Ellie Dempster joined the Digital Social Hour days before a Power Slap weekend, and her conversation with Sean Kelly goes far beyond fighting. Yes, there are knockouts, brutal weight cuts, and a call-out of Paige VanZant — but the bigger story is a fighter who spent nearly a decade in Thailand and came home convinced that fighting was her way to help more kids.
The episode swings between extremes: the story of accidentally knocking out a sixteen-year-old opponent in Thailand, the discipline she learned from monks, and the sobering work she has done with children rescued from trafficking. It is raw, funny, and unexpectedly moving.
About Ellie Dempster
Ellie Dempster is a slap fighter and Muay Thai athlete competing in Power Slap, the professional slap-fighting league, with her sights set on the first women's championship belt. She learned to fight the long way — living in Thailand for close to ten years, competing in Muay Thai overseas, and absorbing lessons in calm and discipline from the monks she trained around.
What sets Dempster apart is why she fights. Her years in Thailand included work with children rescued from trafficking and fundraising for orphanages, and her bouts have helped raise thousands for charity. She says she no longer fights for herself; the bigger her platform grows, the more kids she can reach.
What Ellie Dempster and Sean Kelly Talked About
- What it actually feels like to compete in Power Slap, where one clean shot ends everything
- How nearly a decade in Thailand shaped Ellie Dempster's fighting style and her worldview
- The story behind accidentally knocking out a sixteen-year-old during her fighting days in Thailand
- What monks taught her about mindfulness, discipline, and staying calm inside a fight
- How working with children rescued from trafficking redirected the purpose of her career
- Why she wants Paige VanZant across from her for the first women's Power Slap belt
- The reality of extreme weight cuts, including losing more than twenty pounds in three weeks
- Where Vechain and crypto fit into her interests in sustainability and charitable work
Why This Conversation Matters
Combat sports interviews rarely leave you thinking about orphanages. This one does. Ellie Dempster is an athlete in a sport built on single devastating shots who treats every appearance as a chance to fund work for vulnerable kids. The Digital Social Hour catches her right before a defining Power Slap weekend, with everything still in front of her — and that timing makes the conversation land even harder.
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube
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About Sean Kelly & the Digital Social Hour
Sean Kelly is an entrepreneur and the host of the Digital Social Hour, one of the fastest-growing interview podcasts in the world, where he sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and cultural voices for candid, long-form conversations. The show draws over 100 million views a month across platforms. Explore more guest features on SeanKelly.io.
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