ABOUT US
UNPOUCHED was created by me: Gemma Louise McNamara. I’ve lived with an ostomy for almost a decade. Over 30 surgeries. More still to come.
Before illness, life looked very different.
Dance. Football. Ice hockey. Taekwondo. Catwalks. I had plans. Direction. Movement. Then everything changed.
The past 18 years have been a mix of survival and rebuilding - long periods bed bound, repeated surgeries, and learning how to trust life again from the ground up.
But I never stopped creating. Even at my lowest, I kept building - design, IT, websites, digital spaces. Things that gave me purpose when my body couldn’t. I’ve been creating online since the early MySpace days, helping people from all walks of life grow, connect, and be seen.
UNPOUCHED is built from survival, creativity, and resilience. And this is only the beginning.
Before illness, life looked very different.
Dance. Football. Ice hockey. Taekwondo. Catwalks. I had plans. Direction. Movement. Then everything changed.
The past 18 years have been a mix of survival and rebuilding - long periods bed bound, repeated surgeries, and learning how to trust life again from the ground up.
But I never stopped creating. Even at my lowest, I kept building - design, IT, websites, digital spaces. Things that gave me purpose when my body couldn’t. I’ve been creating online since the early MySpace days, helping people from all walks of life grow, connect, and be seen.
UNPOUCHED is built from survival, creativity, and resilience. And this is only the beginning.
✦ This platform isn’t built from theory. It’s built from lived experience.✦
Our Mission
UNPOUCHED is a fashion and lifestyle media platform for people living with an ostomy and their carers - created by someone who lives it.
It exists to bring visibility to a space that has been ignored for too long. Living with an ostomy changes everything - physically, mentally, emotionally. UNPOUCHED reflects that reality without filters, shame, or dilution. Through real stories and lived experiences, it challenges stigma, builds confidence, and reminds people they are not alone.
But this goes beyond storytelling. We are actively pushing for change - including better UK toilet and public facility standards. Right now, many spaces are still not built for ostomy users. Basic needs are being overlooked. That has to change. Every issue, every feature, every voice is part of that shift - bringing ostomy life into fashion, media, and everyday visibility.
Looking forward, UNPOUCHED is expanding into: digital print, model representation, fashion and catwalk showcases. This is about visibility at every level. This isn’t just a magazine.
This is a movement. This is UNPOUCHED.
It exists to bring visibility to a space that has been ignored for too long. Living with an ostomy changes everything - physically, mentally, emotionally. UNPOUCHED reflects that reality without filters, shame, or dilution. Through real stories and lived experiences, it challenges stigma, builds confidence, and reminds people they are not alone.
But this goes beyond storytelling. We are actively pushing for change - including better UK toilet and public facility standards. Right now, many spaces are still not built for ostomy users. Basic needs are being overlooked. That has to change. Every issue, every feature, every voice is part of that shift - bringing ostomy life into fashion, media, and everyday visibility.
Looking forward, UNPOUCHED is expanding into: digital print, model representation, fashion and catwalk showcases. This is about visibility at every level. This isn’t just a magazine.
This is a movement. This is UNPOUCHED.