Meet Katie Marie | Host of Breathe Easy | the Podcast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Marie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
First off, thank you so much for this opportunity to talk with you all today! I was a journalism major in undergrad, and now I am pursuing my doctorate in physical therapy. So, I think the process started when I realized I wasn’t going to pursue a traditional career in journalism, but I still had that itch to use my voice to make a difference. 2020 was extremely hard for me. My graduation got cancelled, my senior track season got cancelled, I had to move home and I felt like I was constantly battling with myself trying to outgrow the person I used to be in the environment that made me the version that I was trying to outgrow plus the racial climate of our country and the pandemic itself combined made me a really angry and overly stressed person desperately trying to figure out where I fit. At the end of that year, my mom told me she felt like she couldn’t even talk to me without fear of me going off on her. That hurt, so I started Therapy and devotional the following January, and through that I uncovered so much it felt like I could finally breathe again for the first time in a long time. Immediately after getting discharged from therapy my mom got diagnosed with cancer, and the next week I didn’t get into physical therapy school, but this time instead of carrying all of that I gave it to God and applied what I had learned in therapy and somehow even in all that I could still breathe. Then things started to shift the next week, I found out about the program I am currently in, I quickly got accepted into that program, and my mom kicked cancer like a champ. In all of that I became much more aware of the people around me. I realized it wasn’t just me that had been struggling to find myself and exactly where I fit in, but there was actually this common theme among all of my friends. At the same time, I had just gotten into podcasts, but I struggled to find one that I could really resonate with, so starting my own just felt right. I told my older sister, and she encouraged me to do it, but I kept putting it off. Then I told my mom, and the thing about her is she knows me like a book. So, after she watched me sit on the idea for a month she used some good ole reverse psychology and told me I was probably never going to start it. Safe to say, I started it the next week.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I feel like people my age long for a community, and with social media, it can be so easy to connect with people, but I really wanted to create a safe space where people can breathe easy, meaning feel secure in who they are, chase after who they want to be and just celebrate the ups and downs of living life and transitioning through life. There are a plethora of podcasts about how to be something you aren’t currently (a boss babe, a millionaire, etc) but not so many about how to embrace who you are today and grow into who you want to be. That’s what makes Breathe Easy | the Podcast different. In a world where we are overly focused on what’s next, I tackle the right now and all of its beauty and ugliness. Right now, I am most proud of actually starting the podcast. I have a lot of ideas that I do nothing about, and this is the first time I have put an idea out in the world and stuck with it. My vision for this podcast is for it to grow into a brand and a community. I am most excited to watch it grow, and get a chance to connect with that community. I haven’t told many people yet, but in the near future, I will have merchandise and be hosting a retreat for my listeners to build that community we long for. So I am excited about that too, but that is currently still very much in the works, stay tuned! I would say that I am still very much trying to get to where I want to be professionally. I’m still in school, but in terms of this podcast and who I am I would attribute it to God, my immediate family, and my life experiences. Breathing easy is done when we know who we are and whose we are. My parents didn’t force God down my throat, they embodied what it looked like to live a life through God and that sparked enough curiosity for me to want to create my own relationship. I also experienced a lot of death very early, and I believe that fundamentally changes who you are and your outlook on life in general, and I have an older sister and lots of older friends which is kind of life a cheatcode on life. So, I think all of that combined has molded me into the version of myself that I am today. It took a lot of growth to get to this version of myself. Growth causes change which breeds uncomfortableness, and being uncomfortable isn’t easy, but when things get hard we go back to our roots. Like I said earlier, my foundation that I stand on is God, but I also lean on the people He has placed in my life and knowing that no matter what life throws at you, you won’t have to do it alone and you have the creator of all things on your side instills enough confidence to overcome anything. The biggest lessons I have learned along the way are these three: 1. A closed mouth don’t get fed, meaning if you never ask the answer will always be no, 2. Love others from your overflow, meaning fill yourself with love and then use that overflow to love others instead of trying to love from an empty cup and 3. Our wins and our losses have context, meaning they add value to our lives and are part of our own unique process of becoming. I want the world to know that I’m far from perfect, I don’t have all the answers but in my unique process of becoming myself in all of its beauty and ugliness I am striving to say something authentic to this transitioning season of life, to walk boldy in my purpose, and to inspire and empower all of you to do the same. I end every episode with two slogans, “stay rare, stay you,” a promise to myself and a challenge to my listeners to always be uniquely ourselves, recognizing our differences, embracing them, and using them as our strengths and “breathe easy, be easy” the idea that maybe life isn’t about chasing after all, but pausing, taking it all in and giving the Universe and God a chance to work together and bring the things we are chasing to us. So, if you are interested in joining a dope community of individuals who may not know what the future holds, but are stoked on the possibilities and just trying to breathe easy along the way this podcast, this brand is for you.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I haven’t been to too many places in the city, but I love a good outdoor move so we’d have to hit up the Beltline or Piedmont Park for sure. I am a sucker for a good sunset, and I recently fell in love with Skyline Park so that would be on there, and my favorite meal is brunch which I don’t think I have actually ever done in Atlanta sadly.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would not be who I am and this podcast definitely would not be a thing if it wasn’t for my mom, Veronica, who always gives me the push I need to go after my dreams, my dad, Tony, who seems to always know exactly what to say along the way, my sister, Victoria, who is hands down my personal hype woman, all of my friends because I see them doing great things every day and it just inspires me to do the same, and finally Grandma Irene, Grandpa Deba, Coach Ferguson and Tyquavious Jackson, my guardian angels who I strive to make proud in everything I do.

Website: https://breatheeasythepodcast.buzzsprout.com/

Instagram: @breatheeasythepodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katie.jackson.12914216

Image Credits
podcast cover credit picture goes to starrtaylor_ and @isabellewag
the artwork credit goes to @vldmrva