Being the Black Sheep

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Overcoming trauma and finding purpose isn't a straight path—and for many black sheep, it's the road they're forced to walk.

Janine Stella sits down with motivational music artist, speaker, podcast host, and creator of How You Hold'n Up, Brooklyn Boon, for one of the most honest conversations on Being the Black Sheep. From growing up without his biological parents and losing his mother at a young age to navigating betrayal, generational trauma, forgiveness, and faith, Brooklyn shares the life experiences that shaped his purpose and inspired a movement built around one powerful question: "How You Hold'n Up?"

Together, Janine and Brooklyn explore what it really means to be the black sheep—the one who breaks generational cycles, carries invisible pain, and chooses healing over bitterness. They discuss resilience, vulnerability, purpose, and why asking someone how they're really doing can be the first step toward changing a life.

If you've ever felt misunderstood, struggled to find where you belong, or wondered how to turn your pain into purpose, this episode is a reminder that being the black sheep isn't a weakness. It's often the beginning of the story you were meant to tell.

Contact Brooklyn Boon:

Instagram: @brooklyn_boon

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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What happens when an ordinary morning turns into the moment that changes everything?

Yosh Markell was a husband, father, and successful business owner living a life centered around his family. Then, in 2023, everything changed. After unknowingly doing business with someone connected to stolen goods, Yosh found himself caught in the middle of a massive criminal investigation. His home was raided, his bank accounts were frozen, his business disappeared, and the life he had built was suddenly turned upside down.

Yosh opens up about the fear and confusion of watching his world unravel, turning himself in, living under house arrest, losing his ability to work, and depending on friends and family for help. He also shares the deeply personal toll it took on his marriage, his children, his parents, and his own mental health.

But this is more than a story about what Yosh lost. It’s about what he discovered when he was forced to rebuild.

Through some of the darkest moments of his life, Yosh found strength he didn’t know he had, learned the true meaning of resilience, and discovered a new purpose in sharing his story with others. Now, he’s using his voice to remind people that one moment can change the course of your life, but it doesn’t have to define the rest of it.

This is the story of Yosh Markell, the black sheep they couldn’t break.

Contact Yosh Markell:

Website: https://livingyosh.com
Instagram: @livingyosh
Facebook: Josh Markell
YouTube: @livingyosh

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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We looked successful. Strong. Disciplined. In control. Behind closed doors? We were at war with food. In this episode, Janine Stella sits down with psychotherapist Rachel Blogg, LCSW, and for the first time, both women speak publicly about their personal battles with bulimia and disordered eating. Not the version you see in after-school specials — the high-functioning version. The “she just works out a lot” version. The food journals, the rigid schedules, the bathroom escapes, the exercise that wasn’t about health but about control...with no REAL control.

They talk about shame at seven years old, college diets, exercise bulimia, trauma that never got processed, and the lie that if you look strong on the outside, you must be okay on the inside. Eating disorders don’t always look sick. Sometimes they look successful. Two black sheep. One secret. No more silence. If you’ve ever felt powerful in public and powerless in private, you are not alone.

Contact Rachel Blogg:

Rachel Whipple Blogg, MSW, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist based in Boca Raton, Florida, and founder of the DBT Center of Boca Raton. She specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), eating disorders, emotion regulation, and anxiety. Learn more at www.rachelblogglcsw.com, or follow her on Instagram @rachelblogglcsw

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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People love to judge your success, but they never stick around for the prequel. You know, the one with the wall-unit A/C, the EBT cards, and the 59¢ pasta dinners that lasted all week. In this episode, I’m taking you back to where it all began—L Street in Lake Worth, Florida—where resilience was the family currency and silence was the love language.

My dad was the youngest of four kids in a family that learned grief before they ever learned healing. We didn’t have much, but we had grit, and after he passed, I made a promise: the cycle ends with me. From a childhood built on scarcity to buying my first Lexus as a symbol of survival, this is the story of how I learned that breaking generational trauma doesn’t mean chasing luxury—it means claiming peace.

So if you’ve ever been judged for what you’ve earned instead of what you’ve overcome, this one’s for you. Because being the Black Sheep isn’t about standing out—it’s about breaking out.

