WEBVTT

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Hello, and welcome to And youw, How Did You Make

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It, the podcast in which we explore each step

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that has built the career paths of various professionals

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through the discovery of their habits, passions,

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and interests over the last few decades. I'm

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Yosra, your host, and today we meet Emma. Emma

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has been to more music festivals and DJ sets

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performances than most of the people you know,

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from Glastonbury, Tom Holland, Coachella, and

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many more across the world. Why? Because she

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chose and worked tirelessly to become a brilliant

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creative in the music industry for the past nine

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years. Born and raised in Malta, she walks us

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through every opportunity she seized before becoming

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the creative mind behind the brilliant content

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you see on the social media of the artists she

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worked or is still working with, as well as her

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own account. While her work didn't stop at the

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music industry, She also covered sports events

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and other global events. She gives you insight

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on what it takes to make it where she is today.

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But wait, wait, wait, wait. She doesn't only

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wear the creative hats. She also is a cybersecurity

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graduate. And now you're asking yourself, how

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come? Didn't I just say that she has been working

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in that industry for almost a decade now? How

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is she also a cybersecurity graduate? Well...

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She managed to study while building her own professional

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path in the industry and she tells you everything

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on how to manage it all. Her openness might change

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your perspective on how capable you can be. And

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she will invite you to work as hard as you can

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to be able to live your passion as well. If the

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music industry is not your calling, Emma will

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inspire you to pursue what drives you nonetheless.

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Let's learn from her. Hi Emma, I'm so excited

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to have you on the pod today. The busiest season

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of the year is about to start as we record this

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episode, so before summer 2025. So I'm letting

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you explain how come, as I'm handing it over

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to let you introduce yourself. So hi guys, I'm

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Emma Trante, I'm a content creator from Malta,

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I'm currently 28 years old. Oh god, how to explain

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myself, I kind of do... A million things in one.

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I love, for a living, I create content for artists,

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music artists. I work a lot in social media and

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marketing and I do everything in between. But

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yeah, that's sticking from a bit of a different

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background, a tech background. I graduated in

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business and IT at the University of Malta. And

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then I continued doing my master's in Birmingham

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in the UK in cybersecurity. So actually, by profession,

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I'm an ethical hacker. But life took a different

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part. I'm more into the creative route at the

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moment. Yeah, just taking life one step at a

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time. I can't wait to share your story with the

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people listening to us. Let's first start with

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your definition of success. That's a very interesting

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question, to be honest. Definition of success

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for me can be split into multiple, you know,

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factors. In my line of work, it's to create some

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authenticity. So to create your own work that

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when people look at it, they say that's Emma's.

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You know what I mean? To be well known in the

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industry for the work I produce, you know, and

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that's these little things count for me for success.

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Also the growth that I get. you know, from starting

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from zero and growing along the way with different

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artists, being with different people, being,

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you know, surrounded by like -minded individuals.

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I don't like kind of consider success in monetary

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values, but more in stages of life, you know,

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when I managed to accomplish something I've been

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dreaming of doing. You know, a little example

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is I recently shot a photographer show in London,

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one of the most iconic UNESCO sites. um called

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the royal albert hall which is a historic building

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where loads of artists have got famous and whatnot

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and It's been on my bucket list and recently

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I managed to go and shoot it with an artist,

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you know. So these little pieces for me are like,

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yeah, the definition of, I would say, inverted

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brackets success. And, you know, getting involved

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in different projects and obviously seeing they're

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being involved in the hard work and then seeing

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the outcome of it, you know, these little projects

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are a little success to your, you know, your

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career, your history for everything in the future.

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And so I would say it's a bit of a difficult

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question to answer, but I'm just giving you like,

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you know, what comes to my mind straight away

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when you ask me that question. Oh, there is a

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great insight here. Learning. You can break down

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your milestones, which leads you to your own

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success. Exactly. So it's like, you know, it's

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about consistently creating and like. impactful

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content on my end you know that resonates with

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that type of audience with the music audience

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with different types of age groups you know growing

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my influence in my work and you know influencing

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people around me and obviously while whilst earning

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living in the sense you know because this is

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my work but at least I create my creative voice

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You know, so I create my stamp in my type of

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work, in whatever industry I'm working, where

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I'm working, how I work, you know, and that's

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my level of, I would say, success. It's all about

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like, you know, the authenticity of your work,

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you know, the engaging, the engagement of the

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audience or building a community around you of

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like -minded, creative individuals, you know,

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and then at the end of the day, reaching new

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audiences. So it's about being, about the growth

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and impact, you know, of inspiring others. You

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know what? After all these years, almost a decade,

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right? I always, always, always recognize your

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work. Whether it is shot by the artist, not even

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shot by you, and you're not even tagged there,

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I always recognize your work. And I'm sure I'm

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not the only one. Okay, let's get people on the

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line right now. Thank you. Then that's my definition

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of success. Let's deep dive into your teenage

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years, your middle school years. What kind of

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student were you? What kind of interests did

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you have? Did you have any passions? Were you

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involved in any extracurricular activities? What

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can you tell us? Yeah, middle school years where

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I was growing up as a kid, I was very active,

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very supportive. I always wanted to be involved

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in everything. no matter how good or bad I was

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in it. I always wanted to be involved in every

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sport, in every kind of like drama lesson, you

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know, I was very into that creative world and

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music. I would say my favourite classes were

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physical activity and the art classes, you know,

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because I always had that little creative vision

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in me. My habits were... Oh, what were my habits?

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I can't remember what my habits were, but I'd

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say my extracurricular activities were football

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dance, tennis. But I would say my least favorite,

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I think, were the languages or the history classes.

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I was more of a, you know, touch and go type

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of person, you know, social interaction, these

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type of classes where you get time to discuss

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as a group, work with others, come up with ideas

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and concepts. So that's what I would say my childhood

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life was at school. I would love for us to discuss

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a little bit more of what you just said. You

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said that you did go for an activity, whether

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you were good or not. Can you tell us a little

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bit more about it? Can you tell us a little bit

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more about your mindset at the time? If you still

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have it. For me, it was also like a learning

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curve, you know. I could have not known anyone

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in the sport or in the group, but I was like,

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I wanted to try it. You never know who you can

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meet in terms of joining a sport. You obviously

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join a group, you join a team. You become part

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of a community. You can be good or bad at it,

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but as long as you enjoy it, that's the most

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important thing. But if you never put yourself

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out there, you never try, then you never know.

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I wanted to start tennis. And I was like, oh,

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should I start? And I just said, you know what,

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I'm going to start. And to this day, I still

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love it. I say like, yes, of course, you should

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try these things, try everything, you know. That's

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when you learn more about yourself. And obviously,

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creating these little communities from when you're

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young, you know, besides helping you physically

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and keeping you healthy, you never know what

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that could lead to in the future. Very one of

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those who, you know, if who needed to speak in

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a group, you know, if I went abroad on a podium

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or something, I would volunteer. You know, I

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was always the person who'd be like, yes, no

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worries, guys, I'll take the lead, I'll take

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the lead. And I think it's helped me a bit in

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my type of line of work later down the line today,

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you know. I always say, if you never put yourself

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out there, if you never try, then you miss a

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lot of opportunities. You miss the networking

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section. And yeah, I mean, these little values

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translate in everyday life, basically. You shared

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three important elements there. First, you talked

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about the proactiveness. to either build or join

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a community. And if you're still a teenager or

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even a young adult and you feel like you have

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not found your community yet at school, at uni,

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wherever you are, joining a sports club or an

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art group will allow you to find like -minded

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people. The second point is that you might like

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the sport and play it throughout your life for

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fun. And the third point is that even if you

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think you're not mastering the sport, whatever

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it is, no one was born great. At any kind of

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sport, everyone has been learning and trying

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hard despite all the challenges. Because you

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know what? Sports help you disconnect from the

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craziness of your day, wherever you are at school,

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uni or at work. You have to try. If you don't

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try, you never know. Honestly, in anything, in

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sports, in learning a new subject at school,

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learning a new language, in work, you know, getting

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involved in something. If you try, you never

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know. That's what I say. There's so much to experience

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out there. There's so much to get involved in.

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There's so much to see, so much to learn. So

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I'm a person who was very like that from a young

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age, you know, where at the moment I'm still

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like that and I've grown old. You know what I

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mean? I always get excited to do something different,

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to get involved, to do something more. You're

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right. And to wrap up on your early teenage years,

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do you remember receiving any advice from family

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members, close circle, or do you have any advice

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yourself for the aspiring artists listening to

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us? In terms of advice like that, I, again, I

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always stick by that motto, if you don't try,

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you never know. Again, the relationships you

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build around getting involved in these communities

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could last forever, number one. and something

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you don't take for granted. And again, don't

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wait for something to fall into your hands or

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fall into, you know, get involved, see what's

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around you. Again, at school, I used to be the

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person, you know, of the Senate events. How can

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I be part of the organization committee? How

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can I bring my two cents to it, you know? What

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ideas can I share and generate? We used to have

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a lot of music events, you know, we used to have

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sports events, we used to have more of like the

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European politics side of events. When I had

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the opportunity to be part of the EU Parliament

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and whatnot, when I was younger, I was the first

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one to, you know, step forward and be like, I'll

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speak on the podium, I'll do this, I'll do that.

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Because it's an experience, you know, and every

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experience counts nowadays. By trying everything

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you can, and that's what we understand from Emma's...

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experiences here is that the more you try and

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the easier it will be for you to identify what

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you like doing or not. It will help you so much

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in life. Agreed, agreed, agreed. And that was

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both in my middle school years and high school

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years because basically those two are very well

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connected. Back here, obviously you're in your

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middle school and your high school in the same

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school, you know, so you just keep developing,

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developing, developing until you hit university,

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basically. And this is a perfect opening to the

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next part of your life, which is your high school

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years, late teenage years. Can you tell us all

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about it? Did you have similar interests? Did

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you change in any way? Yes, because actually

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high school years, for us, it's kind of called

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sixth form. So it's like those two years before

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uni. And that's when you start to understand

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more about yourself and your interests and what

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you want to do. Why? Because you're forced to

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choose subjects, right? You're forced to understand

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like, okay, what's... You might not know exactly,

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but what career path are you going to take? Because

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you obviously need to start studying and prioritizing,

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you know, your focus on those subjects, then

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develop further and pursue them at university.

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So obviously things started to change, you know,

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as I said, I started to get very into tech. So

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obviously I was always choosing, you know, the

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computing subjects, the same with the accounts.

