Culture Club - Why Success Isn't Linear With Shameless Media's Ruby Hall

00:00:00.000 The other side of a sudden return, nabbing a dream job at Australia's leading podcast

00:00:12.240 empire and what rejection can teach you.

00:00:16.060 I'm Jasmine.

00:00:17.040 And I'm Maggie.

00:00:18.000 And you're listening to Culture Club.

00:00:19.580 This is our monthly interview with a person we find interesting and that we think you

00:00:23.780 will too.

00:00:24.360 today we are on the land of the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people of the Kulin Nation

00:00:33.100 First Nations people have taken care of our lands and waterways for over 60,000 years

00:00:39.020 and have been sharing knowledge and culture through oral history from time immemorial

00:00:43.920 we would like to pay our respects to elders past and present and extend this to any aboriginal or

00:00:49.600 Torres Strait Islander listeners today. There's no denying that Shameless Media is taking over

00:00:57.380 our podcast apps and socials. After years of growing the business, Shameless has recently

00:01:02.340 launched Inherited, an open and honest interview show that asks guests their recipes, rituals,

00:01:08.420 relics and rules for life. The host of this brand new podcast is Ruby Hall. Ruby's career journey

00:01:13.980 has been anything but linear. From being a child actor in a beloved Australian kids TV show,

00:01:19.280 to moving from Perth to Melbourne to pursue her media dreams.

00:01:23.080 Welcome Ruby. We're so excited to have you in the armchair today. We are so excited for our chat,

00:01:30.160 but first of all, we would love to ask you what you do and how do your friends describe you?

00:01:36.020 Oh, I love that question. And yes, the armchairs, I was just saying before we hit record,

00:01:39.480 are very comfortable. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited, Jasmine and Maggie.

00:01:43.040 I am Ruby I'm 31 years old and I'm actually from Perth I moved to Melbourne at the end of last year

00:01:50.300 I'm a producer and a podcast host I work at Shameless Media and how would my friends describe

00:01:55.300 me probably quirky to be honest and fun I think they would as well yeah oh god the way I have to

00:02:05.320 say is that the problem I don't know that's lovely no that's lovely but your energy and of course I

00:02:10.940 have like followed your work for a while now but you give me such school captain material were you

00:02:16.000 I wasn't a school captain no I was um I did get the drama and music award in year seven

00:02:22.480 but I wasn't a school captain I think that during school I was always um very chatty not always the

00:02:30.180 most studious to be honest and fair enough I mean it's very like it makes so much sense that you

00:02:36.260 won that award in year seven because your career so far has seen you work as an actor in television

00:02:41.820 a radio and podcast producer a voiceover artist and a podcast host can you tell us how you got

00:02:48.580 your start in this industry and also like what's drawn you to this whole space yeah so yeah my

00:02:55.500 career I guess started in media when I was really young I was 12 years old so looking back that's

00:03:01.300 like nearly 20 years ago which is crazy and I was so young at the time I kind of grew up doing

00:03:07.560 dance and drama and really loved performing like as a as a child and I remember I auditioned for

00:03:14.900 a kids tv show when I was in the start of year seven and to be honest like I can't remember a

00:03:22.060 lot from this time like because it was kind of a bit of a crazy time so I remember going to the

00:03:25.820 audition and auditioning twice but at that age you know you're not really sure of who you are at all

00:03:32.020 so I wasn't like I want to get this audition and I want to be on this tv show I was just kind of

00:03:36.420 enjoying my life as a 12 year old and my mum um said you've gotten to the second round like I

00:03:43.100 think you've got a really good chance of getting this role um that was being filmed in Perth at

00:03:46.840 the time and I remember then when I did get it I actually said to mum I was like no I don't I

00:03:52.220 don't want to go on the show I want to go to school like I just want to be normal she was

00:03:57.340 like Ruby you're gonna go on this you know like you've been chosen like you've got to do this

00:04:00.760 it's such an incredible opportunity and I guess that's really where my media career began without

00:04:05.880 really you know it just happened before my eyes I suppose and then I sort of throughout school

00:04:11.480 was continuing to do a lot of drama as well like in all of the high school musicals which I look

00:04:15.920 back on fondly they were the best like what what kind of musicals were you doing I was in Greece

00:04:21.420 Yes. Were you Sandy? No, I wasn't. I was Marty, surprisingly enough. I see that. But I was like

00:04:28.880 the youngest like cast member, I think, out of like all of the pink ladies. So it was kind of 1.00

00:04:34.220 hilarious that I had Marty and she had a solo performance, which was really fun. And then as

00:04:39.640 well, We Will Rock You. Yeah. So they were the three that I was a part of. So I loved drama a

00:04:44.180 lot as well in high school. And then I continued to do acting as well after school. So I did a lot

00:04:49.120 of like fringe shows and working with small theatre productions and then yeah I did another

00:04:54.440 audition when I was about 18 for another kids television show so but my acting career kind

00:04:59.460 of stopped there yeah club it is really catchy so was that sorry was that the one you had you

00:05:14.200 got when you were younger yes so the sleepover club was when I was in year seven I took six

00:05:18.400 months off school to do that like the end of year seven and then the beginning of year eight which

00:05:23.620 are really like formative it's a really formative time of like growing up I um sort of tutored on

00:05:29.020 set and we actually filmed at my high school as well at the time so I'd be on set at the high

00:05:34.560 school that I was about to go to it was kind of discombobulated yes I was Caitlin I was the 0.88

00:05:41.180 bitch's sidekick it's so funny now because I don't really talk about it a lot I don't know why like

00:05:47.040 all of my like you know close friends know that i did it and like obviously my family as well 0.98

00:05:51.640 but it's like not something that like i bring up you know in conversations i'm like this was just

00:05:56.060 kind of like something i did and i don't know why i do that but it's interesting even again since

