[00:00:00] This podcast is powered by The Plug.
[00:00:39] I've got Kate in here with me today.
[00:00:43] How are you, friend?
[00:00:44] I'm doing fabulous.
[00:00:45] I know that's great!
[00:00:48] Okay, we've been looking forward to this for a minute, for a little quick minute.
[00:00:52] And so I just want to give a tiny little second of just honoring the space that is you,
[00:00:59] the ethereal essence of you and meeting you in this very serendipitous way, which is just
[00:01:07] like long story short because of fashion.
[00:01:11] We kind of, we ended up meeting and now it's progressed into this like, let's continue creating
[00:01:17] community because of all the questions that we had.
[00:01:20] So with what I'm saying there, how is your spirit today?
[00:01:26] Wow.
[00:01:28] I feel like my spirit around Dani, around you honestly, is always the most heightened
[00:01:34] that it could be.
[00:01:36] But generally, like this entire week, I've been feeling a lot of passion and excitement
[00:01:41] with the new year coming and focusing on what I'm going to create next year.
[00:01:46] And just, yeah, I just attract off your energy.
[00:01:50] So I'm up here right now.
[00:01:53] I love it, friend.
[00:01:55] Well, you are like, you do a lot in this community, but I don't think that a lot of people may
[00:02:01] be super aware of how deep your roots actually do go with like how you esteem the community
[00:02:08] and how much you just want to provide people with information, resources, as well as spaces
[00:02:17] to like rejuvenate and, you know, just come into a grounding space.
[00:02:22] And I think that we've witnessed each other in every one of those seasons.
[00:02:27] For real.
[00:02:28] And so just getting to rejoice with you today after not seeing you for like a couple weeks.
[00:02:33] And then we have this whole little synchronistic moment up until being in here.
[00:02:38] It's just like, this is just like one of my favorite friendships of just like the ease in which we get to grow and expand,
[00:02:47] but then also honor each other.
[00:02:49] And like, we just keep meeting at these new, these new ventures.
[00:02:53] And I'm just so excited for it.
[00:02:57] So I apologize.
[00:02:59] That's just what I needed to do is stim it out at crazy, give some honor where it's due.
[00:03:03] But to speak into that creative space and speak into, you know, what it's like to further educate ourselves,
[00:03:10] whether that is with directly within our community, whether that's more on the whole scale and scope of America right now,
[00:03:18] because of everything that has transpired since election and all of that.
[00:03:26] And so I'm feeling this really intentional pull to doing a lot more community work.
[00:03:32] I already have.
[00:03:33] I think we've done a bunch establishing that, but just staying within that connectedness of community.
[00:03:40] And so with, with community and how we're doing things and navigating together within fashion, environmental and education
[00:03:49] and all of this fascinating layers of what goes into, um, gosh, how, how would I want to word this?
[00:03:59] Um, what goes into honoring the work that people are putting forward.
[00:04:04] I want to give you a moment to just give yourself some honor and name off some things that you're venturing into right now, um, that you're looking forward to a finalization with.
[00:04:15] Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much for that.
[00:04:18] Yeah, I'm truly honored to be here.
[00:04:22] Um, so I feel like my mission the past seven years that I've been out in Colorado has been finding my community.
[00:04:29] I came out here to be closer with the mountains to really find myself and, um, quickly within moving here, I started working for Greenpeace as a canvasser out in the streets.
[00:04:40] Um, one of like the best jobs I've ever had because it's taught me so much about people.
[00:04:45] Um, but also one of the hardest jobs you can have being out on the streets, talking to people about these really real issues.
[00:04:51] And since then it's just been like a journey of, um, elevating that version of myself.
[00:04:57] Um, so, um, while I was working for Greenpeace, I realized that I wanted to work on more issues that were directly impacting Coloradans locally.
[00:05:05] Mm-hmm . Um, we have a huge oil and gas problem in our state.
[00:05:09] Mm-hmm . Um, there's over 47,000 active fracking wells.
[00:05:12] Mm-hmm . Um, we see them as close as 300 feet from people's back doors.
[00:05:16] And they're really like infiltrating in our communities and making our communities not feel safe, um, impacting our health, um, our mental health.
[00:05:25] Um, so I've been on that journey of like just teaching myself every day.
[00:05:29] Right.
[00:05:29] Like always a teacher, always a student.
[00:05:32] Yeah.
[00:05:32] Um, and through that work, I have just like met so many different faces of Colorado, um, that also wanna like keep our communities safe.
[00:05:40] Mm-hmm .
