Speaker 1: I'm always always, sir.
Speaker 2: Be careful, love those u bo let We'll use your head.
Speaker 2: They will tear you up. Lack a purple talk.
Speaker 3: Oh no, no, no, yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah yeah, oh no no no.
Speaker 5: Hi.
Speaker 3: I'm Amanda and I'm Rumby.
Speaker 2: Welcome to It's lay It.
Speaker 3: We're in a long distance friendship that started over twenty
Speaker 3: years ago when we were in high school.
Speaker 4: We'll be talking about all things life, love, family, anything
Speaker 4: and everything else under the sun.
Speaker 3: Delve deeper with us because in life, you know my layers.
Speaker 3: Oh no, no, no, yeah, yeah, yeah, Hello everybody, and welcome
Speaker 3: to another episode of It's Layered. And today we have
Speaker 3: a very very special guest. We're really hyped to have
Speaker 3: her on here for any of you. Okay, let me
Speaker 3: do that. Bye, I'm getting getting ahead of myself, getting
Speaker 3: ahead of myself. But we have Sorel Madia. On social media,
Speaker 3: you may know her as co co Sorel, and she
Speaker 3: is a content creator. Content about her hilarious dating antics
Speaker 3: continues to be a viral hit for her cross both
Speaker 3: TikTok and Instagram, such as her iconic Love Island UK
Speaker 3: debrief videos. If you haven't seen them, you should check
Speaker 3: them out.
Speaker 2: Even one five Island to you, Brauh.
Speaker 3: It has gone out over three million views. She's a
Speaker 3: trained actor. Okay, give her flowers. Serral is now also
Speaker 3: finding success as a presenter, interviewing and hosting at the
Speaker 3: UK premiere of Wakanda Forever Black Panther, hosting the TikTok
Speaker 3: End of Year twenty twenty two party, and leading a
Speaker 3: panel interviewing the stars of the amazing movie The Woman
Speaker 3: King at the premiere.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we have seen your working many red carpis looking
Speaker 4: amazing by the way, most notably as the BFI That's
Speaker 4: the British Film Institute Film Festival, Disney's Light Year premier
Speaker 4: and Sony's Bullet Train. In twenty twenty two, Sorell You
Speaker 4: starred in a one woman play Give This Woman the Flowers,
Speaker 4: called Funeral Flowers by Emma Dennis Edwards, which appeared across
Speaker 4: venues across the UK include the Nottingham Playhouse and the
Speaker 4: Liverpool Everyman. We welcome you to our podcast. We're so excited, Sarah,
Speaker 4: so happy to have you.
Speaker 1: I'm so excited to be here. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 6: Like guys, I'm I just you know, when you talk
Speaker 6: to other like zim women, I'm like, this is what
Speaker 6: it's about. Like when you guys emailed, I can't tell
Speaker 6: you how much I screamed.
Speaker 1: Because our industry laps, we need more, we need.
Speaker 6: More creatives from my background, Like you know, it's just
Speaker 6: so when when I find them, I'm like, I'm grabbing
Speaker 6: on and I'm not letting guys.
Speaker 1: Sorry, love this whole.
Speaker 3: Around, Like yeah, definitely, Well we cracked the mics like
Speaker 3: it was.
Speaker 1: It was great.
Speaker 3: So we're wholeheartedly thankful that you could be here. And
Speaker 3: you know, let's back before we get too hype, let's
Speaker 3: backtrack a little bits, take them back, and could you
Speaker 3: tell us a little bit about how your journey towards
Speaker 3: being a content creator, influencer actress came about. Can you
Speaker 3: tell us you know a little bit about that.
Speaker 6: I would say I've always known I was a creative,
Speaker 6: and I grew up in a house where my parents
Speaker 6: didn't quite understand that, and especially during like secondary school,
Speaker 6: I how can I put it? I was really good
Speaker 6: with certain subjects, and then other subjects I just wasn't
Speaker 6: good at. And if I wasn't good at them, I
Speaker 6: wasn't putting the time or the effort in So. I
Speaker 6: remember we were picking our GCSS and I was saying
Speaker 6: to my parents, I really want to do drama.
Speaker 1: And obviously the question is how will you get a.
Speaker 2: Job where will you You're not going to be a
Speaker 2: doctor or lawyer.
Speaker 6: I'm telling two parents, one who is like an economic economist.
Speaker 1: What is it?
Speaker 3: Economist?
Speaker 1: Economist, and the other one is like a nurse.
Speaker 6: So exactly, my mum and dad were like ah, may no, no, no,
Speaker 6: but they they it took some time to get to
Speaker 6: the point of them like being like, okay, maybe maybe
Speaker 6: this is something she's been very serious about. And when
Speaker 6: I put my head to something, I'm very stubborn, like
Speaker 6: I'm not budging. I will perfect that craft to the
Speaker 6: best of my ability. So I did that GCSE A level,
Speaker 6: a level.
Speaker 1: My mom convinced me to do law. I will never
Speaker 1: think of that woman for doing that to me.
Speaker 2: No, girl, no, let me just try one more time.
Speaker 1: My mom convinced me to do law.
Speaker 6: I failed that exam so hard, it was painful, like,
Speaker 6: it was very embarrassing, and my dad had to pull
Speaker 6: me down. He was like, listen, maybe this isn't for you.
Speaker 6: Maybe let's speak, let's feel like.
Speaker 1: I told you.
Speaker 3: I told you, I don't know what you want me
Speaker 3: to say.
Speaker 1: We've done her this conversation, so I don't know.
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 6: I think that's when they realized like, Okay, let's just
Speaker 6: let her do what she's good at and she enjoys.
Speaker 6: And then I went to UNI and I did like
Speaker 6: media and performance, which is kind of on screen and
Speaker 6: off screen training. I went to drama school and I
Speaker 6: focused on theater acting, and then I jumped into the
Speaker 6: industry of an actress, which eighty percent of the time
Speaker 6: you're just auditioning and then twenty percent of the time.
