Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madeline Muller. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Madeline, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?
I would change the education system to create more opportunities for students to fail without consequences. Failure is one of the most powerful teachers, yet most of us grow up terrified of it.
In school, I thrived — straight A’s, top of my class, multiple academic awards. I’ve often said that if going to school were a job, I would have chosen it as my career. But that success also reinforced a lifelong struggle with perfectionism. Even now, I often catch myself stressing over the “right” answer — whether in running my business, deciding where to live, or even how to cook dinner. I’m not saying school caused this tendency, but it certainly magnified it.
Our current education system rewards outcomes we can easily measure: test scores, grades, achievements. What it rarely rewards are the number of attempts, the creativity of an approach, or the persistence shown along the way. It’s the same in training: strength doesn’t come from lifting a weight once perfectly, but from the repeated attempts, the adjustments, and even the failures along the way. Learning is no different.
Failure, when embraced as part of learning, is freeing. It encourages curiosity, sparks innovation, and helps students approach challenges with less fear and more creativity. If schools normalized failure — through project-based work, iterative problem solving, and safe spaces to take risks — we’d be cultivating not just knowledgeable students, but adaptable, resilient humans better prepared for life.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Maddy, and I’m a strength coach and personal trainer. I stumbled upon powerlifting while working at a gym in college and fell in love with the sport immediately. For the first time, I was encouraged to focus on what my body could do rather than how it looked — and that mindset shift has shaped my entire approach to coaching.
Today, I coach women who want to get stronger, age gracefully, and feel confident in their bodies. I also love mentoring other fitness coaches who are either stepping into powerlifting for the first time or who want to deepen their understanding of strength training so they can better serve their own clients. What sets me apart is my attention to detail. My clients are often surprised by the subtle things I notice in their lifting form — and it’s often those small adjustments that create the biggest improvements in movement quality and confidence.
Three years ago, my partner and I created R.A.T. Liftz, which stands for Resilience, Ambition, and Tact. We believe training is about far more than the physical. Strength training builds resilience against life’s challenges, fuels ambition to grow, and teaches the tact to approach problems with patience and precision.
What I’m most proud of is the community we’ve built through R.A.T. Liftz. Over the past three years, I’ve seen clients not only grow stronger in the gym, but also carry that strength into every part of their lives. Fitness is foundational — it’s the base from which people gain confidence, courage, and the belief that they can take on anything. That impact is what drives me every day.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2021, I graduated with a degree in Biomedical Science. For years, I had been preparing to apply to medical school — I’d logged hundreds of volunteer hours, presided over clubs, gained clinical experience, and lined up letters of recommendation.
But right after graduation, life threw me a curveball: I was offered the chance to move to Alaska and work as a kayak guide. In the span of 5 days, I quit my jobs at the gym and hospital, sold most of my belongings, and boarded a plane. That summer I lived in a tent, guided daily tours, and spent countless hours pondering my future.
I realized that while I loved health and the human body, I didn’t resonate with the western medical system or the idea of taking on massive debt to pursue it. What did resonate was the idea of helping people on the preventative side of health — through movement, strength, and lifestyle. As a health coach, I could empower people to build resilience, reduce risk of disease, and live fuller lives without waiting until they were already sick or injured.
In Alaska, I met someone who encouraged me to pursue personal training, and I did. A year later, my partner and I launched our business. Looking back, that pivot taught me that sometimes the best opportunities come when you let go of the plan you thought you had to follow.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I met my business partner, who is also my life partner, at the gym on a Strongman Sunday — the first day I was introduced to powerlifting and strength sports. At the time, he was earning his degree in Fitness & Wellness, and I was finishing my Biomedical Science degree. After I returned from a summer in Alaska exploring and reflecting on my next steps, we started dating.
Over the course of a year of lifting, competing, and learning together, we realized we shared not only personal chemistry but also a deep passion for health, fitness, and helping others get stronger. Through this journey, we discovered how well our skills complemented each other — he brought expertise in movement and strength training, and I brought my background in science and teaching.
Seeing the results we could create for ourselves and each other made starting a business a natural next step. Launching R.A.T. Liftz has allowed us to combine our knowledge, experience, and shared values into a platform that helps others build strength, resilience, and confidence in their own lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ratliftz.com/
- Instagram: madz.liftz
