Break Things Podcast

Former Convict, current social entrepreneur and founder of Come Back Snacks. After serving a four-year sentence for drug smuggling, Emily O'Brien left prison with more than a kernel of an idea.While incarcerated Emily quickly noticed sharing food brought people together, helped people heal and share their stories.  Using humour, quality ingredients, and flavours inspired by the very ones made inside prison, Comeback Snacks attempts to remove stigmas associated with having a conviction. The company gives prior offenders the opportunity to gain confidence in moving on and moving away from reoffending.In this episode of Break Things, Emily takes us through the myriad of hurdles she has had to cross in her fight for redemption.Follow on LinkedIn Emily O'BrienInstagram @emz.obrien

Eliot Marshall is a prolific competitor as a professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Amal Easton. Coming through the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu belt system, Eliot became the first American to earn IBJJF Pan American titles as a blue, purple, and brown belt.While climbing the ranks of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Eliot entered the world of mixed martial arts in 2006, eventually competing in TUF and then signing with the UFC, the most prestigious MMA promotion in the world. In 2011, after a few ups and downs with his MMA career, Marshall decided to hang up his gloves and open training centers across the mile-high city of Denver, Colorado, formally named Easton Training Center along with his coach Amal Easton.It wasn’t long before Marshall went on to further success as an entrepreneur, Podcast host, and world-class speaker, trainer, and author. He teaches industry leaders, teams, and individuals how to outsmart, outlast, and outperform their competition and achieve record-breaking success.In this episode, Eliot shares his own misconception of masculinity that led him on a journey to find his power as a fighter, father, and husband and redefining masculinity through love and boundaries.Wanna know more about Eliot?Follow Eliot Marshall

Nicole is the CEO of  Girls Fight Back and an International Speaker. She is a NACP Credentialed Advocate and currently sits on the board of IMPACT Personal Safety.  She has facilitated Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) training at over 90 military installations around the world and has completed over 360 speaking engagements globally. She was recently featured in the November 2021 issue of Women’s Health Magazine and was a guest on the Nike Trained Podcast. Nicole won a People’s Voice Webby Award in May 2020 for her feature in the self-defense instructional video by Tastemade Travel in collaboration with IMPACT Personal Safety and she is the creator of the series Outdoor Defense.In this episode, Nicole breaks the stigma that women must rely on others to protect them instead of empowering women with the skills to protect themselves so we can live as autonomous beings. GIRLS FIGHT BACKFollow: @adventuresofnik & @girlsfightbackhttp://www.nicolesnell.com

Sonya has been an anti-violence activist since she was 16 years old. During high school, she started an Amnesty International Community Group, and, while working on their global violence against women campaign, discovered her life’s work. Before founding FreeFrom, she launched the Family Violence Appellate Project (“FVAP”) while earning her law degree at UC Berkeley. Based in Oakland, California, FVAP is the first and only organization in California to provide pro bono appellate legal services to survivors of intimate partner violence and has fundamentally transformed the legal landscape in California. For her work in the field, Sonya was listed in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Class of 2017 For Law and Policy.In this episode, Sonya shares the importance of approaching domestic violence as a systemic issue, why financial insecurity is a big piece that needs to be addressed by society, and why Bill 975 in California allowing cancellation of coerced debt is an important step in the right direction.  FREEFROM.ORG

At the age of 21, Leifso was living in a domestic violence shelter when she founded Evio Beauty Group, an impact-led clean beauty brand on a mission to break stigmas with inclusive, good-for-you beauty products that connect us, not divide us. From humble beginnings, Evio has carved a new sector for impact-led, clean beauty with its multi-award winning, derm tested skincare and makeup. An alum of Sephora Accelerate and selected as one of Chatelaine Magazine's 2018 Women of the Year, Leifso is an advocate for domestic violence reform and economic justice. Evio's donated more than $510,000 worth of products and funding to 27+ shelters across North America that supports survivors of domestic violence. In 2019, Leifso spoke at Forbes Under 30’s first-ever Global Women Summit in Israel and was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence in 2020, 2021's Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award from the Retail Council of Canada and 2022 Innovation Awards CEO of the Year Award. Leifso's pursuit to build Evio from $15 in a domestic violence shelter to the world's first impact-led, clean beauty giant has been optioned for a feature film set to go into production in 2024.She's been featured in WWD, Toronto Life, Vogue, New York Times, Chatelaine, Flare, Yahoo Beauty just to name a few. In this episode Brandi kicks off Season 2 of the Break Things Podcast in support of Domestic Violence Awareness month with a solo episode exploring the misconceptions of domestic violence and Intimate partner violence and why is a societal and systemic issue. She shares 4 important do's and don't when finding your voice to speak up against violence.  Want to join the movement?  CLICK HEREFollow: @brandileifso & @eviobeauty

