Latest / WHAT I'VE LEARNT / What I've Learnt - Zali Guechia Ghelardini

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What I've Learnt - Zali Guechia Ghelardini · WHAT I'VE LEARNT

• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: Zaley is a stunning powerhouse who has worked and modeled for creative campaigns for brands including Champion and Adidas.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: Not afraid to push boundaries, the model signed by Chadwix is inspiring for her unique take on modelling and creativity.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: At just 22, she has African American, Native American, Cuban, Italian background.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_02: And her multicultural heritage shines through in her passion for fashion and food.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: A creative vegan, Zali relishes the food she creates, offering vegan catering and a kaleidoscope of specialized cuisine.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: So Zali, welcome to the What I've Learned podcast.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: We're thrilled to have you join us.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's great to be here.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: So Zali, tell me a little bit about how you got into modeling and your fascinating heritage.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_02: It sounds so interesting.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_02: And also the diversity of cultures that it brings, both to your, I can see obviously your Instagram is beautiful and very um diverse in the way that you dress, the way you um present yourself, but also the vegan cuisine.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_02: So tell me a little bit about how you got involved in modeling.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I started modeling when I was 16.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um I kind of always loved modeling.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up watching America's Next Tot Model.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I just always thought it was like glitz and glam.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've always kind of had that little spark in me.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and from a young age, I was always very creative.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: I always loved to be in the kitchen or like be in art class and just making fun things.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I kind of just um kind of just fell into it.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: My friend actually started doing it as well, and we were in um high school, and she was like, Oh, you should just come and have an interview and see if you like it.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, why not?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I may as well just try.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's something that will work for me.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I I went and had an interview.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then from then on out, I got signed and it just kind of all happened.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and yeah, ever since I've just been growing as a person and as a model, um, knowing what I like to shoot and the direction I want to go in.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: So ever since then, it's just been like a crazy roller coaster ride, and I've met some beautiful people along the way.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just been a really good experience.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was a good little random thing that happened to me.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_02: So and so did either of your like your mum or your dad, how would they that obviously tell me a little bit about your background?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: Your dad is of Cuban descent, is that right?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so he's African American, Native American, and a little bit Cuban.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he grew up in New York in the Bronx.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he is one of the most creative people I've ever met.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: He's just like full as soon as you meet him, he's just like a piece of art in himself.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's like dressed down to his bum, tattoos all over him, all this crazy patchwork, clothing.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's just like very unique, and I've always like seen that from a young age.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um kind of always inspired me to be myself and like express myself and not trying to fit in.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, he was always like whatever I wanted to do.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: He was always like very passionate about he always, you know, wanted the best for me.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever I really wanted to do, he was happy with that.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And he was always he's always been a great supporter throughout the whole thing.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and my mom, she's a chef, she's a vegan chef as well.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's where you get it from.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: So mom is a vegan chef too.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, yeah.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a very creative family, I think that's where I've gotten it from.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, she I've always been in the kitchen with her, she's always um been super supportive of me.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was always very glitz and glam when I was a kid, like I said before.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: So she was always like, Oh, where'd she get this from?
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because she's a bit of opposite, more of the hippie side of things.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: But um, they've both been super supportive my whole life with this whole project, um, with this whole experience.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also my older sister Maya, she's a singer, and she kind of was the same as me when we were younger, and we kind of both were always loving to like dress up and just like take photos of each other.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of just like easily transitioned into like something that has blossomed for me to have a good platform to do everything else I want to do as well as modeling, um, and also get inspiration from my family as well because they they're my biggest supporters.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I love it.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I can see that you're creative along a number of fronts, but also it sounds as if being in that increative environment with your parents has made a huge difference because they obviously both um are in that world and in that space.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_02: Did that were you um apprehensive at all about the modeling world, which is renowned for being quite tough and quite challenging?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_02: And did you yourself find that you were challenged?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_02: And on if so, on what front?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um I've always I was kind of scared getting into the industry um when I started.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I was obviously very young, so I didn't really know what to expect.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: But from seeing shows and knowing a little bit about it, I knew that it was a bit of a tough industry.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I kind of like got that in my head before I really went into it.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: And um I definitely learned throughout like my experiences of certain you need to have a tough skin, I'd say.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's there's a lot of competition and it's a lot of image-based, so it's all about your image, and you gotta try and make sure that you don't get caught up in all that and constantly criticize yourself.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I found that I've learned how to have a tougher skin from I also, when I was in school, I did um a lot of fashion design courses and things like that.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I did one of my topics on fashion corruption because I wanted to like dive deep into the fashion industry to know what I was getting myself into.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: So all the good, all the bad side of everything.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: So it allowed me to have a bit more structure going into it, knowing how I wanted to go about it.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and obviously in Melbourne as well, it's very commercial based.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, um, I like to be more creative, so more of editorial and like artistic vibes.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why myself I do a lot of my own creative shoots and collaborate with a lot of my friends who are makeup artists, photographers, um, designers, so then we can all collaborate together and create a project.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I allow my like I'd be sorry, I'm able to create my sense of modeling and my own editorial vibe, which sometimes industry denies certain females for how they look and their size and everything.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, it's kind of um that's great.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: So what you did is you took the negative elements of the industry and then found a way to navigate it yourself on your own terms.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: And how much resonance do you get from the editors or from your modeling agency if you want to present your own creator?
