AJ Zagglin

Psychotherapist & Performance Coach

AJ Zagglin is a psychotherapist, performance coach, and trusted friend of the Mornings in the Lab community who has appeared multiple times on the show over the years — always returning to a warm roast and a genuine conversation. He works in private practice with men, women, and athletes, and has built a reputation as the kind of therapist you might not expect: Iron Maiden shirt, backwards hat, tattoos, and a directness that makes his clients feel both challenged and genuinely seen. His professional focus is on the patterns that run people's lives underneath the surface — the relational dynamics, the self-limiting beliefs, the performance blocks, and the emotional architecture that shapes every decision a person makes before they consciously decide anything. He works at the intersection of mental health and performance, drawing on therapeutic tools to help people not just feel better but operate better — as athletes, business owners, partners, and parents. AJ's practice is busy. On his Mornings in the Lab appearance, he noted that business was "extremely busy" — a good problem that came with its own challenge of balancing his two professional worlds (clinical therapy and performance coaching) alongside his personal life. He described the scheduling work of creating that balance with the equanimity of someone who genuinely enjoys being stretched, not just stressed. When asked about the consistent themes he sees across clients, AJ gave an answer that reflects both clinical depth and hard-won wisdom: 80% of human challenges are the same, regardless of profession, geography, or circumstance. And almost always, somewhere in the story, there is a relationship that is playing a central role. Not necessarily a romantic relationship — it might be with a coach, a co-worker, a family member, a business partner — but a relationship. His conviction: the ability to build and repair relationships is 90% of life, and it is the skill most people never explicitly develop. His approach in the therapy room is shaped by a critical belief about the client: they are the expert on their own life. His role is not to prescribe answers but to offer different perspectives, ask the questions the client's own mind cannot generate, and create enough safety that genuine self-examination becomes possible. He is keenly aware that his presentation — the tattoos, the backwards hat, the casual aesthetic — creates first impressions that can cut both ways. Some clients are immediately drawn to him; others need time to get past the image to the substance. He is comfortable with both, because his conviction is that over time, people form their opinions based on actions, not appearances. He is also a man with his own textures. He attended the Guns N' Roses reunion tour opening in Las Vegas in 2017 with the lab's host Keith Bilous — a friendship that predates and extends beyond the show. He is an Iron Maiden devotee. He is, by his own account, deeply invested in his children. He navigates two professional identities simultaneously and is doing the work to make them coexist with enough grace that neither one suffers. AJ Zagglin represents a type of therapist that is still underrepresented in the cultural imagination: someone who shows up in a room that feels safe because it doesn't feel clinical, whose directness is a form of respect, and who believes — as a professional conviction backed by years of practice — that the answer to most of what ails people is already inside them. His job is to help them find the question that proves it.

Key Insights from AJ Zagglin

No matter what we do for work, no matter what our profession is, no matter where we live — 80% of our challenges are very similar to one another.

— AJ Zagglin on 80% of human challenges are universal

Almost every story, almost every challenge — at some point you'll notice there's a relationship somewhere in that story that's playing a pretty big part.

— AJ Zagglin on Every problem traces back to a relationship

The ability to build relationships with people is 90% of life — whether that's privately or personally or professionally.

— AJ Zagglin on Relationship-building as the master skill

My goal is to have people truly believe and understand that they're the ones that are capable in this. They are the expert on their own lives.

— AJ Zagglin on The client as the expert on their own life

Over time, people are going to ultimately form their opinion on you based more so on what you do than what you say with your words alone.

— AJ Zagglin on Actions over words — how trust is actually built

What they're showing me — is that actually what's going on? Sometimes you might find out that they were maybe not part of the bucket that they were presented.

— AJ Zagglin on What clients show is not always what is

You know, it's like we've talked about this before — having a really great set of skills to help build relationships with people is important because that's like 90% of life.

— AJ Zagglin on Relationship skills as the foundation of a good life

You've got to consciously schedule and balance these things to make it all fit, to make it all work. But that's a good problem to have.

— AJ Zagglin on Balancing abundance — the good problem of success

Notable Quotes from AJ Zagglin

No matter what we do for work, no matter what our profession is, no matter where we live — 80% of our challenges are very similar to one another.

— AJ Zagglin

My goal is to have people truly believe and understand that they're the ones that are capable in this. They are the expert on their own lives.

— AJ Zagglin

Over time, people are going to ultimately form their opinion on you based more so on what you do than what you say with your words alone.

— AJ Zagglin

Frequently Asked Questions about AJ Zagglin

Who is AJ Zagglin and what does he do?

