2025

2025 was a big year.... a wedding and I turned 40....BIG CELEBRATIONS!
Turns out ...my body does not like big celebrations and I had big flareups and pain on those days.

WORK
I love having my own company....just look at the variety of jobs I get to do.
-Personal Trainer at World Class 
-Coaching at my own office
-MC at weddings, DJ, bingo and dance gigs with Happy Studio
-Conference Director at ICF Iceland Coaching Day
-Moderator at HR day
-Murder Mystery and Singalong at Hótel Kríunes
-Taught Empowerment at Mímir

Travel
Tenerife for Easter
Copenhagen to surprise and celebrate my sister´s 50th birthday
Otherwise just to the countryside to entertain or hotel stay with my love. 

PR

Morgunblaðið (talking about my coaching business, from hopeless to hope)
Vísir (talking about our wedding)
DV  1 og 2 (talking about burnout, our love story and aron´s epilepsy)
K100  radio station (talking about our Zumba class to support UNICEF)

FAMILY
My son went off epilepsy meds and is blossoming, talking and singing so much. so grateful.
My step daughter is always creating something new (art). She´s so talented.
Halldór has started doing Crossfit and loves it. That and badminton. So fit!

OTHER:
Started Pilates with my friend Þórdís and going to the spa with my other friend. Love it so much. 
Also started taking advanced dance class for myself, reminds me of the good old days. 
Been taking it easy and working less and LOVE IT! Slow down and enjoy!
Health is number one so I learned a lot this year what works for me. 

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2024

 2024

Work / Projects

• I did personal training and group training at World Class.

• I coached clients at my office at Sundaborg 7.

• I taught Zumba and Jallabina at World Class but stopped in May.

• I taught at Mímir: personal empowerment and communication, and health promotion.

• I held lectures: “Who Am I,” “Burnout and stress at work,” “Return to Happiness,” and a motivational pep talk.

• I created a summer challenge and check-ins, and launched my self-care membership subscription in September.

Gigs / Events

• Hen parties, first dance (bridal waltz), dancing, and DJ gigs at weddings.

• Attended the “Ég 2024” event by Ásta mentor coach.

• Acted in a Fullþing advertisement.

• 50’s dance party at Gaukurinn with Happy Studio.

• Murder Mystery with an event company and Hotel Kriunes.

• Garðabær Children’s Culture Festival with Happy Studio.

• 
  Hosted events with Happy Studio at Hotel Kvika and Harpa.

• Sang with Sigga Beinteins while I was hosting Hörpu Magnús’s birthday party.

• Master of ceremonies and DJ at Mannauðsdagurinn (HR Day) at Harpa.

• Halloween Murder Mystery at Hotel Kriunes.

• Singalong pub quiz at Hotel Kriunes.

Viðtöl

Viðtal í Ísland í Dag

DV 

Harpa kann að halda partý (veislustýrði)

Of margir boltar á lotfti

K100

Kvíðakynslóðin 

   Rás 2 

 

Travel

• Paris with Halldór.

• Crete with the family.

• Borgarnes.

• Hveragerði.

• Laugarvatn.

Illness / Health

• A Crohn’s flare-up, and daycare illnesses hit hard.

• Aron had a severe seizure around Pride, caused by illness.

• I had surgery in September that fixed terrible hemorrhoids I’ve been dealing with since having Aron. Then I got a really rough on-and-off illness on top of that and was very sick. Grateful everything turned out well in the end.

Other

• I said goodbye to President Guðni and Elíza at Bessastaðir and personally thanked Halla Tómasdóttir at an FKA meeting, because I won an essay competition as a teenager where I wrote about my future company. It’s incredible to have that company today and think back on it. Proof that entrepreneurs like Halla—through Auður in the Power of Women and FrumkvöðlaAuður—matter.

Family

• Halldór graduated with a Master’s degree in Industrial Biotechnology. So proud of him.

• Módís started in the youth division at Norðlingaskóli.

