WEBVTT - Deep Dive: The Rise of Sarah's Day 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.120 Before we get into the episode, we want to issue 0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.880 a trigger warning as the episode does touch on themes 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:13.800 relating to eating disorders. Episode one, The Rise of Sarah's Day. 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:20.360 Sarah Stevenson is one of Australia's biggest influences. Her YouTube channel, 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.919 Sarah's Day has over one point five million subscribers, while 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:26.960 her Instagram account boasts one point two million followers. 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:29.800 Good morning guys, an official walk back to my channel. 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:34.519 The self proclaimed holistic health princess cultivated a devoted following 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:37.360 for her raw approach and passion for health and fitness, 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:40.760 but in twenty seventeen, the tide began to turn when 0:00:40.800 --> 0:00:44.560 Sarah claimed she had healed her cervical displacire through healthy eating. 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:46.800 The rest of this video is just telling you all 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:49.479 of the healthy ways that I cured my cervix and 0:00:49.640 --> 0:00:52.560 how I am now free, pretty much free from cervical displacure. 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:55.960 She was slammed by the press was spreading medical misinformation, 0:00:56.160 --> 0:00:58.320 and followers began to turn some. 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:00.680 Of the messages I'm getting you guys like full on 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.440 like hate, death threats. 0:01:03.640 --> 0:01:06.640 Controversy has followed the thirty year old ever since, with 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:09.600 explosive reactions online to her every. 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:13.120 Move, one dollar will go towards Saint Vincent's bushfire appeal. 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:17.399 I just got so much hate on that post. 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:21.280 She's been accused of cultural appropriation, targeting people with eating 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:27.240 disorders and taking down small businesses. We are journalist Amy 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:30.440 Kay and Sophie Torber and we're fascinated by the world 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.840 of influencers and the psychology of cancel culture. In this series, 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:38.080 we will delve into Sarah's Day's biggest scandals, her fall 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:41.520 from grace, cancel culture, and the dangers of influence. 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.119 This is outspoken plus. 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:49.480 When you say the name Sarah's Day, it attracts one 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:52.520 of two reactions. People either love her or hate her. 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.640 When Sarah first started out on Instagram in twenty thirteen, 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.160 she was this very relatable twenty year old girl who 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:01.760 came from a middle class family in Cranulla and originally 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:05.040 her channel was all about documenting her day, hence the 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.680 name Sarah's Day. Her channel name has led to so 0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:10.880 much confusion because people think that Day is her last name, 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.079 when it is in fact Stevenson. I must have meant 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:15.120 I was one of those people to begin with. It 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:17.440 is really confusing and I feel like It's almost worked 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.440 in her favor since all these controversies have happened, because 0:02:20.440 --> 0:02:21.959 people are calling her not by. 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:22.640 Her actual name. 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.560 Now. When Sarah first broke into the social media scene, 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:28.000 it was just her side hustle. She was starting to 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.800 become a teacher and also working in retail, so I 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:33.040 don't think that she ever envisioned that this was going 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:35.680 to be a huge business for her. Well, at the time, 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.000 there weren't really influencers like there are now. Well, I 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.160 don't think the word influencer was even around. It was 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:45.359 so weird watching her first video on YouTube from twenty 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:47.680 thirteen and hearing her describe her channel. 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:48.919 Let's throw to what she said. 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:52.200 Everything, you know, I really believe in the power of 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:56.360 Fritz vegetables and the Earth's you know, natural ingredients. 0:02:56.400 --> 0:03:01.239 So that's pretty much what my Instagram's about. Second YouTube video, 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:03.840 Sarah shared a recipe for a ducee that she claimed 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.120 would make you look good in a body con dress 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:09.359 but also turn your pooh red. This just says what 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.040 sort of time it was, though, the fact that it 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:14.520 was a body chondress those were very popular in twenty thirteen. 