Michelle 'Mace' Curran | Only the 2nd Woman Ever to Fly Lead Solo for the Thunderbirds!

Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe

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Society & Culture, Tv & Film, Comedy, Talk Radio

4.4 • 21.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#872. From flying fighter jets to inspiring audiences worldwide, Michelle “MACE” Curran’s story soars above and beyond. Once a shy small-town kid battling social anxiety, she went on to become the Lead Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds—one of the most elite positions in aviation.

In this episode, Mace shares what it really takes to become a fighter pilot, the near-catastrophic flight that earned her the call sign “Mace,” and the reality of often being the only woman in the room. She and Kaitlyn dive into her new book The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower, unpacking the tools she uses to turn fear into confidence and why boldness is built—not born.

From high-G turns in the cockpit to captivating keynote stages, Mace proves that bravery isn’t about being fearless—it’s about showing up anyway.

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

(4:03)– The Moment She Knew She Wanted to Fly Fighter Jets
(24:00) – The Story Behind the Call Sign “Mace”
(29:30) – Becoming Only The 2nd Woman as Lead Solo Pilot
(51:35) – How Mace Met Her Husband on Bumble
(58:25) – Turning Fear Into a Superpower

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Off The Vine is brought to you by Progressive.
0:03.5	Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance.
0:07.0	BetterHelp, off the Vine listeners, you're going to get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp,
0:11.7	h-elp.com slash vine.
0:14.8	Wayfair, cozify your space with Wayfair's curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates.
0:20.7	That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com. Wayfair's curated collection of easy, affordable fall updates. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com.
0:24.4	Wayfair, every style, every home.
0:26.4	And Lady World, come join me for a really fun weekend.
0:29.2	I might even be performing a couple songs.
0:31.7	So get your tickets now at ladyworld.com.
0:39.2	You're listening to Off the Vine with Caitlin Bristow.
0:43.6	Hey everybody, welcome to Off the Vine.
0:45.4	I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow.
0:46.8	And today we have a total badass on the podcast.
0:49.9	She is a true trailblazer.
0:51.8	Her name is Michelle Mace Curran.
0:53.8	We'll find out why we call her Mace in this podcast. She is shattered true trailblazer. Her name is Michelle Mace Curran. We'll find out why we call her Mace
0:55.6	in this podcast. She has shattered barriers as a combat fighter pilot and became the only second
1:01.1	woman in history to fly as a lead solo pilot for the U.S. Air Force, the Thunderbirds.
1:07.0	It was so cool hearing all her stories and now she is completely pivoted from a military career to a bestselling author, a motivational keynote speaker, LinkedIn, top voice, an advocate for helping women redefine fear and embrace boldness and own their power.
1:24.5	So as soon as I saw that she was doing that and had a cool story, I was like, I know my vinoes are going to take a lot away from this conversation. And it's just a good listen. So I hope you enjoy my conversation with nice. I have so many questions. I don't even know how I'm going to get through all of them. Perfect. Because I have like eight pages of notes of things to ask you because it's fascinating and
1:45.6	impressive and all of the things.
	...

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