EP #74- Scoliosis, Modeling, and Mental Health, with Skye Daru, Gucci Model and Recording Artist

(gentle piano music) My journey with scoliosis kind of was my wake-up call. In a sense that it forced me to realize that one, you can't plan out your whole life. And in terms of change, I am someone who resonates with you in the sense that I have not liked change ever since I was a child. But my scoliosis journey also kind of helped me unpack that something doesn't work out your way, what are you gonna do about it? For me, I was a child who kind of, you know, was very blessed in a sense that I had a lot of things fall into place for me, whether it be for music, for modeling, for, you know, being a top A+ student. I didn't really face any sort of struggle or setbacks until I kind of was diagnosed with scoliosis. And I was forced to have an operation to correct that. And going through that, it kind of put all of my activities that I was doing as a teenager on hold. Welcome back to another episode of Everyday Endorphins. This month is scoliosis awareness month. And I had the absolute pleasure of bringing my friend and coworker, Skyderu, onto the podcast to talk about her journey with scoliosis and how it shaped her perspective on change and resilience. Sky is not only an analyst at Accenture, which is where we met, but she's also a model where she walked the Gucci runway last year. She's a recording artist, a creative, and also a podcast host. It's hard to imagine what Sky doesn't do 'cause she really wears all the hats and it's so fascinating for me to get to have this conversation with Sky, understanding all the different experiences she's had in her life and how they all fit together to really tell the story of who she is. While Sky was in college, she gave a TED Talk about how scoliosis straightened her out for good, which I felt like such a creative and clever title. You should all check it out. I'll link it in the show notes. So be sure to check out her TED Talk because she taps into how dealing with scoliosis really impacted her life. And in this episode, Sky shares her unique background where she's had the ability to tap into numerous areas from the sciences to the arts and how that's all blend together really beautifully in her life. We also talk about her experience modeling for Gucci and being a model while also working at Accenture. And lastly, Sky also talks about how battling a health condition for a majority of her adult life has impacted her physical and mental well-being and what she does to stay healthy. I'm really excited for you all to listen to this episode. Sky is truly an inspiration and such a pleasure to talk to. But before we get into it, make sure to like, rate, and review this podcast on whichever listening platform you prefer. Hey, Sky, thanks so much for coming onto the podcast. Hello, Stella. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I'm really looking forward to chatting with you since we got to talk briefly a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, I mean, it was crazy because I saw your name in like an internal newsletter. So for those who are listening, Sky and I both work at the same company. And I was, I'd gotten an email about this new internal podcast and you were the host of that. And I was like, this is so cool. I read your bio. I saw that you at a TED Talk. I saw that you were also, you know, the analyst program at Accenture. I saw that you were starting like this new podcast at Accenture or coming on as the host of this podcast. And I wanted to reach out because I always am amazed by other fellow podcasters and people who are public speakers and are very influential in the health and wellness community. So I felt like this would be such a great conversation. And you have so much to offer. So I'm really excited to dive right into it. Let's get to it. And thanks so much also for reading one my little newsletter blurb, which I think my picture was entirely too large and made my head look gigantic. But it was really nice to have your ping afterwards and you reaching out. So thank you. I normally kind of like skim through those messages. But so do I. And I thought it would be a tiny sentence at the bottom of the newsletter and I-- No, it was a full paragraph. I saw my big, very big head. It was awesome. And I was just so impressed. So I had to reach out. But to get my listeners a bit more oriented as to who you are, what you do, how you got to where you are, can you share a little bit about your story, where you went to school, what you studied, and how you ended up making your way into the world of consulting. Absolutely, absolutely. I'm 23 years old and I come from a very small town outside of Chicago, Illinois, called North Aurora, a kid from the cornfields if you want to call it. But my journey up until now, Meeting Stella, has been, I think, one that has led me to walk several different paths. So I graduated from New York University class of 2020. Thinking I was going into college as a music major and coming out with a degree in computer science, slash pre-med. And then we find myself today working at a consulting firm, Accenture. And that kind of gives you a little bit of background on my academic journey. But I've also been very lucky to have worn many hats as well. And some of those hats include working in the music industry and the modeling industry. So I started at the age of 13, signing to a very large modeling company who had absolutely no idea about I was just a very awkward teenager. Didn't even know who any of these agencies were to not keep up with fashion whatsoever. But I got signed one day at the age of 13 for an open call. And from there, it's kind of sparked into many different opportunities. One of those opportunities being getting the chance to work in the music industry and pursuing a journey trying to be a recording artist. So I got to do a couple of cool things over the years from the ages of 13 to 18 went to college. And I'm still trying to figure out my way and kind of