Meet Taylor

We were lucky to catch up with Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.

The podcast has helped so much with my mental health, but it’s a double edged sword. I’ve been in therapy with the same therapist since 2020. He’s been immensely helpful in building my confidence and growing my emotional consistency. Unfortunately, I hit a wall in 2023, right around when I was starting the podcast. After a month of barely eating and not feeling myself, I finally made the decision to start on sertraline, which is the generic version of Zoloft.

Within a week, my mental state shifted. I’d spent the first 25 years of my life fighting against my own brain, not knowing how I was going to feel when I woke up in the morning. I’ve tried the non-medicinal methods. Diet, exercise, having a good social circle, talk-therapy, meditation, yoga, all it. Sertraline is the only thing that made a difference, and it’s made it significantly easier to keep up with healthy habits. I’ve been able to maintain my podcast for over two years now; prior to medication, I likely would have burned out within the first year. I feel like myself for the first time.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Bottums Up is a biweekly, interview based podcast that highlights the lives and stories of the LGBT+ community in South Florida. I’m a Maryland native and moved to Florida in 2019 for graduate school. After a tumultuous experience including betrayal, lesbian heartbreak, and a literal pandemic, this podcast became a way for me to get my feet back under myself. I started Bottums Up in the summer of 2023 as a way to make friends and find events. This platform is the resource I wish I had while I was in school. It has brought me so many opportunities and connections. The feeling of joy that I feel with my community is priceless.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I’m scrappy. If I want something, I’ll get it done. There are many times where I’ve waited for someone to join me on a venture or decision, only for things to not move forward. I knew this podcast was something I desperately wanted to do, and I knew it had value. I’d never done anything like this before, but lack of experience wasn’t going to stop me. I’ve pitched my platform multiple times to brands who may or may not see my value. I know I will get more rejection than acceptance. I’m holding out for the acceptance.

My empathy and communication skills have also helped me curate valuable conversations. I’ve always been able to ask people about themselves and understand difficulties they may face, but I don’t want my episodes to read like an interrogation. I tell my guests to think of it more as a conversation, not an interview. I’m not looking to get information out of someone. An episode is not valuable to me if my listeners can’t genuinely connect with who I’m talking to.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Always! My podcast is based on guest appearances, so if you’re interested, please reach out.

I’m also constantly looking for promoters and even curators to host events with. My preference is to create wellness and community oriented spaces that are accessible for everyone in the community. Feel free to send me an Instagram DM or shoot me an email at [email protected]

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All images are my own.

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