Beauty, Bullying, and Bouncing Back: Stephanie's Untold Story

Raw, resilient, and refreshingly real – Stephanie Simons opens up for the first time about the extraordinary journey that shaped the woman behind Bowie Stacks beauty empire. From her first breaths, born into homelessness with a teenage mother battling addiction, Stephanie's path was never going to be ordinary. The Ballybough Flats provided a backdrop of community amid poverty, where childhood games existed alongside the harsh realities of Dublin's drug epidemic. With unflinching honesty, she reveals the physical and mental abuse she endured as a child, stepping into a parental role for her younger sister while still a child herself. Dancing became her escape – until bullying shattered that dream when her hair began falling out from stress. But as Stephanie's story unfolds, we witness the remarkable resilience that would define her life. From beauty college to running "nixers" door-to-door, she built her first salon by age 20. Even as motherhood and pandemic challenges arose, she persevered, performing treatments with a newborn in a carry cot beside her. Perhaps most powerful is Stephanie's candid discussion of the online controversy that nearly destroyed her – when a treatment complication went viral and unleashed a torrent of trolling. Yet through faith, determination and unwavering focus, she transformed that visibility into business growth, now operating multiple locations across Ireland. This conversation goes beyond beauty treatments (though we do learn about salmon DNA injections and other innovations). It's about a woman who refused to be defined by her circumstances, who breaks generational cycles for her children, and who stands tall despite persistent challenges. Have you ever wondered what truly builds strength? Listen as Stephanie shares her powerful message: "No matter what cards you're dealt, it's how you play them." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to Beauty, Bullying, and Bouncing Back: Stephanie's Untold Story online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Beauty, Bullying, and Bouncing Back: Stephanie's Untold Story is an episode from Everywhere We Go by Rebecca Kelly.

This episode is 51:30 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2025.

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