what I want to do with my life and exploring what I'm good at. But I will say my journey up until now I've walked kind of several different paths. And I'm very lucky and grateful. Your story is so fascinating. I mean, what you just described only skims the surface. Even to the conversation we had a while back, I feel like that even just skims the surface of all the amazing things that you've accomplished today and you're going to continue to do. And you had described to me that you feel like you've had multiple past lives. That's true. I loved the way you put that because when you started to share with me how you worked in the modeling or how you work in the modeling industry, how you were also in the music industry, how you thought you were going to be pre-med. It really resonated with me because for my own story of thinking I was going to go down the pre-med track in college, coming out of school with a different degree, not doing that track, not going to med school. Both of us finding ourselves in consulting and prior to that, being very creative oriented and arts oriented where I played the violin for 10 years and I sang at the Metropolitan Opera. Those were things in my childhood and my past life that are quite different than being a rower in high school and wanting to be a doctor and now going into business consulting. And I just, I love getting to talk to you about that because I think there's so much value to exploring so many different interests that you may have. And I think it really creates a sense of well-roundedness and it also shapes your perspective on things when you're able to engage with so many different activities. Absolutely. And I will say that if there was one thing in my life that I have always been certain about and have always tried to pursue, I would say it is trying to pursue, not necessarily a multi-dimensional path, but always being open-minded to trying many different things and not limiting to yourself to one thing and one thing only. I was raised by my parents to kind of, they've instilled values in me that have allowed me to kind of understand that it's okay if something doesn't work out. But you try it, see if you're good at it. If you like it, continue with it. But you should never have a fear of not going after something just because maybe it's something new. I mean, I would not be the person that I am today had to not try this or tried that. So I think for me personally, I have always tried to emphasize and encourage, you know, it's okay to not know necessarily what you want to do. do in life, but I think if you're always open minded to trying different things, staying curious and wanting to learn, I think you can find your passion that way. And that's kind of how I fell into music and modeling public speaking as for certain, because I have a rather introverted personality, but I love music. I love performing. I love storytelling and you put me in front of a stage. I can tell a story and yeah, I think versatility, multi-dimensional life. It's sometimes a harder route, but I always, I think it's the one that has proven to me at least to be worthwhile. It's really good advice that you shared because it's not only applicable to people in college right now who are trying to figure out, well, what should my major be? Like, what should I study in school? But it's also super applicable to people our own age who are young professionals in the working world trying to find our way. You know, I've only been working for six months. Like, definitely. It's not much time in the working world and it's, it can feel quite overwhelming. Like, oh my god, I have all these opportunities or there's so many different paths I can choose to go down, but, you know, what's the right one for me? And am I making the right choice? I mean, these are thoughts that go through my head constantly and it's actually really hard to have the trust that you can give yourself the grace to be flexible and try as much out as possible. 100%. And I think it's funny, you say that because I feel like Western culture, you know, America, the system expects you to know what you want to do right by age 17, 18, right? You're a high school junior senior. You have to know what you want to study. You know, I don't, I don't, I'm working in tech. Do I know what I want to do after this next project? I have absolutely no idea. But you bring up a good point that this, this period in our life being a 20 something in general is a period to kind of try out different paths and to to change your mind and something that I've realized, especially in college, is that it's okay to change your mind. I went into New York University. I got accepted to the Clive Davis Institute of Record and Music. I thought, you know what, after college, I am search and I'm going to work in the music industry, probably the music business side, maybe at a label. I just know I want to be in music and then I stayed there for about a year and then I did some self-reflecting and I found a little bit of a passion for computer science at a very random time in my life and it's something that I kind of followed and I decided to switch over and then same thing with pre-med, I went through a kind of a big medical procedure as a teenager and then these, I think, feelings resurfaced in college and I was like, do you want to go to medical school? Maybe, why don't I pursue pre-med, but even though I didn't go or I'm not pursuing medical school now, having done those studies, having taken those classes, have given me like a story to talk about any time I'm walking to an interview or someone asking me like, what did you study and I'm like, hey, I kind of have two things to to bring to the table. Yeah, and I think no time is really ever wasted, especially in college if you're taking classes and you're like, oh, this is going to go towards this major I want to pursue, but then you actually end up pivoting and you do something else, those classes I think are still valuable because you're still learning something like you're