The Life Of Bryony - Iskra Lawrence: From Supermodel to Saltair CEO

Episode Date: November 3, 2025

This week, I sit down with the unstoppable Iskra Lawrence – model, entrepreneur, and advocate for body acceptance – to explore how she transformed the fashion and beauty landscape. Iskra shares how she broke into modelling, weathered rejection in a ruthless industry, battled body dysmorphia and eating disorders, and redefined her self-worth on her own terms. We discuss the realities of performative inclusivity, why brands get it wrong - and how her own beauty company, Saltair, is fighting to make everyone feel welcome, and worthy. Iskra opens up about postpartum experience, finding the power to pivot when doors slam shut, and how self-care can be simple yet truly transformative. If you’ve ever felt ‘not enough’ in a world obsessed with size, or wondered how to bounce back from rejection, this conversation will spark hope and practical wisdom. Don’t forget to subscribe, share, and keep being unapologetically you!WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITSHost: Bryony GordonGuest: Iskra LawrenceProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Sam ChisholmEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I heard that the queen of body acceptance was over from the States, I knew I had to get her in The Life of Briny's Studio whatever it took. Iskra Lawrence is the model who fought back against the world of size zero and changed the landscape by refusing to allow her pictures to be photoshopped. Now she's gone from supermodel to super entrepreneur and she's once again trying to change the industry for the better by launching a new beauty brand that aims to uplift the women that fashion so often neglects. And today, she's sharing her inspiring story and letting you know that you don't have to change a thing about yourself to step into your power.

I'm in my juicy phase of life. I feel so juicy and fulfilled and, like, bursting with, like, love and gratitude. And my body is bigger than it's ever been. My level of success is not dictated about my body at all. My chat with Iskra coming up right after this. I want to start by talking about the motto of salt air, which is everybody is welcome here, which I love. And I was thinking, you've been in this industry. now for 22 decades. Yeah. Yeah, two decades. Did you think that you would, that it would still

be a radical thing to create a size inclusive brand? I, it blows my mind that it is. And the reason why I feel like salt air in particular is radical because it's inclusive, but it's elevated. And this is one thing that I feel like people don't associate or allow like a diverse marketing to also be elevated and luxurious and aspirational. They think it has to be so relatable that it then isn't luxurious. And like I don't understand why people think the two can't coexist. Also, the same with wellness and inclusivity. Like that is also, wellness has always been seen as exclusive and aspirational.

But yet, if not more so, people who have been left out of that conversation need to be reminded about self-care and have, you know, beautiful, luxurious products that remind them to take care of themselves like salt adders more than anyone else. Okay. So I want to go back. I know you're probably really bored of telling your story, Esker. But I feel like the story of this incredible brand that you've created, it starts way before you created it. Right. But can we talk about? Going way back to the beginning and what it was like for you, how old were you when you started modelling, Iskra? I was 12. 12 shut the front door. I know, your daughter's age. That gives me chills.

Yes. How did you end up modeling? So I will always say my parents allowed me to take risks and try things and they had no idea what the industry was actually like, right? We only knew what it looked like from Britain's next top model. So I entered Lgirl's search for supermodel when I was 12. Okay. And then I went to London because I'm from Kidderminster originally.

So I went down on the train and I got through to the finals and I didn't win, but I got scouted. So there was model agents there and basically they picked me and said, we want to put you on any models to watch because you're too young. Scouted was, I remember, I'm like 10 years older than you, Iskra, but when I was growing up, the top thing, the top aim for all of us, I remember at my girls' school, was to be scouted. Usually in front of the top shop, Oxford Circus, which was like the place. But it was the very pinnacle of kind of teen girl aspiration back in the 90s.

Yeah, it really was. I remember feeling the same way. And so I didn't live in London or anywhere where you could get scouted. So I had to enter the competition to kind of get in that world. But again, what people don't realize is you get into that world, but you're not necessarily everything that they want. you to be. They're trying to mold you. So you start really young so that they can start teaching you and telling you things. So of course, for me, when I hit puberty and got my hips

and boobs and bum, when I was about 13, 14, I then didn't fit the mold that they were hoping I was kind of fitting into. So they kept telling me, you know, you're going to have to lose weight or you're too commercial, you're too curvy. I had all sorts of different. You're to this or that. Yes. So you enter the competition at 12 and they're like, you don't, you don't win, but they put you in this sort of, I guess, the equivalent of football training school. Yeah. Why not? And that, what does that do to your head? Well, firstly, it gives you this false sense of hope because you're like, I've made it. I've been scouted. I'm technically, you know, on a website for a modelling agency and I'm on models to watch. You get to go to

castings, you get to do test shoots, which are unpaid shoots that you'll like do with photographers just to practice posing. And I also did some like runways, like, amateur type of runways. And then it wasn't until you turn about 15 that you can start getting paid work. And I actually was in Claire's accessories, which was huge because I was at school and I was able to run down to the local Clare's and like see my pictures. The dream. Yeah, it was very cool. And to earn that kind of money from, you know, being from Kid Minster, never experienced anything like that before. I felt like, I've done it. I'm going to be a model. Like I'm doing it. And then it all.

all just started crumbling when I started looking around and realizing, oh, but I'm just getting more and more curvy. My body is developing. I can't stop it from what's happening. And I don't look like the other girls in these castings. And the clothes started to stop fitting. I went and did runways and I couldn't fit in the clothes. And that's when basically at about 15, 16, they dropped me and said, actually, we don't think this is going to work. Here's a list of tenor at their agencies you can go to see if they want to take you. and I went to all 10, and they all rejected me. Some of them had pieces of paper where it would rate you out of 10.

