Speaker 1: Hi, It's Kate Langbrook here. Hey.
Speaker 2: If you've just binged the new season of America's Sweethearts
Speaker 2: on Netflix and found yourself fascinated by the world of
Speaker 2: the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, you are going to love this episode.
Speaker 2: We spoke to Australian cheerleader Faith Ward about the reality
Speaker 2: behind the uniform, the auditions, the pressure, and what it
Speaker 2: really takes to make the squad. Here's our conversation.
Speaker 3: It was this big thing going around saying it was
Speaker 3: a four hundred percent pay increase, which don't get me wrong,
Speaker 3: it's a pay increase, and I'm so incredibly blessed to
Speaker 3: be trying the team when that happened, Like I would
Speaker 3: not be able to you know, I didn't have a
Speaker 3: visa for a bit, so I couldn't get a job,
Speaker 3: and you know, have extra money coming in, so I
Speaker 3: would not be surviving if we didn't have that pay increase.
Speaker 3: But it's still not realistically enough for what we do
Speaker 3: as athletes today.
Speaker 2: On No Filter, and I don't mind telling you this
Speaker 2: is a great one. We get to go behind the
Speaker 2: scenes of one of the most recognizable and mythologized insta
Speaker 2: tuitions in American pop culture the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. They
Speaker 2: are synonymous with glamor, discipline and perfection, but in recent
Speaker 2: years there's been a renewed fascination with what the role
Speaker 2: actually demands and what it's really like behind the uniform.
Speaker 2: And my guest today is faith Ward, an Australian New
Speaker 2: Zealand dancer who unexpectedly found herself auditioning for and ultimately
Speaker 2: joining the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders after receiving a very nonchalant
Speaker 2: DM on Instagram. It's an amazing story and in this
Speaker 2: conversation we talk about how she ended up on that path,
Speaker 2: what the audition and selection process is really like, the
Speaker 2: realities of the job versus the public fantasy, and what
Speaker 2: it means to step inside such a powerful global institution,
Speaker 2: especially at a moment when the world is paying closer
Speaker 2: attention than ever. This is faith Ward. Faith Ward, welcome
Speaker 2: to no Filter.
Speaker 1: So excited to see you.
Speaker 2: Well, I am also so excited to have you because,
Speaker 2: in the realm of what is possible in this world,
Speaker 2: I did not ever think that an Australian New Zealand
Speaker 2: girl would ever be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. I just
Speaker 2: didn't think that it would be possible.
Speaker 1: Neither did I. I'm with you on that one.
Speaker 3: Literally, I have to pinch myself every day that I'm
Speaker 3: in this position because it just is insane. Yeah, I
Speaker 3: did not think they would ever even it's called America's Sweetheart. Yeah, Americans,
Speaker 3: why do they want a half Aussy, half New Zealand
Speaker 3: check on the team? Like, it's pretty incredible. But I'm
Speaker 3: honestly so honored to be representing both countries. So I
Speaker 3: hope I'm doing them proud.
Speaker 2: Well, Okay, So, I, like many came to appreciate the
Speaker 2: work of the cheerleaders through through the show America's Sweethearts,
Speaker 2: and it's such an extraordinary collision of worlds, do you
Speaker 2: know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Like your athletes, absolutely.
Speaker 2: You're also expected to and it's demanded of you that
Speaker 2: you uphold certain attributes that are seen as you know,
Speaker 2: being possessed by America's Sweethearts, which is charm and grace
Speaker 2: and sass and looking hot and a kind of girl
Speaker 2: next door quality. But the great underneath is the hard
Speaker 2: work and the excellence. How did this come on your radar?
Speaker 2: Because you were, like you said, at the bottom of
Speaker 2: the world.
Speaker 3: You're exactly right all of the above as to what
Speaker 3: you just said, and I completely agree. It has so
Speaker 3: many different categories that you're filling into one role. But
Speaker 3: for me, it came about just as any.
Speaker 1: Other normal girl.
Speaker 3: I had a dream from a young age about making
Speaker 3: it in the dancing industry, and obviously there isn't a
Speaker 3: lot of opportunity in Australia, so we have to, you know,
Speaker 3: punt a little further.
Speaker 1: And so you're in Perth at this point.
Speaker 3: So I'm in Perth, Western Australia. Yes, that's where I reside.
Speaker 3: But I'm originally from Welling to New Zealand. So that
Speaker 3: is why I consider myself half in.
Speaker 2: Half all right, faith, you know what you are for
Speaker 2: our purposes, your Russell Crow, you Russell cry to us
Speaker 2: a New Zealander, But who is claimed as an Australian.
Speaker 4: I love that.
Speaker 1: It's reference. I know that, so let's say that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, But no, for me, the journey basically came about
Speaker 3: from I actually grew up doing dance competitions, obviously going
Speaker 3: against multiple different people, and then I won a few
Speaker 3: dance competitions and got flown out to the States to
Speaker 3: compete against like the best talent in the States, and.
Speaker 1: What sort of dance was that At this point, this.
Speaker 3: Was all like lyrical, jazz, contemporary, acro. I've been training
Speaker 3: like literally since I was two in all those genres,
Speaker 3: thirty six hours a week. Literally, Yeah, NonStop, go to school,
Speaker 3: go to dance, go to cheer sleep me like it
Speaker 3: was insane. I was that kid that was always falling
Speaker 3: asleep at school. But anyways, it was all worth it
Speaker 3: in the end. So yeah, basically grew up doing dance competitions,
Speaker 3: flew over to the States, and then it started doing
Speaker 3: dance comps against his incredible talent in the States, and
Speaker 3: was like, wait, I need to start connecting with the
Speaker 3: talent here. So I followed a few of the girls
Speaker 3: on Instagram. And one of the girls I followed is
Speaker 3: now my teammates. So back when I was sixteen, I
Speaker 3: followed her on Instagram and we got chatting and we
Speaker 3: always kept in touch throughout the years. And then she
Speaker 3: became a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and I was like, what
Speaker 3: is this girl doing? This looks incredible, Like we don't
Speaker 3: have anything like this in Australia, So I'm going to
Speaker 3: follow them on Instagram. So followed the GCC on Instagram.
Speaker 3: Always kept in touch with her, always was loving seeing
Speaker 3: her posts. And then who was wasting her name? Her
Speaker 3: name is Sophie right, Yes, she's incredible and so so
Speaker 3: you were sixteen, so this must have been six It
Speaker 3: was in twenty two hours, sixty years ago, six years ago, insane.
Speaker 3: So found out about it through that and then obviously
Speaker 3: it was still in an Australia training and then the
Speaker 3: show came out on Netflix, and that's where the game changed.
Speaker 3: But when the show came out on Netflix, I was
Speaker 3: actually working as a professional dancer on a cruise ship
Speaker 3: with Royal Caribbean. So I was in my little bunk
Speaker 3: bed working a ten month contract. Like I enjoyed it
Speaker 3: and I loved it, but in my intuition, I knew
Speaker 3: that there was more out there for me. I was content,
Speaker 3: but I wasn't fully like this is what I want
Speaker 3: to be doing for the rest of my life.
Speaker 2: I'm not entirely nourished as a creative exactly.
Speaker 3: So I was like, there's something else out there for me,
Speaker 3: but I don't know what it is yet. Anyway, So
Speaker 3: the show comes out and I'm like, to my room back,
Speaker 3: we need to sit down and watch it, like get
Speaker 3: the bunk beds. We're getting that, we're watching it. So
Speaker 3: we sat down, we watched the first season. I binged
Speaker 3: it all in one night and was hooked. I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: this is a bit of me. This show so obviously
Speaker 3: growing up with that background of dancing and then also
Speaker 3: being an all star cheerleader. I was tumbling, flipping, flying.
Speaker 3: I was like, this is both those things that I've
Speaker 3: trained my whole life into one job, Like it is
Speaker 3: screaming my name, it's perfect. But once I watched the show,
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, they're Never I didn't even look
Speaker 3: at the show going oh yeah, I'm going to be there, right.
Speaker 2: You were just watching it in almost the abstract sense
Speaker 2: of like, oh I can do that. I understand what
Speaker 2: they're doing. This is amazing. But never it was too much.
Speaker 1: On your vision board.
Speaker 3: No, it was past my vision board, like it was
Speaker 3: didn't even make it to the vision board because I
Speaker 3: was like, faith, that's not a reality, Like let's be
Speaker 3: realistic right now. So the fact that once I saw
Speaker 3: the show, obviously it was just you know, like, oh,
Speaker 3: I'm got an awe of it. I was still auditioning
Speaker 3: for a million other things. I was like, I'm not
Speaker 3: one hundred percents out of this cruise of life. So
Speaker 3: I went to Paris. I was aditioning for a cabaret
Speaker 3: called Mulan Rouge.
