This week, Xanthe is joined by somatic depth coach Antonia Dolhaine, in a conversation around identity, impact, and desire. Our discussion was RICHHHH with insight around topics like:
• How to safely share personal information online as someone who works in support of others
• Choosing a business model that scales depth, impact, and rest
• Amplifying your values through your community without relying on social media
• Being an eternal student and how to lead when you’re still in process
• The emotions that can guide you toward uncovering your true desires
• Looking at your work as a channel for your creative energy rather than a niche you’re stuck in
• Our societal obsession with self-definition and why we’ve become so obsessed with titles
• Detaching your identity from your leadership and learning who you are outside of it
Antonia is a former Cirque du Soleil acrobat turned somatic depth coach for uncommonly curious, creative, and ambitious beings seeking to answer the question: “what’s next?”. She draws from extensive training and experience in somatics, depth psychology, and systems-oriented work to support her clients to reach their peaks by befriending their depths.
CONNECT WITH ANTONIA:
TODAY, WE TREAT YOU TO:
• The latest porn-inspired optimization trend: nutmaxxing
• A disturbing pattern of woman-hating on the fall fashion runway
• Why you probably don’t want to follow the “betrayal list” trend
• The badass results of Gen Z’s global political activism
• A promising cultural advancement for fans of the Irish Goodbye
• Instagram’s latest updates to make it even harder to connect on their app
This episode is brought to you by The FIXR Series, a monthly workshop membership from Sam MacKinnon. Each 45-minute workshop tackles one specific friction point in your business — whether that’s scattered priorities, messy workflows, or systems that just don’t fit anymore. If you’re ready to stop patching holes and start running your business like it’s built to last, head to samanthamackinnon.com/fixr-series
IN THIS EPISODE ↓
• A follow-up re: Taylor Swift and why the album may be growing on us but the intent behind it is not
• The dangers of tying your income to your art and whether or not it’s possible to make money from things that matter to you
• What Barcelona has taught us about collaborative vs. competitive business models
• The “intimacy economy” and how folks are exploiting TMI-style content as an attempt at fake connection
• Why banning social media for minors is an optimistic vote for the future
• The concept of the “consideration span” and what it means for keeping attention on your long-form content
This episode is brought to you by Constellations, Scorpio Season: a group experience for holistic support through potent energetics so you can own the transformation that’s in store for you — while tapping into to your intuition, and emboldening your hope in humanity. Visit http://hollismm.com/constellations to sign up today.
Well, Taylor Swift’s worst album just dropped and we are giving our fulllllll review. That's alongside some updates we’re making to our business (and the podcast!) this quarter, a truly brutal FMK surrounding french delicacies, and Xanthe’s passionate take on read receipts in relationships. ENJOY.
Finally, some optimism! Online dating is dying! Flex culture is just faking it! Butter yellow is still in style! We don’t have to move again for a long fucking time! Also, we ask a question at the end that we’d genuinely love to know: what are 3 things you can talk about for 3 hours with no prep? Send Xanthe a DM at @xanthe.appleyard once you have your answer!
Except, no we don’t! Today’s episode goes deep into:
• The implications of government censorship in the U.S. as Jimmy Kimmel gets taken off air
• Trump’s new TikTok project and what an insular MAGA-led social platform could mean
• How to keep our private spaces safe from hateful viewpoints
• Why it can be valuable to follow people who don’t share your politics
• Impacting positive political change by taking your head out of the sand
• We also share a little update around our move to Barcelona as we get setup and settled!
LINKS:
This week's episode gets into ↓
• Why Xanthe’s had a violent change of heart about re-entering TikTok
• Another super creepy initiative from Meta’s AI department
• How social media is informing the way books are written and promoted
• “Performative intellectualism” and Taylor Swift’s role in it
• The new Sabrina Carpenter album and its influence on the youth of today
• Alo Yoga’s alarming foray into luxury handbags
• The ghosts of the cottage trying to keep us from leaving
Annnnd, Social Life is launching to the waitlist right now and so you can save major money! Hop on it here.
Just a full-on LIFE UPDATE EPISODE detailing the BTS of securing our long-term lease in Barcelona, a status report on the cottage Airbnb launch, and everything we’re focusing on for the week before we officially relocate to Europe! ENJOYYYY.
