Bulldog Bites

News and Views from the University of Redlands

Johnston Center alumnus finds success as relationship coach and podcast host

Neil Sattin
“For as long as I can remember, questions about relationships and love have interested me,” says Neil Sattin ’96, a relationship coach and host of an acclaimed weekly podcast, Relationship Alive!. (Photo by Sarah Morrill)

“For as long as I can remember, questions about relationships and love have interested me,” says Neil Sattin ’96, a relationship coach and host of an acclaimed weekly podcast, Relationship Alive!. “I wanted to learn as much as I could and help coach people in their own connections.”

After coming across an interview by a successful podcaster from Sattin’s native Maine, Sattin formed a plan. “I didn’t know the first thing about podcasting at the time,” he says. “But I quickly saw how it fit in so seamlessly as an easily digestible way to communicate with a large number of people.”

Within months of deciding to launch Relationship Alive!, Sattin had booked a number of experts in the field—including John Gottman, pioneer of a research-based approach to relationships, who appeared on the podcast’s first episode on September 6, 2015. Sattin soon left his job in technology to become a full-time podcaster and relationship coach.

Currently, the show has a five-star rating on iTunes and has just surpassed one hundred episodes which have been downloaded more than 1 million times, each touching on subjects such as conflict management, communication, and connection.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of my career is receiving emails from listeners for whom the show has made a huge difference in their lives,” says Sattin. “It’s happening almost daily now, and it feels like I’m making a real contribution to the world.”

Sattin recalls his experience at the University of Redlands’ Johnston Center as a formative one where he could explore his interests. “One of the most powerful classes I took was the Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships, which was taught by Frank Blume,” he says. “That course was a huge and important part of my development. Overall, there was something about Johnston that engaged my inner desire to learn.”

Sattin’s Johnston Center concentration was titled “Theory and Practice: Transforming the Educational Process,” which allowed him to study different ways of learning and how they impacted personal development, with an eye to eventually founding his own alternative learning school. “In a way, Relationship Alive! is a relationship school,” he comments, noting he develops online classes with his wife, Chloë, in addition to coaching.

Looking back, Sattin acknowledges his college experience provided an excellent foundation for his current work. “At Redlands, the community fostered curiosity about and respect for other people,” he says. “It was a place that encouraged me to be myself, regardless of successes or failures.”

For more on the podcast, visit the Relationship Alive! website.