00:06:01.020 starting to host and produce at shameless on everybody is a secret and now inherited

00:06:05.520 um a lot of people will comment and be like oh my god is that ruby yeah from the sleepover club

00:06:10.840 and i'm like oh yeah this is like completely the demographic of people that would have grown up

00:06:15.780 watching it that like also consume the media I'm now working in which has been hilarious yeah was

00:06:21.700 it what you expected I guess being shall I say a child actor teen actor yeah it was so interesting

00:06:28.060 it was really really fun I think that um I was the youngest on set of all of the teenagers I

00:06:34.880 suppose that um were cast in the show so I was definitely the baby on set but yeah it's it is

00:06:40.260 interesting you're working with all adults and you're in a really thrust into a different

00:06:45.280 environment but yeah we got looked after really well like everyone was really lovely on set too

00:06:50.300 but I remember as a little girl feeling quite nervous and anxious at times too like you would

00:06:55.160 be getting directed and you know they were long hours as well like 6am to 6pm full time I remember

00:07:01.620 my mum at the time had just had like my little sister so I wasn't living like a normal life as

00:07:06.100 such you know as like a 12 or 13 year old but um yeah I guess it's like definitely shaped who I am

00:07:12.200 today I need to think more about those memories because they've kind of like gone from my brain

00:07:17.300 a little bit yeah so you mentioned you stopped at 18 yes you're now 31 at Shameless how what was

00:07:23.840 the in-between like how did you become a producer at one of like the most iconic Australian media

00:07:30.020 companies yeah I actually had a really interesting career trajectory I think because I sort of had

00:07:38.040 that innate feeling to like perform and be on stage and like do dance and drama I did that a

00:07:41.940 little bit after high school and I continued to audition for different shows like Home and Away

00:07:45.960 and Neighbours and I guess that it was really hard like to be completely honest like there's

00:07:54.020 you know a lot of competition in media in general in the entertainment industry and I sort of I

00:07:59.460 think like my self-esteem just like unfortunately like dropped quite a bit there's so much rejection

00:08:05.320 and sometimes there's just no answer to what you're doing it's not like when sometimes you

00:08:09.380 go for a job interview you know and you might get some feedback I mean not every time or you know

00:08:14.040 like we'll think of you next time or like these are the next steps like you just hear nothing

00:08:18.080 at all and you know by kind of like two week period you're like okay like I don't have the

00:08:23.560 job and then you sort of start to second guess yourself I guess you're like maybe I'm not a good

00:08:27.700 actress like maybe I'm not good at this and I think as well being on it you know within especially

00:08:33.940 the two television shows I did or any production there's like such a high like when you're you

00:08:39.200 know in it and you're rehearsing and performing and doing it and then afterwards it's like oh like

00:08:44.280 now what you know like there's that like kind of low that comes too so I think that definitely

00:08:48.960 played into how I was feeling mentally as well as like you know figuring out who Ruby was at like

00:08:54.300 18 19 years old but um yeah after that I continued to work like I've always worked like I started

00:09:01.600 working when I was obviously on the show but then throughout high school so I always like worked in

00:09:06.280 retail while I was auditioning for things too. And then I actually went on a really big trip

00:09:11.740 with my friends. Like we went traveling to Europe and I had this like innate feeling to want to work

00:09:16.660 within the community services. So a lot of people might not know that about me, but I went and

00:09:21.060 studied and did a diploma in community services and then worked within mental health for a year

00:09:26.160 and a half. And I really enjoyed it, but I do feel like I sort of was a little bit lost. I didn't

00:09:31.340 really know if like that was where I wanted to be because I did have this innate like you know

00:09:36.860 feeling to be on stage or in front of a camera or a microphone and I continued to do voiceover work

00:09:41.920 as well throughout this time so my agent was like we need to get you to do voiceover work you know

00:09:46.420 that's a really good way to sort of continue if you want like in this industry and like as well

00:09:50.880 like it's a good way to make money too so I continued to do voiceover work and then actually

00:09:57.260 in my mid-20s I was like I'm gonna go study broadcasting and journalism like what am I doing

00:10:02.520 like my calling is in this direction like I am supposed to be in media like I just feel it yeah

00:10:07.980 so I went and studied a bit later like I didn't have sort of I guess the usual way of like going

00:10:15.260 to school graduating and then going to university it wasn't sort of like a linear journey for me

00:10:20.280 um and that was hard I guess at the time too like a lot of my friends were going off and studying

00:10:25.160 things. And I was like, what am I doing with my life? But I mean, we all still have those thoughts

00:10:30.060 now, right? It's so real. So how was that experience like going to uni in your mid twenties?

00:10:36.980 Yeah, it was really good. I absolutely loved it. And I don't think that I would have been,

00:10:43.860 I wouldn't have had the same approach to it if I was in my early twenties. It's funny because,

00:10:49.300 you know, looking back, I'm like, was I a mature age student? Maybe I was. But I loved it. I loved

00:10:55.120 working with different people I like loved being close to like my mentors and like lecturers and I

00:11:00.780 took it like really seriously I was like I want to do this I mean at the start of uni I was like

00:11:04.880 I'm gonna be a tv news presenter like that was you know the classic I was like I want to be on tv and

00:11:11.740 like I want to be a weather girl and then I actually did an internship just for a week um

00:11:17.420 in news in tv news and I was like actually no this is definitely not for me I have a request

00:11:22.740 I'm wondering, can you do a good newsreader voice?

00:11:25.740 Because you obviously work as a voiceover artist.

00:11:30.420 I can kind of like picture it.

00:11:32.420 Is that something in your repertoire?

00:11:34.780 You know what?

00:11:35.140 I could definitely put one on.

00:11:36.500 Oh, my God.

00:11:36.780 Can we try?

00:11:37.400 Oh, my God.