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.400 I do love the disclaimer though, because how many people 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.000 would have actually drunk it and gone oh shit. Well, 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.000 it sounds like Sarah did the exactly same. I think 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.200 we need to wind the clock back ten years ago 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:27.120 and take a look at what was happening in the 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.200 health and fitness space in Australia when Sarah emerged on 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.760 the scene. So the year was twenty thirteen, Instagram was 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:36.600 entering its prime and a new era of beauty standards 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:40.200 were quickly being established online and the word fitzbo was 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:43.560 dominating our social media feeds. The term is short for 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.640 fitzpiration and it began trending as a response to the 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:50.960 concerning thinsbow trend that dominated the early naughties. So harmful 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.840 mottos and posts were being shared across blog sites and 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:57.360 social media channels, motivating dramatic weight loss. And with this 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:00.520 in hindsight, it's interesting to look back now and see 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:05.320 that fitspo was actually created to counteract thinspo by shifting 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.960 the focus to achieving fitness instead of thinness. So whilst 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:11.520 it was first intended to promote health. 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:13.640 Audiences were bombarded. 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:16.679 With these perfect bodies and clean eating on social media sites, 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:20.040 so the trend triggered obsessive behaviors, and it also created 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.440 impossible beauty standards to live up to. It even sparked 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.800 a new form of eating disorder known as orthorexia, which 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.880 is a condition that includes symptoms of obsessive behavior in 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.560 pursuit of a perceived healthy diet. So this ideal body 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.760 had changed amongst society. The new era of beauty was 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.480 epitomized by six pack abs, a peachy bum, and a 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:41.520 ripped body. I'm not sure if it's much of an 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:44.640 upgrade there from finspo. It's just another form of body 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:48.280 that's really hard to achieve now. Fitness influences were of 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.400 course at the heart of the fitspo movement, offering food 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:54.520 and fitness advice and often selling ebooks filled with eating 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:59.080 plans to encourage the strict avoidance of food like meat, sugar, dairy, 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:03.680 and wheat, and despite having no formal training, influencers advice 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:07.600 was being sought after more than medical professionals. The two 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.479 biggest names in the fitness space at the time were 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:14.080 ash Binds and Kayla at Cenus. Now, Ashy's online Bikini 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:17.080 Body Challenge launched in twenty eleven, while Kayla at Senus 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:21.000 launched her Bikini Bodyguide. In twenty fourteen, the pair became 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.760 instant millionaires. Both fitness plans included the word bikini and 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.440 it was all about flogging yourself in the gym to 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:31.320 be hashtag bikini ready. This was, of course, well before 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:34.360 the body positivity movement. Who now promote the fact that 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:36.719 you just need a bikini to be bikini ready? Now? 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.599 I want people to be honest. Who had which guide? 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.440 I had the Kayler at Cenis Guide and I. 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.600 Didn't purchase it. It was a copy that seemed to 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:47.120 be passed on to a lot of people in our 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.080 friendship group. I had a few tatty pieces of paper. Yeah, 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:51.760 that was the risk at the time, wasn't it. That 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.200 they're selling pdf so basically anyone could just send them around. Yeah, 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.600 I had the said copy, but I actually got mine 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.520 bind so I have it still to this day. I 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:02.680 actually paid for mine. I'm guessing that's where we got 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:06.400 our copies from. Well. In twenty twenty one, Kayla announced 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.719 that she would be renaming her Bikini Bodyguide workouts to 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:13.760 High Intensity, as she felt the name represented an outdated 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:16.680 view of health and fitness, and this was after the 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:18.719 birth of her daughter Anna. She said that she felt 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:21.320 it was time to evolve and use language that feels 0:06:21.400 --> 0:06:23.960 more positive for women today. So you can just see 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:26.880 how far we have come. And when you compare somebody 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:29.960 like Sarah to Kayla, I think one initially attracted people 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:32.520 to Sarah was that she was an oversharer. Yeah, because 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:35.760 all we really saw from Kayla were her incredible apps, 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.760 and at the time Instagram was really just a photo app. 0:06:39.000 --> 0:06:41.479 We didn't see much video. So the fact that Sarah 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:44.640 was able to use YouTube to her advantage that early on, 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:46.640 and she has so much about her life is the 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:49.680 reason I think she is still very popular today exactly. 