PODCAST – Binge Eating Recovery Counselor Shares How to Navigate Brand Polarity

In EP 60 of The Wild Womn Hotline, we are joined by Maren Hunt, who is a Certified Binge Eating Recovery Counselor, Nutrition Coach, Intuitive Eating Coach, and most recently became a certified Mind and Body Eating Coach. 

As a woman who once believed that her worth was tied to her weight, she understands how painful it is to constantly be at war with food and your body. Women have become conditioned to see their body’s as something that needs to be fixed due to our society’s fatphobic belief systems, trauma, and past experiences that have caused core wounds.

Her work is anchored in anti-diet education, Health at Every Size, body image healing practices, personal development, inner child work, and the amazing life-changing framework of Intuitive Eating. Her role as a recovery counselor is to be a source of support, guidance, and accountability as you navigate the road to food and body liberation.

In this open dialogue conversation, Maren shares how she navigates the murky waters of sharing a polarizing perspective in the online space, and how to build brand authority in the face of negativity.

Maren also shares her journey of up-leveling her brand by partnering with Wild Womn Haus, and what she now sees as being inevitable as a result. Want to read more about Maren’s experience working with the agency? Read her client case study here.

In this episode, we discuss…

• Maren’s 360-transformation from struggling with a binge eating disorder and bulimia to being a sought-after binge eating recovery counselor 
• Maren’s top tips for building your body image back up if you’re experiencing a lot of self-comparison when using social media
• How to navigate the murky waters of sharing a perspective online that is highly polarizing
• The many ways to grow a brand and why it’s important to expand your reach beyond social media 
• Where Maren wants to take her brand in 2023 and how her vision reaches every corner of the world

Meet the Host and Guest Expert 

Links and Resources

Connect with Certified Binge Eating Recovery Counselor, Maren Hunt:

• Website – https://mindandbodyreconnected.com/ 
• Instagram – @mindandbodyreconnected
• TikTok – @mindandbodyreconnected
• Podcast – What’s Size Got To Do With It

Looking for more stories from our previous clients? Check out these suggested case studies from the Haus Editorial!

• Branding with Purpose – How Erika Immediately Signed Her Ideal Clients
• Rebrand Your Business – Cara’s Evolution From “Food Blogger” to “High-End Healer”
• Brand Strategy Development – Rohini’s Journey of Building a Soulful 6-Figure Brand
• Repositioning Holistic Health Brand “Free Air Life CO” Into the Corporate Wellness Market
• Market Segmentation for Reaching New Customers featuring “Your Cosmic BFF”
• Resonating w/Customers Through Internal Brand Alignment featuring “Ignite Your Light, LLC”
• Rebranding a Company for Global Impact featuring IAFHH
• Brand Identity Design feat. Mind & Body Reconnected

Audio Transcript

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: [00:00:00] 

Right, Maren, my love. Can you tell the wild woman fam all about your journey getting into the work that you now do as a binge eating recovery counselor? Because I know the story, but people listening don’t, and I want them to hear just how beautiful this transformation has been for you. 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Absolutely.

Oh, it’s been a journey for sure, . Um, it was like a 20 year long journey. Um, I struggled with anorexia and bulimia for two decades and was just really trapped in this, you know, cycle of being at war with food in my body. and, you know, I, I really chopped it up as something that I was gonna be living with for the rest of my life.

And, you know, taking in information from the outside, from diet culture, from beauty culture, um, you know, just really gets cemented into your mind and makes you believe that you, you know, that your value is. Is so tied [00:01:00] to your appearance, um, that your worth is tied to your appearance in your body. Um, and so it just became this really, this toxic life that I was living and.

So, you know, I, I tried many times to attempt recovery by going to inpatient outpatient traditional therapy, trying the willpower and the self-control and discipline and, you know, getting into toxic fitness culture thinking that that was gonna solve everything. Um, but it wasn’t until, you know, I reached rock bottom where I was just like laying on the couch one day, just bawling my eyes out after a binge, just thinking there’s gotta be more to life than this.

Like, I can’t be the only one suffering with this, and I just can’t see my life moving forward anymore with this eating disorder. And so I basically gave myself two options and I said, Maron, you can keep going down this rabbit hole of your illness and possibly not live much longer. Or you can. Go all in with both feet through the door of [00:02:00] recovery and, and that’s what started.

basically like a rebirthing process for me. You know, I found my recovery coach, um, she was a godsend to me, and I just deep dived into full-time recovery work. And from there, I, I realized I can’t not share this, this work, this education, these tools, this, this mindset change. Um, I can’t not share it. And I’ve gotta be able to be of service to other, you know, women out there that are suffering in the same ways I.

