We are. I'm hoping that by the time this airs, we'll have some fun, exciting news about our own podcast that we're starting. Oh yeah. This year. So we're very, very excited to get that off the ground.

[00:27:46] Meghan: Lots of irons on the fire. That's really exciting to hear. Going back to jobs and all things, what advice would you guys give navigating it seemingly so beautifully and pivoting to. If there is someone who's sitting in full-time job and going back to your point, Mike, thinking they're checking the boxes, following the path of what family members are telling them to do and not wanting to do something different or go against a grain cause that's not what you're supposed to do.

[00:28:11] Meghan: What advice would you give someone that's wanting to jump into full-time fitness right now? Do you think it's a good time? Where should they start? We'd love to hear your thoughts and both of your takes on that. Whoever wants to take it. It's funny 

[00:28:22] Mike: that you phrase it that way because. That's exactly the conversation I had with myself over and over again.

[00:28:28] Mike: Like at the end of the day, I didn't wanna let my parents down. You know, like they're super supportive. They were like, yes, go for it. But in my head, I had all these conversations with them that I made up where like, oh, they would say, well, you can't have a career like that. That's not a real way to make live in.

[00:28:42] Mike: And those are these thingss that I just kind of had in my head that I was afraid would be said, but they never were. Yeah, it would give me anxiety about having these conversations with them and with Alyssa and. People would say, well, is it fair to be with your wife in the same space? Are you gonna be trying to, having to share the spotlight?

[00:28:59] Mike: But I think at the end of the day, you need to have those connections with mm-hmm. people. And you need to have people that you can talk to and people that support you, and people who can be brutally honest with you. I know Alyssa has a really close group of friends and family members that she'll go to with like any questions she ever has.

[00:29:14] Mike: And so to have that group who's gonna say, you know what, maybe. Hold off now, or like maybe try to take some steps in that direction, but maybe not dive all the way in. Or maybe they say yes, go for it. Having people who you trust and you can bounce ideas off of is huge. And I think you kind of have to, you have to try to weigh the positives and the negatives of it.

[00:29:33] Mike: You know, there's so many questions about, you know, when you're transitioning from careers, you know, financially, uh, you're gonna be able to support yourself time-wise. You're gonna have enough time to do all the things that you wanna do. And I think at the end of the day, what Alyssa and I. Decided was happiness is more important than money right away.

[00:29:51] Mike: You know, in the long run you're doing, you need money, right? Like people need to make a living. But I think if you are able to, you know, maybe fit your budget so that you're able to make, do with a little bit less at first, if that's what you really believe in. If you don't do it, you're always doing to wonder what would've happened.

[00:30:09] Mike: You know, you just gotta go, right? Yeah. Yeah. And that was time. My big thing was like, I was in the stage of my career as a teacher. I said to myself like, we all see those athletes who wait way too long to retire, you know? And then they're going out there and you know, they're not who they used to be. And I was afraid that I would've become that teacher who wasn't good anymore or was just shown up.

[00:30:27] Mike: So I was like, this is the time where I can make that transition, because if I wait any launder, that opportunity might not be there anymore. So I think if you have that opportunity, you need to jump. 

[00:30:38] Meghan: Just do it. I love that, and thank you for sharing all that. I think there's never a good time to start. You just have to go for it and trust yourself and it is so beautiful and you have a nice family and network of support that can tell you their thoughts.

[00:30:50] Meghan: Good, better otherwise, but at the end of the day, you gotta do what's best for you. Alyssa, what do you think? Is the number one thing that holds people back these days, whether they're looking to make a change in their life, career, fitness goals. What do you think really holds people back and maybe how have you successfully overcome any self-doubt or limiting beliefs?

[00:31:08] Meghan: Would love to get your 

[00:31:08] Alyssa: take on this. I think it's what you said, it's self-doubt. And I've become such a public person and such an open person that sometimes I have to go back in time and remember that I wasn't always this way. I wasn't always outgoing, I wasn't always willing to share everything that was going on in my life.