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:52.799 And so many people were drawn to her YouTube channels 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.719 because she spoke a lot about her struggles with hormonal acne. 0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:58.520 But it was her breakup in June twenty sixteen with 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.800 her long term boyfriend Match that started gaining her a 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:02.520 lot of traction. 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:05.640 Half day done at the snow, I have had a 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.520 bit of a hiccup. The reason I'm here by myself 0:07:08.600 --> 0:07:11.440 is to, I guess, do some soul searching and find 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:14.720 who I am again by myself being single. When I 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:16.920 was running down one of the mountains, I rode past 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:21.720 my ex boyfriend, so that didn't give me the best vibes. Ever, 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:24.400 I can't really get the fact that he's here out 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:24.960 of my head. 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:28.640 This clip went viral, and this is how so many 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:32.000 of her diehard supporters originally came across her content. In 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:35.200 a recent interview with influencer Grace Beverly, Sarah said that 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:38.880 this video pushed her channel onto YouTube's recommended page and 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:42.360 it actually led to her gaining over forty thousand new followers. 0:07:42.440 --> 0:07:45.520 I always wondered what video it was that went viral 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:47.520 for her, because when you go back and look at 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.560 some of the old videos about her hormono acne, it's 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:51.440 not really interesting. 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:53.440 Yeah, but she went there with her content. 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.760 I remember seeing stuff talking about like her periods, about 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.600 her discharge, like nothing is off limit when it comes 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.600 to Sarah. I do find it also interesting that Sarah 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.200 very much in that interview with Grace Beverley, was saying 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:06.880 that you had to have abs and look a certain 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:10.000 way on YouTube and Instagram. But it's ironic that it 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.440 was actually her revealing all these details about her personal 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:14.720 life is actually. 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:15.360 What got her notice. 0:08:15.360 --> 0:08:17.240 And I feel like she is still to this day 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:19.720 trying to rebel against that we saw her earlier in 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:21.720 the year not wanting to do vlogs anymore, but she 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.640 quickly always goes back to that medium because she knows 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:26.880 that's what people want to watch. And she really had 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.720 this ability to make followers feel like they were genuinely 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:33.080 her friends. And she does this by using specific language 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.440 on her channel, so she references her audience as being 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:40.520 her sissies. And she's also constantly using her own nickname Okay, 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:40.839 I just. 0:08:40.800 --> 0:08:43.480 Want to bring it back to her original deasy. 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.079 It sort of becomes endearing because you feel like, oh, 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.880 that's Sezi, that's my friend. Yes, ironic that she's the 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:50.200 one pushing that name to you. 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:50.760 Well. 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:53.600 A big turning point in Sarah's life and her YouTube 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:56.400 career came in November twenty sixteen, and this is when 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.040 she met her now husband. 0:08:57.800 --> 0:08:58.920 Kurt tills So. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:02.360 Just five months from her breakup with Mitch. She met 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.640 Kurt So. He was a carpenter by day and a 0:09:04.640 --> 0:09:07.440 budding photographer on the weekends, and the pair had a 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.800 whirlwind romance. They became official after just a few weeks 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:11.360 of dating. 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.200 I normally want Baker eggs and he wants save because 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:14.680 he's a girl. 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:16.199 Look so great. 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:20.000 Hashtag comp golf. 