Underestimated with Jess Davies

My guest this episode is Aled Sion Davies, Triple Gold Paralympic Champion, World Champion and Winner of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. Aled has achieved huge heights of success in his career, breaking World Records and captaining Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Due to being born with a combined disability of Talipese and Hemi-hemilia in his right leg, Aled has limited functionality of his right leg but that has never stopped him from chasing his sporting dreams. Aled and I dived into his incredible career so far, the Olympic mindset, the conflict around the word 'inspiring' and his dreams of winning gold for Team Wales at this years Commonwealth Games. I hope you enjoy this special episode! Follow Aled on Instagram at: @aleddavies2012 Follow me on Instagram at: @_jessdavies

My guest this week is host of the podcast and blog ‘Diet Starts Monday', Nicole Quigley. Nicole and I spent hours shooting breeze, there is a warmth and a familiarness to Nicole that makes you feel as if you have known her for years, I just want to grab a bottle of red and hunker on down to put the world to right with her! Nicole and I chatted about the joys of therapy and why she thinks it should be mandatory, how lockdown was the best thing that could have happened to her and realising your worth and setting healthy boundaries. We also dive in to the complicated issues around cancel culture and how the diet industry has been weaponised. There's plenty to get your teeth stuck into here!

My guest this week is the stand out star from BBC3's Drag Race UK, Choriza May. Fresh from the work room of Series 3, Choriza was a fan favourite on the show for her quick wit and comedy confessionals. Choriza uses her platform to speak out about her experience of being an immigrant in the UK and open up the conversations around the hostile attitude towards immigrants in Britain after Brexit. I hope you enjoy this episode, this is underestimated.

My guest this week is Tara Margulies; Fitness influencer, co-founder of digital agency 'Cal-Social' and hobbyist pole-dancer. Tara utilises her social media platforms to raise awareness around important issues such as feminism, domestic violence and male mental health, to name but a few. Recently, Tara has gone viral several times on TikTok with her pole-dancing videos overlaid with important text on social issues gaining millions of views and I am obsessed with them! Tara is my kind of person, she likes to spark debate and isn't afraid to dive into uncomfortable conversations. I hope you enjoy this episode of Underestimated.

My guest this episode is Richie Driss, the 38th Presenter of the legendary children's tv programme Blue Peter. Richie and I have known each other for over ten years and it's been so amazing to follow his journey from working in a local independent clothes shop in Aberystwyth to interviewing A-list celebrities and fronting one of the most iconic British TV programmes. In this episode Richie and I discuss the dreaded imposter syndrome, grinding away at the hustle, the Blue Peter audition process and sharing jokes with Kevin Hart, plus how rhino poo is the perfect escapism from everyday life. I hope you enjoy this episode, this is underestimated.

This weeks episode of 'Underestimated' is a very special bonus podcast where I dive in to the most popular episodes so far and unpack the incredible stories within them. From my friend Schieffer Bates feeling the pressure of imposter syndrome to male model Ben James' opening up about his experience of being objectified by women, and OnlyFans creator Scarlett Howard discussing the stigma around the platform; we have had some deep and honest conversations on this podcast and I thought it the perfect time to reflect. We'll back to normal business next week with another new episode with a trailblazing guest!

This weeks episode of Underestimated sees me sit down with CEO and Founder of tech' company Ceartas, Dan Purcell. Dan's company specialises in content protection, DMCA takedowns and fighting back against Image Based Sexual Abuse. ⁣ ⁣ Having worked at the World's biggest tech giants including Google and Facebook, Dan used his knowledge of the digital World to single-handedly take down a discord server which featured hundreds of thousands of stolen and leaked images and videos of women across Ireland. Since then he has helped many others including myself and I'm so grateful for the work Dan and his team does.⁣ ⁣ If you have been a victim of revenge porn or IBSA and are looking for some help, contact ceartas.io where they can assist you on next steps. Ceartas removes revenge porn offline for free.

