“I am most proud that I know my worth in a way I didn’t. And that’s been something that’s been a concerted effort to build build my self-esteem, to build my self-confidence”.

My final guest of 2024 for ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ is someone who brings energy, laughter & passion into what they do & the world. It’s Woosh Raza (he/him).

Woosh is a Human Resources professional who is embarking on an exciting journey. Woosh has decided to do his own thing having just launched his shiny new consultancy, Woosh Ltd - ‘a bespoke consultancy offering an extensive range of HR and ED&I support to help your organisation succeed’. Woosh lives & breathes DEI & any organisation would & should be privileged to work with him.

Like many other guests on this series, I know Woosh across a variety settings - mainly socially - and we’ve delved into many big life conversations so I knew this was going to be a brilliant chat as I learn more about him… & that I did. We talked about Little Woosh as a shy kid through to becoming the super outgoing Woosh we know today and around some of the complexities around that. The concepts of fitting in versus belonging play a major role in his story, from childhood to career & navigating the queer scene & social life.

Woosh shares how a health scare a few years ago as a result of over-working massively shaped him in terms of how he now feels about his career, how he takes care of himself these days & knowing what he brings to the table. He’s established a sense of belonging within himself that means he no longer seeks the external validation he once did.

We chat about our shared love & importance of fashion, his early obsession with Batman’s Poison Ivy - which also inspired his desire to be a botanist when he grew up - and why Rihanna is his biggest inspiration. Plus more more. The words he uses to describe him & his origin story are ’Loud. Energy. Solitude.’ You’ll hear why…

Woosh is ready for 2025 as he gears up for “stepping into (his) power as a credible person” in his field. Check out his new website & sign up to his new newsletter too - he’s a great writer to boot! I personally can’t wait to see what’s in store - good luck Woosh & thanks for being a fab guest!

PS. Please take care of yourself whilst listening as we cover some challenging conversations.

Right now is an exciting time for this week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind..’ Dr Jack Lopez (he/him) has just left his 16 year career in academia to go it alone on a ‘self-imposed sabbatical’. It’s a huge change and one that Jack is excited about - despite the niggling adult responsibilities to contend with. As he tiptoes towards 50, Jack is allowing himself to believe that anything is possible.

Jack has dealt with constant change throughout his life. Though the way he deals with it now is vastly different from his early years which he describes as ‘dramatic, consistent & fun… and never on the small scale!” He feels like he’s spent a lot of his life running up & down metaphorical mountains, often running away from himself, or searching for comfort. These days, Jack is comfortable in himself and any life changes are no longer not fuelled by panic. His need for change is something he now grasps more following his later life diagnosis of autism & ADHD.

Little Jack was an inquisitive child in an existential way. Jack describes himself as hyper vigilant in his early years & much more serious than he is today. He spent a lot of time alone, happy in his own company and he shares a brilliant anecdote that encapsulate this perfectly!

His teenage years were fraught. He experienced bullying and recognises now that this time was overshadowed by gender dysphoria which caused disassociation alongside a search for sensation through drugs & alcohol. As a result of struggling, Jack left school with no GCSEs. Which makes the fact that he now has a PhD in social anthropology even more impressive, though I was equally bowled over by the many careers Jack has had throughout his life - including being a dancer & choreographer at a theatre school, something which provided escapism as he got lost in the “pure soul of movement”, through to being a support worker, social worker, academic & DEI educator. His move into social work came from Jack’s frustration at seeing how things were being done & thinking he could do it better!

Jack’s attributes his education during his teenage years to his love of hip-hop, Black politics, literature, rock & grunge music which taught him about colonialism, racial injustice & history. Jack felt deeply and we dive into his striving for fairness & social justice. He uses the words ‘interested, inquisitive & persistent’ to describe himself & his origin story - all of which make total sense following our conversation.

We chat about Jack’s upbringing, his supportive family & home life where he’s raising four kids as a single dad. He shares his wish to use his endless vault of knowledge to support activists, how the classroom should be a place to dream about changing the world, his love of Mexico and what brings him joy during uncertain times.

We are putting a trigger warning on this episode as we cover the challenges Jack has experienced including mental health, substance use & other challenging topics so please take of yourself whilst listening.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” This quote from the 2009 movie Coraline is one this week’s guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ lives by. And it flows through his work, impact & origin story.

Olly Pike (he/him) is an illustrator, presenter, educator & all-round amazing human. He’s the Founder & Creator of Pop’n’Olly, his company committed to LGBT+ edutainment for children, parents, teachers & carers. With the support of a wonderful team, Pop’n’Olly creates videos, books & free resources that are used in primary schools across the UK & beyond to teach about equality & diversity and help to combat LGBT+ prejudice before it begins to form. So far, they’ve donated over 12,000 books to schools! And against a backdrop of anti-LGBT+ rhetoric, a recent statistic showed that over 80% of parents want inclusive LGBT+ education for their children - which means Pop’n’Olly are in demand for their tools, books & school visits.

Olly loves his role as a storyteller - one he carries out with a playful nature, passion, patience & a ton of energy! He started his YouTube channel about 12 years ago as a way he could tell his own stories and this inspired the books & what he’s doing now. During the podcast, he talks about how his author visits show how accepting & aware kids are. And how it’s the parents who are often one page behind them when it comes to their learning…

Olly’s stories are very much ones that Little Olly needed. As a kid, Olly loved drawing, dressing up & pink sparkly things as much as his other toys. Which was fine until school started and societal expectations & limitations around gender came into it. This lead to a lot of policing, filtering & editing by others & himself with his behaviour, movement etc… a common reality for many young queer people & one we’ve discussed on this podcast before. Shame is also a core theme of Olly’s origin story, from his younger years through to dance school and one we delve into during our conversation.

His experience of dance school left Olly with a lot of talent but not much confidence which he admits has taken him years to build up. We talk about Olly’s fantastic career as a performer and how he wouldn’t go back as he loves what he’s doing now with inspiring children, having fun & instilling hope in them when it comes to good prevailing over evil - again, ever the storyteller. Olly uses the words ‘playful, fantastical & brave’ to describe him & his origin story.

Check out Olly’s books and how you can donate, support & get involved over at popnolly.com. His latest book, Have You Ever Seen a Normal? is cute AF! Plus with Christmas coming up, they make the perfect presents!