Um, so I just ventured onto this new path of, you know, receiving certifications and education, going to every workshop that I could around diet, culture, binge eating, bulimia, orthorexia, just trying to cover all my bases. And, you know, I’ve been an inquisitive person my entire life, always wanting to continue.

Search, search, searching, find answers. And I used to be made fun of that, but now I’m like, you know what, I’m really proud of that because [00:03:00] you know, I, I’m just a driven person that wants to help other people reclaim their life back, you know? 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Yeah. And so beautiful. And I know so many people that listen in that are either coaches, consultants, mentors have been in that position where they once were struggling.

Created solutions to their own problems, and then felt this desire to give it back and pass it on and make sure that it reaches other people in need. and that is just the epitome of what I hear from your story is this desire to be that contribution, that like voice of change moving forward. And I’m really curious because you know, I work with so many different types of female and female identifying entrepreneurs and one thing that sometimes does come up has to do with.

We are on camera so much and we are in front of people so much and our appearance is on display a lot of the time. Mm-hmm. , what would you say to somebody who is an [00:04:00] entrepreneur that is on camera a lot, who maybe is struggling with body image or who is struggling with confidence in terms of showing up and being seen no matter, you know, your size, your shape, your weight, whatever you may be looking like that day.

And how does diet culture and beauty culture play into that? Because we’re not immune to it by any means. We’re on social media all the time. So we see like the hyper airbrushed curated stuff. We see the, you know, extreme fitness stuff. We see model stuff, we see pop culture stuff. And that does play a role in how you show up.

So how would you approach. Coaching somebody or offering them feedback on that? 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Absolutely. I mean, I had to go through my own journey with that too. When I started, you know, you know, uh, promoting my business on social media was, you know, there’s filters and there’s, [00:05:00] you know, editing apps and I could just tweak this and tweak that, but I was like, No, I’ve gotta show up as my authentic self, right?

Like I’ve gotta utilize the tools that I would share with my clients, right? And that is knowing that you were so much more than your body. You were so much more than your appearance, right? But if you are questioning who you are on camera and you’re feeling insecurity, It’s really important that you know that this was conditioned into you by our society, by diet culture, by beauty culture.

You were not born insecure about this, right? Like it may have started as a young age, the insecurities about your body and, and who you are, depending on what you’ve been exposed to, depending on your upbringing. But you were not born into this world to, to feel this way that this was a conditioning put into you.

And so how can you start navigating this world on social media with your business? Um, I [00:06:00] honestly would start unfollowing anybody that you compare your business to, your body, to your appearance, to anybody that triggers you and causes this comparisonitis. And this is something that I had to do in the beginning.

I mean, in my recovery, I had to do that. I had to stop unfollowing fitness culture. I had to stop unfollowing any woman that caused me to feel just shame in my body. Um, and it, it, you know, it was no offense to her. I had to do this for my own protection, but when I started my business, I had to unfollow or mute people in my same niche.

that I felt like, oh my gosh, they look so much better. Or they’re so much more, you know, um, they’ve been around for so much longer. They’ve, they’ve got this in the bag, they’ve got way more certifications, you know, and I had to start following people and accounts of different niches that I still, you know, loved and, and got insight from, and I had to follow people that, that just had that energy that also was possessing.

You know, show up as you are, [00:07:00] right? Like your clients, your potential clients want to build trust. And that starts at a very early age of just seeing you on the camera. And so if you’re putting filters on, if you’re trying to show up as not your true self, They’re gonna know that, right? They’re gonna, they would much rather have you show up in the messy bun that you normally wear without the makeup.

If you don’t like the makeup and, and, and, you know, hiccuping or whatever it is, if you, you stutter because they’re gonna know that that’s the real you, right? And if you are feeling this lack in your, your body, um, and your in your worth, really try to navigate that before showing. in your business, right?

Like, especially if this is gonna be around women empowerment, if it’s gonna be around body image, if it’s gonna be around, you know, upleveling your business and showing up as your true self, you’ve gotta go on that journey yourself, right? You’ve gotta be able to take that time and, and invest [00:08:00] in yourself and, and navigate what’s, what’s the story around my beliefs, around my body, and how do I truly wanna feel right and start reconditioning that, that mindset.

