Our co-founder, Christal Earle, has been a professional speaker, writer and communicator since 2000. She has trained and worked with hundreds of emerging speakers and communicators and was the leading inspiration behind a movement that has reached hundreds of thousands of lives through presentations on campuses across North America.

Over the years, she has spoken in many countries and to many audiences around the power of purpose and vision, and has shared her own story of challenges and resilience.

Now, Christal is focused on speaking and working with event planners and organizations that are in line with our vision and values here at Brave Soles: people who are looking to create change on a bigger scale, from the ground up.

She specializes in speaking on

• social change opportunities

• personal leadership

• the power of changing the stories we believe about what's possible

Christal's top five target audiences

• young adults and emerging leaders
• women's leadership events
• social change forums/summits
• leadership conferences
• entrepreneurial events

three biggest reasons she loves to speak to audiences

• to inspire other change makers to ask better questions about what's possible
• to spark creative thinking and ideas in her audience
• to give hope to those who may need to be reminded of their own resilience and tenacity

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel and volunteer with Christal, she is exceptional at captivating any audience with her words. Her kind spirit shines through everything that she does and says which is more than inspiring.”  

~ Danielle Clouse, H. R., Golf Canada 

"Christal inspires, challenges and calls every audience to higher place. Her life is proof that hope and change are possible and her messages will show you how."

~ Kristina Paider, Kristinapaider.com

Christal is an absolute joy to have at the Ontario Student Leadership Conference. She has become an integral part of our speaker line-up each year, and we always hear the most positive feedback about her sessions from our conference attendees. She is easy to talk to, identify with, and as such, the students find her message captivating and engaging. She has the ability to make my day brighter with one e-mail. Her positive attitude and kind demeanour make her wonderful to work with.

~ Erin Marshall, YLCC Canada

Why did you decide to become a social entrepreneur (Specifically your personal drivers/motivators)?

Christal (co-founder and CEO) had been working and learning from a local community of garbage dump workers since 2005 on the North Coast of Dominican Republic. Every day she worked at that garbage dump was an adventure in laughter, connection, and the hard truths about our shared humanity. There were, however, also a heartbreaking amount of tires. They were a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying deadly diseases and they were a toxic nightmare.

In 2010, an unexpected turn of events in Christal’s journey left her facing the fact that she was going to have to rebuild her life between two countries. She was now a single parent who was torn between Canada where her career was based and the Dominican Republic where her adopted daughter couldn’t leave. Like many single parents around the world, she figured out a way to make it work.

But all the time, the question was still there: “What could be done with all the tires that are dumped everywhere?” In early 2017, the idea struck for the first time. Why not use tires for soles on beautiful hand made shoes - and create a way to help the most vulnerable people in the process?

What were you doing before starting your own enterprise (why did you switch over Brave Soles)?

Before Brave Soles, Christal was a Co-Founder for an international youth humanitarian organization, helping to make a difference in lives all over.

Can you identify how you became interested in this particular social opportunity (Why this sector)?

Can you describe the process you went through to evaluate the feasibility of Brave Soles?

Based on the previous question, what adjustments did you have to make as a result?

We had to make a tonne of adjustments. The first thing we did was get clear on our inventory and processes and we had to figure out how to cash flow our business better. It was painful but we made it.

Looking back during the start-up process, what were the 3 biggest challenges you faced, or are currently facing?

Christal launched Brave Soles in 2017 with $250. The money came from someone who would have never expected that she was going to start a conscious fashion brand. With that small amount of money, she had several shoes designed and had her friends wear test them and give her feedback. Probably the three biggest challenges we have faced are cash flow, inventory management and creating clear sales processes.

What are your future goals for the company?

We are also moving to use multiple suppliers and artisans from within the country of Dominican Republic for our shoes and bags. All of our suppliers are highly regulated by us and outside agencies and we know each of them personally and, in some instances, we consider them to be mentors and guides for us along the way.

What do you use as a metric measure for success?