Hello, hi. This is Cleo, one of the three brains of the Melanin Muses Podcast and welcome to another origin story.

When creating something, you know, [ CREATIVE ] like a podcast, it can be challenging to figure out exactly WHAT you want to talk about. This is especially so when you are Neurospicy. In my case, I have the good ole ADHD (undiagnosed AND unmedicated at the time!!) and that means I want to talk about EVERYTHINGGGGG.

When the pod first began in 2021, Callie and I talked about anything that came to mind. From the horror stories of my encounters in South Korea to interviewing different entrepreneurs about their life stories, we were throwing that metaphorical spaghetti at the wall hoping something would stick. However, something in my gut was like… “This doesn’t feel…right?”. Though I enjoyed having the conversations with Callie, cause, let’s face it, WHO WOULDN’T? The conversations topics just didn’t feel like the correct direction to go in the way we were going about it. Which became incredibly frustrating. I wanted to create something GOOD. Something that resonated with other people and it just seemed like nothing was working that way that I had hoped. It took going on hiatus TWICE, some more experimenting, the fabulous structuring brain of our “Boothman”, and fully sitting back and reflecting to finally bring us to where we are today: feeling more like : US and who the Melanin Muses Podcast was meant to be.

What is that exactly? Well…I’m so glad you asked!

Melanin Muses is a podcast that is meant to be a safe haven for all of the nerds who felt alone. The ones who were bullied. The ones who felt like they didn’t have a voice to stand up for themselves and express what they truly felt. For those who found safety and comfort in the anime, books, games, or whatever else that brought them solace during the hard times. It’s for those who reluctantly discarded those “joyful interests” in order to feel more accepted and digestible to others or to “grow up” according to society’s standards.

It’s a podcast for those who were told that they were “too much” and then proceeded to dim their light in order for others to be comfortable. For those who find themselves “masking” more often than not for fear of constant rejection.

It’s okay.

I see you.

I hear you.

You are NOT alone. (as cheesy as that sounds)

I experienced alllll of that and I am continuously working hard to unlearn all of the negative thought patterns and habits that came with going through those shenanigans.

MMP is one of those ways that I’ve come to learn: Those who are meant to accept you, WILL. Those who aren’t? Don’t need to. Not everyone is meant to love you or be in your life and that’s OKAY. You can create your own tribe and community of diverse peoples who not only share similar interests, but can also help you shine your light even brighter instead of forcing it to dim because of other’s views and perceptions of you. You have the ability to surround yourself with those who embrace who YOU are at your core and also, challenge you to be the best version of you, hold you accountable, and help you grow.

I can honestly say that with every episode filmed, I have never felt so ALIVE, loved, and, most importantly, MYSELF than I have been when working on this project with Boothman and Callie. They have given me the space to unmask, express myself, making mistakes with punishment, and be that person that I was once ashamed of being. I’ve bee given that metaphorical permission to be the person that was regularly called" “too much” with a different narrative. A narrative that now tells me:

I am enough for those who are meant to truly love me.

I can always find myself laughing so hard it hurts, speaking my thoughts unapologetically, and learning something new every time we are together. Their patience, care, and belief in me has been so incredibly healing and I’m thankful for both of them for being a part of this project and for being my friends, something that, at one point in time, I never thought that I would have.

All of this say (as much as the stubborn part of me hates it) : Nothing is ever perfect, especially when you first begin something new. And that’s not a BAD thing. It simply means that you and that craft is ever evolving. That lack of perfection actually leaves space for you to continuously grow and expand yourself and your craft. It’s a GREAT thing. Also, the people you surround yourself with matters immensely. So be wise about who you give your time and energy to.

In the end, I can now understand that I needed to experience more of what life had to offer, become more curious about myself, learn how to accept those parts of me that I was ashamed of, and open myself up to the love of those around me in order to find the authentic voice of Melanin Muses like I was searching for. It wasn’t easy and is a continual process but, I know in my gut that it’s the right path and what we have at MMP is special. So, I thank you for following us on this journey and we can’t wait to grow and meet with you!

Much love from your Muse,

Cleo

A little Reminder:

"In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength." - Uncle Iroh, ATLA

Ready to tune in to the latest episode? Check Us out on our Youtube!
(Or, wherever you listen to your podcasts)

YouTube

Looking for some crazy behind the scenes shenanigans, random thoughts, anime hottakes, 90s / 2000s nostaglia and more? Check us out on Tiktok and Instagram!

