Sit Down With Us

Welcome to week three of Spina Bifida Awareness Month! In this episode, Faith and Zara dive deep into the unfiltered day-to-day experiences of living with a disability. From unpacking the stigma of using a wheelchair to navigating corporate office environments; Zara keeps it completely real.  If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and follow us on Instagram! Follow us for more: 📸 I...

Welcome back to Sit Down With Us! In part two of our Spina Bifida Awareness Month series, Zara shares the unfiltered details of her personal medical journey. Born unexpectedly with Spina Bifida, Zara underwent 10 to 15 surgeries before she was three months old, was given an 18-year life expectancy, and proved medical predictions wrong at every turn. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a r...

Welcome to October and the start of Spina Bifida Awareness Month! 🎙️✨ In this kickoff episode, Zara takes center stage to explain Spina Bifida in everyday terms. From her diagnosis at birth at the L5 vertebra to living with a VP shunt and driving with hand controls, Zara breaks down what the condition actually means in day-to-day life. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and fol...

It’s the final day of September, and we are wrapping up our Alopecia Awareness Month series! 🎙️✨ In this episode, Faith and Zara reflect on the journey of finding support, navigating wig options, and building community. Faith breaks down how salon experiences have evolved through organizations like Novo Cabello, why Little Lady Locks is every 10-year-old girl's dream, and the surprising sens...

Welcome to week four of Alopecia Awareness Month! 🎙️✨ In this episode, Faith and Zara explore the reality of navigating life fully bald. Faith breaks down why she gave up wigs cold turkey, how she stopped fearing public stares, and why confidence isn't about being 100% happy every day, but about training yourself to set strong boundaries. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review...

Welcome to week three of Alopecia Awareness Month!  In this episode, Faith opens up about her complete shift from hiding her hair loss to shaving her head and learning to love her alopecia.  From school uniform headband hacks to handling high school rumours and facing a dancer's worst nightmare during rehearsal, Faith shares the raw, emotional, and empowering moments that led her to take cont...

Welcome to week two of Alopecia Awareness Month! This week, Faith is sharing the full story behind her diagnosis—including the shocking way a doctor broke the news to her when she was just 10 years old. We're discussing medical trauma, unhelpful GP appointments, navigating treatments like steroid creams, and the reality of being discharged from NHS dermatology while still living with active h...

Welcome to September, Alopecia Awareness Month! 🎙️✨ To kick off our 5-Wednesday theme, Faith is taking us back to the basics with Alopecia 101. We're opening up about what alopecia actually is, debunking big myths (like the idea that hair loss is always down to stress), and sharing the realities of navigating childhood hair loss, wigs, and autoimmune conditions. In this episode, we discuss:...

Follow us for more: 📸 Instagram: @sitdownwithuspod @faith_hiles @zaraborji 🎵 TikTok: @sitdownwithuspod #DisabilityAwareness #Alopecia #ZaraAndFaith #WheelchairLife #Inclusion #RepresentationMatters #Podcast #ZebedeeModels

In this episode, we're diving deep into the fine line between genuine curiosity and outright bullying. Is it okay for strangers to ask personal questions about a disability or visible difference? How do we handle innocent questions from kids versus invasive or harmful behaviour from adults? We share our personal experiences with, navigating childhood vs. adult curiosity, confronting staring,...

Welcome back to the podcast! As August rolls in, we’re talking all about high school "firsts" and no, not that kind of first. From navigating school in a wheelchair and fighting for inclusion, to the chaotic, nerve-wracking first day wearing a wig to class, we’re sharing our unfiltered memories of trying to fit in when you naturally stand out. We break down the difference between innocen...

Welcome back!  This week, we're continuing our conversation from last episode and opening up about the things that caught us off guard as adults living with a difference and physical disability.  We get real about public perceptions, low days, navigating relationships, and the daily frustration of an inaccessible world.  If you haven't listened to last week's episode on childhood ye...

In this episode, we’re looking back at our childhoods and diving into everything we weren't prepared for while growing up with alopecia and spina bifida.  From doctors giving us false hope with phrases like "just stop stressing" to hiding wheelchairs in Instagram photos just to fit in, we unpack the reality of navigating childhood with a physical difference. We chat about the lack o...