Speaker 2: Right, which is also I think there's a number of
Speaker 2: actually Perth dancers who have been deducted rouge as.
Speaker 1: If you know that, yeah, oh there you go.
Speaker 3: Yes, I have so many friends that have gone and
Speaker 3: done it and it looks incredible. So I wouldn't watch
Speaker 3: the show on Paris, and then I knew the audition
Speaker 3: was like coming up, so you know, did all that
Speaker 3: or just for that? They offered me a contract in
Speaker 3: April and I was like, you know, when your guts like,
Speaker 3: oh yes, take it, but still not one hundred percent sure.
Speaker 3: I had this weird feeling in my I was like, oh,
Speaker 3: I don't know. I want to think about it for
Speaker 3: a little bit. I kid you not. I get home
Speaker 3: that night, I open my Instagram direct messages up and
Speaker 3: there is a message from the DCC recruiter.
Speaker 1: Yeah, insane, hang on and slow down.
Speaker 2: I know Kelly and Judy have trouble understanding here because
Speaker 2: you're a quick talker, right, I speak the same language
Speaker 2: as you, but we have to digest this moment. So
Speaker 2: I didn't know that was the thing either. So they
Speaker 2: contacted you. How, how and where had they seen you?
Speaker 2: Are they across the Mulane Rouge auditions.
Speaker 3: It just happened that I was in Paris doing that
Speaker 3: at the same time. She had found me through social
Speaker 3: media and just saw me posting all my dance content.
Speaker 3: And then while the timing was that I was in Paris,
Speaker 3: I just happened to get this DM at the same time.
Speaker 3: It was like a sign that it was like, don't
Speaker 3: take that job. This is your career, this is your
Speaker 3: chosen path. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've got goosam same every time I say it.
Speaker 1: I'm like what that was like my sign?
Speaker 3: And I was like, okay, wait, maybe this that they're
Speaker 3: looking for inter national candidates, Like maybe I should apply?
Speaker 3: Like this is it screaming faith, this is your chance,
Speaker 3: take it, make your dreams a reality? Faith.
Speaker 1: What did the message say?
Speaker 3: It was the most nonchalant message I've ever read in
Speaker 3: my life.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure I'll put this in the show. It's hilarious.
Speaker 3: It's that she's just like, hey, you should apply for
Speaker 3: DCC with like a red lover.
Speaker 1: Her name is Shelley. She's incredible. I would not be
Speaker 1: sitting here without Shelley.
Speaker 3: She has helped me throughout my whole journey visas, all
Speaker 3: the stuff that you don't think about that goes into applying.
Speaker 3: Being obviously from the other side of the globe, she
Speaker 3: has helped me with.
Speaker 1: So it's been incredible and just.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, so you get the message. If someone's hit
Speaker 2: you up in your DMS.
Speaker 1: The best DM sliding ever and so then then what happens.
Speaker 3: So once I got the DM, basically she was like,
Speaker 3: look like, I'm not going to be like, yes, you've
Speaker 3: got the job.
Speaker 1: You've got to do the hard work yourself. You've got
Speaker 1: to put in the effort.
Speaker 3: I'm just going to send you the link to apply
Speaker 3: and let you know that if you do make the
Speaker 3: steps going forward for the online auditions, we will help
Speaker 3: you get a visa to come to finals. I was like, okay, girl,
Speaker 3: I was absolutely So basically did all the online submissions.
Speaker 3: So it started with a video round submission for online one.
Speaker 2: A video of you dancing or they want to see
Speaker 2: how you present, yes.
Speaker 1: So basically just want to see like you speaking to
Speaker 1: the camera.
Speaker 3: So just hi, my name's Faith, you know, your generic
Speaker 3: details about yourself, and then just a one minute thirty
Speaker 3: video of you dancing. So I had already pre recorded
Speaker 3: this oneman at thirty video to send off for other
Speaker 3: jobs because I was like, I was trying to supply
Speaker 3: for anything and everything, So I'd perfected this video. I
Speaker 3: knew it had everything that I could offer, and every
Speaker 3: genre of dance style, fashion, beauty, everything was in this video.
Speaker 3: So I sent that off with pretty high hopes. I
Speaker 3: was like, Okay, like, I hope they liked this video.
Speaker 3: I hope it's what they're looking for. But I did
Speaker 3: also know that it's very different to what they normally
Speaker 3: go for when they apply because obviously the pro dance
Speaker 3: cheerstyle was with palms, so I knew that I wasn't going.
Speaker 1: To be sending that through.
Speaker 3: I'm going to be sending through me with my hair
Speaker 3: up and showing my differences, and.
Speaker 1: You'd never the cheer.
Speaker 2: The style that you'd been doing didn't involve pomp poms.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 3: My chair that I did growing up was backflips. I
Speaker 3: was getting thrown in the air doing the Pyramids sort
Speaker 3: of thing. Yeah, that's sort of the pyramid, you know exactly,
Speaker 3: and that was called all Star chilading, and then the
Speaker 3: pomp po chileading style that you do in NFL is
Speaker 3: called pro dance style. So they're very different to each other,
Speaker 3: but obviously have similarities in the fact that you know,
Speaker 3: you're all put together and you're flexible, and you're kicking
Speaker 3: and you're doing all that stuff.
Speaker 1: So it definitely helped me with learning to adapt style.
Speaker 2: From the show that the kicks are obviously a real
Speaker 2: thing and different in style from like other styles of dance.
Speaker 2: So you've got to really be able to bring your
Speaker 2: leg up.
Speaker 3: Well, I marvel at these, I'm so impressed that bag
Speaker 3: to know. Yeah, no, so, but the DCC kicks you
Speaker 3: have to kick directly in front of your face. Yes,
Speaker 3: you're supposed to touch your nose. Oh yes, queen, you
Speaker 3: know it. You literally if you kick out to the side,
Speaker 3: you're gonna be hitting your friend next year. So you
Speaker 3: cannot do that. It has to be directly in front
Speaker 3: of your nose. And that brings us back to my
Speaker 3: online submission round two. So obviously I make the round
Speaker 3: one that was all happy Days. I was like, okay, cool, Faith,
Speaker 3: You've made round one. Don't get too excited now, so oh,
Speaker 3: you've still got to get through the round two. So anyway,
Speaker 3: we get to the round two online submission, and now
Speaker 3: that involves the kicks, right, the iconic girl didn't know
Speaker 3: about the thing that you have to kick directly in front,
Speaker 3: so that turned out. I mean, they try to tell you,
Speaker 3: but like, I've been trained a certain way my whole life.
Speaker 3: So going back now and reflecting on that video, I
Speaker 3: looked at it and I was like, oh my gosh, Faith,
Speaker 3: what are you doing.
Speaker 1: You're not kicking directly in front of.
Speaker 3: Your face because I was always trying to kick, you know,
Speaker 3: slightly turned out.
Speaker 1: So I did the second round.
Speaker 3: That was all fine and well, and then I remember
Speaker 3: I was actually in Sydney, still auditioning for more.
Speaker 1: I'm still hustling.
Speaker 3: I feel like I was like in the mindset of like, Okay,
Speaker 3: keep your options open, Faith, because it's not guaranteed that
Speaker 3: this is going to fall into your lap, so just
Speaker 3: keep auditioning. So I was at another audition and auditioning
Speaker 3: for a musical when I came home that night to
Speaker 3: the video from Kelly the director saying that congratulations, you are.
Speaker 1: Going to finals in Dallas, Texas. Wow.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And then at sinked in I was like, okay, wait, wow,
Speaker 3: actually a possibility right now, faith, Like.
Speaker 1: You need to like lock in.
Speaker 2: What through this process did it feel to you, like, well,
Speaker 2: like without any arrogance, But did it feel like it
Speaker 2: was going to be something that you're going to end
Speaker 2: up doing or were you still at this stage thinking well,
Speaker 2: I'm I'm gonna give it a read, hot go.
Speaker 3: I was a little bit in denial for sure, but
Speaker 3: I do think down in my intuition, I was like
Speaker 3: I could, I could. I could see the dream like
Speaker 3: it was almost like manifestation, and you can pitch yourself
Speaker 3: in the uniform. You could pitch yourself doing it. But
Speaker 3: it's just like, how how is that going to happen?
Speaker 3: Like it just couldn't. It never really hit me until
Speaker 3: I was standing there trying it all. I remember she
Speaker 3: was like fitting me for the uniform during tryouts, and
Speaker 3: I was like, wait a damn minute, like this needs
Speaker 3: to happen, Like I'm supposed to be here, earned my
Speaker 3: place to be here, I've worked just as hard as
Speaker 3: everyone else. So yeah, I knew that it was definitely
Speaker 3: an option, but I still definitely doubted myself a little
Speaker 3: bit as well.
