Four years after moving to Los Angeles from New York City, Lacey Stone is ready to make a play for the Hollywood fitness scene—with a little help from a Kardashian.

The superstar trainer will be one of the featured fitness pros on new E! reality series Revenge Body With Khloé Kardashian. Along with a seriously impressive roster of seven other instructors—including Harley Pasternak, Gunnar Peterson, and Simone de la Rue—Stone will be helping contestants overcome traumatic life experiences through fitness. (And, from the looks of the trailer, a little bit of tooth whitening and eye shadow… hey, this is E!)

“I’m paired with clients on the show who have gone through similar things as me—being dumped, changing their careers, people not being kind to them.”

Part The Biggest Loser, part Extreme Makeover, the concept resonated with Stone because she, too, has had a hard few years since swapping coasts. “In my audition, I explained that I had gone through a divorce myself recently—that’s why I moved to LA—and have really changed my body [since then],” she says. “I’d say that I have a ‘revenge body’ as well! So I’m paired with clients on the show who have gone through similar things as me—being dumped, changing their careers, people not being kind to them.”

Here, Stone explains why joining the reality show came at such a pivotal moment in her personal life.

Stone’s big comeback

In fact, the show marks the first time Stone’s been back in the public eye in a big way since her breakup. “A big part of being a great fitness instructor is being present and having positive energy, and you can’t really give what you don’t have,” she explains. “That’s why I laid low for a while—because I was sad and I needed to get centered again. I questioned whether I even wanted to be a trainer anymore.” She hit another low when her close friend, fashion stylist Annabel Tollman, died suddenly from a blood clot in 2013. But this time she turned her pain into something positive, launching a private bootcamp series in LA called 8 Weeks to Change.

“I was sad and I needed to get centered again. I questioned whether I even wanted to be a trainer anymore.”

“That was the moment that woke me up and I was like, life is short and you have to do what you love,” she says. “I realized that, in LA, [studios] don’t really foster a team environment, so everybody feels alone. I think people are craving love in this town and a place to belong.” The 20-person camps are now offered in 8-, 4-, and 2-week sessions periodically throughout the year, and they include weekly workouts with Stone, Flywheel classes (where she’s an instructor), nutrition counseling, and daily check-ins with Stone herself. Tryouts for the next round start in early January—that’s right, auditions are required to join. “The way I recruit people is their attitude,” Stone says. “If they’re willing to give me everything they have, they can be part of my team.”

Revenge is sweet—seriously

While 2017 has a lot in store for Stone—including a Bali retreat in the spring and clothing collabs on deck with Good Hyouman and Carbon38—Revenge Body’s premiere on January 12 is what’s got her most excited. (So far, there’s no Biggest Loser effect here; Stone says her trainees are both “doing great” since filming ended, and one of them continues to work out with her in LA.)

“That’s what this show is about—taking your haters and turning them into your motivators.”

“I still feel honored that Khloé chose me to share my story with the contestants,” she says. “They went from thinking life is impossible to believing in their future and in themselves, which they hadn’t done in a long time. That’s what this show is about—taking your haters and turning them into your motivators.”

Do you know a trainer who’s destined to be the next Lacey Stone? Nominate them for Well+Good’s America’s Most Inspiring Trainer competition, and read up on why boutique fitness instructors are attracting cult followings like never before.