Meet Mel Cohen

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mel Cohen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mel, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Though I am still working to overcome my struggles with imposter syndrome, I have made great strides! My now business evolved accidentally and organically from a personal hobby. As a former lawyer, my path to group fitness was not a traditional one. Comparing myself to the many instructors around me who have decades of working in the fitness space under their belt, is something that has certainly made me feel insecure at times. While I do not have a long fitness resume, I was a dancer for most of my life. I danced in dance classes, I danced for a DJ company at events, but, mostly, I danced alone in my room choreographing my own routines that no-one would ever see.
My lifelong love and passion for dance was forever an outlet for me to escape from the stressors of life. During the early days of the covid pandemic, as the mom of 2 very young children, I found myself in a particularly stressful situation to say the least! When I was able to carve out even a small amount of time for my self-care, I always turned to dance. Ultimately, I blended dance with weights and cooked up a dance-based workout of my own design. This “me time” everyday became my happy hour, and the consistency that I devoted to this exercise substantially changed the aesthetic of my body. As friends and family noticed that change in my appearance, and knowing the passion and excitement I developed for my workout, they encouraged me to think beyond myself and share this with my community. After I overcame many mental hurdles of self -doubt surrounding my ability to even do just that, I felt like I had to constantly downplay and undersell what I was offering. I would even refer to my class as a “fake workout,” and trust me, there’s nothing fake about it! As Move With Mel began to grow in popularity, I have slowly gained confidence in my skills. What has been incredibly helpful in overcoming my imposter syndrome has been solidifying my mission in why I have continued to build Move With Mel. It is far beyond just a workout. It is something that truly makes me happy and healthy and my goals is to help you feel the same through the power of dance-based movement!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Move With Mel is an upbeat, fast paced and FUN dance-based fitness party! Each class is a 60 minute hybrid of dance cardio with light-resistance training with the underlying goal for everyone to let loose, enjoy the music, and dance like no-one is watching all while getting a great workout! What I think sets “MWM” apart from other workouts is that I have turned my greatest hobby into a business, so I never feel like I am working. MWM is my creative outlet as well and I am constantly creating! While each class follows a familiar structure, virtually every class comes with brand new playlist with new choreography. Both creating the playlists as well as the moves gives me a huge mental boost and I am always so excited to present what I cook up! I can always feel my excitement radiating through and bringing the energy in the room to the next level!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

If I had to pick 3 qualities or skills of mine that I deemed most impactful in my journey, one would absolutely be my theatre background! Even in my brief time as a lawyer, my theatre education has definitely prepared me feeling comfortable being front and center. Teaching class often times feels like a performance, and the skills and experience I have acquired growing up involved in theatre, music and dance have translated so well into leading a dance fitness class.
Another personal skill of mine that I find extremely helpful is my memory! As I constantly am making up new classes with choreography every day, my ability to remember a lot of information in a short amount of time is very useful and allows me to continue to be as frequently creative as I’d like to be!
Lastly, I think one of the greatest skills I have that has helped me in this endeavor is empathy. Group fitness can be intimidating to many people and being empathetic to the sensitivities and insecurities of the women who attend my classes is extremely important in creating a welcoming, non-judgmental environment. Further, I believe practicing empathy will always improve the outcome of whatever we embark on.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The way in which my parents emphasized treating all people equally and respectfully has been extremely impactful for me. My parents were always extremely generous and involved in our community, and were devoted to volunteering and helping others. They raised me to value acts of human kindness and personal substance over materialistic items and to never judge others for superficial reasons. I credit this mentality I was raised with for making me comfortable relating to all different types of people and having a unique and diverse group of friends.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: move.with.melc