Speaker 2: But so then you fly to Texas, yes, to do
Speaker 2: the tryout, So this is now where the real deal
Speaker 2: happens finals.
Speaker 1: How many girls are involved at this point?
Speaker 3: Okay, so they flew about, they didn't fly, we'd fly
Speaker 3: ourselves obviously, soay, double my money, no, of course, of course,
Speaker 3: all your own money, and off you go. I knew
Speaker 3: there was another Australian girl trying out as well, a
Speaker 3: girl from Japan. There was a few other international candidates,
Speaker 3: which is really cool to see and it made you
Speaker 3: feel like, okay, cool, I'm not just the only one
Speaker 3: that's crazy going after this, see the.
Speaker 2: First faith that they've opened the doors to internationals. Was
Speaker 2: it like a conscious thing or this has always happened
Speaker 2: in the past.
Speaker 3: Has always happened obviously when the Netflix show came out,
Speaker 3: there was no Australians or international candidates on the show
Speaker 3: that I'm aware of, but they have had previous years
Speaker 3: and I'm actually really good friends and than Ossie who
Speaker 3: was on the team back in twenty sixteen.
Speaker 1: Her name is Janelle and she is incredible, so she
Speaker 1: really helped me. Just like she's Aussie. Her name's Janelle.
Speaker 1: You know. Yeah, oh that's so true. That's such an
Speaker 1: ossy name.
Speaker 2: Haye.
Speaker 1: That is great.
Speaker 3: So no, she really helped me just keeping me like
Speaker 3: is this normal Janelle and she was like, yes, Faith,
Speaker 3: that's normal. And like having an Aussie to talk too
Speaker 3: about the experience of the journey was really helpful. Yes.
Speaker 3: In the finals, finals, So finals was probably the most
Speaker 3: crazy day of my life. They had about eighty girls
Speaker 3: all come together from all over the country. Right. I
Speaker 3: knew there was a couple of international candidates. So we
Speaker 3: all sit down and you just go up and you
Speaker 3: do a solo one at a.
Speaker 1: Time, and this is when you all do the dance.
Speaker 1: This is when you do.
Speaker 3: Your dance where all my dancing training from growing up
Speaker 3: was going to come to play. I was like, okay, Faith,
Speaker 3: you know you can do this stuff. This is where
Speaker 3: you need to show that this is your strong suit.
Speaker 3: Where I knew that the field stuff for the pompoms
Speaker 3: I hadn't really done before, so I was like, you
Speaker 3: need to show them now that this is this is
Speaker 3: you and this is why you're here. And then in
Speaker 3: the field stuff, fake it to you, make it girl.
Speaker 3: I was giving it my best shot. I performed a
Speaker 3: really beautiful lyrical piece, and yeah, I gave it my all.
Speaker 3: I put in all my best tricks, told a really
Speaker 3: great story behind the dance as well, and I could
Speaker 3: tell that they were really enjoying it by just looking
Speaker 3: in their face on the panel. And that was like
Speaker 3: the most rewarding feeling, knowing that, like I'd been training
Speaker 3: for like three months leading up to that audition, obviously
Speaker 3: my whole life, but like just on that specific dance,
Speaker 3: with that three months of running it and then performing
Speaker 3: it and looking at their faces and like the owner
Speaker 3: of the company you heard, Jerry Jones's daughter was sitting there, Charlotte.
Speaker 3: Her face just lit up, and I remember just looking thinking, oh,
Speaker 3: my goodness.
Speaker 1: Does she like me? Like hopefully? Wow.
Speaker 3: It was the most incredible feeling. Yeah, it was really cool.
Speaker 3: So once you do that, you then go into the
Speaker 3: field stuff. So I was like number I think I
Speaker 3: was number fifty out of like the eighty girls, right,
Speaker 3: and you're all sitting in these chairs just waiting to
Speaker 3: go in your heart in your chest. It was the
Speaker 3: most scary feeling of my life. I don't think I've
Speaker 3: ever been so nervous.
Speaker 1: It's crazy.
Speaker 2: It's this point, what's the vibe with the other women,
Speaker 2: because you're, yeah, you're you're in it together, you're also
Speaker 2: against each other.
Speaker 1: That's a really good question.
Speaker 3: I feel like at this rate, I didn't know anyone,
Speaker 3: so I'm like chatting making friends to everyone, and when
Speaker 3: I get nervous, I'm like, just talk to me, please
Speaker 3: calm me down. Obviously, then I kind of realized the
Speaker 3: cultural differences. I was like, oh, okay, so I'm a yaffa,
Speaker 3: you know, Ossie gal, trying to make banter and they're
Speaker 3: all just like looking at me, like this girl.
Speaker 1: Is not funny, like what is going on about?
Speaker 3: And that's when I realized, okay, Faith, you've got to
Speaker 3: like adapt a little bit here. But no, the girls
Speaker 3: are all the sweetest things ever, and they make the
Speaker 3: experience it's a little bit terrifying less terrifying.
Speaker 1: So well, their.
Speaker 2: Experience, I imagine, is very different because they've grown up knowing
Speaker 2: this intimately and having it as the pinnacle of if
Speaker 2: you're a dancer, what you want to achieve, whereas you
Speaker 2: had fairly recently to it. Mm hmm.
Speaker 3: So they had had this idea from college cheer because
Speaker 3: obviously in Australia, we don't have college, so they all
Speaker 3: grew up with this image of being a DCC, which
Speaker 3: so did.
Speaker 1: I just didn't know it yet.
Speaker 3: And they'd been doing the whole cheer spiriting all of
Speaker 3: that stuff their whole life, so they're probably sitting there going, yeah,
Speaker 3: we know what to expect, this is what's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: And I'm just like a deer in headlights, going all right, here.
Speaker 3: We go, like I'm just gonna give it my best shot,
Speaker 3: and like I knew that I'd worked just as hard
Speaker 3: to be there, but it was also super intimidating not
Speaker 3: really knowing what to expect.
Speaker 1: So yeah, definitely, And then when did you get the scenes?
Speaker 3: So basically, after you do your solo, you then go
Speaker 3: out into the field and you start doing the field choreography.
Speaker 3: And they'd pre taught this to us off a video,
Speaker 3: so I felt pretty confident that i'd picked it up
Speaker 3: and retained the informational good.
Speaker 1: So I just told it.
Speaker 3: I was like, you know what, faith, if you haven't
Speaker 3: got the style downpack just yet, you're gonna sell it here. Girl.
Speaker 3: It's what you're gonna do is I'm just performing for
Speaker 3: my dear life. I am kicking, like doing everything. I
Speaker 3: knew that this is my one shot to show them
Speaker 3: that I am capable of making this team, so I'm
Speaker 3: gonna put in every last bit of me and I
Speaker 3: did exactly that. So then I got that feeling of like, okay, cool,
Speaker 3: Like I knew I gave it my all today and
Speaker 3: even if I don't make this team, I can walk
Speaker 3: away knowing that I put my best foot forward.
Speaker 1: And that was a nice feeling. How much charm are
Speaker 1: you getting in between?
Speaker 2: Obviously it's this is a very intense part of the process.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's all intense, isn't it?
Speaker 1: Absolutely?
Speaker 2: But who are you talking to back home? Who are
Speaker 2: you going your mum and Faith?
Speaker 1: Updates?
Speaker 2: Right? And what are you saying, like, how's that first
Speaker 2: conversation when you like, I've I've made it, you know,
Speaker 2: through the funnels, made.
Speaker 1: It into the field. We don't know yet. She's just like, Faith,
Speaker 1: tell me I need updates. What's going on?
Speaker 3: Imagine your daughter being on the other side of the
Speaker 3: world auditing for this team and then not really knowing
Speaker 3: what's going on because obviously we didn't have our phones
Speaker 3: on us. We're like on the field auditioning, fighting for
Speaker 3: our lives, and then we come back to the locker
Speaker 3: room and they make us wait for another hour before
Speaker 3: they bring us back out onto the field to announce
Speaker 3: who's then going to training camp. So you hadn't even
Speaker 3: made the team yet. It's just just final saying itself.
Speaker 3: The field diction process is like no other and I
Speaker 3: think every dancer athlete needs to experience a final day
Speaker 3: on its own because it is a different breed of sport,
Speaker 3: Like you are literally still fighting to then make the
Speaker 3: audition round of six weeks of training camp, like it's insane.
