Join me as I share my life journey with you as it unfolds. I'm currently 27, living in Australia and am developing a fashion modelling career. I'm a woman of transgender experience and started my transition from male to female at 25. I want to share my lessons, thoughts, and struggles as a way t…
Hey Guys, Finally, a new episode! I don't expect anyone to remember I have a podcast; it's been that long. Here's a quick, although not that short, rundown of the year that was 2021. Plenty occurred from moving back to Sydney, studying at uni, booking my first paid shoot and more. I hope you enjoy it, although I must admit I have no idea of when I'll record another episode. Thanks, everyone :) Chaye Xx --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hey Guys, Today someone asked me what I would do if I couldn't model anymore, and after some reflection and personal insights, I recognised that modelling for me is the perfect fit for who I am. It allows me to explore and master my physical body, my mental states, and express my emotions. I couldn't ask for a career and lifestyle that suits me any better. I'm only at the start of this journey, and it's far from easy, but at least it feels right. Thanks for listening, Chaye Xx --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hey Guys, Been a while since I've recorded but finally felt the need today to share something. 2020 saw my Mum's mental and physical health go in an unexpected direction, and for most of the year, I had to juggle her health, my health, and my modelling dreams. In this episode after a little bit of a stumble getting going, I discuss how this particular event of 2020 helped me understand my priorities in priorities in life better. No matter what happens to my Mum, no matter how hard it might make my life at times, I know I'll always be there for her, and no matter what gets thrown in the way of my modelling dreams I will always find a way to keep moving forward. Thanks for listening and happy 2021! Chaye Xx --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I wanted to talk about privilege vs becoming self-aware as the determinant of potential success in life. I'm seeing a lot of content at the moment that makes us all feel like victims to outside circumstances. In my experience being a victim towards anything never gets you very far, and the only way to future proof yourself, career, and relationships for the next world-changing event is to become self-aware and start making decisions according to what's right for you. Trust yourself and stop relying on outside forces to control and manage your life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hey Guys, It's been a while since I've recorded an episode and the main reason has been that I haven't feel like the real me the last few times. The interviews were great and I loved chatting with like-minded people, but long-term I'd like to share more honest, and opinionated updates. I understand that my new approach may be a tad prickly for some, but it's the direction I'm heading. Consequences and all. If I don't speak honestly I don't feel like myself and that's the worst feeling in the world. Enjoy, --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In April I had the pleasure of being asked for an interview by Australian journalist Florence Falkiner. She’s currently based in the UK and wanted to write an article about what it’s like to be a Transgender woman in 2020. I suggested we record the interview and use it as a podcast episode. My apologies for the audio quality with this one. I hope you enjoy
In this episode we chat with local Brisbane award winning Hair Stylist Teyanah Popik who is sure to be a leading force in this industry if her first few years in it are anything to go by. We discussed topics like having spiritual upbringings, what it’s like to be a creative at this time and more around the world of styling and going after your dreams. Be sure to keep an eye of Teynah’s career as it unfolds as it’s sure to be a successful one
This week we are fortunate to hear from a future leader in the fashion industry, Australian based fashion stylist and model manager; Jenni Sellan. Our interview covers many topics around where the fashion industry needs to go next regarding diversity, inclusiveness, and taking responsibility for its influence on mainstream society. It is a conversation that goes to heart very quickly about the issues that matter most to this somewhat misunderstood world. Jenni and I first met in October 2019 as part of my first semi-professional photoshoot, where she styled me in several timeless looks to begin the development of my modelling portfolio. In November of that year, we reconnected after it was clear that I needed guidance in managing the development and direction of my new career. Since then, we have worked continuously together to nurture my career through purposeful photoshoot planning, branding, and industry connection building. I now consider Jenni to be one of my closest allies and friends at this time of my life. Jenni is also the mother of two, with her daughter Ava about to join the modelling world at the age of fourteen. As such, we discuss how she has managed to nurture her daughter in this social and digital age where body positivity and self-empowerment is imperative to the well-being and mental health of young adults. We hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to sharing more unique perspectives on the fashion industry and my journey within it soon. Thanks for listening, liking, and subscribing. Love always, Chaye Xx You can learn more about Jenni at the following links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennisellan/ Website: http://jennisellan.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-sellan-64395032/ Our Latest Written Interview: https://www.chayehartwell.com/interviews/interview-with-nothing-less-than-chic-fashion-stylist-jenni-sellan As always, you can connect with me at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chayehartwell/ Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaye-hartwell-183283198/ Email: chaye@chayehartwell.