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Mm-hmm. such incredible advice. And this is exactly what I did. I’ve done this multiple times in my journey as an entrepreneur because you really are influenced by what you take in. And I don’t think that we realize the extent of it, and we almost develop this. And it’s the same thing with body image and your relationship with food.

It’s the same thing with your business. It’s all this form. Of comparison mixed with conditioning, right? Where what we see the most commonly, or what is praised in the form of literal, this is what beauty is, or praise in the form of they have hundreds of thousands of followers. So that must be the thing I have to do to be [00:09:00] successful.

That is conditioning mixed with comparison. And if you are in a state where you can’t firmly hear your own voice, your own intuition, but also have a good relationship with yourself, with your body, with the way that you look and feel about yourself, all of these different things, but also just as an entrepreneur in the online space, as a woman in the online.

I’m always a proponent of putting your blinders on and like reducing my, one of my life coaches. Her name’s Brandon Lynn Tebow. I’m sure you’ve heard of her. She always says this term, it’s called unnecessary intensity. It’s like, yes, we wanna stretch. Yes, we wanna grow. But putting yourself in a situation where you are under an unnecessary amount of intensity is actually doing more harm than it is good, because it’s too much, it’s too intense for you to be able to thrive in.

Right. So that’s kind of what I hear you talking about is. If you can’t have [00:10:00] that harmonious, beneficial, like growth oriented relationship with accounts or with social media or with images or with magazines or whatever it is that you’re consuming, limit your consumption to them and get your mind and your emotions right in the meantime.

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Absolutely. I 100% agree. I mean, there are times where I just go on and post and then shut the app down. I’m like, you know, it’s not that I don’t wanna support my friends and this and that, but like sometimes I’m just, you know, you easily get caught up in it. And you also have to remind yourself that the majority of what you see is such a highlight reel.

It’s just snippets of their day. Right? And we have no idea. What they’re really doing, how they really are as a person. Some people could really be portrayed something they’re not. And yeah. You know, the a hundred thousand followers, I got caught up that in the very beginning it was like, oh my God, I only have 250 followers.

And you know, it’s, it’s not even about the followers at this point, like the [00:11:00] number of followers. Right. But it’s about, Feeling really good and excited about your brand and your business and your message and your vision, and you having to feel excited about yourself at the same time, and know that like the face of you, yes, that’s part of your brand, but it’s, it’s not all of it, right?

It’s your message. It’s who you are as a person, and that if people really wanna come to you, it’s not because of what you look like, it’s because of your vision, your, your presence, your mission. . Mm-hmm. , 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: it’s so well put. And I have two questions for you, so I’m gonna put a pin in one, and I’m gonna ask you the second.

So the one I’m putting a pin is so I don’t forget it and come back to it, is I want to hear about the success that you’ve created outside of social media. Because me, as a business owner, but also as a mentor, I never tell people to rely solely on social media A, because I don’t think it’s attainable for everybody.

To have the type of [00:12:00] presence that you really need on social for it to become those accounts that we always look up to with the hundreds of thousands. That in, in and of itself is a full-time job, and I think that that’s kind of downplayed a lot by people that coach on these things is that, you know, to create that sort of an account.

There’s a lot that has to go into it for that type of success on social media to be created. But we also know, and I also. That you don’t need to rely on social media to have a thriving business. It’s something that you should have and that’s beneficial, but you don’t need it to be your sole channel. So I wanna hear all about your experience with that.

But first I wanna circle back around to talking about how you navigate being in the space that you’re in. Because I’ve been in. Polarizing spaces. Before I used to coach women on, uh, feminine energy and business energetics, and a lot of that had to do with sexual energy, [00:13:00] sensu energy, feminine expression, and all of these things, which was a much more like polarizing niche of the business world than branding and marketing, right?

Mm-hmm. . And there was a whole experience that went along with being in something that people, that people consider controversial. So I’m really curious what you have done for yourself or even like what your experience has been navigating. Basically breaking down patriarchy, diet, culture, beauty standards, and really standing for women to have autonomy.

From all of the conditioning that we’ve been raised with, honestly, to this point. What has that been like for you, ? 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh man. It wasn’t easy because I wanna say the first year of my business, I really played it. Small, and I’ve always, I’m a recovering people pleaser over here. raising my hand. Mm-hmm. and I’ve, yeah.

I’ve always been the type [00:14:00] of person that puts on a mask for the different occasions. And my mask for social media was, Keep it quiet. Every, you want everybody to like you, and you don’t wanna say anything offensive. You don’t wanna be polarizing. But I, I just felt so small and I felt like I was like, cutting off a limb.