What? For teeth, for skin, for your walk, for all of these different things, they'd rate you out of 10, and you'd literally see the piece of paper. So it's like, I never thought I needed braces until I got told my teeth were like a six. And I was like, oh, well, what's wrong with my teeth? I didn't know. That was an issue too. I feel like that I just stopped breathing, listening to you say that,

because that's just, I want to kind of give you a hug and go, and go back and find a time machine, go back in time and go, I'm not a violent person, Iskra, but I want to go and beat those fuckers up. Right. I mean, to have that type of control over young people to literally dictate how they feel about themselves, because it's completely direct. Like, there's no indirect way about it. It's like, you have to be the size.

If you're not, you will not get to do this career that you dream of doing. And so for me, I immediately look at my body and I'm like, well, I've got to fix it. How do I fix this? How do I lose weight? How do I look like those other models that are successful? Just stop eating. You know, and I hope for anyone listening to this, this isn't too triggering. But, yeah, I hadn't eaten a disorder in body dysmorphia.

And that 1,000% was only because I was in that fashion industry and being directly told if you didn't fit into those parameters, you couldn't make it. And I wanted to do it. So I did everything that I could in my parents. And at that age, you don't really know what to do. Well, I also think, listening to you, I think, obviously, if that happened now, we would probably, there is, I mean, maybe it does still happen now. I don't know.

But there would definitely be more systems in place to call it out, right? And I think it's really important to make the point that for a lot of us who grew up in the 90s, the naughties, it's only now that we're realizing that was wrong. Yeah. Well, we're going back and dissecting all of the shows that we used to consume and all the messages and realizing even these lighthearted comedies, they're all fatphobic. And, yeah, there were just things that happened

that we were told directly or indirectly through marketing and messaging that was so toxic and so riddled with diet culture that we were consuming it all the time and not knowing anything different. I mean, I absolutely looked at food as, good and bad, like, oh, I should feel guilty for eating this, or, and just all of this language, I wasn't born with that. And my parents didn't go about trying to teach me that, but it just was so in our community and society at that time, you couldn't escape it. You couldn't. I was listening to a podcast that you did. I mean, I've listened to lots of

podcasts, so I can't remember which what it was, but you were talking about the body dysmorphia and disordered eating. And what really struck me, and I kind of wrote down, was that, These are like socially engineered mental illnesses that as women, so many of us have suffered from. And it is so like in our bodies, it's so difficult. Even when you know, you've spoken so beautifully about recovery, but it's always there. It's always there because I think we as a society still value appearance as a female currency. Yeah, like it's how we value ourselves and it's something you have to really break out of

and not just for you personally, but your family, your friend group, how you show up in community. Because I love my mom to bits and I have tried for the last, you know, 15 years to tell her, like, let's not comment on someone's weight loss or the way they look as the first thing when you receive someone, when you see someone

because that's just reestablishing that that is the most important, part of them. It's like the definition of if you're happy is if you've lost weight, the definition of if you're not doing well, you've probably gained weight and you're letting yourself go. I will say I am happier. I call myself, I'm in my juicy phase of life.

I feel so juicy and fulfilled and like bursting with like love and gratitude. And my body is bigger than it's ever been. And it's just like you can be. more successful, happy than you ever been, more in love, in so many different average of life and have it be in a larger body. It's not, it's not my level of success is not dictated about my size and my body at all. I was thinking about this as another thing I heard you say, which is like women are always referenced by their body size. And it's like in a way that you just wouldn't do with men. And I was thinking about that as well. And when you were just

talking them, you know, the idea that you can't be healthier in a larger body. Right. Because health is about size, right? Nothing else. Yeah. And I encounter that all the time. So like I can literally be out there running marathons in my pants as a larger woman. Yeah.

And people are like, you're unhealthy. I'm like, what the fuck? I'm literally running a marathon here, right? Yes. But the thing I was going to say is that when I was skinny, thin, smaller, like fit, the BMI or whatever, I essentially existed on quavers and cocaine. Like, I was not healthy. You know, I had an eating disorder.

Agreed. Same, same. I can relate to that so much. And that's why I know that size is not health and health is not size. However, you know, everything's nuanced. But we are in an era of people who I would say are, they've got this arsenal of words surrounding health. that they're using to dictate how we feel and how we judge others. And then they're giving us the solution of drugs or methods or diets.

And it's like weaponised health. And it's such a confusing time because it's unescapable. And I think that there's so many conversations that we need to have. But it's hard to have them because I also don't want everyone to be talking about women's body still. Do you know what, Iskra, I'm so, I love you. Like, I just feel like this is exactly how it's this kind of catch-22 situation you find yourself in whereby you're like, I don't want to be talking about this all the time. Men are not having to waste their energy having these fucking conversations.

And yet it is inescapable that we live in this culture now where we did an episode a few weeks ago, which was about protecting your mental health in a world that's once again obsessed with weight loss, you know? Like, I am kind of ambivalent whether someone takes GLP ones or not. Right. Absolutely. Your body, your choice. But it is inescapable that it has come back. And it's impacting. Again, just the way that we talk about bodies, view bodies, view health.

And is that an accessory, you know, is our GOP ones or whatever people are using, like, this accessory that's trending? Or the whole thing is really challenging to speak up and talk about. And I agree. men don't have these conversations and this is where what was really disheartening to me was I spent so many years really dedicated to talking about my eating disorder you know body acceptance that whole movement and so many other models in my boat we did all this work and we got told that it was a trend people literally were like oh yeah the the plus girls are here or the curvy girls are here yeah that's like having a moment it's the trend right now and all of us were like

no we're here to stay like this is just the beginning just just just you wait. And then everything that I hoped did happen in the sense of it became normalised. So it wasn't so shocking to see, you know, a plus size girl on a cover or, you know, certain things. And then when it became normalized, people then weren't getting the pat on the bat. They were doing something good. So it just stopped happening. And then everyone was like, see, told you it was just a trend. And it's just, that's why more than ever, when I was thinking about the brand that I wanted to build, it will not ever be built on a trend. Inclusivity is the core. It's the DNA. It's just what it should be.