 Have you ever had an airline literally lose your legs? ✈️👩‍🦽  This week, Zara and Faith are diving into the unglamorous, frustrating, and downright chaotic reality of traveling with a disability and hair loss.  From British Airways leaving a full-time wheelchair at Heathrow on a 13-hour flight to Japan, to the sheer audacity of airport staff telling a passenger to "use the stairs," we...

"If you want a healthy lifestyle, you need to learn how to live in it—not just jump on a trend drug."  This week on Sit Down With Us , Faith and Zara take on the toxic return of the "thigh gap" era and the rise of Ozempic trends. We talk about the pressure to be skin and bones, fake fitness narratives online, and why the number on the scale doesn't define your strength or...

"We are 27, not 75—but we are so glad we aren't growing up in today's generation."  This week on Sit Down With Us , Faith and Zara tackle the emotional weight of missing out.  Faith opens up about the deep childhood alopecia anxiety that kept her out of a stylist's chair for 13 years; while, Zara shares the unique challenges of navigating style trends as a wheelchair user....

"You can't judge someone’s highlight reel because you don’t know the struggle it took to make it."  This week, Faith and Zara are giving social media culture a massive reality check. They also take aim at toxic productivity "gurus," calling out that viral Stephen Bartlett clip claiming a single glass of wine "ruined three days of his life." Finally, the girls get...

 "Society, more often than not, makes me feel more disabled than my actual disability does."  In this episode, Zara and Faith are breaking down the highs and lows of navigating live music in 2026. First up, they are giving a massive, well-deserved shoutout to Manchester’s Co-op Live arena. But it’s not all standing ovations. The girls dive into the absolute chaos of buying accessible tic...

 If the entrance of a club was broken and no one could get in, you’d close the establishment. But because it’s a ramp, it’s a side issue.  Summer is officially here, the colleges and unis are breaking up, and the bars are packed! But as the nightlife heats up, Zara and Faith are sitting down to talk about what going out on the town actually looks like when you have a physical disability or a visib...

Have you ever been told to "just think positively", "stop stressing", or "have you tried yoga?" In this episode of Sit Down With Us , Faith and Zara discuss the comments, advice, and so-called "helpful" suggestions they've received while living with alopecia and disability. From miracle cures and herbal remedies to toxic positivity and assumptions about...

Have you ever given a compliment that completely backfired?  Or wondered what you "should" say when asking about someone's visible difference?  In today’s episode, we sit down to unpack the everyday phrases, questions, and "well-meaning" comments that actually carry incredibly heavy emotional weight.  From being called "brave" just for buying a latte, to the deep...

From the highest peaks of fashion to major media slip-ups, we are looking at the state of representation right now. In this episode, Zara and Faith break down the massive historic shift at the 2026 Met Gala. From fully accessible layouts to the incredible Sinead Burke and Aariana Rose Philip taking over the carpet. But it wasn’t all wins.  We are diving deep into why Germany’s Next Top Model compl...

Is "Reality TV" ever actually real? 📺 This week, Zara and Faith are diving into the addictive, dramatic, and often scripted world of reality television. We’re sharing the behind-the-scenes stories we’ve never told before, including why Faith turned down Britain’s Got Talent after they asked her to use her alopecia as a "sob story," and why Zara declined an offer for Married at...

Happy May! We are kicking off a brand new month by diving into the complex world of body positivity, fitness, and diet culture. Faith shares a massive personal update: she’s running a half-marathon for Little Lady Locks! We discuss why she’s doing it "bald and brave" (no wig, no lashes, no brows) to support children with hair loss.  Meanwhile, Zara gets real about the "gym-timidatio...

 "It’s not really a job, it’s a vocation." This week on Sit Down with Us , we’re getting up close and personal with Angela. As a nurse specializing in brains and spines, she’s seen it all and busts a few myths along the way. Angela opens up about the "heartstrings" that get pulled when a patient’s life changes forever and how she uses her daughter’s experience to comfort women...