Speaker 1: You actually have work, which is hard.
Speaker 6: The industry doesn't have many girls that look like me,
Speaker 6: and when they do look like you, you're all in
Speaker 6: the same audition room for the same roles every single
Speaker 6: time exactly, and then you get type casts my body type.
Speaker 6: I'm a very curvacious, zim woman. Like you know, you
Speaker 6: start getting part of the roles that start to affect
Speaker 6: you because you're like, I know, I'm more than this,
Speaker 6: but I'm being put into a hole that yeah, you know. So,
Speaker 6: I mean, they're all growing pains, and that's what your
Speaker 6: early twenties are for.
Speaker 1: You're learning you're growing.
Speaker 6: And then I decided to move back home because London
Speaker 6: was just not for me.
Speaker 1: And I was like, this is too much.
Speaker 6: My mental health is debilitating. Mama opened the door, let
Speaker 6: me get back.
Speaker 1: So I went back home to open arms.
Speaker 6: My parents are very welcoming and I worked a nine
Speaker 6: to five job and then I helped my parents set.
Speaker 1: Up a business.
Speaker 6: Like I was doing quite a few things that weren't
Speaker 6: creative anyways, pandemic hits.
Speaker 1: Well, when pandemic.
Speaker 6: Hits, I had just secured a three month acting job,
Speaker 6: which would have been my first job after taking this break.
Speaker 1: I was just really down when the pandemic hit and
Speaker 1: I was.
Speaker 6: Like, oh, like this is the last thing I need,
Speaker 6: Like I've just got back into the groove. And my
Speaker 6: parents were just like everything happens for a reason, like
Speaker 6: don't you know, just chill out, and I was like, okay, cool,
Speaker 6: good cool. Anyways, one day, my little sister, who's I mean,
Speaker 6: she's what she was eleven at the time, twelve, she
Speaker 6: has TikTok and she's like, oh, downlo TikTok and we
Speaker 6: can learn dances together. And I'm like, ooh, I'm down
Speaker 6: on being the kids I want to be youthful cool.
Speaker 1: You know, revived my one beat.
Speaker 6: And then we downloaded this app, and before I knew it,
Speaker 6: I was like obsessed, and I'm like watching content and
Speaker 6: the more I watch it, the more I'm like, I
Speaker 6: have an opinion on that, and I have an opinion
Speaker 6: on that, and the something I want to say on that.
Speaker 1: Someone actually started off very political.
Speaker 6: It was the height of like the twenty twenty protest
Speaker 6: George Floyd's situation, and I just felt like it was
Speaker 6: a great place for me to share my voice without pressure.
Speaker 6: No one who on you followed me. I didn't follow
Speaker 6: anyone but my little sister. It was just I'll put
Speaker 6: it on. If anyone sees it, they see it, if
Speaker 6: they don't say that the word was about to end anyway,
Speaker 6: So what's the worst?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: What else? Do you know what I mean? Like, there's
Speaker 1: bigger in the world that happening.
Speaker 6: And then content just started to gain views and likes, shares.
Speaker 1: Comments, and I think I still to this day, I'm.
Speaker 6: Kind of blown away by how it's all panned out
Speaker 6: in a really short space of time. And I'm ever
Speaker 6: so grateful to God, and like I can't stress that enough,
Speaker 6: Like I don't take any milestone big or small for granted.
Speaker 1: But yeah, that's how content started happening. And then from content, I'm.
Speaker 6: Getting presenting gigs, I'm getting Yeah, like it was, it's
Speaker 6: just been one thing after another. But yeah, that's kind
Speaker 6: of the journey. It's been a long one, but that's
Speaker 6: that's been the creative journey.
Speaker 3: But isn't that beautiful because you're saying it all just
Speaker 3: kind of happened so fast, but like all that time
Speaker 3: before groundwork and the preparation for you because I think Amanda,
Speaker 3: you and I have spoken about this before, how an
Speaker 3: opportunity can come and you know someone and it came
Speaker 3: and they had their fifteen minutes of fame and then
Speaker 3: they didn't have anything to fall back on or there
Speaker 3: was nothing there to kind of them going the train going.
Speaker 3: It kind of was like, oh, stop starting, you know,
Speaker 3: start stop. Sorry, So that's so so great. I remember
Speaker 3: the first TikTok I think.
Speaker 2: You were actually talking about that. What's the first TikTok
Speaker 2: you remember? Yeah, that I distinctly.
Speaker 3: Remember, Soral was when you were talking to the zimbabwe
Speaker 3: and Aunties are commenting on your body. Yes, I remember,
Speaker 3: I was like, can you say that a little louder, please, Yeah,
Speaker 3: you you know some of us, some of us are
Speaker 3: tormented all the time, every comment, every comments, So absolutely.
Speaker 4: Likely ourgorithm must have been working well with that one,
Speaker 4: because I think we all all zoom.
Speaker 2: People were like we fop.
Speaker 6: That, and it did like grounds in like Facebook groups
Speaker 6: on WhatsApp. My mom's friends were texting her like you know.
Speaker 4: Your daughter, and I was like, oh, shut out, what
Speaker 4: is she doing these days?
Speaker 1: My mom was like, you're your friendly my friends. I
Speaker 1: was like, if the shoe fits wear, it.
Speaker 6: Mayam like yeah, that's how I gotta say.
Speaker 4: You know, yeah, but you know that just speaks to
Speaker 4: how relatable you are, because the girls that get it,
Speaker 4: we got it, like we're all like yeah, man, like
Speaker 4: you said it, so it looked like yeah, you spoke
Speaker 4: to us, like that's why we shared it because we
Speaker 4: But you know, I was listening to your podcast and
Speaker 4: you were talking about how the UK especially want to
Speaker 4: be boxed in as one thing, and obviously when you're
Speaker 4: someone like you was a multi hyphenate with acting, presenting,
Speaker 4: content creation, comedian, what do you think for you is
Speaker 4: like how you describe yourself? First, if someone says sol
Speaker 4: Sarral is.