Not like needing to be part of a trend because that's what's going to make your brand more known. So you've kind of had this quite, I mean, you've had a hugely successful modeling career. But it's always been, I feel like, often on other people's terms, do you mean? Absolutely. So I want to go back. So there was this amazing period in, I think, about 2016, 2017, when I was hesitate to use the word body positivity because that in itself gets weaponised and thrown back. But body acceptance was sort of writ large. There's everywhere.

People were excited about it. People wanted to get behind the movement and just put energy into it. And, yeah, it was a really special time. But it's sort of, and then, not sort of, it's gone away. It's gone away. Can I ask you about your experience with Erie? Are you happy to talk about that? Yeah, I can talk about it.

Because I feel like your disappointment with modelling is what has led you to this kind of. But I think it's really important how the things that are disappointing for us in our careers can actually end up leading to are kind of rebirth and the most powerful moments in our life. So you were, you were kind of part of launching that. Their unretouched movement, the airy wheel movement. So you were, but you were doing that before Airy existed. You were always like, I want to not Photoshop my pictures. Okay, so this is a really powerful moment in time and you helped to launch this new brand and you've been with them for how long? I spent about six years with them, about five years on a contract. So I started modelling with them and then very quickly we realized that my images were going viral. I mean,

it was just normal images like me sat with my roles, not posed, which shouldn't have been radical. As again, I was probably a UK 12 at this point. And they were going viral because people had never seen someone with roles in a lingerie ad. They'd only seen these, you know, photoshopped angel like characters in lingerie ads that were meant to be inaccessible and unrealistic and just a fantasy. That's that word that was used a lot in the lingerie. It's the fantasy. And for the first time it was like, well, actually, I'm one wearing the undies. I want to be comfortable. And this is me being comfortable. Sat, this is how I sit when I'm wearing my underwear. So this is what it's going to look like. And not being retouched, again, shouldn't be radical to see some body hair or stretch

marks or cellulite or scars or discoloration, but it was. Because again, we were told that if you're in underwear, it's for the male gaze and it should be a fantasy. But also you've spoken about how pernicious and dangerous that is for our mental health as women. Because when you don't see yourself reflected back in culture, you think you're wrong. Absolutely. Representation matters so much. But what I'll say on the flip side of representation is we also have to remember if we don't see the representation, sometimes we need to be it. Yeah. Because if you're waiting to see someone who looks like you, it might not happen. You might have to be the one to step up. So we had a big discussion about this in the eating disorder community of everyone saying it's so

whitewashed. Like why are there no women of color who were speaking at these events? And, you know, I remember speaking to the nonprofit and them saying, well, absolutely no women of color have contacted us to say they want to be part of the nonprofit. So I think that there's, you know, that's why body positivity is such a challenging movement to discuss because it wasn't built for someone like me. It was created for a more marginalised people who weren't represented. And so I unknowingly, because when you go viral, it's completely out of control. I was going viral and being called like a body positive queen.

And there were people looking at that being like, wow, she's taking up space in a movement that was created for black women, or even just more plus-sized bodies, you know, people with disabilities, and here's a white, you know, cis, able-bodied woman taking up this space. So that also, I think, when we talk about how the movement died off, I think there was almost divisiveness within those communities

that made it tricky for some people to speak up or if there was maybe more collaboration as well, It could have helped keep the movement going, but I really think that it was mostly, and this is why it's really effed up. I have a friend, and she's blind, and she told me she applied to be part of a brand campaign, and they said, oh, actually, we can't see, saying this to a blind person, we can't see your disability, so we don't want to work with you. Wow. And they put that in an email. Like, they were that brazen to send that to her manager. and I just, that's when I knew, I was like, wow, it really is performative.

Yeah. And this whole time now it makes you think, whoa, that, and I felt like, was I being used for this performative, you know, body acceptance movement? And they got the customer they wanted. They ticked that box of being on trend. And then I was disposed of. This movement was disposed of all of these people. It was transactional.

But there's something so upsetting, I find Iskra, like listening to you is that you're there trying to help, trying to do your best, right? And listening to you and talking about that whole thing of the divisiveness within the community as well, which I've absolutely experienced too. And there's a point where when you're going into something with good intentions and you're wearing your heart on your sleeve. And it's quite shocking then to be told that you're somehow hurting people by taking up space. For me, personally, that's like, whoa, that's the thing I've always tried to avoid in life. Like, I don't want to hurt people.

Yeah. I don't want to take up space that's, in fact, I've, like, I feel as a woman, I'm told I take up too much space anyway. Right. So you're coming back to me. And as I just take up space being me, even that's wrong, it just makes you want to go back into your shell, doesn't it? Absolutely.

I think that that's a hard thing for anyone in the public eye to understand. And imposter syndrome is real. And I think that they're, there is a space now there's this whole movement of like it's not that deep. So I feel like there is a time now where there's a bit less cancellation. There's a little bit more ease of people being able to have these like micro or niche communities and people be less upset about how they fit into that. But yeah, it is, it's, there's no one right way to show up. And that's why I've always told people just show up as yourself. Not everyone is going to 100% agree with it or like it. But if you're just

showing up as you, you can't really get it wrong. You're just doing your best. So going back to Airy, this brand that you helped launch with, you know, unfotoshopped, which was your thing, you know. So you've just had, that's, you've been working with them for six years. You felt, you said in a previous interview that you felt like they were family, you know. Again, it's what what sort of breaks my heart is how sometimes we can, we feel, we can feel quite naive afterwards when And actually we are going in there with a whole, like Brayley Brown would say, wholehearted. Yeah. You know, and people take advantage of that.

