ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

I'm Mary - a freelance presenter, journalist and creative producer living in London.

I’m an advocate for finding power in your voice, using your platform for good and making a change in your own way.

But aside from that, I'm a little sister, a tomboy at heart, someone who is always first to suggest we go out and explore, I'm restless and impatient, curious and chaotic.

So what do you actually do?

I work on creating interesting, informative and exciting content for online, radio and in person events.

I break down some of the biggest topics and current affairs to make them relevant and accessible.

This can be through radio shows, video content, written pieces or speaking at places like Universities and workplaces. Basically, anything where I can entertain and inspire others.

What has your career path been?

It's so random really, I kept being stopped by people in different scenarios who would ask if I was a presenter. I'd never even thought that it could be a job for someone like me.

I did a free course with the charity UpRising, which introduced us to different businesses and we visited Kiss radio. We saw the studios which was cool and I had that lightbulb moment of 'it's actually possible to talk for living'!

Before that, I worked in the charity sector for a while, leading teams of volunteers at music festivals. Which gave me experience of talking to lots of different types of people as well as an insight into the music industry. I went on to work for Global, the company who own stations like Capital, Heart and LBC. I learnt from presenters and producers who encouraged me to try out local radio.

I also learnt about how many freelance opportunities there were, meaning I could try out projects at different companies without committing to a long contract. I worked on projects for Sony Music, BBC Arabic, Google, Facebook and more.

What is the best part of your job?

It's hard to choose just one!

I really love learning from others when I interview them, especially older people in the Black community.

I also like having the freedom to decide what I cover and how I approach it. My radio show, for example, is something I have total creative freedom over - I choose which guests to interview, the style of show, the music I play, everything!

Lastly, I love that I get to be up and about - no shade to working in the office because I still do a lot from behind a laptop, but ultimately, I'm happiest when moving around.

Why do you do your job?

What I do comes so naturally to me, so it feels weird when I'm NOT doing it.

I love connecting with inspiring people and picking their brains and I get a real buzz when I share something which I know will be helpful to someone else.

I like to think people take what they read, hear or watch and it could change the course of their day for the better.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

It sounds obvious, but be a nice person!

You will work with so many different people and your name gets passed around, so make sure people are talking about you for the right reasons.

And when you're working with and meeting new people, be a good listener so you can learn from others rather than just worrying about how they can be useful to you.

Any parting words?

Presenting and sharing content is a full on job and is way less glamorous than everyone makes out! It's an honour and a true joy to be in the spaces that I'm in, but it doesn't come without a lot of work and sacrifices along the way. If you want to pursue it, expect it to be a journey, rather than a shiny end goal.

Oh, and if you're on the journey, enjoy it!

Check out Mary’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

I wake up at 7ish, I try to mediate for 10 mins before I get out of bed. Some days are spent on set presenting, others are at photoshoots, some are in a nightclub or random location and some days I don't start until late in the evening. I try to use the more chill days to make sure I'm prepared for the hectic days.

Here's a typical chill day - I listen to music on the train. Right now Ari Lennox, Kelly Rowland or Chloe x Halle are on repeat. I then head to a co-working spot in Shoreditch or White City.

I usually have a few pitches on the go so I will read over them, ask friends what they think and then send them to relevant production companies or individuals. This is something I'm still new to, but a big goal of mine is to take more of my ideas from just existing on my notes app on my phone!

I get ideas all the time, mainly because I consume so much content that I think about what's missing. I could be pitching anything from an idea for an online series, a talk or workshop, article, podcast series, radio show - anything really.

Whoever you're pitching to usually wants to see an outline of your idea and how you could work together to make it happen. Before anything gets commissioned or published, there are a lot of meetings, sometimes it's given a treatment (this is the step before it's made). More often than not, your idea doesn't get made, it can be frustrating but it's all good practice and good to make new connections. 

I'm often on Twitter, seeing what people are talking about and looking for interesting guests for my radio show. I might have a meeting at lunch with someone in my industry - we chat about upcoming opportunities or it's me asking for advice because I hate making decisions! If I don't have a meeting, I like to get lunch from a food vendor, at the moment I'm loving Osu Coconuts or De Plantain Tree.

In the afternoon I usually have a video or audio project to edit - I do a lot of it from my phone. The app inShot has loads of features and Canva is great too - both of these have free versions so you can get started straight away. I use Audacity for audio projects (again, it's free!). 

I don't have a specific process but I'm conscious to cut out anything that's not adding value to the final product - for example, I don't do long intros to videos, I'd much rather the viewer know what's going on straight away rather than 'sorry I've not uploaded in a while, make sure you follow my page' etc.

I then use an app called MixCaptions to add subtitles, this is important to me as I know I have followers who are hard of hearing. Once that's shared, I will add it to my website and maybe email it to a few contacts who might find it interesting. Towards the end of the day, there's lots of invoices to write, emails to get to for potential interviews or paid work. 

When it comes to the evening, if I'm not hosting or speaking at an event, I want to be at something fun like a gig or comedy show. I'm in a few industry WhatsApp groups and that's a great place to see what's happening that evening to go along to - It's good to stay connected with what's going on and meeting other people in my industry as it's so small! If nothing takes my fancy, I'll head to barre or a dance class on ClassPass - I love exercise and it improves my mood every time.

I listen to a podcast on my way home, I love Jessie Ware's Table Manners, Clara Amfo's This City and The Receipts Podcast. If I'm interviewing someone soon, I'll listen to their past interviews or podcasts to learn more about them and take notes as I go.

I end the day with a hot shower and fight the need to go to bed by falling asleep on the sofa. A lifelong habit that doesn't seem to be budging. When I finally get to bed, I reply to instagram messages and listen to a Bob Baker meditation - they're so cheesy but I love them. I count 3 things I'm grateful for from the day and fall asleep pretty quickly.