Stories and Insights
Originally posted on CanvasRebel
Meet Jessica Kjeldsen
We recently connected with Jessica Kjeldsen and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Feral Attuned is about coming home to yourself—the version of you that moves without hesitation, that trusts the pull, that feels deeply attuned to something bigger than words.
It’s not about learning something new; it’s about remembering. Remembering how your body speaks before your mind overanalyzes. How movement can be a release, a revelation, a way back to yourself.
This isn’t about perfect form or rigid routines. It’s about feeling—really feeling—where you’re holding back, where you need to soften, where you’re ready to step fully into your power.
You already have everything you need. Your body knows the way.
As the founder of Feral Attuned, I spent most of my life stacking habits like they were the key to some ultimate version of myself—chasing the next thing that promised to fix my waistline, my productivity, my appearance. If there was a magic potion for better, I was trying to drink it.
But the more I chased the new, the more I lost me. And if I was getting buried under all these routines, trends, and things I was supposed to do, I knew I couldn’t be the only one. So many of us are running down the same winding road, constantly looking for the thing—only to realize the last thing was apparently bad for us, so now we need a new thing, and on and on it goes.
Until I finally stopped.
I think most of us have a burnout story, and mine came after surviving eight rounds of layoffs, six boss changes, and having to fire my entire team—not because I wanted to, but because I wasn’t about to let a stranger do it to the people I had spent years building with.
So, I slowed down.
For most of my career—okay, 20 years—I’ve been a creative brand strategist. But I’m also a Reiki Master and a Group Fitness Instructor (think: yoga, pole dancing, dance fitness—you name it, I’ve probably taught it). And somewhere in that space, it hit me:
Energy healing and movement are more than just practices. They’re portals. When you tap into both, you don’t just move—you unlock. You uncover the deeper layers of your own story. And when you do that, you’re not just building a brand. You’re embodying it.
Feral Attuned is where creativity meets purpose, where movement rewires the way you see yourself, and where visionaries come to craft identities that don’t just exist—they captivate, connect, and inspire. It’s is what happens when you stop running and start listening—because the answer was never out there. It was always in you.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I feel like I’ve lived many lives.
It all started at 18, working in the music industry as a Lifestyle Marketing Rep—immersed in culture, creativity, and the art of storytelling. That passion evolved into brand design, where I shaped identities for some of New York City’s most influential nonprofit cultural institutions. Eventually, I found myself leading as a Creative Brand Director, building unshakable brands that weren’t just aesthetically strong but deeply resonant.
For over a decade, I ran my own studio, Dead Medium Design, crafting brands from behind the scenes. But in 2016, the first glimmer of Feral Attuned appeared—a vision that felt less like a business idea and more like a calling.
At my core, I’m driven by three passions:
Storytelling – It fuels my brand strategy and design work, helping businesses articulate who they are in a way that captivates and connects.
Movement – As a fitness instructor for 15+ years, I’ve always believed that the body holds wisdom our minds often overlook.
Intuitive Healing – With a decade as a Reiki Master, I know that true transformation happens on an energetic level, beyond words and visuals.
For years, I was convinced I could merge these worlds—branding, movement, and healing—into something powerful. But getting corporate brand clients to participate in a movement or Reiki session? That was a harder sell. So for a long time, Dead Medium remained a branding agency that also had Reiki clients and taught at local gyms on the side.
Feral Attuned is the bridge I was searching for. It’s where creative strategy meets embodiment, where movement and energy work unlock the deepest parts of your story, and where brand-building isn’t just about messaging—it’s about alignment.
I’m most proud of the way I help people and brands step into their fullest expression—whether through an unforgettable visual identity, a movement practice that shifts something inside them, or an energetic reset that clears the path forward. Because at the end of the day, branding, like healing, isn’t about adding more. It’s about uncovering what’s already there.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Feral Attuned started as a side hustle, and she’s still growing—more and more every day. Truth be told, she’s still on her way to becoming the full hustle, but right now, we’re in the building phase.
For years, it was just a feeling. A pull. An idea that wouldn’t let go. I had already built a career in branding, storytelling, and design. I had spent over a decade as a fitness instructor and Reiki practitioner, always weaving movement and energy work into my life. But turning it into something tangible? That took time. A long time.
For over 10 years, I ran Dead Medium Design, crafting brands by day while seeing Reiki clients on the side. But something kept calling to me. I knew branding wasn’t just about visuals or messaging—it was about alignment. And alignment doesn’t happen on a mood board. It happens in the body, in energy, in the way we move through the world.
In 2024, Feral Attuned finally took shape. It stopped being just an idea and started becoming something real—a space where movement, energy, and creative strategy intersect to help people and brands step fully into who they are. It started as a weekly movement class on Saturday mornings, then grew into intentional pop-ups, and before I knew it, I was facilitating Feral experiences at the Shine retreat in Tulum.
Last year, I leaned all the way in—exploring every avenue to see how these offerings could connect and support each other. I introduced Goodnight Reiki, an $8 virtual distance Reiki and meditation experience that happens on the third Sunday of every month. The idea? Let me tuck you into bed. Allow me to guide you into a beautiful sleep, supported by Reiki healing energy. It’s an accessible way for new clients to experience this work while still providing a deeply restorative experience.
I also ran a beta program with a few individuals, exploring how a 3-month, 6-month, or year-long commitment could look—combining personal brand strategy, movement, and healing into a fully integrated experience. That process taught me so much, and with every step, I’ve felt the momentum building.
And on February 1, 2025, Feral Attuned turned 1. She’s still in her early days, still evolving, still becoming. But if this first year has shown me anything, it’s that this is bigger than a side hustle—it’s a movement. And I can’t wait to see where she goes next.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
New clients come from all over the place, and honestly, I’ve been incredibly lucky to have an audience that truly gets what Feral Attuned is about. Word-of-mouth has been huge—when people experience this work, they feel it, and they can’t help but share it with their friends. So the referral game is strong here.
Beyond referrals, partnering with like-minded businesses and events has been one of the most beautiful ways to connect with new clients. Whether it’s collaborating on an experience, hosting a workshop, or weaving Feral Attuned into a larger space of healing and creativity, these partnerships create the kind of organic, aligned growth that feels right.
It’s never about selling—it’s about finding the people who were already looking for this, even if they didn’t have the words for it yet.
