Bombshell Brunches Podcast (Bombshell Brunches)

From a performance, marketing and communications background to gathering Angel investors while pioneering remote and virtual teams, Kate has made entrepreneurship in the gig-based economy look like a beautiful breeze. We talk about the real work - living and breathing your values so that your product or service shines through! Kate’s commitment to brand integrity, transparency about attracting investors for a brand, and tips on how to align yourself for sustainable success are exactly what we could all use as we waltz into each day! Business owners, creative thinkers and wellness lovers will ADORE this episode, so sit back, and take a chill pill and then pre-order the Loba Pill Organizer to set up in style each day!

About Our Guest: 

Kate has a background in advertising and communications, and has worked with numerous healthcare organizations including Doctors of BC, BC Family Doctors, and the Health Data Coalition. She is the founder of Armature Collective, a marketing and branding company based in Vancouver. Kate believes strongly in giving back to arts and community services, and supporting personal development. She has held numerous community leadership roles, organized charity events, and provides personal coaching to a select group of

clients. 

RESOURCES:

• Loba
• Ripple of Change
• Doctor Bobby Parmer
• Dr. Creaser
• Dr. Bowen
• The Forum: Canadian entrepreneurs 

Special thanks to Jenn Wint for the connection! 

To connect with Kate: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

It’s still FAB-RUARY, and we’re making fabulous moves for the second month of 2022! Join us as we discuss the morning rituals that make us the best version of ourselves. Are you team Kristina - hardcore routines and checking those dopamine boxes or team Raquelle - led by your intuition and all about cortisol reduction? Either way, dive into it with us as we talk about how to navigate the craziness of life while running like a well oiled machine. 

 RESOURCES:

Deep work - Cal Newport

Ashley Margeson Episode

Unapologetic Eating

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Chris and Elvin!  

Thank you to our Branding Consultants at Roodenburg Design and Audio Career Pathway Support from Levels Music Production!

From a “Farm strong” cultivating a deep well of self-initiating music and story ideas, we sit down with a true force of nature. Barbara Lee took the “nobody looks like me” narrative, and used it as fuel to start the longest-running Asian film festival in Canada. Join us as we talk farm life to film life, creating long-term change with authentic action, and attracting a team of investors, volunteers and creatives by being your true self. Barbara is a beacon of inspiration, showing us how to walk in with a curiosity lens, relinquish those regrets, and take each opportunity as a two-way investment. So sit back, get your popcorn out, and enjoy the show!

About Barbara

Barbara has spent over twenty-five years as a community advocate for diverse representation and organizer of events to increase the profile and opportunities for Canadian Asian artists in film, television, media and music. She is the founder of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF). Co-founder of the Mighty Asian Moviemaking Marathon (MAMM) in its 16th year and founder and producer of the Asians in Movies, Music and Media Summit (AIM3), and the recently launched Racial Equity Screen Office (RESO).

Barbara Lee is an independent filmmaker, producer and songwriter in Vancouver. She has worked as a broadcast journalist and has received the regional and national Radio and Television News Directors’ Association (RTNDA) Award for Best Editorial for her work entitled Mother’s Day. She is also the winner of the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada’s Diversity award Pacific/Yukon and her NFB produced documentary BETWEEN THE LAUGHTER aired on CBC and PBS Northwest.  Currently, she is completing her feature documentary SING MY SONG and her horror script.

 RESOURCES:

Elimin8hate

Vancouver Asian Film Festival

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

This one’s a BIG topic. We’re bringing you our breakdown of some select media and anecdotal clips, with a focus on how media looks different from around the world. 

We talk through the impact of the overwhelm of news, fear-mongering verbiage and international perspectives, to listening lightly and creating individual control over your mental and emotional health. As always, we believe in being brave and living full. We know that education is influence, and influence is personal power. So, we hope that you will take some time to do your own reading and research, too! We took this topic on because we both felt it hard to turn off media sources, and easy to feel helpless. So, in brunch break style, we’re here for you to help discuss ways to design and protect our mental sanctuaries, do what we can, and take a big, collective breath as we look at internal and external stories that impact us on countless levels.

RESOURCES:
CBC Segment
BBC Segment
SCMP Segment
SABC Segment

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

New York Times
Daily Maverick
University of Amsterdam
The Daily Podcast
CBC Ways to Help Ukraine

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Let’s get planning! Today we’re talking WEDDINGS! We talk to Grace Harvey about our own unique perspectives on unions, the importance of knowing your values and the elements that enrich your union experience: from budget to bandwidth, guests to the dress, we’re on the road to togetherness with our favorite event planner. Find out some best questions to ask your future planner, how to DIY it, and why a farm might not be cheaper than that luxury hotel. 

About Our Guest: 

Grace is a food and drink-loving Brit in British Columbia. With over 12 years of hospitality experience in some of BC and Europe’s top spaces, resorts, and fine dining restaurants, Grace designs inimitable events in exceptional settings. Grace’s love for participating in exceptional experiences is matched only by her love of a lazy Sunday brunch with her best friends. Grace’s global travels have resulted in her meticulous planning, organising and running all manner of events. A lover of small towns with big personalities, Grace now resides in Victoria, where she reads up on wine, dog-sits at every opportunity, and revels in bringing dream events to life. Grace is currently an event planner at The Good Party, based in Victoria, B.C.

 ** RESOURCES **

• The Good Party
• Real Estate: Ashley Smith Episode
• 2Paycheques Away Episode 

To connect with Grace: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

When did you realise that self-worth was attached to looks? Have you been told “you’re so pretty - you don’t need to work as hard”, or thought to yourself “If I look ‘better’, I might get the job”? For every side of this surface-level coin, this episode is for YOU!

Let’s talk about another side of the glass ceiling: the one where you’re too pretty to be smart, you only got the job because you’re “beautiful”, and you get compliments based on outside, out-of-your-control elements. 

We dig into the dark side of the “pretty” compliments for young girls and how they combined with affection can end up linking girls’ self-worth to appearance rather than things in their control such as intelligence or humour. 

Looks in general hold so much weight in society (pun intended), so we want to encourage you to show up as YOUR best self. So let’s get real, here: from Mowgli to Erin Brokovich, from Barbie to Gigantor, we get into the weeds with the ‘unsaid side’ of ‘pretty’, and highlight some of the impactful compliments we’ve given and received that highlight the shine from within! 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Ready to get out of debt? Don’t know how to have the “money” talk with your partner? Release your emotional attachment to money? Get financially naked with your loved ones to build your best life? WE GOT YOU! From an ambitious, money-making background, Alyssa chose to become a writer (a profession notorious for low incomes). With riddling consumer debt and student loans looming over her, Alyssa took a brave leap and started her blog in 2015. Two book deals later, we drop some HUGE gems to help you get on board and soar with your financial image - both on your own and with those you love. 

About Alyssa Davies: 

Alyssa Davies is a content manager for Zolo and a published author living in Calgary, Alberta. She is the founder of the two-time award-winning Canadian Personal Finance Blog of the Year, Mixed Up Money that has over 80,000 followers across social media. Through her work, she has been featured in many notable publications, including The Globe and Mail, FLARE, CBC Gem, and more. Her second book, Financial First Aid, is now available for preorder at any book retailer near you.

Resources: 

• Mixed Up Money
• Fair Play (Book)
• The Year Compass
• Maturn
• The 100 Day Financial Goal Journal
• KindWealth

To connect with Alyssa: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Buckle up, BBs! A true connector, Candace Sampson takes us from her school supply business to entrepreneurial motherhood, from thriving influencer and broadcast channels to navigating the Canadian Justice system in an incredibly hostile divorce with tenacity and transparency. We talk about leaving your 9-5, the glass cliff, and what to do to prepare for a marriage and divorce- whether you’re in a good place or not! From mindfulness to time management, family courts to brainstorming support, we REALLY get into the weeds. If you’re pushing your entrepreneurial journey up the mountainside, we’re here by your side with tips, tricks and reminders to help you stay on track. 

About Our Guest: 

Candace has been in the trenches with women across Canada for over a decade sharing her self-deprecating humour on Canada’s popular YMC, her passion for travel and food on her website, Life in Pleasantville, and as a TV and Radio personality.

Candace’s reputation for approachable professionalism and a great sense of humour are demonstrated in her delivery of real-life stories that matter across all her digital and broadcast channels.

Resources: 

• Life In Pleasantville Blog - Divorce 
• What She Said
• Black & White by Stephen Dorsey: 
• Dirty John: Betty Broderick (TV Show)

To connect with Candace: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Weekend Warriors and Fab Fit Humans, we’ve got your back (and shoulders, and glutes)! If you are sitting at your desk watching this right now, we’re about to get you moving. Nadia is a physiotherapist for some of the world’s top professional athletes. From the emergency room to recovery for rugby players, Nadia talks us through how to create awareness of our bodies, what common injuries to look out for, and how to fire up the areas of your body in order to workout with purpose. 

From incontinence to high performance training, we talk about mental grit, daily activation tricks, fitness myths, and the big picture of how to approach your fitness AND health journey. 

About Our Guest: 

Nadia was born in Johannesburg (South Africa), with Greek and Italian heritage. Currently living in beautiful Stellenbosch she loves hiking, trail running, reading and good wine (so basically you found the perfect place to live). Nadia is a sports physiotherapist at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport living out my passion every day. She has been a physiotherapist for 15 years, having had the privilege of working with various professional and amateur sports teams/ individuals.

Nadia is known by some of the most elite athletes in the world as the women with the touch that makes grown men cry and I can personally attest to the fact that she is seriously impressive - having fixed issues I’d had for years in just one or two sessions.

RESOURCES:

Stellenbosch Academy of Sport

To connect with Nadia: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Work Wives unite! From self discovery to big risks, Prestonne shares her yoga journey through both an entrepreneurial and relational lens. After six years of in-person classes, the pandemic gave birth to online partner yoga classes to increase play, intimacy, and relationship richness. Creating authentic community takes time, great support systems and positive, value-aligned partnership in all ways! Join us as we walk through building business partnerships, balancing ownership, motherhood and passion to create a fulfilling future for you and those you care about most. 

About Presonne: 

 In January 2014, Prestonne and  Nicole Whitman partnered to open Yoga Generation in Coquitlam bringing aerial yoga to the Tri-Cities. The two have since opened the second location of YogaGen in Pitt Meadows.

Prestonne’s goal as a yoga teacher is to inspire kindness, compassion and gratitude towards others, and most importantly towards oneself.

She has completed over 500 hours in yoga teacher trainings, specializing in Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, Aerial Yoga, Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. Prestonne holds a BA from SFU, where she studied communications. 
In Prestonne’s class you can expect a focus on pranayama and deepening the connection with your body through the breath. Come ready to play, laugh, relax and rejuvenate your body through deep breathing and lots of stretching. Prestonne encourages her students to listen to their bodies, while simultaneously testing their limits and growing both in a physical and mental capacity.

Resources:
YogaGen

To connect with Prestonne: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, Chris and Elvin!  

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

How do you exercise full sympathy towards someone, without taking on their emotions? If you’re an empath, or highly sensitive to others, it can be easy to try to comfort them in ways that aren’t helpful. So, here’s how to be a fire friend in times of need. We dive into how can we actively listen to what our loved ones are looking for, create safety on both sides, and allow ourselves to process productively. We talk coffee shop friends, leaving spontaneous voice notes of affirmation, and taking a step back in order to show up fully.

 Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Creative Director: Glen Gustard: https://www.instagram.com/glengustard/ 

Co-Producer: Hannah Gorton: https://www.instagram.com/gortonhannah/ 

Social Engagement: Grace Harvey https://www.instagram.com/gracemharvey/ 

Social Media & Copy: Elvin Sisco https://www.instagram.com/_elvinsisco 

Audio Supervisor: Chris Steinkampf https://www.instagram.com/chris_steinkampf/ 

Career Pathways Partner: Levels Music Pro: https://www.instagram.com/levelsmusicpro/ 

Branding Consultants: Roodenburg Design: https://www.instagram.com/roodenburgdesign/

As we look at the gig economy, the great resignation and as more and more companies are deciding to go the direction of work-from-home indefinitely, boundaries have never been more important than they are today. 

Kristina and I sat down to talk about healthy (and unhealthy) boundaries. They’re hard to implement, important to construct, and necessary for our mental and physical health and happiness. Kristina and I dig in on the tactics we use to stick to our own boundaries and how we find ways to honor other people’s along the way.

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: https://www.instagram.com/bombshellbrunches 

To connect with Kristina Lao: https://www.instagram.com/mykristinalao/ 

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: https://www.instagram.com/the_raquelle/

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Creative Director: Glen Gustard: https://www.instagram.com/glengustard/ 

Co-Producer: Hannah Gorton: https://www.instagram.com/gortonhannah/ 

Social Engagement: Grace Harvey https://www.instagram.com/gracemharvey/ 

Social Media & Copy: Elvin Sisco https://www.instagram.com/_elvinsisco 

Audio Content Supervisor: Nicole Mikala https://www.instagram.com/nicmikala/ 

Career Pathways Partner: Levels Music Pro: https://www.instagram.com/levelsmusicpro/ 

**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode talks about reproductive culture, practices and sensitive sexual practices are discussed. We recognise that we are not from the cultures that we discuss, and that this is a complicated conversation. Our intention is to highlight Raquelle’s individual, personal experience, and never intend to place judgement on any culture or norm.  

Raquelle is completing her Masters in Communication, specialising in Health Communications, from the University of Amsterdam. Having returned from a month in Tanzania with the Masaai culture, she takes us through the difference between health culture and individual health bias, how empirical research is conducted, and why she chose to take on an across-the-globe trip to challenge her own existing bias. 

