#18 | Part 1 Karen Koramshai - Deep Dive Into The Modelling Industry + Discussion About Wellness

:: 00:00

I loved it at the beginning, but it was. You know, it's a very sort of different story. Once, once you're in it, I miss the buzz of it, you know, and that's why I still come, probably three to four times a week. I'm the kind of person that I can't just, you know, staying at home, and I need that sort of it's Mrs Karen Karamshai. Thank you so much for coming on, hi guys, hi, thank you for having me.

Thank you for coming on. Can you tell the listeners and viewers a bit about you and a bit about your story? Okay, so I'm a wellness enthusiast, very committed to making wellness more accessible and sort of accessible to everyone around us. So yeah, that would be me, and I'm also sort of a coach in training.

:: 00:45

I love that you started off your career. From what we read, there's so much about you. It's so easy to put a script together you started off as a model right what sort of got you into the realm of modeling, and what intrigued you and pushed you towards doing that?

:: 01:00

I guess it was just my um experience I sort of. I discovered that it was just quite life changing eating clean the majority of the time exercising. I felt there was a lot of real life benefits to it Practicing mindfulness, self care, self love and, you know, just practicing gratitude every day. I felt like there was a massive sort of shift in terms of my mental state and physical state did you enjoy the modeling industry as a whole?

I did, I think originally I got into it because I love traveling so much, um, I love the whole sort of you know, I guess, the glamour of it, um, and that's originally what made me get into it my passion for sort of um, makeup and design and clothing, um, but yeah, I loved it at the beginning, but it was, you know, it's a very sort of different story once. Once you're in it, yeah, um, it's not as glamorous. You know, you travel a lot, you've got, uh, sort of long hours working, um, it can be quite, you know, overpowering, um, but yeah, so that's how I sort of started originally.

:: 02:07

Did you ever struggle during your career like sort of with your mental health, with your well-being? You've always been into your like clean eating nutrition. Did you ever struggle with that or find like other men and women in that industry did as well?

:: 02:19

Yeah, I think I did. Looking back at it, I definitely did. You know I was. You know that you always think, oh, you're always taking care of yourself and, and you know, by doing treatments or whatever, but I think you know there was a lot of sleepless nights. Um, you know, there was a lot of rejection.

So you're going to castings and stuff and a lot of the models suffer from that and that can you know, promote sort of self-doubt and you know, the whole sort of anxiety can even depression, because you're constantly rejected and you know it's not as glamorous as everyone thinks.

:: 02:53

And it's.

:: 02:54

You know, it's important to sort of say that side of things.

:: 02:57

Would you say the industry is changing at all? From the time that you've done it up until now, do you think it's changing at all in that way?

:: 03:02

I think so and I hope so. I think it's changing at all. I I think so and I hope so um I think there's more.

You know, the whole sort of mental health is big. I think that people are much more switched on on that um I think the whole. There's still a lot of sort of um body image pressure, but I think a lot of the brands I think are starting to encompass more of both sides. I think there's still some brands out there that are promoting the extremes, but I think hopefully they're managing to sort of go the other way.

:: 03:37

What do you mean by extreme?

:: 03:38

sorry, I think nowadays I think some brands are very quick and easy to sort of go with the bandwagon, you know they promote either one way or the other, which is not really promoting a positive health well-being image.

:: 03:54

Um, and I think hopefully that's changing yeah, hopefully that's your favorite brand you like to work with. Oh god, I've got a few. I love my skincare clients.

:: 04:06

Um, you know, fashion I love. Um, active wear, I'm really into it. Um, yeah, I've just the. The beauty of this industry is just it gives you the freedom to meet so many different people uh so many different brands which I you know.

