Meet Rachel Wagner | Yoga Instructor and Entertainment Marketing Executive

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Wagner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, every day, we know how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I have been practicing yoga for over 25 years as a way to find a work life balance in a stress executive position. Once, I realized the benefits I achieved were so beneficial, I knew at some point I would deepen practice by becoming a yoga instructor. My career as an entertainment sponsorship and marketing executive was soaring and that is where I was placed most of my focus. What kept me centered, focused and extremely productive in a pressure cooker job of working on live televised events, was applying the principles of yoga off the matt. I big part of my success that also brought me a lot of joy was mentoring, a lot of which was practicing that basic mind set of yoga. I realized I had a calling for yoga, but how could I leave the security and comforts of corporate life to become a yoga teacher. When it clicked that the business of yoga is very similar to the business I had been applying to my career. I could build a business plan similar along the lines I hade been doing over the span of my 20+ career that would always include diversification and multiple revenue streams.

Those various revenue streams of my yoga business include, private lessons, corporate classes, yoga retreats and teaching classes. The latter is more for marketing since that part of the business in not very lucrative, but is a great way to cultivate more clients while promoting retreats to a targeting audience. It’s also a great way to curate content for marketing purposes which is also a big part of my business startegy.

I also had an aha moment realizing how I can apply the skills and contacts from my 25+ years in entertainment marketing. I have worked closely with brands and can find sponsors who can support my efforts while benefiting from the audience I can deliver for them. I have a lot of experience producing high end tentpole events and I have applied those planing skills to execute yoga retreats. I have also been able to tap into my contacts to get positions teaching in offices for a lunch time or what I call “happy hour” yoga at the end of the work day. This serves the same team building purpose as going to out for a team lunch or drinks after work while building strength and self awareness.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Making the transition to yoga from an executive has been seamless, but not always easy. I built a very strong consultancy in entertainment sponsorship and marketing after leaving an incredible position at Dick Clark Production as the SVP of Brand Partnerships. After working many years on live awards shows (Golden Globes, American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, etc…) I decided to spread my wings to work in cause marketing, film, music while jumping back into sports marketing and have been able to keep this going while building my yoga practice. On many of the events I have been working on, I incorporated a health wellness component. By doing this I have added a whole category of brands (Lululemon, ALO, Equinox, etc.) that wouldn’t usually sponsor an entertainment event. I can close the brand deals and teach the class they are sponsoring.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would start the first morning in my neighborhood in Studio City starting with a yoga class at my favorite studio, Artha. After class we would hop into the sauna and then cryo, quick shower before heading down Ventura Blvd. for brunch at Black Market. Since the afternoon is still young we would do some shopping on Ventura Blvd. before hoping over to Tujunga for more shopping.

The next day we would head over to Malibu for a day on the beach at Surf Rider beach. After watching the surfers paddle out for a while we would walk over the the pier for lunch at Malibu Farms. We’d head back to the beach for the rest of the afternoon. Before we head over Malibu Canyon, we’d stop to do a littles shopping in the Country Mart before enjoying happy hour there at Tra de Noi.

To really have the “LA Experience” We would start with brunch/lunch at the Château Marmont, where you are guaranteed to see a celebrity sighting. Then we’d hop over to Melrose place for some people watch at Alfred’s and then some window shopping at the hot spots on the street. We may even walk over to the Paul Smith store for pictures against the pink wall. Then happy hour at Gracias Madres and dinner at Craig’s for another guaranteed spot for a celebrity sighting

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a my best friend to The Getty. It is easy to make a day there since you have several options for lunch. However after lunch I would continue the museum tour with a trip to the Arm and Hammer museum before heading over to Academy Museum before walking over to LACMA to check out their installments and then finishing the day there with jazz in the plaza (Oh did I mention if was Friday:)

DTLA is the hub of LA history which is where my story started as an LA native who really has roots here, my grandpa used to have stories that always originate there. As I a life long Lakers fan, we would start at LA Live to checkout the Lakers and Kings Statues, then over to Hotel Figuroa for breakfast (that hotel holds some history for my family:) We’d head over to MOCA and then over to Bavel for an amazing dinner.

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Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have a few I would like to recognize starting with Claire Hartley and Daniel Stewart the owners of Rising Lotus who lead my Yoga Teacher Training. I would also like to recognize my yoga mentors Micki Durant, Maya Gorodetsky and Nina Siemaszko. Lynda Dorf my dear friend and colleague also deserve recognition for my story along with some of my previous bosses/mentors, Orly Adelson and Ray Baharami.

Website: https://rjw-lifestyleyoga.com

Instagram: rjw_lifestyle_yoga

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-wagner-61b40413/

Image Credits
Philip D. Schwartz, Photography