We recently had the chance to connect with Melanie Webb and have shared our conversation below.
Melanie, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
Yes I would! I recently posted an Instagram Reel with the caption “Who’s on Your Team?” Most people don’t think of life that way, but when it comes to our personal wellbeing, it’s essential that we have the specialists who we can go to in order to help us be our best selves. In my line of work, fitness, I get to be that person for my private clients, and it’s an honored role that I approach with a level of professionalism that I learned by virtue of working in the best luxury clubs and private studios in the country, and that I think everyone should expect from their personal trainer.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! I’m Melanie Webb, and I’ve spent my career working with one foot in the fitness industry and the other in the outdoors. I was named “The person to call” by DEPARTURES Magazine, “a leader in the adventure travel industry” by Norie Quintos of National Geographic Traveler, and “one of the top trainers in the industry” by The Sports Club/LA (now Equinox). I’m the founder and creator of WebbWell, a sought-after industry and corporate retreat facilitator and speaker. My fitness course Mother Nature’s Gym Outdoor Fitness Guide teaches fitness pros treat their clients to an outdoor trip of a lifetime.
WebbWell is a multiplatform fitness company working with corporations, hospitality leaders, families, trainers, and individual clients to connect body and mind with nature – safely and confidently through private fitness training, outdoor fitness retreats, and on-demand digital products.
I’m always working on ‘my next project’ and am excited to share that my new podcast, The Mindful Trainer with Melanie Webb, will be launching in August! The Mindful Trainer is on a mission to elevate the voices of athletes, coaches, and trainers who’ve battled injury, burnout, and personal setbacks—and come back stronger. By sharing their stories, we aim to support and inspire anyone facing physical or mental hardship. This is where training gets real, and resilience takes center stage. Stay tuned!
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
When I was a little girl I was shy, loved to read books, run outside, create little businesses while daydreaming in my closet, and collect insects. I was also athletically gifted, so once I started playing coach pitch baseball at 8 years old, there was no turning back from a life in sports. I naturally gravitated to team sports and found a true sense of belonging there. Combined with discipline and a real affinity for spending time in a flow state, bringing my best self to every practice and game was a goal that I set for myself at a young age and maintained in my working life.
I excelled in the life sciences in school and wanted to become an Athletic Trainer when I started college. By my junior year I learned that there were only four female AT’s in the entire NCAA at the time. I got discouraged and disillusioned by the career path that lie ahead of me, and the 2,000 hour unpaid internship to earn the certification was equally overwhelming to a middle class kid like me who worked her way through school to help pay for expenses. By my senior year I had changed my major to pre-med in order to give myself more career options, effectively eliminating myself from the possibility of working as an Athletic Trainer in any setting.
For a time I channeled my love and comfort with nature into working as a wildlife biologist. My desire to earn more money pushed me to find work as an environmental consultant. Both limited my opportunities to government jobs, and after five years I realized that, in spite of the job security, I wasn’t cut out for the life of a bureaucrat. I pivoted back to my love of the human body and became a Certified Personal Trainer, applying my innate sense of teamwork to partnering with my clients to reach their health and fitness goals.
As I’ve grown into adulthood, it’s remarkable where my unique personality, skills and traits have been welcomed in the workplace–and where they haven’t. My focused, competitive spirit has been misinterpreted as a threat. Although I’m great at relationship building and seemingly outgoing, my quiet, reflective nature requires a balance of solitude that others don’t often understand. After having worked at one 5-star luxury environment after another, the high level at which I perform has also made me a misfit in certain industries and workplace cultures.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that, in a world that wants all of us to be reduced to something one-dimensional that the social media algorithm can easily pinpoint and promote, showing up as an authentic personality that is more complex can feel isolating and lonely. I guess that’s why I’m making my way as an entrepreneur now, because I can show up letting my ‘freak flag fly,’ if you will.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Healing from injury and setbacks is something I have experienced up close and personal many times. There are different kind of wounds–the physical and emotional. The physical wounds have influenced my decision to double down on my business WebbWell, to try to make evidence-based health and fitness programming available not only through my work with private clients, but to a wider audience through on-demand platforms. What I’ve learned is that healing the body after an injury is almost easier than healing the emotional side of injury. Emotionally we are forced to confront our very mortality and identity by being forced to ‘sit on the bench’ while the wound heals. Over time I’ve learned to lean on the support of the team of specialists I’ve built: there’s Mary, my Rolfer, Ruth and Joshua, my mental health therapists, Katie, the neuro specialist so talented I can’t even describe what she does, a number of physical therapists and spiritual leaders.
Like most people, there have been a number of heartbreaks personally. One that stands out was when my best friend and roommate died suddenly from a routine surgery that was later determined to be medical malpractice. We were only 30 years old. I was shocked and heartbroken by the events surrounding her death. A runner at the time, my first instinct was to run and just keep running. Sitting with the pain was the last thing I wanted to do, or knew how to do. My co-workers, friends and clients at the time were a tremendous support to me. I also went to therapy, to try to process my feelings and what had happened. That’s when I learned that mourning is a very personal process. There’s no right or wrong way to experience it. Losing loved one’s never gets easier, but I learned a lot of compassion from that experience.
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 are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I’m going to pick an easy one and call out the fitness industry at large for two things:
1) selling the general public the lie that in order to be healthy you have to go inside to exercise, and
2) diluting our profession to the extent that even those of us with college degrees and respected industry certifications can’t get approved on insurance panels to help those who need our help the most.
These two lies may be two reasons why the health of Americans is on the decline generation over generation, and why we’ve become a people who are so completely detached from the natural world.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Comparing myself to others. That part of me that has chosen a life of creativity, authenticity, integrity, and adventure over consumption, security, or making millions of dollars often worries about the economy and my financial future. But hell, if I had only 10 years left to live, I wouldn’t worry about any of that! I would keep living my best life, doing what I love to do, and surrounding myself with people who truly love, support, and nurture me and my dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://webbwell.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/webbwell_
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieawebb
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@webbwell
Image Credits
Kylie Fly, Robert Seale, Sascha Milara, Bristol Noorda