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I've seen that you have some beautiful shots and they're very creative.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: Some are much more um out there than others, but they actually look like you can, it seems like you have a role in them.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: You can sort of sense your presence.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that is the changing nature of the way that people will, particularly agencies, will have to embrace the artist in the models as well?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I definitely agree with that.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um when I started out, I since I think 2015 I started.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have been with three different modeling agencies.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I find for me personally, you when you start out, you don't necessarily know exactly the direction you want to go in.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And when you have all these people helping you and managing you, they're not always going to be the perfect person for you.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I find when you get into it, you want to like know what you want to get out of it and know the direction you want to go into.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I advise maybe don't start so young because you want to know who you are first.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: That was probably my one of my biggest things that I wish I waited on.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: But throughout that experience and my own experience, um, I found my own well the agency that works with me best and like allows me to express myself.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I was with a more creative agency, my second last one, and they allowed me to express myself in any form I wanted.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't um control my image and what like and how they wanted to perceive me.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that allowed me to have a lot more of creative control when I do my own shoots.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I also love to be behind the camera or like directing as well.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of the shoots that I do myself, I do the makeup, I do the hair, I do the set design, I take the photos.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: So like I like to create a vision and then bring it to life.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I find, especially because I'm not a very skinny model or a very big model, I don't like go in each one of those groups.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of in the middle, which is a normal size person, normal size female.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: But in the time, or more, I want to be who I am and not confined to what society wants me to be.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I find it was a bit hard for me to get the work that I wanted to do, the more creative work, the more editorial work, because I wasn't super skinny or I wasn't super plus size.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: So it didn't go for one of the groups.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I was kind of seeing the beginning of more of a niche.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I kind of struggled to find my place in the industry until I found out who I really was and what I wanted to create, which took me a little bit longer than jumping into it knowing what I wanted.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: But after that, then it allowed me to go in the direction that I wanted to do and also express myself.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I have a great relationship with my current agency, which they understand that and they don't want to fully control me like that.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: So it's worked out really well for me.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and yeah, it just I love creating.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes when you're just a model, you don't have that, you don't you don't have that creative control.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: So when I do things with my friends and we all support each other and collaborate, it's like a way more fulfilling feeling and just also super fun to like bring something to life that you just thought about in your head.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: And to be honest, the agency and the editorials, they all benefit from that.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that it's gonna change?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think there is a change because you've now got social media, you've got all these other platforms where you can express yourself?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: In a way, has that liberated a lot of the models that were otherwise very uh, if you like, confined to a particular platform or a particular style or particular structure or expectation.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: Do you feel that is definitely transitioning?
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, definitely.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, even since I started, I've been getting so much more work, so many more campaigns that I never thought that I would ever get.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's definitely becoming with more agencies coming up and being more creative and allow people to like be who they are and not trying to put them in a mold and actually just say this is who this person is and like love who they are.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like I find that it's definitely been changing where it allows more people to be who they are nowadays and like have different looks and not just be this the typical beautiful girl that society wants you to be.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I find that it's definitely changing for the better and like allowing more people, especially with um social media now, like allows more people to have a voice and and say their experiences and and just do what they want to do creatively as well.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of the shots that I've done myself have gotten more bigger places than other shots that I did for a brand.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_02: So isn't that interesting?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um I'm sure that's true because they can sense your authenticity, which has become a very big part of this brave new world, which I love, which I think I I think another really important thing is for role modeling for other girls coming up, not just through the industry, but just who obviously are following a whole raft of um images of girls on social media.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you can really become, and you are a trailblazer or a role model of somebody going, hey, she is herself, she's standing out there on her own terms.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that there's enormous um opportunity for leadership just by action.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: Is that yeah.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: I never, I never saw myself as being that person, but I honestly it's it's really comforting feeling to just have people.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: I guess I'm I'm very hard on myself and I'm always like, I gotta do more, I gotta do more, I gotta be better at this, I gotta be better at that.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: But then like seeing other people come to me and be like, oh my god, I love what you're creating.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's so inspiring, and it just like kind of sets you back, and you're like, oh, I actually am doing something.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually at a place where I never thought I would be.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really, it's really amazing experience and to like help people push themselves into like the direction that they want to go to is just like the ultimate goal, I guess, for anyone to inspire in a positive way.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I think the other thing is that um obviously a lot of particularly this climate, there's a lot of, you know, as you talked about, um self-reflection and to some degree, you know, that constant negative speak about I could be better, look better.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think that that is something that is improving, or do you think it's got more toxic with social media?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: What are your thoughts around that?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_02: Are you getting a sense that at least the dialogue is out there?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: People, women are definitely having a much more honest dialogue about those issues.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: What's your experience of that?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's a it's a bit of a tough question because it's constantly changing, and especially I guess in COVID days, it doesn't help when you're constantly stuck inside.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I would definitely say it's it's definitely changing.