We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chelsey Peat. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chelsey below.

Alright, Chelsey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

I hope to build a legacy of empowerment, acceptance, and resilience. My life‘s work revolves around fostering, self love and confidence, particularly for individuals with differences and disabilities. I want to be remembered as someone who showed others that beauty, strength, and worth are found in authenticity, not superficial appearances. I envision people saying I was a tireless advocate for inclusion and equality. Someone who broke barriers and opened doors for those who often felt unseen, or unheard. Through my advocacy, coaching and writing I aim to inspire others to embrace their unique stories and find their voice in a world that can be sometimes overwhelming. I hope my legacy reflects a life, lived boldly, one where I challenged stereotypes, built communities of support and understanding and left the world a kinder, more truly inclusive place. Weather through my book, my social media advocacy, or my work as a coach and mentor along with volunteering I want people to remember me as someone who made a difference in their lives and encouraged them to celebrate who they are. Ultimately, I hope to be remembered for my unwavering belief in the power of compassion, resilience, empathy, and the beauty of difference.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a proud advocate, author and life coach specializing in self-esteem, resiliency self love and confidence. My journey into this field began with my personal experience of living with a facial difference due to being born with a condition called Sturge-Weber syndrome, which has shaped my life in profound ways. I never let the statistical assumptions direct my path and have always gone above and beyond to seek respect, not pity. Navigating the challenges and barriers of acceptance as societal perceptions has fuelled my passion for empowering others who face similar struggles.
What sets me apart is my lived experience combined with over thirty years of dedication to philanthropy, advocacy, and nonprofit work in the disability and facial differences communities. As an ambassador and peer support worker with several facial differences organizations nationally and internationally, along with a social media influencer for facial equality, I bring both personal and professional expertise to my work. I am deeply committed to fostering communities of support or individuals can feel seen valued and empowered to thrive. I am most proud of the impact of my work and how my work has impacted individuals and communities. Whether in helping a client rediscover their confidence, educating audiences about the importance of inclusion to seeing my book listed among the Sturge-Weber syndrome foundation’s book list ‘We love.’ To anyone considering working with me or engaging with my brand, I want you to know that I approach my work with authenticity compassion and a deep understanding of the complexities of difference. My goal is not just to provide a service, but to create meaningful lasting change for my clients and the broader community together we can rewrite the narrative around beauty, self-worth, and acceptance, while celebrating the power of being unapologetically yourself.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn was the belief that my worth was tied to society’s set standards of ‘beauty’ and normalcy. Growing up with a facial difference I often felt defined by how others saw me. I always felt that I was evil, a monster, unworthy of love or acceptance unless I went through drastic painful procedures to correct it to be like everyone else. I realized my uniqueness wasn’t something to hide or overcome. It was a source of strength, resiliency, and beauty this shift didn’t happen overnight. It was a process of dismantling years of societal conditioning and replacing those beliefs with ones rooted in self love and authenticity and learning this belief allowed me to step into my power and fully embrace who I am it’s shaped my advocacy, my coaching practice, and even my writing today. I teach others to unlearn those harmful narratives as well empowering them to see their worth beyond biased societal validation. This lesson has transformed not only how I see myself, but also how I show up in the world. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping others find their voice, embrace their differences, and rewrite the stories they tell themselves. Our value isn’t determined by anyone else, it comes from within.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One story that truly illustrates my resilience happened during my high school years. Growing up with my birthmark meant navigating a world that always treated me differently and often where I was left feeling unaccepted. One particular challenging time where I faced relentless teasing and exclusion was in grade 10. Walking into classrooms or down a hall often felt like walking into a battlefield with whispers and stares waiting around every corner. But I remember one particular incident where a classmate openly mocked my appearance in front of a group of others. Due to peer pressure, and those bully’s negative comments I decided to cut my hair, not realizing that with it so short, it would turn into a crazy frizzy ball that looked more like a senior citizen style than anything trendy or cool. It was humiliating, and I remember crying and hating myself more than ever. Wanting to crawl under my bed and never leave my room. The next day, as we waited for class pictures; that particular classmate took a moment to further make me feel like I didn’t belong. Bragging to the class how lucky she was not to look like me and that I was ugly and nothing like my peers. I felt like shrinking into myself, but instead of retreating, I decided to confront the situation with courage. I spoke up, not an anger, but with honesty, sharing my story and educating everyone around me about my condition once again. Well, it didn’t immediately change everyone’s perspective. It did teach many the power of my voice, along with myself. I reminded myself often that my face was a true symbol of resiliency. This resiliency has carried me through countless challenges since then. It’s what drove me to write my book: ‘Two Sides To a Face’ a way that I can share my story and empower others. It’s also what fuels my work as a coach and facial differences advocate, helping individuals with differences and disabilities embrace their uniqueness and thrive despite the obstacles they face Resilience to me, is about not letting the world define you or diminish your light. It’s about rising above time again, and using your experiences to create change for yourself as well as for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.chelseypeat.wordpress.com
• Instagram: @chelseypeat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chelsey.peat/
• Linkedin: https://Ca.LinkedIn.com/in/chelseypeat

Image Credits

All are my property.