"It's Okay Not To Be Okay." -Brooke Medina, Founder of AR Workshop OC

Content note: This episode discusses substance abuse, grief, and loss. Resources: SAMHSA.gov | 1-800-662-4357 | 988 Brooke Medina is the founder of AR Workshop OC, a mobile creative studio bringing hands-on DIY experiences to communities across Orange County, and the founder of She Means Business OC. After seven years in brick-and-mortar, she closed her studio in 2024 and went mobile. She says it was the best decision she ever made. In this episode, Brooke and the Meet Bridget hosts talk about: → Growing up around craft and creativity — and why it became something she needed to step away from → The teenage years: instability, loss, and substance use that started in eighth grade → The overdose at 18 and the morning after → Becoming a mom at 20 and what that changed → Carrying grief across a lifetime — and learning to actually feel it instead of moving through it → Seven years in brick-and-mortar, the pivot to mobile, and what she found on the other side → She Means Business OC and why building community is a practice, not a strategy → What she would tell a young woman who is in the hardest part of something 🎙️ Meet Bridget | Season 6, Episode 157 Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday. Brooke on Instagram: @brooke__medina_ AR Workshop OC: arworkshop.com/orangecounty | @arworkshoporangecounty She Means Business OC: @shemeansbusiness_oc Meet Bridget: @meetbridget | meetbridget.com Resources: SAMHSA.gov | 1-800-662-4357 | 988