Peloton's Robin Arzón On Motherhood and How She Is 'Still Determining' What It Looks Like to Her

Few words sum up the spirit of Peloton's vice president of fitness programming and head instructor, Robin Arzón, more accurately than "swagger." So it's only fitting that one of the fitness star's favorite terms is front and center in the cover line, "Mom With Swagger," accompanying a gorgeous photo of Arzón and her 7-month-old daughter, Athena Amelia, on the October/November 2021 cover of Parents Latina magazine. The story details Arzón's personal and professional journey, all the while chronicling the lessons she's learned over the course of her career as an elite athlete, author, and all-around kick-ass human. (

"I don't think you can be raised by a refugee and not have an understanding of the power of the human spirit, the incredible capacity for hard work, and dreaming and falling down and getting back up again," Arzón tells Grace Bastidas, the editor-in-chief of Parents Latina, about growing up in Philadelphia to a Puerto Rican dad and Cuban refugee mom. "Even though I was born in the U.S., I could not ignore it. How dare I not become my ancestors' wildest dreams?"

Arzón's cover story explores the Peloton superstar's career trajectory, from law school to litigation to ultramarathoning, and more. Not to mention the personal obstacles that could have easily impeded her momentum, were it not for that signature swagger. After being held hostage at gunpoint, along with about 40 others, in a New York City wine bar during college, Arzón picked up running as a way to process the trauma. As Bastidas writes, "she hasn't stopped since." And after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (which occurs when the pancreas produces little to no insulin) in 2014, Arzón didn't let that slow her down, as she continued to train for marathons. "The hardest part was dealing with other people's opinions about how I could use my body," says Arzón, 40, says in Parents Latina. "But when one is willing to take risks, which I am, and be the first, if not the only one, who raises the bar, I'm willing to step into that narrative."

Arzón also opened up to Parents Latina about her current life as a super busy working mom, as well as her perspective on other people's unsolicited opinions. "People want to impose their idea of what 'mother' is on me, even though I'm still determining what that is," she says. "So I've decided to make my own inner voice the primary influence." (

To make it all work, Arzón told Parents Latina that she relies on a solid partnership with her husband, Drew Butler, who "has gotten up in the middle of the night to take shifts" with Athena, and a non-negotiable daily regimen that includes strict boundaries and lots of self-care. "My toolkit is movement, meditation, clean eating, and drinking lots of water," she says. "I find that during the day it really helps to the extent that I can control."

Gracing the cover of Parents Latina is deeply meaningful for Arzón, as evidenced by her Instagram post on Tuesday morning. "Thrilled to announce that Athena and I are this month's @parentslatina cover girls!" she wrote. "Read how I'm defining motherhood on my own terms, how my Latinx roots are the driving force behind the legacy I'm building for my daughter, and more…"

Arzón also let fans and followers know on Tuesday that she'll be celebrating her Parents Latina cover story by doing an Instagram Live with Bastidas on Thursday at 1:30 pm ET. In case you haven't already, mark your calendar so you can hear more from the inspirational queen of swagger herself.