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's really inspiring to see people speaking up about their experiences and and just expressing themselves, even myself, like seeing other people, other creatives that I know that just like do their own thing and you know aren't ashamed of like their arm hair or little things that aren't technically like what's beautiful, um, which should be.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: But um, it's really like empowering, I think, that we have this platform now, especially younger people, to like speak up and and be the change that we want to see.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's definitely growing.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there's obviously definitely toxic parts to everything.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: So with social media, I guess a lot of people nowadays are constantly on social media, constantly on TikTok, for example, and just like not like trying to be something that they aren't.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously there's there's good and bad, but I feel like more people are being able to express themselves from my point of view, what I've seen.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, for me personally as well.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: I found that I've been able to express myself through my platform a lot more and a lot more clearer um and colorful.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm um I love colours.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I I colour too much.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: I can see that I love it.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: I can see you've got beautiful, beautiful colours all over you.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_02: I love all your outfits and your makeup, and you know, I can see that you're very expressive.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so what are some what's one of the most exciting projects that you've worked on recently?
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that we are in COVID lockdown and we will discuss that briefly, but let's reflect on some of the things, like what's something you did that you really loved that yeah that um I've actually had a few.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've had I've been pretty blessed with them within all this craziness.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: I have been able to have some amazing opportunities.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: I have lost a few because of COVID, but I'm still very grateful for what I do have.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and in these little pockets that we have opened up, I have had opportunities.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I recently actually ran an all-female empowering kind of business marketing event with one of my friends who has her own uh jewelry, teeth jewelry brand.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um so I incorporated my cinnamon and spice, which is my vegan catering business that I'm starting.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we created a whole event, um, all women, all different women of color, different ethnicities from all around Melbourne to bring all different brands, small businesses, black-owned businesses, bring them all together to kind of have a sense of community and not necessarily be in a space where there's male toxic energy where females do change without without them realizing.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, I think we've all been in that situation.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we we just wanted to create like a community, a hub for like everyone to feel like you know they can express themselves however they want, bring different small businesses together in Melbourne and people that don't get as much recognition as they should.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I've had that amazing opportunity to do that with my friend, which was an amazing experience.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: We got to do it just before this last lockdown, so it was great.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I got to make all my food and cater for everyone, um, which was an amazing opportunity as well.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I was really blessed to have done that.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then also recently, I just did a project with Adidas.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: So they just brought out these shoes, the Adidas Forum 84s, which were these old basketball shoes that were created in 1984.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And they brought all different creatives around Melbourne to come together.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: They created this whole hub space where we could all create whatever we wanted.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: They gave us a budget and everything, and we could just do literally whatever we wanted.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: So me and my friend Um Jada, who's also known as Jada the Creator on Instagram, she's amazing.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: She's only 19 and she's just killing it as well.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she's a fashion designer, does um all sustainable clothing and upcycle, and we're both very passionate about that.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: So we decided to do uh fashion film and uh an editorial shoot, I guess.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: Due to COVID, we had to kind of change our plans a bit because everything changed.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, yeah.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: But you but it seems to me what I like and what I'm hearing is that collaboration and camaraderie are the are really the tools that are not only helping creatives through this sort of COVID phase, because obviously it's forcing everybody to look at new ways of doing things, such as what you've just exemplified, is just a great example.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I hopefully you'll do more of those female empowerment um projects.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: That sounds really exciting.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: And clearly you're also um moving into you you talk about the vegan space, which is huge and is a massive growth area.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, is that obviously drawing on experience through your mom, who you say is also vegan?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I grew up with my mom, and she's one of the most amazing women I know.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: She um has always been in the kitchen.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: She had a catering business to start off with, and then she had a restaurant, and she does all different um, well, she used to do all different outdoor festivals and things like that.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was all vegetarian, and then she went vegan, and I went vegan.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then she changed the whole thing to vegan.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I kind of grew up in the kitchen.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up helping catering.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up kitchen hand, every every single job and hospitality I did.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then I ended up being the dessert chef and bartender.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I pretty much taught myself how to make all vegan desserts myself.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then after she um ended up closing the restaurant after a few years, um I thought, well, you know, this is the market for it.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's a lot of vegan stuff growing now.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because I've been vegan for five years now.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: So at the time there wasn't as many vegan dessert things like that around.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, maybe this would be a good little thing I can do on the side because I enjoy it.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's just something that's like close to home for me.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, it was it was good to jump into that.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then with events, it kind of just all fell into place.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: My friend wanted me to do some food, and I was like, all right, let's do this and it's become this whole thing now, and everyone like loves it.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: But it's also just amazing to show people a different way of eating, um a sustainable way, something that like helps our bodies and the planet.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people have this niche when it comes to vegan food, so it's good to show them something different and also like showing them something that they would normally eat, but in a vegan way, so that kind of like trips them out a little bit, but like in the best way.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so for example, like what would be a like a vegan um give me an example of a vegan dessert that that that you would create that is a variation on what would otherwise not be vegan?
