Today we’d like to introduce you to Mads Hegelund.
Hi Mads, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. I moved to the U.S. at 17 to play college tennis and earned my undergraduate degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of New Mexico. I later completed a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Denver where I also served as the graduate assistant for the men’s tennis team.
After grad school, I moved to Los Angeles and built a successful career coaching high-level tennis clients, professionals, entertainers, and creatives. Over time, I realized that what I loved most wasn’t refining someone’s technique, it was exploring the deeper mental and emotional patterns that shaped how they showed up in life.
Today, I work full-time as a therapist and coach, blending psychology, self-inquiry, and grounded conversation. My practice is fully online, designed for people who want more than quick fixes – they want clarity, expansion, and a stronger relationship with themselves.
I specialize in working with ambitious, thoughtful individuals, often high-functioning but quietly overwhelmed, who are ready to move beyond survival mode and reconnect with who they really are.
I believe we heal through expression, not suppression. Through story, not silence. Through expansion, not contraction. My work is about guiding people back to their own wisdom, and helping them make the internal shifts that lead to meaningful, lasting change.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is the feeling of never fully belonging.
I moved from Denmark to the U.S. at 17, and ever since, I’ve been navigating what it means to build a life in a place that doesn’t quite feel like home. I’ve had to prove myself in almost every room I’ve walked into, socially, professionally, culturally. That pressure shaped me into someone who could adapt, perform, and succeed, but it also disconnected me from parts of myself I didn’t even realize I was neglecting.
For years, I operated in what I now understand was survival mode. From the outside, I was thriving, coaching elite clients, staying busy, always “on.” But beneath that was a quiet exhaustion and a growing disconnect between what I was doing and who I really was.
The biggest leap I’ve taken was choosing to leave behind the identity I had built—successful tennis coach, always in motion, and step into a more honest and vulnerable path as a therapist and coach. It meant walking away from what was safe and familiar. It meant facing imposter syndrome and uncertainty. But it also meant reclaiming my voice and my vision.
I’ve learned that sometimes the hardest part of transformation isn’t the change itself, it’s letting go of the role you played for so long just to feel safe. But if you can release that old script, you get to write something real
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a therapist and coach with a background in psychology, philosophy, and sport. My work is focused on helping people untangle the internal patterns that keep them stuck whether that’s perfectionism, overthinking, self-doubt, or the pressure to constantly perform.
I work primarily with ambitious, self-aware individuals – people who are high-functioning on the outside but often feel exhausted or disconnected on the inside. These are the kinds of people who don’t want to settle for surface-level advice, they want depth, perspective, and real movement.
What sets my work apart is how I blend traditional psychology with lived experience, intuition, and a deep understanding of human performance and identity. I’m not here to pathologize or fix people. I’m here to help them reconnect with their own clarity and strength.
I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all models. Some people I work with need reflection. Others need challenge. Most need both. My job is to meet them where they are, help them understand the truth beneath the noise, and create momentum that feels grounded and self-directed.
It’s not therapy that lives in a sterile box. It’s not coaching that ignores emotion. It’s a conversation that’s real, embodied, and human. The kind of work that helps people stop surviving and start living with more integrity, freedom, and depth.
What do I want people to know about me?
I want people to know that I’ve lived the things I talk about.
I know what it feels like to question your path, to carry pressure you can’t explain, to smile through seasons of loneliness, and to lose parts of yourself trying to fit into a version of success that doesn’t feel like home.
I’ve had to unlearn a lot of things, about masculinity, about achievement, about worth. I’ve had to let go of roles that no longer fit in order to find a voice that’s actually mine.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. But I do know how to listen deeply, challenge gently, and hold space for the kind of conversations that can change a life.
At the core of my work is a belief in freedom, not just external freedom, but the kind that comes from knowing who you are, what you want, and what you’re no longer willing to carry. That’s what I try to help people return to: themselves.
What does success mean to you?
For me, success isn’t about status, followers, or financial milestones.
These days, success looks like alignment. Waking up with energy. Living in a way that’s true to who I am, not who I think I’m supposed to be. Being able to support myself doing work I believe in, while still having time to move, create, rest, and connect.
Success is feeling like I don’t have to prove anything. It’s building a life that reflects my values: depth, freedom, honesty, and impact.
If I can help people come home to themselves while continuing to grow and evolve in my own way – then I’m already there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.madstherapy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madstherapist
Image Credits
My own
