Girls Know Nothing - S1 Ep9: Issy Oakley on being CANCELLED, ADHD and her come back!

Episode Date: September 29, 2022

Welcome back to Girls Know Nothing! 🧡  GKN is a female focused podcast hosted by  Girls Know Nothing's ninth guest is a prominent TikToker with over 600,000 followers - Issy Oakley!  Issy announced the launch of her edit with Missy Empire earlier this week - which launches 29/09!  During this episode, Issy discusses what her teenage years were like after being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, why diagnosing ADHD in women is more difficult than in boys, through to her success as a TikToker. New episodes of Girls Know Nothing 🧡 will be released every Thursday, and will also be available on Spotify, Apple podcasts and wherever you get your podcast fixes!  GKN Social Channels:  Https://linktr.ee/girlsknownothing  Instagram: @girlsknownothingpod  TikTok: @girlsknownothing

Hi, I'm Richard Karn, and you may have seen me on TV talking about the world's number one expandable garden hose. Well, the brand new Pocket Hose Copperhead with Pocket Pivot is here, and it's a total game changer. Old-fashioned hoses get kinks and creases at the spigot, but the Copperhead's Pocket Pivot swivels 360 degrees for full water flow and freedom to water with ease all around your home. When you're all done, this rust-proof anti-burst hose shrinks back down to pocket size for effortless handling and tidy storage. Plus, your super light and ultra-durable pocket hose Copperhead is backed with a 10-year warranty. What could be better than that? I'll tell you what, an exciting exclusive offer just for you. For a limited time, you can get a free pocket pivot and their 10-patter pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size copperhead hose.

Just text water to 64,000. That's water to 64,000 for your two free gifts with purchase. W-A-T-E-R to 64,000. By texting 64,000, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pockethose.com slash terms. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates,

so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get-K-A-T-Z 13. Just go to Indeed.com slash P-O-D-K-A-T-Z 13 right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Welcome to another episode of Girls Know Nothing. I have the fabulous Izzy Oakley on my sofa today. You guys will recognize Izzy from TikTok, the girl that, well, isn't afraid to share her opinions, let's say. I think that's probably why we get on so well. I agree. I wholeheartedly agree with that. But I think my favorite TikTok I've ever seen of you was when you were yelling at cat callers.

I think that's when I was like, yeah, me and this girl are destined to be friends. But I feel like everybody that's going to watch this episode will definitely know who you are. So I don't feel like you need to give an introduction. But, you know, tell me a bit about yourself anyway. I am 23 years old. This is not a dating profile, Lizzie.

I'm 23 years old. I hope you're better writing a tinder bio than this well look no the short answer is simply no um i am a tiktoker who does a little bit of lifestyle beauty fashion comedy storytelling you name it i'm sort of i'm a little i love a finger in a pie that's me I have my finger in several pies. But I think it's mainly because I like to keep myself busy. I like to keep my brain active. And I feel like doing social media, you can get really bored, essentially.

I think people who do a very specific niche can run out of ideas. So I like to keep it broad for not only me, but my followers as well. But yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm just a bit of a tit on the internet, really. To be fair, sometimes we just need those kinds of tits on the internet and not the normal kind.

Not the normal kind of tit, it's just the wonky kind. Like, I can vouch for that. No, so basically, like, I... How people start on TikTok always really, like, baffles me because it's never intentional yeah it's always by accident isn't it oh yeah mine was completely and utterly an accident ironically I used to work like in a normal office and at one point one of my co-workers because I was always the class clown like I was always just a bit of a piss taker um and I'd be making the

old man from finance crease that would be my job and my boss was like why don't you just do like things like this online like storytelling and things like that and I was at that time TikTok was brand new um and funnily enough because I was a social media exec that was my job to actually work out what the fuck we were supposed to do with it um but I was like there's not really a platform for me to just have a little rant yeah chat breeze there's not really a place for that so I just thought no and also I'd always said to myself that I could not deal with the criticism like I take it well I used to take everything so personally now I've definitely adapted and overcome I think you just have to by default with the job but my initial reason for starting TikTok was I'd just been made redundant

due to COVID like most people had been to be quite honest um and I'd just been cheated on by my like long-term boyfriend um so I basically ran out of purpose like I had no job no boyfriend my whole world had just been turned upside down like most people like we couldn't leave the fucking house like of all times we need to get needing to get fucked up that would be the time and I'm sat in my bedroom playing fucking what were we doing like house party and oh that really weird app where you could just join random people's conversations that was a strange period of my life and I thought what am I gonna do like what I'm actually gonna do so I originally started like vlogging on my snapchat private which was actually quite immature of me I was 21 years of age like why am I doing that but I was clearly going delirious and I thought you know who needs

to see this the world yeah it doesn't matter about the private snapchat anymore we're gonna put this on the whole yeah so I just started making tiktoks here and there like one was so stupid it was like brats in 2020 of me like styling myself as brats and it got like 250k out of nowhere I was like whoa what the fuck like that was not my intention in the slightest I just posted some random video out of boredom then I did another one where it was answering British questions or what was it um asking British people questions and I was just being so sarky and rude back to be honest like she was like do you eat crumpets every day I was like no I fucking don't what people think is actually British versus what is actually yeah yeah but it's weird because a lot