00:11:38.080 That's so funny.

00:11:39.200 We can for sure.

00:11:40.400 Okay.

00:11:40.640 What should I say?

00:11:41.960 Be like, I'm Ruby Hall.

00:11:42.920 We're coming to you live from Culture Club Studios in North Melbourne.

00:11:45.780 Okay.

00:11:46.340 We'll do it.

00:11:46.840 All right.

00:11:47.380 I'm Ruby Hall coming to you live from the Culture Club Studios.

00:11:50.900 I like it.

00:11:51.780 It was kind of lacklustre.

00:11:53.180 In the middle, it peaked in the middle.

00:11:55.740 There was like really good potential.

00:11:58.300 There was potential.

00:11:59.240 I can see it.

00:12:00.080 I needed to drop a few octaves.

00:12:01.840 But no, that was definitely what I wanted to do throughout uni.

00:12:04.540 And then towards the end, I was like, I want to produce.

00:12:07.460 But I feel like I've always loved being in front of the camera

00:12:11.260 or microphone in.

00:12:12.720 Yeah.

00:12:13.280 Any sense.

00:12:14.300 I was the same.

00:12:14.860 I just had two years off uni before going back.

00:12:18.440 And it does make you appreciate it more.

00:12:19.860 I felt even though just two years difference like because you've had that time away to think about

00:12:24.580 what you actually really want you can come back to it with fresh eyes rather than like you just

00:12:29.080 finish your hc and obviously every person's situation is different yeah but it makes you

00:12:32.740 like nope this is exactly what I want to be doing so it makes you appreciate it more absolutely and

00:12:37.980 I think being a creative person as well like I sort of didn't know what I wanted to do towards

00:12:42.960 the end of year 12 even though I had had these experiences like within acting um it was really

00:12:47.920 hard for me to decide. I remember them asking and I said, I don't know. And I kind of felt at the

00:12:51.700 time confused about that. Like, I don't know if, you know, the education system is sometimes set

00:12:56.460 up for really creative people that need to forge their own path. Um, I mean now, you know, when we

00:13:02.280 get to our later twenties, early thirties, you can look back on that and go, that is completely

00:13:05.540 normal. I remember I did, um, a beauty diploma in year 12. Like I was like, I want to do this

00:13:11.460 and then do like focus on drama, dancing and English, like the subjects that I'm really

00:13:15.620 passionate about but um but yeah it's it is interesting I think that yeah just working and

00:13:21.680 like meeting people over my 20s and traveling as well and then falling into uni when I did was

00:13:27.160 good I mean it does come I suppose like you know everyone else in your life like your other friends

00:13:31.080 instead of setting their jobs and their careers and their lives up and you feel like a little bit

00:13:34.920 behind but um yeah everyone's journey is different so if anyone's listening and they feel a bit lost

00:13:40.520 like it's so normal and even still to today sometimes I'm like oh yeah like my friends

00:13:45.520 are doing that like and I've just started doing this I mean I just moved from Perth to Melbourne

00:13:49.800 that's 30 and um quit my job and I didn't have a backup plan at all so I thought it's all gonna

00:13:56.740 work out you quit your job in Perth yes what made you be like Melbourne is it is it like the media

00:14:02.940 industry or yes definitely that I think that I wanted to get on the east coast and Melbourne

00:14:08.100 especially I think Melbourne is more me as well I also had a wonderful friend of mine Matilda who

00:14:14.300 had a room become vacant in her house so obviously I was really lucky to be able to

00:14:18.500 move in with her there was a room already available I then just needed to secure a job but

00:14:24.220 yeah I had been sort of feeling for a while like in my old role I was working in radio

00:14:28.680 producing and hosting in Perth and I just felt like I'd like all my options were sort of limited

00:14:34.620 there and I felt like it was the right time. Nothing was holding me back in Perth. I was

00:14:38.860 single. I was living alone. I probably was in my Saturn return too, to be completely frank.

00:14:44.780 We've been just talking about Saturn returns, just like Jaz and I privately. And yeah,

00:14:50.060 do you think you've actually hit it yet? Have you gone through it?

00:14:53.080 I think I've definitely hit it because at 29, I went through a breakup. I was in a long-term

00:14:58.840 relationship for a few years that ended. And then I was sort of focusing on my career in Perth quite

00:15:03.800 a lot after that followed I moved the year after yeah my god I know so it was like a lot of upheaval

00:15:10.860 and change but I don't know I loved turning 30 it was like the best experience ever like I felt

00:15:16.820 like it was like a rebirth and a reawakening and I was like I can do whatever I want so yeah it was

00:15:21.860 a bit risky I suppose to resign without like a full plan I was actually in Vietnam with Matilda

00:15:27.680 my one of my best friends and we were sitting on the side of the road and I'd been toying up with

00:15:32.860 idea I hadn't I'd been looking at jobs already and applying but nothing had like stood out yet

00:15:37.080 sitting on the side of the road and yeah I booked my one-way ticket one morning I was like I've just

00:15:42.860 got to do it I just have to like bite the bullet and now I'm like it was all worth it yeah have

00:15:47.820 you always been someone that's been okay with change no no so interesting you say that I remember

00:15:54.640 when I did first move um I actually was struggling so much I think as well because it was the first

00:16:01.000 time I'd like stopped in a long time to having a full-time job, like that structure, that routine

00:16:06.860 I really benefit off. Like, I think I really do need that. I was freelancing a little bit

00:16:11.760 and also working in hospitality, which was such a nice change of pace. So like it was awesome,

00:16:17.240 but I did feel a bit lost and like, Oh God, have I taken this really big risk? Like,

00:16:21.660 should I be here? Maybe I should go back to Perth. Yeah. Was this the wrong thing to do?

