We Are Power Podcast
The We Are PoWEr podcast spotlights voices and perspectives that need to be heard. Our weekly podcast, with listeners in over 60 countries, delivers PoWErful conversations that inspire, challenge, and empower... from personal life stories to business insights and leadership lessons.
We share diverse experiences, bold discussions, and real solutions. Whether you're looking for career advice, topical themes, or stories of resilience and success - this is where voices spark change.
We Are Power Podcast
From Coronation Street to the King’s Coronation
The brilliant Ella Grace Gregoire and Elaine Gregoire join the We Are PoWEr Podcast - a mother-daughter duo with a shared mission to uplift, include, and never leave anyone behind.
Elaine, founder of Streetwise and a foster carer, shares how she turned a church youth club into a thriving support hub for young people - all while navigating burnout and dancing through recovery (literally, with a Strictly Come Dancing charity challenge). Ella, a performance and wellbeing consultant, reflects on starting her own business at 17, advocating for Northern voices, and why in-person connection matters now more than ever.
From CITV to King Charles, ice baths to authenticity, this episode is packed with passion, perspective, and two fierce women who always think they’re right and might just be.
In this episode:
How Streetwise grew from church youth clubs to a thriving centre
Foster care, family sessions, and community-driven work
Burnout, boundaries, and dancing through recovery
Performing on Coronation Street and CITV
Starting a business at 17 to give young people more opportunities
Attending the King’s coronation and a royal visit to Buckingham Palace
The power of lived experience and advocating for mental health
Embracing neurodivergence and showing up as your full self
Why in-person connection still matters in a digital world
Magic wand moments: chronic pain, phone-free futures & radical self-care
Find out more about We Are PoWEr here. 💫
Hello, hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast. If this is your first time here, the we Are Power podcast is the podcast for you, your career and your life. We release an episode every single Monday with listeners in over 60 countries worldwide, where you'll hear personal life stories, top-notch industry advice and key leadership insight from amazing role models. As we Are Power is the umbrella brand to Northern Power Women Awards, which celebrates hundreds of female role models and advocates every year. This is where you can hear stories from all of our awards alumni and stay up to date with everything. Mpw Awards and we Are Power Never imitated, never replicated singularly wonderful, everybody's wonder girl. Well, hello and welcome to the podcast. This week I have a two for one. I have Ella Grace, who is social entrepreneur, performer and mental health advocate, and mum Lainey or Elaine.
Speaker 2:Obviously, I was christened Elaine, but all the kids call me Lainey. What do you want to be today? Lainey's fine Lainey.
Speaker 1:All right. And you are the founder of the wonderful Streetwise charity, and between them you have transformed thousands and thousands of lives. Now here's a challenge for the start. Okay, how would you describe your mum in three words?
Speaker 3:It has to be braveheart. That's in three words. It has to be Braveheart. That's not three words, that's one word. Oh, we're typhoonated. You can have whatever you want, it's all good. Braveheart, or Scottish Warrior, ginger. Scottish Warrior, the fire, fire, scottish Warrior. Does that even make sense? I don't know. There you go. I like Braveheart. You have to be a Braveheart. Yes, yes, braveheart, because you had me at. Braveheart, yes, yes, and you need the why behind that? A bit of context. Yeah, that's it. So basically, my mum is a Scottish warrior. There you go. Well, we're part Glaswegian and she's got the fire. She's got the fire in her. She drives everyone um, she is the driving force behind our family and she has, she will. She's taught me strength, resilience like a Braveheart Warriors. There you go, and a true northern power woman right true.
Speaker 3:Oh, she is the OG power woman. That is it. That is it.
Speaker 1:That's true too kind of I can feel a whole merch range already before we've even started. Braveheart, the OG, all of the above, laney, tell us about this one wow.
