Mama Said Knock You Out

May 22 2026

FLASHBACK to February 2026… and February 1993.
Snippet shown: ‘Tropical Elegance’ fashion show held in Suva, Fiji. February 1993. I was 22.
I am a better model now at 55, I share why in the TS FEB Cover Story. I have never feared ageing and never worshipped youth. Even at 22.
Going through the archives, my gosh I have done a lot of shoots, from the first professional one in 1989 till today. One day it would be cool to share it chronologically in a public way, like an exhibition. I share a lot of photos, videos, bts stories and stories of the times on my private Instagram account, and for the young people who weren’t born yet it’s all fascinating and somewhat surreal history. 
Not sure what the older people get out if it, perhaps they think I am reliving “glory days”, except I live a glorious life every day and I also share tidbits of that on my private Instagram account.
 
I share to show what was achievable before. I see it as a personal responsibility to be an example for young people from my country of birth and young multicultural people everywhere, to show that human ageing is/can be an incline, that youth is merely a springboard for the rest of your life. 
I am actually ready to be a model NOW. Even though I never stopped. For some reason I have never been in fashion in Eurostralia. That’s fine. I am a classic, not a trend so I have never strived to be “in fashion”. I just enjoy modelling, I’m good at it and Women really do just become more at ease in their skin the bolder we get.
 
Now I see a lot of stories about “mature models trending”, which is very triggering for my cynical eyebrow… I have seen this ‘trend’ before and it’s always about making white women feel better about ageing. Where are the “mature Black and Brown and Asian origin models”? 
I explain here why Naomi Campbell is a disappointment as a representative, but it’s not Naomi’s fault that she is a 55yo woman who was a child when picked and groomed to become “an ultimate woman”. Majority of the Supermodels don’t seem to have handled the fact that they are Dorian Gray-ing while their pictures stay frozen in time.

Next log entry.

Because of my career paths I have had agent representation in Australia before, from 1999 to the mid-2000s. My best and last agent, an ex-model and artist, ran a boutique agency in Sydney, representing multicultural talent. LL was a great agent and way ahead of her time representing People of Colour but not in niche ways, just making sure we got seen, for mainstream purposes. For the record LL is white with a multicultural child.
I featured in many fantastic -and lucrative- international tvc and cinema productions including being a “glamorous prop” in two of my favourite movie series [Star Wars and The Matrix; I shared this story for the May 2025 issue, it’s an Audio Article]. I was very busy during these years as a print journalist and international tv commercial model, but I was rarely chosen for an Australian production, even though I would get chosen by Australian people for the international productions (like the one below).
 
“Inclusivity” wasn’t invented back then and “diversity” was what they didn’t want.. Quite blatant about it too. Still, I got a lot of great work. Sydney felt electric in the 90s and 00s and because it was cost effective for international production teams to produce commercials and films in Australia, there was constant demand for “diverse” and… actual talent. 
 
So if “mature models are trending” perhaps it’s time for me to get an agent again. But don’t call it a comeback… **
 
Why I say I am a better model now, at 55… and it’s not necessarily about physicality or depth of experience. [Clip starts at 12:32]
“A self clicked shoot, taken in 2016 in Fiji for an inflight magazine article and press purposes, the Feb cover is an unpublished one. [story in episode].

I was 45 then, deeply unhappy, depressed, suicidal, with no clue why. My life was f*cken great, right? That’s what everyone, including me, kept telling me, but my deeply suppressed trauma had started to leak due to perimenopause, oh and being suppressed from childhood. Regardless, I had a GREAT work year. Being busy is such a great way to mask*, but the implosion isn’t pretty (as I found out in 2022).
I was all over the world, utilising and using my writing, photography and model skills to spotlight culturecentric excellence.”

 
2. ** “LL Cool J said in his autobiography that the idea for the song came from a discussion with his grandmother. He had said to his grandmother that he felt that he could not survive as a rapper now that gangsta rap was popular and he was being dissed by several up-and-coming rappers. LL’s grandmother responded, “Oh baby, just knock them out!” – Wikipedia 
ps. this Lady -and Lord- Love Cool James 😉
 
3. “Launched in 2005 by LL COOL J, Jump & Ball is a free and fun-filled camp every Saturday & Sunday during the month of August for hundreds of kids from Southeast Queens. The program was developed as an opportunity for the kids in the community to not only learn the game of basketball but also learn team building and leadership skills critical to life off the court.” – About Jump & Ball.
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