Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Rios.
Hi Angel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It’s bigger than me. Where I am today is somewhere I never would have imagined I’d be. 6 years ago I originally started my career in construction management. With only two classes left, and offered a position with a $60,000 salary, it seemed natural. But at the same time, I was still trying to figure my life out.
At that tine I was in a relationship for six years, coming out of high school, and I was beginning to realize that the relationship I was in wasn’t serving me in a way that allowed me to grow as a person. Around that time, I came across a podcast episode with Jay Shetty and Big Sean and Big Sean was already my favorite artist, which is what initially caught my attention, but the conversation itself resonated with me so much that I started looking more into Jay Shetty and his work.
I eventually came across an episode about relationships and figuring out whether the person you’re with is actually the right person for you. At the time, I was already struggling in my relationship, so it felt like the conversation was speaking directly to me. It made me start asking myself questions that I probably wasn’t ready to answer before.
Then I was sitting in that office with this $60,000 opportunity in front of me, and I realized that I wasn’t even sure that was the direction I wanted to continue going in. So I told them no. I remember essentially telling them, “Give it to someone who is a lot more sure.”
Not long after that, the relationship ended.
And honestly, I didn’t know what to do with myself.
My best friend Tyler was there for me during that time and played a significant role in helping me navigate the breakup. It was one of those moments where I had to sit with myself and really start asking, “Who am I? What do I actually want? What makes me happy? And what am I supposed to do with all of this?”
That’s when I decided to double major in psychology. Even my counselor asked me if I was sure, and I told her, “I am.”
From that point forward, everything became bigger than me.
I started listening to podcasts, reading books, asking questions, and looking for answers, not because I wanted to become an expert, but because I didn’t want to experience that kind of pain again. I wanted to understand myself. I wanted to understand relationships. I wanted to understand people.
I can honestly say I found my purpose through pain
The experiences I went through became the catalyst for me to find myself and help those who also are going through life struggles in society. One thing I’ve learned is that building relationships is one of the hardest things we can build because you’re not just dealing with one brain, you’re dealing with two. You’re bringing together two different experiences, perspectives, emotions, histories, and ways of communicating.
That realization eventually led me to where I am today.
I’m now a therapeutic mentor, I’m pursuing my master’s in social work, and I have my own business, The Rally Cry, which started as a podcast and is currently on every podcast platform. It all grew out of my interest in mental health, self-improvement, relationships, and navigating through the social world. I also created a communication card game called Enough Said Icebreakers, which are thought-provoking questions designed to help people have meaningful conversations, because when you ask the right question, you find the right people.
When I look back, I can see what I went through, I grew through. I sometimes forget the person I once were because I completely changed myself as a person and that’s why I say it’s bigger than me. Everyday we have a chance to make a change, which reminds me that someone’s yesterday is yours today and yours today is someone else’s tomorrow.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.
Even after I figured out some of the adjustments I needed to make in my life, actually applying what I was learning was a completely different challenge. I had to understand the things I was learning about myself, but more importantly, I had to practice them. I had to break out of old habits, stop looking for external validation, and recognize how much people pleasing had influenced the way I interacted with others.
At the same time, my entire social circle had essentially been renewed. I was meeting new people, building new relationships, and trying to figure out who I was within those relationships. There were moments when I found myself trying to fill the void of someone not being there rather than learning how to be comfortable with myself.
I think one of the biggest lessons for me was realizing that sometimes you have to first find out what you don’t like in order to find what you do like.
That process required me to continuously learn how to assert myself, establish boundaries, and understand what I was willing and unwilling to accept in my relationships. And that hasn’t always been easy, especially because I’m naturally a giver. But I’ve learned that even as a giver, I have to understand that there is a time to give and there is a time to receive.