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.440 There has been a lot of speculation online about how 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.319 Kurt and Sarah actually met, and the official line has 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:29.480 always been that they met organically, but word on the 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.559 street is that it was a Tinder meeting. I definitely 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:36.040 think that's correct because in her pregnancy announcement with her 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.080 first son, Fox, she said that her and Kurt met 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:41.680 up at ten o'clock for a coffee at a random 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:44.560 coffee shop in the city. That to me is the 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.520 epitome of a Tinder date. Nochee, because I feel like, 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.600 at this time and now everyone meets online. I think 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:52.319 it's funny that they're trying to hide it. And I 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.480 remember in lots of log Sarah was saying that she 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:56.800 used to go walk down at the esplanade at Cernulla 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.480 to try and meet her husband. I think Tinder seems 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:01.920 like a much better spot other than just like smiling, 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:05.280 it passes by well. While their early relationship did look 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:09.000 magical online, Sarah recently revealed during an interview that she 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:13.520 was initially suss about Kurt's intentions, so on their second date, 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:17.400 Kurt basically love bombed her, and this led Sarah to 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.239 question his intention I actually. 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:21.200 Can't believe he said I love you on the second day. 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.199 Well, it makes it pretty interesting because in this pregnancy announcement, 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.720 Sarah was saying that she thought she'd been friend zoned 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:28.480 and Kurt said it was love at first sight. And 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:31.760 I always thought that it was Sarah pushing the relationship 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:32.560 more than Kurt. 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:35.160 So this added a really interesting element. 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:37.640 Well, I think Sarah really was in the driver's seat 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.000 and calling a lot of shots in this relationship, because 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:43.480 she recently said on the Grace Beverly podcast that she 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.480 tried to break things off with Kurt only four months in, 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:50.120 which makes this timeline really interesting because they moved in 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:53.520 together after four months, so he must have either been Okay, 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:55.200 we're going to try and make this work or we're 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.280 going to end things. And at the time they were 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:00.439 complete couple goals. I remember watching their YouTube and being 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.320 single and being jealous of this beautiful relationship we were 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.200 seeing unfold. Well, you can see why Sarah was questioning 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:09.280 his intentions because at the time Kurt was living such 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:12.040 a different life to Sarah. He was a party boy 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.440 who had recently come out of a bad breakup, and 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:17.080 he found himself in debt and revealed on his podcast 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.240 The Health Coat that there were some weeks he couldn't 0:11:19.280 --> 0:11:20.679 afford it tuna or rise. 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:22.680 And that's his staple, isn't it? For the six pack? 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:24.800 Really was that while he was hanging out with Sarah, 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:25.920 she had an abundance of. 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:27.199 General ross Well. 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.960 Kurt made the shock admission in twenty twenty two that 0:11:30.040 --> 0:11:32.360 he was so poor at the time he looked into 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.560 drug dealing before meeting Sarah, and he also revealed he 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:37.880 was offered a job as a male stripper but couldn't 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:39.960 go through with it because he didn't have the confidence 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:40.520 to do it. 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:42.560 Or the rhythm. It seems like I think that was 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:43.559 a big factor. 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:45.839 Too, and this is perhaps why Sarah asked Kurt to 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.680 sign a contract on their second date. So after Kurt 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:51.439 professed his love to her, he also offered to help 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:54.040 her shoot the content for her very first e book, 0:11:54.400 --> 0:11:57.240 and Sarah responded by getting him to sign a contract, 0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:58.840 saying he wouldn't get a cut in it. 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:01.440 I was so suss of him. 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.080 I was so suss because he was a photographer and 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:05.840 I remember telling him I had this idea that I 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:08.240 wanted to make this fitness ebook right, and he was 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:10.560 a PT. He was a photographer. He was like, I 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:13.000 believe in you. I believe in your brand. Let me 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:15.200 sign off. Because I'm not a PT. You have to 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:16.839 have a PET sign off. He's like, let me look 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:18.640 at all your workouts. I'll sign it off and I'll 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.280 take all the photos. And I was like, what do 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:21.880 you want from me? 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:22.160 Yeah? 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:25.120 Like this was like a week. Literally. 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:26.880 I was like, you're not getting a cut of anything. 