MY GUEST THIS WEEK IS DR JESSICA TAYLOR, best selling radical feminist author of “Why women are blamed for everything”, psychologist and founder of victim focus. I cannot think of a more fitting person to sit down with and discuss their endless experiences of being underestimated. From growing up on a council estate and being subjected to male violence at a young age to being a leading voice of change in the rally against male violence towards women and girls, I am in awe of Jess and all that she does. I'm sure you'll be able to tell whilst listening that I'm such a huge fan of Jess and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. victimfocus.org.uk

My guest this week is Lucy Dawson- Influencer, Disabled model and Encephalitis survivor who uses her social media platform to raise awareness and visibility for people living with a disability. Lucy's life was turned upside down when in October 2016 a month before her 21st birthday she was taken in to hospital with a serious illness which lead to her being wrongfully sectioned at a mental hospital and a case of neglect which left Lucy permanently disabled. Lucy and I discuss the reality of using dating apps as a disabled woman, her fight for survival and her incredible rehabilitation from her body slowly killing itself to booking jobs with her favourite brands . Lucy is so inspiring and it was a joy to sit down with her and hear her remarkable story. I hope you like this episode, this is underestimated. PATREON.COM/JESSDAVIES for the extended episode!

Welcome to Series 2 of ‘Underestimated! I'm kicking off this new series with an inspiring and thought provoking chat with Matthew MacNabb, content creator, entrepreneur and Love Island UK star. Matt and I get stuck into the good stuff with some deep and meaningful conversations around the purpose of life, finding gratitude in the small things, thriving in failure and his dream podcast guest. Sitting down with Matt was like breathing in a self-help book full of warming quotes and assurance that you're doing okay. His positivity around life is infectious and I can't wait to head on over to soak up his own podcast episodes in ‘Chat With Matt'. PATREON.COM/JESSDAVIES

My guest this week is lifestyle and body confidence content creator Megan Carole. Megan opens up about her experience of being judged at auditions for the shape of her body, her journey towards self-love and her dreams of being on the West End. Megan radiates positivity and you can't help but smile when talking to her, her happiness is infectious and her social media channels are a beautiful safe space away from all of the pressure we can feel online. From going viral on TikTok to getting trolled on Instagram, Megan has experienced a lot over the last twelve months but there's no sign of her slowing down anytime soon. I'm so excited to see what the future holds for her. I hope you enjoy this podcast and the final episode of the first Series of Underestimated! check out PATREON.COM/JESSDAVIES for longer episodes, exclusive content and more!

My guest this week is the legendary drag race UK superstar and seasoned entertainer Divina De Campo. A runner-up on one of the biggest tv shows in the World, Divina is a hugely successful performer with a lot of heart. Divina and I dive into her experience of being Underestimated by the other contestants during her time on Drag Race U.K, the social responsibility that comes with being a member of the LGBTQI+ community in the public eye, the hypocrisy of cancel culture and the importance of finding happiness within yourself. Divina is one of the most intellectual people I have had the pleasure of sitting down and shooting the breeze with, full of knowledge on political topics and passion for their long-standing career in the entertainment industry. It is clear to anyone who sits down with Divina for five minutes that this amazing individual is a lot more than a red wig and a silver dress! Divina is touring with Chicago the Musical and tickets are available to purchase now. PATREON : Patreon.com/jessdavies

My guest this episode is body confidence influencer and mental health advocate Olivia Callaghan, aka ‘Self-Love Liv'. We dive into mental health and discrimination in the work place, choosing to love our bodies-flaws n' all, the joys of going sober and her on-going journey towards the ultimate goal: Self-love. Liv is a huge breath of fresh air on social media, sharing her personal experiences with mental health, body image, dealing with an eating disorder as a teenager and confronting suicidal thoughts. There is no topic off bounds on her Instagram page and her vulnerability is an inspiration to others. It hasn't been an easy journey for Liv but from her lowest point struggling with her mental health to recently being nominated as ‘Influencer of the year' at the Blogosphere awards, Liv is a shining example of how choosing to be kind to ourselves can go a long way towards finding a happy life balance that works for us. I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to head on over to Liv'a Instagram page to show her some love. PATREON.COM/JESSDAVIES

My guest this episode is political reporter, activist and writer Femi Oluwole. Femi was a leading voice for the Remain campaign in the 2016 Brexit election, building a huge platform across social media in the hopes of making politics more accessible to us everyday folk through his easy-to-understand video content and political breakdowns. Since then, Femi has appeared on panel shows, wrote for leading newspapers and debated some of the most controversial figures in U.K politics including ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage and ex-GMB presenter Piers Morgan. His goal is clear- to hold our Government to account, and in the face of horrendous racial abuse and backlash online Femi continues to rise. One huge take-away from this episode? Never underestimate the guy in the t-shirt.