of people that are on TikTok when I speak to them about like their career and stuff they say they started during covid during lockdown and everybody was looking for something else to watch yeah so it was kind of like the right time to start that career it was 100% time it like people say to me now like what how do you become a tiktoker for me personally and i can vouch for probably majority of the people that everyone watches it was timing and luck because we got pushed to the right people due to the i actually love tiktoks i'll grow them i think it's great we push the right people yeah um we were also just like at the start of it where other people were like is it immature to upload on this app this used to be just people lip-syncing to weird dancing weird dancing right so when we started coming on there and talking

we completely changed the platform into something else um because most people were just doing like over sounds or doing makeup tutorial like I don't even think they were doing makeup I don't know what they were doing like mainly dances I guess Yeah, because I remember like my friends all had TikTok and I was like so anti the app because I was like, I don't dance. I've got two left feet. What am I going to do on this app watching kids dance? Like it's really creepy. But now I'm obsessed with TikTok.

Like I love the app. I love watching everyone's videos. But when you said you used to do an office job, that like blew my mind. I don't think I could ever imagine you in an office nine to five yeah yeah I used to work in Tottenham Court Road like above the Starbucks if anyone knows Tottenham Court Road um in a little office I used to work for a beauty company uh no names mentioned but yeah I used to work for a beauty company um I did the social media so I didn't have a degree

I did start one and I thought fuck that that's a load of shit like why am I paying some dickhead to tell me to read a book that was written in the 1970s about marketing the world is constantly changing how the fuck you anyway anyway that's a whole nother rant for another day but my point is yeah I was originally in beauty I wanted to go into beauty marketing and the sector I had the most knowledge was social like I would always watch YouTube I was originally in beauty I wanted to go into beauty marketing and the sector I had the most knowledge was social like I would always watch YouTube I was a massive YouTube fan um I loved like all the beauty Instagrammers I was proper on job like I knew that's what I wanted to do so just out of sheer force I made myself get an office job and that was my first like official role and then COVID

happened and I was like oh guess it's not made for me so like when you said you you started a degree but you decided you were against it is it just because like because I know obviously you're on TikTok you're constantly talking about how difficult certain things can be because you have ADHD is it because of that that made you like want to quit or you just... I think education for me full stop has always been hard. Like my attention span is shocking. Actually shit. I think that's why me and TikTok are besties.

That's the platform I've chosen because it's for people with short attention spans. Like I'd always struggled. I always got listed as like a daydreamer or bubbly and I feel like with girls it's so hard to diagnose something like ADHD because they do just

put it down oh she's just a bit chatty or oh she's just easily distracted a bit of a daydreamer that's what I personally always got put down as

because I wasn't naughty I wasn't well until college and then I just decided to be a rebel but in secondary school I was so well

behaved like I the last thing I wanted was a detention and I got my first one I cried like I was proper like goody two-shoes and I wasn't particularly like I was quite academically clever to a degree unless you put me in like maths in which case I'm fucked I can't do maths for shit but everything else I was like pretty well graded um but yeah then I got my Crohn's disease well I got my Crohn's I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in year 10 missed pretty much all of year 10 um and then I was just fucked from there really with education me and education have never been besties yeah because I feel like year 10 is like a really important stage in your secondary school life. A hundred percent.

But I actually don't know very much about Crohn's at all. So how did that like, how did you start to, I don't even know what it is, like first of all. Okay, so long story short, it's called IBD,

Irritable Bowel Disease. Okay. So it's similar to IBS. It's kind of like a more extreme version. It has more triggers in your body. So it's similar to IBS. It's kind of like a more extreme version. It has more triggers in your body. So like when you have IBS, you're basically known for shitting and being triggered by food quite easily. Whereas for me, it's not just my digestive system. It's like I have arthritic pain. I have chronic fatigue. It's just like a very extreme version of IBS basically and I originally was diagnosed because I previously had an eating disorder I got bullied a lot for my weight and then in the summer holidays of year nine to ten I just thought I

can't deal with this anymore so I started making myself sick and doing all of that great goodness and essentially it came to a point where I had no control over my own body I couldn't choose when I wanted to be sick which for most people with an ED is like the main thing you have control over your own body and you have control over when you're being sick and how much you're being sick or so to lose that control really well it kind of cured me in a way because I was no longer in charge of when I ate or what I ate it was whatever I could hold down was what I was eating and my mum would like rush to the supermarket to grab something that I was craving in the hopes that I'd keep it down um and it came to a point where I was losing

a stone a week at like 13 14 like that's a lot of weight for a 14 year old to be losing that quick um I got tested I immediately was put onto like these IBD milkshakes I was on them for like six months without solid food and that was a ball like at school like walking into school and my lunch is a milkshake like oh I got ripped the shit out of for that but over time I've definitely adapted to it and I think it will never be something that will stop me from doing anything else like a lot of people with and I think it will never be something that will stop me from doing anything else like a lot of people with and I'm certain illnesses that for me like IBD is uncurable you're stuck with it for life but that's why I think I'll never look at it as something that

I'll go oh well I can't do that because I've got IBD how the fuck am I supposed to live life by going oh I can't do that so instead I adapt rather than you know consistently saying oh I can't do this can't do that it's like people like how would you go on nights out well I've learned to not drink every single time I go out I've learned to adapt to that and go oh well it's someone's birthday so I'll drink today but I know full well the consequences yeah but I've learned like if I do it on specific times you know I can still enjoy myself still be 23. Or what you can and can't drink. Exactly still be 23 years old like at the end of the day it's normal for a 23 year old to go to a Mackey's breakfast like you can't punch yourself in the face for that. No that's true I would like die if hash browns weren't in existence.