Speaker 2:Well, she took out the words I was going to describe her, but I've got two, if that's okay. So sure, what I do with ella, I've always called her my black scottish warrior, because, yeah, because she has always been, uh, such a warrior. So she has taken that. But extraordinary, that's the word I would describe Bella. I mean, from the day she came out of my womb she went ta-da, I'm here, I'm here. She's always been extra. In everything she does, she always goes the extra mile, she works extra hard and everything she does is extra. Yeah, definitely, that's the best way to describe her Extra passion.
Speaker 1:I first met the pair of you at the Northern Power Women Awards, where I saw I think I saw smiles and this just you like sparkle, the pair of you. You came in looking extra by the way down that purple carpet and after you, shortlisted for one of our awards this year which was amazing, and we, we are watching.
Speaker 1:And then you're like I would like to come on the podcast, it'd be great to have more, you know, younger voices, which is 100% up our street. And I'm like hell, yes, yeah. And you're like, can I bring Lainey as well?
Speaker 3:because you advocated for your mum, which I thought was just so smart and special and just gorgeous yeah, I always think that um, it's so important to have, I think, the the most amazing change makers and the people that are doing the best work, like sometimes don't know how to have the platform, and I've always advocated for people that are like um, like, especially in the change-making world with grassroots charities and there's so many stars, especially up north. People don't know about us and I'm always going down when I go down to London and I'm saying look at us, we're, we're northern change makers. People don't know and we need that platform. So we're always advocating for that, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:Do you know what? And that is true northern power, women, spirit. The spirit of why we created the awards was to high five achievements, to unearth the amazing role models, the people who don't get the platform, the stage, the voice. So the fact that you've been shortlisted been part of this and straight away you're throwing that light out over to our Lainey here. Lainey, tell us about the charity that you set up.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, I co-founded it with my husband, jerry, so he does need to take half the credit. It's not just me. And that was 23 years ago. We started running youth clubs just from a church hall and the initial reason was we have two older children. They were teenagers at the time and Nintendos had just come out. So all of a sudden they're in the bedrooms. We never saw them. We thought they're getting unfit. It's socially unhealthy.
Speaker 2:So we said, come on, we'll start like a keep fit sort of club for the teens. So we talked to our daughter and our son, we got them to bring their friends and then that gradually morphed into youth clubs. Then we started doing performing arts and then we started doing street dance and box fit. So every night of the week we had a mini bus and we'd be picking up children and taking them to all these different things and yeah, so this sort of morphed um.
Speaker 2:We then decided that my husband decided to become a youth worker and do a degree in his 40s which was amazing so that he could further this. And then about eight years ago, we actually got our own what was derelict, our own community center, and we renovated it with no money or anything, it was an absolute blessing. And now it's been transformed into a purpose-built youth, youth and community center and, um, you know, we've got games room, music room, performing art studio, 3g pitch, outdoor gardens. So yeah, that's it, and it's something that became a hobby, became a passion and became a full-time well, voluntary yeah and that's it.
Speaker 3:That's another point. Like it's it's all voluntary, like that shows my mum and dad's passion and that's what's always inspired me to volunteer as well, because they have put over 30 hours a week plus for their time all for free, and and they keep very humble about it. But it is something that's made me think right, I need to give my time as well, and I've seen how it changes lives, which shows the genuine care. I won't butt in anymore.
Speaker 1:Go on, no all the butting are we like. But you know just and I think this is where we talk about highlighting this northern great, amazing talent and amazing people driving change. But did you ever imagine, from just the concept of trying to get the kids off the nintendo and and not sort of stagnate in their bedrooms, could you ever imagine it would be what it is?
Speaker 2:no, no, it's just morphed. It morphed into a monster at some point, because we are literally there. I mean, luckily, we're foster carers, so you know, that's our job, our income. So when the children, or whoever we're looking after, are at school, you know, during the day, we're able to do the work streetwise and then also in corporate, taking them to the work that we do in the evenings at the youth clubs, stem, whatever we're doing. So it works hand in hand. So we've been fortunate to to do that as well, and you talked about performing arts.