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I was very on the mathematical side. That always

00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:16.960
kept, that was always the same. I was still never

00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:18.700
a fan of history, geography and these type of

00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:21.759
things. And then obviously my creative side started

00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.200
growing, growing, growing. I just started to

00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:26.759
enjoy, I had a phone at that time, not even a

00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:29.879
camera, you know, meeting up and being with people

00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:33.039
or being the one to be part of the media team

00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.399
at school, these little types of things. And

00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:38.259
I was, and I used to really enjoy it, really,

00:13:38.299 --> 00:13:41.259
really enjoy it. And it's kind of where all my

00:13:41.259 --> 00:13:44.330
photography. Passion sort of took off as well.

00:13:44.509 --> 00:13:47.549
We were doing loads of events. We were, you know,

00:13:47.570 --> 00:13:50.090
at school, we had some films that we did as part

00:13:50.090 --> 00:13:52.250
of our curriculum studies for like Shakespeare

00:13:52.250 --> 00:13:54.529
and Macbeth. And I was always on the sidelines

00:13:54.529 --> 00:13:58.169
taking photos, you know. I was the only person

00:13:58.169 --> 00:14:00.029
who was involved and interested in this. And

00:14:00.029 --> 00:14:01.850
I started to spark an interest there. That's

00:14:01.850 --> 00:14:05.049
how my, I think I would say my photography career

00:14:05.049 --> 00:14:08.990
kind of started, ignited. This is inspiring.

00:14:09.190 --> 00:14:11.779
So you started with the tools you had. a phone

00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:15.000
only, and the environment you are in. You did

00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:17.899
leave your own advice. You tried and the passion

00:14:17.899 --> 00:14:21.659
was born. Agreed. And it's advice that I'll give

00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:24.179
today. Get involved. Try out new stuff. You might

00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:26.059
hate it. Done. At least you had a feeling that

00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:28.340
you move on to the next thing, you know? You

00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:31.179
won't miss out on any opportunities like that.

00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.059
You network. And this all starts from a young

00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:35.539
age. And can I tell you, discipline starts from

00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:37.440
a young age. So in the sense, if you get involved

00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:41.039
in sports, in teams, in competitions, these are

00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:43.500
all life lessons that help you, like shaping

00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:46.080
who you are and helping you, obviously, later

00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:48.480
on in life. Those type of people who are involved

00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.059
in sports. If they're not disciplined to wake

00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:53.220
up at a specific hour and train every day, then

00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:54.620
they're never going to get better, you know.

00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:56.899
Then discipline comes in many forms. It comes

00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:02.759
in your personal life, your work life. I can't

00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:04.480
wait to talk more about your current life and

00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:06.899
how disciplined you still are after all this

00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:10.700
time. So let's wrap up on your middle school,

00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:13.799
high school years, teenage years. What kind of

00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:16.220
student were you? Were you working hard every

00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:18.860
single day after school? How did it look like?

00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:23.019
I had to work. I mean, I wasn't like the ace

00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:26.120
academic student. I did very well, but I used

00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.899
to have to work for it. I used to have friends

00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:30.759
who just used to read a textbook and be like,

00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:33.879
we'll get 100, you know, whatever they do, because

00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:36.419
they have naturally that. you know, that beautiful,

00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:39.639
intelligent instinct in them. But no, I definitely

00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:41.980
had to work. I was the person who should start

00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:43.799
studying from a month before, you know what I

00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:45.720
mean, or two months before, that type of person.

00:15:45.940 --> 00:15:48.259
And obviously the subjects that I took, you know,

00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:50.019
in the sense of computing, coding and stuff,

00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.840
it's not something you can read by heart and

00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:55.080
reapply in an exam. It's something which you

00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:57.879
have to understand, understand the logic behind

00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:00.700
it, and then apply that into the exam, basically.

00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:03.740
But to answer the question, it was more about

00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:08.820
the discipline aspect in the subject. Yes, I

00:16:08.820 --> 00:16:11.399
was one person to definitely work hard. I never

00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:13.620
got anything easy. For studying, I had to work

00:16:13.620 --> 00:16:15.980
hard. For any sport, I got involved and I had

00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:18.960
to work hard, you know. And obviously, you get

00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:20.440
better at things, but you have to put in the

00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:21.940
time and the hard work because if you don't do

00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:24.419
that, then you're never going to progress. Here

00:16:24.419 --> 00:16:27.279
you have two takeaways from Emma. First, nothing

00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:30.120
comes easy. Remember one thing from this school

00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:33.039
experience, you have to put the work in. The

00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:35.980
second thing is, if you are remotely interested

00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:39.279
in anything, give it your all and see what happens.

00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:41.860
Exactly. And there's a lot of competition out

00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:43.860
there, you know, so there's a lot of people hungry

00:16:43.860 --> 00:16:46.039
for what you want to, you know, so if you don't

00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.259
attack it, you're going to be left on the sidelines.

00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:51.620
And if you start to like something, then you

00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:54.000
ignite a passion in you and say, okay, this is

00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:55.720
interesting. What can I do next? How can I get

00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.419
more involved? How can I do more things related

00:16:58.419 --> 00:17:01.000
to it? So that's why I say, but if you never

00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.700
try, you never know. Exactly. And if you don't

00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:07.619
know where to start, ask everyone around you,

00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:11.880
teachers, family members, family members of your

00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:15.079
friends, friends, anyone you can see around you,

00:17:15.220 --> 00:17:19.259
ask them. And if none of them can help you, go

00:17:19.259 --> 00:17:22.339
on YouTube, look online, see what people have

00:17:22.339 --> 00:17:25.119
shared and see where you can start. It's also

00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:27.380
a case of don't be shy to reach out, you know.

00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:31.400
Get involved, reach out, ask questions, ask if

00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.900
you can be part of something. And it's okay to

00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:38.660
be scared. A lot of us are shy. Life is all about

00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:41.339
getting out of your comfort zone, as you always

00:17:41.339 --> 00:17:44.140
end up having to learn something new. How to

00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:47.609
ride? How to ride a bike? how to swim, and much

00:17:47.609 --> 00:17:53.430
more. Agreed. You said it perfectly, Astra. Emima,

00:17:53.450 --> 00:17:55.990
did you receive any advice yourself on how to

00:17:55.990 --> 00:17:57.990
manage your challenges of those teenage years?

00:17:58.390 --> 00:18:01.009
Or did you receive any advice on where to go,

00:18:01.109 --> 00:18:04.289
what to do, how to navigate this transition towards

00:18:04.289 --> 00:18:06.829
higher education, which seems like a mountain

00:18:06.829 --> 00:18:11.170
we need to climb at that age? Obviously, my parents

00:18:11.170 --> 00:18:15.230
always directed me and provided me advice. I

00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:17.529
had no idea what I wanted to do. I was into tech,

00:18:17.650 --> 00:18:21.549
but looking at my life now, I'm like, I took

00:18:21.549 --> 00:18:25.690
a different line. There's so much you can get

00:18:25.690 --> 00:18:29.069
involved with and this stress of life where everyone

00:18:29.069 --> 00:18:30.690
needs to know what they're doing, what they want

00:18:30.690 --> 00:18:33.430
to become, where they want to live. You figure

00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:35.490
it out. This is a journey. It's a process. Life

00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:38.710
is a process. Life is a, there's no start and

00:18:38.710 --> 00:18:42.069
end. Just take it as it is. Exactly. It's a journey.

00:18:42.130 --> 00:18:44.589
It's okay to have doubts and not knowing what

00:18:44.589 --> 00:18:47.930
to do or where to go. And to this day, I'm surrounded

00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:51.910
by 20 plus, 30 plus years old friends and colleagues

00:18:51.910 --> 00:18:54.569
who are either lost or don't know what to do

00:18:54.569 --> 00:18:58.369
or change their minds about their next steps

00:18:58.369 --> 00:19:02.759
consistently. And that's okay as well. But if

00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:07.380
you want to have some say in it, in your career

00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:11.079
path, give yourself the strength by investing

00:19:11.079 --> 00:19:14.240
in yourself. Working, studying, volunteering,

00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:18.259
anything that makes sense where you are and given

00:19:18.259 --> 00:19:21.420
your own situation. Agreed. And as I say, if

00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:23.920
you're hungry for something, you go for it. Try

00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:25.779
it. You might not be good at it, but at least

00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:28.319
you said you tried it. Move on to something else.

00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:32.109
Spark your second interest. Again, we are conscious

00:19:32.109 --> 00:19:34.930
that each financial situation is different. Each

00:19:34.930 --> 00:19:37.170
country offers different financial support and

00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:39.170
access to cultural events and opportunities.

00:19:39.930 --> 00:19:42.670
That's why we are sharing more mindset approaches

00:19:42.670 --> 00:19:46.829
rather than actual steps. And we want you to

00:19:46.829 --> 00:19:50.869
ask yourself the following up questions. How

00:19:50.869 --> 00:19:54.710
can I make this happen given my situation? What

00:19:54.710 --> 00:19:58.130
is my local city council or other structure offering?

00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:02.079
Is there any scholarship I can apply to? Is there

00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:04.700
any part -time volunteering opportunities I can

00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:08.039
seize on site or remotely? Are there anything

00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.119
I can use at home to start? Are there any charity

00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:15.599
shops, second -hand stores I can purchase equipment

00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:20.019
to start my own journey? Ideally, it's for you

00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:23.400
to not see your situation as being a blocker,

00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:26.900
but seeing opportunities everywhere you start

00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:31.420
looking into. It's about also wanting it, wanting

00:20:31.420 --> 00:20:34.859
it starting off from somewhere and not just sitting

00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:37.640
to wait, to wait until whatever happens, you

00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:43.420
know what I mean? And so you ended up wanting

00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:46.500
to pursue two paths at the same time. As you

00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:49.599
reached your higher education path, you answered

00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:52.339
your creative calling and you were studying at

00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:54.900
the same time. First, can you tell us why you

00:20:54.900 --> 00:20:58.670
chose cybersecurity? I studied tech. I was always

00:20:58.670 --> 00:21:00.829
fascinated with the digital world, always on

00:21:00.829 --> 00:21:03.269
my phone, had started to use the digital camera.

