My Story
My Story
I am Rania Parousi,
a Mental Fitness Coach & Trainer.
Coach, trainer, sailor, and the creator of TURN. Between Amsterdam and Athens, in Greek and English, always.
Why does any of this exist?
A world where people do what they dream of.
I want to live in a world where people do what they dream of. Where every dream gets turned into reality, not because life got easier, but because people learned how to work with their own mind!
In that world, people are fueled by growth. They treat themselves the way an athlete does: the whole picture. They train their body, they work with their mind, they care about what fuels them: sleep, food, movement, connection. None of these works alone.
And I believe something about people that shapes everything I do: people carry good intentions. Behind every stuck pattern, every critical voice in our head, there was once an intention to protect us, to help us belong, to do well.
So who am I to guide you?
Coach, trainer, sailor.
These are not separate!
I'm a Mental Fitness Coach & Trainer, and for years a professional sailing athlete and then a Sailing Coach. I wingfoil, and I'm a Coach for the Greek Special Olympics Sailing Team, some of the proudest work I do.
Before coaching became my profession, I spent over 10 years in business development and strategic partnerships, in tech and manufacturing. MBA, big targets, great results. Somewhere along the way I noticed: I enjoyed closing the deals, but the spark was in the conversations after. The real ones.
What was going on, almost every time? The voices. The inner critic saying "it's still not enough". The one that keeps everyone happy at any cost. The one that says "push now, rest later". We perform despite these voices, not because of them, and the cost shows up quietly.
Sailing taught me the rest: we should train our minds the way we train our bodies.
At sea you learn early that you don't control the weather, only your sails.
My own TURNing points
I've navigated my own TURNs.
Owning my identity and voice in a world that didn't always mirror it
Leading in fast-paced industries while longing for meaning
Sailing through literal storms and inner ones, and finding my strength in both
These experiences changed how I see people. Not as problems to be fixed. Not as roles to perform. But as powerful, resourceful, whole human beings who sometimes only need the right space, a grounded, courageous, compassionate space, to reconnect with who they truly are.
What do I stand for?
Love, Growth, Freedom.
Not words on a wall! They're how I make decisions, how I show up in sessions, how I try to live every day.
A few things I believe with my whole heart
- Mental fitness is our capacity to respond to life's challenges with a positive rather than a negative mindset, and science shows it can be trained, exactly like physical fitness.
- The voices in your head are signals to read, not weaknesses to hide.
- Nobody expects to run a marathon untrained, and yet we expect people to handle pressure with completely untrained minds!
- Clarity is not a talent. It's reps.
What did I train, to coach and train you?
Three directions, so I can meet you from three.
Erickson Coaching International
Solution-focused coaching, trained through Erickson's Art & Science of Coaching Level 2 and the International Trainers Training with Marilyn Atkinson. Today I'm also part of the Erickson team as a Growth Lead, staying close to where the craft of coaching evolves.
Positive Intelligence®
Practical, research-backed tools to build mental fitness: quieting the inner critic and responding differently to the voices we all carry.
Brain Academy
Neuroscience coaching: how the brain works under stress, change and transformation, so we work with your biology, not against it.
Out of all this I built my own framework
The TURN Compass
What does working together look like?
Choose your turn.
1:1 coaching
In English and Greek, for people navigating something real: transitions, pivots, identity shifts, big decisions. I won't give you advice. I'll help you think clearly and find your own path.
Learn more →Corporate workshops & trainings
For teams, on the layer no company trains: the mind under pressure.
Let's talk →Group programs
We train mental fitness the way athletes train: daily reps, ten seconds at a time, in a crew that keeps you going.
Join the waitlist →Retreats
Where movement meets mindset work, because learning and unlearning happen through the body first. I collaborate with people who bring what I don't, so together we offer the whole picture.
Be there next time →TURN Warm-Up & TURN Daily 2027
21 days of live calls from 12 December, so you start 2027 ready, and the TURN Daily journal for every day of the year.
See TURN 2027 →And where will you find me?
Between Amsterdam and Athens. On the water whenever possible!
My days move between coaching sessions, corporate trainings, group coaching, the Erickson community, the sea, my friends and family, and a growing community of TURNers in 25+ countries who open the same weekly question I do.
What everyone I work with shares, wherever they start: they're done performing. They're ready to live aligned.
And I LOOVE seeing people grow, become more themselves, and smile about it :)
What people are saying
Small turns, big shifts.
Life changing! Closer to openness that I have ever been.
Before working with Rania, I had the knowledge and passion, but lacked the confidence and determination. She helped me develop the mindset needed to turn my ideas into action. Since then, I’ve launched my nutrition business, built a website, and created my social media presence.
Your calm, grounded presence made our sessions feel safe and supportive. I appreciated how you also gave the right boost when I needed it.
Our conversations helped me understand who I really am and what I want to achieve.