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We are taken on the evolving journey of the life of Roger. He was a carpenter who went on to become a model and is now a public fitness coach. Roger’s journey has taken him around the world and seen him work with some of the biggest global brands. He recounts some of his life-changing conversations and how the power of words has shaped him along the way. “When you're with someone, really be with them, really be present, really listen to the words that are leaving their mouth, because those words can be gold dust. And you could be looking back on a conversation in 10 years’ time going, oh I really needed to hear those words.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Sara Sutcliffe is the current CEO of the Royal Yachting Association. She has had an eventful and fascinating career, including working on the team that secured London’s bid for the 2012 Olympics. She discusses working with prominent politicians such as the late Tessa Jowell and the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. She also provides her reflections on the role models who have had the biggest influence on her throughout her journey.  “The first thing I say to people who work with me is: you have absolute permission to make mistakes, what you don't have permission to do is to try and cover them up. Please just be honest.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

This season, we're looking at the impact of role models. How people found their role models, what happens when you grow up without a role model, and how to be a good one for others. Here's to all the Role models out there, you know who you are, and you're great! Keep on paying it forward.

Ciara was born with a learning disability but she has refused to accept the limitations that society has outlined for her. Despite having struggles at school and being told that she would not be able to live a full life, she has drawn inspiration from others, including her supportive and successful cousin, The Edge from U2. This has helped her to find a way to unleash her own potential. “Just because you have a learning disability, it doesn't make you any different. It just means you might need some extra support in your life. And everybody has some kind of difficulty in their life. Everybody has barriers.”  ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Ben, a 17-year-old student with autism is preparing for his A-levels, and excited about the prospect of going to university. He's fortunate to have a big sister, Ruth, who has been giving him advice on how best to prepare for the next potential phase of his life. “The best way for me to describe it is it means I think differently, and my brain is wired completely differently to anyone else. It's a different way of living, a different way of seeing the world. And the reason why it's a disability is because the world is not built for autistic people. It's built for non autistic people.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Since contracting polio as a child, Ric has been in a wheelchair for most of his life; however, he has proven himself to be particularly resourceful. With his personal mantra of “there’s no such word as can’t”, Ric has found a way to do things that many would assume would be beyond his ability; including, raising his children as a stay at home dad and competing in the London Marathon. “Having a disability is just an impairment. It's not the end of your life or anything. It's just something that needs to be addressed. And far more of what makes you disabled is the social environment around you, rather than what you can't do.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Issy is a woman who is living with Fibromyalgia. She talks about her powerful imagination and the uniqueness that characterises her personality. She also reflects on the way that her differences have made her life particularly challenging as both a child and an adult. More recently she has been able to make her voice heard and she plans to use it to fight for a more empathetic and inclusive society. “I sat there, and I just cried. I said, I am just so proud of myself, that I have been able to ignore my inner saboteur and my inner demons and that I've got myself to a position where I can be interviewed for a job role that I am desperately wanting to do, and a job where people are gonna listen to me. And I'm going to be able to impact other people's lives and make a difference and make a change.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

As a child, Seema was a big fan of cars. Her father was a car mechanic and she would roam around his garage and pretend to drive the cars. “My passion was being able to drive. I always thought, when I grew up, I'll have a car, I'll be able to stop at the petrol station, I’ll go and stop and get some shopping. So I used to roleplay all this sort of stuff when I was about 6, 7, 8.” “The thing is, when you have a disability, you have so many restrictions already. When COVID-19 hit, basically, it made life much more difficult for people who are vulnerable and disabled. It exacerbated the situation of people like myself… I was sick and tired.. I just wanted to have my own freedom back.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Gavin is someone who is passionate about promoting disability awareness. He has also made fighting for equality and fairness a principle objective in his life. After working with people with disabilities for a number of years he became aware of how much discrimination such individuals often face due to simple ignorance. He has now made it his mission to change attitudes towards disability by using technology. “What we are doing when we make sure everybody in our society has access to information is we are changing the way society interacts. Now, this is such a big idea. It's massive.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Alexandra is a British-Jamaican woman who suffered a life-changing injury as a teenager and went on to become an award-winning Paralympian. Following a diving accident while swimming in Jamaica, it took many months of rehabilitation and readjustment for Alexandra to be able to relearn how to be independent. Her story shows her ability not only to adapt to the circumstances of her disability, but to find a way to prosper. “I basically ran into the water and dived. And the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes and I was looking at the sea floor… I tried to move, I couldn't, I tried again to move, I couldn't. And at that point in time, I knew what had happened.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Episode summary: Clare has taken a positive attitude towards disability. She was born with a neuromuscular condition which meant that she required a lot of support as a child. Yet she was also born into a loving family who did not view her condition as simply an inconvenience. As far as Clare’s family were concerned, she was no different to anyone else and she should have the aspirations of any other child. “As a child, I thought, I'm going to do something. I don't know what it is but I'm going to do something.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

