Tuning In

According to the American Cancer Society, “more than 100,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed annually.” Of that population, roughly 1.1% to 20.4% of people diagnosed with melanoma may receive a second diagnosis in their lifetime. The organization also reports that the average age at diagnosis is 66.

Wilmington transplant EVONNE VARADY is among those who have been diagnosed with melanoma twice. She was significantly younger than the national average, having been just thirty-two years old when she was first diagnosed in 2006.

“I ended up getting melanoma and got a pretty good scare, and I found out that life was too short to end it that shortly,” says Varady, co-founder of Clean Eatz and host of the Rebel Rootz podcast.

Her diagnosis ultimately served as a wake-up call and changed the trajectory of her life. It led her to move to Wilmington, where she and her husband, DON, would go on to franchise their thriving business Clean Eatz – a meal prep and delivery service – and launch her podcast, Rebel Rootz.

Prior to her diagnosis, Varady described herself as a farm kid from Hillsboro, Illinois. She worked as an X-ray technician and also taught kickboxing classes on the side.

“There was a group of ladies in the back of the classroom, and they were talking about how they couldn’t lose weight,” Varady says. “They were working out, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m meal prepping. I would be happy to make your meals for you.’ I did that, and then within six weeks they had all lost their weight.”

From there, Clean Eatz began to take shape. Today, the company has grown into a franchise with more than 120 locations across twenty states. Varady has also made a few QVC appearances, sharing different meals and preps.

While attending the Arnold Sports Festival in Ohio, Varady met JEN HENDERSHOTT, who was Miss Olympia at the time. On a whim, Hendershott encouraged her to move to Wilmington, and Varady ran with the idea. At the time, she was drawn to the idea of living “near the beach, sand, and sun.”

“I looked on Craigslist for some businesses here that were for sale, and 203 Racine Drive was on there for sale, and I put that in MapQuest and drove 22 hours to that location,” Varady says. “I fell in love with Wilmington, and we moved here three months later. We opened up the cafe in 2013, and then we ended up franchising it in 2015.”

That franchising success eventually led to the creation of her Rebel Rootz podcast, where Varady “sits down with trailblazers who ditched the safe path and dug deep to grow something extraordinary.” Through the show, she shares unfiltered stories that explore her guests’ motivations and what sustained them through difficult seasons.

For Varady, one of her most challenging moments came when she walked into her one-hundredth franchise location – and felt nothing. Reaching one hundred units is a major milestone, as only about 3% of franchises ever hit that mark.

“They either stop growing or they fail, and you’re always considered emerging until you hit that number,” Varady said. “When I walked through the door, I felt nothing. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have been wanting this for seven years. I got it, and I don’t have excitement.’”

It was in those moments that she got the idea to start Rebel Rootz.

“There are so many people around us locally that have such amazing stories that are more relatable to someone who is in the more successful shoes, and that’s what I want to do,” she says. “I want to tell badass women’s stories that everyone can relate to that didn’t seem like it was such out of reach, not to be able to obtain that success.”

Almost a year later, Rebel Rootz, which can be found on audio streaming platforms and full videos on YouTube (@RebelRootzShow) is still releasing weekly episodes, featuring a diverse range of guests. Much like its name, Varady feels that the podcast has helped her return to her roots.

When looking for her next podcast guests, Varady strives to “find unique stories, someone who is doing something that is outside of the realm, and how they had passion to start it and the guts to pull it off and how they’re successful in what they’re doing.”

“I’ve had a girl who lost her leg during a 4th of July accident, and now she’s training for Special Olympics,” Varady says. “I have another one who picked up her entire life and moved to Costa Rica. Another lady, she has made over 600 coats out of quilts that no one wanted anymore.”

As she nears the one-year mark of her podcast, one of the biggest lessons she’s learned from her journey thus far is “life throws a lot of curve balls at you.”

“The thing is, I feel like women are so much more fortunate than we think that we are,” she says. “I think sometimes we fight for so much as women to make sure that we’re heard and that we are being seen for our accomplishments and success, we forget who we are. I think that’s where I was when I hit that one-hundredth location. I was living for this goal, and then I crossed the finish line, and I had forgotten everything else.”

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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