Speaker 3: So Mum obviously was just like asking for updates the
Speaker 3: whole time, and then once I came back out, I
Speaker 3: was like, we gotta wait another forty five minutes and
Speaker 3: then called us back to the field. Poor Mom's like
Speaker 3: waiting by the phone consciously. And then I came back
Speaker 3: in and I said, look, mom, I made it to
Speaker 3: training camp. And that was the most surreal moment in
Speaker 3: my life. I'm pretty sure they called me out last.
Speaker 1: As well was sane.
Speaker 3: So I kid, you know, I'm sitting there and I'm like,
Speaker 3: all right, got a book, kantus flat home tomorrow. I'm
Speaker 3: going home like that is that? And then they were
Speaker 3: like and the last person that's making it to training
Speaker 3: camp is and then the camera comes running up the
Speaker 3: stairs and it's on my face and I was like, nah,
Speaker 3: this is insane. I remember like literally getting teary.
Speaker 2: How many how many girls were not chosen? How many
Speaker 2: girls when you were the last name were.
Speaker 3: This is.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure forty six made it to training camp.
Speaker 3: And obviously it's only a team of thirty six, so
Speaker 3: out of the eighty girls that were all sitting there right,
Speaker 3: the few that were you know, missed out on their dreams,
Speaker 3: which also was really hard to watch because you're with
Speaker 3: these girls the whole day and you know, training to
Speaker 3: them and it's just as much their dream as it
Speaker 3: is yours, and then watching you succeed in them not
Speaker 3: it's just like heartbreaking. So that was really hard, But
Speaker 3: it gets harder throughout training camp because you are now
Speaker 3: in training camp and you're living in a hotel with
Speaker 3: these girls, bonding over the fact that you're fighting for
Speaker 3: your dream job. And then you go into training camp
Speaker 3: practice every night and your friends are getting caught and
Speaker 3: sent home. You almost get that feeling of like it's
Speaker 3: like imposter syndrome is at the word where you're just like,
Speaker 3: oh my god, why am I like.
Speaker 2: It's to run or survivor guilt? Yes, I'm right word
Speaker 2: for it. Yeah, Yeah, it's incredible. After the break, Faith
Speaker 2: explains how the controversial Ponytail came to be. We haven't
Speaker 2: seen your series yet, and I gather your series that's
Speaker 2: I think is coming out in the middle of twenty
Speaker 2: twenty six.
Speaker 3: It sure is very soon, so June you can watch
Speaker 3: me in season three of America's Hearts.
Speaker 2: Yes, and apparently you are quite the focus of this series.
Speaker 1: Well where did you hear this? I don't know where
Speaker 1: I hear stuff from.
Speaker 3: But I feel like there's a lot of talk as
Speaker 3: to yet obviously the ponytawil being Australia and New Zealand,
Speaker 3: I was like, at the end of the day, they
Speaker 3: film a lot of stuff, you only really see two
Speaker 3: percent of what actually happens, you know what I mean, Like,
Speaker 3: there's so much more that goes on behind closed doors.
Speaker 3: But it is really cool to like see the show,
Speaker 3: I guess. I mean, I haven't seen myself on the
Speaker 3: show yet and get to like reflect on my season
Speaker 3: as a rookie, So I'm really looking forward to.
Speaker 1: Seeing that with my rookie sisters and just everything.
Speaker 2: Well, it's funny that you mentioned the ponytail. I mean,
Speaker 2: there's two things. Is that in a bree out. Lovely
Speaker 2: was talking to me before earlier about the cheerleader effect,
Speaker 2: which is basically, the sum of the whole is greater
Speaker 2: than the sum of the parts, and the sum of
Speaker 2: the parts is magnificent. All of you women individually are
Speaker 2: stunning and accomplished, but when you put all of you together,
Speaker 2: then you get kind of another level of the spectacle.
Speaker 2: But within that, the eye is always drawn to difference,
Speaker 2: and you had a double fold one because you were
Speaker 2: Australian and secondly because of what you mentioned. And this
Speaker 2: is I'm going to utter the most insane sentence ever.
Speaker 2: Please the controversial ponytail that that zern that's a thing,
Speaker 2: and tell me how that came about? And did that
Speaker 2: emerge from through training camp?
Speaker 3: It sure did. So I went into the mindset with that.
Speaker 3: I knew I was different. I knew that I hated
Speaker 3: wearing my hair out when I was dancing. Always a
Speaker 3: ponytail girl growing up, right, So then going into training camp,
Speaker 3: I'd already taken my headshot photos like that I'd sent
Speaker 3: through for other jobs, and obviously knowing that I was
Speaker 3: going to apply for DCC, that I was just going
Speaker 3: to send through the same headshot. Right. I that my
Speaker 3: hair wasn't out, but I was like, you know what,
Speaker 3: they can still see my face, it's fine, hair up whatever.
Speaker 3: So I had my hair up in a slip pontytail
Speaker 3: in my headshot that they look at every single day
Speaker 3: when you're in training camp. Right, So Judy and Kelly
Speaker 3: sit in a chair in front of you while you're
Speaker 3: in the studio dancing, and they have a like a
Speaker 3: page with all your head all the rookies headshots that
Speaker 3: are trying as made the team. So they had my
Speaker 3: headshots sitting right in front of them with my hair
Speaker 3: tied up. And I'm standing in front of them with
Speaker 3: my hair out, and I just remember one of the
Speaker 3: days we just learned Thunderstruck, and I'm trying to do
Speaker 3: Thunderstruck with.
Speaker 1: My hair out.
Speaker 3: And in the DCC slang, there's like this thing called haerography, right,
Speaker 3: so learning style please you know it lock exactly right,
Speaker 3: that's so good. So learning to do the style itself
Speaker 3: was already a lot for me because I hadn't trained
Speaker 3: in it at all, and then as well, trying to
Speaker 3: add the hair biography, I was like struggling. I looked
Speaker 3: like a drowned rat who was sweating and drowning in
Speaker 3: a pool. Time not the look they're going for it, No,
Speaker 3: And I was looking across to all the reefs and
Speaker 3: all the beautiful girls. I'm just like, they look like
Speaker 3: Victoria's secret bombshells right now. And I'm a bit of
Speaker 3: a head sweater, Like when I sweat, the sweat is
Speaker 3: coming from my head. So it was just wet, flat
Speaker 3: hair that just did not look good on me. So
Speaker 3: remember Kelly was looking at the paper and then she
Speaker 3: looked up at me and she just goes, can you
Speaker 3: go put your hair in it? Can you tie it up?
Speaker 3: I just looked and I was so excited. I was
Speaker 3: over the moon. Because when you are going through the
Speaker 3: training camp journey, there's a procedure called makeovers right where
Speaker 3: they make you up and.
Speaker 1: They put you in your signature look.
Speaker 3: And Kelly brought it up then when I was sitting
Speaker 3: in the chair, she was like, oh, I do really
Speaker 3: like your headshot that you submitted with your hair up,
Speaker 3: and I said, wait, what you like? That's not a
Speaker 3: thing in DCC land. It's the iconic bouncy blowout. Why
Speaker 3: would you want my hair up? And then she kind
Speaker 3: of just walked off. I was like, and the makeover
Speaker 3: finished and my hair was out, so like, okay, that's
Speaker 3: maybe not happening. And then it was training camp where
Speaker 3: she saw me sweating with my hair out and she
Speaker 3: was like, Okay, this girl is not serving bouncy blowout,
Speaker 3: and so they wouldn't put it up.
Speaker 2: So is this the first time that a DCC's had
Speaker 2: a pinytail.
Speaker 3: No, there's actually been a lot of other hairstyles throughout
Speaker 3: the decades, but on the Netflix show. Yes, that's why
Speaker 3: it's caused so much controversy, and not really in the
Speaker 3: recent years. It was more back in like the sixties
Speaker 3: and the seventies and the eighties through the nineties, and
Speaker 3: then obviously the choreographer duty she had pigtails, so that's yeah.
Speaker 1: Wow, But in this incarnation it was unheard of it.
Speaker 1: And then what's the.
Speaker 2: You know, because you're still competing against each other at
Speaker 2: this point, even though there is the sisterhood, but you know,
Speaker 2: your antenna are really attuned to any difference or who's
Speaker 2: getting told or who's getting this.
Speaker 3: And you can't fall into the trap of doing that.
Speaker 3: That's the hardest bit, the whole thing with training camp.
Speaker 3: It's all a mind game. It's literally a game in
Speaker 3: your mind, and you just have to beat it because
Speaker 3: if you don't, you're not going to make the team.
Speaker 1: So every day I would just walk in going, don't listen.
Speaker 3: Obviously, take on board their corrections and stuff, but don't
Speaker 3: let it affect you because at the end of the day, yes,
Speaker 3: they can come off quite strict, but they're giving you
Speaker 3: feedback because they see potential in you and they want
Speaker 3: you to make this team.
