Full Transcript for Samantha Harris - Becoming a Role Model

have to say in your early twenties you still got to live a little bit. 00:05:27 Speaker 1: Many people in their twenties have a book. I'm like, you livh God, I. 00:05:31 Speaker 2: Forgot about I didn't think about that, and you know, each their own. 00:05:34 Speaker 1: But I felt totally, I know, I absolutely resonated with that. It's like, hopefully we'll have a long life, right, yes, and the book can be so much more enriched with the story. Yeah, you just wait a little bit. 00:05:45 Speaker 2: Yeah, So I said no in my early twenties, and I was hoping that, you know, the conversation would revisit, but I wasn't sure, and I completely I just forgot all about it, and you know, I carried on my merry waye doing my jobs. And then yeah, last year she asked me would I do a book? And I was like, I would love to, but they were they go, we would love to share your mom's story too, and I was like, wow, that would be amazing. But then I was like, hmm, this is going to be an interesting conversation. Just you know, it's it's my mum, and it's her story and she's not just going to jump straight away and be like, yes, I want to do it. 00:06:21 Speaker 1: Has she ever had her story told before? 00:06:23 Speaker 2: No, and she had what we're reading in the book what you know what she said for the first time basically too, we've heard bits and pieces, but not not everything and not in you know, up to that degree, like with the emotion she felt at how she was fearing she might have kind of just dusted over it. But yeah, so I was excited and I was like, give me a minute, I've got to I've got to go see mam. And yeah, so I was driving home and I've called mom. I have Bluetooth in my car everyone too, so I'm not on the phone disclaimer, But yeah, I was driving home and I was like, Mum, Sheikh of you know said that, you know, a publishing company wants to write my story. And she's like, Samantha, that's great, that's so exciting. And she was like and I was like, I want to write your story. To Mom, it's just like what I want to write. See if you want to write yours, And she was like, shas you know, you know, this is a big thing, and I was like, I know, Mom, and that's why I'm just asking. You know, you don't have to do it, but you know it would be amazing and very powerful if you did. And the conversation kind of left there, so we just had to talking about other things. I didn't want to push her, and you know. 00:07:35 Speaker 1: My dad like, I don't know how your mum is, but that generation, you know, like my dad to get him to even commit to doing something, and it's like you got to really slowly message. 00:07:45 Speaker 2: In the getting her to come, to getting her to come to Sydney because she hates planes, she'll go and she's like, I've just got so much to do, and I'm like, just pack your bags and get on that train. 00:07:56 Speaker 1: They'll make every excuse me, I'll pick you up. But then when they get here, they love it. 00:08:00 Speaker 2: They don't leave. 00:08:00 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, they have the best time. So it's like you just have to get them past that moment. But was there any you know, that first conversation when when it finished, did you have any sense that it was going to happen or not? Like I was hopeful, but. 00:08:16 Speaker 2: At the same time, I didn't want to her to feel pressured or anything along those lines. So we just we left it and then weeks went on and you know, I ring her every day, you know, we chat about everything and anything. And then she was like, oh, so you're still writing the book. And I was like, I mean, will you write it with me? And you know, she's obviously thought about it in the space of you know, the few weeks, and you know, she wasn't too fond, like she knew how important important it would be, but yeah, it was still quite a big thing. And she goes, do you know what if it helps you tell your story, I'll tell mine. And I was like, thank you. 00:08:54 Speaker 1: That's such a beautiful response. I love that. Yeah, well, speaking of your story, let's go back to the start. When you first, you know, pursued this incredible dream of being a model. What was that like for a young first nation's you know dreamer, you know, like yourself, Like, you know, we have so many young mob who have big aspirations and sometimes they seem so far away. What was the light bulb moment for you? What was that you know, time in your life like and what was that journey the beginning