Speaker 5: Oh, child God, like, why are you getting deep this quickly?
Speaker 5: We're duping deeper surround? No, we have to go there.
Speaker 6: Okay, what would I say I am?
Speaker 1: I would say I'm an actress.
Speaker 6: That's the first one I would say, just because that
Speaker 6: has been my dream since I was like ten years
Speaker 6: old and until I see myself otherwise, I'll always see
Speaker 6: myself as an actress first. All this other stuff, don't
Speaker 6: get me wrong. I love it and I enjoy doing it.
Speaker 6: But I put the work in. You know they say,
Speaker 6: like take ten thousand.
Speaker 1: Hours to be yeah, good, Like I know, I put
Speaker 1: the work in. Why was the thing?
Speaker 6: Can look at content and be like, you know, it
Speaker 6: was just a viral moment, But with my acting, I
Speaker 6: know like yeah there was blood, sweat, tears that went
Speaker 6: into that. So yeah, an actress is what I would say.
Speaker 3: And I think that's why you have like you keep
Speaker 3: going like you're saying, things keep happening and happening because
Speaker 3: you know, you have a craft that you've owned. It
Speaker 3: seems easy when we see it, we're just like but
Speaker 3: it's like, yeah, it's you know, it is a craft.
Speaker 3: And how would you say? I think you spoke about
Speaker 3: your parents and their reaction to your chosen field or path,
Speaker 3: but other friends of family, how has that reaction been
Speaker 3: around Soraul pursuing this kind of what do you mean industry?
Speaker 3: What does the content create?
Speaker 5: Like?
Speaker 3: How do you want to find that.
Speaker 2: To some of these people?
Speaker 3: Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 3: How have they perceived that, especially within you know, the
Speaker 3: Zim circles and being heritage. What's that been like?
Speaker 6: You know, honestly, I think overall very supportive. Okay, and
Speaker 6: they don't know what I'm doing. Let's just be honest.
Speaker 1: There's put out there. They have no idea what my
Speaker 1: job description is. They don't.
Speaker 7: They don't, and I'm like, okay, yeah, that's.
Speaker 1: One way to describe it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah in my bedroom.
Speaker 6: I do in my room, right, But yeah, I think
Speaker 6: they don't fully get it. But I think, you know,
Speaker 6: it's crazy. The marker of success within the Zim family,
Speaker 6: and I can only speak for mine, is usually like money.
Speaker 1: Or accolades, right, yes, speak on it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, if you're making money or if you're getting the awards,
Speaker 6: then you are successful. Or if people in the community
Speaker 6: deem you are successful, then you are successful. And I
Speaker 6: think I had to like reshape a lot of my
Speaker 6: aunties and uncle's views on success and allow them to
Speaker 6: see that I've set personal goals for myself and just
Speaker 6: because you may not deem them as successful, to me,
Speaker 6: that is a marker of success for me. And you know,
Speaker 6: it's it's it's a constant journey. Luckily, there's quite a
Speaker 6: few creatives in my family, so we're all hitting from
Speaker 6: different angles. Some are singer summer rappers, some are content creators,
Speaker 6: some are you know, we're all from different angles and
Speaker 6: this kind of younger generation. But I would say overall
Speaker 6: it has been it has been positive. And I think
Speaker 6: the day when my mom realized I wasn't going to
Speaker 6: be asking her for reend, my mom was like, ah ya,
Speaker 6: as long as you're happy.
Speaker 1: As long as you're happy. Mother.
Speaker 3: She speaks on her journey with her parents, like how
Speaker 3: her parents are like you have to be a jes
Speaker 3: and just like until they saw the fruits and those
Speaker 3: being financial physical, you know fruits, They're like, Okay. Now
Speaker 3: they're at the shows, like that's not They'll.
Speaker 2: Be like this is the beginning. Like you're like.
Speaker 6: In the room, my mom will be you know, while
Speaker 6: I'm collecting, and I'm.
Speaker 1: Like, day Mama.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean you said that you felt like TikTok
Speaker 4: happened by chance. But did you always have a calling
Speaker 4: in your heart to have a huge following? Did you
Speaker 4: always think I've got something to say and people need
Speaker 4: to hear it huge following?
Speaker 1: No, I get scared actually with huge following.
Speaker 6: Okay, me and Holley, my manager, we have this thing
Speaker 6: where sometimes I'll put a video on Instagram and I'll
Speaker 6: message it and I'll be like, Okay, it's got quite
Speaker 6: a lot of views.
Speaker 1: I'm logging out. I'll be back in three days because I.
Speaker 6: Just I feel like, I don't know, I can't describe
Speaker 6: the pressure, but it's almost like off of that one video,
Speaker 6: maybe you should go watch like seven others then you
Speaker 6: can figure out if you want to follow me, because
Speaker 6: sometimes I'm like, I don't know if it's justified, and
Speaker 6: I don't know if that's problematic within me that I
Speaker 6: feel like like that. I don't know therapy whatever anyways,
Speaker 6: But yeah, I for a huge following.
Speaker 1: No, But I have always felt like.
Speaker 6: I can add something to a conversation, and not because
Speaker 6: I think I'm wise, but because I think I asked
Speaker 6: the right questions. I've always been very inquisitive, and I
Speaker 6: think they make the best conversations, the best teaching moments.
Speaker 6: So yeah, I've always felt like I can add something
Speaker 6: to a conversation, but never for like, you know, large scale.
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe it's quite interesting.