still learning actually concrete knowledge, but also, you know, in a subject matter or an area that will deepen your understanding of something else in the future and it's, you know, as we're talking right now, we're describing change essentially like the power of changing your mind, the power of changing your beliefs and being okay with things changing and evolving over time in your life and I think most people I would say are quite resistant to change. I know I am, it's very hard for me. Oh, me too, believe me, I was not a fan of change ever since I was a child child. Well, you speak about this in your TED talk and I wanted to talk a little bit more about everything that, you know, you share in that conversation when you gave a TED talk on behalf of NYU and, you know, it's such a clever title around how scoliosis actually straighten you out. I really love that title and I think there's a lot of value to be had and sharing your story around, you know, a physical and mental health challenge I'm sure, you know, how scoliosis impacted your physical health and your mental health but also how it changed your perspective on navigating change and uncertainty in life. So I'd love for you to share a little bit more about, you know, how you started this TED talk, you know, how that experience even happened but then also, you know, what you discuss in your TED talk and what that experience was like for you, suffering with scoliosis and dealing with a major procedure. Absolutely. Yeah, I'm happy to give kind of like a background on my journey with scoliosis and my surgery. The way I ended up giving the talk is very, it started with a pitch competition at NYU so NYU holds this competition for anyone that has an idea or a story to tell and to tell it under, I think, 16 minutes or less. So I had been studying in London at the time for my abroad semester and I just found myself like in the place of, I don't know, what you want to call it, seasonal depression or I was just going through some anxiety and kind of my outlet to that. I was like, I need some sort of change in my life, some sort of new perspective or thinking to my mornings. So every morning, I would just get up and I would just watch a new TED talk every morning, something that would teach me something I didn't know before or just gave me a new way of thinking about life and I really enjoyed it and I sat with it for a while and I, the pitch competition like newsletter came on my email and they were asking for people with ideas and I sat and thought a little bit about my journey with Scoliosis because that was something that I never really talked about and I don't think I fully gave myself the time to reflect and I was like, you know what, I'm just going to, I don't know, I feel like I'm going to write a story and I'll all submit it and see what happens. So I submitted it and I think saying, you know, I was selected to give a TED talk. So there was a very random way to get selected but yeah, I was really grateful to be chosen and it definitely helped me a lot in the way I at Mocapers Scoliosis and kind of got to share my story and also just take the time to heal because I don't think I really gave myself the chance to fully process what I went through at such a young age. I think, you know, by putting pen to paper and thinking about that experience and then actually figuring out how you wanted to share that story was so therapeutic in it of itself to kind of process the experience that you went through and a lot of what happens in our childhood really does impact us deeply and one of my close friends growing up actually had Scoliosis and she had to wear a back brace in high school and I honestly forgot about it until she would kind of bring it up maybe in college or when we graduated like, oh yeah, remember when I was like wearing a back brace all freshman year and I never it never even crossed my mind. I forgot that she was wearing one and when she was I don't think it was something that was like at the forefront of my mind but now I've realized how much it actually did impact her like her self-esteem and her self-confidence and she's also done a lot of reflecting on it as well and how it's impacted her life but no, they think there is a lot of value to getting to share your story and also recognize that you know the things that we deal with when we're young really do shape our our mental and physical health. Absolutely. 100% and I think for me my my journey with Scoliosis kind of was my wake-up call in a sense that it forced me to realize that one you can't you can't plan out your whole life and in terms of change I am someone who has who resonates with you in the sense that I have not liked change ever since I was a child. My mother would come back from her her appointment with a different haircut and I would cry because I thought she was a whole different person so I understand this like for change but my Scoliosis journey also kind of helped me unpack that something doesn't work out your way what are you gonna do about it for me I was a child who kind of you know was very blessed in a sense that I had a lot of things fallen to place for me whether it be for music for modeling for you know being a top A+ student I didn't really face any sort of struggle or step backs until I kind of was diagnosed with Scoliosis and I was forced to have an operation to correct that and going through that it kind of put all of my activities that I was doing as a teenager on hold and for me that was like this is such an interruption to my life like I am not doing what I'm supposed to be doing it's you know I had to be homebound taught for for school I'm going to be behind so a lot of the things that came easy to me were very hard because of that surgery but it taught me a lot and I am very grateful for it it I think has instilled resilience in me in in many ways, and this forced me to. that look at physical challenges in a certain way, but any sort of challenges in life, whether that be in love and relationships or academics