Too British To Be Asian

Ruby Hammer MBE  is a trailblazing makeup artist and beauty entrepreneur whose career spans over 40 years of redefining beauty standards. Best known for co-founding the iconic  Ruby & Millie  beauty line in the late 90s, she was one of the first to champion inclusivity and diversity in an industry that, at the time, overlooked many. Ruby has worked with world-famous supermodels like Cindy Craw...

In this exclusive and deeply personal episode, we sit down with Karanjee Gaba - the trailblazing Afghan Sikh British Asian male supermodel, for his very first podcast interview. Karanjee opens up about his extraordinary journey from Afghanistan to the UK, navigating within a world where his unique identity often stands out. With unwavering conviction, he shares poignant stories of being asked to s...

Stitching Stories| A Journey with Krishan Parmar 🌟 🎙️ Join us on an enchanting journey into the world of fashion, style, and cultural fusion with the trailblazer- Krishan Parmar, the maestro behind some of the iconic looks from magazines, music videos and high-profile stars. As a British Asian fashion stylist and wardrobe designer, Krishan has not only left an indelible mark on the industry but h...

I am back with the amazing Spice Queen who is teaching me parts of my culture through learning to cook Indian food. I didn't grow up learning how to cook so I've had to teach myself over the years. It's been a truly worthwhile experience understanding who I am and where I came from. Here Parveen made the whole experience fun and entertaining! Have you ever cooked #JackFruit curry? Take...

Introducing Angie Tiwari, Yoga, Breathwork and Meditation Coach. Angie shares how she left a life that no longer serves her from, situations, substances, relationships and career choices to a life that she found richness and meaning… in one word…. “Release” Angie now has a whole community where she shares her experiences to help others to ease their fears to happiness. She hosts her own retreats,...

Welcome Manpreet Bambra starring in ITV's South Asian comedy; "Count-Abdulla" Watch now on ITV X

Welcome actress Mariska Ariya starring in ITV's British Asian COMEDY, "Count-Abdulla" Watch now on ITV X

Adrian Somouie | “You Can Hear The Communication From Your Body” Born in 1985 during the Iran and Iraqi war was taking place, Arian fled with his mother and elder brother to Liverpool with his father joining 2years later.  He explains the heartache and emotional trauma being stripped away from his grandmother who be describes as his first love to a new country which he found challenging navigating...

Amar Singh | Education System - Is Pale, Male and Stale Amar Singh - Gallery Owner, Activist on Women’s and LGBTQ rights, Digital collector and Hollywood Producer.  Born and raised in London Amar is not only an accomplished philanthropist he’s also a royal descendent of the Kapurthala Royal family - one of the oldest royal families in India. As history explains royal families in India were strippe...

Bally Gill | "Will The Industry Tell Me There's No More Parts?" Winner of The Ian Charleson Award for his portrayal of Romeo in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 'ROMEO AND JULIET, Bally Gill is best known for his role as Neel Fisher in BBC drama Sherwood. Also appearing as Agent Singh in Slow Horses and in the ITV crime series Manhunt,  as well as the BBC medical comedy-drama...

The former pharmaceutical recruitment partner, Sarah Woods is best known as BBC’s finalist on Best Home Cook 2020.  Like, most people once the pandemic hit Sarah decided it was time to follow her dreams and commit to her passions. Sarah decided to up-skill and put herself forward to train as a chef in culinary school, Devon.  Sarah talks on being “Too British To Be Asian” - navigating her way betw...

It’s Day 3 of Diwali!! And what better way to connect with my South Indian heritage whilst celebrating The Festival ofLight then popping over to my dear friend TV Chef Parveen Ashraf - The Spice Queen home to share how much fun and simple cooking authentic Indian dishes can actually be. Even for someone that’s #toobritishtobeasian like me. And the best bit… we’re cooking Jelabi Baby! What did you...

Christine Pillainayagam is a retail strategist by day, who lives in Kent with her young family and a collection of records, CDs and minidiscs (remember those?). Her mild obsession with the Beatles and the desire to write a story that reflected her own experiences growing up as a first-generation immigrant led her to put that love of music and words into a book. “My name is Ellie. Ellie Pillai…I th...

