1982

Born in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa, the first of three daughters to my Italian Mama and Irish Father.

1987

That’s my sister Cara on the left, me on the right. As a child, my curly hair felt like a curse. Other kids teased me, and even my primary school teachers used to joke that I could get out of trouble if I just ‘gave them all my hair’. I knew that was impossible, but I often wished I could!

1993

As a young girl, I was painfully shy, terrified of God, and quietly furious at him for making me a girl. Periods, painful childbirth, dresses, bras, shaving our legs… seemed like we got the short end of the stick. I remember lying awake at night, full of questions that felt too big for my small body, already sensing that something about the rules we were being taught, didn’t quite add up.

1997

By 15, I’d made up my mind that the majority of the school day was a complete waste of time, and that I’d rather be surfing. The surfing lifestyle became my new church and the catapult for my life as an entrepreneur. I remember sitting on my surfboard at the backline of the ocean, cold water, fresh air, the sound of the waves. It’s all I needed for everything to make sense. I soon convinced my Dad that I was smart enough to homeschool myself, which was really just an excuse to surf all day! (Thx Dad)

2001

After matriculating, I chose to study graphic design, but on application was told I couldn’t apply as I hadn’t taken art as a subject. I begged for a chance, and a lovely old lecturer named John grabbed an old teapot, placed some paper and charcoal in front of me, and said, “Draw.” Five minutes later, I was accepted into art college.

2004

The increase of girls in the surf was noticeable, and they were ripping! At 22 I launched South Africa’s first all-girls surf magazine to show the world their skills. I sourced advertising through my surf industry contacts and published four beautiful issues of 3,000 copies each. Photographers eagerly contributed for the exposure, and female surfers were thrilled to finally be featured – it was such a joy to build something so community-driven. I even figured out how to stock CNA’s and surf stores along the coast, and by the fourth issue we had 300+ subscribers. But the surf industry’s monopoly decided there was no room for our little mag, and I was sadly forced to close. My young entrepreneurial heart was broken.
(My first experience of corporate bullying, though back then, I didn’t know it had a name.)

2009

Having to close down the magazine was a hard hit for me, and made me hesitant about starting another business. I spent the next few years partying, traveling and working as a freelance graphic/web designer. There were many highs and lows, and eventually I decided it was time to get my life in order. I rented an apartment by the ocean, woke up early, surfed a ton and spent time with inspiring entrepreneurs. I met the man who would later become the father of my child and within a few months we moved in together.

2010

In a healthier and happier space, I traveled to Bali with a crew of friends for the surf trip of a lifetime, and a little book called The Power of Now. I mark that trip as the true beginning of my spiritual journey: reading those pages while surrounded by poverty, yet watching the Balinese people living from moment to moment, letting the ocean tides set the rhythm of their days, was such a stark contrast to life in the West. And of course, being a white girl on a spiritual journey, the dreadlocks came soon after!

2013

Joined Marie Forleo’s B-School and read Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map. Completely changed my business plan, life strategy, and the way I cared for myself as a woman. Joined their online communities, filled with thousands of entrepreneurial women from across the planet, all wondering: who are we meant to be, and surely there’s a better way to do this!? The wisdom, support, and understanding in that space gave me permission to bring forward parts of myself I’d long kept hidden. Many of the principles I learned back then, still guide me on my path today.

2014

Became a Mama Bear! Gave birth to my beautiful son Leo and soon after realised that being an entrepreneur and a mom… not so easy! Motherhood hit me hard, as I struggled to recover from a difficult birth experience and navigate postpartum depression. A couple weeks in, a friend gifted me a stretchy wrap so that I could ‘wear’ my baby on my body. I didn’t know it then but that tiny moment in time would lead to me designing the Ubuntu Baba baby carrier, a product that gave me my life back, and eventually helped over 20,000 other parents worldwide to do the same.