Speaker 1: Just as much as you want it.
Speaker 3: So, yeah, I was getting drilled quite a bit, and
Speaker 3: you'll probably see that in season three. I was a
Speaker 3: little bit, let's just say, not experience with the yes ma'am's, yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 3: MAM's got me good, the yes ma'am got me good?
Speaker 1: Do you get pulled up on not yes ma'amy A
Speaker 1: little just read the room. I think I just read
Speaker 1: the room.
Speaker 3: Remember there was one time and the camera, one of
Speaker 3: the Netflix cameras was covering me and they were going
Speaker 3: down the line and training camp giving feedback to each
Speaker 3: of the girls, and Judy and Kelly couldn't see me
Speaker 3: quite properly, so they were like, oh, we like can't
Speaker 3: give you any feedback right now because we couldn't see
Speaker 3: you because the camera was covering you. In my brain,
Speaker 3: I knew I looked terrible. So I remember I just
Speaker 3: looked at them and this is like one of our
Speaker 3: first days, and I just said, oh, it's probably a
Speaker 3: good thing, and the whole room just went dead silent.
Speaker 4: I wanted to crawl into a ball, like nobody laughed.
Speaker 4: No one laughed, no one laugh no one got it.
Speaker 4: The girls will laugh back in the changer, will me later.
Speaker 4: They were like, you're hilarious. But they were just like,
Speaker 4: you just need to say yes ma'am.
Speaker 2: And I was like, okay, ah, well this is a
Speaker 2: very interesting. Once again, that's a cultural thing. We're not
Speaker 2: a yes ma'am society.
Speaker 3: Exactly, And like, I guess they got that, and I
Speaker 3: think they also appreciated that.
Speaker 1: They were like, oh, wait, this girl's kind of different.
Speaker 3: She's not just sitting here going yes ma'am. And I
Speaker 3: think they were kind of like, you know what, let's
Speaker 3: let's let's give her a chance, and let's let's hear
Speaker 3: her out. So I made sure I came back the
Speaker 3: next lesson, and I went home with all the upper veterans,
Speaker 3: and I was standing in the mirror next to them
Speaker 3: and making sure I looked exactly same as them, trying
Speaker 3: to get the style and improve so I could go
Speaker 3: back and prove to them that I did have what
Speaker 3: it takes to make this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yes, ma'am, Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2: You tell them so when you got anointed as the
Speaker 2: person who could have their hair in a ponytail? Yes,
Speaker 2: how was that ripple effect through the other women?
Speaker 1: It was a little crazy.
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna lie. I think they were all just
Speaker 3: as shocked as I was. I think they were like, oh, like,
Speaker 3: you just tied your hair up because you're hard at practice.
Speaker 3: And I was like, no, no, no, because the day that
Speaker 3: Kelly told me to tie my hair up, it was
Speaker 3: a rookie only practice. And these are like the scariest
Speaker 3: practices ever. You know that day that someone is going
Speaker 3: to be going home because they just have the rookies in.
Speaker 1: The room, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: So they normally make cuts on these days. So that's
Speaker 3: why the veterans aren't around. So it's only like, let's
Speaker 3: just say how many training can candidates were. There was
Speaker 3: like fourteen of us in the room. So then the
Speaker 3: vets come back in the next day, and I kept
Speaker 3: my hair tied up because I was like, Kelly told
Speaker 3: me to tie it up yesterday, I'm going to come
Speaker 3: back in with it today tied up because we had
Speaker 3: a group practice, and I remember all the girls were
Speaker 3: coming up to me being like, oh, you just tying
Speaker 3: your hair up because you're hard, or like what, what's wrong?
Speaker 3: Why is your hair up? I said, no, no, no, Kelly
Speaker 3: told me to. And they said what, like Kelly told
Speaker 3: you to tie your hair up? And I was like yes,
Speaker 3: like what I didn't I didn't get the hype. I
Speaker 3: was like, what's so crazy about it? Like, yeah, I've
Speaker 3: got my hair up, and they're like, faith, that's unheard of,
Speaker 3: like it hasn't happened in years, and I was just like, Okay,
Speaker 3: this is a big deal. Like obviously I was very
Speaker 3: honored and I was very happy because I felt more myself,
Speaker 3: and both the directors and the choreographer said that as well.
Speaker 1: That were Kelly and.
Speaker 3: Judy were just like you're dancing, more like you look
Speaker 3: like you're enjoying dance again, Like I just felt stressed.
Speaker 3: My hair was covering my face. It wasn't my personality.
Speaker 3: I'm a very bubbly one hundred miles an hour, as
Speaker 3: you said, and most people know person so having my
Speaker 3: hair up my face, I can just show my personality
Speaker 3: bit more and it's more diverse in just me.
Speaker 1: So it felt right.
Speaker 2: Do you think that you're prepared because now these are
Speaker 2: twofold process It's that is going to be your life,
Speaker 2: which is you're a DCC, you're dancing for the Dallas Cowboys,
Speaker 2: you're cheerleading for them. But there's also the Netflix show,
Speaker 2: so there's going to be like a double serve of fame.
Speaker 3: As it is, it's been more than I ever could imagined.
Speaker 3: I didn't really truly realize how incredibly strong the fan
Speaker 3: base is. Like obviously I knew it was a big deal,
Speaker 3: but like just being like my life has done a
Speaker 3: three sixty for the better, of course, but I just
Speaker 3: didn't realize how like it's. It's also kind of scary sometimes,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean, Like we're getting escorted by
Speaker 3: security everywhere because we get stalkers, Like it's that's at
Speaker 3: times where you go, oh my goodness, this is scary.
Speaker 3: But then there's the other times. We have the incredible
Speaker 3: fans that are like, I drove this far to meet you,
Speaker 3: and then you see the look on their face and
Speaker 3: they see you out on the field and you're like,
Speaker 3: oh my god, this is why I do this job again,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: Like, well, it does draw.
Speaker 2: The obsessive in some regards and what safeguards do they
Speaker 2: have for you or what training do they give you
Speaker 2: about that.
Speaker 3: We get a lot of training obviously with like how
Speaker 3: to stay safe and media and social media as well,
Speaker 3: because you know, not posting where you are at the
Speaker 3: exact time, because you get people rocking up and it's
Speaker 3: it can be kind of terrifying. We had a girl
Speaker 3: on my team get an air tag on her car,
Speaker 3: which was wow, absolutely terrifying, and they knew where she
Speaker 3: lived and well, it's got Goosebum'm saying it that she
Speaker 3: makes me feel sick. So yeah, they've obviously briefed us
Speaker 3: on all that and we have top security. So that's
Speaker 3: really nice being back in Australia. I think I remind
Speaker 3: myself how lucky I am to call this place home,
Speaker 3: because I instantly just feel so much safer, which sounds
Speaker 3: really bad, because America is a great place to live
Speaker 3: in all but we just we have it really good.
Speaker 3: And ods you don't realize that until you know you
Speaker 3: go away and there's this normal thing called amber alerts
Speaker 3: with your phone since you were text message in America
Speaker 3: when there's been a child abduction, and you're just like,
Speaker 3: what that happens here? Like, obviously it happens in Australia,
Speaker 3: to we just don't hear about it as regularly as
Speaker 3: it does happen in the States.
Speaker 2: Well, it's a huge population and exactly makes a difference, Yes,
Speaker 2: and in some areas, I mean, it's increasingly apparent there's
Speaker 2: a high level of dysfunction and dissatisfaction within that society.
Speaker 1: But you are in.
Speaker 2: The the bubble of this other world, and how much
Speaker 2: of the outside world enters that bubble? Like in my
Speaker 2: experience with dancers in the past, I did dancing with
Speaker 2: the stars.
Speaker 1: Don't look it up terrible? You did it terrible? Why
Speaker 1: did I know that it's terrible?
Speaker 2: I've spent a lot of time with dancers and and
Speaker 2: I really grew to love them because they are in
Speaker 2: a world where people are increasingly spending a lot of
Speaker 2: time in their heads, not.
Speaker 1: To their benefits.
Speaker 2: Dancers live in their bodies, so there's a different a
Speaker 2: real different energy about them. Although obviously a lot of
Speaker 2: the women, as we've seen from the series, there's a
Speaker 2: lot going on in their heads as well.
Speaker 3: There is and I completely see why there is a
Speaker 3: lot Now at the time, I've been watching the show going,
Speaker 3: oh my god, like Chill Legg's on that deep. But
Speaker 3: when you're in that situation and you are literally fighting
Speaker 3: for your life and you are sitting in front of
Speaker 3: these two women who do it and color are incredible,
Speaker 3: Like I love them both so much, have so much
Speaker 3: respect for both of them.
