45: I've Lived Six Different Lives with Kloé Mallard

What happens when the thing you built your identity around suddenly disappears? In this episode of 10,000 Tabs, Kim sits down with performer, creative, event planner, and storyteller Kloé Mallard for a conversation about identity, reinvention, grief, and learning how to rebuild yourself after life changes direction unexpectedly. At just 30 years old, Kloé says she feels like she’s already lived six different lives. From studying music in Chicago to performing on cruise ships around the world, losing her voice and falling into depression, rebuilding her life through school and corporate work, and now stepping into a caregiving role for her mother, this conversation explores what it means to keep evolving when every version of your life asks something different of you. Together, Kim and Khloé talk about the pressure to perform, the emotional complexity of outgrowing old identities, and the reality that many workplaces don’t actually want our “full authentic selves”—despite what modern work culture claims. This episode is about adaptation, self-worth, creativity, survival, and the quiet fear so many people carry: Do other people think I’m doing this right? Kim and Kloé discuss: Losing the identity you built your life around Grief, depression, and rebuilding after sudden loss What performing on a cruise ship was really like Starting over in corporate America Why adaptability is both a survival skill and a superpower Whether it's really possible to bring your “full authentic self” to work Code-switching, reading the room, and learning how to navigate different environments Finding ways to stay creative inside of conventional structures About The Show 10,000 Tabs is a podcast about career change, reinvention, and what happens when life no longer fits the way it used to. Each episode explores the moments when something shifts—when the version of life or work that once made sense no longer fits, and the next chapter hasn’t fully revealed itself yet. Through candid conversations with founders, creatives, leaders, and everyday people, the show explores how we make meaning, find clarity, and move forward anyway. Mentions & Links Kloé Mallard LinkedIn Kim Wensel Website | Instagram | LinkedIn