Speaker 1:Is this how you got into performing arts? Aloe?
Speaker 3:um, well, I was always a dancer, um, and I did ballet originally, uh, royal academy, old school ballet and I sort of just fell into performing arts. Through slipping through it I went. I was a massive corrie fan. I used to make my own little shows, didn't I?
Speaker 3:I used to write my own little scripts and a little weirdo. That's what we did before iPads, yeah, before iPads. And then I went to one of my first auditions ever. Didn't expect to get it, and then ended up on Corrie and then it just snowballed and went down the acting route. So that's actually how I got into it. But then my mum did all the street dance. We had a street dance crew and she used to pick everyone up and take us all and and take us all to lessons and we did competitions and everything. It was all my friends and it was we were really good.
Speaker 2:We did quite a lot of shows, didn't we as well? We put on shows called Time to Shine for the children. So I think our thing is it's about allowing children to have a go at anything and things like dance and performing arts, stage school. They cost a fortune. So what we do with Streetwise is, if we see a talent, we'll nurture it at no cost, get the kids into doing it and then allow them to have a go at it really, and yeah, yeah. So it's allowing everybody we're all inclusive to see that talent and nurture it but it's so simple, isn't it?
Speaker 1:because it gives you the chance almost to try before you buy, because not everyone's good at everything, but you can still enjoy it if you're not good at it. I'm dreadful at singing, dancing, all of that stuff. Oh no, my husband teaches salsa. I cannot, no no, no that's a whole other episode we'll get into that one tell us what it was like being a young actor on Corrie?
Speaker 3:such an established yeah um yeah, well, I did a few things as a kid. Um, I also was a tv presenter, so I had my own show on CITV which don't even exist anymore, which is so sad um, which was was like the ITV's version of CBeebies. But I think being a child actress is like a. It's a mixed bag really, because there was amazing highlights to it, but it also was a lot of pressure and there was a lot of negative things that came from it. But I wouldn't change it for the world because it also taught me how to have charisma, how to have the skills to talk and I was, you know, I used to just play with myself, like and it gave me the skills on how to build the business I have now, and it gave me these transferable things that I think are just priceless. So I do thank for all the opportunities going, traveling, we went, you know, we hadn't even been on a train, really and we we got with acting. If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have been able to go to London and Manchester and and all these, all these incredible places. Yeah, and you set your own business up at 17. Yes, yeah, so again.
Speaker 3:So what what happened was I was usually the only working class Northern as well a girl at these auditions I was going to and I noticed I mean 67%, I might be wrong, but it's about 67% of this industry. The performing arts industry is privately educated. It's very similar to politics, where only 7% of the whole population is privately educated. So there's a massive gap in opportunity when it comes to that, because it's so expensive to do and private and performing arts school, drama schools are so expensive. So when I was 17 I used to get annoyed and it was like that drive that thought right, I need to the kids on the, the local council say just as they're, just as talented, they just don't have, they just don't have the opportunity. So that's why I wanted to open up Egg and have a triple threat. So it was acting, singing and dancing, but then that morphed into mental health education and that's all.
Speaker 1:And wellbeing yeah, and wellbeing yeah, Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but there seems to be a pattern developing. Oh, Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but there seems to be a pattern developing.
Speaker 2:Oh, it started here, but it morphed into that. It started here, but it morphed.
Speaker 1:You just can't stop yourself either of you, can you? What keeps you motivated and fueled, Lainey?
Speaker 2:For me. I love helping people. I do enjoy helping people. You know, if I see a need, I want to help. I mean, sometimes it has come at a cost as well, because you can do too much.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I have at one point burnt out by, and then also your family can be neglected to a degree if you're helping the community. But I'm the biggest empath, aren't I? So there can be a problem sometimes because I can absorb everybody's problem.
Speaker 3:However.
Speaker 2:I'm learning not to do that and have boundaries put in place, but again helping people and helping children, just seeing their faces and creating happy memories.