XANTHE’S MOM IS ON THE PODCAST!!! We cover:
• Her career journey from pregnant college student to CEO of a major healthcare organization
• How she balanced being a present single parent, healing herself, and making ends meet
• Living below the poverty line and resourcing community as “her village”
• Our family dynamic of loving roasts, self-awareness, and intellectual intimacy
• Her experience as an artist whose relationship to creativity has evolved over decades
• Being the parent of an entrepreneur and how she really feels about all the risks we take
And so, so SO much more.
Sue Phipps is the CEO of Hamilton’s Canadian Mental Health Association. You can learn more about their work here.
UMMM WTF — THIS IS OUR 50TH EPISODE!! We didn’t do anything special for it but you will be graced with a chat that goes in every possible direction which honestly feels like the BEST way to celebrate. We cover:
• Frank’s birthday weekend recap! Ft. pregnancy smut fetishes
• Being ~perceived~ in a tiny town and the rumours we’re hearing about… ourselves
• How we’re managing coming up $75K short on our pre-move money goal
• Being in our “no goals” era and letting our Spain chapter surprise us
• How to find your way in a new city by following what feels good without expectation
• The collective decline in BOOK READING (for which we blame TikTok, obviously)
PS. The Social Life content creation membership is launching again this month! Make sure you’re on the waitlist here to get first dibs + lowest pricing!
The banter is on POINT this week if we do say so ourselves!! Including:
• Money check-in one year since we did our “Spending Diet” and started actually budgeting!
• DEEEEP analysis on the entire Taylor and Travis Internet-breaking situation
Plus lots of life/cottage updates because there may not be much to do around here but let me tell you, WE ARE DOING THINGS.
LOTP IS $800 OFF ‘TIL THURSDAY ↓
Jump in right here.
FRANK’S BDAY SALE ↓
Get 38% off the Leisure Ethic template with code HBDFRANK this weekend only, starting Friday, August 22!
Get it here.
TRUCK GIRL SUMMER IS NOT CANCELLED! On this week’s episode, we force you through a 20-minute tale recapping our obscene vehicular drama of the last several weeks. BUT THEN, we get to the realllll good stuff, like:
• The sex recession and how current culture has shaped our intimacy habits
• The dying art of hanging out (and why our social lives can feel like such a strain as adults)
• Becoming the vibe you see for yourself and what it actually takes to “be aesthetic”
We reference several links in this episode, including:
How Social Media Is Fuelling Gen Z's Sex Recession
How To Become More Of The Vibe You See For Yourself
Also, LIFE OF THE PARTY IS $800 OFF!! Grab your spot here.
Three is not a crowd when it comes to running this business smoothly, and Sam is the glue holding Frank and I together 99.99% of the time (this interview, included). Today, we have the pleasure of sharing her strategic brilliance with the whole class, sharing a behind the scenes look at our own operations as well as the structures, mindsets, and even data (ew!), that have allowed us to run our business like a business, and catalyzed the success we’ve seen as a result. We cover:
• The intersection of intuition and information, and why making business moves based on vibes alone could be holding you back from your bigger vision
• Sam’s experience starting from scratch on Instagram and why she’s thriving with fewer followers
• The real reason why most creatives are so data-avoidant, what it’s costing us, and how to move through it to face the facts that will get your further
• The controversial “Charisma Factor” when it comes to finding success as an online leader
• How to set milestones you’ll actually reach, so you can finally stop scootching the same goals into the next month, every month
• Sam’s experience rebuilding her business during mat-leave and forgiving herself for having different priorities as she grew her family
• Simple structures and ideas for managing your marketing and working in your business without sacrificing family time, mental health, or rest
This episode is inspiration for the visionary who can’t seem to get their goals off the to-do list, packed with tons of practical tips and a sprinkling of tough-love… which TBH, we needed too.
CONNECT WITH SAM ↓
FIXR Workshop Series (use the code FIX20 for 20% off 6-month passes!)
Reach out directly here
WE MADE IT TO CANADA, BARELY. We’re reliving the rollercoaster 72 hours from leaving LA all the way to landing at the cottage, covering harrowing tales such as:
• The Mattress Pickup Gone Wrong
• The Serendipitous Pizza
• The Poorly Timed Bathroom Flood
• The Seat Assignment Snafu
• The Checked Bag Scam
• The Fountain Pop Shortage
• The Double Bathroom Debate
• The Most Thoughtful Gift
• The Impromptu Birkenstock Jog
• The Driveway Pregnancy Test
• The Emotional Support Breakfast Sandwich
…AND SO MUCH MORE!