00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:07.799
Every little piece of... the equipment which

00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:10.460
was digital i was very very interested in and

00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:12.920
so obviously i i ended up doing my first degree

00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:14.720
a bachelor of science in business and it which

00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.619
touched both the business side of things and

00:21:16.619 --> 00:21:19.740
the aspects of technology within the business

00:21:19.740 --> 00:21:22.799
you know so i had had a little bit of background

00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.220
of coding then the background of community management

00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:30.559
systems for operations so i got a big big feeling

00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:32.500
from the front end and the back end and i loved

00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:35.359
it And when I finished university, I wasn't quite

00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.579
sure what I wanted to do. I had obviously been

00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:39.519
doing photography, but it was just a side hobby

00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:43.240
since then. And I did a bit of research online

00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:45.900
to see what was hot at that time in terms of

00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:50.839
job wise, in terms of topics. And I kind of started

00:21:50.839 --> 00:21:53.099
to read more into the cybersecurity world and

00:21:53.099 --> 00:21:58.380
understanding the security of individuals' devices

00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:02.380
and everything online. And when I was doing some

00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:04.660
research, it was quite prominent. They were saying,

00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:06.259
oh, it's the next big thing, next big thing.

00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:07.839
And I'm like, you know what, it's the next big

00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:10.180
thing. I want to be part of the next big thing.

00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:12.299
I want to learn. I want to study. I want to know

00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:16.259
more. And that kind of then sparked my interest

00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:21.500
in understanding how ethical hacking works online,

00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.700
how easy it is for someone to access your information.

00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:28.099
And I decided to pursue a master's in the UK

00:22:28.099 --> 00:22:32.039
in cybersecurity. It wasn't easy at all. It was

00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:35.200
a very difficult and demanding degree. And I

00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:36.819
was possibly one of the youngest because people

00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:40.279
had work experience before they went in. But

00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:43.220
it was more about understanding the landscape

00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:45.700
and saying, OK, what am I going to do career

00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:47.700
-wise? What's available? What jobs are on the

00:22:47.700 --> 00:22:50.140
market? Then obviously, once you start to read

00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:52.240
into a subject and you start to like it, then

00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.099
why not go for it? And how was your experience

00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:58.519
studying that? My experience studying was a very

00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:01.359
difficult course, I must say. That for sure,

00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:04.299
nothing compared to any other course I did. Why?

00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:07.880
Because, again, I was surrounded by people who

00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:11.380
are tech nerds, a lot of people who have had

00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:13.640
work experience, whilst I went directly from

00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:15.640
my university degree into my master's degree.

00:23:16.810 --> 00:23:19.230
which had its pros and cons, you know, but I

00:23:19.230 --> 00:23:20.950
was surrounded by people who had already worked

00:23:20.950 --> 00:23:22.970
in the industry, which made a massive difference,

00:23:23.250 --> 00:23:25.609
you know, because they encountered situations,

00:23:25.910 --> 00:23:28.109
they had more experience, they knew what to do.

00:23:28.650 --> 00:23:30.950
Once I went there as a newbie, but you know what,

00:23:30.990 --> 00:23:32.789
it was something I was interested in doing, I

00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:35.230
wanted to study straight away. And I said, let

00:23:35.230 --> 00:23:36.849
me give it a try. You know what, at the end of

00:23:36.849 --> 00:23:38.670
the day, I have a degree on my name, a master's

00:23:38.670 --> 00:23:40.509
degree on my name, and if I never use it, then

00:23:40.509 --> 00:23:42.869
that's another case. I used to say, I'd be like,

00:23:42.950 --> 00:23:46.059
oh my God, everyone's 10 steps ahead. They know

00:23:46.059 --> 00:23:49.000
when we used to have coding exams and stuff.

00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:52.480
They already know the language. And we used to

00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:54.079
be like, oh my God, I have to learn the language

00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:56.380
and then answer the questions. So it was always

00:23:56.380 --> 00:23:59.400
a bit way more experience. So things that took

00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:02.779
me 10 hours took them one hour. But I never gave

00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:05.900
up. I never was a person to just give up and

00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:08.339
drop off. Number one, I moved country for this.

00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:11.799
I'm paying a university fee, which everyone knows

00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:15.710
how difficult that is. And I always wanted to

00:24:15.710 --> 00:24:18.269
have a degree to my name in something I'm interested

00:24:18.269 --> 00:24:21.250
to, because if I took a different line of work

00:24:21.250 --> 00:24:23.750
or changed up doing, I can always say, oh, I

00:24:23.750 --> 00:24:25.769
think I could fall back and do it. And plus it's

00:24:25.769 --> 00:24:28.609
so heated at the moment, you know, it's such

00:24:28.609 --> 00:24:31.289
a hot topic that I chose a topic that will last

00:24:31.289 --> 00:24:34.130
forever in reality with the more and more with

00:24:34.130 --> 00:24:36.950
the AI changing landscape, you know, the security

00:24:36.950 --> 00:24:40.539
and the protection online for. personal identity

00:24:40.539 --> 00:24:43.740
theft and all this stuff is so important. So

00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:45.400
in reality, if I had to go back now, probably

00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:47.440
the salaries are even higher than they were when

00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:50.480
I came out. Absolutely. Tech is a high -paying

00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:52.960
sector and a degree in cybersecurity is still

00:24:52.960 --> 00:24:58.880
a crucial degree to have. And going back to your

00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:00.660
passion for photography, I would love for us

00:25:00.660 --> 00:25:03.000
to talk a little bit more of how it started.

00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:06.140
Did you have any mentors, someone who inspired

00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:09.869
you, even your close circle, your family? So

00:25:09.869 --> 00:25:12.349
basically, I come from quite an autistic family,

00:25:12.470 --> 00:25:14.549
as in my mom is a dance practitioner and has

00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:17.170
been a dance practitioner all her life. And basically,

00:25:17.190 --> 00:25:19.269
when she used to run a full -time company for

00:25:19.269 --> 00:25:22.950
over 20 years, and that means late -night rehearsals,

00:25:22.970 --> 00:25:25.470
and I was still very young then. She had obviously

00:25:25.470 --> 00:25:30.369
just had my brother and I, and she would be rehearsing

00:25:30.369 --> 00:25:32.470
late for festivals that she'd be traveling around

00:25:32.470 --> 00:25:34.430
with and taking her company, and I would always

00:25:34.430 --> 00:25:37.599
be in the studio. and waiting for her until she

00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.660
finishes rehearsals. And towards the end of the

00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:45.000
company years, my mom had a camera like in her

00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.079
case and I just used to pull it out of her case

00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:48.980
and instead of just sitting and watching, getting

00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:51.359
a bit nervous and whatnot, I just started to

00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:54.779
randomly take photos and documented like the

00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:58.099
studio process of her rehearsals. And I still

00:25:58.099 --> 00:26:00.400
love it. I still love using those little digital

00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:03.460
cameras at that time. You know, to zoom, you

00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:06.119
have to hold it to the side and it goes, you

00:26:06.119 --> 00:26:08.980
know, those like literally basic ones. Obviously,

00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:12.559
I was surrounded by like a very creative, till

00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:15.559
today, a very creative family, which was the

00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:18.720
biggest support. But I also started to like take

00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:21.480
photos, obviously in the theater and the studio,

00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:24.680
just for my mom. Literally no professional equipment.

00:26:25.390 --> 00:26:27.529
And then obviously when I started to hang out

00:26:27.529 --> 00:26:29.769
with friends and going out for parties and whatnot,

00:26:29.869 --> 00:26:32.109
I used to love just documenting the moments.

00:26:32.950 --> 00:26:35.049
I used to love it. So I used to take my camera

00:26:35.049 --> 00:26:36.809
out and no one used to take their camera out.

00:26:36.869 --> 00:26:39.170
And I kind of started to get an aim for having,

00:26:39.410 --> 00:26:41.670
you know, the next day people asking me for a

00:26:41.670 --> 00:26:43.930
few photos that I took of my friends or stuff

00:26:43.930 --> 00:26:46.609
like that. Then I don't know. I think it just

00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:49.230
sparked an entire interest of like capturing

00:26:49.230 --> 00:26:53.460
moments. For me, it was something which... I

00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:55.819
started off playing with something small and

00:26:55.819 --> 00:26:59.680
it grew into something bigger, you know. But

00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:01.740
I would say being around a creative background

00:27:01.740 --> 00:27:05.079
definitely helped because we're all creating

00:27:05.079 --> 00:27:07.859
art at the end of the day. And you started this

00:27:07.859 --> 00:27:09.640
creative journey at the same time you were studying.

00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:12.940
Can you tell us a little bit more how you created

00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:16.259
this opportunity for yourself to become a professional?

00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:21.720
So basically I started, I was constantly just

00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:25.150
doing tech, right? From a young age, even studying

00:27:25.150 --> 00:27:28.210
back at home at the University of Malta, I used

00:27:28.210 --> 00:27:30.910
to get involved. As I said, I used to take my

00:27:30.910 --> 00:27:32.930
camera around with my friends when we were very

00:27:32.930 --> 00:27:35.910
young, 13, 14. And kind of my friends were always

00:27:35.910 --> 00:27:37.950
into the music scene and they kind of started

00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:39.650
to create parties. And they used to be like,

00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:41.410
you can come along and take some photos. I'm

00:27:41.410 --> 00:27:43.730
like, yes, yes, yes. And I kind of started to

00:27:43.730 --> 00:27:47.299
get to... known in the scene you know um that

00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:48.980
the next day everyone's gonna come ask me can

00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:50.920
i get photos of last night it was the time where

00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:54.940
high five on facebook were at their high um and

00:27:54.940 --> 00:27:57.579
obviously these friends of mine who started organizing

00:27:57.579 --> 00:27:59.880
small events started organizing bigger ones bigger

00:27:59.880 --> 00:28:02.819
club nights and all this got me involved so basically

00:28:02.819 --> 00:28:04.839
i used to study during the week you know and

00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:07.440
then on the weekend do my utmost to get involved

00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:11.559
in any show that there was around the island

00:28:11.559 --> 00:28:13.599
if there was an international DJ I was the first

00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:15.539
person messaging the promoter hey can I shoot

00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:18.359
your event I'll do it for free you know but at

00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:20.440
least I was there I shot the event I got the

00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:22.839
content I have stuff to share I used to be sharing

00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:25.579
them to the artists directly teams myself like

00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:27.900
hey these are photos of last night if you want

00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:29.819
to check them out and get rejection each time

00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:31.859
or no response which was also very difficult

00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:35.380
but I started to I said you know what I said

00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:38.220
I said, if I'm getting known for this stuff and

00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:40.259
people are starting to recognize that they want

00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:42.259
to book me for these little events in Malta,

00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:44.960
then why not give it some extra thought, you

00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.440
know? And this was all happening in conjunction

00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:49.640
whilst I was studying technology. And I started

00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:51.759
to do small club nights and from the small club

00:28:51.759 --> 00:28:54.259
nights and getting involved in the bigger ones,

00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:56.799
then I started to do the bigger festivals here

00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:58.819
and taking over the scene and the media teams

00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:02.759
of there were to the fact, to the point where...

