117: We Empower! with Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès von Hattburg - Episode 117117: We Empower! with Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternès von Hattburg - Episode 117
UK Health Radio Podcast
Guya Merkle and Lisa Morris share candid stories about ethical gold, sustainability, impact investing and storytelling, reflecting on how small, brave choices can reshape systems and personal lives. The conversation blends luxury, responsibility and everyday courage to question what true success and legacy might look like.
50:38•7 Nov 2026
Gold, Roller Skates and Real Change: Guya Merkle and Lisa Morris on We Empower
Episode Overview
- Sustainability is more than a trend word; genuine impact and transparency matter more than chasing perfect labels.
- Luxury can be a way to support communities when products are created with clear sourcing and shared value in mind.
- Impact investment and innovative finance models can support sustainable solutions while still generating returns.
- Storytelling helps people connect emotionally with issues, turning abstract problems into shared human experiences.
- Small acts of courage – such as talking to strangers or saying yes to new roles – can trigger meaningful life changes.
“It’s not about losing. We would win so much as a whole society and we would win freedom and we would win peace.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey and wider life changes? This episode of *We Empower* on UK Health Radio brings together jewellery entrepreneur Guya Merkle and impact investor and theatre producer Lisa Morris for a frankly inspiring hour about responsibility, purpose and doing things differently. The tone is warm, conversational and occasionally playful – dachshunds on roller skates and vampire hairbands both make an appearance – but the themes go deep.
Guya talks about growing up in a jewellery family, inheriting her father’s company, watching it go bankrupt, and then standing in a Peruvian gold mine with a Rimowa suitcase and “losing her belief in humanity” for a moment. That shock becomes her fuel for ethical gold, transparent luxury and her foundation supporting mining communities. As she puts it, “It’s not about losing.
We would win so much as a whole society and we would win freedom and we would win peace.” You’ll hear her challenge the idea of sustainability as a marketing buzzword, arguing that real impact and system change matter more than perfect labels. She’s blunt that fully sustainable products often aren’t possible in current systems, yet insists that every purchase and business decision can still make life better for others.
Lisa picks up the thread from a different angle: performance, business, investing and storytelling. A former musical theatre performer who started a travel company on tour, she now backs climate tech, impact ventures and theatre projects that aim for both financial and emotional returns. For her, storytelling is “the most powerful tool” because it helps people feel data instead of just hearing it.
Together, they talk about sustainable investing, circular thinking, everyday courage and the tiny social risks – saying hello at the checkout, chatting to a taxi driver – that can change your life direction. If you’re asking yourself how to live more honestly and responsibly, while still enjoying beauty and comfort, this conversation might be the nudge you need. What small shift could you make today to turn your values into action?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.