of that journey, like. 00:09:27 Speaker 2: The beginning of that journey. So I'll go back to so where I grew up. I grew up in a housing commission in Tweed. Heeads really busy household. So it was a three bedroom house and it was my mom, my dad, my little brother, my older brother he had a girlfriend, they had a baby, so my niece and then my mum raised my two cousins. So it was a very busy house and money was tired, like there's a lot of kids, you had a lot of mouths to feed. I remember my uncle showing MoMA newspaper clipping would have only been like this big you said girlfriend model search and it said you can ring up and send a photo in to you know that. That's how one way you could enter the competition. The cutoff date had already been and they were like you can go to the Westfield Road Show in Brisbane. And if you go from tweet to Brisbane, like that's a huge city, that's a big drive, will not even drive public transport. So even that was like how is she going to get to Brisbane? And at the same time, we didn't have any money to get on the bus, to train and stay the night anything like that. So my mum was ringing around a different cabriginal organizations to get some funding and you know, see if that help us out, and she kind of she got the same response to everyone. They were like, look, you know we help sports people, kids that are into you know, really good at sports. You know, we'll fund that. But modeling isn't a sport. Kind of easy if you think about it. And then they were like they

were like, oh, you know, we don't think Australia is ready for an Aboriginal model. 00:11:02 Speaker 1: Really that was the response by mob and organizations. I mean in that time, I can imagine why. Yeah, doors were shut. 00:11:10 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, there was no Indigenous models. If they were, I wasn't aware of them at the time. And obviously my mum's getting cranky and just thinking, you know, like why why aren't you helping my daughter, like we need help, and mum rang another organization, Krungle. I think I'm pretty sure they're still around, and yeah, they they helped us. They got like train tickets for me, my little brother and my mom went up to Brisbane. And this was before iPhone, so we can't google how to get what trained to get anything like that. 00:11:43 Speaker 1: By running around the city trying to get to a place, I can only she. 00:11:47 Speaker 2: Rode it on the back of an envelope like a bill envelope and kind of put all the times down. You know, they paid for the hotel night, and you know they got room service to the room. So I think at that point in time, me and my little brother wouldn't in a hotel before, so I would have been epic, besides the stress Mom had to go through of getting us there, me and my little brother like, this is great, We're in a hotel. 00:12:08 Speaker 1: Isn't it so cool to look back at those moments of Like the funny thing that it reminds me of in my life when I was little, was that when I first got a bedside table, I thought that was so flash you know, like, oh, look at me my bedside table and lamp. Like those moments when you look back and you think, wow, I've come so far here that small you know, young person wanted the world and you really created this like life that you wanted. 00:12:33 Speaker 2: Do you have a bedside table? Now? 00:12:34 Speaker 1: I do have two? 00:12:37 Speaker 2: What did you go? 00:12:38 Speaker 1: Look at me? But let's continue down that road. If you know that that story, so you get to Brisbane, what are you thinking as a young person in this moment are you nervous about. 00:12:49 Speaker 2: No, no, no, but I'm a very shy girl. Keep in mind, so extremely shy. I was so excited to be there. And the next morning we got really early. My mom did my hair like I washed my hand, she blow dry and she'd do my makeup, and then we walked across the Westfield, which was like the hotel is just across the road. We got we were the first ones there. It hadn't even started yet. 00:13:14 Speaker 1: I was very keen. Punctuality is important and I'm still time to these say yeah, I love someone who's on time. I think that's one of the biggest signs of respect. Yeah. 00:13:25 Speaker 2: So we get there and you know, I'm looking around it. You know, I can see where, you know, the girls line up, I can see the stage, and I can see the judges. Keep in mind, like I'm just still, you know, I'm very interested. How big the shopping center is too. It's bigger shopping center. 00:13:39 Speaker 1: Yeah.

