#BEYOUROWN MEETS LARA FRASER

We meet Lara Fraser, Radio Host, Presenter, DJ & blogger. She has most recently joined musical forces with Laura Pradelska to create The Lallas and has been enjoying international success through their signature style; an eclectic tongue-in-cheek set combining classic House with a smattering of RnB & Rap, which has been a hit from fashion week to the French Riviera. Both now have a rapidly growing resume which includes the Elite Associates SS party, reoccurring spots at Soho House and Home House,  Monaco Grand Prix, London Fashion Week SS17 & Cannes Film Festival, to name a few. So we sat down with Lara to find out what she has been up to, one of her latest ventures The L Report and how she slays the everyday pressure of social media.

Hey Lara, 60 seconds to introduce your self, go!

I was born in Sydney, Australia and have lived quite an internationally eclectic life. With a Highschool stint in Brazil followed by post-school volunteer work in Ecuador, a college exchange in Arizona and a fair few years flip-flopping between London and Sydney, I think it is safe to say I’m somewhat of a nomad. There is such a huge self-developmental part to exploring different cultures. In life, you can only understand or aspire to what you see, read, hear and subsequently reimagine, which is on some level why I constantly seek out new food, music, landscapes, and people. I have also always been invested in the slightly more serious side of social structures, specifically with regards to my birth country Australia. I would often run holiday weeks with a program called Derech Eretz in the Aboriginal mission Toomelah situated in north central Australia which has taught me so much about people and systemic prejudice. These out of depth experiences have always encouraged me to question my ‘instinctual’ beliefs and understandings of people and situations.

On the work side, I guess it is safe to say all my different roles have come from my passion for writing, speaking, and people. Before I began Blogging, Radio Hosting, DJing, and Presenting, I earnt my living in PR, specifically Hospitality or ‘Luxury Lifestyle’ PR. Which was a slightly more behinds the scenes way of expressing myself yet it still allowed me to be at the forefront of discovering new cuisines, events, and trends. In PR you most certainly learn clever ways to play with linguistics.

Great, now how would you describe your character and how do you use those traits to empower other women?

I would describe myself as outspoken, yet always ready to listen, learn and stand corrected. Humble with a hint of Kanye? All jokes aside, empowering myself as women and other women is an extremely complex process in today’s climate. The way I see it is there are so many layers to modern ‘feminism’, I almost wish it took on another name to shed some of its baggage. Like with any group which has been discriminated against for a long period of time, equality is not actually what we seek, it is equality plus some. I believe we can eventually get to the stage where say the quota of women and men are equal in a company, however, the ‘plus some’ is about shifting mind frames that have been cemented by systems that have been constructed with the male gaze.

The ‘plus some’ is only going to come if women have each other’s back. Not in a quasi ‘, I’m a feminist’ for social media way. But in a real, tangible way. It is hard because (even as women) we have been conditioned to view ourselves and other women through a male understanding. Our reflex is to equate fewer clothes with less morality. To have less trust in our abilities in many work sectors and to view our worth through our appearance. (I have written a 3 part article on this if you’d like to check it out).

In terms of how I use my traits to empower other women, I am constantly that (sometimes annoying) voice in a group asking, ‘why are you saying that’? Questioning language and colloquialisms that make what in theory is unacceptable acceptable. It is the non-obvious actions that we participate in that keep women within certain confines. We see ourselves through others eyes, it is important to be careful of how you judge or view your fellow female as she can become that.

How did you start out as a radio host?

I happily stumbled upon the role and couldn’t be luckier to be enjoying it with my best friend, Actress Laura Pradelska. Having recently moved back to London, Laura and I were catching up over dinner at our local when she said she had to get to bed early as she had an interview scheduled at Hoxton Radio the next morning. As every good (slightly bored/lost) bestie should, I decided to accompany her the following morning bright and early. There was such a great energy on the show that day with The Fash Cast in the old Hoxton Radio studios (hosted by my now-colleagues/ good friends Sarah Mulindwa, David Preshaah and Elspeth Pierce). Laura and I exited the studio on such a high we both almost simultaneously said to each other ‘I want to host a radio show like that!’. With my background in writing and Laura being a voice-over queen we thought we could put together something interesting. That day as soon as we got home, we both began formulating our show pitch to our now radio boss David Preshaah, not thinking that it would ever lead to anything. Yet, a few meetings later, a complete change in creative direction, an extremely stressful trial period (where we made every mistake under the sun), and a lot of hard work and dedication later.

Here we are. Laura and I host a tech show called The Weekly Appdate on Hoxton Radio every Tuesday at 4pm and we love every second of it.

Any funny anecdotes you can share with us?

Ohh gosh there are too many. Forgetting to turn the microphones down as I vainly shrieked to Laura that she must take down a terrible photo of me from her Instagram immediately, which could be heard over the dulcet tones of Franc Ocean! Our show is upbeat and fun, we have so many long-standing jokes that come up constantly and are forever teasing each other. My somewhat peculiar preference for the word ‘nifty’ and other geeky phrases is a constant source of banter, Laura’s German pronunciation of anything and my family outing me for running around naked on the Australian beaches until what was probably a slightly too developed age.

Do you ever feel the pressure on social media to look a certain way being a voice behind the mic but an ambassador for a brand?

Absolutely! Social media is great but in some ways a double-edged sword, it allows you to have a voice about anything you please and for everyone to have a voice about you.

I definitely feel the pressure to look a certain way, but after a while, you realise you can only be yourself and people do embrace your flaws. When linking with brands I guess you do have to be careful about what you say, but at the same time, I only real link with brands that I feel are a fit with my views and opinions.

How can we stay updated with your blog Live Like Us and what is going on next?

I’ve taken a little break from such frequent blogging as I’ve turned my attention to an exciting new project I am working hard at called The L Report. It is a docu-series, where I work with well-known artists, brands, and trending topics to give viewers an inside peek into London pop culture in its rawest form. The show runs in 10-minute episodes and permeates interviewing conventions giving artists a platform to talk about more than their music, brands to discuss more than their products in real, relaxed settings. Keep an eye out on my social media channels as it’s one of those shows that you never know who will be in the hot seat.

However – I will be returning to frequent blogging very soon so please subscribe to my website to keep up with my journey!

Images by Dawn Marie Jones & styled by Nordic Poetry

Twitter: @laratweetz | Instagram: @lara.fraser

Website: www.livelikeus.co.uk

Book Lara through The Books Agency – www.thebks.co