Taryn Brumfitt posted one photograph and it travelled around the world. What followed was 7,000 messages from strangers, a book, a Kickstarter campaign nobody thought would work, and a documentary that beat Guardians of the Galaxy on opening night at the German box office.

In this episode of You're In Charge, Sav Perera sits down with the 2023 Australian of the Year, founder of the Body Image Movement and co-founder of The Embrace Collective, to talk about what actually got built and what it cost.

Taryn is candid about the early years: selling a car, working a second job, and painting a Steve Martin line onto her office wall because the rejections kept coming. She talks about why removing ego mattered more than being the smartest person in the room, why self-compassion beats self-criticism as a performance strategy, and why she is now taking body image into boardrooms through Embrace@Work.

There is also a conversation about doubt that Sav names as her own biggest takeaway. Taryn does not try to get rid of hers. She gives it a rug, a thermos of tea, and a seat in the boot of the car.

If you are early in building something, or deep in it and quietly hard on yourself, this one is worth your time.

Recorded on Kaurna Land. You're In Charge is brought to you by ThincHer, an initiative of ThincLab at Adelaide University.

Chapter timestamps

00:00 Cold open
00:15 Welcome to Season 2
00:41 Meet Taryn Brumfitt
01:36 Before the world was watching
03:18 From body positivity to body neutrality
05:26 The motherhood double standard
06:18 The photo that went everywhere
08:50 Kickstarter: $331,000 and 8,909 backers
10:41 "Who's we?" Building the team
12:10 Scaling without diluting the message
14:58 The runner and the coach
16:30 Reframing doubt
18:20 Be so good they can't ignore you
19:55 When they go low, and the messy middle
22:15 The least interesting thing about you
24:14 Body image goes to work
26:55 Getting in early with Embrace Collective
29:32 Movement, not punishment
32:50 Showing up authentically
34:29 Feminine leadership
35:09 Where do you put your doubt?
38:46 Ask for 15 minutes, not a coffee
40:40 What Taryn wants to master next
41:36 Sav's takeaway
42:32 Next week on You're In Charge