Women of Impact: A Conversation with Katie Brindle
As Aspiga celebrates 20 years of style and soul in 2026, we are reflecting on the stories that define us. Our Women of Impact series isn’t just about professional milestones; it’s about the "invisible architecture" of the mind and the resilience required to navigate life's unexpected turns.
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We’re delighted to introduce the incredible Katie Brindle
An inspiring entrepreneur whose journey is rooted in resilience, reinvention and purpose. From training as an opera singer in London to discovering the transformative power of Chinese Medicine after a life-changing accident, Katie’s path is a powerful reminder that unexpected turns can often lead to the most meaningful destinations. In this conversation, she shares the realities of building a business as a woman, the importance of trusting the right people, and how her definition of success has evolved along the way.
Q: When you were 20, what were you doing and how did that chapter shape who you are today?
"When I was 20, I was an aspiring opera singer, training in London for my dream career. This completely shaped my life, as if I had not had a car accident a few years later, that dream would not have ended and I would never have discovered Chinese Medicine.
It was the pain from this accident that led me into a Chinese Medicine clinic on Edgware Road, where I discovered the transformative power of Chinese massage and body gua sha, which led me on the journey I am still on today."
Q: What was your biggest hurdle, and what helped you move through it?
"Being a woman in business has been the hardest challenge I have faced. It has pushed me in ways nothing else in my life has. I went from being a successful freelance therapist to trying to bring the tools I used in my clinic to what I hoped would be thousands of people. Expanding that reach from one to many has taken over ten years and, at times, has nearly fallen apart.
What has helped me move through it is having the right people around me. Throughout all the difficulties, certain stars have appeared at just the right moments and helped me keep the dream alive and bring it to fruition. Having the right people around you is paramount, you have to know who to trust."
Q: Did you always believe in yourself?
"I do have self belief, I didn’t as a child as I didn’t flourish at school. However, this meant I learnt early that as long as I worked hard and did my best I’d get there in the end. I always draw upon that belief when I am struggling, that I know I’ll get a breakthrough and it will come right."
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Q: What do you think helped you break through the glass ceiling and become successful?
"I think it’s a combination of everything, hard work, grit, resilience and talent but also luck. Luck is a huge factor and I don’t think we talk about that enough. Sometimes you really do need the wind behind you.
I’ve been through significant challenges in business, some quite extraordinary, from fires affecting shipments to launching a product on the day our late Queen passed. It often felt like a cycle of setbacks.
But those experiences build resilience, and over time things begin to shift. Success, for me, has come from staying the course. I now understand why they break champagne bottles on ships!"
Q: How do you define success today?
"Success, for me now, is about balance and being able to spend time with my children and family, and seeing them healthy and happy. That’s what truly matters. My definition has definitely evolved, it’s less about external markers like fame or financial success and more about living well while continuing to share my work in a meaningful way."
Q: Looking back, what would you say to your younger self?
"If I met my younger self the first thing I would say is to own your power and to have faith that the universe has its own unique timeline for you.
Have patience and do not start comparing yourself to others out there. Alongside owning your power I'd also have to tell her, don't worry about men and stop stressing about losing weight and having a negative narrative with your body. You look absolutely lovely."
Q: What is one belief you wish every woman carried?
"To be yourself and not to believe in the narrative so many of us are sold. So many of us that were born in the 20th century believe in stereotypes. You don't have to be rich to be happy, you don't need to be successful, you don't need to be stereotypically beautiful and you don't need to be validated."
Make sure to go and follow us @Aspigalondon and @katie_brindle on Instagram and stay tuned for more Women of Impact.