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I specialize in cheesecakes.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I I made this um vegan salted caramel cheesecake with a walnut praline, but I also do savory.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: So when I did the events, I was making like vegan mac and cheese and chicken, fried chicken, and like boughs with mock duck and things like that, and just trying to mask the flavors because also, you know, as a vegan, sometimes you want that little bit of oomph.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I'm all about so it's it's definitely not bland, it sounds pretty delicious from what you're describing.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: My mom, she she gave me too much good food when I was growing up, so it's I've got to level.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it sounds as if you've taken what you've learned from mum and applied it to your own journey, which I love.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, tell me a little bit also about how you see the change in the approach to diversity and different people being represented across the spectrum.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned that briefly earlier on, but I'm interested to see.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, do you in the five years since you've started working, do you see a lot more tolerance?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: I actually interviewed this wonderful model, um, um Ayul Manyuk.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you know her, but she was divine.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: We had such a great chat, and she talked about the extraordinary opportunities to change dialogue around diversity by being involved in the modeling industry.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: And have you experienced something similar?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like obviously I when I was saying, you know, it's a tough industry, it's tough in a whole bunch of different senses.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, like with weight, with diversity, gender, all these different, different issues, but it's constantly growing, which is amazing.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know a lot of females and males that have had bad experiences in the modeling industry with diversity and things like that and cultural appropriating and things like that, but it's allowed them to have a voice even more.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like for me as well, it's pushed me to want to speak up on it because a lot of people go through the same thing and they don't even realize that it happens to a lot of people.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like ever since I've been in the industry, it's constantly been growing, constantly more people that are mixed or you know, have darker skin.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: They've just like allowed them, like just seeing them for what they are, I guess.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because before I feel like it was just all one look, and now it's like we want people to, we want to show the world how diverse everyone can be.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so inspiring as a young girl or someone that's looking up to all these people to see someone that looks like them.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I find that really important.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I find even though like sometimes it's not my favorite industry to be in, it's good to to show younger generations that you can you can do this if you want, or you can be anything you want to be, as well as like having the platform to do everything else you want to do and like make a name for yourself because it's it's a lot of branding that goes into it, as well as like as who you are, because it's you, you know?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so it's a big and it also it used to be oh, well, you'd be in that magazine and there you go.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: Now it's and I mean, obviously there were big campaigns and there still are, but the social media platforms have really meant that you get catapulted to like hundreds of thousands of people.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: And as you say, if you use your platform for good or for something that you believe in, it's actually quite empowering.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_02: That's what you're pointing out.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like it's a great opportunity or great space to say what you want to say.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: And also, you know, if depending on whatever it is when it comes to diversity, you know, speaking up on your own experience and like, you know, your your story and things like that can really like resonate with people and allow them to like push themselves and not feel insecure about how they look or how they feel or how curly their hair is.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like me growing up, I used to hate my hair, like it was just like fluffy, curly, and I'm just like I couldn't ever tame it.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it was seen as crazy, you know, and my hair isn't even as curly as most females are.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really beautiful to have all different diversity, like you know, because there's so many mixed babies nowadays, you never know what anyone is.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_02: So it's good to be true, yeah.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's very true.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: Well, um, on that note, I'd like to thank you so much for joining me on the What I've Learned podcast.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's been an absolute pleasure to have and listen to your energy and your youthfulness, but also your creativity.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm assuming we're gonna see a lot more of Zali out there.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I look forward to seeing what you do next.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: And I thank you for coming on and giving us your time.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: This is beautiful.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: I love love this love interaction right now.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think we all do.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: You take care.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you do.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: Bye.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for listening.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: The What I've Learned podcast will now be coming to you weekly with new episodes released every Tuesday.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm blessed to have so many wonderful guests coming on the show.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: So check out my What I've Learned Instagram for updates.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Meanwhile, stay tuned, kind, and curious.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: Love deck.