AJ Zagglin is a psychotherapist and performance coach who works with men, women, and athletes in private practice. He is a recurring guest and close personal friend of the Mornings in the Lab community, known for his distinctive presentation — Iron Maiden shirts, backwards hat, tattoos — that contrasts sharply with the clinical therapist stereotype and creates an immediately accessible environment for clients who might otherwise avoid seeking help. His practice focuses on the relational patterns, mental blocks, and emotional architecture that shape how people perform and connect across all areas of their lives.

What does AJ Zagglin believe is at the root of most people's problems?

AJ Zagglin's most consistent clinical observation is that almost every presenting challenge — regardless of how it arrives — contains a relationship at its core. Whether the client comes in for performance issues, anxiety, life transitions, or business struggles, somewhere in the story there is almost always a relationship that is playing a central role. His broader conviction is that 80% of human challenges are universal across professions, geographies, and circumstances, and that the ability to build and repair relationships is 90% of what a good life requires. Most people never explicitly develop this skill, and the gap shows up everywhere he works.

How does AJ Zagglin approach his work with clients?

AJ Zagglin's approach is built on a foundational belief: the client is the expert on their own life. His role is not to provide answers but to offer different perspectives and ask the questions that a person's own mind cannot generate in isolation. He is careful not to foster dependency, aiming instead to build each client's confidence in their own capacity. He is attuned to the difference between what a client presents in an initial session — often a performance of themselves — and what is actually going on underneath. He holds the presented version lightly while the trust required for deeper work develops, and he builds that trust through actions rather than promises.

Does AJ Zagglin work with athletes specifically?

Yes. AJ Zagglin works with athletes as part of his broader practice and has specific experience with performance psychology and the mental blocks that limit athletic performance. His directness and unconventional presentation are often a particularly good fit for athletes, who may be resistant to traditional therapy but are drawn to someone who communicates like a coach and thinks like a clinician. His frame — that relationship-building and internal emotional skills are the foundation of performance — applies across sport and life, and he regularly works with clients navigating the transition between athletic identity and other phases of professional and personal development.

What makes AJ Zagglin different from other therapists?

AJ Zagglin's distinctiveness lies in the combination of his aesthetic (Iron Maiden fan with tattoos, backwards hat, casual presentation) and his clinical depth. The presentation creates an entry point for people who would never seek out a traditional therapist — it signals that the room will be direct, non-judgmental, and real. The depth follows from years of practice and a consistent philosophical commitment to client empowerment rather than client dependency. He is comfortable with the fact that first impressions create both attraction and suspicion, knowing that people ultimately form their opinions based on actions. His practice is busy — both as a sign and as a result of this approach.

Is AJ Zagglin a returning guest on Mornings in the Lab?

Yes. AJ Zagglin is a recurring guest and close personal friend of the Mornings in the Lab hosts, particularly Keith Bilous. He has appeared on the show multiple times over the years — his returns are greeted with roasting rather than formal introduction, signaling the genuine friendship that underlies the professional conversations. He and Keith attended the Guns N' Roses reunion tour opening at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in 2017. Their conversations on the show are informal catchups that happen to contain substantive discussion of therapy, human psychology, and the universal patterns he sees in his practice.

Interview with AJ Zagglin — Topics Covered

  1. The return — catching up with a friend of the lab (~3 minutes)
  2. What's going on in the practice — busy, balanced, grateful (~3 minutes)
  3. The 80% theme — every problem is more universal than it looks (~4 minutes)
  4. Relationships at the center of every story (~4 minutes)
  5. The first meeting — reading what's presented versus what's real (~4 minutes)
  6. The Iron Maiden therapist — what his look does for the room (~3 minutes)
  7. The client as expert — empowerment versus dependency (~4 minutes)
  8. Coaching athletes — where mental health and performance intersect (~3 minutes)
  9. What's coming — personal life, the show, and what AJ is building (~3 minutes)

AJ Zagglin — Areas of Expertise

  • Psychotherapy and private practice mental health
  • Performance coaching for athletes and business professionals
  • Relational patterns and the role of relationships in all challenges
  • Trust-building and therapeutic relationship development
  • Client-centered therapy and empowerment versus dependency
  • 80/20 of human challenges — universal themes across clients
  • Balancing clinical and coaching professional identities
  • First impressions, authenticity, and building credibility through action
  • Mental blocks, self-limiting beliefs, and the performance gap
  • Men's mental health and the barriers to seeking help

Watch: Every Problem You Have Comes Back to THIS

Full Center Stage interview with AJ Zagglin on Mornings in the Lab.

Watch on YouTube

AJ Zagglin — Show Appearances

  • Mornings in the Lab (2026-02-27)

AJ Zagglin — Signal Brief

Signal Score: 10/100

Generated 2026-04-15T21:20:34.674Z