Speaker 2:I mean, that is our logo, if you will, our tagline for Streetwise and it is creating happy memories because I think the world is such a hard place to grow up in especially more so than when we were children and it's pretty dark, and it's pretty dark for a lot of families. So if we can just provide, you know these children come on a Saturday or they come to Holiday Club or come during the week. It's a place where they can come. We know they're going to smile, they're going to have a happy time, it's a safe place and again, those are the sort of things doing the shows and that We've got kids from 15 years ago that are adults now and all they talk about do you remember when we did that show? And those are the things, the happy memories that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.
Speaker 1:What about you, Ella Grace?
Speaker 3:I'd probably say similar. So it's empathy. I feel people's pain and I feel what they're going through. But I think it's also lived experience and I don't want to. I want to be almost like a light to people. That because I understand how it feels like from from all the things I've been through, so especially the mental health stuff I do. I see, like with my mentees, for example, I just want to be the, the voice and the light that I needed at their age and I can see it and I also like I think I'm that age where I've had both worlds literally so playing out no iPhones, no, nothing, early 2000s. But then I've also grown up with social media, with. So I'm at that strange age it's only, I'd say, there's about three years, like 97, 98, 99, 2000, and we know what it's like to to grow up in both worlds.
Speaker 1:So I can relate from from both sides to to the young people that we help and I saw a study, I think, earlier this week, um, and it was something it was on, um, it's like 67 percent, or I might be just re-quoting your 67 percent I said it confidently 50 percent of young people school age would prefer there not to be social media.
Speaker 3:Yeah, around now really wow yeah, I agree with that and you know, a a lot of the one of my mentees said like the other day. She said, Ella, I'm so jealous that you got to have a proper childhood. She actually said that to me and she's only like 12, 13. So they do, they're aware that there is. You know, I do, I do understand that, I do agree with that and how you've talked about the changing times.
Speaker 1:You've talked about the changing times. You've talked about the Nintendos and the iPads and talk about what a regular. What did a childhood look like? Fundamental changes over the years. How do we see us retaining some of that good, happy space?
Speaker 2:the streetwise culture, if you like. Yeah, I think we base a lot of our activities on good, old-fashioned activities, fun games, even things like when we do holiday clubs. Yeah, I think we base a lot of our activities on good, old-fashioned activities fun games, um even things like when we do holiday clubs um getting out marbles. Kids don't even know what marbles are. Okay, I mean, which was crazy? I just expected it, but they haven't. You don't know the macarena. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't know whether of you do you want to give us a quick?
Speaker 2:example. So we do sort of fun things like that. You know, like say just um, do you want to give us a quick example and move some side of your head? Oh, they don't know the mapperina, they don't know. So we do sort of fun things like that. You know, like I say, just performing arts games, even just musical chairs and things. Even the older ones join in with stuff like that.
Speaker 3:We've got pool tables and things like that, so it's that in-person interaction that all humans are missing out on, and it's becoming the communication decline is an issue in itself. Kids do not know how to talk to each other. They don't know how to, and it's not even just kids, it's getting older and older, since, you know, all of the norm now is just be sat in a room on your phone and there's consequences for that. Because we're human, we're human beings, we're about connection and community. Because we're human, we we're connect, we're human beings, we're about connection and community. So we're adding the old school connection that ai can't replace. That. That phones, tablets, no matter what gadget comes out next, it cannot replace human interaction, connection, community, and that has an effect on mental health, and I think communities are isolated.
Speaker 2:You know we run family groups as well, so it it's not just for children, it's for the whole community.
Speaker 1:Of course it is, delaney. Of course it is.
Speaker 2:And look, it started off with kids but obviously, with having the community centre, we're fulfilling needs of families and that and we run these family groups and they're fantastic and it gets the mums out Instead of just being sat at home with the baby on the phones you know they think they're connecting, but they're not and actually come into a group where we talk, we laugh, we help each other, don't we?
