Bushcraft, Belonging and Being Brave: Eva Outram on Daring to Begin

In this episode of SHE Who Dares Wins, Michelle sits back down with Eva – bushcraft instructor, founder of Wilder Horizons CIC, and former contestant on the TV show Alone – to explore what it really looks like to rebuild your life from the ground up.From leaving the NHS and traditional employment, to moving into a caravan, to spending three dark winter months training in North Wales with seven other women, Eva shares a raw, honest look at self-employment, simplicity, female friendship and finding community in the outdoors.If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t do that” or felt left behind because your path doesn’t look like everyone else’s, this conversation is for you.In This Episode, We Talk AboutDaring to begin (again)Why Eva clung to traditional employment “with her fingernails”The crunch point where she realised she was doing a bad job for everyone – and had to choose herselfWhat the first year of full-time self-employment has really looked like (peaks, troughs and all)Calm over “career safety”How leaving the NHS shifted her day-to-day from constant adrenaline to a calmer nervous systemWhy she now values alignment and mental health over job titles, pensions and sick payCaravan life and living smallMoving from a two-bed flat into a tiny caravan with her partner… just as winter startedJuggling three part-time jobs, 4 a.m. commutes, and wondering, “What have I done?”The unexpected gifts of simple living: fewer bills, more outdoor space and learning what she actually needsStuff, screens and simplifyingLetting go of storage units, “just in case” boxes and the things she didn’t miss for a whole yearSwapping infinite Netflix choice for five charity-shop DVDs – and what that taught her about decision fatigue and delayed gratificationLoneliness, lost friendships and starting againThe quiet grief of friendships that fade when you step off the traditional life pathWhy it’s so hard to have honest conversations about “what went wrong” in friendshipsFeeling like you’re starting from scratch socially when your values and lifestyle changeFinding belonging in the outdoorsThree months in north Wales with the Outward Bound Trust and Berghaus:Living in a shared house with seven womenLong days in the cold and wet, learning navigation, rock skills and paddlingThe deep sense of community that formed from being together 24/7How intense shared experiences fast-track genuine connection and trustWomen-only spaces and why they matterTraining with female instructors and what changed when there were no men in the groupThe difference in energy, competition and confidence in women-only learning spacesWhy Eva chose to keep her bushcraft events women-only after hearing participant feedbackBushcraft as a doorway to courageWatching women come solo to events – sometimes for the first time doing anything just for themselvesHow lighting fires, carving wood and sleeping outside can unlock confidence far beyond the woodsThe ripple effect: course WhatsApp groups, new hiking buddies and women planning their own adventures togetherSafety, responsibility and the outdoor industryThe tension between qualified outdoor professionals and social-media-led “hike meetups”Why qualifications, recces and first aid still matter – even when you “just love hiking”Expansion and what’s next for Wilder HorizonsEva’s word of the year: ExpansionMoving from “doing everything myself” to hiring a community and adventure managerHer vision for employing and uplifting more women in the outdoor spaceJoin Dare club: www.shewhodareswins.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.