Bombshell Brunches Podcast

What an inspiring, incredible episode to ring in the New Year! From a long love of the English language, through competitive hockey, to billboards and chart-topping tunes, Nimkish (she/they) embodies every part of the art form in order to inspire the world with socially conscious stories. We talk about the investment made into learning the language of your career, building your blue sky, and takin...

It's our last episode of 2021!! We’re winding down with some Tuesday Rambles! After a long-drawn nerding out over retro gaming (SUPERNINTENDO ALL THE WAY), Raquelle and Kristina sit in our new virtual coffee house for a chat about social etiquette, disclosing your relationship status, and how to hold space in a, well, space. We love having these conversations and look forward to YOUR thoughts...

It’s the first official day of Winter, and we’re celebrating with our TEAM! Meet Elvin, Hannah, Bosco and Glen, four of the six of our BB team members who are behind the scenes, producing the content that reaches your glorious eyes and ears every week.  Bombshells began as in-person brunches, to create a community of like-minded, ambitious and socially conscious people. This team is the embodiment...

Dr. Ian Cromwell has his hands in so many baskets. Ian is a Health Economist, highly sought-after multi-instrumentalist, and community champion with his collective Locals Lounge, which aims to elevate musicians across all genres and curate exceptional experiences for audiences all over the city. From hustle culture to abundance mindset, we start in science, and move into facilitative leadership mo...

**CONTENT WARNING** - This episode contains information that may be emotionally triggering for some people. We ALWAYS recommend speaking to your emotional, mental and physical healthcare professionals if you have specific questions or concerns. With that said, we hope to shine a safe and kind light on the essential, sensitive topic of miscarriage. This episode is definitely my (Raquelle’s) most vu...

Mayumi is a beacon of finding the possible, perfecting your pitch, and finding the best team by being your truest self. We know that feeling of not quite belonging, and that little (or loud) voice that pushes past what your culture, parents or society wants you to do. To find her unique storytelling voice, Mayumi takes us on a beautiful journey through the search for identity, a love of community,...

Welcome to another R&K Brunch Break… This is the hangover episode. I (Kristina) am NOT fresh-faced or bright-eyed. It’s been a week, this one’s a doozy, and we’re sure it’s happened to you all before. We’re talking about social graces. We’re talking when to give the ‘leave me alone’ signal, and when we are going there to meet people. Apparently, different places have different ways to be… what...

Miss Canada 2020, Black Lives Matter Activist, and Model Nova Stevens has a message for you: Love yourself first, surround yourself with a community who inspires you, and be fiercely proud of who you are. We talk to Nova about her childhood and the massive shift of moving from Ethiopia to Newfoundland, moving out as a 15-year old and taking on New York City. This episode delves into the world of p...

Welcome to our very first Bombshell Roundtable! This year has been STRESSFUL, babes! So, we invited two of our favourite people, Ocean Bloom (Trauma Release Therapist) and Donna Benedicto (actor extraordinaire) back on the podcast to talk about how stress affects our bodies, which consistent rituals or schedules keep us sane and how we deal when sh*t just hits the fan. Stay safe and sane out there...

Impromptu Tea Spill Time! Raquelle is having a great day. Why? Because she recently took a values exercise and has realised that her appetite for adventure (i.e. one of her highest values) is not being fulfilled, affecting her daily satisfaction. We talk through how establishing and honouring your values can impact your relationships, career, and overall life design. Grab that tea, sit back, and t...

The Bake Daddy is in the house! Today we were joined by one of the most nurturing humans, Craig Taylor aka @thebakedaddy_.  Craig talks about the incredible time he had on the Food Network's show Great Chocolate Showdown where contestants compete for a $50,000 prize. We break down how one cake changed the trajectory of his career and one quote changed the dynamics of a fierce competition into...

Welcome to our Tuesday ramble. We deconstructed our normal Brunch Break to let you in on our behind-the-curtain chats. From showing up in meeting rooms, Tuesday rambles, massive turtles and using your voice, we take a moment away from graduate studies, auditions and studio days, and decompress the way we know best: with YOU.  To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE To connect with Kristina...

Dr. Javeria Shah is, in short, a scholarly activist with a hilarious sense of humour, and a deep, kind intelligence surrounding decolonisation practice. We laughed from the get-go about her impeccable Robert DeNiro impersonation, murder hornets (which are still at large, I’ll have you know), and poo emojis (flashback to toilet roll scarcity, anyone?). We wrapped it all up in the world of social ju...