Speaker 1: But it can be a little bit intimidating. I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna lie like, I'm like, oh, you guys are kind
Speaker 1: of scary.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's like uneasy lies. The head that wears
Speaker 2: the crown. They have to make really difficult decisions and
Speaker 2: they have to see enough in you exactly to decide
Speaker 2: if you can grow into what they want you to
Speaker 2: grow into.
Speaker 1: And they have an eye for it.
Speaker 3: Let me tell you that much because like they can
Speaker 3: just see it whether or not you have it or
Speaker 3: you don't. And like, at the end of the day,
Speaker 3: you don't want to be on this team if you
Speaker 3: aren't mentally ready to be on this team, because you're
Speaker 3: not going to make it through the season.
Speaker 1: Training camp.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's hard and all, but then get into the
Speaker 3: season where you're training every single day to do games
Speaker 3: for hours where I actually wore my AURA ring to
Speaker 3: a game once and it said I was burning four
Speaker 3: thy five hundred calories. That is not a normal amount
Speaker 3: of galleries to burn doing a workout. So that's a
Speaker 3: lot of calories to be burning. So imagine that is
Speaker 3: just your game day, right, plus you were built up
Speaker 3: with the whole week of rehearsing for that game. Your body,
Speaker 3: your mind, everything is so exhausted. So you have to
Speaker 3: be able to handle like a champ, you know, like
Speaker 3: it can't just be Oh, I'm feeling, you know, kind
Speaker 3: of sick today. I can't make it the game. I
Speaker 3: had influenza A on our last game and there I
Speaker 3: was doing thunderstruck.
Speaker 1: How was it a blue luf? It was so rough.
Speaker 2: Don't go anywhere after the break, Faith reveals the prank
Speaker 2: she played on her mum when she found out she
Speaker 2: was officially a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Poor mom, there's a
Speaker 2: beautiful I mean, there's a couple of things about you.
Speaker 2: One that you know, miss faith that's that's like a
Speaker 2: talisman you carry around with you every time you say
Speaker 2: your name. And that thunderstruck his ACDC in Australian band.
Speaker 1: It's like.
Speaker 2: It's like there were little there were little easter eggs
Speaker 2: along the way for you, saying you're doing your right.
Speaker 3: Thing right, exactly right. It just felt so perfect when
Speaker 3: I saw them bring down the rack of uniforms and
Speaker 3: I just remember like falling to the ground, being like
Speaker 3: I just made it through that experience, Like what and
Speaker 3: I've got I did it. I remember facetiming Mum and
Speaker 3: I like pranked her. I was so mean and I said, Mom,
Speaker 3: that's it. I didn't make the team. And then I
Speaker 3: just saw her face and she was just like it's okay.
Speaker 3: And then I put the uniform up and she just
Speaker 3: like fell to the ground and she was just like
Speaker 3: all the years of driving you to cheer dance acro
Speaker 3: everything has paid off. All the money she spent, She's
Speaker 3: the most hard working woman I've ever met in my life.
Speaker 1: And she was just what did she do? Mom? Yeah,
Speaker 1: what did she do?
Speaker 3: Oh, she's just a full time mama, one of five sisters,
Speaker 3: so she's incredible. She had us three girls, separated from
Speaker 3: my dad and then literally was hustling for me to
Speaker 3: stay into dancing.
Speaker 1: Because that's a lot of money as well. No, it's
Speaker 1: not at all. So that woman she worked like job
Speaker 1: play lessons and costumes and.
Speaker 3: Kept me in a private school, kept me in dancing,
Speaker 3: gave me extra private lessons, was still doing tumbling classes,
Speaker 3: was doing everything and above. Like, my mom is seriously
Speaker 3: the best, and I would not be sitting here right
Speaker 3: now if it wasn't for that woman. Like she's insane.
Speaker 3: We're best friends, so it's great. But she must miss you,
Speaker 3: Yeah she does. She's like, where are you going now?
Speaker 3: She's like, I want you home. You're only home for
Speaker 3: a month. You need to be home. I'm like, yes, mom,
Speaker 3: I'll be back soon.
Speaker 2: But when he was season kicks off, will she come?
Speaker 2: Is it a possibility she can come or family can come?
Speaker 3: She did come, so she came to meet the team,
Speaker 3: which was incredible. So you'll see her in season three
Speaker 3: probably she's hilarious. She was helping me, like trying to
Speaker 3: put my ponytowel in and stuff, and we're just both
Speaker 3: running around like crazy women, not knowing what's going on.
Speaker 1: And that was incredible.
Speaker 3: So then hopefully next season I'll get to have my
Speaker 3: little sisters come and the rest of my family come
Speaker 3: to watch me.
Speaker 2: So, you know you were talking about your caloric output
Speaker 2: during the game, the energy expended, Yes, and that, of
Speaker 2: course is has got to be a massive underlying part
Speaker 2: of what it takes to be able to continue in
Speaker 2: this discipline. Is wait, you get fitted for your is
Speaker 2: this right? You get fitted for your costume, your outfits
Speaker 2: once and those measurements don't change.
Speaker 1: Nope, and they do not change.
Speaker 3: But you know what the crazy thing is for me,
Speaker 3: I actually found I eat a lot of food, like
Speaker 3: you're seeing.
Speaker 1: The stay was like, can we go get in an
Speaker 1: at Burger? Can we do shape shack?
Speaker 3: Like I'm a food et I need my food to
Speaker 3: get through the game. Like if I don't have a
Speaker 3: big car bload meal before the game, I'm going to
Speaker 3: pass out.
Speaker 1: I'm not going to make it through. Because your body needs.
Speaker 3: It, Like you're literally burning that much, it doesn't make
Speaker 3: sense to not eat so you can fit better in
Speaker 3: your unif you know what I mean, Like you need
Speaker 3: to fil your body.
Speaker 1: So for me, I was.
Speaker 3: Actually struggling with losing weight so quickly because of how
Speaker 3: many calories I was burning, Like I would find like
Speaker 3: I was like, I've dropped on the belt size, Like
Speaker 3: what so you just have to add more holes into
Speaker 3: the belt size to make it tighter, right, But that's
Speaker 3: insane to me because I was eating so much. There
Speaker 3: was never a time that I wasn't eating. I was
Speaker 3: always passed before the game and then I'd have a
Speaker 3: snack in between the game.
Speaker 1: After the game, I was eating wingstop. Right.
Speaker 2: But it's interesting because metabolically everyone's different, and we all
Speaker 2: know that's what you learn, yeah, right, And I mean
Speaker 2: we all remember Victoria, yes, and the struggle of Victoria, which.
Speaker 3: Was awful, Yeah, awful, also awful, and I just I
Speaker 3: can imagine how she would have felt. I actually haven't
Speaker 3: met Victoria yet personally, but I've heard amazing things and
Speaker 3: I look forward to.
Speaker 1: To make it into the rockets. I think she's still training.
Speaker 1: She's just killing it though, so I'm really happy for her.
Speaker 3: Like she has the work ethic and the determination to
Speaker 3: make it as a rocket. So I really hope she
Speaker 3: gets there. She's training for it, so I'm sure she will.
Speaker 3: But I know that she struggled a bit, and that
Speaker 3: was obviously really hard to watch. But then being in
Speaker 3: the environment and knowing what it's like to be in there,
Speaker 3: understand how she would have felt. And that's really hard
Speaker 3: as a woman and a female growing up as a dancer,
Speaker 3: constantly looking at yourself in the mirror, like you're literally
Speaker 3: never not in front of a mirror, and that effect
Speaker 3: on yourself as it is as a woman and a
Speaker 3: young girl growing up as a lot. So then getting
Speaker 3: into you know, your dream job and getting you've got
Speaker 3: one uniform, that's it could be hard, you know, on
Speaker 3: your brain to know that you have to like maintain
Speaker 3: the figure that you've been hired as.
Speaker 1: But I feel like we're really lucky that obviously.
Speaker 3: We're in twenty twenty six now there's not going to
Speaker 3: be any crazy comments maybe to your face, right yeah,
Speaker 3: about your weight, so that.
Speaker 2: But there is the code, I mean, and it's through necessity.
Speaker 2: We understand why it has to be like that. Even though,
Speaker 2: like you said, it's twenty twenty six, and we bridle
Speaker 2: rightly at judgment of a woman's body. But the idea
Speaker 2: is there is a uniformity to your shape.
Speaker 1: I feel like not so much this day and age.