00:29:04.110 --> 00:29:07.990
I basically shot one random event. It was on

00:29:07.990 --> 00:29:10.069
a Wednesday night. I was a student. They were

00:29:10.069 --> 00:29:11.630
telling me they were going to pay me double because

00:29:11.630 --> 00:29:13.430
it was such a last minute to press on the day.

00:29:13.509 --> 00:29:14.970
And I was like, you know what, I need the money.

00:29:15.049 --> 00:29:17.950
Let's do it, you know. I went and it was, my

00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:20.569
surprise was these female DJs, Nervo, who were

00:29:20.569 --> 00:29:26.069
the top number one DJs when EDM was at its peak,

00:29:26.150 --> 00:29:28.029
you know, David Guetta, Martin Garrix and whatnot.

00:29:28.690 --> 00:29:30.769
And I was very surprised how basically I was

00:29:30.769 --> 00:29:32.390
asked to shoot this event, but the club wasn't

00:29:32.390 --> 00:29:36.660
sold out, you know. And the promoter booked me

00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:41.480
to document the venue. And you'd think a number

00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:43.480
one DJ would set out a venue here, but maybe

00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:46.059
they didn't resonate so much with the crowd in

00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:49.160
general. Or maybe that music wasn't tailor -made

00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:51.420
to what people go out to listen to. But anyways,

00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:53.859
I did my utmost to make sure that I managed to

00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:56.480
conquer this club and their performance and their

00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:58.359
energy in every shape and form without making

00:29:58.359 --> 00:30:03.730
it look empty. And obviously, I... did my work,

00:30:03.890 --> 00:30:05.869
collect my double pay, obviously, because it

00:30:05.869 --> 00:30:08.970
was student life times and any penny counts.

00:30:09.509 --> 00:30:14.009
And I continued my life. And obviously, this

00:30:14.009 --> 00:30:17.650
all started actually when Yosra and I met back

00:30:17.650 --> 00:30:20.109
in the day when we were studying in Coventry.

00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:23.049
I think it was maybe four or five months into

00:30:23.049 --> 00:30:25.309
the little studies and I was studying in the

00:30:25.309 --> 00:30:30.799
university in my course. I was an Erasmus. they

00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:34.019
assumed exchange and um yeah i received this

00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:36.920
random call from australia saying hey we're nervous

00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:39.700
we loved your photos of the event we did the

00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:41.859
multi please know this event was like in june

00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:45.859
you know so it was a long long time ago out till

00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:47.440
when they called me and they said we loved your

00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:49.279
photos they still don't know this stuff we want

00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:50.920
to try and take you on tour and at that point

00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:54.119
i had no idea what tour actually meant like tour

00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:56.819
And they were like, yes, yes, where you can take

00:30:56.819 --> 00:30:59.079
photos of us and help us around logistics. I'm

00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:01.980
like, OK, that sounds cool. And they offered

00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:05.680
me Mexico and Costa Rica over Christmas period

00:31:05.680 --> 00:31:07.640
and New Year's. But because I was on Erasmus

00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:10.220
and living away from home for six months, I was

00:31:10.220 --> 00:31:12.900
very, very like I just wanted to go home for

00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:14.599
Christmas because it's a very special family

00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:16.779
occasion for me. And I have a good, like for

00:31:16.779 --> 00:31:19.299
me, family values are very important. So I said,

00:31:19.299 --> 00:31:21.500
I said, no, I rejected them. And as soon as I

00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:23.059
got that phone call, I'm like, oh, my God, I

00:31:23.059 --> 00:31:25.789
just lost. a bloody good job, you know. But a

00:31:25.789 --> 00:31:27.430
week after, they came back and they said, listen,

00:31:27.569 --> 00:31:29.210
we'd like to try you. We're going to try you.

00:31:30.750 --> 00:31:32.289
Locality, you know, where they were booked. And

00:31:32.289 --> 00:31:34.089
before I knew it, they said, can you come to

00:31:34.089 --> 00:31:36.089
India? And I was like, what? India? I never even

00:31:36.089 --> 00:31:39.210
left Europe. And I was like, yep, I'm in. I'm

00:31:39.210 --> 00:31:41.430
in. And, you know, that same day they sent me

00:31:41.430 --> 00:31:43.089
the flights. I was like, oh my God, I'm going

00:31:43.089 --> 00:31:45.309
to India alone. Like, that has never even happened.

00:31:46.450 --> 00:31:48.710
Can you share the impact of that event on you,

00:31:48.750 --> 00:31:52.829
on your creative journey? On how you approach

00:31:52.829 --> 00:31:55.789
the content that you're creating? Honestly, from

00:31:55.789 --> 00:31:59.230
that event that I do them all the way till today,

00:31:59.329 --> 00:32:01.789
which is approximately maybe nine years down

00:32:01.789 --> 00:32:05.809
the line, it was all like my work in the sense

00:32:05.809 --> 00:32:09.450
I document the artists of the journey. And when

00:32:09.450 --> 00:32:11.329
I document the artists of the journey, I don't

00:32:11.329 --> 00:32:15.480
just document the shows of... like 50k people

00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:18.079
each time I documented behind the scenes where

00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:20.900
the artist eats where the artist hangs what dressing

00:32:20.900 --> 00:32:24.220
room look like and what are the hobbies you know

00:32:24.220 --> 00:32:26.420
so I do all this little backend stuff whilst

00:32:26.420 --> 00:32:29.460
shooting the show and once I was with Nerva at

00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:31.640
that same time they said listen we see you very

00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:33.720
capable in kind of what you're doing can you

00:32:33.720 --> 00:32:35.599
also be our tour manager and tour manager was

00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:38.140
another level because you get involved in sound

00:32:38.140 --> 00:32:41.119
check light check you know all the things pre

00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:44.980
the actual event and then you get before the

00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:46.640
events, when you're looked in with promoters,

00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:50.640
you approve artwork, you do logistics, you know,

00:32:50.660 --> 00:32:52.380
you send them the flights, the times we're arriving

00:32:52.380 --> 00:32:55.400
and whatnot. The role tour manager covers a lot

00:32:55.400 --> 00:32:57.420
of different instincts, you know, but then I

00:32:57.420 --> 00:32:59.380
was doing this on top of social media and content.

00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:02.339
So I was doing so much, which was crazy. And

00:33:02.339 --> 00:33:04.359
I was traveling with two female leaders at that

00:33:04.359 --> 00:33:07.799
time, which obviously helped, you know. And after

00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:10.079
doing that for four years, from one experience

00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.519
to another, I then got scouted by Sagala. I did

00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:14.359
one year with Sagala. I did one year with also

00:33:14.359 --> 00:33:17.740
Luciano, the house DJ. I moved to Jamie Jones,

00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:20.019
who I'm with currently for seven years. And recently

00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:23.619
I've been involved in Paul Cox's Ginger DJ team,

00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:26.160
and I do a lot for them. And, you know, what

00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.599
I say, it was one opportunity that I shot on

00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:31.440
a Wednesday night and look at the array of people

00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:34.259
that have opened up their borders for me, you

00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:37.670
know, to work with. First, thank you so much,

00:33:37.730 --> 00:33:40.630
Emma, for summing up countless hours and years

00:33:40.630 --> 00:33:43.890
of work, dedication and passion under five minutes.

00:33:44.130 --> 00:33:47.710
This is brilliant. And yes, that single step

00:33:47.710 --> 00:33:50.730
changed your path and you seized an opportunity

00:33:50.730 --> 00:33:55.859
that made the difference. It was an interesting

00:33:55.859 --> 00:33:58.960
part. I look back and I say, wow, if I didn't

00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:00.880
take that step, I would have never met these

00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:03.920
people or been involved. Wow, if I said no, then

00:34:03.920 --> 00:34:05.680
I would have never gone to that event back at

00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:07.740
that time. And I say, wow, I made the right decision.

00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.380
But it's because it's not easy to go to India

00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:12.840
for one day. 16 hours is all I did. And I flew

00:34:12.840 --> 00:34:15.320
there 16 hours and I flew back. I was young.

00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:18.880
I was finishing my degree. It was something which

00:34:18.880 --> 00:34:22.320
was evolving. And from one show in India, it

00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:24.780
turned into a summer tour, Easter tour, you know,

00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:27.659
three weeks, then it turned into a summer. And

00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:30.460
things kept on going and going and going and

00:34:30.460 --> 00:34:32.619
going. So I must say it's been quite all right

00:34:32.619 --> 00:34:35.500
to give you that in a bit of a nutshell. You

00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:38.219
faced a certain amount of rejection and it didn't

00:34:38.219 --> 00:34:40.840
stop you. What can you tell our listener who

00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:43.840
is currently facing the same challenge as he

00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:46.800
or she is trying to have their own breakthrough?

00:34:48.199 --> 00:34:50.719
Listen, rejection is never easy, but you must

00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:55.159
take it to digest it and move on to the next

00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:57.840
thing. There's a lot of competition out there.

00:34:57.960 --> 00:35:00.900
Why me? Why would they pick me? Why would they

00:35:00.900 --> 00:35:03.820
choose me over someone else? What am I offering?

00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:07.320
So obviously... It could be that they're looking

00:35:07.320 --> 00:35:09.960
for someone specific at that time from some specific

00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:12.619
place and whatnot. But I also come from a very

00:35:12.619 --> 00:35:14.539
small island, Yostra, and to be doing what I

00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:17.179
do on such an international level is very different.

