hiya. welcome to hurdling.
this is the newsletter that looks at how we get over the things that get in our way.
Hello. This is EmTV and welcome to my crib. This is Hurdling. The newsletter that looks at how we manage to get over the things that get in our way.
I started this newsletter back in 2022 because I got so tired of hearing people’s success stories, where they only really talked about what happened after they cleared their hurdles – glossing over the blood, sweat and tears that actually got them over the hurdle in the first place. As a chronic overthinker and oversharer, I wanted to create a space where I could take a good look at (and even celebrate) exactly how we get over the hurdles that get in our way in all the corners of our lives – and dig into some of my own, too.
So this is a place to peek behind the scenes of the highlights reels we all produce for our lives. It’s a place to reflect on the messy bits, the things gone wrong, the lessons we’ve learned and to share real stories, honest thoughts and unfiltered reflections.
I hope it becomes a place that can help you to navigate through the tough, and feel better equipped, less alone and ready for what comes next. You’re free to share your own personal hurdles, stories, thoughts, confessions, hopes, dreams, feelings, realisations, frustrations in the comments sections – or anything else you need to get out.
So welcome to Hurdling, hurdler. I hope you stick around.
SO, HOW DOES IT ALL WORK AROUND HERE?
What a great question. Lucky for you, I have three great answers.
IF YOU’RE A FREE SUBSCRIBER
This means you get things for free. Isn’t that nice? You can expect regular(ish) doses of:
ESSAYS: honest thoughts and unfiltered reflections on the things I’m interested in and curious about, that all revolve around getting over life's various hurdles – big and small. Some of these things are serious. Many of them are not.
VIBE CHECKS: a dose of joy and motivation to get you through the month, with roundups of good things to read, listen to, watch or shop – plus a snapshot of all the things I’m saving and enjoying on the internet.
INTERVIEWS: real stories from real people about how they got over their hurdles, with confessions of things gone wrong, emphasis on the messy bits and lessons learned along the way.
You’ll also get free previews to anything else that’s just for paid subscribers, too.
IF YOU’RE A PAID SUBSCRIBER (£5 a month, or £35 a year)
If you’re a paid subscriber, you essentially make this newsletter possible (so thank you so much if that’s you!). All the writing that shows up on this newsletter takes place outside of my day job, in pockets of time that I steal from other things and people. By paying for it, you’ll probably feel really good about yourself for supporting independent writing. But if that’s not enough, you’ll also get access to my more personal essays, the interviews that live behind the paywall, the full archive, plus:
ESSAYS (the more personal ones): more oversharing on the personal hurdles I’m facing at any given time.
FRANTICALLY ASKED QUESTIONS: a sort of ask me anything / advice column, with answers to frequently and frantically asked questions on work, life and anything else you fancy asking about. You just need to reply to the previous column with your question, and I’ll try my best to answer it.
OUT OF OFFICE: travel guides and inspiration for your annual leave, from weekend breaks and big road trips to local pub recommendations. This includes my meticulously researched and annotated Google Maps lists, too.
WRITING CLUB: thoughts and advice on all things writing, creativity, advertising, careers and the world of brands.
WRITING CLUB EVENTS: access to Writing Club Events, both online & IRL, to help you get over your own writing hurdles. Plus access to the subscriber-only chat, too.
As a paying member, you’ll also get access to the full archive of posts, live (or online) events, Q+As, competitions + giveaways and probably some other future things I just haven’t thought of yet. It’s £5 a month, which is a lot less than a small glass of house wine at most London pubs, but enough to go towards supporting this newsletter and keeping my writing (and motivation) alive.
IF YOU’RE A FOUNDING SUBSCRIBER (£100 a year)
If you’re a founding subscriber, you essentially make this newsletter even more possible. And as such, you’re able to interact with it on a more personal level. You’ll get all the benefits of being a paid subscriber, but you’ll also get the option to get an hour of my time to ask me anything you like. It could be about writing, advertising, moving abroad, negotiating a pay rise, travelling, planning a wedding, the perfect crisp sandwich recipe, mentoring – anything you like.
You’ll also have my undying gratitude and appreciation, too.
SOME OF HURDLING’S GREATEST HITS:
A little flavour of what you can expect around here.
WHO IS EMILY ASH POWELL ANYWAY? (EW.)
Emily Ash Powell is a Welsh writer, creative leader, ideas person and brand consultant who finds it a lot easier to write bios like this one in third person. By day, you’ll find her writing good words for good people at good brands and publications – brands like Netflix, Ffern, Trip, Tony's Chocolonely, Snapchat, Starling and many others. By later in the day, she is the author of this newsletter and a writer for places like Stylist, Cosmopolitan, Condé Nast Traveller, Refinery29, HuffPost, the iPaper, Metro, The Drum and many more, on the topics of work, love, women, travel, creativity and all life’s hurdles. As a certified yapper, you’ll also find her speaking at events and hosting workshops, too.
For the first ten years of her career, Emily worked as a copywriter, and then held brand and creative leadership positions at some of the UK's fastest-growing DTC startups + scaleups. She loved the ones with big missions and great personalities – especially if they were subscription. She told stories, shaped brands and led creative and editorial teams for people who changed the world of relationships (Bumble), chocolate (Tony's Chocolonely), pet food (tails.com), flowers (Freddie's Flowers) and skincare (Skin + Me). In 2022, she won the Women In Marketing Highly Commended Copywriting award for her tone of voice work for Skin + Me.
Emily also likes big brands (and she cannot lie). At advertising agencies, she’s written words and had ideas for brilliant brands like IKEA, Virgin Voyages, Disney, John Lewis, Marvel, Virgin Holidays, ASDA, P&G, Bacardi, Volkswagen and more.
In 2020, Emily was named as a Pitch Superwoman – among 99 others who spend their days championing creativity and diversity across the creative industries, making it a place that as many people want to, and are able to, work in. In 2022, she was named as Campaign Magazine’s Future Leaders ‘One To Watch’. She cares deeply about company culture, and believes that the best brands are the ones that truly live and breathe the values that they project out into the world.
Emily is a mentor, a creative awards judge, a speaker and a certified yapper. If you want to chat to her or pick her brain, you can do so by becoming a Founding Member.
