India changed everything. Over 30 years, I kept returning. I met powerful, peaceful teachers doing real work in the world. I started asking better questions, what did they know that I didn't? What were they practicing that I wasn't? That's when I began to understand: everything is energy. Reality is an inner construct. And yoga is the technology to shift it.

From Teaching to Leading

My journey as a teacher began at 18, running my own classes. A few years later, I opened my first studio in Cronulla. It was 40 square meters, cost me $800, and came with no business plan, just mats, a stereo, and a drive to teach. It worked. I opened another studio in Campbelltown, invested $6,000, and filled the first beginner's course with 90 people. That's when I realized—if you offer real value, people show up.

While running the studios, I scaled through teacher trainings. I was already working under Heart of Yoga by 1996, training others to teach. Eventually, I co-founded Australia’s first government accredited, 1,000-hour advanced diploma of yoga. Full-time, in-depth, and held to a higher standard. That moment took me and yoga education to another level. It created ripple effects across the country.

Crossing Into Elite Performance

Soon after, a new door opened. My work with energy and mindset began to catch the attention of elite athletes. I started coaching Olympic swimmers, then pro surfers working with the Rip Curl team, and eventually CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. I called myself a mind body coach back then, blending yoga, consciousness, and high performance work.

This chapter was expansive. I was traveling, speaking, running retreats, leading trainings, building YogaCoach as a platform. I even did advocacy work in disability. At the time, the studios did the marketing and filled the programs. I just had to show up and teach. But that wouldn't last forever.

Rebuilding in a New Era

The yoga landscape started shifting. Trainings became saturated, commercialized, diluted. At the same time, the digital world exploded. Marketing, branding, positioning, suddenly those weren't optional anymore. They became the core of staying visible.

That's when I rebranded as a Frequency Coach. My current platform, High Level FREQ, goes beyond postures and techniques. It's about training teachers to work at the level of frequency and resonance, consciousness, energy, emotion, thought. It's still yoga. Just at a higher octave.

I'm no longer relying on past reputation or institutional partnerships. I had to learn how to translate depth into content that lands fast. How to share the unseen. How to make frequency feel tangible. That meant rewiring how I teach, market, and show up online, without losing what made it real in the first place.

Lessons I've Learned

I used to think expertise was enough. That if I just stayed deep, the work would speak for itself. But in a digital world, depth doesn't stop the scroll. I had to learn to play a different game.

Content isn't about performing, it's about resonance. Now I show up unfiltered. I share the real stuff. I've learned to create what I call “candy drops” short, impactful pieces of value that lead people into the deeper teachings.

It took 18 months of stripping it all back and rebuilding. Learning to speak in a new frequency. Owning the parts of me I used to hide.

The biggest lesson? If the game changes, so must you.

My Message to Founders

Be 100% you. No filter. Say the thing. Share the edge. Let people feel the frequency of who you really are.

Don't chase trends. Don't water yourself down.

Polish is out. Presence is in.

The more real you are, the more you'll attract people who are actually ready for your work.

So shape your voice like the yogis shaped light. Let it hit people in the heart. Because when you speak from that place, nothing needs to be sold.

Business Takeaways from Start Small, Go Deep

Mark launched his first studio with $800 and some mats. Depth, not dollars, drove results.

Branding is the New Depth

Being good isn't enough anymore. You need to be recognizable, memorable, and emotionally resonant.

own the shift

He rebranded from mind-body coach to Frequency Coach. Reinvention isn't a failure, it's mastery in motion.

Real > Perfect

People connect with truth, not polish. His shift to “candy drops” proved that bite sized truth opens the door to depth.

Adapt or Get Left Behind

The market changes. Algorithms change. Attention spans shrink. The yogis of today are the ones who evolve.

At , we don't just share inspiring stories — we break down what makes yoga businesses succeed. By learning directly from real founders and entrepreneurs, we extract actionable lessons and proven strategies you can apply, so you can avoid common mistakes, feel more confident, grow faster, and make bold choices with clarity.

Business Takeaways

  • How did you set up your yoga business My first studio was 40 square meters in Cronulla. Cost me 800 bucks to set up. Bought some mats, plugged in a stereo, and got to work. That’s how it started. Then I opened one in Campbelltown, a bigger move, spent $6,000 (big spender). Felt like a risk at the time but the first beginner’s course brought in 90 people at $60 each. I made the money back in one go. I scaled by building teacher trainings while running the studios. Eventually sold them and moved into education full time. We partnered with Nature Care College to deliver the first government-accredited 1,000-hour yoga diploma. That’s when things really expanded. Later, I launched Yoga Coach and got pulled into elite sports, first with swimmers like Ian Thorpe, then into surfing with Rip Curls Team. One athlete led to another. I travelled, coached, kept evolving. Retreats and partnered Teacher Trainings were a constant too, the studios used to do the marketing; I just showed up and taught. That changed with the online shift. Now, marketing’s part of my job. The thing is I used to be differentiated by my knowledge and experience, but that is now just the entry point. The game is branding and positioning.
  • What have you learned as a person and business owner The terrain’s different now. People learn online. I mostly work remote. But remote means you're in a global arena, competing with people raised on social media. I used to be known for depth and quality, but that doesn’t stop the scroll. So I had to adapt started doing what I call "candy drops." Little hits of value. The depth’s still there, just comes later, in the programs, the YouTube, the lives. The shift was learning to create content with zero performance, show up 100% me and make my “weaknesses” part of the brand. I had stop trying to do what worked in the past because ity just didn’t work anymore. It’s been 18 months of reimagining, rebuilding. And the truth is: adapt or die.