We candidly discuss the beauty and sometimes pitfalls of honouring ancient cultures, the impact of gender norms on nutrition and health, and honour the intention to inspire positive influence while creating and maintaining a safe space for others. 

RESOURCES:

The Masaai Culture - http://maasaiwilderness.org/ 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Telus Optik TV 

We'll keep this short - more info to come, but we're SO excited to announce this level-up move for your two bold, brave (and very tired but happy) BBs, so go ahead and listen in! 

What really happens when you springboard into your next, bolder, braver version of you? Well, here’s Kristina’s take on the flying pains of building a braver, bolder life. 

The last few weeks, we’ve been learning to livestream, and navigating life curveballs along the way. Our beautiful BB community has taught us how to be brave in order to live full so well, that now we’re left with the blessed curse of getting what we asked for: MORE. 

Listen to Kristina’s top takeaways in the wake of producing her biggest personal solo musical event and a second hugely important advocacy-based musical event, learning to live stream and taking on new contracts and committees with entirely new teams. 

As always, whatever we do, we take you with us, so I hope you enjoy this little solo spill from K-Lao! 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Telus Optik TV 

Well, Raquelle is back, and we’re in a FOREST! We took a hike up with our livestream gear, and figured we’d use it on the way down, too. So, listen in to the hilarity and honesty of our next moves as we navigate the trail AND our lives, in serendipitous existential parallel.

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Telus Optik TV 

You have a SOLO episode today with Raquelle. You can expect a different vibe as Raquelle pays tribute to her Oma after losing her last week and speaks on navigating the uncertain seas of grief. Never to be times or contained grief is the ultimate lesson in letting go of control - not that Raquelle will ever do that without a fight! If you've ever lost someone, lost a version of yourself, or ended a relationship - this episode is for you.

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Telus Optik TV 

WE'RE 90 EPISODES DEEP! How did that even happen?! We wish we had a super epic celebratory episode for you but maybe we'll have to do that for our 100th episode. For today you get to join us in our delirious post-livestream state. We get silly, we fill you in, it's all authentic and stuff. Enjoy laughing at us and we can't wait to see you next week!

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Telus Optik TV 

As someone who has worked in the Entertainment Industry for almost 15 years, Kristina has some knowledge of the myths and busts of the glamour of the music industry. 

She has been researching, working and advocating for sustainable careers in Entertainment, and is going to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions of working as an actor, songwriter, voice artist and creative. 

This week, sit down for some hard-hitting tea about the myths and misconceptions of our beloved entertainment industry, and how to be a supportive audience member, active participant in your own career trajectory, and overall creative champion!  

RESOURCES:

• Music BC
• A life in Parts
• Creative BC
• Jumpstart Consulting
• BC Alliance for Arts (jobs board)

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Big thanks to Telus Optik TV 

If you’re like us, right now the world feels heavy. Burnout is a recurring theme, pandemic isolation and social justice fights have permeated our daily lives. Many of our friends, peers, colleagues and family, including you wonderful listeners, have voiced an inability to make strong decisions, to know where to start to help. So, Kristina sits down with local City Council Candidate Ian Cromwell to help outline, define, and un-blur some of the lines of Vancouver’s upcoming Municipal Election. 

We cannot change everything, and nor should we. This is about us taking the steps that we can, making decisions that we’re able to make, to really participate in the change that we want to see.

We acknowledge that this is one political opinion - please take a little time regularly to do your own research, in all areas - we will too. Systemic change is not easy, but it IS worth it! 

About Our Guest: 

Ian Cromwell (he/him) is a health economist at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, where he provides advice to healthcare decision-makers to ensure the best use of public resources. Cromwell is a classically-trained violinist and founder of Locals Lounge, a grassroots incubator for Vancouver’s music community. Ian is currently a candidate for Vancouver City Council with OneCity Vancouver.

To connect with Ian : click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

This week we got to chat with a modern day healer. After finishing a Living Full in Vancouver livestream with Chase where he guided us through breath work, meditation and sound bathing (find it here) we couldn't help but invite him onto Bombshell Brunches. We talked about his journey battling depression and self-identity, how he found the healing power of sound and how one can create the life of their dreams while doing what they love.

About Our Guest: 

Chase Trellert has traveled the world in search of different healing modalities to share with friends, family and those in his local community. His journeys have lead him as far as the Jungles of Peru to train with Shaman, to the Andes of Ecuador to learn ancient yogic practices and to South East Asia to Meditate with Monks. He combines many different modalities to weave a unique healing experience for all who attend his sessions. Chase’s Sound Healing Journey began while he was living in Australia, after hearing the didgeridoo for the first time. Since then he has collected all sorts of instruments with the singular goal of providing healing.

To connect with Chase : click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Today we sat down with Golden Ears Cheesecrafters co-founder, Emma Davison. 

We talk about life as an entrepreneur, the cardinal rules of founding a business with your sister, how to communicate bad news and how to build a team that has as much excitement about your product as you do!

ANND if you're as in love with cheese as I am, you MUST check out the livestream HERE for a behind-the-scenes look at some seriously delicious cheese and to learn the art of the cheese board. 

About Our Guest: 

Two Maple Ridge sisters Emma and Jenna Davison decided to continue their family’s century-old farming traditions and start a business that produces artisan cheeses, cheddar curds and cultured butter using local ingredients. As much as they can, Golden Ears Cheesecrafters uses the high-fat milk produced by their uncle’s jersey cows.

“We want to be a part of the centuries to come and what there used to be here from the land we originally started with.”

Golden Ears Cheesecrafters  has a retail store and bistro alongside producing cheese for some of Vancouver's hottest culinary spots, including Cartems Donuts, Elements, Araxi, Grouse Mountain and many more.

To connect with Golden Ears Cheese Crafters : click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Today we sat down with one of our fav's Ocean Bloom!

We've talked about spirituality and healing  and how stress is held in the body with Ocean in the past. If you missed it make sure you scroll back to episode 58 (it's AH-Mazing). TODAY we talked all things FITNESS. As a past world fitness champion and a current world traveller we couldn't think of anyone else who would be better suited to talk about getting that fitness routine back during the endemic. It's a weird, transitional time and we need to give ourselves grace as we tippy toe into the new world in a way that is healthy for all of us.

If you're interested in Ocean Bloom's conscious movement therapy and incredible healing modalities you should absolutely check out the livestream we did HERE for a behind-the-scenes look at my now favourite healing modality. 

About Ocean Bloom: 

Ocean Bloom is an internationally renowned bodywork therapist, wellness coach and retreat leader. She has over 25 years’ experience as a Fitness World Champion, Celebrity Personal Trainer and Certified Yoga Teacher. Ocean has worked and studied extensively in South East Asia and Europe. Her pioneering approach combines fitness modalities with the ancient elements of Yoga, Chinese and Thai Medicine to facilitate the return to health not just physically but also in the mind and spirit. Ocean is the founder and facilitator\ of “Conscious Movement Therapy”. From high profile celebrities and athletes to first responders and trauma survivors, she has helped individuals release emotional blockages and reset their thinking process.

To connect with Ocean, click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Rowan, and Chris!

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Hold onto your hats, bombshells because we have an EPISODE for you!  Today Kristina and I get schooled on all things vagina and pelvic floor health. What we learned is CRAZY! Spoiler alert - no one should be afraid to laugh, sneeze, run or jump rope for fear of peeing. Not due to age. Not due to giving birth to one or more children. It just simply shouldn't be a thing. We've got THE tips on how to keep your body and pelvis healthy as well as some seriously kick a$$ baby shower ideas.

This episode busts some major myths and brings forth some potentially life-changing tips for anyone living with a vagina. Pelvic floor health plays a major roll in posture, strength, core, and so much more.

We get into EVEN more detail on the livestream so if you were like us and couldn't get enough - make sure to check out the livestream HERE. 

About Kim Vopni: 

Kim Vopni is a pelvic floor specialist, popularly known as The Vagina Coach. Kim became passionate about spreading information on pelvic health after the birth of her first child. She is a self-professed Kegel maven, a certified fitness trainer specializing in pre and post natal, perimenopause and menopause.  She is a women’s health educator and speaker, an author, and the founder of Pelvienne Wellness Inc. Kim is also the creator of Kegels & Cocktails™, health events designed to empower and educate women on the importance of pelvic health. Kim strives to normalize discussions about vaginas, Kegels and menopause, especially when her teenage sons are in ear shot.

Learn more at www.vaginacoach.com and on social @vaginacoach 

To connect with Kim, click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

4 Months, 38 Livestreams, Countless new connections and local obsessions later and our summer livestream series is officially OVER!

As a special super wrap-up episode we  sat down with Liam Montgomery to discuss how to produce epic livestreams while fostering connections  with your audience. We got into how to  promote, produce and host a livestream. From top gear and equipment to  Kristina and Raquelle's biggest take-aways this is not an episode to miss as we all move forward in this hyper-digital world. 

About Liam : 

Liam is an event producer, content producer, and long time audio and video technician.  Liam has toured internationally with bands such as July Talk, the Proclaimers, and the Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer.  In 2021 Liam created Showstream, a company determined to help make live-streaming and hybrid events better, easier, and more friendly. Liam actively works to educate and support organizations deliver their message and provides opportunities and sponsorship to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. 

Learn more at www.showstream.ca and on social @showstreamtechnology

To connect with Liam, click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah and Grace!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Well, Kristina and Raquelle have just finished a summer-long livestream series, and settle in for a good old brunch break on a topic that’s been on the back burner for a hot minute. We know so many of you are out there changing the world in your own unique ways, and we love you for it. Our big question: what kind of energy are you using to create that change, and is that serving you best? 

We love to dig deep into our existences through conversations like this, and we want to know what keeps you fueled when you’re fighting for your cause. In true Bombshell fashion, we love to celebrate the differences, even when it’s not easy in the moment. We hope this one gives you reason to take a minute and ponder on your own source of passion, ask yourself whether winning the fight is the ultimate goal, and daydream on how you might like to show up in times of unity, and times of divide. 

Sponsored by Numinus, Conscious Mind Clinic and several others, the inaugural SIP Summit is happening on Sept 10 at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra with an epic full moon after party at a private residence! Featuring 34 female speakers, the keynote will be delivered by Dr. Pam Kryskow, with other notable speakers covering topics like: Executive Leadership, Modern Medicine Women, PTSD & Parenting, Sex & Intimacy, Trauma & Money, Ethics in Clinical Practice and more!

Check out the summit agenda and speakers here, and grab your in-person ticket or FREE livestream access here!

It’s our first Tuesday Newsday! Raquelle and Kristina pick a few of their top stories in recent news, and unpack them for this brunch break with you. From Chinatown to CRA Money, Loss to Healthcare Access, we take you on a Tuesday journey through recent events that have impacted us. 

RESOURCES:

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/long-time-chinatown-security-guard-still-traumatized-after-random-attack-grateful-for-community-support-1.6027176 

CRA Money! https://moneywise.ca/taxes/how-to-find-out-if-you-have-uncashed-cra-money-and-what-to-do-with-it?utm_source=email&utm_medium=mwd&utm_campaign=mca_mwd&utm_term=mca_mwd_8_17&utm_content=mca_mwd_17163

Olivia Quan: https://www.gofundme.com/f/olivia-quan-award-for-audio-excellence 

Access to Health Services: https://www.fnha.ca/ 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team as always! You can find out more about our team, our vision and our dreams on our website HERE

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Thinking larger than life is standard practice for this badass bombshell! Melody sits down with us to discuss the supercool origin story of EatArt and the work in and around sustainable machinery and art works. We talk through alternative energies, mentoring next gen energy consumers, and steering a ship on volunteer hours alone. We talk through the “Do-ocracy” of love-led organisations, the importance of delegating to others, and how to find skill exchange sweet points within a team. 

If you’re an entrepreneur with a creative mind and have passion projects that you’re looking to launch or elevate, this one’s for you! 

About Our Guest: 

Melody Copeman is a Senior UI Artist working in video games, currently working on Apex Legends – a battle royale developed by EA / Respawn. Melody has a Bachelor in Media Arts in Interactive + Social Media arts from Emily Carr University. Melody volunteers as the Executive Director of the eatART foundation (which stands for Energy Awareness Through art). Melody has helped them with organizing fundraisers, social media, and fabrication. When not doing that, Melody enjoys drinking bubble tea, designing costumes and practicing aerial silks. Melody is passionate about environmental sustainability, social justice, and creativity.

About EatART

eatART is an acronym that stands for Energy Awareness Through art. As a charity organization, we support the creation of large-scale, technically sophisticated art that invites viewers to question the social and environmental impact of energy consumption. 

RESOURCES:

EatArt
Burning Man
Taking my Parents to Burning Man

To connect with Melody: click HERE 

To connect with Eat Art: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team as always! You can find out more about our team, our vision and our dreams on our website HERE

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

HOLY-GUACAMOLE this was a BEAST of an episode. Seriously - you’re going to want to listen all the way to the end. Today we sat down with fighter, boxing promoter, nutritionist and personal trainer, Jana to talk about the KEY differences between “Training” and “Working out”, how to build mental toughness, THE most effective strategies to hit your fitness goals, which diet trends Jana wishes would disappear forever, how to not take sexism personally and instead use it as a challenge, AND SO MUCH MORE. Turn this episode on and go for a long walk and prepare to get fired UP. 

About Our Guest: 

Jana is a Fitness Industry veteran with over 10 years of experience. She has been an industry leader in the creation and growth of fitness brands, partnerships, events, development of products and programming. She develops culture and community everywhere she goes. As a boxing athlete she has 6 fights with more to come and has been on the other side coaching fighters, cornering and volunteering at local events as well as PPV events with her company Empire Boxing Promotions.