00:16:26.260 Definitely feeling lost. I remember calling my mom, like bawling my eyes out, like on my lunch

00:16:30.360 break at um when I was working in hospitality and I was like what have I done you know like should I

00:16:34.980 go back but I'm really really glad I yeah stuck it out um but that change it's weird I spoke to

00:16:43.240 a therapist about it at the time and she was like you could be experiencing adjustment disorder

00:16:47.160 where it's like when it's taking you time to adjust to your surroundings and a change and

00:16:52.400 a move because Perth is so different to Melbourne um it's such a beautiful place and it's not

00:16:57.220 necessarily super small but yeah it was a really really big change. So when you came to Melbourne

00:17:02.800 was the first job you got at Shameless Media? It wasn't no so I was already in contact with

00:17:09.320 Michelle and Zara I had applied for a job and I like was still kind of emailing them but nothing

00:17:16.400 really happened at the time so I continued to work and do a bit of freelance radio work and

00:17:20.320 was working in hospitality and then earlier this year they called me up and a role became vacant

00:17:25.320 so I joined the team and it's changed my year obviously this year in 2024 and really has made

00:17:30.920 it feel like the risk um and upheaval of moving like completely worth it yeah and so many of our

00:17:37.780 listeners also love shameless we are massive shameless fans so we just want to know like

00:17:43.160 what's all like working there oh amazing like it's so fun it's a smaller team yeah there's not

00:17:48.920 like a lot of us and we're kind of like a family to be honest like we all like produce each other's

00:17:53.220 shows or like edit each other's shows and script for each other so it's yeah been so good and

00:17:58.520 Michelle and Zara have been so welcoming and the skills that they like share with us all are so

00:18:03.360 invaluable it's yeah they're so generous with their time and their knowledge and yeah I definitely

00:18:08.700 think when I started I was like in a bit of a blur for the first couple of months I was like

00:18:13.060 am I here at Shameless like but yeah it's been really incredible and so fun to work on yeah

00:18:19.780 everybody is a secret and inherited this year it's sometimes i'm like is this my job so yeah

00:18:24.520 that's amazing and so as you just mentioned you are now the host of shameless media's latest show

00:18:31.240 which is called inherited it dives into guests relics recipes rules and rituals and michelle

00:18:37.540 andrews actually called it an anti-small talk show how did that show come about like did you

00:18:44.600 pitch it to them were they like we need a guest show and what have been some of your favorite

00:18:49.180 stories from the interviews so far or the experience in general? Yes they piloted for

00:18:54.240 Inherited so a few months ago or mid-year they had auditions for the show and I went for one for the

00:19:01.320 hosting role but I really didn't go in with any expectations I thought you know if it happens it

00:19:06.040 happens but who knows I haven't done like a lot of interviewing before a little bit throughout uni

00:19:10.220 but not too much and yeah then a few weeks later they were like we want you to be the host we think

00:19:16.000 you would be great so that's how it kind of came to be and um it's Michelle's idea so she came up

00:19:21.000 with the idea which is so beautiful um I guess as well like the girls have been talking about how

00:19:25.360 they're like you know we're in our earnest era at the moment as well yeah yeah and so this show

00:19:30.380 has replaced like the shameless book club podcast as well um we still have the shameless book club

00:19:35.000 pillar though it still lives with events and um our socials but yeah doing the show yeah each

00:19:40.800 guest brings a recipe a ritual a relic and a rule all of the r's someone said the other day they're

00:19:46.180 like ruby's the fifth one thing you like about me um I've had it's so funny the girls always say

00:19:55.040 they're like oh what's it been your favorite interview and I'm like don't make me pick they're

00:19:58.440 actually they've all been so amazing and it's really like being on the other side of the mic

00:20:04.100 is not easy to be like vulnerable and raw with like your story or your experiences um so I always

00:20:10.180 just want to make sure that like the guests feel comfortable in doing that as well I really loved

00:20:14.760 though there was an interview with Michelle Brazier um such a good interview yeah her story is just

00:20:20.520 so incredibly thought-provoking and unique and yeah I was like blown away definitely go and

00:20:28.280 listen to that one if you haven't already but she had been through a lot of grief um she actually

00:20:33.140 released her memoir this year my brother's ashes are in a sandwich bag and yeah I remember tearing

00:20:38.600 up towards the end of that one and she read like the last passage in the book um so that was

00:20:43.880 gorgeous but yeah there's been so many different chats and this week we had uh my chat with Lucy

00:20:50.300 Jackson from Happy Hour Go Live we had a really interesting chat about like heartbreak and sort of

00:20:57.100 even like yeah relationships towards your late 20s early 30s so we hadn't really had that

00:21:02.180 conversation yet on the show so I was excited to have that one but yeah it's been really really

00:21:06.760 really cool i'm still trying to figure out what all my hours are to be honest well not to put you

00:21:11.480 on the spot we would love to hear perhaps one of your rituals or rules it's a hard one though i

00:21:19.220 think many listeners of inherited might put themselves in like the guest shoes and be like

00:21:24.400 okay what is a recipe i would bring like what is a rule i have but have you had have you paid much

00:21:29.480 thought to this i have i actually have so my relic actually ties into what we're talking about

00:21:36.080 earlier about my early career it's a box that lives at my mum's house that I hadn't actually

00:21:41.940 looked through for years and years but we got it out when I went back home not too long ago and it

00:21:46.600 has like all the newspaper cutouts and photos and old scripts of my time when I was acting so that

00:21:52.680 was like really special to look through and to just kind of reflect I suppose on that period of

00:21:56.680 my life because I was saying before I don't always talk about it or remember it even happened which is

00:22:02.800 kind of odd because it did happen and I just was so young I guess so that was really nice to like

00:22:07.640 reflect on that my rule is breathe I've got a tattoo gorgeous it's a reminder to breathe and

00:22:16.700 also it's kind of hilarious that it's on the back of my arm I can't actually see it but you know it's

