NEW PALESTINE — Perhaps it was while running along the trails of Zion National Park; or maybe it was between Bryce Canyon and the Paunsaugunt Plateau; or while rounding the curves of Horseshoe Bend. Wherever it was — during a vacation of three half-marathons in three days through some of the driest country in America — Kelly Young looked around and realized she was in the company of some extraordinary women.
Her friend Kendra Edwards convinced her to join her in TrailFest, a ‘running vacation’ through Utah’s national parks, along with five other women Edwards felt would inspire and lift each other up during the grueling three-day event. She was right; and Kelly Young understood that there were badass women out there who had stories stories that needed to be told.
It was Edwards’ story — of overcoming sexual abuse — that was one of the first for Young’s blog, at badasserylife.com.
“I wanted to write about ordinary women doing extraordinary things,” said Young. “Badassery is empowering and inspiring and, in a way, claiming a sort of attitude.”
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Young told many stories through her blog: of Marni Lemons, a middle-aged woman pursuing a career in acting; of Dr. Tracie Ohonme, co-founder of Samaritan’s Feet, an organization that provides shoes for children; of Sara Risley, the WIBC radio host of “Get Lost,” an Indiana travel program.
After blogging for about three months, Young began to think about widening her reach. With more than 1,000 followers for her blog, she wondered if the burgeoning interest in podcasts might have a broader appeal.
She shared the idea for the podcast with her friend Stevi Stoesz Kersh over lunch one day.
“The conversation ended with ‘Are we, would you, could you…? Did you just ask me or am I asking you?’” Young said, and just like that, Young and Kersh found themselves co-hosting Badassery Life, a new podcast available on Spotify.
Now came the challenge of deciding which stories to blog and which to present on the podcast.
The two women put together an advisory committee to help them decide.
“People tell us all the time ‘I have a great person you could interview’,” Young said. “the committee helps us think through what is a good story and why is it a good story. Can it be read or is it a good story to hear?”
The pair found another ‘woman with spirit’ to edit their podcasts for production: Ginny Doran. The problem was that Doran knew nothing about editing.
“She decided to learn an editing platform — for fun,” Young said, “and that she would be willing to do it. She believed in the project.”
With the major challenge of editing in the bag, Young and Hersh’s first podcast interview was with Jenni White, founding and executive director of Trinity Haven, Indiana’s first and only home for LGBTQ youth who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
The two have also interviewed Mandy and Carly, the twins who founded ‘Just Pop In!’ a gourmet popcorn business; Lizbeth Ayala Najera, who overcame depression, divorce, alcoholism and a suicide attempt to become a competitive body builder; Jamie Little, the first female to report from Pit Row at the Indianapolis 500; and Jayna Ledford, a transgender ballerina.
Young isn’t sure how many listeners she has out there. For her, it’s a passion project.
“If I get too caught up in the numbers and the demographic and the audience, I might lose sight of the real reason I was doing it — to inspire and lift up other women,” Young said.
Young loves it when people come to her with ideas for future stories and interviews.
“We all know somebody who’s doing something amazing who may not think they’re amazing,” Young said, “but when they’re stories get told, other people will know that they’re badass.”
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Find Badassery Life on Facebook at facebook.com/badasserylife
Visit badasserylife.com/podcast/ to find the blog and link to the podcast.
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