Jana has trained and delivered Nutrition Consulting for celebrities, athletes and fitness professionals throughout her career. She is also a partner in a Canadian based Professional Boxing Promotion Empire Boxing Promotions, a Lululemon Ambassador for Pacific Center, formerly Beverly Hills CA, Everlast Canada sponsored athlete, York Athletics sponsored athlete and Body Energy Club Van/LA Ambassador.

In her one on one sessions, she blends her knowledge of science based training with skill development, bringing it to her clients in an approachable and scalable way to suit the individual.

 RESOURCES:

Training with Jana

Empire Boxing Promotions

To connect with Jana: click HERE 

To connect with COMPANY: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team as always! You can find out more about our team, our vision and our dreams on our website HERE

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Have you ever questioned the direction of your career just to pull the proverbial fire alarm - running across the world for an Eat, Pray, Love-esque adventure? Or at least dreamed of it? If so, this episode is one you’re going to love.  Annaliesse was born with a passion for interior design. After one semester at UVic she realized she needed to follow that dream. That week her parents packed her up and she headed off to Europe where she met a guy floating by in the Ocean in Greece which led her to a whirlwind opportunity restoring a stunning and ancient mill in France before returning to Canada to begin her design career. Join us as we discuss how to buy art as a beginner, how to invest in art, how to make your home feel like HOME and the whirlwind adventures of life. 

 About Our Guest: 

Annaliesse Kelly has been in the world of design for 20 years.Throughout her award-winning career, Annaliesse has worked with Canada’s top architectural firms, contractors and artisans to create sophisticated spaces that reflect the individual needs of her clients. AK Design’s work has been featured extensively in the press, including in Western Living, The Vancouver Sun, Canadian Home Trends, Rue Magazine and more. This recognition has been largely attributed to their passion for creating spaces that are timeless, functional and most importantly—feel like home.

RESOURCES:

AK Design

To connect with AK Design: click HERE 

To connect with COMPANY: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team as always! You can find out more about our team, our vision and our dreams on our website HERE

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

Well, the time has come, BBs! We have an episode of big news for you, and it’s definitely one to listen in on. We’ve recorded over 100 episodes, done a four-month livestream hyperlocal series with Storyhive Summer Crew, and have 30 episodes up on Telus Optik TV. We’re so proud of the community that’s built itself around us, and are here today to share the next steps in our Bombshell journey. So sit back, listen in, and send us your DMs after you hear our big news! 

Love always, you beautiful humans. 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team as always! You can find out more about our team, our vision and our dreams on our website HERE

With special thanks to: 

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Partner
Roodenburg Design Consultants: Branding Partner

You are listening to the official trailer for Bombshell Brunches.

After three years of laughing, crying and growing alongside our group of badass babes - we have decided to open up the floor on an international scale.

Take a listen to find out why we started Bombshell Brunches, how it evolved and what you can expect to take away from each episode. 

We can't wait for you to join our community! 

XOXO
Raquelle Roodenburg and Kristina Lao

#001 On our very first episode we are joined by Michelle Kavanagh. Michelle is a digital brand stylist and works with women to help them elevate their style, build their brand, grow their business and shine with confidence. We dig in to discover how to audit your current life and the content and vibes you're putting out, how to align with who you are and the secret to attract your dreams.


To connect with Michelle Kavanagh CLICK HERE
For Michelle's website CLICK HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches CLICK HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao CLICK HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg CLICK HERE

#002 Our second episode features the inimitable Kinnie Starr. A Juno award-winning artist, producer and activist, Kinnie allows us a rare glimpse into her protected personal world of creativity. We talk nature, movement, cancel culture and online safety, with takeaways to help you examine your own social, emotional and digital environmental habits. 

To connect with Kinnie Starr CLICK HERE

For Kinnie's website CLICK HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches CLICK HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao CLICK HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg CLICK HERE

#003 
Hello from episode three! 
This episode features Capilano University Lecturer and Executive Label Manager, Shannon Luttmer. The Bombshell gang and Shannon talk about the importance of knowing when to say "yes", dealing with past trauma and the weird ways it manifests when you don't, the importance of working together in smaller industries and as women in order to uplift and looking inward to set strong boundaries. Don't be fooled by Shannon's calm, cool and collected exterior, she is quick as a whip and an absolute force to be reckoned with.


To connect with Shannon: https://www.instagram.com/lilshaynay

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: https://www.instagram.com/bombshellbr...


To connect with Kristina Lao: https://www.instagram.com/mykristinalao/


To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: https://www.instagram.com/the_raquelle/

#004 

This week's episode features professional researcher, strategist and designer, Miriam (Kemi) Havelin. We talk about aligning your passions to create your dream career, scientific research vs scientific reporting, fake news and how to identify trustworthy articles. Kemi most recently returned to Toronto from Paris where she worked as a researcher and designer and is currently completing a Master's degree in Strategic Foresight at OCAD University. Basically she is the perfect badass for this episode. 



To connect with Kemi: https://www.instagram.com/kemi.miriam/

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: https://www.instagram.com/bombshellbr...

To connect with Kristina Lao: https://www.instagram.com/mykristinalao/

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: https://www.instagram.com/the_raquelle/

Episode FIVE - time flies! 

We sat down with Tamara as the start of our Winter Warmer series: the weather (on this side of the world, anyway) is turning; it’s darker, for longer, we’re neck-deep in fake news, and there’s a continued global pandemic looming over us all. Tamara takes us into a deep, conversational breath of reassurance, reminding us that it’s okay to not be okay, and giving our lovely listeners some tools that we hope will hug your heart. This is an episode for all of us, filled with kindness, care, and of course, candid conversation. Cheers, babeses. Take good care of you. xx

About Tam: 

Tamara Adilman has been a therapist in private practice in Vancouver BC for over 25 years. She specializes in relationship and individual therapy .

She has dedicated her working life to help people discover who they are and how to reach their potential . She works with clients who are facing grief, loss anxiety and depression as well as with couples and/or family members who seek to heal their relationships.

She believes deeply that people can and do change and her life's work is to help clients find their path towards personal transformation.

To connect with Tamara: https://counsellingbc.com/listings/tadilman.htm 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: https://www.instagram.com/bombshellbrunches 

To connect with Kristina Lao: https://www.instagram.com/mykristinalao/ 

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: https://www.instagram.com/the_raquelle/

Episode Six - This is Us

For our sixth episode, we wanted to try something new. Our brunches started as REAL brunches with like-minded colleagues, and we wanted to honour that, and share it with you. We reflect on our journey, as well as recap and digest the first series of episodes. We want you to see behind the scenes, candidly, as so much of the journeys we witness can be hidden, because of a need or want to only show the ‘polished product’. 

So, we brunch over our own progress, our learnings, while discussing boundaries, the importance of words in our relationship to our behaviour, the Wild West of the Internet, cancel culture, identity, past guests’ wisdom, and not giving a fuck. 

This is an info-rich, thought-invoking episode of free-flowing discussion, best paired with your favourite beverage, a lovely brunch, or sitting in a cozy space with your two new friends. 

Welcome to our brunch. Let’s chat, babes. 

Media we discuss: 

Seven Secrets to Persuasion: Click HERE 

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: Click HERE

Article: The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake: Click HERE

Film: The Social Dilemma: Click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: Click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: Click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: Click HERE

#007 Let that Sh*T GO! 

Sara Brigz is a declutter expert who can attest to living clutter-free in a small space: she shares her 300 square foot apartment with her partner, works from home, and retains a calm composure and bright-eyed clarity that makes us both feel comparatively like mad hatters at a cluttered-up tea party. How does she seem like she’s got it all together? We find out! As we move into the winter of one weird-ass year, working and living in our smaller bubbles of existence, we’re so ready to let a LOT of sh*t go (including 2020 IMO). Sara adds to the joy of letting go with some ‘perks of tiny living’, including stronger relationships, communication skills, and release of our possessiveness over our possessions. 

So, pour that favourite drink of yours, push aside that coffee mug sitting on top of the pile of papers sitting on top of the stack of magazines next to that trinket you got three years ago from some craft fair that was attached to some memory that you haven’t quite remembered but it MIGHT come back to you at some point soon so you should probably keep it… and enjoy listening to some of Sara’s solutions to stressless surroundings. 

Just do us a favour: recycle, donate, and don’t throw your sh*t out the window. Someone could get hurt.

Sign up for Sara’s course HERE

About Sara Brigz: 

Sara Brigz is a declutter coach and founder of Let That Shit Go, where she helps people get to the root cause of clutter, confront the emotions holding them back, and live a life they’re excited about. If you’re ready to find more calm at home, check out her free decluttering guide and say hi on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok!

REFERENCES:

• Bunz Trade & Freecycle
• Sara's declutter course
• Facebook Marketplace

To connect with Sara: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE 

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode Eight - Get Mo’ Money!! 

We continue on our ‘setting up systems for success’ series with this bombshell money expert who actually leaves you feeling GOOD about your finances. From film into finance, West Coast to East, Jessica Moorhouse shares her journey from being a young starry-eyed graduate to a powerhouse go-to gal for financial freedom. Jessica drops so many great gems throughout this one-hour special, outlining simple, accessible ways to have a healthier relationship with your finances. We talk FIRE, fallacies, financial audits, how to ask for that raise, and what happens when you keep on looking for that dream job. A must-listen episode for all you Bombshells ready to get financially fit and FIERCE! 

REFERENCES:

Website: https://jessicamoorhouse.com

To connect with Jessica:

Facebook: click HERE

Instagram: click HERE

Twitter: click HERE

YouTube: click HERE

Pinterest: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

If you’ve ever wished you felt more like the star of your own life, this one’s for YOU. Off the back of her first leading role in a movie, thriving long-time actor and singer Donna Benedicto gets real with us about what happens behind the glamorous life of a leading lady. We get the inside scoop on the struggles of stereotypes, representation, and how to REALLY get ready to carry a whole show and step into that leading role - whether it’s on set, in your job, or in life. We talk about friendships, protecting your inner circle, and helping yourself thrive by creating the best environments for success. 

This one is best served up with your relaxing beverage of choice, and a daydreaming mind. WARNING: This episode may cause you to look for new friends and release unhelpful behaviour… Sorry NOT SORRY. 

About Donna: 

Donna Benedicto was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for Supergirl (2015), Almost Human (2013) and Minority Report (2015). 

To connect with Donna: clickHERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode Ten - Let’s GET IT!

Mykail is a veritable force. A first-generation graduate with an MBA, a thriving business, and a pioneer in the way we think, speak and act about our money, Mykail is the breath of fresh air that all generations can learn from. Specialising in Millenial and Gen Z money talk, Mykail drops gems in the financial, personal and professional worlds that will leave you feeling capable, confident and genuinely cared for! For us, Mykail was the perfect embodiment of releasing the need to take those BIG steps, and embracing our ability to take the NEXT one. 

This, BBs, is what we are so utterly delighted to share with you - a healthy step forward in YOUR way. 

About Mykail:

Mykail James aka “The Boujie Budgeter” is the founder of BoujieBudgets.com, an online platform dedicated to teaching Gen Z professionals how to finance their best lives. Upon graduating with her MBA focused in accounting, Mykail became a Certified Financial Literacy instructor. She has a fresh new take on managing money and finances. Her teachings use pop-culture references and relatable language to help her audience understand confusing money concepts such as budgeting, saving, and investing.

The goal is to make positive money moves while still controlling your finances, because you can only live your best life when it is properly financed!

REFERENCES:

Add references to books, films, research etc.

To connect with Mykail, click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Kristina and Raquelle are having a day. As everything is weighing down, we face it, embrace it, and then unpack it and reframe it. As a result, we’re real-time processing with you all, breaking down why it is that we’re feeling frazzled, how we’re working through it, and in the process, sharing some resources, gems from guests, and tools that YOU can use to thrive through your own high pressure situations and create a great career (and life) path. 

In this episode, we talk about the frameworks we’ve been building. Specifically in the realm of family, friends and finances. We’ll dig into COVID exhaustion, hive mind mentality, saying goodbye to our past selves, and the pain and gain of moving forward (both physically and metaphorically). 

So, sit back, sip, and listen to the spill from your friends at BB. If you’ve got some stories to share with us, slip into those DMs and tell us how YOU are. 

Media we discuss: 

Decluttering: Sara Brigz 

Episode 005 (Coping with COVID and Winter) 

The Gift of Fear (book)

Episode 008 (Money) 

Episode 009 (Fierce Friendships)

World Economic Forum: Top Ten Skills for the Future

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode Twelve - WINTER WONDERMIND! With the onset of winter, the woes of our world, and all the feelings we’re having, we just wanted to wrap you all up in one big hug. So, we are doing just that, with the thing that brings so many of us together: MUSIC. 

We asked three of our favourite artists to share a love letter to winter with us: a little thought, daydream, or ode to the wintery world, and then an original song that we can bask in for a little while. The result: some of the most glorious tunes, from these absolute goddesses, in the comfort of your own home. 

It’s dark out there, in many ways, friends. Some of you will be spending more alone time than ever. In these instances, however you are spending the next few weeks, we’d like you to know that you have two friendly voices, and three angelic songstresses, to keep you company. So, snuggle up, get into your comfiest clothes, and listen in. 

We’re blowing soft, snowy kisses your way, and hope this warms you up, BBs. 

About The Artists:

“Falling Deeper” was written by Bukola Balogun, Anthony Anderson, Chin Injeti, Mark Fenster and Steve Smith. Performed by Bukola Balogun. 