00:22:21.400 there yeah yeah no I do I got that when I was in Bali how long ago is this now was it the end of

00:22:28.640 20, 22. So before the year before I moved here and, um, I had recently gone through like a long

00:22:37.100 term breakup. This was definitely the peak of my Saturn return, I think. And it was just a reminder

00:22:43.100 to breathe. It was very like out of the blue. I didn't plan to get this, but I just got it on my

00:22:47.400 last day. And yeah, I am someone that is quite an anxious person. Like I always have had, I always

00:22:54.280 have had anxiety and overthink a lot so it's kind of my reminder to just slow down when I can but

00:23:02.460 I do a lot of like meditation and yoga which helps with that too so yeah. And for people who don't

00:23:07.800 know what's the process of producing a podcast in a short space of time? It actually takes so much

00:23:15.140 and coming from working in radio as well I was surprised at there's a lot of like pre-production

00:23:20.720 and post-production too I was used to just like a live show going in hitting you know on air and

00:23:26.120 then off air but it's interesting because sometimes when you're on live you're like okay well that's

00:23:30.880 out in the world now and it's done there's almost sometimes I feel like I find myself too with

00:23:35.400 podcasting I overthink a little bit more because you can go in and like fine-tune something or

00:23:39.820 listen to yourself back and you're like oh like did I say that correctly like should I edit that

00:23:44.600 out when I'm sure it's actually fine we're just out in worse critics but yeah there's a lot of

00:23:49.380 like scripting research as well especially with inherited just researching the guest

00:23:53.120 and i guess the conversation is really structured on their four hours as well so kind of that's like

00:23:58.720 a springboard for deeper conversation and then the interview itself recording does take like

00:24:04.060 quite a bit of time too and then the editing process can take well we've got long form video

00:24:08.520 with inherited too it's the first time that we've actually been on youtube um like a shameless

00:24:12.500 product so that definitely takes time as well with the video team too and then putting it out

00:24:17.880 in the world so it can be like a whole like one week process i would say yeah for most of the

00:24:23.900 interviews we've done anyway on inherited yeah and then on the flip side you're also the on-air

00:24:29.000 producer of everybody has a secret yes where everyday people send in their secrets for you

00:24:36.020 and host louis hansen and annabelle lee to discuss what are the best and worst parts of being a

00:24:42.420 gatekeeper people secrets i guess looking through that email can sometimes be a jump scare um yeah

00:24:50.160 it's it's so interesting that yeah people love sending their secrets in i mean we love it as

00:24:55.980 well because it's a way for the show to you know us to continue having interesting conversations

00:25:00.100 about people's lives um very philosophical might i say if you listen to the show you'll know that

00:25:05.900 number one philosophy podcast in australia plug yeah annabelle lee and louis hansen oh my god

00:25:11.880 they're a joy to work with and it's been so so fun uh preparing each week for the show and

00:25:16.700 surprising them because I don't know what secret it's going to be until I read it out for the

00:25:20.640 first time um yeah okay what's what's the best part about it I guess I just love I'm very like

00:25:27.680 drawn to human interest stories I think that's even why I kind of worked in community services

00:25:31.600 a bit there in my like early 20s because I'm just like fascinated by people and especially when it

00:25:36.720 comes to like relationships drama money any of those taboo sort of topics that we sort of cover

00:25:42.740 in the show sometimes though you can get stories or secrets that come through that are obviously

00:25:48.620 a little bit um hard to read and we have to like you know go ahead with those ones with caution

00:25:55.260 and sometimes we might not actually put them on the show as well but most of it I love like I love

00:26:00.400 reading them I find it so fascinating so we get a lot come through as well and I know one of our

00:26:05.520 recent episodes my best friend's dad um like a quick sentence summary this um woman slept with

00:26:14.320 her best friend's dad i mean maybe obvious from the title but she fell pregnant with the that

00:26:19.820 dad and had a follow-up episode asking you for like advice sometimes you're like oh my god and

00:26:27.240 i'm going back and forth on these emails like talking to these people they're all anonymous

00:26:31.240 as well we use pseudonyms for everyone um but yeah it's just like wow is this actually happening

00:26:36.900 in your life but I do like the people that send their secrets in do listen back to the show and

00:26:41.140 they really they'll email me and sort of say like thank you so much you know like I really

00:26:45.200 appreciated your advice like it's helped me a lot so it's good to know yeah yeah have you ever had

00:26:52.760 anyone so say someone sent in a secret and then it's about someone have you ever had the person

00:26:57.980 who the secret's about be like this is about me like how dare you like put this on air even though

00:27:03.600 you use pseudonyms no not not since i've been producing it anyway uh not this year but we did

00:27:09.760 recently have another secret on the show what was it it was do we have kids to save our relationship

00:27:14.680 and we heard from two different secret keepers they were in a couple and they both submitted

00:27:19.620 their point of view their side of the story which was really cool to sort of hear from the other

00:27:23.900 side but no nothing like that yet i know i always wonder i'm like is someone going to listen to this

00:27:27.220 and go ah this is about me because it's so specific like yeah yeah best friend's dad or

00:27:31.260 whatever it is like there's some things that like that doesn't happen to many people no exactly it's

00:27:36.240 very unexpected but no not yet I know sometimes I actually get nervous because I'm an overthinker

00:27:41.940 before we record I'll look at the script and I'm like wait I did change that name right like I

00:27:45.980 changed those details and I'm like yes you did Ruby as a listener of the podcast what is so

00:27:51.020 like rewarding about it is yeah you do have the people who have written in like reply and a lot

00:27:55.980 with them follow the advice like what is that pressure like i guess being able to dictate what

00:28:03.300 someone might or may like may or may not do they might leave their relationship they might stay

00:28:07.820 with their partner how do you deal with that yeah it is sometimes when you're in the room i guess

00:28:13.020 when we're recording we like will stop like after i've read the secret and like louie and annabelle

00:28:17.160 like annotate it and like have a moment with it but totally no it it is people's lives and

00:28:22.920 And like Annabelle and Louis definitely feel the gravity of that sometimes

00:28:26.280 and so do I as like a producer.

