We're honoured to be featuring Fallon Gregory in this week's newsletter! She's a proud First Nations woman, a mum, and an influencer who uses her platform to advocate for and uplift First Nations people.
Fallon shares how her heritage influences her work, her tips for loving the skin you're in and the launch of Influence Blak - an Indigenous Australian Influencer Resource.
Tell me a bit about yourself
I’m Fallon Gregory. I am a Bardi and Kija woman currently living in Boorloo, also known as Perth. During my primary school years I lived back home in the Kimberly across many different towns and communities including Beagle Bay, Fitzroy Crossing and Muludja Community. My teenage years I grew up in Geraldton WA, before moving to Perth 5 years ago. I’m a single mum of two so my time is divided equally between work, motherhood, fun outings and some consistent “me time” to stay balanced.
Go-to coffee order? My go to coffee order is a Cap two sugars
Has your heritage influenced your passions, interests and work? If so, how?
Most definitely. My heritage is automatically implemented into all I do and talk about, as it’s my life experiences being a First Nations woman. My heritage influences my work and passions, as I use the platform I’ve created as an educational tool and strive to generate awareness towards the issues and injustices surrounding First Nations Australia.
You are one of Australia's leading influencers. What inspired you to pursue a career in the influencer industry, when did you start and what's the journey been like so far?
Despite being in the Instagram space for 12 years, I began to pursue influencing seriously only 3 years ago, after I was the selected winning applicant of the Frank Body Anti Casting call campaign.
Speaking my honest truth as I answered the questions, vulnerable and afraid it would cost me the opportunity, I was actually ecstatic to find my voice was celebrated and amplified which made me realise there was insight missing within the influencing and modelling industry regarding Indigenous people. People referred to my work as “refreshing” and “insightful” and would thank me as I built my platform into not only an influencer space, but an educational resource.
I am now happily and exclusively signed to my management agency, Bella Management, who have welcomed me [and my voice] with open arms and have been nothing less than genuinely supportive and encouraging of myself and my journey.
Congratulations on your recent launch of Influence Blak! Can you tell me more about why you created Influence Blak and what you hope to achieve with it?
I created Influence Blak because I saw a void in the influencer space where First Nations people didn’t have the support or a resource where they could access information if they were wanting to seriously pursue influencing to the point of a career.
I reflect on the beginning of my journey and how I didn’t have access to information or that there weren’t many other Indigenous mob in the space with me to hold discussion and bounce intel and experiences off, like if a brand was appropriate and aligned with certain values, or if a business was a safe space for POC to be working amongst.
I hope with Influence Blak that the required information can now become easily accessible and interactive for Mob wanting to pursue modelling or influencing, and open to allow questions for anything that I may have not yet addressed
You inspire so many First Nations people and women of colour! Who are some BIPOC women that inspire you?
I’m constantly inspired by women that are within the community doing the ground work, wether physically or via social media creating awareness and educating, which is all unpaid year time consuming and strenuous work.
Some Blak women I follow and am inspired by are (but not limited too):
- @soju_gang
- @gudhigudhi_
- @kalkanichoolburra
- @napangarti
- @endlessyarning
- @yilinhi88
- @tallulahsrash
- @sarithaiday
- @meissamason
- @tarneeen
- @marlikka_perdrisat
- @rickeeta_
What's your advice for loving the skin you're in?
Taking the time and the journey to find your true self and embracing them.
For the longest time I found I didn’t love myself because mistreatment from others caused me in turn to seek validation and acceptance from others. I almost felt, and internally told myself, if I wasn’t loved by then how could I love myself? And I created a hard shell that surrounded me mentally and emotionally. It took a lot of time spent alone and hard conversations with myself to be at the amazing emotional and mental place I’m currently in, and I wake up every day I choose me, I choose to love myself and allow myself to be soft and happy.
Until you love and accept yourself as you are, and celebrate that person whole heartedly, you won’t live. You were created with purpose, just as you are. Make sure you speak that life into yourself. Then you will enter a whole new world where the validation and acceptance you craved from others will now come from within. And it’ll be enough. Because you are enough.
