who we are
A New Paradigm
Creativity
mindfulness
real world
solutions
Creates lasting social impact
Partners with authorities and decision-makers
Supports conscious driven leaders and changemakers
Free Free is a global movement and award-winning eco-system dedicated to empowering people and organizations to transform lives through building consciousness, creativity and innovation, bridging wellness, community and social impact.
Founded by Aiyahla, Yasmine McDougall Sterea, our story began with a powerful vision of transformation.
THE FREE FREE STORY
Born in Rio de Janeiro to a Brazilian father and English mother, Aiyahla,Yasmine McDougall Sterea’s journey to founding Free Free emerged from personal trauma and transformation. Growing up in Rio’s elite society, she witnessed the stark contrast between outward perfection and private struggles, particularly through her mother’s experience of suppression, and ultimate tragedy when she died by suicide.
After building a successful career over 11 years as an Editor at Vogue, the birth of Aiyahla, Yasmine’s daughter Violeta Lua catalysed a profound healing journey and awakening. When she birthed her daughter, she rebirthed herself and Free Free’s Paradigm. This path led her to begin the mission to uncover creating a pathway for women, humanity and the Earth so we can truly be free. Yasmine studied psychodrama, Jungian psychology, meditation, neuroscience and many consciousness practices and blended this with her background in fashion and art. Following further studies in Social Justice at Harvard University, Aiyahla, Yasmine created the Free Free Methodology, a unique three-part system that now forms the foundation of our transformative programmes. This methodology blends creative expression with consciousness practices, helping people worldwide break free from their own invisible chains and improve their emotional, physical and financial freedom. More than all, this methodology helps individuals and companies shift their own limited perspective to a creative, multidimensional one, where all of us see ourselves as leaders of change, contributing to the Free Free paradigm together.
Today, Free Free honours the legacy of Aiyahla, Yasmine’s mother by empowering the harmony between ourselves and our society to create impactful lasting change in lives and communities.
Yasmine McDougall Sterea
Our Approach
We blend neuroscience, mindfulness and meditation, social justice, the Women, Peace and Security UN framework and fashion, art, sound, and creativity. Our methodology is a cathartic educational methodology in a 3-step to success formula where consciousness mirrors outer actions and vice versa.
At the core of Free Free’s methodology lies a profound understanding that true freedom begins with inner transformation. While our approach is grounded in neuroscience and measurable impact, we recognise that lasting change requires addressing the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. Drawing from mindfulness practices, we help people connect with their deeper purpose and authentic selves.
Through meditation, breathwork, and creative expression, participants learn to move beyond fear-based responses to access their innate wisdom and power. The consciousness element isn’t tied to any particular dogma; rather, it’s about helping people reconnect with their true voice and purpose, creating a foundation for lasting transformation that ripples out into their families, communities, and the world.
Free Free also works directly with high level institutions to inspire systemic change through multidimensional perspectives.
Our ground-breaking methodology has earned recognition from Inspiring Women UN & Berkeley, Glamour, and Forbes, impacting over 50,000 lives with a documented £70M+ global impact.
Our Work
We integrate our methodology across the whole Free Free eco-system – with Free Free Enterprise and our partner businesses, brands, organisations and institutions, with Free Free Paradigm and with the Free Free Foundation work.
We have consulted with global leaders at companies like Unilever, PepsiCo, and Google to co-create impactful communications campaigns and leadership training to grow consciousness and creativity.
We’ve conducted transformative workshops and programmes for over 20,000 survivors of violence worldwide.
Our six-year partnership with Brazil’s Department of Justice demonstrates the methodology’s effectiveness at the governmental level. By training authorities who work with survivors of extreme violence, we’re creating systemic change in how institutions support vulnerable women and men.
Our Expertise
Led by Aiyahla,Yasmine, an ex-Vogue Editor, Harvard Social Justice graduate and Marangoni Institute master’s alumna, Free Free brings together:
- Deep expertise in psychodrama and NLP
- Advanced meditation techniques
- Fashion and art healings
- Corporate leadership development
- Social justice advocacy
- Co-creation experiential and communications campaigns with brands and businesses.
- An alternative to traditional mental health practices through community, mindfulness and impact.
Our
IMPACT
We work tirelessly towards creating a more just and prosperous world for:
- Girls and women seeking freedom
- Boys and men seeking a reconnection with their hearts
- People seeking nature-based response to the tech accelaration
- Leaders that are ready for innovation
- Youth education
- Organisations and businesses driving progress
- Communities embracing transformation.
Inspiring woman of the year 2023
woman of the year 2020
19 woman of 2019
8 entrepreneurs to follow 2022
Meet our Advisory Board
Free Free´s Advisory Board provides strategic guidance and governance oversight to the whole Ecosystem and includes notable leaders across business and academia. Among them are:
Dr. Valeria Scarance
Renowned Brazilian Prosecutor expert in Gender-Based Violence, author and professor of PUC-University (Since 2018)
Daniela Cachich
President of Ambev, offering marketing and strategic support (Since 2019)
Bobby Monteverde
British Council Ambassador and Art Curator offering support in art (since 2024)
Keyun Ruan
Google Chief Security Officer, recently joined offering support on technology, innovation and economics (Since 2024)
Vanessa Ford
TV Producer focused on diverse content, Ex WHO consultant, Co-founder Super Sema (since 2021)
Joana Mariani
Award-Winning Cinema Director, founder of Mar Productions (since 2018)
Marina Barreto
Business Executive with an 18 year career as VP of Brand Strategy at Disney in LA (Since 2025)
Brooke Waterhouse
Co-Founder of POR:TA Association, Founder and Director of Project One Gallery (Since 2022)
“Initiatives that are so beautiful that warms your heart and soul. A big hurrah to the strong women that is the CEO of Free Free who has the mission of helping women to start over.”
DANIELA CACHICH
President Future Beverages Ambev
“Since the first time I heard about Free Free, I wrote a song that hopefully will come out someday. It’s about the power this organization has. The power that women have when they come together. It’s historical.”
GIULIA B
Latin Grammy Nominee
Join Us
Whether you're a leader, or changemaker, Free Free offers tools and support to undress your wounds, let go of perfection, and make a bigger impact in the world.
“We can grow world consciousness through culture and the role that global brands play in our society, we can grow world consciousness through leaders at Paradigm Family, to advance ourselves and our projects, and we can advance world consciousness at a grassroots level, through education and entrepreneurship in vulnerable communities.”
Aiyahla,Yasmine McDougall Sterea
Founder & CEO of FREE FREE