00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:19.940
And they say, why me? Because many, many people

00:35:19.940 --> 00:35:21.760
have tried this job. Many people have done it

00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:24.400
before, you know. And when you establish working

00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:26.900
with the biggest artists, basically that they're

00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:29.019
all around and are very hot on the market at

00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:32.219
the moment. That is why I draw back to the principle

00:35:32.219 --> 00:35:36.230
of discipline, because you need to work. very

00:35:36.230 --> 00:35:38.769
fast you need to work you're around high -end

00:35:38.769 --> 00:35:40.489
artists so you need to have that sense of discipline

00:35:40.489 --> 00:35:43.389
you need to you know mentally keep and physically

00:35:43.389 --> 00:35:45.809
keep fit because it's also something which is

00:35:45.809 --> 00:35:48.449
very you know demanding and challenging as a

00:35:48.449 --> 00:35:51.329
job but again I I draw back to the fact that

00:35:51.329 --> 00:35:53.860
if I never did that one gig in Malta, then I

00:35:53.860 --> 00:35:56.139
would have never got the opportunity to do all

00:35:56.139 --> 00:35:58.320
that I'm doing now. So that's why I say, put

00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:00.139
yourself out there. Every opportunity counts.

00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:02.159
I thought I was going to just shoot a local club

00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:04.679
from a promoter, you know, and obviously there

00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:06.519
was a female DJ, but didn't think much to it.

00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:09.039
You know, and look at me now in the sense I've

00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:10.880
been traveling with different artists for over

00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:13.260
nine years. I sent out a million emails before

00:36:13.260 --> 00:36:15.940
I even started touring, loads. And everyone was

00:36:15.940 --> 00:36:19.059
like, no, no, no, no, no. And I didn't even have

00:36:19.059 --> 00:36:22.119
a name to my entire brand. I had not one artist

00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:25.019
name. And you send emails, you send emails. You

00:36:25.019 --> 00:36:26.679
have to understand that rejection is part of

00:36:26.679 --> 00:36:28.940
the process. You can't be told yes to everything.

00:36:29.400 --> 00:36:31.079
It's the same thing when you work with people,

00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:32.780
when you come up with an idea, when you brainstorm,

00:36:32.980 --> 00:36:34.559
when you put things on the table and they say,

00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:36.119
no, we don't like this. Agreed, that's rejection.

00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:38.619
You take it and you work on it instead of treating

00:36:38.619 --> 00:36:41.380
it really badly. It's so normal, especially nowadays

00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:43.820
where there's competition on everything. You

00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:48.539
know how many emails I sent? 2016, 2017, because

00:36:48.539 --> 00:36:51.079
I wanted to do this. You know, it was a very,

00:36:51.119 --> 00:36:53.500
very big thing for me that I wanted to start

00:36:53.500 --> 00:36:55.519
doing stuff internationally because I was shooting

00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:59.559
so many shows here in Malta, you know, with international

00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:02.739
DJs. When I say I shot my shot, you know, I sent

00:37:02.739 --> 00:37:05.079
my content to the artists after I did it. It's

00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:07.280
club and six months later, they still remembered

00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:10.099
me. You know, so rejection is part of the process.

00:37:10.460 --> 00:37:12.320
Everyone needs to go through it. It only makes

00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:14.079
you stronger on the other end. You know, you

00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:16.420
must never lose. Even if you're getting rejected

00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:18.820
upon rejection upon rejection. After those 50

00:37:18.820 --> 00:37:20.420
rejections, you're going to get that one yes.

00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:23.500
And that one yes is what's going to count. First,

00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:25.960
big shout out to Nevo for choosing the best creative

00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:29.219
out there. And I do invite you to take notes

00:37:29.219 --> 00:37:32.400
from what Emma just said. You take rejection

00:37:32.400 --> 00:37:35.380
and you work with it instead of treating it badly.

00:37:35.699 --> 00:37:39.679
After the rejection, which seems countless, you

00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:42.619
will get a yes as long as you still want to fight

00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:45.230
for it. Also... What I liked and what you just

00:37:45.230 --> 00:37:47.369
said, and I hope that you will also remember

00:37:47.369 --> 00:37:50.190
this, you were offered your first opportunity

00:37:50.190 --> 00:37:52.789
during Christmas, New Year's, and you refused

00:37:52.789 --> 00:37:55.289
it. You took the risk because your values were

00:37:55.289 --> 00:37:58.510
strong. Yes, agreed. Something like Christmas

00:37:58.510 --> 00:38:00.389
only comes once a year and I always have a big

00:38:00.389 --> 00:38:02.090
family. And because I was living abroad, I was

00:38:02.090 --> 00:38:04.489
like, still, I didn't want to miss it. And I

00:38:04.489 --> 00:38:08.099
still wouldn't miss it for anything. Sets of

00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:09.940
values are important to have, whether it's family

00:38:09.940 --> 00:38:12.360
values, whether it's work values, whether it's,

00:38:12.360 --> 00:38:13.880
you know, you have to create your own values

00:38:13.880 --> 00:38:15.920
and you have to live by them. Obviously, it would

00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:17.559
have been an amazing opportunity to go to Mexico

00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:19.900
and Costa Rica by then. I would have, back then,

00:38:19.940 --> 00:38:22.219
I would have never gone to them and never thought

00:38:22.219 --> 00:38:25.679
of going to them, you know. But like, fast forward

00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:27.420
down the line, I've been to both Mexico and Costa

00:38:27.420 --> 00:38:31.139
Rica multiple times now, you know. Obviously,

00:38:31.139 --> 00:38:33.480
if you feel it's right, go for it and you have

00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:35.380
to make sacrifices. But something like for me

00:38:35.380 --> 00:38:38.719
for Christmas with a big family, not only that

00:38:38.719 --> 00:38:40.320
I don't get to see them, it's a special event.

00:38:40.440 --> 00:38:44.739
So I just stuck to my gut and said, listen, I

00:38:44.739 --> 00:38:47.559
cannot do it. And obviously when I said and rejected

00:38:47.559 --> 00:38:49.539
that, I was like, oh my God, I just missed out

00:38:49.539 --> 00:38:51.340
a big opportunity. But in life, you have to pick

00:38:51.340 --> 00:38:52.940
and choose your battles, even though it's not

00:38:52.940 --> 00:38:55.260
in a sense of a battle. But you have to pick

00:38:55.260 --> 00:39:01.480
and choose, you know. And everything you just

00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:04.380
shared was in parallel to your studies. So how

00:39:04.380 --> 00:39:07.480
did you manage it all? So the crazy thing is

00:39:07.480 --> 00:39:10.099
when I actually even started touring again, nine

00:39:10.099 --> 00:39:14.579
years down the line, I was still writing my thesis

00:39:14.579 --> 00:39:17.760
of my bachelor's and then still studying. So

00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:20.039
I used to study from Monday to Friday in the

00:39:20.039 --> 00:39:23.820
library and from Friday to Sunday. This was my

00:39:23.820 --> 00:39:25.880
master's now. I used to travel, I used to do

00:39:25.880 --> 00:39:28.000
three shows and come back and focus on studying.

00:39:28.460 --> 00:39:30.260
I had a bit of a different life than regular

00:39:30.260 --> 00:39:33.099
students. For me, it was study from Monday to

00:39:33.099 --> 00:39:35.300
Friday and my course was so hard I needed to

00:39:35.300 --> 00:39:37.519
study. And on the weekend, it was like, I don't

00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:40.119
know, do Poland, Budapest and Italy. You know,

00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:42.699
another week comes, same thing. So I was very

00:39:42.699 --> 00:39:45.159
focused, you know, I wanted something. I got

00:39:45.159 --> 00:39:46.840
an opportunity of a lifetime and I said, how

00:39:46.840 --> 00:39:48.480
am I going to manage? I need to do them both.

00:39:49.059 --> 00:39:51.659
Funnily enough, I then ended up submitting my

00:39:51.659 --> 00:39:54.059
thesis in Gibraltar because I had a show that

00:39:54.059 --> 00:39:56.789
day then. And I was like, oh my God, the internet

00:39:56.789 --> 00:39:59.570
is going to work for sure. But I ended up submitting

00:39:59.570 --> 00:40:02.789
my thesis in Gibraltar and obviously I balanced

00:40:02.789 --> 00:40:04.650
it. You know, if I came home from a show and

00:40:04.650 --> 00:40:06.510
I still had adrenaline and I would open up my

00:40:06.510 --> 00:40:08.489
laptop and start working on it, start coding,

00:40:08.690 --> 00:40:11.570
start doing reports. So again, it's all about

00:40:11.570 --> 00:40:14.010
managing your time, knowing what you want and

00:40:14.010 --> 00:40:15.730
putting yourself out there. It's better to do

00:40:15.730 --> 00:40:18.849
everything now than doing it later on in life,

00:40:18.989 --> 00:40:21.389
you know, because I say more, imagine I had to

00:40:21.389 --> 00:40:23.289
do my master's now, I just wouldn't see myself

00:40:23.289 --> 00:40:26.659
studying. So what does it take to succeed in

00:40:26.659 --> 00:40:28.920
your field, in the different world you've been

00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:32.619
endorsing within the music industry? You are

00:40:32.619 --> 00:40:34.920
doing way more than what we can see on your Instagram,

00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:38.559
eTranter. What do people who want to make it

00:40:38.559 --> 00:40:41.280
there need to know? You talked about discipline,

00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:46.559
passion, being highly focused. Yes. Number one,

00:40:46.559 --> 00:40:48.679
it's a very hard industry. You know, working

00:40:48.679 --> 00:40:52.039
in the music industry is extremely hard, extremely

00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:54.889
competition, you know, extreme competition. But

00:40:54.889 --> 00:40:56.789
again, when someone sees you being disciplined,

00:40:56.929 --> 00:41:00.030
working well, producing, being on top of your

00:41:00.030 --> 00:41:02.130
game, you know, enjoying inspiration from others,

00:41:02.349 --> 00:41:05.510
getting involved, coming up, you know, discussing

00:41:05.510 --> 00:41:07.929
ideas, being a team player, all these little

00:41:07.929 --> 00:41:12.329
aspects in life come out in work. Obviously,

00:41:12.630 --> 00:41:14.730
back then I was doing both tour managing and

00:41:14.730 --> 00:41:16.849
both photography. So it was like two jobs in

00:41:16.849 --> 00:41:20.889
one. And, you know, it's no joke because I'm

00:41:20.889 --> 00:41:23.050
dealing with the logistics of high -end artists

00:41:23.050 --> 00:41:25.780
and then I'm going. to a show and I'm still doing

00:41:25.780 --> 00:41:28.679
the whole behind the scenes, you know, photo

00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:32.340
sessions, you know, the entire show. So I had

00:41:32.340 --> 00:41:34.039
to constantly deliver. And on top of this, I

00:41:34.039 --> 00:41:35.940
did my master's degree. My master's degree was

00:41:35.940 --> 00:41:39.780
so difficult. I cannot even tell you that. That's

00:41:39.780 --> 00:41:41.320
the reason why I had to put my mind to it. I

00:41:41.320 --> 00:41:43.260
knew it was one year, you get it done, you know,

00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:46.960
you get it done. But balancing them was no joke,

00:41:46.980 --> 00:41:50.880
you know. I didn't even seek advice or anything

00:41:50.880 --> 00:41:53.679
like that. I just had to get it done. It's not

00:41:53.679 --> 00:41:56.199
forever. It was something that I was going to

00:41:56.199 --> 00:41:58.199
invest in my future. Plus, I never knew I would

00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:00.440
have got this job with traveling with DJs, you

00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:03.260
know. How did you grow in your role? How did

00:42:03.260 --> 00:42:07.420
you become that creative mind behind so many

00:42:07.420 --> 00:42:12.340
artists? And from Nervo, I went to Sigala. From

00:42:12.340 --> 00:42:15.739
Sigala, I also then moved to Jamie Jones. I got

00:42:15.739 --> 00:42:18.480
an opportunity to do one show with him, which

00:42:18.480 --> 00:42:23.230
then led to today. So I've been seven years touring

00:42:23.230 --> 00:42:25.349
with him. He's obviously a more house and techno

00:42:25.349 --> 00:42:28.730
DJ. In between, I also worked an entire year

00:42:28.730 --> 00:42:30.949
with Luciano, who's another, another big DJ.

