JUST DO YOU.

Join me this week as I sit down with Sara Cunningham, founder of FREE MOM HUGS based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Earlier this year, I attended a local pride festival and came upon a group of women wearing a t-shirt with FREE MOM HUGS emblazoned across the front.  In addition to receiving the most amazing hug from one of the moms, I instantly fell in love with these women and needed to learn more about this incredible organization and their founder! 
 
During our time together, Sara shares her journey which included many years rejecting her son Parker's sexuality after he came out in his early 20s. Very conflicted by her love for her son and her deep rooted spirituality, Sara exhaustively searched her faith to find answers and what she learned through this process not only transformed her powerful journey from church to the Pride Parade, she was able to keep her faith.

As Sara became involved in the LGBTQIA+  community, the hurt, shame, and injustice the community frequently experiences was painfully clear.  Remembering that she too once was in the crowd that rejected this loving, vibrant community, Sara took action. On Saturday, June 20th of 2015, Sara wore a homemade button with the words, FREE MOM HUGS on it to the Oklahoma City pride festival and offered hugs to anyone who made eye contact.

The first hug Sara gave was to a beautiful young girl who whispered, "It's been four years since I got a hug from my mom because I'm a lesbian." Sara embraced her and hundreds more that day, all with similar heart-wrenching stories. On that very day, FREE MOM HUGS, a nationwide movement of love, visibility, and acceptance for the LGBTQIA community was born.  A movement that shows the world that EVERYONE belongs and EVERYONE matters.  Sara is an absolute delight and a gift to us all.   

To learn more about Sara and her FREE MOM HUGS National organization, click here:  https://freemomhugs.org/

To watch the Mama Bears Documentary, visit here:  https://kinema.com/films/mama-bears-wskofa

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Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

So November is Trans Awareness Month with today, the 20th purposefully marked as Transgender Day of Remembrance.  This important day, which began in 1999 honors Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in Massachusetts. 

Given the current climate post election and the relentless attack on our beautiful community, I felt it important to replay a very special episode that was first heard back in June.  The hour I spent with Archer not only changed my life forever, his episode remains the highest number of downloads by far from Season 1 and based off of the many supportive comments we both received, I am clear it shifted the conversation of our listeners around the world. 

So ... please join me for this special replay as I sit down with Archer Gray, a beautiful and compassionate Trans man who openly shares his personal transition story which began back in 2021.  Archer authentically shares his journey for the first time publicly during this episode and I am so honored to have spent this incredible hour with him. 

I have been following Archer on social media for quite some time and have been moved many times from uncontrollable laughter to an undeniable ugly, but meaningful cry all within the span of 2 to 3 videos.  He is unapologetically real and it is this realness that resonates with everyone who actually takes the time to get to know him. 

Archer uses his social media platform to showcase his remarkable path filled with an abundance of humor and a strong sense of his own truth AND reality!  I learned so much from our time together and I am happy to now call him a friend.  I know you will love him as much as I do. 

To learn more about our Trans community and how you too can be an ally, check out The Trevor Project here:  https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/guide/a-guide-to-being-an-ally-to-transgender-and-nonbinary-youth/

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

Join me this week as I welcome back Nathan Serrato, a Trauma-Informed Mindset Coach, PCC, based in San Diego, California.  It has only been ONE week since the 2024 election and so many of us are struggling to process the outcome and find some sort of peace.  I felt it important to have a conversation to let people know first and foremost, you are not alone, but equally important, your mental health and wellbeing must be a priority.  Although painful, we need to learn to deal with our emotions, especially during a time of crisis.  It is a critical part of the healing process.     

With our fundamental rights at stake we must process all of the emotions we are feeling, which can include fear, sadness, anger, confusion and hopelessness.  Learning how to push through these intense emotions will allow us to ultimately draw on the strength and courage necessary to stand up, offer our voices and fight back for what is rightfully ours.

During our conversation, Nathan talks in depth about the four ways to process and deal with emotions.  Each process carries with it some hard work, but if we put in the effort, we can then come together as a strong and powerful community in order to work towards creating a vision of joy, love and inclusivity for everyone. 

Please know we are not alone in this moment of crisis as many marginalized communities are also struggling with these powerful emotions.  Nathan and I truly hope that our conversation resonates with you and also may bring a sense of hope and peace.  We will be okay, this is not our first "rodeo" but in order to succeed, we need you to take care of yourselves first.  Only then can we get to work. 

To learn more about Nathan and his work, visit: https://www.queerconscious.com

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

It has been quite a difficult week for so many of us and I find myself desperate for some inspiration and motivation in order to process my thoughts and emotions over what happened with this year's election.  I looked back through the extraordinary conversations I have had over the past year and  after listening to my chat with Darry Tucci, my best friend and someone who consistently manages to get himself up off the sofa and out into the community with a fierce commitment to make an impact on the lives of others no matter the circumstances, I knew it was the perfect episode to replay today. 
So ... once again, please ... 