2018

Ubuntu Baba started as an online business and grew organically, reaching 20x our first year’s sales by year three. I’d gone from being a one-woman show to leading a small team, building the brand step by step without any outside funding. We opened a boutique store, where we hosted weekly mommy meetups, creating a much-needed space for connection, support, and community. We were growing steadily, deeply rooted in our mission, and enjoying every moment.

2019

The year of Woolworths! One of South Africa’s largest corporates copied our carrier, and after my blog post calling them out went viral, we received an outpouring of support. Our story hit front pages, national radio, and trended on Twitter, generating R13 million ($750,000 USD) in free media coverage and making Ubuntu Baba a household name overnight. As a result of the public outrage, Woolworths withdrew the product from their shelves, donated their profits to IP law education, paid damages to Ubuntu Baba, and donated the unsold carriers to parents in under-resourced communities.

As a result of all this attention, Ubuntu Baba experienced 45% growth in sales. I was suddenly thrust into a whole new world, from radio shows across the country wanting my story, to being interviewed by Shark Tank SA’s Marnus Broodryk in front of 600 entrepreneurs. And while there were many silver linings, it was also incredibly stressful. I was juggling motherhood, trying to keep up with surging sales, and managing the anxiety of being thrown into the spotlight. By the end of the year, I was also facing a reality I never thought would be mine: single motherhood.

2020

The lockdowns began, and I felt myself slowly unravelling. Up until then, I’d relied on a good mindset and daily meditation to manage stress, but it wasn’t enough anymore. Debilitating anxiety and panic attacks set in, and the only way I knew to cope was to pull out my trusty old bong and smoke the pain away. Navigating the challenges of single motherhood and a difficult separation, I began looking for ways to feel more emotionally stable. That search led me to Emotional Sovereignty School. Natalie, the co-founder, had been my NeuroEmotional Coach in 2017, alongside other coaches I’d worked with since my postpartum depression, and it felt like the education I needed to move forward from a very lonely place.

2021

Emotional Sovereignty School was a total gamechanger, but it wasn’t until a 5-gram psilocybin journey in 2021 that I truly faced my shadows. I had learnt new ways to work with my anxiety through the school, but I was still deeply dependent on marijuana, something I was unwilling to acknowledge. Mushrooms have a way of pulling you to attention, exposing blind spots, and cracking you open. That journey was the most transformative experience of my life, bringing me to my knees in surrender and offering me a second chance at life.
Below: Shannon version 2.0 has entered the chat!

2022

After mushrooms, I began experiencing life through a completely different lens. I felt purpose, I felt love, I felt everything. I came to understand addiction and saw that, for me, a lack of commitment to something positive would always lead to an addiction to something negative. So I chose to commit to my relationship with myself – to honour every part of my journey, stop avoiding the pain, process what I’d been through, and learn how to model emotional sovereignty for my son. In that same season, I fell in love with my best friend and biggest supporter, Juan; wrote and self-published Conversation with a Star, and began training with The Center for Emotional Education to become a NeuroEmotional Coach.

2023

I’d always loved brand strategy with my design clients, so adding the neuroemotional layer – especially for founders – felt like the perfect fit, and by July 2023 I was practising as a qualified coach. Later that year, I was invited to give a talk for Heavy Chef on building a successful e-commerce business and was featured in their book Selling Products Online. I was also honoured to contribute a chapter to The Book Every Entrepreneur Has to Read, written by 46 South African entrepreneurs – many of whom I deeply admire. Meanwhile, a quieter chapter of my life was unfolding: I had decided to sell Ubuntu Baba. I was no longer in the world of newborns, and while the brand had been my heart for years, it no longer felt aligned with my future.

2024

In February of 2024, I handed Ubuntu Baba over to it’s new owner. Exiting the business I’d spent the last 10 years of my life building was bittersweet, a process filled with grief and gratitude, but it honoured the path ahead, giving me both the freedom and capacity to invest fully in the next chapter of my work. It was a year of starting from scratch, letting go of what I’d built, trusting the lessons I’d learned, and stepping more fully into the work that now feels like my true calling: coaching and guiding others toward a life of emotional sovereignty.