00:42:31.190 --> 00:42:34.269
You know, this was all through word of mouth.

00:42:34.530 --> 00:42:37.670
I also worked with Will Carl Cox. Now it's kind

00:42:37.670 --> 00:42:43.550
of wrapping up over a year. So my story is, I

00:42:43.550 --> 00:42:46.869
started from one artist, but now I developed

00:42:46.869 --> 00:42:50.190
into doing, you know, over eight artists. And

00:42:50.190 --> 00:42:53.210
this was all... I never wrote a CV, I never applied

00:42:53.210 --> 00:42:55.090
for a job, but it was like if you put your mind

00:42:55.090 --> 00:42:57.309
to it and you develop good work and you're a

00:42:57.309 --> 00:42:59.150
good team player and you're good around people,

00:42:59.329 --> 00:43:02.750
especially being high -profile people, the word

00:43:02.750 --> 00:43:04.489
travels, word of mouth, you know. Obviously,

00:43:04.610 --> 00:43:06.869
social media helps and you put out your work

00:43:06.869 --> 00:43:08.989
on social media after the artist does and you

00:43:08.989 --> 00:43:10.550
say you've got involved, you've done this and

00:43:10.550 --> 00:43:13.949
whatnot. But in reality, it stems from you, you

00:43:13.949 --> 00:43:16.690
know. I moved from one to the other to the other

00:43:16.690 --> 00:43:18.800
to the other to the other. And for me, it was

00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:20.460
important as a creative person to get involved

00:43:20.460 --> 00:43:22.360
in all these things because it gave me different

00:43:22.360 --> 00:43:25.679
energies, you know. But for me, it was all about...

00:43:26.010 --> 00:43:27.590
trying to get involved with different people.

00:43:27.650 --> 00:43:31.150
How can I do this? What can I do? To this year,

00:43:31.250 --> 00:43:34.929
I travelled a billion shows with two very big

00:43:34.929 --> 00:43:37.590
UK artists, Becky Hill and Gary Barlow from Take

00:43:37.590 --> 00:43:42.210
That. So it's all an evolution and it's all from

00:43:42.210 --> 00:43:44.309
networking and being out there and putting your

00:43:44.309 --> 00:43:48.010
mind to it, doing your work, delivering on time.

00:43:48.429 --> 00:43:54.929
So it's all a process, it's all a process. And

00:43:54.929 --> 00:43:58.230
what's your secret, Emma? How do you manage your

00:43:58.230 --> 00:44:02.150
time? How did you make it happen? How are you

00:44:02.150 --> 00:44:05.170
still making it happen? I actually still struggle

00:44:05.170 --> 00:44:07.010
with that today, funnily enough. Why? Because

00:44:07.010 --> 00:44:09.130
I'm human and I actually find time management

00:44:09.130 --> 00:44:11.210
very, very difficult. In fact, I'm so limited

00:44:11.210 --> 00:44:13.610
with time on everything I do in my personal life,

00:44:13.610 --> 00:44:16.289
in my work life, in my, you know, delivering

00:44:16.289 --> 00:44:20.590
assets, writing emails, doing admin stuff. It's

00:44:20.590 --> 00:44:23.630
time for me is a big issue. But again, you just

00:44:23.630 --> 00:44:25.710
juggle it. You learn how to deal with it. You

00:44:25.710 --> 00:44:29.070
learn how to get along with what you're doing,

00:44:29.210 --> 00:44:32.469
you know. The more you experience, the more you

00:44:32.469 --> 00:44:36.110
learn. Yeah. And how do you overcome the challenges

00:44:36.110 --> 00:44:40.309
of your work? Between travels and the on -site

00:44:40.309 --> 00:44:43.570
work, the creative work that you do on -site

00:44:43.570 --> 00:44:46.429
and after during your editing and everything

00:44:46.429 --> 00:44:49.289
that comes with it. How do you prepare yourself

00:44:49.289 --> 00:44:53.059
to be the best version of yourself? because my

00:44:53.059 --> 00:44:55.420
life is so fast -paced. Mentally and both physically,

00:44:55.539 --> 00:44:57.139
I have to stay on top of things. I have to be

00:44:57.139 --> 00:44:59.579
very fit. I still keep up more in my fitness,

00:44:59.659 --> 00:45:02.719
my running, my crossfit. It's something which

00:45:02.719 --> 00:45:05.039
I have to keep up because otherwise I'm on the

00:45:05.039 --> 00:45:07.739
go 24 -7 and I feel lethargic and lazy. So that's

00:45:07.739 --> 00:45:09.860
my physical side. And mentally, dealing with

00:45:09.860 --> 00:45:12.519
all the travels, the work, you know, I have extra

00:45:12.519 --> 00:45:14.300
work on the side, which I do in social media

00:45:14.300 --> 00:45:16.519
marketing and whatnot. Balancing everything is

00:45:16.519 --> 00:45:19.599
a crazy act, but some way or another, you have

00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:26.489
to do it. and your hard work and work ethic actually

00:45:26.489 --> 00:45:28.829
brought you a completely different experience

00:45:28.829 --> 00:45:31.469
during the past years. Someone who believed in

00:45:31.469 --> 00:45:34.570
me gave me the opportunity to do a big, big,

00:45:34.690 --> 00:45:37.869
you know, project, which was part of the Dubai

00:45:37.869 --> 00:45:39.949
Expo. The Dubai Expo, basically how it works

00:45:39.949 --> 00:45:41.570
is an expo I think happens every four or five

00:45:41.570 --> 00:45:44.110
years. And basically what it is, is it's, for

00:45:44.110 --> 00:45:47.630
example, the expo is 100 days and there are 100

00:45:47.630 --> 00:45:50.110
pavilions. And a pavilion is like a little bit

00:45:50.110 --> 00:45:53.110
of a... a little building that represents your

00:45:53.110 --> 00:45:55.329
country. How can you showcase what your country

00:45:55.329 --> 00:45:57.809
is, your culture, your energy, your people, your

00:45:57.809 --> 00:46:00.269
landscapes and whatnot in a sort of building?

00:46:00.510 --> 00:46:04.420
Each day is a national day of a country. And

00:46:04.420 --> 00:46:06.860
basically for Malta's National Day, I got asked

00:46:06.860 --> 00:46:09.159
by the Malta Tourism Authority to be part of

00:46:09.159 --> 00:46:12.159
the creative direction of the entire day. And

00:46:12.159 --> 00:46:14.539
it was something massive because at the end of

00:46:14.539 --> 00:46:16.760
the day, the prime minister, president, all the

00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:19.340
politicians involved, you know, were coming up

00:46:19.340 --> 00:46:21.280
to see this National Day. And my role was to

00:46:21.280 --> 00:46:25.400
curate the day. So I had to understand what scenes

00:46:25.400 --> 00:46:28.719
there were online. sorry, at the space. So I

00:46:28.719 --> 00:46:30.340
had to understand what stages were available,

00:46:30.500 --> 00:46:32.639
what we could use, what we can't use. And then

00:46:32.639 --> 00:46:35.929
in my head, I need to create. you know, a kind

00:46:35.929 --> 00:46:39.030
of a program of how I can portray Malta, Malta's

00:46:39.030 --> 00:46:40.809
culture, Malta's history, Malta's geography,

00:46:40.969 --> 00:46:44.570
through all these portals that I have to do work.

00:46:44.769 --> 00:46:47.449
You know, I had a main stage, I had two smaller

00:46:47.449 --> 00:46:50.730
stages around the expo. So basically I got together,

00:46:50.750 --> 00:46:54.130
you know, a dance group of freelancers and I

00:46:54.130 --> 00:46:56.030
got together two choreographers to create a piece

00:46:56.030 --> 00:46:59.269
about Malta and the history of Malta. I got the

00:46:59.269 --> 00:47:03.530
local singers here who are kind of more... on

00:47:03.530 --> 00:47:08.809
that famous local national present to be part

00:47:08.809 --> 00:47:11.730
of the singing and the entire piece that I created

00:47:11.730 --> 00:47:14.570
for the morning. I got up Maltese bands because

00:47:14.570 --> 00:47:17.849
we created evening entertainment. I created quite

00:47:17.849 --> 00:47:20.889
a lot of things, but also this was a massive

00:47:20.889 --> 00:47:23.230
project because it was representing my country.