00:28:28.080 So, you know, we always go ahead with like love and support

00:28:32.380 and like this is your life at the end of the day

00:28:35.040 but we would do X, Y, Z or like sometimes it's good to be real though

00:28:39.520 I feel like with the people that are sending stuff in.

00:28:41.380 Maybe they don't have someone in their life that or a good friend

00:28:43.920 that's sort of sitting them down and saying, hey, like this isn't okay.

00:28:47.180 Like you deserve better or maybe, you know,

00:28:50.020 we should leave the my best friend's dad yeah so back to you and your life experience how has

00:28:58.720 entering your 30s changed your relationship with yourself and your work specifically because

00:29:04.760 I think especially on TikTok there's a lot of sentiment around like 25 being old and like

00:29:12.040 it seems like young people are very scared of aging like mentally and physically so like

00:29:19.040 from your personal experience it seems like you've gone through these periods like your

00:29:24.080 sudden return for example or like big life changes and you've come out the other side

00:29:28.400 happier healthier etc how's that process been for you? Yeah it's been interesting I think

00:29:35.100 it's like turning 30 instead of taking a big risk in my career and changing my trajectory I guess

00:29:42.440 and moving into state like that's not easy to do like these things are really hard to do you know

00:29:47.560 like I miss my family and my friends and like my boyfriend lives in Perth too at the moment I think

00:29:53.000 that it's so easy to compare ourselves to other people online or even in our lives and what

00:29:58.440 they're doing and I was definitely doing that like I still did that when I first moved like I felt

00:30:02.760 like a failure when I first came to Melbourne because I you know hadn't secured the job yet

00:30:07.240 like I was and like as I was saying before stopping and slowing down um and the change

00:30:12.500 aspect of it all like did take a bit of a toll on me mentally um and I don't know I think as well

00:30:19.420 sometimes we can like really put ourselves and our identity like enmesh it so tightly with our

00:30:26.940 career and like what we're doing for work and I think that's probably what a lot of people in

00:30:32.300 their early 20s late 20s early 30s are doing right now and I think we need to I don't know

00:30:39.460 it sounds so easy to just be like don't put pressure on yourself because we all do it but

00:30:44.560 like I think if you really want something just like go for it and don't be so afraid my experience

00:30:50.980 with it was I had so many ups and downs in my career I feel like my career journey has been

00:30:54.880 so different you know and I look back at periods and I'm like well I'm really glad I got that

00:30:59.920 experience like maybe now if I you know didn't go through like you know some of the challenges in my

00:31:04.940 like you know teens after like rejection on set and you know working in different environments

00:31:10.720 that at times might not have been comfortable when I was young and like learning about myself

00:31:13.980 in different ways maybe I wouldn't be such an empathetic person now and be able to have these

00:31:17.720 interviews and conversations with people like on inherited so yeah it has been interesting and I

00:31:23.560 still think that that journey is still going especially as a woman and like you know heading

00:31:29.140 into my early 30s I'm like do I want kids like do I want a family like all those thoughts come up

00:31:33.920 you sometimes think like does my career have to go on the back burner yeah I don't know if that

00:31:40.140 answered your question I'm really sorry it was quite long-winded definitely yeah I think especially

00:31:44.720 the kids thing it's very like very unique to women yeah that thought of like when you feel

00:31:50.700 like you're just getting to know yourself in your late 20s early 30s and all of a sudden it's like

00:31:55.080 and now you should pause that yeah if you want kids so yeah it's big like big things but I think

00:32:00.360 your journey especially shows people that there is no like linear path to success and you don't

00:32:06.480 know how like your experience in community services has helped you be a better interviewer

00:32:11.740 like everything like it's like almost you take pebbles from like each experience and then you

00:32:17.900 get to a point in your life where you're like I've collected all these experiences and that

00:32:21.760 has like made me who I am and you wouldn't have thought you'd be here in Melbourne like being

00:32:27.040 interviewed on a random Monday but like no who you are and yeah and I think as well I sometimes

00:32:34.840 forget to really like take in those moments of like oh my god like I've achieved this really

00:32:39.900 great thing or this goal that I've had like it's happened you know you might talk to your friends

00:32:44.020 or peers about it and you're like hang on like I just need to stop and like let that sink in

00:32:49.220 and really enjoy it I think that's really hard to do do you struggle with that sometimes when you're

00:32:53.920 kind of ticking off kind of goals that you've always had yeah people talk about like the moving

00:32:58.060 goalposts so it's like as soon as you kind of gotten it gone not the sport analogy but like

00:33:03.840 the goalposts just could constantly shift so it's like there's not one set goal and it's always

00:33:09.900 changing I think I'm better at it than you are like when we get an opportunity so true we're

00:33:14.500 like oh yeah cool like sort out the details of it and then like a few hours later I might text

00:33:18.500 Maggie and be like no but this is really cool like this is a dream situation right now and like we

00:33:22.600 have built this thing and similar to yourself with like your work yeah we built this thing and

00:33:28.040 we get to have such fun opportunities because of it and like that's cool like we need to stop for

00:33:31.960 a minute um even if it's just verbally like recognizing it we're lucky we're a duo so we

00:33:37.200 can like bounce off each other with that exactly yes totally no it's so hard to sometimes just stop

00:33:42.180 and actually smell the roses and be proud of yourself I've definitely struggled with that

00:33:46.360 over the years people like oh my god cool you were in a kids tv show I'm like oh yeah