Speaker 3: You spoke about it with on your podcast. We'll go
Speaker 3: into her podcast later, but like you're talking about it
Speaker 3: about how you know, people see you and they think, oh,
Speaker 3: she must be so outgoing and like such a people person,
Speaker 3: and like, you know, you just want to like talk
Speaker 3: to everybody, but how there's this like anxiety that comes
Speaker 3: with social anxiety you were talking about and it was
Speaker 3: very interesting, And I think often as performers, people think
Speaker 3: they don't realize you are a performer because you are
Speaker 3: a performer, Like it's part of it, like bringing this
Speaker 3: character out. It doesn't necessarily mean you live that twenty
Speaker 3: four to sevens.
Speaker 1: Yeah you know what I mean?
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think, especially with platforms like TikTok, where's so.
Speaker 2: Unfiltered, do you know what I mean?
Speaker 4: Like people feel like you really are my sister, you
Speaker 4: really are my so they step up to you.
Speaker 2: Like, oh, do you know what you were saying you're like,
Speaker 2: when did I say that?
Speaker 4: I don't remember when I was like I don't know
Speaker 4: if you ever really, but like remember and I even
Speaker 4: with the podcast, so people always like I remember what
Speaker 4: you said then, and you're like, say, I need to
Speaker 4: timestamp that and go listen back, you know, because it's
Speaker 4: like and then you don't want to like not honor
Speaker 4: the moment for the person. But at the same time,
Speaker 4: you're like this makes you anxious because you're like you
Speaker 4: always have to almost always have to be on yes
Speaker 4: to receive that, you know.
Speaker 6: I think as well, with like social anxiety, there's layers.
Speaker 6: So sometimes it's like super high. It's peak, like I'm
Speaker 6: not going to events, I'm staying in my house, like
Speaker 6: like even answering the phone like please please Lise, I'm
Speaker 6: trying to sort myself out, right.
Speaker 1: But then there's other moments where.
Speaker 6: And this is how I know, like especially people who
Speaker 6: follow me, like the OG followers, like the ones who
Speaker 6: really know me, they'll come up to me because I've
Speaker 6: always said, like, if you're going to come up to me,
Speaker 6: please don't do the whole don't freak out, please don't
Speaker 6: do that name. What do you think about that violent girl.
Speaker 6: Like we met last week and we were having coffee.
Speaker 6: Now we're meeting again in Tesco's, you know what I mean.
Speaker 6: Like that's how I think that relationship works best for me.
Speaker 1: And again it's all very new.
Speaker 6: It's under three years, so I'm also navigating that space
Speaker 6: and I'm like, please give me grades, like I promise you.
Speaker 1: It's never it's never the feeling of like I never
Speaker 1: want to.
Speaker 6: Come across as rude because it's never the intention, but awkward,
Speaker 6: you know, so sometimes you know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Yeah, but yeah.
Speaker 6: It's it's it's really weird, and I think most creatives
Speaker 6: are like it.
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 6: I've found most people I've been around in social settings
Speaker 6: who are creatives have that fear of like, like you're saying,
Speaker 6: you just always have to be on. So if somebody
Speaker 6: comes on a day when you're not on, you feel
Speaker 6: like you're giving them like not the best version of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, it's weird.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean even beyond it has to be sash,
Speaker 4: you know, like all so like I'm not.
Speaker 2: Susing today, Yeah, let me be, let me be these people.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but that definitely then breaths the question, how do
Speaker 3: you manage your public persona and your private life. Do
Speaker 3: you feel sometimes the lines can get blurred or you've
Speaker 3: you've been very intentional to separate the two for yourself.
Speaker 1: Yeah, No, I've got hard boundaries. My boundaries is hard,
Speaker 1: thick and fast, and I'll tell you why.
Speaker 6: I In life in general, I've always had boundaries, you know, like,
Speaker 6: for example, when you work in nine to five and
Speaker 6: then people are like, oh, we're like a family here.
Speaker 6: Oh Becky, I you at nine, I can't. And I
Speaker 6: know during those hours outside of them hours, I don't know.
Speaker 1: You may now we're not that comfortable. And I think
Speaker 1: people get really offended or they feel like.
Speaker 6: It's rude their boundaries in But I think it creates
Speaker 6: clarity for me.
Speaker 1: Yes, And when.
Speaker 6: I'm on social media and there's something i want to
Speaker 6: talk about, I know I've processed it, I know I've
Speaker 6: worked through it, or I know that it's something that
Speaker 6: I can get help from. Let's say I need advice
Speaker 6: from it from people who listen to me. That's one thing.
Speaker 6: And then my personal life, they have to be boundary.
Speaker 6: It's got to be stuff that you keep to yourself. Also,
Speaker 6: for example, like my family, they didn't sign up to
Speaker 6: be on social media. They my friends didn't sign up
Speaker 6: to be on social media. So even if I'm making
Speaker 6: a video, I'll always say, like, I'm about to record
Speaker 6: a video. If you don't want to be in it,
Speaker 6: moved to that side of the room, like I give
Speaker 6: an announcement, because I do understand, like it's really really
Speaker 6: difficult to just put people online and to them, it's
Speaker 6: very weird to see comments about themselves, to see, you know,
Speaker 6: imagine people commenting on my mom, my sister, and they're not.
Speaker 1: Used to that.
Speaker 6: I've kind of I'm used to it now. I've this
Speaker 6: is my job, this is what I do. I know
Speaker 6: how to control and make sure I don't see certain stuff.
Speaker 6: But my mom doesn't necessarily understand that, my sister doesn't
Speaker 6: necessarily understand that.
Speaker 1: So I think boundaries are very, very needed.
Speaker 6: And I think the content creators who don't have boundaries
Speaker 6: are the ones who really really suffer when it comes
Speaker 6: to the mental health, because you have no escape. Social
Speaker 6: media is your entire life. And I hate to say it,
Speaker 6: but social media ain't real.
Speaker 1: Speak on that, please are real.
Speaker 6: It's you know, you're seeing the highlight reel, You're highlights
Speaker 6: I have decided to press post.
