Your Hosts - Rachel & Hiiro
We're Canadian podcasters and mental health warriors, spreading the message of strength through being vulnerable. You'll know how candid, raw and uncensored we are right from Episode 1. Our focus is on mental health awareness, as we continually get to know our minds day, by day, by day. When we have a guest join us, we get to know them beyond their social media presence, intending to inspire others through transparency, vulnerability and resilience with their mental health stories.
Our dynamic can be summed up by taking a peek at when we first met at a local North Vancouver, Canada juice bar, where Hiiro was interviewing for a yoga teaching position at Rachel's yoga studio. They were so raw, real and comfortable with each other right away that Hiiro felt compelled to question whether Rachel's sweating from the warm environment was a hot flash?! Ex-squeeze me?!
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From our first meet, a true kindred spirited bond was created that has grown into a truly wonderful podcast partnership.
Hiiro (he/him)
Hiiro Zaké Sigal Prince is hard to summarize into words. You could start with authentic, genuine, unconventional, and... UNAPOLOGETICALLY EXTRA! He proudly identifies as Neurodivergent and warriors through life with Non-Verbal Learning Disability, Autism, chronic anxieties (social, anticipatory, transition, separation) and elements of PTSD and OCD. He is inspired to be the best leader and representative possible for himself and others in society especially fellow queer folx.
He eventually fell into self expression and this took the forms of personal style and art, which combined his love of health and wellness as a full time yoga/spin and mat pilates teacher.
As a proud gay male, Hiiro cares deeply about empowering and lifting up others to be their very best version of themselves and gets to not only apply that as a teacher, but also as the co-host of GJ alongside Rachel. He lives in Vancouver, Canada and his parents are his BFFs.
When not teaching, practicing or recording you'll find Hiiro gaming on the couch with his Nintendo Switch, binge watching competitive reality tv shows or building community with others to evolve his network and presence as a leader for mental health and sexuality. Alright, and throw in a daily (sometimes twice daily) Starbucks while you're at it!
Rachel (she/her)
Rachel is a woman of a thousand facial expressions. This is apparent when watching her repeatedly react to Hiiro's antics episode after episode, as if she's only just getting to know him. If Rachel's not in front of her computer working as a Digital Marketing Strategist or chatting with Hiiro, you can find her out on the lake stand up paddle boarding!
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After years of battling GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and OCD, and having used yoga as a tool to ease her suffering, in 2013 Rachel decided to become a certified yoga teacher. Not too long after, she bravely opened her own community-minded yoga studio in North Vancouver, Canada, marrying her many years in sales and business with her mission of bringing peace to those who also live with mental health challenges.
In 2017 Rachel made a major (long time coming) shift in her life... she and her hubby left their beloved Vancouver, where they were raised, and moved to the Okanagan in BC's Interior (AKA Wine Country)! They craved a less frantic pace of life; one that didn't feel like they were "just surviving" in an expensive, busy metropolis.
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This podcast is a part of Rachel's ongoing mission to help bring mental illness out of the shadows! Having guests share their stories of struggle, resilience and strength, which are not always portrayed by their public image, humanizes them and hopefully inspires GJ followers.
Rachel wants to live in a world where shame is no longer felt by those who struggle with their mental health.
