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
Fitness instructor Rhonda Good describes how she accidentally became a group fitness instructor in 2012 after the two Zumba instructors she respected both quit simultaneously, leaving a packed class with no one to lead it. She covers getting Zumba-licensed, starting small with a community ed class at EKU, being thrown into Berea College classes with one night's notice, and watching attendance grow from two loyal…
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Notable quotes
"like, if you're not if you're not killing yourself with me, then. I want to be here. So. So, you"
— Rhonda Good
"dumbbell. I didn't give them a choice. Yeah."
— 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 10 chapters — open any part to read the full text.
0:001. Intro, Podcast Thon, and Why Rhonda Is BackAshley introduces the episode, explains the Podcast Thon initiative, and describes how Rhonda Good's charity recommendation — the Humane Society Animal League for Life of Madison County — was randomly selected to be featured.2:362. Two Instructors Quit at Once and Rhonda Steps UpRhonda explains that becoming a fitness instructor was never planned — it happened because the only two Zumba instructors she respected both quit simultaneously, leaving a packed room with no one to lead it, so she and a few classmates winged it.5:303. Easing In at EKU and Getting Called to Berea CollegeAfter getting licensed, Rhonda deliberately starts small with a community ed class at EKU, then gets a surprise call from a departing instructor asking her to take over Berea College classes that same night.10:004. From Two Students to Fogged-Up MirrorsRhonda describes how Berea College classes started with just two or three loyal students and eventually exploded to 60–65 people per session, so packed that body heat fogged up the mirrors — and how she'd hide in the bathroom beforehand to steel herself.14:305. Subbing Every Format at the YMCA and the Suggestion BoxThe Richmond YMCA calls Rhonda to sub for two pregnant instructors, and she ends up covering every format — including bootcamp with same-morning notice — until members start filling the suggestion box with 'more Rhonda, more Rhonda.'18:306. Aqua Classes, COVID, and Consolidating to the YRhonda adds pool classes in 2016, which grow to 25–35 people until COVID kills them off; over time she drops her other gigs and consolidates entirely at the Y, eventually teaching up to 23–25 hours a week.23:007. Getting Certified and the Zumba Gear CultureRhonda walks through her certifications — Zumba, general group fitness, Silver Sneakers — and reflects on the expensive, cliquish Zumba clothing culture of the early 2010s, including sizing that excluded bigger bodies.26:308. When Teaching Became Identity, and Welcoming New StudentsRhonda says teaching started feeling like who she is around 12 hours a week, and answers a student-submitted question about how she approaches brand-new people walking into a room full of experienced regulars.31:309. The Instructor She Needed and the Style She BecameRhonda reflects on the two instructors who shaped her — ones who never stopped moving and held her accountable — and explains how that standard became the foundation of her own teaching, including adding floor work, weights, and eventually low-impact cardio.36:1210. 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 — Rhonda's take on the fitness industry and what separates instructors who build real loyalty.
Open full transcriptMentioned in this episode
personRhonda Good
Ashley's fitness instructor at the Telford YMCA in Richmond, Kentucky — the guest whose origin story as an accidental fitness instructor is the subject of the episode.
organizationTelford YMCA
The Richmond, Kentucky YMCA where Rhonda currently teaches and where Ashley takes her classes.
eventPodcast Thon
A global initiative in its fourth edition where thousands of podcasts in the same week spotlight a charity of their choice — the framework for this three-episode series.
organizationHumane Society Animal League for Life of Madison County
The Kentucky animal charity Rhonda recommended and that was randomly selected as the charity More Movement Please is spotlighting during Podcast Thon.
organizationEKU
Eastern Kentucky University, where Rhonda worked at the time she started teaching and where she ran a small community ed Zumba class to ease into instructing.
placeBerea College
The college where Rhonda took over a departing instructor's Zumba classes on short notice and eventually packed the room to 60–65 people, fogging up the mirrors.
websitepodcastthon.org
The website Ashley directs listeners to in order to discover other charities being highlighted by podcasters around the world during Podcast Thon week.
productZumba
The dance fitness format Rhonda got licensed in after her two favorite instructors quit simultaneously — the starting point of her entire teaching career.
productSilver Sneakers
A fitness certification Rhonda obtained, and also a class format she eventually converted into her low-impact cardio class because her seniors were too fit for the standard Silver Sneakers format.
productZumba Strong
A Zumba brand product Rhonda mentions dismissively, noting she had already been combining dance and strength work in her classes long before Zumba released it.
Key themes
Accidental career through circumstance
Rhonda never planned to teach — she got licensed only because the two instructors she respected both quit at the same time and left a packed room with no one to lead it.
Being thrown in the deep end, repeatedly
Across every stage of her career — winging a 40-person class, taking over Berea College the same night she was called, covering bootcamp with same-morning notice — Rhonda keeps getting handed things she wasn't prepared for and just figures it out.
Starting small on purpose
After getting licensed, Rhonda deliberately chose a low-pressure community ed class at EKU with a handful of employees so she could ease into teaching without the weight of a big room watching her.
From two students to fogged-up mirrors
Berea College classes started with literally two or three loyal students and eventually grew to 60–65 people so packed that body heat fogged the mirrors — a growth Rhonda says she can't fully explain.
Introversion behind a packed room
Rhonda describes hiding in the bathroom before class to steel herself against walking back into a room full of people staring at her, because she genuinely doesn't like being looked at or being the center of attention.
Never canceling as a reputation
Rhonda credits her growth at the Y partly to the fact that she never canceled, never called in, and never got a sub — a consistency she frames as simply what she does, not a strategy.
Teaching as identity, not just a job
Rhonda says teaching stopped feeling like something she did and started feeling like something she is around the time she hit 12 hours a week, eventually reaching 23–25 hours a week for a long stretch.
The instructor who never stops moving
Rhonda's teaching philosophy is rooted in the two instructors who shaped her — ones who did everything in class and never stopped — and her contempt for instructors who pause to flip their hair while students are supposed to be working.
Zumba's cliquish gear culture
Rhonda describes the early 2010s Zumba instructor world as expensive and cliquish — with branded pants at $60, sizing that excluded bigger bodies, and an unspoken pressure to wear the uniform or risk standing out.
Welcoming new people into an intimidating room
Rhonda answers a student-submitted question about how she handles first-timers who walk in and see what the regulars can do, describing how she spots newcomers immediately and tells them to do what they can.