"There is nothing like a Black woman. We are the source."

I love listening to Chloe Davies (she/her), my guest for this episode, speak whenever I get the opportunity. She is full of wisdom, insight & vision - and there's mic drop moments & t-shirt slogans a plenty! Undoubtedly partly due to her extensive career in marketing, advertising & branding but also her truly brilliant mind.

Chloe is a proud Black bisexual mother of two amazing boys. She also has a lot to be proud of professionally as you'll hear. The challenges & life circumstances she's gone through and overcome are a huge part of that with loss & grief having had a massive impact on her early years. 'Raw, Emotional, Real’ are the three words Chloe uses to describe her origin story - please take care of yourself whilst listening as we cover some difficult moments & themes.

Today, Chloe is feeling 'grown & sexy' - and ultimately, herself. This episode is a rollercoaster! Sit back, get comfy & enjoy....

Dr Paul Taylor-Pitt is an organisational development consultant, writer, activist and all round amazing human. He's passionate about helping people to show up as their wholes selves... something he leads by example on and from listening to his story, it's always been that way.

From being quite a serious kid who perhaps took things too seriously, Paul knew he was queer and despite having an understanding that society wasn't quite ok with this, he was & simply knew that was the society's problem, not his. 

He's currently writing a book focusing on the stories & experience of mid-life queers (40+) which we delve into and I am loving working on an accompanying event series with him throughout this year, especially as I've now hit my 40s. When Paul turned 50, he says he felt like he finally turned the age he always was!

Paul shares his frustration at the state of the world today, what brings him joy and tons more about his origin story which he describes as 'Ordinary, Remarkable & Ridiculous'. It's a brilliant conversation... enjoy!

This week celebrates Non-Binary Awareness Week and the world is full of SO MANY INCREDIBLE non-binary individuals including this week's guest for Pause. And Rewind... Marley Conte (they/them).

Marley is an Italian trans/non-binary freelance writer, speaker, consultant and content creator. Their passion for diversity, equality, inclusion and justice shines through and they harness they own lived experience to educate people on trans+ inclusion, issues & rights. They place a real value on their work - and encourage others to hold onto that that rather than just working with anyone.

Marley is also known, on Instagram, by their handle @thenonbinaryparent and they're committed to creating resources for trans & non-binary parents cos' frankly, it's lacking. 

That's Marley now and it was great to explore their origin story to see how they ended up doing what they do! We talk about growing up in Italy feeling a sense of displacement... and their love of their country & culture against its problematic LGBTQ+ stance. We also cover parenting, Marley's take on social media & phone rules and how their daughter is Marley 2.0!

Marley is a "work-in-progress" - the three words they use to describe themself and their origin story. Marley never celebrated birthdays before coming out as they never saw themselves getting older. But now as they are about to turn 40, there's a real excitement in Marley. When I ask what brings them joy, Marley responds "Looking in the mirror and it's like 'that's it, that's me'. That brings me joy". I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!

She's been a household name for over three & a half decades so it was a real privilege to have Col. Dame Kelly Holmes MBE as a guest on 'Pause. And Rewind...'

I've actually met Kelly (she/her) a few times over the last year & a half and got to dance in the parade with her at Brighton Pride in torrential rain whilst marching for the #transpeoplearelovedcampaign and even got to have a sunny run with her along the beachfront. Yes she's very fast, no I could not keep up.

We all know her as a gold medal scoring Olympian but Kelly has achieved so much more than that, from her charitable work through to her public speaking, challenges and love of community - which has become fundamental to how she is showing up for the LGBTQ+ community. 

She radiates warmth, energy & a free spirit. And if you've been following Kelly since her coming out story, you'll get a sense of why and it was gorgeous chatting to her about how the Kelly we see now is the happiest, most authentic she's ever felt. Listen in and enjoy.

Psssssst. Go grab a copy of her new book Unique. we only mention it a few times in the episode - PLUG PLUG PLUG!

If you aren't subscribed to Queer AF, then please go subscribe right now! It's an award-winning queer-led platform packed with queer news and queer stories written by queer creatives. Yes, it really is Queer AF and Jamie Wareham (he/him), its Founder is unapologetic AF about it (which I love!).

I've had the absolute pleasure of working with Jamie over the last few months with Trans+ History Week and its success is partly due to Jamie's tendency to think big & queer and challenge himself. It also demonstrates his love for the queer community. 

Jamie is passionate about his not-so-secret queer agenda - transforming the media industry and shifting the narrative on being queer in the UK. But what led to him launching Queer AF? That's what I wanted to know.

