We were lucky to catch up with Dakota Rucker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dakota, thanks for joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I had always wanted to be a coach. I started years ago with fitness related coaching. I was a bodybuilder myself so it was easy for me to help others reach their goal. Looking back, I always tried to implement mindset into my coaching. I would always say “where the mind goes, the body follows”. I liked to rely on what the body needed vs what the world (social media) said was wrong or right. My mom always said “If it feels good, do it” and that’s kind of always been a life motto haha. What changed the directory for me was when I finally caved and hired my own mentor. My intention behind hiring her was for myself. I had had a lot of life changes, been in therapy, and tried everything I knew to do to try to better myself and keep my mind right and continue learning. I invested in myself because I knew I was meant for more than what I was doing but I could not figure out what that was. I felt called to be “more”, do more but I didn’t even know where to start. Hiring my mentor has showed me that chasing my purpose and trying to figure out what I am called to do IS my purpose and if I would just slow down and be aware and in-tune with everything going on within and around me, the life I desired and the goal I was trying to reach would come to me. And it did!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started as a bodybuilder, turned coach but I soon found my passion didn’t lie in your typical “fitness coach” style. It wasn’t until I hired my own mentor that I truly was able to find my passion in helping others go deeper within themselves and soften, which is actually where their true power is found. Through my coaching practice and signature ALIGN Method, I guide clients through an Inner Shift – a return to their truest self, both mind and body, in a way that feels sustainable, soulful, and deeply healing. My work blends mindset, somatic awareness, emotional resilience, and soul-aligned action into a holistic journey back to self trust, vitality and authenticity. Each phase of the ALIGN Method is designed to meet you where you are. Through Awareness we uncover the limiting belief patterns and emotional blocks that think they’re running the show. We Listen to rebuild the connection between your mind, emotions, and body – teaching you to trust your inner wisdom. We Integrate by translating embodied, soulful action so theres no more “someday plans” You begin to live as you Future Self now. We normalize Growth – messy, spiraled, imperfect – and build emotional resilience through compassion and sustainable habits. And we Nourish the systems we’ve created, the rituals and support networks that work for you to keep you thriving even when life gets messy. Because we know it will. My clients often come to me feeling disconnected from their body and intuition, stuck in repeating patterns of self-sabatage and people pleasing and just overall just moving through life on autopilot and together we’re able to reconnect them to their inner wisdom, shift habits without relying on shame or discipline, and create a soul-led life that feels nourishing, not exhausting. My clients know they can bring their full selves – the messy, the brilliant, the tender- and they will be met with respect, presence, and belief in their goodness. As far as what sets me apart, my work is not about chasing external success or perfect aesthetics (that will naturally come ;) ) It’s about coming HOME to your body, your emotions, and your inner knowing. It’s about feeling safe inside first because when you feel safe inside, you become unstoppable outside. I would be honored to walk this journey with you if you’re ready to stop forcing and start flowing. Your ALIGN-ment starts here.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My husband is my business partner! And so far, that’s actually worked really well for us. Charles and I met at Golds Gym about a year before we started dating. When we first got together, I was traveling for work and he owned a supplement company so we were long distance for the first almost 2 years. But that worked for us. We both had a lot of growing to do as individuals but it allowed us the time we needed for ourselves while also helping us build a foundation on trust and communication – because in reality, that’s all we had. I soon started helping him with his business which is where we found that we do work well together, as long as each of us stay in our own lane and have good direction haha. I came back home for a while while we worked together and we got married and I started traveling again but this time, he got to come with me. Since then, we have slowly transitioned to what we feel more called to do, which is help others. He now has an Online training company called Active Shift where he’s helped numerous people transform their bodies. And I have Inner Shift along side of him to help my clients transform their mind. We are so honored to be able to offer this style of coaching together and I truly believe him and I are where we are supposed to be and doing what we’ve been called to do.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn my conditioned mindset. My whole life I thought I was supposed to go to school, get a job, get married and have a family. And there isn’t a thing wrong with that, but I didn’t in the least little bit feel any sort of fulfillment from the life I was living. Which was – I went to school, became a radiation therapist, and got a job I didn’t fit into. It wasn’t until I met Charles and was around an Entrepreneur, that I realized going to school and getting a job was actually not that hard. Entrepreneurs trade the 9-5 schedule for a 5-9 (normally longer) and actually ENJOY doing it. I still work as a radiation therapist and truly felt called to do so at a young age and am proud of myself for fulfilling that season of my life but am so my happier with where we are heading now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: iamkodarucker
• Facebook: Dakota Rucker

Image Credits

Justin Peck – @justinpeckphotography on IG