Maria Angelova Of Rebellious Intl: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a CEO

An Interview With Ben Ari

Failure is a teaching lesson. Failure does not define who you are. Failure asks for redirection — that’s all. Get out of your head. Don’t get emotionally tangled with unproductive thoughts.

As a part of our series called ‘Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO’, we had the pleasure of interviewing Maria Angelova.

Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher, founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl.

With a diverse and unique background and experience — born in Bulgaria, Eastern Europe, moved to the U.S.A. as a teen, BBA and MBA in Finance, 20 years in corporate, 30 years in the fitness industry, a massive personal transformation — Maria today offers a comprehensive and practical approach to self-care and personal growth through her lifestyle and wellness company — Rebellious Intl.

The core of Rebellious is intentional movement and mindset work. Maria helps people build a strong body and a calm mind. The goal is to create movement habits for life and conscious thinking for living.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

I entered the fitness world at the young age of 12. I started going to the gym regularly when kids started making fun of my developing curves. Prior to that, I demonstrated athletic ability. However, my family were heavy academia; athletics were not in the picture. Emphasis for me were good grades and performing well in school.

When we immigrated to the U.S. in 1996, I wanted a gym membership. Long story short, my dad said the only way…