Badassery Life

Stevi is a loving caregiver to her 103-year-old mother (technically her grandmother) – the hardest, most important and remarkable job she’s ever had. She’s living her badassery life as a confident woman who knows who she is and why she’s here: “to build community and protect animals”! She’s a badass biker babe who started a biker club for women, a devoted animal lover who has four special needs do...

Amber grew up in Decatur, Indiana, graduated from Purdue University, then went on to do amazing social work. Some who know her have called her a saint for the work she's doing, to which she responds "there are two requirements for sainthood: being dead and being in Heaven and I'm not either". Rose founded PeaceCycle, a small startup business that gives employment opportunities to Haitians. She tal...

In this episode the Badassery Life team decided to talk about the things going on in their lives. Stevi talked about caring for her 102-year-old mom, Kelly talked about a few new podcasts she's producing, and Ginny talked about her recent trip to Disney World - and all three talked about the upcoming holidays and whatever else was on their mind.

DeAndra Dycus feels vulnerable every time she hears about another shooting in our city. She admits it's tough navigating through so much grief. Her son, DeAndre, fell victim to gun violence at the age of 13. He was at a birthday party when a fight broke out and a gun was fired. 20 bullets were shot into the house. One bullet hit one person –  Dre. That one bullet – a bullet that shattered her...

This badass woman is a two-time cancer survivor, a wife (to a husband who is currently living with cancer), a mom with three kids, the founder of Joy's House - a nonprofit in Indianapolis that provides adult day service and caregiver support for adults living with life-altering diagnoses and their families who care for them. She's also the only badass women we’ve interviewed who raises chickens an...

Marisa handles investigations relating to social services and welfare issues, including child abuse and neglect, poverty, elder abuse, human trafficking, domestic violence and access to mental health services. While at the Indianapolis Star, she was among the investigative team that exposed officials at USA Gymnastics and their team doctor, Larry Nassar, in what turned out to be the largest sexual...

Sara describes herself as an ever-evolving badass female, communicator, writer, reader, motivator, fitness trainer, adrenaline junkie, explorer, sister, daughter, wife, and friend. She is constantly pursuing opportunities to make the world a better place and has a deep passion for storytelling. She's a guest blogger and social media host for Fittest Travel, and the host of her own podcast, Facing...

Saundra Mitchell is the author of nearly twenty books for tweens and teens. For twenty years, she was the head screenwriter and an executive producer with Dreaming Tree Films on their various teen filmmaking  programs. Saundra's latest book, "All the Things We Do in the Dark", is on the shortlist for the Indiana Authors Awards (winner to be announced Sept. 1). But before becoming a successful...

When we asked this badass woman what, if any, challenges she faced, she said: "I'm a black woman in Indianapolis, where do I start?". We decided to start by asking her more questions. In this episode we talk with Jill English about racism, the disproportionality in the child welfare system, investing in change, addressing systemic racism, being vulnerable, and having difficult and uncomfortable co...

This badass woman is a powerhouse business trailblazer and a leader in bringing farm-to-table dining to Indianapolis. She opened her first Indianapolis restaurant in 1989. She’s a former sex crimes prosecutor who has a lifelong passion for food – a passion that has led to a successful collection of establishments. She’s known as a tireless worker, a charismatic host and speaker, and an impassioned...

Lindsay launched her debut book - the first book in spirituality and self-development with F*** in the title. She wrote it for rockers in mind, but in this 224-page memoir and personal development book, Lindsay shares her personal experiences with bullying and abuse, the celebrations of  living a creative life, and wisdom learned along the way. She talks with us about how her book, how her sp...

Lizbeth Ayala Najera is living out her badassery life as someone who has made an incredible transformation – mentally, physically and emotionally. She endured a divorce, alcoholism, deep depression resulting in a dramatic weight gain, and a suicide attempt before she found the strength to become a fierce bodybuilding competitor and entrepreneur with her own workout apparel line (LizKari LLC). She...