Speaker 3: Now. I really think that Kelly has looked back on that,
Speaker 3: and I feel like she has reflected and knows that
Speaker 3: now it's important to have all different shapes and sizes,
Speaker 3: Like there's a girl that's five to two on the
Speaker 3: team and I'm five to eight, so we have a
Speaker 3: different heights, you know what I mean. So I feel
Speaker 3: like these days they're really trying to get leave that
Speaker 3: in the past, and I really hope that they stick
Speaker 3: to that because it needs to go, like, come on,
Speaker 3: let's be real. Well.
Speaker 2: It's also in many ways you've come in at the
Speaker 2: perfect time as well, because the money issue was already
Speaker 2: sorted because well, maybe not, it's.
Speaker 3: Not the greatest, but look, I am so blessed that
Speaker 3: is gone up as the thing. There was this big
Speaker 3: thing going around saying it was a four hundred percent
Speaker 3: pay increase, which don't get me wrong, it's a pay increase,
Speaker 3: And I'm so incredibly blessed to be trying the team
Speaker 3: when that happened, Like I would not be able to
Speaker 3: you know, I don't have a visa for a bit,
Speaker 3: so I couldn't get a job, and you know, have
Speaker 3: extra money coming in, So I would not be surviving
Speaker 3: if we didn't have that pay increase. But it's still
Speaker 3: not realistically enough for what we do as athletes.
Speaker 2: And then when you're doing events, because there's an increasing
Speaker 2: appetite for you for the DCC to be at you know,
Speaker 2: launches and events and you know like commercial opportunities, do
Speaker 2: you get paid separately for that?
Speaker 3: Yes, And that is the other really good thing. Obviously
Speaker 3: now with the show and everything and the popularity of DCC,
Speaker 3: it's incredible as it should be. We're now getting books
Speaker 3: on a lot of appearances and meeting rereads and standing
Speaker 3: posts and that is really cool. Obviously they don't tend
Speaker 3: to go for two long mas. You'll probably be there
Speaker 3: for like two hours. You know, nothing's cheap these days,
Speaker 3: especially in America, like your grocery shop, your car, everything,
Speaker 3: your apartment, nothing's cheap. So you definitely, I personally would
Speaker 3: not be able to survive still off the pay absolutely
Speaker 3: not like I'm still paying for my rent.
Speaker 2: Yeah, most of the women have another job, if not
Speaker 2: more than one, and so what you.
Speaker 3: Do So I full time create social media content for
Speaker 3: a living, which I'm incredibly grateful for, and obviously with
Speaker 3: my dancing and all my you know, stuff that I've
Speaker 3: achieved over the year, I love posting and sharing that
Speaker 3: and just sharing behind the scenes in my life. I
Speaker 3: also qualified and makeup, so I love doing makeup. I
Speaker 3: lived a very normal life growing up. I worked at Sephora,
Speaker 3: had a very normal life, worked hard for my money,
Speaker 3: bought my own car outright, you know, didn't get it
Speaker 3: all on a silver platter. So I know what it's
Speaker 3: like to work hard and have to earn your money,
Speaker 3: but then getting put in a position with social media
Speaker 3: to earn it from doing what I love is the
Speaker 3: most rewarding and cool feeling ever.
Speaker 2: But also the time, you know, time is the ultimate commodity,
Speaker 2: and you need the time to perfect your routines to
Speaker 2: self care because there's a lot of maintenance required as well.
Speaker 2: You women are increasingly a part of a huge part
Speaker 2: of that, And is there still a movement to and
Speaker 2: I don't want to compromise you obviously on when you're
Speaker 2: on the cusp with something amazing that's so say, but
Speaker 2: even I was moved to tweet about it when I
Speaker 2: found out that you weren't getting paid, the girls were
Speaker 2: getting paid.
Speaker 3: The girls fought, they fought hard, and they fought long,
Speaker 3: and I'm so incredibly honored to be friends with them
Speaker 3: and that I got to experience the pay increase. Like
Speaker 3: for example, Jada, she fought so hard as well, but
Speaker 3: didn't even audition to make the team the next year,
Speaker 3: and she did that just for the other joy and
Speaker 3: for others, knowing that she was going to come in
Speaker 3: and make an impact, and she left with an impact too,
Speaker 3: So that was really cool.
Speaker 2: And is that non going thing that there's still like
Speaker 2: this low level or maybe medium level agitation for your
Speaker 2: pay to be reflective of your contribution.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think look like they're definitely still is room
Speaker 3: for improvement, but we'll take what we can get right now.
Speaker 3: And it's been an improvement, so I think we're all
Speaker 3: just super grateful that they're finally they've seen that we are.
Speaker 3: You know, that we deserve more and they've given that.
Speaker 3: So we'll leave it at that for now and see
Speaker 3: how it goes in the next couple of years.
Speaker 1: But for now, I'm just honestly, I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 3: This sounds really bad to say, but like, I would
Speaker 3: have still have done it if the pain creas didn't happen,
Speaker 3: because I just want like and they know that, and
Speaker 3: that's the hard thing.
Speaker 1: They know that. Like, I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 3: I don't even know about the pain increase when I
Speaker 3: was re auditioning because I only came out once I
Speaker 3: had made the team, right, So I was just in
Speaker 3: the mindset like, oh, cool, but that's a bonus, right,
Speaker 3: But I knew that I'd have to have another job
Speaker 3: on the side to make that happen.
Speaker 1: Otherwise what was happened, So.
Speaker 3: When the pain increase came, it was just like, Okay,
Speaker 3: amazing bonus. But I know now after completing a full
Speaker 3: season that what we do still deserves more than that. Yeah.
Speaker 2: And this happens to feminized industries partly if you look
Speaker 2: at like childcare or whatever. It happens because we're motivated
Speaker 2: by the caring side of ourselves, do you know what
Speaker 2: I mean? So we're exploited in that sense and for you,
Speaker 2: and similarly in showbiz, because we always know there are
Speaker 2: people who would do our jobs for nothing, and they
Speaker 2: know that too.
Speaker 3: Yes, and it's so hard. What goes into this job
Speaker 3: is not normal, Like it is not normal what we do.
Speaker 3: And we're literally athletes. We're not just dances or cheerleaders.
Speaker 1: We are athletes. And what goes into this job is
Speaker 1: like no other. So and you're value adding athletes.
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 1: On the upfield.
Speaker 2: What I'm always intrigued about, faith is I mean, the
Speaker 2: point of the game is the mean is the game?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 2: The point of the game is the game, absolutely, and
Speaker 2: you're a magnificent introduction and adornment to that whole sense
Speaker 2: of occasion that happens.
Speaker 1: But you are not allowed to meet the football players
Speaker 1: to fraternize, to fraternize.
Speaker 2: I believe it because that's like basically like putting a
Speaker 2: bowl of cheeto cheese and bacon balls in front of
Speaker 2: me and saying, do not touch you.
Speaker 1: Know what I mean, not for me? The players with
Speaker 1: you women, Like how did they how do they keep
Speaker 1: you apart? Well, they don't really keep us apart.
Speaker 3: I mean, like we're pretty close on the field, you know,
Speaker 3: like Hi Hawaii, the usual generic whatever.
Speaker 1: But we all know how hard.
Speaker 3: We work to get to this position that it wouldn't
Speaker 3: be worth no but it must have been.
Speaker 1: It's like Romeo and Juliet.
Speaker 2: As as soon as you tell people that they're not
Speaker 2: allowed to have something that I get what you're saying.
Speaker 2: What it once there must have been breaches in the
Speaker 2: past where where where a player and a cheerleader have
Speaker 2: found each other.
Speaker 3: Oh, I mean, not that I know of my team
Speaker 3: these days at all, but I have remember. I do
Speaker 3: remember watching the CMT, the show where it was called
Speaker 3: making the Team, yes, and hearing a few scandals on
Speaker 3: that that it happen, but you just got fired instantly,
Speaker 3: like the girl would just the girl would get fired
Speaker 3: of course then like it was just like no, that
Speaker 3: that's in your contract.
Speaker 1: It's not allowed. Like if you're gonna do that, you're
Speaker 1: going to lose your job.
Speaker 3: So now I think we all just know that it's
Speaker 3: just a no go, Like it's not even a conversation
Speaker 3: of topics, like you just wouldn't even bother. Like I
Speaker 3: worked so hard to get to the spot, and I
Speaker 3: have an incredible boyfriend back home.
Speaker 1: That I'm doing long distance.
Speaker 3: Well I don't speak about a lot, but that's because
Speaker 3: that's the one part of my life that I like
Speaker 3: to keep private into myself. The outside world isn't so
Speaker 3: much in on and I don't need to be on on,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean, Like that's my one thing
Speaker 3: and like it's great having that so but long even
Speaker 3: if I wasn't hard, Yeah, long distance is hard, Like
Speaker 3: it's not made for the week, especially with a sixteen
Speaker 3: hour time difference, Like it's it's not easy.