[00:05:40] So like that is my main mission really.
[00:05:42] And how I get so involved in the community is safety.
[00:05:46] Mm-hmm . Um, I have a background of, you know, a lot of childhood trauma with, um, just like mental health issues in my family, um, incarceration.
[00:05:54] And, um, I grew up not feeling safe.
[00:05:56] Mm-hmm .
[00:05:57] So, um, when I see like the oil and gas industry in our communities, I, I get, I get pissed off.
[00:06:03] Yeah.
[00:06:03] And that's, um, that's what really motivates me to get out there.
[00:06:06] And what recently I'm really focusing on is how we can connect our outrage into, and making it something more beautiful, channeling that energy into change.
[00:06:17] Mm-hmm .
[00:06:17] And that's, um, really finding how the oil and gas industry is like impacting all of our passions and our livelihoods.
[00:06:23] Right.
[00:06:23] So that's how we met through fashion.
[00:06:25] Um, just connecting just like the amount of emissions and pollutions, those garbage dump piles of clothing that are ending up in other countries, um, and the microplastics that are ending up in all of our water sources.
[00:06:39] So, um, I feel like I could talk about this forever.
[00:06:42] Absolutely.
[00:06:43] But, yeah.
[00:06:43] And this is like something that's so beautiful about you, friend, as you just said, um, you know, always a student, always a teacher is that I, I'm just going to put it out there.
[00:06:55] It, I don't think that I knew the gravity of what fracking meant until I met you because it was such a buzzword and it's just like, oh, fracking's bad.
[00:07:03] It was like a political word in the sense of like, oh, you know, like I don't need to know more.
[00:07:06] I just know it's bad.
[00:07:08] But then I started like tuning in more because you made information palatable for me, you made it understandable.
[00:07:16] And so to see your heart and how you see community, you don't see it as a sense of like, I just want to fight the powers that be.
[00:07:27] You want to educate people to be more aware of the powers that be, you know?
[00:07:33] And I really applaud you for that.
[00:07:35] So, um, you know, within everything that you do environmentally and what you're doing, I just want to give note to like how you show up for community.
[00:07:44] You make it something that allows me to not feel, um, inferior.
[00:07:52] Like, I don't know all of this stuff when it comes to what we're doing to mother earth.
[00:07:57] I don't know.
[00:07:58] I just know that it ain't great.
[00:08:00] And so you giving us the tools, but then also being part of this vibrant community with us and that you're, you know, you're piloting a lot of things within this community of awareness.
[00:08:13] And like, I don't want to say like, uh, because I don't want to be ageist, but you know, just within, um, I guess this age group, I guess you would say it's just, um, it's more accessible information.
[00:08:28] And I feel very grateful to learn from you in that.
[00:08:32] Um, but also what I'm learning from you is continue to educate yourself and just hearing that you went back to school.
[00:08:41] I know that you've kind of gone through, we were just talking about like a return of Saturn and everything, you know, and all those transitions that, you know, lead us like, okay, you were in Greenpeace.
[00:08:53] So to come back to Greenpeace really quick, the version, that little young child before you even got to your double digits, what would your young version of self say to you sitting in this chair right now?
[00:09:07] Wow.
[00:09:08] That's a great question.
[00:09:11] Damn.
[00:09:13] That's it.
[00:09:14] Yes.
[00:09:15] Wow.
[00:09:15] You did it.
[00:09:16] Like even, I think about even farther back, you know, like teenager me would think I was so cool.
[00:09:22] I saw that on Instagram the other day and, um, to go into more about what you were saying about like making all of this information more accessible where people like do feel intrigued and want to learn and don't feel like they're like unintelligent or don't know anything.
[00:09:37] Um, what I always tell people when I'm working in a community with them, like these are like everyday moms that, you know, don't want to be fracking activists.
[00:09:46] And, um, what they say is like, you know, well, I don't really know anything, blah, blah, blah.
[00:09:49] And I'm like, all, you know, all you need to know is that this isn't right.
[00:09:53] And like, that's where you can start.
[00:09:55] Like you don't have to have like, you know, you don't have to be a scientist or a lawyer to advocate for changing your community.
[00:10:01] Like, absolutely.
[00:10:02] Yeah.
[00:10:03] Absolutely.
[00:10:04] That's something that I really admire about you, friend.
[00:10:06] Um, it's just, again, the information that you made available to me, the different kind of communities you are showing me that exists, showing the beauty within the communities.