00:33:49.840 yeah I was and I'm like Ruby like you know yeah I feel like it's sometimes hard to like allow us

00:33:57.640 to feel pride yeah as a woman as a woman I think it's I saw um Alex Cooper from Call Her Daddy on

00:34:04.860 my TikTok feed the other day and she was like I'm not no why should I be too humble you know and I

00:34:09.780 do think that like you know you shouldn't be too proud because I think then that can be like

00:34:14.240 problematic but I think you need to be proud of your achievements to the certain extent of like

00:34:18.260 I am like what I've achieved is really cool and yeah talk to people about it as well I don't know

00:34:23.740 if it's like tall poppy syndrome too there's so many things that are at play really in Australia

00:34:28.500 yeah absolutely I think what's really um really beautiful is that we get to see you as you've

00:34:35.260 like settled in Melbourne you've landed such an incredible job you're finding your feet right

00:34:39.280 and you've also spoken about that in between period of when you just moved here and that

00:34:44.820 uncomfortableness. I think a lot of listeners will resonate with that. People kind of dipping

00:34:50.180 their toes in, trying, like trying out something new, but feeling really lost and uncertain.

00:34:55.520 What's something that you wish you knew in that period that like you wish you could have told

00:35:00.480 yourself? I think I was putting obviously way too much pressure on myself. You can also go to

00:35:06.500 a new city, say like, you know, what I did and you don't have to have a plan. Like you don't

00:35:11.560 have to stay forever I think there's that shame around oh my god like this didn't work out I'm

00:35:16.540 going to go back home or you know I'm I'm not going to work in that job that I thought I would

00:35:20.300 come over here and do uh so I think really it's that shame and feeling like you can't talk about

00:35:27.480 it with people and feeling like a failure I remember my best friend Matilda at the time

00:35:31.360 who I was living with I was sort of saying to her I was like I you know what am I going to do like

00:35:36.340 what am I going to do next year I might go back to Perth blah blah and she's like Ruby it's been

00:35:39.720 like two months like you've barely been here like you are putting so much pressure on yourself to

00:35:45.880 figure it all out also maybe just enjoy this period where you're freelancing and you get to

00:35:50.040 slow down a little bit like you've just come from working full-time like it's okay so I don't know

00:35:55.580 as cliche as it sounds I really wish I just could tell myself like it's going to be okay don't put

00:35:59.860 so much pressure on yourself and yeah keep that goal I guess and like why you're here front of

00:36:06.020 mind and i just like networked with so many people too like new friends as well enjoy that that

00:36:11.140 period yeah of uncertainty even though it's hard for some people to do totally it's that period of

00:36:17.420 like building something right and people forget i think as someone who's moved countries a few

00:36:22.280 times and cities i think it people forget how long it actually takes to settle into a place

00:36:26.960 and i think that comes from the culture of like instant gratification and also seeing maybe like

00:36:32.800 an influencer who has heaps of resources and heaps of money for example just using influencers

00:36:36.700 as an example yes where they can go get that apartment that is like already set up and they're

00:36:43.460 freelancing full-time so they it seems like they might slot into a city right away very quickly

00:36:48.640 and easily and they have that online network whereas like if you're not someone in that exact

00:36:53.500 situation it takes a long time to like meet friends and like find your place in a city and

00:36:59.920 to build something so absolutely yeah I remember feeling like really lonely too

00:37:05.380 it's so interesting when you're like I was in a big city and I was working at this amazing

00:37:10.200 restaurant Mabu Mabu restaurant Federation Square yeah yeah that's such an incredible team there and

00:37:16.220 that was actually looking back I'm like I wasn't supposed to get a full-time job or slot into my

00:37:21.560 dream job straight away I was supposed to have this period here where I'm connecting with people

00:37:26.240 I'm talking to people I'm settling in a new city if it all happened at once that might have been

00:37:30.420 too much you know and so I got to work with all these different people meet all these different

00:37:34.860 customers that came in and really like felt like you know like I knew Melbourne um so yeah like

00:37:42.080 back to what you were saying it's interesting that some people really like when am I gonna you know

00:37:46.760 feel like I'm at home here and it can take ages it still feels like to me sometimes you know I'm

00:37:51.620 like oh like I miss my friends back home and but that loneliness yeah that I felt that in a big

00:37:57.260 city it's a really discombobulating feeling too like being around so many people in a busier city

00:38:02.700 but you feel lonely yeah absolutely yeah and you know I just put myself out there what else did I

00:38:08.140 do when I first moved here I worked on the door of like a really cool like queer erotica party

00:38:12.060 and I remember leaving at um yeah 2am I think and I was on the side of the road waiting for my Uber

00:38:17.140 and all these gorgeous like men walked out and I was like oh my god you guys look amazing they

00:38:21.140 were dressed so cool and then I ended up talking to this guy and he's become one of my really good

00:38:25.020 friends who lives in Brisbane yeah amazing yeah and then another friend of mine I met um at a

00:38:31.260 random house party I just put myself out there I was like you've just got to it can be really scary

00:38:35.540 too um you know you might be in a room full of complete strangers but that was the best thing

00:38:40.540 for me to do and I've met two really amazing guys who live here who were like my Melbourne friends

00:38:45.540 that I've met yeah that's good that is so reassuring to hear because I know we always say

00:38:50.720 like just got to put yourself out there you got to try new things you got to talk to people

00:38:54.040 but you're actually evidence of that working out and you make friends through that yeah that's it

00:38:59.080 I know and you might feel a bit awkward if you're like oh I'm gonna message this person I've like

00:39:02.200 kind of met once for one hour like in passing but what's the worst that can happen I don't know I

00:39:07.600 sound like I'm like preaching positivity now but I'm like this is my experience yeah and you really

00:39:12.220 can like connect with people that way you especially in a place like Melbourne I feel