Speaker 2:so it's and it's just having community, like when we grew up, we knew everybody's neighbor. You know, you knew your neighbors, you went into each other's houses. Don't do that now. Don't do that now.
Speaker 1:So we're trying to put that back and I was going to ask what you, if you had a magic wand, what would you do with it? But let's keep talking, right, yeah, what? Would you do, Anna.
Speaker 3:Magic wand. Well, I'd say with a magic wand. This is a bit off topic, but I'd say if I had a magic wand, I would. I would help people with health problems and chronic pain, because that's something I live with. So I live with chronic pain and autoimmune disease and endometriosis as well. So I've experienced a lot of of pain and I know that. I know the consequences of pain well. That could do to your mental health, all that can do to your, your social life, your career goals, everything. And I think if I had a magic wand, it'd be anyone that's facing pain to feel themselves again. But I know that's a bit like I've changed.
Speaker 2:I've killed the vibe now if I had a magic wand, I'd get rid of all phones. That would be. That would be it, because that is what is Well burner phones.
Speaker 3:We need the old school Nokia bricks. Come on, we need them at least.
Speaker 2:Because then you could go back to how it was years ago. That's what I would prefer.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and how did you? You talked about burnout earlier. Yeah, you talked about burnout earlier. Yeah, yeah, did you self-identify? What was the turning?
Speaker 2:point. I've always I don't know wrongly or rightly tried to be a superwoman. I mean, I don't rest, I don't, I get bored easily. So I'm happy going out every night doing groups. I mean, like I say, we foster, so we're at football, we're doing oh scale, whatever. I'm out every night and at weekends so I'm quite happy being busy. That is me.
Speaker 2:Um, but I think with absorbing people's negative energy, you know you get that when you know in these communities absorbing traumas and other people's traumas, obviously fostering there's a lot of trauma that can go with that. You're absorbing the traumas of that. And, um, obviously Ella had been, she's been, ill for quite a long time, you know um, and had a lot of trauma in her life as well. So, uh, and as a mum you worry, you know, so all these things. But I just carried on, carried on, carried on trying to save the world and help the world. But last year when I no problems at home, you know, things are going really, really well it just sort of hit me. I started feeling just don't feel right, Started feeling a bit of anxiety and I've never had that. I'm a very optimistic person. My cup is always full, painfully optimistic.
Speaker 2:Painfully optimistic If you ask, my husband and I go no, it's going to be okay. Spongebob, spongebob. Optimistic that's me, uh, and always have been. So I'm happy to carry on being optimistic. There's always a way. There's always, you know, a good side to things. We can always find the right way. But I didn't realize that in my own body I was just starting to feel ill and and it was my actual body that was manifesting probably the traumas I've never dealt with over the years you know family, personal trauma as well, um. So, yeah, it sort of hit me right in the back like no, you need to stop, and I thought, wow, I need to actually do some stuff for me, because I don't go to the gym, I don't go get my nails done.
Speaker 2:I don't do anything for me, everything's for other people yeah, which I like doing things for other people, so that makes me happy. However, I've just started to do things for myself, so one thing I'm doing to fill up my own cup, because I realise actually I can't give out if I'm not for myself. So one thing I'm doing what you mentioned before is I've entered a sort of competition, a charitable competition, and we're doing 10 weeks of Strictly Come Dancing, so I'm doing the salsa.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know, Let me get Northern Power man in, let me get Robin, yes. Let me get Northern Pond man in, let me get Robin, yes.
Speaker 2:So that's next week the actual charity ball that we're doing it at. So myself and two other volunteers from Streetwise, we've been rehearsing for 10 weeks and we're doing all different dances.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that's way out of my comfort zone. And that's interesting, because when you're doing something like that, you have to be intentionally in the moment. You've got to put your phone down, you've got to be able to focus and concentrate, otherwise you're stepping on someone's toe, right? I know that's just me, right? But what have you learned most about yourself in those 10 weeks?
Speaker 2:I've actually realized that I can do something for me and not feel guilty about it. I think it's like you feel a guilt.