00:13:40 Speaker 2: So, yeah, just having a look around. And I don't remember exactly, but Ursula the own sheep management. She has told me and my mom has told me. She's come up to me and Mum and was like, oh, you're here to enter the competition. Keep in mind as she's thinking, oh my god, look at this girl and she's like, Mom's like yeah, yeah, I know where he will smet this here to enter and it was like it hasn't opened yet. Just go have some breakfast and you know, come back. Urshla watched where we went and I quizzed her not too long ago, and I was like, if you really remember it this well because it's twenty something years ago, right, I was like, where did I go? And what did I have for breakfasts? You went to McDonald I was like, yes, I did. 00:14:19 Speaker 1: Oh wow. She had her eyes on you. She saw something in you in that moment. She was like, okay, I really want her to be a part of this. Wow. So you do the competition in the Is it in front of everyone in Westfield? Is that work? 00:14:32 Speaker 2: Yeah? Like they have like a spot like it's all girlfriend posters and everything. They'll have runway competitions. It's really fun. 00:14:39 Speaker 1: It never walked a runway before. 00:14:41 Speaker 2: I did little shopping centers yep. But like Tweed City, yeah, is very very small, like it's like. 00:14:48 Speaker 1: A playing like you know the small fish, you know. 00:14:51 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's like fifty people watching it like Westfield has levels and you know it's a lot. But you walked up, you handed your form to the judges and even actually goes when you when you walked up, you just went like I was so so painfully shy. And back then you had to wait two weeks and to hope that they called you, to be like, oh you're a finalist. 00:15:16 Speaker 1: Gosh, that's the weight. Yeah, you know, as a young person, I bet that you were just like, mom, did they have they call the call? 00:15:23 Speaker 2: It was my number on the my mobile number on the call sheet. But yeah, I remember, like I didn't. I must have pretended that it didn't face me, because of course it would have. And I remember the afternoon of when you know you could potentially be called. I'm laying on the couch playing on my phone watching TV. My phone was on. 00:15:41 Speaker 1: Tired playing Snake probably. I love that. I love that game. I mean it took you know, it took some time out of the day. You just sit there. Yeah. 00:15:52 Speaker 2: So yeah, so I was waiting for the call and I don't know what I was doing. Someone rang and I missed the call, okay, And I didn't have any credit turing it back yep, And Mom's not happy. She's like, Samantha, you knew this was the time they could be calling you. I was like, it could be anyone. Yeah, but you know, yeah, they rang back and they're like, congratulations, you're a finalist. Wow, And my mum screamed, oh, she was so excited. 00:16:23 Speaker 1: Do you think that was the moment that catapulted your love and career?

You know, was it the moment that you went, Okay, well, if this organization or this foundation, you know, the girlfriend Model Search believes in me, did that instill something in you even though you were this shy sort of you know, reserved teenager. 00:16:43 Speaker 2: Not yet Yeah, not yet. It takes a few years. With If anyone reads my book, they're gonna be like, hurry up, Samanth, I just get this freaking confidence. 00:16:50 Speaker 1: No, well, that's what I want to ask because so much of our mob, you know, I even think about First Nations women. You know, there's a lot of us that make it in to the industry, but we're shy. You know, whether you're a woman or a man, Like, there is this shyness to our people. Yeah, what do you think that is? It? Is it because we don't like sort of we're not too showing, and we're not putting ourselves out there in our regular world, and then we come into this industry where all the lights are on you and oh everyone's looking at me, Like, what was that like for you? You know, and how did you get moved past that shy nature? 