[00:31:27] Alyssa: And I think what holds a lot of people back, if not most people, is just being. and it's almost like when I, so I'm in charge of training the new trainers at RevD and what I always say to them in the beginning is that you're trying something new, it's gonna be really scary. So you start kind of with a big black sheet in front of you and then the sheet becomes a little bit lighter and you can start to see through it a little bit.

[00:31:56] Alyssa: And then it becomes a shear sheet where like you really can see what's on the other side and it's becoming a little bit more. And then one day you just kind of put your hands through it and just open up the sheet and come out the other side and you're like, okay, I'm ready. I'm doing this, and I can't tell people what to do to break down those barriers and break down those sheets, if you will.

[00:32:20] Alyssa: Yeah. To get to that point where you're ready for your big. Breakthrough. But what you can do is start to figure out what is holding you back. So if you are afraid, what are you afraid of? Like Mike said, are you afraid of disappointing your family, your parents? Are you afraid of what other people will think?

[00:32:36] Alyssa: So then if you have a clear idea of what is stopping you, then going back even further just to break those down and say, okay, so if I'm afraid of failing my family, let me talk to my family and have a plan of here this is what I'm gonna do and this is how it needs to get done. I. You said it earlier about the victim mindset and mm-hmm.

[00:32:56] Alyssa: I'm currently diving into a fixed mindset versus growth mindset and what's that means, and for anyone that doesn't know fixed mindset is saying, everything happens to me. I'm having a bad day. It must be because the universe hates me and mm-hmm. , everything is because of what's going on externally versus the girls mindset like, I need new tires today.

[00:33:19] Alyssa: Is that awful? Am I annoyed by it? Yes. But how can I grow from this today or mm-hmm. , I didn't get that job that I wanted, or I got let go from the job that I had. So instead of blaming the company, say, . I don't like the way that I feel right now, so how can I learn from this and how can I grow? So I think just diving into the, the mindset piece of it too, of breaking down those walls and figuring out the why behind the why.

[00:33:44] Alyssa: Yeah. Will allow people to just take the leap. Just do it like we said. Right. Just quick. 

[00:33:49] Meghan: Well, and as I know, you both are incredibly inspiring for your communities and beyond, and showing up in. Who are you guys inspired by these days and why? Mike, if you wanna take this first and then I, I'd love for you to chime into Alyssa.

[00:34:01] Meghan: Who inspires 

[00:34:02] Mike: you? Mike, can't say Alyssa. Just that would be too 

[00:34:04] Meghan: obvious. Oh, you can . I'm not 

[00:34:07] Mike: so nice. No, I think the people that inspire me are the people that I get to see every day. And it could be somebody who has taken a thousand classes and I've seen them 500 times and I know everything about them.

[00:34:18] Mike: They know everything about me. Or it could be somebody who's coming in for their first class and they're a little nervous. and um, yeah, and like having that initial conversation with them, whether it's at berries or Rev being like, you know, I think being the instructor, you have a lot of power and you have a lot of influence and you can try and be like, Hey, it's gonna be okay.

[00:34:35] Mike: You know, like, you're be fine. And I think seeing those people show up who might be a little nervous, that inspires me because they're trying something new and like Alyssa said, doing new thing to scary and. You know, being able to encounter these people on a daily basis. Maybe it's somebody like you who's coming off an injury, right?

[00:34:50] Mike: And who is hesitant, like, I don't know if my body can handle this. And being able to share that experience with them. So that's kind of what keeps me going is because you never know the impact you might have on somebody. And that's not another one of my like personal mantras is like, . People aren't trying to tell you that you're having an impact on them, but you are having an impact on them.

[00:35:09] Mike: Yeah. Whether you know it or not. So I think those experiences inspire me to wanna be better at my job and want me to be better personally, because if these people are willing to step outside their comfort zone, then I should be practicing what I preach as well. 