Speaker 3:Oh, you're doing it for you when there's so much to do and so many people to help. You know we have responsibility. Yeah, a lot of people rely on us, so you, you take on that this, even if it's not there, you take on that, the responsibility to help them all the time you know you feel guilty yeah, you can, you can feel guilty.
Speaker 2:It's like being a foster carer that is 24 7 all year long, so and that can be very absorbing, you know. So, yeah, I've learned. I've actually enjoyed having some me time. You know, um, I've really enjoyed doing it and actually actually I can do this. So I'm actually going to hopefully uh, once the competition's finished, start doing self-class classes on a Friday, so I'm going to be fitting something in and having a night for myself. So, yeah, yeah, so it's all good.
Speaker 1:All good. Look at that bit of sashaying across Ella Grace. How do you protect your own mental health? You openly say here, you know you're there, People rely on you, both of you. You're giving back, you're mentoring, you're organising, but how do you look after yourself? Fill your own auction mask.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think awareness is the first thing, because when you're frontline workers like we are like that's what I'd say we are and we're volunteers as well, and we've been volunteers for years and we're doing it out of our hobby, so we're doing it out of like because we genuinely love these people, we genuinely want to help it becomes like blurred. You don't even realize how much you're doing because you're just doing it all the time like. There's been times I've just spent like 60 hours at the community saying you don't even realize it, because it doesn't feel like a job, it feels like a passion. So I think the awareness is the first thing. And to to be wait a second have I actually done anything for me this this week, have I? How have I been eating? Is that checking in with yourself? So I think awareness is the first thing. I think the second thing for me, um, I think the health, because, because the stress is affecting my health, it's been a wake-up call and they say, like a healthy man has a thousand things, a unhealthy man I've absolutely botched that, but it's like something like that. But I get it. Basically it means it means it's the priority, because health is everything at the end of the day and people think that it doesn't apply to them. They're stressing out you have to take that time.
Speaker 3:So I do the sauna most days. I work out. I do ice baths as well. Um, I do. I make sure that instead of um it never. I never used to, but I make it priorities to get my nails done. I get my lashes done, like make that time, and I block it out like I would as a as a meeting. So I block that out in my calendar, like with the same color as a meeting. So then my brain thinks, oh, this is just as important as a zoom. So I think that's like a good way to to trick your brain. Oh, actually, I am important as well, like that, that meeting with somebody is important. But oh, I've got my get my nails done. That is just important. It's that calming your nervous system down and having that time for you, because you will just just keep going, keep going till you get ill, like in my case.
Speaker 1:So I do believe that You've had recognitions as well. You were invited down to the Palas. Yes, how was?
Speaker 2:that that was lovely and it was a nice day as well. So weather was lovely. Yeah, it was a real honour to be invited down, me and my husband. We met the Duke of Kent and, well, King Charles was there at the time. It was Prince Charles, wasn't he? So, yeah, it was a lovely, lovely affair. Yeah, really nice.
Speaker 3:And then they got invited to the King's Coronation as well, and yeah, and I ended up going. Yeah, you guys didn't go. I went with two volunteers from Streetwise. That was the most magical day and we went to the first people in the palace ever, like the first commoners, to walk on these grounds.
Speaker 1:What an awful word, though, right they?
Speaker 3:literally told us that when we got there, they were saying like you are the first, like you were the first people that aren't royalty to walk on these grounds, and we had like, take that, who was there? There was, take that, kate Perry. It was all the like, yeah, there's everyone there. And Vernon Kaye was there and I love Vernon Kaye, and it just came out and there's all these great people there, but Vernon Kaye was there and it just came out and I jumped up and I went Vernon Kaye, I love you, and I don't know where it came from. I don't know where he came from, I just, I just Vernon came with her.
Speaker 1:So that was my highlight probably a little less awkward than shouting out Charlie during the coronation. Probably a little bit less awkward, imagine. Yeah, it strikes me that you love each other's company, you love what you do, but when you're working together, what is it that makes you really laugh out loud? Been on a podcast, right?
