For a long time, there's been this persistent idea that parenthood overtakes a person's identity; that when a woman has kids, her old "self" ceases to exist. Dani Burrell would like to tell you that this is bullshit. The fitness pro, talent manager and founding trainer of LA cult-beloved boxing studio Rumble has refused to shelve her career dreams even while devoting herself to raising her three-year-old son. Why? Because these two things aren't mutually exclusive. In reality, she says, they actually feed into each other.
"I want to be the best possible mom I can be but I’ve learned in order to do that, I need me time, family time and work time," she says. For her, that means taking the stigma out of being a little selfish sometimes. And it also means learning to say "no."
As a result, Burrell feels like she's thriving more than she ever has–even if some days are much tougher than others. Below, she shares how she leans into me-time, and how her confidence changed—for worse, and then for better—post-baby.