We’re looking forward to introducing you to Rachel Sobel. Check out our conversation below.
Rachel, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Absolute chaos. It starts at 6am and it’s a complete whirlwind. It almost feels like I am playing some version of The Amazing Race. I throw some water on my face, coffee down my throat, and wake up my kids for school. The teenager requires several attempts and the 8-year-old moves like a little snail. No matter what I do, we are always down to the buzzer on actually getting out of the house. From there, the momentum is strong. I go to the gym straight from carline (otherwise I won’t go), come home, shower like I’m being timed, get dressed, and open my laptop to prepare for an inbox that will dictate how the rest of my way will go. I eat something standing up at the counter, while I am either loading or unloading the dishwasher between each bite. Throw in some doctor’s appointments and other miscellaneous nonsense and that’s what you get all before 8:30/9am. The adrenaline rush just from that first morning burst of mayhem is absolutely doing a number on my body’s natural pull into fight or flight.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am award-winning writer, author, speaker, podcaster, truth-teller and survivor. About 13 years ago, I started a blog and social media accounts to tell funny stories. The content revolved around life in general, the antics of my very tight kit and hilarious family and my unparalleled girlfriends. As events of my life unfolded and evolved so did my content. Community was formed around relatable, and sometimes messy moments that I shared with vulnerability and rawness, softened by humor. I secured regular bylines from online publications, grew my audience, and even appeared on televison multiple times. Then came speaking engagements and brand partnerships. Every shift in my writing opened doors to opportunity. Right now I am in the center of a shift as a recent Breast Cancer survivor. In addition to trying to spread awareness about the importance of early detection – that saved my life, I want to help women feel more seen and less afraid to book mammograms and other important screenings. As we speak, my literary agent and I are working hard to sell my first solo book digging into my breast cancer journey, what I learned so far, and how we can better advocate for ourselves in the million medical appointments that come with a cancer diagnosis. While it’s a serious topic, it will still come smothered with my own flavor of humor to cope.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Probably a tie between making elementary school chorus, and getting ahold of that very first clipboard when you become a summer camp counselor. Both were an example of seriously wholesome power trips.
If you made chorus in my elementary school, you made it period. It was like the coolest thing you could do and even came with a highly coveted chorus sweatshirt, offered in varying colors. It was like a really cool, wearable humble brag. Don’t even get me started on the main event – aka the performance circuit in local malls. It may as well have been us performing at the VMAs.
Summer camp counselors have a hierarchy that is a tale as old as time. Anyone who has been a camp counselor knows the sheer and palpable power boost that comes the minute the clipboard is placed in your hands. Filled with the camper attendance list, the daily schedule, a handful of notes from the nurse, and dressed in lanyards and other crafts, it is a visible sign of a power position in the hierarchy. Laugh all you want but I can tell you unequivocally that being a seasoned camp counselor for over a decade, and being 100% responsible for a group of children going home happy and tired everyday, teaches you a lot about power 😉
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Stop giving people who hurt you so many chances – both personally and professionally. The societal pressure to “forgive” is real but that doesn’t mean that everyone deserves forgiveness. I would tell her that it’s her call to forgive, or not, whatever helps her heal and move on.
Also, please stop decimating your eyebrows in true 90s fashion, and do NOT give that boy your phone number.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
All day everyday. I am who I am whether I’m on stage in a full face of makeup, or at home in the burbs wearing my weighted vest while walking my labradoodle. I don’t love small talk but I LOVE real connections with people. Those only come from being unapologetically who you are regardless of who surrounds you. It’s how you find your people and your safe places in so many parts of this continuously disjointed world. Give me real or nothing at all, and you will always get the same from me.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Neither. The entire last decade plus of this part of my career was not charted ahead of time, nor did I know it existed. As a college graduate, I had one expectation – to get a job in my field. I had several filled with longevity, success, lessons, and connections. Once I ran as far as I could from life in a sea of cubicles, I had no idea what my actual plan was. All I knew was that I wanted to write and the stuff I started slowly sharing was resonating. Nobody teaches you what it looks like to share your life for a living. Like really share it. The gritty, messy, ugly parts of my life are the ones that have unearthed sisterhoods every single time, and fostered meaningful conversations. I’m not a part of a workforce that has an exact blueprint to work with. I’m figuring it out as a go, just like many other writers and creators. There’s successes and failures but I keep moving and hustling to get to the next chapter. One of my biggest end goals is books. That’s what I have been working toward from day one. I didn’t know how or when I would get there, but it didn’t stop me from trying. Every day churning out content and ideas feels one step closer and I won’t stop until I get it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.whineandcheezits.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/whineandcheezits
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-sobel-88a1102/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/whineandcheezits
- Other: TikTok: Rachel.Sobel.Writes
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-without-benefits/id1619695203
Substack.com/@rachelsobel
Image Credits
Shirley Bazua, SB Media Group
