Raff's Brain

In the latest installment of Riffin’ with Raff: Fitness at 50, Rob Raffety is pushing through holiday distractions and weight plateaus — while Zach Lawson, personal trainer and cousin first removed extraordinaire, recovers from a company party gone sideways.

Together, they reflect on fitness wins, holiday hurdles, and the entrepreneurial spark that might turn Zach’s training side hustle into a scalable online business in 2026. Plus:...

In this experimental (and occasionally existential) edition of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob attempts to shake things up by bringing ChatGPT—affectionately renamed Charlie—into the mix as his virtual co-host. The result? A revealing mix of frustration, hilarity, and introspection.

Rob recounts his latest yoga class where “fallen angel” proved more humiliating than heavenly. He questions whether AI can truly hang with the Hot Yoga crowd—and...

In this introspective yet hilariously observational episode of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob Raffety grapples with a silent saboteur in his wellness routine: locker placement. From dissecting the flawed geometry of corner lockers to reminiscing about the glory days of Absolute Vodka ads, Rob connects time-saving strategies with deeper existential questions. How much time are you wasting doing the same inefficient thing over and over? This...

This is Raff’s Brain at its finest: spontaneous, unfiltered, and full of soul. When Arthur Zards — TEDx impresario, creative technologist, and storytelling evangelist—sent Rob an AI-generated birthday song, it struck an emotional chord and sparked a mind-melding conversation about the future of meaning in the age of AI.

They riff on the creative process behind AI music, the disruptive power of Suno and ChatGPT, and why originality—n...

A hot yoga class. A cold morning. A sleepy Rob Raffety. In this episode of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob wonders why Tuesday doesn’t have a better identity. Every other day of the week is culturally loaded—Monday blues, hump day, TGIF, and the Sunday reset. But Tuesday? It's hanging on to Taco Tuesday for dear life. Is that really the best we can do?

Rob riffs on the art of branding a weekday, questions fast food marketing strategy, a...

In this candid and comically relatable episode of Fitness at 50, Rob Raffety reconnects with Zach Lawson for a raw check-in on the state of Rob’s health and habits. After losing his trusty Apple Watch, Rob finds himself off-track (literally and figuratively), sparking a conversation about how small tools can make a big difference—and how losing them can derail progress.

The episode dives into the art (and science) of tracking food a...

In this episode of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob Raffety explores the intersection of sweaty mats and sports heartbreak. After a snowy morning clears out the yoga studio, Rob finds himself in a nearly empty class—and in that rare stillness, he invents a new pose: the Half Pentacle.

Part physical discomfort, part spiritual epiphany, the pose becomes a symbol of what it means to show up and innovate, even when it hurts (especially when it hu...

The Big 5-0: An Exploration of Birthdays in Four Chapters
Written & Performed by Rob Raffety
Recorded by Travis Edwards

On this special episode of Raff’s Brain, you’re invited into the room for Rob’s LIVE 50th birthday show, The Big 5-0 — recorded at Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. in Falls Church, VA with a packed house, the epic funk band Telula, a misbehaving drone, and one very questionable consumer grade flam...

In this heartfelt and humorous episode of Riffin' with Raff, Rob reconnects with cousin and fitness coach Zachariah Lawson for a post-Thanksgiving debrief. They discuss what happens when discipline takes a backseat to family, food, and freezing weather—and how to bounce back with intention. Rob reflects on walking as a new lifestyle, why environment matters more than we think, and the hilarious psychology behind buying four ba...

What happens when your yoga class only has three people, your instructor watches your every move, and your knees refuse to cooperate with Scandasana? In this episode of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob experiments with a brand-new structure for the show—complete with session ratings, favorite poses, and a wild card prompt brought to you by his new chatbot co-host. Things get introspective, absurd, and totally off-script (as usual). Oh, and d...

Rob Raffety checks in with his cousin and trainer, Zachariah Lawson, to share wins, lessons, and future goals in this uplifting Fitness at 50 episode. Rob's down over 12 pounds and ready to cruise through the holidays with discipline—and a side of Ray-Ban-powered vlogging dreams. From carb cycling and cardio science to overcoming imposter syndrome and embracing the slow grind, this one’s packed with inspiration, science, and l...

In this episode of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob leaves a brutally intense hot yoga class and immediately starts questioning everything—especially Partridge pose. From the driver’s seat, he riffs on how far he’s come in his practice, why he doesn’t get completely destroyed by class like he used to, and whether that progress means he’s leveled up… or just gotten used to a special kind of suffering.

Rob brings his unofficial cohost, ChatGPT,...

In this episode of Hot Yoga Problems, Rob Raffety recounts an unforgettable morning: a fire alarm welcomes him to class, strobe lights flashing, and some folks evacuating — except the yogis, who flow through the madness before normalcy resumes. From comedic misfires (photosensitivity vs. photosynthesis) to sincere reflections on aging, neighborhood joy, and technology’s upside, this is 14 minutes of pure Raff’s Brain: funny, though...

In this week’s Fitness at 50 check-in, Rob and Zack reunite to reflect on recent life chaos, recommit to progress, and explore the mental game of staying on track. Rob shares updates on travel, weight loss, and resisting serious temptation (we’re looking at you, popcorn machine), while Zack offers grounded advice on consistency, calorie tracking, and keeping the routine alive. They also dive into content creation for fitness profes...

What happens when your hot yoga class only has two students? Rob Raffety takes us inside the most intimate group session imaginable—a 6AM class on the Monday before a holiday, where sparse attendance and a substitute instructor create a strangely intense dynamic. With only one other student, Rob faces the pressure of hyper-visibility, replays memories of one-on-one training, and reflects on what class size really does to the yoga e...

Rob Raffety and Zach Lawson are back for another week of Riffin’ with Raff, and Rob’s fresh off a chaotic, carb-curious trip to West Virginia. From resisting snacks on the road to philosophical breakthroughs on the yoga mat, this episode covers the good, the bad, and the deceptively sugary. Rob breaks down his B-grade nutrition and subpar fitness performance with brutal honesty, while Zach drops helpful, no-BS wisdom on routines, t...

Rob Raffety is back in the studio and back on the mat after a six-day break from hot yoga, and the reentry is rough. In this introspective and humor-laced episode of Hot Yoga Problems, he explores how the body betrays us after just a few days away from the practice. Expect rants on rural yoga, metaphors about rubber bands, parking woes on curved streets, and the philosophical weight of the phrase “man plans, and God laughs.”

If you’...

Rob Raffety checks in with trainer Zachariah Lawson as their Fitness at 50 journey hits a few real-life speed bumps—namely, a broken Apple Watch, a road trip to West Virginia, and the lure of bar food and old habits.

This episode is packed with practical advice and mindset shifts for anyone trying to stay on track amid travel, family visits, and tempting social situations. Zach also shares how clients can motivate him, the magic of ...

Rob Raffety hits 300 classes at Core Power and he's not just sweaty—he’s reflective. This milestone kicks off a classic Hot Yoga Problems stream where Rob waxes philosophical (and absurd) on performance, mutual respect between man and mat, and how GI Joe mirrors yoga showdowns.

He also floats the idea of tracking every class with AI, ranking each session, and even analyzing his diet-to-yoga performance correlation. Oh, and squi...