I was like, this is not me. Right? Like, I have a voice, it carries, I, you know, I like to talk and I’ve got some. Things to say here. And so it took me having to really go through my limiting beliefs about myself, about uh, you know, my own worth about me showing up in the business and saying, you know what, not everybody’s gonna like you Marin, and you know what?

You’re standing up. For these women and you’re standing up for the rights that like aren’t just not talked about. Right. I mean, the patriarchy, diet culture, they teach us women to basically turn away from the world and look at the mirror and the scale. And I’m trying to [00:15:00] help these women turn away from the scale and the mirror and look up at the world for opportunities that are right in front of them.

So by doing that, I just, I just was, I, I would just make a plan and say, we’re posting this today. Let’s prepare for the trolls to come at me. And they would, and you know, the majority of them were men. And I at first would respond with, you know, I’m, I’m really trying to help people with eating disorders here.

Your responses have nothing to do with what I’m talking about. , but you know, what I really found to be so helpful is when you feel that frustration from that, that commenter, and you want to argue, just send them love and compassion. Don’t even respond. Don’t even give them the time of day because it’s gonna be an ongoing argument and, and it pulls you away from what you’re really trying to do and it’s not meaning.

Shut yourself up and don’t have a voice. Like I feel like, you know what? This voice deserves to be shared with the people that are gonna listen. This person is not gonna [00:16:00] listen to me no matter what I say. No matter what evidence I say, they think they’re right. And you know what? This is the product of our society putting messages into our mind, right?

So they’ve been in the sea of diet culture, they’re still in it. I’m out of it, but I was in it, right? So I get where they’re coming from and they’re taking information that A has no science back research, but they fully believe in it, and they’re entitled to their opinion. And if they want to keep being resistant.

That’s, that’s on them. If they’re ready to open up the conversation and, and, and be heard, and let me be heard, I’ll be there to be in that conversation. But I’m also not gonna get frustrated and upset, you know? And so that’s what I do. I just send them love and compassion. I’ll send ’em a couple hearts.

They get mad at that too, but you know what I’m gonna keep saying, you know, and it, it does, it drives them up the wall, you know? But sometimes that type of silence, it’s not shutting yourself up. It’s just like, you know. , I’m putting my energy towards the people that wanna listen. Mm-hmm. . And [00:17:00] so that’s how I’ve been handling it, is just moving forward and knowing that like, you know what?

Hurt people, hurt people and they’re gonna project their pain onto others to, so that they don’t feel alone. You know? And, and that’s why I send them compassion. And, and that’s how I’ve been dealing with it, and it’s been working really well so far. , where 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: did you learn this mindset from? Because that’s something that is so anti, it’s, it’s not even, I don’t wanna call it intuition, it’s more so of just like a knee-jerk reaction for people to defend themselves.

Mm-hmm. . And there’s so much awareness, like covering what it is that you’re talking about, like the way that you approach dealing with online haters or trolls or people that are going against what you’re trying to create for women. , what are like the core concepts that you’re dealing with? Because we’re talking about, I mean, brain rewiring basically, but also personal development tools.

So what are [00:18:00] you leaning on that you’ve learned from your. From your transformation with your eating disorder that you now use in other areas of your life? Like what we’re talking about with haters ? 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, I’ve been on this ongoing journey of personal development and you know, really trying to shed the layers that have been holding me back and, and the layers of people pleasing, the layers of not showing up as myself, the layers of the limiting beliefs.

I mean, I used to think that. I was a failure, I was a joke, all these things. And in the past year, I’ve finally shed those layers and I’m just like, I just don’t care about pleasing everybody anymore. And it’s not this, I’m a bitch. It’s like I am not here to be everybody’s doormat, right? And there’s gonna be people that wanna come in instill the thunder, and you know what?

I’m not gonna let them bulldoze me. They’re gonna keep poking the bear with their comments, but I’m not gonna keep poking their bear. It’s just, it’s a waste of time. I’ve really been into Joda [00:19:00] men’s work. You know, he is all about brain rewiring techniques. He is all about epigenetics. And, um, you know, the other person is Brene Brown.

I mean, I’m a huge fan of Brene Brown. And you know, basically she says that if. you are, let’s say, in your recovery journey or starting your business, or you’re in a personal development journey, whatever it is, that’s causing just a huge transformation for you. If there’s people that are attacking you, judging you, trying to get in your way, if they’re not in the court with you fighting alongside with you, their comments aren’t invalid, they don’t mean anything and just keep moving forward.