YouTube Channel: click HERE

 “Autumn Leaves” was written and performed by Jess Vaira. 

YouTube: Channel: click HERE

“I’ll Fly” was written and performed by Desirée Dawson.
YouTube Channel: click HERE

*We’ve included links to their YouTube Channels, but you can support their music on all platforms :) 

To connect with Bukola, click HERE

To connect with Jess Vaira, click HERE

To connect with Desirée Dawson, click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches, click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao, click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg, click HERE

Carol-Lynne from CQ Voice is launching  “ROAR” an accessible, online vocal platform to empower you through vocal work. 

We talk to Carol-Lynne about finding your voice, using it to bring out your most confident self, and learning to love the power of your sound. We talk about how the voice is so often forgotten in our daily warm ups, or self-care routines. We breathe, we speak, and often we do so unintentionally. The power of connected breath, simple vocal exercises, and that inner vibration we make when we create sound, is long-proven to increase your health, wellbeing, and happiness. In fact, we suggest five minutes a day, the way you’d incorporate meditation into your routine. You’ll be amazed at how powerful you feel when you really use your voice. 

Whether you are a vocalist, teacher, or just someone who (like all of us) talks through meetings and zoom calls all day, Carol-Lynne has the science, the sass and the seriously easy steps to walk you into a more grounded, resonating self.  

About CQ Voice: 

CQ Voice is a voice company founded by Carol-Lynne Quinn, an athletic science-based voice coach.  She has worked with award-winning vocalists, coaching JUNO Master Classes and Canada’s Music Incubator.

In 2021, CQ Voice launches ROAR, an online community with vocal training programs, live challenges, articles, podcasts, live group classes and a plethora of resources for all voice users.

The goal for ROAR is to create a vocal health and athletic voice science resource that is accessible to artists (private one on one sessions are very expensive) as well as make it a community experience that brings vocalists and voice users together.

REFERENCES:
To Join the Roar Community, visit https://www.cqvoice.com/ 

To connect with CQ Voice, click HERE
To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE
To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE
To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode Fourteen: Butter Up, BBs! 

Happy New Year, BBs! We’re kicking off 2021 with one of the most wholesome, delicious friendship stories we’ve had to date. We dive into delectable discourse with our two favourite body-loving goddesses, leaving you feeling like anything is possible when you have good friends around you. 

Bean and Body Butter started in Summer 2020, a direct result of the job losses incurred by COVID-19. These two created a product that is good for your skin, and a brand that is great for your heart and mind. Aly and Betty show you what to look for in good skincare, how to create an authentic value-based brand, and demonstrate how to make a friendship into a successful business partnership. 

Many of you in our audience are self-starters, entrepreneurs and innovation-seekers. This episode is a true inspiration for those of us who are hustling, pivoting, responding to adversity, and rising through whatever the world throws at us. 

If you love these guests, buy their body products - you’ll LOVE THEM. 

About Bean and Body Butter:  

We are Aly Gaudet and Betty Luong, two best friends and the owners of bean + butter body snacks. Aly officially founded bean + butter in August 2020 and not long after the launch, teamed up with Betty to develop and expand the business further, creating a brand and product we are both incredibly proud of. Together we have built this brand based on a mutual love for natural skincare, body positivity and all things food! Each of our products contains skin loving, natural, plant based ingredients, a lot of love and delicious scents you’ll be tempted to taste! We advocate for all forms of self love when it comes to feeling good about the skin you are in and we encourage everyone to embrace the beauty in their features rather than change them. We strive to bring you transparency, nourishment and to leave you feelin’ like the snack you are!

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Bean and Butter Body: click HERE

Episode Fourteen: CONFIDENCE

WOW. We sat down with Beatrice King and emerged a thousand times brighter. This absolute bombshell exudes a natural confidence that, you guessed it - has been earned through years of learning, coaching, acting, and creating. This is a career marathon, and Beatrice is our glorious inner confidence coach. She reminds us of what we could all use going into the year: PRESENCE. We talk to Beatrice about how the work you do beforehand is what really matters, and found Beatrice’s talk to be one of demonstration - you can hear it in her own voice and demeanour that she practices what she’s preaching! If you want to feel amazing during that interview, that project pitch, that event, or for no reason in particular, Beatrice has some very manageable processes and insights for you to take away and put to use today! 

REFERENCES: 

Photo Credits of Beatrice: 

Jenna Berman Photography
Aiota Photography

RESOURCES

• In The Realm of The Hungry Ghosts (book)
• The Power of Now (book)
• McIlroy & Associates

About Beatrice King: 

Beatrice King is a highly sought after Actor, amassing over 40 credits in Film, Television and Theatre. She can be seen in CW's 'The 100', 'Supernatural', Warner Brother's 'Mortal Kombat' as Queen Sindel, Giancarlo Esposito's 'The Show', and Peter Farrelly's 'Loudermilk'. 

She started Writing and Producing in 2014, and has since been the Casting Director and a Producer on the Award Winning Telus Original Series, 'Android Employed'. Beatrice coaches performers throughout North America, including Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Toronto, and Vancouver. Along with coaching young actors at Mcilroy and Associates, she was the on set Acting Coach for the young leads on Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's film, 'Skyscraper', as well as two of DISNEY's new Television series, and a series for NETFLIX. Her award winning students can be seen on such shows as 'Hardy Boys', 'Supergirl', 'Riverdale', 'The Flash', 'Nancy Drew', ' The Twilight Zone', etc, and countless commercials. Recently, Beatrice can be seen playing the role of 'Darna' opposite Lacey Chabert ('Mean Girls', 'Party of Five') in the #1 rated and viewed movie of the year on the Hallmark Channel, 'The Christmas Waltz'. 

To connect with Beatrice King: click HERE
To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE
To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE
To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode Sixteen - Third Cultures, Spaces, Owning Your Space 

Harpo speaks with a sense of authenticity, outlining her progression through a scarcity mindset, through academia, cultural differences, and extensive self-awareness building, this badass has created her own home within herself, and is sharing that space with you. We talk about leaning into the universe, equipping herself with the framework to succeed, and then letting the wave of serendipity take you on a journey towards self-fulfilment. Harpo talks about her decision-making process, from embracing the ‘third space’, educating and allowing, the clash of collectivist vs individualist cultures, and so much more. Harpo is a self-effacing, ambitious, calm and collected human. Our chat with this fellow lifelong learner will leave you feeling inspired, curious, explorative and informed. Don’t forget to subscribe to Harpo’s podcast, Brown Girl Guilt, which launched in January 2021! 

About Harpo: 

Harpo is a passionate homegirl. She is a brown girl who adores being a brown girl. She’s navigating and unpacking her own brown girl guilt, while continuously exploring what a world without that guilt looks like for herself and her didis. She loves conversations, creating space, taking space, and cultivating space. A space she really loves exploring is the third space in which hybrid, bicultural identities thrive & survive.
You’d probably catch her at any moment nose deep in a book, curating the perfect playlist, or drinking red wine.
Harpo is also quite the smartie pants, with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Arts in Education & Society: Gender and Women Studies from McGill University. Brown Girl Guilt, the podcast, launched in January 2021

REFERENCES:

Brown Girl Guilt Podcast: click HERE (Spotify)

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE
To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE
To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE
To connect with Harpo, click HERE (and HERE for her Podcast)

Sarah Smit is more than a survivor: she’s a thriver. Diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, Sarah’s laughter is easy and resounding, her resilience is palpable, and her can-do attitude towards embracing adventure is incredible. A past Playmate and international model, Sarah joins us for a candid, critical conversation about choosing to thrive, and living with everything you have. We talk about her incredible partnership, letting go of our perceived ‘control’ over life, learning to love your journey, and living for YOU first. 

Sarah’s double lung transplant was one year ago, and we’re so incredibly inspired by just how much she’s thrived through. No matter what your journey is, there are parallels to draw from almost everything she says. As Sarah says, “there’s always so much that you can’t do, but there’s always something you can”. 

Here’s to incredible humans who inspire us to be our own best selves. 

A special note from Raquelle: I am SO SO excited to introduce you all to my cousin Sarah because not only is she the most resilient person I know but  she radiates an energy that would be a shame not to share with you all.

About Sarah: 

Sarah has a gypsy heart and has lived,  modelled and worked all over the world including  in Europe, Africa and Australia, including working on a super yacht. She has been a playmate, gracing the pages of Playboy in both 2008 and 2013. Her health massively deteriorated in the last number of years due to Cystic fibrosis (CF), a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time.

Although this was a life-changing illness, Sarah still found the time and energy to work on initiatives such as being part of the team to launch an online CF community, doing interviews and documentaries to raise awareness of the disease and has been working on a book which has been chronicling the good the bad and the ugly for the last 10 years of her life. She is now one year post-op from a double lung surgery. 

Sarah lives in the Netherlands with her fiancé Shane and their fur baby, Boomer.  

REFERENCES:

“Out of Breath” Trailer: https://vimeo.com/213976426  

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: https://www.cff.org/ 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE
To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE
To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE
To connect with Sarah Smith: click HERE

Episode Eighteen - Hindsight is 2020

We’re celebrating surviving, and then thriving, through 2020. When we started this podcast, we agreed that we’d take it easy on ourselves, and enjoy the ride. This was the crux of why we started the Bombshell Brunches in physical form: we wanted to relax, unwind, and reflect on life with a group of like-minded people. Both of us agree that we are better together, and better when we elevate our friends. So, with this in mind, we reflect. 

We talk about some of our first year’s guests, and the lessons we’ve learned. We speak through a lens of our own learning, with the intention that it helps YOU get one step closer to your own personal goals. At the end of the day, babes, we NEVER had the answers. What we’re valuing more and more is that we have the foundation, the platform, and the will to ask questions, and recognise that we are all stepping into the new world. What we make of it, is up to us. 

So, may this episode bring you your own sense of wonder, questioning, reflecting, and intention setting. 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode  19: CHINESE NEW YEAR! 

Happy New Year!! We’re celebrating abundance, wealth, good fortune and getting superstitious with you for Chinese New Year. Judy Lam Maxwell is a historian, a connoisseur of dumplings, Chinese history and traditions. For this episode, we dive into the history and lore surrounding the Lunar New Year, celebratory rituals, meanings and honouring our past as we walk into our future. 

Join us for a special celebration of Kristina’s childhood, one of Raquelle’s favourite holidays, and our joint love of food. And money. 

Enjoy! 

**EDIT: Kristina's apologies: in the episode, she says the word for gold is 'BAAT', but it's NOT!! BAAT (the number eight) sounds like the word for prosperity in Cantonese. OOPS! 

About Judy Lam Maxwell

Judy Lam Maxwell specializes in Chinatowns around the world, the history of the Chinese in Canada, and the Chinese Diaspora. Judy is third-generation European Canadian on her dad’s side and first-generation Chinese Canadian on her mother’s side. She has deep roots in the foundation of the city of Vancouver.

She completed an M.A. in History from the University of British Columbia, and a Certificate through the Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness at UBC’s Faculty of Education. She is currently a board member of numerous organizations in Vancouver’s Chinatown: the Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee, the Chinatown Society Heritage Buildings Association, and the Vancouver Chinatown Heritage Committee. She is a past board member of the Organization of Chinese Americans and the BC Historical Federation. Judy enjoys teaching, research and writing, cooking, and people.

In addition to giving tours in Chinatown, Gastown, Granville Island, the University of British Columbia, and Judy also teaches people how to make dumplings and Hakka cooking lessons. Her businesses are Historical Chinatown Tours and Masterclass Dumplings.

RESOURCES

Judy’s Chinatown History and Dumpling Tours: click HERE

CONNECT

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Judy Lam Maxwell: click HERE 

Episode  20 - Body Talk!

Today we dig deep into how the body holds trauma. We sit with Ocean Bloom, a one-of-a-kind conscious movement therapist who has managed to intersect a combination of mental, physical and emotional therapies, creating a transformative experience for her clients. From pro-athlete to film star to personal fitness coach, Ocean has studied alternative and traditional healing therapies around the world, uncovering the most effective treatments for clients with extreme PTSD, unaddressed and unknown trauma, and physical and emotional ailments of all kinds. For people who are looking to perform, process and exist at their best level, this is a must-listen episode. 

About Ocean Bloom:

A World Fitness Champion, originally from Vancouver, BC. Ocean travels throughout Canada, Europe and Asia where she offers Conscious Movement Therapy sessions, leads wellness retreats, and teaches fitness and yoga classes. Ocean’s desire to find the balance between physical fitness and nurturing the spirit inspired her to travel to Asia to study Yoga, Ayurveda, Martial Arts, Meditation and Thai Yoga Massage. Her interest in transformational healing through ancient forms of therapeutic yoga massage and meditation brought her to Chiang Mai, Thailand for ongoing studies at the Sunshine Thai Massage School as well as training in the South of Thailand with the Mudita Thai Massage School. 

Ocean’s passion, devotion and inspiration come from 25 years of experience in theatre, film, dance, yoga, gymnastics, martial arts, and over 14 years as a fitness competitor, fitness model, actress, life coach, teacher, international author and speaker.

REFERENCES:

Ocean's Website: Click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Ocean Bloom: click HERE

Laurinda embodies tomorrow’s best leaders. A female entrepreneur who dropped out of college, suffered extensive mental health issues, Laurinda gives us the inspiration and information to turn your hardships into heartwarming victories. After facing rejection from traditional roles, she created a life of sustainable, empowered social justice business exceptional products that you’re all going to want to wear.

We talk to Laurinda about struggling to find your ‘fit’ in your career, creating a powerful ‘why’, beginning small and investing in your vision, and continuously making sure that your values ARE your company.  If you’re starting a business, going freelance, or even working for a big company, this is a must-listen for how to create a nurturing culture, wherever you are.  

