“In your business life, in your workouts, in your relationships, nothing is ever easy, and there’s always going to be hardships… I think tapping into [your] inner power and saying ‘I can do this. I can conquer these things’—that’s how you’re going to overcome that,” says Erika Hammond in this episode of Brilliant Thoughts. While her career has been full of tough moments and challenges—from leaving WWE to starting from the bottom in her new career to learning how to build a business—Hammond has continued to conquer them all.
Getting into WWE wasn’t one of her plans—in fact, she was only supposed to be a host. But during the two-week audition, her athleticism earned her a spot as one of the wrestlers. Though she left two years later, her journey in fitness continued. While she was starting over on the ground floor of her new career, it gave her the chance to do something she had always loved: boxing. And her career only continued to evolve from there.
Today, Hammond is the creator of her own workout program, Knockout, which she built in partnership with Equinox. The idea started during COVID-19 when she did free Instagram Live workouts, and her online platform developed from there. Knockout and STRONG by Erika Hammond are the first businesses she’s created entirely on her own, and while they’ve presented their difficulties, they’ve also given her the opportunity to do what she’s always wanted—help people become a more powerful version of themselves.
Hammond and host Tristan Ahumada discuss the story of her career, the importance of networking and deciding which opportunities you’d like to chase, and where she’s looking to go in the future.
Mentioned:
Erika Hammond, previously a WWE Diva turned founding trainer of Rumble Boxing, one of the world’s leading group fitness studios, has become a household name in the health and wellness space. Find her on Instagram @erikaannhammond or at strongbyerica.com, and discover Knockout on Equinox’s website.
Brilliant Thoughts is no longer releasing new episodes on the SUCCESS Podcast Network, but you can still listen to the full conversation below.