• Aron moved to Grænudeild (the Green class) at Blásólar preschool.

• So proud of my family.

Grateful that everyone is healthy and doing well.

2023

 

2023

-I formed my own company Anna C ehf

-I got my own office in Reykjavík

-Got my ACC accreditation as a Coach (Internationally Certified)

-Graduated from Akademias as a Certified Online Marketing Specialist

-Raised money for Líf, Chrohns association and Hugarafl 

-Grandma died, grateful to have seen her and that she saw Aron before she passed away

-Aron got seizures and ended up in the hospital. 3 ambulance rides this year.

GIGS:

-Public Speaking gigs about stress to coaching to AI tools for VR, Dokkan, ICF and SVÞ 

-DJ, MC at weddings, bingo and most fun singalong and dance entertainment with Happy Studio

-Murder Mystery gigs at Hótel Kríunes and for event companies

-Taught wedding dance and of course our regular zumba and jallabina classes at World Class

-Personal training and group training. Love it!

Travel

-Greece to see my Cashmere mafia friends (Webster Alumni)

-Hella with Frikki for a Happy Studio gig

-Hveragerði for a gig and romantic getaway with my love

-Hotel Ranga, romantic getaway with my love
-Cabin getaway with friends

PR 

Morgunblaðið

Bylgjan

RÚV

Mannlíf

Podcasts

Pabbapælingar

HeilsuErla

Family

Halldor is doing brilliantly in his master studies and Modis as well in school, and always creating something. Very artistic. Loves playing Roblox with friends. So grateful for them

2022

2022 was the year I became a mom 
Kudos to all the moms out there and parents in general. No joke dealing with postpartum and thanks to lack of sleep my nervous system is a mess and my anxiety has started acting up again. I was diagnosed with Chrohns after a lot of pain that I first thought was just postpartum. Turns out it wasn´t. Now I get medicine, a shot every two weeks. November was hell, between my pain and Aron picked up every flu and was so sick he had to go to the hospital. It was so hard. So after my and Aron´s sickness I just focus every day on gratitude. Every day that is not in pain is a good day. 

PERSONAL

- We named our baby boy Aron Benedikt Claessen Halldórsson in a ceremony at Hótel Kríunes where Páll Óskar and Monika sang and played and Palli gave him his name. I sang and mom gave a speech.

-Maternity leave, where i took care of Aron and slept between. Grateful for my love and his support.

-published an online Burnout and Relationship seminars on http://happystudio.teachable.com

-became the first Zumbini teacher in Iceland, and had a pop up class at Dans og Jóga

-got diagnosed with Chrohns disease and got medicine for it.

-started work again as a personal trainer, dance teacher and entertainer. 

GIGS:

-Danced for Haffi Haff in Eurovision Semi Final for the song "Gía" (English Volcano)

- Murder Mystery at Kríunes

-Danced at a book release party

-Haffi haff gig at a kindergarten and a birthday party

- Happy Studio gig at MEKÓ Barnamenningarhátíð
-Happy Studio gig at MEKÓ Moroccan day
-Happy Studio gig at fjölmenningarhátíð Harpa

-MC at a wedding

-DJ gig at Mannauðsdagurinn

-Salsa gig at a birthday party

-Country gig in the countryside
-Gig at Víkurskóli and a birthday party

-Taught a bachelor Michael Jackson moves
-Christmas Bingo host during the holidays

-"I Wanna Dance" by Svala and Haffi Haff music video

and more....

See youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCog86Vq61STB8NuKtr4faPQ

TRAVEL:

-Almeria with the family

-Vienna to see my best friend Alexandra, Marco and their baby who live in Mexico

-Cyprus to see the Claessen family, with a layover in Poland

-Paris for a romantic getaway, a year after our engagement

PR

Heilsuvarpið

Hemmi frændi

Fréttablaðið

Taking care of a baby, especially newborn is a full time job!!!!!
Make sure you take care of yourself and your relationship.

Grateful for family and friends for their support. 