About Laurinda: 

Art has always had a significant impact in Laurinda Lee-Retter’s life and crafting jewellery was a hobby she adopted as a therapeutic pastime when she herself was a youth. Not thinking it was a viable career option, Laurinda attended university as a music major but ended up as an Executive Assistant somewhere down the road where crafting PowerPoint presentations were her main avenue for creativity. Surrounded by entrepreneurs, starting a business had always been a lifelong goal but for her, giving back and ensuring positive community impact were ultimate motivating factors so she adopted the social enterprise model to craft her own form of change. By combining her inherent love for art with the therapeutic elements she experienced personally in the creative process and a structured work environment, she founded Kind Karma to give vulnerable youth an innovative employment opportunity. Today. Kind Karma Company continues to employ at-risk and homeless youth to handcraft fine jewelry with proceeds from sales returned to employees to support their individual goals and aspirations. We hope that as these youth transform into successful adults, they too, will have the ability and motivation to continue to pay kindness forward. 

To connect with Kind Karma Co: click HERE
To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE
To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE
To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

#022 - FULL, UNCUT EPISODE

Episode Twenty Two: The Worst Jobs and Best Lessons

A big part of our OG brunches was about sharing hilarious mishaps and embarrassing moments that we’d never want our future bosses/friends/family to know. 

So naturally, Raquelle and Kristina decide to go down this road for you all, BBs. 

From a conversation that couldn’t be more brunch-esque, we outline our worst jobs. We’ll chat you through the awkward, impressively ignorant, and downright painful career fails that left us flat on our face, and, as a result, more fierce and fabulous than before. Join us for a mimosa-worthy history of how to f**ck up brilliantly, and the true benefit that bad bosses can give you, no matter where you’re at in your career. 

Settle in, take a sip, and enjoy our brunch break!

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Stay Together by Staying Apart! In the midst of a global pandemic, we’re diving in and out of connections, communications, and intentions in the realm of intimate relationships. Tamara Adilman, relationship therapist, joins our brunch for the second time, talking us through some of the biggest challenges in relationships today. The need for space (and connection), setting boundaries, and screen sex (at least it’s safe), Tam spills the tea with the very best resources and insights for you to glow up, whether you’re single or partnered. 

 About Tamara: 

Tamara Adilman has been a therapist in private practice in Vancouver BC for over 25 years. She specializes in relationship and individual therapy .

She has dedicated her working life to help people discover who they are and how to reach their potential . She works with clients who are facing grief, loss anxiety and depression as well as with couples and/or family members who seek to heal their relationships.

She believes deeply that people can and do change and her life's work is to help clients find their path towards personal transformation.

REFERENCES:

Getting the Love You Want, Harville Hendricks, Ph.D, and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D: click HERE

Keeping The Love You Find,  Harville Hendricks, Ph.D, and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D, click HERE 

Mating In Captivity, Esther Perel, click HERE

Attached, Amir Levine, M.D. and Rachel S. F. Heller, M.A., click HERE

Esther Perell TED Talk (The Secret to Desire in a Long Term Relationship), click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Tamara Adilman: click HERE

**TRIGGER WARNING** - This episode talks about death and trauma, and may be jarring in some moments.

The adventure begins… IN YOUR MIND. We sat down with E. Larry Butler, Kristina’s hypnotist and career coach. Hop on board as we make like Dora the Explorer and learn about the inner workings of the unconscious mind; from smoking cessation (Kristina stopped smoking after 18 years with one session) to addressing core belief systems, past life regression to releasing your fears. Sit back and relax as we get deep into identity shifting and setting up for success, with a multitude of energy-centric techniques that will leave you feeling limitless. 

About Larry Butler:

E. Larry Butler founded Trance-formation Centres Inc.  in December of 2006

with one goal in mind: to provide the most powerful and effective solution we

could to allow individuals, who wanted a new life, to become non-smokers for

the rest of their lives.

People wanted more and we realised that the past does not have to define the

future. With this in mind we expanded our services, using hypnosis and other

modalities to enable our clients create new possibilities they had previously

thought impossible.

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Larry: clickHERE

Episode Twenty Five: Productivity Hacks! 
Not enough hours in the day? WE GOT YOU, BABES! We jump straight into a long list of productivity tips, tricks and tools that we use to ramp up our efficiency. We talk about digital and analogue timers, diaries, scheduling tools. We share personalised rituals to set up our mind, body and souls, being conscious of your own journey, and developing lasting habits that shape beautiful, productive long-term behaviours.

References

Deep Work (Cal Newport)
Bullet Journal 
Notion 

 
To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode 26: Holistic Health! 

From a picture perfect partying life, Gillian Bertram looked like she had it all. One of the directors of a modelling agency in Paris, with all the glamour that goes with the Sex & The City Life, Gilly’s “It Girl” lifestyle started crumbling, and she started paying attention. After a huge family loss, Gilly was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2015. Five years later, Gilly is a Nutritional Therapist, Functional Medicine practitioner and Integrative Cancer Coach, helping others thrive through adversity, providing support to cancer patients as well as those looking to incorporate preventative practices and healthy processes. Gilly’s story is inspiring, informative, and reminds us to listen better to our beautiful bodies. So, get ready to switch your fears into curiosities, as we take on the big C word and crush it. 

About Gillian:

Gillian is a registered Nutritional Therapist, Functional Medicine practitioner and Integrative Cancer Coach, and is passionate about supporting people with cancer integrate nutrition and lifestyle medicine alongside standard cancer care. Gillian was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2015 and integrated radical diet and lifestyle change alongside surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Gillian’s personal experience overcoming cancer gives her a unique perspective rooted in experience and practical understanding of life as a long term patient. Her clinical practise recognises the body as an interconnected system and focuses on finding the root cause of illness and disease whilst optimising a person’s health and well-being. The core of Gillian’s approach uses nutrition and lifestyle medicine to identify and remove risk factors for cancer, while creating an inhospitable environment for cancer to grow and ultimately to restore the body’s innate ability to heal.

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Gillian Bertram: click HERE

Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Ashley Margeson kicked it with us in true corky bombshell fashion. We talk naughty drinking, periods, and how hormones are instrumental in helping you maximise your efficiency, productivity and creativity. This episode is jam-packed with the scientifically-backed insights, tips and burnout recovery tools that every badass goal-digger NEEDS TO KNOW. 

Enter Bombshell20 as a promo code to get 40% off Ashley’s incredible scientifically-backed course, the Burnout Blueprint to start rolling with your best life.

http://www.burnoutblueprint.com/ 

About Dr. Ashley Margeson, ND

Dr. Ashley Margeson is an Impact Entrepreneur, Naturopathic Doctor, and questioner with an unshakeable thirst for diving deep in helping you become the person you were always meant to be. She is obsessed with periods and the role they play in our lives. 

She successfully built a million-dollar business before the age of 30 and is the Founder and Host of the Superwoman Code Podcast - a place for women who want to thrive and live their lives on their terms.

Clinically, she helps women bounce back from burnout, balance their hormones and design a life where their health works for them, not against them. 

She's been named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 under 40-year-olds and is one of the youngest members of the Women’s Presidents’ Organization. 

REFERENCES:

Burnout Blueprint (use promo code Bombshell20 for 40% OFF!!): click HERE

The Superwoman code podcast: click HERE

***

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Dr. Margeson: click HERE

This week, we celebrate the incredible power of community, through superwoman, Lise Berube. Lise is running her second marathon for Callenish House in May 2021, having raised over $65,000 in last year, while in treatment for stage four cancer. This episode is for all of us, through the eyes of one of the most inspiring women we’ve ever met. We talk candidly about detection, diagnosis, trusting the process. Lise moves through defiance, to resilience, into cool, calm confidence. Lise explains how Callanish helped her find the grace in balancing hope and acceptance while choosing to live her life. Lise exudes kindness, and community spirit that will get you fired up to take each day with a can-do attitude, and make the most of your beautiful life!

About Lise Berube: 

Lise was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2016 while caring for two kids at home on maternity leave from her job, when her son was 2 and her daughter was just shy of 6 months old. Lise found Callanish in the summer of 2018, after finishing chemo, radiation and most of her cancer-related surgeries, and has been a big supporter ever since. It wasn’t until she was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in early 2019 that she really came to appreciate how much she relied on Callanish to hold her up and carry her through. 

Since then, Lise has helped to raise over $65,000 for Callanish through a 100-km bike ride, 240-km bike relay and a marathon with her friend Grace Lore. 

Last year, shortly after the pandemic hit, and in the midst of dealing with brain radiation and ongoing chemotherapy and progression of her cancer, Lise and her friend Grace decided to run a marathon and raise funds once again for Callanish. 

See links below to support Lise and Callanish in their efforts to support this incredible community.

 REFERENCES:

Fundraiser Website (Move Because You Can) HERE

Donate to the fundraiser HERE 

Facebook Team Page HERE

Callanish Society: click HERE

Janie Brown "Radical Acts of Love": click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Episode Twenty Nine 

THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. Fertility is something that we don’t talk about enough, or nearly soon enough. Whether you are in your teens, twenties, thirties or ANY decade, this is for YOU, for your loved ones, for your and their future. We’re joined today by two incredible individuals, Dr. Marjorie Dixon from Anova Fertility, and Carolynn Dube from Fertility Matters Canada. We talk about our physiology being at odds to the systems we live in, cultural, unconscious and society biases, and best ways to empower yourself through education. As Carolynn says, nobody is going to advocate for your health more than YOU. We are so grateful to have had the chance to speak to leading experts about uncomfortable topics that are IMPERATIVE to our sustained success. In true Bombshell style, we dish it out frankly, laugh loudly, and leave this episode with practical, actionable steps to take greater care of our families; past, present and future!

About Dr. Dixon and Anova Fertility & Reproductive Health 

Dr. Dixon is the Founder, CEO and Medical Director of Anova Fertility & Reproductive Health which opened in 2016 as Canada's newest full-service fertility and IVF centre. It is home to the first next-generation embryology laboratory in Canada and is a leader in innovation, education, and communication for high quality humanized fertility and reproductive care. Additionally, Dr. Dixon is a member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center and is also Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She is often asked to comment on newsworthy topics related to women’s health and reproductive well-being. 

About Carolynn Dube and Fertility Matters Canada

Fertility Matters Canada (FMC) is the national organization that empowers Canadians to help reach their reproductive health goals by providing support, awareness, information and education; and promoting equal access to fertility treatments. We are Canada’s fertility resource.

Carolynn joined Fertility Matters Canada as the Executive Director in February 2015. A vocal advocate for funding of publicly funded fertility treatments, she now has three children conceived through ART. Carolynn believes in equal access and support for all those who need to build their families using alternative methods. Carolynn is a founding leader of East Coast Miracles. She holds a BSc in Human Kinetics from St. Francis Xavier University and MSc in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of New Brunswick.

Carolynn is a true believer in the in the importance of education, support and continued advocacy for the highly effective medical treatment of assisted reproductive technology (ART). She looks forward to continuing to support the 1 in 6 Canadians who are struggling to build their families.

RESOURCES
Fertility Benefits Matter: https://www.fertilitybenefits.ca/

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Fertility Matters Canada: click HERE

To connect with Anova Fertility: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer 

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer 

=“Wow, you look so good for your age!” 🤮. We bust that tired myth that after 25, you’re an old dustbag that needs to quietly disintegrate in a dark corner of an old creaky cabin. Raquelle and Kristina sip on their respective tea and wine for a hilarious account of ageist moments that shaped them. We’re sure you can relate to some, whether you’re 20, 50 or 120 (if you’re 120 please contact us so we can revel in your dustless glory). 

These episodes are our chance to share the behind-the-scenes convos of two fierce friends, so put on your seatbelt and get set to challenge your own dusty (or shiny) bones in new adventurous ways.

REFERENCES:
Forbes Article on Ageism: click HERE 

World Health Organisation article on Ageism: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Today we sat down with Lauren, a social justice warrior and passionate activist who founded Give a Beat. A jaw-dropping 45% percent of Americans have had an immediate family member who has been in the correction system (sagepub). That’s almost HALF the population. The stigma surrounding people who have been through the system not only impacts those who have been incarcerated but their friends and family members. The system is broken, with high numbers of juveniles being sentenced to life in prison at ages as young as 15. Through this inspiring talk we learn how art can rehabilitate and heal even in the darkest hours. Lauren is a perfect example that we can all be the change that we want to see. It starts with us, babeses! 

About Lauren Segal: 

Lauren is the co-founder of Give a Beat. A passionate activist, Lauren spent 10 years addressing the AIDS orphan epidemic in Africa with her first nonprofit, before switching her focus to the enormous domestic injustice of incarceration. A longtime member of the dance music community, Lauren launched Give a Beat in 2014 and has since engaged DJs, music technology companies, festivals, and event promoters in the fight against mass incarceration. In addition to Give a Beat, (can leave this in our take out: Lauren also owns and operates a souvenir shop and custom printing business in Laguna Beach, which her family established 40 years ago. The store is tagged "the t-shirt shop with a conscience” through it’s social good initiatives and the supporting non-profits as well as local artists and craftspeople.

About Give A Beat

Give a Beat’s mission is to reduce the harmful effects of incarceration through music production, DJing and other education programs that transform individuals and inspire communities to take action. Through music education and mentoring programs in juvenile halls, schools, our Prison Electronic Music Program, and in our new reentry program, we engage the music industry to help widen the pathways for people to thrive, tackle systemic racism, and contribute to the transformation of the US criminal justice system. To learn more, please visit https://www.giveabeat.org.

