We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Vaughan and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Alex, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind my business has been rooted in creating spaces for people to be, to have and to feel. I am a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor, ACE Certified Advanced Health Coach, Level 1 Reiki practitioner, and LGBTQ Peer Specialist in training. After over 25 years in the fitness industry, I kept finding how many fitness spaces are shame-based and I got sick of it. Literally sick of it. I started having panic attacks before going into teach my classes. I said no more and took action.
Our perspective of what it means to be fit and well is shifting but we still have a lot of work to do. Being an ally means you are tackling your beliefs about Self, others and the systems in which we exist. Our internal worlds need to be addressed as much as our external world because it’s our internal worlds that affect the external world we create. Shame doesn’t just disappear but you can live to be anti-shame. In order to be anti-shame, you have to train your mind, your body and your spirit. The lifestyle is allyship and fitness is just one thing we do to make life a little more malleable, improving our emotional and physical connective tissues.
I got certified to teach group fitness to peers my sophomore year in college, graduated from Ohio State in 2001 with a BS in Sport and Leisure Studies, where I also was on the rowing team. I went on race bicycles competitively, continuing my fitness journey. Years later, I obtained my reiki practitioner certification to deepen my spiritual practices that I wanted and needed to do.
Combining holistic practices and mental health awareness with the power of movement has completely changed my life. As a fitness professional for over 25 years, the 8 pillars of wellness mean a lot to me; physical, environmental, social, spiritual, intellectual, financial, nutritional and emotional. Wellness is not defined by an absence of disease but the presence of ease in someone’s life. As a trainer and coach, we cannot contain fitness to just a workout. It is also everything that someone is going through just to get to the workout.
This is where the allyship work comes in to know how to create spaces of belonging. My goal is for people to walk into a class or an event with me and feel that where ever they are in their journey, they are in a constant state of success and no time is lost. Their job is to presently do the best they can with the mind and body that brought them in there. They are met with empathy and compassion. In my classes, you are acknowledged as the human you are. It’s a wild mix of vulnerability, humor, high energy and invitations to go into the dark because you will be amazed at what you find….and you won’t be alone in it.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think one of the things that set me apart from others is I feel relentlessly curious— about uncovering truths and acknowledging realities other than my own. I just deeply believe in the collective power of humanity. I’m really proud how I can stay true to my Self even if it wasn’t always obvious to the outside world. Even when people called me all sorts of names, it wasn’t that I didn’t care, it was that I didn’t want their self-hatred of what they were spewing to go anywhere else. I guess I am really good at sitting in the dark and transmuting energy into light. This skill came out of a place of necessity as a child. Sometimes you can’t explain…you just have to do and become. I’ve known since I was kid there is something in me that makes me stand alone and at the same time sensing, I’m not alone.
I lived a long time basically patting myself on the back about having no labels to describe who I am believing it was some kind of cool power. “I just love everyone” was something I said. In reality, I was hiding. I had porous boundaries with myself and others. I lived scared all the time. One of the things I started doing to break out of that was taking the time to dig deeper into my words because words carry massive amounts of energy that affect the world. Words, to me, appear like little ornate decorative boxes for me to put together. When I got the word nonbinary, my world opened up. It sat with euphoria and magnificence on my skin. Our bodies tell truth and share stories- I do it through drag and teaching fitness classes. But the labels given to me by society and the expectations that came along with those labels made me feel like I was constantly failing. I was trying to fit in instead of belong to myself. Find the words that match you the closest, get closer to your peace. My pronouns of they/them are one for me way to empower who I know myself to be. Self-identification is so important and people wave their hands away at it. I get it; I’ve been there. I don’t think any professional would tell you their journey has been easy. Simple, perhaps, but not easy. I talk to my body on a daily basis and everyday, I am learning its unique wisdom and language. One thing I realized is the wisdom of my body never caused me harm but it was the fear of what I held that did. I had to learn how to not be afraid of words I know to describe me.
I do not confuse “kindness” and “nice” anymore. Being kind is about being honest and direct which creates authenticity. Nice, to me, more about falling into supremacist culture that says don’t be anything but what and how we tell you to be; “act, think, speak, do as we say. And don’t ever make a mistake!” That’s just not how I roll. Nice led me down some roads but they always ended with a wall I had to climb over or break down. I didn’t get through the family court system as a trans/nonbinary parent to a trans child by being nice. I did it by being kind which is way harder because it meant creating healthy boundaries and moving to dismantle the oppressive systems of power and privilege we face.
My brand is based on expression, freedom to become and radical kindness. I coach, train and speak on the trans/noncis/nonbinary experience, while holding the truth and reality of allies who want to learn more. Teaching ourselves to hold both truth and reality is a huge challenge. I love getting to hold space with people as they dig into themselves to gain their own clarity. In my classes, you’ll be physically challenged but people are energetically and psychologically challenged as well. It is all connected. Movement processes new information we learn into ways we can manage and then, better grasp the skill of being response-able for ourselves.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My wife and I love food; some of our favorite places are Watercourse Foods, Aloy Thai, and Bamboo sushi. I’d take them to a drag show to see some our friends perform, King Vaughnz, Zarah Misdemeanor, Felony Misdemeanor, Dixie Krystals and Kai Lee Mykels. We’d go down to Ellson Farms where Sty and Jax have all sorts of fun happening; queerness, farms and family! Kim and I adore Glenwood Springs hot springs, go whitewater rafting, head to Steamboat and Breckenridge for weekend get aways. Give us some water, a mountain and sunshine and we’re good. We’d head down to Garden Of The Gods to feel the energy and experience there too. Colorado has so many gorgeous things, experiences and people. It’s quite a magical place.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife, Kim, our kids, Kim’s parents, and our close friends.. They are everything to me and make me a better human everyday. My wife is everything magical and more. She is kind, strong, loving, resilient, funny, a badass visionary, compassionate, silly and extraordinarily creative. Her presence encourages me everyday to continue to grow. She supports me everyday and with them, I get to be where I am now. Getting to witness her and her successes and journey in her work with Rocky Mountain PBS, we grow and walk beside each other. Life is gorgeous.
I’d love to give a shoutout to the authors of the books that have also deeply affected my life; “How To Do The Work” by Dr. Nicole LePera, “It’s Not You” by Dr. Ramani Durvasula, “Decolonizing Wellness” by Dalia Kinsey, R.D. L.D, “Beyond Inclusion, Beyond Empowerment”, by Dr. Leticia Neto, “You Are A Badass” by Jen Sincero, “Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself” by Dr. Joe Dispenza and “Pageboy” by Elliott Page.
Website: https://www.coachalexvaughan.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachalexvaughan/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachalexvaughan
Other: TikTok: @coachalexvaughan
Image Credits
David @d20photographyco
Charlotte D Mac @the_oracle11
Exposed Storytelling @xposedstorytelling