Rebel Rootz Show

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #86 with Michaela Batten. Michaela Batten has built a life by refusing to stay in one lane. She started as a professional tap dancer, moved to New York City at 18, earned a BFA in Design + Business from Parsons, toured internationally, then returned to Wilmington and eventually became a boutique owner, radio host, mom, and entrepreneur. Today, she is helping grow Bevvy Mar...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #85 with Stef Devilbiss, Nancy Salzman, and Angel Cribb. Three women. Three different breast cancer journeys. Stef, Nancy, and Angel each heard the words “you have breast cancer,” but their diagnoses, treatments, recoveries, and emotional experiences looked completely different. In this episode, they sit down with Evonne to share what actually happens after those words cha...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #84 with Addison LaBonte. Addison LaBonte never planned on becoming an entrepreneur. She was a D1 soccer player, a math major, and working in finance when unexpected health issues pushed her to completely rethink the way she was eating. Going gluten-free helped her feel like herself again and eventually inspired her to start sharing recipes through Organically Addison. Wha...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #83 with Bethany Spencer At 38, Bethany Spencer became a widow with five kids under the age of 11 after her husband died just 11 months after a cancer diagnosis. In an instant, the life she thought she was building changed completely. In this episode, Evonne and Bethany talk about grief, motherhood, raising kids through loss, accepting help, and what it actually looks like...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #82 with Holly Lennon. Holly Lennon built a career in healthcare, raised a blended family of five, and made the life-changing decision to donate a kidney to her husband. But the transplant became far more traumatic than she ever expected, leading to complications, organ rejection, panic attacks, and years of emotional fallout. In this episode, Evonne and Holly talk about o...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #81 with Jenn Drummond. What happens when “someday” almost never comes? Jenn Drummond was a mom of seven doing everything she thought she was supposed to do, while quietly putting herself last. Then a near-fatal car crash changed everything. After surviving an accident she was told she should not have survived, Jenn began questioning the life she was living, the dreams she...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #80 with Alice Sounthala What if perfectionism isn’t helping you succeed, but keeping you stuck? In this episode, Evonne sits down with licensed clinical social worker Alice Sounthala to talk about perfectionism, people-pleasing, anxiety, self-worth, and the stories we create in our own heads. Alice explains why perfectionism often comes from fear of making mistakes or bei...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #79 with Jennifer Matthews. Jennifer Matthews didn’t start The Old Farm Shed with a perfect business plan. She started with an idea, a small space, a willingness to take a risk, and one question: “What if you succeed?” At 38, Jennifer stepped into entrepreneurship and began building what would become a destination boutique in Burgaw, North Carolina. More than a decade late...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #78 with Danielle Fette. Danielle Fette was pregnant, raising a family, and deeply invested in a regenerative medicine company she believed in when everything fell apart. After speaking up about decisions she believed put patients at risk, Danielle and her husband were fired. Soon after giving birth, she was postpartum, overwhelmed, and interviewing for jobs while trying t...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #77 with Alex Richardson. After giving birth to her first child, Alex Richardson entered one of the loneliest seasons of her life. She was struggling with undiagnosed postpartum anxiety, feeling isolated at home, and realizing that while everyone focused on the baby, very little support existed for the mother. When the same gaps appeared after her second child, Alex turned...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #76 with Jamie Lynn House. Jamie Lynn House is a published author, health advocate, and devoted mother who transformed her family's lifestyle after her son developed unexplained health symptoms. What began as a search for answers became a journey into functional health, healing, and learning to trust her intuition when conventional medicine fell short. In this episode,...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #75 with Robyn Godfrey. Robyn Godfrey is a TEDx speaker, bestselling author, keynote speaker, seven-time marathoner, and author of Running the World. After leaving a successful corporate career, Robyn built a new life around a powerful lesson she learned on a treadmill: you do not need more motivation, you need to take action. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #74 with Liz Wilcox. Liz Wilcox is an email marketing strategist, keynote speaker, Survivor Season 46 finalist, and founder of the Email Marketing Membership. Known as the Fresh Princess of Email Marketing, Liz helps small business owners build online relationships and make real money with simple emails. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Liz to talk about the m...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #73 with Stephanie Burdick. Stephanie Burdick is a mom, entrepreneur, insurance agency owner, Clean Eatz Cafe franchisee, and multi-business builder based in Pueblo, Colorado. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Stephanie to talk about motherhood, entrepreneurship, work ethic, boundaries, resilience, and what it takes to build a life on your own terms. Stephanie...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #72 with Ashley Ellington. Ashley Ellington is a Wilmington, North Carolina native, entrepreneur, ovarian cancer survivor, wife, and mom-to-be. She is also the co-owner of Plato’s Closet Wilmington, NC, a business that has been part of her life since she was 16 years old. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Ashley to talk about ovarian cancer, infertility, surrog...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #71 with Lisa Brooks. Lisa Brooks is an LCSW, life coach, consultant, and founder of Wilmington Thrive Tribes. She helps women navigate life and career transitions with more self-trust, self-awareness, and courage. She is also a full-time Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Work at UNCW. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Lisa to talk about midlife, burnout,...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #70 with Megan Kopka. Megan Kopka, CFP®, RLP®, is the founder and owner of Kopka Financial, LLC, a fee-only fiduciary financial planning firm based in Wilmington, North Carolina. She specializes in holistic financial life planning and investment management, particularly for women navigating widowhood and caregiving. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Megan to ta...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #68 with Gina Gellings. Gina Gellings is a mom, maker, creative, model, and physical therapist living in Denver, Colorado. When she is not raising her family, she is baking sourdough, sewing, crocheting, modeling, and finding beauty in both the handmade and the imperfect. In this episode, Evonne Varady sits down with Gina to talk about the life moments that bring you to yo...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #67 with IFBB Pro and gym owner Ann Titone. Ann Titone is a former IFBB Pro Figure competitor, coach, business owner, promoter, and co-owner of The Dungeon 2.0. She began competing in 2007, retired from the stage about 10 years ago, built her own training and lifestyle business, and now helps promote around 15 events a year with her husband, Jack. In this episode, Evonne V...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #66 with Crystal Zabka-Belsky. Crystal Zabka-Belsky is a board-certified sports dietitian and exercise physiologist with two decades of professional experience. Her work spans eating disorders, substance abuse, weight management, diabetes, heart health, pediatric obesity, collegiate athletes, professional athletes, and Olympic competitors. In this episode, Evonne Varady si...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #65 with Kristi Ray. Kristi Ray is an award-winning actress, film producer, TEDx speaker, educator, and co-founder of Honey Head Films. For nearly two decades, she has helped bring bold, female-driven stories to life both in front of and behind the camera, starring in more than 30 films including A Song for Imogene , the critically acclaimed feature she also produced. In t...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #64 with Allison Dominguez-Kramer, IFBB Pro. Allison Dominguez-Kramer is an IFBB Pro fitness competitor, online coach, CPT, and full-time finance professional. With 18 IFBB professional competitions, 5 pro wins, a 4th place finish at the 2024 Olympia, and top 3 finishes at both the Arnold Classic and Arnold Classic UK, Allison knows what it takes to compete at the highest...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #63 with Misty Johnson. Misty Johnson is an endurance athlete living with multiple sclerosis. After being diagnosed in 2016, she went from vision loss, fear, and uncertainty to completing eight Ironman races, including the World Championship. Now, she is training for the Endure Double Ultra Triathlon, a 281.2-mile race with a 36-hour cutoff. In this episode, Misty shares t...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #62 with Olivia Dawson. In this episode of Rebel Rootz, Evonne Varady sits down with Olivia Dawson, the Mayor of Burgaw, North Carolina, for a candid conversation about leadership, service, and small town impact. Olivia shares how her love for community led her from local events and tourism to becoming the first female mayor of Pender County. She opens up about running a s...

Rebel Rootz Show Episode #61 with Shelby Campbell, Gina Smits, and Janet Mordeci. In this special Mother’s Day episode, Evonne Varady sits down with three women in different stages of motherhood. Shelby Campbell, Evonne’s oldest daughter, is an 11-week postpartum first-time mom. Gina Smits is a wife of nearly 31 years, mother of five, adoptive mom, and special needs mama. Janet Mordeci is preparin...