REFERENCES

• Give A Beat
• Prose of a Con: Laws of Correspondence, by Russell Wardlow (poem read at the end of the podcast)
• 45% of Americans statistic
• The Justice Arts Coalition
• Trench Art 
• Equal Justice Initiative

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with GiveABeat: click HERE

Want to know how to be a (take) action hero? WE GOT YOU BABES.
This episode was SUCH a blast. Join us as we talk to Kate Green, Producer, Director and  fierce champion of female storytelling. Kate is the change that we want to see, with a grace and passion that is second to none. We talk Zombie Westerns, full circle friendships and collaborations, and how running for your dreams can lead you to even bigger ones.

Kate is an unapologetic leader of a ride or die crew. She embodies how to harness and use her unique feminine power to create a squad of epic proportions.

P.S. Key to winning life: don’t be a dick.

About Kate Green: 

Kate Green is an award-winning director and producer whose rare storytelling ability captures audiences with its honesty. As a female leader in entertainment, Kate works tirelessly to carve a path for other women within the industry. Kate is the creator, director and producer of the Canadian Screen Award nominated “NarcoLeap” a sci-fi web series that first aired on TELUS OptikTV, CBC GEM, and Air Canada and has sold internationally as well. "NarcoLeap” season two was one of the first female lead, indie, BC-based projects to go back to production after COVID and recently released on Highball TV to enthusiastic audiences. It is currently being developed as a television series.

Kate has also worked on numerous programs in lifestyle and factual television as a producer or director. Her work has aired on various networks such as HGTV, W Network, CBC, History, Fuel TV, and Slice. Kate’s is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker, having produced and directed two documentary shorts; Not A Stranger and Melting Stars. Kate’s latest short film, a zombie western titled Murphy’s Law, recently aired on CBC and CBC GEM.

Kate is a proud Alumna of Women in the Director’s Chair Story & Leadership Program, the National Screen Institute of Canada, Reykjavík International Film Festival Talent Lab, Vancouver Island University, and the University of British Columbia.

Bombshell Brunches would like to extend special thanks to Morgan at MPR for the introduction, and to Olivia Cheng for the referral! 

REFERENCES:

About Kate
Watch Narcoleap

To connect with Kate: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Do you run towards your goals, or away from your fears? We all want the freedom to choose our best selves on the daily, and Grace Lindsey has found the perfect intersection of life coaching and personal training to help with that. 

From her own personal journey of dis-ease with her body, Grace candidly shares her journey through discovering her passions, navigating setbacks, and developing a thriving mindset through mood-based movement. If you’re a high-performing, ambitious and, let’s face it, burnout-prone babe, this one is for YOU.  

About Grace:

Grace is a Wellness Coach committed to helping women find their version of happy. From a cripplingly anxious self-deprecator to a passionate self-love enthusiast (and everything in between), it is her personal mission and duty to help heal, guide and empower in any way she can. Grace combines life coaching with fitness, harnessing the power of physical movement to better our mental health. She strongly believes that it is within our relationships with exercise, food and our bodies that our true freedom lies. Grace started out as a Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor before founding her first brand Diva Train - an exercise class she brought to universities, gyms and schools across London, England. She is now based out of Toronto, Canada where she is currently building her new business Mood Workouts.

REFERENCES:

Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Mood Workouts: click HERE

To connect with Grace: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada (and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the USA). In the wake of the countless hate crimes against the Asian community, it has been difficult to find the words to underline the need for us to be kind, to be human first, and to always, always learn. Here, we decided to share with you the inimitable story of one immigrant’s journey to Canada. 

Welcome to a fantastic tale of warriors, war-torn countries, revolutions, and evolutions. Of love, and family, bribes and bravery, across generations and seas. This is a one-off, one-on-one special with one of the most special people to me in the world. 

REFERENCES:

About Asian-Canadian Heritage Month: Click HERE
About Chinese Canadians: Click HERE
A Year of Racist Attacks (Study): Click HERE
Vancouver: Anti-Asian Hate Crime Capital of North America: Click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE
To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE
To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team:
Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)
Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)
Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

 Additional Dates & Info: 

• 1931 – 1937 Japan in China
• 1937 Nanjing Massacre
• Sept 1 1939 – sept 2 1945. WORLD WAR II
• Dec 7, 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbour
• 1947 Independence of the Republic of INDIA
• 1949 Founding of the People’s Republic of China
• 1957 Construction of Akasai Chin Highwar India China dispute
• 1959 Tibetian uprising against Chinese Rule failed
• 1962 – 10 Oct – 20 Nov Sino Indian War 
• 1962 Dec India passed the Defence of India Act 

THE LEGEND OF FAT MAMA: About Chinese in Calcutta and Deoli camp: click HERE 

• 1922 Ah Yeh YUK QUAN (Ah Kung’s father, )went to India to work
• 1929  Ah Yeh cohabited and had 2 sons - Gowrie and Roger
• 1891 – 1954 Yuk Quan Ah Yeh HoiChu Lao’s father – my grandpa  birth and death
• 1894 – 1981 Lao Chun HoiChu Lao’s mother – my granny birth and death
• 1924  AH KUNG (Nana Nina’s father) went to India? Don’t have birth dates
• 1939 aged 18  Hoi Chu LAO (Venietia’s father) went to Assam  India Via HongKong building aerodrome for the British for 5 years during the war.
• 1928 Jan 16 HUANG YEN CHUN (nana Nina) born in Kurseong
• 1944  March 17 – declared Married LAO hoi chu to IN KWAN and moved to Calcutta. Declaration made as there was no marriage registry records.  The married in the Chinese tradition I think.
• 1974 Jan 14 Loo family Sook Kung and Sook Pho and cousins to Toronto

We are telling you, you’re going to want your notepad ready for this one, babes. Jen Murtagh is an award-winning C-suite executive with 20 years experience leading organizations in both corporate and not-for-profit. If you have that unshakeable gut feeling that you were meant for something bigger, this episode is for you. Here’s the secret, though: you can’t become yourself by yourself. 

Old top-down leadership is out. Jen drops all the gems on how to become the leader you were meant to be, from a curious, compassionate and confident center. Whether you feel like you are at the peak of your career or are just starting out - this episode has the insights you need to know.

About Jen Murtagh: 

As someone who believes deeply in my clients’ limitless potential, I help to nurture that potential from them with compassion and accountability. Ultimately, I support women in shattering their inner glass ceiling to transform the way they live and lead.

As an award-winning C-Suite executive with 20 years of experience leading organizations in both corporate and nonprofit, I pride myself on being a connector and vibrant community champion. I have been  recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 and am a recipient of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Women of Promise award.

I thrive most when collaborating, co-creating a Bigger Picture with high performing women, consulting leaders and speaking on stage. When I’m not working, you can likely find me saying hello to every person I meet on my daily runs and accidentally coaching my children with endless questions — much to their chagrin.

REFERENCES:

Jen’s Website: click HERE

Claire Zammet: click HERE

Ocean Bloom’s Podcast: click HERE

Elizabeth Gilbert: click HERE

The Second Mountain by David Brooks: click HERE

The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks: click HERE

Playing Big by Tara Mohr: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Jen Murtagh: click HERE

The language we use is intrinsically linked to our identities; our culture, our thought processes, our history, and our futures. We talk to actor and creator Carmela about her own journey from the Philippines, through a successful acting career, and into artist residency to translate and adapt a new play into her mother language. We dive in and around the evolution of language, the impact of cultural movements on identity, and the need for connection amidst communities that are experiencing marginalisation. Sit back, bring your best bubble tea, and enjoy this heartfelt episode!

About Carmela:

Carmela is a Filipina-Canadian artist privileged to live and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She graduated from the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting program in 2010 and has since been fortunate enough to work in theatre, film & television in many capacities. She is currently working on Lasa ng (nung) Imperyo, a Tagalog adaptation of A Taste of Empire by Jovanni Sy. Her comfort food is her mom’s lugaw, which is Filipino congee, and prefers bubble tea over cocktails. Siren, Riverdale, Altered Carbon.

REFERENCES:

3.7% Initiative: click HERE

Playwright’s Workshop Montréal: click HERE

A Taste of Empire by Jiovanni Sy: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

To connect with Carmela: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Get ready for waves of laughter as we sit down with the queen of the sea, Crystal Richards. We go ALL over the place with this one - from leaving University to live a “Life in the Hills”-esque summer to moving on from the “dream” corporate job in order to design her perfect life. Crystal has DONE. IT. ALL.

But between the laughter and ocean puns we talk about the importance of making space for your creativity, how you don’t need to be a massive company in order to gain coverage and how to start living a life where your passions take the front seat in your life. Learn how to get your business into leading online publications such as, Forbes, Cosmo, GQ, Business Insider and more through her Digital PR School and see what can happen when you dive in and fully champion your dreams. 

About Crystal Richard:

Crystal Richard is the award-winning entrepreneur and publicist behind Crystal Richard & Co., a global digital PR company helping entrepreneurs get the dreamy media coverage they deserve. She’s also the creator of Digital PR School and coaches business owners on how to rock their own media outreach. Crystal has secured media placements for her clients in leading online publications such as Forbes, Cosmo, the Globe and Mail, GQ, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, Inc., Chatelaine Magazine, and more. She is also the Founder of travel and lifestyle brand East Coast Mermaid. Crystal donates a portion of her profits to various ocean conservation organizations annually, including the Campobello Whale Rescue Team

References: 

Crystal’s PR Business: click HERE

Crystal’s Lifestyle Brand: click HERE

To connect with Crystal: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

How many times have you heard the ‘you can’t have it all’ phrase? Well, we’re here to bust that myth right here and now, with the help of our friends - our previous guests, our own coaches, our books and poetry, and YOU. 

This brunch break is all about how to reframe, retrain, and regain your sparkly, sustainable self. We talk about the language we use when there’s ‘too much on our plates’. We dig into the biohacks that have helped us to ramp into high performance mode. We drop past guests’ and audience wisdom into the fold. We hosted this episode as a reminder to our community that it is great to want it all, and we’re here to help you achieve your version of that sparkle. That’s what friends are for.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or are questioning if you should be letting go of something(s) - this one’s for you. 

BOOKS REFERENCED: 

Boundless: click HERE

Deep Work: click HERE

Fast This Way: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

About to start a new venture? Want to explore the world of entrepreneurship? Got a burning passion for candle making/sock puppet designing/creative world domination and don’t know how to monetise it? Or, is bookkeeping ruining your life? We got you, babes! Willow Oak is a personalised consultancy, committed to helping you do what only you can do - and that, is the product/service that you uniquely offer! We talk to Megan, founder of Willow Oak, about developing a healthy money mindset, robust bookkeeping and systems, and learning how to understand your numbers, so that you can set up for sustainable success from day one. Megan offers a wide variety of insights from HR, to incorporating your business, to virtual assistants (something we can’t wait to get in our lives). This episode will help you dissolve that startup stress, and demystify some of (what we consider to be) those intimidating barriers to a bountiful business! 

About Willow Oak Business Consulting

Megan Hughes is a CPA, currently living just outside of Vancouver, BC with her husband, Evan and children, William and Kennedy. I love all things business related, and enjoy working to make processes more efficient. I believe that by alleviating some of the tasks by wearing one (or a few) of the many hats for you, you can focus your attention, time and energy on other matters.

To connect with Willow Oak Business Consulting: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Freezing your eggs? Thinking about trying for children? Need IVF? Experiencing fertility issues? Just DON’T KNOW?! Welcome to the club, BBs. In this episode, Kristina gets up close and personal with us all, sharing her own experience with egg freezing. It is still an under-discussed, behind-closed-doors subject, and frankly, we don’t like that. We want you to know the facts at all ages, so you can pass it forward, back and sideways. We chat with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Doctor Ryan Funk, who was Kristina’s supporting TCM Doctor throughout her process, and talk through how to prep for your best eggs and best health, before, during and after your procedure. If you’re like Kristina and want to give yourself the best holistic shot at fertility, this is the episode for you! 

Special thanks to Acubalance, the clinic that Kristina attended (and where Dr. Ryan Funk currently practices from).

About Dr. Ryan Funk 

Dr. Ryan Funk graduated as a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine from the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Vancouver, BC. He then pursued postgraduate studies, completing 500 hours in Gynecology and Internal Medicine at the Anhui Hospital of TCM, Hefei City, China. 

To connect with Dr. Funk: click HERE 

To connect with Acubalance: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Do you think of boundaries as how to ‘say no’? SNAP! Well, this episode is for US! We gained so much from Justine’s holistic approach to stress management coaching - this goes beyond wellness and into proactively communicating with our peers, loved ones and others as confident, caring and connected humans. Justine highlights the shift from seeking constant external validation to practically training in daily self-awareness, so that we can share from our scars, not from our wounds. This episode helps us make space for that self-care, so that we can create brave spaces, deal with boundary violations, and improve the quality of connection and relationships.

About Justine:

Justine Sones is a stress management and self-care coach who specializes in boundary setting. Justine’s coaching career began in massage therapy where her practice was dedicated to exploring how stress, pain, and relaxation affect the physical body. She realized that the support her clients needed was holistic and required more than a massage. She now works with business owners, burnt-out parents, high performers and over-functioners to develop awareness around the impact boundaries and self-care has on their businesses, relationships, productivity and happiness.

To connect with Justine: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Special thanks to Jenn Wint Communications for the awesome hook up - to connect with Jenn, click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Not unlike every other human in this (almost) post-pandemic world, Kristina and Raquelle have dedicated themselves to finding JOY this summer. But what is joy? What does it look like and how on green earth do you find it? 

Join Kristina and Raquelle as they boozy brunch chat their way through hunting for joy, releasing schedules (ahem - Kristina), expecting and learning to love imperfection (Raquelle) and all the other things that come with that elusive feeling. We talk about epic joy-hunting fails, tips and tricks learned along the way and get real about how it’s STILL hard. Listen along and let us know what your Joy hunting tips are. Happy UNscheduling, babes xo
REFERENCES:

Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: click HERE

Jay Shetty, On Purpose: Adam Grant Interview: click HERE

Kinnie Starr Episode: click HERE

Ted Talk on Boredom, by Manoush Zomorodi: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

And WELCOME to our new team members Nicole, Glen, Grace and Elvin!! 

Sheena Russell is the Founder of Made with Local, a B Corp Certified, female-led small business that makes the most delicious, simple, nourishing snack bars without the crap in them. Her products are sold in stores across Canada including Loblaws, Costco, and Well.ca. 

Made with Local started as a small table at a farmer's market, selling snack bars. At the time, Sheena's table was next to a local apiary that made the most incredible honey. She began by bringing home a tub of their honey every few weeks, to add as a natural sweetener to her bars. Over time, she went from getting a tub of honey every month or so, to every Saturday as the business grew.

Today - Made with Local products are made entirely with products by Canadian farmers and producers. And they are the only notable snack-bar company to use honey (and Canadian at that) in their bars. 

RESOURCES

Sheena’s LinkedIn: click HERE

To connect with Sheena: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

And WELCOME to our new team members Nicole, Glen, Grace and Elvin!! 

Today’s guest has been on Raquelle’s wish list for as long as the podcast has been around. We talked to Saschie from @formationstudio_ about navigating loss, how she turned her grief into a way to empower herself and others to heal and feel fabulous. From learning the hard lessons of finding out what she wasn’t made for to rebuilding herself after big oopsies (aka photoshopping your grades for your parents), Saschie is the badass, unapologetic, open book kind of woman we LOVE. Saschie spills the tea on this incredible journey to joyful living. Whether you’ve been thinking of starting a new venture, or just ready for a new personal adventure, this episode is for YOU, BBs! Check out Formation to find new freedom in movement, dance, and soul connection.

RESOURCES:

To connect with Saschie: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Kristie Chan: Lead Audio Engineer (to connect with Kristie, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Grace Harvey: IG Team (to connect with Grace, click HERE)

Nicole Mikala: QC Team (to connect with Nicole, click HERE)

With special guest Dr. T aka Dad, aka Papa, aka Kristina Lao’s Father-dearest, we explore how to curate the career path that will keep you inspired, passionate and happy. We get into everything from how having a good resume can help alleviate imposter syndrome, tactics to keep you curious and inspired and how sometimes the biggest leaps forward come from someone doubting you. Dr. T lets us in on the secret that started him on a career path which spanned five countries and a world of experiences while keeping up with his passion for sport and undertaking continuous learning - including a Ph.D.

Whether you’re looking for a way to escape the cycle of work-home-work or are just entering your career this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

About Dr. T: 

1. Born in London, UK. Lived in UK, NZ, Australia, Hong Kong, and

Canada.

2. Career spans banking, police, military, private sector

(construction), consulting, and teaching/instructing (at a local

university, which is what he’s doing now).

3. Sports include(d) running, swimming, soccer, marathons, Ironman

Triathlons - and now, walking!

4. Hobbies include learning basic guitar, and how to read sheet music

(piano).

5. Interests - Learning how to learn - and, continuous learning.

REFERENCES:

• Jim Kwik
• Sir Ken Robinson
• Leadership - Norton
• Kwantlen University

To connect with Dr. T: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Glen Gustard: Creative Team (to connect with Glen, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Grace Harvey: Social Team (to connect with Grace, click HERE)

Elvin Sisco: Social Team (to connect with Elvin, click HERE)

Nicole Mikala: QC Team (to connect with Nicole, click HERE)

Today is a MUST LISTEN:

We talk using TikTok to gain brand awareness and authority as a professional, using YouTube’s short stories to gain MAJOR traction, and the power of forgetting failure and JUST TRYING THE THING. 

This episode is for creators, entrepreneurs and real estate investors (whether you’re on your first or fifth home, this episode has tricks and tips for you!). 

You don’t want to miss this badass brunch with Ashley Smith, who sits on the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver as the youngest President in its 100 year history, representing over 14,000 Realtors. So, buckle up and get ready to re-evaluate your content strategy, interview your agents, and find your perfect partnerships, whether it’s for your first home, your business, or empire-building investments. Ashley’s got you covered, BBs. 

About Our Guest: 

A licenced REALTOR® since 2008, Ashley Smith is keen to participate in the real estate profession, and to help shape its future in an exciting and fast-evolving landscape. As a young leader in the BC business community, she was recognized by Business in Vancouver with a "Top Forty Under 40" award. For her business, Ashley leans heavily into social media and video to build community, authority, and brand awareness. A self-proclaimed governance nerd, Ashley has 10 years of leadership experience in Organized Real Estate - recently serving the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver as its youngest President in the organization's 100 year history in 2019/20 representing over 14,000 Realtors. In 2021, Ashley was appointed a director's seat with the B.C. Real Estate Association.

REFERENCES:

• CHOA (Condominium Home Owners' Association)
•  Ashley's LinkedIn

To connect with Ashley: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: 

Glen Gustard: Creative Team (to connect with Glen, click HERE)

Bosco Li: Audio Engineer (to connect with Bosco, click HERE)

Hannah Gorton: Production Coordinator (to connect with Hannah, click HERE)

Grace Harvey: Social Team (to connect with Grace, click HERE)

Elvin Sisco: Social Team (to connect with Elvin, click HERE)

Nicole Mikala: QC Team (to connect with Nicole, click HERE)

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

What a FIERCE, FABULOUS episode! Natasha Jung takes us on a journey through the inception and continued growth of Cold Tea Collective, a 25-strong, volunteer-led organisation that tells stories for, by and about Asian Millennials. We talk finding your niche, engaging your stakeholders, building an authentic community, and creating lasting relationships. Natasha is, in our opinion, a true pioneer of facilitative leadership, and champion of anti-racism. One of Kristina’s absolute heroes, Cold Tea Collective is a safe space to share stories without having to explain yourself - it’s about celebrating a shared culture. We spill the tea on when to launch, overcoming imposter syndrome, on knowing what’s ‘enough’, and when (and HOW) to get paid. If you are building a new community, looking for one, or enjoy learning and understanding the wonderfully different ways that we create connections within our chosen and lived societies. We love how honest, passionate, clear and humble a leader Natasha is, and we know you will absolutely ADORE her as much as we do. Enjoy, BBs! 

About Natasha

Natasha Jung is the Founder, Editor in Chief, and Executive Producer of Cold Tea Collective, a media publication for, by, and about Asian millennials in North America and has previously partnered with global brands Dove and Refinery29. Natasha’s experience as a broadcast journalist, producer, and marketer have led her to interview cast members of Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and more. PR Newswire has named Cold Tea Collective as one of the “10 Top-Notch Asian American News Sites to Follow”.

In 2021, Natasha was named a Community Builder in BC Business’ Women of the Year Awards and Cold Tea Collective was recognized by the BC Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Awards. 

Natasha is a founding advisor for the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and has served on several non-profit boards over the last decade. Her dedication to community has also been recognized by the United Global Chinese Womens’ Association of Canada and Deloitte Canada.

Outside of work, Natasha is a new mom and when she isn't taking care of her four month old son, she's on the hunt for the best bubble tea and other Asian desserts. 

REFERENCES:

Natasha’s LinkedIn: click HERE 

Board of Trade: click HERE

Cold Tea Collective: click HERE

Asana (productivity tools): click HERE

To connect with Natasha: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

We are ecstatic to introduce you to our latest bombshell who arrived (very on-brand) yielding a mimosa glass in one hand and a Nerf gun in the other. Award-winning All-Star Middle Linebacker, two-time Grey Cup champion, and a eight-year Canadian Football League veteran, Shea Emry talked with us about the importance of creating safe spaces for men to “ventilate” (politically correct terminology here) their feelings. After suffering a concussion which put him out for almost a whole season, Shea who was battling depression, began looking inwards - adventuring and navigating mental health and his childhood traumas. This episode is hilarious but equally informative and incredibly important as we support the men around us who are struggling to get out of the societally upheld box of tough guys and alpha-no-emotions. No matter what your background, assigned gender or preferences - this episode has something for everyone - think epic snowball fights, yachts, the power of yelling and axe throwing. 

About Shea Emry:

Former Pro Footballer turned men's mental health advocate and adventure entrepreneur Shea Emry is tackling new challenges. He’s battled some behemoth humans and suffered from countless concussions as a result. Combining those concussions with childhood trauma have, in turn, made his latest endeavours more difficult than they needed to be. Since retirement, he has founded a number of companies; Wellmen, A men's adventure club, aimed at inspiring men to find healthy ways to ventilate their human experience, Axewood axe throwing crew, and most recently Avalaunch Snowball Blitz — which is paintball style snowball fight experience. All of which are based at the Whistler Racket Club. Debilitating fear, self-doubt, and procrastination have impeded his efficiency and ability to be his best version of himself. Join us as we journey through his story, how he’s been able to continuously battle his fears daily and bring childish dreams to fruition by saying what the huck? Why the huck not? Let's huck’n do this. 

To connect with Shea: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Matthew Neutra is an innovator, a compelling speaker, and a distiller of imaginative, big-picture ideas. His commitment to mentorship, effective storytelling, and supporting emerging creatives leaves no wonder as to why he’s a next-level thinker and Lead Experience Engineer at Bose. 

From establishing trust, to asking the right questions (not trying to have the right answers), and wholeheartedly embracing failure, Matt leads us through some of the best tips and tricks he’s learned over the years, to set every one of us up for success in our own creative thinking endeavours. 

No matter what your business, industry or life phase, this talk will have you thinking about the best ways to engage with those around you, and build lasting, lovely relationships.

About Our Guest: 

Matthew Neutra has been at the bleeding edge of immersive media, experience design and digital signage for over a decade and an half.  His passion for storytelling, clear communication and technology have driven him to experiment, tinker and build extraordinary experiences.  These include a stereoscopic dome theater with one of a kind immersive audio, a full scale immersive Millennium Falcon experience, audio AR, immersive branched narrative, physical/digital immersion and all manner of spatial audio experiences.  Matt has a B.S. in Geology, and M.S. in Geo-information Science/Remote sensing and worked on the pre-cursor to Google Earth in the late 1990’s.  He likes rock climbing, ice climbing and he is a Libra.

To connect with Matthew Neutra: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Alysha is a force of nature, and of nurture - humanising stigmatised people and exercising values-led leadership is something that we can all learn from. We sat down with Alysha to talk through her love of transformative interaction, starting with her own experiences with bad bosses and through a serendipitous series of exchanges within her neighbourhood, that led her to run this incredible charity. The saying goes that many of us are just two paycheques away from poverty. Alysha and her team actively reduce the stigma surrounding the Downtown Eastside’s population, and remind us that every single person has a unique and important story. This episode will leave your heart full, your mind changed, and your life fuller. The next time you walk by someone on the street, you’ll see a person first.  

About Alysha: 

Alysha has been in the hair industry for 11 years. After starting her career in salons she found a passion for barbering and switched lanes in 2011. While living in Gastown (an area of Vancouver’s downtown east side for non-Vancouverites) she befriended some downtown eastsiders. After seeing the way they were being treated and having experienced addiction in her family, she decided to start 2 Paycheques Away as a way to change the stigma around addiction, homelessness and mental health on the DTES. 

2 Paycheques Away, unlocks new perceptions of spirited and resilient individuals from the DTES by sharing their stories as told during their visit to the barber.

REFERENCES:

• 2 Paycheques Away
• Working Gear
• Beauty Night Society
• V6A Film Documentary

To connect with Alysha: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Our latest episode with Liz Hendersen, commercial stylist for over a decade and the co-founder of Project Wardrobe (a clothing rental house for the film industry) was SUCH a treat. We dove into the difficulties around starting a business that is not commonly understood, the trials of renting warehouse space as two women, fierce friends and partnerships, the incredible power of RESPECT as a foundation in order to have real friendships and tough conversations AND acknowledging that business doesn’t have to be a ZERO sum game.

We can’t recommend this episode enough! Keep your eyes on the @bombshellbrunches instagram because we’re going to have lots more content from Liz coming your way. 

About Liz: 

Liz is a stylist, a world traveller, life lover and co-owner of Project Wardrobe Rental House, a commercial styling company and warehouse that she and her business partner Lisa Masi founded in 2018. Liz has worked on hundreds of commercials over her career, including top brands like Mattel, Hasbro and Samsung. She now lives in Cloverdale with her high school sweetheart and two amazing children.

RESOURCES:

• Vancouver Prop and Costume

To connect with Liz: click HERE 

To connect with Project Wardrobe: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Vanessa (aka Raquelle’s Mama, or Mama R, as Kristina likes to say) is a force to be reckoned with. A true example of being the champion of your circumstances, Vanessa brunches with us on how she took her 19-year old self and newborn baby Raquelle to personal and professional heights. Now, with over 27 years of experience in health and benefits at the largest international actuarial consulting firms, we talk life design, strategising for success, and negotiating tips for your career at every level. Vanessa has harnessed (pun intended) personal passions, and created ways to monetize, level up and achieve those big, bodacious goals (while raising Nigerian Dwarf Goats). We’re so inspired by this powerhouse of a woman and her zillion animals, and we know you will be too!

About Vanessa: 

On the personal front:

Vanessa is first-born Canadian in her family who immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands. Being the 3rd of 4 children, she grew up on the west coast in British Columbia, mostly in Vancouver and the Gulf Islands. 