Enjoying my time with my family

2021

 2021

Had a baby boy on my birthday, got engaged to my love Halldór on top of the eiffel tower in Paris, France and we moved into our dream home in Norðlingaholtið.

Worked as a personal trainer and zumba instructor at World Class, finished Hot Yoga and Body Reroll Teacher training, codependency- and happiness coaching. 

Gigs at Kramhúsið and with Friðrik as well as murder mystery nights at Hótel Kríunes 

Got Covid while pregnant. 

Interview in Vikan, Rás 2, etc.

Travel: Paris-France, Grímsborgir, Hvanneyri, Akureyri, Húsavík, Egilsstaðir, Vík, Jökulsárlón. 

Other: 

Helicopter ride to the volcano

ATV ride in Vik with the family

What a year! 🎉So grateful 🥰

2020

 

The year started out great, I played gong at an seminar, was an assistant at a show Búkalú and acted in Hatari´s new music video. Did a gig for Alþingi and for 100 kids in the countryside. Did gigs at Kramhúsið and taught a group Latin/Ballroom dances weekly alongside my normal zumba and jallabina classes at World Class. 

We in Dans og Kúltúr organized an epic Roaring 20´s party. Went on the radio and were featured in the paper because of it: https://www.frettabladid.is/lifid/orjufanlegir-dansfelagar/

Traveled to Mexico for my best friends wedding and met all my friends there. Such a beautiful ceremony.

Tried Ayahuasca and boy did the world change.... LITERALLY

I came home and there was COVID. 

From live classes to zoom

From lots of gigs to none

From live classes to zoom

We in Dans og Kúltúr were suppose to go to Dubai but Covid changed that. 

My job was changed in an instant

So I changed my focus and studied

Became a 

PERSONAL TRAINER

Yoga Nidra Trainer

Absolute Training Trainer

added NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) 

and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)

Did live dance classes on zoom and posted videos on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCog86Vq61STB8NuKtr4faPQ

In the summer there was no cases so we were FREE .... for a while

So I saw two concerts, Dúndurfréttir with my dad and Aldamótatónleikarnir with friends.
Went for some cocoa and dance spiritual ceremonies. Did my weekly therapy.

Actress Anna was in full swing

ACTING:

Teygur commercial

Hatari music video

Leynilögreglan

Ráðherrann

Verbúð

and another "V" TV show I can´t remember the name of

Wrote articles on Vísir.is:

https://www.visir.is/t/2082/Anna%20Claessen

Was a featured guest at the podcast Þín Eigin Leið: 

https://open.spotify.com/show/6vbEpjxaMPUUGq5gPSOxgi?si=gSdLH9r5SpOnwxKeVilOAw

Blue Lagoon offered Ielanders a special deluxe deal so me and Oddrun went and pampered ourselves. 

Traveled to Hvammstangi to go to my first Sveitaball and saw Paparnir and Stuðmenn . 

Traveled the countryside with Þórdís to Akureyri, mývatn, Ásbyrgi and of course JaJa Ding Dong bar in  Húsavík. We stopped by at the beerbaths for some refreshment. Really fun trip. 

Surprised everyone at work and sang with Ingó veðurguð at their summerfest. 

Became a personal trainer and taught dance along with working in the spa. 
Did coaching and hypnosis. 

Then came second wave of COVID

Adaptability. The rules changed every 2 weeks, so my job changed that way as well. A personal trainer, dance teacher and an entertainer working in a spa, all my jobs were out. So surrended and RESTED! Finally working on my burnout for real. Doing absolutely nothing and that was ok.That was my job!

Best part of 2020

Met the love of my life Halldór and got to know what its like to have a family of my own. Him and his daughter welcomed me with open arms. I moved in after only a couple of months. So grateful.

2020... it was the worst of times...it was the best of times.
A time to reflect on your life. At yourself! 
It all depends on how you look at it right? 