00:17:24 Speaker 2: Well, when I obviously I was a finalist, I flew to Sydney and done the street. Still very shy, still very painfully shy. And I like all the other girls, you know, they had blonde hair, they had blonde hair and blue eyes. Yeah, then there's me. 00:17:37 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I feel like, you know, being in the industry at that time, there would have been a lot of you know, people with blonde hair and blue eyes, and you would have stood out because you know, being first nations and and and I think that also your features. You know, everyone was like talking about your lips. And I think it's so beautiful that you know that that people can can notice you by a distinct feature. I think it's amazing because a lot of the time, you know, through stereotypes out features haven't been highlighted something that is nice or amazing or beautiful. So it's like you're the only black girl in the room. What is that like for you and did you make friends or was it hard to make friends when you were you know, starting out. 00:18:25 Speaker 2: It wasn't hard to make friends, but the girls were really lovely, but just being so painfully shy, and as you said it, because I looked so different. I just wanted to look like everybody else and kind of just blend in and carry on and do my career. Think back, like I think back to younger stmanth I'm like, why did you want to look like everybody else? How boring? 00:18:46 Speaker 1: Totally it's I think, you know, that's that was the beauty standard and still sometimes is. You know, it's very much a clear representation of you know, they want a certain image. But the industry is changing, and I feel like you've done so much in the industry to also support that change. What is it what excites you about the industry now in terms of modeling and what you've obviously seen over the years that has changed when it comes to representation and diversity. What

excites you? 00:19:14 Speaker 2: What excites me? Well, I've watched it go from you know, one end of the spectrum to the other, and like I've seen the whole change. It makes me sound very old now when I. 00:19:24 Speaker 1: Say that, but it's just amazing. 00:19:29 Speaker 2: Like obviously, there was a you know, Indigenous runways a few years ago, you know, just there was like a group of them, the IFP and things like that. The have jone supported it, which was amazing. But this year, like Leandra and the Gali, they had their own standalone shows in Sydney Fashwitz, which was so so amazing to see. It's just I'm so proud of everything, like you know, body diversity, you know, so many more Indigenous beautiful models, photographers, like designers. It's it's so lovely to see, but it's very frustrating that I have to say it's so lovely to see, like. 00:20:04 Speaker 1: It's not the normal. Yeah, that's right, you know what I mean. 00:20:07 Speaker 2: They should have just been there because they're so talented and Indigenous fashion, Like, it's not just a beautiful dress, right, it's hundreds of years of culture and you know, someone's story. It's so much, so much more than fashion. So I'm really proud to see it all unfolding before my eyes. 00:20:24 Speaker 1: Yeah. I think it's a beautiful thing too, because, as you say, it's not just the representation in front of the camera. There's all these people that are creatives behind the camera, and that's so important when trying to tell a story, right. But I want to ask you, let's go back to sort of more the beginning of your career. We keep on going down this path. I want to know from your point of view, when did you feel like, oh, okay, I am a big time model now, Like what was that moment like? And do you have maybe you can mention a few, but you know, there's things that stand out in your career for me. Okay, I remember this and this, Yeah, what were the moments for you? 00:21:00 Speaker 2: One of my moments was being ambassador for David Jones with Miranda Kerr. Es like, it's not you know David Jones. It's a big, huge Australian known iconic department store and I got to shoot with Miranda Kerr Like that's pretty cool. 00:21:16 Speaker 1: Victoria's secret. 00:21:17 Speaker 2: I know. So that was really cool because you know, we shot in Palm Springs, we shot New York, Like, wow, they flew us business class. I was like, this is really fair. 00:21:27 Speaker 1: This is flash Yeah, a little girl from Tweetheads gone up to Brisbane on the train. I'm in the sky business. I love that Wow. So international trips around the world. 00:21:38 Speaker 2: International trips. Definitely my Vogue cover, like my mum to this day and as she should, you know, she's a problem. Has it framed a big, beautiful gold frame. Should have done professionally and it's anti fate so it's still the original culb cover and it will never fade. She has it hanging in her I have. 00:21:55 Speaker 1: A blown up somewhere my mom does.