This is what I'm saying I think as someone with IBD speaking to someone else with it or someone who's recently been diagnosed don't over panic yourself because that will only make you more um like stressed and then fuel the fire if anything just make small changes and adapt like what's the word like those changes that you can actually fulfill rather than dramatic ones where you're like when someone goes right I'm crash dieting it never works because you crash diet and then you're like when someone goes right I'm crash dieting it never works because you crash diet and then you're like I can't fucking do this anymore and then you binge rather than making like useful changes that over periods of time you can actually withstand so that's what I

did like especially when I turned 18 I still got pissed majority of the time and I know it's not good for me I know that it's a very typical 18-year-old British thing to do though, isn't it? Oh yeah, 100%. 18 to 19, I was drinking pretty much weekendly. But as I've got older, I've realised like, obviously I can't keep that up. Like that's not good for me in any way, shape or form. I was rolling into work like most 18-year-olds, four hours sleep, maybe three if I was lucky.

I can relate to that. I used to nap on the bread in the bakery. I'd get into the staff room and just look like gaunt. And it was a makeup job as well, so I actually had to look decent. Oh, God. Yeah, mine was in co-op. Yeah. Probably shouldn't name that.

Mine was in a mini supermarket, so. A small, definitely not branded supermarket. But, like, it sounds like you had a really tough time at school. Mm-hmm. And, like, did you really tough time at school. And did you go to a mixed school? I did, yeah, yeah. Just a normal run-of-the-mill shithouse of a school, yeah. Do you feel like going to a mixed school made your whole experience worse?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%. All the people, like predominantly most of my bullying came from boys. Okay. Not going to lie. It was all about like visuals like you're too fat when I actually came back after losing weight I had um boys be like well you don't even look the same anymore you look too skinny like I just couldn't win I could not win or like one of them he used to repeatedly on the bus like tell me I was this that and the other

and I was just like I couldn't even catch a break on the way home like you're not just in school you're then getting terrorized on your way home and it's just like never ending however I do feel like girls are a lot more bitchy in their approach it's less like straight up it's like I love your bag like fuck off my bag is from Primark we both know that but my mum is fucking tight and your mum's been to turkey recently and that's why you're running around with a fake michael kors okay like i went to an all-girls school yeah and like sometimes when i think about it i was like is that when people ask me like do i put my kid in an all-girls or do i put them in a mix i'm like

i'm kind of grateful yeah because yeah Because yeah, it is bitchy, but I didn't have like to feel like I needed to look good for boys. Oh, I didn't give a fuck. I was a complete nerd. Like I loved games. I only really picked up any form of makeup until I was about 15, 16. After my Crohn's diagnosis. Like I only started doing that because I was at home so much.

I started watching YouTube and, like, learning how to do makeup. I don't have any sisters. And my mum's very glam, to be fair, but she's never the type of mum, especially at that age, to sit me down and be like, this is how to do makeup. I very much taught myself through YouTube. But that's when my, like, what's the word?

Spark for makeup came, was when I was just at home on my own with fuck all to do while everyone else was at school. Did you think it was like good for your ADHD as well? Like you could actually sit and concentrate on something? 100%. I was hyper focusing on makeup for a long time. Like that's a very common thing for people with ADHD to do.

Like similar to autism, they're very closely linked. It's like, I'll find something I'm interested in and that'll be all I talk about, all I'm'm interested in like doesn't matter what the fuck anyone else has got to say to me I'm telling you about makeup today but I've got a lot better with it as age come on though but yeah no it's just a normal thing to like find something you could actually not only are interested in but are good at then you get so gassed and you just continue to do it I think that's why me and PE had such an agenda because I could not fucking do it so like when they were like yeah you should just you should just do netball today I was like yeah my period

has come on for the 12th time this week miss I'm very sorry I was gonna say like how did you find like how did your ADHD diagnosis came about because earlier you said that in girls, it's harder to spot the signs. 100% similar with autism as well. Both very hard to detect in women because we're more emotional, which with boys, especially with autism, they lack in emotion or displaying it at the very least. Now a word from our sponsor, BetterHelp. I don't know about you guys, but I personally really struggle with productivity during those autumn and winter months because we are getting far less daylight and the weather is so much colder. And when you're in that mindset, doing simple tasks such as house admin can feel like a real drag. When you're in that mindset, it's actually really tough to break that cycle.