or career. I think that's such a good way to reframe that experience that happened, because I think we can also really fall into the victim mentality, oh, why me? Like this sucks, like this is horrible, and I think in your TED Talk, you do mention that you had gone through a period where it was really difficult to reconcile with this, and maybe upon finding out about the diagnosis or finding out that you had to get this surgery and that your scoliosis hadn't really been resolved, because I think that at first you had what you had done, whatever you had to do to fix the problem, and then actually the curve was even worse, and then it was like, okay, I have to get the surgery. You know, I think that you would mention that you were facing these feelings of like just, you know, meeting it with resistance, and now it seems like you've been able to take this experience and turn it into something more positive and actually say, you know, this experience was for me, and like, what am I going to do about it? How am I going to move forward? How is it going to teach me something so that I can be stronger in the present? And I like that you bring this point of resilience in, how do you let resilience show up for you in your life now? That is a very good question. I think for me the biggest part of staying resilience are at least trying to pursue it in life. I think it has a lot to deal with mindset, and that's something that I think I'm still learning to navigate, but this was something that was also installed by one of my mentors in high school, was, you know, having a growth mindset, the idea of maybe not now, but not yet. And for me, I think I have tried to pivot my way of thinking whenever it comes to these sort of things because on the grand scheme of things, you know, life is not always black and white, right? It's not the end all be all. For me, when I had scoliosis, my first thought, it was like, this is the end all, like, I'm not going to be able to go back on stage again. I'm not going to model who's going to want to see my scar. And you look at it and you take some time and you realize, hey, there is so much to be grateful for. Look, it's going to take you a little bit of time to get back to your physical well-being. And look, here I am, I think a couple of years later and I am stronger than ever. But I do recognize as well that my my scoliosis case, I am very grateful that I don't have any pain. Today, I know that there are a lot of people out there that struggle with scoliosis and are continuing to struggle with things post-operation or they can't get the surgery. So I am also I after my scoliosis surgery, I have always tried to remain, you know, positive and to just change my focus on, you know, what I do have. And not the things that are restraining me or what I can't attain, I guess. I think that's a really important mindset to adopt because we know that it's a psychological principle that our brains tend to fixate on negative affect and negative experiences. And we tend to outweigh that when compared to positive ones. For sure. And so it can feel like something, you know, we can we can feel very overwhelmed by all the negativity that we have, like, we're on high alert for, like it's on our radar. But if we can start to adopt this a different mentality where we actually put our attention and energy towards focusing on the positive things, I think that hopefully it kind of starts to balance out like the negative affect with the positive affect. And it's it takes that extra step and that extra effort. And so when you're talking about, you know, establishing a growth mindset and changing your perspective, are there any specific actions that you try to take in your day to day life to remind yourself of that mentality and actually make it kind of like the automatic one that you're brain just defaults towards instead of how we tend to operate, which is placing a lot of weight on negativity. Oh, that's a good question. The first thing that comes to mind, well, one, I've started journaling more recently. That's that's like a tangible item that I've started incorporating into my life that has forced me to take a look into my feelings each week and every day. And kind of jot down like what I am grateful for, what I'm feeling, why am I feeling this way, and kind of reflect on what is going on in my life. So that's like one sort of, I think, habit that I've tried to pursue more recently. But I would say I think in the last couple of years, my mindset and attitude have really been influenced, I think, a lot of by who I surround myself with. I have a very good group of people that I support, that I can, I get support from one of you, my family, my partner right now. And just friends and surrounding yourself with people that have the same sort of mindset as you and are working towards, you know, bettering themselves, you know, uplifting each other and are not in it for a competition or look at you in a certain way that accept you as who you are and encourage you. And I think it's always good to have, you know, that sort of, those sort of people in your back pocket for when you need them. The people that we have around us definitely can influence also the way in which we see the world because I think that energy is really, you know, contagious, like positive energy is really contagious and infectious and so is negative energy even more so. And I think that you are the product of, you know, the top five or six people that you're used to around yourself with constantly. So that's, I think that's also another tangible thing too, is like figuring out how can I be more selective and intentional about who I bring into my life and how will they fit into my life, how will they uplift me. And these are such good lessons to learn, especially at a younger age because the more we practice this now, I think the better off it'll serve us in the future down the line in our lives. And I also think that, you know, earlier you mentioned that you had a mentor in high school and mentor