Chik Chat

Being Black British isn't one-size-fits-all. From Zambian traditions to Irish humour, my identity is a rich mix of cultures, each with its own beauty and challenges. I celebrate every part of it but they don’t always celebrate me so let's get into it!In this week's Chik Chat episode I talk about what it means (for me) to be a Black Brit and how I’m navigating this as I plan to marry an Irish man.

What do you do when you realise you're not okay?In this week’s episode of the Chik Chat podcast, I open up about my personal journey and the best practices I've implemented to keep going. From not being able to leave the house due to anxiety to thriving in my career while navigating a depressive episode, I’ve learned that not all advice is helpful. So, I’m sharing practical, realistic solutions you can use when you're struggling mentally. Tune in to discover ideas that have genuinely worked before, during, and after you realise you’re not okay.

What do you do when you’re struggling in life but your work is in front of a camera?In this episode, I’m opening up about the struggles we don’t often see online. From burnout to the pressure of always being 'on,' there’s so much that goes on behind the scenes. I talk about the mental health challenges that come with being an influencer, CEO, COO, 2025 bride, the firstborn daughter and what I’ve learned about taking care of myself in the process.

I’m a 2025 bride (I think…) and as an oldest daughter that also happens to be self-employed, there are some tips I wish I’d heard before we got engaged.Some of this advice might seem straightforward and you may have been like me and listened to it before without actually hearing it so don’t say you weren’t warned 👀Let me know if you have any tips for a girl simply trying to survive!

This week on the Chik Chat Podcast, I was joined by Orla and had an amazing conversation about Race Equality in Northern Ireland and the world in general.Orla McKeating, whose pronouns are she/her, is an EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Leader, Entrepreneur, and Speaker from Belfast, Northern Ireland.In 2019, Orla founded Still I Rise Diversity Storytelling, an initiative focused on providing learning through storytelling sessions and workshops for children and young people, as well as training for adults and educators. The platform addresses important issues often absent from traditional storybooks, including race, neurodiversity, male mental health, LGBTQ+ topics, inclusive language, disabilities, diverse families, immigration, and more.As a writer and speaker, Orla specialises in race issues, stigma, and inclusion. She has delivered two TEDx talks: one on race issues and the stigma surrounding single parenting (Stormont, 2019) and another on "The 3 Pillars of Privilege" (Enniskillen, 2022).Orla is also a fellow of the Acumen Academy, known as the world’s school for social change, where she honed the skills, values, and moral leadership necessary to address poverty and injustice.Her mission is to create trusted spaces that celebrate all individuals, fostering inclusion, acceptance, and ensuring that all children and people feel seen, heard, valued, and celebrated.Orla resides in Belfast and is a single mother to her mixed-race son, Elliot, aged 11.Instagram: @therealorlaveroniceFacebook: Orla McKeatingX (formerly Twitter): @orlamckeating

Chik Chat Podcast Episode 2: I introduced you all to my boyfriend and now I am so ecstatic to introduce you to my fiance in episode 68!If you listened to the Black & White Thinking episode where we talked about marriage you will know I always planned to celebrate this man so be prepared because I’m ecstatic to be sharing my forever best friend with you lot!

On this episode of the Chik Chat podcast, Asson joined me, it was amazing to catch up and get a life update about how it’s been since the last time we spoke. We get into talking about life, work-life, wins and of course our mental health.Asson Kasonde is a Zambian-born father of 2 (a boy and a girl), currently working in the finance sector in Manchester which is an exciting industry to be a part of but more on that later! He also enjoys a round of the old man’s game GOLF whenever he can - also an escape to focus on my mental health. You can usually find him on Instagram @bashi_mulenga or on Twitter @A4JonesK.

On this episode of the Chik Chat podcast I have the pleasure of being joined by Dr. Wannie - a Dr., first born daughter and content creator. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Wannie since we were kids and thought it was about time we started the chat around being Zambian daughters - there will be more…Dr. Wannie, originally from Zambia and raised in the UK, is a medical doctor working in infectious disease research. She pursued her medical studies at Newcastle University and has since made contributions to her field, presenting her findings at national conferences and working on several upcoming publications.With a passion for health, well-being and education, Dr. Wannie has been creating content on social media for the past seven years. Her content ranges from medical education and inspiration to general lifestyle topic, reaching and influencing a broad audience. Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@drwannieInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/doctorwannie/

Can you change your life in 6 months?I think you can and I’m going to show you by ignoring my own embarrassment and being cringey. Why? Because whatever I find cringey isn’t what someone else might find cringey and they might just be in the room I’ve been praying to be in…I’ll update you each month with where I am but I’m also hoping you join in! Also shout out to Lynn for making the video that inspired me to do this!

Setting boundaries in life is important however since meeting Ellie, I have found that systems can help firm your boundaries in both life and business. A LOT has changed since our last podcast together!Ellie moved halfway across the world after marrying a beautiful Irishman. This extroverted, perfectionist found the transition hit HARD! So she made a plan, she started Calibrated Concepts to have all. the. flexibility. But what she quickly found was that if you let it, a business will suck up all of these things and more! It can feel like a hamster wheel of tasks that you can never stop spinning because everything will fall apart. So she did what she does best. She created systems and a kickass website to protect my time, energy and yes my flexibility. And then she started doing it for my clients too!Now she’s *this* close to fully realising my plan to be able to move back and forth between our home countries as and when we please.