Speaker 1: If I don't respost, you're not seeing it.
Speaker 6: There are certain things in your life that I think
Speaker 6: you should try your best.
Speaker 1: If you're in content to just keep private.
Speaker 4: They for me, it works, you know, you know it's
Speaker 4: so funny because this is actually I'm probably going to
Speaker 4: ask this question next because it feeds into it. How
Speaker 4: do you best remain authentic and handle negative feedback and comments?
Speaker 2: Because you just talked about that.
Speaker 6: My gosh, that's for the word authentic.
Speaker 1: What does that mean? Issue?
Speaker 2: Maybe let's take it, let's break it down.
Speaker 6: I feel like I prefer the word maybe humble, because
Speaker 6: I feel like authentic implies that in other aspects.
Speaker 1: Of your life you are maybe more or less real
Speaker 1: than you are online.
Speaker 6: I don't know if that makes sense, but I prefer
Speaker 6: the word I think the more the word humble is like,
Speaker 6: you haven't allowed these external factors.
Speaker 3: To influence who you are exactly, the core of who
Speaker 3: you are.
Speaker 6: Exactly, and that honestly, as much as I come from
Speaker 6: my zim aunties for talking about my body, it's my family,
Speaker 6: and it's my friends and their rawness, their realness. The
Speaker 6: way my mom can collect me and gather me. It's
Speaker 6: a work of art. My mom reads me to filth.
Speaker 6: Like I remember once I was like, Mama, this video
Speaker 6: it's got like one hundred thousand views, which was like,
Speaker 6: but how much is in your bank account?
Speaker 4: I said, well, oh oh, okay, okay, I said, well, okay,
Speaker 4: that is one way to decease.
Speaker 1: So I think so I think that helps.
Speaker 6: But also I'm very I've got a really strong relationship
Speaker 6: with God, like being a Christian, being a child of God.
Speaker 6: I mean I just about it on the Internet and stuff,
Speaker 6: but it honestly is the core and fiber of who
Speaker 6: I am. And I know for a fact if I
Speaker 6: didn't have that relationship, that foundation with God, a lot
Speaker 6: of things would have swayed me in a different direction
Speaker 6: that I probably didn't like the version of myself. So yeah,
Speaker 6: I think I think those two things are like the
Speaker 6: pillars that keep me like grounded. As for like hate comments,
Speaker 6: I have a trick. So I posted my video and
Speaker 6: then I closed the whole app and I don't come
Speaker 6: back for about two or three hours. But then it's
Speaker 6: got a couple of comments. I will lie the first three, four,
Speaker 6: maybe five, because they're usually the positive ones. I read
Speaker 6: in the comments, and I realized, you're talking to yourself
Speaker 6: because and that's okay. Sometimes people just want to say
Speaker 6: stuff to say stuff, and that's okay, but I am
Speaker 6: not going to read it, because one day you will
Speaker 6: read something that will literally affect you for the next week,
Speaker 6: and I get a week to give up or a comment.
Speaker 6: There are certain videos where, let's say I'm talking about
Speaker 6: something slightly deeper, where I will read all the comments
Speaker 6: because I'm trying to have that conversation with.
Speaker 1: My like the community I've built. That's different.
Speaker 6: But sometimes I make polarizing videos like I talk about
Speaker 6: the government, I talk about race, I talk about I
Speaker 6: made a video about the queen. When I tell you shambles,
Speaker 6: Oh my god, I said, God.
Speaker 1: Not for this.
Speaker 2: Wait woman, wait.
Speaker 8: Isabeth, she sleep, she's gone, and you Yeah, I said,
Speaker 8: I'm not going to my dms and I'm looking at
Speaker 8: I'm not looking at the comments.
Speaker 6: That video because I know that the Internet is a
Speaker 6: wild place. But that is how I have learned to
Speaker 6: like build barriers to protect myself. But yeah, also utilize
Speaker 6: the block button. That block button is.
Speaker 1: War My finger will quick it with them.
Speaker 3: Oh god, beautiful, wow, And I think people don't realize,
Speaker 3: like you know, social media. If you compare to your home, right,
Speaker 3: if someone is just bashing through your door and like
Speaker 3: you wouldn't just keep opening the door for all sorts
Speaker 3: of refresh you come You're like, oh your house is
Speaker 3: this You ain't doing this right? You just don't open
Speaker 3: the down or just not share the address that's a block. Yeah,
Speaker 3: they don't even know where yet, so absolutely make sense.
Speaker 3: And I think definitely it definitely exhudes the the mechanisms
Speaker 3: of the ways you're navigating. You can still get a
Speaker 3: true set like this is sourral like.
Speaker 6: You feel it.
Speaker 3: It's genuine, and I think that protecting of peace and
Speaker 3: African parents always help. We did an episode on how
Speaker 3: they can't compliment you or the compliment is backhanded and
Speaker 3: you're just like geez man, let's or they take the
Speaker 3: cred and you're like, huh.
Speaker 6: Oh, how about sorry that word.
Speaker 2: Exists in their book.
Speaker 3: An African parents would rather mop the ocean before saying yes, yes,
Speaker 3: that's about right.
Speaker 2: Sorry.
Speaker 1: If a meal I get, are you coming down for food? Man?
Speaker 3: We've just had someway some way.
Speaker 2: Why you know.
Speaker 1: That? You you? You you?
Speaker 6: But yeah, they will humble you, they will humble you
Speaker 6: very fast.
Speaker 3: So given that, you know, I love how you expressed,
Speaker 3: like how you navigate all the complexities that I think,
Speaker 3: even as just regular regular individuals we struggle with with
Speaker 3: social media. How do you then remain motivated to keep
Speaker 3: you know, posting, sharing on TikTok Instagram and engage with
Speaker 3: the followers as you've explained, like how do you Because
Speaker 3: it's easy to feel like what's the point? Maybe one
Speaker 3: day the numbers aren't as great as the day before,
Speaker 3: or you know what I mean, like, how does how
Speaker 3: do you keep going? Because it's easy to be like
Speaker 3: I'm not getting the key that I thought today and
Speaker 3: then you know, you.