So, and just after you had your first child, they dropped you. Yeah. I was very upset for about, yeah, a week or two. It was a lot of tears. There was a lot of just coming to terms with it because it was so out of the blue and I'd attached so much of my sense of self to that role. I, like, lived the role. Like people would greet me.

as the airy girl and so and also it was it was what changed my life you know is the working with them at that time in that movement it had so much purpose and meaning to me i was like whoa it's just gone like i never get to see all those people that i worked with or the lives i would go and tour and do college campus tours and meet hundreds of people every day and hug them and like it was so fulfilling and rewarding for me i was like i can't go and just do that on my own like how what I, how do I give that impact again? Now it's been taken away from me. And again, yeah, just something being taken away

that I really thought was something that couldn't be because it was me. I thought that it was like, well, there isn't going to be another area like me. Did they give you a reason? I mean, it was just a call for my agent. Oh, so they didn't even like say it face to face? No.

And, you know, there's a lot of things that, you know, peers have said, oh, maybe it was this, maybe it was that. I think a lot of brands pivoted during the pandemic. And it also was the beginning of TikTok. And so, you know, you obviously watch what happens. And I saw that a lot of budget went to Charlie Demilio doing a TikTok and Jessica Alba doing TikToks. And I was just like, you know, you also have to switch up your marketing.

And so that's when I just realized I never wanted to feel disposable again. And so it just wasn't an option to continue on the way I was going. and giving so much of myself to other people's brands, knowing that at any point they could get what they wanted from me and then just dispose me. So I have felt like you, this sadness at the sort of that we'd made all this progress in terms of representation of larger bodies. And I, like you, in the last year or so, have felt utterly dismayed,

despondent, depressed, by the speed at which we seem to have just gone straight back to the bad old days. Like I was looking at some of the designers at Paris Fashion Week and some of the pictures and I was like, whoa, this is, you know, this is size zero to the next level, right? And I felt really despondent about it. And I feel like that perhaps that 2016, 2017, that time, that I think you're right, the people who are part of it, there was an authenticity. But the brands embracing it were just doing it performatively. And maybe what's happening is we're seeing the kind of, all of the kind of performative stuff fall away.

And we're having to kind of be the movement, and call it what you want, body acceptance, sort of self-love movement. movement is having to be reborn in a much purer way. I agree. And one of the ways that I think that's going to happen, and I'm already seeing it, because one thing about Salter is I'm on the ground with our customers and our community is our influences for the brand are our customers. Yeah. So we're not reaching out to people to give them a script or tell them to look a certain

way or create a certain type of content. It's showing that the new. influencer, like, is the customer. And it couldn't be any more democratized than that, because they're telling us and showing us. And so what, if you look at the brand on our Instagram, I'm not even on it visually. You will not see me on our Instagram. It's our beautiful campaign images that are really inclusive and diverse, but also aspirational. But you'll go to our TikTok and your search solitaire, and you will see thousands of different types of humans showing up and showing the brand. And I haven't seen it as much in fashion, but in beauty, that's what we're

seeing. We're just seeing this influx of diversity and it's naturally happening because the customers are the new influencers. Well, beauty as well. So here's the interesting thing. I love this. I heard you talking about this. And you're a boyfriend, husband, boyfriend. Have we got an exclusive? Okay. Your baby daddy. Yes. My partner and Your partner in crime, he said to you, okay, so here's the thing, but I love this phrase. So you were talking about how you just found that fashion, you were like, I've tried to make fashion inclusive, it's not fucking playing ball. Fuck fashion, okay? And you were like, beauty though, and he said everyone's got to wash their ass. He did say that. It's quite the quote.

I love this phrase. He actually says it frequently too. So sometimes we switch between all of our different sense. Now and again, we'll go back and at Santal Bloom in the shower. So I just like to rotate. And he'll go, see, this is it. This is why it's doing so well because everyone has to wash their ass. And everyone wants to smell like this. And it's just so funny and it's so pure his reaction to it.

But I mean, that really was it. It's like, what's the most inclusive product you could think of? Yeah. A body wash. A body wash. But this is a thing. You can't like, also none of these products are like saying they're not like anti-age or, you know, firming or, you know, like, oh, this language that in itself is like,

I don't want a fur, like, I'm just enough, please, or, you know, cellulite, anti-cellulite or whatever. They are things that all of us can use. And they are things that all of us can use for, like, self-care. And when I say that, I think this is really interesting because I feel also self-care as a phrase has been taken by brands. and sort of turned and weaponised against us almost. Into a 4 a.m. routine that lasts six hours. And I'm like, what is this? This is my, this is my, listen, this is my 27-step self-care routine,

and I'm sticking to it, and I will not leave the house until I've done it, right? But this is like, and this is the difference between self-care and there's like a fine line often between self-punishment, right? No, and I think a lot of beauty brands are treading that line quite. You know, precariously. But this is just here's a lovely moisturiser. Here's a nice body wash. Here's a deodorant and a spray.

And I'm not telling you that they're going to make your ass firmer. And I'm not telling you that they're going to get rid of your cellulite. Because did you know what? You don't need to get rid of your fucking cellulite. Your cellulite is there for a reason. Let it be. Let's just put some nice smelling moisturizer on it. Right.

We wanted to meet people where they're at. But you know, when we were talking about me losing that contract, it was during the pandemic, I lost the contract, I had a baby, I moved from New York to Austin, Texas, and all of that toolbox I had of the tools from my recovery and just my journey speaking in front of thousands of people about self-acceptance and body positivity and whatever, I lost everything. And in that split second, I stopped showering and I was wearing this black robe and I just, I was giving myself these negative affirmations. I was calling myself a mess. I felt disgusting. And it wasn't until Philip said, what can I do?

Because things are getting pretty bad. And I said, I just need to take a shower every day, five minutes. And that cleansing was setting me up because then I was clean and smelled good. I felt like getting dressed. Then maybe I'd brush my hair.

