An Inspired Chat with Fenia Bozionelou of London

Fenia Bozionelou shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Fenia , thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I’ve tried hard to live a “normal” lifestyle, but every time I do, I reach the same conclusion: normal just isn’t for me. So instead, I’ve created what I call my own regenerative living, a way of being that gives me energy instead of draining it. I try to live in rhythm with my life, even in the middle of a fast city like London, balancing a 9–5 job with my creative calling through La Route Coaching.

My mornings start gently around 6am with some breathwork and journaling, small rituals that help me land before the day begins. (I was never a morning person, but now I actually love it!) Then it’s either reformer pilates or swimming, and by 9am I’m at the office with my coffee, easing into the day.

Work usually flows between team meetings, client sessions, and creative work for La Route Coaching. Lunch is my pause to restore energy, reflect, and draw inspiration for what’s next.

Evenings are often full of events, talks, or just catching up with people who energise me. I finish the day with a hot shower, my favourite skincare ritual, and 20–30 minutes of reading before bed. Then it’s lights out, “The Reset”, as I call it. The next day always starts fresh, from zero.

And of course, not every day looks like this. There are days when I lose the rhythm completely, when nothing flows and I feel off-track. But I’ve learned to meet those days with a new kind of softness and creativity. Instead of fighting them, I listen. I give myself the space and time to see what they’re trying to tell me. That’s part of regenerative living too knowing when to rest, when to let go, and when to begin again.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey there, my name is Fenia. I’m the founder of La Route Coaching, a space dedicated to helping creative people and unconventional leaders slow down, reconnect, and lead from a place of authenticity and joy. My background is in business psychology and psychometrics, and I’ve always been fascinated by what makes people tick, what drives them, what blocks them, and how they can live and work in a way that actually feels like creating.

La Route Coaching was born out of my own journey of questioning the traditional “success” path. I realised that creativity, leadership, and wellbeing don’t need to exist separately, they can feed each other when we build cultures that are regenerative, not extractive. Through coaching, workshops, and immersive experiences, I help individuals and teams create meaningful change without burning out or losing themselves in the process.

What makes La Route Coaching special is that it’s not just a business, it’s a living experiment in how we can work, create, and lead differently. It’s for those of us who no longer want to “play the game,” but instead want to co-create something more human, playful, and real.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was carefree and wildly curious. I could spend hours watching the sky, turning clouds into shapes with my imagination. I laughed a lot, played a lot, and honestly believed that everything would work out in the end.

Then I moved to London and had to “grow up” (even though, technically, I was already an adult). Somewhere along the way, I got caught up in structure and schedules, trying to fit my life into tidy boxes. Spoiler: it didn’t work. And now, I’m in the process of breaking those boxes down.

These days, I’m still in London, but I’ve learned how to dance between freedom and planning. I balance structure with spontaneity, goals with gratitude, and I finally feel like I’m living in rhythm with myself again.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
The defining wounds of my life have quite literally been the wounds I got from surgery three years ago. But let’s take it from the start.

It was Christmas, and I was back home in Greece with my family. After Christmas dinner, I had what I later learned was my first panic attack. At the time, I had no idea what was happening, I just knew something felt very wrong. When I returned to London, I started therapy. Anxiety disorder they said. Looking back, it made sense. I’d been constantly stressed since moving to London, trying to juggle a 9–5 job, a podcast, my big ambitions as a new founder and solopreneur, my relationship, and a busy city life.

Fast forward seven months to that summer: I found myself in the hospital, in intense pain. I needed emergency surgery to save my life due to internal bleeding from an ectopic pregnancy. Because, of course, in the middle of all that chaos, I thought, “Why not add a baby too? I can do it all!” Well, no I couldn’t. Not in the mental state I was by pushing myself hard and no breathing. That was the biggest wake-up call of my life.

At the time, I didn’t let it stop me. I healed physically, went back to work, and kept chasing my goals. I told myself it didn’t affect me anymore. But it did deeply. Three years later, I can finally say I’ve healed from my second burnout (this time without any hospital visits!). According to my therapist, most people experience up to 2.5 burnouts in their lifetime so I guess I’m good now!

Here’s what helped me heal:
1. Having a supportive system: friends, family, and professionals (therapists, coaches, etc.)
2. Eating well and taking my vitamins and supplements
3. Exercising a non-negotiable!
4. Meditation and breathwork to help me slow down
5. Journaling instead of overthinking
6. A few days by the sea, the best medicine
7. Detaching from everything and simply trusting life

Now, I know how to listen to myself and take care of my energy. And when I don’t know the way, I’ve learned to stop forcing it and let it find me instead.

For anyone out there who finds themselves in those dark, cold places struggling with thoughts, stress, or just trying to hold it all together, I promise you, there’s light waiting for you to feel it. Don’t quit today.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Authenticity always.

It’s the one cultural value I protect at all costs. In a world obsessed with fitting in, performing, and “playing the game,” I choose real over perfect, every single time. Authenticity isn’t a buzzword for me, it’s a way of living, leading, and creating.

It means showing up as I am, not as who I think I should be. It means saying no to what drains me, even when it looks impressive on paper. And it means building spaces, through La Route Coaching, where people can drop the masks, slow down, and reconnect with what’s true for them.

Because I believe the most radical thing we can do today is to be fully, unapologetically ourselves. When we learn to love and accept ourselves as we are, we become capable of truly loving and accepting the people around us, with all their beautiful differences.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I want people to remember me in all my different shapes, parts, and roles, the full mosaic of who I was.

As a daughter and sister who might have made life a bit challenging at times, but who loved deeply and was always grateful for the family that shaped her even with all our beautiful differences.

As a partner who needed to walk her own path, heal her own wounds, and still chose to stand by love even when the journey got hard.

As a best friend who was always there, no matter how many kilometres or time zones away, holding space, cheering, listening, laughing, sometimes crying.

As a colleague who brought teams together through humour, care, and honesty the kind of presence that reminded people they mattered.

And as a creative leader who showed a new way of seeing the world, working, and living rooted in authenticity, play, and self-awareness. Someone who reminded others that it’s okay to be human, to be vulnerable, and to lead with heart.

If my work, my words, or simply the way I lived can help even a few people reconnect with themselves and have the courage to live their truth then I’ll know I did what I came here to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laroutecoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fenialaroute/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/feniabozionelou/