My guest this episode is voice actor, impressionist and content creator Scheiffer Bates. With a huge following and millions of views under his belt Scheiffer was one of the first stars to launch their career on YouTube. A fellow Welshie like myself, Scheiffer and I have cheers'd many jäger bombs on a sticky Cardiff dance floor over the years but this time around we sat down to share some home truths on the reality of being a content creator, how imposter syndrome never really goes away and swapping DM's with Gordon Ramsay. A born-entertainer Scheiffer is naturally hilarious but in this episode he shows us his vulnerable side with an open and honest conversation about feeling underestimated, how classism plays a huge role in the entertainment industry and how he uses his celebrity impressions as an escape from his reality- and ultimately himself. I loved this chat with Scheiffer, his energy is infectious and he's someone you want to sit down in a dark corner of a pub with and get lost in his stories. FOR THE EXTENDED EPISODE AND MORE BONUS CONTENT: Patreon.com/jessdavies

In this episode of ‘Underestimated' I sat down with best-selling author, activist and body confidence campaigner Stephanie Yeboah as we dived into her feelings of being underestimated because of the body she lives in. I absolutely loved this chat with Steph; When I was putting together a list of potential guests for the podcast Steph was on my “wish list” and I was so excited when she agreed to join me on the podcast. Ever since I found Steph's Instagram page a couple years ago I've fallen in love with not only her ridiculously gorgeous photos and aesthetic online but her willingness to hold the important conversations which need to be said. I have learnt so much from Steph, she is a trail blazer and I am just dying to see her in her own ASOS campaign sometime soon (manifesting it into existence for her!). Steph's debut non-fiction book ‘Fattily Ever After: A black fat girls guide to living life unapologetically' is an absolute must read for everyone and it's available to purchase now at all good bookstores. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. X FOR THE EXTENDED EPISODE (30 extra minutes): Patreon.com/jessdavies

Scarlett Howard is a successful model, radio presenter, OnlyFans creator and business woman. In this episode of ‘Underestimated' I sat down with Scarlett to discuss the secret to her success, the unfair judgement that comes with being ‘just an OnlyFans girl' and the reasoning behind wanting to launch her new business venture the ‘Glo Project'. As an ex-model myself I hugely admire Scarlett for choosing to turn a negative stigma into a success and follow her own path in life. When it comes to women leaning into our power, whether that be our sexuality or our knowledge, there is always a kick back from a society that is not used to women being in the driving seat. Unlike men who may choose to take the lead, confidently back themselves and make use of their assets, women are often met with negativity when they step outside the box that society has put them in. Of course there are plenty of male creators on OnlyFans, many selling sexual content, but they hardly receive any pushback or heckling from those who choose to target the female creators on the platform. This negativity and judgement nearly prevented Scarlett from signing up altogether, but instead of let others dictate her journey she took the wheel and pushed full speed ahead with her vision. An early adopter of the platform, Scarlett is now a hugely successful creator and has since launched the ‘Glo Project', a talent network dedicated to supporting and protecting subscription platforms creators. Scarlett wants to create a safe space and community that can help others reach their full potential and be paid for their content online, whilst also helping to educate and protect the creators from being exploited or creating content they may not be comfortable with. I wish I had someone like Scarlett around to mentor me when I was eighteen years old and new to the modelling industry; I signed contracts that I had no idea what they meant, had images taken of me that I didn't understand the copyright laws around and partook in photoshoots that I didn't want to do because I felt pressured into them. I'm so excited to see what the future holds for Scarlett and the ‘Glo Project', there is a huge space in the industry for a female-led talent support network and I'm sure the demand will continue to grow as subscription sites such as OnlyFans and Patreon expand in popularity. I hope you love the episode and it helps not only to educate you on subscription sites but open your mind to women owning their own bodies and their content. I should note that this episode was recorded before the recent OnlyFans news announcement around a change in their terms and conditions. If you enjoy the podcast and want to hear more, perhaps Scarlett and I can jump on a Twitter live to chat further about the changes to the site and what she sees as the future. Until next time, don't let anyone underestimate you x FOR EXTENDED EPISODES, EXCLUSIVE PATREON ONLY PODCAST, BLOG POSTS AND MORE EXCLUSIVE CONTENT - CHECK OUT Patreon.com/jessdavies