And then maybe I would take a step outside. I felt more human again. And so figuring out, I really enjoy being in the shower with products that smell good because scent has a huge impact on how you feel. And I want to escape. You know, I want to be somewhere tropical. I want to be somewhere where I can't be right now

because I have a screaming baby or I'm in the pandemic. But these luxurious, nice smelling products were so expensive that I felt scared to use them every day. I felt guilty like I wasn't enough. And I was like, where's the brand that makes, me feel like I shouldn't save this for best. I should use this every day because I'm deserve it. I'm listening to you and I'm thinking you're really good at redefining yourself when the chips are down.

Thank you. Power in the pivot. I'm get, yeah, the power in the pivot because I was thinking about the modelling so when you're told I'm you're too you're too commercial you're too you're too big you're too small you're too everything you were like okay I'm you you defined modeling for yourself right and you really embraced the body positivity movement you became an activist you know you you came up just as social media was coming up and you use that to be like I don't want my pictures photoshopped I don't want to you know and then when that sort of went quote unquote wrong. You've redefined yourself again for this with with salt hair. I heard something you said which I fucking lost. Sorry for I swear. And you said something about

how a no is sometimes just a yes in disguise. I loved that escrow because it's that thing of well this door has closed. This person has, quote, unquote, rejected me. And I'm just going to have to go and find another fucking door. Literally. I'm trying to teach my five-year-old at the moment. We're like learning how to lose and how to redirect the energy when something doesn't go your way and that it doesn't mean you failed. Failure is a really important lesson in life. But it just means that there's going to be another opportunity. You might just not know when it's going to be. But if you don't try, it will never appear. So I think that for me is like, yes, I've seen things crumble beneath my feet,

but I take that pause and that moment to address it, like accept it, right? Cry about it. Let myself feel broken. Let myself feel lost. But you know what? I've got to pick myself back up somehow, right? So how long do you allow yourself to not shower and wear the black robe? That was a good, I'll have to check with Philip, but I'd say about three months.

Really? Not one shower. Like there was the odd shower in the three months. You didn't wash for three months. months. Really? I love this. I definitely didn't shave anywhere. Well, I mean, but that, come on, Iskra, that's like, I mean, that's just me and winter. Like, don't, why would you bother? I know, but there was definitely, it was about three months, honestly, until, you know, we figured out my son's sleep and I got a little bit more sleep and then I was showering and then

I was eating. Eating, I think, has also been an interesting, when you've had an eating disorder, you're always going to have an interesting relationship with food. And when you have big seasonal shifts in life, things will come back up or things you'll have to learn how to understand. And for me, having a baby was another one of those moments of, I thought I would be triggered when I got pregnant and my body was growing as someone who had previously had body dysmorphia and eating disorder. Didn't.

Loved my body. Felt like a goddess. Everyone's like opening the doors. You're just like the shining, glowing goddess. But postpartum, I felt empty. I wasn't fueling myself. I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't eating.

I wasn't showering. It was a really tricky time to figure out what I deserved. And if I was punishing myself or if I was, because emotions around food is really, I think, a lot of that, what can be triggering when that comes back up. So it was just a time of just pure chaos in my brain, I feel like. And hormonally, everything is just so disrupted. Would you say that you were depressed?

I definitely think I had postpartum depression with my first child. And I didn't know, again, everyone's definition of that is different. I was very happy to be a mom and enjoying it and like so happy with Philip. And I was loving him in a deeper way. And that connection, that partnership was stronger than ever. But I couldn't get out of the rut. And I didn't know if I'd feel myself again, which I know is very relatable to a lot of new moms. But I also was just like, is my career ever going to be the same?

same again because I've just lost what I thought was my career that I was going to do for so many years. So yeah, there was definitely a period of time where I was that depression. And unfortunately, Philip was kind of going through a similar thing because he was a tour manager for a music artist. So he lost his career. All of that went. All of that went. So I feel like we doubled down on trusting each other and trusting the process and also just having to get creative. And understanding that pivoting wasn't a failure, it was a new opportunity, as scary as that was. And I am a risk taker so that I can lean into risk. But then when I realized what I wanted to do was what I've been trying to do all along,

because I've only been able to, in the fashion industry, work with other people's brands and hope that they enable me to do the work that I want to do. So hope that they align with your values and goals. And a perfect example is coming out with an eating disorder, awareness t-shirt, and having a whole meeting about it and saying, this has to be size inclusive. It has to be. We're going to raise money for this nonprofit and then getting the call back. Oh, actually, we're launching and we're just going up to a 2XL. What?

I said, what? I'm sorry, but I am not wearing that t-shirt. I had a full-on conversation about how it needed to be inclusive. So that for me, it was just like, if I create this product that can truly be owned by me and I get to make those decisions of the messaging and the purpose. But yeah, we can go back to that because I know you're in shock. Because I think this is really important because I think that we don't realize how much of the campaigny activism stuff that brands do is all just fucking.

smoke and mirrors and... Because I said, well, let's manufacture the t-shirts somewhere else. Because guess what? Are the places manufacture t-shirts beyond a 2x-L? There is a way to do this. It is not like I'm asking people to do the impossible. And yet it was still, there was always an excuse. Were there any other times that you had to like push back as a new and like really

use your voice in a way that was quite frightening? There was a few times. I can think of one where I was shooting the cover of a magazine, US glamour. And the way they positioned the five models, all. of us that, you know, were white, essentially were at the front and the two models of color were at the back. And that was just, I said, could no one else see what's happening here? And I don't know if it was, I don't think it was intentional, but the unawareness. And I was like, this doesn't look great that you've put the women of color at the back and you can barely

see them. And here, you know, the white women are at the front. So like having those types of conversations and being comfortable to speak up, I've definitely, there's been a few occasions. where things like that have happened or like a panel being invited to an event and the panel's about diversity and then asking who the panelists are and again saying like you've known with a disability or you've no women of color on this and we're going to talk about diversity do you realize that that's wild but people's perspective is just so different sometimes or you know speaking to brands and then being like so excited they're launching like an excel oh don't I hate that So much. Or we have plus sizes in some styles. And I'm like, so wait.