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, we interview Australian Fashion Photographer Dave Blake. Dave is on a trajectory to becoming one the great master's in Fashion Photography, and it was an absolute pleasure to speak with him openly and candidly about his journey, photography process, and unique shooting style. He offers many practical tips for both photographers, models, and stylists looking to break into the evolving fashion industry. I first made contact with Dave in April 2019, just before I underwent my reassignment surgery. I was reaching out to him to see if he'd be open to doing a model portfolio shoot for myself later that year once I recovered from my operation. He replied within 14 minutes of me sending my email with a resounding YES to being willing and excited to work with me; just the first of many examples of his diligence and professional work ethic. In October 2019, we did our first shoot together, and since then, doors have been continually opening for me in the modelling industry thanks to his guidance, connections, and patience. He has been instrumental to my early success and in helping me forge a foundation in this industry. I hope you all enjoy the show and check out Dave's work below: Website: www.daveblake.com.au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveblakephoto/ As always I can be found at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chayehartwell/ Website: www.chayehartwell.com Chaye Xx --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hi everyone, In this episode, I talk less about myself and my own journey and more about what's going on at this time in March 2020. I've lived a very different life to most and have a unique perspective on things. I'm starting to learn that at this time of uncertainty that perspective is very much needed to be voiced. We're at a time when things are changing and that's ok. How we respond to change will determine where we all are in six months time. Now is the time to become more aware of yourself and what it is that you honestly want to create in this world. We will get through this time, there's no doubt around that. All things are transitory and have a beginning and an end. We just need to sit back and watch this unfold and do our part each to remain optimistic and hopeful about the future. Please stay positive, realistic, and aware. Love, Chaye Xx --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hi Everyone, In this episode, I share my one week update since my breast augmentation as well as share my perspective on the creative process. Towards the end of the episode, I begin to realise that I don't know what it is that I am creating or even working towards and that I'm slowly accepting that it's ok for things to be this way. All good things do take time to create and we have to trust the process as we move forward. Sometimes, we need to slow down and be grateful to ourselves for coming this far already. I also invite you all to message me any questions or topic ideas that you would like me to discuss in future episodes. More and more people are starting to listen to this podcast and I want to ensure that I'm talking about the things that matter most to the audience. DM me on Instagram with your ideas. Thanks for listening and sharing! Love, Chaye Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chayehartwell/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chayehartwell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaye-hartwell-183283198/ Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com/ Email: chaye.hartwell@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode I share my early morning thoughts and feelings going into my breast augmentation surgery. I also talk about my first Tinder Date, as well as the overall plan for the next 2 months of building my career. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hi everyone, In this episode, I wanted to talk about why I've decided to finally have my breast augmentation surgery as well as how I am feeling towards the process of developing my modelling career. I feel incredibly content with how things are progressing in terms of my body, career, and my future role and am grateful for the increasing number of people who are surrounding me as I walk towards my dreams. Thank you for listening! Love, Chaye --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hi everyone, Today I wanted to talk about my struggles with diet, food, and my body in general. Not only since transitioning but also leading up to it. I'm talking less from the perspective of gender dysphoria, but more so from my experiences with body dysmorphia and my own eating disorders. In the last year, and the few months especially, I've come to a place where I trust my bodies' innate intelligence when it comes to eating, and discovering what works best for me. At first surrendering to my body was a scary process as I was consuming a diet of hot chocolate and brown rice for over a year. Yet, over time my body started to re-direct me towards a more balanced way of eating, which has fulled my ever-increasing interest in understanding nutrition and cooking in general. When I followed the direction of my body and let go of what my mind thought was right or wrong, things got worse before they got better. Yet, today I can proudly say that I love who I am, where I am going, and the body I have been given. I look forward to seeing where it takes me next in my life. Thanks to everyone for listening! Always love yourself and your body because they're the only thing you have. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hey
In this episode, I share how I am preparing emotionally for my first photoshoot of 2020. I talk about the work I’ve been doing with my acting coach Peter and especially, our recent preparations. There are five key emotions that we’re looking to capture (anguish, curiosity, grief, empowerment, playfulness, and the bonus one of flirty). It’s been a whirlwind start to 2020, and I can’t wait to see where things lead next. I’m incredibly grateful to be surrounded by a growing team of inspiring and motivating people, who are keeping me accountable and encouraging me to continue sharing my story with you all. Without them, my story would be landing on deaf ears. Topics that were spoken about: Preparing for my first photoshoot Working with my manager Jenni Working with my acting coach, Peter Physically and emotionally exploring my self-hatred, disgust, and the anguish it triggered Calling my Dad the C*NT word for the first time Training for a half-marathon My book is almost ready to be professionally edited Intention for 2020 A taster of Human Design Studying nutrition at uni Peter Rasmussen Casting - https://www.peterrasmussen.com.au/ @ https://instagram.com/rasmussencasting?igshid=1ngwb2y06bvlo Jenni Sellan @ https://instagram.com/jennisellan?igshid=162w40ikczu10 Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! Please leave your questions as comments below! Available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chaye-unfolding/id1489267760 https://open.spotify.com/show/5dpYBSsMaZC7zMFZkEehZL Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaye.hartwell/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
