My Strong Women Blog Series features ladies who are boss babes AND boudoir babes. These women deserve to be celebrated for their spirit, entrepreneurship, and beauty. This month my Strong Woman is Samantha Theobald, Independent Damsel Pro and Senior Mentor with Damsel In Defense, a brand that equips, empowers, and educates women through self-defense products and training.

If you’re part of my VIP Facebook group, you already know that one of my mantras is that there are plenty of crowns to go around. So I turn to my go-to list of friends whose businesses I love to support when I’m in the market for some new jewelry, makeup, or hey, even tupperware.

But how many of you have a go-to stun gun lady? 

Yep, you read that right. Samantha is my go-to stun gun lady. This strong woman has built a booming career around equipping and educating women when it comes to all things self-defense. Keep reading to learn more about her business and get a behind-the-scenes peek into her boudoir shoot experience.

Samantha got her start as a Damsel several years ago when she was a single mother working for the government in law enforcement support. She always loved the entrepreneurial spirit of the direct sales business and saw a golden opportunity in this brand new niche market. But what really drew her to the brand is the fact that it was so much more than simply selling products - she was changing lives.

Not only does Samantha equip women of all ages and from all walks of life with stun guns; pepper spray; alarms; and more, but she also educates them on how to be confident in their ability to properly use these products if the situation ever arises through her “Empower Hour.” During this 60 minute session Samantha educates her clients about the different levels of protection with a personalized approach in a relaxed environment. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather learn about these products while I’m having a glass of wine with my friends than being intimidated in a gun shop.

I jumped at the chance to feature Samantha this month because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Throughout her years as a Damsel, Samantha has made it her mission to prevent as many women as possible from becoming victims. She shared that the best thing anyone who may be facing an abusive situation can do is to “get some product in their hand...so that they start to feel a little bit secure and to up their awareness about what is going on around them...When you are empowered, you’re less likely to be a victim.” Samantha told me that although she knows she can’t save them all, she takes pride in knowing that may be potentially preventing one more victim of violence. Truly, we both got a little teary talking about some of the stories she’s experienced.

But not only is Samantha a Strong Woman in her business life, she also rocked our boudoir session like she’s been in front of a camera her whole life. She shared some of her thoughts on the process with me that I know will resonate with so many of you reading this.

Samantha confessed that she had thought about booking a session for a long time, but was afraid to pull the trigger. Her recent marriage and upcoming milestone birthday finally gave her the nudge she needed to give me a call. And while we all agree it’s a big investment, I love what Samantha said when I asked her what made it worth it - 

“I’m worth it!”

I mean, seriously, we all need to take a page out of Samantha’s book.

She also insisted that every woman should do a boudoir shoot at one point in their lives because “it showed me that I could do something out of my comfort zone but that I wanted to do and I gave myself permission to do it.” Think about that. There are things that all of us WANT to do, but how often do we give ourselves the PERMISSION to actually go out and do it. See why I wanted to feature Samantha as my very first Strong Woman? That’s exactly what she is.

To learn more about Damsel in Defense and to chat with Samantha you can visit her on Facebook or at her website.