PS: Life of the Party is launching to the waitlist at $1000 off ‘til Thursday, July 31st, at 9AM EST. Get the discount here!
Warning: if you are a Labubu or a Tradwife, you may feel personally victimized by this episode. In another book review episode, we explore two main threads of Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert: Voyeurism in the online space, and weaponized wifehood as a tactic to quell women’s liberation. We cover:
• “Specular media” and how exposing our lives is a mechanism to feel less lonely
• The phenomenon of marketing through “real” personalities (and why it works so well)
• Voyeuristic content as a means of controlling the narrative in a world stacked against us
• Universalizing the personal as a creative act (especially for women)
• The harmful origins of the tradwife trend and the concerning obsession with wifehood
• What the Labubu craze is telling us about modern adulthood and consumerism
• Patriarchal structures disguised as “feminine leisure”
Launching next: Life of the Party. Hop on the waitlist here for $1000 OFF!
It's a real mixed bag episode! We cover:
• Move updates (car sale, packing plans, wardrobe drama, bucket list restaurants, etc.)
• Xanthe’s first (and last) time flying in Frank’s tiny plane
• Two highly essential summer drink hacks that will change your life forever!
• The Reels strategy that has Xanthe starting to see Instagram growth again
• “Carrot Content” and how to reach new eyes while nurturing long-term community
• The Great Egg Heist of 2025
• Meat x Fruit collabs
• A brief — but premonitive — rant about Labubu mania
Also, Social Life is enrolling ‘til Friday only! Hop in here.
IT’S ALL HAPPENING! We’re leaving LA in less than three weeks, the plot has thickened on our truck scam, and in the chaotic format you’ve come to love, we cover:
• Why Instagram Stories are the weakest link in the social media ecosystem
• How to live a richer, more enjoyable life by releasing the “good vs bad” binary
• A STEAMYYY brand partnership opportunity
• The Social Network Part II announcement and Meta’s ongoing f*ckery
Plus an open call to buy our car, rent our apartment, adopt all our furniture, or just come hang out and drink wine (DM me @xanthe.appleyard if you want in on any of the above).
Here’s the link to get the Social Life early bird discount (expires Thursday!)
Here’s the link to buy our Range Rover. Yes, for real.
If you’ve invested time and money into your marketing but still aren’t creating content that actually sounds like YOU, Ylani helps turn your inner voice into an outer presence. In today’s episode, you’ll learn visualization and journalling practices to guide your social media strategy towards an expression of your TRUE self. We cover:
• How to stop over-analyzing your thoughts so you can actually start sharing them
• Tapping into your inner knowing to make decisions about content creation and feed aesthetic
• The dangerous ways that ChatGPT is helping you hide in plain sight
• Ways you’re covering up your own POV by copying the leaders you’ve learned from
• Why trusting your voice is the secret to better engagement and a more invested community
• Exploring new mediums as a tool for more creative confidence on every platform
Connect with Ylani ↓
The average American home holds over 300,000 items, so... just sit with that. This is a super silly life update episode stacked takes about maximalist homes, foodie culture, celebrity hot spots, being a socially awkward adult, manifesting fig cookies, and whatever the fuck else comes to mind. It’s random, it’s inconsequential, and it’s just what the doctor ordered.
Also, Social Life is launching to the waitlist right now, so hop on it to get access to 40% off at this link.
It's a book review episode! We’re discuss the whistleblowing Meta memoir Careless People, and how the disturbing insights found within it will shape the way we do business on social media forever.
We cover:
+ Whether or not the algorithm actually is out to get us
+ The role social media plays in elections + politics
+ The (lack of) morality in the targeted ads world
Plus lots of other tidbits from this high-key terrifying (but also essential) read. Oh, we also gently roast Gen Z for an annoying but actually kind of smart partying habit, reminisce about Vodka bars, and confess our new exploration into the world of designer replicas.
MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST ↓
The Marketing Shift is happening this week, and it’s free! Get instant access to the workshop, community, and co-working sessions this week right here.