Follow the show, drop a 5-star review, and email your Black Sheep breakthrough story to [email protected] Let’s keep breaking cycles—one story at a time.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Let’s be real — speaking up for yourself shouldn’t feel like a crime scene, but somehow it does. One minute you’re calm, cool, and collected, and the next minute you’re “too much,” “aggressive,” or “not a team player.” But here’s the truth: silence might keep things comfortable, but it also keeps you small.

In this episode, I’m talking about what it means to finally stop biting your tongue and start using your voice — even if it shakes. From years of being the family peacekeeper to finally standing up in boardrooms and relationships, this is the story of learning that self-respect doesn’t always sound polite.

We’ll talk about the emotional whiplash that comes with speaking your truth, the guilt trips people hand you when you set boundaries, and the freedom that follows once you stop apologizing for taking up space. Because when the Black Sheep starts to speak, the whole flock starts listening.

Follow the show, drop a 5-star review, and email me your “speak-up” story at [email protected]
— I might share it in an upcoming episode.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Growing up in a rainbow household meant my family looked nothing like anyone else’s — I had a lesbian mom, a bisexual (okay, mostly gay) dad, and a childhood that could’ve been its own sitcom. The PTA wasn’t ready for us, and neither was my bank account.

 From my mom’s secret partner to my dad’s quiet coming out, I learned early that love doesn’t fit into neat little boxes — and neither does budgeting.

 In this episode, I talk about how being raised by a fabulously nontraditional family gave me resilience, humor, and a complicated relationship with money. Spoiler alert: emotional spending counts as cardio when you’re a black sheep with rainbow DNA.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Newsflash: the minute a Black Sheep stops playing nice, the flock starts bleating. This episode dives into why boundaries are the ultimate rebellion, how to say no without guilt, and why your fleece pajamas and peace of mind are worth more than keeping everyone else happy.

From flaky friends to overbearing bosses to family who think “no” is negotiable, I’m unpacking the real reason people lose it when you draw a line. Spoiler: they were cashing in on your lack of one. So pour a drink, snuggle those threadbare pajama pants, and let’s talk about why saying no is the most Black Sheep thing you can do. Baa, bitch.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Dating as a Black Sheep isn’t romantic—it’s survival with cocktails. One minute you think you’ve met “the one,” the next you realize you’ve trauma-bonded with a walking red flag in skinny jeans. The herd calls it chaos. We call it Tuesday.

In this episode, I’m diving into why Black Sheep love differently—attachment styles with a misfit twist, rejection sensitivity, and why calm love feels boring when you’re wired for drama. We’ll laugh through red flags I’ve ignored, unpack trauma reenactment (a.k.a. dating your family with better hair), and talk about how to stop confusing chaos with chemistry.

If you’ve ever swiped wrong, chased chaos, or felt like “too much” in love—this one’s for you. Pour yourself a drink, mute your situationship, and let’s get into the mess together.

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Family isn’t always warm hugs and Sunday dinners. Sometimes it’s blame, favoritism, or that aunt with boxed wine breath telling you you’ll “never measure up.” In this raw episode of Being the Black Sheep, Janine Stella teams up with trauma specialist Eric Bricker, LMHC to rip the bandage off family-of-origin trauma.

From Christmas gift inequality to being iced out at the dinner table, Janine and Eric expose how families brand their misfits, why rejection cuts the deepest at home, and what it really takes to survive when the herd turns on you.

This isn’t therapy—it’s rebellion. If you’ve ever felt like the scapegoat, the outcast, or the one who never belonged, this episode is proof: you’re not broken—you’re just not built for their flock. 

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix

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Some sheep follow the herd… and then there are the ones who set the pasture on fire. In this episode of Being the Black Sheep, Janine Stella dives into the rebels who flipped history on its head—mythical misfits like Prometheus and Loki, real-world fire-starters like Joan of Arc and Rosa Parks, and modern icons from Ali to Gaga who turned “too much” into legendary. 

With a few of her own wild stories thrown in (yes, there’s a cartwheel-for-a-contract moment and a bridesmaid-dress cannonball), Janine proves that sometimes being the black sheep isn’t about fitting out—it’s about shaking things up. 

Because let’s be honest: when you’re the black sheep, tradition isn’t your prison—it’s your playground. 

Slide into the Black Sheep’s DMs – Janine’s waiting.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stellamix.com

Produced by StellaMix