[00:35:22] Meghan: Love it. That's so awesome. Well, how about you, Alyssa?

[00:35:26] Alyssa: Inspired, I think you can say Me too. I'm most inspired. Well, I am. I said this, I dunno if I said this to Mike the other day if I was saying this too, our friend, but it again goes back to what I said before. It's really nice to have a partner that I do look up to and mm-hmm. , there's areas that I'm lacking in that he has that I am definitely inspired by.

[00:35:48] Alyssa: And I think he would say the same about me. I think overall I'm inspired by, The people that are the best at what they do. And it's a group of people that I'm doing a lot of work on myself right now in terms of mindset and it's interesting. Mm-hmm. Because all the books that I'm reading and all of the research that I'm doing, it's the Michael Jordans and the Kobes and the powerful business owners, they all have very much common threads of.

[00:36:19] Alyssa: How they became successful. Yeah. So I can't pinpoint one person that says, okay, that's who I'm inspired by. I'm inspired by the people who I know that I'll be in that category someday, that I'm hoping that someone would answer me, if that makes sense. So it's really fun to dive into that. 

[00:36:36] Meghan: I agree. I think that.

[00:36:38] Meghan: The conversation is always for whatever path you desire to find. The way that could be led by somebody who's been there is so powerful. Yeah. When it comes done in a lot of different ways and through a lot of different people. Thank you guys both for sharing and a couple more questions and I'm gonna let you go.

[00:36:53] Meghan: So let's do a fun one. What's one thing that you guys maybe don't share often about you or any hidden talents or vices? Alyssa, I think you and I are both coffee addicts. Okay. So what's, oh yes. What is ? 

[00:37:04] Alyssa: What's one thing 

[00:37:05] Meghan: maybe you don't share often or special talent that you have or advice . 

[00:37:09] Alyssa: Can I share a not special talent, like something I'm awful at that I don't talk about often?

[00:37:15] Alyssa: Alyssa, 

[00:37:15] Mike: we don't have that much time, so just No. 

[00:37:18] Alyssa: Hey, 

[00:37:19] Meghan: this is a two hour podcast. No strap in guys. No, I'm just kidding. , 

[00:37:23] Alyssa: I am. awful at cooking. I'm awful in the kitchen. I don't even know. What if someone asked me to do something. I can't even make my own coffee with a coffee machine. I don't know how to open a wine bottle.

[00:37:37] Alyssa: I slice my tin tin open. I keep trying to learn. I'm just. Me, and that 

[00:37:43] Mike: doesn't sound like a growth mindset to Alyssa. I think we need to have 

[00:37:45] Meghan: more of a growth mindset. It's not Alyssa, you can do it. 

You're 

[00:37:48] Alyssa: right. Yeah. I, I didn't, I didn't say that I couldn't get better at it. I said currently right now I'm awful at it, which is just my God being authentic.

[00:37:56] Alyssa: Well, I 

[00:37:56] Meghan: think you guys know this or maybe you don't. I'm also married to a mike and I'm also a terrible cook. So Alyssa, you, you and I in a growth mindset, we're just gonna take cooking classes this year. Let's do together. Let's do it. Okay. Both of our mics, were gonna cook some amazing meals and they already love us forever, so it doesn't matter.

[00:38:11] Mike: I didn't know how to cook until I had to cook because 

[00:38:14] Alyssa: didn't so, but I don't have to. Cuz you cooked so it's perfect. Well, which came first? 

[00:38:17] Meghan: Yeah. What about you, Mike? Any other hidden talents, spice, anything you just wanna just release before we show? I don't know if 

[00:38:24] Mike: it's really hidden to, a lot of people know this, but I'm a bit sneaker head at times.

[00:38:28] Mike: I've had like over a hundred pairs of shoes in my collection and I've rotated in and outta them. But I love shoes, I love sneakers. So that highlight something that some people know about me, but maybe not everybody knows and it's something I'm very passionate about. 

