Episode 14

EP14: Finding Light, Holding On Tight and Healing through Entrepreneurship (Part 2) with Richie Barlow

Published on: 18th September, 2025

EP14: Finding Light, Holding On Tight and Healing through Entrepreneurship (Part 2) with Richie Barlow


In the conclusion of this two-part conversation, Richie Daiches Barlow returns to share what happened after he aged out of the UK state care system—abandoned, robbed, and utterly alone. What followed was unlikely, healing, and deeply powerful.

Starting with a pair of rescue dogs named Jack and Ernie, Richie found a new purpose—and inadvertently founded one of the UK’s top-rated pet care franchisesThe Dog Walker. But this episode is about far more than dog walking. It’s about transformationtrust, and the invisible work of healing from trauma.

🐾 In this episode, Richie talks about:

  • How dog walking changed his life—and why it’s “not just a walk in the park”
  • How his past shaped his deep empathy and his commitment to service
  • The trauma-informed principles that guide his leadership today
  • Building systems that protect—not exploit—others
  • Becoming a volunteer police constable to serve and repair the very system that once failed him
  • The love and safety he finally found with his husband, Ben

🔗 

Related Resources & Links



🧠 Trauma-Informed Systems


  • 🧰 The RISE Framework – Recognize, Inquire, Support, and Empower
  • A trauma-informed response tool designed for caregivers and systems seeking to provide compassionate, individualized support.
  • 🧭 TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) – Learn more at tcomtraining.com
  • A person-centered framework focused on healing, transformation, and shared language across helping systems.
  • 🧒 Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – CDC resource on ACEs

💬 Favorite Quote:


“I started living when I met Ben—not just surviving, living.”


🎧 Catch Up or Revisit


📍 Missed Part 1? Listen to S2 EP13: “I Just Wanted It to End” to hear Richie’s childhood story of survival inside the UK care system.

If this conversation moved you, please consider:

  • Leaving a review or rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
  • Sharing this episode with someone working in care, education, or justice
  • Exploring more about trauma-informed careyouth advocacy, and healing-centered leadership


Transcript

S2 EP14_Richie Barlow Part 2

===

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

[:

All Episodes Previous Episode
Show artwork for Shift Shift Bloom

About the Podcast

Shift Shift Bloom
A TCOM Podcast About People and Change
Shift Shift Bloom is a podcast examining how people change, why they change, and how they sustain the changes that are most important to them in their everyday lives. Our guests consider themselves change makers, change embracers and change resistors — we’re all somewhere on that spectrum at different times in our lives, aren’t we? Conversations with host Kristen Cerelli explore the impact of mindset, personality, life circumstances, communities of support and sources of inspiration on the process of transformation. Illuminating how change can be both deeply personal and profoundly universal is the show's guiding principle.

Shift Shift Bloom is produced by host Kristen Cerelli and audio engineer Timothy Fall at ActuallyQuiteNice, a full-service media studio. They develop the show in collaboration with Dr. John Lyons, Director of The Praed Foundation, which supports the development and dissemination of systems improvement strategies called Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management, or TCOM. Online at https://praedfoundation.org, and https://tcomconversations.org.
Support This Show

About your hosts

Kristen Cerelli

Profile picture for Kristen Cerelli
Host Kristen Cerelli created Shift Shift Bloom in collaboration with Dr. John Lyons of the Center for Innovation in Population Health at the University of Kentucky. She's also an actor, singer-songwriter and performance coach.

John Lyons

Profile picture for John Lyons
John S. Lyons, Ph.D. is the Directory of the Center for Innovation in Population Health and a Professor of Health Management. He is a luminary in mental health policy and practice, and the original developer of TCOM and its associated tools and approaches.

Timothy Fall

Profile picture for Timothy Fall
Multimedia producer Timothy Fall creates Shift Shift Boom alongside Kristen Cerelli at ActuallyQuiteNice Studios, where they make podcasts and films and music and dinner.