Episode 48Mar 16, 2026· 26:12

She Never Planned to Teach. Then the Room Filled Up and the Mirrors Fogged Over.

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About this episode

Rhonda Good, fitness instructor at the Telford YMCA in Richmond, Kentucky, tells the origin story of how she accidentally became a group fitness instructor after two Zumba instructors quit simultaneously, leaving a packed class with no one to lead it. The conversation covers her path from winging a class with front-row regulars, to getting licensed, to starting a community ed Zumba class at EKU with two students, to…

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Who this episode is for

This episode may resonate with you if:

You've stumbled into doing something you never planned to do — and it's somehow become the thing you're most known for. You're still not sure how it happened.

You've started something new and the room is almost empty. You're showing up anyway, for two people, sometimes one, telling yourself it'll grow.

You hate being the center of attention but keep ending up there anyway. You've built something people love and you're still hiding in the bathroom beforehand.

You walked into a fitness class for the first time and felt completely out of your depth watching people who clearly know exactly what they're doing.

You've been thrown into something with zero preparation — told to figure it out, no training, morning-of notice — and somehow you did.

You've been doing something long enough that it stopped being what you do and became who you are — and you can pinpoint the exact moment it shifted.

What makes this episode interesting

How do people end up in careers they never planned for?

answered

For Rhonda, it wasn't a decision or a conversation — it was circumstances. Two instructors quit at the same time, the room was full, and there was no one to lead it, so she and a few others who knew the choreography just winged it.

"It wasn't a conversation. It was literally like just circumstances."

What does it feel like to go from teaching two people to a packed room?

answered

Rhonda describes starting at Berea College with literally two or three loyal students — 'sometimes it was just one or two of them' — then watching it explode to 60 or 65 people crammed in so tight she was six inches from the front mirror and the mirrors fogged over from body heat.

"were so many people in there. So the mirrors"

What was the Zumba craze actually like for instructors?

answered

Rhonda describes a culture where all instructors were expected to wear expensive Zumba-branded gear — pants running $60 in 2012, shirts $30–$35 — and where not wearing it made you stand out as someone who didn't belong. She calls it 'really cliquish and weird.'

"And"

Did Zumba have a weird culture around clothing and belonging?

answered

Rhonda says the brand's sizing was a 'biggest joke ever' — an extra large tank top fit like a women's small — and that bigger bodies simply had no clothes available. 'If you were bigger, there were no clothes for you. Period. You couldn't fit in any of it.'

"people would order an extra large tank top. Yeah. And it would come in and you were like, you'd hold it up and like, this is a size small in women's wear. But in Zumba, it's an extra large. And they got so much flack because if you were bigger, there were no clothes for you. Oh, period. You couldn't sit in any of it. Oh, wow. So they"

Setting expectations: This episode is not a guide to becoming a fitness instructor or a motivational framework for career pivots. It's Rhonda Good telling the actual story of how she ended up teaching — two instructors quit at the same time, a room was full, and there was nobody else to lead it.

Tone & style

Rhonda starts as a dedicated class-goer who only cared about instructors who would 'kill her.' When both of those instructors quit simultaneously, she gets licensed just to fill the gap, then gets a same-night surprise call to take over Berea College classes immediately. She starts with two loyal students, grows to 60–65 people packing the room until the mirrors fog over, and keeps adding venues and formats despite openly disliking being looked at — until teaching 23–25 hours a week becomes simply what she is.

Personal experience and storytelling. Rhonda is recounting how her career unfolded through circumstance, not prescribing steps for others to follow.

toneWarm & candid storytelling

focusHow Rhonda Good accidentally became a fitness instructor — not through ambition, but because two people quit at the same time and someone had to step up.

stylestorytelling

energymedium

complexitybeginner

pressure Levellow

emotional Texturegrounded, quietly compelling, matter-of-fact

Notable quotes

"It wasn't a conversation. It was literally like just circumstances."

— Rhonda Good

"dumbbell. I didn't give them a choice. Yeah."

— Rhonda Good

"Yeah, I mean, that's what you"

— Rhonda Good

"like, if you're not if you're not killing yourself with me, then. I want to be here. So."

— Rhonda Good

Show notes & timestamps

00:00Introduction & Podcastthon

00:57Humane Society Animal League for Life of Madi

01:31Two Instructors Quit at Once

04:43Getting Licensed & The EKU Community Ed Class

11:10The YMCA — Subbing, Expanding, and the Sugges

15:1914 Years In — When It Became Who She Is

19:38How She Treats New Students

21:43The Instructor She Needed vs. The Instructor

24:38Wrap-Up & What's Next

Episode transcript

Organized into 11 chapters — open any part to read the full text.