Justin Phillips is the Founder and Executive Director of Overdose Lifeline, Inc. – an Indianapolis-based nonprofit she founded in 2014 to help prevent opioid deaths and reduce the stigma of addiction. She is the mom to Audrey, Bryan and her son, Aaron, who died from an overdose on October 9, 2013. He was 20. She has dedicated her life to Aaron's memory and is working to make a difference so that n...

In January 2018, at the age of 18, Jayna posted a beautiful dance shot of herself to Instagram. The picture – and her story – received national attention. That’s because when she started dancing at the age of 5, she was the only boy at her dance studio. Years later, the dance scholarship she received at the Kirov Academy of Ballet was a "male" scholarship, which she lost after coming out. She alwa...

Amy credits stubbornness, grit, and God for helping rebuild her life that was nearly destroyed by her drug addiction. Today she is sober and working for the Indiana State Division of Mental Health and Addictions as the Bureau Chief. She is an advocate for the "lost voices" and looks for opportunities to reach back and help others. One of her biggest passions is prison ministry. Amy talks to u...

Cassie was living in Columbia, had plans to bike ride across the U.S. and eventually join the Peace Corp - then COVID-19 changed everything. We caught up with her on her travels, the unfortunate timing of COVID-19, and how her journey has completely changed. She talks about her short (but amazing) time in Columbia and the need to get home in the wake of the pandemic. Find out why she chose the wor...

DJ Gabby Love talks about wanting to be a DJ at the age of 16 - and how she put that dream on hold to go to college and travel the world as a hair model. Today, she's half of a DJ power couple, turning tables at parties and high profile events around the world. Her success hasn't come without challenges and sadness, including her father's death, a house fire that destroyed everything, and the perc...

Denise talks about how life can throw us curve balls and knock us off our stilettos, but she chooses faith over fear, which is one of the many things that has helped her succeed. We talked about everything from her proudest career moments, being vulnerable, the importance of sisterhood, and her word for the year. She stands in her truth about what she wants her voice to do, what she wants her comp...

These two badasses love to celebrate happiness - and they make others happy with the best popcorn company on the planet. They were raised by entrepreneurs, have incredibly tight family roots, a love for life, and the gift of connection. They talked with us about their Uncle Kevin, who died from HIV and inspired their philanthropic spirit; their purpose and passion with their popcorn; and the busin...

Jessica DiSanto talks about being a mom and a PR professional during COVID-19. As Director of Communications for United Way of Central Indiana, we were interested in the $16.5 million Central Indiana COVID-19 Community Economic Relief Fund and what they're doing to support human services organizations and the individuals and families they serve who are affected by the Coronavirus. She also talks a...

These badass women took a small idea and made it big in just a few short months. They had the audacity to just do it and didn’t ask for permission. As storytellers they saw major gaps in storytelling for women and they created Indy Maven to fill those gaps. Along the way – and throughout their lives – they’ve dealt with hardships, heartbreaks and overcome some incredible challenges to achieve grea...

This badass woman learned from her mom to "say yes first and figure it out later".  With that advice in mind, Jamie became the first pit reporter to cover the Indy 500 - and the first to cover the Daytona 500 and Indy 500 in the same year - and was the first female reporter in X Games history. But being the “first female” isn’t necessarily what drives her. She’s also a dog lover, cake baker a...

This badass woman is on a mission to make sure others don’t experience the violence she did when her estranged husband beat her, shot and killed their baby, and then turned the gun on himself. She is courageously speaking up and telling her story to make change in domestic violence policies. She feels law enforcement, the Illinois National Guard and the judicial system all let her down – and she’s...

This badass woman is living her most badassery life as an award-winning reporter for WTHR - one of Indianapolis’ top news stations. Her passion for storytelling has earned her 7 Emmy Awards, multiple Emmy nominations and recognition by the Society of Professional Journalists. But a few years ago, the news turned in a different direction for Emily when she was attacked in broad daylight and her sta...

This badass woman is the publisher and co-owner of Edible Indy.  She is the head recipe creator in the Edible Indy Test Kitchen and loves bringing the Midwest comfort food to the table with a fresh and farm-to-table twist. She also is the co-founder of a nonprofit, a wife, mother and an artist wanna be. She dishes the dirt with us in this episode.