WEBVTT - Back to Biz with Katie and Boz: Ashley Graham 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:05.320 That time you got home from a week of double 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:10.000 shifts and your dog didn't recognize you. He hates me, 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.200 hates me. Do you want to treat? You want to treat? 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.960 You knew it was time for something new. Let's job 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.319 it up at career Builder. You can find jobs with 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.880 the work life balance and salary you want, plus build 0:00:23.880 --> 0:00:26.720 a resume and apply to multiple jobs in just one click. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:31.160 Start your search at career builder dot com. Still living 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.240 in manually taking notes, there is a better way to 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.200 start the new year with auto dot ai automatically get 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.360 meeting notes. 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Hi everybody, I'm Bozma St. John and 0:01:22.880 --> 0:01:25.640 you're listening to Back to Biz with Katie and Bows. 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:30.120 Except I am by my damn self, okay, because Katie 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:33.520 is sprinting towards her book deadline and so she's left 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:36.720 me all by my lonesome. But today I'm not by 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:41.039 my lonesome. You know why, because I've got the fabulous 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:45.759 Ashley Graham with me. I am so happy to be here. 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.600 Thank you so much for having me on, Ashley. I 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:53.400 love you. I just love you. You know, since day one, 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.520 I think it was um a love affair. Do you 0:01:56.560 --> 0:02:01.120 remember the year that was? Oh? Girl, I don't know. 0:02:01.160 --> 0:02:03.480 I know I should have actually done like the research 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:05.560 on what year it was because it was Glamor. It 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:07.640 was Glamor Woman of the Year. Yes, and then they 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:09.840 just kept putting us together and stuff, and then it 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.320 was that was it. They just knew. I feel like 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:16.440 we kept seeing each other at places, yes, and then 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:17.840 we were like, you know what, I think we should 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:20.200 just be best friends. That it was. That was it. 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.720 That was the universe was telling us. And then plus 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:28.480 I love justin you know, he looked I was. I 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:30.360 was showing him tough love though, because I kind of 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.000 felt like your cousin who needs to give him a 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.640 hard time, you know what I mean, So you can't 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:37.359 know he's all the way in, you know what I mean, 0:02:37.480 --> 0:02:41.360 because you have it, you know what. That's that's the 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:44.400 best because just in such a teaser he I mean, 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:48.239 all day long, teasing and joking. But then lay L 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:51.800 Lael and I are like, I mean, she's my little sister. 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:58.880 That's it's it's, oh my gosh, Isaac, we have so 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:03.880 much to talk about, like because honey, we we were 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:09.959 having jokes um, you know, prior to this conversation about you, um, 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:15.320 because we as in like the producers myself, we were 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:20.960 having jokes um, because girl, you have done so much. Okay, 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:25.799 you are so much. At one point, Lauren said she 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:28.560 just had to just go ahead and google Ashley Graham 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:33.040 launches because it just felt like you kept uncovering launches, 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.720 you know what I mean, Like you are not just 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:38.800 a mom, even though you're a factless, amazing, wonderful new mom, 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:44.920 but you're fashion and beauty icon, girl, icon, changemaker, rule breaker, 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:52.160 a TV host, a producer, an activists, a wife, somebody's daughter, 0:03:52.760 --> 0:04:00.320 my bestie. Come on titles did you cause a spirit 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:03.840 feel like because yes, yes, yes, but all of the 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:07.160 titles because you are so much and you mean so much, 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:11.280 and so I'm going to give all your flowers right now, okay, 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:16.640 because I truly feel that you have absolutely not just 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:20.520 disrupted the way that we look at fashion beauty. I'm 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:25.280 talking about like shattered, disrupted, changed everything. Nothing was done 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.039 the same afterwards. Okay, let's just go ahead and claim that, amen. 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:33.440 But also the fact that you're an entrepreneur who keeps going, 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.600 who keeps launching, and even in this time of COVID. 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:38.280 So we're going to talk about all of that well 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.000 as much as we can in this time. But okay, 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.680 so we we got to start though, from the beginnings 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.760 of time, Okay, because you're you're in Nebraska right now, 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:50.720 right I am in Nebraska, justin Isaac and I came 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.359 with my mom to Nebraska the second week of March 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.039 and we were like, we left New York because we 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:57.599 just didn't know what was going to happen. I thought 0:04:57.600 --> 0:04:59.599 we were going to be gone for three weeks. I 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:04.680 didn't even and pack everything, and um, it's been four 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:08.039 months now, and it's it's it's been a very interesting 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:13.640 time as everybody has been having. But um, I'm in Nebraska. 