Jamie's origin story reveals so much and it was great to explore how this quiet kid, that was so desperate to fly under the radar, found his voice and skills and now uses it loudly and proudly.  We explore the severe health incident which caused a huge life setback though to a cinema trip that shaped him massively, his upcoming move to Margate and feeling sexy.

I love the Queer AF tagline 'We are QueerAF... and so are you'. Hell yeh - enjoy!

This episode was pure effing joy! I got to sit down with Laura Willoughby, co-founder of Club Soda, the world's largest mindful drinking movement, and dive into her amazing life story.

Laura & I connected through the sober world and she is one of the most supportive, encouraging and collaborative humans I know. She's also bloody impressive. Her work with Club Soda has encouraged thousands upon thousands of people to adopt healthier lifestyles when it comes to drinking and she was recently featured high up in the list of Top 100 influences in the drinks industry... a feat she finds amusing given her sobriety.

But Laura's story is about so much more than just this and from hearing about her passion for campaigning from a young age to her work ethic, time in Government, her love of 'The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy' and more, you can really get a feel for what's shaped her now. She uses the following three words to describer her story and I couldn't think of three better ones: Collaborative, Activator & Heretic. I know that the everyone from the sober community and beyond will love this episode as much as I did!

PS. Go visit Club Soda on Drury Lane in Covent Garden to try & buy the best selection of AF drinks out there plus the team are gorgeous and they run fab events too!

We're a few days into Pride Month and so I'm taking this episode to shout about We Create Space, and more specifically, its Founder, Michael Stephens (he/they). I work for Michael so we chat every day but I was super excited to invite him onto 'Pause. And Rewind...' to find out more about him!

We Create Space is a global learning platform providing DEI consultancy to organisations worldwide who want to create more inclusive workplaces. This is done through our wonderful Collective of queer change makers & thought leaders. As a CIC, the money it makes goes back to delivering community events - something that is fundamental to Michael and through the mission to bring people together in safe spaces to 'learn, connect & grow'. It's all done through a truly inclusive & intersectional lens.

This episode explores how Michael's experiences with bullying, shame, eating disorders and mental health play a core role in the creation of We Create Space. Please take care of yourself whilst listening as some of these topics can be triggering.

'Community' is one of the words Michael uses to describe his origin story alongside 'Determination' and 'Intuition'. He casually drops in some poignant life lessons that I'm certainly taking on board and I think you might too. Enjoy...

Oh and if your organisation would like to explore working with We Create Space, get in touch!

We're often told "never meet your heroes" - well, two fingers up to that because meeting Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, or Lady Phyll as she's more affectionately known, has been a life changing experience.

Through her incredible work, Phyll has taught me so much when it comes to pride, allyship & showing up - for our community and each other, advocating for the needs of those around us and challenging systems of oppression.

I had a unique opportunity to stand in front of Lady Phyll and her family - both her actual family and her UK Black Pride family - to tell her exactly what she means to me and so many other queer people on the day she received an Honorary Graduate Degree from London South Bank University. It was one of the highlights of my life and such a special moment in time. Just as recording this episode of 'Pause. And Rewind...' was.

Her compassion, conviction and wisdom are paramount to the Lady Phyll we know & love. So it was the biggest privilege to dive into her origin story to find out where this comes from - and to find out more about Little Phyll, her love of books, her early experiences of racism and how this has shaped her life. There are some challenging topics discussed so please take care of yourself whilst listening.

 The words Phyll uses to describe her story are 'Intense, Brave and With Purpose'. You're about to find out why... enjoy this wonderful conversation.

Many of us know how inaccessible and unaffordable mental health support can be - and right now amongst the queer community, it's vital. Hence why the work that Jaron Soh (he/him) is doing is so important.

Jaron is the founder of Voda, the LGBTQIA+ mental wellness app and their mission is to build the future of inclusive mental health support which Voda does with a fantastic team of entrepreneurs and specialists behind it. It's an exciting time for the company and Jaron's love, commitment & passion for it SHINES through.

The 3 words Jaron uses to describe there origin story are 'Shame, Joy & Love'. Jaron's story is fundamental to Voda's creation. Growing up as a queer kid in Singapore came with a lot of shame and a need for therapy, healing and acceptance so a trigger warning is attached to this episode. Please take care of yourself whilst listening.

The presence of joy & love for Jaron is down to community, chosen family and what he does - tapping into those is a work in progress for many of too so sit back and listen in to this inspiring conversation.