figures, as we know, is incredibly important. And especially now as we are in like the professional world and you also are navigating this, this environment of modeling, but also working full time in a corporate job. Like I can imagine that's incredibly stressful. So can you talk a little bit more about what this experience is like for you and, you know, how you manage to balance both. Like how are you doing it all essentially? I will say I have not mastered this yet. So this is something that is an ongoing process that I'm still currently trying to manage until I decide it's not working for me anymore. So I just want to put that out there. But I think from a young age that I was very used to, I got used to quickly the idea of time management and maybe not so in the best way because I found myself trying to do everything. And maybe that's for some people it works for others. It doesn't. For me, I found myself kind of doing a lot, whether that be like playing in the marching band and in the jazz band and being on the palms team. And, you know, being in the academic clubs and doing modeling on the side and trying to pursue music. For me and my life now, I think I owe a lot of my management to kind of the world we live in. And that's this remote era that we are in, this virtual way of work, which I think is evolving and this kind of here to stay. And I owe a lot to it because it has helped me kind of realize that after college, I didn't have to put aside a lot of the things that I thought I would have to put aside. When I graduated from New York University and signed on to Accenture, I was ready to quit modeling and kind of take a step back and just kind of focus on, okay, let's see what kind of journey I pursue throughout consulting and just focus on that for once. And then this pandemic hits another change that I think there was a very universal experience, right? No one really expected it to come. So I think everyone was facing that sort of transition in the past couple of years. For me, I definitely took that opportunity after we are coming out of the pandemic to continue to pursue what I love. And in that, this kind of remote era working has allowed me to one, I can travel, which is beautiful because I've gotten to explore places that I didn't expect to explore. While also working as a data analyst and building dashboards in Power BI and Tableau for clients. And on my free time, I model and I do music where I can. But is it something that I'm pursuing? I think at the forefront, no, I think it's something that I enjoy. I like the opportunities that it It presents me and I'm very lucky to be in that position. But I will say I'm not out here trying to be like a Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid, indeed. I was going to quit modeling a couple of years ago. No, last year, the top of last year. And then my agent was like, why don't you just stay on? And just we can book you jobs here and there and see what happens. And I was like, OK, but just so you know, I got a full time job in tech. I'm working out a consulting firm. It is remote, but I have a job just so you know, I have a job. So if you want to drop me, that's fine. But just so you know, I have another job that's not modeling. And they're like, that's cool. And I was like, OK, cool. I guess I'm going to stay on. So I started at Accenture, stayed on with my modeling agency a couple months later, actually just last fall. I got a request like casting for Gucci. And I was like, what is this? I guess I'll go. I guess I'll go to Gucci's casting, you know, why not? I guess I'll go. Mostly, yes, because I, nothing was really happening for me in modeling. It was pretty slow. And like, can imagine like with the pandemic too. Yes, absolutely. It was very slow for everyone. And, but for me, I expected not to work a lot, especially because I had like a job. And then they had the casting for Gucci. I flew out to LA while the experience, surreal experience that I pretty sure is still a fever dream. And then I ended up looking the show. And that was the first show I ever walked was the Gucci Love Parade. That's incredible. Can you share a little bit more about what it was like to go out to LA, do the casting for Gucci, you know, what it, like, kind of walk us through the process as a model from when you get called out for a casting to then getting booked for a show and actually like walking the runway. For sure. Absolutely. Gosh, this was so surreal. If you ever, if you've ever seen like the Netflix show squid games, yes. You said that picture. OK, well, that casting process was exactly like that. Oh my god, that's a very interesting one. And I'm not lying. I'm not lying. So Gucci flew out like a lot of models for their show. This was the show that they hosted on Hollywood Boulevard. And I flew to LA. Mind you, I was still working on my project. So I was working Chicago time. But I had to take meetings in LA time. So I would get up like at 5 AM, 6 AM for my daily stand up call. But that's besides the point. So I get to LA and they pick you up and they take you directly to the hotel, beautiful hotels. They booked all the models. I didn't pay for a single thing. I'll just be honest about that because they Gucci paid for everybody. We love Father Gucci. And the process was very intense though. And it's not usually like that for fashion. We can generally, usually, it's just like you go to a casting and then some fittings and then the show. This one was like, OK, we're going to have one day of casting for the woman one day of casting for the men. A couple days for fittings, rehearsal and then the show time. But the thing about this was they were calling people in one by one at the most random time. So you had to be like on call at the hotel ready to be seen at any moment. That's so stressful. And COVID test as well. You COVID test every day too in the morning right before you were seen. And you were working. So how did you deal with the uncertainty of no, like, OK, when am I going to get