Well… it all starts with a dildo on the wall. This episode went all over the place from some of Kristina and Raquelle’s own past experiences to bad puns to learning how to navigate difficult conversations and learning not to internalize other people’s reactions to sex.   Sex Therapist, Diana Sadat guides us through discussing lulls in a relationship with a partner to showing up as your most fulfil...

Vanessa (aka Raquelle’s Mama, or Mama R, as Kristina likes to say) is a force to be reckoned with. A true example of being the champion of your circumstances, Vanessa brunches with us on how she took her 19-year old self and newborn baby Raquelle to personal and professional heights. Now, with over 27 years of experience in health and benefits at the largest international actuarial consulting firm...

Our latest episode with Liz Hendersen, commercial stylist for over a decade and the co-founder of Project Wardrobe (a clothing rental house for the film industry) was SUCH a treat. We dove into the difficulties around starting a business that is not commonly understood, the trials of renting warehouse space as two women, fierce friends and partnerships, the incredible power of RESPECT as a foundat...

Alysha is a force of nature, and of nurture - humanising stigmatised people and exercising values-led leadership is something that we can all learn from. We sat down with Alysha to talk through her love of transformative interaction, starting with her own experiences with bad bosses and through a serendipitous series of exchanges within her neighbourhood, that led her to run this incredible charit...

Matthew Neutra is an innovator, a compelling speaker, and a distiller of imaginative, big-picture ideas. His commitment to mentorship, effective storytelling, and supporting emerging creatives leaves no wonder as to why he’s a next-level thinker and Lead Experience Engineer at Bose.  From establishing trust, to asking the right questions (not trying to have the right answers), and wholeheartedly e...

We are ecstatic to introduce you to our latest bombshell who arrived (very on-brand) yielding a mimosa glass in one hand and a Nerf gun in the other. Award-winning All-Star Middle Linebacker, two-time Grey Cup champion, and a eight-year Canadian Football League veteran, Shea Emry talked with us about the importance of creating safe spaces for men to “ventilate” (politically correct terminology her...

What a FIERCE, FABULOUS episode! Natasha Jung takes us on a journey through the inception and continued growth of Cold Tea Collective, a 25-strong, volunteer-led organisation that tells stories for, by and about Asian Millennials. We talk finding your niche, engaging your stakeholders, building an authentic community, and creating lasting relationships. Natasha is, in our opinion, a true pioneer o...

Today is a MUST LISTEN: We talk using TikTok to gain brand awareness and authority as a professional, using YouTube’s short stories to gain MAJOR traction, and the power of forgetting failure and JUST TRYING THE THING.  This episode is for creators, entrepreneurs and real estate investors (whether you’re on your first or fifth home, this episode has tricks and tips for you!).  You don’t want to mi...

With special guest Dr. T aka Dad, aka Papa, aka Kristina Lao’s Father-dearest, we explore how to curate the career path that will keep you inspired, passionate and happy. We get into everything from how having a good resume can help alleviate imposter syndrome, tactics to keep you curious and inspired and how sometimes the biggest leaps forward come from someone doubting you. Dr. T lets us in on t...

Today’s guest has been on Raquelle’s wish list for as long as the podcast has been around. We talked to Saschie from @formationstudio_ about navigating loss, how she turned her grief into a way to empower herself and others to heal and feel fabulous. From learning the hard lessons of finding out what she wasn’t made for to rebuilding herself after big oopsies (aka photoshopping your grades for you...

S heena Russell is the Founder of Made with Local , a B Corp Certified, female-led small business that makes the most delicious, simple, nourishing snack bars without the crap in them. Her products are sold in stores across Canada including Loblaws, Costco, and Well.ca.  Made with Local started as a small table at a farmer's market, selling snack bars. At the time, Sheena's table was nex...

Not unlike every other human in this (almost) post-pandemic world, Kristina and Raquelle have dedicated themselves to finding JOY this summer. But what is joy? What does it look like and how on green earth do you find it?  Join Kristina and Raquelle as they boozy brunch chat their way through hunting for joy, releasing schedules (ahem - Kristina), expecting and learning to love imperfection (Raque...