Right. And it’s, it’s having a suit of armor, right, without having to. Now I’m gonna come back with this statement and that statement and this statement. It. There, there’s gonna be people out there that you just can’t transform. It’s up to them to transform. Right? And if you’re wanting to have a conversation with them, go for it.

But if you know that it’s gonna keep being a back and forth, save that energy [00:20:00] for something that empowers you and that is gonna touch somebody else, and, and that’s, that’s what I truly believe in. 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Guys so badass. And I like give you so much credit because I am, I have, I don’t wanna, it’s, it’s a, okay. It’s a temper.

I’ll call it a temper, I’ll call it what it is. Right. And I just feel, and I need to take a page from your book, honestly, and practice this because when I get people in my comment, It’s the most bizarre comments in the world. Just the weirdest things. And I’m always sitting there thinking, okay, well if you’ve come into my space, then I’m going to have fun with this, right?

I am going to antagonize you because A, it’s gonna drive up my engagement. Like this is my mindset. And I’m saying I respect your approach so much because it is the more difficult path to. It requires more resiliency and more intention and more [00:21:00] awareness than responding does. Mm-hmm. , and neither is right or wrong, but it definitely does take your energy away to put into those things, and I definitely catch myself like.

they’ll, the, the experience of having something that weird drop into my comments will come into my mind multiple times a day. And I’ll just think to myself, man, people are freaking weird. You know? Mm-hmm. , like, what a weird thing to do. And so I’m, I’m acknowledging you for the effort and for the intention and the awareness that you have, cuz it’s definitely the more difficult.

To choose to not respond than it is easy to respond. So I just wanna say thank you for being an example of that, because we all can’t be . 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh, well hey, if you, if, if antagonizing back works for you. I mean, what I, when I used to do those things and, and get really flustered, what I noticed what was happening is throughout the day I was start obsessing about it.

And that’s when I [00:22:00] decided, you know, Less is more in this situation. If you say nothing that and send little. You can’t obsess about it, you know? And I mean, last week I got a a comment saying, I look 18 and 81 at the same time, rest in peace. And I said, thank you. Aging is a privilege. And then of course, He literally went bonkers with that.

But then I just said him hearts, you know, but, but I’m like, I have to speak some truth to this because diet culture puts down on women that age, but I’m sorry. Aging is a freaking privilege. I don’t care what you say. It really is. So that 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: is both like profound and hilarious at the same time. I love it. 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh my God.

Oh 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: my God, I love it so much. This is beautiful. And I’m really curious, like let’s talk more about the experience of being on social and then the experience of like opening other [00:23:00] doors for your business to have success. Because I think like in full transparency, this is what I believe. You need to have a social presence in this day and age because our entire world is digital, it is all online.

So for visibility, discoverability, accessibility, you have to have an online presence. However, that does not mean that you need to rely on your social presence to drive your business forward. And I think that is a very fine line that a lot of people. Get hung up on because they see the accounts that blow up.

They see the accounts that are getting massive engagement. They see the businesses that are being driven by social media, because that is totally possible. That is totally a reality for a lot of digital entrepreneurs. However, I don’t think that every single person. [00:24:00] Has within them the desire to grow their business on purely through social media, because the work that goes into that, to engage that often to create crazy high quality content to post a lot of content, not, you don’t, it doesn’t have to be every day, but it has to be a lot, right?

Mm-hmm. to do all of that in and of itself is very much a full-time job If you cannot yet invest in. And the reality is that a lot of people are not at the point yet to invest in help. I don’t have anybody helping me with my social media content cuz I choose to put it into things, different things that will help me grow my business.

Based off of my own perspective around it. So I’m really curious of like, what has your experience been around growing your business and creating a platform on social, and have you tried anything different just to kind of help people get perspective that maybe are really stuck in that content hamster wheel?[00:25:00] 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Yeah, I mean, the journey with social media , in the beginning it was just like I had this vision that everything was just gonna be so, just so perfect and easy. I mean, it, it was, it was anything but that. Um, so right then and there, Having your expectations low, right. Um, but honestly, finding a business mentor that I could trust and that knew my vision was so instrumental for me.

I had been through many different business coaches that would give me a business model that did not work for my niche, and I would tell them over and. You guys, I work with people that have an illness. I can’t just go into your d their dms and start talking about eating disorders. Like nobody talks about their eating disorder, right?