Speaker 6: Know, And I think this is the difference between my
Speaker 6: my group of social media influencers who came in during
Speaker 6: the pandemic, especially for me, who was like posting to
Speaker 6: basically no one and other people who've probably been in
Speaker 6: social media for a little bit longer, is.
Speaker 1: That the numbers don't. Get me wrong, Sometimes you.
Speaker 6: Do get an adrenaline rush, like when you're looking at
Speaker 6: like three million within twenty four hours and you're like
Speaker 6: this is insane, But the numbers ultimately do not matter,
Speaker 6: and I say that because I use my TikTok specifically
Speaker 6: as a place of just speaking to people, Like my
Speaker 6: video is very last time I made a video asking
Speaker 6: people what a certain light bulb was because I didn't
Speaker 6: know the.
Speaker 2: Name of it, and I, oh yeah, I was like yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: and I was like, well, these are my people who
Speaker 2: help me out.
Speaker 1: They told me the name of it, like.
Speaker 2: More people were telling you in the comments though, so
Speaker 2: they were telling me.
Speaker 1: So I use it for like a number of things.
Speaker 6: And I think the good thing as well about TikTok
Speaker 6: is the algorithm pushes you to the people who are
Speaker 6: gonna like that specific video or your content or whatever.
Speaker 6: In terms of staying motivated, I think think it's that thing.
Speaker 6: Like like I was saying, as much as the follow
Speaker 6: account scares me, and like the more it goes up,
Speaker 6: I'm like, you know, panic. But I always have felt
Speaker 6: like I just want to I want to talk to people.
Speaker 1: I want to add the conversation. I want to ask questions.
Speaker 1: I want to probe. I also want to make it light.
Speaker 1: Sometimes people are talking about something and it's.
Speaker 6: So heavy on the Internet, and I'm like, guys, like,
Speaker 6: let's light in the mood.
Speaker 1: A bit let's tea like you know. And I remember,
Speaker 1: for example.
Speaker 6: When there was a certain school shooting that happened in
Speaker 6: America and I made a video not about the school
Speaker 6: shooting but about something else. It was very light and
Speaker 6: it was very intentional about that video that I put out,
Speaker 6: and a lady DMed me and was like, thank you
Speaker 6: so much. Like I'm from this place and it's really
Speaker 6: been difficult. We've been struggling, and your video really just
Speaker 6: like helped make me laugh for the day. Like stuff
Speaker 6: like that I think keeps me going, keeps you motivated.
Speaker 6: But yeah, I don't know, I feel like the older
Speaker 6: I get, the more i'm I realized that also, if
Speaker 6: I'm not enjoying it, if I'm not into it, I'm
Speaker 6: just not I'm not going to force it.
Speaker 2: Yeah that is beautiful.
Speaker 3: I will.
Speaker 1: I will do what needs to be done.
Speaker 4: And yeah, you know, you know, our African parents would
Speaker 4: tell us to always love a humble woman. So we
Speaker 4: love that you're humble, but we have to give you
Speaker 4: your flowers surround you have built your brand, you have
Speaker 4: you know, whether or not you want to call it,
Speaker 4: that is something.
Speaker 2: But for us watching you, we're.
Speaker 4: So proud we're like, oh my gosh, like she's Zim
Speaker 4: like I always and she's Ziom I'm saying it, and
Speaker 4: she's Zim and she's Zim and she just feel like you.
Speaker 2: Know, like in case you didn't know, so, I mean
Speaker 2: so obviously.
Speaker 4: On our podcast, we also try to uplift and give
Speaker 4: advice to people when we have guests on because we
Speaker 4: also realize the work you guys have done, you know,
Speaker 4: whether or not it feels that way to you. So
Speaker 4: how base do you think someone can build a brand
Speaker 4: over in stead gramm and TikTok, Like any advice you can.
Speaker 6: Give, any advice I can give, I'm trying not to
Speaker 6: make it generic. In general, I would say when it
Speaker 6: comes to building a brand, you have to know who
Speaker 6: you are.
Speaker 1: And that's that seems like kind of like whoo, like
Speaker 1: what does that mean?
Speaker 6: But like once you know who you are at your core,
Speaker 6: you find it's a lot easier to make certain decisions
Speaker 6: that will benefit you. There are many people who went
Speaker 6: into social media who enter the arts entertainment at young
Speaker 6: ages or with a lot of counsel or not a
Speaker 6: lot of mentorship, and they lost their way because they
Speaker 6: two were finding out who they were along the way,
Speaker 6: which isn't a bad thing. But I think ultimately, if
Speaker 6: you are trying to build a brand, the thing that
Speaker 6: will get you there quicker is doing the work yes,
Speaker 6: and that helps you figure out what you're into, what
Speaker 6: you like, what you don't like. It helps you sort
Speaker 6: of map the way, figure out your goals, and also
Speaker 6: it cancels out the external voices, which are very loud. Sometimes,
Speaker 6: you know, people have an opinion on you. People have
Speaker 6: a lot to say, and sometimes by just being so
Speaker 6: sure in yourself, you can be like, no, I don't
Speaker 6: believe that, and you swat away the opinions. But I
Speaker 6: think it's hard. I think you've just also just you
Speaker 6: just have to You can't give up. That's the biggest
Speaker 6: advice you can't give. And you know, the thing is
Speaker 6: when people tell you not to give up, it's so
Speaker 6: easy because you're like, I have bills to pay, I'm
Speaker 6: still at school, I'm still studying. There's many external factors,
Speaker 6: but giving up isn't doesn't mean that you're constantly working
Speaker 6: every day. Not giving up is a mindset that means
Speaker 6: every single day your mind has not given in to
Speaker 6: this dream or not. You're working the nine to five.
