Why I Started This Podcast

Weaving Healing, Business Smarts, and Transformative Experiences into My Journey

By Christine T. Fariss

🌿 Healing Through Design: From an early age, I was immersed in the world of healing. My mom, a prolific self-employed massage therapist, taught me the importance of feeling rather than solving. In high school, I suffered a severe tibia injury that led to the development of RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome), also called Type I CPRS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), a neurological pain disorder. I endured excruciating pain day-in and day-out, reliant on crutches to remain mobile, with no ability to bear weight on my left leg for one month. Doctors told me I may never walk again and recommended I go to the Mayo Clinic for inpatient rehabilitation. As a last-ditch effort, my mom found a High-Point based Chinese medical doctor board certified in acupuncture. After just one treatment, I was walking the next day and never had to make the trip to Mayo. With my mom’s bodywork expertise and continued acupuncture treatments, I made a full recovery and returned to the activities I loved most: competitive cheerleading and high school golf. I subsequently suffered more sports-related injuries, which mom always knew how to heal with her gifts and energy.

💡 Business and Financial Responsibility: The business acumen in my life comes largely from my dad. He instilled in me (as did my mom) the importance of clear expectations, consistency, work ethic, and a no-tolerance policy for manipulation. During family spring break trips, my sister and I had to write reports about our experiences – what we saw, heard, and learned. School didn’t require this, but dad did. This exercise reinforced our experiences in the moment. When it came to college tours, starting in middle school, my dad taught us to build Excel scoring matrices to develop criteria and rank our top picks based on those tours. This objective approach balanced our emotional responses and taught us valuable skills in building something sustainable. We learned how to think, not what to think, and these tools have helped turn our dreams into reality. Dreams we didn’t know we had, such as attending NC Governor’s School for Visual Art, Interior Design school at East Carolina University then Business School at Wake Forest University, becoming an expert healthcare interior designer, volunteering in canine rescue, managing a rental property, and having the confidence to take the leap and be my own boss.

🌟 The Power of Experience: Growing up, my parents were all about giving us experiences rather than stuff. They showed me that experiences are what truly enrich our lives. From minor league baseball games and plays at the Little Theater to summer camps and trips to Cooperstown, Hershey, NYC, Cape Cod, Florida, Monticello, DC, Boston, the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, my childhood was filled with memorable experiences. When I came into this world, my older sister, understandably, was adjusting. When she wanted a break from her annoying younger sister, my mom promised her a trip anywhere in the world for three weeks after she graduated high school. Five years later, it was my turn, and we went on an incredible trip to Spain. This eye-opening journey gave me the travel bug, leading me to save up and explore the glamorous and not-so-glamorous corners of Canada, Australia, England, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Nepal. These experiences taught me empathy, curiosity, and the joy of living in the moment.

🤝 Connecting Through Stories: For all of these reasons, I’m deeply passionate about sharing stories that highlight the power of experience in shaping who we are. BOOST is about those crucial moments that lead you to really experience life. Each guest shares their unique stories, struggles, and triumphs, bringing perspectives that can change how we see design, humanity, and the world.

🌎 A Platform for Joy: So here we are, gathering around the mic, giving a voice to those who deserve to be heard. We laugh, we learn, and we celebrate. In this crazy world, we need more joy, inspiration, and connection.

Join us on this journey. Let’s elevate experience, one story at a time.

Learn more about our podcast and listen to previous episodes by visiting our Linktree.

Christine T. Fariss is the host of BOOST: Elevating Experience by Design podcast and CEO of Viibe.