Oh see that is amazing that. I think it's really important. Like some people might see it as like, you know, we're not egotistical, but you don't have photos of yourself in your house. And some people like why would you have that? No, No, you understand how much of like how much it took for someone to get on that cover. Yes, who is a part of our community? So I mean, what was that call like when you got the core for Vogue and they're like, you're doing the cover. 00:22:21 Speaker 2: Well, I was in London at the time, and I was there for about a month doing castings for Fashion Week, and I was very homesick. I used to get really homesicksh younger, and but like a lot of us. 00:22:33 Speaker 1: Do it, you know, black fellows. It's because community and families at the core of who we are. Yeah, when we're taken out of that, it's like, oh. 00:22:41 Speaker 2: Yeah, what's going on? And that was again before my phones and like face times, face time my mum or my boyfriend. Yeah. So I was there wandering around London going to castings, but even going to the castings, some of the designers and that they were like, look, we're looking for more of a European okay kind of look, and you know that that's what they were looking for. You know, you can't hate them for that. Unfortunately that's not me. I was just like, Okay, what did they think? Where did they think you were from? Like did you you would have got many different nationalities. Yeah, you know I'm Lebanese and Greek. I'm like not quite yeah, yeah what did you get? Oh? I would get Indian, Italian, Brazilian, Spanish everything. They're like what yeah, well, they're like where's that? 00:23:30 Speaker 1: Yeah? 00:23:31 Speaker 2: So yeah, I was doing the castings. Yeah, just put around doing that. And then I remember my agent from Sydney emailed my London agency and they were like, oh, you might want to you might have to go back. And it was like a week out before fashion Week. I wouldn't have booked many shows, but at least I booked one or two. It'd have been like, yes, I've done London Fashion Week and I go to my agent in London. I was like, well, it better be a good reason, like I've just come come all the way here and done these castings, you know, it'd want to be something good, like well, it's the Bogue cover. 00:24:01 Speaker 1: And I was like, okay, oh my god, yeah, like I oh, that brings so much pride to me, you know, as a black fellow, like because it wasn't there there was only one. 00:24:12 Speaker 2: Yes, one other, Yeah, Elaine. 00:24:14 Speaker 1: George, Elaine George, yes before you. 00:24:16 Speaker 2: And I think she shot her cover. It's in the early nineties, so if I get it wrong, I'm sorry, but I think it was like ninety two, ninety three. 00:24:25 Speaker 1: And did you see that cover when you know, like when you were going through did you were you aware of it? 00:24:31 Speaker 2: No? I wasn't aware of the cover. Yeah, So when I when I heard about her cover, I obviously I googled

and it was a beautiful cover. So yeah, they were like within twenty four hours, get back on the plane, and I was like, yes, I get to go home. But obviously I'm going back to shoot the cover. Well it's a potential cover, so you don't know if you've got the cover. Again. 00:24:52 Speaker 1: That happens so often, and it's. 00:24:53 Speaker 2: Really disheartening, Like I just want it. 00:24:56 Speaker 1: It's like you were like nowhere near the scale what you've done. But I've shot stuff where they're like, well, we're going to shoot for the cover. Yeah, but we it might just be a part of it, you know, instead of the cover, it might just be a part of the spread, you know, yeah, magazine. And I'm like the amount of times I've gone to shooting, like in the back of my mind, I'm like, no, I didn't get it, like just in the magazine. But I think that that's like that must be nerve wracking or like what's the word, Like you just want it so bad, you're so close. 00:25:24 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, and that they're saying that you might get it done you haven't got it yet. So yeah, I was so I was so excited. I probably didn't even sleep, like because I got off the plane and I went straight to the shoot, and probably because I was young, like I didn't feel yet. Well, I was obviously excited. I was like, oh my god, I was nineteen, okay, yeah, well and yeah, just rock up and do you fun. Fact, the cover shot is the first photo of the day. Yeah, but obviously we continued shooting all day. 00:25:56 Speaker 1: But yeah, I mean, that must have been a surreal moment when you actually found out you got it, then you've done the shoot, and now that you're on the cover. It was like having that magazine in your hand for the first time. Did you cry? Oh? 00:26:09 Speaker 2: I don't think I cried. My mom definitely cried. Yeah, it's just a surreal moment, even. 00:26:15 Speaker 1: Early in your career too. Yeah you know, I mean you've been obviously working for years doing stuff, but it's like at that age nineteen. 00:26:23 Speaker 2: And it's a pinnacle, Like every model wants to be in Vogue, let alone on the cover. So yeah, it's very surreal. 00:26:29 Speaker 1: And I was. 00:26:30 Speaker 2: I just I couldn't believe it. I would walk into I would purposely go into news agencies and you know, supermarkets just to look at my cover. I wasn't even buying anything. 