My least favorite is, and I'm going to name the brand to her and I don't give a shit, right? Because I'm naming it. You're not. Okay. I went into Zara, right? I went into Zara. This was a couple of years ago. And I was like, it says on the website that you have like XXL. I mean, even I knew I was pushing. I probably wasn't going to fit into that. And I was like, do you have it in the store. And they were like, no, we don't stop those in the store. We have them only online. And I was like, well, I'm not online. I'm here. Oh, do you think I'm too fat that I should be just ashamed and shopping online at home? And I was like, I can't, you know, we do it online, madam. And I'm like, sir, you couldn't fuck off. But like, so many things are coming up of that, I just need to

breathe. It's a lot. I know. Because you've been talking about it for so long and it just means so much. like it's getting worse. It does, but we have to have hope, like I said, in those other areas. And I do feel like there is some, there is empowering movements that are happening. And I think actually, I think women being able to talk more about business and money and finance. And like, I'm hoping those conversations will help us steer in the direction of like helping as a community of females to focus on that outside of bodies. And I also do love the your body, your choice and just letting people do what they are doing and focusing on other things.

Like redirection isn't necessarily a bad thing. But yeah, it is a weird time. I can't predict what's about to happen. That's the thing. And I always tell people it's like sometimes I question what I'm posting or talking about because A, I don't know if it connects anymore. And B, I don't know what's going to be beneficial in six months and six years because things are just changing. so quickly. And then when we look at AI, you know, I've got a lot of my model friends. And again,

I pivoted, right? Like I have this wonderful brand and things are great for me, but I have many friends that now are losing out on work to AI models and are terrified about the career that they've built and that what am I going to do now because they're being replaced. And is that particularly in the quote unquote plus size world? It can be. It seems to be a cross. the board, probably not necessarily just plus models, but there's less brands, all the brands during the pandemic got rid of their extended sizing, like tons of brands. So there was already less work anyway, and a lot of people have fed that back to me. But I think a lot of it will be, it's inconvenience brands that are just going to try and cut costs and therefore

we'll use AI models because they won't have to keep paying usage or it'll be more convenient with making garments look like they fit. That's the scary thing to me because the industry has always lied a little bit about how clothes fit. I've been on set and been pinned, like 100 pins in an outfit. And I then feel guilty and bad

because I'm like, oh, I'm the one wearing this. So when this person receives this dress at home and it doesn't fit like that at all, they're going to either compare their body to mine or think there's something wrong with me because the dress doesn't look like it does on the model that I saw on the page. And I'm like, didn't look like that on me either, but it's been pinned a hundred times.

And so what's AI going to do? It's going to give you, it's going to, whatever the brand wants you to think the dress is going like or wants you to think it's going to fit like, it's going to show that. And then you're going to receive the product and it's not, which again is just like the power of like showing up as a brand and just hopefully being, you know, as open and transparent as you can. And having your community be the influencer, because at the end of the day, until someone's going to get a product now. You're not really going to know if it's real or not. Yeah. If it has what it's claiming to do or be or look like. Until it's in your hands. Until it's in your hands.

So I want to go back to the pandemic. You are new mum. So hormones all over the place. You're in your black robe. You're not washing. Yes. And what I want to know is, so you pivot, you make this decision that you need to be in charge of whatever it is you're doing, right? Like, modelling is not, is not giving you joy. Right. And I didn't want to have to travel. Yeah. And leave my baby either. Can I ask you? Because when often you hear people say, I learn how the power is in the pivot. Was there anything that you were reading, listening to at the time, or that you kind of went to, were you having therapy? Was there anything like that that, that a you to find that strength in you.

Because I always think that's always really helpful for people listening at home who may be going through something similar. They may, one door may have closed in their career and they don't know what to do. Like, what helped you through that time? Definitely hobbies and at that time actually working out with Philip, doing something fun with him, putting on music. I also got back to my affirmations. Philip helped me at the beginning because I didn't even know what to say.

It was very weird to lose that ability because it was so natural to me to get in front of the mirror and be able to hype myself up. I also got like post-partum acne. Okay. Which... That was helpful.

That was helpful to the self-esteem. And again, that was something that Philip would help me with and go like, your skin's beautiful because I would say like, oh, my skin's so bad. So I feel like I had an accountability buddy. So that's really important

if you're in that place, like tell someone you need help let them help you. I think as a lot of us moms that are doers, we feel like we have to have it all together and I'm a Virgo, I'm a perfectionist. It was like, oh, I really like needing that much help and support. Yes, you've done something really difficult,

a complete change of life, a complete change of career, all at the same time during a global pandemic. You need some help. So allow the help and don't be afraid to ask that. I also just had lots of creative side hobbies. like I created a little planner and I was drawing it and coloring in and like those sorts of things that were like little moments of joy I started baking again a little moment of joy like an instant gratification because again I didn't know what was going to happen in my career so I was like trying to essentially create those little wins in the day and I feel like that's something for everyone that you could think of what are those little things that bring you joy or give you moments of pleasure in the day that are tangible, they're outside of career. Getting outside in nature, going for walks, that was a big one, committing to that every day.