called? Oh, absolutely. And that was my thing. It was like, you know what? I'm going to look at this as a free trip to Los Angeles. And I'm just going to sit on the roof and take my meetings and just be grateful that I am here. But it was definitely stressful because you had to come ready. You had to get in your outfit every day and just wait for someone to call you. And they were shuttling models back and forth between hotels to the studio where the casting was held at. So for like first day goes by. Don't get any email from my agent. I was like, OK, this is weird. Second day goes by nothing. It's like, my agent is like, do they still want to see me for the casting? Because they've not. And I'd like to go home. Because they were also having precasting. So precasting is like the-- well, it's exactly what-- it's the casting before the main casting. So precasting is like, you don't walk for them. You just kind of stand there. And they look at you. They ask who you are. And then it's done. So I never got called for the precasting. And I was like, well, just send me home now. Because it's Halloween weekend. I want to see my dog. And then finally, on the end of the week, I get a text from my agent at 5 AM. Which this is a crazy thing about fashion. It's like they could text you literally whenever. And you have to be ready like that. Which is a downside. But it's also crazy. Yeah, I know. That's hard. Yeah. I feel like fashion entertainment. Those are quite cut through industries. It is. It definitely is. The being readily available part is the one that I have. It's what I dislike about the industry. But it is what it is. But anyway, I got called. Yes. My agent texted me earlier in the morning and was like, can you go downstairs to the lobby? They're ready for you. And so I got dressed really quickly. And they shuttles mean a couple of models over to the studio. And then you go to the studio. And then there's like 50, 60 models just sitting there, like waiting to be seen. And then I go over to one of the models. And I'm like, hey, how long have you been here? Some of them have been waiting all day. Some of them have been waiting for like, hours. The casting process. It can be very long. It can be very short. This one happened to be long for some girls. And so I get there. I waited a little bit. And then probably like an hour later, they're like, skydiver to the front. And I'm like, OK, now it's my turn. And all you see is like this red carpet. And you can't see anyone. There's like the whole house of Gucci sitting at a table with the beautiful, very down to earth kind gentle soul, Alessandra Mikaela at the end of the red carpet, like sitting in a chair, and his like beautiful outfit. That is probably the most intimidating experience ever. It was very surreal. I don't know if it would actually happen, or not, but that's what I remember. Also, after watching like a house of Gucci, I can only imagine the culture and the experience of walking for Gucci. Absolutely. And that's the thing. So they don't hire a casting-- well, they have casting directors, but it's all casted in house by everyone who works for Gucci. So I get called up. This Italian lady came over to all of us and they're like, don't walk like a model. Don't act like a run-by-model. Just walk like you're a boy, like down the street. Like casual, don't pose. Just turn around and make a U. You got it? And I'm like, OK, I guess so. And then, yeah. And then I went to student front of Alessandro, and then he said, and the amulet. And then I walked, and they looked at you. And they're like, OK, let's go fit her. They put the outfit on. Is it that fast? Yes. And they put the outfit on. They take your mug shot. I call it a mug shot, so they put on the board. And then you wait for confirmation. But it was like-- I thought it was over then. I didn't end up getting my confirmation email, which is you always wait for the confirmation call sheet until very last minute, like the day before the fitting. So I was like on edge for a whole 24 hours after that experience. And then the show. That is insane. So then there's the fitting. They just put you in the outfit. And then you just walk the show. There's nothing in between. Oh, no, no. So yeah, the fittings are usually the day before-- two days before the show. And then they had the rehearsals. Paramount studio is beautiful, like set. And then yeah, the outfit that I was wearing was crazy. I will say that I had stars in my chest and I had a male suit on with a cowboy hat and some glasses. And I just remember walking on the runway and people shouting, they're like, yes, girl, get it. Like slay and those like start it, bulls. And you can't turn and look. But I knew for a fact that everyone was there, like Lizl, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus, Row, and the front row, Monica and Madison. Oh, that's insane. OK, so my question now is like after the show, I'm sure there are after parties. Oh, yes. And I am so sad that I did not choose to go-- because there wasn't after party in Monaskin. It was performing. Mark Ronson was there. Lizl was there. And then I think a bunch of us were like, we should go. And then someone was like, oh, you shouldn't go. They're not going to let you win. I think one of the models was like, oh, don't go. They didn't let us in. We definitely should have went, because a lot of people just got in. Oh, that's-- Oh, my god. Lesson learned. Lesson learned. Always go to the after party. Well, just try. I am sure that you'll be in another Gucci show. I wonder, after walking once, is it very dependent on the show that they're putting on, the type of model they're looking for? Or is it like-- For sure. I don't want to say legacy, but if they know that you've walked within a four-- Absolutely. No, there's a lot of factors up plain to it. You can see it. like Gigi Hadid, Bel Hadid, they're in every show that you see on Fashion Week. What I like about though this show was that they casted a lot of new faces and beautiful new faces that very mixed and