And that's where I've been using a therapist to become a better problem solver and making it easier to manage everyday tasks. In situations like this, I really benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. My therapist and I use very simple techniques in order to be able to retrain my brain to put myself into that problem solving mode and help myself to focus more on the positives in my day than the negatives. I have found that these techniques are also really beneficial when it comes to dealing with really low moods or bouts of stress and anxiety. If you've been thinking about giving therapy a try, BetterHelp is a great solution. It's convenient, accessible, affordable and entirely online. You can get matched with a therapist after filling out a brief survey and switch therapists at any time when you want to be a better problem solver therapy can get you there visit betterhelp.com slash gkn today to get 10%

off your first month that's betterhelp.com forward slash GKN. But yeah, my diagnosis came when I started in my first year of college. I was very naughty in my first year of college to the point where I actually got removed from that college. But it was just a little rebellious phase I had. But yeah, no, I got diagnosed because they put a lot of kids

in these like special needs tests. It was, I don't know if it was picked at random or just like kids that maybe were playing up. I'm not really sure how they, like not everyone did it basically. I got told I was dyslexic, which I already knew. And they were like, oh yes, you've got ADHD as well. Were you aware? I was like, no, obviously not. That would have been helpful to know years ago.

Yeah, it would have been great actually. Then I would have had an excuse for being a chatty little shit bag. But yeah, no, I was like, yeah, wasn't aware of that. That's new. But I just didn't really think anything of it. And then the more I've like researched it, the more I know as I'm an adult, I'm like, fuck, no, I really do have that. That really does actually affect me quite a lot more than I realized because I'd lived with it so long I just thought that was just a bit of spice to my personality do you feel like that when you talk about it on TikTok it actually helps other young women that are potentially ADHD as well yeah ironically um I literally uploaded a video the

other day where I explained how frustration for me comes about and how quickly it can piss off but by that time I'd already like let my outburst out on everyone else I've been like oh this one thing's really annoying me now you must all be annoyed as well and then I'll snap out of it and be like why the fuck are you all annoyed like what are you angry for? It's not even that deep. Chill out. And then I put that video up and it's so well. The only thing I would say

was probably negative and it kind of comes with anything I talk about online medical. Everyone immediately diagnoses themselves. Like with my Crohn's disease as well, I talk about like how, you know,

I think a lot of people just link Crohn's and ibs without as i said they are similar ones just more extreme version of the other so when someone with ibs goes i know exactly what you're going through it's kind of like a kick in the teeth it's like you don't you do but to an extent yeah you do but you're not quite but i don't at the same time want to invalidate anyone else or their feelings because people with IBS do go through it as well. It's just not in the same way. But again, with ADHD, like I talk about something like my anger, my frustration.

And so I'd be like, I do that. I've got ADHD now. No, no, you might have a trait of ADHD or maybe even not. You may even have ADHD, but to immediately diagnose yourself without fully understanding the whole of the, you know, I don't even know how to describe it, mental, neurological. Because you could just have, you could just be short-tempered. Yeah, you could. Rather than have ADHD.

That's simple, yeah. But I think it is valuable for everyone who may see something like that to then go and research it 100%. I think it is valuable for everyone, especially see something like that to then go and research it 100%. I think it is valuable for everyone, especially if you see something like Crohn's and say, oh, I actually suffer a lot with that. Definitely go research it. Definitely go get a diagnosis or see a GP or anything like that.

But to immediately jump to that conclusion is quite extreme and almost like hypochondriac to a degree. You wouldn't do that with like a mental health thing. No, but then I feel like people do as well it's the same well I feel like with TikTok a lot of us see things like no I do that and then you're immediately drawn in like I suffer quite badly with anxiety I think actually to be fair most people in our generation do have some form of mental illness um to a degree I think it's really common actually but yeah I do feel like yeah yeah do you feel like um with your ADHD and then obviously currencies do you feel like it impacts relationships oh my god yes sorry I have to shout oh my god yes yes it fucking does um like every guy I've ever seen

I'm like is this love or am I just hyper focusing on you for this exact moment I don't know I can't work it out yet but give me a week or two and I'll soon work out like where I fucked up here like I feel like I get so invested in someone sometimes it can be quite intense so I have to like rein myself in because I will come across as if like I'm filming you like I'll be like where's he going what's he doing but it's because I can't shit like I can't be one of them girls who's got like four booty calls at once I just can't distribute my mind like that I kind of wish I would because then don't I sort of think a heartbreak

would be a bit softer if I didn't put all my attention into one person but I'm just built like this like so fucking annoying like if someone's

got my attention they've got it fully because I can't I just can't well at least you know when you're in a relationship you're loyal yeah but are they

but is that you hyper focusing yes yes it is I'm not a doctor by the way don't quote me on this yeah but are they but is that you hyper focusing yes yes it is i'm not a doctor by the way don't quote me yeah but no it probably is like i'll trust is something i have a real issue with but obviously that's also x is involved but like i'll be like is he actually there and then i'll really deep it like if if my partner goes out without me oh oh my God, I'll overthink to the max. I won't have a moment of peace. I'll have to put a Yankee candle on and just sit there and seance. I think the weird thing as well, as a woman,

you're automatically labelled as crazy when you do stuff like that. Yeah. When boys do it, it's like love. Yeah. Although I've met some crazy fucking bitches in my time and I strongly believe I'm not crazy. Like I've seen enough to know

that I'm a normal amount of psychopath. I actually don't know what a normal amount of psychopath is. I'm just like looking around like anyone else knows what's a normal level of psychopath. I think like to be bothered about what your partner's doing to an extent is normal. Yeah, that is normal to an extent, yeah. Like, to go around there and slash their tyres,

that is where the line is blurred. I can confirm that I've never done that. Neither have I. Oh, God, indigestion. I may have said it out of frustration, potentially, for legal reasons. That is a lie. But, yeah, I may have said it but I would never

actually physically go and do it I have witnessed some crazy bitches do some crazy shit like I have witnessed like I was seeing a guy once and this girl literally like followed me home yeah yeah like this girl was beautiful it's a real blessing to my life for that short period. Like, there's some crazy girls out there, and I mean that with all love and respect. It's probably because of what a man has done. But, God, I'm normal level of a little bit unhinged. But then do you find, like, all of this stuff tough when it comes to work?