Speaker 3:no, we can't say not that the podcast is we do have a lot of laughs like that is one thing we make each other laugh so much we have a bit of a banter proper northern banter like I took this when I moved to London. I took my northern banter to the south and people get offended. But we don't. We take the riff out of each other.
Speaker 2:Peter Kay. Yeah, peter.
Speaker 3:Kay is like our favourite. So it is very Peter Kay, our humour isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yes it is. We work well together. We're very similar, so we can clash in certain things.
Speaker 2:You know I'm always right, but Ella always thinks she's right. I'm always right. I don't know what she's all about. And also, I've worked with my husband. We've always been self-employed and had our own businesses for the last 35 years, so I've always worked with family. I'd really struggle corporately, probably because I'm used to being my own boss and working, but I'm learning to delegate and work with a team and obviously delegating with Ella and that. So yeah, we're working well. We're working well.
Speaker 1:What's the best bit of advice you've ever been given and given been?
Speaker 3:given yes, because all my advice comes from my brain.
Speaker 3:I'm joking, I'm joking and probably the best advice is is embrace your authenticity, because I I was always bullied, I was always weirdo, I was always a bit and I'm neurodivergent as well. But I was always bullied, I was always weirdo, I was always a bit and I'm neurodivergent as well, but I was always felt different. I'm being extra, yeah, and we've always liked different clothes. We've always been. We're both maximalists and we've always felt a bit different and I always had been in a small town, and predominantly white town as well, and there was no other brown kids, where it was just me and my Asian friend which we're best friends with to this day. We've always, I've always felt different and I've had to hide that and to fit in, to have friends. Well, I felt like that, so I.
Speaker 3:It was only in recent years where I've realized that's a strength, being so different, and if I was vanilla then I wouldn't be where I am today. So I think, embracing your it was a good mentor that taught me that to embrace your authenticity. Embrace you being black as well, embrace my natural hair. I was born like wigs, blonde hair like I've. I've think finding that true beauty and true, true authenticity has changed my life and you've taught me because my mum has always been authentic. She's always stuck to her style. She's never let anyone change, so she is a massive inspiration for me with that, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you, that's nice.
Speaker 1:I'm just telling the truth and your best advice.
Speaker 2:It was quite recent and it was don't hide your light under a bushel, and I think it was. Even Ella was part of that, because we've just sort of got on with it and done our thing. But if we want to expand our vision and make Streetwise bigger and greater, then we have to talk about it. Hence I'm here, never done anything like this.
Speaker 3:So yeah, it's about not bigging ourselves up, but saying yeah, actually, yeah, we feel like that as women, we can never, ever embrace. I've been too humble, isn't it too humble?
Speaker 2:yeah, too humble, probably yeah, yeah, but that goes with self-esteem not thinking, well, who am I? You know, I'm only just running these clubs. But actually when we look back at what we've achieved you know, yeah, but we've got over a hundred thousand sign-ins and stuff like that yeah yeah, and how many kids have you fostered?
Speaker 2:Oh well, I've been fostering for 15 years and we do long term and we've done mother, baby, father. You know where they come and live with us for nine months from being a newborn. We're actually fostering the father and mother there. You know you're helping them to become parents. We've done little children. We've done little children. We've done a lot of teenage girls. That was hard work and we now have had for six years, three brothers and they're teens now and they're doing really well and they're long-term. We do long-term, if you will, so they'll stay with us forever, I think.
Speaker 1:I still gobsmacked. This is your first time on this kind of environment. You wouldn't think, would you?
Speaker 2:I'm like you're playing your own show. She's amazing.
Speaker 1:What's next for you, Ella?