00:26:39 Speaker 1: I love that. Did you buy many copies on that? 00:26:41 Speaker 2: I did? No, I think I did buy a few. 00:26:43 Speaker 1: Like taking it to the front lady, this is actually here you go. I love that well, I want to get back to talking about your book. You know, it's it's about to be released, Yes, and it's titled role Model. I think, what a perfect title. You know, it's sometimes not something or the pressure we want to put on ourselves, you know, when we come from our community as being a role model. But you've been that for so many people. What does that title mean to you? Role model? 00:27:14 Speaker 2: The title role model wouldn't mean. It just means. Oh, that's a really tough question. Like I'm proud to be a role model and for young girls and boys to look up to me, you know, they don't have to necessarily want to be a model. It can be any aspect in any career choice they want to go within life. But I feel like I feel so proud and you know, I've you know, I've overcome so much within my career and challenges, and you know, look where I am today. I feel like if I can give some hope to anyone like it, just it makes me really proud. 00:27:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that. I think coming up with that title, you know, was it a no brainer? Was it the first thing that popped into your brain? Because it feels so perfect. 00:27:58 Speaker 2: Oh, there was a few different, Like it's hard, Like when you're writing a book, it's there's so many things you could potentially go with. I don't know anything else that I would have gone with, but me and my agency had to think about it. And you know, I've always been you know, I've been a role model for young kids my whole career, so it was kind of fitting. And you know, my mum was my role model when I was younger, so yeah, yeah, it kind of went hand in hand, which was really nice. 00:28:25 Speaker 1: I love that. And you know the process of writing a book, what is that like? Like is there a lot of like soul searching, digging deep, recovering memories that maybe you forgot about? You know, like what is that process? Like? 00:28:37 Speaker 2: It's interesting. So I wasn't well, I didn't know what to expect, right, I've never written a book, but you know, going back to your early days in the career, you know, like the girlfriend model, so you know you have to think about how you're feeling, how did you feel that day, And it's just thinking back on just certain jobs and you know there were jobs that I forgot i'd done. But my agency, you know, they were involved in FELTU was great, so they would be like, oh, no, you've done this and remember when you were this shy and you know it's yeah, like it's a lot of thinking, but it's really nice because I like I would think about it and think how I felt, and I'm like, I've done a lot in my career and I was like, that's really cool because I continue to go and you kind of just you know, you lose track of timings. 00:29:23 Speaker 1: Cool. Yeah, It's like I also think sometimes we're so focused on where we're going that we forget the present moment. And that's the goal, right, Being present and being in the moment is so important because like feeling it in real time allows you to like look back on it and remember it. I think, but you know this this book obviously it's taken how long How long was it actually taken to write. 00:29:47 Speaker 2: It's taken a year to write. So but then with the book that you know, there's pictures in the book, so you know you've got to go and get the copyright for the pictures, but also remember what year it was and that was an

experience. It's like, there's one picture of my mum and her sisters in the book, and like, you know, back then my mom, no, no, no, average quests had a camera you know's way too fair and the TV was more than enough. And it was a picture of my mom and her three sisters and one of her cousins. So I were knocking oysters off the rocks and you know that's what they do. They take a big way for bread and you know, that was their dinner, their lunch, and a photographer came past and happened to take a photo of them. My mum was seventeen at the time, but she didn't see the newspaper article or anything like that. So maybe let's say five or ten years ago, someone gave her this clipping of this newspaper article, right wow, and Mum kept it in her little you know, a little flip fie again. So she kept it in there, and so she would she could show all of us kids. And there was She was in Tweed City one day, the shopping center and there was like a little photo pop up thing in there, and Mom was like, ook, I'm just going to see if they can do anything to enhance it because it's an old and it's you know, the quality is not great or anything. And she took it there and they said apparently that they could you know, brighten it and make it look nicer, and so she gave it, gave it to the camera people and yeah, they they'd called her up and said, you know they've managed to, you know, make it, make it bigger, and you know, it's brighter and it's much nicer than what it was. But it was it was like four hundred dollars to get out and Mom's like like, Mom's like, I don't have four hundred dollars. Yeah, so she kept So it was just has just had just been sitting