[00:38:42] Meghan: I'm also a big shoe and we, I work with a lot of sneaker and shoe brands here, and I know with the Jordan's and the collectibles.

[00:38:49] Meghan: That's a huge thing. My brother, who also, I'm always going through his closets. I'm like, what limited edition wa do you have? Show me the cute hello kitty ones, or 

[00:38:57] Mike: whatever. That's true. Then when you find somebody who has that same love for snakes with you Yeah. You like have an automatic bond with them.

[00:39:02] Mike: Totally. We have a friend, she's a college basketball coach, and so she has all the connections with Nike and she'll just like send me, she won't have any words. She'll send me a picture of a. And then we'll just like talk about it for 10 minutes and then move on. 

[00:39:15] Meghan: Slide straight. Well, thank you guys for sharing all these nuggets.

[00:39:17] Meghan: Now I feel like I know you even better before we wrap up. One serious question, what do you both want your legacy to be? 

[00:39:25] Alyssa: Wow. Hmm. I would say she changed as many lives as she could. 

[00:39:30] Mike: Hmm. It's a good one. People to remember you for what you did. There's that famous quote, right? People, remen don't remember what you say, but they remember how you made them.

[00:39:39] Mike: So I think something like that is like, you know, I'd like people to think of me as somebody who changed lives. 

[00:39:48] Meghan: Well, you guys are just like a big warm hug on a day. I'm feeling down and out. I'm driving to your house and I'm gonna make like Parker or your little girl, hang out with me and we'll play with all those little pieces you posted on this.

[00:39:59] Meghan: Yes, please do. 

[00:40:01] Alyssa: We can 

[00:40:01] Meghan: play Doy, whatever. Well, how can our listeners find and engage with you? What are some of the best platforms to come and hang out with you? 

[00:40:09] Alyssa: So you can find me in person at RevD Indoor Cycling. We have locations in Boston in the Copley area. Dham, hang on in Foxboro. And you can follow me on Instagram and TikTok at the real AP vp, 

[00:40:26] Mike: and you can also find me at RevD and you can find me at berries.

[00:40:30] Mike: I'm at the Chestnut Hill, the Bath Bay, and the downtown crossing locations. And then my social is at the mic on a. 

[00:40:39] Meghan: Perfect, and I'm gonna link everything. I feel like one more podcast comes out. We need to do a podcast class, so maybe We'll, let's do it. So fun. Ok. Oh my gosh. Well, I feel like we can keep talking for hours, but we'll just keep our conversations going in other channels.

[00:40:53] Meghan: Thank you Alyssa and Mike for sharing your career pivot stories and words of advice, and I'm really looking forward to all of us to come for you both as you continue to grow and navigate all things fitness and influencing your community and beyond. Please keep sharing your amazing, amazing energy and light and I think we need more of Parker's wisdom cuz I think her last Yes in post was, I don't wanna be little forever.

[00:41:16] Meghan: So. Same. Yep. . So thank you guys so 

[00:41:19] Alyssa: much for being here with me. Thank you for having us. Thank you. This is great. Thank you. 

[00:41:26] Meghan: Thank you for tuning into another episode of Pivot With Purpose. If you'd love this episode, please be sure to share it with your network. Leave us a review in a five star. If you are enjoying these pivot conversations and wanna keep the personal development going as an executive recruiter and master career in Clarity, coach, join my community and be the first to have access to all of my content to set you up for success in whatever stage you are in career-wise, and get some inspiration.

[00:41:55] Meghan: Be the first to know about local and virtual events I'll be hosting as well, so maybe you can join me in person. Head over to www.meganhall.com/community or click the link in the show notes to get on the list. 

[00:42:11] Alyssa: Pivot with Purpose with Host Megan Hall is a fashion console production, and part of the FC Podcast network.

[00:42:19] Alyssa: It is produced and directed by Phil aka. A Corin and a special thank you to Spencer Powell for our theme music. Learn more at pivot with purpose podcast.com and be sure to follow us. At podcast.