I’m happy to say, I’m celebrating my 50th episode today and I couldn’t be happier to be sharing it with friend and mover/shaker Wyn Wiley, aka Pattie Gonia. That’s right, a long form exclusive interview with your very own backcountry drag queen. If you’re not familiar with Pattie, she was born about a year ago from Wyn’s creative mind when he dressed in drag for the first time in his life and discovered that the experience brought him alive like he’d never quite felt before. When he posted about the experience, he received major backlash and people he thought were friends vanished from his life, published public slurs and even egged his house. Oh where to even start with all that we covered in this chat. Well first of all, the conversation was so good it went on for quite a long time and so I split it into two parts. In part 1, you will hear the origin story of Pattie and some incredibly insightful ideas for becoming a better ally and saving Mother Earth - or as Pattie likes to call it, Mother Natch. In part 2, we dive into some of the business aspects behind Pattie and the wild ride it’s been for Wyn - one that has completely changed his life. As I’ve reflected on this conversation, I have to say I have so much respect for Wyn for stepping into this journey and for being so humble  along the way. Think about it. How scary is it to put on makeup and high heels and confront the world in your truth even when you know some people will hate you for it, either because they passionately don’t agree with it or because they don’t think you’re doing a good job at it, just to name a few reasons. But Wyn, you decided to move forward anyway and we want you to know that we love you for it. Not only that, but your humility along the way as a self-proclaimed advocate in-progress, is what leaves us all inspired and reminded that we’re all on an imperfect journey of self-exploration. One of constant learning and hopefully empathy - for ourselves and others. So thank you for living your truth and sharing it with us. Show resources