We sat down with the plant-based Peloton instructor to learn about her vegan journey, businesses, and advice on leading a more aligned life.
If there’s anyone who can inspire you to improve your physical and mental wellness or stay on track with resolutions, it’s Robin Arzón. You might know the motivational Latina powerhouse as the Vice President of Fitness Programming and Head Instructor at Peloton, but that’s just one of the many hats Arzón wears. She is a 27-time marathon and ultra-marathon runner, MasterClass instructor, motivational speaker, bestselling author, founder of a lifestyle membership club, wife, and mother to two adorable kids—Athena and Atlas. Most recently, Arzón released a self-empowerment journal Welcome, Hustler and launched a bilingual kids toy company, Bebé Fuerte. Oh, and did we mention she used to be a corporate lawyer in NYC before all of this? Yep, it’s a lot! So keep reading to learn more about Robin Arzón’s vegan journey, businesses, and advice on leading a more aligned life.
Photo by Kimberly Tran
VegOut (VO): When did you go vegan? And what first inspired your decision to adopt a plant-based diet?
Robin Arzón (RA): I started transitioning to a plant-based diet about a decade ago. I would get a salad at the same bodega every day as a lawyer in New York City. One day, I ordered chicken, and it was uncooked or something. It looked disgusting. And I just thought, “I don’t think I should be putting that in my body.” Around that same time, I was pursuing ultra-marathons and heard about Scott Jurek and Rich Roll. And that one faded, infamous salad inspired me to do a deeper dive into plant-based eating. I started with lunches and then moved to lunches and dinners. Before I knew it, it was my entire kitchen.
VO: How does veganism support your life as an athlete, fitness instructor, and mom?
RA: As an athlete, I’m able to recover faster and my energy is dialed in—I’m able to do quite a lot of volume and intensity, and I think the way I fuel contributes to my ability to do that. I started plant-based eating when I started pursuing ultra marathons. I think it's enabled me to remain injury-free during all of those miles, all those races—and still to this day, [keeps me] feeling great, training at a pretty high intensity. As a mom, because I believe in [veganism] so much personally, I want to arm my family with those same tools of health and wellness. My husband was not plant-based when we first got together. He thought being plant-based was just eating lettuce. And then I started cooking for him, and he saw that he could still maintain muscle and be an athlete while eating plant-based protein sources. And he was convinced. It only took him a few months, and six years later he’s still plant-based.
VO: Did your diet and lifestyle have to change at all when you were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2014?
RA: No it didn’t. As an athlete, you’re pretty aware of what you’re putting into your body. When I was diagnosed as an adult on the eve of an ultra-marathon, I became much more aware of carb counts because I needed to input in technology that I used how much insulin I needed to take. So that aspect of it changed, but my actual diet did not change at all. I was eating whole foods, as unprocessed as possible—aware of what was on my plate and how my body was reacting to it. And I encourage all folks, whether they’re type 1 or not, to pay attention to how they feel after they eat [certain] foods. Feeling lethargic at the end of the day or having an upset stomach or reflux, that’s not a normal state of being.
Photo by Kimberly Tran
VO: Tell us more about working at Peloton. What is it like to work for a company dedicated to motivating individuals across the globe and improving their health?
RA: Oh gosh, I love it! I think this is my life’s mission to inspire people to move. Working with Peloton for 10 years, it has been incredible to witness the growth, change, and individual fires that we’re lighting in people’s lives. I get messages every day from people waking up to their power and using movement in that toolkit (I say I have a superhero toolkit). I see people utilizing movement in a heroic form. And that’s incredible.
VO: You also launched a revolutionary lifestyle membership club, Swagger Society. How did that come about?
RA: I wanted to find a way to go deeper with my most engaged followers. Swagger Society becomes an accountability partner. We have monthly calls that we call Queendom Halls, and I’m able to engage with the members, they’re able to ask me questions directly, and we’re building community. We had our first in-person event in late 2023, and it was cool to build community in person and then connect through our private app virtually. And we’re just gonna build on that momentum. The entire premise of Swagger Society is it’s a group of like-minded growth mindset-oriented individuals. And we’re creating a golden Rolodex of hustlers who believe that more is possible for ourselves individually and even better when done in community.
VO: More recently, you started a bilingual toy line, Bebé Fuerte. And you also released a second book for children, Strong Baby. Did you know you always wanted to make products for kids? Or did becoming a mom inspire these ventures?
