Spotlight: Who’s Brandi Fleck?

Behind the Scenes

Sep 12

Smiling woman sitting in a black chair wearing holy jeans in front of a sage-mint green background

Get to know me, the Human Amplified founder, Brandi Fleck. Here, I answer the most frequently asked questions I get about who I am and my journey into podcasting.

I'm A Lot of Damn Things

Well, like all of us, I’m a lot of damn things.

I’ve reached a point in my life where I’ve realized I don’t want to separate all the things I am anymore.

I love to learn. So, here are all my professional trainings, education, and certifications. You’ll see that they’re as eclectic as the antique stores I love to browse.

This is who I am as a life coach.

This is who I am as a fine artist.

As a podcaster, I’m the same person, with the same values, but they look a little different as the outlet is different. The same creative passion and urges are behind all my projects, and depending on the medium, they express differently.

This is who I was when I first launched Human Amplified (then, On Being Human) in 2018.

But now, in a nutshell, I guess you could say I’m just an everyday person trying to make my way in the world and leave a lasting positive impact on it.

I’ve been through a lot of trauma, which shaped me into who I am today, and now life is different. I’ve done a LOT of healing work, which I’ll continue to do as needed. Only now I don’t live with trauma. I like to help others do the same and really be who they’re meant to be.

I AM

Who I Am. Myself. Old Soul. Soul Searcher. Truth teller. Alchemist. Mystic. Healer. Writer. Mom. Wife. Woman. Sister. Friend. Daughter. Granddaughter. Teacher. Mentor. Cycle Breaker. Curious Soul. Creative. Storyteller. Powerful. Change Agent.

I used to be afraid of speaking out and speaking up. But not anymore.

I have a things to say.

Life Before Podcasting

From a career perspective, I’ve been a bit of a jack of all trades creative. I went to university for mass communications with a focus in journalism, English, and business.

I ran a little newspaper at a local elementary school, mentoring students on how to write articles. I also helped put together a restaurant guide, Where the Locals Eat. Then, right out of college, I moved to London and worked for a publishing house writing and researching for trade magazines. It was a magical time.

At the end of my contract and work visa, I decided to move home to Nashville and start my long-term career. It was just before the economy started tanking and the mortgage bubble burst. Wouldn’t you know it — I had just gotten a job as a technical writer for a mortgage software company. Fortunately, I wasn’t laid off. I was one of the lucky ones.

There, I became the staff graphic designer to cover the loss of one of our other employees. I started a stationery and freelance design side hustle which started to take off. More on that in a minute.

I ended up being a technical writer for 15 years, writing software manuals, sales proposals, marketing materials, and leading massive content creation and management efforts. I was a bad ass technical writer with a 6-figure salary. I was in demand.

But I had never intended to be a technical writer for that long. I had excelled at it and I even liked it most of the time, but it started to become less and less aligned with who I am as a person and what I want from life. As this feeling started, that’s when my side hustles were born. It only grew from there.

I designed wedding invitations for several people. I had requests come in for business cards, logos, and more. I was happy to do it.

Then I got pregnant with my first kiddo (my only biological kiddo). Once he was born, I decided to stay home with him temporarily (but way longer than the parental leave we have here in the states — 6-12 weeks, if you’re lucky, is not enough time!), so I let go of a quickly growing career where things were happening.

I stayed home with him for a year and a half. During that time, I opened an Etsy shop in 2014 and had orders coming in regularly. It felt meant to be. Doors were opening so easily.

Simultaneously, my first marriage was rapidly deteriorating with my then partner’s health. This is a story for another day — but know that after we were divorced, he passed away the week the podcast was to launch. I got the call in the middle of interviewing the guests you can hear in the early episodes 007 and 008.

In 2015, my late ex husband’s declining health propelled me back into the corporate workforce in an amazing technical writer role — we made casino games and it was actually really fun. The divorce came almost immediately after that, and my freelance graphic design business came to a halt. I didn’t have the bandwidth. I felt like I was giving up on a dream.

At least I had stability.

That stability eventually allowed me to nurture a new dream. Human Amplified.

Fun Facts About Me

Colorful image collage with facts about Brandi

How I Got into Podcasting

I was a single mom in 2017, just getting settled in a little house I’d bought completely on my own after saving up for a couple years for the down payment. I was so proud of it. But…

I knew there had to be more to life than working the grind, paying bills, and then dying — that I had more to offer the world and more that the world had to offer in terms of expansive experiences. As a side project after work and when my kiddo was sleeping or with his late dad, I would work on a plan to launch a lifestyle blog.

Having some kind of zine has been a dream of mine since before Journalism school.

While I was researching how to market and grow a blog, I came across the Influencer podcast by Julie Solomon. It’s a lot different now than it was back then, but she was this really relatable, smart woman originally from Tennessee who was making it in a way I wanted to make it, so I loved listening.

Then it dawned on me — I’m going to start a podcast instead of a blog! Of course, it would still have a blog component. That would just be the second phase. At this point, the idea was still to have a lifestyle site and produce lifestyle content.

Then it happened — the mass shooting in Vegas. It was October 2017. I had loved ones in Vegas that could have been there. We all could say this about any mass shooting.

A fire was lit under my ass to push harder.

I wanted to do something, anything to help. But like many, I felt helpless. What could I possibly do besides march the streets? Oh, and I’ve done plenty of that in the 2020s after the mass shooting at the Covenant school in Nashville, by the way.

Still… by this time in 2018, what could I do to help?

I took stock of my strengths, talents, and what I knew I could realistically materialize in the world, and that was this podcast. The On Being Human podcast was how it started.

I simply trusted that even though I couldn’t see it, that the ripple from amplifying the humanity of others would spread far enough that it would help change things. It may take time, but it was a start.

I started buying equipment, interviewing guests to get a few episodes in the can before launch, converting a spare room into a home studio, and taking steps toward this dream.

Then, on one philosophical night, the seed of what this podcast would be about was planted in November 2017. I posed the question on Facebook:

“What does being human mean to you?”

It got such a response!

This is the question I’ve asked every single guest who’s come on the show from the very beginning.

The rest is history.

Why a Podcast?

I’m first and foremost a writer, but when I started Human Amplified, I thought, “What’s the best way to humanize someone? Really paint a portrait of who they are so we can know them?”

Voices really help make stories more personal.

When you know someone and relate to them on a personal, human level, it isn’t as easy to “other” them.

I’d love to get to know you better too!

Feel free to tell me about yourself and ask any questions in the comments.

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EPISODE 036 | SEASON 2 STARTS NOW: The World Needs Who You Are

Woman sitting in a black chair with elbows on knees, smiling, in front of a mint green background.

Hi, I’m the founder of Human Amplified. I’m Brandi Fleck, a recognized communications and interviewing expert, a writer, an artist, and a private practice, certified trauma-informed life coach and trauma recovery coach. No matter how you interact with me, I help you tell and change your story so you can feel more like yourself. So welcome!