Andrea leading a colourful life as a mermaid and pole dancer
Tell us more about yourself
I'm Andrea, single mom of 2, divorced for more than 5 years. I came from the world of banks and fintech (yes all the finance, payments, digital tech stuff) and made the switch to sexual wellness and coaching 6 years ago. I still straddle both worlds like when I first started intensive coaching training and certification, for a variety of reasons (including that I loved the work I did despite building a business in a completely different direction) but mainly to continue to support the growth of Athena Rising as a business. I pole, I am a mermaid, I do f45 but contrary to popular belief, I rather be sleeping and lounging at a resort.
Tell us more about your business in an elevator pitch
I work with individuals and couples on topics of love, relationship and intimacy - to expand their erotic capacity for pleasure, create an empowered relationship with their sexuality and pleasure through their daily lives. I also educate on sexual wellness and health, jade egg for women and emotional healing through a modern Asian lens.
Why did you choose to do this?
Sometimes the mission chooses you, not that you chose it. At all points, from the time I interviewed for the coaching certification program, went through the intensives with my peer while juggling a successful career in fintech, to launching it officially at a time when Singapore was still so shy around such topics (more than 3 years ago), I felt like it was important work. I also felt like all my experiences and training, from all aspects of life, allowed me deep insights at each step of the way - on why I was pretty much led to this path and why I continue to see amazing transformation in the landscape and my students / clients.
What was the inspiration behind your business?
Pleasure, Sex and Emotions. It seems like the main areas we shut ourselves off from - out of fear, upbringing, judgement or shame. Yet it was the one area that allowed me to become more grounded, conscious and embodied as a person, a woman, a lover and a leader. I felt like it was a key to the (no longer) secret code of fully embracing all parts of ourselves and I continue to be driven by that vision.
How do you see your business impacting other women?
I see it changing the narrative of what constitutes feminine power, and giving permission to craft our own multiple versions of what that looks like. The old paradigm was women against men, women in their own island, women being drained and even forgotting that their own potential is immense. A woman fully nourished in her pleasure fills her relationship with so much passion, and runs her business as a woman in pleasure does, not mimicking men or castracizing men or competing with other women.
How do you think you can uplift the community?
Through the work of pleasure, sexuality and integrating relationships to our modern Asian lives, it transforms the individual, a couple and all who surround them in various ways. The ripple effect will take care of itself. As a woman, I work well with other women and my collaboration partners are a key part of my business - by modelling sisterhood, working on my own personal triggers when it comes to business, envy and competition, we see how we don't always have to figure things out alone.
Do you collaborate with other women? If so, how and why? If not, is that something you'll consider exploring in the near future?
Yes I do. I love collaborating with men and women, but I am currently collaborating more with women. The power of a community is immense and I strongly believe in the innate strength of every woman, whether she expresses it or not. A woman with an intentional purpose and conviction is a force of nature, and I love working with such women in collaborations because a lot about business is in taking leaps of faith and my industry has a lot of new paths being forged, it's not for the faint hearted.
Any wise words for other women looking to venture into running a business?
Always have your support, your cheerleaders around you, who'd make you celebrate every milestone, even if you think it insignificant. Seek pleasure and alignment - it's a hard lesson for me - but if you're burnt out and drained trying to run a business the way everyone else with good intentions tells you to, but not in the lifestyle / pace or scope that works best for you, it does nothing for your business, people you love and definitely not for you.