RA: Oh, definitely becoming a mom. I did not know that I was going to be making toys and children’s books. That was not on my bingo card. What made it cool for me to pursue Bebé Fuerte and Strong Baby was the fact that I could do it on my terms and [with] my own voice. Of course, the toys are age-appropriate, but they feel like things I would have wanted to use as a kid or that I give my children now to read or play with. And it’s infused with my mantras, my point of view—certainly a Latina influence. It’s important to me that not everything needs to be babified. I think we can trust kids and arm them with things we find inspiring, things we find useful. And that was the goal for both projects.
VO: As a new mom of two and a busy entrepreneur, how do you find balance in your life?
RA: Instead of talking about balance, I prefer to talk about alignment in my values. Balance is virtuous, but I think it’s harmful, especially for caregivers and women because it implies that everything is gonna get even billing. Everything gets 25% of the pie or whatever it is. There are some days when I’m on a book tour, on set, or filming at Peloton, and I’m like 10% mom, 90% other stuff. And that’s okay because I’m delegating and trusting that my kids are cared for, and I’m making intentional choices to be in that place at that time wearing that hat of executive entrepreneur, host, television presenter—whatever the case is. And that’s a more freeing construct. Similarly, if my phone is down, and I’m with my kids, and the answer is “No, I’m not available,” it’s no, and I’m not explaining why. This is why I came out with something like Welcome, Hustler, or my MasterClass on mental toughness. I want folks to do the work and have the internal conversations, so they know when they’re aligned or misaligned in the first place. And then that makes the yeses and the noes easier to commit to. I’m crystal clear in what I’m about and what is important to me at any given time. That, to me, is a form of balance. That’s when I know I’m in alignment. I’m also willing to delegate and ask for what I need. I believe in superheroes, but to feel heroic, I don’t need to do it all. I’m okay with saying, “That’s not my project, that’s not for me, that’s somebody else's win today, and that’s alright.”
Photo by Kimberly Tran
VO: Mental health and motivation are significant aspects of your teachings. As someone who’s run numerous marathons, crossed the Serengeti with limited supplies, survived a hostage situation, and left your job as a lawyer to pursue health and fitness, what is your advice for overcoming challenges?
RA: I think we can use that little fearful voice as a companion, as a friend. We can interrogate fear, callous our mind, and use movement practices to develop confidence. Saying yes before we’re ready. There is never a good time. All those things you mentioned were either life circumstances that happened to me or circumstances where I just said, “Yes, I have no idea if I’m prepared for this, but I’m just gonna go.” The beauty of that is it’s not win or lose, it’s win or learn. I’ve always taken that knowledge with me and built the next thing. I say, “Keep working on your superhero toolkit.” And a lot of it goes back to the basics. How are you eating? How are you sleeping? Are you building community? Are you anchored in values? Do you even know what your values are? These are big questions that are exciting to find the answers to. And give yourself permission to change your mind. It’s in those inflection points that we learn so much about ourselves. I’m here to lead a big life. I’m not trying to lead a small life. I want my kids to know what uncommon looks like. So they can say, “I’m uncommon too in this way or that way.” Because we all are.
VO: Can you tell us more about what readers can expect to learn from you in your new self-empowerment journal, Welcome, Hustler?
RA: Welcome, Hustler is probably the most personal thing I’ve released. And that’s saying a lot because it’s my fourth published work. It’s because Welcome, Hustler is infused with my own mantras, with the questions I ask myself—still often, but very specifically when I was transitioning from law into wellness. The four-part audit that I did, the framework that is infused in Welcome, Hustler, is the framework that I use in my life. I manifested my husband by doing the things I talk about in Welcome, Hustler. So whether you’re at a plateau that could be a launching pad, whether you’re at a reflection point trying to find a new career, a partner, [or] whether you are just figuring out what your next chapter looks like, those are the folks that Welcome, Hustler is for.
VO: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
RA: I love this publication. I think If there’s curiosity around plant-based eating, it doesn't need to go zero to 100. Start with curiosity. Start with one dish, one restaurant, or one friend who you might be able to lean on. It starts with one decision. I started running with one mile. I was hired by Peloton by sending one email. Focus on one and then build from there.
To stay up-to-date with Robin, follow her on Instagram at @RobinNYC.