[00:10:16] And then also showing like where to further educate yourself, you know, to these marginalized spaces that maybe don't have, again, the accessibility, whether it's a language barrier, whether it's like ADA compliant to be able to vote and show up and hear about this stuff.
[00:10:34] And as somebody that's lived like primarily like Wyoming and Colorado, my whole life, um, I've just seen the transition exist where I, I just, it just became so political that I didn't even want to include myself or like, think about it.
[00:10:50] You know, I'm just like, but then when you really start listening to some of this information and you're like, oh my God, this little town of Commerce City has one of the most polluted zip codes in our country.
[00:10:59] And this is Colorado full of the healthiest hikers.
[00:11:03] I don't believe it.
[00:11:04] You know what I mean?
[00:11:05] So it's again, like people that enjoy the state that come here to hike all over.
[00:11:09] And then there's people that have lived here for generations being poisoned in specific code.
[00:11:18] So anyway, just the information that you provide, I want to go too far into that rabbit hole because I just want to give honor and space to like what we can do to rise out of that too.
[00:11:29] Um, so just with all those resources that you've explained to me that you've brought forward, how you're further educating yourself, what you're doing, how you reach out to the community and you ask people that are connected.
[00:11:40] You're like, how do I get into this?
[00:11:41] Who can I connect with here?
[00:11:43] And you're just very mindful about that.
[00:11:45] And I really, really, really appreciate that.
[00:11:48] So again, just giving you, you know, honor where it's due.
[00:11:51] So in your education, what would you, what would you like to see, um, since you're now in this chair and your younger self just gave you some credit?
[00:12:04] Where would you like to see, um, you know, yourself within this movement?
[00:12:10] Where would you like to see your community within this movement, um, of further educating yourself?
[00:12:16] I love that.
[00:12:17] That's a great question.
[00:12:18] I would say what I'm really focused on right now.
[00:12:22] You talked about this a little bit earlier about how overwhelming the news is right now.
[00:12:26] And, um, I mean, every time I would, I turn on like the national news, it's just overbearing and I feel hopeless.
[00:12:33] Right.
[00:12:34] So what I can do right now is focus on like what's outdoors, what's right outside my doorstep, which is like someone like you, um, which is, we were just like frolicking around in five points right before this.
[00:12:47] And naturally like the synchronicity of just seeing a friend that you hadn't seen in five years.
[00:12:52] Like I live for that.
[00:12:54] Yeah.
[00:12:55] That was, I'm just, this is a core memory.
[00:12:58] Yeah.
[00:12:58] I know.
[00:13:00] Yes.
[00:13:00] Yeah.
[00:13:01] So, um, just, you know, building off of that of, um, how can I start somewhere even if it's small, like right here?
[00:13:08] Cause that, I feel like that has more power than we even know, like the energy, like the web of organizing.
[00:13:13] Absolutely.
[00:13:14] Right here.
[00:13:15] And I know that like on a universal aspect that like that's, that's helping, helping us as a whole.
[00:13:22] Right.
[00:13:22] No, I agree with that.
[00:13:24] And I think, um, too, with just how you are as a representation that a lot of folks have needed, um, as well as just like, you know, like the little personal stories that we know of each other.
[00:13:36] You and I know we already like went through some things where we, uh, basically we were already outgrowing a pot.
[00:13:43] Like we had an idea, we had a seed, it started growing and all of a sudden the pot got, was too small.
[00:13:47] And so we had to already organize outside of that.
[00:13:51] And it's like, you were even saying like organizing and just having these like spaces.
[00:13:56] And then also, you know, one thing that I've been doing quite a bit is like, I've been trying to work on, obviously I haven't centered men in a very long time, you know, but like society, a lot of times there was a lot of centralizing around like romantic relationships.
[00:14:13] And I feel like sometimes that took me away from my community and I just get so fulfilled being in my community because those are the relationships that I want.
[00:14:22] So like kind of moving into this, like, I almost have like romance in my community, you know, like I'm so happy when I go out and I see like, you know, all of these beautiful queer people in love and absolutely just getting to like be themselves, even though like within societal, like within what is happening, the powers that be, it's scary.
[00:14:44] But our community is giving us this totally amazing, like focal point that.
[00:14:50] Right, that's our resistance.
[00:14:52] There we go.
[00:14:52] It's like connecting with each other.
[00:14:54] And like that, they're so afraid of that.
[00:14:56] Yeah.
[00:14:56] That's why they're so ridiculous.
[00:14:57] And, you know, and, but we've gotten to do that, I think in a, in a really beautiful way in Colorado.