0:05:13.839 --> 0:05:15.800 I'm in the same home that I grew up in 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:19.960 that I went to high school in, um with you know, 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:22.680 a little bit of different furniture because my mom has 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:25.520 a boyfriend now that's living with us. Yes, so it's 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:28.719 my mom, my, her boyfriend, me and Justin and Isaac 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.560 and Isaac, Justin and I have taken over the whole 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:33.880 basement and then they have upstairs, so it kind of 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:36.359 and her basement is bigger than my New York sized apartment. 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:40.920 Putting that out there, so we have been able to breathe, 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:46.640 but it has it has brought me back to like, wow, 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:48.320 this is where it all started. This is where it 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:50.800 all began. Was like here in Nebraska. These are where 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.880 my roots are. And so much of me has been 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:55.960 like New York, New York, New York, New York until 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.640 I die. And now I'm like back in a suburb. 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:02.640 I see green out side of me. Isaac loves the grass, 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.679 and I'm like, okay, do I want the suburb? Like also, 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:08.920 because I'll never give up my apartment in New York, 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:13.160 So it brings a lot of perspective and I kind 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:16.200 of I love it because I like to be a 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:19.520 person who can go back and look at what I've done, 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:22.520 where I've come from and be excited for myself and 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:24.560 the same for the people around me and um, and 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:27.440 that's exactly what this has done. Yeah. Can you talk 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.320 a little bit about that though, your beginnings in Nebraska, 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.640 because you know, I feel that all of us like 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:38.880 our our own origin stories. Yeah stories. So I mean 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:44.080 listen right here, Colorado, right or die. There have been 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:51.120 so many assumptions, you know, I mean about Midwesterners, Yes, 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:56.000 and the way in which the middle behaves or thinks 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:59.000 this is true, This is true. Talk talk a little 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:04.920 bit about about you there? Then? What was that like? Who? 0:07:05.000 --> 0:07:09.320 Who was Ashley? Then? What were you like? Are you like? 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:14.600 You are? Now? Different? Yes? No, nothing has changed, and 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:19.600 this lap hasn't changed. The crazy thing is my mom 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:22.480 has the same laugh, so if you hear her laugh 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:24.880 and hear mind, you don't know the difference. Anyways, I 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:28.120 moved here in eighth grade from Texas, so it wasn't 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:30.600 a culture shock, but it was very different Texas to 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:35.280 Nebraska and um, and when I got here, I was 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:39.280 in eighth grade, I was incredibly curvy, Um, I just 0:07:39.360 --> 0:07:45.440 started modeling, and I I remember um my mom. My 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:47.640 mom is from Nebraska, and one of her things that 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:50.320 always growing up was she said, you have to be 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:53.440 a hard worker. Hard work will pay off. And that 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.280 is something that people in the Midwest really stand true to, 0:07:57.800 --> 0:08:01.400 is their hard work at And I come from a 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:06.560 family in a lineage of farmers, and they have worked 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:10.520 their butts off and um continue to this day. And 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:12.040 I feel like that's in my blood. And I feel 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:15.760 like that's how the people of even even just the Midwest. 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.480 I can say it broadly, but Lincoln, Nebraska, you meet 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:23.880 incredibly nice people and incredibly hard working people. And I 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:27.240 really love that about the Midwest. Yeah, oh my goodness, 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:31.720 Well did you feel like that helped you as you 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:35.760 then left me? Still has been the ethos of who 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:39.400 I am in my career. If it weren't for the 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:44.360 fact that I stuck to my guns and bulldozed through 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.520 any boundary that was put in my way, Um, that 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.600 was because of the ethics that my mother gave me. Um, 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:52.920 the niceness I mean I was. I was dropped into 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.360 an industry that was known as the mean girls club, 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:59.160 the mean everybody's club, really and if you're not this, 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.319 that or the other, or than you're out and forget 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:06.199 about next season. You're definitely out. And I was nice 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:10.160 throughout the whole thing. I my mom always told me kindness, Um, 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.080 we'll get you farther in life than anything, and it 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:15.720 has proven in my career. I think that a smile, 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:20.920 a genuine how are you, and played by the rules, Um, 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.960 we'll get you incredibly far. Yeah, yeah, I know that's 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:25.800 so true. Okay, so we're going to get back to 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.040 your career for a second, but do you want to 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:33.200 talk about your mom and this intergenerational living arrangement that 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:36.679 you're in, because clearly COVID has disrupted all of our lives. 