Always nice to have a chat with you, we’ve not known each other that long but it seems you really seem to dig our little comic shop tucked away in Halfway in Sheffield.

'I’ve been hooked on superheroes since I was a child. Probably starting with The Incredibles and a cartoon show called Krypto The Superdog I just had to watch everyday before school. A few years later I discovered Spiderman, the X-Men, and a little-known Tim Allen movie my parents had on DVD called Zoom. Eventually, Ironman became my favourite hero. By age 15 my bedroom was Ironman themed, with posters and figurines, bedsheets, and an ironman mask-shaped lamp made to look as though it crashed through the wall (which I thought was the coolest thing ever at the time). During college I discovered She Hulk while rummaging through a local comic book stall, instantly becoming my new favourite. I managed to collect every piece of merch I could find, which wasn’t a lot back then as she was still pretty unknown. I’d also dress as Cat Woman with my friends (who chose Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn) for regular local comic-cons. I’m not sure what it is about superheroes that grabbed my attention at such a young age, but I still haven’t grown out of it. My younger sister is a Paramedic now, so she’s like a real lifesuperhero in my eyes.'

I love hearing what cartoons people watched growing up, each decade brought a new era of cartoon story telling. I remember watching the 90's X-Men with my two older brothers and falling in love with Gambits voice. I think they are so relatable to young people trying to find community and acceptance. X-Men especially is based on people who feel different and are discriminated against just because of who they are. People do idolise superheroes but your sister is a real superhero doing the everyday saving that we should all aspire to. We obviously invited you to our HQ after seeing your socials, you have an impressive following online but is it something that you set out to achieve or has it grown organically? 

I only really gained a genuine online following when I began speaking publicly about my chest deformity. Up to that point, I had mostly posted about my love for superheroes and collectibles but it wasn’t really taking off, so I switched to more fashion and lifestyle content. Once I opened up about my rare birth defect I began to gain followers quite rapidly, which I never expected. It wasn’t part of a plan, I just hoped to show other women that they aren’t alone. I felt very embarrassed believing nobody else would ever relate to my struggles, and just wanted to find others to connect with. I’ve heard from thousands of women around the world since then, and became kind of ‘the face’ of female Poland Syndrome for a while, since no other woman was publicly known for it at the time. Once newspapers and magazines picked up on the story, my accounts grew even more and that brought me to where I am today. I’m grateful that since growing my account, I’ve been able to go back to my roots of sharing my original interests so I can continue to actually enjoy what I do.

I think you're very brave to be open about yourself, I'm sure you've experienced some down sides but it obviously has helped others because of the responsive you've received by fellow people with the same condition. It's good to hear that you can focus on making content about your interests as well as raising awareness. You do seem so confident and relaxed in the images you post online. On social media I know it can feel very visual and people forget that there is a person behind every post, decision, photo. You seem very open about yourself but are you an outgoing person?

I really struggled a lot with socialising as a young person. I’ve been diagnosed with Autism, which makes sense. I couldn’t maintain eye contact with strangers for such a long time and became so obsessed with my interests it became detrimental at some points. I struggled to connect with other girls my age as not many had the same love for superheroes, cartoons, anime, videogames, and toy collections while that’s all I could ever talk about. I worked hard through therapy to grow into an adult that I’m comfortable with being. I feel a lot more confident in myself now and (think) I do a better job at putting myself out there. I eventually found really great connections with other people that make me feel as though I can be myself without embarrassment, but I still feel inside like I’ll always be the same awkward teenager and everybody can see that it doesn't come naturally to me. I wouldn’t consider myself to be ‘extroverted’ but I’ve learned that forcing myself to get out of my comfort zone despite the anxiety has opened up a lot of doors for me that I would’ve missed out on if I’d never taken the leap. I post the best parts of my life on social media (and sometimes the worst parts too as proof I’m still human) but I don’t show that most of the time I’m comfortably isolating myself in a room surrounded by my favourite collections enjoying my own company in silence, because that would look pretty boring... But I like my boring.


The world can be a dark place if you don't have people around you who genuinely care about you but it sound like you've found the right people now. I also think that in this fast paced modern society it can be over whelming and enjoying quiet/boring moments is essential. Sorry to keep going back to your socials but I just think it's so great what you're doing. You've done some photoshoots to help raise awareness to Poland Syndrome and you mention it a lot in your posts. Can you tell us why you are so passionate about sharing information about it?

When I first realised that I have Poland Syndrome, I couldn’t find any other women online that looked like me. I hoped that by sharing my own photos, those women could find me instead… And they did! I know from personal experience how representation matters. Seeing someone that looks like you with all your insecurities can severely improve your mental health, because you’re suddenly not alone anymore. I’ve heard from women that felt as though they needed to have breast augmentation surgery because it was expected of them as women, not because they actually wanted to. I chose not to have the surgery because I’m comfortable in my body, and don’t care what other people think about it. I am more than just my chest or my ability to attract men, and if others can’t see past that then they aren’t the type of people I want to impress. I don’t need validation from anyone else to decide what I should do with my own skin, and I hope to inspire other young women to feel the same. As an ambassador for the charity PIP UK I’ve met lots of people from around the world with this condition, raised money to host a Poland Syndrome clinic at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and modelled on fashion runways too. Thankfully, there’s a whole bunch of younger generation girls with this condition stepping forward now. I’m really glad to see it.

It must be very fulfilling to know you've helped, feel part of and made an impact on so many women who have felt the same insecurities. And I'm sure it's not just the syndrome, it's any reason, even women who have had mastectomy's/breast surgery etc. You should be very proud and sound like you've managed a sense of peace in yourself a lot of people never find. I know the word ‘influencer’ can get a bad reputation sometimes but Would you call yourself an influencer in the fact that you are trying to raise awareness and help others with your honest posts?

I don’t call myself an ‘influencer’ really, I feel more like a “content creator” (which might just be the same thing). I never expected to grow a big following, and back at the start I didn’t even know that people could earn a living from social media. I kind of just fell into it and watched my community grow, but I’m so grateful and consider myself to be very lucky that I can benefit from sharing my hobbies and interests. I think social media has been a great way to connect with like-minded people and has improved my life significantly. I do understand how the term ‘influencer’ has become a negative word for lots of people, as it now feels like everyone is trying to sell you something they don’t truly believe in. Nothing feels authentic if everyone is being paid to pretend. But I hope people can see that I am truly passionate about the things I recommend or support, and my historical posts from before my ‘influencing’ days can back me up. I’m not trying to keep up with what’s trendy for the next few months, I want to continuously encourage unashamedly embracing the things we love to keep individuality alive. If it all disappeared tomorrow and I couldn’t post on my own accounts anymore, my passion would still always be for creating visual content that inspires, educates, or entertains others (I studied film and media in college for a good reason) so my ideal job would be to do this for a company that I truly enjoy. But right now, I’m experiencing a lot of things I never thought would be possible for someone like me, and I’m just grateful to be here.


That is one of the reasons I wanted to chat with you as a fellow comic fan so our customers would know you genuinely love comics. I think most people can tell the difference between someone who is just selling products or love what they're discussing. You seem like you care about people and yourself and I'm sure will keep inspiring and making a difference. I could chat with you all day Becca, Thank you for answering a few questions about yourself and good luck with all your future adventures. I'm sure we will meet up soon but you know you're welcome at HQ anytime.