Speaker 6: Whether or not you're doing the studying, you're in your mind.
Speaker 6: You know that I have a goal and I'm going
Speaker 6: to reach my goal at the moment I'm doing this
Speaker 6: right now.
Speaker 1: But that doesn't mean that the goal in the dream dies.
Speaker 6: And that's what I mean by not giving up, because
Speaker 6: that power, that that fire, that drive will get you
Speaker 6: to your goal ultimately. So I think that's the biggest
Speaker 6: advice I could give.
Speaker 3: That's so dope, and I love I love that it's
Speaker 3: in your mind. You've got to hold onto because you know,
Speaker 3: sometimes it's only you who can see it.
Speaker 1: Yep, it's only you.
Speaker 3: You're just there by yourself, So you know you've got
Speaker 3: to You gotta have your own back. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3: And so Row, we've talked a lot about, you know,
Speaker 3: social media, and you know, I want I want to
Speaker 3: kind of veer into more of the other side of
Speaker 3: your work. You know, you said you're an actor and
Speaker 3: that's something you identify with as first. We'd love to
Speaker 3: hear from you, you know, what have been some of
Speaker 3: your I would yeah, a career highlight for you, whether
Speaker 3: in acting or present. And I would also love to
Speaker 3: talk about your podcast with the Candice breathway.
Speaker 1: Did I say it right?
Speaker 3: I think I said it right. But yeah, if you
Speaker 3: can share a bit more about that so people see that,
Speaker 3: you know, get to know a little more about that
Speaker 3: that side of you.
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, acting, like I said, has been, that's
Speaker 6: been my baby, that's you know, And I'm telling you now, ladies,
Speaker 6: let's just manifest it together that Oscar is coming.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, oh, Dad, I already relating, relating.
Speaker 1: But I think for me one of the highlight in acting.
Speaker 6: I mean I did theater for many, many years and
Speaker 6: it built such like theater is hard, you you build
Speaker 6: a muscle for it. You end up knowing exactly what
Speaker 6: you're doing. That when you step on set for TV,
Speaker 6: film or whatever, you're very confident you've got the backing
Speaker 6: that like I've got the training, I've got the experience. Yes,
Speaker 6: I would say my One Woman Show was definitely like
Speaker 6: insane because crazy.
Speaker 3: I can't even imagine doing it.
Speaker 1: Was wild, And when I got the job, I.
Speaker 6: Literally you know when you just you know, one of
Speaker 6: those moments when you fall to the ground and you
Speaker 6: just cry because I was like, I can't. Many actors
Speaker 6: work up to this, their whole career is like this
Speaker 6: is pretty and insane.
Speaker 1: So that was quite big.
Speaker 6: And then I did a TV series last year which
Speaker 6: by the time this comes out, actually it will be
Speaker 6: aired on like Skycomedy A.
Speaker 3: We're doing Happy Dancers if you.
Speaker 6: So that was Yeah, that was quite a big highlight
Speaker 6: because again and I find it and I don't know
Speaker 6: if this is the perfectionist in me.
Speaker 1: I find it so refreshing when I get jobs based.
Speaker 6: Off of like an audition, Like I go in, I
Speaker 6: am you're picking me because I am the best in
Speaker 6: the room. I don't talk about my social media when
Speaker 6: I do acting.
Speaker 1: I don't.
Speaker 6: I don't want and I know some people are like, oh,
Speaker 6: but it's just it's a good way in I hear that.
Speaker 6: But there's something about my I believe in my source
Speaker 6: that much that I'm like, if you don't want me
Speaker 6: for my acting, I'm not the right person for that.
Speaker 6: And yeah, so when I go in and I get
Speaker 6: an audio, don't get me wrong, but I won't say
Speaker 6: no to word check.
Speaker 1: If let me just clarify, I'm still I'm taking.
Speaker 2: A check to the bed approached me, approach me.
Speaker 6: But inside I feel very proud of myself, and I'm like,
Speaker 6: I got this based off an audition and there was
Speaker 6: like three rounds of audition for that for that one.
Speaker 1: So no, I'm going up against.
Speaker 6: People who are like really good in this industry. So
Speaker 6: then I think for acting, they're my two highlights. And
Speaker 6: then presenting, I mean presenting has been wild. I got
Speaker 6: to interview Violin Davis.
Speaker 1: I got we.
Speaker 2: Saw that read the same ear yeah.
Speaker 6: When I tell you me and she invited me to
Speaker 6: her house. They actually edited that bit out, but basically, no,
Speaker 6: let me tell you the story girls, sorry, give us exactly.
Speaker 6: I asked her because obviously women kings all about women
Speaker 6: and like coming together and being strong, and I was like,
Speaker 6: what are some like qualities you look for in your
Speaker 6: tribe of women, right, And She's like listing all these things,
Speaker 6: like I want women who appressed me, women who are funny,
Speaker 6: and at the end of it, I was like, well,
Speaker 6: fin it sounds like you're describing me a love.
Speaker 1: She was like, what, man, do not play with me?
Speaker 6: Because I book my ticket right and I'll come with
Speaker 6: my plate of bros. Don't play I'm playing.
Speaker 2: Imagine David, Imagine She'd be like.
Speaker 3: She's been she's been to the continent and then they
Speaker 3: filmed it.
Speaker 6: Yeah, she probably has. Actually this takes me back. This
Speaker 6: takes me back, but yeah, that was a huge highlight.
Speaker 6: Like I just I'm always very inspired by whoever I meet,
Speaker 6: and I take inspiration from like the big and quote
Speaker 6: unquote the small.
Speaker 1: It's never really small, but you know, I take inspiration
Speaker 1: from that.