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:38.200 Like you said, you thought you were going to be 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:40.120 in Nebraska for three weeks and here you are four 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:41.800 months later, and we don't even know how long the 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:44.120 hell we're gonna be in these in our situations, And 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.839 so what has that been like, Like, you know, returning 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:51.280 back to Nebraska and living in the house where you 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:55.120 grew up in with your mom and her man and 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.080 your man and your new little man. That's a that's 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.960 a lot going on there. So I think that we must, 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:06.920 we must be very abnormal because it's working. Nobody has 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:10.280 gotten into a fight. There hasn't been any issues. We've 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:14.040 had friends come and go. Um, we had we had 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:16.880 family come and go, and all through the midst of 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.280 all of it, we have really been working. Like everybody 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.640 kind of knows their role, Like my mom is the 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:25.840 nanny when I'm on a zoom or a podcast. Um, 0:10:25.880 --> 0:10:29.079 Michael is mcgiver and he's been doing house projects. Um, 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.360 they just redid a bathroom. They put up a stone 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:36.160 wall on the porch. Justin has found every coffee shop 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.720 in Lincoln, and he's been editing films. Um. And I 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:45.320 have just been like feeling so just incredibly happy that 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:49.000 I can have these precious moments with Isaac, that I'm 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:53.000 not on a plane. I knew that to three months 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.880 after having him. My team would probably have been like, hey, 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:57.560 you got this, you got that. In fact, I had 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:02.240 things planned. But silver lining is I have got to 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.280 I have been able to spend every waking moment with him, 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:09.320 and it is such a blessing. Oh god, it is. 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.280 It's so true. It's such a blessing. Similar to you. 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.880 My mom um has been living with us during this 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:19.719 quarantine time. YEP, and so it's it's of course her 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.080 myself and Layel in the house. Um, so it's just 0:11:23.360 --> 0:11:31.280 female energy that's announced, intergenerational female energy, and we are 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:33.840 we're making it. I don't know if we're as perfect 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:37.760 as y'all, okay, but we're doing our best too. I 0:11:37.800 --> 0:11:40.560 grew up with two sisters. I get it. Mm hmmm 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:43.520 mm hmm. Yeah. But you know, it's all a learning. 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:45.480 That's just you know, I'm just I'm gonna put that 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.640 silver lining on it. It's all a learning, Okay, it is, 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.040 it is. And also you'll look back on this and 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:52.680 you'll be so happy that you spent this time with 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:58.120 your mom, your grandma for right, right, That's how I'm 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:00.280 looking at him, Like I get this time with my 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.720 mom and my mom and I talk about death like 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:06.800 it's really not a like it's a conversation that we have. 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:08.960 And she's like, okay, when I die, Like she tells 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:10.800 me where her things are and this and that, and 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.280 we talk about it. And she told me, she was like, 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.520 just think about this time that when you look back, 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:19.000 we're gonna have had this. And it just it's always like, yeah, 0:12:19.160 --> 0:12:25.360 that's a good way to think about it. When we 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:36.120 come back, Astley and all those damn labels. 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Do you want to treat? 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.360 You want to treat? You knew it was time for 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:24.840 something new, Let's drop it up. At career builder, you 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:27.600 can find jobs with the work life balance and salary 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.920 you want, plus build a resume and apply to multiple 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:34.240 jobs in just one click. Start your search at career 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:39.160 builder dot com. Still living in and manually taking notes, 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.960 start the new year with auto dot ai to generate 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:45.960 automatic notes for meetings, interviews, or lectures. With auto dot ai, 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:49.080 you can search the meeting notes, insert images, playback the 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:51.560 audio and share them with your friends or coworkers. You 0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:55.640 can capture action items, remember meeting details, and keep everyone informed. 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.840 Auto dot ai works for in person or virtual meetings 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.760 like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Sign up for 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.320 free at auto dit ai or download the app for 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:07.000 free auto dot ai. That's O T T E R. 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:11.920 Dot Ai. You're listening to Back to Biz with Katie 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.400 and Bows and I'm chatting with my friend, model mom 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:20.520 entrepreneur Ashley Graham. Let's get back to it. Can you 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.280 talk a little bit about when you began modeling and 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:30.400 what actually made you think about how to innovate and 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:32.880 change within that space, Because it's enough to just be 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:35.480 who you are in the space. I mean, listen, there 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:37.800 are lots of people who are in the spaces, are 0:14:37.800 --> 0:14:41.080 the industries they are in and trying to achieve just 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.520 being different in that space. It's like that just that's 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.120 enough work, Like you get all the all the trophies 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:51.200 and metals just for having broken barriers being who you are. 