0:001. Intro, Podcast Thon, and Why Rhonda Is BackAshley introduces Rhonda Good, explains the Podcast Thon charity initiative, and describes how Rhonda's recommendation of the Humane Society Animal League for Life of Madison County was randomly selected.2:352. Two Instructors Quit at Once and Rhonda Steps UpRhonda describes how becoming an instructor was never planned — two Zumba instructors she liked both quit simultaneously, leaving a packed room with no one to lead it, which pushed her to get licensed.5:303. Starting Small at EKU and Getting Called to Berea CollegeRhonda deliberately starts with a low-pressure community ed class at EKU, then gets a surprise same-night call from the Berea College instructor who quits on the spot and asks Rhonda to take over immediately.10:204. From Two Students to Fogged-Up Mirrors at BereaRhonda recounts how Berea College classes started with just two or three loyal students, then exploded to 60–65 people per class, packing the room so tightly the mirrors fogged over — and how she'd hide in the bathroom beforehand to steel herself.14:305. Subbing Every Format at the Y and Getting Called Back for MoreThe Richmond Y calls Rhonda to sub for two pregnant instructors, and she ends up covering every format — including last-minute bootcamp — until suggestion box notes reading 'more Rhonda' start piling up.19:006. Aqua Classes, Pool Crowds, and the Lifeguard She Refused to BecomeRhonda adds aqua fitness classes in 2016, which grow to 25–35 people in the pool, prompting the CEO to suggest she get lifeguard certified — a line she flatly refuses to cross.19:007. When Teaching Became Identity, Not Just a JobRhonda reflects on the shift from teaching as something she did to something she is, pinpointing it around 12 hours a week, and describes the peak of teaching 23–25 hours weekly across multiple venues before COVID collapsed Berea from her schedule.23:008. Getting Certified and the Zumba Wear CultureAshley asks about the certification process and whether Rhonda ever felt like an imposter; Rhonda describes the expensive, cliquish Zumba clothing culture and the brand's notorious sizing problems for bigger bodies.23:579. How Rhonda Handles New Students Walking Into a Room of RegularsA student-submitted question prompts Rhonda to explain how she spots newcomers immediately, introduces herself, and tells them to do what they can — especially younger people who underestimate the cardio class when they see older regulars.26:1210. Outro: Podcast Thon and What's Coming in Episode TwoAshley wraps up with a call to visit podcastthon.org and donate to the Humane Society Animal League for Life of Madison County, and previews episode two covering Rhonda's views on the fitness industry and instructor loyalty.26:1811. The Instructor She Needed and the One She BecameRhonda describes the two instructors who shaped her standard — ones who never stopped moving and held her accountable — and how that became the template she carried into her own teaching, including adding weights at the end of Zumba classes before Zumba Strong existed.

Open full transcript

Mentioned in this episode

personRhonda Good

Fitness instructor at the Telford YMCA in Richmond, Kentucky — the guest whose origin story as an accidental instructor is the center of the episode.

organizationTelford YMCA

The Richmond, Kentucky YMCA where Rhonda currently teaches — referred to throughout as 'the Y' and the anchor of her teaching schedule.

organizationPodcast Thon

A global initiative in its fourth edition where thousands of podcasts spotlight a charity of their choice in the same week — the framework under which this episode series was produced.

organizationHumane Society Animal League for Life of Madison County

The Kentucky animal charity Ashley chose to highlight for Podcast Thon, originally recommended by Rhonda Good in a community thread.

organizationEKU

Eastern Kentucky University, where Rhonda worked her day job and deliberately started a low-pressure community ed Zumba class as her first teaching gig.

placeBerea College

The college where Rhonda took over a departing instructor's Zumba classes on a surprise same-night call, eventually packing the room to 60–65 people until the mirrors fogged over.

companyZumba

The dance fitness brand Rhonda first got licensed in — described as 'the thing' at the time, with an expensive and cliquish clothing culture and notorious sizing problems for bigger bodies.

websitepodcastthon.org

The website Ashley directs listeners to in order to discover other charities being highlighted by podcasters worldwide during Podcast Thon week.

Key themes

Becoming an instructor by accident

Rhonda never planned to teach — two Zumba instructors she liked quit simultaneously, leaving a packed room with no one to lead it, and she stepped in out of necessity rather than ambition.

Starting small on purpose

After getting licensed, Rhonda deliberately chose a low-pressure community ed class at EKU with a handful of EKU employees so she could ease into teaching without the weight of a full room watching her.

Classes growing from two people to fogged-up mirrors

Rhonda's Berea College classes started with just two or three loyal students and eventually packed the room so tightly — 60 to 65 people — that the mirrors fogged over from body heat.

Discomfort with being looked at

Despite packing rooms of 60-plus people, Rhonda describes herself as not a people person who doesn't enjoy being the center of attention — she would hide in the bathroom before class to steel herself before walking back out.

Feet-to-the-fire learning across every format

At the Y, Rhonda kept getting called the morning of to cover formats she'd never taught — including last-minute bootcamp — and ended up covering every class format before anyone formally trained her.

Never canceling as the foundation of reputation

Rhonda credits her growth at the Y directly to the fact that she never canceled, never called in, and never got a sub — a consistency she describes as the thing that made her classes keep growing.

Teaching becoming identity, not just a job

Rhonda pinpoints the shift from teaching as something she did to something she is at around 12 hours a week, eventually reaching 23 to 25 hours weekly across multiple venues.

The Zumba culture and its cliquishness

Rhonda describes the early Zumba instructor world as expensive and cliquish — with branded clothing that cost $60 pants in 2012, sizing that excluded bigger bodies, and a social pressure to look the part that she eventually left behind.

The instructor she needed and became

Rhonda describes the two instructors who shaped her standard — ones who never stopped moving and held her accountable if she missed — and how that became the exact template she carried into her own teaching.

Welcoming newcomers into a room of regulars

Rhonda explains how she immediately spots new people, introduces herself before class starts, and specifically grabs younger newcomers who underestimate the cardio class when they see older regulars in the room.

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