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.760 I mean, So I made him sign a contract. This 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:33.160 was like our second date and I was living in 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:35.240 my parents' house. I had no money, I had nothing, 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:36.520 and he was like, who do you think you are? 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:41.000 Like I was, and I was like, I'm gonna be massive, Okay, 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:43.400 So I made him sign this contract, which still we 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:44.800 talk about it and I'm like, you still get no 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:45.200 cut of it. 0:12:45.280 --> 0:12:49.559 But when I heard that, it surprised me. But then 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:52.680 when I reflect on Sarah's behavior around money, it always 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:56.320 really has been her money and Kurtz money. It's always this. 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:58.559 Is my house and this is my offers. 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:00.320 But do you blame her? Like this is this second 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.160 date she's on with this guy. I just told her 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:04.720 he loves her. When he's meant to be this bad 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.160 boy like she's obviously thinking, what the hell's going on? Well, 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.240 I think even if you're not a bad boy, not 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.320 too many normal people drop I love you a second date. 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:14.440 I think it's pretty ballsy of her to rock up 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:16.880 and be like, sign this before we go any further, 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.360 particularly because she said she was just living at home 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:21.880 at the time, she had one hundred thousand subscribers. She 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.400 wasn't really a big deal like she is now. Makes 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:28.000 me think do they have a prenup? Probably? Well. After 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:31.760 making things YouTube official in late twenty sixteen, Kurt was 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:35.079 a constant feature on Sarah's channel, and Sarah and Kurt 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:39.359 became hashtag couple goals. So now she had the hot boyfriend, 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:42.480 a new beachside apartment, and she was living this very 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:46.720 esthetic couple goal Instagram life. I really enjoyed this time 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:48.200 during her content. 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:48.800 So did I. 0:13:48.800 --> 0:13:51.840 I think it was the most aspirational part of Sarah's 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.080 life so far. I think the craziest part of this 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:57.440 timeline is just days after moving in together, Sarah launched 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:59.319 her first ebook, Sweat. 0:13:58.920 --> 0:13:59.480 To Shred It. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.880 And I think it was a little bit premature picking 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.160 out this sort of modest apartment because she quickly made 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.199 a lot of money. Yes, sales came in so quickly 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.480 that her PayPal account got shut down because they deemed 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:14.920 it as suspicious activity. And while she didn't confirm how 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.120 much she made, she said she was able to. 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:18.640 Instantly wipe her UNI debt. 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:21.560 Well. She did say that over one thousand people wrapped 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:23.800 up to the ebook release, and this was actually at 0:14:23.800 --> 0:14:26.120 her gym. She was worried no one would turn up, 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:28.000 so it was shocked when so many people arrived. But 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:31.760 think about it, sixty nine dollars a pop for Sweated 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.400 to shred It. That's over sixty nine thousand dollars if 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:36.880 each person bought an ebook, and that's just in person 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.200 as well. I did love the tidbit that her ex 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:41.920 boyfriend Mitch had noticed the crowd forming and did a 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:45.200 little well done text to her, Yeah. 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:45.840 He'd be spewing. 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:48.680 Well. With Kurt now by her side, Sarah quickly brought 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:53.280 in sponsorship deals with Loving Earth, Trepeka, Lebang, White Fox Boutique, 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.200 and Mazda. She seemed to be living the dream, but 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:58.880 as we know with Instagram, it is a highlight reel 0:14:59.240 --> 0:15:02.800 and whilst her life appeared perfect, it was far from reality. 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.160 So What people didn't know at the time was that 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.880 Sarah was suffering from what she has described as disordered eating. 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:10.040 Here's what she said. 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:15.160 Honestly, I thought, how embarrassing that, like I'm on social 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:17.640 media to be this fitness person and like I look 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.400 like this. I honestly thought I had so much weight 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:22.720 to lose and I was so flabby and squishy, and 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.600 I look back, I'm like I look twelve. I was 0:15:25.800 --> 0:15:30.080 so I was so lean, and not in a cool way, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.520 in like a oh set, like what are you doing. 