Crash Out With Me: Be Real, That's The Strategy

Crash Out With Me: Be Real, That's The Strategy

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/fan_mail/new] The internet keeps handing us the same recycled “insights” with a new filter, and we’re supposed to call it community. Madison sits down with Vanessa Smithers, a narrative consultant, poet, writer, and legacy archivist, to talk about the rise of Substack, the flood of AI-generated writing, and the weird new normal where people copy paste a robot’s voice and charge real money for it. We’re not anti-AI. We’re anti-empty. If you’ve felt your feed getting louder while saying less, you’re not imagining it. We dig into what algorithms reward, especially for Black creators and anyone who gets boxed into a stereotype for views. We talk about the dopamine trap of engagement, why “authenticity” online can become a curated performance, and how to build a personal brand on LinkedIn or Instagram without letting metrics decide your worth. Vanessa shares the practices that help her stay grounded, including treating hobbies as joy instead of output and choosing what stays offline. Then we crash out about privacy and consent in public life: filming strangers at the gym, recording run clubs, documenting every trip for “content,” and the way constant consumption kills tenderness. Vanessa also breaks down why being labeled a “content creator” can feel flattening when the work is art, emotional labor, and lived experience. We close with a hard truth about equity conferences and professional events that ask marginalized speakers to work for exposure or even pay to speak, plus what it really means to value your intellectual property work with Vanessa. https://www.vanessasmithers.com/ Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/support]

Crash Out With Me: Pride Beyond June

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/fan_mail/new] The political noise around trans people is loud, but the day-to-day consequences are even louder. Bryce joins us to get brutally honest about what it feels like to live at the intersections as a Black queer transgender man in 2026 while public fear-mongering ramps up and basic safety gets treated like something you have to earn. We talk about Bryce’s last 12 to 18 months, including a sudden layoff from a tech role centered on belonging, ERGs, and equity and inclusion strategy, followed by a job search that stretches far longer than anyone plans for. That path also leads from Seattle to Florida, and we unpack what “access” actually means when trans-affirming healthcare, employment protections, and community support vary wildly by state. Along the way, we challenge the lazy storyline that the South is a monolith and the privileged advice to “just leave.” We also go deep on trans athletes and why sports became a culture-war target, even when the facts do not match the panic. Bryce shares personal experience as a former trans college athlete and as a culture strategist who planned a sellout MLB Pride Night designed to expand visibility and community connection. Then we zoom out to the bigger idea: a lot of anti-trans rhetoric is really about policing gender expression for everyone, rooted in colonial history and rigid norms that harm far more than trans people. If you want a Pride Month mindset that lasts past June, this is your roadmap: humanize, learn the history, and use your power to hire, pay, and protect. Subscribe, share this with a hiring manager or ERG lead, and leave a review so more people find the conversation. Want to work with Bryce?   https://forms.gle/VbyMjEZNibUkUaoRA [https://forms.gle/VbyMjEZNibUkUaoRA] https://www.linkedin.com/in/brycejcelotto/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brycejcelotto/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/support]

Crash Out With Me: Toxic Resilience

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/fan_mail/new] Your body keeps score, even when your resume says you are thriving. We sit down with Liliane “Lily,” a Dublin-based coach for high-performing women, to talk about toxic resilience and the quiet ways burnout builds when “just push through” becomes your default setting. Lily shares her own experience with burnout after years in tech sales and what she noticed first: stress that was not only emotional, but physical. We get into what chronic stress can look like day to day, from racing thoughts and poor sleep to appetite changes, cortisol spikes, and that constant fight-or-flight feeling that makes rest feel impossible. We also talk about the difference between choosing resilience and being expected to be resilient, especially for women who are repeatedly given more because people assume they can carry it. From there, we move into practical tools for sustainable performance. Lily breaks down her foundation-first approach: nutrition, movement, sleep, breath work, meditation, and the identity work that helps you stop tying your worth to your output. We also unpack self-care beyond shopping, how to get comfortable with boredom in an overstimulated world, and why values and boundaries have to lead the plan if you want results without burnout. If you are a high achiever who wants to keep your ambition without sacrificing your health, hit play, then share this with a friend and leave a review. What is one non-negotiable you are setting this week? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/support]

Crash Out With Me: Not Everyone Deserves Access to You

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/fan_mail/new] Some people don’t want a relationship with you, they want access to you.  We sit down with Aubrey Blanche, founder of The Math Path, to talk about the relationships we outgrow and the ones that quietly turn harmful. We get honest about parasocial relationships, why people who barely know you feel entitled to opinions, and how the block button can be an act of clarity instead of drama. We also unpack the “fixer upper” pattern, survivor guilt, people pleasing, and the way privilege guilt can trick you into tolerating behavior you’d never recommend to a friend. Then we zoom out and apply a consent philosophy to real life: friendships, dating, breakups, and workplace boundaries. We break consent into a simple framework (well-being, fully informed, free from coercion, ongoing) and talk about what it looks like to revoke consent early, before things get explosive. We also cover how to handle people who name-drop you professionally, how to stay truthful without doing extra labor, and why “I can’t speak to that” is sometimes the most respectful line. We end with the bigger why: relationship quality is one of the strongest predictors of happiness and health. When you stop chasing approval and start choosing people who genuinely want joy for you, your body notices too. If this hits, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a clean boundary, and leave a review with the one relationship rule you’re adopting next. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/support]

Crash Out With Me: Build a Biz Instead of Texting Your Ex

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/fan_mail/new] A crash out can look messy on the outside, but it usually starts as your nervous system waving a flag. We talk with Karima, founder of Crash Out Diary and Wella, about what happens when workplace stress and “being iced out” pushes you to your limit and why standing up for yourself can become the first step toward real self-trust. Karima breaks down how she used AI for emotional regulation and then vibe coded her way from a funny “don’t text my ex” idea into a real wellness app. We get concrete about what vibe coding actually is (building software with natural language), how non-technical creators can learn while they build, and why privacy and security matter when you’re handling sensitive personal information. If you’ve been curious about AI tools but overwhelmed by jargon, this will make the landscape feel usable and human. We also get into personal software, the “thousand true fans” model, and what it takes to build community on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit without chasing random virality. Karima shares how a Threads post brought 4,000 followers fast, how she uses AI as a content thinking partner, and how Crash Out Diary unexpectedly helped land her on Oprah’s AI special. Finally, she previews Wella, a nervous system regulation habit tracker for women over 30 designed to create a pause before doomscrolling, negative self-talk, emotional eating, or sugar cravings. If you enjoy smart conversations on AI wellness, emotional regulation, entrepreneurship, and building in public, subscribe, share this with a friend who’s rebuilding after burnout, and leave a review. What would you want an AI-powered self-care app to help you do every day? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2603572/support]