Meet a Maverick: Tatiana Zdyb
I’ve worked with Tatiana since 2015. I am always so incredibly grateful when clients trust me over so many years. I do not take it for granted. Tatiana Zdyb earned her PhD, built her first company, and kept building from there. She’s a founder several times over. She’s also, in her own words, VERY introverted, which tells you something about what all that building actually cost her. She is proof that labels are not constraints. Her work now is about meeting people in their hardest questions with depth and meaning instead of a diagnosis and a label. When she saw her photos, she said she felt confident again, with less shame. That’s the part that stays with me. She chose this photo because it embraces her femininity, sense of wonder and play. Here’s Tatiana, in her own words.
What does being a ‘maverick’ mean to you?
Audacious, unconventional, independent.
Tell us about a time you felt powerful, proud, or truly yourself.
When I got my PhD, when I started my first company, every time I choose to walk in victory and freedom.
What’s something most people don’t know about you, but should?
That I am introverted… VERY introverted.
What legacy are you building or living?
I am building an infrastructure for a world where complexity is celebrated, crisis transforms and human flourishing happens through philosophical depth rather than medical diagnosis. I am aiming to restore dignity to the struggle that is often part of the human experience. To create an ecosystem where existential questions are honoured as wisdom-seeking rather than pathologized as disorder, where professional crisis becomes a crucible for transformation rather than a source of shame, and where people can grow through depth, meaning and integration rather than diagnosis, labels and fragmentation.
What message would you share with other women who are still finding their voice or their confidence?
This is Simone de Beauvoir:
“Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”
It’s an adaptation of her philosophy: one is not born with a voice; one becomes it through courage, practice, and freedom.
How did you feel seeing yourself in this portrait experience? What shifted for you?
I felt confident again, less shame.
If you could describe yourself in three words today, what would they be?
Tenacious. Audacious. Brave.
I have overcome things that would have left most people curled up in a corner, hiding for the rest of their lives.
Find Tatiana
Tatiana is the founder of Audacity Health, where she brings psychology, philosophy, and meaning together to help people move through the hard parts of being human. If she resonated with you, here’s where to find her.
- Audacity Health: audacityhealth.ca
Our collaborative partners:
- Hair & Makeup: Samantha Blatnicky Makeup + Lash Artist · @samanthablatnicky · samanthablatnicky.com
- Amanda Hair Artist · instagram.com
Location: Anita Watkins Photography, London, Ontario
