Georgia Gibbs’ pearls of ‘wellness’ wisdom: “Knowledge isn’t yours, it’s there to be shared”
“Knowledge isn’t yours, it’s there to be shared.”
The Inspirational Philosophy of self-professed Wellness Fairy, Sunflower Queen and Influential Model, Georgia Gibbs.
By Hannah Tappin
Georgia Gibbs is well and truly a woman of many talents and has re-defined what it means to be an influencer. Part of the new age of ‘Genuinfluencers’, Georgia discusses the importance of transparency, authenticity & openness for influencers today. Her rise to fame was originally from being a highly successful Model with some impressive credentials: Sports Illustrated, Next Top Model Contestant and Miss Universe Finalist, combined with extensive client work with fashion brands worldwide. Alongside her modelling, Georgia now studies Natural Medicine, has founded an All-Encompassing Wellness Brand called JOY, Co-founded a pioneering Body Positivity Women’s Empowerment Initiative called ANYBODY, continues to advocate Wellness and has recently collaborated on her own sustainable swimwear collaboration with Kopper & Zink Swim. We discuss what all-encompassing wellness means to her, chat about humble beginnings and what inspires her to inspire others positive mental attitudes.
Early in the morning for me, late evening for Georgia, we prayed for a non-pixelated Zoom connection from opposite sides of the world to one another. Thankfully, our wifi connections withstood and just moments later I was greeted by Georgia’s trademark ‘lit from within’ glowing smile. Despite the pandemic slowing the pace of life for many, Georgia had recently moved, was working on her swimwear collaboration and had just filmed the latest video in her youtube series prior to our call. After a quick catch up we swiftly moved onto the ambitious interview agenda; discussing her career trajectory, turbulent health journey, entrepreneurial pursuits, sources of inspiration and words of advice…
Initially, I first came into contact with Georgia whilst completing my second year at University, I reached out due to experiencing shared health struggles. She had bravely shared to her instagram some unapologetically raw, unfiltered images of her skin rosacea, an associated symptoms of her auto-immunity: chronic-fatigue, gut problems, skin rosacea & health issues. Despite the photos being taken during at the height of her illness, she also shared her improved skin and symptoms. Inspired by her progress, I attempted to take back control of my own health (Chronic Fatigue & Gut Problems). Instantly, I downloaded JOY (her APP) and began following her health food guides, tips and insights. Fast-forward a few months…I was feeling back to myself, more energetic and my symptoms had subsided.
Fortunately, myself and Georgia kept in touch, sharing progress and words of encouragement. I will be forever grateful to Georgia for using her influence to share her knowledge. She is a force for unrelenting positivity. She advocates the need to look after your well-being, inner critic and mental health as much as physical appearance, ‘Being kind to yourself’. I wanted to include this feature in the hopes that it helps anyone struggling with auto-immunity or self-esteem issues.
Without further ado, Let’s get into the Q&A…
“I think I instinctively knew from a young age a clear purpose of mine was to help others, specifically those who didn’t feel like they fitted in.”
Hannah: You pride yourself on sharing authentically and encouraging positivity to your followers. I’d love to start from the beginning and trace back your career journey to learn what shaped you into who you are today?
GG: Thank you so much! I think I instinctively knew from a young age a clear purpose of mine was to help others, specifically those who didn’t feel like they ‘fitted in’, this led to me studying Occupational Therapy. Providing others with a strong community, sense of belonging and the confidence to live their ‘best life’ was very fulfilling. During my time studying, a friend put me forward for ‘Australia’s Next Top Model’. The contrasting industry environment drastically differed from my life when studying. It valued superficial, appearance-based attributes. This required me to learn a lot AND FAST! Although I had huge success very quickly and had the opportunity to travel to big cities i.e., New York! it required drastic adjustment mentally.
“My health deterioration led to me having a realisation about what truly matters and that despite earning great money, travelling the world & embarking on amazing projects, I wasn’t super happy.”
Amazingly, today marks 4 years since my casting with Sports Illustrated, which led to my career instantly blowing up and subsequently an extremely busy period in my life. Soon after my success, I began to get very sick, due to various contributing factors; being in a toxic relationship, which I’m sure many girls relate to! Combined with having diminished personal and work boundaries. Despite being thrust into the ‘big wide world’, I was extremely soft and wanted to people please constantly, this quickly led to the development of numerous health issues such as Chronic Fatigue, Candida Overgrowth, Chronic Gut Issues, (IBS) & Kidney Disease, basically systemic problems throughout my entire body!