Makeup Artist, Content Creator and Beauty Business Coach, Jaleesa Jaikaran sees the world in colour.  Hailing from sunny Trinidad, her love for colour and glowy skin is a sentiment of her Caribbean upbringing. Her work has been featured in publications like Elle, Glamour, Essence, Instyle, and Teen Vogue. She is the host and creator of 'The Life of a Makeup Artist' beauty podcast where she shares everything from beauty talk to business chats with industry insiders and founders. Jaikaran has extended those conversations to Clubhouse and owns the largest beauty club on Clubhouse.  In this episode of Break Things, from New York City  Jaleesa colours our conversation with rhinestones and neon as she shares having to dial it back while waiting for the industry to catch up, remaining curious and creating her own filter 'Natural Gem' on Instagram! www.jaleesajaikaran.comwww.jaleesajaikaranbeauty.com

Maria Gloria, is a California native, a proud Mexican woman, youngest of 6 and mother of 2. A natural born creative who is most known for her makeup and fashion content on Youtube which has amassed almost 500k followers and growing. Gloria is on a mission to help women become the best version of themselves. She has a true passion when it comes to people living to their fullest potential and becoming the women of their dreams. In this episode, Mariaa Gloriaa shares her tips on how to stay consistent and compassionate on your journey to self love, and how creating a YouTube channel while living in Alaska changed her life. EXCITING NEWS!Evio Beauty announced a partnership with YouTuber MariaaGloriaa for a Limited Release “It’s Crazy What You Deserve” kit.  The kit features Gloria's’ favourite beauty and skincare products from Evio; Lip liner, Revitalizing Oil Serum and a Velvet Colour Stick for only $47 USD (value of $62 USD). “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to partner with a brand that fits so well with my overall message of women empowerment. As someone that has forged my own path and became a business owner at the age of 25 while still being a mother of 2, I show my daughter and several Latinx women every day that we are meant for far more than what we’ve been made to believe. Life opens for you the second you start believing that you deserve more,” - MariaaGloriaa Launching Monday, March 21st exclusively at Eviobeauty.com for a limited time. @mariaagloriaa // www.mariaagloriaa.com

Julia is an eating disorder recovery coach and body-acceptance influencer who loves to help women find their inner beauty and live life outside of their bodies ,be aware of media manipulation, and embrace their true selves. Julia believes that all foods can fit into your life, and that being healthy looks different on everyone. Helping women ditch the diets and learn how to intuitively eat and exercise Julia teaches women to love their bodies, and unlearn what we've been taught about our ideas and stigmas of beauty.In this episode we are explore the media implied stigma that you have to be thin to be loved and successful. "I believed that I had to be thin to be loved and successful. Now I’m a successful ED recovery coach and love my bigger life!" - Julia Parzych @FitFatAndAllThatwww.fitfatandallthat.com

Jess Hunichen and Emily Ward are the co-founders of North America's leading talent Management + Influencer Relations Agency, Shine.  After launching Shine PR January 2015, the team quickly saw an opportunity to fill a void in the influencer landscape. Shine quickly scaled to offices in both Toronto & Los Angels with a wide roster of talent including Sarah Landry of Birds of Papaya and Tin Tok Star, Alicia McCarvell.  In 2020 Jess & Emily founded BodCon in recognition of the raising and important conversation of body positivity on social platforms. In this episode we break the stigma that being an influencer and content creator is easy and explore the difference between doing something with ease and it being easy while learning about some of the challenges that content creators are exposed to through the ever changing landscape of social media. SHINEshinetalentgroup.com@shine_influencersBODCONthebodcon.com@thebodcon

Hilary Macmillan is a contemporary fashion  Canadian designer who has had her designs worn by the likes of  Sophie Gregoire- Trudeau at the 2017 CAFA Awards, Kim Cattrall and Elisha Cuthbert.  MacMillan's apparel is features bold prints and inspired fabrics with a dedication to being vegan and truly free. Most notably, Hilary's varsity collection sports feminist saying like, 'Don't tell me to smile' & 'Not made to be subtle' on the back of varsity jackets and donates 15% of proceeds to Up With Women & Black Women In Motion. In this episode we explore the journey and expression of feminism as a business owner and an individual and the importance of having grace on your journey. Hilary also shares with us the importance of being cruelty-free, her experience with veganism and creative ways to support local. @hilarymacmillanhilarymacmillan.com