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:53.840 But then girl, you have to go ahead and just 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.360 go ahead and innovate too. Can you talk a little 0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:00.360 bit about that, Like you're you're modeling. But where where 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:04.480 did those thoughts come from start off? Well, I think 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:10.040 where it really began was knowing that after a certain 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:12.120 amount of years of modeling. I mean I started when 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.920 I was twelve years old and I moved to New 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.440 York at seventeen. I left Nebraska. It was an oh 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:20.440 five and my mom and dad said, if you don't 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:21.920 make it in New York, you're gonna have to move back, 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.360 and you're gonna have to go to college. And you're 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:29.960 talking to a dyslexic a d D barely like like 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:34.080 I just kind of like slid through high school with 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:37.520 seats and whatever it took. I did not want to 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:41.600 go to college, so I did whatever it took, and um, 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:44.120 I worked my butt off. I took every job. I 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:48.520 said yes to everything. Um and that was the beginning 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:52.400 of my agency realizing, oh, this girl's down, she's like, 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.640 she's actually ready and we can throw her into anything. 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.520 So then it was probably about four or five years 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.600 later when I was married. I had I think it 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:05.600 was just a year that Justin and I had been married, 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:09.840 and my career was great. I was top of the 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:14.520 line catalog girl, Lane Bryant model just had a commercial 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:22.160 that was banned from TV and it was Remember remember 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:24.840 it wasn't necessarily like my name was put on the map, 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:27.840 but people in the industry were like, oh, that's that girl, 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:31.760 and um, Justin came home and there was it was. 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:34.120 It was maybe a year after that and Justin had 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:36.280 come home and I was still on the couch where 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:38.160 he had left from the morning that he had gone 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:39.880 to work. He's like, why are you still in the 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:43.960 same position on the couch. I was like, it was 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:49.360 one of those really proud wife moments, like, yeah he was. 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.480 And around that time he said, what do you want? 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:56.120 What is it that is going to make you happy? 0:16:56.840 --> 0:17:00.960 And because he knew that, I felt really stagnant in 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:04.200 the career that I was at at that moment, and 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:08.160 it got my wheels turning because I thought that from 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:12.439 that commercial, I could um really capitalize off of it 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:16.359 and turn it into something. And although I did much later, 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:18.240 I thought it was going to happen faster. And I 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:21.200 think that for me, everything has been a building block 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.320 on top of the other and it hasn't come just 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:28.399 so quickly, but it's come with time, and it's also 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.440 come with having my ears open and so When Justin 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:33.679 said that to me, it was like, you're right, what 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:37.159 do people know me as? How can I really amplify? 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:40.000 By the way, haven't we been saying the word amplify 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:42.880 so much? I love it and I'm sure we'll get 0:17:42.880 --> 0:17:48.639 to that. Um and and how to amplify my voice 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:51.240 and to really into not not just my voice but 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.520 my name. And what I really wanted to change in 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:57.440 the industry and um and that was start a lingerie line. 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.719 So I went to a company. I went to a 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:02.480 few companies and I said, Hey, I want to do 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:05.240 a lingerie line. I'm known as a lingerie girl. Because 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:06.960 that was a question, I asked myself, what what who 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:08.520 do people know me as? Oh, they know me? Oh, 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:12.879 you're that lingerie girl. So I started my lingerie line 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:15.600 and I went to a few CEOs, but it ended 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:19.520 up being CEO of Additionel Rosalind Grinder, and I said, 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:21.639 I want to make bras that look like this, and 0:18:21.680 --> 0:18:23.280 I lifted up my shirt to her and I said, 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:25.560 but you see this spillage and you see that And 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:28.320 I said it's just it's not cute, and she's like, great, 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:29.919 let's do it. Within a couple of months, we had 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:33.360 the contract written up and the next year my capsule 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.560 collection launched because who knew there's twenty five components to 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.359 a bra and it took a year to make, I 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:45.240 don't know. So that was the beginning of, oh, this 0:18:45.320 --> 0:18:50.159 is more than just modeling. But through that also I 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.280 had always been called the