VIRGIN.BEAUTY.B!TCH

Lisa Van Ahn is a retired athlete who fought for the US National Kickboxing team internationally. She won a North American Kickboxing title and meddled at the PanAm games in Brazil. Lisa also competed on the popular NBC show American Ninja Warrior. Lisa found her way into combative sports at age 19 after being exploited as a child, believing she was unworthy, and living in fear as a victim.  She s...

It's that time of year when we all have one foot in the past and one foot stepping into the future, a time to glance in the rearview but with eyes fixed on the horizon.  This episode reflects on some global challenges that captured the world's attention over the past 12 months. At this time of year, it's always fascinating to compare notes on how we interpret and respond to events that we can't co...

Bitch being used as an inspiration sounds counterintuitive, very contrary to how people have been conditioned to apply a word, which for centuries has been used as an insult keeping women in a subservient place in society. Jamie Louise Madigan became very familiar with the word Bitch after finding herself being used and abused in her intimate relationship. Jamie admits her good-girl, people-please...

This is episode #One of the VBB Bitch Series. It begins with our conversation with Teacher, Life Coach, Speaker, and International bestselling Author of W.O.M.A.N.: A New Definition For Reclaiming The Feminine, Gina Cloud. Whether you like the word or not, Bitch is ubiquitous, timeless, and female-centric. For centuries to the present day, Bitch has been used to dehumanize women on the one hand, w...

A Journey From Fear To Freedom. Lauren Wellbank is a courageous survivor who has successfully turned her harrowing near-death experience at the hands of a violent partner into a mission of hope and empowerment for others. After escaping her abusive relationship, Lauren realized the importance of sharing her story, knowing that 1 out of 4 women face similar situations, and many either don't survive...

Sandy Phillips Kirkham shares her harrowing yet inspiring journey of overcoming abuse in a religious setting. Her book, "Let Me Prey Upon You: Breaking Free From A Minister's Sexual Abuse," sheds light on the devastating impact of clergy abuse and serves as a resource for education and support for others. Sandy's journey is a poignant testament to the often-downplayed reality that women and girls...

Jamie Louise Madigan's book, "Lipstick Stains and Coffee Cups," is more than a collection of heart-wrenching poetry; it helped her exorcise painful memories of abuse and brings hope to women still lost or entangled in abusive relationships.  For Jamie, writing was the transformative process that allowed her to confront the stark realities of being abused, which, paradoxically, led to her nurturing...

As part of our annual commitment in support of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, VBB continues to share personal stories that reveal the harsh realities of abuse but also the strength that comes from survivors. This week, we hear the inspiring and sobering narrative of special guest Sophia Diaz. Sophia is an indomitable spirit with a multifaceted global career, and also a...

Lois Hollis is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist known for her work in the field of shame and guilt counseling. She specializes in helping individuals overcome the debilitating effects of shame and guilt, which often stem from childhood experiences, trauma, or societal expectations. Hollis’s approach to counseling emphasizes the importance of understanding the root causes of sh...

Rissa Miller is a fearless advocate for the term 'witch' and the longstanding stigma and fear around the word. We get into what qualifies a woman as a witch, and even though perceptions of a witch have evolved from the days when the Church condemned women for communing with devils to present-day pop culture where witches like Melisandre from "Game of Thrones, Wanda Maximoff as Marvel's Scarlet Wit...

Is Self-Care Just Women Being Selfish?  Christina Marlett, BKin, BMT, believes you have the power to change the world, but first, you must address the fact that you need to take charge of your own life, starting with self-care that goes beyond bubble baths, chocolate, and wine. Christina is an International Speaker who has shared the stage with Michael Beckwith, Marci Shimoff, Lynne Twist, Ocean R...

We learn very young about beauty as a commodity, how beauty has become women’s gilded cage in society, how beauty is a weapon women use to compete with one another for economic or professional status, and how young women feel pushed to manipulate beauty to win love or affection. We learn how beauty is fleeting and cruel, especially to women, and the inevitability of aging only makes women more vul...

