Taryn Brumfitt on doubt, self-compassion, and building a global movement

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 t