Hi Everyone! In this episode, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I also wanted to share a quick update on what I've been working on lately. I even managed to talk a bit about my body dysmorphia and how I feel I'm finally overcoming it thanks to a small running goal that I have. As always, thanks for listening and have a fantastic break! :) Love, Chaye Xx Please leave your questions as comments below! Available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chaye-unfolding/id1489267760 https://open.spotify.com/show/5dpYBSsMaZC7zMFZkEehZL Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaye.hartwell/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, we hear from my friend Maddy! Like me she is also a woman of transgender experience, having started her transition mid-way through last year. We talk mostly about her positive feelings towards fashion and this new life of hers. Her story is uplifting and encouraging for anyone in any life-changing situation to hear. We will definitely be hearing from her again shortly! Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! Please follow Maddy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thattranslawyer/ Please leave your questions as comments below! Available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chaye-unfolding/id1489267760 https://open.spotify.com/show/5dpYBSsMaZC7zMFZkEehZL Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaye.hartwell/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I share my experiences in the first 3 months post-surgery. I share how the first week at home was absolute torture in a lot of ways, but also one of the biggest detoxes I've ever gone through. I share how I started to physically recover in the months afterwards by doing things like physio treatments and pilates. I end talking about how I wish I had just let my focus during this time be on my body healing and not so much about worrying what my future was going to be like. I wasted a lot of energy worrying about things when I didn't need to! Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! Please leave your questions as comments below! Available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chaye-unfolding/id1489267760 https://open.spotify.com/show/5dpYBSsMaZC7zMFZkEehZL Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaye.hartwell/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode I share what my hospital experience was like when I had my reassignment surgery. All in all the procedure went perfectly, but there was a minor hiccup a few days after that was basically my fault. I didn't enough food in order to recover properly and ended up fainting. I end the episode at the point where I arrived back home with Mum. Next time I'll talk about my first few months post-surgery and the recovery process during that time. I'm not going to lie those first 3 months were tough. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! Please leave your questions as comments below! Available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chaye-unfolding/id1489267760 https://open.spotify.com/show/5dpYBSsMaZC7zMFZkEehZL Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaye.hartwell/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I explain how I managed to organise my reassignment surgery and the hoops that I had to jump through with my health insurer to make it happen. I end the episode with a request to health insurers to please make gender transitioning related surgeries covered as part of health insurance policies. They are life-saving procedures and deserve to be treated as such. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! Please leave your questions as comments below! Available for listening on Apple Podcasts and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/chaye-unfolding/id1489267760 https://open.spotify.com/show/5dpYBSsMaZC7zMFZkEehZL Website: https://www.chayehartwell.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chaye.hartwell/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I get personal with the story of my first sexual experience as a woman. At this stage of my journey, I was 6 months on hormones and had finally accepted and acted upon my desires to have sex with men. Whilst the experience was positive and life-changing, it taught me that I needed my reassignment surgery sooner rather than later. I'll talk about that in my next episode. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! Please also leave a review and or rating now that we made it to Apple Podcasts :) www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I continue sharing the story of my transition journey. I pick things up at the 3-month mark of starting hormones and go on to share my first modelling experiences. I end the episode with having doubts about whether modelling is for me or not, as a result of a troubling experience that I had with a photographer taking advantage of me. Next episode I will talk about my journey into studying fashion design and styling, and maybe my first sexual experience with a man. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I talk about the steps that I took to begin my hormone treatment including seeing my GP for the first time, visiting a psychiatrist, and my counsellor. I also explain the initial effects of beginning my treatment and how I focused on presenting a more androgynous look at the start. I tried to keep this episode a bit more upbeat, but even still, I managed to talk about my struggles with food in the past and my obsession with healthy eating. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I try to talk about the relationship that I had with someone when I came out as Transgender in 2018. I touch on how hard it is for couples to go through a transition, and how for me how my relationship began and ended with this person. It's difficult to not lie to someone you love when you are already lying to yourself. Next episode I want to talk about the practical steps I took to transition, including starting hormones, seeing psychiatrists, GP's, and counsellors. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I continue to talk about my journey so far. It explores how and why I left my corporate accounting job, how my family and friends reacted to that decision, and what I did afterwards. I discover for myself how multiple times in my life I got close to accepting my gender dysphoria but somehow managed to always run away from it. I end the episode having just met a very important person in my life, who without, Chaye could not exist as she does. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I continue to talk about my journey so far. We pick things up with my time at university and how dedicated I was to lie to myself about who I really wanted to be. At the age of 22, I was still studying finance and accounting at uni and had started exploring the world of "pick up" as a way to hide who I really was. This episode brought out some tears in me. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
In this episode, I share the first part of my life journey so far. I touch on how ashamed I was at school for having gender dysphoria, especially in attending an all-boys boarding school. I end the episode with the realisation that for the first part of my life I used my studies at both school and university as a way to hide my fear of wanting to live as a woman. Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message
This is my first podcast attempt. I'm 27 years old from Australia. A woman of transgender experience, and a fashion model. I want to talk about my journey so far, what I've learnt along the way, and hopefully, inspire others to go after their own "personal legends" and dreams. I don't know if this podcast will last, but like most things in my life, I just want to give it a go and see how it plays out :) Thanks for listening, following, and subscribing! www.chayehartwell.com @chaye.hartwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chayeunfolding/message