Learning that balance has been one of the challenges and one of the biggest areas of growth for me. I’m still learning it today. The journey hasn’t been about reaching a point where I have everything figured out. It has been about becoming more aware of myself, recognizing old patterns, and making a conscious decision to do things differently.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
By Definition The Rally Cry is a group of people who come together to support a cause, and that cause is mental health, self-improvement, self-awareness, confidence, and standing up for yourself so that someone else isn’t standing over you.
At its core, The Rally Cry is about helping people understand who they are, become more confident in their identity, and recognize the potential that already exists within them.
Right now, I would say my specialty is public speaking. I’m known for speaking, facilitating workshops, and creating experiences that encourage people to reflect, communicate, and look at themselves and the world from different perspectives. I’m also known for Enough Said, a communication card game that I created to help people start meaningful conversations. I currently have an edition designed for family and friends that can be used in a variety of settings, and I’ve sold over 400 decks.
The Rally Cry has also grown through my podcast and social media presence, reaching more than 300,000 people across those platforms. The podcast allows me to take the ideas behind The Rally Cry and turn them into conversations, stories, and different perspectives. I try to make it feel more like a show rather than simply a podcast, especially through the way I incorporate YouTube and different visual and conversational elements.
What I’m most proud of brand-wise is my ability to genuinely connect with people. I enjoy creating workshops, speaking with people, learning from them, and sharing perspectives. One of the philosophies I believe in is that life is how you make it, not how it makes you.
That doesn’t mean we control everything that happens to us. It means we have some responsibility for how we respond to what happens to us and how we choose to move forward. I want The Rally Cry to give people an invitation to consider a different perspective. Having your own perspective is important, but being willing to consider someone else’s perspective allows you to see the same situation through a different lens.
That is also what makes the brand different. I’m not trying to tell people exactly how they should think. I’m trying to create spaces where people can think more deeply.
The Rally Cry is a movement and a lifestyle. It’s not really a business to me—it just happens to be a business. It’s an extension of who I am. I’m a communicator. I enjoy speaking, meeting people, making connections, and learning from the people around me. What I’m offering through the brand is essentially an invitation to engage in that same process of reflection and connection.
I’m also proud of the fact that I’m still learning. I’m young, and I recognize that there is so much more for me to learn and so many people I have yet to meet. Some of the most interesting parts of building The Rally Cry have been connecting with people, bringing them onto the podcast, hearing their experiences, and realizing that I can learn something from every person I encounter.
Even my life outside of the business contributes to what I’m building. Pursuing my master’s in social work and working as a therapeutic mentor have allowed me to continue developing my communication, relationship-building, and helping skills. Those experiences influence how I think about the questions I create for Enough Said and how intentional I want to be with future editions of the game.
So when people ask what The Rally Cry offers, I would say it offers more than a podcast or a card game. It offers conversations, workshops, public speaking, and experiences designed to make people think, communicate, and see themselves and others differently.
And I’m excited because I don’t think I’ve reached the final version of what The Rally Cry can become. I’m still learning, still creating, and still discovering what’s possible.
What’s next?
For the future, one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to is finishing my master’s in social work. I see that as an important next step because it will open more doors for me and give me greater access to opportunities where I can provide support and serve people in meaningful ways.
At the same time, I want to continue growing The Rally Cry. Collaborating with different people, creating new experiences, and finding innovative and creative ways to share the message of mental health, self-improvement, relationships, and navigating our social world.
Collaboration is especially important to me because I don’t want to do everything on my own. I want to be able to share the experience with other people, learn from them, and create something together that is bigger than what any one person could create individually.
Ultimately, my future plans are about continuing to grow my ability to serve people while growing the platform that allows me to reach them. I don’t necessarily know exactly what every step is going to look like, but I know the direction I want to move in, more connection, more collaboration, more creativity, and more opportunities to have meaningful conversations about mental health and how we navigate the social world together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.therallycry.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therallycrys/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angel-rios-msw-48549220a/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@therallycrys
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/1sL6adZgruL2fTeK5DaMpT?si=8b5ec50b59184383