I Felt Like An Alien! Beth Hildbrand is a US Army veteran, cancer survivor, and founder of Resilient Stars Marketing. Beth's passion is to share her personal journey to help others. An important chapter in her journey includes recovering her identity as a woman after the loss of her hair to chemotherapy. Through her YouTube channel, "BethHildbrandTalks," Beth chronicles the event that made her que...

Barbara McBean knows, she once competed in the glamorous Miss Universe Pageant. She did not win that crown, but today, Barbara is the founder and president of Eternal Beauty Institutes Clinical Esthetics Colleges, which features multiple schools and beauty brands across North America. Barbara's passion for all things beauty, once combined with her first love of teaching, became the foundation on w...

The Evolution of Beauty is Part One in a VBB Four-Part series on our podcast middle name: Beauty. The Evolution of Beauty is also a specialty of Richard Prum.  He's not a beautician, far from it; he's an expert on birds, a Professor of Ornithology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, as well as head curator of vertebrate zoology at the University's Peabody Museum of Natural Histo...

Who Do You Think You Are? Teresa Ford is a certified mental health and trauma recovery life coach who believes you shouldn't hire any coach who hasn't successfully done what you are trying to do. So, if you have any experience with anxiety, depression, grief, loss, ADHD, emotional abandonment, parentification, or debilitating people-pleasing, Teresa has been there and back. Teresa has long been fa...

Ever find yourself thinking, "I'll be happy when"… [add job, money, relationship, or shiny object here.] Why do we struggle with our seemingly endless quest for happiness based on external things or circumstances?  Even when we reach our big happiness goal, why does the joy feel shallow or fleeting? Aura Martinez speaks candidly about obstacles she faced, including a lack of self-acceptance, which...

Beauty has been assigned, by man, the dominion of woman, but is Beauty her paradise or her prison? September 22, Christopher and Heather host 4 Conversations on VBB with female authors, researchers, and topic experts to answer questions about the Myth of Beauty. Questions women are shamed into not asking even themselves. 

From Betrayal To Abundance is Annie Izmirliyan’s story. She's been heralded as a financial maverick who leverages over 20 years of education and hands-on experience in wealth management, financial planning, and sales leadership to guide individuals and organizations toward their financial goals and aspirations. However, what makes Annie unique and separates her are the life lessons she learned har...

Janice Selbie on Divorcing Religion! Janice Selbie lived 40 years of her life as a devout Christian. Living a reality reminiscent of a Margaret Atwood character in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Janice became the quintessential Renaissance woman, complete with Mennonite-inspired shapeless clothing and modest head-coverings. She rejected all the creature comforts of secular life — TV, radio, music, newspap...

After 20+ years working in the beauty and fashion industries, Jen Auh, founder of Style Konsult & STYiLES, designed over 360 creative campaigns for major beauty and fashion retailers, including Bliss, Macy's, Too Faced Cosmetics, and Silver Jeans. As a beauty and fashion expert, she knows how looks influence people's confidence. That is where her journey in image consulting began. Jen now serv...

Mariska Reinerink is a global Money Wellness and Business Coach, International Workshop Facilitator, Speaker, and Best-Selling Author with over 20 years of experience as a Holistic Financial Advisor. Her professional journey began as a physiotherapist, where she witnessed the profound impact of pain, stress, and money worries on people's overall well-being. Personally, Mariska faced her fair share...

Who's at fault when male chivalry is interpreted as chauvinism or a sincere compliment is taken as a cheap come-on? True, some men's attitudes and actions have created these reservations in many women. So, what is an ideal man, or what do modern women really want from the men in their lives? Christopher and Heather share eleven qualities that women might consider deal breakers or ideals they wish...

Temi Ajibewa is a powerful and inspiring woman. She is a Personal Brand Strategist and Coach, Author of several Amazon-bestselling books, Mentor to women and men worldwide, and an electric Transformational Speaker, but beyond the titles lies a story of personal reinvention. Raised by a single mom in a dysfunctional social environment and as a young woman looking for love in all the wrong places, T...

Debbie Peterson, former mayor of Grover Beach, California, remains passionate about women's representation in public office. She's a first-hand witness to the troubling trend of women being discouraged from running due to the increase in online and in-person attacks. It's also true that many women don't want to work in a culture of confrontation or have their private lives picked apart in public....