00:47:23.900 --> 00:47:25.579
And I had everyone who was older than me and

00:47:25.579 --> 00:47:28.239
I was also still a bit younger, you know. But

00:47:28.239 --> 00:47:30.559
I also had a team of 90 people who I took up

00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:33.500
from Malta to Dubai. And it's a big, big, it's

00:47:33.500 --> 00:47:36.760
a big task. It's not an easy task. So for me,

00:47:36.760 --> 00:47:40.679
it was very important to, when I needed advice

00:47:40.679 --> 00:47:43.000
or when I needed help to seek it. You know, I

00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:45.159
had not mentors, but like I was working with

00:47:45.159 --> 00:47:47.539
a team and it comes back to what I said, you

00:47:47.539 --> 00:47:52.619
know, when I need help when I'm stuck. I need

00:47:52.619 --> 00:47:55.980
help in brainstorming ideas, I ask. When I don't

00:47:55.980 --> 00:47:58.559
know things that I'm meant to know, I ask. How

00:47:58.559 --> 00:48:00.699
can I get involved? How can we do this? I would

00:48:00.699 --> 00:48:03.260
like to do this that no one's ever done. How

00:48:03.260 --> 00:48:05.639
can we set a meeting to discuss, you know? So

00:48:05.639 --> 00:48:09.019
it's, I work with a very good team, but it was

00:48:09.019 --> 00:48:11.019
an amazing, I mean, I can go on forever about

00:48:11.019 --> 00:48:13.000
this, but it was an amazing opportunity and it

00:48:13.000 --> 00:48:15.000
was something different to my music side of things,

00:48:15.179 --> 00:48:17.019
you know? So it gave me another creative aspect

00:48:17.019 --> 00:48:19.179
and another creative world that I could explore

00:48:19.179 --> 00:48:24.139
and experiment in. Congrats on such a big achievement,

00:48:24.300 --> 00:48:26.639
Emma, and you shared a very important lesson

00:48:26.639 --> 00:48:30.159
here. Even in a position of leadership, you asked

00:48:30.159 --> 00:48:33.159
for help and guidance when needed. And again,

00:48:33.360 --> 00:48:38.559
what we advise you is you should ask for help.

00:48:38.619 --> 00:48:42.420
You should ask for advice. Don't be shy. Don't

00:48:42.420 --> 00:48:46.039
think that you shouldn't be asking for help or

00:48:46.039 --> 00:48:50.179
advice. It will take you further than you think.

00:48:50.780 --> 00:48:52.880
You cannot be sure about everything in life,

00:48:52.920 --> 00:48:57.500
so keep asking as much as you can. Exactly, no,

00:48:57.539 --> 00:49:01.880
100%. I agree. I agree. You know, when you need

00:49:01.880 --> 00:49:05.699
help or when you need advice or you need these

00:49:05.699 --> 00:49:07.639
type of things, just reach out. You know, I was

00:49:07.639 --> 00:49:09.639
the youngest, one of the youngest in the entire

00:49:09.639 --> 00:49:12.010
group. Yet I was leading the project, you know.

00:49:12.510 --> 00:49:15.710
So it was about someone believed in my creative

00:49:15.710 --> 00:49:18.429
vision and just let me explore and had a playground,

00:49:18.670 --> 00:49:20.429
you know, and had a budget, of course, which

00:49:20.429 --> 00:49:27.750
helped. So what does it take to be like you,

00:49:27.809 --> 00:49:31.690
Emma? What would you tell someone who wants to

00:49:31.690 --> 00:49:36.130
follow exactly the steps that you took or wants

00:49:36.130 --> 00:49:39.610
to take the learnings that you had? to their

00:49:39.610 --> 00:49:45.590
own industry? It's quite a difficult question

00:49:45.590 --> 00:49:47.809
to answer because I guess like every person is

00:49:47.809 --> 00:49:50.170
an individual. Everyone is different, you know.

00:49:51.369 --> 00:49:55.929
But what I can say from my end is, you know,

00:49:55.929 --> 00:49:59.469
if you want something, get involved. I thought

00:49:59.469 --> 00:50:02.269
from a young age, from small clubs back at home

00:50:02.269 --> 00:50:05.269
to emailing DJs who are coming to Malta, can

00:50:05.269 --> 00:50:08.190
I be pleased? part of your event can i have a

00:50:08.190 --> 00:50:11.090
press post can i have a free post can i i'll

00:50:11.090 --> 00:50:13.869
send you but i was eager you know i had that

00:50:13.869 --> 00:50:16.449
eagerness inside me that i wanted something you

00:50:16.449 --> 00:50:18.269
know bigger and better and when you show that

00:50:18.269 --> 00:50:20.010
people will start to believe in you and include

00:50:20.010 --> 00:50:23.010
you in different projects and it's all like i

00:50:23.010 --> 00:50:26.289
travel loads but it's all about the networking

00:50:26.289 --> 00:50:28.070
whoever i've met along the way i currently kind

00:50:28.070 --> 00:50:31.079
of work with you know And I say, like, we have

00:50:31.079 --> 00:50:33.000
so many strengths. We have so many strengths,

00:50:33.039 --> 00:50:35.659
so many talents that I am a photographer. But,

00:50:35.699 --> 00:50:37.900
you know, my photography development being a

00:50:37.900 --> 00:50:40.500
content creator where I had to get into video

00:50:40.500 --> 00:50:43.599
and learn how to do good video editing. And then

00:50:43.599 --> 00:50:45.920
I was so put on the spot with some artists for

00:50:45.920 --> 00:50:47.840
social media, as I said, started to learn the

00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:50.300
whole social media game, which eventually I developed

00:50:50.300 --> 00:50:53.139
later on. How can I come up with creative ideas?

00:50:53.480 --> 00:50:57.340
How can I keep my artists in tangent and on the

00:50:57.340 --> 00:50:59.420
same line and same page as their audience? What

00:50:59.420 --> 00:51:01.400
do their audience want to see? How can I communicate

00:51:01.400 --> 00:51:03.579
with them better? How can we brainstorm these

00:51:03.579 --> 00:51:06.719
ideas, you know? So that all comes on the back

00:51:06.719 --> 00:51:10.599
end when I do this social media and this marketing

00:51:10.599 --> 00:51:13.380
type of stuff. And what I do is I source what's

00:51:13.380 --> 00:51:15.900
cool at the moment. How can I do? I don't look

00:51:15.900 --> 00:51:18.400
at it as how can I do it better. How can I do

00:51:18.400 --> 00:51:20.239
it differently, give it a different perspective,

00:51:20.559 --> 00:51:23.360
you know? I'm very passionate about my work.

00:51:23.420 --> 00:51:26.039
That's something I say and I do, which I don't

00:51:26.039 --> 00:51:28.300
actually mention in the beginning. But passion

00:51:28.300 --> 00:51:30.940
is everything. You want everything you're involved

00:51:30.940 --> 00:51:34.400
in to be the best work of you, the best version

00:51:34.400 --> 00:51:37.300
of you. So even if something is so small and

00:51:37.300 --> 00:51:39.099
it's on my mind and it's not done correctly,

00:51:39.219 --> 00:51:41.039
I would scrap it and do it correctly because

00:51:41.039 --> 00:51:43.699
your name is behind it, you know? You're doing

00:51:43.699 --> 00:51:46.920
something which many people would love and dream

00:51:46.920 --> 00:51:49.699
of doing. would take a job in seconds to do because

00:51:49.699 --> 00:51:51.559
everyone obviously would like to travel the world.

00:51:51.800 --> 00:51:53.920
And mind you, it's beautiful. I've been doing

00:51:53.920 --> 00:51:56.360
it for nine years. But it's also very, very difficult.

00:51:56.519 --> 00:51:58.840
You know, it's difficult on my body. As you mentioned,

00:51:58.880 --> 00:52:02.260
the fitness spot, the no sleep. You're not sleeping.

00:52:02.380 --> 00:52:04.099
You still have to deliver. You have to wear this.

00:52:04.199 --> 00:52:06.340
You have to, you know, you're not seeing your

00:52:06.340 --> 00:52:07.880
friends. You're not seeing your family. You never

00:52:07.880 --> 00:52:11.059
have a weekend free. It's a lot. You did mention

00:52:11.059 --> 00:52:13.239
that sometimes you board a plane and you just

00:52:13.239 --> 00:52:16.760
pass out of exhaustion. How do you still prioritize?

00:52:17.640 --> 00:52:22.340
Your sports activities, your workout, your run

00:52:22.340 --> 00:52:25.599
sessions when you are absolutely exhausted. When

00:52:25.599 --> 00:52:28.880
your mind is just telling you, just rest, don't

00:52:28.880 --> 00:52:33.059
do it. I don't like feeling lethargic. And I

00:52:33.059 --> 00:52:37.760
don't like feeling, you know, that I'm not giving

00:52:37.760 --> 00:52:40.920
the importance my body needs with this life.

00:52:41.139 --> 00:52:44.420
And I got to know this two years ago when I did

00:52:44.420 --> 00:52:47.920
an operation in my knee. Basically, I had done

00:52:47.920 --> 00:52:50.699
my ACL operation. So I had done my ligaments,

00:52:50.960 --> 00:52:54.219
I redid my ligaments. And it all happened from,

00:52:54.320 --> 00:52:57.340
you know, I was coming, I came back from tour,

00:52:57.400 --> 00:52:59.480
my body was exhausted. I went to play football

00:52:59.480 --> 00:53:02.260
with a group and something so stupid happened.

00:53:02.420 --> 00:53:04.980
But I was like, how did I rupture all my ligaments

00:53:04.980 --> 00:53:07.659
with such a stupid collision? It wasn't anything

00:53:07.659 --> 00:53:10.840
crazy, but my body was very tired. Why? Because

00:53:10.840 --> 00:53:12.679
I wasn't keeping it strong enough or keeping

00:53:12.679 --> 00:53:14.380
the strength up because it was getting mid -summer,

00:53:14.460 --> 00:53:16.369
I was getting tired. And I'm like, I shouldn't

00:53:16.369 --> 00:53:18.409
be like that. You should be able to feel, obviously

00:53:18.409 --> 00:53:20.090
there are ups and downs to everyone's foot and

00:53:20.090 --> 00:53:22.869
side, but it made me the whole process because

00:53:22.869 --> 00:53:25.489
then I did an operation and nine months recovery.

00:53:25.690 --> 00:53:27.989
And whilst it's nine months recovery, I was touring.

00:53:28.309 --> 00:53:30.670
So I had no other option but to strengthen that

00:53:30.670 --> 00:53:33.130
leg and understand that, oh my God, I need this

00:53:33.130 --> 00:53:36.309
leg. I do have a new knee, which puts both my...