I think relationships and this job yeah it's just like wow hello is a ball ache i know you can speak on that as well like yeah just dating anyone in this industry it's just mental like it's just we have shared some stories behind an event and we sat outside and we're like sharing stories yeah it stories. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like ridiculous. Oh yeah, no, it's practically impossible. Also, every one of our followers is an FBI agent, which kind of, to be fair, I respect. But all it takes is me to post one picture of my new man and 25 people have told me like he's done 600 different things

to other people. And I'll be like, oh, he's gone then. Brilliant. I might start doing that for friends that are dating new people. Yeah, yeah, like, oh, he's gone then. Brilliant. I might start doing that for friends that are dating new people. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just accidentally leak their man. I'm not going to do that, guys,

if they're watching. I might. Is he mine? I will. Because you take stuff, you hyperfixate, well, you claim, I'm not going to say you do it,

but when you said you hyperfixate on stuff and you kind of wear your heart on your sleeve a little bit. 100%. TikTok can be such a toxic place to be when it comes to work. And, you know, off camera, we briefly had a discussion about whether it is or isn't hard to be in this industry. And, you know, with the peaks and troughs of emotions like some weeks you know we were saying you're rammed to the point where you don't even have time to go to

the toilet and there's nothing like how do you cope with that on top of your other diagnosis so I think for me a job like this I mean despite the weeks where we are rammed, like for me, thank Jesus, that is like one week in a month, most of the time that I am rammed to the point where I can't see. But I think like, because of Crohn's is triggered by stress and obviously ADHD can peak and get worse due to stress as well. When I am stressed, it's hell in there. It's hell in there. Because I'm like, one, I can't get off the toilet. Two, I'm just ready to be really erratic at every moment. I'm like, right, I need to go shopping. That's it. I've got 500 things to do, but I need to go shopping right now. Because my brain has told me that that's what I have to do. And my time management

awful, it just becomes chaos. However, in terms of, is it a hard job no like my older brother's a paramedic and I watch him do 12 hour days sometimes like with no break for potentially like five seven even longer days like he grounds me so much just to know that he exists and he's working as hard as he can work I could never complain ever I could never complain it's almost like if I said to him oh Sam had a rough day today I um took some pictures in some shoes I'd expect for him to clap me in the face I would he wouldn't just to be very clear yeah I 100% but I feel like you need those people in your life like people who don't work in this industry because it can be very toxic and you can almost get like what's the word indulged in it and

like you just engorged just a way where you forget how everyone else functions in normal society like the only thing i would say about this job which you could probably agree on there is no there's never a clock out. You can't clock out. Yeah. Like, when people sit in bed at night, going through their phone,

looking through their Instagram, it's almost like a pleasure thing. Or even TikTok, when you're just scrolling through, like, haha, that's so funny. Like their brain's switched off

a little bit. Yeah, you're in your chill mode. You can actually enjoy that platform for what it is. Whereas I'll go through Instagram and I'll see someone who's done a collab

with this brand and be like, oh shit, how did I miss the mark on that? Or should I have done something better to do that? Or maybe I should be working harder so I could do as well as that person. Or even on TikTok, I'll be looking through and I'll be like, that sound is trending. I better save that. And I'll think of a video to do with that later. I mean, that's really not that strenuous. I just think the only thing is you literally can't turn off yeah it'd be lovely to have a clock out that would be great but it's not it's not like a physically straining job I think it can be mentally straining definitely but not to the degree

of someone like my brother like where he sees some horrific things day in day out like someone telling me I'm fat I will get over it like that's fine oh you look a bit pregnant oh well I'm not because I'm indefinitely alone but thank you thank you so much it's hard because like obviously not that long ago I was working yeah yeah hours and stuff and in a normal job yeah and I think back to like that and how I felt doing that and how I feel doing this and I do feel more tired doing this but it's because I'm constantly trying to please other people's opinions yeah I feel like you give less of a shit than I do yeah I mean it definitely

bothers me sometimes because I mean it gets you you have 10 people tell you you look green you're gonna start to believe it like you know oh you look really ill do i do you know i mean like you're gonna start it will start to get you down and i think tiktok has definitely shaped me in a better way it's made me realize sometimes is it you can shut the fuck up yeah and sometimes your opinion is actually wrong and doesn't mean i'm not entitled to it but to know that and to understand and develop as a human being has been great like i actually really appreciate it I think that has also come with age like I started when I was freshly 21 now I'm nearly 24 so yeah definitely come with age but yeah I do think you're right it is mentally strained like oh I've had my opinion on this and someone's gone no that's