diverse cast. We had Indigenous models, we had some Asian models, Mexican, like a wide range of different faces and people, which I loved. And they didn't choose anyone that was like, yeah, like a big name already in the industry, like the the Stella's and the Bellas and you know, a lot of like new faces. I remember being backstage like waiting for Heron makeup and chatting with one of the models who was like also doing homework and who was like still seeing you in high school. And I was like, damn, go you, that's pretty awesome. That's so interesting. And also kind of, you know, good to see how the modeling industry is trying to now be more diverse and inclusive and open. So I think that's wonderful. And so interesting to hear you walk my listeners and myself through the experience of walking for Gigi because it's just really a once in a lifetime opportunity. And so cool that you have that is something that's like part of your identity and something that you you do and is a passion of yours yet you can also sit behind, you know, a computer and work on these powered BI dashboards and being a more corporate environment. And I'm curious to see, you know, how you think maybe your modeling career and your professional career in corporate America may complement each other. No, absolutely. I mean, for one, but the show they go around everyone after I think to take Biles. I don't know what for, but they ask you like, who are you? Like besides modeling. I was like, let me tell you. Not in that way, but I was like, I do a couple things. I like, low Keith, like not low key. I work for consulting for my outside of modeling. I had a TED talk. I worked in the music industry and I just do, and I model. So people are always surprised when I go into a casting and they ask me, hey, like, who are you besides the photos? Like, who are you besides the comp card that you give us? And I have a story to tell. On the other hand, it also plays into kind of my role at Accenture, like the podcast, for example, I was reached out by the team, kind of asking like what my background was in public speaking and like high fashion and music. And I was like, yeah, I come with a background in like audio production because I worked in the music industry. I love storytelling. I've done a talk before. I like to do public speaking, but I also know what it's like to be in front of people and present yourself through my experiences like with modeling. I've traveled, I got to work with people from all different walks of life. And so those experiences I take with me and whatever a pursuit I, you know, I have. I think that's so important and also helps to better tell the kind of story that you want to share. The last, you know, really interesting thing won't not the last week because there are so many interesting things to your story and all the things that you do. But one of the things that I wanted to talk a little bit about today is your own podcast called Still Loading. And I've had the chance to listen to some episodes. It's great. It's really like fun, dynamic, you and your co-host or you have such great chemistry and the intro segment is amazing because I think you got to actually record and produce that audio, like the music, which is so cool. But I'd love for you to share a little bit more about what got you inspired to start still loading the types of conversations you have on the podcast and what listeners can expect to hear. Absolutely. And thank you for listening. My podcast still loading is so cliche. Yes, but I've started out of the dorm room conversations with my best friend from college, my roommate during that period. And we were just, we were talking one day about kind of, I don't know if you were talking about our friends or parties or just like life in general, but we were like, you know, no one, if you go to a party, it's all just small talk and we're like, who, where can we talk about like the, where can we find big talk? And we found ourselves having a lot of conversations like late a night, whether it was doing homework or studying or pulling all the letters together, talking about big things like, especially this period of like being a 20 something one because my roommate was also, she was taking a class called something, it was a 20 something class at NYU. And I couldn't take the course because I think my schedule was filled. And I remember her coming back, bringing me back like the content and curriculum. And it was so interesting. And I was like, I want to take a class that talks about the 20 something experience. So she would bring me back like her assignments and we would discuss them just for like fun and just for our own personal like sake. And we sat one day and we realized that, you know, there's not a lot of conversation going on around this gray area between childhood and adulthood, right? Because you go to college, you get a job, you do, you know, that job, you find a partner, you're expected to just jump from, you know, being a kid, being a high schooler, being a college student, being a graduate to being an employee. And especially in New York City, my experience at NYU, I think everyone's experience in New York in general is very different from those that are growing up or had the state school experience because you were in mercenacity and it's it's very fast pace and you were just kind of felt like you were going to class and also kind of like working with the adults that were actually going to work and it felt very like it felt like I had to grow very fast a little bit in New York City. And we're like, why don't we start a podcast that talks about this transition period, like called emerging adulthood. And I think it was coined by like this psychologist Jeffrey Arnet calls it emerging adulthood that talks about, yeah, the in-betweens of being a child and being an adult because sometimes when we think we're adults already we're still we're still growing and we're still kind of figuring out what it means to leave childhood behind because I know for sure that