Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie “Mel” Preston & Melissa “Missy” Morehead-Moore.
Hi Melanie & Melissa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Missy (Melissa) and I (Mel) met almost ten years ago, after my family moved to Evansville, IN. I’m a clinical mental health therapist and relationship coach, while Missy is a life coach. Through our work within the community and church, we became fast friends. During the early stages of the pandemic, while discussing a personal heartbreak suffered by Missy, she confided that she’d taken wine glasses (meant for her wedding that didn’t happen) and broke them all in her garage! That conversation led to us sharing our individual desires to create a space where women had permission to “let it all out!” At that point, we’d both been through many challenges and had learned quite a few life lessons the hard way! Everything from divorce to losing a child, to being the only black woman in our areas of influence, to mom-guilt…you name it, we’d experienced it! What we both noticed was we didn’t really have a space that allowed us to BREATHE! While we both work in emotional wellness, we wanted to deal with our OWN personal truths! Our truth? Yes, we know therapy and coaching is great because it’s what we’ve made careers of. However, our own personal experiences have taught us that sometimes a woman needs a moment to simply “be” and “feel” every emotion without apology or restraint. With that thought in mind, we decided to merge our ideas to create a space and platform that allowed us to share our own journey and growth and give other women permission to do the same. Why not have a space in which women can throw a few items, scream, yell or cry?
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The main challenges have been the growth of the business (in reference to our pop-up rage room) and being able to secure enough manpower. We knew we had a great idea, we didn’t expect it to take off the way it did! Another challenge has been working out logistics when asked to host our pop-up rage room (considering Missy and I now live in different states).
As you know, we’re big fans of Trashed It! Brand + Podcast. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Trashed It! is a female-driven brand that helps women focus on their next level of freedom by getting rid of the emotional garbage in their lives! Whether it’s toxic relationships, thought patterns, stigmas, etc. we TRASH IT ALL! The brand consists of three components. The podcast, the pop-up rage room and a girlfriends’ support system.
On the podcast, we challenge the social norms women have been expected to live by. We also invite other female guests that are breaking glass ceilings and represent what we stand for. The podcast can be heard on Apple Podcasts, Google or any podcast streaming platform. It can also be seen on YouTube.
The pop-up rage room has been our biggest (and most surprising) success! We allow women the opportunity to break plates, scream, cry, yell, all of the above while letting them know, “it’s ok, we’ve got your back!” Women are allowed to write down the emotional baggage, toxic issues, or whatever is troubling them on their plate(s) prior to “trashing the plates.” We stand with each individual and cheer them on as they decide to let go of whatever it is that’s been holding them back. The pop-up rage room has proven to be a powerful experience and has been requested for everything from birthday parties to divorce parties.
Our newest component has been the addition of a girlfriend’s support system, called Goal Chasers. Goal Chasers is a sister-circle created to provide a level of accountability and support for women that want to work towards goals for the year. The circle meets once per month (virtually) and each member has the ability to utilize the space to talk about fears, challenges, and wins they’ve experienced since the last month. We’ve found that ladies enjoy the circle as it gives them access to both a clinical therapist and life coach all-in-one! The circle also consists of a guided journal, “Trash the Fear Vision & Goals Journal”, which can be purchased via Amazon. We created the journal utilizing techniques we actually use with clients.
What’s next?
Because we’ve had so many requests for the pop-up rage room, we are currently looking at how to expand and turn the pop-up rage room into a mobile experience. We are working hard to secure investors willing to help scale the business in this way.
Contact Info:
- Email: wetrashedit@gmail.com
- Website: www.trashedit.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/wetrashedit
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/wetrashedit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UColfdSSHkQnV5eC6FKZl5CQ
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trashed-it-w-mel-missy/id1586691477
Image Credits:
Images by: Paul Jae Photography & Jae’s Photography
