Ep 10, Samara Morris - Dom talks to photographer Samara Morris
On episode 10 we talk to Samara Morris, a photographer and entrepreneur with an incredible story that’ll give you goose-bumps and make you gasp! After graduating from the London College of Fashion Samara’s first two jobs were shooting Erdem and Playboy, which led to many more high-profile jobs and a stint heading up the photographic department of a major agency, before starting her own agency. After years of overwork, stress, and a diet of cigarettes and red wine Samara booked a holiday to Sri Lanka to get some much needed rest. It was on this holiday that Samara’s life would change forever after a freak accident in which she broke four vertebrae. Samara tells us the story of that fateful day, her initial treatment in a Sri Lankan hospital and how she fought her way back to full health. However, the physical side was just the start – we discuss Samara’s subsequent struggles with anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress syndrome and emotional numbing. We also discuss the suicide of her friend which made her question her work in the fashion business and her role in perpetuating unattainable images of female beauty. This is an incredibly moving tale of how your life can change in an instant, and how adversity can make you stronger. I hope you learn as much listening to Samara’s story as I did. Check out Samara’s photographic and coaching work at her website www.samaramorris.com www.instagram.com/samaramorrisphotographer Samara’s yoga business www.artogi.com www.instagram.com/artogi RUNNING ORDER: PART 1: Samara tells us about her career as a photographer, the stress that came when she was headhunted by a creative agency, and how badly she handled that stress and her feelings that she was a fraud (01m 10s) PART 2: Samara talks about her holiday to Sri Lanka and the day where she sustained four fractures in her spine in a freak accident, her terrifying ordeal in a shared ambulance, and the moment a doctor told her she’d never walk again (11m 50s) PART 3: Samara explains how, with the hospital needing the bed for a new patient, another doctor incorrectly told her she only had a hairline fracture (21m 00s) PART 4: Samara recounts the story of her flight back to the UK on a commercial flight, how she almost died on the tarmac at Gatwick and her subsequent recovery in hospital (27m 10s) PART 5: We discuss the toughest part of Samara’s recovery - the mental struggle; overcoming post-traumatic stress, anxiety, guilt and alcoholism, and how art became her therapy and helped her come up with the idea for her business Artogi (42m 25s) PART 6: Samara describes how making the decision to stay in London and face her demons, and the suicide of a close friend, helped her to get her life back in order, and re-train as a coach for women with low self-confidence and body dysmorphia (53m 45s) Music credit URL: freemusicarchive.org/music/Tours/En…s_-_Enthusiast