Meet Ben James- Toxic Masculinity, Male body image, ‘Banter' and being sexualised by women. This first episode of the podcast gets right into the thick of it! When I was brainstorming some potential guests to record with for the podcast, I knew that Ben James was a must to sit down with! Smart, intriguing and with a total opposite life experience to myself, Ben is the perfect podcast guest to kickstart the series with. Ben is a male model, one who is deemed ‘plus size' in the fashion World but in reality dons an impressive physique. He stands at 6ft 6' tall and has had to learn how to move through a society which both fetishizes and feels intimidated by his size without causing too much of a scene, not entirely easy when you tower over most people in a room. I absolutely loved this conversation with Ben, but I would be lying if I said it didn't make me feel a little uneasy. I've been very open about my stance as a feminist on my social media profiles for years, and often call out gender inequality and the misogynistic society we live in. Many of my posts have focused on things men may do wrong (sorry guys!) in order to try and educate others and create a space for us to move forward, but I haven't often given much thought to the personal and unique struggles that men face when having to also learn to exist amongst toxic masculinity and the patriarchal hierarchy. Ben was extremely open and honest in the struggles he has faced because of his size, from being bullied by grown men on the side lines as a child on the rugby pitch to being attacked, bottled and unable to go to the toilet in a club by himself all because of how men have felt threatened by the body he was born in. Another eye-opening point for me in the podcast is when Ben shared how he is sexualised online daily by women who comment crude messages under his posts, send him unsolicited nudes or accuse him of being a misogynist for not replying to their messages. Embarrassingly, I had never really thought of how being sexualised by women can have an effect on men. There's a stereotype that most men will probably enjoy it, but when you're trying to create content highlighting male mental health struggles and all women are talking about is your dick print, it's easy to see how you could feel frustrated and degraded. I knew straight away that I wanted to bring you this podcast as the first episode to kick start the series with because it is immensely thought-provoking, eye-opening and hopefully relates to a lot of my male audience who often don't feel as though they can talk as openly and honestly about their feelings around mental health and body image as women can. Ben is a huge inspiration when it comes to leading the way for men to lean into their vulnerability. I hope this podcast will help you, educate you and start some important conversations. After all, that's what we're here for! Let me know your thoughts on the episode! X TO HEAR THE EXTENDED VERSION AND FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, HEAD OVER TO PATREON : https://www.patreon.com/jessdavies

‘Underestimated' the Podcast is officially here! I'm so excited that after all the hard work my podcast is finally ready and the first podcast has officially landed for you lovely lot! ‘Underestimated' was my idea and the premise was birthed out of a feeling I've carried around with me since I was a teenager. Being blonde haired and curvaceous, people always assumed I was just a dumb blonde. I was in top sets for most of my classes, achieved good grades, took part in debating teams, always volunteered to read in class and have always been outspoken about my views, but I felt that people only saw the way I looked and not the person underneath. Fast forward on to my modelling career and this feeling cranked up a notch. When you're a Glamour Model, people assume you are in that job because you can't do anything else. Like Page 3 is a last chance saloon. Trust me, sometimes I wish I had exhausted all options before going straight into stripping my clothes off. But it was very much a jump first, and learn how to swim later situation. I wasn't a glamour model because I was dumb, or a ‘slut' but that's how people saw me. Since then, I have always felt underestimated. From talking about feminism to tweeting about politics, applying for jobs or handing in work assignments, people have underestimated my ability to succeed simply because of my job or the way I looked. Of course I live in an extremely privileged body, but the dinosaur stereotypes and stigmas attached to women's bodies are still very much alive and kicking in today's society. I wanted to launch ‘Underestimated' the podcast because I know I'm not alone. We have all felt underestimated once in our lives, whether from friends, family, a loved one, a stranger, a colleague or even ourselves. This podcast sees me sit down with some trailblazing and unapologetic guests who could've given up when faced with adversity, but chose to prove themselves right instead (because proving people wrong isn't always what it's cracked up to be, but we'll get into that in the podcast!) I hope you love the podcast as much as I loved recording it. There are some epic chats coming up with my guests that are thought provoking, gut-wrenching and side-splittingly funny. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, it's going to be a fun ride. X SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON : Patreon.com/jessdavies