Speaker 3:Grace. So I've decided to go on another venture as well. Another project, and it's to help boost people up with their confidence, communication and charisma. And it's using a blend of performing arts and everything I've learned as being as a child actress, blending that with neuroscience, cognitive therapy, all the things we do with the well-being work and creating a unique formula where you can have lasting warmth, charisma and and that is to help clients fly everywhere, so in corporate spaces, to be authentic as well, to help them in sports everywhere. Yeah, so that's my new venture that I'm working on and trying to use again that lived experience, to use my passions and talents to do that.
Speaker 1:And Lainey, other than salsa and other than finding some time for your own self-care, your vision for Streetwise.
Speaker 2:I just want it to be bigger than YMCA. I mean, I really want us to expand and have satellite clubs all over Lancashire to start with. But yeah, yeah, that's what I want. That's what I want.
Speaker 1:And what is the sort of the bit of advice you would give out there to people who are hiding their light under a bushel?
Speaker 2:I still want to know what bushels are, but anyway, that's okay, I still do I don't know if it's a posh word for a bush, it is yeah.
Speaker 1:But what advice would you give? You know, when you go, oh, it's okay, I don't need the recognition, I'm just doing this. No one's just doing anything, are they? They're especially doing it. But what's the one bit of advice that maybe they haven't got the self-belief? Well, they need to come and work with you for a fact, ella Grace. But what's the bit of advice you give out there to people who think you know what actually I do want to? I should high-five myself a little bit more. You should high-five yourself.
Speaker 3:Women in particular. All, all the north, all the north. Be like the southerners and the americans. Yeah, yeah, they have self-belief, don't they make it till.
Speaker 2:You make it, isn't it? Yeah, I think also.
Speaker 3:I think one thing is I don't know if this is the right answer, but seeing your pain, I my motto is turning pain into power. I used to see everything I've been through and things that have held me back and not my confidence. All is all is negative and that's just going to stay there. But then, once I started learning how the brain works and how you can adapt and transform, it is possible to turn everything that's bad and what you feel into positive energy. And that's basically what I've done and that's my motto and that's what I'm trying to teach people. So I'd say you know, if that's happened to you, that you can grow. You know scientifically neuroplasticity we won't get into that, but I'm trying to say it actually is scientifically proven. You can transform, you can change, you're not stuck as you think you are. You are not stuck and you can turn that pain into power and I truly believe that's what I've done.
Speaker 1:And what's the mantra? You live by Lainey.
Speaker 2:The mantra I would always say to people one gift that we've all got, something we've all got in common is time. It's all we've ever done me and my husband is. We're not special in any way particularly, but we've given our time and it's just dedicating that time. I think everybody I know time is very precious and everybody works very hard. But if you have time to sit down and watch your box set, if you have time to be scrolling through your phone and you know you have time to, you know, go play football and watch Curry, yeah, then you have time to. You can volunteer your time, even if it's just an hour a week, but that would actually you'd feel good about it. But also you're helping and it's just giving, isn't it? Just giving your time. I think that's all we've ever done and that's probably one of the most precious things you can do is give your time, and that boosts confidence as well.
Speaker 3:If you're helping others, you feel better about yourself as well, so it's a win-win.
Speaker 2:And you become. You know, you make a bunch of new friends. You know you can get involved in.
Speaker 1:So so, yeah, give your time. That's, that's just a little bit, but just give your time, it's, it's. It's something to give or gain, isn't it? And I think what strikes me about you, two beautiful humans, is that it's good to talk. You know the success of what you've done and what you grow with you and jerry, super jerry, uh, with streetwise, with you, with your multiple businesses, um, is all about creating that time to talk. Thank you so much for giving me the time and our listeners the time to talk today. I've loved having you on our teal couch.
Speaker 2:Thank you. I look forward to seeing you again. Thank you for giving us the opportunity.
Speaker 1:Thank you for being not just awesome, but especially awesome. Thank you so much Thank you Subscribe on YouTube, apple, amazon Music, spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave us a review or follow us on socials. We are power underscore net on Insta, tiktok and Twitter, or we are power on LinkedIn, facebook and we are underscore power on YouTube.