Madelyn is a freelance writer, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and the founder of The RepresentASIAN Project, a platform dedicated to celebrating, advocating and elevating Asian representation and voices in media and beyond. As a second generation Chinese Canadian, Madelyn aims to help others feel seen, heard and validated through her writing, advocacy and therapy work. "As you grow up, you'll come to learn that the things you were most insecure about are actually your superpowers."  - Madelyn Chung In this episode,  we explore the stigma and misconceptions created by the lack of Asian representation that led Madelyn to think that asian women weren't beautiful (due to lack of representation in media growing up) as a young Chinese Canadian.@madelynchung@representasianproject

In 2016, Komal Minhas produced a documentary film, Dream, Girl, about female entrepreneurs that landed her on Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul 100 list. The film premiered at the Obama White House and as part of a White House Council on Women and Girls initiative.That same year, Komal was diagnosed with a very rare form of skin cancer. A few months later, she suffered a neurological illness that forced her to leave her start-up.Amidst all of the chaos, Komal managed to overcome these illnesses, rebuild her life, and lead an impact-driven career. Today, Komal is an interviewer, educator, and impact investor. Komal has had the opportunity to interview Canada’s First Lady Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, NYTs bestselling author Rupi Kaur, and many other prominent businesswomen and politicians across North America. Most notably, in 2019, Komal interviewed Michelle Obama in front of an audience of 8,000. In this episode, we explore the art of building resilience and the stigmas and misconceptions of going it alone. @komalminhaswww.komal.com

Al Harrington is the CEO and founder of the premium cannabis company, Viola Inc., inspired and named in honor of his grandmother, Viola Harrington. After seeing how cannabis helped Viola, who suffers from glaucoma and diabetes, and dealing with his own health issues as a result of botched knee surgeries, Al worked with a team of industry leaders to create his vision of a cannabis brand with a purpose. Viola now operates in California, Colorado, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington.At the age of 18, Al was selected in the NBA draft and played 16 seasons in the league for teams such as the Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and others. Al’s entrepreneurial endeavors began during his NBA career when he strategically invested in startups across the cannabis industry. Then, in 2011 he brought Viola to market after overseeing the carefully curated cultivation, extraction, and production processes. With the mission to provide equitable opportunities and ownership for the Black community at the heart of the brand, Al uses his platform to advocate for the advancement and betterment of Black men and women everywhere.In this episode of Break Things, we connect with Al about how cannabis was unnecessarily demonized during the war on drugs to disproportionately incarcirate  folks from the black community. His mission is to uplift the black community as the co-founder of the first black-owned multinational cannabis company. violabrands.comreplaycbd.com@alharrington3

Having started her journey in pre-med on a full ride scholarship Jonet Williamson called her self the 'Beauty Geek'. Her deep understanding for the science of beauty and her out of this world talent has landed her in a successful career as a makeup artist on coveted commercial, editorial, and TV/Film sets.  We love Jonet for always sharing her talents and whits with the world. In this conversation we break beauty misconceptions about inclusion, the relationship between creators and brands, cancel culture, performative allyship in the industry but most of all, we talk about how powerful the tool of make-up is to transform someones confidence and empower them to make a difference. www.jonetwmakeup.com@jonetwmakeup Evio Beauty Group Ltd. Evio Beauty is an impact-led, clean beauty brand breaking stigmas with good-for-you beauty products.

Michelle Bilodeau & Karen Cleveland are writers and editors that have contributed to the likes of Refinery29, Fashion, Canadian Living, New York Times, Weddingbells and so many more. They've come together to write a book 'THE NEW WEDDING BOOK' that has received rave reviews for disrupting the wedding industry by debunking manufactured traditions and confronting the crushing pressure for a 'perfect' wedding amongst wedding-industrial complex that has been force-fed for decades.@mbilodeau@karen_cleveland GET 'THE NEW WEDDING BOOK' HERE

"Just because it's the status quo doesn't mean you have to accept it. Stop accepting the unacceptable."  - Emily LyonsEmily Lyons is a serial entrepreneur building her femmepire as the CEO of North Americas top event staffing agency with over 10,000 team members.  Emily recalls starting her business as a high school drop out in her early 20's who loved dressing up and going out but quickly realized that wasn't done in business.  Learn how Emily broke free of the misconception that sexy doesn't belong in business and owned her power. @emilylyoness

What was your did I make myself clear moment? Brandi Leifso shares her story and experiences that led to her obsession of exploring misconceptions,  breaking stigmas and taking action to change them to create a more conscious future. Did I make myself clear is a movement to re-allocate funds from the police unit to community organizations and make it make sense.Want to join the movement?  CLICK HEREFollow: @brandileifso & @eviobeauty