Maverick Mind

Ellie Foden
  • 5.0 (3)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Maverick Mind - if you are a creative, artistic, and visionary human, on the path to living in alignment with our creative expression and finding your freedom on your terms, then you're in the right place. I'm your host Ellie Foden: VOGUE-featured fashion designer, entrepreneur, mindset coach, and yoga + meditation teacher, and consider this your home to dive deep into the messy and magical moments of creative living and to find inspiration and guidance along your path to maverick creative success. Let's dive in!

  1. 3D AGO

    Get Out of Your Head: Alexandra Beller on Feeling Your Creativity, Not Just Doing It.

    🔥 Try EMBER for 7 days free ⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠ 🔥 What happens when creativity stops being something you feel… and becomes something you just do? In this conversation, choreographer, director and somatic practitioner Alexandra Beller joins me to explore the difference between executing the work and actually being inside the creative process. Alexandra has spent decades working with movement — first as a professional dancer touring internationally, and later as a choreographer, teacher and somatic practitioner helping people reconnect with their bodies as a source of creativity, insight and meaning. We talk about how many creatives are trained to prioritise external metrics — how something looks, how it’s judged, whether it’s successful — while losing touch with the internal signals that make creative work feel alive in the first place. In this episode we explore: • The difference between doing the movement and actually feeling it• Why many creatives end up creating from the head instead of the body• How productivity culture disconnects us from our natural creative rhythm• The balance between intuition and analytical thinking in the creative process• Why slowing down is often the key to deeper creativity and clarity Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Alexandra: Web: https://alexandrabeller.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandrabellerdances TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thelabanista YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8suG0TLGKqufov8IpqLrKw

    53 min

  2. MAR 9

    Sharing Without Shrinking: Justin Marlowe on Visibility & Showing Up Anyway

    What does it actually take to share your work publicly — and keep sharing it? Author and poet Justin Marlowe didn’t ease into writing. He committed fully. After leaving a career in education, he wrote and published his memoir Perfect Strangers: Echoes of a Black Suburban Youth — and then did the part many creatives avoid: he showed up to promote it. Consistently. Publicly. Without shrinking. In this conversation, we talk about what happens after you decide to take your creative work seriously — the momentum, the visibility, the fear, and the discipline it requires to keep going. We explore: Writing and publishing a memoir The realities of hybrid publishing Marketing your work without apology Building creative momentum Navigating criticism without losing your voice Showing up on the days you don’t feel like it Moving through fear instead of waiting for confidence Why community matters for writers Justin speaks honestly about the pressure of pitching agents, refining your craft, facing criticism, and continuing to create even when self-doubt creeps in. This episode is about discipline without rigidity, confidence without ego, and the long game of building a creative life in public. If you’ve ever hesitated to share your work — or posted once and disappeared — this conversation will meet you exactly there. Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try Ember for 7 days free ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠ Follow Justin on Instagram ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

    59 min

  3. MAR 2

    Dream It. Do It. Aisha Makara on Wild Faith, Joy & Creative Action

    🧡 JOIN EMBER FREE FOR 7-DAYS ⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠ 🧡 What happens when you stop waiting for certainty — and start living the experiment? Mongolian artist and entrepreneur Aisha Makara has built a life by testing dreams in real time. From engineering to Hollywood, from creating art that was sent to space to owning a hotel and preparing to sail across oceans — her path isn’t about impulsivity. It’s about full commitment. This conversation explores what it really means to dream it... and give it a shot, without overthinking it. We talk about: • following curiosity instead of convention• committing fully — and knowing when to walk away• outgrowing ambitions that once defined you• choosing alignment over significance• building boldly without needing guarantees• wild faith, joy, and creative action This episode isn’t about chasing random ideas. It’s about having the courage to test your dreams in the real world — and trusting yourself enough to pivot when something no longer fits. For anyone questioning their direction, feeling the nudge toward something new, or wondering whether it’s too late to begin again — this conversation is an invitation to move. Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Aisha on Instagram ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Find her website⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠

    1 hr

  4. FEB 23

    Can Creativity Be Taught? Stan Lai on Wisdom, Craft & Building a Life’s Work

    Is creativity a talent you’re born with — or something you can train? Playwright and theatre director Stan Lai, one of the most influential figures in contemporary Asian theatre, shares his philosophy of creativity, discipline, and lifelong artistic growth. After studying directing at UC Berkeley, Stan returned to Taiwan in the early 1980s when there was almost no theatre infrastructure and helped build a modern theatre movement from the ground up. Over four decades he has written more than forty plays, including Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, and developed a creative approach rooted in both craft and lived experience. We talk about his idea of “wisdom and method” — that technique can be taught, but meaningful creativity comes from attention, failure, curiosity, and unlearning what blocks us. In this conversation: whether creativity can be taught discipline vs inspiration unlearning perfectionism failure as part of mastery sustaining creativity over decades the role of life experience in art building meaningful cultural work staying humble through success A thoughtful conversation about developing creativity not just as a skill, but as a way of living and seeing. TRY EMBER FOR 7-DAYS FREE ⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠ Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find more info about Stan, his plays and his book 'CreativitRy' ⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠

    55 min

  5. FEB 16

    Success Without Losing Your Soul: Allen C. Paul on Values, Faith & Creative Purpose

