Peloton Instructor Tunde Oyeneyin Shares Her Top Self-care, Wellness, and Beauty Tips
An Interview With Maria Angelova
I would inspire the world to S.P.E.A.K. Surrender, find your power, lead with Empathy, be Authentic, and trust that the life lessons give you the Knowledge to get from where you are to where you want to be.
At times it feels like wellness or elevating one’s well being, is diametrically opposed to high achievement and high performance in one’s career. The stress, mental energy, long hours, lack of restful sleep and preoccupation that result from a high-achievement life seem to directly inhibit wellness. And yet, in order to sustain the creativity, flexibility, mental acuity and resilience that are necessary for high performance, wellness and wellbeing of the mind, body and soul are also mandatory. So how do we achieve both? This is the question I’m hoping to answer through conversations with high-achieving leaders and influencers who are practicing their own philosophies about how to maintain their wellbeing.
As a part of our series about “Social Media Influencers Share Their Top Self Care, Wellness, and Beauty Tips, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tunde Oyeneyin.
New York Times Best Selling Author, Peloton Instructor, Nike Athlete and Motivational Speaker Tunde Oyeneyin has quickly become a household name, developing a global audience who have been moved by her mission to inspire and create great change. Tunde is a Texas native of Nigerian descent — growing up, she struggled with her own body image and self-esteem, noting it took many years and hard work to finally get to a healthy place physically and mentally. Fitness offered Tunde a greater form of self-love and what she calls soul care — she eventually realized it was her true calling to motivate people to join her in becoming the best version of themselves — her dedicated fan base clips into their bikes and listens to words of encouragement and “Tunde-isms,” while pushing themselves to their limits both on and off the bike.
Tunde is currently serving as one of Pocket’s Guest Curators and recently published a Pocket collection around how she makes the most of her downtime (you can check it out here).
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory of how you came upon this career path to where you are today?
Well in 2015, I took my first indoor cycling class. From the dimmed lights to the beats of the music, I escaped to another world, and at that moment, I knew indoor cycling had forever changed my life. I trusted my gut, took a leap of faith, and walked away from a lucrative 15-year career as a professional makeup artist and brand educator for some of the most coveted beauty brands in the world, to become a cycling instructor in Los Angeles. I have been cycling ever since and in 2019, landed a role at Peloton Studios in New York. It’s a really funny story actually! Cody Rigsby, a fellow instructor, recruited me on Instagram. I totally thought it was fake but noticed his blue checkmark and was like, “Wait a minute!” I went and auditioned and actually didn’t get the job the first time around. I was welcomed back the following year, and fortunately was offered the position.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m grateful for a whole lot of people in my life, but I’m especially grateful for my mother. Before leaving us, she gifted me with all of the tools that I have used to get to where I am today. In regards to my fitness journey, she was the one to initially teach me that if I wanted to change things up, I had to be the one to make a change. In regards to anything I ever did, she would say a prayer over me, “May whatever Yetunde say, be the right thing to say.” This instilled a confidence in me. It helped me realize that as long as I am speaking and moving through life with good intentions and on the back of love, whatever I say can not be wrong.
As someone with great influence, you have been blessed with great success in a career path that many have attempted, but eventually gave up on. In fact, perhaps most people who tried to follow a career path like yours did not succeed. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but know that their dreams might be dashed?
Uncertainty and doubt aren’t bad things. Those feelings create internal friction because you don’t know what to do, but when you’re open enough to lean into the idea that doubt might be a message or a signal that you’re supposed to receive, I think that’s when you’re able to surrender and open yourself up to infinite possibility. Today’s a new day, choose to show up new in it. Take a new day, choose to be new in it.
Can you share with our readers some of the strategies you’ve used to build an engaged, loyal, and large online community?
When you show up as your authentic self and are metaphorically waving your flag, your people are better able to find you. I use social media as an extension of myself, not to display a different version of who I am.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. In my work, I focus on how one can thrive and care for oneself in three areas: body, mind, and heart. You are a busy person with a demanding schedule, can you share with our readers two self-care routines, practices or treatments that help your body thrive?
My first practice is to drink two glasses of water every single morning when I wake up, allowing my system to fully turn on. My second is to stay off my phone for the first hour after waking up, giving myself time before the demands of the world meet me. Both of these things set me up for success no matter the day that is to follow. Proper recovery is also super important to focus on so that your body can recharge and show up 100% each and every day.
Can you share with us two routines that you use to help your mind or heart to thrive?
To let my heart thrive, I’ve learned that saying no to things is okay. Saying no to things makes more room for the definite yeses. Shonda Rhimes once said that when she is excelling in her business or work life, she’s probably lacking in some aspect of her personal life. And when she’s thriving in her personal life, spending more time at home, she’s most likely lacking somewhere on the business side of things. Say ‘no’ to things so that you can show up fully and be present to the things you say ‘yes’ to. A second practice that often heals my mind is using the Peloton App to meditate.
Can you help articulate why self-care is so important for your mental wellness?
Instead of self-care, I like to use the term soul-care. I think that if we were to remove the word ‘self’ from self-care and call it ‘soul-care,’ we can think of it as actions that you take for the good of your soul. I’m going to bed early tonight because it’s good for my soul. I’m going to take this Epsom salt bath because it’s good for my soul — because doing these things are going to allow me to show up better tomorrow. Rest and wellness should be taken seriously. When we call it soul-care, it becomes much less of this luxury treat-yourself thing, and much more of this thing that you must do to be able to show up as a better version of yourself every single day.
Is there a particular resource, a practitioner, expert, book, or podcast that made a significant impact on you and helped you to thrive? Can you share a story about that with us? What is enlightening content that you often read or listen to?
The Pocket App is a great resource. It has helped me reclaim my time by organizing and streamlining the content that I consume. It’s essentially an app that lets you bookmark interesting articles to read later, save podcasts to listen to whenever, and Pocket any link or URL that you might want to come back to. It diminishes the time that I spend scrolling on my phone. I’ll often use the listening feature that turns any saved piece content into audio (so I can listen to anything when I walk Cesar, cook, work out, etc.).
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would inspire the world to S.P.E.A.K. Surrender, find your power, lead with Empathy, be Authentic, and trust that the life lessons give you the Knowledge to get from where you are to where you want to be.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you’d like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this. :-)
In no particular order… Oprah, Beyonce, Michelle Obama, Viola Davis and Brené Brown. They have all impacted my life in more ways than one. I’d love to simply say thank you.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
Follow me on Instagram and TikTok @tune2tunde
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher, and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness, and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