:: 04:19

It's that creativity again, it's, it's, it's nice yeah did you like the freedom of sort of you said before, like traveling?

yeah traveling the world, but then it kind of became very stressful for you. What was that like, in a way, because we have a lot of people who watch this, who will work in nine to five or work in a cubicle at work and they're stressed by it. What was it like? Sort of having the freedom of, you know, traveling the world and getting to do something so interesting. But I think the thing with this is there's so much pressure, which people don't see. There's a lot of pressure on us to do this podcast as well, which people won't see they think it's a camera and you record it when you're actually in the industry.

Is it is sort of like glamorous doing all the traveling, or is it really quite damaging for you in the long run?

:: 04:59

I think it can be quite damaging. Um, I think it's. You know, you've got to be quite thick-skinned to do this. There's a lot of rejection. Like I said, it's a lot of sort of long hours traveling. You know a lot of the times, you know even the sort of financial sort of hazard around it you know you're, you can be sort of dropped from a contract, very sort of short-term you can.

You can have withheld payments, things like that, which that side of things is still not regulated enough, even though you can be booked under an agency. But yeah, I mean, there is a lot of traveling but a lot of the times you can be in a place that you haven't seen any other place, you know. So it just varies from job to job, I guess.

:: 05:45

Yeah, was there ever sort of like a pivotal moment in your modeling career where you were like I'm done, like this, is it like a yeah? That's it now.

:: 05:54

I'm I'm finished yeah, I think it was when I moved to my, to the countryside and it was. You know, I, when I, when I moved to the countryside, I didn't even drive, you know.

:: 06:03

I was with my high heels.

:: 06:05

I just didn't really wear flat shoes. I'm still wearing them, but um, yeah, I think it was when I moved to the countryside. That's when I decided to change, because obviously, you know, london for me wasn't as accessible, so I sort of started slowing down a bit and that's when I sort of started making big changes in my life do you enjoy the london life?

I do, I still miss it, I, I miss the buzz of it, you know, and that's why I still come, probably three to four times a week, yeah, to and stuff like that. But yeah, I am glad I've done the move because now I still, you know, I like my sort of relaxing, meditative sort of yeah, quiet space.

:: 06:41

So was it moving with your family? Yeah, I guess.

:: 06:44

Yeah, I moved originally on my own and that's when I started building my family, and yeah, met my husband so yeah, when did you meet your husband now? He will. He will know all the dates but I don't a few years back. So, yeah, we've been together for a long time so, yeah, that's really cool.

:: 07:02

And you have a family.

:: 07:03

Yeah, yeah, really good busy, yeah, chaos it's not always, you know, as uh smooth, but it's, it's, I love it. I love being a mom.

:: 07:14

You know, I also love doing this as well it gives me best of both worlds so it was a transition from doing something that's quite solitary and modeling to having that family dynamic. It's a huge shift change.

:: 07:25

Yeah it's, it was nice, I love it. You know, I, I do love it. It's, it's, i's, I, I'm the kind of person that I can't just, you know, staying at home and being a mom. I think it's. I need that sort of how do you say it? Like, uh, I need that sort of engagement with something else and I love doing what I do. So, like I said, I get best of both worlds really, and I love it.

:: 07:51

So what are the most important lessons you've learned from being a mum so far?

:: 07:55

oh god patience I guess, uh, resilience, uh, multitasker, um yeah, and I guess it's just it's finding that stillness, enjoying those little moments. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's. You know, oh, my god, my, my son or my daughter's walked for the first time. It's just enjoying that, those little sort of moments that come in.

:: 08:20

That's amazing, yeah, yeah I want to stay on the topic. Um. We talk so much about like children's mental health and children's mental health at the moment from what we see. Obviously we're not doctors, we just talk openly. We have specialists on. Looks pretty bad looks pretty bad at school. The younger generation. Have you found anything in particular that sort of like you're doing with your kids where you've been, like this is helpful or you know being more open or less screen time on social media yeah I don't know what the actual reason is.

We've talked about this quite a few times now. There's lots of different factors, but is there anything in particular you guys look at as a family to help your children?