00:53:36.539 --> 00:53:38.719
both of the parts of my leg together but it's

00:53:38.719 --> 00:53:41.599
made it opened the whole door of how important

00:53:41.599 --> 00:53:44.079
movement is you know we don't have to be running

00:53:44.079 --> 00:53:46.659
marathons and doing crossfit and intense workouts

00:53:46.659 --> 00:53:50.519
but you know if I have five five to ten to fifteen

00:53:50.519 --> 00:53:53.179
minutes I would go for a walk around the city

00:53:53.179 --> 00:53:55.880
quickly like that I'm winning two things I win

00:53:55.880 --> 00:53:59.940
seeing the city and I got 3 ,000 steps in, you

00:53:59.940 --> 00:54:02.659
know, and movement is important because I sit

00:54:02.659 --> 00:54:05.460
down a lot in planes, you know, I do a lot of

00:54:05.460 --> 00:54:09.199
these things and it helps me get through to the

00:54:09.199 --> 00:54:11.219
summer and sometimes I'll be exhausted and sleep

00:54:11.219 --> 00:54:14.440
takes priority. You know, I was just in Ibiza

00:54:14.440 --> 00:54:17.380
last Saturday and I finished the opening of a

00:54:17.380 --> 00:54:19.800
new club, The Universe. I was exhausted because

00:54:19.800 --> 00:54:21.880
we played from the morning, 9 a .m. till midday.

00:54:21.960 --> 00:54:24.920
I got home, I edited, I slept because I was exhausted.

00:54:24.960 --> 00:54:27.000
But then I woke up at 9, you know, and at 10

00:54:27.000 --> 00:54:29.619
I was running the Ibiza Marina because it's so

00:54:29.619 --> 00:54:31.340
important to get that movement in, no matter

00:54:31.340 --> 00:54:33.940
the time. Yes, it was 10 p .m., but I knew maybe

00:54:33.940 --> 00:54:35.900
the next day I had too much to get done, you

00:54:35.900 --> 00:54:39.139
know. So it's all about prioritizing in reality

00:54:39.139 --> 00:54:41.699
at the end of the day. But yes, physical activity

00:54:41.699 --> 00:54:44.380
is very, very important. And all it takes is

00:54:44.380 --> 00:54:47.659
one little thing to remind you of how important

00:54:47.659 --> 00:54:49.760
it is. And in my case, it was the operation in

00:54:49.760 --> 00:54:54.980
my knee. It's a good reminder that you have to

00:54:54.980 --> 00:54:57.920
put yourself first. By deciding to be active,

00:54:58.179 --> 00:55:00.639
you're getting stronger mentally and physically.

00:55:01.539 --> 00:55:04.639
And that helps you to face the day, the week,

00:55:04.699 --> 00:55:11.010
the month ahead of you. Agreed. 100%. Almost

00:55:11.010 --> 00:55:12.590
seeing the end of the episode, unfortunately,

00:55:12.809 --> 00:55:15.969
but I would love to ask you this question on

00:55:15.969 --> 00:55:19.170
what would you tell your younger self if she's

00:55:19.170 --> 00:55:23.829
facing any doubts, any questions, what would

00:55:23.829 --> 00:55:27.650
you advise her? Good question, to be fair. I

00:55:27.650 --> 00:55:30.309
would say like, listen, no matter where you come

00:55:30.309 --> 00:55:33.570
from, no matter where you start from, there is

00:55:33.570 --> 00:55:37.190
no limit. I never studied photography. I never

00:55:37.190 --> 00:55:39.789
studied creativity. I did a whole different tech

00:55:39.789 --> 00:55:42.849
degree. But look at me now, in a sense. I work

00:55:42.849 --> 00:55:46.170
in creativity and I work with high -end artists.

00:55:46.550 --> 00:55:49.650
And I did stuff, experiences like Glastonbury,

00:55:49.750 --> 00:55:51.789
Tomorrowland, Formula Ones around the world,

00:55:51.989 --> 00:55:56.230
you know, Coachella's, all the visa clubs. I've

00:55:56.230 --> 00:55:59.590
done so much, you know, that I say, like, if

00:55:59.590 --> 00:56:03.280
I... I never gave up those nights, for example,

00:56:03.280 --> 00:56:05.920
back when I was younger, with my friends to go

00:56:05.920 --> 00:56:07.880
and pursue and take photos of an international

00:56:07.880 --> 00:56:10.380
DJ that was coming. I was very different, you

00:56:10.380 --> 00:56:13.619
know, I used to email the promoters to get involved

00:56:13.619 --> 00:56:16.039
when there's an international DJ coming over,

00:56:16.119 --> 00:56:17.699
because I'd love to shoot it, but my friends

00:56:17.699 --> 00:56:19.699
would be off somewhere else having a different

00:56:19.699 --> 00:56:22.719
birthday or something like that. But for me,

00:56:22.739 --> 00:56:24.440
my passion came first. And I said, listen, these

00:56:24.440 --> 00:56:25.980
guys don't come to Molta every day, so how can

00:56:25.980 --> 00:56:28.250
I get involved, you know? So I would say, you

00:56:28.250 --> 00:56:30.550
know, like put yourself out there, network, get

00:56:30.550 --> 00:56:32.849
involved, try out new things. Things might not

00:56:32.849 --> 00:56:35.750
work. You might not get along with specific people

00:56:35.750 --> 00:56:37.789
when you work with them. It's fine. Like we're

00:56:37.789 --> 00:56:39.670
not all meant to get along with each other. We

00:56:39.670 --> 00:56:42.969
just need to find people that you can get on

00:56:42.969 --> 00:56:45.690
with in the sense and have a good working, establishing

00:56:45.690 --> 00:56:48.230
relationship with them. If something interests

00:56:48.230 --> 00:56:49.929
you as well and you're studying something else,

00:56:49.949 --> 00:56:53.800
why not pursue them both? Get involved, do different

00:56:53.800 --> 00:56:57.800
stuff, network. I always say till today, like

00:56:57.800 --> 00:56:59.320
I used to hate languages and now I always say

00:56:59.320 --> 00:57:01.460
I want to learn a new language. So it's like

00:57:01.460 --> 00:57:05.000
non -stop learning, non -stop. If there's something

00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:08.599
you like, you don't have to be qualified in it

00:57:08.599 --> 00:57:11.099
and whatnot. Yes, qualification always helps,

00:57:11.219 --> 00:57:12.760
especially to step back on. But at the end of

00:57:12.760 --> 00:57:14.840
the day, if you like something and you're good

00:57:14.840 --> 00:57:18.420
at it, why not go for it? After those nine years,

00:57:18.539 --> 00:57:21.980
do you still have doubts? And what would you

00:57:21.980 --> 00:57:24.960
tell someone who has probably similar doubts

00:57:24.960 --> 00:57:28.940
or even stronger ones? Of course, I had doubts

00:57:28.940 --> 00:57:31.119
and I have doubts to this day. Is my work good

00:57:31.119 --> 00:57:33.260
enough? Are they going to like it? Is this and

00:57:33.260 --> 00:57:35.539
that? But can I tell you, sometimes people hire

00:57:35.539 --> 00:57:38.659
you because they like your work. They want you,

00:57:38.699 --> 00:57:40.840
not someone else. You know, your work is good.

00:57:40.900 --> 00:57:43.199
So you also have to have some self -belief. I

00:57:43.199 --> 00:57:46.280
struggle with that personally, but I only come

00:57:46.280 --> 00:57:50.349
to terms with it when I get these little... boosts

00:57:50.349 --> 00:57:53.610
of motivation if someone posts a comment or someone

00:57:53.610 --> 00:57:56.349
posts this or I read something online you know

00:57:56.349 --> 00:57:58.829
or a magazine like featured me in a little online

00:57:58.829 --> 00:58:02.070
thing and these things always help you know it's

00:58:02.070 --> 00:58:04.869
good to complement each other it's good to let

00:58:04.869 --> 00:58:06.369
each other know that they're on the right path

00:58:06.369 --> 00:58:09.230
their work is being noticed they grow it's not

00:58:09.230 --> 00:58:12.570
about growing together it's about competing yes

00:58:12.570 --> 00:58:14.929
it's all about supporting each other empowering

00:58:14.929 --> 00:58:17.769
each other being there for each other Thank you,

00:58:17.769 --> 00:58:20.050
Emma, for being so transparent and sharing so

00:58:20.050 --> 00:58:23.309
many advice. And to wrap up this episode, do

00:58:23.309 --> 00:58:25.750
you have any final advice for the next generation

00:58:25.750 --> 00:58:28.989
of creatives? Actually, recently, funny enough,

00:58:29.090 --> 00:58:32.329
I did a little workshop for Apple back at home.

00:58:33.010 --> 00:58:36.570
And it was about creating and generating content

00:58:36.570 --> 00:58:39.199
on your iPhone. You don't need to have the most

00:58:39.199 --> 00:58:41.780
bombastic equipment to be the best content creator.

00:58:42.280 --> 00:58:44.539
I had this workshop and basically I had around

00:58:44.539 --> 00:58:47.239
20 influencers quite big in my hometown, Malta.

00:58:47.860 --> 00:58:50.739
And I told them that with simple adjustments

00:58:50.739 --> 00:58:53.699
to photo settings and simple adjustments to lighting,

00:58:53.920 --> 00:58:55.860
you can create the best version of yourself.

00:58:56.059 --> 00:58:58.639
So for this Gen Z, don't think you need to have

00:58:58.639 --> 00:59:01.360
the best cameras and the best. most expensive

00:59:01.360 --> 00:59:04.059
lenses and whatnot. Because in reality, a lot

00:59:04.059 --> 00:59:06.500
of the content is also created with iPhone, which

00:59:06.500 --> 00:59:09.280
anyone can do. So it's about learning how to

00:59:09.280 --> 00:59:11.480
take those photos, those specific angles and

00:59:11.480 --> 00:59:14.440
what to capture and then putting it together.

00:59:15.000 --> 00:59:17.079
Thank you, Emma. Thank you for your time. Thank

00:59:17.079 --> 00:59:18.880
you for your advice. Thank you for everything

00:59:18.880 --> 00:59:22.300
that you shared with us today. And also thank

00:59:22.300 --> 00:59:25.340
you for taking the time during the busiest time

00:59:25.340 --> 00:59:28.369
of the year for you. Of course, of course. That

00:59:28.369 --> 00:59:30.150
was a pleasure, actually. It was really, really

00:59:30.150 --> 00:59:37.289
also just nice to chat about it. Hope you got

00:59:37.289 --> 00:59:40.489
inspired and hope you're just thinking about

00:59:40.489 --> 00:59:44.429
where and when to start your creative journey

00:59:44.429 --> 00:59:48.730
as well. Don't forget to subscribe and reach

00:59:48.730 --> 00:59:52.150
out through any social media platform to share

00:59:52.150 --> 00:59:54.050
your feedback on what you would love to learn

00:59:54.050 --> 00:59:57.639
from the next guests. See you soon.