Join me as I sit down with Darrell Tucci, a National Non-Profit & Political Leader in Strategy, Development & Operations based in San Diego, California.  Aside from a long and successful career in development, fundraising, philanthropy and advocacy, Darrell is one of the most kind, caring and generous people I know.  Being in his circle makes me strive to be the best version of myself each and every day.  I have learned so much from him over the past decade and that knowledge has made me so acutely aware of the power of my voice, my stance, my vote AND the critical need to use them all in order to create change for the better.  

Darrell shares his heartwarming story of learning the importance of giving back and advocacy from a very young age.  His journey into present day is filled with powerful and poignant moments along the way that not only had an impact on him personally, but translated that impact into fostering his passion and commitment to being a  true change agent, especially for marginalized communities across the country.  

One of my favorite moments of our conversation was hearing Darrell say "We can not sit back and hope that things will change.  You have to get out and be a part of the change!"

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

Join me this week as I sit down with Mallory Combemale, founder of Breath Connection and Co-Founder & Chief Energy Officer at The Inheritance Project. 
Mallory, a Chinese-Singaporean-French-American change maker, is fascinated by identity and cross-cultural understanding.  With 10+ years experience consulting incredibly diverse groups from non-profits, to Fortune 100 executives, to government officials and entrepreneurs, this brilliant and gifted human being is committed to bring peace, balance AND understanding to the world, one conscious breath at a time.   

Mallory shares her incredible life's journey which began with a rather traumatic birth and an incredibly stressful childhood that even included abuse at an early age.  Through her own life experience, Mallory spent many years unpacking how these early impressions influenced her behavior and how she navigated her life.  After a rather remarkable educational and career path, she now spends her time helping others in dealing with things like conflict resolution out of an incredibly robust tool kit, which includes breathwork, yoga, ethnography and transformative coaching.

Mallory has a deep rooted desire to help bring people together and help them understand their differences and how they can find a shared perspective, even while holding on to what makes them different.  She fulfills this desire through her private practice as well as through her work at The Inheritance Project, a fascinating collaboration that helps leaders transform their inherited beliefs, behaviors and systems that can many times create unresolved division and conflict.

I ABSOLUTELY loved my time with Mallory and could have spent hours learning more about this beautiful soul and her incredibly important work. I am confident she will be back again, we have lots to talk about!   

To learn more about Breath Connection, visit: https://breathconnection.co/

To learn more about Mallory's 21 Day Breathwork Reset, visit:  https://breathconnection.co/breathwork , her 1:1 program to support you to integrate breathwork into your daily routine!

To learn more about The Inheritance Project, visit: https://www.inheritanceproject.org

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

Join me this week as I sit down with Shay Franco-Clausen, a self-proclaimed mover, shaker, doer and unapologetic political operative based in Northern California.  With less than two weeks until what could be one of the most important and consequential elections of our lifetime, Shay graciously took some time out of her intense campaign schedule to share her remarkable journey and the importance of using our voice, and vote for change.   

Shay is currently serving as the acting Northern California Organizational Director for the Kamala Harris campaign, on loan from Equality California where she sits as their Political Director.  Her accomplishments and recognitions are far too many to mention, but they are proof that one voice can truly create change in the world ...  despite one's circumstances.   

Shay shares her journey that began with poverty, violence and extreme fear.  Early in her teens she also began to notice that the voices of her community were never heard and decisions were being made by those who didn't even recognize them let alone see any value or power in their voices.  This did not sit well with Shay and it unleashed a fire in her that would ultimately change her life ... and the lives of her community.
 
What happens next will not only surprise you, but it will leave you feeling a sense of gratitude and hope for the future.  Please enjoy what I am certain will be the first of many conversations with Shay Franco-Clausen.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE, YOUR VOICE MATTERS NOW MORE THAN EVER!  

To learn more about Shay, visit
https://www.shayfrancoclausen.com

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

Join me this week as I sit down with Florida based Carolina Panoff, founder of Be You Coaching AND the incredibly popular Be You Disco.  Carolina and I recently met at a Wellness Summit and I had the privilege of experiencing first hand the power of cultivating and inspiring engagement, authenticity, and a deep state of well-being through music, dance, and true human connection, the foundation of her Be You Disco platform.  It truly was one of the most impactful experiences I have ever had and can't wait to join her again! 