:: 08:56

yeah, I think screen time is a big thing I think you know, even when we have play dates, you know my sons or my daughter's friends come in with their screens. You know, and it's it's monitoring that it's really hard, um, because that's part of our lives now, it's just day to day and I find even filters. You know, like even my daughter, she'll take a picture and she'll put filter on and it's just being aware of that. You know that sort of whole mental health behind it. But I love the fact that, for example, now schools are starting to have um professionals in the schools having um just to talk about mental health if they've got a problem. You know, I think it's it's much more talked about where before it wasn't and I think that's that's a positive thing do you think it's important for children to be more open with like parents and close families?

yeah, I, I think it is. Communication is key. I think, yeah, it's so important for mental health and I think it's yeah, I think that's so important. I always sort of motivate my kids to even if to talk about nothing, you know, just talk about it just not the best friend, but just talk to me about any issues that you have or you know, anything that you come across that day. Um, so, yeah, how do?

:: 10:06

you, how do you find the life balance between being active on social media and obviously you are with what you do? You have to be on social media to do that, and we have that balance as well, as I think it's we talk about the toxicity.

:: 10:17

I know, I know how toxic it can be, and how?

:: 10:19

nothing's there's not a lot of realness on social media as well, we try to be as real as we can, but then the other side of that is we talk about how bad it is, and yet we're on it all the time.

:: 10:29

Yeah, exactly, it's, it's. It's a bit like keeping up with the Joneses, isn't it? You're trying not to, but you end up doing it. Yeah, it's super hard. It's like with everything it's trying to find that balance, I guess.

:: 10:41

I think I remember you said that you try to keep your phone on the other side of the room and stuff like that when you wake up. So we wake up in the morning, we're on it straight away it's. Is that what the kind of things you do to stop yourself?

:: 10:50

Yeah, it's the little habits that you're trying to instill in myself and also the kids. It's, you know, nine o'clock is my cut off, I'm not on the phone and it's again. I probably don't pick up my phone until probably 9.30 in the morning. I try to be really strict with that Because also my kids start seeing that they see you doing it.

:: 11:11

Yeah, they see it.

:: 11:14

They, because also my kids start seeing that. So it's you know, yeah, they see it's like yeah, what?

:: 11:16

what's that word, a phrase? Monkey, see, monkey do it's. You know it's learned behavior.

:: 11:18

Yeah, exactly so it's yeah, I try to. Not always it's hard, but it's hard, yeah. It is hard, yeah, especially when everything revolves around this one screen as well, like work, talking to family.

:: 11:29

It's so addictive we talk about this all the time and joe's like what was your screen time? And I was like yesterday it was about seven hours because I was just like I'm on my phone. I'm like refreshing the statistics I'm posting the reels I'm editing and then he was like seven hours. I was like, yeah, I don't know, it just goes so quickly and I need that dopamine hit yeah which this is a really uh strange one for me.

I'm really big on morning routine now and I was going to ask you do you have a morning routine in place?

:: 11:55

Because I have ADHD.

:: 11:57

I talk very openly about it.

:: 11:58

And.

:: 11:58

I sort of need a dopamine hit. And if I don't, I just go crazy so what do you do in the morning? So in the morning now I have a loomy lamp oh, yeah, yeah, I actually find that really useful. So I leave all my electronics outside the room. Sometimes I have my phone and if like if worst case scenario, I've had a few things in the past where I left my phone outside and something bad happened in the night and it's kind of like a a scarring yeah trauma for me where my phone's outside, I'm lying in bed like yeah oh, what if something bad's gonna happen?

so sometimes I have my phone in but I have my Lumi lamp and that will wake me up. Then as soon as I wake up I'll just open the curtains and try and just get like some natural lighting from that and not go on my phone straight away because I felt like before I'd roll over, I pick up my phone, I'd be like, oh I know like scrolling through, and it would always set me off really badly.

I don't know what effect that had on my adhd or just me in general, but it would really mess with me. Then I'll go shower, shower, get my stuff on, grab my phone and then go down, and that is such a simple thing for me but that works so well at the moment, the minute I have my computer in my room and I'm on it straight away.

