“... And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of what they're going through...” ― David Bowie
What do you think are the biggest issues facing teens today? What are your your biggest fears? What would you do with a million dollars if you won it tomorrow? What are you most proud of? What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given (and by whom?)? What’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given? What one piece of advice would you give your younger self? What’s your favourite inspirational saying? Which five people, living or dead, would you invite to dinner and why? What do you want to be remembered for?
I’m with David Bowie, myself. Teens know what’s going down. My son IZAAC, is one of my greatest teachers. I’d go so far to say he’s more my teacher than he is my student, even. He motivates and inspires me. For example, IZAAC was the inspiration for ‘SAY WHAT?’
And he can OUT ZOOLANDER ME!
Having worked closely with over 5,000 teens & young people in my time as a model agent for the last 16 of my 29 years in the modeling and fashion industries, I can’t deny, I am forever inspired and motivated by teens and young people. The way they think fascinates me.
IZAAC also inspired TEEN SPEAK. EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO COMES ONTO MY SCOUTING BOOKS gets asked THE BIG QUESTIONS.
I’m using TEEN SPEAK to introduce another incredibly inspiring BRAND NEW FACE in JORDAN! Her answers blew me away. SCOUTED/DISCOVERED by my scouting partner AMANDA BRANSGROVE of CATWALK STUDIOS, we just know this is a human being going places, and not just in modeling and television work. So WATCH THIS FACE. And keep an ear out for JORDAN’S VOICE, too.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FACING THE WORLD? AND WHAT CAN WE AS INDIVIDUALS DO TO DO OUR BIT?
I think the biggest challenge is fear. Fear keeps us in this little mindset, and stops us from doing what we want to do. We are constantly told that everything has a consequence; whether it be good or bad, and this holds us back from our freedom. We need to understand that oblivion can be a good thing, which could encourage our humanity. In 5 years’ time, whether you told the truth or not will not matter as much as you think it did, and life goes on, no matter how cliché you may believe that is.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHARITY AND WHY? My favorite charity is CANTEEN, because my cousin used to have cancer, and their support was absolutely amazing! They have so many amazing events and such cool ideas, their vision is wonderful! AMANDA BETTS & I are figuring out how we can use modelling and fashion as a platform to do good for CANTEEN.
WHAT IS REAL CONFIDENCE TO YOU? Not walking into a room thinking you’re better than everyone else, but walking into a room and not having to compare yourself to anyone else in the first place.
Lastly, you know how I said IZAAC inspired 'SAY WHAT?' Here's one of the reasons why. Straight out of the mouth of one of my teachers.
This ‘SAY, WHAT?’ comes from my son, IZAAC BETTS. He and I were having a gritty car conversation about...well. I think you can guess. He was encouraging me to keep going, and said this:
