From Runway to Radiance: Maria de los Angeles Bugnon on Inner Beauty, Healing & Divine Alignment
August 23, 2025
Eri, you started with dance and ballet, then became a fitness model, and now you’re developing medical aesthetics. What has been the biggest transformation in your journey?
The biggest transformation in my life is understanding my own emotions and desires and creating relationships based on value, making people better. Learning and experiencing as much as I can has helped me gain perspective as well. Once I fully understand myself (as a women your emotions and what they mean it helps me to communicate better to get what I need). Life is about relationships so I want to be involved with people of substance that can help me and I can help them. There is no life without giving and what you give comes back to you. Lastly I want to learn and experience everything I can in life. The more I do the less I know and the more appreciation I have for people and the struggles we all face. I am an empath so I have a heart of compassion and learning to use that gift has been part of my journey as well.
You’ve created your brand Inspire by Eri completely on your own. What inner qualities help you be a designer, a businesswoman, and a motivator at the same time?
It is really just pushing yourself, learning from people and then trying and failing and trying again until you find out that I’m not that bad at this. Persistence and determination over time always pay off. You just need to be comfortable learning, failing and growing from it all.
You pay a lot of attention to balance: strict discipline in nutrition, yet space for chocolate or a glass of wine. What does a “healthy balance” personally mean to you?
Balance for me is just finding a place for everything life has to offer without trying to do things that are good but make you miserable. There is chocolate that is healthy believe it or not. It just has to be made different. I am not a big drinker but will drink socially when it makes sense for me. I enjoy things that are good for me and have created a mindset that allows me to participate in a lot of things without over indulging. That way I can make my lifestyle fit the various situations I find myself in without seeming out of touch.
On your blog, you write about mental barriers in relationships. What is the main barrier you yourself have managed to overcome?
Not all people are good people. Many people have agendas and say all the right things. I have always wanted to see the good in people and take what they tell me as truth. I have realized people will tell you what they want you to hear and you have to watch their behavior. When your words and behavior don’t align I don’t trust those people. When their words and behavior match I trust more and all good relationships have a foundation of trust.
The Eri Anton Foundation is focused on developing women’s emotional intelligence. From your experience, which EQ tool can change a life the fastest?
Learning to be self-aware has been the most important. The more I learn about my own tendencies the better I am in conversations and understanding why certain things make me feel a certain way. Mastering self-awareness has helped me master self-control.
Eri, you were listed among the “Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2020.” Several years have passed since then – what has been your biggest achievement after that recognition?
I like to believe my greatest achievement has been experiencing life. Traveling the world, meeting new people and experiencing as much as I can. I recently went to Belize and swam with the sharks. I love these experiences and they open my mind to endless possibilities. After the top 10 article opening my foundation was a life long dream which is now reality.
Many fitness models focus only on the external, while you constantly speak about acceptance and inner strength. How do you connect working on the body with developing the soul?
They go hand in hand. A strong mind makes a strong body. You can’t have one without the other. I have so much respect for people who stay in great shape all year long because it speaks to who they are as a person. You can’t have a strong body without strong mental disciplines. Those disciplines carry over to every aspect of life.
In the Health & Fitness section, you share detailed exercises and workout routines. If you had to choose only five exercises for life, which ones would you keep?
I would choose disciplines that are critical for both mind a body. I consider exercise as both physical and mental so for me I would prioritize sleep, diet and some form of resistance training as my top 3. The other two disciplines would be keeping to a schedule and staying consistent. These are necessarily exercises but disciplines needed for success.
CBD skincare and sportswear are quite different directions. How do you decide which area of business to prioritize?
Markets and my personal passion drive my direction. I am all about wellness and there are a number of things that cross that path including skincare. I am currently working on a line of tallow products for the skin. I usually will develop based on what I personally like.
Your mission is to inspire women. But who inspires you when your own energy runs low?
I have a few really close friends who believe in me and are high energy. I draw from those friendships, but I can draw strength from so many things. I cross paths with hurting people and when I help them it inspires me. People who struggle in life are an inspiration to me. My two babies (my dogs) show me so much loyalty and love that it melts my heart and makes me not only want to be better but be able to show that kind of love to others. If you look around you will find plenty of people and things to draw inspiration from. God has given us all we need if we just look for it.
Your background includes ballet and dance before transitioning to fitness modeling and entrepreneurship. How have your experiences in dance shaped your approach to health, wellness and self-expression?
Dance requires great discipline and focus. To be good at anything it is a battle of your mind to force yourself to go places it needs to go. Once you have conquered your own mind those disciplines carry over to health, wellness and self-expression. I always want to be true to myself.
You work in the field of medical aesthetics while also running The Eri Anton foundation. How do you reconcile the worlds of beauty trends and social impact?
I think most people underestimate what they are capable of doing. For me the more I have going on the better as I am energized and happy involving myself in things I am passionate about. You have to push yourself to experience and not try to reconcile or balance. Life is to be lived and the more you can experience the better.
The Eri Anton Foundation aims to empower women through acceptance, inspiration, and motivation. What’s one personal story or moment that sparked the creation of the foundation?
I met someone who helped me to believe more in myself and made me search my heart for what my fears where and where my passion was. I have always wanted to help hurting people which came from my past hurts and wanting people to understand the struggle we have as women. One of my greatest fears is the fear of heights. So I faced my fear head on and jumped out of an airplane and it was instant therapy. Today I jump at least once a year to keep myself alive and realize fear holds us back from being our best.
On your website, you emphasize that true beauty is defined buy who you are inside. Can you share a time when embracing this philosophy dramatically changed your life and career?
I have so many examples of this that validate this philosophy but ill summarize it this way, I have been blessed beyond measure when I place value in others and seek to see the best in them verse the worse. People rise to the level of how you see them and it costs nothing to be good to someone. Outside beauty is temporal and we should do our best to be our best on the outside but a person who radiates on the inside and makes those around them better is blessed beyond measure. It is only when you connect with this energy you can see true beauty in others outside of the superficial.
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