Passionate Mama to two beautiful girls, various hobbies including dabbling in equestrian showjumping, breeding KWPN (Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland aka “Dutch Warmblood”) horses focused in showjumping, raising Nigerian Dwarf goats, and running this little hobby farm on a small acreage on the outskirts of Vancouver, in Maple Ridge, with a “handful” of chickens, turkeys, miniature horses, orchard and market garden.

Vanessa also has a career…

On the professional side:

Vanessa has over 27 years of experience in health and benefits working at a few of the largest international actuarial consulting firms, providing strategic and day-to-day consulting services to her clients which include a wide variety of local, national and international organizations, specializing in multi-employer plans and trust plans.

Vanessa is licensed with the Insurance Council of British Columbia for Life and Accident and Sickness Insurance, and is Past Chair of the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute (CPBI) Pacific Region, a speaker at various industry events, facilitating pension and benefits education to industry professionals.

To connect with Vanessa, click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

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Well… it all starts with a dildo on the wall. This episode went all over the place from some of Kristina and Raquelle’s own past experiences to bad puns to learning how to navigate difficult conversations and learning not to internalize other people’s reactions to sex.  

Sex Therapist, Diana Sadat guides us through discussing lulls in a relationship with a partner to showing up as your most fulfilled self in a relationship to navigating sexual trauma and holding safe space for others.

We talk about the necessity of building safety and respect into a relationship and how intimacy and eroticism can be fluid rather than a “pick the position” experience. 

Buckle up, bombshells because this episode cuts to the core of the #BeBraveLiveFull ethos and reminds us how important open communication is for levelling up in all parts of life!

About Diana: 

Diana is a counsellor and certified sex therapist – after filling up her practice in a short couple of months, she took her love of sex therapy and established Allura Sex Therapy Centre, Vancouver’s leading counselling practice that exclusively focuses on sex, sexuality, and relationships. Her passion for this work spans across a variety of issues from lack of desire and pain during sex to shame around sexual interests and attractions. Her mission is to help people find pleasure in their lives, develop an authentic and connected relationship to their sexuality and relationships, and throw out the messaging and beliefs that society has given them that holds them back. She loves supporting other therapists in developing their skills in this work and loves that she gets to spend her day helping as many people as possible become more comfortable and confident approaching the topic of sex and sexuality!

RESOURCES:

Allura: click HERE

To connect with Diana: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

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Dr. Javeria Shah is, in short, a scholarly activist with a hilarious sense of humour, and a deep, kind intelligence surrounding decolonisation practice. We laughed from the get-go about her impeccable Robert DeNiro impersonation, murder hornets (which are still at large, I’ll have you know), and poo emojis (flashback to toilet roll scarcity, anyone?). We wrapped it all up in the world of social justice, and Dr. Javeria’s academic-led impact on deconstructing social norms. Dr. Javeria glamorizes geekdom, and is the perfect example of being the change you want to see. 

About Dr. Javeria Khadija Shah

A cultural sociologist and interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in policy, media education, sociology, and the visual arts. I specialise in person-centred research that interrogates and re-conceptualises societal positioning(s) of the individual and their self-identity formation - and my current research is strongly focused on the conceptualisation of socialisation as ‘social performance’.

RESOURCES:

• My Name Is Documentary
• The Social Performance Academy
• Black History 365

“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible” - Toni Cade Bambara

To connect with Dr. Javeria click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

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Welcome to our Tuesday ramble. We deconstructed our normal Brunch Break to let you in on our behind-the-curtain chats. From showing up in meeting rooms, Tuesday rambles, massive turtles and using your voice, we take a moment away from graduate studies, auditions and studio days, and decompress the way we know best: with YOU. 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

The Bake Daddy is in the house!

Today we were joined by one of the most nurturing humans, Craig Taylor aka @thebakedaddy_. 

Craig talks about the incredible time he had on the Food Network's show Great Chocolate Showdown where contestants compete for a $50,000 prize. We break down how one cake changed the trajectory of his career and one quote changed the dynamics of a fierce competition into a family of competitors who encouraged growth instead of breaking someone down.

Get ready - because next time Raquelle's in town we're hitting up the kitchen to get our own bake off!

About Craig:

Craig Taylor has been a professional cake curator since March 2017, the day after his father died. Having worked over 20 years in the casino world, his world upended with his father’s passing. He set himself a mission the very next day: to make a peppermint bark cheesecake for his girlfriend’s birthday. He quickly learned peppermint bark was out of season and nowhere to be found in stores, so he spent the day running from store to store in search of all the ingredients he’d need to make it from scratch – before he even got started on the cheesecake.

Craig has since been selected as one of the ten contestants on the Food Network’s Great Chocolate Showdown, and continues to make highly customised baked goods, with an unparalleled attention to detail. 

To connect with Craig: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

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Impromptu Tea Spill Time! Raquelle is having a great day. Why? Because she recently took a values exercise and has realised that her appetite for adventure (i.e. one of her highest values) is not being fulfilled, affecting her daily satisfaction. We talk through how establishing and honouring your values can impact your relationships, career, and overall life design. Grab that tea, sit back, and take the next week to ask yourself: what values do YOU want to define and design your best, fullest life?

RESOURCES:

• Dr. Ashley Margeson’s Episode 
• The Superwoman Code 
• The Artists' Way 
•  Adam Creek 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Welcome to our very first Bombshell Roundtable! This year has been STRESSFUL, babes! So, we invited two of our favourite people, Ocean Bloom (Trauma Release Therapist) and Donna Benedicto (actor extraordinaire) back on the podcast to talk about how stress affects our bodies, which consistent rituals or schedules keep us sane and how we deal when sh*t just hits the fan. Stay safe and sane out there bombshells and remember to protect that energy!

About Donna Benedicto: 

Donna Benedicto was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for Supergirl (2015), Almost Human (2013) and Minority Report (2015).

About Ocean Bloom: 

Ocean Bloom is an internationally renowned bodywork therapist, wellness coach and retreat leader. She has over 25 years’ experience as a Fitness World Champion, Celebrity Personal Trainer and Certified Yoga Teacher. Ocean has worked and studied extensively in South East Asia and Europe. Her pioneering approach combines fitness modalities with the ancient elements of Yoga, Chinese and Thai Medicine to facilitate the return to health not just physically but also in the mind and spirit. Ocean is the founder and facilitator\ of “Conscious Movement Therapy”. From high profile celebrities and athletes to first responders and trauma survivors, she has helped individuals release emotional blockages and reset their thinking process.

To connect with Ocean, click HERE

To connect with Donna, click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Miss Canada 2020, Black Lives Matter Activist, and Model Nova Stevens has a message for you: Love yourself first, surround yourself with a community who inspires you, and be fiercely proud of who you are. We talk to Nova about her childhood and the massive shift of moving from Ethiopia to Newfoundland, moving out as a 15-year old and taking on New York City. This episode delves into the world of pageantry, the importance of mentors, the impact of social media presence and posting, and letting your love for humanity lead your way. Anyone looking to level up, disrupt the norms, and be the change you want to see - for yourself first, and THEN for others, this one’s for YOU! Nova so beautifully hopes we will all one day say: “you can’t believe in me more than I believe in me”. So, BBs, ask questions, invest in yourself, and stand up for positive progress and systemic change. Nova is a true inspiration, and we’re so excited to share our time with you!

 About Nova Stevens: 

Nova Stevens (born; Nyawal Bukjok) is a Canadian model, activist, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2020. As Miss Universe Canada, she represented Canada at Miss Universe 2020, making her the first woman of South Sudanese origin to compete at the pageant. Stevens is also a professional model and an activist for Black Lives Matter.

To connect with Nova: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

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Welcome to another R&K Brunch Break… This is the hangover episode. I (Kristina) am NOT fresh-faced or bright-eyed. It’s been a week, this one’s a doozy, and we’re sure it’s happened to you all before. We’re talking about social graces. We’re talking when to give the ‘leave me alone’ signal, and when we are going there to meet people. Apparently, different places have different ways to be… what’s YOUR opinion on what I should have done?! Raquelle tells me to lie. I refuse. So, welcome to our short, 30-minute banter on what we say, and what we mean, and all the different things it can REALLY mean. Enjoy (and if you’re listening after a night of cocktails, then I FEEL YOU, BOO). 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)

Mayumi is a beacon of finding the possible, perfecting your pitch, and finding the best team by being your truest self. We know that feeling of not quite belonging, and that little (or loud) voice that pushes past what your culture, parents or society wants you to do. To find her unique storytelling voice, Mayumi takes us on a beautiful journey through the search for identity, a love of community, and being you above all else. A trans-national kid who danced between careers throughout her life, we talk through imposter syndrome, industry pressures, and the joy of helping others find the values in authenticity. The richness of culture brings so much more to story, and the credentials you have are only a portion of the success recipe, no matter your industry. So, sit back, take tea, and get ready to learn how to add the spice of YOU to everything you do!

About Mayumi: 

Born in Japan, raised in three continents, Mayumi Yoshida is an actor, writer, director, based in Vancouver, BC. Her role as Crown Princess (The Man in The High Castle) received a 2016 UBCP/ACTRA’s Emerging Actor nomination. For detailed acting credits please click here.

As an award-winning writer/director, Mayumi has been a leading force in emerging Asian-Canadian Cinema. She’s an alumna of Women in the Director’s Chair Career Advancement Module, Women in Focus Mentorship at Whistler Film Festival and currently the participant of the inaugural WarnerMedia x Canadian Academy Access Writers Program. She recently was also selected to be part of TIFF Netflix Talent Accelerator Fellowship and TIFF Writer’s Studio for 2022.  She is currently working on her feature film version of Akashi-あかし-.

RESOURCES: 

Women in the Director’s Chair Career Advancement Module 

WarnerMedia x Canadian Academy Access Writers Program

Akashi-あかし-. 

TIFF Netflix Talent Accelerator Fellowship  

To connect with Mayumi: click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click 

**CONTENT WARNING** - This episode contains information that may be emotionally triggering for some people. We ALWAYS recommend speaking to your emotional, mental and physical healthcare professionals if you have specific questions or concerns. With that said, we hope to shine a safe and kind light on the essential, sensitive topic of miscarriage.

This episode is definitely my (Raquelle’s) most vulnerable episode to date. I personally asked Ashley to come on the podcast after having a miscarriage over the summer. And what was crazy to me was the lack of information surrounding it. I had zero reference to know if what I was experiencing was normal or not and could not wade through the amount of generic or quite frankly garbage information that saturated the internet.

All I kept thinking was that I wished I could talk to Ashley about this. Especially about the hormonal changes flooding my body. And then I realized, if I’m having this problem then other people likely are too. Approximately 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. This episode is about hormones - we are not focusing on the emotional experience here, so we’re being candid, opening the door behind the scenes. We talk about the terms “not viable vs miscarriage”, the big red reset button, and the lack of control on both sides of the reproductive equation. 

When you know what’s going on with your body and you can understand what’s happening, it helps to provide a safe space to listen. From ovulation to miscarriage, join us as we talk through the facts, the stats, the hormones and how very different this experience is for every individual. 

About Dr. Margeson

Dr. Ashley Margeson is a licensed and registered Naturopathic Doctor with a strong focus on women’s health, hormonal regulation, health optimization, and burnout recovery and prevention. She has a thriving practice filled with patients who are focused on improving their quality of life. Dr. Ashley is also the host of The Superwoman Code; a weekly podcast educating young professional and busy women about how to make their health work for them, not against them. She is also a full-time stepmom to her 5 and 7-year-old children.

RESOURCES:

Dr. Ashley Margeson’s Podcast 

Dr. Ryan Funk’s Episode (Acubalance) 

Dr. Ashley Margeson’s Episode

Dr. Dixon and Carolynn Dubé’s Episode

Special thanks to Crystal Richard PR for the introduction to this amazing human! 

To connect with Dr. Ashley Margeson, click HERE 

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Dr. Ian Cromwell has his hands in so many baskets. Ian is a Health Economist, highly sought-after multi-instrumentalist, and community champion with his collective Locals Lounge, which aims to elevate musicians across all genres and curate exceptional experiences for audiences all over the city. From hustle culture to abundance mindset, we start in science, and move into facilitative leadership models that embrace a collaborative, values-based and mutually beneficial mindset. A perfect partner to your morning beverage, this episode will inspire you to be vulnerable, build trust, and find the overlap in your skillset. We’re walking through the tastiest ingredients to a more sustainable, fulfilling career, and we’re here to help you get your next initiative going.

So let’s all sit down, find each other, and get to making some stone soup.

 About Ian Cromwell

Ian Cromwell is a musician, scientist, and community organizer in Vancouver, BC. Ian spends his days conducting reviews of health economic evidence on behalf of the Canadian health care system. By night, you can find Ian at the helm of Locals Lounge, a local music community incubator. Locals Lounge has recently launched the far-reaching 'Constellation' project - a collaboration between local music event organizers designed to welcome people back into Vancouver's music scene in the wake of COVID. Ian can also be found on stages around Vancouver, performing live with the help of his electric violin, guitar, and loop pedal.

 RESOURCES

Locals Lounge

To connect with Ian Cromwell: click HERE

To connect with Locals Lounge: click HERE

To connect with Bombshell Brunches: click HERE

To connect with Kristina Lao: click HERE

To connect with Raquelle Roodenburg: click HERE

Thank you to our incredible BB Team: Glen, Bosco, Hannah, Grace, Elvin and Nicole!  

Levels Music Production: Audio Career Pathway Support (to connect with Levels Music Pro, click HERE)