plus size model. There was 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:57.600 always a label kind of looming over me. And here 0:18:57.600 --> 0:18:59.840 we are. We're in a day and age where label 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:04.200 are disgusting. Nobody wants to be labeled. Yet people still 0:19:04.240 --> 0:19:06.439 put you in a box for who you are and 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:08.320 who you stand for, and who you're rooting for and 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:12.119 who you're not rooting for. And all I simply wanted 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.200 was to just be accepted for who I was Ashley 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:20.160 the model period. So I just kept talking about it, 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:23.640 and I think now looking back, that was the best 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:26.200 thing I could have done, was just continue to talk 0:19:26.280 --> 0:19:30.959 about the change I wanted and my experiences through my 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.680 own life, like with cellulite, like with dating, like with eating, 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.480 my experiences around my body, my insecurities. Who knew everybody 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:47.000 else in the world also had insecurities. I think, Um, 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.239 that's it was, really it was really then, and it 0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:51.720 was it was justin kind of knocking on my door 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:55.560 and and pushing me, but also me realizing that I 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.720 needed to have patients throughout this whole thing, because um 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:01.200 thirty two now, so here we are twenty years in 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:04.840 the game. Besides justin, were there any other allies or 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:07.639 how did you find the gosh? I don't know the 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:10.760 wherewithal to be like, you know what, yeah, I know 0:20:10.840 --> 0:20:16.080 some companies. I'm going to go figure. Let's tell you. 0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:17.679 You know, as a model, you think that your agency 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:19.240 is going to hold your hand through a lot of things. 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:21.320 And I tell a lot of young models do it 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:24.760 on your wrong. You know, they had an agent tell me, 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.520 we're the ones who opened the door for you. You're 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:32.080 the one who's invited back in. And when she told 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:36.200 me that, it was an eye opener because it was like, oh, 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:39.320 you're just telling me that you can call them, but 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:43.240 I need to do the work. And that's with any career, 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:46.960 any any category that you want to actually get into, 0:20:47.000 --> 0:20:49.760 because nobody's going to do the work for you, nobody 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.080 is going to sign up for you. You have to 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:54.840 take a leap of faith. You have to get uncomfortable 0:20:55.000 --> 0:20:57.760 in a new situation. And that's the only place you're 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:00.280 going to actually find growth. And that's what I did, 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:02.919 and I just I mean, I would be on set 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:08.400 talking to the CEOs, to the president's and being like, hey, 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:10.959 let's have a you know, over lunch, over catering, and 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:14.880 it's like, so I've been thinking about it's amazing and 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:17.480 that's it. Because I told my agency at the time, 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:19.359 I said I want to do a lingerie line. They 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:21.479 said no, no, no, no, no, they said no to me, 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:23.320 and then I came to them and said, well, well 0:21:23.359 --> 0:21:25.840 I'm going to be doing this. And of course they 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:27.960 got to collect a check because that was the contract 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:30.879 that I had, and those are also learning curves that 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:32.800 I had to learn. It's like, you know, who am 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:35.320 I signing my name away to? What? Am I signing 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:39.720 my name a way to? Um? So I'm glad that 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:42.280 I had the right people in my court as far 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.879 as attorneys and advisors like that. Yes, but you're telling 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:49.560 us and that's wonderful because I think I think part 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:52.440 of it is also sharing, you know, sharing the knowledge 0:21:52.840 --> 0:21:55.320 that you have as you as you go along. And 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:58.320 as I said before, you know I I obviously am 0:21:58.440 --> 0:22:00.159 I am a fan, not just your friend, but a 0:22:00.160 --> 0:22:04.840 fan of your work because of how relentless you are 0:22:05.240 --> 0:22:10.080 in the pursuit of continuing to create. It's a very 0:22:10.119 --> 0:22:15.199 impressive trait. Thank you. I'm not tired. I wanna. I 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:18.000 want to change the world. I think that there's just 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:23.080 that's it right. So as a mother, there's like a 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:28.719 new strength that builds up in you. I believe, and um, 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:32.160 and there's just so much to be done, and it's like, okay, checklist, 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:34.920 check check check, Okay, what are what are my new 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:39.879 what's my new? Checklist? And um, And I'm not afraid. 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:45.720 I'm not I think that a lot of and I 0:22:45.760 --> 0:22:47.480 don't want to speak for every woman, but I think 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:50.280 that there are some women who maybe even just people. 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:52.840 Maybe I'm maybe I shouldn't just say women, but I 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:55.160 just work with so many women. It's like I don't 0:22:55.160 --> 0:22:58.840 want to ruffle anybody's feathers. Oh I can't do that 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:02.800 because of X, Y and Z or do you think 0:23:02.800 --> 0:23:04.879 that that's the right idea. I think it's always the 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:07.359 right idea. Go for what you want, go you know 0:23:07.400 --> 0:23:09.679 you always will hear like, go after what you believe 0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:11.720