00:39:16.960 like Melbourne is a community vibe that's what I felt everyone is so welcoming here it's yeah

00:39:22.320 been really beautiful and to kind of switch gears here you've mentioned your mum a few times in this

00:39:28.100 chat and you've previously spoken about how she had you and your brother quite young yes how has

00:39:34.320 growing up with a single mum influenced who you are today so much my mum yes she is the best she

00:39:42.420 really did so well with like what she had I actually grew up like with my grandparents as

00:39:48.120 well my mom's parents so we were living with them as well when we were younger and it was me my mom

00:39:53.080 and my brother and she just worked super hard and I think growing up and seeing that I just like had

00:39:59.700 so much love and adoration for her and I still do now my mom is like a very like I love you mom like

00:40:04.980 she will shout like you know is very verbal and says that all and I think moving to like has been

00:40:10.760 different for our relationship you know I guess as well like me entering my early 30s

00:40:15.060 she um yeah has been like super proud of me as well and she's since had like two um other

00:40:21.280 daughters my half sisters and they're amazing they're teenagers so I've grown up with like

00:40:25.400 two younger sisters too which has been so cool they probably keep me young and not that I'm like

00:40:30.580 old but you know like they keep me up to date with all the gen z the lingo and yeah I love it

00:40:34.720 I'm what's I don't know if I should say it like what's stigma I don't is that a rude word like

00:40:39.600 oh my god see i don't even know that one okay good well i don't either i'll learn at christmas

00:40:43.300 this year yes but yeah no my mom has yeah really really shaped me like who i am as a person today

00:40:50.280 as well as my nana um they are really like headstrong women they kind of say how they feel

00:40:56.720 and yeah they've always been there that's definitely what i miss the most i think

00:41:01.280 especially going to my nana's like a home-cooked meal on a sunday night and just like having a

00:41:05.320 glass of wine with her she's like one of my best friends absolutely yeah I know it's very I'm very

00:41:10.280 I feel really grateful to have like such like strong and uh yeah caring female figures in my

00:41:16.200 life and going back to Inherited yes what do you hope that people get out of Inherited? I hope that

00:41:24.740 people feel less alone I think listening to that show because some of the conversations most of

00:41:31.280 them are really vulnerable and they're personal stories that we all experience as humans so I think

00:41:38.320 you know like Tara Jordan um her episode on unexplained infertility that came out a couple

00:41:44.740 of weeks ago that is something that you know impacts so many women infertility and pregnancy

00:41:50.940 loss if that can touch someone that listens to it and feels less alone in their experience I think

00:41:56.220 that that is really important and yeah to have these kind of conversations as you were saying

00:42:01.480 before like the anti-small talk show I love going deep I think that you can learn so much about

00:42:07.260 yourself as well through other people's experiences and I think there's power in sharing that when

00:42:12.320 you have experienced something yourself because a lot of these conversations might be taboo and

00:42:17.720 are difficult to have so I think when you share them it's like what you girls do on your show as

00:42:23.160 well there you know some of the things you talk about you've yeah sharing it is really really

00:42:26.800 powerful thank you we've absolutely loved having you join us today Ruby um we've got one final

00:42:34.680 question that we ask our guests because every week on the podcast Jazz and I give recommendations

00:42:40.420 of something we've either loved watching reading or listening to okay we're wondering if you could

00:42:46.020 share a recommendation with us I'll tell you what I'm watching right now but I'm gonna feel very

00:42:51.960 scene for it love island australia i don't know if that's a great recommendation though

00:42:56.400 it's been really good have you watched any of it i watched last year's um season of love island

00:43:02.180 australia and that was the like only season i've ever watched of any of them and it was so good

00:43:06.960 so how's this year's going well i think this is one of the best like of australia seasons i remember

00:43:12.560 watching the first one with taylor demure um she was in the first one and that one was really really

00:43:17.860 good and I feel like over the years the Australian ones haven't been I don't know as good but this

00:43:22.420 one is really juicy they're just like flip-flopping all over the place you know like it's it's kind of

00:43:27.280 crazy so I've been binging that this weekend to be honest so that's the first rec that comes to

00:43:32.440 mind but if you want an easy watch definitely watch it yeah we love a reality tv rec yeah we do

00:43:38.540 I've been getting the snippets on my tiktok so I'm like low-key getting like the characters like in

00:43:43.480 my head but I'm like I don't know anything about you but from these like 20 second snippets I feel

00:43:47.480 like i know who i'm supposed to hate no exactly and i was started watching it then i stopped and

00:43:51.720 then i saw it all over my tiktok and i was like i've got to continue watching this like it really

00:43:54.960 hooked me in so i'll be watching that probably till the end of the year so good well thank you

00:44:00.180 so much for your time today ruby we've honestly loved chatting with you love what you're doing

00:44:05.460 at shameless and especially with inherited can't wait to listen to all the episodes if people want

00:44:11.360 to see more of you where can they find you yes well inherited the pod on instagram uh tiktok

00:44:19.340 and youtube as well we are on youtube so you can watch the full interviews in full which is really

00:44:23.400 exciting and my personal instagram is ruby tuesday 2.0 it's such a random handle i don't know whether

00:44:29.600 i should change it to something more professional now but it's i deleted my instagram quite a few

00:44:35.500 years ago and like wanted a fresh start yeah gotcha um and it was Ruby Tuesday in when I first

00:44:41.440 had Instagram so I thought I'd put the 2.0 on she's new and improved I love that if you want

00:44:47.580 to keep up with my life but yeah gorgeous again thank you so much we can't wait to keep seeing

00:44:53.940 what you're up to and that's all for this episode bye-bye thank you Maggie and Jasmine it's been a

00:45:00.660 Enjoy. Thank you.

00:45:02.480 Bye.

Culture Club - December 03, 2024

Why Success Isn't Linear With Shameless Media's Ruby Hall

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