Tiktok

Instagram

Want to contribute to our Caffeine Addiction?

Buy Us a Coffee!

Subscribe now

A Pandemic + Living in Korea + ADHD = MMP

Once upon a time…okay, no, I won’t do that to you. 🤣 Let’s try this again.

Hi! I’m Cleo, the founder, co-producer, and co-host (among other things) of the Melanin Muses Podcast and the origin story of the pod is a pretty random one…

It' all started in 2021 while I was living abroad in South Korea as an English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher. The pandemic hit us hard and I was isolated in my little apartment across the sea. Quite honestly, it was scary. I wasn’t fully sure how everything was going to play out, especially being a foreigner in a small country area who wasn’t fluent in Korean at the time. I was also immune compromised so that added another layer of “no leaving the house recklessly” type of vibes. On top of that, say hello to my undiagnosed (yet) ADHD… I was going stir crazy.

You see, for those who aren’t blessed with the Neurospicy-ness, let me share with you a little something: needing to stay home for extended periods of time with nothing to do = the end of the world for many of us Spicy peoples. Several of us need to be doing SOMETHING to stimulate our brains and getting that dopamine hit or else it can lead to not so fun moments of depression, anxiety, and other symptoms. So, I did what any of us would do and dabbled in a LOT of random things to try to keep myself entertained. I learned to crochet (many a night watching golden girls and making a scarf…or 2), I learned the foundations of video editing for YouTube, found an array of audiobooks and I stumbled upon podcasts…many podcasts. From “The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast” to "The Baggage Reclaim” to “The Lavendaire Lifestyle” and more. I would listen to them for hours while doodling in my sketchbook until one day I was like… “Hey, I like to talk…maybe I should create a podcast?”And, so it began.

Like the newest shiny toy (think Dugg from Up, SQUIRREL), I went down the rabbit hole of what it took to build a podcast from scratch. I soon realized that I didn’t want to do it alone since I did better when I was talking to other people rather than “talking to myself” so to speak. But, then that created the question: “Who should I ask to do the pod with me?”

Here’s the random bit: It’s a little foggy, but I believe I just scrolled through my Facebook friends and did a process of elimination on not only who I thought would WANT to do it but who would be most fun to do the pod WITH. That’s when I stopped on Callie. Funnily enough, we were only acquaintances at the time. We had met only a couple times at a public speaking workshop a couple years prior and, to be honest, I was incredibly intimidated by them for the LONGEST time. Let me tell you why: Callie is not only a STUNNINGLY gorgeous individual, but the AURA that they gave off was nothing short of…over 9000, peak level, EPICNESS. It was pure confidence, sense of self, kindness, genuine honesty, knew their boundaries... the list can go on. And…at that time, I was scared of them before I left for Korea. Not that I was afraid that they would DO anything to me, but more so that I didn’t have the confidence to be their friend at the time. Fast Forward to this moment, my gut told me to reach out to them. So I did. And, to my surprise, they said “yes.”

Check Out the MMP Trailer

Why “Melanin Muses”?

Okay…so this name is a combination of a few things.

One: we both LOVEEEEEE Disney’s Hercules. It’s a such a classic that has made a significant impact to us 90’s kids and its songs live on in our brains rent free for years and years to come. (ZERO TO HERO!!!). Even more so, we have a special love for the Muses. These ladies not only are the main storytellers of this movie, but their VOCALS?!?!?! ICONIC!

We fell in love with these women and their presence that transcended the screen and into our hearts and felt a deep connection to them. This is especially due to the Muses being powerful, elegant, strong, Black Women. We saw portions of ourselves in them and we wanted to honor them in our podcast since WE would be telling stories ourselves. We figured it fitting to pay homage to the OG storytellers.

Two: We are brown. We have lots of Melanin. We are both Black Women here to create a nerdy community where people can feel safe, seen, heard, and valued. We are hear to amplify not only our voices, but the voices of the fellow nerds who have felt silenced and unseen throughout the years, especially fellow POC.

As a result: Melanin Muses Podcast was born.

Where do you see the Podcast going?

Everywhere.

For real! We will grow exponentially and reach as many fellow nerds as we can all across the world.

