F*ck Confidence: The Empowerment Studio Podcast

Kinzie + Rachael - The Empowerment Studio

Welcome to our Empowerment Studio podcast! Join Kinzie Elizabeth (they/she) and Rachael Cady (she/her) as they introduce you to a space where real conversations take center stage. Broadcasting from the Empowerment Studio, a boudoir photography studio in Kansas City, MO, this episode sets the tone for what you can expect in future conversations. Kinzie and Rachael emphasize the importance of creating a comfortable environment where vulnerable topics around bodies, pleasure, and self-expression can be openly explored. Together, and with incredible guests, they aim to normalize conversations that society often shies away from, inviting listeners to engage with these essential topics in a supportive and empowering way. Tune in and discover the journey ahead!

  1. 4D AGO

    060: Why Being “Strong on Your Own” Is Keeping You Stuck -- with theatre artist Angela Marcum (my mom!)

    If empowerment feels harder than it should, the problem might not be you; it might be isolation. We've got an incredibly special guest for this episode -- someone who deeply shaped the way I move through the world. I would like to heartily welcome theatre artist and community builder, Angela Marcum (she/her) -- who also happens to be my mom! In this episode, we talk about where my belief in beauty and community actually comes from, and how those values got built long before the Empowerment Studio ever existed. This is a conversation about being seen. About building spaces where people feel like they belong. About why doing it alone isn’t actually the goal. The way you build community changes everything -- and we were never meant to do this alone! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree on this one, folks. This is a fun episode to tune into if you want to see where it all began. To contact our guest (in case you want to collaborate with her!) -- https://angelamarcum.com/ 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    52 min

  2. APR 15

    058: You’re Allowed to Want Things (Desire Isn’t Selfish!)

    This episode is a bit of a peek behind the curtain -- we’re right in the middle of running a series of North Star workshops in the Empowerment Experience as we are publishing this episode. It's been so fun! Inside the program, we’ve always set a North Star -- a vision for what you want your life to feel like and where you want to point your compass for the six months of the program. What I started noticing is how much is actually inside that process. “What do I want?” can open up a lottttt. So we're creating even more space for it. The North Star Workshop is now a 3-part experience to help you: get clear on where you are right nowbe radically honest about what you actually wantturn that into a clear direction you can move towardIt also brings in something I’m calling practice menus -- ways to take action whether you have five minutes and no energy, or a full afternoon with more capacity. We're aiming to make it feel really achievable to actually begin to make the changes you are craving in your life. This started as a nerdy, late-night idea and is now becoming a deeper layer of the program. I’m really curious to see what it opens up for people. So far it's been really powerful. Lots more to come, I can't wait to update you once we've completed the whole workshop series! 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    24 min

  3. APR 8

    057: Showing Up Without Burning Out -- A Tarot-Inspired Reflection

    This episode is being published in a moment where our government is actively contributing to violence and harm on a global scale. And while we recorded this a couple months ago… that’s also not new. This isn’t a one-time moment. It’s a pattern. It’s ongoing. Which means the question becomes: how do we stay present, resourced, and able to actually show up inside of it? So in this episode, Rachael and I pulled tarot for you. Which led us into a conversation about what it looks like to step out of constant urgency mode without disconnecting, how to let time and space do some of the work instead of muscling your way through everything, and why small moments of celebration and care aren’t a distraction but actually fuel (then it becomes up to us for how we decide to use that fuel - but if we're resourced, we can do a lot with that!). We also share a simple practice (we each name six things we’re celebrating) that ended up being way more grounding than expected -- let us know if you give it a try at home. (And DM me the things you're celebrating, if you want to!! I'd LOVE to see -- goodness knows we could all use a little moment to steep in the good these days.) 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    28 min

  4. APR 1

    056: Stop Waiting to Like Your Body Before You Let Yourself Be Seen

    In this episode, Rachael (she/her) and I (Kinzie, they/she, hey pals!) are diving into what it actually means to take up space in your body -- especially when it doesn’t look or feel the way you want it to. Christina, in our Empowerment Studio community, submitted a question that unfolded into this podcast. We talk about the difference between taking up space energetically versus physically, and how being in your body can feel like a completely different challenge than just showing up in a room. A lot of people are waiting to feel confident before they allow themselves to be seen, photographed, or celebrated -- which keeps you stuck. What if not that?? So we talk about how to start seeing yourself differently, how to build from neutrality instead of confidence, and how small moments of noticing can begin to shift your relationship with your body over time. Throughout the episode, we share our own experiences with shrinking, swinging between “too much” and “not enough,” and learning how to find a version of taking up space that actually feels aligned instead of performative. Taking up space isn’t about loving your body all the time. It’s about learning how to stay in it -- and letting that be enough to start. 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    37 min

  5. MAR 25

    055: A Nonbinary Participant’s Empowerment Experience: Identity, Community, and Self-Discovery

    In this episode, my lovely cohost Rachael and I talk with Sarah Staat (yes, they're back!) about their journey with the Empowerment Studio -- from their first photoshoot to going all-in during the Empowerment Experience. Sarah grew up in a very religious environment where a lot of life decisions were already mapped out for them. Over time, especially after a divorce, they began the long process of figuring out who they actually were outside of that structure. They first found the Empowerment Studio through one of our selfie challenges, and over the years became a deeply involved part of the community. During the Empowerment Experience, Sarah used the space to explore identity more fully -- including trying out they/them pronouns and embracing the full range of their masculine and femme expression. By the time we photographed their big Empowerment Experience shoot, they were stepping into that range completely: everything from a suit, to a bikini, to a flannel-and-axe lumberjack moment in the woods. One of the things Sarah talks about beautifully is how the program gave them a place where they didn’t have to edit themself. Over the six months, that practice of simply being themself started to carry into the rest of their life too. We also talk about the community side of the Empowerment Experience -- the group photoshoot, the friendships that form, and the way people witness each other’s growth over time. Sarah describes the whole experience as an investment in themself, and as a way of capturing the moment of who they are now. PS This episode title is reductive for sure -- but I wanted all the cutie enby folks who might be podcast browsing to know that they've got a fun episode to tune in to. It's nice to know when something is extra perfect for you! 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    57 min