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:37.960 I truly eat for beautiful skin and beautiful hair and 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.000 a mind that can concentrate, like I eat so much 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:42.960 for my mind now. 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.680 So, whilst writing her e books, Sarah said she lost 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.240 her period and admitted in a recent interview that she 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:51.760 looked like a ripped twelve year old who was living 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:55.400 off a diet of chicken, pumpkin and protein shakes. She 0:15:55.560 --> 0:15:57.960 even admitted to being shocked this year when an old 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:00.800 video of her popped up on YouTube as a recommendation, 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:03.920 and in this video, Sarah made toast with protein bread, 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:08.360 which she topped with protein powder. She obviously realized that 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:10.640 there was something wrong with the video, but it's not 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:13.040 as if she's deleted any of the offending videos, but 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:16.320 she's mentioned publicly how they were wrong, or they're clearly 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.400 making her money still and attracting an audience of people 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:22.560 who connect with her. I found it particularly disappointing that 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:25.680 she didn't say she regretted making that content, nor has 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.360 actually deleted it. They're all still monetized. Yeah. Well, the 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:31.840 reality is that so many health and fitness influencers actually 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.000 suffer from eating disorders, and while their initial intentions to 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:38.120 share their lives online may not be negative, they need 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.800 to understand the power of social media and just how 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:44.000 many people they're impacting by sharing their unhealthy habits and 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:45.040 lifestyles online. 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:45.800 Yeah, that's the thing. 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:48.800 I feel like Instagram and YouTube was a real breeding 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.440 ground for people who had eating disorders, and it was 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.560 almost a way to connect with like minded people, and 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:57.320 that's what was so dangerous about it, And now they 0:16:57.320 --> 0:16:59.880 were looking back at it from ten years ago. I 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:02.920 just think it's really confronting that this sort of information 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:06.440 is one still allowed online and two not being removed 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:09.720 by the content creators. So another big theme of Sarah's 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:12.960 channel in the early days was PCs and period the 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:16.680 two piece, and in twenty fourteen, as she was documenting 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.959 her process of trying to naturally heal her acne, her 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:24.120 natural path diagnosed her with PCs via a saliva test. 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.919 Not sure how accurate that actually is now. Of course, 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.760 Sarah had a fix for it, which was car cycling, 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.480 and this was quite a common thing for Sarah to do. 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.360 She always seemed to have some kind of natural remedy 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.080 on hand to fix any illness. Yeah, and then you 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:41.720 fast forward two years later and Sarah was back at 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:46.359 the doctors because she had missed her period for eight months. Again, 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.480 this provided content for a YouTube series about how she 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.840 got her period back naturally. It's pretty wild to watch 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.359 this YouTube series back because Sarah said in one of 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:57.919 the videos that she was sixteen percent body fat and 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:01.560 weighed forty seven kilos when she lost her period. And 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.320 in the video she showed herself getting an ultrasound and 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:07.320 read out her blood test results, which was going into 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:11.640 way too much detail. She also filmed herself getting acupuncture, 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.840 and she later revealed that the doctor said her ovaries 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:18.639 indicated that she had PCOS, but the blood results didn't 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.680 reflect PCOS. So this PCOS diagnosis seems to have been 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:26.280 very sketchy. Well, it's something that people still talk about 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:29.159 online now, they still query whether she in fact had it. 0:18:29.200 --> 0:18:32.439 And whilst I think it is wrong to be going 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.119 into these details, the truth is that Sarah let people 0:18:35.160 --> 0:18:38.359 in by oversharing about her life. Who reads their own 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:40.960 blood tests out in a YouTube video, which is why 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:42.840 you can see why so many people were hooked to it. 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:44.800 And I don't know if you guys remember, but at 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:47.639 the time, Sarah blamed the stress of releasing her first 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.119