And it was those small little steps. And then the more kind of courage I built up, maybe it was getting back, emails, getting a vibe of like what was going on in the industry or like posting more and just like building that back up. I felt that's where I kind of started. But I also just feel like getting to know myself again. like who am I now and you haven't lost the old you she is there but there's this whole new you to discover and so that was something that I guess I was figuring out what that looked like

because your whole I don't know about you but when you know you become a mom all of your perspective shifts all of your priority shifts so you have to figure that out what your new day looks like when you wake up what do you have time for what do you make a priority I also think, listening to you, I was thinking about how lots of people feel like when they become a mum, their careers can be over, you know, and understandably, like, you know, in the UK, I mean, I know that in the US, the maternity, it's terrible. Like, benefits are non-existent. But, you know, I definitely felt there was something kind of crystallized inside me when I had my daughter. And this was like a long time ago. but I it really it sort of gave me a hyper focus about my career where it I was like right I have to I have to do what works for me now I cannot do what works for this person that's several levels above me yeah who I never deal with you know me like this has to be this has

to work for me yeah and there was something quite beautiful about that quite powerful about that you are quite I love listening to you talk about I guess there's a phrase that's like girl bossing or whatever. But, you know, you really like talking about the importance of financial independence, being a woman, and just, I guess, being a business woman is a kind of, it's a key part of your life. So it's quite frightening starting a brand, I imagine. So how do you make that leap and how did you kind of decide that you wanted to do salt

hair. Yeah, it's definitely scary. I think anytime you go into business, you have to be willing to risk it all and know, I was saying that recently about if my dad's always said this as well, are you willing to wake up early for something that you are going to bed late for? And I know that's a weird way to phrase it, but it's like, you've got to want it so much that you're willing to make sacrifices for it. Same with children. Same with starting a business. It's not for everyone, it doesn't have to be. And the way I viewed it was I'd had many failed businesses or like opportunities or I've gone through the ringer in many different versions in different ways. This time I knew I needed help. And really probably the postpartum journey also taught me that

as well. There are people who are going to be able to help and support you. So when I knew about Salterre and what I learned was from my past experiences, I'm not an operational expert. And I'm I'm not an infrastructure expert, like managing and hiring people. Like, I've done that before, even just with assistants and people on my team. I don't love that. So when I was kind of speaking to different ways of developing this brand and creating it, I realized that working with the center, which is an accelerator in LA, was the direction I wanted to go because they had the infrastructure and they had the experts that could help

me achieve what I needed to, but still focus on where my skill set was and what I loved and enjoyed about it. So I ended up going that route, but now Salterre's gotten so big. I've flown the nest and I have my own C-suite, which is amazing. We've got our established team, Salterre. We've grown so much and we're here and I'm managing to do it with these incredible women. Okay, so tell us, you are the boss, you know, like you have your C-suite, but you are the boss. You've worked in this industry for a long time. You know how it works. You understand how consumerism works and business works. And you said before, if you're insecure, you're a motivated consumer. So basically, what you mean by that is that a lot of brands rely on us

feeling bad about ourselves. We basically go, I don't feel pretty enough, slim enough, young enough. I will go and buy that product and maybe that'll help me feel a bit more like that. How when you're launching a beauty product do you avoid that and like, because you, all of your values are the complete opposite of that. So tell me what were your like values and goals for this brand that you were like, we cannot move from these. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's really relying on that you don't need fixing. So it's all in the messaging. It's all how you communicate with your community. I feel like a good example was when we originally talking about a scrub, not any of my team members now, but someone has thrown out no more KP, as in keratosis Polaris.

I have that on my skin. What is keratosis Polaris? It's like these little bumps. Yeah, it's the best way to describe it. You see some people call it strawberry skin, but it's really usually the hair follicle and there's a little bit of sebum that can get trapped and then it turns into a little bump. And when you exfoliate, then the bump goes. Okay. So it's something that's often hereditary and you can really only manage it, which again is one thing that I don't love in the industry where people will say like, no more of something or like, bye, or we will get rid of something and I'm like, uh. I love them that's like, no more pores. I'm like, if you get rid of my skin pores, I die. Like I need my pores to excrete sweat and toxic.

And you can't over-promise things that will just are not possible, right? So anyway, I was like, no, we can't say no more KP. Right. So you sat through her immediately, got rid of her. So then it's suggesting that there was something wrong with having KP. Yes. You know what I mean? So it's like small little tweaks, but are very intentional, is really important because

people feel things when they consume things, when they read things, when they see things. So having so many women send us emails, messages, DM, about like, I'm depressed, but using this body oil really helped me every day because I had this moment for me that felt special and it made me feel like I was worth like taking that time for myself. And she wasn't doing it to like change her skin or whatever. It was just to nourish it. Yes.

So how do you, okay, I've got two questions. First question is, how do you, as someone with a history of eating disorders and body dysmorphia, how do you navigate? a world that is absolutely riddled with these sort of, as you say, designed to make you feel insecure. What are your kind of solids that you go back to to ground yourself? And definitely you have the affirmation of I'm enough, but I also just stick to a routine. And I'm aware now, I feel like more than ever, of what is performative marketing and what isn't. and things that make me feel good I lean into and things that don't align with me,

I just stay away from. What are the telltale signs to you that something is performative marketing? Well, we'll see that they used a trend or leveraged a certain influencer or a certain movement and then just discarded it when it wasn't trending or they got the benefit from it and then they never spoke about that again. Yeah, so I feel like also people behind the brands, which is sometimes harder and not everyone has to be transparent about that, but how people hire in the teams that they have, and if that's reflective of the community that they're speaking to, or claiming that they are creating

products for, if you're claiming to create a product for curly hair and then no one is testing it and has curly hair on your team, like that just doesn't make sense. So those types of things are nuanced, but that for me is just making sure that brands, messages are aligned with what's going on in the boardroom or behind the scenes. And I feel like that's hard to know, but I'm obviously I'm in the industry a little bit more. But I think that as a someone on the outside looking in, I feel like when you have a brand that empowers you, you can sometimes feel like I feel like it's usually a bit tangible. If there's a product that you're saying, I should, and that's like one word that I feel like in my vocabulary I've tried to delete and erase is I should use this. Someone's

telling me or I should because it will make me look like this or change this or fix that, that for me is something that I will stay clear of. It's a no-no. I love that as advice. Yeah. What are the things that you are very strict about at Sault Head that you do differently, I guess, from other brands that might surprise people at home? Yeah.