Carolina shares her journey from childhood, being driven to be her best and to  exceed expectations, through her time in corporate sales which had left her unfulfilled and not only looking for more, but for answers to questions she had about her own life.  This desire for something more led her on a beautiful journey of self discovery and awareness which ultimately resulted in the creation of her coaching practice in 2015 and Be You Disco in 2020. 

Carolina is dedicated to supporting people in getting free from the constraints that hold them back in order to create a life filled with purpose and wonder that actually excites them! She shares some of the most profound insights during our time together and one in particular, the distinction between fitting in and belonging rocked me to my core and shifted a deeply painful conversation I have had my entire life.  I am so grateful to this beautiful soul and I know you will love our conversation as much as I did.  Enjoy! 

To follow Carolina on Instagram, click here: https://www.instagram.com/carolina.panoff/

To learn more about Carolina's Consulting Practice, click here: https://www.carolinapanoff.com

To follow Be You Disco on Instagram, click here: https://www.instagram.com/beyoudisco/

To learn more about BE YOU DISCO, click here: https://www.beyoudisco.com

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

Join me this week as I sit down with John Gruber, Director of National Campaigns for HRC.  The Human Rights Campaign is the nation's largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization that drives impact by inspiring, engaging and mobilizing 75+ million pro-equality voters across the country to elect pro-equality leaders and to demand equity-based policies and legislation. 

John shares his advocacy journey that has deep roots in gun violence prevention which ultimately leads him to his current role at HRC. John is a passionate, caring and dedicated advocate out fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and those that are multiply marginalized.  John is dedicated to making sure that we all recognize OUR OWN POWER and the difference one voice can make AND ...  if we truly show up, WE WILL WIN!

With the US election less than 30 days away,  it is imperative that we understand  what is truly at stake this November and why it is so critical for each and every one of us to get out and cast our vote ... AND to encourage our friends, family, colleagues and neighbors to do the same! 

To find out more about HRC, visit: https://www.hrc.org

Take the Pride to the Polls Pledge to Vote in 2024 visit: https://pridetothepolls.com

To purchase tickets, donate or simply learn more about the HRC Palm Springs Garden Party, visit: www.hrc.org/PSGardenParty

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

This week I sit down with Ashley Brooke James, co-founder of Triluna, a Nashville based experiential wellness agency that helps corporations and organizations across the country build deep meaningful connections in an effort to increase well-being and engagement at their events, meetings and retreats.

Ashley is a bright light whose smile immediately fills your heart with joy, love and and an overwhelming sense of peace.  During our time together, Ashley shares about her upbringing in the south, with a strong set of family values and support that played a huge role in her success.  Her journey is like so many others yet her strong sense of self and unyielding commitment to helping others propelled her through some tough times and palpable burnout into a current space of peace, mindfulness & gratitude.  This fierce, but beautiful soul has a greater purpose to fulfill and she is out to pay it forward tenfold.   

Through her work and her personal life Ashley transforms environments that are typically stagnant and lacking direction into safe spaces of love, inclusion and celebration.  She is a change-maker out to build deep, meaningful relationships that will not only change the lives of those she comes in contact with, but the lives of others out in the world.   From down dogs to donuts, there isn't anything this remarkable human being won't do to help you reset your brain ... and world. 

You can learn more about Ashely's agency here: https://www.trilunawellness.com

You can find her Wellness Community Magic podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wellness-community-magic/id1540170129

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com

Join me this week as I sit down with Matthew Skallerud, President of New York based Pink Media.  Matt and his agency specialize in helping businesses not only create, but roll out powerful and strategic online marketing plans that specifically target the LGBTQ+ community.  A community known for its buying power and a long history of consumer influence.   

Matthew shares how he began his online career back in May 1995 with the launch of GayWired.com.  This cutting edge platform was not only the FIRST LGBTQ+ website to be launched, but one that would quickly claim a spot as one the top 3 LGBTQ+ sites worldwide. This new venture would ultimately lead Matthew to follow his true passion and the creation of Pink Media. 

With a strong commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and a deep understanding of what his community actually needs, Matthew created a successful career that now more than ever, plays a critical role in the ultimate success of a company ... cultivating a message of pride, seen through the eyes of our community.   

You can learn more about Matthew and his agency Pink Media here: https://www.pinkmedia.lgbt

To find out more about the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, visit https://www.iglta.org

Send us Fan Mail

Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to welcome you back again next week! New episodes drop every Thursday and can be found wherever you find your favorite podcasts!  

Remember to like, rate, share and subscribe to the JUST DO YOU. podcast in order to receive our weekly episode updates!  If you like what you hear, please leave us a review at Apple Podcasts!

To follow us on Instagram, visit: https://www.instagram.com/justdoyoupod/

Want to learn more about our host, Eric Nicoll?  Visit:  https://ericnicoll.com