[00:15:02] We're not trying to be LA.
[00:15:05] We're not trying to be New York.
[00:15:07] We're Colorado.
[00:15:08] Just let us exist.
[00:15:09] You know, we're figuring it out.
[00:15:11] We're all over the map.
[00:15:12] The style is incredible.
[00:15:14] You know, one thing that's also fascinating is a representation that's here.
[00:15:19] Like you may not feel like there's community.
[00:15:22] Community if you're just looking for that shallow little sports bar vibes.
[00:15:27] But if you really dig intentionally, there are so many beautiful pockets of community and advocacy out here to help educate each other.
[00:15:36] You know, that's something that I love about Denver.
[00:15:39] It's like people want to like, oh, you want this information?
[00:15:43] You want this?
[00:15:43] There's a brick and mortar.
[00:15:44] Go get that information there.
[00:15:46] Here's accessibility.
[00:15:46] Like the way that people rally to get us educated is my favorite fucking thing.
[00:15:51] Right.
[00:15:51] There's like so many different movements with fashion and social change and environmentalism and music.
[00:15:59] Like there's just so much happening in Denver.
[00:16:01] And I feel so grateful to have moved here seven years ago and just watch it evolve even like, you know, in the pandemic, post pandemic.
[00:16:10] And like community is my niche.
[00:16:12] Like whenever, like if I see someone a couple days before and then like a couple days later, someone else brings up that person.
[00:16:19] I'm like, I'm on the right path.
[00:16:21] Like, thank you, universe.
[00:16:22] Yes.
[00:16:22] Like, let's go.
[00:16:24] Absolutely, friend.
[00:16:25] Oh, my gosh.
[00:16:26] Just like how we all aligned today.
[00:16:28] Like we didn't just get in the car.
[00:16:30] I'm going to go here.
[00:16:30] Wait, we're going here.
[00:16:31] You know, and then we just got to connect that way.
[00:16:34] But there's something beautiful to be said about like being the representation we didn't have.
[00:16:40] You know, I didn't know that this was something that could exist.
[00:16:44] I'm still in shock that it can exist, you know, and getting to sit with you.
[00:16:50] I would say like, what was it like eight months ago is when we sat down and it was just like this little idea for a second.
[00:16:56] And then it became something so much bigger already because of how we educate each other on the instance of what it's like to be Danny, what it's like to be Kate.
[00:17:07] And then we kind of are able to show up and I don't know, kind of it's not like fill in where you're not, but we're just able to kind of navigate together.
[00:17:17] And that's really, really comfortable for me.
[00:17:20] You know, again, that romanticizing.
[00:17:23] It's like, oh, wow, my community's got me.
[00:17:25] They're going to educate me.
[00:17:26] And even to the point where it's like, hey, if I'm having a tough day, I'm over capacity.
[00:17:31] And we even let each other know that and there's no hard feelings in it.
[00:17:34] Totally.
[00:17:35] I appreciate that about you so much.
[00:17:36] Another thing that I appreciate about our friendship so much is that like how gentle we are with each other and ourselves.
[00:17:43] Like we know when it's OK to take a step back and be like, I don't think this is working.
[00:17:48] This doesn't feel as like what we want it to feel like.
[00:17:51] And we're like, it's OK.
[00:17:52] Let's let it grow.
[00:17:53] Let's evaluate.
[00:17:54] And now look at us.
[00:17:55] I know.
[00:17:56] We're doing it.
[00:17:58] It's so amazing because a few, you know, like we had so many little things getting thrown at us.
[00:18:03] And then it was just like, OK, we're just going to be patient.
[00:18:05] You know, we're going to be patient.
[00:18:07] We're going to let things play this, you know, play itself out.
[00:18:09] And we're going to go.
[00:18:11] We're going to continue like looking at our intention behind it.
[00:18:14] You know, what is our intention?
[00:18:15] What are we trying to do?
[00:18:17] And what are we going to do?
[00:18:19] And are we living that authentically?
[00:18:20] And like if it's like if you feel a no, it's like time to reevaluate.
[00:18:25] And I've gotten so much better at like being OK with that.
[00:18:29] You know, I feel like with like the hustle culture, it's like I'm not here for it.
[00:18:33] No, we're like nature.
[00:18:34] We're going with the season.
[00:18:36] Yeah.
[00:18:37] We're flourishing.
[00:18:39] You know, but you do throw me for a loop sometimes because all of a sudden you're like, I'm over here.
[00:18:44] I'm doing this.