I feel like what was surprised people is that a lot of our product development is based on our customer, their feedback, and just the community. telling is what they want. So often we have like a ton of products that we won't want to launch, but we'll prioritize something that they are requesting because we kind of, we give them a lot of value and a lot of credit. And we know that they know best sometimes, even though we might be experts or, you know, people on my team are beauty experts. Sometimes you've just got to listen to community and lean in. And so that's something that I wish more brands realize. They're right there. Your community wants to be seen and heard. And at Saltair, that is like number one.

So we cede to people who have never, ever gotten PR before. So seeding is a word we use in the industry a lot for gifting. And so there are people who have had 500 followers. And I've seen their TikTok and they've been like, I love this oil. I want a bigger version of this oil. And then like either screenshot, you remember it, I'll DM them, I'll message them. And then we do launch a bigger oil, send it straight to that person. And that person isn't an influencer.

They're just like a customer who loves the brand. And so that's something I pride myself on. As a founder, I'm at a real touch point. So I'm in the comments of my own social media and Salter's listening, responding, and just like, I mean, I just feed off of that. It makes me even more devoted to what we're doing at the brand. And I feel like that's so important. And people lose sight of the why.

Like, why do it? Well, hopefully that product is sparking joy. And if it's not, then we need to do something better or do something about. that to like listen to what they do want and do need. So I think that is what's really unique. And even as we grow, that's like a really important kind of key pillar for me is like, I'm going to be on the ground and I'm going to be speaking to our community and our customer. And there's nothing better. I've gone to so many panels and someone at least will come up to me and say, I am now able to be an influencer because you started gifting me your product.

I was able to become an affiliate. And how wonderful is that? Iskra, and I think this is kind of, this is what sums you up, these three words, keeping it real. Oh, I love that. That is what it's all about. And you don't use Photoshop or filters in your ad, in your modelling, your adverts, and you, you are truly diverse. Yeah.

It's pretty awesome. It feels really good. So are you, I will, like, a last question, I promise. Are you done with modelling then, do you think? I never say never, but what's fueling me right now is this. You know, I've even been getting to do webinars with affiliates and like giving them tips and tricks on how to like grow their social media following and content creation because I just feel like there is an opportunity for anybody and everybody. There's so many stay at home moms I even speak to who were like, oh, I would just want

some financial independence and I'm like affiliate marketing is amazing for that. And you already buy the brand, love the brand. We want to work with you. So I think that I would like to say there'll be maybe collabs in the future where Salterra will align and maybe it makes sense, but this has taken up so much of my energy in the best possible way. And also I have two children and I love being with them that, you know, I want to see more models. I want to see it's still often the same models when there is a curvy model. And it's just time for, other people to get their moment to shine, I feel like, as well. So do you think that there is a way back for, quote, unquote, the body positive,

let's call it body acceptance movement? Do you think that that can come back? Do you think we can see those, that representation again? Or do you think that it's gone for now? Well, I think we all have to actively and intentionally give time and energy into supporting that type of content or creator or brand, right? So I think that that's where we'll have to get back to. I think some of the brands that tried to be inclusive but actually didn't nail the marketing

because, you know, it's maybe. Because it wasn't real. Yeah, because it was just marketing. And they backed away because that didn't work, but they weren't truly doing it for the right reasons. So I think the more we see these success studies and that really depends on how we shop and who we choose to support with our, I say, right, you know, pound. Yeah, no, but it's really important.

Same with creators, though. That's what I like beg anyone listening to this or watching this right now is like, support Briney, support the creators who are being inclusive and are being positive and because it's easy. We're getting suggested so many things now. We're taking away. We're actually taken away from what we do want to consume. You have to constantly reset your algorithm to have a feed that is what you want.

Because we do control the algorithm, but. They're trying to take that control away from us by suggesting. And so you have to constantly redirect it back this way. And when you do that, if the more brands see people who are talking about diversity and inclusivity and body positivity being highlighted again, getting the reach, getting the engagement, getting that, you know, it will encourage them to work with more people like that. So it's like we're our own, you know. Advocates. Yeah. I just wanted to say, and I'll finish on this, but this podcast, like, we don't often talk about sort of specific brands. And if we talk about beauty and we talk about that stuff, it's usually in the context of like talking about whether, you know, how beauty can make people feel bad and, you know, and how we can change that. And, you know, it would be rare for us to kind of sit there with a sort of like a brand in front of us. But I, you know, really happy and proud for the life of Bridie to support Salter because all of your, yeah,

your models are massively inclusive. The product comes from the heart and it isn't about making women feel bad. It's about making them feel better genuinely. And I think that's a really important thing to do because as women, I often get this, women say to me, or Briney, I, you know, I like beauty and I like fashion. But I also, um, don't, but what I don't like is when brands kind of make me feel like I'm not good enough. Yeah, insecure. Like, I should be using them to be better. And so it's really nice to be able to highlight a brand, which is genuinely about lifting women, supporting women, and letting them know they are

good enough. And run by women too. And run by women. Iskra Lawrence, thank you so much for coming on Life of Brining. Thank you for having me on. And thank you for everyone listening as well. Oh my God. How much do I love Iskra Lawrence? Let me count the ways. I love a woman who uses her power, her platform, to make women feel better rather than exploiting our insecurities for their own gain. What an absolute queen. She'll be back on Friday for our special bonus episode, The Life of You. In the meantime, don't forget to subscribe, follow, rate, rave about us to all your friends. But most of all, keep being you. I'll see you next time.