We plan to foster and inspire those deeper discussions on how anime can affect our mental health, how it can be used to heal not only ourselves as adults, but also that inner child that may not have been given the permission to be their little nerdy selves, and have safe spaces where nerds from all backgrounds can connect and form beautiful life long relationships.

We plan to attend conventions and proactively get the community involved in customized conversations, games, and activities. We will bring the nostalgia and the constructive debates, host live recordings, anime screenings, and much much more.

We aspire to connect with voice actors in the industry as well as anime loving celebrities to create that bridge of connection and fandom between them and the fellow fans…the list goes on.

In the end, our primary goal is to build, grow, teach, and learn WITH our community and we are looking forward to seeing where that leads us. ALL of us.

They Believed in Us… Our First Partnership

Now, I can’t end this origin story without the mention of our Co-Producer and FIRST EVER PARTNER, Ben Collins and SCOPE Productions. Ben is the most intelligent, kind, creative, and down to business (in a great way!) person that I know and, without him, MMP would not have survived. Let me explain.

I have loved MMP since Callie and I started it in 2021. I worked tirelessly to teach myself how to foundationally edit, market, build the social media, record the pod, learn about RSS feeds, planning the Zoom Recording sessions, and so much more. At one point, I was even hand drawing custom covers for every. single. episode. I was even doing this from Korea while Callie was still in the USA! (13 hour time difference!)

Needless to say, I burnt out…HARD. As a result, MMP went on a hiatus in the winter of 2022 after almost one season and I moved back to the USA. In the summer of 2022, I tried to relaunch the pod with an additional host and other guests, but, things fell through after a few months. It just didn’t feel “right”. It felt like the true “voice” just wasn’t there. The conversations weren’t “hitting” right and I felt that MMP just wasn’t going in the direction that felt most authentic to what I felt in my gut was the REAL MMP. Yet again, we went on hiatus. This time, I felt that this would be the true end of Melanin Muses.

Fast Forward to 2025. One random day, Callie reached out to me and mentioned that their friend, Ben, has been following the pod since its inception and was inquiring about it. It had been a while since we posted anything and he wanted to know if MMP was ever returning. If so, he was interested in working with us professionally in collaboration with his production company.

What…the…

I. Was. FLOORED. HE was interested in MELANIN MUSES?! A pod that was created initially due to ADHD stir crazy chaos with a side of a dream?! …Apparently so.

At first, my imposter syndrome kicked in HEAVILY. Work with a REAL production company? Learn more intense editing and other things to REALLY grow this podcast into something bigger?! RUNNNNNNNNN!!!! It truly felt like I didn’t deserve it. I knew my co-host was talented AF, but me?

I thought about it and originally was going to the let that inner voice win. But, my instinct yelled at me. Every time I thought about saying “no”, I felt sick. So, I had a sit down with myself. Calmed that inner voice and said “Yes.”

I have no regrets.

Here’s a BIG thank you / shoutout to Ben for believing in not only Callie and I, but in the podcast and the dreams / goals that we have for it. Thank you for being a mentor, a teacher, a co-producer, and a wonderful friend throughout all of this. You are the reason why we are back and thriving and building the community we originally wanted to build authentically. Without your talents and expertise, I don’t know where we would have been.

Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for taking the chance on us.

We can’t wait to see what’s comes next. ❤️

If you are ever in need of full service audio and video production assistance and media management, Scope Productions is THE best option out there.

Learn More About Scope Productions

Last but not Least, What to Expect:

• Biweekly Episodes on YouTube and other streaming platforms (wherever you listen to your podcasts)
  

• Currently, we have 4 episodes published on our YouTube Channel

  • The first 4 VIDEO versions are on our PARTNER channel, Scope Productions

  • Simultaneously, the AUDIO versions are on OUR YouTube, Melanin Muses Podcast + traditional streaming platforms
    

• Starting April 5 2026, all VIDEO versions from Episode 5 on will be posted on OUR channel, Melanin Muses Podcast, and audios will remain on the other streaming platforms
  

• Episode 5 will be available on April 5 2026! Stay tuned for that!
  

• Social Media: If you wish to follow along with some crazy behind the scenes shenanigans, random thoughts, anime hottakes and more, check out our social media!
  

  Tiktok

  Instagram

  YouTube

Already a Subscriber? Share this with your fellow nerd!