[00:18:44] And I really appreciate that about you because I know that you make a lot of decisions that are to benefit the whole.
[00:18:51] It is about you, but it's also serving the community as a whole because you make information accessible.
[00:18:58] You go seek it out.
[00:18:59] You learn.
[00:19:00] Then you make it accessible.
[00:19:00] And I really appreciate that.
[00:19:02] So we need to stay in tune with Kate.
[00:19:04] OK, we need to stay in tune with Kate.
[00:19:06] I do want to bring up a couple more things and just give some more awarenesses to that.
[00:19:14] Friend, if it wasn't for you asking me to.
[00:19:20] Go into my creative space and make you a jacket for your birthday.
[00:19:26] I wouldn't be here creating like the things that I do.
[00:19:30] So I want to give honor where it's due that I didn't.
[00:19:33] It's hard to take myself seriously in that realm because I think there's such a FOMO that exists.
[00:19:38] We were talking about that, too, when people were like, it's exclusive, one of a kind.
[00:19:41] It's drop.
[00:19:42] It's collab.
[00:19:43] And it's just like creating FOMO.
[00:19:45] Like, wow, I'm never going to be part of something, you know, whereas you just the way that you include me, you allow me to exist as myself, make life decisions with me and then encourage me in this art form.
[00:20:00] Like, it's just been the coolest thing.
[00:20:03] And since then, I since making that, I started making a number.
[00:20:08] And I think I'm around like 45 garments that I've made now.
[00:20:11] That's incredible.
[00:20:12] Honestly, this is my statement piece.
[00:20:15] Like when I'm wearing this, like we're getting shit done.
[00:20:18] We're celebrating ourselves.
[00:20:19] The last time I wore it was on my birthday.
[00:20:21] And I was like, I got to wear it.
[00:20:23] I'm so glad, friend.
[00:20:25] I just feel like a damn unicorn when I'm wearing this.
[00:20:29] It just brings me so much joy.
[00:20:31] And I think, you know, you also sparked in me, I think a lot of times we end up waiting on a lot of permissions in life, right?
[00:20:38] And I'm like, okay, I don't have permission to call myself a designer.
[00:20:41] I don't have permission to call myself a model, which like to me it's just funny because these are just like titles that I'm like, oh, I go and hang out with friends.
[00:20:48] And they gave me that title, you know, in an interesting way.
[00:20:53] But you just, you gave me a lot of permission to just like dabble in it and just try it, you know?
[00:21:00] And I'm like, oh my God.
[00:21:03] And I love it.
[00:21:04] So I created a fashion show and unfortunately you weren't able to attend, but it was because of Sparked in a moment that you were like, no, get your shit out there, you know?
[00:21:12] Like, so I'm yet to release these photos because there's time for everything.
[00:21:16] But I made a bunch of looks for that and it all sparked because you requested that of me.
[00:21:22] And I remember trying not to be an imposter syndrome, like, oh, I can't do that.
[00:21:27] I was just like, oh my God, I'm going to fucking do this.
[00:21:29] It's going to be crazy.
[00:21:30] And it turned out better than I thought.
[00:21:32] And it just keeps improving because like eight months ago I was just literally figuring out how to use a cricket.
[00:21:39] And put that, iron it properly on something.
[00:21:42] And now I'm just like completely just like doing things I never thought myself possible to do.
[00:21:50] But you already saw me that way.
[00:21:51] So I lived up to the preconceived notion you had of me being an artist.
[00:21:55] And then I figured out I think I'm an artist.
[00:21:58] Honestly.
[00:21:58] So thank you.
[00:21:59] Just like the first time I met you and saw you, like the way that you express yourself inspires me to want to express myself.
[00:22:05] And I just want to express the gratitude back at you.
[00:22:07] I feel like me being, this is my first podcast, which is so exciting.
[00:22:12] And like you're helping me find my voice more.
[00:22:14] Yeah.
[00:22:15] So, you know, it's.
[00:22:17] This is like osmosis.
[00:22:21] Yeah, osmosis.
[00:22:23] But this is the representation I needed to see.
[00:22:26] I would have never known as a young person.
[00:22:28] And also just like some of the gatekeeping stuff that happens, you know, when you want to make decisions and you reach out and you want like a mentorship, right?
[00:22:36] Right.
[00:22:37] I've had instances that.
[00:22:38] And here's the thing, y'all, is that mentoring isn't just like you as the person receiving this mentorship.
[00:22:45] You can also be shown what not to do.
[00:22:48] I've been there.