    How do you pursue creative success without losing your values, burning out, or chasing approval? Musician, author, and creative coach Allen C. Paul shares what it means to build a sustainable creative career rooted in purpose, integrity, and clarity. As the founder of God and Gigs, he has spent years helping artists align their work with their beliefs, strengthen confidence in their calling, and define success beyond numbers, visibility, and comparison. This conversation explores the tension between money and meaning, discipline and freedom, ambition and family — and why many creatives struggle when they measure success only through external validation. Inside the episode we discuss: • balancing creativity, faith, and real life responsibilities • confidence vs ego in creative work • redefining success beyond metrics and social media • avoiding burnout while still growing your career • why knowing your “why” matters more than chasing opportunity • choosing community and family over constant touring • building a long-term creative life with integrity A grounded conversation for musicians, artists, writers, and creators who want success that actually feels good to live inside — not just impressive from the outside. 🔥 TRY EMBER FOR 7-DAYS FREE ⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠🔥 Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Allen on Instagram ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ Follow 'God and Gigs' here Find his website⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠

    1h 2m

  6. FEB 9

    Reclaiming Your Voice: Teri M. Brown on Healing, Writing & Self-Trust

    How do you rebuild creative confidence after years of being silenced?How do you learn to trust your voice again after emotional abuse? In this conversation, author Teri M. Brown shares her journey of healing, writing, and reclaiming her identity after a 14-year emotionally abusive marriage that slowly eroded her self-belief. For years, Teri wrote quietly, unsure if she had the right to call herself a writer — until everything changed when she and her husband rode a tandem bicycle 3,102 miles across the United States during COVID. That journey became the catalyst for her first book and for finally claiming her voice. We talk about perfectionism, imposter syndrome, creative fear, and why confidence isn’t something you wait for — it’s something you build through action. In this episode, we explore:✨ healing and rebuilding self-trust✨ finding your voice through writing✨ creative confidence and visibility✨ letting go of perfectionism✨ sharing your work without fear✨ marketing without burnout✨ building a sustainable creative life Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try Ember for 7 days free ⁠here ⁠ Follow Teri on Instagram ⁠here⁠ Find her website ⁠here⁠

    1h 2m

  7. 12/29/2025

    Creatively Naked: Wren Morrow on Boudoir Photography, Vulnerability and Creative Self-Trust

    This week, I’m joined by outdoor boudoir photographer Ren Morrow — someone who’s completely redefining what it means to be seen through the lens. Ren’s work takes women into wild, natural spaces and creates the kind of photoshoot that’s more like a self-return than a performance. It’s soft, powerful, intimate, and deeply connected to the land — and to the body. We talk about the moment that shaped her entire approach to photography (a boudoir shoot that left her feeling small and judged), and how that led to the values-driven business she’s built today — one that holds space for real, unfiltered self-expression. Inside this conversation, we explore: – What it really means to be seen through the lens – How to build a brand around your creative values – Reclaiming vulnerability as part of your process – And how to keep creating when self-doubt, shame, or burnout show up If you’re building a creative business that doesn’t fit the mould — this one’s for you. Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try Ember for 7 days free ⁠here ⁠ Follow Wren on Instagram ⁠here⁠ Find her website ⁠here⁠

    59 min

  8. 12/22/2025

    Boundaries, Burnout + Creative Renewal with Cindy Brockway

    In this episode of Maverick Mind, I’m joined by mindful living guide, educator, and boundaries mentor Cindy Brockway for a grounding conversation about burnout, courage, and what it really takes to reconnect with yourself in a world that asks for too much. Cindy spent more than 30 years working with children who had emotional and learning needs — a career that taught her the real meaning of self-regulation, compassion, and resilience. After her own experience with burnout and medical leave, she rebuilt her life around mindful living, nervous system awareness, and the courage to slow down. We talk about the patterns that drain creative people, why so many of us push past our limits until something forces us to stop, and how your spark never disappears — it just gets buried under pressure, perfectionism, and doing too much. Cindy also shares how jewellery-making became an unexpected gateway back to calm and creativity. Working with her hands offered a different kind of stillness: one rooted in presence, craft, and quiet joy rather than productivity. Inside the episode, we explore: ✨ how to recognise burnout before it’s too late ✨ building boundaries that protect your energy ✨ nervous system regulation you can actually use ✨ neutral thinking as a path to clarity ✨ reclaiming time, focus, and internal space ✨ creativity as a grounding practice — not a performance ✨ returning to your spark after overwhelm ✨ choosing courage over constant productivity This is a soft, honest, steadying conversation — a reminder that calm isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you learn to cultivate, one boundary, one pause, one breath at a time. Follow MAVERICK MIND⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or my personal page ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find my website⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Try Ember for 7 days free ⁠here ⁠ Follow Cindy on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠ Find her website ⁠here⁠

    52 min
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Trailer

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to Maverick Mind - if you are a creative, artistic, and visionary human, on the path to living in alignment with our creative expression and finding your freedom on your terms, then you're in the right place. I'm your host Ellie Foden: VOGUE-featured fashion designer, entrepreneur, mindset coach, and yoga + meditation teacher, and consider this your home to dive deep into the messy and magical moments of creative living and to find inspiration and guidance along your path to maverick creative success. Let's dive in!

Information

  • Creator
    Ellie Foden
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Ellie Foden
  • Show Website
    Maverick Mind