All of which resulted from Chronic Stress and exhaustion that was associated with living a life which was completely unattainable and allowing others to dictate my life, without establishing a protective armour. My health deterioration led to me having a realisation about what truly matters and that despite earning great money, travelling the world & embarking on amazing projects, I wasn’t super happy. With my health issues I didn’t feel like myself. As a result of this realisation, I changed my agents, let go of toxic relationships, friendships and detoxed my energy in order to heal myself.
After this, I began embarking on a healing journey, which included meeting with numerous experts and doctors. They told me I had a range of different things! Including Lupus, Auto-Immune, Hair Loss, Depressive-Suicidal tendencies, Skin Rosacea, Loss of Appetite but that the root cause was unclear. The lack of answers was extremely frustrating at the time! Despite the blessing of having western medicine and all the incredible benefits to society, within the field of auto-immunity it seemed to me to be hugely lacking.
“Worryingly I realised, like myself, many girls also didn’t have any answers or guidance as to how to best overcome these problems.”
After being given a ‘life sentence’ of unsolvable Lupus and Acne Rosacea, I was determined to find someone who could help me beat my diagnosis. I told myself that I could overcome this and that anything that can disrupt the body can also be gotten rid of. During my healing journey, I launched AnyBody, a revolutionary female empowerment platform, this diversified the industry and contributed to its newfound inclusivity of women. It ensured women felt a sense of belonging and representation. Launching this was extremely fulfilling, however my cup soon emptied again, due to consistently giving too much without considering my own needs.
My perfectionism meant I was running everything myself including Anybody, JOY, my social media, my emails, modelling full-time & my YouTube channel, which all got too much. This burnout taught me more about boundaries, coping with stress, the importance of good health and that thousands of other girls experiences suffering in these areas. Worryingly I realised, like myself, many girls also didn’t have any answers or guidance as to how to best overcome these problems. This concerned me greatly, as the biggest source of anxiety for myself was not having the answers and or knowing how to fix or heal myself.
“Knowledge isn’t yours it’s there to be shared.”
In sum, the dreaded feeling of: ‘ just not feeling like me’, resonated with so many girls who have had similar problems. In attempts to uncover answers I began studying integrated/oriental medicine, working with amazing doctors that facilitated my journey back to good health. Vitally, I live by the premise that ‘knowledge isn’t yours it’s there to be shared’, combined with coming from a family of two older sisters that experienced personal struggles, especially regarding their self-love and how they take care of themselves.
Hannah: Thank you for sharing. That’s so fascinating to hear! I completely resonate with you, as you know I have shared similar health struggles and I also think it’s vital to share knowledge to help others. As you mentioned, your schedule is incredibly busy due to the multiple initiatives you engage in. Do you have any specific strategies or tips/tricks for work-life balance?
“Work life balance for me currently means not using social media on weekends, which might sound crazy coming from an influencer!”
GG: Work life balance for me currently means not using social media on weekends, which might sound crazy coming from an influencer! I remind myself of the importance of boundaries and that I may be an influencer but I am not a superhuman! I think the same rules should apply to anyone using social media. Give yourself a day in the week offline (Sat/Sun – preferably when you don’t have an alarm for work!), so you can allow yourself time to refresh, it’s extremely beneficial!
“You are the product of your tribe! And you are an average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with.”
Secondly, I always say that you are the product of your tribe! And you are an average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with. Therefore, during your free leisure time, you want to ensure you surround yourself with people who leave you feeling better than before you saw them. So, people who fulfil your soul, your purpose, make you feel brighter and more excited for life. Remember, the last thing you need in your moments of freedom is to be around others who are draining you. I think community and support has been lost in modern society, due to social media, which has made many people crave a sense of comfort and belonging.
Also, always ensure you get a good night’s sleep! For our endocrine system, hormones, serotonin production, we need quality sleep. I operate a strict routine of staying off my phone from 9pm and I get up at 5:30am, but do not check my phone until gone 10am. Both strategies are tied and interlinked by the common thread that they implement boundaries.
Hannah: Brilliant advice! On the subject of advice, I am interested to know a key piece of advice you would give to your younger self?
“How others treat you says more about them than it does about you is crucial to remind yourself.”
GC: Ah just one! There’s so much advice I would give! I think something that most strongly resonates with me due to being bullied throughout high school would be not to take things personally. The phrase ‘how others treat you says more about them than it does about you’ is crucial to remind yourself, which even now I continue to practice. Some days, after working with a team of people, I’ll go home and question ‘why they didn’t like me’ despite the fact I was nice, friendly and helpful. But you have to remember not everyone in life is going to like you, I think the journey of accepting that is a continuous one.