[00:22:49] I just went through that my whole last year, my whole last or this 2024.
[00:22:56] I was reduced to nothing but breadcrumbs, I feel like.
[00:23:00] Like, you know, and I really had to look at it.
[00:23:03] And I was like, you know, I was told not to talk about my podcast.
[00:23:07] I was told that my type of how I go about business wise and community wasn't going to work.
[00:23:15] Oh, I got told things.
[00:23:16] I do have some receipts because it's fun.
[00:23:19] But anyway, I was told these things.
[00:23:22] And it's not that I was like, oh, it's a no.
[00:23:24] I was like, oh, I'm being told that because it hasn't been done yet.
[00:23:27] And sometimes people want to be the first to do something rather.
[00:23:31] And those are the people that want to make money off of their community versus people that want to make money with it.
[00:23:37] And, you know, we get all of that buzz stuff in.
[00:23:40] And it's like, you know, collab, you know, collabing with your community and, you know, collab over cash and capitalism.
[00:23:48] And it's like people say that in a buzzworthy way, but they're not, you know, like I just want to say that you are one of the realists out here pushing for that community and enhancing that.
[00:23:59] Like, honestly, friend, if I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be here today pushing this way.
[00:24:05] Literally going to free myself in 2025 of having to do some of the work that I've been doing because we did the work here to create the jobs we have now.
[00:24:15] And that was sparked because you were like, hey, like, I know you're an artist.
[00:24:20] Go do that.
[00:24:20] And I'm like, I have no idea what I'm fucking doing.
[00:24:22] Isn't it funny?
[00:24:23] Sometimes you just like need a pal to be like, do it.
[00:24:25] Yeah, but your notion of me, your preconceived was like, Danny just does that.
[00:24:32] No, I already saw you as that, honestly, like this.
[00:24:35] Like, I just love everything.
[00:24:37] It's so eye-catching.
[00:24:39] And it speaks you.
[00:24:40] Like, you're being you.
[00:24:42] And the community needs more of that.
[00:24:44] Thank you, friend.
[00:24:46] And we're doing that.
[00:24:47] We're doing that.
[00:24:48] And again, to make it accessible.
[00:24:49] I think that, you know, historically, what I grew up with as the representation as not knowing that I was BIPOC.
[00:25:04] I had no idea.
[00:25:06] I had racist grandparents on my dad's side.
[00:25:09] And then my mom's side is Mexican and Spanish.
[00:25:12] So I just thought that I was growing up in this way of like, not like prejudice and racism.
[00:25:18] I was like, these families just don't get along, you know.
[00:25:21] And so I had a lot of identity issue.
[00:25:24] I've never belonged anywhere ever.
[00:25:27] And so sometimes there was a moment where I was like, and I'm going to digress for a second after this.
[00:25:34] Okay.
[00:25:34] But I had a really tough time, you know, trying to find like my people.
[00:25:39] And again, saying like community exists, but also community will protect itself.
[00:25:45] So if you're not ready and you're trying to infiltrate a place as like a person that needs to seek more healing,
[00:25:52] a community is going to put you at, you know, hold you like you're going to wait there for a second.
[00:25:57] We got to wait.
[00:25:57] You got a virus on you.
[00:25:59] We need to cure that first, you know.
[00:26:01] And I felt like that was like my purgatory for a second.
[00:26:03] Like I needed to be there.
[00:26:05] I knew community could exist.
[00:26:07] And then I was like, again, as a wounded queer person that, you know, for a long time,
[00:26:14] I think Denver didn't have great representation within the queer world.
[00:26:20] We had a lot of gay and lesbian representation, which I, there's a lot of separation with that.
[00:26:27] Right.
[00:26:27] And so now I have found just so much love and support within my queer community that it's, it's pretty crazy from like a year ago to where I am now that I didn't.
[00:26:41] I just went around and I like handpicked my community.
[00:26:43] I was like, we're going to hang out.
[00:26:45] We're going to hang out.
[00:26:46] And then before you know it, it's just like an aspen tree organism.
[00:26:51] And that's how we're all connected.
[00:26:52] You know, it's really fascinating, you know.
[00:26:58] So all of that to say is that you're an incredible representation.
[00:27:02] You're educating your community.
[00:27:04] You're also showing, you know, young people that it's okay to not know exactly what you're doing.
[00:27:12] And, you know, in the sense of like, I'm going to continue going down this road.
[00:27:17] There's not really like a right or wrong answer, but I'm going to find a rhyme to this reason, you know.
[00:27:24] Definitely.
