Story & Lesson Highlights with Raylene Espitia of Sawtelle

We recently had the chance to connect with Raylene Espitia and have shared our conversation below.

Raylene, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
I think people think I am trying to just take people’s money, which couldn’t be further from the truth. My business exists simply because I have the knowledge, experience, and influence to help people become healthier individuals.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Raylene Espitia – most people call me Ray. I’m a fitness and nutrition coach and the founder of Ray M Wellness, a coaching brand built for busy, high-performing women who want to feel strong, confident, and at home in their bodies again.

What makes my work different is that I don’t just tell people what to eat and what workouts to do – I coach each person based on their real life. Many of my clients are legal professionals and business owners who are juggling demanding careers, stress, social lives, and a history of starting and stopping their health journey. My approach blends structured strength training, realistic nutrition, and mindset work so my clients can build muscle, lose fat, and sustain results without burning out or giving up the rest of their lives. I’ve been successful in coaching people like this because I was – and am – just like them. I built my business while working high-pressure full-time jobs, moving across the country multiple times (on my own), and learning how to silence the BS excuses and actually get results. That experience allows me to coach with both empathy and structure. I’m supportive, but I’m also honest, data-driven, and deeply invested in helping women follow through on what they say they want.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed I was supposed to stay quiet, stay in my lane, and stay small so there would be plenty of room for others. I thought keeping my head down and not causing any attention was the right way to exist.

I don’t believe that anymore.

Now, I speak up. I advocate for myself. I leave rooms, conversations, and situations that don’t feel right. I don’t shrink to make others comfortable, and I don’t allow anyone to silence me. My voice is not a problem – it’s a strength. It changes people’s lives for the better.

Letting go of that old belief changed how I live, how I lead, and how I show up in the world.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me how to access strength within myself when nothing around me felt secure. It showed me who I am when there’s no external validation, no momentum, and no clear payoff – just effort, uncertainty, and the choice to keep going anyway.

Success can reinforce confidence, but suffering builds self-trust. It taught me resilience, discernment, and how to separate my worth from outcomes. It forced me to develop boundaries, patience, and a deeper respect for my own capacity to endure discomfort without abandoning myself.

Most importantly, suffering taught me that growth isn’t always loud or visible. Some of the most meaningful progress happens quietly, long before anyone calls it “success.”

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes – the public version of me is real, but it’s not the entire picture.

What people see publicly is my confidence, leadership, clarity, and voice – and all of that is authentic. At the same time, I’m aware that visibility requires translation. In a world driven by algorithms and marketing tactics, there are moments where I have to speak or create in ways that aren’t how I’d naturally express myself in a private setting, simply to earn attention and reach the people I’m meant to serve.

That doesn’t make the public version of me fake – it makes it strategic. I’m not performing a persona; I’m adapting my message to be heard. It often makes me cringe, but I have learned to remove my ego from my business, as this is simply something I must do. Behind the scenes, the values, beliefs, and integrity remain the same. The public version of me is real, just intentional, edited for context, and shaped by the reality of building a business in the digital age.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I understand deeply that nothing we do exists in isolation. Our energy and our choices create ripple effects, whether we’re aware of them or not.

Every single decision creates a chain reaction. How we treat our bodies, how we speak to others, what we tolerate, what we avoid, and what we choose to confront all influence the people around us. Even when it’s subtle, that energy transfers. We’re constantly impacting one another through our presence, our habits, and our behavior.

When you truly grasp that level of interconnectedness, personal responsibility changes. You stop seeing growth as something that only benefits you, and you start understanding it as something that shapes families, communities, and culture. How you live matters far beyond just your own life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://raymwellness.com
• Instagram: @raymwellness
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raylene-espitia

Image Credits
Caleb Schaftlein