wrong no technically it's not wrong it's just not your opinion. Yeah. And okay, sometimes we as we are just people at the end of the day. Yeah. Sometimes we do fuck up. And sometimes we do say things that come across in the wrong way. But it doesn't mean that we didn't have good intent when we were saying it initially. But yeah, I think you're right. Is your bathroom shelf guilty of hoarding too many skincare products that actually do very little? Well, Skin and Me is the personalized skincare solution that is here to break that cycle. Finally, a treatment that is tailored to your specific skincare concerns and that actually works. Not forget to mention the daily dose of tube even comes with your name on it. Skin and Me blends scientifically proven active ingredients

to deliver your best skin in a single product that is sustainable, vegan and cruelty free. Simply take the online consultation, share a couple of food to free selfies and the expert dermatology team will tailor a personalized solution that evolves with your skin and targets your skin goals, whether that be acne, pigmentation or skin aging. In a world of complexity, skin and meat are demystifying skincare with evidence-based active ingredients that you cannot buy over the counter. Happy, healthy skin is just a few clicks away. Now, you can get your first month for just £3.50 pharmacy fee with code GKN at checkout when it is normally £24.99 per month. You're free to

reformulate your solution as your skin evolves at any time for free, but subject to dermalogical assessment. I think where I'm coming from as well, and maybe some other influencers or people in the industry can relate to is the constant anxiety over cancel culture. Because you might have done something, it doesn't matter how big or small, someone out there will try to cancel you over it and you have no control over whether that actually happens or not. Yeah, I strongly believe that's why my anxiety's got a lot worse

throughout doing this job. Because opening any app, you're waiting for that one mention of someone being like she did this wrong or she did like we're all human beings we all do things wrong and it doesn't mean we haven't learned from them but unfortunately with social media unfortunately with social media there there will always be someone who said oh well you didn't reply to that like you should have you should you missed this you missed this you missed this it's like oh well fuck I did miss this but now I can't change it and I'm like I want to change this now but no no um apology or

um no what's the word like you any form of trying to fix anything you've done is never good enough, I feel like. And it hurts because all we want to do is please other people. We really want to make sure that everyone feels like we've given the response they wanted. But unfortunately, you just never will please everyone. And that is something you have to just accept with this job. It's hard as well because there are some people out there that have whole careers dedicated to cancel culture.

Oh my God, I can't say it. I know. Oh my God, like, I can't say it. I know exactly what you're thinking about, but don't say it. Yeah, like, fill in the gap. Like, I feel like it makes your life ten times harder because they're, obviously, some people are out there to constantly nitpick at the small things because that's how they get their income. And then people forget the humanized aspect of the person behind the camera.

Oh, I get that all the time. People forget that. I was actually two years ago, two and a half, working a normal job in a normal office, going on the train, getting on the tube to London like any other commuter, just another person in the crowd doing a normal job. Like, as I've said earlier on, this was never my career path. I was like, I'm so pleased and so blessed that it has become my career path.

But I was never media trained. I was never told, here's the book about how to be a good influencer. Read that. First of all, I can't read. so that would have gone south anyway audio book it's me um but yeah no there's no there's no guidebook to being a good influencer I think even the like most unproblematic people people will find a way to give them shit like you can't be perfect you will never be perfect there'll always be someone who's looking for a reason to give you shit which is the hardest bit like no no one no matter how hard they work you're not going to fit everyone's box but that's fine you've got to just accept it but they've got to accept we're not here to please you either we're here to please the people that enjoy watching our content and pay our bills and yeah and pay our

bills like it is our job so yeah and although it's hard to hear and we do love like I was unpaid from doing TikTok for a year or something like that so I clearly enjoy it yeah otherwise I would have buggered off the minute that COVID started to dim down and got another job which to be fair I did get another job and I pursued TikTok and as much of a rocky road it's been um I've loved it I also think people have this what's the word misconception yes misconception that TikTokers are paid as much as YouTubers are and like oh I know that's we're ballers thank you oh my god I did a video the other day talking about this girl made a video being like I think think women should spend £1,500 on their appearance. Oh my God,

that was ridiculous. I was thinking, who has the time, let alone the money? That's what I was thinking. But I did say, I was like, to be fair,

you'd be surprised how much money we already spend on fast fashion, hair, nails. I'm not saying that that's justified, but you'd be surprised

how much as like our generation we spend already. Like most of us go I can't wear that I've wore that already like you know that's a classic so although yeah not maintenance but like if we include clothes and stuff like you'd be surprised how much money we spent right I said that and I got a hound of people saying like I'm so shadowed by how much money I make and I'm just, I'm just out of touch.

No, no. I just, I just, I just said, you probably could. You probably could spend that amount of money. Did you not know that I came into this room in my private helicopter? Yeah, yeah.

Sorry. I actually got my driver to drop me here in my Rolls Royce. I drive a Toyota. I was going to say, was that your mum? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I drive a Toyota Aygo.

