Health / Wellbeing
Women’s collective looks to promote ‘authentic wellbeing’
Rebel Girls Club, a Bristol-based, women-focused collective, is launching their most ambitious project to date: a year-long wellbeing programme.
Founded by Jessica Mercedes and co-lead by Nicola Corrigan, Rebel Girls Club (RGC) is a volunteer-led non-profit for women, trans women and non-binary people.
Despite both working full-time jobs, they’ve built a warm and inclusive network blending scientific, holistic and creative practices to foster connection and self-acceptance.
Nicola Corrigan and Jessica Mercedes run the Rebel Girls Club – photo: Amelia Shaw
Nicola first joined RGC after attending one of their self-love and confidence courses in 2022.
“Honestly, it changed my life,” she said.
“It is a beautiful, safe community space to connect with other women and really give yourself time to do a bit of internal reflection.”
For her, the power of RGC lies in the community it creates.
Rebel Girls Club host a number of different workshops and events to promote community and wellbeing – photo: Rebel Girls Club
She said: “The biggest part is the connection.
“There’s always so much love in the room at all our sessions.
“Everyone genuinely wants to know the person next to them.”
Jessica added: “There’s something profound and sacred about wanting to feel safe and trust the people around you.
“That’s the bare bones of what we’re trying to create.”
Since launching in 2021, RGC has delivered courses on body image, self-love and confidence, hosted wellbeing spaces at festivals, presented radio shows and run regular community drop-ins.
The core crew, facilitators and volunteers work several events – photo: Rebel Girls Club
Now, after securing new funding, they are stepping into their next chapter: a 12-month wellbeing programme.
Structured around the seasons, the programme will be divided into four blocks and offer between six and twelve sessions in each phase.
The winter block offers a wide range of sessions including cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy, trauma-informed rage-and-release journaling and reflective astrology workshops.
They explained: “We’ve worked with such a broad range of women-led practitioners over the years, everything from menstrual health and vocal coaching to judo, art therapy and voice activation.
“The programme pulls together the best of all of it, just spread out over a year instead of being squeezed into six intense weeks.”
The group aims to offer classes and sessions to promote “authentic wellbeing” – photo: Rebel Girls Club
The programme is designed as a direct challenge to how mainstream self-care has become commercialised.
“Women and non-binary people’s wellbeing is commodified,” Jessica explained.
“There’s a lot of profit to be made from making people feel insecure.
“There is something to buy for every part of our bodies – from our toes to our hair. Everything.”
Instead, RGC hopes to offer what they call “authentic wellbeing” – something softer, more human and unapologetically imperfect.
They explained: “We’re stepping away from a prescribed, very dull, very serious wellbeing.
“We would define wellbeing as something uniquely yours.
“We’re not gatekeepers, we don’t have all the answers.
“But we will hold space and help you find out what brings you joy and what makes you feel calm.”
Rebel Girls Club’s new programme aims to spread “healing, silliness, creativity, movement and joy” – photo: Rebel Girls Club
Accessibility, inclusivity and equality sit at the heart of RGC’s ethos – and the new programme is no exception, with every aspect designed to remove potential barriers.
Sessions will run on a staggered pricing model, with low-cost tickets available for those on reduced incomes.
Each season will also include free solidarity spaces for marginalised groups such as refugee women, trans women and people experiencing homelessness.
Jessica added: “It should go without saying that we are anti-ageist, anti-transphobic, anti-ableist, anti-classist, anti-homophobic, anti-sexist and anti-racist.”
Workshops will be hosted across several Bristol venues to ensure accessibility throughout the city.
The programme will open with a sold-out launch event on Wednesday, showcasing the breadth of Bristol’s women-led wellbeing scene.
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Guests can expect yoga, friendship speed-dating, burlesque performances, tarot readings, massage stations and more.
They will also be joined by community groups such as Bristol Latina and Refugee Women of Bristol, who will be running stalls and taking part in the celebrations.
“It’s basically a welcome into what the year ahead will feel like,” Jess said. “A blend of healing, silliness, creativity, movement and joy.”
Looking ahead, RGC hopes to one day establish a permanent home for the collective: a dedicated space for workshops, community circles, wellbeing sessions and low-cost room hire for women practitioners.
“Somewhere women can just come, rest, connect and belong,” Nicola explained.
For now, they hope that their year-long programme can mark a defining moment, proving that wellbeing doesn’t have to be polished, but instead shared, messy, collective and deeply human.
Main photo: Rebel Girls Club
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