I recently had a conversation with my aunt where I asked how she built a business empire whilst being the oldest sibling. Her answer didn’t give me the comfort I had hoped for until I realised that my path is MY path. I have been taught as best as I can by the most amazing women so it is on me to take the parts that resonate and do the work I need to do to live a happy life.I have talked a lot about my healing journey however, the guilt isn’t something I really talk about because my story isn’t like others. I am really close to my immediate family and that won’t change - that doesn’t however mean two truths can’t occur at the same time.In this episode of the Chik Chat podcast, I talk about letting go of that guilt and why I’m choosing to try.I hope you enjoy it!

Talking about mental health takes a lot of vulnerability and doing something about your mental health takes a lot of strength. I decided to go back because G went back for the sake of us having a stronger relationship. His strength pushed me to want to be better for myself and for us.Going to therapy the first time around took a strength in me I didn’t know I had and this time around, I’ve decided to go back to therapy to keep fighting for a life I know I’m destined for even if it isn’t clear.I’m so excited to look back at this moment and know it led to something special - I’m even more excited to take you lot on this journey of discovering a Chikumo that unapologetically thinks bigger.

As children we were told if we went to uni we would get a good job and then when we were growing up we were told a masters would set us apart from the rest but for some of us that wasn’t the case.In this episode of the Chik Chat podcast, myself & Adesola talk about our experiences of both coming out of uni with a corporate job. Whilst I was made redundant, that has allowed Adesola the opportunity to have a job - funny how the world works…

Growing up in England we didn’t really know much about Irish history but at the same time, as a black British-Zambian, it has also been a familiar story as I’ve learned it. In this episode of the Chik Chat podcast, I am joined by Maureen who I met online before fate brought us together in a short film celebrating black hair and black female empowerment. In my journey of searching for my authentic self, I am so lucky to have met and been inspired by Maureen and I really hope you enjoy this episode!Maureen was born in Kenya and has been on the island of Ireland for over two decades mostly in Dublin. She has a BSc in clinical physiology and a Master's of Divinity. She is currently doing a counselling course while home-educating her three boys. Maureen speaks up against racism, childhood trauma and church abuse on her TikTok, IG and FB. She is passionate about breaking generational trauma and raising confident and emotionally healthy kids. 

So many people think just because you have a following online means you plaster all of your life on there - you’d be wrong. Not everything you see on social media is real so here are a few things you might not know about myself and G.Let me know if you want to know more!

Starting a business is hard, running a business is hard and doing this in a new country is harder than you can imagine! Luckily for me and Jess, we don’t need to imagine because we’ve done it! In this episode of the Chik Chat podcast we talk about starting businesses against our dads guidance, moving to Northern Ireland and the power of loving our hair. I really hope you enjoy this episode because we have so much more to share over the coming weeks and months! You can support Jess’ cause via the link below. @besundries_hairandbeauty

It’s that time of year where most of us want to give up on our goals, however I seem to have found a few hacks and ways to trick myself into consistency so I thought I’d share them with you in the hopes they help you too!How are you doing with your goals 👀

What do you get when you mix a firstborn daughter with a man who gives her a soft life? Systems so she can be a better lover girl 🤣In all seriousness, whilst I’ve taken my goal to get G to retire at 38 very seriously, I have been feeling a bit anxious about how much I’ve taken charge. Whilst clients hire me to sort them out, I’ve been called OTT so I have been worrying it’s been a bit much for G.In this episode of the Chik Chat podcast, we have a check-in and see how G feels about me organising our lives - it was not what I expected 👀

Did you know I’m a pregnant divorcee? Neither did I! 👀Being a content creator/influencer opens you up to a lot of scrutiny from people that think they know you AND THEN there’s the other side of it where people make up actual lies about you. I was recently targeted by a podcast bro (if you know, you know) and it reminded me of a few things:The internet can be a dangerous placeIt’s on us to be educated on topics and by that I mean read, use multiple sources, ask questions - don’t just believe what every Tom, Dick & Harry tells you (especially if they delete comments that don’t match their agenda)Don’t chase the dream of being a content creator if you don’t know yourself/haven’t done the work on being comfortable with who you are because it can affect your mental health so muchBlack women get hated on just for being happy so do you and ignore the haters My healing journey and soft life has bothered a man so much he felt the need to waste his life giving idiotic “relationship advice” I have the best community and have been reminded why I create the content I do Whilst the internet can be a dangerous place, it also allows for people to transform their lives and I will always be an advocate for that. Myself and G actually started the Black And White Thinking podcast to show you can have a healthy and respectful debate without making up a load of crap so check that out and let us know if you want us to cover any specific topics.

I love meeting other creatives but when those other creatives also happen to be Zambian, it’s so exciting! I’ve followed Sam for years and he has inspired me to get back to vlogs. From humour to creativity, Sam has it all!A little more about Sam:My name is Sam but I go by the name Big Sam on social media. I was born and raised in Zambia but I’m currently living in the US. I am 25 years old and I’m currently pursuing a career in content creation.My socials are: Instagram: @big_sam._TikTok: bigsam14..sYouTube: BigSam14