Catie Friend - on unexpected career challenges, solo travel and life in the mountains

Smashing The Ceiling

My first guest of 2022 is Catie Friend, who says of her adventures that she “will always be a completer rather than a competer”. Given the challenges she’s completed, which include the world’s toughest ski mountaineering race and the half Marathon des Sables, and the things she’s done in her career, completing any of them would be considered a strong achievement as far as I’m concerned.

Catie grew up in south west Scotland, and after travelling solo round the world, she embarked on a career in events management, found her way into radio, and is now a multi-lingual sports commentator, presenter, podcaster and coach. She lives in Verbier, in the Swiss Alps, with her family.

In this conversation we discuss (amongst other things) solo travel as a woman, surviving a difficult boss and a nightmare job, the difference between a ‘job’ and a ‘career’, the paradox of age vs. wisdom, and why sometimes it’s best not to overthink it.

Today's podcast is supported by Fem Foundry, a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman’s life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry’s global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women’s empowerment on a large scale. With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So download Fem Foundry today and have a look.

Useful links

Catie’s website: https://www.catiefriend.com

Listen to her podcast, Chatting To A Friend: https://pod.link/chattingtoafriend

Follow Catie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catiefriend/

Music

The Show Must Be Go by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4509-the-show-must-be-go

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Royalty Free Music from Bensound