I was honoured and privileged to welcome onto the “Too British To Be Asian” podcast - award winning Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach Lavina Mehta. Her mission….To help ALL ages to FEEL GOOD physically & mentally. Her slogan: To “Exercise for Sanity not Vanity.” By dedicating her time releasing twice daily workouts over the COVID-19 Lockdown featuring her 74yr old elderly mother-in-law Lavin...

I was fortunate to host my very first panel discussion at the prestigious Somerset House, London exploring;   “WHY IS REPRESENTATION SO IMPORTANT IN THE FASHION AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY?”   I was so honoured to be joined by..  Arooj Aftab - Fashion Consultant and founder of #DoneWithDiversity https://www.instagram.com/its.arooj/ Sejal Sehmi - U.K. Editor of Browngirl Magazine https://www...

“People said I didn’t look Gujarati, I Didn’t know what that meant” | Sejal Sehmi As UK editor of Browngirl Magazine Sejal Sehmi has a front-line view on all trending discussions on issues facing South Asian people. As Brown Girl Magazine’s U.K. Editor, her passion for writing stemmed from challenging society defined rules created for women of her generation. She initially started contributing for...

Introducing Naveeda - An international Hair and Makeup artist with a career spanning over 30yrs. Not only has Naveeda established herself as one of the most sought-after Hair and Makeup artists in both Western and Asian commercial fashion industries, she has also stood out as a top bridal make-up artist. Naveeda believes the attitudes towards the stigma of dark skin within the South Asian communit...

It’s finally here! My interview with Kama Sutra expert, Storyteller, Author and Mythologist is available to download NOW via Spotify and all Apple platforms!!! Seema is debunking the stigma of self pleasure and how over the years the Kama Sutra has become a manual of sexual positions from what it should be, which is a beautiful art of ethics and philosophy. Self pleasure isn’t pornographic -“it’s...

Born in India and placed in an orphanage in Bombay just 2 short days after her birth. Trishna shares her journey from being adopted a year later by a Caucasian family from a small town in Ohio, USA. Although blessed with supportive parents that encouraged Trishna to embrace her heritage, she was subjected to racism, name calling and rumours from her extended family which led her to constantly ques...

“Time Becomes So Important As You Get Older” - Huji The Grey Indian Meet Huji, she’s part of a growing movement of women proving that ageing naturally is the key to living a younger and happier life. After the birth of her second child, Huji realised that her priorities had changed and spending hours in the hairdressers had become “a waste of her time” and the up keep simply took too much time awa...

“Our community can be hurtful, they can say things without thinking” | Joti Gaya - Aura Ex-teacher, turned Presenter, Model and BSF Ambassador championing representation in media speaks honestly on coming to terms with living with Vitiligo. Joti shares her fears of judgement, stigma and shame from members of the community, so started her battle to conceal her condition. Joti’s journey began in 201...

Nutritional Therapist specialising in anxiety and Stress, Mind and Body support specialist Jaz Bushell speaks candidly on the deep emotional issues of unhealthy attitudes towards illness, accountability and the burden of secrets which affect South Asian families. Although we initially spoke on anxiety our discussion organically led to the psychological impact of the culture of secrets within famil...

BBC Broadcaster, Blogger, Models Of Diversity Ambassador and Author of “Desi And Desire” Amrit Matharu shares her struggles with beauty. Amrit grew up in a very white affluent town believing she wasn’t “pretty or beautiful” due to a lack of representation around her. Amrit story highlights the unspoken generational issues and cultural pressures of beauty as a South Asian woman. “I thought beauty w...

“I See And Feel My Growth” | Nav The Poet Navpreet Singh - A Sikh male wearing a turban living in a very white affluent neighbourhood. However, due to the lack of representation, his love of rock and unable to express his emotions, Nav was lost, in turmoil and arrogant to mask his vulnerability. Then during a lecture whilst studying engineering Nav felt compelled to write. This is the moment Nav T...

Abortion | Kalbir Bains Author of “Not My Daughter” The true story of a Daughter - in - law. Kalbir shares her story from the ‘good girl’ who did everything right. Although she suffers from Dyslexia that didn’t stop her gaining her fashion degree, whereby she traveled around the world managing and working with fashion brands. Therefore, for a lot of people getting married is the start of a new cha...