This series is all about libsyn’s podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with Zoe’s The Curl Squad’s Curl Power Podcast
When did you start podcasting?
I began podcasting in March of 2021
Why did you start podcasting?
I sustained a spinal cord injury at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, despite the challenges it helped me to gain a new found confidence when I realised just what I was able to overcome in one of the most challenging years in recent history.
For a while I had an idea about having a podcast to share stories and build connections because podcasts have really made a huge impact on me, but I lacked the confidence to ever get it started.
My injury reminded me that life is too short to waste any more time and so the podcast was born.
What’s the name of your show and what is it about?
The show is called The Curl Squad’s Curl Power Podcast, it uncovers the understated power of the naturally curly community through naturally curious conversations.
The show prioritises sharing the perspectives and experience of underrepresented black and mixed race voices, we discuss growing up in a society that did not represent us, with beauty standards that didn’t reflect us and how we have gone on to be creators.
Creators of brands, books, products, businesses, ultimately celebrating becoming the representation we wish we had when we were growing up.
I also share my own personal journey of challenges and resilience against a backdrop of the legacy of growing up mixed race black Caribbean white British in 1980’s Birmingham England.
Hair is the entry point of the conversation but our stories are rich, deep and inspiring.
What’s your podcasting set-up?
I record into Audacity via my laptop and a USB mic for solo episodes and up until recently Zoom for guest shows on my phone with iPhone headphones.
I found a couple of great YouTube videos that taught me just enough to figure out Audacity,
I’m sure there are better ways of doing things but I have learned enough to help me reach my desired outcomes.
How have you promoted your podcast?
Social media pages, Facebook, Twitter but mainly through my personal and The Curl Squad’s Instagram using quote posts, audiograms (made with Headliner) and artwork in both feed posts and stories.
Guests have also been kind enough to share marketing graphics with their audiences and mailing lists.
Curl Power was also featured in the UK’s Spinal Injuries Association magazine Forward alongside an article I had written on the experience of my spinal cord injury.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Just go for it. Don’t stress about perfection, there is joy in the journey, you’ll figure things out.
Oh and quickly establish an efficient process and schedule if you’re managing the whole recording/editing/publishing/marketing process yourself. It’s a lot!
The Curl Squad’s Curl Power Podcast conversation starts with hair but that is just the start. The discussions that follow are incredibly inspiring and unique. Sharing the voice of the black/brown community in a way that opened the door for more conversations about the deeper issues. Listen to this incredible show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Faced with a life altering spinal injury and a lifelong condition Zoe Fox made a choice to live life at its fullest and do the things she always wanted to do. The Curls Squad’s Curl Power Podcast was one of those things. She had no idea what she was doing but went for it anyway.
If you want to start a podcast do it now, we never know what could be around the corner. We can help. You are not alone. Check out our Start Your Podcast blog series. If you are ready, we have the best podcast hosting plans around!