In this episode of When I Grow Up, Sienna and her Dad Ben sit down with media powerhouse Lucy Blakiston—someone Sienna says she wants to be like! They find out how a small-town Kiwi built a global platform that millions of people—and some seriously famous fans—turn to every day.
Lucy co-founded Sh*t You Should Care About (SYSCA) while at university with a simple goal: make news fun, engaging, and easy for younger audiences to understand. From Blenheim, New Zealand, she turned her tiny blog into a global media powerhouse, even catching the attention of Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Madonna, Bella Hadid, Harry Styles, and Joe Rogan!
This conversation dives into:
● How a university lecture and a group chat with friends sparked the idea for SYSCA and filled a gap in news for young people
● How COVID-19 turned a small passion project into a worldwide community with some of the world’s biggest fans. Including where she was when Ariana Grande started following her page!
● Running a massive platform solo while staying real and authentic by balancing serious news with fun content, fandoms, polls, and pop culture—plus the genius “Harry Styles Trojan horse” strategy
● Teenage years, grief, mental health, and how being underestimated in rooms can actually be a women’s superpower
● Tips for young creators on overcoming fear, embracing your cringe, and putting yourself out there
● Behind-the-scenes of her daily routine, creative process, and connecting with fans across the world
● What Lucy would tell her teenage self—and Ben’s guide to getting noticed online without embarrassing Sienna!
Lucy’s story proves that even from a small town, you can build something huge, reach a global audience, and even get noticed by celebrities. If you know what you want to do, don’t let your age, your location, or anything else stop you - just go for it!
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