Speaker 6: And I just feel like the reason why I'm constantly
Speaker 6: like a child who's always like WHOA is because every
Speaker 6: time I meet someone, it's never a case of like,
Speaker 6: oh this has got old, Like are you crazy? Like
Speaker 6: I used to live in like a little tiny one
Speaker 6: bed flat in London. I could barely pay my bills.
Speaker 6: Like one time I had no money that I had
Speaker 6: birthday cake for like four days for dinner. Like I
Speaker 6: kid you not, Like I know where I've come from.
Speaker 6: So when I get those moments where I'm like talking
Speaker 6: to people interacting, I'm like, this is this is cool?
Speaker 1: This huge?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like let's not.
Speaker 6: Dilute this, Like I know you lot are used to
Speaker 6: talking to the big dogs, but like this is big
Speaker 6: for me, you know. So yeah, there's quite a lot
Speaker 6: of achievements, but they're the ones that like stick out
Speaker 6: to me that I'm like, huh, thank the Lord, won't
Speaker 6: you do it? Well?
Speaker 4: I love that honesty from you because I think a
Speaker 4: lot of times when you meet people what content creators,
Speaker 4: they make it seem like, yeah, you know, I just
Speaker 4: met Further Davis the other day.
Speaker 2: Like as if it's like and I'm like, I would
Speaker 2: be like, you.
Speaker 4: Know, so I love that you're honest about it, like
Speaker 4: it's it's okay to recognize it as a people moment.
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I will never downplay like I don't know.
Speaker 6: And also like this is like a huge like I mean,
Speaker 6: I've been watching it since I was a kid, Like
Speaker 6: she's a huge inspiration to me.
Speaker 1: But yeah, I feel like down playing it.
Speaker 6: And that's what makes a lot of people then take
Speaker 6: for granted the stuff that the opportunities they get because
Speaker 6: you've kind of reached all the heights of success that
Speaker 6: you feel a lot of successful that when you do
Speaker 6: the stuff that you think is like not on your level,
Speaker 6: quote unquote, you start being like, ah, it's just it's
Speaker 6: just viola. Let me tell you something, whether it's a
Speaker 6: viola or it's my grandmother's best friend.
Speaker 1: I'm a freak out.
Speaker 6: If I've if I've been inspired by that person, regardless,
Speaker 6: I'm gonna freak like that to me is like you
Speaker 6: you you get inspiration from all these people, Like I can't,
Speaker 6: I can't downplay that.
Speaker 1: For me, it's just yeah, it's it's it's been awesome.
Speaker 1: But boy oh boy o boy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we cannot wait to see because we know you're
Speaker 4: just going to be doing more and more, not even
Speaker 4: to put pleasure, but you know you're zimbab have to
Speaker 4: put them pressure, keep going, you know, So like, yeah,
Speaker 4: I think it's just beautiful to have seen your growth,
Speaker 4: to have seen you helped us survive lockdowns.
Speaker 2: You took us through lockdowns, out of lockdowns. Now we're
Speaker 2: in Love Island UK.
Speaker 4: I know more about Love Island UK than the Australian
Speaker 4: version because of you.
Speaker 2: I'm like, okay, Tina, let me check with sore else
Speaker 2: you can get me that four one one. So it's like,
Speaker 2: you know, so.
Speaker 4: You know, I really really do commend all the beautiful
Speaker 4: work you do. And I know sometimes in the creative
Speaker 4: industry especially, you feel isolated and like who's who really cares?
Speaker 2: And trust me, we do.
Speaker 4: You know, we're here for you or reading for you
Speaker 4: to see a beautiful black woman like yourself doing all
Speaker 4: the things you're doing is so inspiring. So we really
Speaker 4: have loved having you on a podcast. It's really been amazing.
Speaker 1: Thank you guys so so much. I've loved it.
Speaker 6: And yeah, shout out to you guys, because it's not easy.
Speaker 6: I've just started podcast world and let me tell you something,
Speaker 6: y'all work, Okay, this is this is hard work, So
Speaker 6: shout out to you guys.
Speaker 1: And I can't wait to come back. I'm already manifesting it.
Speaker 4: Yes, of course, anytime you want, she can just pop
Speaker 4: on numbers.
Speaker 6: Next time will be a person because Australia, I must
Speaker 6: see you.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, none of the stations were like you can stay,
Speaker 4: you can, yes, please do any other projects you want
Speaker 4: to share with us. I mean, I know obviously you
Speaker 4: said summer coming later in the year, but anything you're
Speaker 4: free and welcome to sharing.
Speaker 3: And your socials as well.
Speaker 6: Yes, yes, so socials, Coco surrel on Everything, Twitter, Instagram
Speaker 6: and TikTok podcast Closet Confessions, which I can't wait for
Speaker 6: you guys to hear season two, Like it's we've got
Speaker 6: so many big plans for it, and yeah, just we'll
Speaker 6: see each other like in the comment section or in
Speaker 6: a d M or someone we'll see each other.
Speaker 2: That day.
Speaker 6: That's yeah, yes, now we know aloud.
Speaker 1: Exactly.
Speaker 3: Thank you so so much. This has been so hard woman.
Speaker 3: It feels like we're talking to a girlfriend like just
Speaker 3: and as Amanda said it all, we are rooting for
Speaker 3: you and we support you wholeheartedly for your The true
Speaker 3: essence of who you are is who you are on screen,
Speaker 3: but also as an individual, and it's so refreshing to
Speaker 3: see and to our listeners. Thank you so much for
Speaker 3: tuning into another episode of It's layered as always, hit
Speaker 3: us up. It's layered on Instagram. It's laird Pod on Twitter.
Speaker 3: It's Twitter even still a thing anymore? I mean, what's
Speaker 3: his name? Killed it for us, but or you can
Speaker 3: email us. It's laird pod at gmail dot com. Thank
Speaker 3: you again, Sarah, Thank you Amanda, and we'll see you
Speaker 3: on the next episode.
Speaker 2: Bye bye, guys. Yeah yeah yeah