Okay. And yeah, my dad had to go because he's got a massive scratch down the side the other day and I said look

Rob shit happens my dad's name is also Rob so yeah Rob shit happens yeah shit happens Rob

like my car's got the currently passenger door side handle missing because the date ripped it off but anyway

oh bastard I know rude yeah reimburse that invoice that shit I wouldn't I'd feel less angry about it if he'd paid for the it off but anyway oh bastard yeah invoice that shit i wouldn't i'd feel less angry about it if he'd paid for the whole dinner but anyway yeah um talking about yeah you he's probably not watching so it doesn't matter if you if you're watching this you'll know

it's you it's you i'm talking about like maintenance and clothes and things you just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy, just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed sponsored jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page

for your relevant candidates. So you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit

to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com slash P-O-D-K-A-T-Z 13. Just go to Indeed.com slash P-O-D-K-A-T-Z 13 right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. Congratulations. Thank you. New Missy Empire edit. Like, like you know when you're talking about how like when you look at things you're like oh i wish that was me or like how did i miss this yeah yeah how did your missy empire club come about so um to start from dot day dot um one of

our managers from hld where we're both signed to meow uhased, but they are the best, obviously. Her name's Liv. Liv used to work with HLD and then moved to Mani and got a job with Missy Empire. And basically, Liv put me forward. She was like, I love this girl. I love this TikTok. And I was like, Liv,

I also love you dearly and deeply. And basically, they were like, yeah, bring her in because we want to start working with some tiktokers so yeah i did a tiktok shop with them had a little little day out in manning loved it and from there they were really impressed with how my tiktok shop went and i've done a few tiktoks with them and they went really well as well so one thing led to another and now i have an edit

so that's mind-fucking-gling. That is out today. Today, at some point. We're not sure, entirely sure what time the time is. Just keep your eye on the clock, basically. Keep refreshing. Just any time. Missy Empire website. I don't know why I'm just saying.

Just that. Hopefully, if you want any other details, it'll probably be on my instagram or missy empires but um i haven't had confirmation of the time yet so but i'm gonna guess this evening at some point so with the collab like how did you like i don't know much about how clothing clubs come about like do you get to pick like did you get to design stuff so because it's an edit it's not a collection it's more like i pick things that I love okay so and it was a really quick process because they were like right we want it out here and I was like

chaos like I've only got this many weeks to do all this um but yeah despite that I've chosen loads of things that are really me like I literally live in this jumpsuit and shameless plug this is also from the collection um but literally everything I've chosen I will wear and do regularly wear like I've worn this about 20 times people are probably thinking does she wash but the answer is no I would have gone with what Simon Cowell does where he just like has the same things yeah just several of them instead of saying you don't wash no I do actually have two of these and I interchange them I do wash

um but yeah no I when I got told I had a like a moment to myself in my flat which seems quite lonely when I think about it back but I just had a little cry because I went from being like bullied for my weight for how I look to just jumping from that to this which feels like it's gone like that I feel like my time in secondary school is so vivid to me because it was so traumatic that to come to this point now and to basically like all the bitches that call me fat or ugly I'm now in your ad ad. I'm now on your ads. They're probably now buying your clothes. Do you know what I'm saying? As much as you might hate me,

you know you want this jumpsuit. So, and it really goes. I hope Missy Empire paid me for this episode. Sponsored by. But no, like I think that's, that's really like amazing.

And I can imagine like how happy that made you feel. And I, I, I shamelessly or not shamelessly whichever the word is stalk people's comment sections on TikTok yeah and like I know how much like because of how candid you are on your TikTok like how much that helps other people so I saw you were doing like an Instagram story on your edit yeah Yeah. That was wild. Yeah. So many questions. So many questions. And the thing is, I'm so transparent, like I'll just say how it is. So when people ask me things that most other

people just avoid answering, I'm more than happy to say it. Like, I think there are aspects to everything like, no matter who I bought out clothing brand with there were going to be pros and cons um but either way it's an edit hopefully fingers crossed it's the first of many um which means I will have to iron some things out and get some things perfect for anything anything future um but it's also the first time I've ever done anything close to this at all um but yeah I'm I'm actually really proud of myself like to to come this far, um, from where I was, as I said before, to this, it's like fucking mind boggling. Um, and my friends were like way more impressed than I was at first because I kind of didn't process it until a couple of days after. And my friend was like, what? I was like, yeah, no, I've just been asked to do an edit. She was

like, you fucking, are you on drugs? Like like why are you not even slightly excited I was like I am but it's just not come out yet and when I will sit on my own in the bath I'll be like but yeah it's a weird progression yeah but I love that though I love that for you but so realistically in five years time what do you want brand Izzy Oakley to be oh oh you know what to be really like rogue I want my own business by then like I want to as much as I appreciate every collab that comes my way hopefully by then I'll have this amazing idea that I'm still waiting to come into my head and I'll have my own business the only thing is I do feel like everything is so

saturated that it's finding that niche yeah of course sorry that was Prosecco but it's finding that niche yeah that really just came up on me there. It came out of nowhere. I was like, what? This is not the time. But yeah, no, I hope to have my own business by then. I think that is like the end goal. I just don't want to bring out something, one, that's shit, because plenty of influencers have done that.

Oh yeah, just to make quick bag. Quick bag. And I would, no, no, no, no. Like, if I was to bring out something of my own, I want to make sure the inclusivity is to the max. Whether that's modesty, clothing size, I want to make sure that every follower from every inch of wherever they come from or whatever the background, religion, shape, size,

I want them all to feel like they are included within it. So that's my future goal. That is my top tier goal but I would definitely like to work with a makeup brand next I think that would be good fun who's gonna do it out into the universe I love that yeah I can actually I'm surprised you don't have one already yeah well I've kind of like to be fair as of like last six months, I've definitely gone more lifestyle-y. But at first I was definitely very makeup heavy. Like this time last year was makeup, makeup, makeup, makeup up.