And so it, it really takes shopping around and getting to know these, [00:26:00] these creators that if you, if you do wanna hire somebody to help you up level your business, really trying to get trust from that person, them relaying back what your true vision is. Um, I think everybody also has to go through their own, you know, sort of experiences with different business coaches because you could meet, your first one could be amazing.

The first one and the third one could not be so great. Right? So I really had to navigate that road and, and, and I had to learn from the experiences. And I didn’t have the best ones at first, but you know, now I have you. I have you who’s amazing and you totally get what it is that I am trying to put out there to the world, right?

But it took a lot of me having to learn how, how to organize my day, right? Like I, I went from working full-time for somebody else to working full-time for myself, and I had to be my own manager, right? So if you are not good with task manage, That, that probably has to be [00:27:00] the first thing you gotta set down for yourself is putting down a calendar and sticking to the things, putting scheduled breaks in there, right?

Because you can easily say, oh, you know what? I’m in my home. Let’s go do some laundry. Let’s, you know, and by the, then that’s the end of the day and you’re like, what did I get done right? So I had to learn task manage. I had to learn to be more, you know, responsible with my, my time. Um, I had to also learn to take time off for myself.

Um, I thought that I had to be on social media every single day, and I realized quickly. My followers are not just sitting there waiting for me to show up, like I need to take care of my family. Right. So it’s a lot of balance between your own personal life, your work life, trying to work in the self-care in there.

Right. Because we can easily get sucked into this. Like, I’ve gotta just work seven days a week. I’ve gotta just produce everything with any free time I have. Right. And you’re gonna, you’re gonna struggle with burnout. I struggled with burnout [00:28:00] many times. Right. So it, it’s a, it’s a learning curve, but you know, if you are so.

Passionate about what you’re doing, and you are so driven, then you’ve gotta go through these motions, but you’re gonna come to this place where everything is starting to work for you in the way that you want. Um, but I really believe having a mentor is what helped me kick things into gear and, and learning from people that had to go through it themselves.

Right. Um, and then outside of social media, You know, I’ve been trying for the past six months to get into my community, and so I just started brainstorming like how. How do people connect with people after a pandemic? And now that everyone’s on social media, like it’s the, you know, the, the, the Yellow Book pages aren’t being used anymore.

The newspaper’s barely being used anymore. Right. And so I just started calling like, My city council, I started calling my local recreation center to see if I could [00:29:00] like host workshops. I started thinking about sororities near my town, how, you know, cuz sororities are a target for diet, culture and eating disorders and disordered eating.

Um, I just started like talking to people about what I do, what I do. You know, the moment that I light up about, oh yeah, my other business, they like notice and they’re like, what do you do? And I’m like, oh, let me just vomit all over you. And then they’re like, oh, I know somebody. And I’m like, here’s my business card.

You know? So every chance that I get to connect with somebody, if I’m in a Starbucks and there’s a corkboard that has. People’s, you know, business cards. I’m putting it on there. Right. Um, I, you know, became a part of an eating disorder, uh, you know, nonprofit board recently for Sonoma County where I live. I am on an email list for a ton of specialists that you know are in eating disorder therapist dieticians, and.

we stay in connection and we referral each, refer each other. Right. Um, I’m in the midst [00:30:00] of, you know, trying to build a workshop for Sonoma County so that it’s a, it’s gonna be a low cost or free workshop, but just so I can get my name out right. So you can definitely utilize resources outside of social media, and I, I honestly recommend it because, We don’t know what’s gonna happen with social media.

You know what I mean? I always think about that in the back of my head, like, what does something happen? You know, you’ve gotta keep it going, right? So if you have any community, um, connections or start building connections with, um, business groups and stuff like that, I forget what they’re called, but they’ve been around for years where you network, right?

And you, there’s like cocktail hour and you network, right? Just network with ’em. Go have a couple drinks, network with them, get to know them, get in your. Show how excited you are. , you know? Mm-hmm. . Yeah. 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Get scrappy. I think people, and I’ve done this, I’m not speaking outside of myself. I am people, is that we have the tendency to get so hyper [00:31:00] fixated on the things that are gonna make us.

Feel like we’re being successful, such as crazy high engagement, or a lot of comments or a lot of new followers. And in reality, those things don’t always translate to sales. They don’t always translate to clients or customers. So there’s kind of this like, Ego death moment that has to happen as a business owner to realize there are 1,001 ways that I can be successful at what I’m doing, and am I okay letting go of this thing that I’ve been putting in the number one spot for the past however many months or years, which is growing my Instagram or growing my TikTok?