  6. MAR 12

    054: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Empowerment Experience

    In this episode, Rachael and I (Kinzie) talk through the actual structure of the Empowerment Experience. We’ve talked a lot on the podcast about the transformations that can happen in this program, but I realized some people might be wondering: what do the six months actually look like? So we walk through the arc of the experience -- from the welcome party and early connection-building, to Selfie Week and our guided group selfie practice, to the monthly Togetherness Times where we make space for play, creativity, and community. We also talk about the Empowerment Party, individual photoshoots, and the final celebration where everyone gets to see their images together at the end of the program. One of the things I share is that the Empowerment Experience isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about choosing your own “win condition” and deciding how you want to show up for yourself over the six months. If you’ve been curious about the Empowerment Experience but wondering what you’d actually be stepping into, this episode is a behind-the-scenes look at how the program works and why the structure is designed the way it is. Doors are technically only open to the Empowerment Experience for one more day - but this episode was supposed to go out earlier this week and didn't (oops!) - so if you're seeing this and it's after the application window is open, but before the end of March, apply anyways (mention this podcast!) and I'll sneak ya in! 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    44 min

  7. MAR 5

    053: F*ck Confidence [Workshop Replay]

    This episode is a replay of the live F*ck Confidence Workshop -- it was one of those sessions where the energy in the room was just different. (I loved it so much, y'all! I truly think this was our best workshop yet!) People were having "oh sh*t" moments all over the place. The kind where something clicks and you can't un-hear it, and you've changed. Participants had breakthroughs mid-conversation, got a little uncomfortable (in the best way), and walked away seeing themselves differently than when they showed up. And I know that sounds like it could have been a heavy night -- but it was SO joy-filled. We wiggled, we laughed, we had a genuinely good time. Communityyyy. The kind of space where you can be messy and feel totally held. Here's the thing this workshop is built around: confidence is not actually what you're missing. And chasing it is keeping you stuck. In this replay, we dig into what's really going on, and how you can start getting what you want right now, without waiting until you feel "ready." You'll also get a full overview of the Empowerment Experience: what it is, who it's for, and why it might be exactly what you've been looking for. If something in this episode makes you go oh dang, that's me, that's your sign. You can apply here: https://empowermentphotographer.com/experience or send me (Kinzie) a DM here if you want to chat about it: @empowermentstudio__ I hope you give this a listen. You deserve amazing things, and this will help make them happen. We love you! 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    1h 58m

  8. FEB 24

    052: F*ck Confidence

    I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: F**k confidence! In this episode, Rachael and I unpack something that’s been simmering since our January team retreat at the Empowerment Studio. Libby and David and I were talking about the boudoir industry at large -- what people promise, what they sell, what they center -- and one word kept coming up: Confidence. Build your confidence. Find your confidence. Come in confident. Leave confident. But here’s the problem: the number one thing I hear from people who want to book a session but don’t is, “I’m just not confident enough.” And here's what I'd like to offer: what if confidence isn’t the prerequisite? What if you don’t have to feel ready? What if you don’t have to feel bold or secure or certain? What if you get to show up nervous, uncertain, even a little shaky -- and do it anyway? Rachael talks about working on her first play and carrying a literal clipboard as a stand-in for confidence. We talk about doing things before we feel qualified. We talk about how the doing itself is often what creates the shift. What are you postponing because you’re waiting to feel more confident first? What conversations? What risks? What visibility? What joy? Especially right now, in a world that requires more courage from regular people, waiting for perfect confidence might be the very thing keeping us small. This episode plants a seed for the rest of the season. You’ll hear threads of this concept woven through future conversations -- about power, visibility, voice, embodiment, and taking up space. You don’t need confidence to begin. You begin. And confidence (maybe) follows. (And if it doesn't, THAT'S OKAY!) If this sparks something in you, I want to hear about it. Where have you been waiting to feel ready? We're not holding back anything in Season 2 of this podcast. LFGGGGGG. 🤳🏼 Get our FREE selfie guide: https://empowermentphotographer.com/selfie 🔗 Sign up for the #SelfietoSelfLove Challenge: selfietoselflove.com 📸 Follow us on Instagram: @empowermentstudio__ 🌐 Learn more about our boudoir sessions and Empowerment Experience: empowermentphotographer.com 👥 Join our Facebook Group: The Empowerment Studio

    15 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.3
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Welcome to our Empowerment Studio podcast! Join Kinzie Elizabeth (they/she) and Rachael Cady (she/her) as they introduce you to a space where real conversations take center stage. Broadcasting from the Empowerment Studio, a boudoir photography studio in Kansas City, MO, this episode sets the tone for what you can expect in future conversations. Kinzie and Rachael emphasize the importance of creating a comfortable environment where vulnerable topics around bodies, pleasure, and self-expression can be openly explored. Together, and with incredible guests, they aim to normalize conversations that society often shies away from, inviting listeners to engage with these essential topics in a supportive and empowering way. Tune in and discover the journey ahead!

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