I, yeah, I'm 23 in some ways I think I am an adult but other ways I'm still learning and still loading, still trying to grow up. So that's kind of the conversation we wanted to have. Such a clever name, like still loading, we're still like we're still we're in this like weird gray area and I like that term also around emerging adulthood because we are in this time where we're like expected to jump from being a kid to then being an adult and it's so difficult. The 20s are actually really challenging and you know I think some days I'm like yeah I'm an adult when it works for me and then overall do things that I'm like yeah like I just checked off all these boxes I was so productive today I did my laundry and I cooked and I meal prepped and I'm really an adult and I'm doing it all and then there's other days where I'm like mom dad like can you help me figure this out like I can't I feel like and it's like I feel like in those moments I'm like oh yeah no but I'm a kid I'm really a kid and it's so hard to navigate this the challenging times we're in right now of figuring out what it means to be an adult and so I love that you've created the space and you know have a platform to to be vulnerable and also and be relatable because I think a lot of people can understand that lived experience that we're all going through because if we're in this age group then we get it like we get the challenges and um you know it's funny that you mentioned that going to school at NYU kind of force you to grow up a bit faster I I would say that growing up in New York City on my end in a way I think forced me to grow up a bit faster than my peers in college from other parts of the United States from the cornfield summer and it's um it's it's interesting to see how your environment can really shape your your mentality growing up and so now that I've I had a chance in college to leave New York and be in the Midwest and then come back I think I've been able to more clearly see the the impact that New York can have just given its energy and and you know the opportunity that's in New York you know how that can really shape your perspective and um I'm sure it was really fun to go to school at NYU and to be like right in the middle of the city yeah yes I am very I'm very grateful for my experience at NYU definitely some fun experiences um yeah it's it's very different though having to just kind of wake up one day and you're just down the street from like Washington Square Park and you're going to class and then this you're just part of the city that's kind of how they market it exactly that's exactly what it felt like though people want to like dismiss that saying but this exactly what it felt like it just kind of felt like I was this like kid in the city getting to study and also just pursue what I what I liked and yeah I'm very very blessed well you know it's it sounds like you had such an amazing experience and an opportunity and I'm amazed by how much you've accomplished at the age of 23 and so excited to see what you're going to continue to do I have one final question for you, which is a question that I ask. every guest that comes onto the podcast. - All right. - What is something that brings you a bit of endorphins every day? - Ooh, that's a very good question. I mean, one right off the bat music, I will say that I really do miss playing piano every day and that's something that I haven't gotten to do as much, especially after this pandemic and after college, I feel most at peace when I'm in front of a panel. But yeah, that's like the one thing that comes to mind, but also I think like an intangible item, something that gives me endorphins I think is feeling understood and I realize that comes through in a lot of aspects of my life, whether that means through lyrics or through the conversations that I have in podcasts or the relationship I have with my partner conversations with my family and friends or the kind of wisdom I can give for my journey with scoliosis. I think it's feeling understood 'cause I think for a lot of my life, I have been misunderstood in ways because of the things that I've done and pursued. So I think when you find that a hot moment between someone or something, it's a beautiful thing. - It's a really unique answer and something I haven't actually heard before answering what brings you endorphins and joy with associating that with a feeling 'cause feeling understood can be so broad and in general and it can manifest in so many different ways in our lives. So I think that's a really beautiful answer and I would agree. I think I also get a lot of joy from feeling seen and feeling that others are celebrating the things I'm passionate about and wanting to champion me on in those pursuits. So I can definitely relate to that and I love the way you phrased it. Where can my listeners find you on social media, Sky, where can they listen to your podcast, where can they see your eclectic Gucci outfit on the runway? - Yes, you can find me on Instagram that's at SkyJeroo, SKYEDARU. My podcast still loading is on all platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcast, Anchor. And if you're looking for my wonderful Gucci outfit, just you can probably find it online, definitely on Boe runway, if you're really looking to see what I wore. - That's a flex to be featured on Boe runway. So I think we should definitely end there. - Let's end there 'cause that was absolutely amazing. Thank you so much, Sky. It was absolutely a pleasure for having you as a guest on the podcast. - Thank you so much, Stella. It's so I feel very grateful to have had this conversation with you and I knew right away from the conversation we had last week that I'm very grateful that you crossed my path. So thanks for having me on. (upbeat music) - Thank you for listening and remember to like, rate, and review this podcast on whichever listening platform you prefer. Don't forget to keep spreading endorphins and find things that bring you endorphins every day. See you next time. (upbeat music)