at this place, the camera shop, a camera place for you know, over a year or two years. Okay, this is this is before the book had been written, and we're trying to like, we've got photos of mom with me when I'm younger and she's younger, but no kid photos. And the agents he was like, where's that photo when she's younger? And I'm like, I don't know, I'll have to ask mum, and Mum said it was in this shop, and he had the agents. He went, you know, they called the shop and they were said, look, we'll buy the photo, just send it to us, and then they sent the pictures. It's about this big. So now my mom has like a framed picture of her and her two sisters. Wow, and like she's she has that hung it in the house and I'm like, Mom, why haven't you hung it? And she goes, she wants to hang it where she's got like a cooka Barra painting picture and the cookabarro is the messenger bird for us. And I'm like, take it down, mom, and just put it there. Then if that's where you want to put it, and she goes, can't move my cooker borro, so you just smoke them somewhere else. 00:32:31 Speaker 1: Oh that's so beautiful. That must be so cathartic and healing for your mom, you know. Yeah, Well it's like for her to be able to get that in really clear. 00:32:40 Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's like a nice time in her life because one of her sisters has now passed, but you know, the three of them together young, happy. 00:32:49 Speaker 1: So yeah, I love that. I think, oh, that's so beautiful. Well, when you finish the book and you showed your mom, yes, what was her. 00:32:56 Speaker 2: Response, Well, she got the book last week, she read it yet. I don't know if she's read it yet. I think she's very overwhelmed. But Mom's still in tweeds. So she was also like Smantha, she goes, I didn't, she goes, I had no one to celebrate with. And I was like, you know, because she had all these emotions. So I was like, Mom, come to come to Sydney. Keep them. I told her this three weeks ago. She still not here, but I was like, come down and we can celebrate and you know, we'll go have you know, go on the city, have a lunch and yeah, so hopefully come down. But I think it was very like, you know, not I guess traumatizing, but you know, reliving some of the moments in her. 00:33:39 Speaker 1: Life, like it would have been hard totally. I feel like going back to any you know, difficult times or the challenges you have even for yourself through the through your career mustn't have been easy. But I want to talk about you know, where you're at now and it's so excited because you're becoming a mom. I am that is so awesome, Like what what has that journey been like for you? You know, you're on your way to being the first time mum and that's so exciting. 00:34:07 Speaker 2: Oh, I'm so I'm so thrilled and to have just written a book with my mom and I'm having a girl. 00:34:13 Speaker 1: Oh I'm so excited. Yes, that's beautiful. Wow. I mean, do you hope that she's the model? I mean, if she wants to be, if she wants to do Yeah. I mean at this point in your life, you know, you've done so much in terms of modeling, and now your shift is going to be, you know, to be a mum. But yeah, you're going to continue down the working route and as a working mom. So many people do that, you know, and I think it's empowering for women to still have their careers and be a mom. So are you excited for that challenge? I am excited. I'm excited for everything. Someone asks me and they were like, what's what are you most looking forward to? I'm like everything, Like it's so close now, Like even my husband has folded her clothes and put them in the drawers, and like I wasn't home, I was doing and I was like, I said, how did it feel? 00:35:02 Speaker 2: Luke? I was like, you know, He's like it was so surreal holding these little tiny clothes, putting him away. 00:35:08 Speaker 1: Yeah, you don't have to tell us, but do you have a name picked out? 00:35:10 Speaker 2: I do and here's a hint if you buy my book. There's a clue in my book. 00:35:16 Speaker 1: Okay, a little bit stagg Yeah, okay, I'm going to get a plan. 00:35:19 Speaker 2: But it's worked out very well. 00:35:21 Speaker 1: Oh I love that. Well, congratulations you know for being you know, an incredible role model for our community. You've done so much. You're leaving an incredible legacy and inspiration and motivation for young people to get into the industry and and do what they want, you know. So yeah, thank you for all that you've done for our community. But also congratulations on you know, becoming an author and a new mum. Thank you very what an exciting time in your life. Well, thank you so much for joining us on First things first, it's been an absolute pleasure. If you want to check out you know, Sam's book, We're going to put all of the details in our show notes. And where can they find you on social media? 00:36:02 Speaker 2: They can find me on Sam Underscore Harris on Instagram. I don't have TikTok as I'm like, I feel I'm too old for TikTok and I don't under. 00:36:08 Speaker 1: Know not too old for TikTok. You'll be dancing soon on Yeah, yeah, I love that well, yeah, thank you so much for joining us. If you love what you're here to leave us a little rating in a little review. But until next time, stay safe, stay deadly. See you soon.