“It’s not been an easy journey but it’s a journey I’d do again in a heartbeat. I know why I’m here & I don’t think there’s a lot of people that can say ‘I know why I’m on the planet right now’. I do. And what a blessing to know that.”

This statement gave me chills during my chat with this week’s guest, Cynthia Fortlage, for ‘Pause. And Rewind…’. Cynthia (she/her) is referring to her mission to teach 1 billion people about acceptance by the year 2050 - which she describes herself as an “audacious goal”. And you’ll hear in the episode, she’s got the determination, passion & drive to see it through!

Cynthia is Belfast-born, Canadian-raised and living in London right now. She’s a globally recognised gender diversity educator & consultant with a 30+ year background in tech. As a white lesbian woman with a trans+ history, Cynthia shares how she was a feminist activist before becoming an LGBTQ+ leader. She uses her C-suite leadership & personal lived experience, along with a love of storytelling, authenticity & creative approach to do what she does best - promoting the crucial notion of acceptance without understanding. She’s not afraid to be tongue in cheek or uncomfortable either and discussing how she operates in a corporate setting, she says ‘I’m the girl you can ask anything’. The most common questions relate to her relationship with her, now grown-up, children - which we also discuss. Having worked with over 500 organisations worldwide, her inspiring track record when it comes to her work & impact speaks for itself.

Her gender journey has been the most straightforward one she’s been on whilst the rest, Cynthia describes as ‘squiggly’. Cynthia is an open book during this conversation. We discuss her early life - from gender exploration, realisation & origins of her name to simply having ‘no idea how to be a man’ - and subsequently how this led to years of mimicking & masking, personally & professionally. She shares how for over 40+ years, she thought she was a cross dresser until she discovered the trans+ community. Cynthia describes the first 28 years of her marriage as magical until she came out & could no longer be the person those around her wanted her to be. We dive into the grief, loss & freedom that came from that when suddenly she found herself living along aged 50 - including being able to share & accept love from those around her.

On top of all this, Cynthia is writing 4 books too, all part of that huge goal & plans for the future. She’s looking for a publisher too! “I’m aspiring to be someone that I’m still not yet. And that’s the journey called life”. This conversation was incredible. We do discuss challenging topics including suicide & mental health so please take care of yourself whilst listening.

Want to get in tough with Cynthia & work with her? Contact her via LinkedIn or visit: https://www.cynthiafortlage.com

It’s not every day you get to have a chat with one of the most well-known, loved, dedicated and impactful LGBTQ+ activists in the country. Marc Thompson (he/him) has been a HIV awareness & LGBTQ+ rights activist for over 3 decades. He’s also a highly sought after thought leader and specialist in health promotion & education around sexual health, an advocate for Black LGBTQ+ communities, public speaker & creative.

Marc proudly describes himself “Brixton to the bone” and he’s lived all over South London but Lambeth is very much home & always has been. Preserving and celebrating London’s queer history is another passion of Marc’s too - a Londoner & someone has been at the forefront of advocacy & campaigning for years, he has a lot of stories to share. Especially his own…

I always ask my guests to take me back to what ‘little them’ was like. Well, little Marc actually had the nickname Little Marc (due to a friend being Big Marc). Marc might have been a small kid but he was incredibly confident, outgoing & creative. He shares how this came from being surrounded by parents & family who championed, loved & protected him. We talk about his upbringing a lot in this episode including his parents’ separation which he feels was influenced by him coming out as gay. His home with his mum became a safe space for Marc to be himself as well as somewhere his friends could do the same.

At 17, just a couple of years after coming out, Marc was diagnosed with HIV. What followed was an incredibly dark period but one that found him delivering talks in small community groups. Thus the start of his illustrious career which has seen Marc work for organisations such as Terrence Higgins Trust, The Love Tank CIC & Positively UK as well as co-founding Prepster & BLKOUT.

“Activism found me” says Marc. He shares what he describes as his ‘Damascus Moment’ in 1997 whilst speaking at a rally in Washington where he remembers vividly thinking “I was infected to do what I’m doing”. He still recalls the phone call in which he shared this with his mum to which she said something to the tune of ‘Don’t be ridiculous’ but probably thought he was right.

Marc has recently taken his career in a new & different direction as the Lead Commissioner for the London HIV Prevention Programme. He admits he’ll miss the grassroots feels of his previous work though he’s excited about a different pace and a bit of peace whilst still using all of his experience, knowledge & passion acquired over the last 30+ years. Plus his passion. “I’m a fighter” he declares, “because the battle is still there”. It shines through and Marc beams when he talks about inspiring young Black men, his community & the proudest moments from campaigns to projects to his legacy. I remember seeing Marc’s bespoke artwork messaging for a TFL campaign on the tube back in 2020 “Black Men Loving Black Men is a revolutionary act”. His creativity, insight & vision is an ongoing phenomenal legacy.

‘Small but Mighty’ are the three words Marc uses to describe him and his origin story. We chat about smart activism, family, life lessons & success, what contentment feels like, Marc’s dog Beau & more. This conversation was everything & more - ENJOY!

Please note: Some of the topics we cover during this podcast are sensitive. Please take care of yourself whilst listening.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have always been at the heart of her career and Marie-Helene Tyack (she/her) brings passion, joy & a deep commitment to what she does. Her 'day job' sees her leading on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Allianz Commercial globally and her 'gay job' is as Chair of the Allianz Global Pride Board. She's set up an incredible 28 Pride networks within the Allianz Group around the world!

Her work has led to her being widely recognised in the DEI sector, LGBTQ+ community and beyond with a number of accolades & awards under her belt. It's clear she's not in it for that but admits that the recognition is nice - plus, it gives her that extra backing when asking for more support & provision to do her job.

This is the Marie-Helene we know now and it was a pleasure getting to know more about her story...

Growing up in Switzerland & moving to the UK at a young age was a big culture shock for Marie-Helene & her family which involved navigating language barriers, a shift in family dynamics and school life. When speaking to her family about this podcast, she shared how some of this still feels a little raw, especially for her mum. Little Marie-Helene was an incredibly happy child - and it's easy to see this now as Marie-Helene really is one of the warmest, most smiley people I've met.

But with most people's stories, it isn't always all sunshine. A car accident when she was 18 years old impacted her life hugely & physically leaving her with a strong sense of injustice. In her first relationship, Marie-Helene was raped by her girlfriend at the time - something she buried for a long time before she sought support. We'd like to put a trigger warning to anyone listening who might be affected by this - take a break/ turn it off and come back to it as needed. There are contact details for Galop* at the bottom of these shownotes. This is part of her story which she's very open about and we speak about Marie-Helene's healing journey and her plea for anyone who has experienced any such incident of abuse historically to know it's never too late to reach out for help.

We cover queer representation, including a trip down memory lane for Marie-Helene with Channel 4's Brookside and it's daring lesbian storyline through to what we see on screen today. For many LGBTQ+ people growing up, this visibility provides comfort, reassurance & hope; often helping us to tackle shame, internalised homophobia & isolation. We also touch on life lessons & Marie-Helene's 'cocoon of love' with her wife & dog.

'Passionate. Determined. Little-Miss-Happy' are the words that Marie-Helene uses to describe herself & her origin story - you'll hear why throughout! Enjoy and again, please take of yourself whilst listening.

Galop - the LGBTQ+ anti-abuse charity - has been working with LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence for more than 40 years. They provide a range of support services and you can get in touch with them here.