Speaker 1: But if you love each other enough, you'll make it work.
Speaker 3: And what it's meant to be will be, I always say,
Speaker 3: And you know, he'll come to visit when he can,
Speaker 3: and I'll be home when I can, And yeah, that's that.
Speaker 2: If you think futuristically, because you know that you've got
Speaker 2: maximum five years as a veteran, yes.
Speaker 1: What what?
Speaker 2: And it's probably too soon, but I guess you're used
Speaker 2: to always thinking about the next. It's part of your training.
Speaker 2: What have you thought about more? What plans have you
Speaker 2: put in place for your next so that you're you
Speaker 2: don't suddenly have your world deemed.
Speaker 3: I actually hate this question so much because I'm so bad.
Speaker 3: I'm such a live in the moment girl who doesn't
Speaker 3: know what she's doing tomorrow, let alone in a year.
Speaker 3: But I also think I love it because it's like, wait,
Speaker 3: you should have more goals.
Speaker 1: Like it doesn't just stop here, you know what I mean?
Speaker 3: Like I'm always like I reach a goal and then
Speaker 3: I'm like, wait, what else is there? Is there more
Speaker 3: for me? Like That's how my brain kind of works.
Speaker 3: It's kind of bad but also fun. So my plan
Speaker 3: is basically to still go with the flow and to
Speaker 3: see where the wind takes me. I don't have any
Speaker 3: set plan for like I want to do three season,
Speaker 3: I want to do five, I want to do twelve.
Speaker 3: Like it's literally just like if I get to doing
Speaker 3: three seasons and go I'm over it.
Speaker 1: I'm over it, Like that's that.
Speaker 3: If I get to doing two seasons that I'm done,
Speaker 3: then that's that's fine.
Speaker 1: Or if I want to do the full five, we'll
Speaker 1: do the full five.
Speaker 3: But for me right now, I'm so happy and I
Speaker 3: recently just announced that I will be coming back to
Speaker 3: audition for a second season, so I'm.
Speaker 2: Very excited or so nervous As someone who straddles these
Speaker 2: two worlds as in your role as Russell Crowe my
Speaker 2: new name, What do you think is an essential Australasian
Speaker 2: quality that you have that stands out in contrast to
Speaker 2: the amount.
Speaker 3: I feel like I feel like us Aussie's we're hard working,
Speaker 3: we're driven, but we're also laid back and easy going,
Speaker 3: and I feel like that's one of our best traits.
Speaker 1: Like we're just chill, you know what.
Speaker 3: I mean, Like we don't take everything so seriously, but
Speaker 3: we also work hard and we we know what we
Speaker 3: go after, what we want. So I feel like that
Speaker 3: definitely stands out to them, and like maybe the bubbly
Speaker 3: crazy one hundred miles in our personality because we just,
Speaker 3: you know, we don't get things on a silvil plate.
Speaker 1: We have to like travel or work hard to get
Speaker 1: to where we want to be.
Speaker 3: So I feel like they see that drive and that
Speaker 3: work ethic from me, and like that's definitely an Aussie trait.
Speaker 1: So I feel like I show that as well.
Speaker 2: And coupled with what they look for, the charm of
Speaker 2: a girl next door And who knew the girl next
Speaker 2: door would come from the bottom of the world. Who knew?
Speaker 3: I didn't know either, but somehow made it happen and
Speaker 3: it's been the biggest blessing of my life.
Speaker 2: Faith Would, I cannot wait to see you in the series.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. We're very thrilled.
Speaker 2: And can I know that I can say this on
Speaker 2: behalf of our listeners, like, we're so thrilled to have
Speaker 2: a dog in the hunt.
Speaker 1: Really, Oh, I mean that's an odd expression to you. No, no,
Speaker 1: but I get it. Yeah, yeah, I really hope.
Speaker 3: I'm wrapping my Aussie and Kiwi's proud because that's all
Speaker 3: I want to do. And you know, leave an impact
Speaker 3: and now I hope I inspire many others to go
Speaker 3: after their dreams because you know what, you can dream it,
Speaker 3: you can do it.
Speaker 2: I want to ask you one final question actually, and
Speaker 2: it's like you know where you were talking about. By
Speaker 2: nature of your work, it's looking in the mirror all
Speaker 2: the time, and it always has to be judgment, refinement, improvement.
Speaker 1: Of course, how do you.
Speaker 2: Retain a good channel for that? Do you teach yourself
Speaker 2: or get to the point where you look at yourself
Speaker 2: and judge yourself not personally, if.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean, but actually judge just on
Speaker 1: the metrics. This is a good question.
Speaker 3: I feel like you really just have to train yourself
Speaker 3: into keeping a really good mindset, even if you don't
Speaker 3: really believe it yourself.
Speaker 1: Youve got to tell yourself to.
Speaker 3: Believe it, you know what I mean, Like, if you're
Speaker 3: having a bad day, you gotta leave it at the
Speaker 3: door and come in and just leave whatever it was there,
Speaker 3: because you don't want to bring other people down, you
Speaker 3: know what I mean. And as you said, look in
Speaker 3: the mirror, and if you feel crappy, it's just like
Speaker 3: you got to remind yourself no, no, I am beautiful. You've
Speaker 3: got to tell yourself those things because it's all, at
Speaker 3: the end of the day, a mindset game.
Speaker 1: And if you're telling your mind, oh, I look like this,
Speaker 1: I feel like this.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you've got to feel like that because you're telling
Speaker 3: yourself that, You've got to remind you gotta be kind
Speaker 3: to yourself, you know what I mean. And I feel
Speaker 3: like if you're not, it's going to show. And you're dancing,
Speaker 3: it's gonna show on everything you do. So manifestation, your mindset,
Speaker 3: keep it clear, keep it good, keep it healthy, and
Speaker 3: you're gonna it's gonna show results.
Speaker 2: Okay, So following on from that, what was your lowest moment,
Speaker 2: because we know that you're so happy at the moment,
Speaker 2: but within that there must have been a lower Oh.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, there's been so many highs and lows. I mean
Speaker 3: trying to move my whole life across the world while
Speaker 3: training and learning all these dances, and then trying to
Speaker 3: move into an apartment, getting a visa, of getting a car,
Speaker 3: or They've had multiple mental breakdowns, and I'm I'm not
Speaker 3: sure if you guys will see many of those in
Speaker 3: the show, but there was a few times, even with
Speaker 3: this ponytail situation, trying to get the hair to stay
Speaker 3: in while doing Thunderstruck, I would literally have multiple cries
Speaker 3: when I got home because like imagine, I'm that girl
Speaker 3: that it's left on the field, a little blonde ponytail,
Speaker 3: it balls out. I would run that fast back to
Speaker 3: Australia that you wouldn't even see. Oh yeah, the amount
Speaker 3: of mountadowns over the hairstyle, the living situations, the there
Speaker 3: was so many mountain downs I couldn't even count. But
Speaker 3: there's been a few lows as much they come across
Speaker 3: like a happy person. You know, of course, we're going
Speaker 3: to show you all the highlights of our life. That's
Speaker 3: what Instagram and social media are for. But deep down,
Speaker 3: there has been a lot of you know, a lot
Speaker 3: of moments, but friends and family and your teammates, what
Speaker 3: gets you through that, and just reminding yourself that you've
Speaker 3: earned your spot to be here, and it's a privilege
Speaker 3: to have this experience, and it comes with all those
Speaker 3: highs and lows. You know, just got to it's the
Speaker 3: way you navigate yourself out of it.
Speaker 2: Faith Ward, your trajectory is as high as your kicks.
Speaker 1: I need to see your kick now. I know you don't.
Speaker 2: I know you don't, but I'm a very committed and
Speaker 2: appreciative enjoyer of your work and what's to come. And
Speaker 2: it's been such a joy to meet you. Faith Ward
Speaker 2: is part of one of the most watched and talked
Speaker 2: about cheerleading organizations in the world, and this conversation offered
Speaker 2: a rare look at what it's actually like to be
Speaker 2: inside it, and not just inside it, but to be
Speaker 2: inside it as an outsider. Because of course, Faith is
Speaker 2: not American. If you're curious about the next chapter of
Speaker 2: that world, Faith will appear in the upcoming season of
Speaker 2: Netflix's America's Sweethearts, which will be her first season on
Speaker 2: the series, adding a whole new layer of visibility to
Speaker 2: an already highly scrutinized role, and of course, a delicious,
Speaker 2: another layer for us watching in Australia. Thank you so
Speaker 2: much for listening to No Filter.