Am I okay letting go of that, needing to be the most important thing in order to. Turn around and look at the hundreds of other options I have for how to create success for my business. Like I said, it’s a non-negotiable to have a social presence [00:32:00] in just the era that we’re in. However, that doesn’t mean you have to spend every waking moment focusing on that one thing.

And here’s kind of like a brand strategy like perspective for everybody listening. Your brand is not your social media. Your social media is literally one single channel that you use amongst all of the other channels of communication to market your business. It’s one channel. You also have, you know, blogs, emails, podcast, guest workshops, networking events.

These are all market. . Mm-hmm. Social media is a marketing channel, but it’s not the only one. And I think your brand, Marin, is such a great example of how the second you kind of gave yourself permission to be like, okay, I’m gonna set this here for a moment, and then just look at what else is available.

Literal doors started opening for you. Like [00:33:00] I, it was like a two week span of time where you would message me and be like, oh my God, guess what? Oh my God, guess what? Oh my God, guess what? I’m like, I literally dunno at this point. Like, there’s so many awesome things that are happening, you know? And that happened because you were willing to let go of what a lot of other people and professionals have told you to put as the number one spot.

And in no way do I want people to receive this and. that that advice or that coaching is not completely valid because it is. But I think you have to have a desire to put in that much energy and effort into your social media for that to work. Whereas if you’re somebody that, that does not appeal to, there are so many other options.

And I think your story is such a great example of that. It’s beautiful. Thank 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: you. Yeah. I mean it’s, it’s, it’s been such a learning experience. . You know, I think, honestly, I mean, you helped me so much with, with all of these [00:34:00] ideas too. It’s. I realized that my, my perspective was a little narrow and like you’ve really helped me like open up the perspective, like the lanes to like, no, there’s like this turnoff, there’s that turnoff, there’s this turnoff, and then it just started like rolling in of like, oh my gosh.

Like I go to my gym and what do you think Jim culture’s about? Oh my gosh, I need, so I started talking to the owner, like, can I start hosting some workshops? And then I. You know, an employee who was like, Hey, I’m part of a sorority. We would love to have a workshop. You know, and then I joined like my, I don’t know if you guys know like Nextdoor app, but it’s like your neighborhood app where you, you know, put up stuff for sale or you know, talk about whatever.

But there’s a lot of people that sell on there. And so I started generating my business on there and you know, I post there, you know, once a week, but it’s. There, there’s, there are so many more choices than just be on Instagram and TikTok, and you shouldn’t just narrow them to those two. You’ve [00:35:00] gotta be able to, to juggle a few more and be able to know that, like, if you’re not on there for a week because you’re working on another project, that’s also gonna ju it’s gonna be okay.

Like you will come back. You’re not gonna lose your followers. It’ll be just fine. But just think about how much more expansive your business can be if you allow yourself to go to those different networks. . Mm-hmm. . 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: That’s such great advice and I’m really curious, I wanna hear about, by the time that this comes out, your brand will have been launched.

So can you talk us through where you see yourself going with your brand and just like what this process of working with a designer and working with, you know, working on your copy and really building out more of an online. Platform like your storefront basically through your website and just kind of pulling everything together.

What has that been like for you? 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh my gosh. Like before we even started with my [00:36:00] brand, I couldn’t have imagined it to be a better experience. Like I was, I was in shock, but I was like, is this really happening? Like, I didn’t think this was gonna happen this soon. Right. Um, and I didn’t know what to, its.

Spec cuz I, I’d never built a brand and a little bit like little me was kind of like, this is a lot to take on. Can I really do this? But I was just like, whatever. Like, we’re doing this right? We’ve got this vision. And so it’s been such an amazing ride and I’m, you know, almost even sad to like, get off the ride of like building it.

Cause I’m like, no, it’s going forever. But it’s like, no, we gotta get off the train at some. But it’s just, it’s, it’s caused me to learn a lot more about myself and a lot more about what I want, how I wanna show up for people, you know, and I’ve started to, to, you know, start taking inventory of these goals that I wanna hit, right?

It’s like I want to get into public speaking. I wanna be on a stage I want my [00:37:00] voice to carry, even though I’ve always said my voice is, So manly, but whatever. It’s like I just, I want to use my voice to help others and to help as many women as possible be able to take the blame and the shame that they’ve had toward themselves and turn it towards the culprit, the origin, and then start taking their life back and say, you know what?