The new season of Our Voices is out tomorrow! This season we'll be hearing what it's like to live in the UK with a disability. http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out our website for the latest from Our Voices) We're also on https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://fascinateproductions.co.uk/ (Fascinate) Production

We will hear a story about travel and self-discovery. Kate is a travel journalist and writer who lives in London. She talks about the origins of her love of travelling and about the difficult relationship she had with her mother while growing up. She also discusses how she found the confidence to take her own path in life, rather than following in the footsteps of her peers. “You can't rewrite your childhood, but you can start the next chapter on your own terms.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

This is an inspirational story of community. Elizabeth is a teacher and campaigner who lives in Kosovo. Originally she planned on living in the country for 6 months having joined her husband on a work placement. Sixteen years later and they are both still there. Elizabeth has established the third biggest charity in the country called “The Ideas Partnership”, where she helps those from the least privileged communities. “So I went to the Ministry of Education. And I said I think there's a misunderstanding, I think this head teacher is saying that this girl can't come to school. And the woman at the Ministry of Education said to me ah, no, they're just too hard to teach. And so that really drove me mad. The idea of any child being considered too hard to teach.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Lesley is a leading figure within the field of chemistry and has spent most of her career as a researcher at the University of Edinburgh. She has had to overcome sexism in order to achieve success at the highest level. We learn about her contrasting experiences while studying science at school and university. We also learn how she now believes the most important thing in life is giving back. ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Karen was born and raised in rural Scotland and she has always had an appreciation for outdoor sports, particularly sailing. From a very young age, however, she had sensed that something was not as it should be in her life. Karen was living her life as a male but knew that she should’ve been born a girl. Here is the story of Karen’s long and challenging journey of self-discovery. “I was expecting the worst. I was expecting to be laughed at and ridiculed and never to be taken seriously again, but what I actually got was an outpouring of support and love from all these people I used to work with. It was one of the most empowering things I’ve ever had” Listener warning - this episode contains reference to suicidal thoughts. ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Sylvia Mac, one of 2020’s Women of the Year, discusses the physical and psychological impacts of a horrific accident she experienced when she was just 2-and-a-half years old. She discusses the challenges of being a burns survivor. She also talks about how embracing her body has helped to provide psychological healing and given her the courage to challenge societal attitudes towards non-typical standards of beauty.  “I don't blame her for anything. I don’t blame her for the accident. I just praise her for being that strong woman that brought me up, cared for me, because now I've got a really strong, caring, supportive character.” ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Athene is a pioneering female physicist who has had to overcome prejudice and discrimination as she has gone on to excel in her career. Her experiences show how males’ attitudes within the scientific community so often act as a barrier to women becoming involved in science. We learn how Athene has used her experiences and success to combat this and encourage women to pursue their scientific ambitions. ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

This is a story about females triumphing against the odds. Nicola is 22 years old and is a senior instructor with the RYA - the UK’s Royal Yachting Association. She talks about growing up in a single-parent family and about how her mother has been a life-long inspiration. She also reflects on the times she has been underestimated by males. And how she has spectacularly forced them to reevaluate their assumptions.********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production

Pinky Lilani is an entrepreneur who has a passion for food. She describes how she grew up in a culture in which men were supposed to be the breadwinners. She also talks about her anguish at experiencing hearing loss in the midst of her newfound career. Finally, she reflects on how support from a kind friend and an inner-determination to succeed saw her overcome these challenges to achieve lasting success. ********************* Huge thanks to our sponsor, The https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya-home (Royal Yachting Association) (RYA) Visit the https://our-voices.captivate.fm/rya (RYA website) to find your local club and get involved ********************* http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (Check out the Our Voices website for more on this story) http://ourvoicespodcast.com/ (We're also on )https://www.facebook.com/ourvoicesinthenhs (Facebook), https://twitter.com/OurVoices14 (Twitter) and https://www.instagram.com/ourvoicespod/ (Instagram) A https://our-voices.captivate.fm/fascinate-productions (Fascinate) Production