Welcome to PART 2 of the two women who co founded Parents of Gender Diverse Children. Megan and Karen are modern day mum's who have faced a massive family change that a lot of us fear. A topic that seems to create a lot of judgement. It has seen series after series created online about children who face this issue everyday... It has caused controversy the world over. So Heather decided, rather than be one of the many forming an opinion without truly knowing what it means to be trans, she thought she would ask these women, what they have experienced with their own daughters. 

"Trans is beautiful" has been a trending hashtag for 2019, and after this conversation you'll start to understand why. It's time for us to accept we are just PEOPLE not a GENDER!

Topics covered:

Is it ok for a child to want to change their gender...

Today, Heather Maltman ventures the suburbs of Melbourne, AUS to talk to two women who co founded Parents of Gender Diverse Children. Megan and Karen are modern day mum's who have faced a massive family change that a lot of us fear. A topic that seems to create a lot of judgement. It has seen series after series created online about children who face this issue everyday... It has caused controversy the world over. So Heather decided, rather than be one of the many forming an opinion without truly knowing what it means to be trans, she thought she would ask these women, what they have experienced with their own daughters. 

"Trans is beautiful" has been a trending hashtag for 2019, and after this conversation you'll start to understand why. It's time for us to accept we are just PEOPLE not a GENDER! This conversation was so informative it will run over 2 weeks. Look out for part two coming the following Monday. 

Topics covered:

After Dallas heard Heather on a podcast talking about her own family mental health battles, he courageously reached out to share about his own. Dallas almost died at birth, as he was born a heroin baby... In this incredibly compelling & heart felt episode, Heather and Dallas really discuss openly about what it's like to be the kid who doesn't come from the "normal" family. Which back in the 90's was anything other than a Mother, Father and siblings in a decent suburban home with clean uniforms and a brand new bicycle. 

Being houso kids, and needing local friends and family to help exist when your parent cannot, this podcast will cover the following topics:

This week we take you to Melbourne, to a wicked as hell fashion studio that has 2 amazing sisters, a puppy and lot of pink.

The sisters everyone confuses for Twins, Jess and Stef, they took $500 and went to NY fashion week... What they came back with was a shoe brand that is well known and loved all over the world. Humble and funny young women, they share their insights on starting a business in a world where it's a little harder for a woman. 

We cover topics like:

"I just felt like the wrong mother for the job." Was the quote that rocked the world of Heather Maltman this week, from Chloe Maxwell. 

How one woman could achieve as much as this one has, and still feel like a failure is a real wake up call.

When Heather arrived in Chloe and Matt Rogers home, she was welcomed into their Gold Coast abode with strawberries and coffee. The two women walked into the "Den", filled with leather couches and life time achievements. Chloe was so honest and hilarious about her life and career. From her father being an Elvis impersonator to her own work on Jabba's Morning Glory. She he speaks so electrically about her marriage to a football star, being a mother/ step mother, and about those times you just think you're screwing it all up. 

The questions Heather posed to Chloe were about how you keep going, and working, when it just feels like you cannot make it better?

Can you say you know the beauty of mental health challenges? Jess Rowe sits down with Heather in the middle of summer 2019, in the Potts Point studio and so wonderfully expresses how easy it is to find the joy in all aspects of life. Those WOO HOO moments as she calls them. Especially the parts of life we are told to hide away because they are BAD or WRONG or SCARY... Mental Health is actually something we ALL suffer from in some way or another. But it's also a great way to strengthen your mind body and soul... If you chose it to. 

Heather and Jess were both raised by wonderful women who as mothers, had an extra degree of difficulty. They both suffered from mental health. When heather first started on Studio Ten, it was one of the first things they both connected over. Jess picked straight away why Heather's family was absent on The Bachelor. 

To this day, Jess is Heather's greatest mentor and when she grows up she hopes she can be as crap at being a house wife as Jess. haha 

Imagine waking up in hospital after being asleep too long and not knowing why you are there. Your foot is bandaged into a point. Family have flown across the country to be by your side. But the last ting you remember is going to a UNI party, and the world being at your feet.

When Heather first met Mon Murphy she was giving a talk to the Girl's Who Glow initiative, about how she fell from a 5th floor balcony and lived to tell the tale. The two became fast friends as Mon recounted her ordeal of deciding to let Dr's take her foot. How she had to re learn how to walk and regain confidence. 

In life, it's so easy to get carried away by mundane little issues and gripes. So off goes Maltz on a little trip to Brisvagas (Brisbane, QLD) at Mon's little abode. Her kitty cat Rio is causing all kinds of trouble as they eat banana bread, and chat all things "life choices" and the "shoulda coulda woulda's".

Mon really helps you remember that you have to chose where to put your focus, as relives that moment for us in the hospital. She opens up with us about what it was like to walk to her bother for the first time, winning silver, and deciding not to let this moment define her.

Katie Hale has had her fair share of knocks to the confidence and she just keeps on getting back up and loving who she is. If you have been judging the way you look lately and feeling less than "feminine" or thinking that you don't have "masculine" features... Then you need to listen to Katie, and how getting alopecia only boosted her confidence, when she could have let it break her. She is such a stunning person to be around.

Heather first came across Katie in an article she had written about her hair loss. It really inspired Heather to look at steriotypes within our modern culture. We put so much focus on what makes "muscle" and what makes "feminine" in terms of appearance. But Katie proves that THAT is a  load of crap. 

Katie opens up about how losing her hair at such a young age, changed her personality completely. She is such an attractive young woman, that when they sit down for a coffee and chat in chilly Melbourne. Heather is so in awe of her, that she tries to complement her. But it just gets weird. 

Enjoy.

How do you stay fit- body, mind & soul? Andrew Pap has an amazing work ethic when it comes to staying fit. He shares with Heather, and yourself, his secrets to living his healthy life. What his mantra's are, and where they came from. He didn't grow up in a perfect world. Far from it. When he gets to the Sydney studio in Potts Point, he is so down to earth and honest. Sharing his fears, and the way he stops them from taking over his ultimate goal. 

Heather shares with Pap why she finds she fluctuates with exercise. They end up discussing the unhealthy attitudes of society. What can cause us to become to self focused and not think about others.

From Andrew's powerful words, Heather discovers something she should have been grateful for all this time. Something that had been taken for granted, and it most likely effected you in some way as well.

This week’s podcast is really special. Heather comes to you live from the Gold Coast at the Jellurgal Cultural Centre. She talks to the woman that started it all, Billie Musk. A local Yugambeh woman who helps shed some much-needed light on our cultural indifferences for the last day of Reconciliation week. A week that is more for our white Australian Culture than our Indigenous Australians. Billie helps explain that to Heather, as she asks her the tough questions about racism, housing commission and youth suicide in the Indigenous community.

Heather is very passionate about this topic, as she herself (like many white Australian's unbeknown to them) has potential Indigenous relatives that she cannot find nor locate due to the policies back in the day, that caused mass cultural genocide. 

Enjoy the moment Heather cannot remember what year the settlement started, and for more fun. Head to her Facebook page to see her reaction to her own stupidity. 

Please note: The following podcast was recorded live and may contain images, videos, voices, references and art work of alive and deceased Indigenous peoples.