[00:27:25] So I just want to say thank you so much for allowing me to see that potential in myself.
[00:27:30] I don't think that I, again, I don't think that I'd be here.
[00:27:33] And then you're in here with me.
[00:27:35] We were super nervous about like, how is this podcast going to go?
[00:27:38] And I think we're doing swimmingly.
[00:27:40] Yes, we are.
[00:27:41] Just keep swimming.
[00:27:44] So I do want to, I also want to note that within, within this community too, and the awarenesses that you're bringing around,
[00:27:52] just even to like textile waste and, and resources that, you know, where you can just kind of like basically what you have been showing me as resources,
[00:28:05] as ways to like here, you could donate to here.
[00:28:09] You can get more education over here.
[00:28:12] Where could we find you on the socials, if you're willing to share that so that we could be a little bit more attuned to the work that you have coming up in 2025?
[00:28:24] Definitely.
[00:28:25] And I just want to add one thing.
[00:28:27] I think like our yearning for belonging from, you know, the things that we went through as children, like we're healing that.
[00:28:34] This is inner child work with our community.
[00:28:35] You're so right.
[00:28:36] Like it's just, you know, the belonging was a big thing for me this year.
[00:28:40] And, you know, I cultivated a lot of that.
[00:28:44] It's so amazing because that was another part of like the little fashion show I decided to have at the house.
[00:28:50] Every person was like, I have never felt this like sense of belonging.
[00:28:57] That's how I feel every time I'm walking around with you.
[00:28:59] Like even on the streets, you're like, I know that person.
[00:29:02] I'm like that.
[00:29:03] And it's like not like it's not, it's not egotistical.
[00:29:06] It's just like because like you are just, you care about people and you can tell.
[00:29:12] And it's just, it's beautiful to see just like your wings all over.
[00:29:16] Or I just, yeah, we're just going to like keep going back and forth telling each other how amazing and beautiful we are.
[00:29:23] But this is that representation too.
[00:29:26] Again, it's like I think because for a long time I centralized or I centered certain relationships versus seeing the scope of it all.
[00:29:34] And that I do much better in my intimate connections within this community and what we are creating far more than I have done, you know, trying to like, whether that's like a relationship to an old job, you know, where I was putting in 60 hours with no return to anything.
[00:29:53] A church or a community that wasn't serving me or, you know, places where I wasn't supposed to fit in and I made myself fit in.
[00:30:01] Right.
[00:30:02] You know, so just being here.
[00:30:05] No, God.
[00:30:07] So again, we can get just giving all of this honor where it's due.
[00:30:13] And so in order for us to continue staying educated and updated, where can we find you?
[00:30:18] Yes.
[00:30:19] So definitely follow Colorado Rising.
[00:30:22] That's the organization that I work for that will keep you up to date on all environmental issues, specifically focusing on how oil and gas is impacting our community.
[00:30:31] And then for me personally, my Instagram is cultivating underscore chrysalis.
[00:30:37] I know that's right.
[00:30:39] I've always loved butterflies as a kid and just like the transformation piece that is constantly happening in community when we create together.
[00:30:49] So, yeah, I'm trying to like build on my own brand a little bit outside of Colorado Rising as well.
[00:30:54] So both are part of me.
[00:30:57] So, yeah.
[00:30:58] No, absolutely.
[00:31:00] And thank you for giving us like just a moment of like that intimate space about what it is that's like sparking you right now.
[00:31:09] Because sometimes that is vulnerable to share, you know, because it can be a little bit frightening if we're not ready to just be like, hey, we're plunging into this and you're going to see a lot more coming.
[00:31:18] And you're like, you know what?
[00:31:19] We're just going to we're growing on it.
[00:31:20] This is also my page.
[00:31:21] I'm creating my own little space with it.
[00:31:24] So I love that you made yourself another entity.
[00:31:27] I needed that.
[00:31:28] Thank you.
[00:31:28] For real.
[00:31:29] Totally.
[00:31:29] Thank you for acknowledging that, too.
[00:31:31] I think, yeah, it's so important to be able to just like honor those parts of ourselves that are still growing.
[00:31:36] Like like I said, always a student, always a teacher.
[00:31:39] And I'm I'm excited about where I am right now.
[00:31:43] Like I did so much growing this year and looking forward to, you know, messing up next year.
[00:31:48] I love this.
[00:31:49] I love this.
[00:31:51] And just, you know, continuing.
[00:31:52] Yeah.
[00:31:53] Keep on keeping on.
