We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mikaela Wendel-McBride a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mikaela, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’m currently studying Trauma Informed Care with the intention of getting my certification in the next few months. After realizing that so many of our clients were coming to us as part of their healing journey, I knew I wanted to provide for value and safe place for them to let their guard down. But providing a safe and accepting atmosphere that is the WMNKND boudoir studio just wasn’t enough.

After countless conversations and vulnerable stories of past trauma, I started wondering how our experience could further help these women heal and feel comfortable in their bodies again. And then one of our clients, a mental health professional, told me about Trauma Informed Care.

Between caring for our clients so much, working on healing from my own trauma, and knowing how it affects the body and self image, I knew that TIC (Trauma Informed Care) needed to be something that WMNKND prioritized. I’m excited about what we are implementing in our experience to do just that- setting intentions, encouraging self touch, breath work, and more.

I’ve also recently been certified as a life and wellness coach for a more holistic approach and effective confidence coaching from beginning to end of our experience. I’m happy to invest in my education if that means empowering more women to love and accept themselves as they are. I’m very excited to implement all of these new ideas and continue improving the WMNKND experience!

Mikaela, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

WMNKND is a body confidence boudoir company. Our mission from the very beginning has been to empower women to love and accept themselves as they are.

We are constantly bombarded with messages that we aren’t enough. Whether it’s mainstream media, societal beauty standards, multi-billion dollar fashion and beauty industries, and even women we look up to, these messages live in our subconsciousness. If left unchallenged, these thoughts eat away at our self esteem and skew our self image.

Through our self love boudoir experience, we guide our clients back to their true selves. We celebrate their journey and who they are by personalizing each experience. We set intentions together before ever stepping foot into the studio to make sure each individual gets exactly what they need. Each step of the experience is intentional in helping our clients feel comfortable and confident in their bodies.

We do boudoir differently than most photographers. We take the time to get to know each of our clients and prioritize their comfort in our judgement-free studio. Communication and consent are key. And with WMNKND, boudoir is about so. much. more. than sexy photos.

We’re here to support women on their self love journey and show them their reflection in a way they’ve never seen before. To challenge negative body image. To prove that they are capable of stepping outside of their comfort zones. And give them the confidence boost receipts (AKA prints, albums, wall art) to remind them that they are worthy. Even on the days they don’t feel like it.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal with WMNKND has always been women empowerment. Empowering women to love and accept themselves. Empowering women to chase their dreams. Empowering women to heal their wounds. Empowering women to create the life they want to live.

All of this begins with self acceptance. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses. Seeing yourself without the lens of body dysmorphia. You have to know yourself before you can love yourself.

An individual that knows themself, loves themself, and sees their worth is unstoppable. A confidence boost at the right time can be inspiring and life-changing.

That’s where WMNKND comes in. To be a part of your self love journey. We’re here to celebrate all that makes you, you. Not to put you in a box, edit out parts of you, make you look smaller, or limit you in any way. We want to further encourage you to step out of your comfort zone for yourself and cheer you on as you do.

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

There have been so many lessons I’ve had to unlearn. In fact, these lessons inspired so much of WMNKND. Unlearning that nudity = sex. Unlearning that there is only one way to be a woman and to be sexy. Unlearning that my worth is dependent on anything (I am inherently worthy because I’m alive… and so are you). Unlearning that fat is bad. Unlearning how to be a people pleaser.

WMNKND was actually created in result of unlearning these things. A big part of our mission is to help others unlearn these lessons as well. It can be difficult to challenge these thoughts (and often times our upbringing) but it’s a little less so when you are surrounded by a community doing the same thing. Encouragement and reminders make all the difference.

After all, these lessons have been engrained in our minds since we were children. Simple acknowledgement is a start but it takes time and practice to really reframe these limiting beliefs. That’s why I’ll be over here with WMNKND screaming that these myths are damaging to our self esteem and encouraging others to LET THEM GO.

Contact Info:

• Website: wmnkndboudoir.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/wmnknd
• Facebook: facebook.com/groups/wmnkndvip

Image Credits
WMNKND