I don't know why. I just can't function properly for the rest of the day. It starts me off fresh and that's the main thing. Or I'll go to the gym my gym at 6 30 on monday, wednesday, friday, so kind of just having that like routine behind me is so important, and I want to talk to joe about this. So joe's just come back from barbados.

It's very tan yeah, you do nice he was saying before, just before you came in, was how badly his routines gone since he's been back and how awful he feels and you can.

:: 13:28

We're big routine guys, yeah, and you can feel you can get into it very quickly, can't you yeah?

:: 13:33

well, I I'm probably like you is, I'm reliant on it, so if I don't have a routine, my mental health really spirals and tom had the same problem a couple of months back when he got back from his traveling and I picked up an injury before I went. I went, I felt like I couldn't go to the gym, which, again, when I'm traveling or going away, I still like to be able to use the gym.

:: 13:49

It keeps me ticking over.

:: 13:51

So if I can't do that and I'm away and I'm sitting still, I can't really sit still for that long. I'm not that good at it. So if I can't have that, I'm awful. It does affect you, yeah, it massively does, is all over the place, and it really takes me a while to get back into it, so I was going to ask you what your routine looks like because I know that you're very reliant on it as well with your day-to-day with the kids, I mean for me it's everything, the, the habits in the morning.

:: 14:12

For me it just sets me up for the day. Um, and I think you know I love my routine. I'm very sort of quite specific about it, but I that, like you, that's how I roll, that's how I sort of it works for me. Um, so in the morning I'd probably have um hot water and then I like sort of I'd like to do things like red light sauna, um which that. That's where I sort of multitask a bit. I sort of do my meditation, um love to do my gratitude list. Um, movement for me is key. Just, I have to work out some kind of whether it's Pilates, low impact, or whether it's more weight training. I love doing all that. I think I do it more the daily movement, just more mental health than physical.

I guess, it's so important.

:: 14:59

Can you walk us through each step? Why hot water? Is that? Just enjoy it?

:: 15:04

I'm a bit like I'm Brazilian, so I get cold very easily but yeah, no, I just love that warm feeling, a bit like ayurveda, ayurveda. The whole principle about it is because you know it's nice to start the day with something warm. Um, so I love that. Um, then I'd probably have a green juice, all of my green juices. I always sort of press it every day.

Um, then I'd have my breakfast and then I usually do some kind of movements, whether it's pilates or whether well, if the weather's sunny I like to go for a walk, put my podcast on and just just as long as I'm moving in the morning it sort of does it for me that's great.

:: 15:42

Well, I've just come back from traveling Brazil.

:: 15:44

Have you. Oh my God, that's amazing. So we did South America, so we did.

:: 15:48

Argentina, Uruguay.

:: 15:50

Oh, amazing. And then Brazil.

:: 15:51

And we did the Rio Carnival.

:: 15:52

Oh my God it was awesome.

:: 15:54

Whereabouts Mass of FOMO? Now it was amazing.

:: 16:00

So I'm originally. I lived all my life in. Well, my brother still lives there, but yeah, I love it. I mean yeah.

:: 16:07

We loved Paraty. Oh yeah, paraty, yeah yeah nice. It was amazing, that's nice, that was proper.

:: 16:13

I won't get into it. I spoke about it so much now, everyone listening will be like this guy used to speak about Brazil. It was the best trip I've ever done it. I miss it a lot. I miss it a lot.

:: 16:23

We hope you enjoyed part one of three of this episode. If you're watching on YouTube, please like and subscribe, and if you're listening on Spotify, apple Podcasts, wherever you are, please leave us a kind rating. It helps us more than you'll ever know. Here's a bit of what you can expect in part two.

:: 16:38

It was heart palpitations and I thought, yeah, that was. I just felt like my body was shutting down. It was basically a year. It took me a year to get to the bottom of what was going on with me. I was doing saunas at the time when I had breast implants and I felt so.