Show Notes
For twenty years, Leesa was deeply immersed in the corporate rat race—running global sales teams, traveling the world, and earning a living in a high-stakes, money-driven career. But behind the scenes, she was pushing herself to the absolute limit. When her mother passed away suddenly from lung cancer just nine months after diagnosis, and lockdown hit, Leesa faced a severe mental breakdown, burnout, and a prescription for one hundred and fifty milligrams of antidepressants that left her feeling like a zombie. Realizing life was far too short to stay trapped in a career that didn't serve her, she walked away from corporate sales with zero safety net.
In this raw, liberating conversation, Leesa joins Michelle to share how a simple daily habit of "walking and talking" evolved into Rant and Ramble—a nationwide movement featuring sober coffee raves, holistic retreats, and vibrant community spaces. She opens up about the fear of stepping outside your comfort zone, overcoming imposter syndrome on social media, and how she helped her husband close his twenty-year electrical business to prioritize his mental health. From dancing sober at six thirty in the morning to discovering that true joy lies in stepping out of life's chaos, Leesa offers an inspiring roadmap for anyone ready to quit living on autopilot.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE: The Birth of Rant & Ramble: How sudden grief and late-night walking led to a grassroots movement. Antidepressants & Mental Breakdown: Navigating burnout and finding calm in sound baths. Stepping Out of the Chaos: Designing holistic day retreats to help women switch off their brains. The Early Morning Sober Coffee Rave: Launching a morning rave that defied her husband's doubts and drew hundreds of women. Ditching Binge Drinking: Why dancing sober at dawn is better than alcohol-fueled nights out. Walking Away from Decades in Corporate: Leaving high-stakes sales during lockdown and retraining to do eyelashes. Collaborating with Davina McCall & Viral Growth: Expanding coffee raves nationwide and handling rapid Instagram growth. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Social Media Pressure: Why unedited, real content beats pristine online formulas. Transforming Lives & Corporate Productivity: How morning raves build genuine human connection and calorie-burning joy. Supporting Her Husband's Radical Pivot: How Dan closed his long-standing business to protect his mental health. The Weekly Dare: Why you must step outside your comfort zone every single day.
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER: On stepping out of corporate chaos: "Stepping out of the chaos of life, as a woman, we've got so many things to think about... to-do lists of endless. We are constantly thinking about everyone else. We put ourselves to the bottom of the list." On the power of sober dancing: "Dancing without a drink is actually better than dancing with a drink. Like when you dance on the morning and all them amazing songs are on... everyone's just literally letting go." On why life is too short for autopilot: "I've definitely changed my life so much since she's gone. It's weird that it's took her to go to realize like what life is actually all about... I was always so money driven... work was my life... now I am just living in the moment."
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Follow Rant and Ramble on Instagram/Facebook: @RantAndRambleUK Visit the Rant and Ramble Website: www.rantandramble.co.uk Find upcoming Coffee Raves & Retreats on Eventbrite Sign up for the newsletter to get your weekly inbox dares: www.shewhodareswins.com Join the Dare Club community
🎙️ WANT MORE? JoJo Kelly – An empowering discussion on walking away from a long broadcasting career to find creative freedom. Allie Bailey – Discusses sobriety, unpicking your identity from performance, and choosing core values over societal expectations.
💌 LOVE THIS EPISODE? Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts Leave a five-star review – it helps more women discover these stories Watch all episodes on YouTub
More from She Who Dares, Wins.
In this episode of She Who Dares Wiggles, I'm joined by Stephanie, Olympic marathon runner, one-to-one run coach and mum. She never dreamed of the Olympics, but after a marathon ballot she expected to lose, a pandemic and a run of injuries, she ended up on the start line in Tokyo. We talk about the races, the setbacks, and why starting her own business may have been the bigger dare.
This week on She Who Dares Wins, I'm joined by Squash: adventurer, speaker and high-performance coach.
In this exclusive mini bonus episode, host Michelle Hands catches up with world-record endurance runner Christine Hobson to ask for one simple, powerful dare for women looking to take control of their health without feeling overwhelmed. Despite running marathons, Christine shares her startling discovery after wearing a continuous glucose monitor: even active athletes can experience major blood sugar spikes after regular meals. Christine reveals how experimenting with a simple 20-minute brisk walk straight after eating completely transformed her glucose levels and metabolic health. Together, Michelle and Christine unpack the power of compounding daily micro-habits, why walking around the block while listening to an audiobook beats sporadic workout intensity, and how stepping out your back gate into nature can bring you right back to basics.
In this completely raw, unscripted, and single-take solo episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on a massive internal battle I’ve been fighting over the last six months: the paralyzing trap of external noise, over-strategizing, and quietly losing your true voice in the social media scroll. After 2.5 years of hosting this show and building a career on storytelling—from construction site cabins to high-production film sets—I recently realized I had fallen into a dangerous vortex. I was buying the courses, reading the books, obsessing over "traditional business formulas," and trying to force my creative brain into boxes where it just didn't fit. In the pursuit of perfection, I forgot who I was, how I wanted to show up, and why I started this journey in the first place.
The 125-Marathon Grandma: How a "Virtual Paper Bag" and an Audacious Goal Built a World Record at 72 with Christine Hobson Description: What do you do when you retire on a Friday after a high-stress career managing failing schools, only to face a terrifyingly silent weekend? For Christine Hobson, she stood at the starting line of the London Marathon just two days later at age 60, crying tears of transition. Rather than stepping onto the "scrap heap," she strategic run-walked her way to completing an unbelievable 125 marathons, including a peak year of running 34 marathons in just 12 months at age 67. In this heartwarming episode, Christine shares her extraordinary journey of securing a Guinness World Record as the oldest person to run the Antarctica Ice Marathon in brutal -30°C conditions. ✨ IN THIS EPISODE: