44 min
Special Episode: Unique with Dame Kelly Holmes Why Care?
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- Business
In the second special celebrity episode of Why Care? I am joined by the multi-talented, Double Olympic Champion, Dame Kelly Holmes. We dive deeper into her journey of self-discovery, personal experiences, and traumas, which she explores in her powerful memoir Unique. Kelly shares her emotional backstory in which she concealed her true identity and sexuality from the public and lived in fear for most of her life. We discuss the discriminatory military laws and systemic mistreatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in the British army, as well as the mental health impact. As a world-class athlete, Kelly opens up about the pressure to hide her sexuality, and how she overcame her fears and revealed her authentic self publicly. Kelly then shares her experiences attending a Pride event, becoming part of a supportive community, and about her LGBTQ+ advocacy work.
At 18, Kelly pursued her dream to be an HGV driver and Physical Training Instructor in the British Army. In 1998, she was awarded a MBE for her services to the British Army and in 2018 became the first individual to be appointed Honorary Colonel to a regular unit. Meanwhile, Kelly also pursued her Olympic dream and was catapulted to fame in 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games for being the first woman ever in Great Britain to win two gold medals at the same games. She continued to raise the bar as an Olympic, Commonwealth, and European champion, achieving seven Gold, eight Silver, and four Bronze medals. She also won BBC Sports Personality of the Year and European Athlete of the Year.
During the episode, Kelly shares her experiences of concealing her true identity and the fear she faced in revealing her sexuality to the public. She highlights the importance of education, understanding, acceptance, and authenticity regarding LGBTQ+ issues and the need to normalise attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community. As Kelly recounts her extraordinary life story, she uncovers her experiences in the military, the traumatic military raids, and discriminatory laws targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. She then exposes the wider systemic discrimination in the military and the psychological traumas and mental health issues it caused, which she explored in her ITV documentary, Kelly Holmes: Being Me.
As she developed her public persona as an international Olympic champion and world-class athlete, Kelly opens up about her fear of not being accepted for her sexuality and her anxiety about how this could impact her achievements. As she juggled her dual identity, she used defensive methods and was careful about how she projected herself to avoid judgment. Kelly then went on a journey of self-discovery, and at the age of 50, she finally accepted herself and came out about her sexuality. She embraced her true identity publicly the 2022 London Pride event, which was a powerful moment for her. Kelly acknowledges the pressures, challenges, and complexities of the coming out process, and uses her platform as an opportunity to combat stereotypes and to be an advocate for change. As a motivational speaker, Kelly shares how she connects with and inspires people through her personal experiences, but realises that her sexuality is just one aspect of her life. Now she has found happiness and inner peace, she focuses on her work and achievements and recognises the freedom of living authentically in a world where she can be proud to be herself, without the need for validation.
Links:
Dame Kelly Holmes can be found on:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
For more information about Dame Kelly Holmes, visit:
http://kellyholmes.co.uk/
Dame Kelly Holmes’ charity: https://www.damekellyholmestrust.org/
Purchase your copy of my book: Beyond Discomfort: Why inclusive leadership is so hard (and what you can do about it)
In the second special celebrity episode of Why Care? I am joined by the multi-talented, Double Olympic Champion, Dame Kelly Holmes. We dive deeper into her journey of self-discovery, personal experiences, and traumas, which she explores in her powerful memoir Unique. Kelly shares her emotional backstory in which she concealed her true identity and sexuality from the public and lived in fear for most of her life. We discuss the discriminatory military laws and systemic mistreatment of LGBTQ+ individuals in the British army, as well as the mental health impact. As a world-class athlete, Kelly opens up about the pressure to hide her sexuality, and how she overcame her fears and revealed her authentic self publicly. Kelly then shares her experiences attending a Pride event, becoming part of a supportive community, and about her LGBTQ+ advocacy work.
At 18, Kelly pursued her dream to be an HGV driver and Physical Training Instructor in the British Army. In 1998, she was awarded a MBE for her services to the British Army and in 2018 became the first individual to be appointed Honorary Colonel to a regular unit. Meanwhile, Kelly also pursued her Olympic dream and was catapulted to fame in 2004 at the Athens Olympic Games for being the first woman ever in Great Britain to win two gold medals at the same games. She continued to raise the bar as an Olympic, Commonwealth, and European champion, achieving seven Gold, eight Silver, and four Bronze medals. She also won BBC Sports Personality of the Year and European Athlete of the Year.
During the episode, Kelly shares her experiences of concealing her true identity and the fear she faced in revealing her sexuality to the public. She highlights the importance of education, understanding, acceptance, and authenticity regarding LGBTQ+ issues and the need to normalise attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community. As Kelly recounts her extraordinary life story, she uncovers her experiences in the military, the traumatic military raids, and discriminatory laws targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. She then exposes the wider systemic discrimination in the military and the psychological traumas and mental health issues it caused, which she explored in her ITV documentary, Kelly Holmes: Being Me.
As she developed her public persona as an international Olympic champion and world-class athlete, Kelly opens up about her fear of not being accepted for her sexuality and her anxiety about how this could impact her achievements. As she juggled her dual identity, she used defensive methods and was careful about how she projected herself to avoid judgment. Kelly then went on a journey of self-discovery, and at the age of 50, she finally accepted herself and came out about her sexuality. She embraced her true identity publicly the 2022 London Pride event, which was a powerful moment for her. Kelly acknowledges the pressures, challenges, and complexities of the coming out process, and uses her platform as an opportunity to combat stereotypes and to be an advocate for change. As a motivational speaker, Kelly shares how she connects with and inspires people through her personal experiences, but realises that her sexuality is just one aspect of her life. Now she has found happiness and inner peace, she focuses on her work and achievements and recognises the freedom of living authentically in a world where she can be proud to be herself, without the need for validation.
Links:
Dame Kelly Holmes can be found on:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
For more information about Dame Kelly Holmes, visit:
http://kellyholmes.co.uk/
Dame Kelly Holmes’ charity: https://www.damekellyholmestrust.org/
Purchase your copy of my book: Beyond Discomfort: Why inclusive leadership is so hard (and what you can do about it)
44 min