After 20 years as a physicist, Kellye left her career in science to follow a completely different path — one guided by creativity, craftsmanship, and courage.

From building cancer research sensors at Cambridge to hand-stitching rhinestone suits for country icons in Nashville, Kellye’s story is a masterclass in daring to start again when the life you built no longer fits.

In this episode, we talk about identity, creativity, and the uncomfortable—but liberating—truth about change.

0:00 – 04:00 | From Texas Farm to Physics Prodigy

Kellye shares her childhood on a working farm in Texas, where fixing things and understanding how machines worked first sparked her curiosity — the early signs of both a scientist and a maker.

04:00 – 10:00 | Cambridge and the World of Academia

How Kellye was recruited into university at just 16, worked her way to Cambridge, and built a 20-year career in physics researching cancer sensors — all while quietly craving something more creative.

10:00 – 16:00 | When Success Doesn’t Feel Like Success

The moment she realised academia’s version of “making it” wasn’t hers — and what happens when your dream job stops feeling like a dream.

16:00 – 23:00 | The Pivot: From Labs to Leather & Lace

Why Kellye and her husband quit their jobs to start a furniture business, and how that side-step opened the door to her lifelong love of sewing, tailoring, and Western wear.

23:00 – 33:00 | Saving a Dying Craft

Kellye dives into her obsession with vintage embroidery machines — how she tracked, restored, and mastered 100-year-old equipment to keep a lost art alive.

33:00 – 41:00 | From Savile Row to Nashville

How a leap of faith (and a lot of self-belief) led Kellye from a tailoring course in Macclesfield to Nashville, where her first project was sewing a suit for Johnny Cash’s son.

41:00 – 50:00 | The Art of Storytelling Through Stitching

How she now creates bespoke, hand-embroidered suits that carry her clients’ stories, and why every stitch is a piece of living history.

50:00 – 59:00 | Reinvention, Ego Death & The Artist’s Way

What it really feels like to walk away from an identity that once defined you — and how Kellye rebuilt her life and confidence through creative discipline, journaling, and community.

59:00 – End | Finding Your People & Following the Pull

The importance of surrounding yourself with people who “get it,” and the power of community when you choose the road less travelled.

• Success means nothing if it’s misaligned. You can build the perfect life on paper and still feel empty — that’s your cue to pivot.
• Creativity and logic aren’t opposites. Whether in science or art, both start with curiosity and the courage to make something new.
• Leaving an identity behind is hard — but necessary. Growth often feels like loss before it feels like freedom.
• Old crafts deserve new hands. Reviving lost skills can connect us to something much bigger than ourselves.
• Find your people. Reinvention is lonely until you build a community that sees you for who you’re becoming, not who you were.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Title: Stop Doing It Alone – The Power of Community & Courage

Ever feel like you’ve got to prove yourself by doing everything solo? In this bonus episode, Michelle shares why that mindset is holding you back — and why true courage is built in connection.

Drawing on her own story of launching She Who Dares Wins, plus the inspiring journeys of:

• Rachel Peru, silver-haired model and midlife body confidence activist
• Siobhan Daniels, author of Retirement Rebel who found purpose after 60
• Liz & Rebecca, founders of Redefine Gym, building a powerful women-only fitness community

Michelle unpacks how community changes everything — not just emotionally, but biologically. With insights from neuroscience and psychology, you’ll learn how connection fuels courage, lowers stress, and even rewires your brain for resilience.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why your brain is wired for support, not solo survival
• How mirror neurons and oxytocin make courage contagious
• The health cost of loneliness — and the power of belonging
• Practical ways to lean into community this week

🔥 This Week’s Dare:

Stop doing it alone. Pick one challenge you’ve been carrying solo and ask for support — from a friend, a mentor, or a community like The Dare Club.

👉 Ready to step up? Share your dare and join the conversation inside The Dare Club.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you throw a total beginner (Michelle) into the world of fly fishing with someone who knows what they’re doing (Aime)? A lot of laughs, a few surprises about what’s actually living under the water, and a whole lot of lessons about patience, presence, and letting go.

This episode isn’t just about learning how to cast a line — it’s about stepping outside your comfort zone and seeing life through a completely different lens.

• Breaking myths about fly fishing – it’s not all reels and rods; it’s motion, patience, and a bit of science.
• Michelle’s crash course in casting – from flicking the rod to understanding the mysterious “nymph” at the end of the line.
• The secret world under the river – larvae, minnows, crayfish and why trout are the “nasty bastards” of the fish world.
• The mental side of fishing – how it forces you to breathe, focus and get out of your head.
• Adrenaline and beginners’ luck – why learning a new skill can feel like a high-stakes dance between you and nature.
• Life lessons from the river – survival, patience, and why sometimes you have to let the fish run if you want to catch it.
• Funny (and very real) riverside stories – from dead dogs to accidental people-watching moments you can’t unsee.

If you’ve ever wondered what fly fishing is actually like or you’re curious about how trying something new can shift your mindset, this episode is part tutorial, part comedy, and part meditation. Aime shares her knowledge, Michelle shares her shock, and together they uncover why standing in a river with a rod can teach you more about yourself than you’d expect.

• 0:00 – Michelle’s first impressions: “Isn’t fly fishing just reeling in?”
• 0:15 – Aime explains the basics of casting and why it’s simpler than you think.
• 2:00 – The truth about flies, nymphs and the secret bug cities under the river.
• 4:00 – Predatory trout, invasive crayfish, and the harsh reality of river life.
• 5:30 – Learning to breathe: why fly fishing can feel like a meditation.
• 6:50 – The mental reset: how fishing gets you out of your head.
• 8:20 – Random memories and riverside thoughts.
• 10:00 – Why beginners’ luck feels like adrenaline.
• 11:00 – People-watching and unexpected river encounters.
• 12:30 – Michelle reflects on city life vs. river life.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.