BODY IMAGE EDUCATOR. AUTHOR. CREATIVE. SPEAKER. CONSULTANT. MULTI-PASSIONATE ARTIST.
I was living the dream…
At least that’s what it looked like to everyone around me. I had a bustling boudoir studio, awards and accolades from some of the most well known photography communities, speaking engagements and workshops all around the world, and creating work that challenged the status quo. And while part of that was a dream…on the inside, I felt alone, stressed beyond measure, unable to ask for help, and tired…oh so tired. My body was physically asking me to rest and recuperate, but I didn’t think I could - I convinced myself that I would fail. I would “fall behind”. I would be forgotten.
So, what happens when “the dream” turns out to be your nightmare?
You see…it turns out that hustle culture isn’t that much different than diet culture.
When I was at the height of diet culture, I learned to disregard my body’s requests for hunger & nourishment. I overrode my natural intuition for eating in an effort to conceal emotions I never thought I was worthy of . The smaller I became, the more I hated myself because it was never about my body - it was about the stories I told myself. Once I freed myself from the constraints of diet culture, I thought I had it all figured out. LOL.
Instead of searching for validation in the way my body looked, I now looked for it in the amount of work I was producing - never giving my body a chance to rest, recuperate or heal. I now disregarded my body’s request for rest, connection, and nourishment. Free time was an illusion and I was the friend that said “No!” to everything, so people just stopped asking. Just like with my body image insecurities - the more successful I became, the more I thought I wasn’t enough. This led to me experiencing a bout of depression in 2018 and succumbing to the physical side effects as the result of chronic stress.
Thankfully, I used what little self awareness I had left to create a shift and began to confront my squidgy feelings and thoughts.
I went back to school (which ended up being more like months and months of intense therapy) where I received my certification in Applied Positive Psychology. It was here that I learned how much body image, extreme independence, and burnout were all connected and fostered in the mind. Since then, I’ve had time to work on healing my body and mind and have spent the last 5 years educating individuals on how to work through their squidginess: the mindset and stories they tell themselves that gets in the way of them living the life they truly desire, and more importantly, deserve. Whether it’s through the podcast, books, writing, courses, retreats, or photoshoots, I connect with individuals just like you who feel out of alignment with their life & end up blaming their bodies and they know there is something more for themselves, they just aren’t sure how to open themselves up to receive it. Using creative education and experiences, it is my absolute pleasure to watch folks’ lives change with mindset shifts, the daily practice of self care rituals, a little tough love, or simply seeing themselves in a new light.
Now that I’ve created the free time I deserve, here’s how I spend it:
SOOTHING MY INNER CHILD. SELF PORTRAITS. CREATING ART. HANGING WITH THE HUBS. BEING A COOL AUNTY. READING SELF DEVELOPMENT BOOKS. LISTENING TO PODCASTS. BINGE WATCHING THE OFFICE & LAW & ORDER: SVU. TRAVELLING THE WORLD (FOR FUN!). BROWSING BOOKSTORES. WALKING IN NATURE.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Confident Curves 2017
TedX Salon 2017
Confident Curves Vegas 2017
PPOC Saskatoon 2017
Babetown NYC 2018
Camp Do More 2018
Body Image Bootcamp Florida 2018
Body Image Bootcamp Mexico 2018
The Calm & The Chaos Calgary 2018
Body Image Bootcamp Calgary 2018
everyBODIES education OKC 2018
everyBODIES education Dallas 2018
MoMondays 2018
Camp Do More 2019
Body Image Bootcamp Toronto 2019
Do More NYC 2019
Do More Vegas 2019
Body Image Bootcamp 2019
everyBODIES Boston 2019
Balanced Life Experience Tradeshow 2019
Do More Vegas 2020
Conference & Chill panelist 2021
Clickaway At Home 2021
Body Image Bootcamp 2021
The Portrait Masters Shootout 2021
Unraveled Academy Outliers workshop 2021
The Portrait Masters Conference 2022
Unraveled Academy Love Thy Selfie Workshop 2022
WPPI: The Boudoir Summit/Photowalk 2022
The Wedding Way Online Summit 2022
GraphiStudio Workshop in Italy with Sue Bryce, Kara Marie & Teri Hofford 2022
GraphiStudio Workshop in Italy with Sue Bryce, Kara Marie & Teri Hofford 2023
The Portrait Masters Conference 2023
Body Image Bootcamp 2023
WPPI 2024
Camp Rover 2024
A Fine Art Approach to Boudoir with Kara Marie & Teri Hofford 2024
Body Image Bootcamp 2024
Tedx Winnipeg 2024
IMAGE & WRITING PUBLICATIONS/FEATURES
Fabuplus Magazine
Unicorn Magazine
Upward Magazine
A Perfect 14 Documentary
GEEZ Magazine
Quiescent Magazine
Rangefinder Magazine 2021/2023
Vogue Italia
Chatelaine Magazine (online) Nov 2022
I’d Like to Thank My Body short doc
Rangefinder Magazine 2024
INTERVIEWS
CBC Radio One
CTV Winnipeg
Global Winnipeg
Art & Soul Podcast
Tribe Archipelago
Flourishing Families Podcast
Burnout Podcast w/ Caitlin Donovan
Confident Moms Summit
Your Life Unlimited Podcast
The Bod Pod (CBC) 2020
Swan Valley Star & Times 2021
The Babesment Podcast
The Shared Shutter Podcast
Art & Soul Podcast 2021
The Portrait System Podcast 2021
Coffee with Genny B Podcast 2022
The Art & Soul Podcast 2022
Self Value Podcast 2023
Cat Ford Coates Studio Takeover Podcast 2024
Sick & Successful Podcast 2024
UpHouse Media Podcast 2024
Darling Your Inspire Me Podcast 2024