Hannah: Love that! Very key to remember, I think a lot of people worry about others misconceptions. I think you hit the nail on the head, it’s more a reflection of how they are feeling internally. Another great nugget of advice! I honestly think you’re so inspiring, who are your role models?
GG: A lot of people in the medical world I look up to, i.e., Anyone that dedicates their life to bettering the health of others is genuinely amazing! The lists of professional names could go on forever! In regards to women I would have to say the cliché of my Mum. Her ability to cope with life’s challenges and remain strong and be resilient at 50 years old is astounding. I find her highly inspiring which has definitely drawn us closer together. So many women I find so inspiring, in building the resilience to overcome hardship instead of victimising themselves. Another inspiration to me is Turia Pitt, who got caught in wildfires running an ultra-marathon. She was told she would never walk again, she overcame a lot of her obstacles, went on to be a mother and inspires others!
Mainly, I would say anyone who displays resilience, people who when life gives them lemons make lemonade instead of saying they’re sour!
“People who when life gives them lemons make lemonade instead of saying they’re sour!”
But also, not necessarily famous people, it could be a stranger at a coffee shop who brings a ray of sunshine to your day!
Essentially, amazing personal qualities of people!
Hannah: Wow so many great examples! Resilience really is everything. So, tell me, between founding your own initiatives, modelling, studying, what aspect of your life do you enjoy most?
GG: Probably my favourite area of what I do would be using my platform to connect with others all over the world! The ability to reach people from different cultures in all different walks of life and have the ability to touch their hearts is very special to me.
Hannah: Yes, I can see why that would be so rewarding. I think it’s fantastic you utilise your influence so positively and lovely to see an influencer care so deeply about others and be conscious of their impact. Despite the positivity and connectivity associated with social media, there is also a darker side i.e., internet trolls, critics. Have you ever had any experience of this, if so, how do you deal with this?
“I just remind myself when dealing with negativity that you can be the ripest peach but someone doesn’t like peaches.”
GG: Yep, I have received hate mail and negative comments. I used to be very sensitive and soak them up like a sponge. To the point it would affect my mood. In time, I learned to build an armour, whereby I am more resilient regarding hateful comments. Now, I just remind myself when dealing with negativity that ‘you can be the ripest peach but someone doesn’t like peaches'. It’s impossible to please all of society, but if you remain true to yourself and ensure what you put out aligns with what you believe in, you can’t go far wrong. Also, sharing important opinions makes for a democratic society. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people have forgotten how to communicate correctly, which manifests as a verbal argument or abuse online. Equally, differing and opposing views makes our experience on earth and humanity unique. Nowadays, I tend to laugh off hate mail, and send love in the face of hatred.
Hannah: That must be very difficult to deal with, but I think it’s amazing how you’ve learnt to not let things affect you and focus on the positive. I would love to ask, how you have remained so grounded, what drives you to engage with your following?
GG: I think it’s funny and my friends often laugh at how my perception of myself remains very true to my roots. I still view myself as who I was a few years back, a normal girl working three jobs, doing university, from a grounded family in Perth. Despite, my crazy success, new life and amazing jobs over the last few years, the 20 years or so prior were vastly different and I always hold onto that. Unlike my following, I view myself as any other girl who needed help with something, therefore I don’t see anyone reaching out to me as any different to myself.
Hannah: One final question to round this up, what do you think your plans are for the next few years of your life? I’m sure this is probably a very hard question to answer, given the uncertainty of the world at present!
GG: I’ll continue to do modelling whilst studying in order to pursue my career in helping as many women as I can with the incredible knowledge that I am gaining! My healing journey almost felt like doing another degree. I gained and learned so much valuable knowledge to be shared in order to help others, which led to me working with the best doctors and physicians in numerous areas! I’m really excited to finish this degree and heal people the best I can!
Hannah: Wow, that’s amazing! I can’t wait to see what you develop and come up with next! It’s been a huge pleasure talking to you and learning from you today! You’ve exceeded my expectations and once more been an absolute pleasure to talk to. I wish you the best of luck with everything in the future and I can’t wait to see you do more great things!
GG: No problem at all! It’s been a pleasure talking to you too Hannah!
Hannah: To purchase any lovely pieces from Georgia X Kopper and Zink’s sustainable swim collection, whose ethos is sustainable design, women’s health and humanitarian aid throughout the creative process, click here.