2019

2019

Year of firsts
The year I did something new every day
The year I started playing guitar
The year I started writing again for a news outlet
The year I also worked as a DJ and Karoke Host
The year I did a show of my own at Hótel Kríunes
The year I started writing again on a popular web site
The year I spoke in front of a room full of people and told my story
The year I learned a lot, NBI, Reiki, Gong, RTT and assisted twice in Dale Carnegie
The year me and my best friend Frikki organised a trip to Morocco and dance parties at Hard Rock
The year I tried out comedy at Gaukurinn and Secret Cellar


Travel

-Thailand

-Dublin, Ireland

-Morocco

-Romania

-Vienna, Austria

-Cyprus

-Rome, Italy

- Finland

Got enough of traveling and finally had the feeling I wanted to stay in Iceland and make a life there

Diplomas

-RTT hypnosis

-Gong (sound healing)
-Facebook/Instagram marketing

-Reiki
-NBI

Acting

Blindspot

Agnes Joy
Gullregn
Pabbahelgar

Samgöngustofa ad

Blue Lagoon Retreat Ad

Worked as a CEO for the Icelandic Dance Sport Federation until this year and I´m proud to say I helped dance get more covered in the media. We have AMAZING dancers and they deserve even more coverage in the future. They are not only winning here in Iceland but abroad.

MEDIA
Sporið
K100
Bylgjan
Fréttablaðið
Útvarp Saga
Hringbraut
Mannlíf
Stöð 2
BURNOUT! I was interviewed on Stöð 2 regarding my burnout.
Created a group in the process: https://www.facebook.com/groups/356382358366879/
and I´m coaching several clients to help them from burnout to balance.

ARTICLES
Started writing articles on Vísir.is
https://www.visir.is/t/2082/Anna%20Claessen

Learned a lot, be careful about what you write about or you´ll end up on DV (gossip outlet).
Which I did. Learned a lot and wrote about the experience.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

-Choreographed the main Pride song and danced alongside my idols

-Dans og Kúltúr

So proud of everything me and my best friend Friðrik have done with Dans og Kúltúr. First of all our trip to Morocco. Despite Wow air going under we found a solution and had a wonderful layover in Belgium. We moved our dance parties from Gaukurinn to Hard Rock and celebrated Culture Night and Halloween among other events there with great success. 1001 nótt, 17.júní, menningarnótt, Pride, Reykjavík Fringe and travel to Finland´s Laahti fringe are among a few of the events we danced in. 

On Halloween both me and Frikki went out of our comfort zones and performed as other characters, me as Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit

-Singing

Did gigs at Hótel Kríunes, Alþjóða geðheilbrigðisdaginn, Hugarafl and more.

 -Zumba and Jallabina
Taught dance classes at World Class and took part in several charity events.
Proud to help raise money for good causes.

Ended the year with a zumba event with these fabulous instructors Javi and Daði (from Allir Geta Dansað) and our ZIN Iceland representative Ísabella

-Assistant Coach in two Dale Carnegie Seminars
Grateful to meet these amazing people and learn from them.

MY WORK FINALLY ON SPOTIFY

My LA podcast Entertainment Drive-Thru, where we interviewed people in the entertainment industry. Honored to interview and get to know these amazing people.
https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ga0VGmfMllwALiT1bDqa7

Anna and the Bells: I´m really proud of our songs so I put them up on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pI0BwgEWFnt7XUZEzegbY

PERSONAL

It was a really difficult year personally. Went on meds last year when I felt like the world was collapsing and finished this year without meds. Very proud of myself! Went off with a help of RTT, Hugarafl, friends and above all my own strength. Been working on myself a lot. Proud of it!

Thankful for my friend Oddrún who told me to do a blood test and doctor for giving me an iron injection. After that I completely changed my diet with a help from a trainer. I started working at the spa in World Class. They have a amazing food there. Really helped me in changing my diet.

Family 

My brother had a baby, a beautiful girl named Elva María Claessen
Another girl in our family. Celebrated in our childhood church, Seljakirkja.
Thankful for my family