I do not give an A flying f. I am living my life the way that I want to. You know, I, I’m starting a group coaching program in the fall and I am so freaking excited about this group coaching program because I, the reason why I started it in September is because I wanna support women throughout the holidays cuz the holidays are like the hardest, you know, part of the year to get through when you have an eating disorder, you know?

But I’m just so excited to expand on this group coaching program. Um, I’m so excited to be expanding in other programs. I’m collabing with, you know, an app right now that, that, um, is all for people with DISORDERING and eating disorder. So I’m an app expert for them [00:38:00] and I just can only see things going up from here.

But I would love to be able to. Capitalize one day and help people, you know, beyond the United States. I would love to be able to have a retreat system one day where I can just meet with all of the women that I helped change their lives, you know, and we can just bond and laugh and cry and just do whatever the heck we want and dance, and just be ourselves, you know, like this, this life that we live is so short and I try to live every day with, you know, tomorrow’s not promised.

So why are we trying to be people that we’re not? Why are we trying to, you know, live a life that really just doesn’t align with us? Like, why can’t we? Live this life the way that, that we truly feel is what’s what’s in us, you know? And so I wanna help as many women get back to, to their inherent, you know, authentic self and be self-led.

And this doesn’t mean like not caring what they. Think do and this and that. Like [00:39:00] obviously they do. They’re, these women are very incom, compassionate and p empathetic people. But I just want them to be confident in themselves and also receive the opportunities, allow joy, fulfillment, and the more that they can do that, the more that other people can see them doing that and start getting on that train with ’em, you know?

Ripple 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: effect. I mean, your whole body lights up when you talk about this. And honestly, I feel like this is just where we end the conversation because it is so you just like mic 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: dropped so hard. 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: And I nothing, look nothing. There’s nothing I love more in this world than a woman that is like on fire for what she does.

So thank you for being that and thank you for sharing your story with everybody listening and for just being open and vulnerable about your experiences being in a polarizing space of advocacy and activism and education, but also, What’s gone on behind the scenes for you to get there as an [00:40:00] entrepreneur and I am just like so freaking stoked to watch where you go and just to get to cheer you on because literally this like four month, five month period, however, it’s b been, you’ve just exploded and I know it’s only up from here.

So thank you for giving me the honor to like, observe and witness and be a part of that and for sharing with all of us. 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh, thank you. Well, I mean, I, I can’t tell you all guys how grateful I am for Tristan. Like, I tell my loved ones every day how much I love Tristan. Like my mom’s like, I need to meet this Tristan girl now, , you know?

But no, you’ve been such a godsend and I, I don’t know, you know Tristan backstory, she’s been with me. The get go. Like, she’s known me for a couple years now, and so she’s seen me from the baby stages to this stage. And so to have that support and to know that I’m not the, I have not done this alone and that she’s been through the same [00:41:00] rebirthing, it’s, it’s, it’s so nice to have that relateability and that support.

So I really appreciate you too, Tristan. Oh my gosh. 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Don’t make me cry. I’m so emotional. Okay, my love. If you had to send everybody listening off with something for them to reflect on in terms of showing up, being seen, no matter what our culture, society is telling us as women, as entrepreneurs, as people that are willing to show up and like let ourselves be seen, what would you say to everybody while we wrap up?

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh gosh. So many things flew through my mouth. You know what? If anything, if you, if you find any stress, anxiety, resistance in, in your, you know, your business that you’re trying to build, always come back to gratitude. That’s what I always do when I start feeling like burnt out things aren’t working out.

Go back to gratitude. What are you grateful for? Right? And [00:42:00] also remember, Why you started this journey? What excited you about it, right? What drove this passion? And that’s gonna help you get back to this creative space and help you remember why you’re on this journey. So, gratitude, excitement, building, trust with your followers.

You’re here to shift, you’re here to make a shift. You’re here to make a transformation. You’re here to change lives, right? So use those, those points, right? 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Amazing. Maren, thank you so much. Where do you want everybody to come and hang out with you at? Where’s the best place for people to get in contact? 

GUEST: Maren Hunt: Oh, you can find me on Instagram at Mind and Body Reconnected and TikTok as well.

It’s the same name. And hopefully I’ll be on YouTube in the future. 

HOST: Tristan Thibodeau: Yes ma’am. I’m gonna make sure of it. . Thank you so much love. Thank you.