But you can tell when I'm hyper-focusing on something because my feed is just that. That's why your makeup always looks so good because you're so hyper-focused on it. Yeah. Because I'm sat here right now looking at your makeup being like, oh, she's got a full face and I'm sat here like... Your skin is glowing

but it is I'm just laughing we all know well we know why we we do anyway moving on Sharon's skin serum coming out soon i don't think we can bottle that no well um no amazing um i'm like lost my train of thought so every person i ask every person i ask every person that comes into this room that sits on that chair i always ask the same final question too. And that is, what would you say to people in your past or people in the future that doubts your success because you're a woman? Suck my dick.

I was about to quote Cardi B then. Yes, I was like, are my pink dildo in my dresser? Yeah, no, I think suck my dick. Because without, well, to an extent, thank you. Because without those people, I think it's character building. I know like everyone says, oh, bullying, it's character building. It genuinely is. Like, I think without going through what I did when I was a bit younger,

or even not even that, not that long ago, to be fair, without going through that, I wouldn't be where I am now. And I wouldn't speak so loudly about these topics that I've felt and gone through myself. So to an extent, thank you,

but still, suck a dick. Because you're still a wanker. But thanks, but you are a knob. I could just see Romy behind a notepad like, aww.

Cut. Or just bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep. Yeah, how many bleeps? Like take a shot for every time we've had to bleep in this episode. No, and I really applaud you for like your honesty, not even just in this episode, but just in general,

because I do find that in this industry in general, like not everyone I meet is as honest. Yes. And as open as you are. And sometimes it makes it really hard when you are honest and open you're fighting you're like a battle and you always feel like you're on your own doing it I also feel like as influencers who do speak their mind we are shunned for it like they want us to sit pretty and just not really speak to be honest and unfortunately this is 2022

and if I want to call someone a c-word I'm going to and I think like I shouldn't be told that because I'm that gobby girl or because I speak my mind that I'm immediately a nasty person if anything in this industry it makes you the nicer ones because it's the ones that act like what's the word roses and perfume are like the ones that you actually have to watch really because they give off this persona that 99% of the time is not who they are sickly sweet sickly sweet like when you meet them in person or if you have met them in person oftentimes it's not what you expect yeah ever and you're thinking oh they come across so nice online there's I just don't think that's the case I think it's nice to finally meet people,

or especially influencers, who actually are what they are. I think TikTok is the beauty of influencer because 99% of the TikTokers I've met are the same. Like they are loud, a little bit out, what's the word, a bit out there, yeah? Like Grace, for example, exactly the same it's completely unedited isn't it like unfiltered unfiltered it's the unfiltered influencer like you can't escape that we all just chat shit and i love it i think it's great i think we all just say it how it is

and we all just tell people our opinions and they are all valid i think no one should be shunned for that especially there's platforms out there i sound like i farted but it was my phone especially things like tatalife like i mean not sorry should i word that especially platforms where they discuss influencers yeah um i think for you first of all sit behind a screen and tell someone that by being gobby that they're a horrible person is wild because you're not doing the same thing. Except you put your name and your face to it. Say it with chest if you're going to say it.

Yeah, I was going to say it, except I say it with chest. That was much classier than how I would put it. I say it with chest. But that is the thing, we do. We do say chest. And to an extent, we know we're going to get shit for it.

No matter what you say. You're like, yeah, well, here we go. Floodgates, they are open. They are open. But fuck it. At least I can say it with my full fucking chest. Bleep chest. You bleep.

How does HLD Office cope with all of these women coming in and out of their office all the time i don't know it's a lot of hard work i'm tired like i am exhausted regularly and it's not just the crows disease it's just constant it's the wild talent that's making me tired yeah hld is made for those who don't give a shit and love Prosecco. Cheers to that. And on that note, oh, that was pretty high pitch, wasn't it? Cool. Gonna have to get that and put down a little bit.

No, on that note, thank you so much for being a guest on my podcast. Thank you for having me. I've been really excited to have you on it since like day one. So finally got it done. Finally. And I can't wait to see your Missy Empire edit. Thank you. Neither can I.

I'm so excited. Hi, I'm Richard Karn. And you may have seen me on TV talking about the world's number one expandable garden hose. Well, the brand new Pocket Hose Copperhead with Pocket Pivot is here. And it's a total game changer. Old-fashioned hoses get kinks and creases at the spigot. But the Copperhead's Pocket Pivot swivels 360 degrees for full water flow and freedom to water with ease all around your home. When you're all done,

this rust-proof anti-burst hose shrinks back down to pocket size for effortless handling and tidy storage. Plus, your super light and ultra-durable Pocket Hose Copperhead is backed with a 10-year warranty. What could be better than that? I'll tell you what, an exciting exclusive offer just for you. For a limited time, you can get a free Pocket Pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of any size Copperhead hose. Just text WATER to 64000. That's WATER to 64000 for your two free gifts with purchase. W-A-T-E-R to 64000.

By texting 64000, you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages from Pocket Hose. Message and data rates may apply. No purchase required. Terms apply. Available at pockethose.com slash terms.