[00:31:54] So with that, because you're like, I'm just I just can't wait till next year.
[00:31:57] What would you as yourself right now say to the younger person that was speaking a moment ago to the person sitting in this chair?
[00:32:09] Oh, so say that again.
[00:32:10] So you as you are now, what would you say to your baby self?
[00:32:14] Oh, OK.
[00:32:16] Hmm.
[00:32:18] I would say honestly, it sounds cliche, but just to keep following my intuition, because like that's that's what it is.
[00:32:30] Like when like the universe is speaking to me, that's what I'm like high off of it.
[00:32:34] I'm like more like, you know, so I just I just want to keep following that.
[00:32:38] And it's honestly like really simple.
[00:32:40] Like in my head, I'm like trying to come up with something like long, like complex answer.
[00:32:45] But it's like, no, like my gut is literally like knocking at me right now.
[00:32:48] Like just follow that.
[00:32:50] Yeah.
[00:32:50] Keep following like what's inside.
[00:32:53] I love this, friend.
[00:32:54] Thank you.
[00:32:55] Well, to acknowledge that, I just think you've done a brilliant job being in the parallel with that inner child work.
[00:33:02] And just again, what you're bringing into the awareness is to this community, to your community, you know, your home, your your roots, you know, to your community.
[00:33:13] There is a representation of leaving like where you grew up and you're doing your own thing.
[00:33:17] There's so many versions of yourself that are becoming and representing to the younger version of you, but also to an entire community.
[00:33:26] So I just want to always, always be celebrating yourself, friend, because you are a vibrant, regal spirit.
[00:33:35] And it's just it's a pleasure to know you.
[00:33:37] I honestly feel like like my ancestors talking to me right now.
[00:33:41] It's crazy that you just said that, the celebrating yourself, because that's I want to get in a tattoo someday.
[00:33:47] One day I was like crying in the car with my grandma and she was like, Caitlin, you know, one day when I'm gone, like just always remember to celebrate yourself.
[00:33:55] And I really want to get celebrate yourself right here.
[00:33:57] So when I'm like this, I'm like, come up.
[00:34:00] You know, like just.
[00:34:02] So when you said that, it was honestly like a mirror, like everything just the synchronicity.
[00:34:08] Yeah, I'm telling you.
[00:34:11] There's something here.
[00:34:14] And it's going to continue happening.
[00:34:16] So I want you all to stay tuned.
[00:34:19] I just had, you know, like an ethereal experience in this chair.
[00:34:23] This is like not the last you're going to see of Kate.
[00:34:27] Barely a fraction of the beginning.
[00:34:29] We got a lot of educating to do for ourselves so that we can bring more awareness as much as we can.
[00:34:38] Willingness to hear.
[00:34:39] So I just want to give a big, big shout out to Denver Community Media for the space today.
[00:34:46] Boom, boom.
[00:34:48] Also Kate for being with me today.
[00:34:52] And Megan who helped set this up.
[00:34:55] I don't like doing it.
[00:34:56] The best.
[00:34:57] You know?
[00:34:59] Again, I don't come on the mic to do this whole thing of like creating FOMO or like telling people how to live their lives or like purposely trying to encourage people.
[00:35:09] I'm just here as a representation.
[00:35:11] If it resonates, awesome.
[00:35:13] If it doesn't move along.
[00:35:14] Other than that, stay tuned with us all because we got a lot coming.
[00:35:19] And with that being said, continue creating earnestly in love.
[00:35:24] We'll see you soon.
[00:35:24] The RODECaster Pro 2 is the world's most powerful all-in-one audio solution for all types of creators, including podcasters.
[00:35:34] Graffiti and Julius use one at the plug.
[00:35:37] It offers studio quality audio and revolutionary features for creators.
[00:35:40] While being incredibly easy to use, RODECaster Pro 2 all-in-one production solution for podcasting.
[00:35:47] It's on sales for $690 right now.
[00:35:49] And there's a link in this episode description.
[00:35:52] Check it out.
[00:35:53] This is Sarah Hubbard, host of You and Me Kid, a podcast about starting and raising a family on your own.
[00:36:00] We just launched season two and I'm speaking with single moms, those still considering, and experts in relevant fields to give you a real sense of what the day-to-day experience of solo parenting looks and feels like.
[00:36:11] Plus, this season I've partnered with California Cryobank, the number one sperm bank in the U.S.
[00:36:15] So wherever you are in the process, this podcast provides some support, humor, and helpful information.
[00:36:21] Listen to You and Me Kid wherever you get your podcasts.